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to exist on my stove?
With Thanksgiving just around the corner—and amateur cooks everywhere getting ready to whip up multi-course meals for large, potentially hostile groups of friends and relatives—I figured it was high time for some cross-examination.
I called up Ruth Reichl, who told me that each recipe in Gourmet was tested by cooks who made it many times over, and also by a “cross-tester,” who made it only once. But the printed times came from the cooks who’d made the dish repeatedly, and Reichl allows that may have been a mistake. “When you’ve done a recipe eight times, you get a lot faster,” she pointed out. “Probably we should’ve used the cross-tester’s time, and not the developer’s final time.”
Mark Bittman had another take: “Either I’m faster or I’m wrong,” he said at first. I wondered whether it was primarily a matter of knife skills, but Bittman insisted that his are “terrible.” He also noted that all those uncontrollable factors really do add up to complicate the final calculation. “I make the best estimate I can,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I usually take my time and add some time; I don’t subtract, at least not consciously.” In the end, he speculated that he’s faster because he does prep work and cooking at the same time, and worries less about how the food looks at the end.
But it was Chris Kimball, editor of Cook’s Illustrated, who cut to the heart of it. “Utter bullshit,” he said when I asked what he thought of cooking times. Kimball is no slacker; CI, as its devoted readers know, has a well-earned reputation for accuracy. They’ll bake a chocolate torte 500 times before publishing the results. Yet Kimball doesn’t include start-to-finish times in his recipes; he rejects outright the notion that they can be measured with precision. “Thirty-minute recipes are never 30 minutes,” he says. “It’s marketing.”
All-inclusive cook times are actually a fairly new phenomenon. Older recipe books, such as The Joy of Cookingand the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, assumed an audience with a certain level of competency in the kitchen, and so never bothered to say how long it would take to prepare a given meal. Today, obviously, more people with less experience are attempting to put food on the table, and so cookbooks have become more explicit. But if our recipe-writing royalty are regularly off by a factor of two, then they’re not helping novices—they’re confusing them. We should all accept that these predictions are about as useful as the Times’ football-score experiment and, like the Times, just get rid of them.
You’re sure a dish takes under 30 minutes? Call it “speedy.” Between 30 and 60? Try “leisurely.” More than 60? “Labor-intensive.” The bean-counters may whine, but better to be honest and leave precision timing to the racetracks and the atom-splitters.
Like Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.CTV Vancouver
Seven missing skiers and snowboarders were rescued by search crews in B.C.'s Interior after a long night out in the elements near Kamloops.
Crew members say the incident was entirely avoidable.
The last two missing skiers were located just after 4 a.m. but not before spending the night in frigid temperatures and waist deep snow in the backcountry.
One of the rescued snowboarders said he and a friend followed another group of five skiers out of bounds in an area on Sun Peaks Mountain called West Bowl Monday afternoon.
The skiers ducked under the ropes and the snowboarders followed, but no one knew where they were going.
The group ended up in a treacherous area of backcountry for more than nine hours.
They were attempting to hike out in waist deep snow -- when searchers located them.
"We wanted to try something exciting -- more wild. So we go down there and realize there's no way out," one snowboarder, who only identified himself as Victor, said after coming off the mountain.
Cassidy Simpson of Kamloops Search and Rescue said a contour in the slope makes people think they're moving down towards the village, when in reality they're actually headed into trouble.
"It's very misleading. It actually leads to a ravine, which can be challenging for some of the best and fit people."
Drones equipped with heat-detecting cameras were dispatched after search crews had a general idea of where the group was, in order to pinpoint their location.
The new technology reduced the time those seven people spent in the elements, and likely played a role in the fact that everyone rescued walked away in good condition, said Simpson.
The drone is being made available to the search group on a pilot project.
"It can fly at a fairly fast speed, so it's great for covering a lot of ground quickly," he said.
Search and rescue crews are using the incident as a reminder to be prepared if you're entering the B.C. backcountry.
A total of 18 search crew members, including two avalanche techs, took part in the rescue.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Sarah MacDonaldSpecies extinctions happening before our eyes
Posted on 15 May 2010 by John Cook
In the past, research has predicted that global warming could lead to the extinction of more than one-fifth of animal and plant species. This research has largely been based on theoretical models. However, now observations can confirm whether reality matches theory. The paper Erosion of Lizard Diversity by Climate Change and Altered Thermal Niches (Sinervo 2010) compares global observations of lizard populations from 1975 to present day. The result? Rapidly warming temperatures are causing lizard species to go extinct before our eyes.
How does climate change affect lizard populations? While lizards bask in the morning sun to warm up, they retreat to the shade when temperatures get too hot to avoid heat stress. As it gets hotter, they have less time to forage for food. Warmer springs are particularly devastating as this is when lizards reproduce and need extra food.
Sinervo 2010 first analysed observations of lizard populations in Mexico. Since 1975 when observations began, 12% of local populations have gone extinct. Looking at weather station data, they found a correlation between the change in maximum temperature and local extinctions. The number of hours that lizards were forced to retreat to shade were significantly higher at extinction sites.
There are two ways species can compensate for climate change: adapt or migrate. Temperatures are changing too rapidly for most species to evolve in order to adapt to warmer temperatures. That leaves migration. What is being observed is species are relocating to cooler regions in response to warming temperatures. Lizard populations from lower elevations are expanding up to cooler, higher habitats. This appears to be exacerbating extinction of species already living in higher elevations.
Another important result they found is if we manage to reduce CO2 emissions over the next few decades, this will reduce the number of species extinctions in 2080 but have little effect on the extinctions by 2050. A slow down in global warming will lag atmospheric CO2 levels by decades. This lead the authors to conclude that lizards have already crossed a threshold for extinctions.Photograph by Kyle Monk
The morning of April 18 found Viet Thanh Nguyen in Cambridge, Mass., on tour for his first novel, “The Sympathizer.” He was tapping out emails in the quiet of his hotel room when he heard his electronic devices beeping and pinging. Just like that, everything changed. Nguyen learned he’d become the first Vietnamese-American winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Six months later, his stature rose higher when his second book, the nonfiction “Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War,” was named a finalist for the National Book Award. He is unique for winning a Pulitzer Prize for fiction and being a nonfiction finalist for a National Book Award in the same year.
Now the author and academic is everywhere. He’s suddenly the most visible Vietnamese-American writer in the nation—maybe the most visible Vietnamese-American person, period. He’s crisscrossing the country to speak at conferences, conventions, and book events. His op-ed articles are published in The New York Times, and he’s a cultural columnist for the Los Angeles Times, having commented on everything from the psychological and emotional scars borne by refugees to what hipster pho restaurants tell us about the economics of minority-owned real estate.
He’s also seen as a representative of the Vietnamese-American community in Little Saigon, a place where he has never lived and is circumspect about visiting to talk about his book, a pitch-black satire depicting the absurdities of war.
“It’s weird because I have not gotten more outspoken. I have not changed my opinions in any way; I have not changed my personality, but people want to know what I have to say. The platform has expanded, but I’m saying the same things,” says Nguyen, who is 45 and a professor of English and American studies and ethnicity at USC. The question is will Little Saigon and the rest of Orange County like what he has to say?
In the field of celebrated Vietnam War novels, “The Sympathizer”—which won a slew of other awards, from a Dayton Literary Peace Prize to an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America—stands out. Unlike Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” or Denis Johnson’s “Tree of Smoke,” it’s told from the point of view of the Vietnamese. The main character is an unnamed Vietnamese-French man, an army captain who spies for the Viet Cong while acting as an aide to a South Vietnamese general. He’s “a man of two minds,” someone “able to see any issue from both sides,” a sympathizer.
It opens in April 1975, as Saigon is falling, and tracks the captain’s journey from the chaos of the capital to the mundane apartment buildings and strip malls of Southern California. While the general plots to assemble troops for a counter-revolutionary invasion, the captain travels to the Philippines as a technical consultant for a Holly-wood movie (read: “Apocalypse Now”), and on to Thailand and Laos. He finally ends up back in Vietnam as a prisoner in a brutal reeducation camp, forced to write and rewrite a confession.
“I wanted the narrator to stand in for all Vietnamese experience, and for the geographical scope to take him all over the place like Jason Bourne,” Nguyen says.
One place the acid-tongued narrator zips into is Orange County: “It was the birthplace of the war criminal Richard Nixon, as well as the home of John Wayne, a place so ferociously patriotic I thought Agent Orange might have been manufactured there or at least named in its honor,” the captain recollects at one point. At another, he recalls “a town I had never visited, Westminster, or, as our countrymen pronounced it, Wet-min-ter.”
Readers familiar with Orange County history and the Vietnamese-American community will recognize the prototypes for some of the people, places, and things Nguyen satirizes in the novel. A conservative Orange County congressman who courts the general as he plans his doomed campaign, for example, is modeled on longtime Republican congressman Robert “B-1 Bob” Dornan, and the general is partly based on Nguyen Cao Ky, the former air force general who ruled South Vietnam for two years in the 1960s.
“(Ky’s) infamous as the general who—as this guy does—went on the radio as Saigon was falling and said, ‘Defend this country to your last breath,’ and then he took off in a helicopter. And then he went to Orange County and he opened a liquor store,” Nguyen says.
As for Dornan, “I think my (fictional) congressman is smarter than he was (as a representative). I don’t know Dornan personally or anything, but he was always a buffoon from my ideological point of view. Whereas my congressman is definitely a politician, but he’s very smart about what he’s doing,” he says.
But Nguyen’s target is not only the politicians and soldiers involved in the Vietnam War; it’s the misperceptions that cause and perpetuate all wars.
“This book is not just about the Vietnam War, it’s about war in general. The reason we keep going to war is because we make excuses for ourselves. War is bad, but it’s bad because of the other side, not because of us. That’s hypocritical,” he says.
“I try to offend everybody in the book because I think everybody should be offended. All sides did something wrong in the history of this conflict and afterward, but it’s human nature to only see the faults of our enemies and not ourselves.
“I’ve gotten letters from some American veterans saying this is an anti-American book, and I’m thinking, ‘Yes, it is, it’s very critical. But it’s also critical of these other populations, and you don’t say anything about that.’ So I anticipate that I’ll get some criticism from Vietnamese-American readers as well.”
At the lectern at a book event in Glendale and in conversation at his home in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, Nguyen comes across as equal parts erudite author and precise academic; the author is passionate about and inspired by European writers like W.G. Sebald and Louis-Ferdinand Céline and Americans such as Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison, while the academic is data-ready to defend his theses. This duality is not surprising given that he has spent decades trying to make it in both worlds. No kid dreams of becoming an academic, he jokes, but Nguyen has harbored literary ambitions since he was young.
Born in Vietnam, he seems to have possessed an artist’s sensitivity from an early age. He recalled in a radio interview that one of his earliest memories was of having to be separated from his parents and brother for several months after they arrived at a refugee camp in Pennsylvania. Then 4 years old, he was sent to live with a sponsor family. They tried to make him feel comfortable by giving him chopsticks but didn’t realize he didn’t know how to use them. “And I felt very badly about that. And that was, I think, my first initiation into the sense of being culturally and racially different than other Americans.”
After his family was reunited, they settled in San Jose. His parents worked 12 to 14 hours a day as shopkeepers, and he fell in love with books. By college, he’d decided to become a novelist. “I never told my parents I was writing fiction. I told them I was an English major, and that was bad enough.”
So he followed the advice of his older brother, Tung Thanh—who was a philosophy major as an undergrad and became a doctor and a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “My brother was the precedent. He said, ‘Just tell them you’re going to be an English major and you’re going to become a lawyer,’ and that’s what I did.” Eventually, he told his parents that he wasn’t going to law school but would pursue a doctorate degree instead. “My parents were relatively liberal. They said, ‘Well, at least you’ll become a professor, right?’”
He got his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and joined the faculty at USC in 1997. But he never gave up writing fiction and struggled for years writing short stories. He finally hit his stride when he started “The Sympathizer” during a 2011 teaching sabbatical. He tried to please only himself and composed it in a joyous, dreamlike state. He’d write for four hours in the morning, eat lunch, and go to the gym and run for an hour on the treadmill.
“After about 15 minutes I’d get that runner’s high, and for the next 45 minutes I’d think about the novel. When I began writing the novel, I had a two-page outline, which was fairly accurate until the last quarter of the book. But obviously, a lot of detail was missing. That’s what the running was for. I’d run and I’d be able to see exactly what was going to happen the next day. It was really a wonderful experience.”
When the novel was released in April 2015, the reviews were wondrous, too. The Washington Post dubbed it “a cerebral thriller,” “a new classic of war fiction,” and The Guardian called it “a bold, artful, and globally minded reimagining of the Vietnam War.” Critics praised it as a correction to the “Americentric” version of the war seen in Hollywood movies such as “Apocalypse Now” and “Platoon.”
“His book fills a void in the literature, giving voice to the previously voiceless,” author Philip Caputo wrote in The New York Times.
It is at least partly because he sees his life in the pages of Nguyen’s novel that Long Dinh, a former officer in the South Vietnamese air force, is one of its biggest fans. After the war, Dinh was sent to a reeducation camp in North Vietnam for seven years. It took him another eight years to be reunited with his family in this country.
He praises the novel as “a real portrayal of what happened before and after the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective—how people lived and adapted through the many changes and adversities as Vietnamese, Vietnamese refugees, and Vietnamese-Americans.
“I think most, if not all, Vietnamese would be proud that this is the first time a Vietnamese-American has won a Pulitzer Prize,” says Dinh, who lives with his wife in Huntington Beach.
Despite similar proclamations of pride Nguyen has heard, the author is cautious about taking the book into Little Saigon, which through the years has been a hotbed of numerous anti-communist demonstrations. That fervor has led to massive rallies that required hundreds of police to contain. Protests have caused upheavals at businesses, colleges, and cultural venues, with arrests, job losses, and even death threats.
Nguyen had firsthand experience with anti-communist protesters when he was a graduate student at UC Berkeley. The Vietnamese-American arts organization he belonged to presented a play, “Story of Tony D,” across the Bay at San Francisco State. The work was adapted from a short story by Le Minh Khue, a noted author and North Vietnamese army veteran, and dealt with reconciliation between Americans and Vietnamese. Even though the play was not pro-communist, protesters tried to shut it down, and campus police were called in to keep the peace.
“So I’m very wary,” Nguyen says. “I go to (Little Saigon) to eat, but I’m very wary to go there to read (my books). I have not even given any readings in Orange County yet.”
That’s about to change. He has two local readings coming up this month—at UC Irvine and the Newport Beach Public Library.
Dinh, the former Vietnamese air force officer, says Nguyen’s concerns are understandable. “There is a very small number of extremists who only want to hear people agree with their anti-communist view and would loudly protest against any slight hint at criticism of the old South Vietnamese government or military.”
But he believes the novel might resonate even with the hard-liners. “If they have read the book, they would know that at the end, the protagonist escapes Vietnam by boat, risking his life just like millions of other Vietnamese boat people, to run away from Communist control. In essence, he has also become one of them.”Our seventh will be the evening of December 16th at Joystick Gamebar (http://www.joystickgamebar.com/).
Joystick Gamebar is the only spot in Atlanta dedicated to classic arcade games, good drinks, and killer snack food. Check out their food (http://www.joystickgamebar.com/food-situation) and drink (http://www.joystickgamebar.com/drinks) menu.
Joystick Gamebar is 21+ after 8 p.m. every day!
Be aware that we do not have private space and will be sharing with the public, if we have enough RSVP I will be reaching out to see if we can get a section for our meetup. The official end time is 9pm, but Joystick closes at 2:30am if you are interested in staying later!
There is a max capacity of around 100, so get there on time / early.
A heads up to anyone planning on driving themselves to the meetup, they always encourage walking, biking, or transit (King Memorial Station is a 1/2 mile away) when possible. Check out their parking suggestions here (http://www.joystickgamebar.com/about-us). I suggest carpooling or taking Lyft / Uber if you don't want to hassle with parking.
We will have a SteelSeries (http://steelseries.7eer.net/c/240474/100327/2390) giveaway chances to everyone that attends.
Please let me know if there's any questions or concerns!
We're always looking for new venues to host our meetups and wanted to try something different to see if it draws some other people out.
Join us on Discord (https://discord.gg/V7G2eSR) / Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/TwitchAtlanta/)!Next year's January issue of Kodansha's Afternoon magazine announced three new manga series and a long one-shot manga on Saturday.
Honda-san, the author of Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san (Skeleton Bookstore Employee Honda), will launch the one-shot manga in the May issue on March 24. The manga, tentatively titled "Tatta Hitotsu no Koto Shika Shiranai" (I Only Know One Thing) will be Honda-san's first manga with a human main character.
Mushishi creator Yuki Urushibara will start a new as-yet-untitled manga (pictured right) in the June issue on April 25. The story follows two people (and one cat) who are called for mysterious incidents.
Urushibara ended Mushishi in 2008 and went on to launch Suiiki from 2009-2010. Del Rey published the Mushishi manga, and Funimation released Hiroshi Nagahama and Artland's anime adaptation and Katsuhiro Otomo's live-action film version in North America.
And Yet the Town Moves creator Masakazu Ishiguro will launch a manga titled Tengoku Dai Makyō in the March issue on January 25. The magazine did not share any story information on the "boys and girls x big adventure" manga, but introduced the two characters in the teaser visual (pictured left): the boy on the left is Tokio and the person in the black suit is called "Maru."
Ishiguro ended And Yet the Town Moves ( Sore de mo Machi wa Mawatteiru ) in December 2016 after 11 years. JManga once carried the manga, but Crunchyroll later began simultaneously publishing the manga digitally in English. The manga inspired a television anime that premiered in Japan in October 2010, and Sentai Filmworks released the series on home video.
Genshiken's Shimoku Kio will launch a manga tentatively titled Hashikko Ensemble in the April issue on February 24. The story takes place at a technical high school. The protagonist, who has a voice complex, is approached by a classmate who wants to start a choir club.
Kio ended Genshiken: Second Season in August 2016. The manga is a sequel to Kio's earlier Genshiken manga. Del Rey published the first Genshiken manga series as well as the Kujibiki Unbalance spinoff in North America, and Kodansha Comics is publishing Genshiken: Second Season.A sixth-floor tenant, however, was another matter. He was relatively new to the building; he had developed a reputation for erratic behavior in the hallways and was sometimes incoherent, two residents said. The police knocked on his door, and the tenant, a 44-year-old writer, let them inside.
Later, the officers left with the man. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center for evaluation as a suspected emotionally disturbed person, or E.D.P., in police parlance, a police spokeswoman said this week.
He was released and was not charged with any wrongdoing. No one has been charged with a crime related to pushing a sofa out of a window and endangering the people below.
The reason: No one really saw it happen, the police said. The patisserie workers saw the sofa land, but from where?
Another tenant in the building decided that extra detective work was needed: She posted bright yellow fliers in windows all over the block. “DID YOU SEE A SOFA PUSHED OUT A 6TH FLOOR WINDOW?” its headline asks. “The police were unable to arrest the man who did this, because no witnesses have come forward who actually saw him push the sofa out the window.”
The flier asks anyone who saw anything to call the nearby Sixth Precinct station house. “Who knows what he may do next,” the flier states.
The writer in the sixth-floor apartment answered a reporter’s ring of his bell on Friday and the questions that followed. He did not, he said flatly, push a sofa out his window.If you're Microsoft, how do you convince people that data is more than just a dry set of charts and graphs? You put on one heck of a light show, that's what. The company recently marked the launch of a database server app by opening the Infinity Room, a temporary art installation that dazzled the public with all the data behind the quarters in their pockets. The project, built by Universal Everything, relied on an array of choreographed LED lights and pixel spheres to produce animations in a mirrored room, giving guests the impression that they were standing in an endless sea of information. As you'll see in the video below, the effect is very Matrix-like -- and certainly more memorable than a run-of-the-mill slideshow. You sadly can't visit the Infinity Room in person anymore, but Microsoft has a 360-degree version at the source link if you want to get a sense of what it was like.13.11.2017
CSU kommt in Umfrage nur noch auf 36 Prozent Bayern
Die Umfragen und die Personaldebatte in der CSU geben Parteichef Horst Seehofer derzeit wenig Grund zum Lachen.
Bei der Landtagswahl im kommenden Jahr würde die CSU gerne wieder die absolute Mehrheit holen. Umfragen sehen die Partei allerdings weit davon entfernt.
Die CSU sinkt weiter in der Gunst der Wähler. Nach einer aktuellen Umfrage des Meinungsforschungsinstituts Forsa im Auftrag der Mediengruppe RTL würden derzeit nur noch 36 Prozent der Bayern ihre Stimme der Partei von Horst Seehofer geben. Im Vergleich zur Bundestagswahl vor knapp sieben Wochen bedeutet dies ein Minus von fast drei Prozentpunkten. Ende September erreichte die CSU noch 38,8 Prozent der Stimmen - ein bereits historisch schlechter Wert. Der Umfrage zufolge würden sich auch bei einer Landtagswahl derzeit 38 Prozent für die CSU entscheiden - 2013 waren es noch 47,7 Prozent.
Mehrheit erwartet, dass CSU bei Jamaika Kompromisse macht
Bundesweit sinkt die Union laut Forsa auf 32 Prozent (Bundestagswahl 32,9 Prozent), die SPD landet bei 20 Prozent (20,5), die FDP bei 12 Prozent (10,7), die Grünen bei 10 Prozent (8,9), die Linke bei 9 Prozent (9,2) und die AfD bei 12 Prozent (12,6). Demnach verlieren die Parteien, die derzeit in Berlin die Chancen für eine mögliche Jamaika-Koalition sondieren, nur leicht in der Wählergunst - gemeinsam kommen Union, FDP und Grüne auf 54 Prozent, bei der Wahl waren es 52,6 Prozent.
Fast drei Viertel der Befragten in Bayern (74 Prozent) erwarten, dass die CSU sich bei der Jamaika-Koalition am Ende kompromissbereit zeigen wird. Nur 24 Prozent verlangen, dass die CSU einer Koalition nur dann beitritt, wenn sie viele ihrer Forderungen, etwa zur Asylpolitik, durchsetzt. Unter den CSU-Anhängern erwarten 71 Prozent von ihrer Partei Kompromissbereitschaft - lediglich die Gefolgschaft der AfD will mit einer überwältigenden Mehrheit von 91 Prozent, dass die CSU zum Beispiel beim Flüchtlingsthema hart bleibt. dpa
Lesen Sie zur CSU und zur Debatte um Parteichef Seehofer auch:
Das sind die möglichen Seehofer-Nachfolger
Vier Szenarien, wie es mit Horst Seehofer weitergehen könnte
Wir wollen wissen, was Sie denken: Die Augsburger Allgemeine arbeitet daher mit dem Umfrageinstitut Civey zusammen. Was es mit den Umfragen auf sich hat und warum Sie sich registrieren sollten, lesen Sie hier.
Themen FolgenIf there’s one thing that’s become exceedingly clear in the Chicago - St. Louis series, it’s that the Blackhawks simply do not have an answer for the Vladimir Tarasenko line.
Think about the magnitude of that statement. You can probably count on one hand the number of players who have put Chicago in a torture chamber over the last seven years. It almost never happens.
But, the Chicago hockey machine is in trouble. I wrote a month ago that the Blackhawks were, relatively speaking, coming apart at the seams – a far cry from the dominant teams we have witnessed in the Joel Quenneville era.
The top-end talent is still there. And, generally, this is still a good hockey team. But the depth is starting to leave something to be desired, and it’s showing in the matchups against a St. Louis team that’s rife with talent in its own right.
Chicago’s troubles with the Tarasenko line have been patently obvious since Game 1, and even with the Blackhawks having last change in Game 3 and 4, nothing has really slowed that group down.
Playing primarily with Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz, you can see how Tarasenko and co. have been able to punish Chicago with stunning regularity.
Tarasenko Line Goals Chances Corsi Game For Against For Against For Against 1 7 8 21 15 2 1 9 4 13 9 3 13 1 21 4 4 1 1 4 9 6 15 66.67% 59.57% 58.98%
Save Game 4 (where St. Louis nursed a lead for long stretches), the Blues have far and away been the better team with the Tarasenko group on the ice. They’re getting 60 per cent of the scoring chances and 59 per cent of the goals – numbers that generally go the way of Chicago at 5-on-5.
If you think the one-sided scoring chance and shot differentials aren’t having an impact, consider that Chicago’s managed to score all of one goal with the Tarasenko group on the ice. It’s extremely difficult to mount offence when you’re consistently defending the run of play – a problem that’s demonstrably observable in this series, and true for long spurts of the regular season. (Reminder: Chicago was out-scored by Arizona and Edmonton at evens this year.)
A quick aside: It’s worth reiterating we are just talking about 5-on-5 here. Jaden Schwartz has a pair of power-play goals. Tarasenko has a goal and two assists. Beating Chicago back into the defensive zone at evens has meant more penalties and more man advantage chances, and the Blues have capitalized on those opportunities.
The logical question that should follow here is who Chicago is deploying to try and slow down this group? Below, I’ve compiled head-to-head Corsi% and ice-time for each of the regular Blackhawks skaters. You can see that it’s been more or less a collective failure, but there are a few players in particular that have struggled.
I think the first thing that pops is that Niklas Hjalmarsson has been understandably tasked with the impossibility of slowing this group down, shadowing Tarasenko et al. through the first four games. The problem is he’s getting steamrolled in the process. Considering Hjalmarsson is a very competent and capable defender, I think this says more about how freakishly talented the St. Louis group is.
You can see that manifest well beyond Hjalmarsson. Look at Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Chicago’s “Big Three” have been fighting to just break even.
So, what’s the solution for Chicago? I don’t think there’s a great answer here, though I do think the Blackhawks can push to get best-on-best as much as possible, specifically with the line combinations.
The performance of the Toews line might seem middling at first blush, but compare it to their “checking line” of Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger, and Tomas Fleischmann. In the minutes the checking line has seen, they have been embarrassingly ineffective.
Unfortunately for Chicago, that decision is going to be somewhat taken out of their hands. There are, best-case scenario, three games remaining – two of which will be played at Scottrade Center, where Ken Hitchcock will be in total control of the matchups.
Let’s see if the Blues can deliver the death knell in Game 5.Copyright by WHTM - All rights reserved
There are 16 public sector unions, with more than 44,000 employees, making more than $3.3 billion a year.
Nearly all of their contracts expire on June 30.
The Wolf administration is in the early stages of negotiating those new deals, which has conservatives crying foul because of the $2.6 million in campaign contributions unions gave to get Wolf elected governor.
"The unions' contributions to the governor's campaign is really legalized bribery," said Senator Scott Wagner (R-York), a frequent union antagonist.
It's also completely legal and the way of the world in Harrisburg (campaign finance reform is another story for another day). Wagner worries that unions are now looking for a return on their investment.
"I think they're gonna say, 'you know Governor Wolf we gave you a lot of money and you owe us.' That's really what this is all about."
Conservatives are also blasting the process that allows Wolf, and all governors, to negotiate with unions unilaterally and behind-closed-doors without input or oversight from the legislature.
"This governor campaigned on being an open and transparent governor," said Matt Brouillette with the conservative Commonwealth Foundation. "We're not going to know what's in those deals until they've already been signed. So taxpayers will be handed a bill without knowing what was negotiated."
But Jeff Sheridan, Wolf's spokesman, says taxpayers should trust the governor to do the right thing. He reminds everyone that Wolf's unilaterally implemented good government initiatives including a gift ban and transparency measures like posting of legal contracts online. Sheridan says Wolf is above reproach and the critics have a decidedly right-wing bent.
"I know where some of these attacks are coming from," Sheridan said. "The Commonwealth Foundation and certain senators, I think that alone highlights the absurdity of these attacks."
And Sheridan notes that those unions did not support Wolf in the primary.
"Governor Wolf is committed to making sure that any final deal is done so that the taxpayers of Pennsylvania are the people that benefit from this," Sheridan said.
But conservatives are skeptical and watching. Wagner wonders if Wolf will play hardball with his union donors especially since Wolf has raised the alarm of a $2 billion state budget deficit.
"Why wouldn't we have wage freezes right now?" Wagner asked. "Or maybe even layoffs?"
It should be noted that conservatives did not like the four-year deal that former Governor Tom Corbett negotiated with unions that's about to expire. Corbett agreed to an 11-percent increase over four years.The global trade in elephant ivory, with rare exceptions, has been outlawed since 1989 after populations of the African giants dropped from millions in the mid-20th century to around 600,000 by the end of the 1980s
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Hanoi (AFP)
Vietnamese authorities have seized nearly three tonnes of ivory hidden among boxes of fruit, officials said Sunday, the latest haul to spotlight the country's key role in the global wildlife smuggling trade.
Police in the central province of Thanh Hoa found 2.7 tonnes of tusks inside cartons on the back of a truck that was on its way to Hanoi, according to a report on their website.
"This is the largest seizure of smuggled ivory ever in Thanh Hoa province," the report said.
State media said the elephant tusks originated from South Africa.
The truck driver claimed he was unaware of what he was transporting, according to a report in state-controlled Tuoi Tre newspaper.
Police declined to comment further when contacted by AFP on Sunday.
The global trade in elephant ivory, with rare exceptions, has been outlawed since 1989 after populations of the African giants dropped from millions in the mid-20th century to around 600,000 by the end of the 1980s.
There are now believed to be some 415,000, with 30,000 illegally killed each year.
Prices for a kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of ivory can reach as high as $1,100.
Vietnam outlawed the ivory trade in 1992 but the country remains a top market for ivory products prized locally for decorative purposes, or in traditional medicine despite having no proven medicinal qualities.
Weak law enforcement in the communist country has allowed a black market to flourish, and Vietnam is also a busy thoroughfare for tusks trafficked from Africa destined for other parts of Asia, mainly China.
Last October, Vietnam customs authorities discovered about 3.5 tonnes of elephant tusks at Cat Lai port in Ho Chi Minh city, all in crates of wood, including a hefty two-tonne haul packed into a single shipment.
In 2015, 2.2 tonnes of tusks, originating from Mozambique, were discovered and seized northern Hai Phong port.
And last week authorities in Hong Kong seized 7.2 tonnes of ivory, the largest haul in the city for three decades.
While low level couriers are sometimes arrested across Asia very few wildlife trafficking kingpins are brought to justice.
© 2017 AFPFacebook
An American man has compiled an extensive list of the differences between England and the US.
Scot Waters, 66, recently visited the rolling green pastures of the UK – well, mostly Cornwall – and on his return to America decided to inform his fellow patriots of the key cultural differences.
And the internet is loving it, the post has |
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E6 Donna Fenn (2009) Upstarts! How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business. McGraw Hill.
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M4 Ott, Adrian (November 2010) How Social Media Has Changed the Workplace (Study), Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/1701850/how-social-media-has-changed-the-workplace-study
M5 Galloway, Scott (December 2010) Gen Y Affluents Media Survey, L2 Think Tank. www.l2thinktank.com/genyaffluents/GenYAffluents.pdf
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M9 Innerscope Research, Time Inc. (April 2012) A Biometric Day in the Life. http://www.timeinc.com/pressroom/detail.php?id=releases/time_inc_study_digital_natives.php
M10 U.S. Census Bureau (September 2011) Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Families and Living Arrangements, Table SHP-1. Parents and Children in Stay-At-Home Parent Family Groups
M11 Yahoo!, DB5 and Hunter (2011) Digital Dads: I’m Not a Subsegment. http://advertising.yahoo.com/article/digital-dads-im-not-a-subsegment.html
M12 Euro RSCG Worldwide (2010) Prosumer Report, Gender Shift: Are Women the New Men? http://www.prosumer-report.com/gender/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/GenderShift_Final.pdf
Sources—Professional Associations section
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P2 Bodine, Larry (October 2010) ABA Hires Consultant to be First Chief Marketing Officer,, Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog. http://blog.larrybodine.com/2010/10/articles/current-affairs/aba-hires-consultant-to-be-first-chief-marketing-officer/
P3 Blumenthal, Jeff (March 2011) Decline in Bar Association Membership, Philadelphia Business Journal http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/print-edition/2011/03/25/decline-in-bar-association-membership.html?page=all
P4 Robeznieks, Andis, (March 2012)AMA Membership nudges up after three years of decline, Modern Physician.com.
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P6 Monitor Institute (April 2011) Disruption: Evolving Models of Engagement and Support - A National Study of Member-based Advocacy Organizations. http://www.monitorinstitute.com/downloads/Disruption_report_(annotated_slides).pdf
P7 Proctor, Kristina, (September 2009) Gen Y is changing professional associations and companies, Minneapolis Generation Y Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/article/gen-y-is-changing-professional-associations-and-companies
P8 Strategic Content Solutions (December 2011) Gen Y is Here, is Your Association Greeting Them?. http://www.scsbyavmg.com/2011/12/22/gen-y-is-here-is-your-association-greeting-them-2/
P9 Johnson Grossnickle Associates (Achieve 2011) Millennial Donors Report 2011. http://millennialdonors.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/MD11_Report1.pdf
P10 Convio, Edge Research, Sea Change Strategies (May 2010) Sleeping with the Cellphone: The 20-Something Donor. http://philanthropy.com/blogs/social-philanthropy/sleeping-with-the-cellphone-the-20-something-donor/23709
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W2 Levenson A., R. (November 2009) Millennials And The World Of Work: An Economist’s Perspective, Center For Effective Organizations Marshall School Of Business, University Of Southern California. http://ceo.usc.edu/pdf/G09-13.pdf
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W18 NACE (February 2012) Federal leaders Face challenges attracting top college graduates to government service, Partnership For Public Service And The National Association Of Colleges And Employers Issue Brief.
W19 Levit, A, Licina, S, (2011) How the Recession Shaped Millennial and Hiring Manager Attitudes about Millennials’ Future Careers, Career Advisory Board http://newsroom.devry.edu/images/20004/Future%20of%20Millennial%20Careers%20Report.pdf
W20 Table compiled and prepared by Catherine Reutschlin, retrieved from: Reutschlin, Catherine (February 2012) The What Unemployment Rates Don’t Tell Us About Millennials’ Jobs Woes, policymic Next Generation News and Politics. http://www.policymic.com/articles/4047/what-unemployment-rates-don-t-tell-us-about-millennials-jobs-woesSo, I totally had to work tonight so I couldn’t go to see Jonny Lang. I did go to the concert hall and I did wait to meet him and I DID meet him.
He signed my guitar and we took a picture. I am not star struck, but I was very excited to meet him. I told him how when I was a boy I didn’t have my own music. I had “Alvin and the Chipmunks” soundtrack and that was it.
On my eighth or ninth birthday I got a gift card to Amazon.com for like $25. I wanted to buy music. I purchased Beastie Boys “License to Ill”, because I knew the song ‘Girls’ and ‘Fight for your Right’ was on it and we used to listen to it all the time at open gym at Mad Town Twisters.
I asked for Jonny Lang because I saw him on the Disney channel dancing barefoot with long rock hair playing the blues. I was inspired because he was so young and so talented.
When the CDs arrived, I played them both on loop for years. I eventually got a guitar and started a band in high school. Which led me to sound engineering, and starting a media company, and the rest is history.
Tonight I got to meet Jonny Lang, and he signed my guitar.2016
Future — Evol (“Low Life”) 1 week
Kendrick Lamar —untitled unmastered. (“untitled 07 | levitate”) 1 week
Kanye West — The Life of Pablo (“Famous”) 1 week
Drake — Views (“One Dance”) 13 weeks
DJ Khaled — Major Key (“For Free”) 1 week
Travis Scott — Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (“Pick Up The Phone”) 1 week
Jeezy — Trap Or Die 3 (“Let Em Know”) 1 week
J Cole — 4 Your Eyez Only 1 week (“Deja Vu”) 1 week
ATCQ — We Got It From Here…Thank You For Your Service (“We The People”) 1 week
Suicide Squad: The Album (“Sucker For Pain”) 2 weeks
The Hamilton Mixtape (“Satisfied”) 1 week
Future — Evol
Kendrick Lamar — untitled unmastered.
Kanye West — The Life Of Pablo
Drake — Views
DJ Khaled — Major Key
Travis Scott — Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight
Jeezy — Trap Or Die 3
J Cole — 4 Your Eyez Only
Future drops his third #1 album in 2 years, solidifying himself as the king of the autotune rapper sub-genre.
After Kendrick Lamar performs at the Grammys, LeBron James tweets Top Dawg Entertainment to release his untitled tracks. So they do.
Kanye releases his album via Tidal, streaming and downloads. No physical copies are available. He updates the album with altered and new tracks a few times. His new musical direction is heavily Future-influenced. GOOD Music’s Future clone Desiigner guests on “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2”. The album tour is a disaster as Kanye comes out as a Trump supporter, rants and raves, cuts shows short and cancels the rest of the tour. He is later hospitalized.
Views makes a big splash. Like Lauryn Hill’s debut, it’s more R&B-heavy than expected. Regardless, no rap album (at this point we use that term loosely) has been at #1 longer other than Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em. Since signing with Young Money, Drake has released 6 albums, with 2 being classified as “mixtapes”. All 6 have gone #1. He moves ahead of 2Pac, Rick Ross & DMX — who all have 5 — into a tie with Kanye West & Nas. Eminem (8) and Jay-Z (13) are the only rappers with more #1's.
DJ Khaled makes all-star compilations, and the stars have gotten brighter over time. The 14 tracks on his 9th album feature 19 artists that have already released #1 albums. Travis Scott becomes the 20th shortly afterwards. Kid Cudi guests for a worthy sequel to his 2008 hit “Day ’N’ Nite”.
Jeezy gets his 3rd #1, his first in 8 years. The first 2 installments of the Trap Or Die series were classified as mixtapes. J Cole joins DMX and Drake as the only rappers whose first 4 albums hit #1. He kicks Kanye while he’s down on “False Prophets”, but it doesn’t make the final cut.
ATCQ — Thank You For Your Service…We Got It From Here
A Tribe Called Quest’s reunion album comes out just months after Phife Dawg’s passing (RIP). It is their second #1 album, and comes a full 20 years after their first. Guests include contemporaries like Busta Rhymes and new schoolers like Kendrick Lamar.
Suicide Squad Soundtrack
The Hamilton Mixtape
Suicide Squad’s gross is over $700 million in theaters. It has the most successful soundtrack of the year. About half of it includes rap, with the rest being pop, R&B and rock. It counts!
“Hamilton” is the show on Broadway. An all-star cast from Nas & Common to Sia & Kelly Clarkson features alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda. Rap dominates yet another area of the arts. The record of 11 #1 rap albums (2004, 2015) is tied again. It don’t stop!The Luke Skywalker actor had a great idea for a slight change to the script.
Mark Hamill has one critique about Star Wars: The Force Awakens: He wishes Han and Luke had one final scene together.
Hamill made the revelation during an interview with Fandango's Erik Davis while appearing at the Star Wars Celebration in Orlando over the weekend.
As we all know, Han met his demise at the hands of his son, Ben, a.k.a Kylo Ren, when he made an attempt to save his boy from the clutches of the Dark Side.
Hamill had an idea of how Luke — who only got a few moments of silent screentime — could have been put to good use.
"When I was reading it, I thought if Leia is trying to mentally contact me and she is unsuccessful, she'll rush to his [Han's] aid and get into some dire situation, and that's when I show up," Hamill said. "I save her life, and then we rush to Han, and then we are in the same position that Rey and Finn and Chewie are — too late to save him, but witnesses."
Hamill called it, in his opinion, a "missed opportunity," but added he has a lot of "terrible ideas"; he just likes to share them in case there is something the filmmakers like.A New Jersey high school asked girls — but not boys — to take a pledge to refrain from cursing, reported northjersey.com.
Lori Flynn, the teacher who launched the pledge at Queen of Peace High School, said, “We want ladies to act like ladies.”
Timothy Jay, professor at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the author of Why We Curse, said that people swear between 80 to 90 times per day on average but that pledges “NEVER work,” reported the news outlet.
One male student said, “It’s unattractive when girls have potty mouths,” although he himself admitted to cursing while playing baseball. Some of the girls appeared to support the ban, with one believing the pledge was a “good idea” though difficult to put “into action.”
The school has even distributed pins with a pair of lips slashed with a red line.
After the pledge took place, Flynn reportedly said, “Gentlemen, you are not to swear in the presence of ladies.”
[Image: “Speak No Evil” on Shutterstock]If you were looking forward to playing Dead Rising 3 on PC at a nice smooth 60 frames per second then you are going to be disappointed as Capcom has “optimised” the game for 30 frames per second and warns that unlocking the frame rate could break the game.
Dead Rising 3 on the Xbox One was made to run at 30 frames per second but it looks like the developers have put in no effort to improve the experience for PC users with more powerful hardware. The news originally broke on NeoGAF, where a user posted a Twitch stream, linking to where the developers mention the 30 frames per second lock on PC.
The quote can be heard on this Twitch stream archive at around 11:30. During the stream the developer says: “‘when we started the PC project we knew we weren’t gonna be able to guarantee anything above 30 frames per second.”
The PC project started at the beginning of this year so not a whole lot of time has gone in to it, the dev admits that you can uncap the framerate but they haven’t tested it above 30 and won’t take any responsibility for your experience:
“what I’m saying is we’re not gonna stop you from uncapping the framerate, but we can’t guarantee the experience. we just really don’t know what’s gonna happen, you might see some weird stuff with physics, some weird stuff with zombies, I really don’t believe you’re losing anything by playing at 30 frames per second. If you want feel free to uncap it but it’s gonna be wild and crazy.”
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: This is certainly disappointing news, I don’t understand why the developer wouldn’t want to take advantage of the more powerful PC hardware. The game might work fine above 30 frames per second but if it breaks the game, it doesn’t sound like the developers are going to bother fixing it. What do you guys make of this? Do you care? Is this going to make you re-think buying the game?
Source: NeoGAFCNN, the network that was once known to be the most trusted name in news, has been seemingly in a free-fall since a then newly inaugurated President Trump declared the network “fake news” during a January press conference. Of course, the network had been losing its conservative viewers’ trust for quite some time before that, due to their obvious bias in favor of Hillary Clinton.
Today, however, it seems that distrust of the network and the rest of the mainstream media crosses party lines. According to Gallup, only 32% of Americans say that they have even a fair amount of trust in the mainstream press. Considering that a significantly higher percentage of Americans voted for Hillary Clinton, this means that even liberal citizens are beginning to distrust the press.
To understand how we got here and just why the trust in media has sunk to an all-time low, here’s a recap of America’s falling out with the former most trusted name in news.
Fake News and The Russia Dossier
By late January, CNN was reeling from accusations by conservatives that they were biased against Trump, while simultaneously pushing a false narrative that an illegal collusion with Russia had won him the election. Thanks to Trump’s attack on CNN during his press conference, “fake news” entered the American lexicon.
In January, BuzzFeed published an explosive dossier that alleged that Donald Trump not only colluded with Russia, but that he engaged in a perverted anti-Obama ritual in a Moscow hotel room with Russian prostitutes. The story should have rang false to anyone with an iota of common sense, but BuzzFeed ran the piece under the guise of “journalistic transparency.” Myriad Americans cried foul, but CNN gave airtime to the story, which is believed to have originated from internet pranksters on a message board.
CNN Employee Resignations and a Producer Exposed
Although the firestorm from the dossier had died down, CNN was continuing to push its “Trump colluded with Russia” narrative, despite a glaring lack of evidence to support their story. Around the clock, pundits and commentators weighed in that Russia was behind Trump’s presidential victory, despite no cited sources or new information to support their case.
In June, three CNN employees resigned after CNN was forced to retract a Russia-related article that was proven to be completely false. Shortly after, a shocking video emerged of CNN health producer John Bonifield discussing the network’s coverage of the supposed Russian collusion.
In the video, produced by Project Veritas, Bonifield admitted that not only was there no evidence to support the Russia story but that Trump was correct when he said that CNN’s investigation of his ties to Russia amounted to nothing more than a “witch hunt.” Bonifield also confirmed what many already suspected, that the near-constant coverage of the Russia story was all for ratings.
CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski’s Blackmail and Bullying
In July, President Trump Tweeted an animated meme that contained old footage of one of his professional wrestling performances, edited to appear as though he was tackling the CNN logo. CNN chose to investigate the origin of the meme, determining it to come from a user from a pro-Trump section of the Internet message board Reddit.
Shortly after the user was contacted by CNN, he posted a lengthy apology on Reddit, emotionally asking for forgiveness for the meme and other controversial posts he’d published online. CNN senior editor Andrew Kaczynski covered the story and the internet was shocked by a passage in Kaczynski’s article, which seemed to insinuate that CNN was only declining to publish the user’s name because the user had complied with CNN’s demands. Kacynski detailed the steps that the user had taken to prove his remorse for his actions and wrote that CNN “[reserved] the right to publish his identity” if the user did anything in the future that CNN found offensive.
People immediately began voicing their horror at what sounded like a blatant threat, written by Kaczynski on behalf of CNN. While CNN backtracked and tried to explain away the allegations of blackmail, the damage was done. The article had already been published and the consensus was that CNN had threatened a private citizen that if he didn’t behave, his identity and private internet activity would be exposed for all the world to see.
Naturally, people were outraged at CNN. However, people were also outraged at the journalist himself. As people began investigating Kaczynski, some disturbing details emerged about this former BuzzFeed employee’s past.
In April of 2013, during the massive manhunt to find whoever was responsible for the bombing of the Boston Marathon, people began falsely accusing American student Sunil Tripathi of being responsible for the horrific act of terror. One of the people who accused Tripathi with no evidence was Kaczynski. While many of the accusers were internet trolls or private citizens who had no moral obligation to abide by journalistic ethics, Kaczynski was a working journalist who presumably should have known better than to publish such a serious accusation without any evidence to support it.
Shortly after the barrage of false accusations by Kaczynski and others, Tripathi’s body was found floating in the Seekonk River. The 23-year-old Brown student committed suicide. Kaczynski has never apologized for his role in the smear campaign against Tripathi or for the tragic aftermath of those false allegations.The first single to be released from "Elysium", the new PSB album, is entitled "Winner" and will be given its world premiere next Monday morning, July 2nd, on The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 in the UK between 9.30 and 12. On the next day, July 3rd, the track will become available for purchase from iTunes. On August 6th, the single will be released on CD (with three bonus tracks) and as two digital bundles (including bonus tracks and remixes). Like the rest of the album, "Winner" was produced in Los Angeles by Andrew Dawson and Pet Shop Boys. It has an orchestral arrangement by Joachim Horsley, Andrew Dawson and Ben Leathers. We will have confirmed worldwide release dates for "Elysium" next week. Meanwhile, as a taster for the new album, a video for a track entitled "Invisible" can be seen below.The great Irish poet William Butler Yeats was born on this day in 1865. To mark the date we bring you a series of recordings he made for BBC radio in the final decade of his life.
"I'm going to read my poems with great emphasis upon their rhythm," says Yeats in the first segment, recorded in 1932, "and that may seem strange if you are not used to it. I remember the great English poet William Morris coming in a rage out of some lecture hall, where somebody had recited a passage out of his Sigurd the Volsung. 'It gave me a devil of a lot of trouble,' said Morris, 'to get that thing into verse!' It gave me a devil of a lot of trouble to get into verse the poems that I am going to read, and that is why I will not read them as if they were prose."
Yeats made ten radio broadcasts between 1931 and 1937. In the first reading, from 1932, Yeats begins with his famous early poem, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree," which he once called "my first lyric with anything in its rhythm of my own music. " He recites his verse in a somber tone that contemporary poet Seamus Heaney once described as an "elevated chant":
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand by the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
The next poem was written in 1889, less than a year after "The Lake Isle of Innisfree." "A couple of miles from Innisfree," says Yeats, "no, four or five miles from Innisfree, there's a great rock called Dooney Rock where I had often picnicked when a child. And when in my 24th year I made up a poem about a merry fiddler I called him 'The Fiddler of Dooney' in commemoration of that rock and all of those picnics."
The Fiddler of Dooney
When I play on my fiddle in Dooney,
Folk dance like a wave of the sea;
My cousin is priest in Kilvarnet,
My brother in Moharabuiee.
I passed my brother and cousin:
They read in their books of prayer;
I read in my book of songs
I bought at the Sligo fair.
When we come at the end of time,
To Peter sitting in state,
He will smile on the three old spirits,
But call me first through the gate;
For the good are always the merry,
Save by an evil chance,
And the merry love the fiddle,
And the merry love to dance:
And when the folk there spy me,
They will all come up to me,
With 'Here is the fiddler of Dooney!'
And dance like a wave of the sea.
The third poem was recorded in March of 1934. It was first published in Yeats's 1899 anthology, The Wind Among the Reeds, and tells the story of an old and weary peasant woman:
The Song of the Old Mother
I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow
Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow;
And then I must scrub and bake and sweep
Till stars are beginning to blink and peep;
And the young lie long and dream in their bed
Of the matching of ribbons for bosom and head,
And their day goes over in idleness,
And they sigh if the wind but lift up a tress:
While I must work because I am old,
And the seed of the fire gets feeble and cold.
The tape ends with a pair of recordings from 1937: another reading of "The Lake Isle of Innisfree," followed by two stanzas from the 1931 poem "Coole and Ballylee." (Find the complete six-stanza poem here.) The poem was inspired by the graceful Galway estate of Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory, a co-founder of the Abbey Theatre. The poem was first published as "Coole Park and Ballylee" in the 1932 volume Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems, but was shortened to "Coole and Ballylee" in the 1933 edition of The Winding Stair and Other Poems.
Coole and Ballylee (two stanzas)
Another emblem there! That stormy white
But seems a concentration of the sky;
And, like the soul, it sails into the sight
And in the morning's gone, no man knows why;
And is so lovely that it sets to right
What knowledge or its lack had set awry,
So arrogantly pure, a child might think
It can be murdered with a spot of ink.
Sound of a stick upon the floor, a sound
From somebody that toils from |
6b 78 70 61 73 72 76 33 36 2e 70 61 ://tkxpasrv36.pa
0260 72 74 6e 65 72 73 2e 65 78 74 72 61 6e 65 74 2e rtners.extranet.
0270 6d 69 63 72 6f 73 6f 66 74 2e 63 6f 6d 2f 43 65 microsoft.com/Ce
0280 72 74 45 6e 72 6f 6c 6c 2f 74 6b 78 70 61 73 72 rtEnroll/tkxpasr
0290 76 33 36 2e 70 61 72 74 6e 65 72 73 2e 65 78 74 v36.partners.ext
02a0 72 61 6e 65 74 2e 6d 69 63 72 6f 73 6f 66 74 2e ranet.microsoft.
02b0 63 6f 6d 5f 4d 69 63 72 6f 73 6f 66 74 25 32 30 com_Microsoft%20
02c0 4c 53 52 41 25 32 30 50 41 2e 63 72 74 30 81 8b LSRA%20PA.crt0..
02d0 06 08 2b 06 01 05 05 07 30 02 86 7f 66 69 6c 65..+.....0...file
02e0 3a 2f 2f 5c 5c 74 6b 78 70 61 73 72 76 33 36 2e ://\\tkxpasrv36.
02f0 70 61 72 74 6e 65 72 73 2e 65 78 74 72 61 6e 65 partners.extrane
0300 74 2e 6d 69 63 72 6f 73 6f 66 74 2e 63 6f 6d 5c t.microsoft.com\
0310 43 65 72 74 45 6e 72 6f 6c 6c 5c 74 6b 78 70 61 CertEnroll\tkxpa
0320 73 72 76 33 36 2e 70 61 72 74 6e 65 72 73 2e 65 srv36.partners.e
0330 78 74 72 61 6e 65 74 2e 6d 69 63 72 6f 73 6f 66 xtranet.microsof
0340 74 2e 63 6f 6d 5f 4d 69 63 72 6f 73 6f 66 74 20 t.com_Microsoft
0350 4c 53 52 41 20 50 41 2e 63 72 74 30 1a 06 08 2b LSRA PA.crt0...+
0360 06 01 04 01 82 37 12 01 01 ff 04 0b 16 09 54 4c.....7........TL
0370 53 7e 42 41 53 49 43 S~BASIC
Certificate Extensions: 0 Signature Algorithm: Algorithm ObjectId: 1.2.840.113549.1.1.4 md5RSA Algorithm Parameters: 05 00 Signature: UnusedBits=0 0000 96 b9 a2 43 a1 dd 17 48 b9 d6 ec a7 b7 71 a0 01 0010 63 0f f4 bc e7 c3 03 d3 c2 48 72 7f 85 90 b3 70 0020 17 d1 50 20 f7 8c ce aa d1 fe 68 fa 64 b3 8d 00 0030 b5 38 4a c9 0d 96 1f 6b 42 1f a9 44 05 c5 12 b1 0040 24 26 fd 19 bb 74 6f bf 16 ef 35 5c 4c d1 dd 30 0050 ac 64 3c e7 4f 10 14 49 d7 0e 20 c8 ac 36 af 01 0060 ca 80 ff 04 fb 9d 79 56 4b 8a 7b 11 4e d8 e2 97 0070 7e 1d 87 cd e5 e1 b1 3e e6 5f d0 9c 62 6d f6 8c 0080 dc ca e3 4a f2 e5 5c 29 bb 49 66 68 17 02 75 70 0090 71 7c f1 78 64 d6 ed db 85 f3 67 ee fb e8 57 50 00a0 35 94 7b 71 4d f7 b5 12 e5 bb e8 2b 40 de ec 5f 00b0 29 af bb 7e c9 0b 97 b2 d2 46 dc 77 ef f4 f5 3f 00c0 07 48 ab 25 c3 8a f3 5d e1 23 8b c9 49 7d c0 8b 00d0 c7 52 ca 5c 7f 29 4b 9b fd 5d fe 71 a1 34 50 00 00e0 10 a5 86 04 94 e8 07 b7 4b 58 05 4c 67 ca 76 ca 00f0 5a cc cf 27 d5 a4 04 a8 31 71 83 72 73 ab 4a 00 Non-root Certificate Key Id Hash(rfc-sha1): d6 11 4d 36 37 9e 6e e3 9e 9f 2f 61 88 98 f2 8d 56 38 69 c9 Key Id Hash(sha1): 38 ea d5 44 de a9 3f 76 78 43 6e 95 f0 2d 58 82 42 f6 55 dd Cert Hash(md5): ea 99 4e 63 fe 99 06 60 02 c9 9b 09 e3 50 06 2e Cert Hash(sha1): 1d 19 0f ac f0 6e 13 3e 87 54 e5 64 c7 6c 17 da 8f 56 6f bb CertUtil: -dump command completed successfully.
This certificate had an unusual field—Issuer Unique Identifier. This field is obsolete and not used by Microsoft software or infrastructure. When we examined this field in detail, we realized that it did not contain random data, but rather it had structure. It contained a correctly encoded X.509V3 extension field starting at byte offset 0x119 into the Issuer Unique Identifier field. Here are some of the “missing” extensions we extracted from it:
Offset Field Data 0x161 CDP (CRL Distribution Point) http://tkxpasrv36.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/CertEnroll/Microsoft%20LSRA%20PA.crl 0x226 Authority Information Access http://tkxpasrv36.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/CertEnroll/ tkxpasrv36.partners.extranet.microsoft.com_Microsoft%20LSRA%20PA.crt 0x35b Microsoft Hydra extension [1] Object Identifier 1.3.6.1.4.1.311.18 for value "TLS~BASIC" and is marked critical
The “Critical” Link
The Microsoft Hydra extension is marked as "critical" and this is crucial to why the attacker needed to perform a collision attack. In X.509 parlance, if an extension is essential to the proper validation of a certificate chain, it must be marked critical. The behavior of a crypto library upon encountering an extension marked critical that it does not understand is to fail validation. The Crypto API in Window Vista and later versions of Windows behave this way and the certificates fail validation on those platforms. Hence, if the attacker wanted a certificate that worked on all versions of Windows they needed to remove this field.
Circumstances that Collided
To remove the critical extension, the attacker took advantage of a number of circumstances to perform a collision attack:
An attacker took advantage of the Terminal Services licensing system‘s enrollment process for certificates that chained up to the Microsoft Root Authority which did not require internal access to Microsoft PKI.
The signature algorithm on this certificate was md5RSA.
The issuing certificate authority used known validity periods and certificate serial numbers that could be predicted with high probability.
An essential part of performing a collision attack is that the attacker needs to be able to predict completely the certificate content that will be signed by the CA. Because of the predictable serial numbers, the attacker can perform a set of certificate enrollments that reveal the likely serial number when they perform their collision attack. This is also called a "chosen prefix collision attack" [2]. The attacker can then apply the collision algorithm documented by Sotirov et. al. [3] to create a forged certificate that removes the critical Microsoft Hydra extension and still matches the MD5 hash of the legitimate certificate signed by the CA.
Quick Response to Extinguish Flame and Copycats
Without this collision attack, it would have been possible to sign code that would validate on systems pre-dating Windows Vista, but that signed code would fail validation on Windows Vista and above. After this attack, the attacker had a certificate that could be used to sign code that chained up to the Microsoft Root Authority and worked on all versions of Windows. Given the risk for copycat attacks on systems pre-dating Windows Vista, without the complexity of a collision attack, we took action to release an out-of-band update.
Hardening of the Terminal Server Licensing Certificate Infrastructure
We also made a number of changes to the Terminal Server licensing infrastructure to minimize risk in the future:
Rather than just invalidate certificates known to be used by the Flame malware, we invalidated the entire certificate authority hierarchy associated with Terminal Server licensing, both present and past. This was a broad action and was the fastest way to protect the largest number of customers. These certificates were invalidated in the update for Security Advisory 2718704. Existing Terminal Server Client Access Licenses (CALs) are not impacted and you can read more on the Terminal Server blog post.
A new certificate chain was introduced that no longer chains up to the Microsoft Root Authority. It has a separate standalone root not trusted by Windows clients to minimize future risk. The certificates use SHA1 in the signatures.
We have also discontinued issuing code-signing certificates for this new hierarchy. Also, its certificates are constrained with a new Enhanced Key Usage that is not used for code signing. This effectively constrains the capabilities of the certificates to just Terminal Server licensing.
Microsoft takes the security of its customers seriously; therefore we took the swiftest action that would protect the largest number of customers first. We will continue to take the necessary actions to help protect our customers.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to John Lambert, Magnus Nystrom, David Molnar, and special thanks to Tolga Acar for their contributions to this investigation.
- Jonathan Ness, MSRC Engineering
References
[1] Microsoft, “Object IDs associated with Microsoft cryptography”, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287547/pt-b, March 1, 2007.
[2] M. Stevens and A. Lenstra and B. de Weger. "Chosen-prefix Collisions for MD5 and Colliding X.509 Certificates for Different Identities", http://www.win.tue.nl/hashclash/EC07v2.0.pdf, http://www.win.tue.nl/hashclash/ChosenPrefixCollisions/, June 16, 2009.
[3] A.Sotirov, M.Stevens, J.Applebaum, A.Lenstra, D.Molnar, D.A. Osvik, B. de Weger, “MD5 considered harmful today”, http://www.win.tue.nl/hashclash/rogue-ca/, Dec.30, 2008.Hillary Clinton’s substantial lead over Bernie Sanders in the latest national Monmouth University Poll is basically unchanged from October. Most Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters would be satisfied with Clinton as the nominee, even if they are not currently supporting her in the party contest.
Clinton currently has the support of 59% of Democrats nationwide, which is similar to the 57% support she held in October right after the first debate. Sanders gets 26% support, which is basically unchanged from his 24% support two months ago. Martin O’Malley has 4% support, up from 1%.
“Clinton successfully ran the gauntlet this fall, appearing before the Benghazi Committee and outlasting the specter of a Biden candidacy. She really hasn’t lost ground since then,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, NJ.
Four-in-five Democratic voters would be either enthusiastic (22%) or satisfied (58%) with Clinton as their party’s nominee. Just 11% would be dissatisfied and only 5% would be upset. Even a majority of Sanders supporters (59%) would be okay if Clinton ultimately won the nomination over their preferred candidate.
Personal ratings for the Democratic field have held basically steady over the past two months. Clinton scores a 73% favorable and 15% unfavorable rating now, compared to 77% – 18% in October. Sanders earns a 59% favorable and 16% unfavorable rating, compared to 60% – 11% two months ago. O’Malley has a 18% favorable and 18% unfavorable rating, with 63% of Democrats nationwide still having no opinion of him.
The top issue for Democratic voters is the economy and jobs (27% first choice / 19% second choice), followed by national security and terrorism (20% first choice / 16% second choice) and education (15% first choice / 17% second choice). The next tier of issue concerns for Democrats includes gun control (9% / 11%), taxes and government spending (7% / 11%), and social issues (6% / 9%). Immigration (2% / 5%) ranks very low on Democratic voters’ list of concerns.
A Monmouth University Poll released Monday found Republican voters are much more likely than Democrats to name national security (57% compared to 36%) and immigration (25% compared to 7%) among their top two issues. However, GOP voters are less likely to say the same about education (8% compared to 32%) or gun control (9% compared to 20%).Australian fans pumped to see their team take on Spain during the first round of the World Cup were intrigued by the honeycomb-like machine that had replaced the standard manual search process at Arena de Baixada stadium in Curitiba, Brazil. They were less thrilled when the machine spotted the toy kangaroos they were trying to sneak into the match.
That machine is the Qylatron Entry Experience Solution, and it could soon replace a crappy experience of going through security checks at airports and other venues with one that's faster and less invasive. Instead of having a human poke around in your bag, the machine scans it for a variety of threats in just a few seconds. Searching those Aussies and other soccer fans may prove to be a watershed moment for the system, a successful test of how well it can spot trouble and move people through security, efficiently and with their dignity intact.
The system is the work of Silicon Valley-based Qylur Security Systems, and it consists of five pods that sit around a central sensor. The process is a much closer to being pleasant than having your stuff searched by hand at a stadium or going through the mundane horrors of TSA security. You don't have to open your bag or let any else touch it. And with five people moving through at once, you're through security before you have time to really get annoyed.
The whole process is simple. You hold your ticket up to the machine, and it assigns you a pod, in which you place your bag in. Each pod is about the size of a big microwave, so will fit most bags, but maybe not the biggest carry-ons you can take on a plane (though Qylur presumably could tweak the size). Close the door and walk around to the other side. In the time it takes you to get over there, the machine scans the bag for a range of threats. Qylur isn't keen on explaining how the technology works, but we know it has radiation and chemical sensors to pick out explosives. With a multi-view X-ray, it runs the images it sees through a detection engine that uses machine learning to pick out prohibited items like guns and knives. If it sees a threat, it silently alerts a security officer, and the back door of the pod turns purple. If not, the door turns green, and you unlock it with your ticket. Take your bag and go.
Before Qylur can lock down contracts to move into airports and other venues, it has to prove the system works. So it went to Brazil, where it was hired by an event operations company running some World Cup games. Qylur was given responsibility for one entrance to Arena de Baixada stadium, for four games.
The system is made to look for guns and bombs, but the World Cup presented an unusual challenge. FIFA is really picky about what fans can bring into the stadium. On top of weapons, the banned item list covers long umbrellas, flagpoles, banners or flags bigger than 2 meters by 1.5 meters, megaphones, vuvuzelas (great call), computers, and a list of of otherwise mundane things, including those kangaroos the Aussies love, and large quantities of flour.
Teaching the Qylatron to spot those things the way it sees guns and knives would have involved teaching the machine to pick out a wider range of items. Instead, the team worked in what CEO Dr. Lisa Dolev calls collaboration mode. The machine scans for conventional threats like weapons on its own, and a human operator in a remote room scans the images to pick out those illicit flags, bags of flour, and yes, toy kangaroos. The operator watches the images from all five of the machine’s pods at once, which Dolev says isn't a problem (no word on if she's hired Rain Man). He alerts an employee at the machine if he spots something suspicious. Man and machine “ended up stopping an awful lot of bags,” Dolev says, but the fans seemed to like the process anyway.
The company plans to deploy its technology at a few more venues this year. It will soon shift to more permanent setups, Dolev says, though she won’t reveal specific spots just yet. We assume TSA isn't on the list of clients—getting the agency to change its ways takes a lot of work—but hopefully Qylur can find its way into our airports sometime soon.IT sounds like something only a Bond villain would propose, but the Nazis planned a mile-wide "space gun" powered by the sun.
The giant mirror could be used to focus the sun on a target - like the magnifying glasses used by children to create fire.
A long-forgotten article from Life magazine in 1945 revealed how "US Army technical experts came up with the astonishing fact that German scientists had seriously planned to build a “sun gun".
The giant orbital mirror would "focus the sun’s rays to a scorching point on the Earth’s surface". The German army, readers were told, "hoped to use such a mirror to burn an enemy city or to boil part of an ocean".
The idea came to renowned rocket scientist Hermann Oberth in 1923.
With an estimated cost of three million marks and taking 15 years to construct, the original purpose of the space mirror was to provide the people of Earth with sunshine on demand, anywhere on the globe. But Oberth later described it as the "ultimate weapon".
"My space mirror" he wrote, "is like the hand mirrors that schoolboys use to flash circles of sunlight on the ceiling of their classroom. A sudden beam flashed on the teacher’s face may bring unpleasant reactions."
In 1945, when the victorious Allies began sifting through captured war plans, it emerged that the Nazis had updated Oberth’s proposals and begun looking into the possibility of the Third Reich building a mirror weapon in orbit 22,236 miles above the Earth.
Details of the sun gun emerged again after they were discussed by US military experts and appeared on internet forums.
Life magazine believed it would be put into orbit in pre-assembled sections. It would also contain a manned space station, with 10m holes in which supply rockets could dock, hydroponic gardens to provide oxygen and solar-powered generators for electric power.
Once in orbit, the "master rocket" for the project would unreel six cables. Spinning the rocket on its axis would extend the cables radially, allowing construction to begin.
The Germans are not the only nation to look into harnessing the power of the sun. In 1999, the Russians unveiled a plan to use a mirror to reflect sunlight to Earth during winter.
And in the James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun, Christopher Lee's villain, Scaramanga, unveils a powerful solar-powered laser gun which can destroy almost anything.Editor’s Note: A recent American Journal of Family Therapy concluded that schools may be demanding children do far more homework than is generally recommended. L.A. Dads Group member Whit Honea weighs in on whether school should ban homework.
I must admit, I am not a fan of homework. My wife isn’t either, and our kids love that about us.
It’s not that we have issue with the needs of education, far from it. We have devoted our lives to a constant quest for knowledge and the science that is wonderment. But childhood is short and the days are shorter still, what with kids in school for seven to eight hours at a time, often far longer than state requirements dictate for educational instruction, followed by an extracurricular activity or two. Throw in dinner, a chore if they have one, and we are often pushing bedtime long before anyone cracks a textbook, a cracking that can last three or four hours, depending on the subject, and all of this without baths, reading, or any semblance of quality time with the family.
That doesn’t seem right. Our time together sharing their childhood is fleeting fast. I would much rather my kids spend these golden hours in a game of catch or deep conversation, walks and anything that keeps that “cat’s in the cradle” song from echoing through my head.
Homework is sometimes OK. Busy work, never
That said, should a larger project require attention at home that is understandable. If something isn’t done in class despite sufficient time allowed, then by all means, bring it home and finish it. But to give kids extra work that has no bearing on the coursework at hand amounts to busy work, especially if the child has proven themselves beyond the need for such assignments. While most teachers, overworked as they are, understand this, there are the few that wield homework like a power play, which seems unimaginative at best and often uncaring. Generally speaking, adults don’t care to bring work home with them once they leave the office, so why should a 10-year-old?
Ban homework?
The popular argument is that children need to experience hardship and obstacles to prepare for such things in real life. I understand the theory, but I cannot endorse the practice. Aren’t they living real life now, and shouldn’t childhood err on the side of magic? Life most assuredly will have hardship and obstacles ahead that a level of preparedness would help them over, but why worry about a swiftly shutting window when the world outside isn’t going anywhere? Learning is everywhere, and there is as much education in baking, hiking or watching the tide roll in as there is in a packet of worksheets and the things gained by rote.
Perhaps that is the difference. I care little for a letter grade, the value assigned by one person upon the work of another. I want my children to learn: right, wrong, and the reasons for each. I hope they swell with knowledge because they know nothing but to crave it, not because someone shoved nightly down their throat.
Education does not stop when the school bell rings. Rather it expands and grows to fit the vessel we give it to fill. Give it everything and put the pencils down. They’ll be sharper still come morning.
* * Listen to Whit discuss his parenting book on The Modern Dads Podcast * *A general view shows the facilities of a mobile gas turbine generator, which was turned on due to recent power outages after pylons carrying electricity were blown up, in the settlement of Stroganovka, Simferopol district of Crimea, in this November 22, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday it was helping Ukraine investigate an apparent attack last month on the country’s power grid that caused a blackout for 80,000 customers.
Experts have widely described the Dec. 23 incident at western Ukraine’s Prykarpattyaoblenergo utility as the first known power outage caused by a cyber attack. Ukraine’s SBU state security service has blamed Russia for the incident, while U.S. cyber firm iSight Partners linked it to a Russian hacking group known as “Sandworm.”
In an advisory, DHS said they had linked the blackout to malicious code detected in 2014 within industrial control systems used to operate U.S. critical infrastructure. There was no known successful disruption to the U.S. grid, however.
DHS said the “BlackEnergy Malware” appears to have infected Ukraine’s systems with a spear phishing attack via a corrupted Microsoft Word attachment.
The DHS bulletin from the agency’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, or ICS-CERT, is the first public comment about the Ukraine incident.
A report released by Washington-based SANS Inc over the weekend concluded hackers likely caused Ukraine’s six-hour outage by remotely switching breakers in a way that cut power, after installing malware that prevented technicians from detecting the intrusion. The attackers are also believed to have spammed the Ukraine utility’s customer-service centre with phone calls in order to prevent real customers from communicating about their downed power.
DHS and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.99% of organizations still struggle to get valuable analytics from their Big Data and achieve the full potential of AI. Today I’m excited to announce a new partnership with Microsoft that represents a major leap forward in achieving Databricks’ mission of making Big Data and AI easy: Databricks will now be offered by Microsoft as an integrated Azure service.
Databricks’ cloud service is built by the team that started the Spark research project at UC Berkeley that later became Apache Spark and is the leading Spark-based analytics platform. This new service, named Microsoft Azure Databricks, provides data science and data engineering teams with a fast, easy and collaborative Spark-based platform on Azure. It gives Azure users a single platform for Big Data processing and Machine Learning.
Azure Databricks is a “first party” Microsoft service, the result of a unique year-long collaboration between the Microsoft and Databricks teams to provide Databricks’ Apache Spark-based analytics service as an integral part of the Microsoft Azure platform. We’ve ensured this offering is natively integrated with Microsoft Azure in a number of ways ranging from a single click start to a unified billing. Azure Databricks leverages Azure’s security and seamlessly integrates with Azure services such as Azure Active Directory, SQL Data Warehouse, and Power BI.
Both teams invested a huge amount of effort in this project throughout 2017 and we’ve all spent many hours on the “Nerd Bird” flights between Seattle and San Francisco. So it’s very exciting to be able to share with the world this jointly-developed Spark analytics cloud service. But more importantly, it is extremely gratifying to bring it to market in the interest of making Big Data analytics and AI much more approachable to the Azure community and to our customers.
To learn more about Azure Databricks, visit our Azure Databricks web page where you can watch the Azure Databricks demo or request access to the Azure Databricks preview.Sports Chosun via Naver1. [+1,869, -192] So what has she been up to that she's media playing so much lately?2. [+1,405, -202] It's amazing how she still claims that she never had an opportunity to clarify herself when she was the one who acted like the victim for being kicked out of the group without telling what actually happened3. [+957, -182] If you really do wish the best for SNSD, you'd stop mentioning them...4. [+539, -93] If her income is 0 won, then that tvN show lied on their TV show. Their show said that her business was ranked at the top for making tons of money but her income is 0 won? It's either she's lying or the TV show is lying.5. [+253, -30] After leaving the group, she only posted in Chinese on Weibo and didn't clarify anything to her Korean fans before leaving on a plane to China and taking pictures with famous people acting like she was living a happy life. But of course she's making 0 in income so she's back to promoting in Korea, pretending like she cares for her Korean fans again and doing all sorts of interviews to promote her album. I see right through her.6. [+158, -15] She left claiming to go to fashion school to study design but all she did was hold fan meetings before resorting to Korean activities to sell her merchandise ㅋㅋㅋ the reality of her media play has been exposed ㅋㅋㅋ Her solo album was only received attention because it's her first album since leaving SNSD and as expected, her digital rank dropped down ㅋㅋㅋ I knew that would happen7. [+214, -34] It's funny how she's giving interviews like this when she's the one who attacked the members for kicking her out at first ㅋㅋㅋ Like she claims, the members were never against her business, and whatever happened was decided by the company. The members made the best decision they could under the circumstances but for her to write the post that she did was very selfish and one sided.8. [+151, -20] I never got the feeling that she released this album because she wanted to sing but moreso to promote her brand moreThis week’s sculpture from Hadrian’s Villa is a marble statue of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, crouching at her bath. The original was made in the 3rd century BC and was representing Aphrodite surprised in her bath, with her arms covering herself.
Aphrodite crouches with her right knee close to the ground, turns her head to the right and, in most versions, reaches her right arm over to her left shoulder to cover her breasts. The style was often copied with many variations; in the Aphrodite Accroupie in the Louvre, her right arm is raised behind her head while in the Crouching Aphrodite discovered in Rhodes, she is depicted arranging her hair, thus openly displaying her breasts.
While far from the being complete, this Aphrodite from Hadrian’s Villa is considered as one of the finest of the Roman versions.
This type of Aphrodite was a favorite in the decoration of fountains and baths. This particular one comes from one of the villa’s buildings used for this purpose, the so-called Heliocaminus Baths.
This statue is on display at the National Roman Museum – Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome.The Defense Department is continuing its push to reduce human thought and human action to a few lines of code. The latest effort comes from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, which is looking to build "mathematical or computational models of human attention, memory, categorization, reasoning, problem solving, learning and motivation, and decision making." The ultimate goal, according to a recent request for research proposals, is to "elucidate core computational algorithms of the mind and brain." Good luck with that, guys.
It's one in a heap of different Office projects to try to teach machines to act more like living things. "Nature has used evolution to build materials and sensors that outperform current sensors (for example, a spider’s haircells can detect air flow at low levels even in a noisy background)," the Office writes. So it's got a second program, to not only "mimic existing natural sensory systems, but also add existing capabilities to these organisms" so they can more "precise[ly] control" their God-given gifts.
For example, maybe the military can develop better "active and passive camouflage" by learning from creatures who are able to change color, to hide from their predators. Maybe the armed forces can improve on eznymes which would eat away at an enemy's gear. Maybe the military can bioengineer the organisms living in extreme heat, or extreme acidity, to make our equipment stronger.
The Office also wants to know what makes collections of living creatures tick. So the Office is looking to assemble a "fundamental understanding of the interactions between demographic groups... to explain and predict outcomes between competing factions within geographic regions." It wants to "identify and quantify cultural variability" to model the effects of an "info warfare campaign" online.
Once that's done, it's back to digitizing brainwork. "New computational and mathematical principles of cognition are
needed to form a symbiosis between human and machine systems," the Office says.
[Photo: Lawrence Berkeley Lab]
ALSO:As I did with Walt Disney's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I am offering what amounts to a “final” weekend box office prediction, written before I see the film in question and with more of an eye towards “the possible” as opposed to "put money on it" guestimates. It’s a little weird to finally be seeing this thing after two and a half years of non-stop chatter, speculation, rumor, and pre-release dissection. It has been less than three years since Man of Steel but the hyper-speed nature of the movie news business makes it feel a lot longer than, for example, the three-year wait between Batman Returns and Batman Forever. By the time this publishes, we’ll be around eight hours from the first batch of official reviews dropping.
Zack Snyder’s $250 million Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens Thursday night at 6:00 pm courtesy of Warner Bros./ Time Warner Inc. Now no matter how the whole weekend goes, I really think we’re looking at a sky-high Thursday preview gross. Just two movies have earned more than $31 million in Thursday/midnight grosses: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II ($43m) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($57m). I don’t think either of those are in peril, but merely hitting $31m would put it above The Dark Knight Rises and make it the third-biggest preview gross and the sixth-biggest total Thursday gross ever.
Batman v Superman isn't the only big fat sequel opening this weekend
The anticipation for this one has been insane among the faithful, and the only risk is that it fills up too much demand (especially if the film isn’t general audience-friendly) before the first official day. If Man of Steel can earn $21m worth of Thursday grosses ($12m on Thursday evening, $9m at midnight), then Dawn of Justice can certainly take a shot at the bronze, especially with Friday being a holiday and the Thursday numbers starting early enough for bedtime on a school night. Now we get into the Friday gross, which, yes, will include the Thursday preview numbers.
In terms of movies opening around this time, you’ve got the $67 million Friday grosses (in 2D) for The Hunger Games and Furious 7. Now presuming that Dawn of Justice sells about as many tickets as those two 2D attractions, you can be “cautious” and add an extra 15% in 3D upcharges and give the film a $77m Friday gross. That would be the “realistic” best case scenario and about identical to the $75m opening Friday for The Dark Knight Rises during its July 2012 (2D) debut. That film went on to earn a low 2x weekend multiplier and snag a $160m debut weekend, good for the third-best ever at the time and still the biggest 2D opening weekend.
If Batman v Superman makes about as much as The Dark Knight Rises on Thursday and then as much as The Dark Knight Rises on Friday, we can probably presume a similar opening weekend take. This Sunday is Easter, which will probably depress the overall multiplier and weekend. Furious 7 earned just 2.18x its opening Friday figure, and The Hunger Games earned 2.26x its opening day total over its debut weekend. Thus, barring a fluke on either end, the weekend multiplier for Batman v Superman will be between 2.1x and 2.3x its Friday number. Even The Dark Knight only pulled a 2.36x weekend multiplier eight years ago.
Obviously, we’re playing best-case-scenario on the Friday number, but for the moment let’s assume it does do $75 million on Friday. That gives it a likely opening weekend of between $157m and $172m, which is basically where the “best case scenario” is at this early juncture. Reviews, be they good or bad, could change the scenario. Things to look out for in the reviews are A) Does it entertainingly deliver on its promises? B) Did the trailers give everything away? C) Can you take your young kids to see it? A pre-release narrative suggesting a “ |
series, Quadro RTX series or TITAN RTX, to run the test. You must also have the latest NVIDIA drivers for your graphics card.DLSS uses a pre-trained neural network to find jagged, aliased edges in an image and then adjust the colors of the affected pixels to create smoother edges and improved image quality. The result is a clear, crisp image with quality similar to traditional rendering but with higher performance. You can read more about DLSS and what it means for game developers on the NVIDIA website.We're celebrating Chinese New Year—and the sixth anniversary of 3DMark's original release—with a special week-long sale. From now until February 11, 3DMark Advanced Edition is 85% off.https://store.steampowered.com/app/223850/3DMark/If you purchased 3DMark before January 8, 2019, you can unlock the NVIDIA DLSS feature test by purchasing the Port Royal upgrade DLC. You can read more about 3DMark updates and upgrades herehttps://store.steampowered.com/app/496103/3DMark_Port_Royal_upgrade/The first time i played Counter-Strike i was in high-school and the game was still a unofficial Half-Life modification, at that time it was closer to a quake-like game with modern weapons then what it is now, but i will leave that for another topic.
ESL tournament at GamesCom
"for everyone"
the most fun way to play any game is to physically be with your team
player-made competitive PvP
keep the game optimised for low-end computers
MLG tournament
taking advantage of tournaments
allow players to fight guild vs guild(clan vs clan) for bragging rights
For those that don't know what Counter-Strike is, it's a First Person Shooter developed by a fellow player made from a game called Half-life that is why it was a "modification", i use the past tense because once Valve saw the amount of people playing it, they bought the rights to the game and thus it became an official mod soon after and it became a stand-alone game later on.The game popularity and success can be resumed into 1 word, "community" it's a bit vague yes but i will explain it in further detail later on, first we need to understand that this game was developed by a player meaning he knew what he wanted to play, i think its something most game developers have lost now-a-days they just build games around a franchise with 1 concept "making money", this reason is why most Indie(small companies) games are so entertaining to play, because it's not million dollar company with people who don't know a thing about gaming breathing down your neck.Anyway Counter-Strike was made with an aspect in mind, even back then you didn't need a top of the line PC to play it so most kids with a computer and a copy of Half-Life could play it, and keep in mind that back then internet was still the noisy old 54k modems and it was not that common, so most of us used to spend a lot of time playing in game store with about 20 PC linked over LAN, honestlyjust like in most LAN tournaments which if you are a true gamer you have already gone to some, if not i recommend that you go if you have the chance you will love it.The rules of the game are very straight forward, team A vs team B fight inside a small closed map, just imagine an arena with streets and tunnels, many games have this even MMORPGs so why is the game still one of the most popular FPS games for over a decade?Well this is where the community comes in, as the number of players grown they started to make teams in which to compete with each other for bragging rights and sowas created and started to spread, since making a server was free players would make their own server so they could train with their team adding tactics into the game, eventually some companies started to provide high quality server for rent and now-a-days its fairly common to see game-server rentals for many types of games.This is more of a formula rather then just one thing, first games need to be able to be played by a large audience so they need torather then just focus on how awesome it can get with a top of the line one which seems to be what most games do, some people might upgrade the computer if they are really into it but most can't afford to do it.Second is, people are competitive by nature even caveman would compete for the largest prey to show who was the best hunter, we are not that different as even the PvE players like to kick another players ass every now and then. So just like a great deal of people like to sit in front of the TV looking at whatever competitive sport they like(football, basketball, baseball...), we players also like to see competitions online as it is a sport of its own plus its probably the best publicity one can get specially at large events such as E3, GamesCom, etc...The third one is mainly for MMORPGs but some shooters still fail at it, is to, and im not talking about just Arena type gameplay like WoW has but for all types of objective based PvP.In the begining of this year a shooter named Global Agenda was released and it did not have a way for players to effectively do this and the results was the game losing most of its player-base within the first 2 months.A game that follows these simple rules will most likely last for years assuming there isn't something deeply wrong with it to start with, which is one of the reason i am looking forward to Guild Wars 2.What are your thoughts on the subject?Do you know any game that failed due to this?Leave your comments or experiences bellow!– During episode 74 of the Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard (via iwnerd.com), Bruce Prichard revealed the original idea behind the Katie Vick storyline…
On The Plan Being to Introduce Scott Vick (Sick Boy in WCW): “You ever have those moments in your life where there are things that are so traumatic that you block them out entirely? (This) really and truly is one of them on so many different counts. The original idea behind Katie Vick was a way to introduce Scott Vick, who was a part of our developmental system. We were going to bring Scott in, and he was going to work with Kane or Triple H, I forget which at this point. Scott just had some really, really horrible dark matches at TV and on the road. When he got the nod to come up to the show, all of his matches from that point going forward just, the bottom fell out. Vince is like ‘What the hell are we doing?”
On The Change in Direction: “So, he changed, and we had already teased the name Katie Vick. So it’s like ‘Ok, let’s change this and move it over to Kane. It can be his girlfriend.’ It was during a time that Vince was big into ‘We need more soap opera, we need more stories behind the characters.’ So we started creating stories and it came to the story of what if Kane accidentally, didn’t murder her, but was driving and, oh my god, then the drinking and it just grew. It’s another glowing example of ‘Don’t suggest or say things in jest that you don’t want to have show up on the show”Jodie Foster finally addressed years of media speculation when she casually came out while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement during the Golden Globes on Sunday night.
The accomplished and prolific 50-year-old actress opened the emotional, nearly seven-minute long speech by revealing, “I just have the sudden urge to say something I’ve never been able to air in public. A declaration that I’m a little nervous about. Not quite as nervous as my publicist, huh, Jennifer? But uh, you know, I’m just going to put it out there. Loud and proud. I’m going to need your support. I am … single!”
Later, while bemoaning the lack of privacy celebrities are given in the modern digital age, she said, “I already did my coming out back in the Stone Age, in those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family and co-workers and then gradually and proudly to everyone who knew her — to everyone she actually met.”
Foster’s speech was met with mixed reaction and even controversy. Some decried the fact that she vaguely addressed the topic by choosing not to use the word gay, while others bemoaned that the public admission was years overdue. Then, there were those — like Slate’s J. Bryan Lowder — who defended the public figure’s decision to lead a private life.
“As far as I’m concerned, as long as a gay person hasn’t been actively pretending to be straight (like a number of people in that hall tonight are probably doing), I don’t think she is required to be an activist or even a ‘role model’ for younger LGBT people if she doesn’t wish to be,” Lowder wrote. “It is, of course, wonderful when big names like Zachary Quinto and Anderson Cooper have the courage to give up their hetero-privilege in a public pronouncement, and undoubtedly the increasing recognition that so many of our culture-makers are gay has the power to challenge perceptions. But in the midst of the noisy demand that celebrities be ‘loud and proud,’ as Foster put it, the ostensible endgame of the LGBT equality movement can get drowned out: the ability to live our lives as we wish, freely and gently, in peace.”
Although the media have jumped all over Foster’s speech, it’s worth noting — as BuzzFeed’s Kate Aurthur points out — that this wasn’t exactly the first time Foster publicly came out: She first did so subtly back in 2007 at a Hollywood Reporter breakfast, where she referenced her then-longtime partner Cydney Bernard.
“That 2007 reference to Bernard didn’t get much pickup at the time; the mainstream media didn’t know then, and still doesn’t know, how to report on the lives of gay celebrities who don’t make a huge, public declaration,” Aurthur noted.
Foster’s comments were one of the highlights of the awards ceremony Sunday night. If you missed it, her speech is worth watching, and if you happened to catch it, it’s definitely worthy of a second look.
— Posted by Tracy Bloom.Pirates! Rupert Murdoch Rails About Obama, Google and Silicon Valley
On Friday, Rupert Murdoch and his top executives gathered for a daylong private confab in Las Vegas to think big thoughts about digital stuff. I’m guessing there wasn’t a session entitled “How Great is Google?”
On Saturday, the News Corp. CEO used his new Twitter account to rail against the search giant, call it a “piracy leader,” and gripe that it had too much influence in Washington, and the White House, in particular. (Here we need to remind you that News Corp. owns this Web site.) Business Insider has all four of his “Internet makes me angry” tweets (Update: He’s back at it! More below), including the one he deleted, but here are the two relevant ones:
So Obama has thrown in his lot withSilicon Valley paymasters who threaten allsoftware creators with piracy, plain thievery. – — Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) January 14, 2012
Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them.No wonder pouring millions into lobbying. — Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) January 14, 2012
That amounts to an open invitation for Web pundits to sound off, which they were happy to accept. Techmeme is studiously collecting those responses, but the one I like best so far comes from Om Malik:
.@rupertmurdoch you weren’tcomplaining much when google was paying you big ad dollars for MySpace, that hosted some “pirate” stuff #SOPA — Om Malik (@om) January 14, 2012
The obvious point to make here is that Murdoch’s venting (which his legal and PR handlers would love to quell, but can’t) was spurred by the White House statement which deflated the SOPA and PIPA antipiracy bills today. It’s also not the first time Murdoch has sounded off about Google.
In 2009, he went on a similar anti-Google crusade, though that one was more measured and planned, and involved many of his lieutenants. But do remember that in Rupe’s world, cursing loudly at someone doesn’t mean you can’t do business with them. A year after Murdoch was threatening to boycott Google, he cut a new deal with them. I’m sure it won’t be the last.
Speaking of Murdoch’s lieutenants: We’ll have his top one, chief operating office Chase Carey, at our D: Dive Into Media conference at the end of the month. And we’ll have a high-ranking rep from Google, too: YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar. Guess we’ll have to revisit this with both of them: Grab a front-row seat.
Update: Just like a lot of fellow Twitter users, Murdoch is having a hard time disengaging. Two more here:
Understand more than all allege!Google great company doing many exciting things. Only one complaint, and it’s important. — Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) January 15, 2012Today’s announcement by Ed Miliband that Labour would double, not treble, tuition fees from the current £3k pa has prompted much vigorous discussion already. But what would be the actual impact for different income groups of the change in policy?
To find out, I fed different figures into Martin Lewis’s Student Finance Calculator. I made one assumption: that all students would need to take out the maximum maintenance loan to live on while studying. Here’s what the figures show…
Who pays nothing?
With fees at £6k…
… anyone whose salary doesn’t exceed £15,600 in today’s money.
With fees at £9k…
… anyone whose salary doesn’t exceed £15,600 in today’s money.
What if you earn the national average wage?
With fees at £6k…
… you pay back £24,940 in today’s money over the next 30 years.
With fees at £9k…
… you pay back £24,940 in today’s money over the next 30 years.
What will I be earning to incur the maximum debt?
With fees at £6k…
… if you have a starting salary of £38,300 you will have to pay back £72,890 in today’s money over the next 30 years (the same as you would with £9k fees).
With fees at £9k…
… if you have a starting salary of £43,300 you will have to pay back £90,200 in today’s money over the next 30 years (compared to £67,380 over 24 years if your fees are £6k pa).
What’s the impact on the wealthiest?
With fees at £6k…
… if you have a starting salary of £60,000 you will have to pay back £57,310 in today’s money over the next 14 years.
With fees at £9k…
… if you have a starting salary of £60,000 you will have to pay back £74,020 in today’s money over the next 17 years.
What do the figures show?
Well, if your starting salary after graduating is under £38,300 there is absolutely no difference between £6k pa tuition fees and £9k pa tuition fees.
But if your starting salary is more than £38,300 you will be better off under Labour’s proposed £6k pa tuition fees.
However, as Labour has said they will fund the cut to tuition fees by increasing the loan repayments for the wealthiest (and a tax on banks), we don’t yet know whether or by how much these wealthier graduates will benefit from Labour’s proposals.
Looked at in this way, it is clear students from poorer backgrounds will not benefit from the cut in tuition fee while they are students. Only those who earn above £38.3k per annum after graduating will actually benefit. Labour’s argument is that the poorest are put off by the fear of debt rather than the actuality, and it is this fear that the fee cut is intended to address.Twenty-First Century Stoic -- Stoic Transformation
This is the third and final essay, written by a Stoic, about what it means to practice an ancient philosophy in the modern world. (Read the first essay and the second essay.)
Zeno of Citium, the Greek philosopher who first formulated Stoicism in 300 B.C., said that as you advanced in your Stoic practice, you would be transformed in certain ways. He claimed, for example, that there would be a change in your dream life. For years after I started practicing Stoicism, though, I could detect no change in my dreams. And then, about a year ago, I had a dream that was indisputably Stoical.
In the previous essay in this series, I mentioned that I have been trying to withdraw from the "social hierarchy game" and that, as part of this effort, I have been trying to reduce the extent to which I engage in self-promotion in conversations and e-mails. In my Stoical dream, I was walking to meet a friend for lunch. While I walked, I thought about some good news I had just received: "It will be fun sharing this with my friend." But then I realized that my primary motive for sharing this news would be to make myself look good in the eyes of my friend. It amounted, in other words, to a fairly blatant form of self-promotion. "Better to keep the news to myself," I concluded.
That was when I awoke and realized, with some delight, that I had just had a dream in which I was putting my Stoic practice to work. In other words, my conscious practice of Stoicism had apparently succeeded in altering the subconscious portion of my mind that serves as screenwriter for my dreams. This phenomenon, although surprising, was only one of the surprising side-effects of my practice of Stoicism. Allow me to describe some of the others.
Life throws curveballs: your affairs are moving along splendidly when some obstacle is suddenly introduced. Maybe a windstorm strikes your home, and you are without power for a week. Maybe you are at the airport when it is announced that your flight is delayed for hours. Or maybe a routine medical examination reveals that you have a serious disease. Most people respond to such curveballs with disappointment and anger.
The practice of Stoicism, though, gives us tools for dealing with life's unpleasant surprises. It is important, say the Stoics, to keep in mind that however bad your situation is, it could almost certainly be worse. (In doing this, of course, we are engaging in negative visualization.) It is also important to keep in mind that, however difficult your life may be, there is almost certainly someone, somewhere who would love to be living your life. Along these lines, realize that a paraplegic is living the quadriplegic's dream.
But according to Stoic philosopher Seneca, the practice of Stoicism, besides preparing us for life's curveballs, can have the curious effect of making us wish that one of them would be thrown our way. To understand this phenomenon, we need to keep in mind that Stoics spend considerable time and energy developing their ability to respond to life's challenges. If life is kind to them, though, and never presents them with such challenges, Stoics can feel frustrated and might, as a result, find themselves wishing that a challenge would come their way.
Stoics resemble, in other words, a football player who has trained hard all season but has never been put in a game. This player and the unchallenged Stoic might both long for an opportunity to put their training to work.
As a result, if life does throw a curveball at a Stoic, instead of being disappointed and angry, he is likely to perk up: "Aha! A Stoic test! At last, Coach has put me in a game!" Meeting a predicament with this frame of mind changes everything. Consider again the situation in which people at an airport are waiting for an airplane that has been delayed. Many passengers will pout, complain, or engage in angry tirades, but the Stoic will instead devote his energy to figuring out how best to prevent this challenge from disrupting his tranquillity.
Life's curveballs also represent an opportunity for a Stoic to judge the extent to which he has succeeded in acquiring the character traits that he, as a Stoic, will have been trying to develop. Was he kind in a situation that called for kindness? Was he courageous in a situation that called for courage? If he ends up scoring well on a "Stoic test," he will be delighted, even though the test itself might have been quite unpleasant. Thus, a situation that for the other passengers will simply have been a bummer might for the Stoic be the occasion of a minor personal triumph.
In my own Stoic practice, I haven't found myself longing for life to bean me with a curveball -- not yet, at any rate. I have, however, experienced the phenomenon of perking up on being thrown one. I have also gone out of my way to experience challenges that, while not on a par with the sort of challenges life can present, nevertheless provide me with a chance to practice my Stoic techniques for dealing with life's curveballs.
Along these lines, I have taken up competitive rowing, a sport that presents me with interesting albeit "artificial" challenges. It tests, for example, my self-discipline and perseverance, my ability to withstand both mental and physical discomfort, and on rare occasion, my courage. Such athletic challenges pale in comparison to, say, the challenge of being informed that one has a serious illness; at the same time, successfully dealing with these lesser challenges is doubtless good training for the curveballs I might experience in the remainder of my life.
Let me describe some of the other ways in which I have been transformed by the practice of Stoicism. In the previous essay, I asserted that if we withdraw from the social hierarchy game, it will have a profound effect on our material desires. I am evidence for the truth of this assertion. I have substantially (but by no means entirely) withdrawn myself from this game, and it has had a profound impact on my desire for "stuff."
Indeed, I have become dysfunctional as a consumer. Drag me to a mall, and I am unlikely to buy anything. To the contrary, I will probably respond by standing there, staring in astonishment at all the things for sale that I not only don't need and not only don't want, but can't even imagine myself wanting.
Along similar lines, I have lost the desire I once had to own a "desirable" car. I currently drive a 1997 Honda Civic that I bought used. I not only don't mind driving this car but have reached the curious stage at which I am convinced that the acquisition of a "cool car" would have at best zero impact on my happiness -- meaning that it not only wouldn't make me happier but might even have the effect of making me less happy.
It is true, I realize, that some people will look down on me for being satisfied with such a car. Thanks to my withdrawal from the social hierarchy game, though, I no longer feel the need to win the approval of these individuals. In fact, if someone refuses to talk to me because of the car I drive, he is probably doing me a favor by shunning me: I suspect that I would have little to gain from conversation with such an individual.
My withdrawing from the social hierarchy game has also had another curious side-effect: besides changing how I relate to other people, it seems to have changed how they relate to me. Before becoming a Stoic, I assumed that the best way to befriend people was to do things calculated to win their admiration -- in other words, to play the social hierarchy game with great skill. My subsequent experience, though, has led me to wonder whether the opposite is the case.
It is difficult to befriend someone who insults you or who clearly thinks of himself as socially superior to you. If you withdraw from the social hierarchy game, though, you will suppress both your insulting tendencies and your self-promotional tendencies. People will therefore come to regard you as "socially safe" -- as an individual, that is, against whom they don't have to compete in the battle for position on the social hierarchy. Such social non-combatants will presumably be easier to talk to, easier to confide in, and even easier to befriend than an ardent social gamer would.
Practicing Stoicism is supposed to make our lives less irritating. I have found that it serves this function admirably, although I certainly wouldn't claim that it has eliminated the old sources of irritation from my life. In fact, it has introduced one entirely new source.
In the previous essay in this series, I explained how, by practicing insult pacifism, I was able to remove much of the sting from insults directed at me. I also discovered, though, that this defense wasn't perfect: on occasion, people's insults managed to pierce my Stoic defenses and get under my skin. On these occasions, I would find myself, hours later, still thinking about the event and what I should have said to my insulter. The cases in question even affected my sleep: at bedtime, I would succeed in pushing insult-related thoughts out of my mind, only to have them rush back in.
Then it dawned on me that, thanks to my practice of Stoicism, I was experiencing what might be called meta-irritation: besides being irritated by the insults, I was irritated that these insults had succeeded in irritating me! If I weren't a practicing Stoic, I would not have been plagued by meta-irritations; then again, I suspect that these irritations are insignificant in comparison to the additional irritation insults would cause me if I hadn't adopted Stoic insult-response strategies.
In connection with my discovery of meta-irritation, I should mention that practicing Stoicism has transformed me into an acute observer of myself. Thus, besides experiencing various emotions (such as feelings of irritation on being insulted), I observe the manner in which I experience those emotions (which observations may give rise to additional feelings of irritation). Besides having thoughts (about being insulted, for example), I pay attention to how I came to have those thoughts.
As a result of these last observations, I have become fully aware of how little control I have over what thoughts pop into my mind. (The mind that I own, like the cat I used to own, appears to have a mind of its own!) Unless I am careful, though, these seemingly random thoughts can end up determining how I spend my days and consequently how I spend my life.
This completes my nutshell description of Stoicism. It is, as I have explained, a philosophy of life that specifies what in life is most worth attaining and how best to pursue it. There are, to be sure, rival philosophies of life: Zen Buddhism is one of them, and turning to ancient philosophy, we find many others. Which philosophy works best for a person depends, I think, on his or her circumstances and personality.
If, as a result of reading the essays in this series, you end up choosing one of these other philosophies, I won't mind at all. I will instead feel that I have done my Stoic duty to make myself socially useful. It is far better, after all, that you live in accordance with some philosophy of life -- even if it isn't Stoicism -- than that you try to live, as most people do, with no philosophy of life at all.
(Image: detail from Hercules and the Hydra (1475), Antonio Pollaiolo)“You’ve waited, it’s coming. In this year of 29489 on Rubi-Ka, you will see it,” Anarchy Online’s Twitter feed trumpeted today.
We’ll see what? You don’t mean… you can’t mean… the new graphics engine? That mythical beast of legend, widely discussed but rarely seen and usually dismissed as a fairy tale? It looks like this is the case, especially now that Funcom is allowing players to download an executable with the new engine in it on the test server.
“This is still a work in progress, but we intend to open this up to a much wider audience soon,” Funcom posted. “Brace for impact.”
The updated graphics engine has been in the works for years now, promising to give a massive visual overhaul to the 2001-era title. Funcom also said that it’s starting preparations for the 2015 anniversary event.Wayne Nance is one of the few unlucky serial killers to be murdered by his final intended victims. Unfortunately, it would be too late for at least three people that saw their lives snuffed out by the homocidal Montana man. The beginning of the end for Nance occurred when he invaded the home of co-worker Kris Welles and her husband Doug in Missoulla. Nance had quietly become obsessed with Kris and obviously intended to make her pay for some unknown snub towards him by killing her and her husband on September 4, 1986. The obsessed slayer clubbed and stabbed Doug, leaving him for dead in the basement of the couple's home, and then forced Kris upstairs to the bedroom with the intent of raping her and most certainly killings her as well. Despite Doug's injuries, however, he managed to grab a rifle loaded with a single shot and confront Nance in an upstairs hallway where the two men exchanged shots, both being hit. Still Doug kept coming and with help from Kris, clubbed their attacker into submission and shot him dead with Nance's own pistol. Doug Welles recovered from his injuries. It soon became evident to authorities that this was not an isolated incident from Nance. In 1974, when Nance was just eighteen, Donna Pounds was murdered in a fashion eerily similar to elements of the Welles' attack. Nance was a close friend of Pounds' son. A search of Nance's home showed that he was in possession of property stolen form the home of Michael and Theresa Hook, victims of a 1985 double-murder that also bore similarities to the Welles. crime. In addition, hairs from the search matched those of a Jane Doe found dead in 1984. Around that time a woman, unnamed still but believed to be the Jane Doe, disappeared after staying for a short time with Nance. Nance is also believed to possibly be the killer of a Seattle runaway found dead near Missoulla in 1980 and the attacker of a five-year-old girl in 1974. The youngster had been sexually molested and stabbed by managed to survive. Serial-Killers A-Z Nance, Wayne An independent truck driver from Missoula, Montana, Wayne Nance had been known as a "weirdo" since his teens, when he boasted of worshipping Satan and once used a hot coathanger to brand himself with Satanic symbols. By age thirty, Nance appeared to have worked through most of his adolescent problems, impressing his employers and acquaintances as something of an "average guy." On the night of September 4, 1986, Nance turned at the Missoula home of a female store manager, for whom he sometimes delivered furniture. Meeting her husband outside, Nance clubbed him with a piece of wood, invading the house and drawing a pistol as he forced the woman upstairs, tying her to a bed. Doubling back, Nance dragged her husband into the basement and was binding him to a post when the man regained consciousness. Drawing a knife, Nance plunged it into the victim's chest and left him for dead. While Nance went back upstairs to rape his female victim, the wounded husband freed himself and found a rifle he kept in the basement. Nance met him on the stairs, gun in hand, and both men were wounded in the exchange of shots. Attacking despite his injuries, the husband broke his rifle stock on Nance's skull, then seized the pistol and dispatched Nance with a bullet to the brain. The would-be killer's bind-and-slash technique reminded local officers of an unsolved case dating from 1974. Housewife Donna Pounds had been raped and murdered in her Missoula home by persons unknown, twelve years before the bungled crime that left Nance dead. Their suspect, then eighteen, had been a friend of Pounds's son, but officers had not suspected Nance of personal involvement in the case. A search of Nance's home turned up a hunting knife and small ceramic statuette stolen from the home of Michael and Theresa Shook, in nearby Hamilton, Montana, after they were murdered in December 1985. Their killer also tried to burn the house while children slept upstairs, but neighbors had arrived before the fire had time to spread. The body-count for Nance was three and climbing. Female hairs recovered from his camper had been treated with a dye that matched the tresses of a "Jane Doe" corpse unearthed outside Missoula in December 1984. In those days, Nance was working as a bouncer in a local bar, and witnesses recalled a youthful female drifter who had shared his lodgings - and abruptly disappeared - in autumn of that year. Detectives also feel that Nance may be connected with the death of a Seattle runaway, found buried near Missoula during March of 1980. With the suspect permanently silent, we may never know how many other crimes "weird" Wayne committed in the years before he pushed his luck too far. Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans Guns save lives By Phil Valentine - WorldNetDaily.com September 12, 2003 The gun-haters start with the basic premise that guns are bad. You shouldn't have them in your house because they're dangerous, they say. I should let you know right from the start that handguns are used for protection against criminals in America nearly 2 million times per year. That's up to five times more often than they're used to commit crimes and nearly 128 times the total number of murders in the United States. Those stats alone are good enough to blow any anti-gun argument out of the water, but there's more. According to the National Crime Victimization Surveys, people who use guns to defend themselves are less likely to be attacked or injured than people who use other methods of protection or don't defend themselves at all. Robert A. Waters chronicled many such stories in his book "The Best Defense" (Cumberland House). In one of the most gripping accounts, Waters tells of a psychotic serial killer who brutalized his victims before killing them. One woman was found dead with a gun shoved in her vagina. Wayne Nance was one of the most sadistic killers in American history, and he attempted to make a couple in Missoula, Mont., Kris and Doug Wells, his 11th and 12th victims. That proved to be his fatal mistake. You see, Nance had chosen a couple who kept guns in the house. Nance had been stalking Kris, and when Doug surprised him outside the couple's home, the killer shot him in the back of the head. Dazed and bleeding from a deep scalp wound, Doug struggled with his assailant from the garage into the house. Amazed that Doug was even still alive, Nance pounded him with a length of pipe and finally prevailed. After grabbing Kris and tying her to the bed frame in the couple's bedroom, Nance took Doug to the basement and tied him to a post. Doug, a gunsmith by profession, had earlier placed an antique lever-action Savage Model 99G Take-Down rifle near his workbench in the basement. He knew that if he could get to it, he and his wife might have a chance. Doug had been shot, bound and beaten nearly to death, but Nance still stabbed him in the chest with an oak-handle kitchen knife, puncturing one of his lungs. The killer then left to have his way with Kris, most assuredly intending to kill her afterward, as he had done with so many of his other victims. Somehow, Doug managed to muster enough strength to break loose from the clothesline that bound him. He grabbed the Savage, loaded it, and waited, knowing that if he headed upstairs for the bedroom, Nance would surely use Kris as a shield. Doug banged the butt of the rifle against the wall to get Nance's attention. The ploy worked. Nance raced back toward the basement stairs, and as soon as he came into view Doug let him have it with the Savage. In the meantime, Kris had managed to free herself except for one arm. Hearing the shot, she feared that Nance had killed her husband. Doug managed to stumble up the stairs, and when he saw the wounded Nance begin to rise, proceeded to pummel him with the butt of the rifle. As Nance crawled toward the bedroom, Doug continued to beat him with the gun until the butt splintered. By then, Nance was in range of the still-tethered Kris, who began to kick and punch him. Nance pulled his gun from its pouch on his belt and fired at Doug, missing him. His second shot caught Doug just above the knee, but Doug kept coming, beating Nance with the barrel of the rifle. In the process, he knocked the lamp off the bedside table, plunging the room into darkness. Doug heard another explosion, and as he lunged for the table where he kept a pistol, he hit the switch for the overhead light. When he grabbed the handgun and trained it on Nance, who lay on the floor convulsing and twitching, Doug saw that the criminal had shot himself. Wayne Nance died a few hours later. Doug Wells miraculously recovered from his wounds, and his wife, Kris, was not physically harmed. Care to wonder what would have happened had Doug Wells not had a gun in the house? Want to guess how many other innocent victims Wayne Nance might have slain had Doug Wells not killed him? This is but one example of literally millions of times that guns have saved lives, something the anti-gun nuts don't want you to know. But now you do.Who's Winning 'The Media Primary'?
Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Harrer/AFP/Getty Images Herman Cain (right) speaks as Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks on during a GOP presidential debate at Dartmouth College on Oct. 11. Andrew Harrer/AFP/Getty Images
Think of the past few months — since the beginning of May — as the prologue to the 2012 presidential election story, or as the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism puts it, "that weeding out period before citizens ever vote or caucus."
The Project is releasing a study today titled: "The Media Primary: How News Media and Blogs Have Eyed the Presidential Contenders During the First Phase of the 2012 Race."
Weed it and reap.
In this preseason, according to the report, the presidential candidate who has received the most — and the most positive — coverage of all |
ian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and FacebookThe US has bombed another suspected al Qaeda “meeting location” in Syria, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM). Although CENTCOM describes the building as being located in Idlib province, it is actually in the village of Al Jinah in Aleppo province.
The choice of target was immediately controversial, as Syrian activists said the building was a mosque filled with prayer-goers. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) went so far as to describe it as a “massacre.”
CENTCOM denies that a mosque was struck in the airstrikes yesterday, according to the New York Times. “We did not target any mosques,” Col. John J. Thomas, a US military spokesman, said. “What we did target was destroyed. There is a mosque within 50 feet of that building that is still standing.”
News quickly spread online that the building was a mosque. Hadi Alabdallah, an “independent Syrian journalist” who often reports from hotspots in the war torn country (including areas controlled by Sunni Islamists and jihadists), posted a video on his Twitter feed showing the rubble left by the airstrikes. A screen shot from the video can be seen above.
Bilal Abdul Kareem, an American who operates a small media outfit named “On the Ground News,” which provides pro-al Qaeda coverage, recorded his own video from the purported bombing site. Kareem shows what he says is a prayer room that was damaged in the airstrikes. Kareem claims that 56 people were killed.
Kareem also claims that the mosque was operated by Jamaat Tablighi, a proselytization group that has hosted prayers there every Thursday for the past four years.
It should be noted that while not all Jamaat Tablighi members are part of a Qaeda, US intelligence officials allege that the organization has repeatedly been used by the jihadists as a cover for their travels and operations. For example, Jamaat Tablighi is referenced throughout the declassified and leaked files prepared by Joint Task Force – Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), which oversees the detention facility in Cuba.
JTF-GTMO’s analysts noted Jamaat Tablighi “is designated a National Intelligence Priority Framework (NIPF) Priority 2A Terrorist Support Entity (TSE),” which is defined as a group that has “demonstrated intent and willingness to provide financial support to terrorist organizations willing to attack US persons or interests.”
Numerous Guantanamo detainees claimed affiliation with Jamaat Tablighi (JT), but JTF-GTMO found this was an al Qaeda “cover story” and al Qaeda “used the JT to facilitate and fund the international travels of its members.”
CENTCOM invites a comparison between the location bombed in Al Jinah and a large training camp that was bombed in January. CENTCOM’s statement references the Shaykh Sulayman facility (“an Al Qaeda terrorist training camp”), “where more than 100 fighters were being trained in terror tactics.”
The Shaykh Sulayman training camp had been in operation since 2013, but was not struck until early 2017.
The US has targeted known al Qaeda veterans in Syria with precision airstrikes since 2014. The US rarely went after larger facilities associated with al Qaeda.
But that changed during the first three weeks of this year. The shift in tactics occurred before the Trump administration took power on Jan. 20. The Defense Department reported that “more than 150 al Qaeda terrorists,” including some suspected of plotting against Western interests, were killed between Jan. 1 and Jan. 19. Most of them were struck down at the Shaykh Sulayman training camp in Idlib province.
CENTCOM claims that “several terrorists” were killed in the bombings yesterday.
Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.
Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe sits with a folder marked "Secret" in front of him while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 11, 2017, before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on major threats facing the U.S. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The new acting director of the FBI Andrew McCabe will inherit more from predecessor James Comey than an investigation into Russian ties to the campaign of President Donald Trump, who fired Comey Tuesday. Depending on how long he runs the agency before a Trump successor is approved — something Senate Democrats upset over Comey’s firing will likely draw out — McCabe may have to take up Comey’s other political battles, including encryption.
Almost since the beginning of his tenure as head of the FBI in 2013, Comey engaged in a crusade against criminals and terrorists evading law enforcement and intelligence surveillance online, or “going dark,” via default encryption platforms like Apple’s iPhone and Android OS.
Comey has spent the last several years repeatedly testifying before Congress that letting companies like Apple refuse law enforcement requests for user data puts lives at risk and grants bad actors more leverage when communicating online.
“We all care about safety and security on the Internet — and I’m a big fan of strong encryption — we all care about public safety, and the problem we have here is those are in tension in a whole lot of our work,” the former FBI director told Congress in 2015. “We work for the American people. We work with the tools that they give us through Congress. And so our job is to say, ‘Hey look, our tools are being eroded, and we’re not making it up.'”
Comey at first sought legislation from Congress mandating companies like Apple build “back doors” into their products through which law enforcement and intelligence agencies could access and decrypt communications. Comey later backed down in favor of a more nuanced and less specific approach, calling on lawmakers, agencies, and companies to sit down and work out a solution.
The debate came to a head last year when the FBI sued Apple to unlock the iPhone of one of the attackers in the December 2015 shooting in San Bernardino, California that left 14 dead. The agency eventually abandoned the case in favor of letting an outside firm crack the phone’s encryption. Congress convened a working group to examine the issue that largely fell between the cracks during the 2016 election season.
Now a rising number of ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks in Europe and growing concerns of cybersecurity and election hacking in the U.S. and abroad are churning up the issue again, with Trump himself taking a stand against Apple during the campaign.
Even if McCabe is replaced, he’s likely to have an influence on the agency’s encryption stance going forward as the deputy under Comey. During an interview with McCabe in October, the then-deputy director appeared to defer more to the American public than his boss at the time when deciding how to strike the right “balance” between privacy and national security.
“It’s a great question and it’s one you probably don’t want me to answer, or [National Security Agency Director] Mike Rogers to answer or the private sector to answer,” McCabe told CNBC. “How do we have a conversation in this country about how do we feel about the cost of privacy versus national security?”
McCabe said there’s “no world of absolute” privacy or security, and that neither side has made progress by “throwing absolute positions at each other.”
During a panel discussion on cybersecurity at the Cambridge Cyber Summit, co-sponsored by CNBC, MIT, and the Aspen Institute, McCabe said of the Apple case it should be an issue Congress decides, not law enforcement.
The then-deputy director echoed one of Comey’s arguments against tech community claims that to create access to any encrypted platforms means compromising the whole system.
“We were innovative enough, we were smart enough to create the very technology that’s given us these opportunities,” McCabe said. “I believe that we are also smart enough and innovative enough to come up with a solution that meets a reasonable privacy concern but also meets a reasonable national security concern.”
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Subscribe for the Latest From InsideSources Every MorningScientists who have grown meat in a Dutch laboratory are hopeful that their breakthrough could eliminate the need for factory farming within a decade. "People realize that there is a clear threat to the environment and to animal welfare," said Mark Post, the team's lead researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Bernard Roelen, a veterinary science professor at Utrecht University prepares a petri dish for growing pork in a university lab in Utrecht May 23, 2007. Dutch researchers are trying to grow pork meat in a laboratory with the goal of feeding millions without the need to raise and slaughter animals. ( MICHAEL KOOREN / REUTERS )
Post's team took cells from the muscle of a living pig – myoblasts – immersed them in a nutrient-rich "serum," and cultured them in a petri dish. The serum is derived from the blood of pig fetuses. The cells divided exponentially into skeletal muscle tissue that Post describes as looking "like a piece of scallop." It is completely white, since it's bloodless. It's also quite stringy. Those judgments are made on the basis of observation. Nobody has eaten the results.
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"Of course, you can at this point," Post said. "But it really doesn't make any sense." There is also the small matter of taste, which appears to be a bigger mystery than creating in vitro meat in the first place. "Nobody knows where the particular flavour of different meat comes from," Post said. "Why does lamb taste like lamb? We're not sure. It's a particular mixture of blood, iron and fat, perhaps." Since Post's scallop-y pork has little to none of those things, it's not clear if it's going to taste like "pork." Large-scale meat farming is an expensive business. The vast amounts of food required to feed the animals and the waste they produce, never mind the greenhouse gases, are a threat to the environment. Though Post lards caution in with optimism, he's hopeful that his team's discovery can be a boon to the planet as well as the hungry.
The study is backed by a sausage manufacturer and funded by the Dutch government. Post's hope is that the surge of publicity will encourage bigger backing. He figures the team is at least 10 years from producing an edible product ready for market. Sadly, that's too late to collect a $1 million prize offered by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. They've offered the money to anyone who can bring an "in vitro chicken" product into grocery stores by 2012.
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Post is reaching out to governments, food scientists and the industrial farming industry in the hopes of creating a global flavour to his research. "If I were in the cattle business, I would tap in to this as well," Post said. "Who knows where this could lead us?"Alan Bond dies in Perth hospital after heart surgery complications
Updated
Controversial business tycoon and former Australian of the Year Alan Bond died in a Perth hospital on Friday.
Mr Bond, 77, died following complications from heart surgery he underwent earlier in the week.
Two of Mr Bond's children John Bond and Jody Fewster, speaking outside Fiona Stanley Hospital on Friday, confirmed Mr Bond had passed away.
"His body finally gave out after heroic efforts of everyone involved here at the intensive care unit at Fiona Stanley Hospital," John Bond said.
"He never regained consciousness after his surgery on Tuesday."
The hospital's executive director Robyn Lawrence said Mr Bond had received high-level care and every effort had been made to save him.
"All efforts were made to do the best to improve his outcome but unfortunately he has passed away," she told reporters outside the hospital.
John Bond paid tribute to his father, whom he said would be greatly missed.
"To a lot of people, Dad was a larger-than-life character who started with nothing and did so much," he said.
"He really did experience the highs and lows of life.
"To us, however, he was just Dad - a father who tried his best to be the best dad he could."
John Bond said his father, a grandfather of eight, and great-grandfather of one, had remained close to his ex-wife Eileen, who is believed to be on her way to Perth from her UK home.
"Mum and Dad were always great soul mates who never broke their connection, even though he could be very infuriating to her," he said.
"She was very sad she did not get back to see him one last time, though they did recently catch up and have a meal together in London."
He said his father had greatly missed his second wife Diana Bliss, who died in 2012.
The family was grateful for the support they had received since his father's surgery, he said.
"Dad was vitally interested in everything that we did with that ever-enquiring mind of his," John Bond said.
"We only half joked to our friends that you had to have a five-year business plan ready when you first met him.
"We'll all miss him very much. He's had a great influence on many people and we're heartfelt in our thanks for all the kind messages of support we've received."
Former prime minister Bob Hawke paid tribute to Mr Bond for his role in winning the America's Cup.
"I think it's impossible to overstate how much he lifted the spirits of Australia," he said.
"You acknowledge the ill that he did, the harm that he caused a lot of people, but on the balance of Alan Bond's life in terms of this nation, Australia, he will always rank remarkably high in terms of the contribution he made to this country."
Mr Bond was part of the syndicate that won the Cup in 1983, breaking the United States' 132-year stranglehold on the title and ending the longest winning streak in the history of sport.
Mr Bond was one of WA's most prominent business figures for more than a decade and at one stage was the nation's largest brewer.
He also set up Australia's first privately funded university.
But his empire crumbled in the 1990s, eventually being bankrupted for $622 million, which still stands as the second-largest personal bankruptcy in history.
He also served time in jail for siphoning off $1.2 billion to prop up his ailing Bond Corporation.
After a 19-year absence from the nation's rich list, Mr Bond resurfaced in 2008 with a personal fortune estimated to be worth $265 million.
'End of an era', analyst says
Finance analyst Tim Treadgold described Mr Bond's death as "the end of an era".
"His death, as you said, wasn't a shock," he told the ABC.
"But it does represent the end of an era. He is the last of the big players from the 80s to pass on.
"We've already said goodbye to Robert Holmes a Court, Laurie Connell, Kevin Parry and Peter Beckwith who were major players in the period up to the '87 stock market crash."
Mr Treadgold said Mr Bond's legacy would be mixed.
"There are people who have very fond memories, very kind thoughts about Alan," he said.
"He fell into that category of likeable rogue. When you met him, it was very hard to dislike him.
"When you looked at some of the deals he did, it was quite easy to dislike him.
"So it will be evenly split between a love/hate relationship, but the man has died and I think the hate should now dissipate."
WA Premier Colin Barnett said he was saddened to hear of Mr Bond's death.
"He was a controversial figure but will also be remembered for a proud moment in Australia's history — which also put WA on the map — the America's Cup win in 1983," Mr Barnett said.
"I extend my sincere condolences to his family."
Topics: people, business-economics-and-finance, perth-6000
First postedBy
What does that even mean, fake geek girl? This term gets thrown around by pimply adolescents and man-boys alike. (Because if you feel the need to put down a woman for not fitting your mental Ramona Flowers fantasy, you are not a grown man.) Just to clarify, no one has called me this to my face, but it happens to other women all the time. And sometimes, the perpetrator is a fellow woman!
But I’m sure I fit the bill for anyone who likes flinging that epithet about.
The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is one of my all-time favorites, but I found the books tediously boring. Tolkien wrote them for the linguistics, not to entertain his readers. I love what J.J. Abrams is doing with the rebooted Star Trek franchise, but I have no patience with the bad special effects of the original series. Out of all of the TV versions I saw because my dad enjoyed them, TNG is the one I liked. Oh, and Star Wars? I prefer the prequels to the original trilogy because, again, I have little tolerance for old school film tech. And I loved Attack of the Clones. Even with the terrible chemistry and even worse dialogue between Anakin and Amidala. (Heck yeah, speeder chase!)
I am a total Wheel of Time fangirl, but I’ve never read Dune. Despite Tom’s efforts to the contrary. I didn’t read Harry Potter or The Hunger Games until they were popular.
I don’t watch Doctor Who. I thought Firefly was just okay.
My favorite console game is Wii Fit Plus. The only MMO I’ve ever played is World of Warcraft. I’m completely addicted to it, but it’s really the only non-casual video game I like to play. Plants vs Zombies and Words with Friends don’t generally qualify as “real gamer” cred either.
And when playing dice-and-paper roleplaying games, my characters tend to be Ultra Female. In Dark Heresy, I played the only real female class, the Sisters of Battle. My first Sister died after sacrificing her virtue to obtain information for the group. My second Sister (since my first one was killed) used her feminine wiles as aptly as her bolt pistol. When playing a Star Wars campaign, my character was a pampered holovid starlet. My mage in World of Darkness was gorgeous and independently wealthy. And she was totally crushing on her equally beautiful mentor. (Yes, they got together.)
Kari Swift-ChristinaGleason by urasei on deviantART
I haven’t read any comic books. My entire knowledge of the Marvel Universe has come to me via screens large and small.
So there you have it. My geek cred isn’t over the top. I don’t like all of the geeky things that Real Geeks are supposed to like. Should I confess that I’m just a pretender when I call myself a geek?
Well, that’s not going to happen. I got my “geek cred” the hard way, being called a geek and a nerd all throughout school. I got picked on for my lack of fashion sense and for being a favorite of many of my teachers. I read science fiction after I outgrew The Babysitters Club. But I came late to the party when it came to owning my geekiness. I just wanted to fit in when I was in school – and geeks weren’t chic until years after I graduated.
I am a geek, and I will proudly call myself a geek. After all, the dictionary defines a geek as:
: a person who is socially awkward and unpopular : a usually intelligent person who does not fit in with other people : a person who is very interested in and knows a lot about a particular field or activity
…And I’m nothing if not socially awkward! And intelligent, thank you very much.
And you know what? No one has the right to call me or anyone else a fake geek girl. If a woman self-identifies as a geek, she has her reasons. She is not fake because she doesn’t happen to like the same geeky things as you do. So quit it.
Update: This post is not actually supposed to be about me. As I said, no one had ever really called me a fake geek girl – until the comments section here. I used myself as an example to illustrate the point I was trying to make: let’s stop being dismissive about other people’s identities. If someone says they identify as a geek (or a gamer, or a whatever) it’s not any of our business to rain on their parade.
P.S. Thanks for the traffic, despite the ill intent of many of your visits. My analytics look great, and you help prove the point I was making about judgmental people.
Christina Gleason ( 973 Posts That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a professional copywriter, editor, and blogger. My company is called Phenomenal Content. (Hire me!) I’m a relatively high-functioning Aspie who also lives with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. I am not ashamed to admit that I am in the care of a psychiatrist, who assures me that people in therapy are often better adjusted than “normal” people who are not, because at least we know what our issues are and are working on them. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and select types of gaming, including World of Warcraft and Empire: Four Kingdoms. I hate vegetables. I have an intense phone phobia, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or IM instead.OROVILLE (CBS13) — The now infamous Oroville Dam spillway, with its crumbling concrete, could create a business boom in this small city, if Oroville Mayor Linda Dahlmeier has her way.
“We’re the water source for almost the entire state of California, and once people realize that it’s a nice place to visit,” Dahlmeier said.
Dahlmeier has done international interviews on the Oroville evacuation. Now she wants the world to know the name Oroville for all it has to offer.
“We have a ladybug migration; we have the second largest salmon migration,” Dahlmeier said.
The massive water releases into the Feather River are also prompting hope Oroville, which means ‘city of gold’, will have another gold rush.
Joey Wilson owns Adventures in Prospecting Mining Supplies.
“What people are getting excited about if they know anything about gold is that more gold is being exposed,” Wilson said. “So people are already starting to ask questions and buy equipment.”
Wilson says the pressure from all the water releases is loosening gold nuggets set in the river bottom.
He’s banking on a bump in business.
“It means more customers and of course more sales, and the ability to expand,” Wilson said.
With the spillway crisis now seemingly passed, how quickly can Oroville grab this global spotlight for something good.
“You know we have a chest of gold coins still to be discovered,” Dahlmeier said.Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones cried “election fraud” Wednesday after Alabama voters picked Democratic candidate Doug Jones over Republican rival Roy Moore for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ former U.S. Senate seat.
The Infowars publisher called into question the results of Tuesday’s special election in the wake of Mr. Moore losing a race widely considered a referendum on the Republican Party and President Trump in particular.
“The election was clearly stolen,” he said during Wednesday afternoon’s broadcast of The Alex Jones Show, his popular internet and radio program made notorious for peddling misinformation and fake news.
Opponents used bogus polls to skew expectations and cast ballots in the names of deceased voters to defeat Mr. Moore, “The Alex Jones Show” host claimed without evidence.
“The swamp has struck back big time in Alabama. Massive evidence of election fraud,” he said during Wednesday’s broadcast.
“This is a great example, a great exercise in the art of dirty politics, and they’re just getting more and more desperate,” he said.
Mr. Moore lost by a slim margin to the Democratic candidate Tuesday evening, according to preliminary results, notwithstanding garnering the support of influential Republicans including Mr. Trump and the president’s former senior advisor, Steve Bannon, among others.
Reacting to the outcome Wednesday, The Alex Jones Show host claimed that skewed polls were circulated prior to the election in order to create “a fake bandwagon effect to make people feel like they’re going to be losers if they go for who they really want.”
“And then they just came in, baby, and as they do all over the country, had the dead people vote and had the folks bussed in from those Democratic areas, and they stole the election when my research shows Roy Moore probably would have won by six [or] seven points,” Mr. Jones said.
“They buried Roy Moore under record amounts of vicious campaign ads, total demonization, false reports. The entire swamp, Republican and Democratic parties, ganged up on Moore. That was the program. That was the operation. And so they’re heralding this as a great sign that they’re going to retake things in 2018,” he added.
Alabama’s top election official, Secretary of State John Merrill, did not immediately return an email seeking comment Wednesday. Mr. Merrill previously said “the people of Alabama have spoken” and that it was “highly unlikely” Mr. Moore would win the contest.
Mr. Jones first gained notoriety for his opinions on the 2012 mass-shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and again last year for propagating baseless claims linking the Democratic Party to a human-trafficking ring allegedly operated beneath a pizzeria in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Jones reaches about 50 million people each week through his broadcasts and Infowars website, according to his own statistics. Mr. Trump praised the host’s reputation during an appearance on his program in 2015, and Roger Stone, the president’s former campaign advisor, appeared on “The Alex Jones Show” as recently as Wednesday’s broadcast.
“The president says to me last time I talked to him, he said, ‘Alex, they make it harder and harder for us to talk, but I want you to know this — I want you to keep it up, I want you to continue what you’re doing,’” Mr. Jones said Wednesday.
The White House did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.(CNN) Authorities believe the Ohio State University student responsible for Monday's attack on campus was inspired by terrorist propaganda from ISIS and deceased Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, two law enforcement sources said.
The sources point to Abdul Razak Ali Artan's Facebook posts before his short-lived rampage on the Columbus campus. The posts referenced Awlaki, who was a leader of al Qaeda in Yemen. Sources also notethe style of the attack was encouraged by ISIS in a recent online magazine.
Despite claims from the Islamic State's purported media wing that Artan was an ISIS soldier, there is no indication so far that Artan communicated with any terror group; evidence points to a lone wolf attack. Investigators are inspecting his computer and cell phone and talking to family and associates, as they try to determine what led him to act.
Artan bought knives on the day of the attack, a law enforcement official said.Artan rammed his car into a group of people on the Columbus campus and then got out and charged at passersby with a knife. Ohio State University Police Officer Alan Horujko shot Artan after he failed to obey orders to stop, killing him and stopping the attack.
Of the 11 people injured three remain hospitalized, Dr. Andrew Thomas said at a news conference Tuesday. Thomas is chief medical officer of the OSU Wexner Medical Center.
Authorities investigate the scene of the attack, where the assailant struck people with his vehicle and then cut them with a butcher knife.
Over almost as soon as it began
Classes resumed Tuesday as the campus community comes to grips with the incident.
One of the victims released Tuesday, Professor Emeritus William Clark, described the rapid escalation of events, which lasted less than two minutes from the moment when Artan drove up on the curb until he was shot.
Watts Hall had just been evacuated for a fire alarm before Artan drove up and crashed his car into a cement planter, accounting for the large group of people outside, Clark said.
As Artan's car was stopping it clipped the back of Clark's leg, sending him into the air before he landed on his back. He suffered deep cuts and bruises on his leg.
It all happened so fast that Clark said he barely noticed Artan. He declined to speculate on what motivated Artan without knowing him personally or the facts at hand.
"I'm only too aware of the things that drive students to do things they wouldn't normally do," he said.
"At the end of the day I'm sore and going home this afternoon and he's dead," he continued. "My sense, out of respect for the living and the dead, is we should wait to find out what the truth is."
Facebook posts yield clues
Artan left his native Somalia with his family in 2007. They arrived in the United States from Pakistan in 2014 as legal permanent residents and green card holders.
Abdul Razak Ali Artan
Artan had just transferred from Columbus State this semester. In August, Ohio State's student-run newspaper profiled Artan as part of its "Humans of Ohio State" series, in which he talked about his struggles to find a place to pray in peace on the large campus.
"I wanted to pray in the open, but I was scared with everything going on in the media," he told the newspaper.
Louann Carnahan, who lived next door to Artan, said she knew him and his family quite well and spoke to them every day. She described him as being very pleasant.
"I never expected any kind of behavior like that from him," she said. "I'm still beside myself that he was even capable of the acts that he did."
There were no visible changes in his behavior in the days leading up to the attack, she said.
In a Facebook post shortly before the rampage, the Somali immigrant said he was "sick and tired" of seeing fellow Muslims "killed and tortured," according to federal law enforcement officials.
He urged America "to stop interfering with other countries, especially the Muslim Ummah," a term for Muslim people at large.
"By Allah, we will not let you sleep unless you give peace to the Muslims," he wrote. "You will not celebrate or enjoy any holiday."
Artan said reports of human rights abuses in Myanmar pushed him to a "boiling point." The United States, which suspended its last sanctions against the former military dictatorship this year, said it had expressed concerns about the treatment of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims.
"I can't take it anymore," he said in the post.
Three calls, three shots, one dead
Officer Horujko's quick response cut Artan's rampage short, officials said.
Horujko called in the car at 9:52 a.m. A few seconds later, he called again to say he had engaged with the suspect. At 9:53 a.m., he called a third time to say he had shot the suspect.
CNN Map
Student Logan Chapman, who was nearby at the time, said everyone thought it was an accident.
"So everyone was checking to make sure that the people who were hit were OK," he told CNN's "New Day." "As soon as everything had settled down, he got out of the car and started slashing people closest to the car with the knife."
Cops putting up tape, wearing vests and grabbing their guns pic.twitter.com/dVmztKBeq6 — Anthony Falzarano (@_falzarano) November 28, 2016
Investigators used surveillance camera footage to track Artan's car before he arrived on campus, University Police Chief Craig Stone said. By tracing his movements, investigators were able to conclude he was alone in the vehicle and acted alone.
Gov. John Kasich praised the response, saying it showed "how much practice, how much training, how much expertise, how much coordination" existed among local law enforcement agencies.
"We are a strong, tough, resilient community," he said.
'Run, hide, fight'
Ohio State President Dr. Michael V. Drake and others credited the school's active shooter training and the campus alert system for helping the community maintain order while the scene was secured. Ohio State's Columbus campus is one of the largest in the United States. Nearly 60,000 registered students attend classes on the sprawling urban campus.
At 9:55 a.m., three minutes after Horujko's first call, the school sent out a campus alert reporting an active shooter incident.
"Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College," Ohio State Emergency Management tweeted at 9:56 a.m.
Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College. — OSU Emergency Mngmnt (@OSU_EMFP) November 28, 2016
Some students piled chairs against a door to block him from getting in as they awaited word on the attacker's movements.
Ohio State University senior Mackenzie Bart and four other female students barricaded themselves into a room in the Derby Hall building on campus during the attack.
Students had just returned to class Monday after Thanksgiving break -- and after the Ohio State football team's big win Saturday over the school's biggest rival, the University of Michigan.
Stay safe, Buckeyes. — Michigan Athletics (@UMichAthletics) November 28, 2016
In a news conference Monday, Drake cautioned against jumping to conclusions when asked if the incident was terror-related or had anything to do with Ohio's Somali community, the second-largest in the country.
"What we want to do is really unify together and support each other; do our best to support those who were injured in their recovery, and then allow the investigation to take place."Everyday wee see crashed cars and many car accidents! Too many! But, when you see a police car that is wrecked, it is really very “interesting”! I’ve made a Top 10 with most interesting wrecked police cars, thanks to wreckedexotics.com. I hope you enjoy these pictures and I am waiting for more suggestions of your own!
No.1 Firs wrecked police car seems to be an optical illusion, because we think the rest of the car is still there.
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
No.2 It’s all about the SUV’s! These “strong” cars can suffer some accidents, too!
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
No.3 This police cruiser has managed to turn turtle completely.
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
No.4 Judging by the snowy riverbank, that water must be cold… yeah, pretty cold!
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
No.5 Lucky the law has such a long arm when it comes to retrieving their cars. Or maybe not?!?
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
No.6 Thanks God, because there is still the Fire Brigade!
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
No.7 An American policeman decides to recreate the final scene from “The Italian Job“.
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
No.8 There is a dilemma, did the car drive under the plane or the plane land on the car? Do you have the answer?
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
No.9 Do you see me? Well, look better!
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
No.10 This police vehicle looks like it has been beaten up by some vandals rather than crashed.
Top 10 Wrecked Police Cars
Tags: cars, police car, wrecked, car accidents, top cars
You may be interested in:A search is underway in Moore Park in inner Sydney for a man who sparked a lockdown and evacuation at Sydney Boys High School after he was challenged by a teacher.
The alarm was raised about 2.20pm today after a school staff member spoke to the man, who was carrying a grey shopping bag, and became concerned by his behaviour.
The high school, on Cleveland Street in Moore Park, was placed into lockdown for a short period of time as a precautionary measure.
NSW Police initially said they had received unconfirmed reports the man was armed but later clarified that no firearm was sighted.
The man was described as being 20-years-old and 175cm tall with short dark hair. He was wearing light blue jeans, a white shirt and a pair of hiking or work boots.
There were no injuries in the incident.
Cleveland Street was temporarily closed in both directions between Anzac Parade and South Dowling Street.
There are 1200 students at the school.
Police are continuing to patrol the area to ensure students are able to leave the school safety.
Do you have more information? Send an email to contact@9news.com.au
The evacuation and lockdown were just a precaution, police said. (9NEWS) ()
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2019Christie stands behind Trump in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday. (Yahoo News)
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie introduced Donald Trump at a press conference in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday night, and then took his place behind the Republican frontrunner. And Christie’s pained facial expression behind the podium did not go unnoticed.
March 1, 2018 - President Trump Announces a Nuclear Strike Against The Moon as VP Chris Christie Watches in Horror pic.twitter.com/pk3TfmKdvN — Mike Camerlengo (@MCamerlengo) March 2, 2016
Donald Trump To The RNC: Bring It
(Chris Christie To Himself, Silently: Why Did I Do This?) pic.twitter.com/3Sk62ueiYt — Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) March 2, 2016
Does Chris Christie know how badly he’s embarrassing the state of New Jersey? #SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/pujW9SVAak — Dylan Stableford (@stableford) March 2, 2016
Advice to Chris Christie: Don’t lock out your knees. Then it’s timber. #SuperTuesday — Dagen McDowell (@dagenmcdowell) March 2, 2016
I did not have “Chris Christie becomes Donald Trump’s Smithers” in my pre-election pool. — James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) March 2, 2016
“Hi, I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” pic.twitter.com/LXLK6JF5pe — Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) March 2, 2016
Forget veep, Christie looking more like he’s in running for White House press secretary — Steve Goldstein (@MKTWgoldstein) March 2, 2016
What. Is. Christie. Thinking. Right. Now. — Ted Nesi (@TedNesi) March 2, |
register_factories.js -e consensys-testnet
Fin.
Truffle is still being actively developed, and has a ways to go before it solves all development and deployment problems in the young Ethereum Frontier. However, through the tricks above we hope you can get one step closer to a manageable, maintainable project. Your feedback is most welcome, and feel free to express any issues, feedback and feature requests in our Gitter as well as the Github issue tracker. Cheers, and happy developing!Rep. Keith Ellison, Bernie Sanders' lone supporter in the Congressional Black Caucus, defended the Vermont senator's civil rights record after Rep. John Lewis said he never saw Sanders at key moments during the 1960s.
"He didn't see Bernie Sanders because Bernie Sanders was doing fair and open housing in Chicago -- that's why he didn't see him. No matter how good your eyesight is -- if you are standing in Alabama, you can't see people in Chicago," Ellison told CNN. "That doesn't mean he wasn't absolutely there, fighting for justice, fighting for open housing."
The Minnesota Democrat effusively praised Lewis, saying, "If he needs a kidney, he should ask me."
Asked about the vast majority of his fellow Black Caucus members supporting Hillary Clinton instead of Sanders, Ellison brushed it off and said, "I really feel that Bernie is going to win and when he does, you know, we'll all be supporting Bernie Sanders."
Ellison said he sought out Sanders when he came to Washington because he sat on the Financial Services Committee and "made friends with him." The two still frequently talk on the phone about the state of the campaign and are both "political junkies."
He planned to campaign for Sanders next week in South Carolina. At least a dozen Black Caucus members are expected to fan out across the state to boost Clinton's campaign in the state.
He pushed back on Clinton's criticism of Sanders' policy proposals in the debate on Thursday night as unrealistic, saying her message was "technocratic management" contrasted with "an inspirational, inclusive vision for the nation" from Sanders.
"Pragmatism is not always a good thing. Experience is not always a good thing. Experience should teach you not to vote for an Iraq War where this country has not attacked us," Ellison said about Clinton.
Clinton's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ellison's latest comments.
But Ellison made a point to say Clinton was "a great person and a wonderful public servant" and said she would be "one million times better than the best Republican candidate." He said he would actively campaign for her if she won the nomination.
© LAKANAAustralia's new Prime Minister has indicated that his government will prioritise economic interests over support to reinscribe West Papua on the UN list of territories to be decolonised.
Photo: RNZI
Australia's new Prime Minister has indicated that his government will prioritise economic interests over support to reinscribe West Papua on the UN list of territories to be decolonised.
The sign came via a letter from Malcolm Turnbull in response to correspondence by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.
The ULMWP petitioned Mr Turnbull to bring serious attention about Indonesia's Papua region at the United Nations and for support for a Solomon Islands push for West Papuan de-colonisation to be considered.
The prime minister's reply doesn't mention West Papua, but asserts that "to succeed in a rapidly expanding global market and to remain a high wage, generous social welfare net first world economy, we need to be more agile, creative, productive and innovative".
The ULMWP ambassador for Australia and Pacific countries, Amatus Douw, says it's hard to get Canberra to change its stand, given its economic interests in Indonesia.
"He explained that he's only concerned about Australia's economic prosperity, that's what he's saying in that letter. And I know how many Australian companies are operating in West Papua, including Rio Tinto which is one of the biggest shareholder companies from Australia (in Freeport McMoran's Papua operations), and also the other mining companies operating in West Papua as well."
Mr Douw says it is encouraging that the ULMWP has a dialogue with Canberra and will continue to advocate on the matter.
He says numerous parties in Australia's political spectrum do support the West Papuan self-determination bid.
He points out that Papuans made a great effort to help Australia stave off its enemies in New Guinea during World War II, and that Canberra has a moral obligation to help West Papuans.
The relationship between Australians and West Papuans, he says, requires commitment into the future.Share. Which witch? Which witch?
Platinum Games is actively discussing where to take the Bayonetta series next.
In an interview with SourceGaming at BitSummit, Platinum producer Atsushi Inaba fielded a question regarding whether the team would still use Bayonetta as the protagonist or introduce someone new in a bid to surprise fans and keep the series fresh.
“I would like to make Bayonetta 3. We’re talking within the company even now about what to do,” says Inaba. “But because we’re constantly talking about it, that actually makes it really hard to say.
“Of course, that’s just something that you talk about when you’re making a series – do you want to keep the same protagonist? There’s plenty of precedent for changing protagonists, and so that is something we discuss – do we want to keep the same one, have a different one, add new ones…”
Exit Theatre Mode
Inaba makes a point of mentioning there’s nothing he can say for certain at this point, so take the above musing as just that.
The whole interview’s worth reading if you’re a fan of the revered studio. One of the other stand-out points is Inaba’s response about working with Nintendo on The Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta 2. According to Inaba, the team had “a lot of freedom” to make the games the way Platinum wanted to, due to how far along the studio was in the development process - something Platinum was “very grateful” for.
The original Bayonetta recently launched on PC via Steam, and boasts Japanese and English voiceover tracks and enhanced resolutions up to 3840x2160.
Wesley Copeland is a freelance news writer who writes excellent bios. For more obvious statements and video game chat, you should probably follow him on Twitter.Today VMware released vCAC version 6.1. You can read all about the new features in the release notes.
A few features stand out immediately:
Migrating a vCloud Automation Center version 5.2.1 or 5.2.2 deployment to version 6.1
Upgrading from vCloud Automation Center 6.0 to 6.1
Really VMware? The new feature is that we can migrate or upgrade to the new version? I can’t wait to see what will be in the next release… upgrading to 6.2 maybe?
Then there is this one:
Improvements in Reporting
That was actually there in 5.2 then removed in 6.0 but the database stored procedures were still there. So now they put back the widget in the interface which actually shows the reporting. I love it…..
But wait… there is more:
Application Services (Formerly VMware vCloud Application Director)
yep, a rename. Exciting.
All ranting aside. There are some noteworthy new features. These ones for example:
NSX for vSphere Integration
But: “All NSX for vSphere and vCloud Networking and Security integration is now through vCenter Orchestrator (vCO) plug-in, including previously released and new functionality.” So yeah… The free vCO plugin makes this all possible. Not the expensive vCAC product itself.
Ok, ok I’ll really stop ranting now. Because I really like the way this product is headed. VMware is leaving all the horrible.net stuff and moving all the executing onto vCO. And as you probably know I’m a huge vCO fan. So the relay good news is this:The FBI has arrested and is currently investigating a Maryland man for potentially stealing highly-classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA).
Harold Thomas Martin III is a government contractor with top level clearance to national secrets, and unsealed documents from the Justice Department have confirmed that he was taken into custody back in August. Law enforcement confiscated several devices containing sensitive information during a raid on Martin’s house, and he now stands accused of stealing government property and the unauthorized removal or retention of classified materials.
The New York Times broke the news of Martin’s arrest and noted how he worked for the same consulting firm where Edward Snowden worked before he became an NSA whistleblower back in 2013. Martin reportedly denied to the FBI that he took anything at first, but when he was confronted with the information from his property, he stated that he was not authorized to have it there.
Indications from the criminal complaint suggests that most if not all of the information from Martin’s house was dated back to 2014. As investigators work to determine Martin’s motivations, they are also looking into whether he took a highly-secret computer code designed to hack the computer networks of foreign nations like Russia, Iran, and China.
UPDATE – 3:33 p.m. ET: Booz Allen Hamilton, the firm where Martin worked, released a statement.
Consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton releases statement on arrest of its employee, who worked as contractor for NSA.https://t.co/4lAoJDAEtB pic.twitter.com/3XkSmh39m1 — NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) October 5, 2016
[Image via NSA]
— —
>> Follow Ken Meyer (@KenMeyer91) on Twitter
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comMicrostickers on the new material that look like mushroom-shaped pillars. When exposed to UV light, they relinquish they grip. Emre Kizilkan
The apparent gravity-defying ability of geckoes to walk across ceilings and up and down walls has inspired a new material that might one day allow robots to do the same thing.
A research group led by Emre Kizilkan, a biologist at Kiel University in Germany, took cues from the lizard to develop a multi-layered substance capable of rapidly switching between adhesive and non-adhesive states, controlled by ultraviolet light.
Geckoes can walk upside-down on horizontal surfaces because their feet comprise a hierarchy of spatula-shaped nanostructures.
Shear force derived from leg movements switches these tiny fibres from non-sticky to sticky and back again at the twitch of a muscle.
Gecko toes have the remarkable ability to stick and unstick quickly and easily. Stanislav N. Gorb
Kizilkan’s new material replicates this crucial binary state. Described in Science Robotics, it has been dubbed a “bioinspired photocontrollable microstructured transport device”, or BIPMTD.
“The stimulus enabling surfaces to switch from an adhesive to a non-adhesive state or vice versa can be mechanical, magnetic, or thermal,” the researchers write in their paper
. “Besides these, light is a stimulus that can be controlled very quickly and precisely […] a very attractive stimulus for developing bioinspired photoresponsive reversible adhesive systems.”
Like a gecko’s foot, the BIPMTD also has a multi-layered structure: the sticky top layer is made of mushroom-shaped adhesive microstructures embedded in polydimethylsiloxane.
These are controlled by a second layer of liquid crystals containing azobenzene – a chemical compound that responds to light – which is sealed from beneath by another layer of polydimethylsiloxane.
When applied, UV light alters the molecular size of the azobenzene compound, thus changing the shape or curve of the material and causing it to peel away from a surface or object, mushroom by tiny mushroom.
When the UV light disappears, the liquid crystals recover their original form, reinstating stickiness.
During testing, BIPMTD was used to pick up, move and let go of a series of objects including a glass slide, a sphere, and a plastic Eppendorf tube – all objects considerably larger than the gecko-foot analogue.
The new material can also be tuned to respond to different levels of UV intensity, potentially increasing its range of applications.
Robots that walk upside down next to the bedroom light fitting might not be particularly useful, but thanks to the team at Kiel they are now at least possible.I was first drawn to Chicago-born, LA-based rapper Ohana Bam after hearing “Oralgami” on Pigeons & Planes and thinking it was Drake—albeit a sunnier, less-emo version. I subsequently interviewed Bam for Labeling Men, but as I was living in Oakland at the time, it had to be over the limited medium of telephone. Through our first conversation, I learned that Bam—formerly BK Bambino (the name was changed after generating “legal issues”)—flew to California on his very first plane ride last January. Bam had $4000 in the bank at the time, knew no one in LA aside from a childhood friend and his future manager, and no plans aside from a sole meeting with Warner Brothers. For his first few months in the Golden State, Bam was lonely and depressed. But everything changed on March 24, 2015—his 20th birthday—when he got a call from Rolling Stone, who wanted to feature him in the next edition of “10 New Artists You Need to Know.” The piece compared Bam’s “playful bars” to Chance the Rapper and Danny Brown. “That was like a light to me,” Bam told me. “I knew it was moving.”
I’ve since kept my eye on Bam, falling in love with his PartyNextDoor-esque single “Met You” and getting periodic updates from his manager. And when I moved to LA in January with a new gig at The Hundreds, I figured it was time to meet Bam and his Ohana crew in person.
I arrive at Ohana Bam’s home on a “Tree Up Tuesday.” This is what Bam calls his campaign to release a new song every Tuesday to generate hype for his upcoming Tree Up 2. I ring the doorbell of his unassuming Woodland Hills home and am greeted warmly by Bam’s manager and house-mate, Chris Cornell. The night before, Chris asks me over text message if I want to “roll with” them today. I have no idea what this means—a recipe for enticing me.
The house is dark and resembles the Valley’s version of a frat house, partially due to the haphazard scattering of empty bottles and pizza boxes, and partially because it houses five boys all around college-age (Chris later tells me that he’s “very nervous about turning 24”). As I learned back in October when I interviewed Bam, “Ohana” is the Hawaiian word for “family” (my friend living in Hawaii tells me that the word encompasses something more expansive than the traditional nuclear family).
The Valley Frat accordingly houses Bam’s current ohana. There’s Chris, who met Bam through a mutual friend from Mizzou, where Bam briefly attended college; KD, Bam’s childhood best friend and “go-to guy”; D. Phelps, a producer from Bam’s native Chicago who Chris believes is among the best hip-hop producers in the game right now; and Shaan Mehta, a producer from New Zealand who Bam met at Mizzou and who Chris refers to affectionately as “Shaan-ye.”
“That’s cool,” I say as I sit down at the island in the kitchen, pointing to a bamboo stained-glass window over sink.
“Yeah,” says Chris. “It kinda fits with the whole Ohana theme.” Bam told me this fall that the Ohana symbol is a palm tree. His Tree Up and Tree Up 2 reference a variation of the phrase “turn up”—to “tree up,” he told me, means to encourage people to be unique in their own way.
While we wait for Bam, I ask Chris if he likes the area. He tells me that he likes that it’s suburban and homey. “There are chains here,” he laughs, unashamed. “Red Lobster. Buffalo Wild Wings. We love to get wings.”
The next person to arrive is Luis, Bam’s Creative Director, a skinny 19-year-old from the Valley with an outsized passion for hip-hop and who, according to Chris, “knows what the kids are into.” Known creatively as Stimvlate, Luis films footage throughout the day that will eventually go online to increase Bam’s Internet exposure. [Editor’s note: Luis shot the photos in this article]
And finally the famous Ohana Bam arrives. Given that this is the first time I’ve met him and in pictures he typically wears sunglasses and his hair shadows his face, I’m shocked by how pretty he is—he has kind, feline eyes and a soft splattering of freckles along his nose.
After complimenting him on his outfit—Bam indeed looks fresh in a black button down, black jeans, and black shoes that are a mystifying combination of sneakers and sandals—Chris reminds Bam to tweet his newest Tree Up Tuesday release. It’s a track called “Done Playin” that samples Stevie Nicks. Bam complies in much the way a son would obey his father, or a younger brother would obey his older sibling—reluctantly, but respectfully, like true ohana-members.
I ask Bam what’s been going on since we last spoke. He tells me about dropping Tree Up, which Complex hailed for its pleasing combination of “energ[etic] bangers” and “more lyrical tracks,” noting that “Bam’s versatility is his biggest strength.” Bam also tells me about releasing the jaunty, Lake Effect-directed video for “Red Ferrari,” which was featured on HotNewHipHop, and the trippier, more stylized video for “Rest,” directed by Visual Mecca.
Bam tells me about Tree Up Tuesdays and opening for Nipsey Hussle in Santa Ana. I liked Bam over the phone, but I like him even more in person. There is an instant familiarity about him. He feels almost like a younger brother, someone I’ve known for a long time, like a member of my own ohana.
I ask Bam if he still loves Sky Zone, which he described to me enthusiastically in the fall as a “crazy trampoline party.”
“I love Sky Zone,” he says, then laughs. “I forgot I’d told you that.”
We quickly realize we were all at the Kevin Gates show on Saturday night at the El Rey, and we chat about Gates’s decision to wear a bow-tie on stage. “Did he come from a wedding?” Bam jokes. As we talk, Bam plays with a pineapple that sits on the island—a gift. “It isn’t ripe yet,” he comments.
Revealing my utter lack of domesticity, I ask how he knows this.
Bam laughs. “I just had to explain this to Chris.”
“I know how pineapples work!” Chris protests. Throughout the day, the boys rag on each other like brothers, again, like any ohana would.
Chris says it’s time to head out. We pile into Bam’s white Jeep Wrangler to head to Century City to meet with Bam’s agents. The meeting’s purpose—to get Bam more live shows.
Climbing inside, I compliment Bam on his car. I know nothing about cars, but I love a shiny white SUV. “What about that old Lincoln over there?” Chris asks as he backs out, referencing the beat up old sedan in the driveway.
“That’s cool too,” I say hesitantly. “A classic.” I have no idea what I’m talking about.
“Yeah,” says Chris. “It’s missing a window.” He laughs.
Bam sits in the passenger seat and Luis and I are in the back. As we ride, Bam blasts a number of previously unreleased singles, my favorite of which is a chill banger that samples a Japanese pop song called “Too De Loo.”
“Shaan finds the craziest samples,” Bam tells me. He plays another song featuring Rob Gueringer, a guitarist currently touring with Kendrick Lamar who he knows through mutual friends in Chicago. The speakers bump and the windows are down and hot wind blows through my hair and for a second I feel like I’m back in college, but in a much nicer car.
Before long, we’re in the parking lot of ICM Partners, a “big-three agency” where Chris worked as an agent’s assistant before deciding to become Bam’s full-time manager. Chris seems pretty happy to be on the other side of things, rolling into the office at 11:30am in a T-shirt and jeans. And it doesn’t take much explaining to convince me—a writer who works from home and is almost always in leggings—that he’s better off now.
The swanky air-conditioned lobby of ICM feels worlds away from the Valley Frat. We sit in brown leather armchairs around a table with an orchid that’s taller than Bam’s ponytail and talk basketball. “I’m better than the average white guy,” Chris says, before ranking the housemates based on their basketball skills. I ask Luis if he plays. He says no, but he recently made a half-court shot. “You owe me a Gatorade, man,” Luis reminds Chris.
We’re soon greeted by Bam’s agent’s assistant, who is new and first takes us to the wrong room. On the second try, we arrive in an immaculate conference room with sprawling views of Los Angeles. I start to feel like I’m on Entourage and only wish I wasn’t wearing moccasins. The assistant asks if we want anything to drink. Chris enthusiastically orders a vanilla latte.
The first agent to arrive is Kevin Jergenson, who handles Bam’s international shows.
“A little hot out to be wearing all black, isn’t it?” Kevin says to Bam, who smiles bashfully. Chris, Bam, and Kevin chat while we wait for Bam’s domestic agent, Mitch Blackman. They talk potential partnerships (Dope, Hoverboard, Nike), the Nipsey show, and golf, while Luis films and I type. Chris talks about trying to figure out Bam’s target audience. It’s not the “West Coast gangster crowd,” Chris insists, but more cross-over R&B/hip-hop, “a fanbase that loves to groove.”
“The music is already there,” Chris continues. “It’s just about getting it in the right places, getting it in the right ears. Once they hear it, I have no doubt that it’s going to go.” I’m not sure whether he’s saying this to Kevin, to me, or to himself.
Finally, the much-awaited Mitch arrives. He looks exactly how you would expect a rap concert agent to look. Heavily tatted, a black fitted hat casting a shadow over his blue eyes. He has a confidence that teeters on arrogance, a predilection for name-dropping and off-color humor.
“Time is of the essence,” Mitch says, pouring himself a glass of water. “It’s time to dig in and be aggressive.”
Mitch asks Kevin to use his international connections to land Bam shows and studio time in London and Paris. I admittedly feel a bit faint when Mitch utters the words: Pitchfork Paris. My dizzying fandom only increases as the meeting progresses and Mitch discusses the possibility of Bam’s opening for some of my favorite rappers—Danny Brown, Young Thug, Chief Keef, and A$AP Ferg, among others.
“Are you free this weekend?” Mitch asks Bam, who responds with a nod. Mitch makes a phone call, cracking jokes that seem to be made more for us than whoever is on the other end. We continue laughing until he hangs up. “Ok, you’re opening for Mobb Deep on Saturday,” he proudly announces.
Bam leaves the meeting with a show on Saturday at the Viper Room (which I spend the next few days begging to get on the list for) and a number of enticing prospects. After Chris stops to say what’s up to his old employees, we head back out into the blazing LA heat and pile into Bam’s jeep. Next stop: Bam’s “go-to Hollywood studio” to record possible tracks for the Suicide Squad film. A number of artists, Chris explains to me, are submitting tracks. It’s unclear whether what’s recorded this afternoon will ultimately make it into the film, but they can maybe use it for Bam.
In the car on the way to Hollywood, we talk Slime Season 3, EVOL, and how Future can generate hype over almost anything at this point. But we mostly talk about wings. A major bonus of the Hollywood studio, Chris tells me, is that it’s across the street from Kitchen 24, which the boys believe has the best wings. In fact, they want to ensure I put Kitchen 24 in this article in hopes of getting an endorsement—“free wings!!!” they shout in unison. Bam and Luis hype the pineapple citrus wings, while Chris favors the buffalo. In the day’s theme, they rag on Chris for not liking the proper type of wings. It is also in this car-ride that Chris expresses concern over turning 24. “You aren’t old until you turn 27,” Luis says with confidence. I tell them I’m 29. Bam turns around and examines me thoughtfully. “You look 22,” he says. Did I mention I really like him?
At the studio, I get to see first-hand the magic that is Bam’s creative process, in which he quickly morphs from easy-going and almost spacy to decisive and laser-focused. “How many beats we got?” He asks the sound engineer after passing on a few. “20ish,” says Josh. “Okay, let’s keep scrolling,” he says. Bam knows when a beat works and when it doesn’t. He enters his own private world, and I imagine everyone else fades away. As a beat plays, he sits and bobs his head, singing softly. From my perspective, the initial humming all kind of sounds the same. But then he goes into the booth. And when he comes out—fire.
When I told Bam over the phone in the fall that I initially thought he was Drake, he said that made sense because they both make “hits.” But after seeing him work, I realize it’s their similar mastery of pop-hooks, a rare trait in the rap game. I can only imagine the massive high that is creating a fly hook on a booming beat. I assume there is no greater feeling, which is perhaps why I hope to make a career of following musicians, grasping at even a tiny sliver of contact high.
Watching Bam listen to his songs played back is my favorite thing in the world. He exits the booth in a post-creative haze and turns the volume up full blast. And then he starts dancing. He has cool moves, kind of Hawaiian. Luis and Chris dance too, and then me. Intermittently, the boys take bites of their wings. Sometimes they dance while they eat. The ohana, hyping up its king.
When he returns to the booth, Luis and Chris drink fizzy pink lemonade and talk shop. Chris pulls up a few rappers’ Instagram pages as potential inspiration for Bam. Luis asks me if I’m into several rappers whose names sound made up—Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Lil Yachty. Chris is adamant on separating Bam from both gangster rappers and ironic Soundcloud rappers, not because he doesn’t like them, but rather he sees Bam as having a more specific appeal. Bam is a conscious rapper, a feel-good rapper—the male Kehlani, the West Coast Jeremih, the well-adjusted Drake.
“I handle the business pretty well,” Chris says to Luis. “But you know creative direction. You’ve got style. You know what the kids are into.”
Luis frowns, shaking his head. “You aren’t supposed to make what the kids are into,” he says, pausing for emphasis. “You have to make what the kids are going to be into next.”
Most of the songs Bam records that day are about women. While Bam is in the booth, I ask Chris if Bam has a girlfriend.
“He doesn’t.” He pauses, fumbling for the right words. “Well, he—”
“I’ll just ask him,” I say, letting Chris off the hook.
When Bam next exits the booth, and after we all dance to yet another fly hook, I ask him if he’s writing about a particular girl. “Not yet,” he says, an answer which intrigues me. “I write about things, and then they happen.”
“So you write about things before they happen to you?” I repeat his words back to him to make sure I’m getting it correctly.
“Yeah,” says Bam, peering back at me with kind eyes. “I write in future tense.”
Bam records four hooks and a few verses that day. He tells me he comes up with everything on the spot, but he’ll come back later to clean it up. Three hours and four songs later, we file out of the studio and into the dark Los Angeles night. “This is perfect,” Bam says in reference to the now-cooler temperature, far more fitting for his all black long-sleeved get-up.
In the ride back to the Valley, Bam plays back the songs he just made, once again entering his private creative zone. Then he puts on the radio and we roll down the windows and let the day wash over us. We part ways back at the house, worlds away from ICM and Hollywood. I hug them all and again beg for an invite to Saturday’s show.
Chris texts me on Saturday morning to let me know I’m on the list. I ask for a plus one because I’m greedy and I want to bring my best friend slash international tastemaker Elizabeth. We’re ten minutes late because I’m cheap and order a Lyft Line, which is hijacked by floral-scented girls rapid-firing Farsi slang. After the girls get out on Melrose, we breathe fresh air out the windows and speed to the Viper Room. Luckily Bam hasn’t gone on yet. We order drinks and push our way to the front just in time for the curtains to slide open.
“What do you think of his hair?” I ask Elizabeth of Bam’s most instantly-recognizable characteristic.
“I love it,” she says, bobbing to the beat. “His potential is palpable.”
I nod, smiling at her acknowledgement of my own international taste-making skills.
We sip our PBRs, ogling Bam’s swaggy charisma and the same alluring dance moves I fell in love with in the studio. As tends to occur while jamming to his own music, Bam seems to enter his own private world. His eyes close and his arms float mysteriously through the air and I can see why Chris says Bam needs a fanbase that “loves to groove.” This admittedly is not the old-school New York rap fans eagerly awaiting Mobb Deep. Bam, however, still owns the space. His smooth confidence works well in a small venue, flowing effortlessly under pink and green lights. While I enjoy watching him perform “Oralgami” and “Met You,” I leave the show with a new favorite—“Thursday Night,” a fiery track chock full of Biggie allusions that the ohana all agree works well live afterwards.
“I just saw his hair head out back,” Elizabeth whispers to me when Bam leaves the stage.
I dart out the back door to find the ohana standing in the dark. I congratulate Bam, chat with Chris, and am introduced to K.D. and “Shaan-ye,” with whom I discuss our mutually favorite rap producer—the irreverent Kanye West.
I run back inside to catch the beginning of Mobb Deep before Elizabeth and I have to jet to another party—par for the course when rolling with an international tastemaker. When we return out back to order a Lyft, the ohana remains almost unmoved.
“Let’s get wings soon,” Chris says to me while we await our car. “You, me and Bam.” I smile, nodding. The Lyft arrives, K.D. hands me a Tree Up CD and we all hug all goodbye.
The next morning I text Chris to tell him I’ve been bumping Tree Up all day in my car. I seriously miss having CDs..
He tells me I’m “now officially an ohana member.” I smile, thinking back to us dancing to in the studio amidst the scent of Kitchen 24, looking forward to our wing-date.
***
Tree Up Two drops this spring. Follow Ohana Bam on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/ohanabam, and on Twitter @OhanaBam and on Instagram @OhanaBam.
Photos by STIMVLATE.JManga, a platform for reading legal manga online, revealed in its newsletter on Thursday that it will add 9 new volumes of manga next week, including Variety Art Works' One Thousand And One Nights and Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Both manga are part of East Press' Manga de Dokuha (reading through manga) guide series. Other classic literary works in the Manga de Dokuha series include Karl Marx's Das Kapital, Dante's Divine Comedy, Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, and Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince.
JManga's releases for next Tuesday included the following manga:
Etsuya Mashima's Chitose Get You!! (5)
(5) Yuga Takauchi's Mangaranai (2)
(2) Variety Art Works' One Thousand And One Nights
JManga's releases for next Thursday will include:
Chihiro Tamaki's Walkin' Butterfly (1)
(1) Yui Toshiki's Kagome-Kagome (3)
(3) Wataru Akiduki's The Perfect Girlfriend (3)
(3) Variety Art Works/Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
Kaili Sorano's Mother Keeper (2)
(2) Ryo Aduchi's Softenni (2)
JManga released Variety Art Works' The Word of Buddha last week. The company is also currently hosting free previews of selected Houbunsha manga, including Yoshitaka Ushiki's Yumekui Merry, Megane Ōtomo's Himitsu, Ryouryou Satou's Wasanbon, Taichi Murata's Near Equal, Munko's Raika Days, and Osamu Hiramatsu and Rei Hanagata's Café Dream manga.
The JManga website is now accessible worldwide for selected titles.Ralph Offenhouse was a male Human financier born in 1939.
In the late 20th century, he was diagnosed with terminal cardiomyopathy that was inoperable. He had himself cryogenically frozen in 1994, hoping that when he awoke, science would have found a cure. He was placed in a cryonics satellite which was launched into Earth orbit.
The satellite drifted away in space for almost four hundred years, reaching the Kazis binary system, where it was detected by the USS Enterprise-D in 2364. Only three of the inhabitants' booths had survived: Offenhouse's, Clare Raymond's, and L.Q. Clemonds'. Offenhouse was unfrozen and his condition cured.
As a financier, Offenhouse was shocked by the fact that humanity no longer used money. Despite extensive plans to provide for himself in the future financially, he was unable to locate his bank accounts. Offenhouse was frustrated by his new surroundings and his apparent lack of control of the situation.
Offenhouse complained to the crew and criticized the ship before being scolded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard for inappropriate use of the ship's communications system. During negotiations with the Romulans, Offenhouse made his way to the bridge and offered Picard unsolicited advice, annoying Picard. Picard then conceded that Offenhouse had given insight into the situation.
Along with the other two survivors from the 20th century, Offenhouse was later transported to Earth aboard the USS Charleston. Before he left, Picard urged him to use his new lease on life to improve and enrich himself. (TNG: "The Neutral Zone")
Background information Edit
Ralph Offenhouse was played by Peter Mark Richman.
Offenhouse also appears in the novel Debtors' Planet, where he has parlayed his financial expertise – all but obsolete within the Federation – into a new career as an ambassador to the Ferengi Alliance.
In the Eugenics Wars novel The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume One, he funded the scientists responsible for the creation of Khan Noonien Singh in 1970.
Furthermore, he is depicted as the Federation Secretary of Commerce at the time of the Borg Invasion of 2381 in Mere Mortals.
External link EditAll content featured on our charity site is produced by young volunteers with the support and mentoring of our professional production team.
i-MP Lord Clement-Jones
Lord Clement-Jones gives us an update on the Live Music Bill which he discussed in his first i-MP video. The bill has now made it through the Second Reading where the government supported it but have requested amendments are made before it goes to the next stage, Committee stage. He is still hopeful that the bill will be passed through by the end of the year though. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions then please let us know.
Leave questions to be answered by the Lord Clement-Jones by:
Leaving a comment under the video here.
Sending us a question on Twitter with the hashtag #imp21
Leaving a YouTube response or comment.
We’ll collect the responses and present as many as we can for Lord Clement-Jones to answer.
Learn more about our i-MP series here.
Learn more about Lord Clement-Jones here and see his previous i-MP video here.After spending four seasons making one of TV's best shows, The Americans showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields are pretty confident in their ability to determine what's best for the series. But that all goes out the window when it comes to incorporating period-specific ads and other pop culture references into the FX drama about two Russian spies (Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys) undercover as a suburban D.C. family in the early '80s.
"We work from a place of fear, and in general, we work very hard not to work from a place of fear," said Weisberg. "But we're very worried about hitting things too much on the nose. It's so easy with pop cultural references to be screaming, 'Here we are in 1983! Here we are with the thing that everyone remembers and knows signifies the time period!' We're really careful not to do that and be so judicious when we hit the big ones."
They saved one of "the big ones" for Wednesday's episode, the seventh of Season 4, called "Travel Agents." During one scene, two teenage boys bond while watching one of Brooke Shields' iconic Calvin Klein ads, which featured her whistling "Oh My Darling Clementine" and then saying, "You want |
or smartphone. What are you waiting for?Since the election, Donald Trump has used his Twitter (TWTR) account to lash out at numerous companies, sending the business world into a state of constant anxiety, wondering who is next. With over 19.2 million followers on the social media platform, the president-elect can easily dispatch a public relations nightmare for the company of his choosing.
Even the threat of another Trump tweet has led companies like Ford (F) to preemptively employ a clever PR strategy that made it appear that it was capitulating to Trump’s Twitter demands last year by canceling an announced Mexican project and investing in Michigan. (In reality, the canceled Mexican plant’s production simply moved to another plant within the country.) The auto industry has been a particular bete noire for Trump recently – he’s also included GM in his attacks, threatening to punish the carmaker for building one of its cars, the Chevy Cruze, in Mexico.
While Trump may currently be on a rampage against automakers who aren’t making cars on US soil, these are hardly the first times he’s taken shots at businesses in his eight years on Twitter.
Poring through his 34,300 tweets with the help of a custom computer program as well as Factba.se, a research tool that has catalogued and analyzed transcripts, tweets, and more, Yahoo Finance has identified 61 companies or brands Trump has bashed. Targets range from Silicon Valley giants to media brands that have reported on his activities to rival golf courses.
Often, as has been the case with T-Mobile, he has devoted numerous tweets against companies and their CEOs. Notably, with T-Mobile, he said he didn’t want the company’s cellphone service to work in his buildings. Trump, who is a fan of Samsung phones, hectored Apple and CEO Tim Cook over the small size of the iPhone many times over the years.
Given the strong current of tweets flowing from @realDonaldTrump, it seems likely the list of companies and business CEOs the president-elect has criticized will grow—and it will be updated accordingly. Here are the 62 and sample tweets.
This post will continue to be updated.
Amazon
“The @washingtonpost, which loses a fortune, is owned by @JeffBezos for purposes of keeping taxes down at his no profit company, @amazon.” —@RealDonaldTrump
The @washingtonpost, which loses a fortune, is owned by @JeffBezos for purposes of keeping taxes down at his no profit company, @amazon. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015
American Airlines
“The American-US Airways merger will create even worse service and much higher fares.” —@realDonaldTrump
Amtrak
Retweeted: “”@DurandSentinus: Japan has faster trains & better safety. What is wrong with us?? AMTRAK! @realDonaldTrump could easily fix!”
AOL (Verizon)
“What a STUPID deal for Verizon to buy AOL for $4.4 billion. AOL has been bad luck for everyone who touched it. Worth less than $1 billion!” —@realDonaldTrump
Apple
“I predicted Apple’s stock fall based on their dumb refusal to give the option of a larger iPhone screen like Samsung. I sold my Apple stock” —@realDonaldTrump
I predicted Apple's stock fall based on their dumb refusal to give the option of a larger iPhone screen like Samsung. I sold my Apple stock — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2014
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Oregon)
“Both Aberdeen and Turnberry in Scotland, and the soon to open Doonbeg in Ireland, blow Bandon Dunes away. Bandon is a toy by comparison!” —@realDonaldTrump
BBC
“@LeapfrogMark BBC is a scandal ridden wasteland–a one sided piece of garbage!” —@realDonaldTrump
Michael Bloomberg
“If Michael Bloomberg ran again for Mayor of New York, he wouldn’t get 10% of the vote – they would run him out of town! #NeverHillary” —@realDonaldTrump
Boeing
“Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” —@realDonaldTrump
Carrier
Tweeted a link of an article in which he criticizes Carrier and Ford for shipping jobs to Mexico.
Charter Communications (Time Warner)
Time Warner Cable went out on 5th Avenue for 2 plus days. They are a disaster. I think I’m going to switch.” —@realDonaldTrump
Time Warner Cable went out on 5th Avenue for 2 plus days. They are a disaster. I think I'm going to switch. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2012Response to Feedback: Upcoming Changes to Master of Orion
Balance/AI
Late-game pacing is sluggish, so we are planning to improve that—especially providing interesting things for players not focused on the Conquest victory condition
Research comes a little too easy right now, resulting in technologies being unlocked far too quickly; we will make adjustments here to make unlocking a technology feel more like a milestone and to reduce the frequency at which ship designs and ship weapons/systems become obsolete
We’re working on making pirates more interesting, giving more options for interacting with and engaging them, as well as the ability for them to expand
Some racial perks are not as valuable in multiplayer (i.e. those that affect diplomacy), so we are making changes so that they are more impactful
Biomes are not unique enough at the moment, so we are planning to add more variation and also potentially provide new bonuses (i.e. Morale) based on the biome
Races are not distinct enough, so we are planning to improve this through more interesting perks/traits
Miniaturization will be introduced; all hail making things smaller!
Improvements will be made to diplomacy AI to allow more positive interaction between AI races, including basic treaties, alliances and diplomatic council votes
BC income will be adjusted so that it remains an option for speeding up expansion (or strengthening a fleet) but does not trivialize it
Tactical Battles
We will be changing it so that each tactical battle starts paused by default, allowing you to get a feel for the surroundings and the battlefield to begin planning your tactics
Formation bonuses will be introduced that provide bonus effects to certain ship types for flying in formation
Civilian ships will be added to the battlefield, so use caution when moving them around the galaxy along with your combat fleets
A retreat option will be introduced at the intro screen as well as during combat (note: some technologies/structures/specials may potentially prevent retreat from being possible for all ships)
We are evaluating options for more control over specials and weapon systems, as well as weapon overlays to give more clarity on what’s going on
Ship Design
We will be updating the ship design interface
Ship designs and ships already built will no longer be linked, meaning when you scrap a design you will not have to scrap the ships
The character limit for ship names will be increased
Default AI behaviors will be added (Range, Aggression, Focus, etc.)
Usability / Interface
We are taking a pass on the information available and plan to increase the number of tooltips across the entire game, as well as improve their quality
Diplomacy
We will provide better feedback on the diplomacy screen, including how racial traits and other bonuses are impacting relations
AI will be improved to propose more intelligent exchanges, such as tech for tech
Certain actions have too much impact on diplomatic relations and will be adjusted (i.e. share charts currently has far too negative of an effect if rejected)
We will improve on “emperor traits” (commonly referred to as biases) and how they act in diplomacy and view other races’ actions within the game
Colony Screen
A scrollable structure list will be introduced to complement the visual display of structures on the planet
Preset and customizable build “templates” will be introduced to make late-game expansion less cumbersome
We will be enabling the production queue by default
The ability to drag multiple population at a time will be added (all to the right of the one selected, except those on strike or other races)
Build Screen
Command Point and Upkeep costs will update to reflect the number of ships being produced
We will allow you to specify the quantity of ships to produce if more than one, rather than only having the single or 5x options
Civilian transports will be made much cheaper and it will be clearer that they are “rental” and will disappear once you move the population to a planet
Detailed ship combat stats will be added to the build menu
Empire Screen
A heading will be added to the Morale column and a Pollution column will be added
A per-colony production buyout button will be added
We will improve the flagging feature by allowing you to not only name your flags, but also define new flag types
It will be possible to redistribute population within a colony from this screen
Research Screen
We are considering a concept of building upgrade technologies to give early buildings more longevity in the game (i.e. Automated Factory II)
Tooltips of weapons will be improved to provide full clarity on their effectiveness
We are considering adding weapon mods (Heavy, Envelopment, etc.) to the tech tree as researchable technologies
Jump Gates will be moved to an earlier spot in the tech tree to improve early and mid-game movement
Shield upgrades will be expanded, and we will introduce additional weapon options for ships
Galaxy Screen
We are planning to increase the quantity of wormholes to make exploration more exciting—“Where is this going to take me?”
We are planning to increase the information around the planet to display things like trade goods, pollution cleanup, etc. as icons
We are experimenting with a slow / limited navigation option outside of starlanes, unlocked via mid-game technology
Radar lines will be introduced to show maximum visibility range of ships, monsters and planets
The ability to see the weapons/modules of a ship when hovering over its icon in the fleet window will be added
Population display will be changed to show both the current and maximum population of a planet
Icons will be added next to fleets that convey what they are doing (i.e. guarding, blockading, constructing something)
Civilian ships will be changed to not trigger the threatening fleet notice
The star systems near the core of the galaxy will be made easier to see
A rally point option will be added for military ships/fleets
Game Settings / Setup
The galaxy (or “big bang”) seed will be randomized by default each time you begin a game, rather than starting at 0; you will still have the option of setting this manually or using the random button, but we want to reduce the confusion over galaxy options for newer players
We will introduce a “Game Speed” option that determines how fast or slow things progress (e.g. production, research, colony growth)
We plan to allow the use of different text and audio localizations (i.e. Russian text, English audio)
It will be possible to disable GNN while still getting important updates
The ability to disable Unstable Warp Lanes will be added as an advanced setting
VO options will be expanded so that you can disable advisor VO while keeping other voices on
Miscellaneous
Additional functionality (such as right-click) to exit out of screens will be added
A subtitles option will be added for screens that include VO to ensure information is not missed for hearing-impaired players
Colorblind options will be added to game settings
A user-defined chess clock-style turn timer will be added for multiplayer
An explanation of the Galactic Council will be added and displayed when it is founded
Special resources will be better explained
We will be adding the ability to open certain UI elements after you end your turn in multiplayer
Greetings Explorers,Since Early Access began on February 26th, you’ve provided consistent thoughtful feedback about the direction we’re going with Master of Orion. We’ve been reviewing your feedback with NGD Studios to ensure that it is considered with every potential change or addition we will make between now and release.To that end, we have the first of what we are calling “Feedback Response” articles. The aim of this piece is to give you an idea of some of the changes we’re planning based on your feedback. We can’t commit to specific timelines for anything at the moment, but we want to make sure you have visibility on what we’re looking to do.Please note that not every single change we plan to make is mentioned here. If you see something missing from the list, there’s a good chance we’re considering it, it’s just that we’re not ready to talk about it.This is an important focus for us as it impacts most if not all game systems. Without solid balance and a strong AI, things begin to fall apart. If we were to prioritize the content of this article, you could probably consider most of the topics in this list as the highest priority.At the moment tactical battles have a strong core implementation, but usability is a big issue. A major focus for this feature is improving the control the player has over the action in the battle, as well as more information on what’s happening.Customizing your ships and fleets is integral to the tactical battles experience and makes the arsenal of your empire distinctly yours. To that end, we want to make it easier for you to customize your ships, as well as provide more clarity in what you are doing, and finally to reduce the negative impact the auto-update feature has on your designs.The feedback we have gotten is that the user interface is already in a good place. However, we agree that certain areas could use some touch-up.The AI needs to better use treaties and the diplomacy system as a whole. We will also adjust the effects declining certain proposals has on disposition, as some of them affect relations too negatively.Our main goal here is to provide additional polish, make more information available, and expand functionality on certain elements.The build screen will see improvements based on changes we’re making to other areas of the game (including general keystroke/mouse functionality), but there are some changes specific to this screen as well. They mostly focus on ships and making what you’re doing and getting from them more clear.While it’s primarily intended to be a macro-level management screen, we have seen feedback that certain micro-level options would be nice to have here. We’re also planning to add more clarity and sortable columns for Morale and Pollution.While research speed has already been touched on, there are other changes we’re planning for the tech tree to make progression more interesting and rewarding. We will also improve information on certain tooltips within the tech tree.The galaxy view is beautiful, but we want it to be functional for you too. To that end we are making adjustments to better provide information on colonies, ships and other entities at-a-glance.Less confusion and more options are the big themes for our pass on game settings / setup at the moment.Below are some of the things we’re working on that would impact multiple areas of the game, or do not fit into a specific category outlined above.It’s important to stay engaged with the community during Early Access, so we intend to communicate changes like this whenever possible. Providing feedback on games can sometimes feel like a one-way street, and we want you to know we’re listening.Thank you for playing, and please keep the feedback coming. You’re helping us make Master of Orion the best it can be.Software
The RetroN 5 has an on screen user interface bringing the comforts of modern consoles to retro gaming.
Game Genie is built in to make sure that your nostalgia isn’t killed by games more difficult than you remember. The RetroN 5 cleans up & upconverts your games to clean, crisp HD resolution. If you like it old school, you always have that option with the included “scanlines” video filter.
Dynamic controller mapping allows full customization, even with original controllers. The RetroN 5’s save state feature allows you to save at any point in your game and be able to come back exactly where you left off, no passwords needed. Access these features without ever having to end your play session or reset your game with a touch of the Home button, bringing the convenience of a modern console to retro gaming.Seattle  Five Stryker Brigade soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord killed three civilians in separate incidents in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province earlier this year, according to charging documents released Wednesday by the Army.
The Army says all three victims were shot and two of them were also hit by grenades.
All five soldiers have been charged with premeditated murder in the killings. Two are also accused of assault, and another is charged with seeking to destroy evidence. All are assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
The Army did not indicate a motive.
The brigade, which made its first deployment to Afghanistan in July, has seen heavy fighting against Taliban insurgents and has suffered 33 combat deaths. Two other soldiers have died of illness and another in a vehicular accident.
The three civilians killed near the Army’s Forward Operating Base Ramrod in southern Afghanistan are identified as Gul Mudin, who died in January; Marach Agha, killed on or about Feb. 22; and Mullah Adahdad, killed on or about May 2.
Officials at Lewis-McChord said Pvt. 1st Class Andrew Holmes, 19, of Boise, Idaho; Spc. Michael Wagnon II, 29, of Las Vegas; and Spc. Adam Winfield, 21, of Cape Coral, Fla., were charged Tuesday with one count each of premeditated murder.
Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, 25, of Billings, Mont., and Spc. Jeremy Morlock, 22, of Wasilla, Alaska, each were charged earlier this month with three counts of premeditated murder and one count of assault.
The charging sheets, with the names of the accusers and officers involved blanked out, say Morlock and Gibbs shot Agha and used fragmentary grenades and their rifles to kill Mudin and Adahdad.
Holmes is accused of throwing a grenade at and shooting Mudin, Winfield of doing the same to Adahdad, and Wagnon of shooting Agha.
The documents also allege Morlock hit and kicked a person May 5 and spat in a victim’s face. Gibbs also is accused of hitting and kicking a person on that date. All identifying information is redacted, including names, gender, whether one or more victims were involved and whether they are civilians.
Wagnon is further accused of impeding a criminal investigation by asking another soldier to erase a computer hard drive that contained evidence of the killings.
Spokeswoman Lt. Col. Tamara Parker said Gibbs was charged June 8 in Kuwait and is in transit to Lewis-McChord, a joint Army-Air Force base south of Tacoma, Wash. Morlock was charged June 4. He and the other three soldiers are being confined at the base, as Gibbs will be when he arrives.
The next step for the soldiers will be Article 32 hearings, similar to a grand jury. Officers to lead those proceedings have not yet been appointed and no dates for the hearings have been set, Parker said.
It could not be immediately determined whether defense lawyers have been appointed for all five men.
The maximum penalty for a premeditated murder conviction is life in prison or the death penalty. Lewis-McChord spokesman Joseph Piek said decisions on whether to seek the death penalty normally are made after an Article 32 hearing.SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Authorities say a Utah woman pulled two of her son's teeth in a Walmart restroom.
Prosecutors said Monday that Jeannine Degaston, 47, bought hand sanitizer and needle-nose pliers from the store, then took them into the restroom and pulled two of her 7-year-old son's teeth.
Police in American Fork said the boy's older brother heard the child screaming and got him out of the restroom on April 2. The teeth were removed in pieces, not just by pulling them out, according to police.
Charging documents say the boy told his brother that one of the teeth was loose, but the other was only slightly loose. Prosecutors say Degaston didn't use any kind of anesthetic. She told police she pulled them out because they were infected.
The child was taken to a dentist, who said the teeth did not need to be removed, according to police.
Degaston was charged with felony child abuse. No attorney was immediately listed for her in court records. Police said Degaston has a history of mental illness.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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PhotosDetectives from the Fairfax County Police Department – Franconia District Station are investigating numerous thefts that have occurred at several Starbucks locations from April 20, 2016 to May 23.
These thefts have occurred at nine locations spanning from the Franconia Police District in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County to the Reston Police District.
The suspect enters the business and pretends to talk on his cell phone while hanging around the store. When store employees are distracted, he loads a bag with VIA (instant coffee) packets and then leaves the store.
The suspect was described as:
black
~30 years-old
6′ 1″
He has long dreadlocks and pock-marked skin.
He typically carries a black duffel bag and has been seen leaving in a white Hyundai Tucson.
If you have any information about this suspect please contact Detective M.J. Bestick, of the Fairfax County Police Department, at 703-922-0894.
You can also contact Crime Solvers electronically by visiting http://www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text-a-tip by texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES(274637)** or by calling 1-866-411-TIPS(8477), or call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.The Second Amendment “was never meant to protect an individual’s right to own a gun.”
That is the statement — the historically, constitutionally, and grossly incorrect statement — made by Larry Harris, Jr. in an op-ed published by the online Huffington Post.
Harris’ goal is to persuade policymakers and politicians to consider “the idea of amending the Second Amendment to limit gun ownership to the military and hunters (i.e., actual hunting weapons).”
This, he declares, would be more in concert with the original intent of the Second Amendment.
By Harris’ reading of history, “The Founding Fathers clearly intended through the Second Amendment to protect the right to arm an organized militia.”
Wrong. One hundred percent wrong.
It feels a bit ridiculous to have to school someone of Harris’ educational credentials (“Harvard grad”) on points of historical and constitutional history that are so easily discovered by a cursory Google search, but when a person makes statements such as those made by Harris in his article, such lessons are necessary.
First, with regard to the idea that the Founding Fathers “clearly intended” that the Second Amendment guarantee guns could be kept and borne only by the “organized militia,” Harris is probably more correct than he knows. In fact, it is likely that once he reads how right he is on this point, he will want to amend his call for an amendment.
What is the militia, according to the Founders?
“The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States,” explained Noah Webster, writing in 1787 under the pseudonym “A Citizen of America.” (Emphasis added.)
How about this nugget written in January 1788 by a writer known only as “The Republican”:
It is a capital circumstance in favor of our liberty, that the people themselves are the military power of our country. In countries under arbitrary government, the people oppressed and dispirited, neither possess arms nor know how to use them. Tyrants never feel secure until they have disarmed the people. They can rely upon nothing but standing armies of mercenary troops for the support of their power. But the people of this country have arms in their hands; they are not destitute of military knowledge; every citizen is required by law to be a soldier; we are all martialed into companies, regiments, and brigades, for the defense of our country. This is a circumstance which increases the power and consequence of the people; and enables them to defend their rights and privileges against every invader. [Emphases added.]
The delegates in New York who voted to ratify the Constitution “clearly intended” to express their understanding of the identity — the traditional, historical, constitutional identity — of the militia when they wrote, “That the people have a right to keep and bear arms; that a well regulated militia, including the body of the people capable of bearing arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state.” [Emphasis in original.]
Virginia’s ratifying document contained a similar provision using almost identical language.
Finally, on this point, perhaps there is no clearer expression of the intent of the Founders with regard to the arming of a well-regulated militia and just who they considered members of that armed force than the Militia Act of 1792.
Prior to the enactment of that law, President George Washington spoke to the House of Representatives, saying that “a free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined.” In response to this exhortation and as an indication of their own legislative will, Congress adopted the Militia Act of 1792, which required every “free able bodied white male citizen” between the ages of 18 and 45 “to provide himself with a good musket of firelock,” and the requisite type and amount of ammunition.”
Henry Knox, Washington’s secretary of war, was the sponsor of this bill, and during deliberation on the matter he echoed his boss’s point of view, saying that “all men of legal military age should be armed,” claiming that such a force of citizen soldiers is the “capital security of a free Republic.”
And to put a cap on the concept, during congressional consideration of the proposal, Thomas Fitzsimmons of Pennsylvania said, “As far as the whole body of the people are necessary to the general defense, they ought to be armed.”
In light of this — to him — new information, I’m sure Harris will want to remove his “only the militia should be armed” clause from his proposed Second Amendment rewrite. For, as the above so clearly evinces, to arm only the militia would be to arm every American capable of bearing arms.
Now, to the claim that the Second Amendment was not intended to protect the right of the individual to be armed, the above referenced material should be sufficient, but there is so much more documentary evidence disproving Harris’ position that it is necessary to present it for the sake of scholarly accuracy.
Our Founding Fathers very well intended that every American be armed, believing that such was the only way to avoid being enslaved by tyrants. They knew from their study of history that a tyrant’s first move was always to disarm the people, and generally to claim it was for their safety, and to establish a standing army so as to convince the people that they didn’t need arms to protect themselves, for the tyrant and his professional soldiers would do it for them. Sound familiar?
Consider this gem from William Blackstone, a man of immense and undeniable influence on the Founders and their understanding of rights, civil and natural.
In Volume I of his Commentaries on the Laws of England, Blackstone declares “the natural right of resistance and self-preservation, when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression.”
Would anyone in America — or the world, for that matter — argue that the “sanctions of society and laws” are sufficient to “restrain violence” or oppression?
Thus, the people must be armed.
Commenting on Blackstone’s Commentaries, eminent Founding Era jurist and constitutional scholar St. George Tucker put a finer point on the purpose of protecting the natural right of all people to keep and bear arms. He wrote,
This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any colour or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction.
Enough said.
Larry Harris, Jr. presented two points in support of his proposed alteration of the Second Amendment: first, that the Founders never intended to protect the right of the individual to keep and bear arms; second, that our Founders believed that only the militia should be armed.
With both of these points so fully obliterated by the foregoing, Harris, the Huffington Post, and all those who likewise believe and bellow this patently false revisionist history should reconsider why they are advocating for civilian disarmament and what the ultimate outcome of monopoly control of weapons by the government might be.
I’ll give the last word to Solon, the lawgiver of Athens, who in 560 B.C. scolded the recently disarmed Athenians, reminding them:
If now ye suffer grievously through cowardice all your own,
Cherish no wrath against the gods for this,
For you yourselves increased the usurper's power by giving him your guard in his hands,
And now, therefore, as his servants you must do as he commands.Divergent Cosmetics @ Sephora
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Divergent—what makes you different makes you dangerous. This enormous multi-piece kit allows you to be brave, selfless, intelligent, honest, and kind all at once. Each of the three Eye Shadow Palettes contains four coordinating High Pigment Eye Shadows plus one High Gloss Transforming Eye Shadow to draw immediate attention to the eyes. The High Gloss Transforming Eye Shadows impart a shimmery, diamond-like reflection that is transparent when applied dry, and translucent when applied wet. Mix and match the shades to achieve a unique look every time. The kit also includes a cheek palette with two Long-Wear Blushes, a Shimmering Bronzer, and a Radiant Glow Illuminator. Four High Shine Lip Glosses round out each faction’s look. Use the double-ended eye and cheek brush and the included Get-the-look cards to choose and proclaim your faction. This Set Contains:
12 x 0.059 oz High Pigment Eye Shadows in Burnt Mahogany, Radiant Initiation, Peaceful Shimmer, Humble Sheen, Dauntless Ink, Abnegation Stone, Erudite Sapphire, Serene Vanilla, Bold Espresso, Intrepid Moss, Golden Honesty, Altruistic Almond
3 x 0.059 oz High Gloss Transforming Eye Shadows in Choose, Diverge, Transform
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Divergent Cosmetics @ SephoraI didn’t like infinity wars…
MASSIVE SPOILERS! IF YOU WANNA SEE IT VIRGIN, DONT READ
——————————————————————-
Ok, so last night was practically the first marvel film I didn’t enjoy. I mentioned this my husband we left and said “but you deathly hallows part one? They’re practically the same!” And that got me thinking and reaffirmed WHY I walked away disappointed.
My first point, the pacing. Its so fast it could give you whiplash. It barrelled along at breakneck speed to show you all the awesome characters from the MCU but at the cost of character development and leaving everyone feeling like flat characters. The only one that didn’t was Thanos. I enjoyed his development but not at the cost of undermining several interesting and compelling characters. So my second point, character development.
And here I’ll draw comparison to deathly hallows for my husband’s sake. DH did develop its characters, in fact it stressed it. The whole point of part one was gear them to the fight with a try and fail cycle. Every downbeat in deathly was followed up by an uptick in either determination, friendship or introspection. The pacing allowed for that and nurtured it. Where as in IW … It’s was all downbeats that undercut the character previously done development or tried to uptick on a one liner punchline. Intact at 5 minutes in I seriously questioned ‘what was the point in Thor Ragnarok?’ its message and Thor character progression was robbed in mere moments. Intact … Thor’s whole arc in IW destroys Ragnaroks message. This is recurring problem with nearly all the 'heros’ in the story, they all fail and learnt nothing and don’t progress, hell the only ONE I think that did learn died so that moment was kinda robbed too.
Now the narrative does follow logical conclusions are it barrels along. The main problem is that the hero’s of the story achieve nothing, they learn nothing from thier failures and therefore don’t progress. Even the deaths are anticlimactic, not one was an heroic death, one almost was before it went for a do over and fell flat. By half way, I could see the formula, knew what was coming, wait for the twist that never came and emotionally checked out. Infact it became so formulaic that Thanos used the same tactic 3 times to achieve his goals. Torture loved one in front of hero, hero tries to grin and bear it but gives in, hero gives Thanos what he wants, Thanos then kills the hero. 3 times! In one movie!
By half way, I stopped enjoying the jokes and fight scenes because I knew the out come and was sorely disappointed.
So back to what my husband said, why did I enjoy Deathly Hallows and not Infinity wars? Well at the end of DH it’s was grim, fearful but a strong sense determination and will in the face of death. IW left me exhausted defeated and learning nothing, and the movies hinted resolution from it part two is a cryptic notes about a magical caption mcguffin that’s had no screen time of emotional build up that I assume at this point will perform a Deux Machina and that doesn’t inspire me.
In all honesty, this should have been 2 movies … There were too many characters on screen that fell flat or were undercut or retro developed, the pacing didn’t get a chance to breath. And some scene were just pointless too, like the neuro surgery scene that goes nowhere plot wise.
I really really want to like this. I’ve been looking forward to this for year and I hate that all I did bwas walk out disappointed and unentused to see another marvel movie.The rise of the Pac-12 this season is reflected in the ESPN All-America Team. Both the SEC and the Pac-12 contributed eight players to the team. However, the Pac-12's players came from seven different schools, a reflection of how the conference raised its game as a group, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Five of the team's front seven are from the Pac-12, including the top three FBS players in sacks.
We selected three wide receivers, an indication of the disappearing tight end. The two running backs came from the Big Ten, and really, where else would we have looked?
Alabama leads all teams with three players, including the only freshman to make the team, punter JK Scott. Kicker Roberto Aguayo of Florida State is the only repeat honoree, and he is a sophomore. The two of them are evidence of a revolution in the development of kicking specialists. They arrived at college ready to shine.
Then again, everyone on this team shines.
-- Ivan MaiselPaul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Monday, January 5, 2008
Medics have found traces of depleted uranium in victims of Israel’s brutal attack on Gaza, according to a Press TV report, meaning the ultimate death toll could be far higher as future generations are plagued by cancers and birth defects.
“Norwegian medics told Press TV correspondent Akram al-Sattari that some of the victims who have been wounded since Israel began its attacks on the Gaza Strip on December 27 have traces of depleted uranium in their bodies,” states the article.
Following the conclusion of the first Gulf War in 1991, in which depleted uranium was used by U.S. forces, cancers and birth defects in Iraq soared and many veterans organizations agree that the weapon was responsible for the emergence of Gulf War Syndrome that has plagued hundreds of thousands of Gulf War veterans.
Depleted uranium shell holes at the infamous Highway of Death in Iraq showed measurements 1,000 times more radioactive than background radiation. The residue of a DU weapon can be spread by the wind and infect humans not in the immediate area as well as the entire food chain.
The image below shows some of the shocking effects of |
was very made fun of, and stalked the girl (Olive Hornby) who made her cry and go into the bathroom in the first place, until Olive complained to the Ministry of Magic, and was forced to live in her toilet. She helped Harry and Ron find out where the chamber of secrets was, and helped Harry in figuring out how to work the egg for the 2nd task in the Triwizard Tournament (along with helping him in the actual 2nd task, by telling him which way to go to get Ron). Mockridge, Cuthbert- Head of the Goblin Liaison Office in the Ministry of Magic. Montague- Chaser and Captain for the Slytherin quidditch team in Book 5. Also a member of Umbridge’s Inquisitorial squad who Fred and George stuffed in a vanishing cabinet after trying to take points from them. He was found a few days later in a toilet. Montgomery- Sisters who attend Hogwarts. Their brother was attacked by a werewolf after their mother refused to help death eaters. He died in St. Mungo’s at the age of 5. Moody, Alastor- Nicknamed Mad-Eye Moody. A retired auror from the ministry of magic who has a magical eye that can see through things. He took the job as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts in Book 4. He was attacked by Barty Crouch Jr. (see Crouch, Barty Jr.) and lived in a trunk under the imperius curse, while Crouch Jr. pretended to be him. He was let out after Dumbledore found out about Crouch. He is an active member of the Order of the Phoenix and fought in the Department of Mysteries in Book 5. Moody was killed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Umbridge had his eye in her office door, Harry later stole this to give Moody a buriel. Moon- A student in Harry’s year (House unknown). Moony- Remus Lupin’s (see Lupin, Remus J.) nickname at school. Moor, Bodmin-The golden snitch evaded capture for six months on him in 1884, and both teams gave up because of the poor skills of their seekers. Mopsus- Defeated the Seer Calchas. Moran- Chaser for the Irish National Quidditch Team. Morgan, Gwendolyn- Captain of the Holyhead Harpies when they lost to the Heidelberg Harriers. The captain of the other team them proposed to her. She then hit him with her broomstick. Morgana- See Le Fe, Morgana Morholt- Giant brother of the King of Ireland. Mortlake- A man brought in for questioning to the ministry of magic for having odd ferrets made by experimental charms. Mosag- Aragog’s wife. Mostafa, Hassan- The referee for the 422nd Quidditch World Cup. Also Chairwizard of the International Associate of Quidditch. Mr. Paws- One of Mrs. Figg’s cats. Mulciber- A death eater who specializes in the Imperius Curse. Was in Azkaban but escaped with other death eaters in Book 5. He fought for Voldemort in the department of mysteries at the end of Book 5. Muldoon, Burdock- Chief of Wizard’s Council 1448 to 1450. He declared that any creatures that walked on 2 legs was classified as a being, therefore excluding centaurs and mermaids. Mullet- Chaser for the Irish National Quidditch Team. Mumps, Zacharias- Wrote a description of Quidditch in the 14th century that resembles Quidditch today. He describe d it as oval shaped, five hundred feet long, and one hundred and eighty feet wide with a small circle in the center. He also described the players. Munch, Eric- A security wizard at the Ministry of Magic checking wands and likes to read the daily prophet in Book 5. Also arrested Sturgis Podmore for trespassing in the ministry. Muriel (Aunt)- Reffered to as “Our Great Auntie Muriel” and Fleur wears her goblin-made tiara for the wedding. Muriel is apparently is a memorable kisser and she lives near the Burrow in Ottery St. Catchpole. At the wedding she is 107-years-old and described as having a beaky nose and red-rimmed eyes, and looking like a bad-tempered flamingo. Murcus- Head of the mermaids that live in the Hogwarts lake. Murray, Eunice- Seeker for the Montrose Magpies who asked for the snitch to be faster. Myrtle- A ghost of a Hogwarts student who was killed by the Basilisk in a bathroom. She was very made fun of, and stalked the girl (Olive Hornby) who made her cry and go into the bathroom in the first place, until Olive complained to the Ministry of Magic, and was forced to live in her toilet. She helped Harry and Ron find out where the chamber of secrets was, and helped Harry in figuring out how to work the egg for the 2nd task in the Triwizard Tournament (along with helping him in the actual 2nd task, by telling him which way to go to get Ron). N Nagini- Voldemort’s 12 foot long snake who may be a horcrux. Nearly Headless Nick- The nickname of the Gryffindor house ghost. His head is barely connected to him, with about 1/2 an inch of skin; therefore never being let into the headless hunt; which he desires to join. He was hit with a blunt axe 45 times before dying. Nettles, Madam Z- A witch from Topsham who used Kwikspell and claimed that it worked. Nigellus, Phineas- The great-great grandfather of Sirius Black who was (as Sirius said) the least popular headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen. He has a portrait in Dumbledore’s office as well as 12 Grimmauld Place. He was given instructions in Book 5 to tell Sirius that Arthur Weasley was injured working for the Order of the Phoenix. Norbert- A dragon that Hagrid illegally hatched in Book 1. He was forced to send it to Romania with Charlie Weasley. Norris, Mrs.- The best friend and cat of the caretaker Argus Filch. Helps him to find students and get them in trouble. Nott,?- A death eater who never went to Azkaban and went to Voldemort’s rebirth party. Fought in the Department of Mysteries in Book 5. His son is a friend of Draco Malfoy’s at Hogwarts (below). Nott, Theodore- A “weedy-looking” student who hangs out with Draco Malfoy. He could see the thestrals, and he checked out quidditch through the ages (due back January 22). His father is a death eater (above). Nutcombe, Honoria- Founded The Society for the Reformation of Hags. Was wizard of the month on J.K. Rowling’s official site for August, 2004. O Oblansk- Bulgarian Minister of Magic. Is introduced in Book 4 by Cornelius Fudge who cannot pronounce his name. Odo- A song that was about him dying Slughorn sang after they buried the dead Aragog. May also be Odo the Hero. Ogden, Bob- The muggle born man in the pensive in Book 6. An employee for the department of Magical Law Enforcement. He went to see Morfin Gaunt about using magic on muggles. He sees Merope, Morfin, and Marvolo Gaunt in the House. This vision helps Harry see where Voldemort (Tom Riddle- Merope Gaunt’s son- comes from). Ogden, Tiberius- A wizard friend of Professor Tofty who tells him that Harry can produce a patronus. He is a Wizengamot elder who resigns after Umbridge becomes High Inquisitor. Ogg- The gamekeeper at Hogwarts before Hagrid when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were students. Oglethorpe, Dunbar- Chief of Q.U.A.B.B.L.E. (Quidditch Union for the Administration and Betterment of the British League and its Endeavors). O’Hare, Darren- Keeper for the Kestrels and captain of the Irish National Quidditch team (though not the one in Book 4). Olaf- Cousin of Goodwin Kneen; his cousin wrote to him about the game of “quidditch” (as it was known in the 12th century). Oldridge, Chauncey- First known victim of dragon pox. Wizard of the month on J.K. Rowling’s official site in July, 2005. Oliphant, Gondoline- Studied the habits of trolls. Was the Wizard of the month on J.K. Rowling’s official site for April, 2005. Ollerton, Barnaby- Started the Cleansweep broom company with his brothers Bob and Bill (Below). Ollerton, Bill- Started the Cleansweep broom company with his brothers Barnaby (above) and bob (below,) Ollerton, Bob- Started the Cleansweep broom company with his brothers Barnaby and Bill (above). Ollerton, Gifford- A famous giant slayer. Ollivander,?- An old man who owns the wand shop Ollivander and is known as the best wand maker in Brittain. He sells Harry his wand (along with Voldemort’s, James Potter, and Lily’s Evans). He also performs the weighing of the wands ceremony in Book 4 for the champions of the Triwizard tournament. He also disappears at the beginning of the second wizarding war. We find out in Deathly Hallows that he was kidnapped by Voldemort so he could learn about the wand connection between him and Harry and the Elder Wand. Oona- Provided a local quidditch team with barrels to make the goal posts in the 10th century. P Padfoot- The nickname of Sirius Black given to him by his friends when he was at school. Paracelsus- A person who appears on the first chocolate frog card and has a bust of him in the route from the Gryffindor common room to the owlery. Parkin, Walter- A butcher who’s children were the Wigtown wanderer’s. He would stand on the side of the field with a butcher knife to scare the other team. Parkinson, Pansy- A Slytherin girl in Harry’s year who is friends with Draco Malfoy. She attended the Yule ball with Malfoy, and is often seen hanging around him. She was also in Umbridge’s inquisitorial squad. Patil, Padma- A Ravenclaw girl in Harry’s year who is the twin sister of Gryffindor Pavarti Patil (below). She went to the Yule ball as Ron’s date, and was made a prefect in Book 5. She and her sister are both members of the D.A. Her and her sister are said to be the prettiest girls in Harry’s year. Patil, Pavarti- A Gryffindor girl in Harry’s year who has a twin sister in Ravenclaw; Padma Patil (above). She has long dark hair and is said to be the prettiest girl in their grade (along with her sister). She attended the Yule ball with Harry. Her favorite subject is divination, and her favorite teacher is Trelawney. She also joined the D.A. in Book 5. Paws, Mr.- One of Mrs. Figg’s cats. Payne,?- The site manager for the are where The Diggory’s are staying at the Quidditch World Cup. Peakes, Glanmore- Was famous for slaying a sea serpent. Peakes, Jimmy- A boy described as short but broad-chested and in his third year. He made the Gryffindor quidditch team. Peasegood, Abraham- A wizard who invented the game of Quodpot. Peasegood, Arnold- Obliviator for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad in the Ministry of Magic. Peeves- Also known as Peeves the Poltergeist; He is not a ghost, but according to J.K.R. he is like a bunch of souls in one who want to cause trouble. He likes to throw things around and play pranks on students and teachers. He is only afraid of the Bloody Baron, who can usually control him. Penfriend- Not an actual name; This refers to the girl that Bill wrote to and invited Bill to come and visit her in Brazil. The Weasley’s could not afford the trip, so she sent Bill a cursed hat the made his ears shrivel up. Pennifold, Daisy- Made up the idea to make the quaffle fall slowly so it will not hit the floor of the quidditch pitch. Now, the modern quaffle is named after her. Pennyfeather- A student at Hogwarts who’s house in unknown. Pepper, Octavius- A man who vanished in Book 6. Perkins- A warlock who used to work with Mr. Weasley in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office (Mr. Weasley was promoted). He also lent Mr. Weasley tents for the Quidditch world cup. Perks, Sally-Ann- A student in Harry’s year who was sorted before him. Pettigrew, Peter- Supposedly dead, a friend of James Potter when he was a student. He is an animagus; transforming into a rat. After Hogwarts, he joined Lord Voldemort and pretended to be in the Order of the Phoenix. He then betrayed James Potter and his wife, telling Voldemort where they were. He was their secret keeper for where they were hiding (this how he knew where they were). James and Lily were killed, and Voldemort lost his powers due to their son, Harry Potter. He then pretended to by Ron Weasley’s pet rat until Book 3. He was forced to turn into his regular self by Sirius Black, who he framed making it seem that Black betrayed Harry’s parents. He gave his hand to Voldemort for his rebirth. He is the one that found Voldemort and nursed him back to health. Peverell- A pure blood family who’s coat of arms was on the ring that Marvolo Gaunt showed Ogden inside the pensive. Marvolo Gaunt said that this ring had been in his family for generations, all pure blood. Peverell, Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus – The original owners of the Deathly Hallows that are in the “The Tale of the three Brothers” by Beedle the Bard. They are all buried in the Godric’s Hollow graveyard. Philpott, Arkie- After tightened up security, this wizard got a probity probe stuck up his —. Pig- The nickname of Ron’s owl Pigwidgeon. Pigwidgeon- Ron’s small pet owl who was named by Ginny, nicknamed Pig. Pilliwickle, Justus- Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the early and middle 20th century. Pince, Madam Irma-The Hogwarts librarian that is said to have relationship with Filch. Pinkstone, Carlotta- Famous for wanting to change the law from the International Confederation of Wizard’s Statute of Secrecy and was for telling muggles about wizards. Pittiman, Randolphus- Wrote about Uric the Oddball. Platt, Yardley- A famous goblin killer. Plumpton, Roderick- The seeker for England’s National Quidditch team and on the Tutshill Tornadoes. He holds the record for the fastest time catching the snitch; 3.5 seconds. Plunkett, Mirabella- Fell in love with a merman, and transformed herself into a paddock when he refused to marry her. Podmore, Sir Patrick Delaney- Leader of the Headless Hunt who keeps declining Nearly Headless Nick into the Headless Hunt. Podmore, Sturgis- A member of the Order of the Phoenix and of the Advanced Guard that went to get Harry from the Dursley’s in Book 5. He is charged with trespassing into the ministry of magic and at attempted Robbery. He is convicted and was sentenced to 6 months in Azkaban. Pokeby, Gulliver- Author of “Why I Didn’t Die When The Augurey Cried” and was on a chocolate frog card for knowing a lot about birds and the first wizard to ever discover what the Augury’s song meant. Poliakoff- A student from Durmstrang who is ignored by Karkaroff (like the others) because he is busy with the champion Victor Krum. Karkaroff asked Victor Krum if he would like some wine, and he said no. Poliakoff said he would, and Karkaroff yelled at him saying that he did not need any. Polkiss, Piers- A rat faced scrawny boy who is Dudley Dursley’s best friend and in his gang. Pomfrey, Poppy- Known as Madam Pomfrey to students and is the Hogwarts Nurse. Pontner, Roddy- Made a bet with Ludo Bagman at the Quidditch World Cup. Porpington, Sir Nicholas de Mimsey- Another way to say the name of Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor House Ghost. His head is barely connected to him, with about 1/2 an inch of skin; therefore never being let into the headless hunt; which he desires to join. He was hit with a blunt axe 45 times before dying. Pontner, Roddy- Famous quidditch player from Russia. Potter, Albus Severus- Son of Ginny and Harry Potter. Potter, Harry James– Harry James Potter is the most important character in the entire Harry Potter series (even the book is named after him!). He has jet black hair, is very skinny, has big green eyes, looks very much like his father James Potter, has circular glasses, and has a lighting bolt scar across his head as a result of the attack of Lord Voldemort. He is the son of Lily and James Potter, both members of the Order of the Phoenix. He was orphaned when he was about 1 years old, and grew up with his Aunt and Uncle. He did not know he was a wizard until he was 11, when Hagrid came to get him and take him to Hogwarts. He is the only known person to have ever survived the killing curse, throwing Voldemort to his downfall. A prophecy states that he is the only one who can defeat Voldemort. Harry Potter is also the godson of Sirius Black (that being how he is related to the Blacks- not blood related). Potter, James Sirius- Son of Harry and Ginny Potter. Potter, James- James Potter is the father of Harry Potter. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He was best friends with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew when he attended school. He was a bit of a troublemaker in school, landing himself in detention quite a bit. He also played chaser for the Gryffindor quidditch team. His nickname in school was Prongs (by his closest friends) because he could turn into a stag. He along with his wife Lily Potter (below) were murdered by Lord Voldemort in attempt to get to their son; Harry. Potter, Lily- Daughter of Ginny and Harry Potter. Potter, Lily- (maiden name: Lily Evans) Lily Potter is the mother of Harry Potter. She was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and the wife of James Potter (above). She was quite popular in school, and was muggle born. She, like Harry, was in the Slug Club. According to Slughorn, she was good at everything (that had to do with school). Her along with her husband were killed by Lord Voldemort in attempt to get their son, Harry. She would not let Voldemort kill Harry, so he killed her. This made a protective shield around Harry so Voldemort could not kill him. This spell was then broken in Book 4 when Voldemort took Harry’s blood so that he could now kill him. Potts, Nugent- Quidditch referee in 1894 who was hit by an arrow from a fan. Prang, Ernie- The driver of the knight bus. Prewett, Fabian- Was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. It took 5 death eaters to kill him and his brother Gideon. Was the brother of Molly Weasley. Prewett, Gideon- Was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. It took 5 death eaters to kill him and his brother Fabian. Was the brother of Molly Weasley. Prewett, Molly- The maiden name of Molly Weasley (see Weasley, Molly). Prince, Eileen- The mother of Severus Snape who was a witch. Pringle, Apollyon- The caretaker of Hogwarts when Mrs. and Mr. Weasley attended. Pritchard, Graham- A boy sorted into Slytherin in Book 4. Prod, D. J.- Wrote to quikspell about how he took the quikspell course and how it worked. Prongs- The nickname of James Potter when he was at school by his friends. Proudfoot- An auror who is stationed in Hogsmeade along with Tonks, Savage, and Dawlish in Book 6. Ptolemy- One of the only cards that Ron does not have in his collection (along with Agrippa). Pucey, Adrian- A chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team.
Puddifoot, Madam- Owns a tea shop in Hogsmeade. Her tea shop is a popular place for couples. Purkiss, Doris- The quibbler printed an issue in which she wrote in to; saying that who everybody thought was Sirius Black was actually Stubby Boardman, who was the lead singer in a band called the Hobgoblins. Pye, Augustus- Trainee healer at St. Mungo’s who tried to heal Arthur Weasley. It was him who had the idea of using stitches on Mr. Weasley’s snake bite. Q Quigley- Beater for the Irish National Quidditch Team. Quirke, Orla- A girl sorted into Ravenclaw in Book 4. Quirell, Quirinus- Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in book 1. While traveling he encountered Lord Voldemort. Voldemort possessed his body and had his head in the back of Quirrel’s, He wore a turban to hid Voldemort. Quirell tried to do many things to Harry. He tried to knock him off his broomstick, and let a troll out of the dungeons as a distraction so he could try and get the Sorcerer’s stone. He reached it at the end of Book 1. Harry then got to where he was, and got the sorcerer’s stone. Quirell then tried to attack Harry, but when Harry touched him, Quirell died. Voldemort then escaped his body and fled. Quong Po- Studied the Chinese fireball dragon and discovered their uses of their powdered eggs. R Rabnott, Modesty- Tried to stop Barberus Bragge from using the Golden Snidget; thinking that it was harmful to the bird (which it was). The Modesty Rabnott Golden Snidget Preserve is named after her. Rackharrow, Urquhart- Inventor of the entrail-expelling curse. Their portrait hangs in the Dai Llewelllyn ward at St. Mungo’s Hospital. Radford, Mnemone – Developed Memory Modifying Charms and was the first Ministry of Magic Obliviator. Radulf- A blacksmith who had to play “catcher” for a local queerditch match after the regular catcher could not go. Ragnok- A goblin. Rastrick, Xavier- A wizard famous for disappearing while tap dancing who was never seen again. Ravenclaw, Helena (The Grey Lady)- The daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, she stole her mothers diadem to become more clever and smarter than her mother. Then she was murdered by the Bloody Baron who loved her. The Ravenclaw house ghost now. Ravenclaw, Rowena- One of the founders of Hogwarts who valued intelligence. She had a diadem that was said to make you more clever, this later became one of Voldemort’s horcruxes. Riddle, Tom Marvolo- A Slytherin boy who is heir to Slytherin and who turned into Lord Voldemort. He formed a tight knit group of friends while at Hogwarts that later became his first death eaters. He was probably one of the smarter Hogwarts students ever. He also turned Hagrid in for taking care of the monster in the chamber of secrets, where it was actually him. He then received a special award for services to the school. He was raised in a muggle orphanage because his mother died giving birth to him. He then killed his father and grandparents because they were scum muggles that he hated. He lost all of his powers when he tried to kill Harry Potter, and got them back in Book 4. He was then at large in Books 5 and 6. There was a prophecy made about him that Harry Potter was the only one that could kill him; saying that neither can live while the other survives. He has 7 horcurx, 2 of which were already destroyed by Harry and Voldemort. Riddle, Tom- The muggle father of Tom Marvolo Riddle (above). He was never in love with Tom’s mother, but was under a love potion. When she took him off the potion he ran away from her, leaving her forever. He was killed by his son, along with the deaths of his parents. Riddle,?- The parents of Tom Riddle (above) and the grandparents of Tom Marvolo Riddle. They were killed by their grandson, along with the death of their son. Ridgebit, Harvey- A Dragonologist who caught first Peruvian Vipertooth and established world’s largest dragon sanctuary in Romania. Robards, Gawain- Replaced Rufus Scrimgeor as Head of the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic. Roberts,?- A muggle man who was thrown into the air along with his wife and kids at the Quidditch World Cup by death eaters. He was also the muggle who was in charge of the area where the Weasley’s tent was located. Robins, Demelza- A girl on the Gryffindor quidditch team as a chaser in Book 6 who was particularly good at dodging bludgers. Ronan- A centaur who Harry talked to when he went into the forbidden forest as detention in Book 1. He was also there when he went back into the forest to see Grawp in Book 5. Rookwood, Augustus- A death eater who used to work in the Department of Mysteries. He was betrayed by Karkaroff, and this was how he was found out to be a death eater. He went to Azkaban, but escaped with the mass breakout in Book 5. He fought in the Department of Mysteries in Book 5 for Voldemort. Rosier – One of the earliest Death Eaters. Rosier, Druella- Druella married a great-grandson of Phineas Nigellus Black. Her children were Bellatrix (Black) Lestrange, Andromeda (Black) Tonks, and Narcissa (Black) Malfoy. Rosier, Evan- Death Eater killed along with Wilkes by Aurors. Rosmerta, Madam- The owner of the 3 Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. She is said to be quite pretty, and Ron fancies her. In Book 6, she gave Katie the cursed necklace because she was under the imperius curse. Ryan, Barry- Keeper for the Irish National Quidditch team. S Sanguini- A friend of Slughorn’s who was at one of the parties Slughorn threw. Sanguina, Carmilla- A vampire who bathed in blood to retain her beauty. Savage- An aurora who is stationed in Hogsmeade in Book 6 along with Tonks, Savage, Proudfoot, and Dawlish. Sawbridge, Almerick- Conquered a troll that caused trouble at the Wye River. Scabior- One of the “snatchers” who captured Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dean Thomas, and Griphook and took them to the Malfoy mansion. Scamander, Newton (Newt) Artemis Fido- Born in 1897 as the son of a hippogriff breeder (which is where he got his taste for magical creatures). He joined the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, working as a House-Elf relocater. He was then moved to the beast division. He did many things, such as make the Werewolf Register in 1947 and the Ban on Experimental breeding in Britain. He left this all to study magical creatures, which led him to write Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He has a wife Porpentina, live in Dorset, and pet kneazles. Scamander, Porpentina- The wife of Newt Scamander who lives in Dorset and have pet kneazles. Scamander, Rolf- A famous naturalist who is the grandson of Newt Scamander and he marrys Luna Lovegood. Schmidt, Bruno- A child from Germany who killed an Erkling by hitting it over the head with a cauldron (erklings lure in children with their screeches). Scrimgeour, Rufus- Former Head of the Aurora Office of the Ministry of Magic who replaced Cornelius Fudge as minister of magic. Was murdered in Deathly Hallows. Scrimgeour, Brutus- Author of The Beater’s Bible. (may be related to Rufus Scrimgeour, above) Selwyn- A Death Eater who gave his wand to Voldemort and was later seen at Xenophilius Lovegood house when he claimed to have captured Harry. The Selwyns are a well-known pureblood family. Shacklebolt, Kingsley- A tall black aurora who has a deep voice and in the Order of the Phoenix. He was in charge of the hunt for Sirius Black, leading them on saying that he was hiding somewhere far away (where he knew he was in Grimmauld Place). He was part of the Advanced Guard that came to get Harry from the Dursley’s house in Book 5. Fought in the Department of Mysteries in Book 5, and is the muggle Prime Minister’s secretary (for safety of him). Was made the temporary, then permanent Minister for Magic at the end of Deathly Hallows. His lynx patronus saved many people at Bill and Fleurs wedding when he warned of the Death Eaters approaching. Shimpling, Derwent- A wizard comedian who ate an entire Venemous Tentacula as a bet and survived. Shingleton, Gaspard- Inventor of the Self-Stirring Cauldron. Shunpike, Stan- Conductor of the knight bus who pretended to be the youngest minister of magic he wasn’t to impress a veela. He was arrested in Book 6 on charges of working with the death eaters. Sinistra, Aurora- The female Astronomy teacher at Hogwarts. Skeeter, Rita- A reporter for the daily prophet who wrote horrible stories about Harry in Book 4. She was banned from Hogwarts, but still got stories from it. She was discovered by Hermione Granger to be an animagus as a beetle. Hermione told her that if she wrote any more stores she would tell the Ministry that she was an animagus. Hermione forced her to write a good story about Harry in Book 5, which changed the view of many wizards about Harry. Skively, Harold- Wrote to the Daily Prophet, and suggested that the Wizarding community celebrate a day to honor Merlin, because he could use an extra holiday in August. Slinkhard, Wilbert- Author of Defensive Magical Theory that was assigned for Umbridge in Book 5. Slooper, Jack- Replaces one of the Weasley twins position of beater on the Gryffindor team after they are given a lifelong ban on playing by Umbridge. Slughorn, Horace- The potions teacher in Book 6 after Snape becomes Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He has a special group called the Slug Club that consists of his favorite students. He has great connections to students who used to be in the slug club. He came out of retirement thinking he would be safe at Hogwarts (after Harry convinced him to). Former head of Slytherin House (and probably the new one in Book 7). Slytherin, Salazar- One of the founders of Hogwarts who preferred pure blood and cunning students among the rest. He left the school before it was finished being done, due to a row he had with Godric Gryffindor. He was a parselmouth who, before leaving, made a secret chamber called the Chamber of Secrets. Legend said that only the heir to Slytherin would be able to open it and release the monster within (and the legend turned out to be true). Smethley, Veronica- A fan of Lockhart who wrote him letters. Smethwyk, Elliot- Created the cushioning charm for the broomsticks. Smethwyk, Hippocrates- Keeper in charge of the Dai Llewellyn ward at St. Mungo’s. Smethwyk, Leopoldina- First British witch to referee a quidditch game. Smith, Hepzibah- A witch who had Tom Riddle over to her house many times, usually on business (Tom them worked in Borgin and Burkes). She showed him a silver cup with 2 finely wrought handles, and said that it belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, and that she was the heir to Hufflepuff. She also showed him a golden locket that had a S with serpent letters that had belonged to Salazar Slytherin. She died 2 days after this after supposedly being murdered by her house elf Hokey, and her 2 items were missing (But was really Tom Riddle who killed her for her special items and then taken them). Smith, Zacharias- A Hufflepuff boy who is the chaser for the Hufflepuff quidditch team. He is also a member of the D.A. Ron, Fred, George, and Harry do not like him very much for his attitude. He was also the announcer for a Slytherin-Gryffindor quidditch game, in which he was very rude to Gryffindor. Snape, Severus– The Potions teacher from Books 1 through 5. He never liked Harry, due to the fact that he was an enemy of James Potter. He was always into the Dark Arts, becoming a death eater after graduating from Hogwarts. He joined the Order of the Phoenix and made an unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy, saying that he would have to protect her son Draco in Book 6. He became a spy for Dumbledore on Voldemort, therefore not being arrested for being a death eater. He then became the potions teacher at Hogwarts, and always wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job, but was never given it by Dumbledore. In book 6 he was given the job. At the end of Book 6, he kills Albus Dumbledore. In the seventh book we see Snape’s true colors and that he loved Lily Evans Potter and never wanted her dead. His patronus is a doe, which was also hers. He was murdered in Deathly Hallows by Lord Voldemort to gain possesion of the Elder Wand. Snape, Tobias- The muggle father of Severus Snape. Snowy- One of Mrs. Figg’s cats. Snuffles- The name that Sirius tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione to call him when they are talking to him in public. Spinett, Alicia- A Gryffindor girl two years older than Harry who was on the reserve team for quidditch the year before Harry came to Hogwarts, and on the Quidditch team from books 1 through 5. She was also a member of the D.A. Spore, Phyllida- Author of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. Sprout, Pomona- Head of Hufflepuff house and teacher of Herbology. Stainwright, Erica- 1950s housekeeping guru who made fortune selling ‘cleaning’ potions that really generated more mould and grime. Stalk, Blenheim- Author of “Muggles Who Notice” and is an expert on Muggles. Starkey, Hesper- A witch who studied how different phases in the moon affects potions. Stebbins,?- A student who gets in trouble after overhearing Karkaroff talk to Snape in Book 4. Stebbins,?- A student in James Potter’s year who Professor Flitwick specifically tells to put down his quill after the O.W.L. is over (Harry sees this in the pensive). This may perhaps be the father of the Stebbins above. Stimpson, Patricia- A witch in Fred and George’s year who had a breakdown during her O.W.L. Stroulger, Edgar- Inventor of the Sneakoscope. Strout, Miriam- The healer in charge of the Janus Thickey ward at St. Mungo’s In this ward are Lockhart, Bode, Agnus (the lady with all the hair that barked like a dog), and Alice and Frank Longbottom. She was charged by the Ministry of Magic after Bode died in his bed after being strangled by a Devil’s Snare plant. She was suspended on pay. Stump, Grogan- Minister of Magic in 1811. He said that a being is anything that can understand wizarding laws. He then created 3 main departments for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, which were Being, Beast, and Spirit. Summerbee, Felix- Inventor of the cheering charm (and perhaps had something to do with the lucky potion; Felix Felicis-though not confirmed, being that Felix is a fairly common name). Was wizard of the month of May 2004 and of May 2005. Summberby,?- The Hufflepuff seeker after Cedric Diggory died. Summers,?- A boy who ended up in the hospital wing after trying to take aging potion to get across Dumbledore’s age line to enter the Triwizard Tournament in Book 4. Sweeting, Havelock- An expert on unicorns. Switch, Emeric- Author of A Beginner’s Guide to Transfig |
-popups. Key-popups are another thing that is disabled by default. Every other keyboard I've tried on Android can display key-popups at pace, no matter how fast I type. I find key-popups to be an integral part of all virtual keyboards, as it gives you visual feedback that you've hit the button you were aiming for. If the popups aren't able to keep up, it throws me off my typing pattern, and makes for a terrible user experience. The actual appearance of the SwiftKey keyboard looks like something out of 2008. Sure, SwiftKey supports themes, and "some" of the themes available look OK. But the default themes are anything but. A lot of them look dated, from back when it was trendy for Android keyboard to look like crap. The keyboard supports custom themes, but I wouldn't call that anything special considering the "custom" element is just changing the keyboard's background. There's no color configuration options, just the background. Other keyboards have way better custom theming support. There are much better Android keyboards available I've also noticed that the "stats" feature in the SwiftKey app never works. No matter what device I try it on. This is apparent on stable and beta releases of SwiftKey.
I've tried plenty of Android keyboards since I made the switch from Windows Phone, looking for one that can at least pretend to compete with the mighty Windows Phone keyboard. I've tried everything from Google's keyboard to Flesky, and I finally found my Windows Phone keyboard replacement. I present to you... the BlackBerry keyboard. This isn't a keyboard you're supposed to be able to install on non-BlackBerry devices, but you can bypass that block if you want to with an app called BlackBerry Manager. The BlackBerry keyboard is hands-down, the best virtual keyboard I've ever used on any platform. It's simple, fast, with great auto-correct and shape writing, and it even has CTRL shortcuts for copy and paste. The BlackBerry keyboard gets the fundamentals right, and that's incredibly important. I never tap into a text field and have to wait for half a second for the keyboard to pop up as I did with SwiftKey. I'm able to use keyboard shortcuts I'm familiar with on my PC on my phone thanks to the addition of CRTL shortcut support on the BlackBerry keyboard. How is this not a part of Microsoft's keyboard offering on Android? And I realize the prediction engine between these keyboards is similar, it's not prediction I have an issue with. It's everything else about SwiftKey that I dislike.Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) dunks the ball in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert chuckled while recalling his mom proudly playing a VHS tape when he was a child so he could watch the movie Coming to America.
Eddie Murphy starred in the 1988 comedy about a pampered yet humble African prince who traveled to New York City in search of a wife.
Gobert’s mom didn’t want her son to watch Murphy as he played the roles of Prince Akeem, soul singer Randy Watson, Saul the Jewish barbershop customer and Clarence the barbershop owner. She wanted Gobert to see his father, Rudy Bourgarel, in his don’t-blink cameo during the movie’s basketball scene.
“It’s a fun movie. It’s a classic. I always like Eddie Murphy movies,” Gobert said to The Undefeated. “My mom showed it to me when I was a kid and I was like, ‘Oh.’ That was fun seeing him. She was so proud.”
Since coming to America from France, Gobert has gone from a project center to a budding NBA star who is making his playoff debut this weekend. He had a basketball role model in his father.
Bourgarel played at Marist College from 1985-88 and backed up former Indiana Pacers star Rik Smits. Bourgarel averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 rebounds during the 1987-88 season, while Smits averaged 24.7 points and 8.7 rebounds. Even with the 7-foot Bourgarel and the 7-foot-2 Smits, the Red Foxes didn’t play in the 1988 NCAA tournament after participating in it the previous two seasons.
Unbeknownst to Bourgarel, footage from Marist’s loss to St. John’s at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden on Dec. 28, 1987, ended up being immortalized in the scene in which Prince Akeem went to his first basketball game.
“He knew about it when the movie came out, but he didn’t know that night they were shooting it,” Gobert said.
After his junior season at Marist, Bourgarel went home to France to complete his mandatory military duties. He also played professionally for Racing Club de France, Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball and ASPTT de Toulouse from 1988-94. He was a member of the French national team in 1988 that didn’t qualify for the Olympics in South Korea.
Ex-NBA player Makhtar N’Diaye, a Senegal native who grew up in France, said Bourgarel probably should have been the NBA’s first French-born player.
“He was a tough guy. Strong. A little wild,” N’Diaye, now a scout for the New York Knicks, told The Undefeated. “When you see Gobert, you can see a little bit of his dad in him. He could’ve easily been the first [French-born] NBA player. Back then, NBA teams didn’t put much value into blocking shots and rebounding. They didn’t think European guys were strong. They thought they were soft.
“Bourgarel was the opposite of that. If yesterday were today, he probably would have made the NBA.”
The first French-born player to make the NBA was ex-San Jose State star Tariq Abdul-Wahad, who was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the 11th overall pick in 1997 and played in the league for six seasons. Abdul-Wahad recalled watching Bourgarel play in France.
“Rudy Bourgarel was an incredible athlete: long, lean and athletic. One of the first Caribbean-French players to play college basketball. I used to go watch him play in Paris when I was, like, 14 years old,” Abdul-Wahad told The Undefeated.
Gobert was born in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, in the north of France, on June 26, 1992. Once he was old enough his father began teaching him the game of basketball.
“I wanted to follow in his footsteps for sure,” Gobert said. “I never really watched him play. He was kind of retired already. But I know he was 7 feet and really athletic.”
After playing professionally in France, the 7-foot-1 Gobert declared for the 2013 NBA draft. He set draft combine records for wingspan (7 feet, 8 ½ inches) and standing reach (9 feet, 7 inches). The Denver Nuggets drafted him with the 27th overall pick in 2013 before his draft rights were acquired by Utah. Gobert struggled as a rookie for the Jazz, averaging 2.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 45 games during the 2013-14 season.
“The people that knew his dad knew Rudy would eventually grow into aggressive and a go-getter, but at first he came across as a gentle giant,” N’Diaye said.
With hard work on his game and his body, Gobert has become one of the NBA’s most intimidating defenders and a much-improved scorer. He entered the Jazz’s regular-season finale Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs averaging career highs of 14.1 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 66.6 percent from the field.
“I just kept working, kept believing. … I feel like I’ve still got a lot to learn and can get better,” Gobert said.
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant said Gobert has grown into a “great player.”
“When he first came into the league I didn’t think he was going to be this good,” Durant said. “He was long, but his foot speed is not where it should be. He definitely changed my mind with that. Exciting player. He definitely tests your offense a lot.”
Gobert’s play garnered him strong consideration as a 2017 Western Conference All-Star reserve. Durant said Gobert “changed their team and is the reason why they are so good.” Even with that praise, Gobert was snubbed for the All-Star Game while Jazz teammate Gordon Hayward was selected by the conference’s head coaches. Gobert seems motivated by the snub, as he has improved to average 16.8 points on 70.8 percent shooting from the field, 13.3 rebounds and 3.1 blocks since the All-Star break.
“There are a lot of things that motivate me. That’s one of them, definitely,” Gobert said. “No matter what, All-Star or not, I still want more. At the end of the day, I’m still going to be motivated. … I was disappointed, but that’s part of a career. There are always times when you’re disappointed. That’s when you’ve got to be better.”
Gobert is one of the top candidates for the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year awards. He leads the NBA in blocks per game, is second in field-goal percentage and is fourth in total rebounds and rebounds per game. Gobert said one key for his defensive prowess is he worked hard on his body in the offseason to help him become tougher and healthier while also becoming more active.
While Warriors forward Draymond Green and San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard offer stiff competition, Gobert is a viable candidate for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
“It would be great to win. It’s one of the things I take pride in: defense,” Gobert said.
Said Durant: “He’s a load down there. He covers up the rim. A lot of those big guys drift away from the rim a little bit. I feel like he is always there trying to protect that rim.”
Now Gobert is coming to the NBA playoffs.
Unless you’re a Jazz fan or have NBA League Pass, you probably have not seen much of Gobert and the small-market franchise from Salt Lake City. The Jazz will be making their first playoff appearance since 2012 when they face the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. Gobert expressed profound respect for the more experienced Clippers but added that the Jazz “want to prove they belong” in the postseason. Gobert expects to be ready because he lives “to be a great basketball player and to win games.”
“This is the first time for me, so I’m very excited,” Gobert said. “We’ve worked hard to get to this point. We want more. I’m a basketball fan, first, and I’ve always loved to watch the playoffs. I always wanted to be part of it. This time I will be on the court, will be on TV.
“We didn’t get a chance to be on national TV that much this year. This is a good opportunity for the people to get to know our team and myself at the same time. We all want to be recognized. The main thing is to win.”Four months ago Apple introduced iOS 9, Swift 2 and many other new things at the WWDC 2015. This is a list of the five best WWDC 2015 talks.
Advanced NSOperations
If you are dealing with a lot of concurrent code, it can be become very hard to handle the program flow, especially if different task are dependent on each other. In this talk you learn how to use NSOperations to handle these situations better.
Advanced NSOperations
Getting Started with Multitasking on iPad in iOS 9
With the introduction of the iPad Pro and iOS 9, a complete new way of multitasking is possible. See this talk for all the details.
Getting Started with Multitasking on iPad in iOS 9
Building Better Apps with Value Types in Swift
Structs are much more powerful in Swift than in Objective-C. See this talk to learn how and why you should use them.
Building Better Apps with Value Types in Swift
Protocol-Oriented Programming in Swift
With the introduction of protocol extensions, it is now possible to program so-called “Protocol-Oriented”. See this talk for more details.
Protocol-Oriented Programming in Swift
What’s New in Swift
Swift 2 has so many new interesting features like error handling, guard, defer and API availability checking. See this talk to learn all about these features.
What’s New in Swift
References
Image: @smuay / shutterstock.comINSTRUMENTS / GENERATORS Transistor Bass TRIAL ONLY: Transistor Bass is available as a demo version in FL Studio and needs to be purchased separately. Transistor Bass is a subtractive synthesizer in the style of the legendary Roland TB303™ Bassline synthesizer, but also enhances the concept by offering a number of tweaks not found in the original hardware, together with a guitar distortion, FX and a modern sequencer. Plus, fast editing of your bassline sequences. Video Tutorials Click to watch the Transistor Bass video tutorials. Parameters There are 128 'Programs'. Each program consists of a Patch (the state of all synthesis controls for Transistor Bass) and a Sequence (a melody that plays when the Sequencer is activated). You can change the Program value with the Note/Key selector or when AF (Auto Follow) is on, the Program will change depending on the note sent to the plugin (C0 to G10). Independent of the Programs are 128 Sequences that can be used with any of the Programs. Sequences can be set from 1 to 16 steps. In addition you can use Piano roll slide notes and note colors. Title Bar Edit Menu - Copy/Paste Sequence or Patches (parameters), Select a UI theme or check the About Panel.
- Copy/Paste Sequence or Patches (parameters), Select a UI theme or check the About Panel. Show Panels - Configure Transistor Bass to show the following panels [Main], [Main] + [Tweaks, Distortion], [Main] + [Tweaks, Distortion] + [Delay, Reverb] or [Main] + [Tweaks, Distortion] + [Delay, Reverb] + [Sequencer]. Main Panel AF (Autofollow) - When selected and the Sequencer is also activated: The active / editable Program automatically changes with input notes. Use this to change the Program and associated Sequence on-the-fly. Deselect when you want to tweak a Program and don't want input notes from FL Studio to change it while you are working on the Program.
(Autofollow) - When selected the Sequencer is also activated: The active / editable Program automatically changes with input notes. Use this to change the Program and associated Sequence on-the-fly. Deselect when you want to tweak a Program and don't want input notes from FL Studio to change it while you are working on the Program. Program - Each program is linked to one of the 128 MIDI notes (C0 to G10). Use the selector to choose one of the 128 'Program' slots. In AF mode, each of the 128 MIDI notes will select each of the 128 Programs. Each Program can be linked to any of the 128 Patches and 128 Sequences. This means that 2 or more Programs can share the same Patch and or Sequence. Sharing is useful when you want different MIDI notes to play different Sequences, but with the same Patch (sound). When not in AF Mode, the Program won't change unless you do it via the Program selector on the interface.
- Each program is linked to one of the 128 MIDI notes (C0 to G10). Use the selector to choose one of the 128 'Program' slots. In mode, each of the 128 MIDI notes will select each of the 128 Programs. Each Program can be linked to any of the 128 Patches and 128 Sequences. This means that 2 or more Programs can share the same Patch and or Sequence. Sharing is useful when you want different MIDI notes to play different Sequences, but with the same Patch (sound). When not in Mode, the Program won't change unless you do it via the Program selector on the interface. Sequence - The pattern sequencer that can have a length from 1 to 16 1/16th notes with up to 128 Sequences x 128 Patch. Sequence number - Defines one of the 128 Sequences associated with the Program. Shared Sequence indicator - Lights up when the Sequence is used by more than 1 Program. This is just a warning in case you decide to edit the Sequence and it affects another Program.
- The pattern sequencer that can have a length from 1 to 16 1/16th notes with up to 128 Sequences x 128 Patch. Transp (Sequence Transpose) - Defines a Transpose for the selected Sequence, for the current Program. You can transpose sequences on-the-fly via note input from MIDI Channel 13. Note C5 is the default pitch.
(Sequence Transpose) - Defines a Transpose for the selected Sequence, for the current Program. You can transpose sequences on-the-fly via note input from MIDI Channel 13. Note C5 is the default pitch. Patch - A Patch is the set of all parameters that influence the sound, including Tuning, Waveform, Delay Stereo, Reverb Wet, etc. Patches allow you to switch between completely different sounds on-the-fly.
- A Patch is the set of all parameters that influence the sound, including,,,, etc. Patches allow you to switch between completely different sounds on-the-fly. Patch Number - Defines the Patch associated with the Program.
- Defines the Patch associated with the Program. Patch Name - Name for the Patch. Click to edit.
- Name for the Patch. Click to edit. Shared Patch Indicator - lights up when the Patch is used by more than one Program. This is just a warning in case you decide to edit the Patch and it affects another Program.
- lights up when the Patch is used by more than one Program. This is just a warning in case you decide to edit the Patch and it affects another Program. Read / Write (Patch parameters Edit Buffer) - When you edit parameters or they are modified by automation, they are not stored to the current Patch immediately. More specifically, each Patch has a 'working' edit buffer. This avoids overwriting precious and carefully crafted Programs: You'll always be able to return to the original Patch settings when you mess something up by clickiong the'Read'button. If you are satisfied, you can permanently keep the Patch edit buffer by pressing the'Write'button. Read - Read Patch permanent buffer into Patch edit buffer. Write - Write Patch edit buffer to Patch permanent buffer. The button will light to indicate the change. Additionally, Patch edit buffers are stored when you save your song. When you load it again, WRITE will be lit if you didn't press it before saving.
- When you edit parameters or they are modified by automation, they are not stored to the current Patch immediately. More specifically, each Patch has a 'working'. This avoids overwriting precious and carefully crafted Programs: You'll always be able to return to the original Patch settings when you mess something up by clickiong the'' button. If you are satisfied, you can permanently keep the Patch edit buffer by pressing the'' button. Tuning - Tuning from -1 Octave to +1 Octave.
- Tuning from -1 Octave to +1 Octave. 303 Pulse - Applies only to the Square Wave, this algorithm is an updated model designed to most closely match the original TB303. NOTE: When 303 Square Wave is active, LFO->PW, LFO RATE and PW knobs in the TWEAKS section are disabled to match the TB-303. You can hear this square wave compared to a real TB-303 here).
- Applies only to the Square Wave, this algorithm is an updated model designed to most closely match the original TB303. When 303 Square Wave is active, LFO->PW, LFO RATE and PW knobs in the TWEAKS section are disabled to match the TB-303. You can hear this square wave compared to a real TB-303 here). Waveform - Blend between Square (fully anti-clockwise) and Sawtooth (fully clockwise) waveforms.
- Blend between Square (fully anti-clockwise) and Sawtooth (fully clockwise) waveforms. Cutoff - Filter cutoff frequency.
- Filter cutoff frequency. Resonance - Filter resonance. Accent modulates this control also (see Accent below).
- Filter resonance. Accent modulates this control also (see Accent below). Env Mod - Filter Envelope modulation. The filter envelope is a simple AD (Attack / Decay) envelope with a very short attack and decay is adjusted by the Decay knob.
- Filter Envelope modulation. The filter envelope is a simple AD (Attack / Decay) envelope with a very short attack and decay is adjusted by the knob. Decay - Filter Envelope Decay time.
- Filter Envelope Decay time. Accent - Accent amount. Accents momentarily increases the filter Cutoff, Resonance and wave Volume. NOTE: When not using the internal sequencer, accented notes are triggered with a velocity greater than 100
- Accent amount. Accents momentarily increases the filter, and wave. When not using the internal sequencer, accented notes are triggered with a velocity greater than 100 Volume - Output level from the sound engine. This volume is applied BEFORE the Distortion section! Controls Panel Tweaks - These controls influence the oscillator. HP - Frequency of the high-pass filter (the original TB-303 has a fixed-frequency highpass). Use this to adjust the output to be more or less 'bassy'. Min Envelope Decay - Minimum Filter Envelope decay time. This has a strong influence on accented notes, because the accent circuit uses this relies on this parameter. This is probably THE parameter that defines why one TB-303 emulation sounds different to another. Filter Key Follow - Anti clockwise = negative, Middle = 0, Clockwise = positive. This gives the sound more 'liveliness'. The original TB-303 does not have this feature. LFO -> PW - Transistor Bass features one single LFO hardwired to the Pulse Width of the Pulse oscillator. This parameter determines how much the LFO influences the Pulse Width. LFO Rate - How fast the PW --> LFO oscillates PW - Absolute Pulse Width of the Pulse oscillator. NOTE: In the real 303 this is hardwired to about 66%. VCA Smooth - Turning this clockwise gradually removes attack and release clicks from notes. For the original 303 sound turn fully anti clockwise.
- These controls influence the oscillator. Distortion - The distortion is a simulation of the Pro Co Rat guitar pedal, as used by the legendary German acid techno duo "Hardfloor" (Ramon Zenker & Oliver Bondzio). Distortion Switch - Active/Deactivate the Distortion module. HP - Pre-distortion highpass. Drive - Distortion drive. Tone - Adjusts brightness of distorted sound is, basically a post-distortion lowpass. Output Volume - Adjust output volume of distortion circuit.
- The distortion is a simulation of the Pro Co Rat guitar pedal, as used by the legendary German acid techno duo "Hardfloor" (Ramon Zenker & Oliver Bondzio). Delay - A simple delay that is not affected by pitch-warp effects when changing time on-the-fly. Delay Switch - Active/Deactivate the Delay module. Amount - Input send amount, similar to a "Wet" parameter. Time - Left speaker's delay time Right Tap - Right speaker's delay time (relative to left speaker's delay time) Feedback - Delay feedback (the number of echoes). Tone - Anti clockwise = Lowpass, Middle = Filter OFF, Clockwise = Highpass Stereo - Stereo Width BPM Sync - BPM sync for delay.
- A simple delay that is not affected by pitch-warp effects when changing time on-the-fly. Reverb - Based on FL Reeverb 2 with the addition of a Predelay Feedback. All other parameters are like in FL Reeverb 2. Low Cut - Low cut-off frequency. Use to removes low frequencies from the reverberations. Using the L.Cut parameter will reduce the 'rumble' and muddiness from the bass drum by attenuating the bass frequencies before being passed to the reverb engine. High Cut - High cut-off frequency. Use this to remove high frequencies from the reverb, or to make the room sound duller. Predelay - The delay time between the direct input signal and the first reverb reflection. Predelay should be set to modest values for small rooms, and can be increased to suit room size. Predelay creates a slap-back echo effect that can add atmosphere and muffle the signal, so use it wisely. Predelay FB - Predelay Feedback causes the Predelay to feedback just like a normal delay. Size - Room Size sets the size of the virtual room. For realistic effects, the Room Size should be adjusted according to the decay time. Small rooms sound better with a short decay time, large rooms sound better with longer reverb times. Diffusion - Density (spacing/number) of the reflections bouncing off the walls of the virtual room. A low diffusion setting makes the reflections sound more distinct and sparse, like closely spaced echoes. A high diffusion setting creates a dense series of reflections, so close they sound more like a constant decaying noise. Decay - Decay time of the reverb, this is the time it takes for the signal to decay to -60dB (1/1000 of the maximum amplitude). Use low decay times for small rooms (good for fattening drum sounds), and long decay times for large rooms (halls or church-effects). High Damping - High frequency decay in the reverb signal. This effect causes the sound to become gradually muffled and warmer. Dry - The relative level of the (dry) input signal passed to the outputs. ER (Early Reflection) - Sets the relative level of the first reflections in the reverb. Wet (Wet Level) - Sets the relative level of the reverberant (wet) signal. When using Reeverb 2 in a Send Channel this should be set to 100% (maximum).
- Based on FL Reeverb 2 with the addition of a. All other parameters are like in FL Reeverb 2. Sequencer The sequencer is 16 steps (1/16th notes). Transposing the sequencer from the Piano roll - Notes played on MIDI Channel 13, Note color 13 will transpose the sequencer up or down relative to the original C5 (MIDI note 60) pitch. You can trigger the sequencer via the Play/Pause button or via MIDI notes. Naturally it always plays the Sequence associated with the Program and note (up to 128 sequences can be saved). TIP: Rotate notes in Stepsequencer with (Shift+Ctrl+Arrows) Sequencer Controls Sequencer - When selected the internal sequencer will play based on input note. When deselected you can use the Piano roll & controllers as normal to play notes.
- When selected the internal sequencer will play based on input note. When deselected you can use the Piano roll & controllers as normal to play notes. Play/Pause - Start/Stop the sequencer.
- Start/Stop the sequencer. Transpose - Shows the current transpose setting. You can transpose a sequence pitch using note MIDI Color 13 as shown above. Note C5 (MIDI note 60) is default pitch.
- Shows the current transpose setting. You can transpose a sequence pitch using note MIDI Color 13 as shown above. Note C5 (MIDI note 60) is default pitch. Length - Choose from 1 to 16 steps. When less than 16, the sequencer will use the first N steps.
- Choose from 1 to 16 steps. When less than 16, the sequencer will use the first N steps. BPM - Set the internal BPM of the sequencer (usually FL Studio's BPM is used, see below). Internal BPM - When selected Transistor Bass ignores FL Studio's BPM.
- Set the internal BPM of the sequencer (usually FL Studio's BPM is used, see below). Gate Length - Changes the duration of the Gate steps. You can shorten or lengthen the default to variations in the sequenced sound not possible with the original 303, that has a fixed length (equal to a value of 50%).
- Changes the duration of the Gate steps. You can shorten or lengthen the default to variations in the sequenced sound not possible with the original 303, that has a fixed length (equal to a value of 50%). Shuffle (Swing) - Changes the length of the even steps to create a Swing effect.
(Swing) - Changes the length of the even steps to create a Swing effect. Octave - Set the octave from 0 to 10.
- Set the octave from 0 to 10. Gate - Applies the Gate effect to the step.
- Applies the Gate effect to the step. Slide - Applies the Slide effect to the step.
- Applies the Slide effect to the step. Accent - Applies an Accent to the step.
- Applies an Accent to the step. Open/Close Note Editor - The arrow to the right side of the Octave indicators
- The arrow to the right side of the Octave indicators Clear - Reset sequence to default.
- Reset sequence to default. +/- Octave - Sets all Octaves +/- by 1. Keyboard editing shortcuts: G - Toggle Gate
- Toggle Gate A - Toggle Accent
- Toggle Accent S - Toggle Slide
- Toggle Slide Arrow Left/Right - Step navigation.
- Step navigation. Arrow Up/Down Increase/Decrease pitch by a Semitone.
Increase/Decrease pitch by a Semitone. Arrows + Up/Down + Shift - Increase/Decrease pitch by an Octave. Note control: Accents - Trigger with Velocity of 100 (about 75%) or more.
- Trigger with Velocity of 100 (about 75%) or more. Slides - Use slide notes OR overlap notes. Piano roll Controls To sequence Transistor Bass from the Piano roll first deselect the sequencer. NOTE: Autofollow is not active when the Sequencer mode is deselected (although the control will stay lit). Accents - Velocities 86% (MIDI velocity 100) or more will trigger the Accent function.
- Velocities 86% (MIDI velocity 100) or more will trigger the Accent function. Portamento - This is a short pitch-slide from a preceding notes pitch to the portamento notes pitch. You can trigger these by overlapping notes or using the portamento note function. NOTE: As with any native plugin, change the slide time on the Wrapper Miscellaneous Functions tab.
- This is a short pitch-slide from a preceding notes pitch to the portamento notes pitch. You can trigger these by overlapping notes or using the portamento note function. As with any native plugin, change the slide time on the Wrapper Miscellaneous Functions tab. Transposing sequences - When in Sequencer mode you can transpose a sequence pitch using note MIDI Color 13 as shown above. Note C5 (MIDI note 60) is default pitch. Plugin Credits: Daniel Schaack Interface: Miroslav Krajcovic Reverb algorithms: Ultrafunk.King's hearings: McCarthy or Kennedy?
Pete King's hearings this week on radicalization inside the Muslim community have triggered months of advance criticism from skeptics who often compare the hearings to Joe McCarthy's anti-Communist witch hunts, and a reader yesterday turned up an interesting historical note on that point: King actually worked with McCarthy counsel Roy Cohn when he was a young lawyer.
"It was amazing to me the network of contacts he had," King told the AP in 1986, when he was Nassau County Comptroller. "He seemed to have access anywhere -- FBI agents, prominent senators, and the State Department. There seemed to be nobody he didn't know."
King confimed to me just now that he worked with Cohn for about 18 months at the firm Saxe, Bacon & Bolan, where Cohn maintained an extremely aggressive private practice. King didn't have much to say about Cohn, but he dismissed the historical reference.
"I’ve been surprised by the fanaticism of the atacks against me," he said. As soon as the news of his planned hearings broke last fall, "immediately it was 'McCarthyism,' 'Japanese internment camps,' 'bigotry,''racism.'"
King said he'd spoken to Obama aide Denis McDonough Friday before McDonough conciliatory speech on the same topic as King's heaings, and that "every factual assertion he was making is what I'm saying -- that we can't live in denial, that Al Qaeda is recruiting inside the Muslim American community."
And King has his own precedent for the hearings:
"If there’s any analogy, it would be to the hearings that Bobby Kennedy had into labor union corruption in the late 1950s," he said. "Start with the presumption that most union members are good people...but he aggressively went into corruption in the unions."
"I’m not going to be unfairly accusing anyone, I’m not going to be using lists," King said.The large disparity in the number of male and female accounts on the adultery website Ashley Madison is well-documented. But an analysis by Gizmodo of the massive data dump released by people who allegedly hacked the company’s website shows the number of active female users is absolutely miniscule.
Ashley Madison has about 31 million male accounts and 5.5 million female accounts. But the overwhelming majority of those female accounts appear to be bots, fakes, or inactive accounts that were hardly used in the first place, the report says. Gizmodo found that only about 1,500 of the female users had ever checked their messages on the site, while only 2,400 had ever chatted on the site, and only 9,700 had ever replied to a message.
Hackers first threatened to release personal information about Ashley Madison users in July, and then proceeded with a massive data dump earlier this month. Ashley Madison is now facing several lawsuits from several former users who say the website knew about the security vulnerabilities in its systems.The supreme court has upheld the ban on doctors helping patients to end their lives, but ruled that judges do have the "constitutional authority" to intervene in the debate.
The ruling challenges parliament to re-examine the predicament of those who are severely ill and wish to die but cannot do so without medical assistance. A private member's bill on assisted suicide will be debated in the Lords next month.
The cases were brought by Paul Lamb, who suffered catastrophic injuries in a car accident and now requires 24-hour care, Jane Nicklinson, widow of the right-to-die campaigner Tony Nicklinson, and a claimant known only as AM or Martin.
By a majority of seven to two, the justices dismissed the claims brought by Nicklinson and Lamb. But a narrow majorityof the justices – five to four – did decide that the court has the power to declare the law on suicide incompatible with human rights legislation. Only two justices, Lady Hale, deputy president of the court, and Lord Kerr, said they would exercise that authority in this case.
The court unanimously dismissed Martin's request that the director of public prosecutions should be ordered to rewrite guidelines on whether those accompanying patients to a suicide clinic overseas should be prosecuted, but anticipated that the director of public prosecutions (DPP) will be able to consider whether the policy needs amending.
The supreme court president, Lord Neuberger, said in the judgment: "Parliament now has the opportunity to address the issue of whether section 2 [of the Suicide Act] should be relaxed or modified, and if so how, in the knowledge that, if it is not satisfactorily addressed there is a real prospect that a further, and successful, application for a declaration of incompatibility may be made."
Hale said: "I have reached the firm conclusion that our law is not compatible with the [European human rights] convention rights. Having reached that conclusion, I see little to be gained, and much to be lost, by refraining from making a declaration of incompatibility. Parliament is then free to cure that incompatibility."
Lamb, 58, from Leeds, backed the case originally brought by Nicklinson, a sufferer of "locked-in syndrome" who died in 2012, a week after losing his high court euthanasia battle. Their lawyers argued the prohibition on assisted suicide in the Suicide Act 1961 was incompatible with their rights to respect for private and family life contained in article 8 of the European convention on human rights. A defence of necessity, they maintained, should protect a doctor who assisted in the suicide of someone who has made a voluntary, clear, settled and informed wish to end their lives but were unable to do so on their own.
Lamb is in constant pain and permanently on morphine. His condition is, under present medical knowledge, irreversible and he wishes to end his life with the help of a medical professional. He said after the judgment: "My first reaction was disappointment and I was angry hearing that it has not gone through. But it's a positive result. Parliament now have to face up to it, and if they don't we can go back to the supreme court. While I'm still here I will be doing all I can. It's a step forward. It's better than nothing. Overall I'm proud of myself but it's not just for me but for all those who have been injured."
Martin suffered a brain-stem stroke six years ago at 43, leaving left him unable to speak and virtually unable to move. He also wishes to kill himself, but is unable to do so without assistance from someone else. His legal challenge was slightly different. Close family members and friends who take individuals to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland for assisted dying no longer face being charged after changes introduced by the DPP. But Martin's friends and family are unwilling to provide such help, so he would have to rely on others. As the legal guidelines now stand, anyone else helping him would be at risk of criminal prosecution.
Martin's lawyers had argued that the DPP's guidelines should be rewritten because they interfere with his article 8 rights and make the consequences of a person encouraging or assisting his suicide "insufficiently foreseeable".
Speaking after the hearing, using an adapted computer operated by sight, Martin said: "[It] takes me one step closer to being able to decide how and when I end my life. People in my situation, who have the right to choose how to end their lives, should be able get the assistance they need from people outside their family. |
teams in the NFL at stopping 3rd down conversions. In particular, coverage deficiencies at linebacker forced the Ravens to employ an odd version of the quarter (7 DBs) defense that included just 1 linebacker (usually Jerrol Williams) in passing situations. Ray Lewis was a rookie 2-down player, commonly replaced at ILB by special-teams star Bennie Thompson (!) in obvious passing situations as part of the quarter package.
Testaverde ran a no-huddle offense that shotgunned plays at the opponent. The high percentage of passes and disparate results lengthened games (in terms of snap count) by generating lots of quick advance as well as turnovers and 3-and-outs. That was sub-optimal for a defense short on depth in the front 7. As effective as the no-huddle offense could be, the coaches were justified in their unwillingness to expose a vulnerable defense to additional snap count. In this game against the Rams, the Ravens played 90 competitive defensive snaps (excludes 1 kneel and a fumbled FG snap), only 1 shy of the team record (they twice had 91 in regulation–Vikings 1998, Jets 2000).
Tony Banks was a rookie QB with a bad fumbling problem. Banks had small hands, a death sentence for any QB, and it was difficult to see how he could generate good pass velocity when he had such difficulty holding on to the football. He fumbled 3 times in this game to go along with 2 other bobbled snaps which resulted in busted plays. That proved critical, as we’ll see.
Tim Green did the color with Kenny Albert. Green is a Syracuse contemporary of mine with the minor additional accomplishments of being an All-American DT and Rhodes Scholar finalist. He did a fine job with color on NBC, but I recall him most for the day he was drafted. Tim was from nearby Liverpool, New York and many folks in the area were (and are) Bills fans. In the 1996 draft, the Bills passed on him with the 16th pick (selecting Iowa RB Ronnie Harmon), which left Green to the Falcons at number 17. Green expressed gratitude for being drafted by the Falcons, but also relief that he had not been drafted by the Bills. Those Marv-Levy-coached Bills would win 5 division titles, play in 5 conference title games, and lose 4 Super Bowls during the 8-year span of his career.
First-Round Faceoff
The 1996 draft had plenty of drama for the Ravens as well.
With the 4th selection, the Ravens strongly considered RB Lawrence Phillips from Nebraska whose troubled life has been chronicled in a Showtime documentary. Phillips was drafted by the Rams at #6. If you haven’t been in a cave the past 20 years, you know the Ravens used that first pick in franchise history to select future Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden. This game was the first meeting between the two.
While it’s a movie we know now has a happy ending for Ravens fans, each had played just 7 previous NFL games. Ogden was serving his NFL apprenticeship at LG while Phillips had been unimpressive (84 carries, 227 yards, 2.7 YPC)
In this game, Lawrence carried the ball a career-high 31 times for just 83 yards (2.7 YPC). His career may have been epitomized by one of the great early goal-line stands in Ravens history (beginning Q1, 12:20). On 3 consecutive plays from the 1-yard line, Phillips was stuffed for no gain by LB Ed Sutter, a short-yardage specialist who always seemed to find the correct gap in such situations. Those would be the only 3 snaps Sutter would play all day.
Ogden’s extraordinary body of work is best expressed in terms of consistency measures, durability, and awards, but I couldn’t help but notice he threw one of the great screen blocks I’ve ever seen (Q3, 6:14) when he ran stride-for-stride ahead of Byner and steamrolled DB Torin Dorn more than 20 yards from the line of scrimmage. He then had consecutive pancakes of DT D’Marco Farr on the 3-yard TD run by Bam Morris and virtually the same play run for a 2-point conversion.
The Game
– The Ravens DL took a hit when starting DE Mike Frederick left with a neck injury in the middle of the first quarter. Anthony Pleasant would subsequently be lost in the third quarter with a leg injury. While the Ravens had 6 sacks in the game, Banks dropped back 27 times after Pleasant’s injury and had ample time and space (ATS) on 17 occasions (63%).
– Mike Croel, who was typically used as a down lineman in passing situations was also lost early in the 4th quarter with an apparent knee injury.
– Pleasant (groin wrapped) and several other defenders were playing with casts or heavy bandages including OLB Jerrol Williams (elbow heavily wrapped), S Bennie Thompson (cast on hand), and DT Tim Goad (both elbows wrapped).
– The Ravens had no answer for Isaac Bruce. The Rams star caught 11 balls for 229 yards and 1 TD. Neither Langham nor Brady could stay with him.
After the Rams built a 13-6 lead at the half, the game became a furious back-and-forth affair in the second. Summarizing:
– (Q3, 10:38): CB Todd Lyght’s pick-6 extended the Rams’ lead to 20-6.
– (Q4, 6:47): The Ravens roared back with a 25-3 run over 19 minutes featuring the no huddle with 2 TDs by Bam Morris to take a 31-23 lead.
– (Q4, 3:55): The Rams reached had 1st down at the 1-yard line following a 55-yard catch and run by Bruce. Normally, that would mean a heavy defensive formation with 5 or 6 linemen, as many as 4 linebackers, and 2 or 3 safeties (no corners). However, the Ravens lacked the personnel for such a scheme and played the same fatigued 3-4 with UDFA rookie Elliott Fortune, DT Tim Goad, and DT James Jones down to go with LBs Ray Lewis, Mike Caldwell, Keith Goganious, Jerrol Williams, and 4 DBs. Jones took down Phillips for no gain.
– (Q4, 3:14): With the Rams 2nd and 1 from the 1-yard line, Marvin Lewis inserted the quarter defense (7 DBs) for the next 3 snaps. On 2nd down, Banks threw incomplete. On 3rd down, the Rams overpowered Brady and Thompson (who were in replacing Caldwell and Ray Lewis) to score the TD that closed the lead to 2. The Ravens again went with the quarter in an attempt to stop the 2-point conversion and Fortune took down Banks for a sack that appeared to preserve the lead. However, Donnie Brady was flagged for holding in the end zone. With the ball moved to the 1-yard line for the conversion, the Ravens stuck with 7 DBs and Green twisted into the end zone to tie the game.
– (Q4, 1:53): The Rams got the ball back at their own 24 after. Amazingly, the Ravens inserted special teamer Rick Lyle. I say amazingly, because no lineman other than Fortune, Goad, or Jones had been on the field for the 23 plays since Anthony Pleasant was hurt. Lyle immediately generated pressure that led to a sack by Jerrol Williams and would add another pressure and a QH in 16 total snaps. It’s difficult to decide if this was a clever reserve strategy from Lewis or he was simply deemed unready prior to this play, because the Ravens pass rushers were staggering like zombies.
– (Q4, 0:51) On the same drive, 4 plays later, Jerrol Williams again chased Banks left from the pocket and forced his 3rd fumble of the day, recovered by Jenkins to snuff out the last Rams drive in regulation.
– (Q4, 0:03): Following a Testaverde to Floyd Turner strike for 27 yards, the Ravens allowed the clock to run down to 3 seconds to set up the game-winning 32-yard FG attempt. As you know, Matt Stover missed this chip shot to send the game to OT. He played an uncharacteristic goat role that day. Despite making a 50-yard FG, he missed an extra point (he would play 13 and a half more seasons and never miss another) as well as a 45-yard field-goal attempt in the first half.
– (OT, 5:49): The Rams won the OT coin toss and Banks led a 9-minute drive to the Ravens 15. As you often hear suggested, the Rams decided to kick on 3rd down, so they would have another chance in the case of a bad snap. Indeed, the snap was fumbled by holder Jamie Martin, but Stevon Moore recovered for the Ravens. It was the Rams 4th and final turnover of the game.
– (OT, 3:20) The Ravens drove to the Rams 40, but Testaverde took an 11-yard sack on 4th and 5 attempt to give the Rams possession at the Ravens 49.
– (OT, 1:09) As the teams continued to trade missed opportunities, the Rams faced a 4th and 1 decision at the Ravens 40. Baltimore vacillated as to whether the quarter or standard defense would enter, but Lewis and the heavier unit moved on while the Rams quickly made their way to the LoS. Bennie Thompson was very late leaving the field for the Ravens and had Banks simply snapped the football, the Rams would have converted by penalty, but instead he called timeout with the play clock at 2 seconds. After the break, the Rams ran perhaps the lowest percentage 4th down play I’ve seen, sending Banks on a designed roll left, presumably with a run/pass option. Ray Lewis was on him like a cat, shedding the block from LT Wayne Gandy (223 career games) and forcing Banks to throw without setting. Eddie Kennison had separation from Donnie Brady 10 yards down the left sideline, but throwing accurately while moving left is difficult for any right-handed QB, and Banks’ throw was well off target.
– (OT, 1:05) The ball belonged to the Ravens again and following a false start, Testaverde drove the Ravens 65 yards on 4 plays, culminating with the gorgeous corner route and high-point catch by Michael Jackson to win this 4-hour marathon (OT, 0:12).
Aftermath
So what happened to those 1996 linemen (snaps vs. Rams):
– Rob Burnett (DNP vs Rams) was the only holdover from the Cleveland Browns who made a contribution to the 2000 Ravens defense.
– Dan Footman (DNP) left for Indianapolis after the season and had a 10.5-sack year in 1997, but was done after the 1998 season.
– Elliott Fortune (55 snaps) never played again after 1996. He played just 51 career snaps before this monster workload. He recorded 1 career sack, but never started a game.
– Mike Frederick (11) played 2 more seasons for the Ravens, primarily on special teams. He played just 222 defensive snaps (10.7%) in 1997-98.
– Tim Goad (60) was playing in his 9th and final NFL season in 1996. He had never started less than 13 games previously (primarily 7 seasons with new England), but he started just 5 for the Ravens.
– James Jones (90) played more snaps versus the Rams than any other Ravens linemen has ever played in a game. In fact, only Ray Lewis (twice), Rod Woodson (twice), and Chris McAlister (once) played as many as 90 competitive defensive snaps in a Ravens game. Jones played well for 2 more seasons with the Ravens with a heavy workload (85.0% of snaps in 1997-98). He is the forgotten interior iron man in Ravens history (before Gregg and Ngata) who was both a good interior pass rusher and a player Marvin Lewis regularly assigned to drop to cover in zone blitz schemes.
– Rick Lyle (16) went to the Jets after the 1996 season and started there for 4 seasons.
– Anthony Pleasant (42) played for 7 more seasons after 1996, but was done with the Ravens. He earned rings with the 2001 and 2003 Patriots.
Newsome’s penchant for DL depth may be traceable to the suffering of the 1996 team. The Ravens blew 2nd-half leads in 7 of their 12 losses in 1996. The root cause of that failure was defensive tiring, particularly on the line. From the ashes, Ozzie built a deep and talented defensive line and by 1999, the Ravens became a rotational team up front who have rarely allowed down linemen to wilt from snap-count overloads. The line’s metamorphosis began with the free-agent acquisitions of Michael McCrary and Tony Siragusa for the 1997 season.
The Ravens have since consistently stockpiled defensive line talent to the point where many other teams look first to the Ravens practice squad for midseason DL reinforcement. No organization likes to be poached, but it’s a lot better position than that thrust upon the 1996 Ravens.I love my dad, but I'm going to lobotomize myself if I have to be his tech-support serf forever. When can I stop taking parental IT calls?
Having generously donated half your DNA, your pops is certainly entitled to some hand-holding as he navigates the frightening realms of Windows Vista and Facebook status updates. But if you're on the verge of jamming pencils into your frontal lobes, it's time to cut the cable.
That doesn't mean you need to go all unhelpful-IT-department on him ("Sorry, that is not supported"). Instead, says Laura Funk, a fellow at the University of Victoria's Center on Aging, "gently suggest that your father take some basic computer workshops. You could even offer to pay for them as a holiday present." Alternatively, on your next visit, walk dear old Dad through the basics of troubleshooting. And bring along one of those "For Dummies" books.
Then drop the hammer: If his hard drive starts screeching and smoking, sure, he can call. But short of that? He'll have to muddle through or call the Geek Squad. Tough love is still love; surely he gave you some of that, too.
I'm about to undergo breast-augmentation surgery. I'm also a bit of a privacy nut. Can I ask my doctor not to put my implants' serial numbers in my medical records?
Ah, a potential Skinemax classic: An ordinary woman gets her boobs enlarged and the next thing you know she's being chased by Russians, the Mob, and sunglass-wearing thugs from some obscure branch of the Department of Agriculture.
We'd definitely stay up extra late to watch that flick, but if that's the kind of scenario you're worried about, the news is bad: Federal law compels implant manufacturers to keep tabs on their wares, and doctors are forbidden from interfering with that requirement. You may not buy the Man's explanation, but this is ostensibly for your own safety; if a batch of implants were found to be defective, wouldn't you want to know whether your melons were lemons?
If you prefer to play things close to the chest, though, you needn't overshare with the manufacturer. According to a spokesperson for implant maker Mentor, "A patient can always refuse to release her name, Social Security number, or other identifying information"; the only things the company will know then are where and when you got the surgery. And keep in mind, it's not like those things are carrying RFID chips.
Sure, you could probably go overseas and find a shady surgeon willing to stuff your chest with bootleg implants. (Rumor is that anything goes in Bangkok.) But if you're paranoid enough to take such an enormous health risk (you were going for enormous, right?), what makes you think you're going to deflect attention with a bodacious rack? In our experience, that's not how it works.
What's the rule of thumb on expired medicines? I just popped a past-its-prime Tylenol, and it seemed to work fine. Are those expiration dates just a corporate racket?
Drug companies do, indeed, tend to err on the side of caution — and they're not exactly averse to selling you a new bottle of pills before your old one is empty. A few years back, the FDA evaluated a US military stockpile of aging drugs and found that 90 percent were perfectly safe and effective past their expiration dates. One of those medications, a remedy for nerve gas poisoning, still worked after sitting on a shelf for 15 years longer than recommended. So yeah, that date on the bottle is certainly a conservative estimate and may even be a bit random.
But that doesn't mean you should start popping pills from the Clinton era. For starters, much depends on how they've been stored — you'll want to toss any that have been exposed to extreme temperatures and are crumbling into chalk.
More important, it's best to confine your pharmaceutical gambles to situations in which there isn't a huge potential downside if the drug isn't effective. If you take an old Tylenol and it doesn't work, no worries — just buy a new pack. But if you're bound for the Amazon Basin, a fresh bottle of antimalarials is mandatory. You can decide for yourself where Viagra falls on this spectrum.
Need help navigating life in the 21st century? Email us at mrknowitall@wired.com.THE diversion of US warships to North Korea is a show of American military power but how does the nation’s weapons capability stack up against others and can it continue to maintain its superiority?
While America is undoubtedly the “top dog” when it comes to its military, experts say North Korea could still land a massive blow against the US.
“Most pundits think that whatever happens in Korea, if somebody hits the button, the fighting would be very intense but brief and would lead to massive devastation,” Professor John Blaxland said.
Prof Blaxland is the acting head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University and says while the US has superior weaponry, other countries such as North Korea, China and Russia have massive stockpiles of weapons and trained military to counteract this.
According to the Global Firepower website, which collates publicly available information about the military capability of different countries, America is ranked number one in terms of its war-making ability across land, sea and air.
“It has the most powerful military in the world without question,” Prof Blaxland said.
The US annual defence budget of $581 billion dwarfs China, which spends $155 billion, Russia on $45 billion and North Korea on $7.5 billion.
But if you look at how many soldiers America has access to, it’s a different story.
The US has an active military personnel of 1.4 million, and a reserve army of 1.1 million.
When it comes to soldiers based on the North Korean border, the US only has about 20,000 troops permanently stationed in South Korea, as well as about 8000 air force personnel and other special forces. There were also about 50,000 military personnel based in Japan.
Compare this to North Korea, which has 700,000 active soldiers, but a whopping 4.5 million reserves.
Prof Blaxland said North Korea had also massed about 20,000 rockets and missiles on the border with South Korea, and when you are playing a numbers game, technology doesn’t always win.
“There’s a saying ‘quantity has a quality all of its own’,” he said.
“North Korea has massed artillery and missile capability adjacent to the demilitarised zone, close to Seoul, which puts it in range of a population about the size of Australia — it’s pretty scary.”
Prof Blaxland said US troops stationed in South Korea could probably shoot down a large number of missiles but chances were, some would still get through.
“It doesn’t matter how good your technology is, if they get a few rounds off the ground, there will be mass casualties.”
“The problem is the quantity, just the sheer mass,” he said. “(Especially) if you aren’t that concerned about how many people die in the process, which Kim Jong-un isn’t.”
It has been estimated that in this scenario North Korea could potentially kill about 100,000 people.
So while North Korea may not ultimately win a war against America, it could certainly ensure many people also go down with it.
This could also be a problem with any matchup between the US and China or Russia.
All three countries have nuclear weapons but would not be motivated to use them as any retaliation would likely annihilate them as well.
Prof Blaxland said the Russians had massive firepower capability including ships, submarines and armed forces. Recently the Russians had demonstrated in Ukraine that they had the ability to bombard a 1km square area of land and “basically clean it out”.
“That is a frightening prospect,” he said.
He said China had put a lot of emphasis on its cyber technology, as well as copying western technology. It had long range munitions that could sink an aircraft carrier or knock down satellite systems the US relies on heavily.
While there was no question the US had the most powerful and technologically advanced military in the world, Prof Blaxland said no matter how good an aircraft was, if it was overwhelmed by dozens of enemy craft then “you’ll run out of ammo before they do”.
Another issue is that the US’s forces are dispersed across the world, with troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, as well as Europe, Latvia, Australia, Korea, Japan, Guam and Hawaii.
“The US is incredibly powerful militarily but if it takes on more than one big fight at a time, it’s probably biting off more than it can chew,” he said.
In the past, Prof Blaxland said America’s military was designed with the capability to fight two and a half “major theatre wars” at the same, but these days it is in a position where it could barely do one or maybe one and a half.
“Bearing in mind that they are already tied down in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, they are considerably constrained (to fight a major war),” he said.The reverse thumbie thing is a quirk of these bikes. We thought they worked better that way ergonomically and the levers get flipped too for a slimmer fit. Having upside down thumbies also allows you to use the handlebar curves for climbing.
It was not till I unpacked the demo Clementine, that I realised I had never seen a full-on Rivendell bicycle before. I mean, of course I have seen Rivendells. I have even owned one myself, and have ridden half a dozen others besides, maybe more. But none of those had been in-house builds. They had been built up with components from the frame up either at Harris Cyclery in Boston, or by the bicycles' owners. So I never realised till now that Rivendell has their own distinct way of putting the bikes together, with a few somewhat quirky (who would have guessed!) signature touches.One of these I discovered in a somewhat comical manner, when I finished putting together the mostly-assembled bike (basically just installed the front wheel, mudguard and handlebars) to find that the brake levers and shifters sat the wrong way around. At first I though I had managed to somehow rotate the handlebars incorrectly while installing them, because surely the experienced assembler at Riv couldn’t have made such a mistake. So I sat there, trying to figure it out, feeling like an idiot. But no, there was no way to rotate the bars that would fix this. The brake lever and thumb shifter labeled “L” were on the right handlebar, and the ones labeled “R” were on the left handlebar. As a result, the parts had the look of being upside down: with the brand names hidden on the underside, and the bolts pointing up. I would have to remove the shellacked cork grips, probably cracking them in the process, and redo the whole setup.Disappointed, and at the same time eager to try the bike, I decided to leave this unpleasant task till the next day and in the meanwhile take the Clementine for a spin as it was. So I attached the saddle and pedals, adjusted the fit, plopped my hands on the bars, and - damn! The placement of the levers and shifters felt remarkably comfortable. I made some little tweaks, moving the thumbies closer to the grips and rotating the brake levers slightly. After that, the setup just felt so muchthan any other arrangement I’ve tried on sweptback bars, that I began to wonder - nah, could it be? - whether they’d done it this way deliberately.So I went on Rivendell's website and looked for closeup shots showing the “cockpit” setups of their complete builds. And sure enough, the upright bikes had the brake levers and thumbies installed upside down! Finally, just to make sure, I sheepishly emailed them to confirm - and received this reply:Duh! How could I not have known they did this? And to think, that all of this time I have been missing out on what I can only describe as the ultimate 'brifters' setup for sweptback handlebars.I am not joking or making fun when I write this. If you are seeking an experience similar to the integrated brake/shift levers that you can get on drop bars with the mainstream roadie component groups, this is the closest to that I have tried on upright bars (and before anyone else asks in the comments - yes, I have tried the Shimano MTB trigger shifter - this is far nicer!). But I am not just talking about using thumbies and city levers. The reversed/ upside down installation is key here. When installed in this manner, the reach to the brake lever shortens and the shifter is placed literally under your thumb. Both can be activated (at the same time if you like) without moving your hands from their positions on the grips and without straining your fingers or twisting your wrists uncomfortably. For those accustomed to Campagnolo ergo levers especially (where you use the thumb as well as the forefinger), this system will feel particularly natural. If you live in a hilly area like me where you want to be able to shift gears easily and quickly, having such a smooth and easy to use setup really is bliss.So, I am thankful to the Rivendell folks for introducing me to this genius bit of eccentricity. But needless to say, you do not need a Rivendell bicycle to set up your handlebars in this manner. Any bike can be outfitted with plain grips, and reversed city levers and thumbies - in fact it's probably one of the cheaper handlebar setups available. All the better that it's so functional and comfy.And the bolts pointing up? Well, you know you can always twine them...JUST ANNOUNCED: @2chainz will perform live and do introductions during our game on March 27 against Miami! pic.twitter.com/g6ln5tWBP2 — Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 17, 2015
Move the hell over "Tinder Night," there's a new champ in the building. That's right, 2 Chainz night is coming. March 27 sees the Hawks host the Heat, but more importantly Phillips Arena will be decked out for Tity Boi.
Off the floor, Chainz will have a major in-arena presence as soon as the doors open at 6:00 p.m., as the first 5,000 fans to arrive will be given copies of his latest mixtape, "T.R.U. Jack City," upon entering the building. Fans will also have the opportunity to purchase unique 2 Chainz-inspired Hawks gear from Hawks Shop inside the arena. Additionally, the "I'm Different" rapper will be featured in original Hawks productions to be aired in Philips Arena during the game.
UNIQUE 2 CHAINZ-INSPIRED HAWKS GEAR
Things are moving so fast. One second you think the Hawks are signing 2 Chainz to a 10-day contract, the next they're decking out the entire place for him.
We got a look at the custom merchandise being sold! Get ready, it's awesome.
Yo! The back of that t-shirt! pic.twitter.com/4yJG4c7F9Z — Conrad Kaczmarek (@ConradKazNBA) March 17, 2015
★★★
SB Nation presents: How the Morris twins made their dreams come trueNEW YORK (JTA) — Hillel International warned its Swarthmore College chapter that it cannot use the Hillel name if it flouts the international Jewish campus group’s Israel guidelines.
Hillel delivered the warning Tuesday in a sharply worded letter following the Swarthmore chapter student board’s decision to repudiate Hillel guidelines prohibiting partnerships with groups deemed hostile toward Israel.
In his letter, Hillel’s president and CEO, Eric Fingerhut, warned Swarthmore Hillel’s student communications coordinator, Joshua Wolfsun, that the chapter’s rejection of the guidelines “is not acceptable.”
“I hope you will inform your colleagues on the Student Board of Swarthmore Hillel that Hillel International expects all campus organizations that use the Hillel name to adhere to these guidelines,” Fingerhut wrote. “No organization that uses the Hillel name may choose to do otherwise.”
The Hillel student board at the Pennsylvania liberal arts college voted unanimously on Sunday to reject the Hillel guidelines for campus Israel activities. Swarthmore became the first chapter of the Jewish campus organization to declare itself an “Open Hillel” — part of a student movement that says its goal is to “encourage inclusivity and open discourse at campus Hillels.”
Hillel International’s Guidelines for Campus Israel Activities reject partnerships with groups or hosting speakers who deny Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state; delegitimize, demonize or apply double standards to Israel; support boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts against Israel; or foster an atmosphere of incivility.
The policy encourages individual campus Hillels to adopt their own policies that are “consistent” with these guidelines.
The Swarthmore Hillel student board’s resolution said the guidelines “privilege only one perspective on Zionism, and make others unwelcome.” The resolution said that Swarthmore Hillel “will host and partner with any speaker at the discretion of the board, regardless of Hillel International’s Israel guidelines.”
Swarthmore Hillel had said in a statement: “All are welcome to walk through our doors and speak with our name and under our roof, be they Zionist, anti-Zionist, post-Zionist, or non-Zionist.”
Fingerhut, in his letter, rejected the formulation.
“Let me be very clear – ‘anti-Zionists’ will not be permitted to speak using the Hillel name or under the Hillel roof, under any circumstances,” he wrote.
Wolfsun had previously told the Forward that Swarthmore Hillel did not need to worry about financial repercussions.
“We are funded by our own endowment and have no board of overseers,” he said.Amazon develops smartphone
Amazon.com Inc. is developing a smartphone that would vie with Apple Inc.'s iPhone and handheld devices that run Google Inc.'s Android operating system, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Foxconn International Holdings Ltd., the Chinese mobile- phone maker, is working with Amazon on the device, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. Amazon is seeking to complement the smartphone strategy by acquiring patents that cover wireless technology and would help it defend against allegations of infringement, other people with knowledge of the matter said.
A smartphone would give Amazon a wider range of low-priced hardware devices that bolster its strategy of making money from digital books, songs and movies. It would help Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos - who made a foray into tablets with the Kindle Fire - carve out a slice of the market for advanced wireless handsets. Manufacturers led by Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple shipped 398.4 million smartphones in the first quarter, according to researcher IDC.
Drew Herdener, a spokesman for Amazon, declined to comment.
Mark Mahaney, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., said in November that Amazon is planning to release a smartphone.
Seattle-based Amazon considered buying wireless patents from InterDigital Inc. before the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania- based company said in June that it will sell the assets to Intel Corp. for $375 million, two people said. Amazon is taking pitches and setting up briefings with other sellers, the people said.
Amazon increased 0.6 percent to $228.30 at 9:44 a.m. in New York. Foxconn gained 3.7 percent in Hong Kong.
Amazon beefed up its patent prowess recently by hiring Matt Gordon, formerly senior director of acquisitions at Intellectual Ventures Management LLC, the company that was founded by former Microsoft Corp. Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold and owns more than 35,000 intellectual property assets. Gordon will be general manager for patent acquisitions and investments at Amazon, according to his profile on LinkedIn.
Adding patents would help Amazon protect itself against lawsuits alleging illegal use of technology. Amazon has been involved in five patent-related cases this year, and 20 cases last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Demand for mobile patents has increased, as shown recently by Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and its thousands of patents, which closed this year.Logo of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council
The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) is an American trade association that promotes the hot dog and sausage industry.[1][2][3]
It was founded in 1994 by the American Meat Institute. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C..
The council promotes July as National Hot Dog Month, and National Hot Dog Day which varies based on when the North American Meat institute hosts its annual hot dog lunch on Capitol Hill. The 2017 National Hot Dog Day is Wednesday, July 19.[4] Similarly, it promotes October as National Sausage Month.[5]
In November 2015, the NHDSC weighed in on the matter of whether or not a hot dog qualified as a type of sandwich by releasing a policy to end the debate.[6]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Authorities are trying to figure out who desecrated the grave of a Minnesota World War II veteran.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Veterans Affairs are investigating, but right now aren’t saying a lot about what was found.
A man, who served in World War II, died and was buried at the gravesite in the 1970s.
The deceased man’s family has been able to peacefully visit his grave for nearly 40 years. But an overnight act of disrespect has now changed that.
“What we do know is it is very disturbing and certainly for the family of the man. We have been in contact with them already,” said Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek.
On Thursday morning, a maintenance worker found what investigators say was a considerable amount of dirt removed from the man’s grave.
The burial site is one of more than 170,000 at Fort Snelling, which covers more than 430 acres.
Investigators say they haven’t heard of any other cases like this in recent memory. They want the public to know that this type of crime is a felony, and one that they take very seriously.
“We do not know what the motive is, but we will find out what the motive was. And we will find the people responsible for disturbing the gravesite of this brave guy who served in a past World War,” said Stanek.
As a part of that, Stanek said they may have some surveillance video they can review.
There was no damage done to the grave marker.
Anyone with information is being urged to contact the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. Because they consider this a crime scene, the man’s family has to be notified before his name can be released.
His body was exhumed as part of the investigation and has been taken to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.Matthew J. " Nat " Hickey (January 30, 1902 – September 16, 1979) [1] was an American professional basketball coach/player and baseball player. He turned to coaching basketball after his retirement from playing in 1942, but returned to play two games with the Providence Steamrollers of the Basketball Association of America while serving as the team's coach in 1948. Aged 45 years old at the time of his two appearances, Hickey holds the record for the oldest player in NBA history.
As a 5'11" guard/forward, Hickey played from the 1920s through 1940s with multiple early professional teams, including the Hoboken St. Joseph's, Eddie Holly's Majors, New York Crescents, Eddie Holly's Majors, Cleveland Rosenblums, the Chicago Bruins, Boston Trojans, Original Celtics of the American Basketball League and the Pittsburgh Raiders, Indianapolis Kautskys, and Tri-Cities Blackhawks of the National Basketball League.
In the second year after the formation of the Basketball Association of America (the forerunner to the NBA), Hickey served 29 games as head coach of the Providence Steamrollers during the 1947–48 season. Hickey's team posted a 4–25 record during his tenure. He activated himself as a player on January 27, 1948, three days before his 46th birthday, and appeared in two games. He attempted six field goals – making none – and committed five personal fouls. He scored two points off of foul shots.[2] All of the shots occurred in his debut game as a player against the St. Louis Bombers. While he also played a day later against the New York Knickerbockers, he didn't record anything in that game. As a result of these games, Hickey still holds the record for the oldest player in NBA history at 45 years and 363 days.[3]Background Edit
Tarentum was a Greek colony, part of Magna Graecia. The members of the leading faction in Tarentum, the democrats under Philocharis or Ainesias, were against Rome, because they knew that if the Romans entered Tarentum the Greeks would lose their independence. The Greeks |
, you can double check that there are no file errors due to scaling.
Use the measure tool to take another look at wall thicknesses if scaling down. If scaling up, just make sure that the dimensions fit on our build beds!
Here’s a video that walks you through the steps in more detail:
Main Takeaways
If you ever upload a file on Fictiv and we ask you to clean it up for printability, check one of these issues, as they are the most common in surface modeling.
The designs in most cases can definitely be printed, it’s just a matter of making sure each facet is completely defined so that going the design undergoes a seamless transformation from digital to physical.CONROE, Texas - A 32-year-old man was arrested in southwest Houston on Friday, two days after authorities said he sexually assaulted and tortured a woman in her own garage.
On Wednesday, police said, Gregory Kocian attacked the 44-year-old victim in the early-morning hours.
The woman said that when she went to see why her dogs were barking, she was struck in the back of the head by an unknown object, which rendered her unconscious, police said.
When the woman woke up, she said she was in the garage and bound by extension cords, according to police.
She said this is when she recognized Kocian, a family friend.
The woman told police Kocian brutally tortured and sexually assaulted her for the next several hours.
According to authorities, she said that during the assault, she was choked, cut numerous times, stabbed and threatened with death for nearly six hours.
The woman told police when she attempted to get away from Kocian, his abuse would become worse. When Kocian left the house in the 10600 block of Royal Adrian Drive around 6 a.m., the woman said she was able to escape to a neighbor's house and contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
An aggravated sexual assault arrest warrant was issued for Kocian on Wednesday, and on Friday, authorities located him.
He is being held in the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Jail with a $1 million bond.
Copyright 2017 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.UPDATED
In the past twelve months racist attacks in Northern Ireland have increased by 50%.
In the early hours of Sunday morning yet another home was attacked in South Belfast – an attack that the PSNI described as a ‘hate crime’.
A bottle was thrown and smashed the living room window of a house owned by a Bangladeshi family on Ulsterville Avenue and a car owned by a Kuwaiti family was set alight.
The attacks have been widely condemned by politicians from across the political spectrum.
In the early hours of this morning yet another property was attacked in North Belfast.
Where do the attitudes that provoke these hate crimes originate and why are racist attitudes seemingly on the increase?
A few hours before the latest attack a Facebook user in South Belfast posted this video:
The video has been viewed more than 10,000 times and numerous comments have been posted in support of the man responsible.
The Facebook user subsequently attempted to defend his actions seemingly oblivious to the fact that – regardless of the circumstances – verbally and racially abusing a fellow human being in broad daylight would be regarded by most as unacceptable.
The true nature of his motivations are perhaps best summed up by one of his own comments on the original video thread.
On Saturday 4th October Shankill Leisure Centre permitted the use of a hall to celebrate Eid al-Adha, one of the most important festivals in the Islamic calendar.
The loyalist Facebook page Protestant Unionist Loyalist News TV picked up on the news with predictable results:
A torrent of racist commentary followed the original post – all unchallenged by the administrators of the page.
An even more sinister Facebook page has seen significant growth in recent days.
The subtly named N.I. Resistance Against Islam so far has 735 followers and users have posted a selection of choice comments.
Stung by criticism the page administrators have banned anyone who dares to challenge their racist mindset and have set up a secret group where the select few who share their warped views can interact in private (the administrators of the page are visible on some browsers – the ‘secret’ page is not now searchable on Facebook)
In all cases the posts and pages responsible have been reported to Facebook and complainants have received the stock response that such activity does not contravene “community standards.”
“Facebook does not permit hate speech, but distinguishes between serious and humorous speech. While we encourage you to challenge ideas, institutions, events, and practices, we do not permit individuals or groups to attack others based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition”.
However Facebook adds the caveat that “because of the diversity of our community, it’s possible that something could be disagreeable or disturbing to you without meeting the criteria for being removed or blocked”.
So in effect Facebook and not civil society is the final arbiter of what is or is not ‘hate speech’.
In a society that is already riddled with sectarianism and where there is clear evidence that Facebook has been used to stir up sectarian tension in the past, is it not incumbent on the organisation to act swiftly and remove posts that would be viewed as ‘hate speech’ in every day society?
There are those that would argue that such action would be a form of censorship and an attack on free speech but surely social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter have a social responsibility to prevent the spread of dangerous views that can lead to attacks such as this in August 2014?
[twitter_follow username=”@The_Firemen” language=”en”]Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO who spent time in prison for distributing steroids, is certain that Melky Cabrera is far from alone in using performance-enhancing drugs.
"I'm not going to name names," Conte said in an interview with USA Today, "but I've talked to a lot of top players in Major League Baseball, and they tell me this is what they're doing. There is rampant use of synthetic testosterone in Major League Baseball."
Cabrera, the San Francisco Giants outfielder, was suspended 50 games Wednesday after testing positive for testosterone. Cabrera's suspension is the first of a high-profile player since Ryan Braun, last season's National League MVP, had his suspension overturned by an arbitrator last winter.
Conte was asked by USA Today to make an educated guess as to how many players in baseball are using PEDs.
"I would say," Conte said, according to the newspaper, "maybe as much as half of baseball."
Major League Baseball isn't putting much stock in Conte's estimate.
"There is no way that Victor Conte would have information that would allow him to have any basis on that," MLB vice president Rob Manfred said, according to USA Today. "He's just making that up. It's a guess.Messages from the dead: The drowned son who returns for bedside chats. The astronaut who spoke to his father's ghost. Impossible? This spine-tingling series may make you think again
Thought death was clear but? A new book, Opening Heaven's Door, will callenge your views. In the second part of our serialisation, bereaved people recall visits by dead loved ones, writes PATRICIA PEARSON
Research in Wales, Japan, Australia and the U.S. shows that between 40 and 53¿¿¿¿per cent of the bereaved receive some kind of signal or visitation when someone close to them dies.
A humid night in summer. Ellie Black wakes at around 3am and her eyes focus on a figure at the end of her bed. It’s her father, from whom she’s long been estranged. Now fully alert, she watches him as he tips his hat and bows with a flourish. Then he’s gone.
The following morning she relates the experience to her daughter at the breakfast table. Later that day the phone rings — with news that her father died in the early hours.
A tall story? Not at all.
TELEPATHY
Research in Wales, Japan, Australia and the U.S. shows that between 40 and 53 per cent of the bereaved receive some kind of signal or visitation when someone close to them dies.
Usually they sense a presence; sometimes they actually see or hear one. Psychiatrists have labelled these experiences ‘grief hallucinations’, though they have not yet been studied neurologically.
In 2012, the psychologist Erlendur Haraldsson published a comprehensive study he’d done on 340 cases of extraordinary encounters with the dying.
Usually people encountered their fathers or mothers — suggesting that the parental impulse to connect and reassure continues past death.
About a quarter of his subjects saw or heard the dead person at the hour of death or within the day it occurred. In 86 per cent of these cases, they weren’t yet aware of the death by ordinary means.
Some surveys report that about half of all these telepathic experiences occur in dreams. A musician, Rory McGill, told me that on the night his father died, he had a vivid dream in which he climbed onto his father’s bed and held him in his arms. ‘But in an instant, I was standing alone in the room — he was gone, and the bed was empty and neatly made,’ he recalled.
The next day, his mother phoned: his father had died unexpectedly while Rory was dreaming about him. A mere coincidence? Highly unlikely. A review of ‘spontaneous telepathy’ studies concludes that the odds against chance are 22 billion to one.
So, do we have a form of consciousness — a way of knowing — that has yet to be fully explained?
Intriguingly, studies of twins separated by distance seem to confirm that something odd is going on.
One of the first of these studies monitored the electrical impulses of the twins¿ brains. The scientists found that when one twin was asked to close his or her eyes, which causes the brain¿s alpha rhythms to increase, the distant twin¿s alpha rhythms also increased.
One of the first of these studies monitored the electrical impulses of the twins’ brains. The scientists found that when one twin was asked to close his or her eyes, which causes the brain’s alpha rhythms to increase, the distant twin’s alpha rhythms also increased.
Many later twin studies had similar findings. In 2013, a study of British twins reported that 60 per cent felt they’d had telepathic exchanges. Among identical twins, 11 per cent said they had frequent exchanges with their sibling, including shared dreams.
Other studies of telepathy by University of Virginia psychiatrist Ian Stevenson explored how people could know that someone physically distant was dying or in distress. Stevenson started by analysing 165 meticulously researched historical cases. Nearly 90 per cent had occurred, he discovered, when the person was awake, rather than asleep or dozing.
Two-thirds involved news of an immediate family member. Eighty-two per cent involved death, a sudden illness or accident.
But people did not, apparently, pick up on one another’s good tidings.
‘Is it that the communication of joy has no survival value for us, while the communication of distress does?’ Stevenson wondered.
He then moved on to 35 contemporary cases. And one startling conclusion from these was that a third involved violent death.
His findings were replicated in 2006, when Icelandic researchers found a dramatically higher number of abrupt or violent deaths in telepathic cases.
In addition, there were many accounts from both World Wars of a soldier¿s family or loved one suddenly waking in the still of the night. In that instant, they knew the soldier had died ¿ and a telegram later arrived to confirm this.
In addition, there were many accounts from both World Wars of a soldier’s family or loved one suddenly waking in the still of the night. In that instant, they knew the soldier had died — and a telegram later arrived to confirm this. Perhaps, Stevenson mused, there was something in the emotional quality of the event — a thunderclap of fear or pain — that carried like a sound wave across water.
In more than half of the cases, the person who received the message was driven to take some kind of action — such as making a phone call, embarking on a frantic trip or changing holiday plans.
One woman drove 50 miles home in the middle of the night after suddenly gleaning that her teenage daughter was in trouble. It turned out their house had been broken into by armed intruders, with the daughter inside.
But how do you know that the news you’ve just received telepathically is correct? No one has yet fathomed this mystery. But Stevenson discovered ‘a feeling of conviction’ was one of the characteristics that separated telepathic communications from ordinary dreams and anxious imaginings.
But how do you know that the news you¿ve just received telepathically is correct? No one has yet fathomed this mystery. But Stevenson discovered ¿a feeling of conviction¿ was one of the characteristics that separated telepathic communications from ordinary dreams and anxious imaginings
There were two other factors that made people sit up wide-eyed and reach for the phone or take other action. One was if the person in the crisis specifically focused on the other person during the moment of danger. This seemed particularly true of parents responding to children.
The second factor was the possibility that the person receiving the distress call had experienced previous psychic communications — suggesting that some people just have a gift for this. Janey Acker Hurth, for example, not only sensed her daughter’s (non-fatal) collision with a car, but also her father’s sudden illness a few years earlier.
Back then, when she was newly married, she’d awoken to ‘a feeling of deep sadness, an impression that something was wrong’. The feeling intensified and she began to sob.
Then, when she was making breakfast, she cried: ‘It’s my father! Something is terribly wrong with my father!’ Her dad had gone into a coma during the night and died shortly afterwards.
Stevenson was struck by how this type of information sometimes gradually came into focus. People like Mrs Hurth, he concluded, ‘may scan the environment for danger to her loved ones and, when this is detected, tune in and bring more details to the surface of consciousness’.
But how do you know that the news you¿ve just received telepathically is correct? No one has yet fathomed this mystery. But Stevenson discovered ¿a feeling of conviction¿ was one of the characteristics that separated telepathic communications from ordinary dreams and anxious imaginings
In the Eighties and Nineties, a British neuropsychiatrist, Dr Peter Fenwick, of King’s College, London, appealed to the public for cases of what he called ‘death-bed coincidences’, and amassed more than 2,000 accounts.
Typically, one woman wrote to him about the suicide of her husband, from whom she’d recently separated. She’d awoken at 3am in 1989 from an intensely vivid dream in which her ex was sitting on the bed, assuring her that he’d found peace.
‘I got up, did some work I needed to do and two clients phoned me around 8am,’ she continued. ‘I freaked them out completely as I told them I’d be taking some time out because my husband had just died.’
She didn’t yet objectively know this to be true. But when she let herself into her former husband’s flat, she discovered his body.
In her case, the person in distress hadn’t sought help — instead, he’d apparently sent a message of reassurance after his death.
In other cases, people may be telepathically sharing the calm and peace they feel as they die.
Stevenson concluded: ‘It’s altogether probable that important, unrecognised exchanges of feelings through extrasensory processes are occurring all the time. Even if we can only observe it occasionally — and usually between persons united by love and during a special crisis — this should arouse our curiosity.’
SHARED PAIN
On the evening his father died of lung cancer, sailor Raymond Hunter felt as though his lungs were collapsing and he could scarcely breathe.
‘I remember grabbing my mouth, forcing it open to help me breathe. I was fighting for all I was worth, but the pains were unbearable,’ he recalled afterwards.
Psychiatrist Ian Stevenson has suggested it could be a kind of telepathic extension of a phenomenon in which people who live together sympathetically take on one another¿s symptoms or moods. But that¿s only a theory
Unbearable pain — now, that’s not something you shake off as a strange dream. Particularly when you later discover that your father died in that very moment.
This abrupt and violent experience of another person’s dying symptoms has been noted by some researchers, though it remains almost completely unexplored.
Psychiatrist Ian Stevenson has suggested it could be a kind of telepathic extension of a phenomenon in which people who live together sympathetically take on one another’s symptoms or moods. But that’s only a theory.
A particularly vivid instance involves a woman in her late 30s.
‘I was awoken around 2am by the sound of my heart breaking. I know that sounds really odd, but I heard it crack and felt my chest sort of splitting,’ she recalled.
‘The next morning I got into the car to drive to work. I was sitting at traffic lights when I felt this pressure on the side of my face. I distinctly remember that the pressure was that of a cheek lightly pressed against mine, sort of cuddling me.
‘The feeling I was filled with at this time was one of love and support — it felt fine. I then felt a hand holding my hand and felt it had no middle finger. And then it dawned on me.
‘It was my dad’s hand; he’d lost his finger in a building site accident when I was a little girl.
‘I returned home after an hour to be met by my husband’s words: “Your dad’s gone.” Apparently, he’d died from a massive heart attack during the night. I wasn’t at all surprised.’
Why should the dying want to share such agonies with the people they love? No one knows.
But one thing at least is clear: no one in their right mind could dismiss these visions as wishful thinking.
RETURN OF THE DEAD
Two hundred miles above Earth, Jerry Linenger was working on the space station Mir when he suddenly became aware of the presence of his father.
It was 1997 — and his father had died seven years earlier. A conversation ensued in which the older man spoke of his pride that his son had realised his dream of travelling in space. Linenger was deeply moved.
Two hundred miles above Earth, Jerry Linenger (pictured) was working on the space station Mir when he suddenly became aware of the presence of his father
Later, however, he chose to interpret his father’s presence as nothing more than a projection of his imagination. And yet, at the time, he had derived great consolation from the encounter.
Nor was his experience by any means a strange aberration. In fact, it’s estimated that around half of all bereaved people — in all cultures — at some point register the presence of their departed loved one.
According to a study done in 2006, 84 per cent of the bereaved were in good mental health at the time. And only 5 per cent found the encounter negative or distressing; for the majority, it was profoundly comforting.
Visual perception of the presence seems to be the rarest. In another study, only about 5 per cent actually saw the dead person; about 15 per cent heard him or her; and the rest had partial impressions, such as feeling hands on their head or noticing a distinct presence in the room.
Unlike our conception of ghosts, these presences can physically react with the material world.
The writer Nancy Coggeshall, for instance, felt the presence of her partner twice while lying in bed, five months after he died in 2002. ‘I felt someone lying down beside me, and I felt the impact of [his] weight on the mattress. The second time, the pressure was so great, I rolled over and asked: “Who’s there?” ’ she told me.
Karen Simons, who works in advertising, recalled a similar experience in 1994, after her father, a farmer, died of a heart attack.
‘After Dad’s death, I began driving his big, old Ford Taurus,’ she told me. ‘It was comforting, in the way you hang on to people’s shirts. But that’s all it was. Until about six weeks after he died.
‘It was a very cold night in January. I’m driving on the highway and into the passenger seat comes Dad. I could feel him settle in. He had a very distinctive lean to the left, because of the way his back was.
‘Also, you know how you know the sound of people’s breathing? How you can tell whether it’s your son or your daughter in the room? It was Dad. He rode with me for about ten miles.
‘It was incredibly real and completely transforming. I was almost giddy. I was hoping he’d stay.’
People held in solitary confinement for a long time, for example, are known to hallucinate. This takes the form of random, often paranoid imagery, and it¿s accompanied by agitation, panic attacks and general mental disintegration
Karen never sensed his presence again. Her father, she believed, had been saying a final goodbye.
Yet some loved ones can linger for years. This continues to be the case with her aunt’s son, who drowned 35 years ago in a fast-flowing river.
‘On a very regular basis, Allan comes and sits on the end of her bed, and they have a conversation,’ Karen said. ‘ “And don’t tell me I’m crazy!” my aunt always says.’
Back in 1917, Sigmund Freud labelled all such visions and sensations as ‘hallucinatory wishful psychosis’ — and his view remains popular in the medical profession. Since then, however, a great deal more has become known about hallucinations.
People held in solitary confinement for a long time, for example, are known to hallucinate. This takes the form of random, often paranoid imagery, and it’s accompanied by agitation, panic attacks and general mental disintegration.
But widows and widowers are clearly not in this state when they see or sense their loved ones. Nor are they likely to be alone for days on end in tiny windowless cells.
What about the theory that sheer longing for someone could cause a hallucination? Unfortunately for the sceptics, this falls at the first hurdle. Think of all those long-term lovers who leave people heartbroken when they run off with someone else. No one reports having visions of them.
In any case, the vision may not even be of someone close to you. That was certainly the case when a lawyer — interviewed by psychologist Erlendur Haraldsson in 2006 — had an unexpected encounter.
Throughout most of our history, everyone has known that those who die can return as anything, from a sigh to a physical presence. Our ancestors simply assumed the dead continued to watch, console, guide and even meddle in their affairs
One day, as dawn was breaking, he was coming home from a dance at which he hadn’t drunk any alcohol. While he was walking over a hill, ‘a woman came towards me, kind of stooping, with a shawl over her head.
‘I didn’t pay any attention to her, but as she passed I said “Good morning” or something like that. She didn’t say anything.
‘Then I noticed she was following me. When I stopped, she also stopped. I started saying my prayers in my mind to calm myself. When I came close to home, she disappeared.’
But had she? The lawyer’s brother, who was awake, greeted him with the words: ‘What is this old woman doing here? Why is this old woman with you?’
The brothers lived with their father, who worked at the local psychiatric hospital. A few hours later, they were told by him that a patient at the hospital had just died.
When the brothers investigated further, they found out that she exactly fitted their description of the old woman.
Clearly, whatever had caused the woman to materialise after her death had nothing to do with the lawyer suffering from isolation. Nor had he been longing to see her.
Yet, bizarre as it was, his experience would not have amazed our ancestors.
Throughout most of our history, everyone has known that those who die can return as anything, from a sigh to a physical presence. Our ancestors simply assumed the dead continued to watch, console, guide and even meddle in their affairs.
Collective delusion? Mass hallucinations? Or perhaps our ancestors have something important to teach us.Out From the Bones
Under her feet the shifting bones slide, scraping against the hard floor beneath. Tachi watches the ground, walking with bent head, searching for the safest path through those hapless remnants. With each step the penitent broken moans grow louder, calling her onward.
Her chanting voice changes as she lifts her arms over her head. The orb explodes outward, covering the walls in glistening shards of light. The finely spread glowing embers transform the cavern into a night sky, pulsating in ripples like the ups and downs of a gentle pond’s surface. The stars shine on the dead of the earth.
In the soft glittering luminance the bleached bones are decorated by the dancing shadows. And there, a meter or so ahead, a conflagration of blood and pale skin lies supinely, gasping wide-eyed at the sudden transition from darkness to light.
The jangling bones fly as Tachi races to Richard’s side. He turns his head toward the priestess, and then lets it crash onto the floor. Exhausted, he falls into a black sleep. Beside him Tachi kneels, and begins a new chant. The glowing stars break from the ceiling and walls. Gently they descend, floating around the wayfarers in many intersecting spirals forming an ever morphing dome over the two.
Tachi’s chant builds as the little flakes of light catch her song and play the notes back to each other. They echo her hymn, harmonizing with her silky lead. A small glittering spiral breaks from the rest and flows like a ribbon tossed in the breeze dancing before her. The singing stops, and the dome echoes the prayers back and forth.
She blows some air at the wispy collection of glitter and it bursts like a bubble, scattering its glowing flakes over the beleaguered hunter. Melting into him the light spreads like a glistening balm, running over his broken frame.
She sings again, and the dome erupts. Gathering high above them its tones grow to a loud fevered pitch. The spiraling chains of luminous stars rotate around each other furiously and then, like a waterfall, rains down upon Richard, its screaming wail transforming into the tingling of broken glass. Lifting his body from the mass grave the dancing light wraps itself under and over the hunter, like a mother would a baby in a blanket.
Softly cooing her melodies the priestess walks to the rich light shining from the cave entrance. Behind her, Richard’s sleeping form floats after, the glowing cloud humming all about him. Together they leave the cave and enter the world of day.
In the daylight, Tachi unfolds the scarf from around her face. Above her sharp nose two shining black eyes turn upon her patient. She pulls off her gloves as she walks to the broken man. Setting her brown hand upon his side she begins to feel his ribs.
Beneath her soft touch she feels the uneven contours of rough scars. They litter every inch of his body, some old and faded, others young and sharp. The light is already at work upon the new cuts left by the cave, spinning in mad spirals up and down his wounds.
She bites her lip as she feels a break, this will take more than her magic to heal. The notes of her high vocals fill the forest mixing with the songbirds’ twittering calls. Pulling off the long cloak from her shoulders she folds it under her arms as she walks to the road.
The pollen sizzles as it is incinerated in the sun. Tachi steps onto the byway and makes her way toward the hill. With the unconscious hunter following after her she begins to once again mount the slope. Looking over to her patient she grimaces. The cloud is fading as its song slowly ends.
Wiping the sweat from her brow she stands atop the peak. Gradually the light carries the hunter over the hill and vanishes, gently laying him at her feet. Looking down she spots the sleepy village with nary a soul to be seen.
Older Posts:
The Beginnings of a Tale
The Continuing of a Tale
The Tale Goes On (Start here)
The Tale Persists
The Tale Progresses
The Tale AdvancesI believe that a lot of our suffering and a sense of unfulfillment both come from not loving ourselves enough. We are so hard on ourselves. We often relentlessly push ourselves toward our goals, and wonder why we are exhausted. Most of us treat ourselves how our parents treated us when we were young. If you learned that you were a burden or not good enough in childhood, you are likely treating yourself the same way today.
Before you go to bed, you might run through your list of things to do the next day. You might review your daily tasks and accomplishments. But how often do you think about how well you have taken care of yourself that day? Ask yourself right now: Have I loved myself today? You are so good at loving everyone else, but have you loved yourself?
On a flight, in case of emergency, we are told to put on our own oxygen mask first. If you don’t take care of yourself, you will be unable to take care of others.
Have you loved yourself today? Find a way to invest in yourself. What do you need to feel happy loved and emotional safe?
What does love look like?
Setting boundaries with others.
Getting enough sleep.
Taking a break.
Giving yourself permission to make mistakes.
Taking a long bubble bath.
Having a spa day.
Looking at yourself in the mirror and liking what you see.
Just be aware that a lot of us have negative self-talk. We are hard on ourselves about the things we didn’t do. Try shifting your focus to all the things you accomplish, and everything you do. Pat yourself on the back. Love yourself for who you are, right now, with whatever imperfections you might have.
Remember, before going to sleep at night, ask:
Did I love myself today?
If the answer is no, make a plan to love yourself tomorrow. Write it down next to your bed so you see it when you wake up. Taking care of yourself is the first step in feeling at ease, happy and truly being able to give love to others.When you write about entertainment, there are a lot of opportunities for interviews, but to me there is a big difference between an interview, and an Interview. Sometimes, what separates the two is the mood, or the topic, but more often than not it’s about the person in front of you and the conversation.
Malcolm McDowell, an actor I have admired for a long time, definitely falls under the category of a genuine Interview, and chatting with him recently about his role on Community, and his busy career, was a highlight of the year so far.
The famed actor, who currently co-stars as Stanton Infeld in Franklin & Bash, has a mind-blowing 221 acting credits to his name, according to IMDb, in both television and film, plus voice over work in video games and cartoons. His most famous roles, of course, have to be as Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and as the villain Tolian Soran in Star Trek Generations, but this month he’s promoting his latest appearance as Professor Cornwallis on the fourth season of Community, which airs tonight on City and on NBC, for the episode “Intro to Knots”.
At first, the genial actor chatted with me about the last time he was in Toronto, and the fact that, when he was here for FanExpo, that was the last time that he spoke with his former neighbour, actor Larry Hagman, who passed away in November 2012.
Speaking with McDowell about Community, he discussed the amazing cast on the series, how impressed he was with Joel McHale, the next few months of travel that he has ahead of him for new roles, and his work in cartoons and video games.
As a fan of McDowell and his work, it was a friendly conversation that is now one of my favorite Interviews to date. Read the interview and then watch Community tonight on City at 8:00 PM (ET/PT), 9:00 PM (MT), and 7:00 PM (CT).
W. Andrew Powell: Considering everything you’ve done over the years, from television to movies and games, what drew you to appear on Community?
Malcolm McDowell: “Well, you know, it’s a sort of very quirky show, in terms of mainstream. The fact that this is on a network is a sense of bemusement to me because, you know, usually they’re scared of anything that’s not sitcom, but, I knew about the show–I’ve seen it a couple of times, of course. I love Joel McHale, and the script was fun, and they asked me to do it because I’m doing a show for Sony as well, and it’s part of a family, and all the rest of it. You know, that’s why I did it, basically.”
Andrew: What is the cast like to work with, since it’s such a big ensemble?
Malcolm: “Insane. They’re insane. The girls [Gillian Jacobs and Alison Brie]–there are not two more beautiful women, by the way, on television at the moment, as far as I’m concerned. Both of them are stunning–or the three of them, actually. And the guys, well, they’re just brilliant at what they do.”
“What’s amazing is that they’re all so different, and they bring the sort of quirky side of their characters, all of them, to the screen, and you see it–you know. I think they’re fabulous, and I think that it’s well-written for them–tailor made for them. And of course Joel, he’s the heart and soul of it, and he’s a very, very accomplished actor. What he does is not easy, and he makes it look easy–he makes it look as if it’s him, but it’s not. He’s acting. He’s got to learn those lines and deliver, and he does it extremely well.”
“Really, having worked with him, I have even more admiration for him, seeing it close up, actually.”
Andrew: What’s going on with your character in the next episode?
Malcolm: “Well, I don’t want to tell exactly what’s going on. I’ll just tell you that there is a kidnapping, and it is the season of giving–it’s Christmas, and that’s all I will say. The rest, you can guess. Your imagination can take over.”
Andrew: Well, assuming that your character isn’t killed off or sent somewhere else, would you come back to do another episode some day?
Malcolm: “Oh, God, yeah. I’m sure I would. Of course, I don’t really want to say that because I’m not really looking for a job, but the truth is, of course I loved working on it, and I love the cast, and yes, I would certainly–I would definitely be happy to do another one.”
Andrew: Outside of Community, I was looking at some of the work you have coming up, and I was wondering if you could tell me about any particular one?
Malcolm: “No. You know what? I’ve got this young manager who’s fantastic, and I really love him. You know, we work so well together, and he just basically goes, ‘This is what’s coming up. Are you interested?’ As soon as I finish Franklin & Bass, I’m going off to do a film in London and Saint Petersburg, then I fly straight from there to Bulgaria to do a film there, before coming home, and then I’m doing a big thing in August.”
“I’ve got so much work right now, touch wood, but things are going extremely well in the latter part of my career, which is amazing, really.”
Andrew: I find it interesting too that not a lot of actors do the range of things you’re involved in either. You do video game voice-over work, you do cartoons too.
Malcolm: “I love doing cartoons. I’ve got young kids, you know, and they love it when they hear their dad. They love screaming out, “That’s dad,” so that’s a real fun thing to hear in the house. I do a lot of different stuff–I love doing video games.”
Andrew: That’s really interesting. Have you ever played any of the games you’ve worked on?
Malcolm: “No. God no. They’re all sitting in the garage unopened, but it doesn’t really matter. I just love acting in them because it’s very different. Being in this square with all these cameras–300 and something cameras–with all this stuff. That’s fascinating–I love doing that kind of stuff.”
Andrew: What was the one role that stood out the most?
Malcolm: “I played the president [John Henry Eden] in Fallout 3, and that seems to be everybody’s favorite one. And I did that in a couple of hours in a morning, and people kept coming up to me and saying, ‘Oh, man, I loved you,’ and I didn’t even know what the hell they were talking about.”
“‘I don’t think that’s me,’ [and they would say], ‘Yeah, man. Fallout 3!’ I’m always looking forward; never back.”
Images courtesy of NBC.Of course, there are huge caveats. First, this doesn't mean that a physicist could send a message to her younger self, or that you could go back in time to kill Hitler. We still live in the macroscopic world of classical physics, where entropy is still a thing. Second, this is a very fringe idea in the physics world. "There is not, to my knowledge, a generally agreed upon interpretation of quantum theory that recovers the whole theory and exploits this idea," Leifer told Phys.org. "It is more of an idea for an interpretation at the moment, so I think that other physicists are rightly skeptical, and the onus is on us to flesh out the idea."
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Can't get enough quantum physics? Check out "The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos" by physicist Brian Greene. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase through that link, Curiosity will get a share of the sale.Violent night clashes: Some 300 settlers hurled stones at Palestinian vehicles on the main road near the settlement of Ramat Gilad fearing an eviction |
save for the load of work I need to do... wait, dead? Evil? Melena stared back toward the hallway, trying to figure out exactly what he meant by that. And who each of the three could be.C-SPAN’s BookTV showed an author talk this weekend with Martin Ford who wrote the important Rise of the Robots. You can watch the hour-long discussion in Seattle on the C-SPAN site or listen to the audio here
Ford opened his talk by disagreeing with the title given by the Seattle Town Hall: How to Stop Robots From Stealing Jobs:
Ford has life experience that makes him an excellent explainer of the effect of robots and automation on the workplace because he saw job obsolescence happen in his own small business. He had a Silicon Valley company back when software was loaded on disks and sent to customers through the mail. Those shipping jobs disappeared when software began to be transmitted via the internet: no mass layoffs that make the news, just gradually disappearing employment that leaves us where we are today in the jobless recovery.
A 2013 Oxford University study (The Future of Employment) estimated that 47 percent of American jobs could be taken by automation within 20 years. The Gartner tech consulting firm has forecast that one-third of jobs will be performed by smart machines in 2025, just 10 years from now.
A third of the jobs are falling off a cliff in 10 years?? That’s huge! Why isn’t this topic being debated in public, beyond just the tech community?
One aspect: because of the new workplace technologies, America certainly doesn’t need increased millions of legal immigrants to fill a mythical labor shortage touted by amnesty advocates. Most additional immigrant “workers” will end up in the angry unemployed underclass, which is already large.
Ford’s sense about how the economy and markets work comes through in this recent newspaper interview:
SUNNYVALE — If you are reading this from the cubicle of your white-collar workplace, Martin Ford is pretty sure that a robot is coming to take your job.
But the Sunnyvale software entrepreneur and author of the recently released “Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future,” published by Basic Books, also sees hope for society if it can adapt its political system to technology that will automate most routine tasks.
He worries most about his 7-year-old daughter and her peers who grow up in a world where businesses employ robots to occupy today’s best careers. He wants the 2016 presidential candidates to address this threat, but doubts they will. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: You grimly recount all the white-collar jobs that will be lost to automation, from lawyers to radiologists and journalists. Are there sectors that will be immune?
A: I think health care will probably be the sector that is slowest to see these changes. Radiologists and pathologists (could become obsolete), but if you look at people like nurses and doctors, people who need to move around and interact with patients, building a robot to do that stuff is still science fiction. If I were giving someone advice of what to study, health care is a pretty good bet. But we can’t have a whole economy that’s just health care. There aren’t enough jobs to absorb everyone.
Q: What made you return to this topic after writing about it in 2009 (in the self-published “Lights in the Tunnel”)?
A: The issue back then was just so off the radar. People thought it was kind of crazy (and I couldn’t find a publisher). I wanted to extend the argument I made then, and hopefully get it in front of more people.
Q: Has your own perspective changed since then?
A: The technology has moved even faster than I thought. I talked about an autonomous car back then, and it happened within a year. Same with IBM’s Watson (the computer that won the quiz show “Jeopardy” in 2011). That was pretty remarkable. But in general I haven’t changed my view that in the long term this is going to be a disruptive change and we’re going to have to do something fairly radical to adapt to it. It might be 10, 20 years, but eventually we’ll get to the point where there won’t be enough jobs for most people — average people who aren’t rocket scientists with a Ph.D. from MIT.
Q: One of the scariest ideas you talk about is techno-feudalism. How worried are you that’s a real possibility?
A: If we have inequality on steroids, we essentially divide into two societies with a tiny minority that’s extraordinarily wealthy and everyone else is (jobless and) just kind of falling apart. The wealthy would rope themselves off, live behind gates. The vast majority of people would be really miserable. But it’s not clear that’s even a viable path. In order to have a successful economy, even the people at the top have got to sell something. They need consumers for that. If we really got into a situation where most people just don’t have the income, that could create a deflationary spiral, financial crisis, dragging the wealthy into it as well.
Q: The crux of your concern is not so much about losing jobs as losing consumers.
A: It’s a big issue. There’s some evidence inequality is already undermining the economy to some extent. Businesses like Wal-Mart are struggling because their customers can’t afford to buy things. You need customers to drive demand. And you’re not going to have sustained innovation without a market to inspire entrepreneurs. Imagine if you put Steve Jobs on an island. He’s going to be gathering up coconuts like everyone else. His talents aren’t worth anything in that environment. Our system we’ve built is a mass-market economy that depends on a huge number of people who can buy stuff.
Q: How did you come to your solution of a guaranteed basic income for everyone?
A: It’s not my idea. (Austrian economist and libertarian hero) Friedrich Hayek, back in the 1930s, was already advocating it. People have been advocating it for different reasons, some with a sense of social justice and many conservatives who see it as an alternative to a big government safety net. It’s much more of a free market idea; you simply give people money and they go out into the market. As we move into this new reality, with all this new technology, we may get to the point where we seriously have to consider it in order to keep things going. It’s essentially a way to adapt capitalism to the future.
Q: What areas of work surprised you by how quickly they’re becoming automated?
A: The whole area of deep learning has been remarkable. You have machines that can outperform people in recognizing images. Skype can now translate from Chinese to English in real time. What they’re doing in terms of pattern recognition and processing is pretty incredible. That’s also one of the areas where humans really excel. A lot of lower-wage online jobs out there involve things computers can’t do yet, but deep learning is getting better and better. I don’t think we have to worry anytime soon about computers waking up and becoming conscious, but in terms of specialized applications, they’re getting pretty remarkable.
Q: A lot of people would characterize your book as pessimistic. Do you see it that way?
A: I view it as a little pessimistic in the short run, just because of the political challenge we face in adapting to automation, but in the long run very optimistic if we can make the transition. Techno-optimists say the biggest problem we face in the future is no one’s going to have to work, so what will we do to occupy our time or have a sense of worth or fulfillment? That may be an issue, but certainly long before that, distribution is going to be an issue. The techno-optimists kind of brush that aside. I think of it in terms of Maslow’s pyramid (of human needs). At the base of pyramid you have basic needs, and at the top of the pyramid you have a sense of fulfillment. But you need the base first, a place to live and food to eat.
Q: Do you have any hope the political system will address this before it actually happens?
A: It’s unlikely we’ll have a radical shift until there’s a real crisis.
Martin Ford
Occupation: Author, “Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future”; founder and CEO of Solution-Soft
Residence: Sunnyvale
Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, University of Michigan; MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management
Age: 52
Birthplace: Reading, England
Five things about Martin Ford
1. He was inspired to become a computer engineer by Tracy Kidder’s 1981 book “The Soul of a New Machine.”
2. Worked in the 1980s for Massachusetts-based microcomputer company Data General, the same firm featured in Kidder’s book.
3. Founded the Silicon Valley software development company Solution-Soft, where he first noticed how automation, outsourcing and cloud computing were making some of his workforce obsolete.
4. Born in England, he grew up in a military family living in North Dakota and Michigan.
5. His interest in automation doesn’t apply to his personal life; he drives a stick shift and doesn’t have any robots at home.Matt and Ross Duffer, the twin brothers who created the new Netflix series Stranger Things, are 32-year-old men who came of age primarily in the early 1990s. But the North Carolina natives, who previously co-directed the thriller Hidden and wrote for the Fox series Wayward Pines, fell in love with storytelling by consuming movies and books released in the ‘80s, either before they were born or when they were barely out of diapers. The influence of filmmakers and authors like Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, and John Carpenter is all over Stranger Things, an eight-part series that does a superb job of recapturing the feel of the early ‘80s. The Duffer brothers — who sound enough alike on the phone that during an interview, each one had to identify himself before he spoke — recently chatted with Vulture about falling in love with ‘80s films, the challenges involved in casting child actors, and what they learned from series star Winona Ryder.
Are you guys officially fraternal or identical twins?
Matt Duffer: We actually don’t know, which is weird. Back when we were born, they didn’t do those tests and we just looked so similar that everyone assumed we were identical. But we don’t actually have confirmation, and we’re too freaked out to get a test now because finding out that we’re not identical could really screw us up psychologically.
Where did you grow up in North Carolina?
MD: We grew up in Durham, North Carolina, so really close to Duke University. We were in the middle of nowhere in Durham. We’re right by, like, a tobacco farm. But we were in the suburbs and you had to go — you know, a five-minute walk and you’re kind of in the middle of nowhere. Ten more minutes and you’re at the railroad tracks. We didn’t go to any summer camps because we just wanted to be making movies and telling stories. We started doing that very early on. Fourth grade, I think, was our first movie.
Obviously Stranger Things is heavily influenced by so many of the films and Stephen King novels that were coming out in the early ‘80s, when you guys were either not alive or barely cognizant. How did those become your touchstones?
MD: When we were first starting to talk about the idea [for the show], we had talked about a paranormal-missing child story line. Then we were talking about some of the mysterious government experiments that we felt were happening at the tail end of the Cold War, right when rumored [projects] like MKUltra were ramping down.
That was the initial idea, and we thought that made sense either at the tail end of the ‘70s or early ‘80s. Then we hit upon the idea: Oh, this is great because this allows us to also pay homage to the films we grew up on. So many of our greatest moviegoing experiences were actually experienced in our house, on VHS. These were the films that were on our shelves, that we would watch. When you’re a kid, you don’t watch a movie one time. You watch it 10, 20 times. These were the movies we grew up on. It became a part of us.
Ross Duffer: Why we loved this stuff so much is because these movies and books were about very ordinary people we could relate to, that we understood. We’re like, oh, that’s like my mom and that’s like my friend and that person is like me, even though they would encounter these amazing things. That was always our favorite type of story, and that’s the stuff we fell in love with. The peak of those type of ordinary-meets-extraordinary stories was in the ‘80s.
It’s so interesting how those films — movies like E.T. or The Goonies — have become touchstones for generations that are still coming up. I have a son who’s 9, and I was speaking at his elementary-school career day recently. This little 7-year-old girl raised her hand and said, “Have you ever seen this movie? It’s called Back to the Future. It’s really good.”
MD: That’s amazing. I talk to kids and a lot of them have seen these movies. They all have a sort of timeless quality to them. You know, there’s nothing in E.T. that earmarks it as really ‘80s. I like to think it still holds up. So that’s what we were going for. Yes, the show will appeal to people who grew up on these movies, and they will see those movies in our show. But it will also work for an entirely new generation.
I read that you originally envisioned doing this show in Montauk. Then you decided to move the setting to Indiana, is that right?
RD: It was set in Montauk. We always loved that idea of the Amity feel in Jaws, in a coastal town. For production reasons and other reasons we ended up moving it. We needed to shoot in Atlanta. We ended up falling in love with this idea that it’s more Anywhere, USA, and also, just being in Atlanta, doubling as Indiana, it reminded us of our childhoods and our homes. These neighborhoods — the woods, the forks — it was all so familiar to us. It’s a world we inherently understood better than the coastal town. But story-wise it remained the same. I think we had one beach scene that had to be adjusted.
MD: And then it took us like, you know, two months to settle on a town name. Which is easier said than done, really.
Oh, really? Why?
RD: Because there are so many names you can’t call it. If the town actually exists, then you could get sued. You have to find a town that does not exist, and that sounds great, and that we can all live with. It was a challenge, but it was fun. We landed on Hawkins, and a year later, I’m used to it.
With the child actors especially, I know you went through a pretty extensive audition process to find the right kids. Can you talk about that and what you were looking for during that process?
RD: We knew that a bad child performance would kill the show because so much rests on these kids’ shoulders. What you’re looking for are kids that feel real and naturalistic. Of course, watching Stand By Me is, to me, the pinnacle of child performances in movies or shows. It doesn’t get much better than that, and those kids, you feel like you know them instantly and they feel real. So many kids nowadays, it’s almost like they go through this Disney training where they’re taught to be cute and play it up for the camera, and they’re trying to get laughs. What we were looking for were kids that, you just felt like you knew them.
We knew it was going to be difficult so we started right [away]. The minute Netflix gave us a green light we were looking for kids. There were over 1,000 kids we looked at and in the end it wasn’t — it’s not like we had two possible Mikes and two possible Elevens and four Lucases. These four kids were the only ones we felt could work and that could hold up this show on their own, which is something most 12-year-olds can’t do.
I remember when Cary Fukunaga was doing the feature version of It. He was casting around the same time so he had a little head start, and you’re bumping into the same kids and running into scheduling things. The point in what I’m saying is just, there are not many actors we feel are at this level. They are only a few when you’re fighting over them, which is what happens.
Isn’t Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike in Stranger Things, in It?
MD: I was worried because we’re big fans of It and really big fans of Cary Fukunaga, so we were really excited for that movie. Finn — we decided we wanted to cast him as Mike, and then a day later I got a call saying, Cary wants him in It and they’re already working on the deal. So when that movie fell through, as a movie fan I was devastated. But then we got Finn, so I was ecstatic for our own show. But now I’m happy because Finn got the role again, he won it twice. He’s going to be in It. I think they’re shooting right now. [Note: Fukunaga was originally attached to direct the film, but left the project. Andrés Muschietti took on directing duties and now It is indeed in production, and releasing scary photos of Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise the clown.]
In terms of casting Winona and Matthew Modine, there’s the quality they bring to this as actors, but there’s also the subtext of, especially in Winona Ryder’s case, the preexisting relationship the audience has with them as actors who started when they were kids back in the ‘80s. Did you have them in mind specifically?
RD: We didn’t have them in mind, no. But Winona came up very early on and was on one of our first casting lists that our casting director came up with, and we all fell instantly in love with that idea. Certainly there’s nostalgia there, but this is someone we were huge fans of growing up, and it’s someone we just wanted to see more of. And it’s particularly someone we loved seeing in the supernatural genre. Not that she’s not great in other things, like Girl Interrupted or Little Women. But Tim Burton was such a huge inspiration to us growing up and those movies were such a part of our rotation. It was also assigning us the idea of putting a movie star in this role because we always saw this as a big eight-hour summer movie. So to have someone like Winona, who has that movie-star presence where you just point a camera at her and she pops off the screen, it’s not something most people have. So we were excited by the idea of her doing this. And I don’t think even two years ago she would have agreed to it. I do think Matthew McConaughey and his McConaissance was a huge help and opened up the door to some of these people that are more traditionally known for film.
Was there any reticence on her part about the project? Not because it’s TV necessarily, but because some people don’t like the idea of revisiting decades when their careers first began.
MD: For Winona, those roles [from the ‘80s] were so very different. She was a kid, or she was the ingenue, she was the love interest, whatever. This was a very different role for her. Also, Winona is an obsessive movie fanatic, And she’s particularly knowledgeable in terms of movies from the ‘80s. She loves that era. She grew up there. She has a deeper knowledge of those movies than we do, actually. That was one of the things that attracted her to us. Any sort of reticence had more to do with — and what’s scary to a lot of actors in television — is the time commitment. If you’re on a movie, it’s not that big of a deal if you’re not happy with it. But she was going off one script and signing on for a potentially long time.
You mentioned that she’s knowledgeable about films from that era, understandably. Did she provide any particular insight to you that was useful, especially since she was in the business at the time?
MD: She has incredible stories. You mention any star or director and chances are she knows them or has worked with them. I could talk to her all day and listen to her all day. Her references are not what you expect. She’s obsessed with this movie Audrey Rose, which no one really ever talked about, this obscure Anthony Hopkins movie. Or you know, her haircut. She really wanted it like Meryl Streep’s in Silkwood. She has these very specific …
Photo: Netflix, Twentieth Century Fox
I hadn’t thought about that, but that is totally what that haircut is.
MD: Yeah it is, right? We got that picture from her early on. She said, This is Joyce. This is what she’s gotta look like. She’s very knowledgeable in general about cinema, about how it’s going to be edited together. She has almost a photographic memory of all the takes that she did. She has this incredible, really unique type of intelligence.
RD: She’s been doing this for so long. She has such an understanding of the camera and her relationship to the camera. She can play up any scene and milk it as much as she can. Even a scene where she’s plugging in the new phone. She can really turn it into something great, that’s much funnier and more unexpected than what’s on the page. That’s something else you get with someone of her experience level.
One of the things I like about the show is that it feels like there was a lot of care on your part, and everyone’s, to create a world that felt authentically from that time, down to the opening titles. Did you have a role in what those were going to look and sound like?
RD: There was a two-fold inspiration. One was, in terms of the font and the title design, going back to those old vintage Stephen King books. We sent 12 different old covers to Imaginary Forces, who were designing the titles — we wanted it to be in the style of these novels. There’s something about when we were kids, when you would open up one of these big fat Stephen King novels that we loved. We wanted the show to have that sort of feeling every time you got to a new chapter.
So that was for the font. Then for the actual design, we’re pretty obsessed with this designer Richard Greenberg who did so many great title sequences back in the day, whether it was Alien or The Untouchables or The Goonies or Superman. Altered States. What he specialized in was using just graphics: title graphics, titles over titles. That’s something we really wanted to do. Part of it was, it felt it represented the show well. Title sequences are so great nowadays, but it’s almost like they’re getting more and more elaborate and trying to top each other. As opposed to trying to top these amazing title sequences, what if we just go back to the simplicity of these great titles we loved growing up? There’s something to us that feels epic about those titles. Something like The Untouchables which is just basically just a font. It’s so epic and memorable, so we wanted to go back to that simplicity.
It seems like there are a lot of shows set in the ‘80s. They’re different kinds of shows, but there are a lot of them right now, from The Americans to Halt and Catch Fire. Why is that? Is it purely because the creators and the people greenlighting these shows have affection for that era?
MD: People have asked us about this, and I’m wondering about it. As much as possible you’re just trying to write what you want to see, but I do think a lot of it has to do with, yeah, the people who are making this stuff now either grew up in that era or grew up on film and TV during that time and were inspired by that type of storytelling.
We were in the last generation to grow up without a cell phone being a part of our lives at all, without tech things and having any of that. For us, we like going back to a time — and I’m sure nostalgia is feeding into that — where cell phones and the internet weren’t around. If you went off with friends, it felt like you really could get lost on a grand adventure. There is some nostalgia to it. For us, it was specifically missing that.
This interview has been edited and condensed.Digital Distribution: Exchanging Control For Convenience
from the all-your-digital-purchases-are-belong-to-us dept
Digital distribution can be a good thing, eliminating shipping, packaging, printing, storage, etc. and allowing instantaneous order fulfillment. Unfortunately, it has its downside, especially when digital products are tied to "walled gardens." The possibility always exists that the product you purchased, for all intents and purposes, never really belongs to you. We've seen it previously with Amazon's decision to suddenly remove purchased e-books from customers' e-readers.
Stuart Campbell at Wings over Sealand has another example of this unfortunate byproduct of digital distribution: the fact that you don't own what you've purchased. This means that at any time, for nearly any reason, the product you paid for can be rendered completely worthless.
"According to the iTunes Store Terms of Sale, all purchases made on the iTunes Store are ineligible for refund. This policy matches Apple's refund policies and provides protection for copyrighted materials."
Last October the game went free again, and stayed that way for four months. Then the sting came along. About a week ago (at time of writing), the game received an "update", which came with just four words of description - "Now Touch Racing Free!" As the game was already free, users could have been forgiven for thinking this wasn't much of a change. But in fact, the app thousands of them had paid up to £5 for had effectively just been stolen.
Two of the game's three racing modes were now locked away behind IAP paywalls, and the entire game was disfigured with ruinous in-game advertising, which required yet another payment to remove.
"Hi!
Thanks for contacting us.
I'm really sorry about that. I knew that this could happen. The team had no option but to do that.
We're not trying to make money from people who have already bought the game like you did. It is not an excuse, but only 4% of the 2MM downloads have been paid ones. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't provide with any methods to know when an user has paid or not for an app. We just want to monetize the game from that 96% who are enjoying the game for free. Our goal is to monetize them via advertisement. We understand that this is annoying for the players that have paid for it.
Yes, maybe we could have released a LITE version, but if we release a new free version, we couldn't monetize near 2 MM free downloads we already have. And why we have 96% free downloads? A very bad old decision.. We've begun a new phase at Bravo Games and we definitely need some revenues from those downloads.
At the moment all our efforts are focused in new projects. When we finish those projects, we'll evaluate the possibility of adding new content to previous games like Touch Racing Nitro.
I regret to hear that you never buy another of our apps."
If 96% of those were free downloads, that means that a whopping 80,000 people who paid money for Touch Racing have just been screwed. If we assume an arbitrary but reasonable average price of £1.19 (the second-lowest App Store price tier at the time most of the sales were made, though the app has cost at least twice that much for most of its life), that's just short of £100,000 that Bravo have extracted from consumers for what is in effect a "Lite" demo version of the game.
Imagine if the rest of the world worked this way. Imagine you went to Tesco and bought three boxes of Corn Flakes on a "three-for-two" offer, only for a Tesco employee to turn up at your house one day a month later and confiscate not only the "free" box but also the second one that you'd actually paid for. There'd be riots, or at the very least a long court backlog of assault cases and battered workers. Yet apparently, for videogames it's the dynamic economic model of the future.
WoSland is a pretty wily consumer, and currently has eight apps sitting in its iPhone's "update" queue which are never going to get those updates, because the "update" in question is in fact a downgrade, removing functionality and/or adding ads. We've deleted many others altogether for the same reason.
In the case of iTunes, customers areentitled to refunds on purchases, with the product in question being treated much in the same fashion as opened software, DVDs, etc. in brick-and-mortar stores. Once you've opened (installed) the product, it's yours forever, no matter how terrible it is.In Campbell's case, the product in question isn't actually apiece of software, unlike the many clones and scamware inhabiting app markets. By his own account, he purchased and enjoyed the game (). After he purchased it, the developer (Bravo) went through a series of price adjustments, trying to find a sweet spot, ranging from £1.19 - £4.99. When this failed to make the impact on sales, Bravo offered a few free trial periods before marking it all the way down to 69p, which moved it back into the top 10 for a short time.It's at this point that things get ugly.Campbell's paid-for software suddenly became indistinguishable from the free version, despite his having anted up for the game months ago. He fired off an email to Bravo, asking the developers to explain their reasoning for removing previously paid for content and asking these same paying customers to pay up again in order to return the game to its previous state.He received a reply a day later from Ana Hidalgo, Bravo's "Social Media Manager":For all the supposed "entitlement" game fans have attributed to them constantly, nothing quite matches the entitlement "radiating from Sra. Hildalgo." For starters, if a developer feels that making an app free was a "mistake," it only compounds its errors when it starts taking it out on paying customers, especially when those customers number in the thousands.Campbell is, unfortunately, right. Digital distribution puts control of purchased products completely in the hands of the developers and the distribution service. There are some game developers who would love nothing more than to go to 100% straight digital distribution, not only for the previously mentioned savings, but to allow them to retain complete control of their products. A fully digital distribution disguises DRM as a facet of the service (constant online connection, some or most content inaccessible offline) and helps eliminate the used game market which seems to rank very slightly below straight-up piracy in their minds.Whatever pluses there are for the consumer are greatly negated by these factors. Any dispute between the distributor and the developers puts purchased products in the firing line. Should a developer suddenly pull out of the walled garden, customers may find themselves without support or updates for their purchased products, or worse yet, find themselves without functioning products.Campbell has adjusted his tactics accordingly:Of course, this is far from convenient. Once you run into this situation, you're left with the choice of allowing all updates (even those that downgrade your software) or tediously updating all of your apps one at a time after verifying that said update won't remove functionality. Hardly ideal.As he points out, console owners aren't so lucky. Most updates are forced, giving you the "choice" of updating or not playing your purchased game. And it's not just games and apps. As referenced above, e-books readers have been victims of distributor meddling in the past. Users of "services" like Ultraviolet and the " drive your DVD to the retailer to rip it to the cloud " may find their copies bricked if these services are shut down or (more likely) get caught in the middle of a contractual dispute.If it's all about "control" with gatekeepers and walled gardens, digital distribution is playing right into their hands, turning what should be an advantageous situation for everyone involved into little more than a mixed curse.
Filed Under: apps, control, convenience, payment, scams, updatesTwo weeks after Deutsche Bank first announced it would raise €8 billion in capital as part of a comprehensive restructuring, the German lender on Sunday announced the terms of its upcoming massive dilution.
In a nutshell, Deutsche Bank said it will raise €8 billion ($8.6 billion) by selling stock at a 35% discount to Friday's closing price in a rights offering. The TERP (Theoretical ex-right price) of €15.79, is based on the last closing price of €17.86. The transaction subscription price is €11.65. The Subscription price represents a 26% discount to TERP based on the March 17 closing price.
The mechanics of the offering: Deutsche Bank will issue 687.5 million new shares at €11.65 apiece, it said in a statement Sunday, in-line with the firm’s March 5 announcement on the planned sale. The offer compares with the stock’s closing price of €17.86 on Friday, and is almost 41% lower than where the stock traded when Bloomberg first broke the news of the imminent capital raising on March 3.
As part of the rights offering, DB shareholders may subscribe for 1 new ordinary share for every 2 existing shares held. The subscription rights expected to be traded on German exchanges March 21-April 4, and on NYSE March 21-31. As Bloomberg adds, the reference price for rights is expected to be approximately €2.07.
The sale of equity will be the fourth capital infusion for Deutsche Bank since 2010. Chief Executive Officer John Cryan, who had previously said he didn’t want to tap shareholders, reversed course this month after the shares almost doubled from their September low and Deutsche Bank was unable to find a buyer for a consumer banking unit. Still, even after DB's shares decline this month ahead of the capital increase, the stock is still up 80% from the record low on Sept. 30, amid what Bloomberg call "renewed optimism for banks as investors speculate economic growth and rising borrowing costs could revive earnings."
“The environment for the share sale is almost perfect, given the expectation of higher interest rates and buoyant equity markets,” Ingo Frommen, an analyst with LBBW who has a hold recommendation on the stock, said ahead of Sunday’s announcement.
So "perfect" in fact, buyers of DB equity would not take less than a 35% discount to market.
As a reminder, Deutsche Bank earlier said that the capital increase was fully underwritten at €11.65 a share by banks including Credit Suisse, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and UniCredit. The group of banks underwriting the deal has increased to 30, it said Sunday.
Who is the dumb money this time around: Qatar’s royal family and China’s HNA Group Co., two of Deutsche Bank’s biggest investors, plan to buy shares in the rights offer with a view to increasing their stakes, Bloomberg reported.LA CROSSE, Wis. — President Obama came to this city on the Mississippi on Thursday and launched a frontal assault on Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who filed papers earlier in the day that moved him closer to joining a crowded Republican presidential field.
Mr. Obama likened Mr. Walker and the “bus full” of Republican candidates to an “Uncle Harry” at Thanksgiving dinner who says something that makes no sense.
“You still love him,” the president said. “He’s still a member of your family. Right? But you’ve got to correct him. You don’t want to put him in charge of stuff.”
Mr. Obama compared the recent economic performance of Wisconsin under Mr. Walker with that of its neighbor Minnesota, where Democrats have been in charge. He pointed out that Minnesota had raised taxes on the wealthy, increased the minimum wage and expanded its Medicaid program to offer health insurance to more of the needy — none of which has happened in Wisconsin. Minnesota’s unemployment rate is lower, he said, and its median income is higher.by The Commentator on 8 May 2013 14:41
Fresh reports are emerging about Prof. Stephen Hawking's apparent boycott of Israel.
The Cambridge professor and renowned theoretical physicist was first reported to be boycotting Israel due to what anti-Israel activists called, "his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there."
Following a letter to Hawking, as well as numerous online reports, Cambridge University issued a statement, claiming that the report was a "misunderstanding" and that Hawking was not boycotting Israel, but rather that he was not travelling to Shimon Peres's conference next month for health reasons. The statement claimed, "Professor Hawking will not be attending the conference in Israel in June for health reasons - his doctors have advised against him flying."
A spokesperson at Cambridge also told The Commentator that the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (BRICUP), which issued the statement on behalf of Hawking, "assumed" that this was the reason behind the boycott, but that they were wrong.
Now however, Guardian journalist Matthew Kalman who penned the original story late last night claims the Cambridge statement is untrue, and that Hawking will indeed be boycotting the Jewish state. He tweeted, "In case you doubted my story on Hawking's boycott of Israel, I have now confirmed it again. Cambridge retraction soon".
This was shortly followed by, "Yes. It's boycott all the way."
The Commentator has contacted Cambridge for a clarification, though no statement has yet been forthcoming.
A University spokesman has now retracted the earlier statements, claiming: “We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking’s office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli President’s office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott.
“We had understood previously that his decision was based purely on health grounds having been advised by doctors not to fly.”
A BRICUP spokesperson sent a note to The Commentator, claiming, "the statement was agreed with Prof. Hawking's office."
BRICUP added a statement to its website claiming the original statement was issued with the specific endorsement of Professor Hawking's office. Hawking's staff sent BRICUP the following message on 7th May 201 |
rights movement became increasingly strained; civil rights leaders accused liberal politicians of temporizing and procrastinating. Although President Kennedy sent federal troops to compel the University of Mississippi to admit African American James Meredith in 1962, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. toned down the March on Washington (1963) at Kennedy's behest, the failure to seat the delegates of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party at the 1964 Democratic National Convention indicated a growing rift. President Johnson could not understand why the rather impressive civil rights laws passed under his leadership had failed to immunize Northern and Western cities from rioting. At the same time, the civil rights movement itself was becoming fractured. By 1966, a Black Power movement had emerged; Black Power advocates accused white liberals of trying to control the civil rights agenda. Proponents of Black Power wanted African-Americans to follow an "ethnic model" for obtaining power,[citation needed] not unlike that of Democratic political machines in large cities. This put them on a collision course with urban machine politicians. And, on its most extreme edges, the Black Power movement contained racial separatists who wanted to give up on integration altogether—a program that could not be endorsed by American liberals of any race. The mere existence of such individuals (who always got more media attention than their actual numbers might have warranted) contributed to "white backlash" against liberals and civil rights activists.[131]
Liberals were latecomers to the movement for equal rights for women. Generally, they agreed with Eleanor Roosevelt, that women needed special protections, especially regarding hours of work, night work, and physically heavy work.[132] The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) had first been proposed in the 1920s by Alice Paul, and appealed primarily to middle-class career women. At the Democratic National Convention in 1960, a proposal to endorse the ERA was rejected after it met explicit opposition from liberal groups including labor unions, AFL-CIO, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), American Federation of Teachers, American Nurses Association, the Women's Division of the Methodist Church, and the National Councils of Jewish, Catholic, and Negro Women.[133]
Neoconservatives [ edit ]
Some liberals moved to the right and became "neoconservatives" in the 1970s. Many were animated by foreign policy, taking a strong anti-Soviet and pro-Israel position, as typified by Commentary, a Jewish magazine.[134] Many had been supporters of Senator Henry ("Scoop") Jackson, who was noted for his strong positions in favor of labor and against communism. Many Neoconservatives joined the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and attacked liberalism vocally in both the popular media and scholarly publications.[135]
Under attack from the New Left [ edit ]
Liberalism came under attack from both the New Left in the early 1960s and the Right in the late 1960s. Kazin (1998) says, "The liberals who anxiously turned back the assault of the postwar Right were confronted in the 1960s by a very different adversary: a radical movement led, in the main, by their own children, the white "New Left".[136] This new element, says Kazin, worked to "topple the corrupted liberal order".[137] Indeed, as Maurice Isserman notes, the New Left "came to use the word 'liberal' as a political epithet".[138] Slack (2013) argues that the New Left was, more broadly speaking, the political component of a break with liberalism that took place across several academic fields: philosophy, psychology, and sociology. In philosophy, existentialism and Neo-Marxism rejected the instrumentalism of John Dewey; in psychology, Wilhelm Reich, Paul Goodman, Herbert Marcuse, and Norman O. Brown rejected Freud's teaching of repression and sublimation; in sociology, C. Wright Mills rejected the pragmatism of John Dewey for the teachings of Max Weber.[139][140]
The attack was not confined to the United States, as the New Left was a worldwide movement with strength in parts of Western Europe as well as Japan. Massive demonstrations in France, for example, denounced American imperialism and its "helpers" in Western European governments.[141][142]
The main activity of the New Left became opposition to the US involvement in the Vietnam War as conducted by liberal President Lyndon Johnson. The anti-war movement escalated the rhetorical heat, as violence broke out on both sides. The climax came in sustained protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Liberals fought back, with Zbigniew Brzezinski, chief foreign policy advisor of the 1968 Humphrey campaign, saying the New Left "threatened American liberalism" in a manner reminiscent of McCarthyism.[143] While the New Left considered Humphrey a war criminal, Nixon attacked him as the New Left's enabler—a man with "a personal attitude of indulgence and permissiveness toward the lawless".[144] Beinart concludes that "with the country divided against itself, contempt for Hubert Humphrey was the one thing on which left and right could agree."[145]
After 1968, the New Left lost strength and the more serious attacks on liberalism came from the Right. Nevertheless, the liberal ideology lost its attractiveness. Liberal commentator E. J. Dionne contends that, "If liberal ideology began to crumble intellectually in the 1960s it did so in part because the New Left represented a highly articulate and able wrecking crew".[146]
Liberals and the Vietnam War [ edit ]
While the civil rights movement isolated liberals from their erstwhile allies, the Vietnam War threw a wedge into the liberal ranks, dividing pro-war "hawks" such as Senator Henry M. Jackson from "doves" such as 1972 Presidential candidate Senator George McGovern. As the war became the leading political issue of the day, agreement on domestic matters was not enough to hold the liberal consensus together.[147]
In the 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy was liberal in domestic policy but conservative on foreign policy, calling for a more aggressive stance against Communism than his opponent Richard Nixon.
Opposition to the war first emerged from the New Left and from black leaders such as Martin Luther King. By 1967, however, there was growing opposition from within liberal ranks, led in 1968 by Senators Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy. After Democratic President Lyndon Johnson announced, in March 1968, that he would not run for reelection, Kennedy and McCarthy fought each other for the nomination, with Kennedy besting McCarthy in a series of Democratic primaries. The assassination of Kennedy removed him from the race and the Vice President, Hubert Humphrey emerged from the disastrous 1968 Democratic National Convention with the presidential nomination of a deeply divided party. Meanwhile, Alabama governor George Wallace announced his third-party run, and he pulled in many working-class whites in the rural South and big-city North, most of whom had been staunch Democrats. Liberals, led by the labor unions, focused their attacks on Wallace, while Richard Nixon led a unified Republican Party to victory.
Nixon [ edit ]
The chaos of 1968, a bitterly divided Democratic Party, and bad blood between the new Left and the liberals, gave Nixon the presidency. Nixon rhetorically attacked liberals, but in practice he enacted many liberal policies and represented the more liberal wing of the GOP. Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency by executive order, expanded the national endowments for the arts and the humanities, began affirmative action policies, opened diplomatic relations with Communist China, starting the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks to reduce ballistic missile availability, and turned the war over to South Vietnam. He withdrew all American combat troops by 1972, signed a peace treaty in 1973, and ended the draft.[148] Regardless of his policies, liberals hated Nixon and rejoiced when the Watergate scandal forced his resignation in 1974.
While the differences between Nixon and the liberals are obvious—the liberal wing of his own party favored politicians such as Nelson Rockefeller and William Scranton, and Nixon overtly placed an emphasis on "law and order" over civil liberties, and Nixon's Enemies List was composed largely of liberals—in some ways the continuity of many of Nixon's policies with those of the Kennedy-Johnson years is more remarkable than the differences. Pointing at this continuity, New Left leader Noam Chomsky (himself on Nixon's enemies list) has called Nixon, "in many respects the last liberal president."[149]
The political dominance of the liberal consensus even into the Nixon years can best be seen in policies such as the successful establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency or his failed proposal to replace the welfare system with a guaranteed annual income by way of a negative income tax. Affirmative action in its most quota-oriented form was a Nixon administration policy. Even the Nixon "War on Drugs" allocated two-thirds of its funds for treatment, a far higher ratio than was to be the case under any subsequent President, Republican or Democrat. Additionally, Nixon's normalization of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and his policy of détente with the Soviet Union were probably more popular with liberals than with his conservative base.
An opposing view, offered by Cass R. Sunstein, in The Second Bill of Rights (Basic Books, 2004, ISBN 0-465-08332-3) argues that Nixon, through his Supreme Court appointments, effectively ended a decades-long expansion of economic rights along the lines of those put forward in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Labor unions [ edit ]
Labor unions were central components of liberalism, operating through the New Deal Coalition.[150] The unions gave strong support to the Vietnam War, thereby breaking with the blacks and with the intellectual and student wings of liberalism. From time to time dissident groups such as Progressive Alliance, the Citizen-Labor Energy Coalition, and the National Labor Committee broke from the dominant AFL-CIO, which they saw as too conservative. In 1995 the liberals managed to take control of the AFL-CIO, under the leadership of John Sweeney of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Union membership in the private sector has fallen from 33% to 7%, with a resulting decline in political weight. In 2005 the SEIU, now led by Andy Stern broke away from the AFL-CIO to form its own coalition, the Change to Win Federation, to support liberalism, including the Obama agenda, especially health care reform. Stern retired in 2010.[151] Regardless of the loss of numbers, unions have a long tradition and deep experience in organizing, and continue at the state and national level to mobilize forces for a liberal agenda, especially regarding votes for Democrats, taxes, spending, union representation, and the threat to American jobs from foreign trade.[152] Offsetting the decline in the private sector, is a growth of unionization in the public sector. The membership of unions in the public sector, such as teachers, police, and city workers, continues to rise, now covering 42% of local government workers.[153] The financial crisis that hit American states during the recession of 2008-2011 focused increasing attention on pension systems for government employees, with conservatives trying to reduce the pensions.[154]
Environmentalism [ edit ]
A new, unexpected political discourse emerged in the 1970s centered on the environment.[155] The debates did not fall neatly into a left-right dimension, for everyone proclaimed their support for the environment. Environmentalism appealed to the well-educated middle class, but aroused fears among lumbermen, farmers, ranchers, blue collar workers, automobile companies and oil companies whose economic interests were threatened by new regulations.[156] Conservatives therefore tended to oppose environmentalism while liberals endorsed new measures to protect the environment.[157] Liberals supported the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club, and were sometimes successful in blocking efforts by lumber companies and oil drillers to expand operations. Environmental legislation limited the use of DDT, reduced acid rain, and protected numerous animal and plant species. Within the environmental movement, there was a small radical element that favored direct action rather than legislation.[158] By the 21st century debates over taking major action to reverse global warming by and dealing with carbon emissions were high on the agenda. The environmental movement in the United States has given little support to third parties, unlike Europe, where Green parties play a growing role in politics.[159]
End of the liberal consensus [ edit ]
During the Nixon years (and through the 1970s), the liberal consensus began to come apart, and the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan as president marked the election of the first non-Keynesian administration and the first application of supply-side economics. The alliance with white Southern Democrats had been lost in the Civil Rights era. While the steady enfranchisement of African Americans expanded the electorate to include many new voters sympathetic to liberal views, it was not quite enough to make up for the loss of some Southern Democrats. A tide of conservatism rose in response to perceived failures of liberal policies.[160] Organized labor, long a bulwark of the liberal consensus, was past the peak of its power in the US and many unions had remained in favor of the Vietnam War even as liberal politicians increasingly turned against it.
In 1980 the leading liberal was Senator Ted Kennedy; he challenged incumbent President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic Party presidential nomination because Carter's failures had disenchanted liberals. Kennedy was decisively defeated, and in turn Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan.
Historians often use 1979-80 to date a philosophical realignment within the American electorate away from Democratic liberalism and toward Reagan Era conservatism.[161][162] However, some liberals hold a minority view that there was no real shift and that Kennedy's defeat was merely by historical accident caused by his poor campaign, international crises and Carter's use of the incumbency.[163]
Abrams (2006) argues that the eclipse of liberalism was caused by a grass-roots populist revolt, often with a Fundamentalist and anti-modern theme, abetted by corporations eager to weaken labor unions and the regulatory regime of the New Deal. The success of liberalism in the first place, he argues, came from efforts of a liberal elite that had entrenched itself in key social, political, and especially judicial positions. These elites, Abrams contends, imposed their brand of liberalism from within some of the least democratic and most insulated institutions, especially the universities, foundations, independent regulatory agencies, and the Supreme Court. With only a weak popular base, liberalism was vulnerable to a populist counterrevolution by the nation's democratic or majoritarian forces.[164]
Clinton administration and the Third Way [ edit ]
The term Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies.[165] Third Way was created as a serious re-evaluation of political policies within various center-left progressive movements in response to the ramifications of the collapse of international belief in the economic viability of the state economic interventionist policies that had previously been popularized by Keynesianism; and the corresponding rise of popularity for neoliberalism and the New Right.[166] It supports the pursuit of greater egalitarianism in society through action to increase the distribution of skills, capacities, and productive endowments, while rejecting income redistribution as the means to achieve this.[167] It emphasizes commitment to: balanced budgets, providing equal opportunity combined with an emphasis on personal responsibility, decentralization of government power to the lowest level possible, encouragement of public-private partnerships, improving labor supply, investment in human development, protection of social capital, and protection of the environment.[168]
In the United States, Third Way adherents embrace fiscal conservatism to a greater extent than traditional social liberals, and advocate some replacement of welfare with workfare, and sometimes have a stronger preference for market solutions to traditional problems (as in pollution markets), while rejecting pure laissez-faire economics and other libertarian positions. The Third Way style of governing was firmly adopted and partly redefined during the administration of President Bill Clinton.[169] With respect to US presidents, the term "Third Way" was introduced by political scientist Stephen Skowronek, who wrote The Politics Presidents Make (1993, 1997; ISBN 0-674-68937-2)[170][171] Third Way presidents "undermine the opposition by borrowing policies from it in an effort to seize the middle and with it to achieve political dominance. Think of Nixon's economic policies, which were a continuation of Johnson's "Great Society"; Clinton's welfare reform and support of capital punishment; and Obama's pragmatic centrism, reflected in his embrace, albeit very recent, of entitlements reform.[172]
After Tony Blair came to power in the UK, Clinton, Blair and other leading Third Way adherents organized conferences to promote the Third Way philosophy in 1997 at Chequers in England.[173][174] The Third Way think tank and the Democratic Leadership Council are adherents of Third Way politics.[175] In 2004, several veteran US Democrats founded a new think tank in Washington, D.C., called Third Way, which bills itself as a "strategy center for progressives".[176]
The Third Way has been heavily criticized by many social democrats, democratic socialists and communists in particular as a betrayal of left-wing values. The Democratic Leadership Council shut down in 2011. Commenting on the DLC's waning influence, Politico characterized it as "the iconic centrist organization of the Clinton years" that "had long been fading from its mid-'90s political relevance, tarred by the left as a symbol of 'triangulation' at a moment when there's little appetite for intra-party warfare on the center-right".[177]
Specific definitions of third way policies may differ between Europe and America.[178]
Return of protest politics [ edit ]
Republican and staunch conservative George W. Bush won the 2000 United States president election in a tightly contested race that included multiple recounts in the state of Florida.[179] The outcome was tied up in courts for a month until reaching the US Supreme Court.[180] On December 9, in a controversial ruling[181] the Bush v. Gore case the Court reversed a Florida Supreme Court decision ordering a third recount, essentially ending the dispute and resulting in Bush winning the presidency by electoral vote even though he lost the popular vote to Democrat and incumbent Vice President Al Gore.[182]
Bush's policies were deeply unpopular amongst American liberals, particularly his launching of the Iraq War, which led to the return of massive protest politics in the form of Opposition to the War in Iraq. Bush's approval rating went below the 50% mark in AP-Ipsos polling in December 2004.[183] Thereafter, his approval ratings and approval of his handling of domestic and foreign policy issues steadily dropped. Bush received heavy criticism for his handling of the Iraq War, his response to Hurricane Katrina and to the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, NSA warrantless surveillance, the Plame affair, and Guantanamo Bay detention camp controversies.[184] Polls conducted in 2006 showed an average of 37% approval ratings for Bush,[185] which contributed to what Bush called the "thumping" of the Republican Party in the 2006 midterm elections.[186]
When the financial system verged on total collapse during the 2008 financial crisis, Bush pushed through large-scale rescue packages for banks and auto companies that some conservatives in Congress did not support and led some conservative commentators to criticize Bush for enacting legislation they saw as "not conservative" and more reminiscent of New Deal liberal ideology.[187][188][189]
In part due to backlash against the Bush administration, Barack Obama, seen by some as a liberal and progressive,[190] was elected to the presidency in 2008, the first African-American to hold the office. With a clear Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, Obama managed to pass a $814 billion stimulus spending program, new regulations on investment firms, and a law to expand health insurance coverage.[191] However, led by the Tea Party movement, the Republicans won back control of one of the two houses of Congress in the 2010 elections.[192]
In reaction to ongoing financial crisis that began in 2008, protest politics continued into the Obama administration, most notably in the form of Occupy Wall Street.[193] The main issues are social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on government—particularly from the financial services sector. The OWS slogan, "We are the 99%", addresses the growing income inequality and wealth distribution in the US between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. Although some of these were cited by liberal activists and Democrats, this information did not fully become a center of national attention until it was used as one of the ideas behind the OWS movement.[194] A survey by Fordham University Department of Political Science found the protester's political affiliations to be overwhelmingly left-leaning: 25% Democrat, 2% Republican, 11% Socialist, 11% Green Party, 12% Other, and 39% independent.[195] While the survey also found that 80% of the protestors self-identified as slightly to extremely liberal,[195] Occupy Wall Street, and the broader Occupy movement, has been variously classified as a "liberation from liberalism" and even as having principles that "arise from scholarship on anarchy".[193][196]
During a news conference on October 6, 2011, President Obama said, "I think it expresses the frustrations the American people feel, that we had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country... and yet you're still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on the abusive practices that got us into this in the first place."[197][198] Some of the protests were seen as an attempt to address the Obama administration's "double standard" in dealing with Wall Street.[199]
Obama was re-elected president in November 2012, defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney, and was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2013. During his second term, Obama has promoted domestic policies related to gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and has called for full equality for LGBT Americans, while his administration has filed briefs which urged the Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 and California's Proposition 8 as unconstitutional.
The shooting of Michael Brown and death of Eric Garner led to widespread protests (particularly in Ferguson where Brown was shot) against perceived police militarization more generally and alleged police brutality against African-Americans more specifically.[200][201][202] Deroy Murdock questioned statistics stated by some BLM activists over the rate at which black people are killed by police. Murdock wrote, "the notion that America's cops simply are gunning down innocent black people is one of today's biggest and deadliest lies." [203]
Criticism [ edit ]
Since the 1970s, there has been a concerted effort from both the left and right to color the word "liberal" with negative connotations. As those efforts succeeded more and more, "progressives" and their opponents took advantage of the negative meaning to great effect. In the 1988 presidential campaign, Republican George H. W. Bush joked about his opponent's refusal to own up to the "L-word label." When Michael Dukakis finally did declare himself a liberal, the Boston Globe headlined the story, "Dukakis Uses L-Word."[204]
Conservative activists since the 1970s have employed "liberal" as an epithet, giving it an ominous or sinister connotation, while invoking phrases like "free enterprise", "individual rights", "patriotic", and "the American way" to describe opponents of liberalism.[205] Historian John Lukacs noted in 2004 that then-President George W. Bush, confident that many Americans regarded "liberal" as a pejorative term, used it to label his political opponents during campaign speeches, while his opponents subsequently avoided identifying themselves as liberal.[206] During the presidency of Gerald Ford, First Lady Betty Ford became known for her candid and outspoken liberal views in regard to the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), pro-choice on abortion, Feminism, equal pay, decriminalization of certain drugs, gun control, and civil rights. She was a vocal supporter and leader in the Women's movement and Ford was also noted for bringing breast cancer awareness to national attention following her 1974 mastectomy. Her outspoken liberal views led to ridicule and opposition from the conservative wing of the Republican Party and by conservative activists who referred to Ford as "No Lady" and thought her actions were unbecoming of a First Lady in an increasingly conservative Republican Party.
Ronald Reagan's ridicule of liberalism is credited with transforming "liberal" into a derogatory epithet that any politician seeking national office would avoid.[206][207] His speechwriters repeatedly contrasted "liberals" and "real Americans". For example, Reagan's then-Secretary of the Interior, James G. Watt said "I never use the words Republicans and Democrats. It's liberals and Americans." Reagan warned the United States of modern secularists who condoned abortion, excused teenage sexuality, opposed school prayer, and attenuated traditional American values. His conviction that there existed a single proper personal behavior, religious worldview, economic system, and proper attitude toward nations and peoples not supporting US interests worldwide, is credited by comparative literature scholar Betty Jean Craige with polarizing America. Reagan persuaded a large portion of the public to dismiss any sincere analyses of his administration's policies as politically motivated criticisms put forth by what he labeled a "liberal" media.[207]
George H. W. Bush employed the word "liberal" as a derogatory epithet during his 1988 presidential campaign.[208] Bush described himself as a patriot, and described his liberal opponents as unpatriotic. He referred to liberalism as "the L-word" and sought to demonize opposing presidential candidate Michael Dukakis by labeling Dukakis "the liberal governor" and by pigeonholing him as part of what Bush called "the L-crowd". Bush recognized that motivating voters to fear Dukakis as a risky, non-mainstream candidate generated political support for his own campaign. Bush's campaign also used issues of prayer to arouse suspicions that Dukakis was less devout in his religious convictions. Bush's running mate, vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle said to Christians at the 1988 Republican National Convention "It's always good to be with people who are real Americans".[207] Bill Clinton avoided association with "liberal" as a political label during his 1992 presidential campaign against George H. W. Bush by moving closer to the political center.[208]
Reactions to shift [ edit ]
Liberal Republicans have voiced disappointment over conservative attacks on liberalism. One example is former governor of Minnesota and founder of the Liberal Republican Club Elmer L. Andersen, who commented that it's "unfortunate today that 'liberal' is used as a derogatory term".[209] After the 1980s, fewer activists and politicians were willing to characterize themselves as liberals. Historian Kevin Boyle explains, "There was a time when liberalism was, in Arthur Schlesinger's words 'a fighting faith'... Over the last three decades, though, liberalism has become an object of ridicule, condemned for its misplaced idealism, vilified for its tendency to equivocate and compromise, and mocked for its embrace of political correctness. Now even the most ardent reformers run from the label, fearing the damage it will inflict".[210] Republican political consultant Arthur J. Finkelstein was recognized by Democratic political consultants for having employed a formula of branding someone as a liberal and engaging in name-calling by using the word "liberal" in negative television commercials as frequently as possible, such as in a 1996 ad against US Representative Jack Reed: "That's liberal. That's Jack Reed. That's wrong. Call liberal Jack Reed and tell him his record on welfare is just too liberal for you."[211]
Democratic candidates and political liberals have hidden from the word "liberal", in some cases identifying instead with terms such as "progressive" or "moderate".[212][213] George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney accused their opponents of liberal elitism, softness, and pro-terrorism.[214] Conservative political commentators such as Rush Limbaugh consistently used "liberal" as a pejorative label. When liberals shifted to the word "progressive" to describe their beliefs, conservative radio host Glenn Beck used "progressive" as an abusive label.[215] Historian Godfrey Hodgson notes "The word liberal itself has fallen into disrepute. Nothing is too bad for conservative bloggers and columnists—let alone radio hosts—to say about liberals. Democrats themselves run a mile from the 'L word' for fear of being seen as dangerously outside the mainstream. Conservative politicians and publicists, by dint of associating liberals with all manner of absurdity so that many sensible people hesitated to risk being tagged with the label of liberalism, succeeded in persuading the country that it was more conservative than it actually was."[216]
Labels vs. beliefs [ edit ]
Liberal historian Eric Alterman notes that barely 20% of Americans are willing to accept "liberal" as a political label, but that supermajorities of Americans actually favor "liberal" positions time and again. Alterman points out that resistance to the label "liberal" is not surprising due to billions of dollars worth of investment poured into the denigration of the term. A 2004 poll conducted by the National Election Study found only 35% of respondents questioned identifying as liberal compared to 55% identifying as conservative; a 2004 Pew poll found 19% of respondents identifying as liberal, and 39% identifying as conservative, with the balance identifying as moderate. A 2006 poll found that 19% identified as liberal, and 36% conservative. In 2005, self-identifying moderates polled by Louis Harris & Associates were found to share essentially the same political beliefs as self-identifying liberals, but rejected the world "liberal" because of the vilification heaped on the word itself by conservatives. Alterman acknowledges political scientist Drew Westen's observation that for most Americans, the word "liberal" now carries meanings such as "elite", "tax and spend", and "out of touch".[214]
Philosophy [ edit ]
Free speech [ edit ]
American liberals describe themselves as open to change and receptive to new ideas.[217] For example, liberals typically accept scientific ideas that some conservatives reject, such as evolution and global warming.[218]
Liberals tend to oppose the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling in 2010 that a corporation's first amendment right to free speech encompasses freedom to make unlimited independent expenditures for any political party, politician or lobbyist as they see fit. President Obama called it "a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans".[219]
Opposition to state socialism [ edit ]
In general, liberalism opposes socialism when socialism is understood to mean an alternative to capitalism based on state ownership of the means of production. American liberals doubt that bases for political opposition and freedom can survive when all power is vested in the state, as it was under state-socialist regimes. In line with the general pragmatic, empirical basis of liberalism, American liberal philosophy embraces the idea that if substantial abundance and equality of opportunity can be achieved through a system of mixed ownership, then there is no need for a rigid and oppressive bureaucracy.[30] Some liberal public intellectuals have, since the 1950s, moved further toward the general position that free markets, when appropriately regulated, can provide better solutions than top-down economic planning. Economist Paul Krugman argued that in hitherto-state-dominated functions such as nation-scale energy distribution and telecommunications, marketizations can improve efficiency dramatically.[220] He also defended a monetary policy—inflation targeting—saying that it "most nearly approaches the usual goal of modern stabilization policy, which is to provide adequate demand in a clean, unobtrusive way that does not distort the allocation of resources". (These distortions are of a kind that war-time and post-war Keynesian economists had accepted as an inevitable byproduct of fiscal policies that selectively reduced certain consumer taxes and directed spending toward government-managed stimulus projects—even where these economists theorized at a contentious distance from some of Keynes's own, more hands-off, positions, which tended to emphasize stimulating of business investment.[221]) Thomas Friedman is a liberal journalist who, like Paul Krugman, generally defends free trade as more likely to improve the lot of both rich and poor countries.[222][223]
Role of the state [ edit ]
There is a fundamental split among liberals as to the role of the state. Historian H. W. Brands notes "the growth of the state is, by perhaps the most common definition, the essence of modern American liberalism".[224] But according to Paul Starr, "Liberal constitutions impose constraints on the power of any single public official or branch of government as well as the state as a whole."[225]
Morality [ edit ]
According to cognitive linguist George Lakoff, liberal philosophy is based on five basic categories of morality. The first, the promotion of fairness, is generally described as an emphasis on empathy as a desirable trait. With this social contract based on the Golden Rule comes the rationale for many liberal positions. The second category is assistance to those who cannot assist themselves. A nurturing, philanthropic spirit is one that is considered good in liberal philosophy. This leads to the third category, the desire to protect those who cannot defend themselves. The fourth category is the importance of fulfilling one's life; allowing a person to experience all that they can. The fifth and final category is the importance of caring for oneself, since only thus can one act to help others.[226]
Historiography [ edit ]
Liberalism increasingly shaped American intellectual life in the 1930s and 1940s, thanks in large part to two major two-volume studies that were widely read by academics, advanced students, intellectuals and the general public: Charles A. Beard and Mary Beard, The Rise of American civilization (2 vol. 1927),[227] and Vernon L. Parrington, Main Currents in American Thought (2 vol 1927). The Beards exposed the material forces that shaped American history, while Parrington, focused on the material forces that shaped American literature. Virtually all political history, according to the Beards, involved the bitter conflict between the agrarians, farmers and workers, led by the Jeffersonians, and the capitalists, led by the Hamiltonians. The Civil War marked a great triumph of the capitalists, and comprised the "Second American Revolution." Younger historians welcome the realistic approach that emphasized hard-core economic interest as a powerful force, and downplayed the role of ideas.[228] Parrington spoke to the crises at hand. According to historian Ralph Gabriel:
Main Currents attempted to trace the history of liberalism in the American scene for citizens who were caught in a desperate predicament. It was an age in which American liberalism set the United States, through the New Deal, on a Democratic middle-of-the-road course between the contemporary extremisms of Europe, that of Communism on one hand, and of Fascism on the other.... The style of Main Currents was powered by Parrington's dedication to the cause of humane liberalism, by his ultimate humanistic, democratic faith. He saw the democratic dreams of the romantic first half of the 19th century as the climax of an epic story toward which early Americans moved and from which later Americans fell away.[229]
Liberal readers immediately realized where they stood in the battle between Jeffersonian democracy and Hamiltonian privilege.[230] Neither the Beards nor Parrington paid any attention to slavery, race relations, or minorities. The Beards, for example, "dismissed the agitations of the abolitionists as a small direct consequence because of their lack of appeal to the public."[231]
Princeton historian Eric F. Goldman (1916-1989) helped define American liberalism for postwar generations of university students. The first edition of his most influential work appeared in 1952: Rendezvous with Destiny: A History of Modern American Reform, covering reform efforts from the Grant years to the 1950s. For decades it was a staple of the undergraduate curriculum in history, highly regarded for its style and its exposition of modern American liberalism. According to Priscilla Roberts:
Lively, well-written, and highly readable, it provided an overview of eight decades of reformers, complete with arresting vignettes of numerous individuals, and stressed the continuities among successful American reform movements. Writing at the height of the Cold War, he also argued that the fundamental liberal tradition of the United States was moderate, centrist, and incrementalist, and decidedly non-socialist and non-totalitarian. While broadly sympathetic to the cause of American reform, Goldman was far from uncritical toward his subjects, faulting progressives of World War I for their lukewarm reception of the League of Nations, American reformers of the 1920s for their emphasis on freedom of lifestyles rather than economic reform, and those of the 1930s for overly tolerant attitude toward Soviet Russia. His views of past American reformers encapsulated the conventional, liberal, centrist orthodoxy of the early 1950s, from its support for anti-communism and international activism abroad and New Deal-style big government at home, to its condemnation of McCarthyism.[232]
For the general public Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (1917-2007) was the most widely read historian, social critic, and public intellectual. Schlesinger's work explored the history of Jacksonian era and especially 20th-century American liberalism. His major books focused on leaders such as Andrew Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. He was a White House aide to Kennedy ; his A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House, which won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize. In 1968, Schlesinger wrote speeches for Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 and the biography, Robert Kennedy and His Times. He later popularized the term "imperial presidency" warning against excessive power in the White House as typified by Richard Nixon. Late in his career he came to oppose multiculturalism.[233]
Proponents [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]Nearly two months after a September 1 accident on the launch pad, SpaceX says it is nearing the conclusion of its investigation. Although the company has yet to identify the "exact root cause" of the accident that occurred during a static fire test just prior to a planned launch of a communications satellite, the investigation has reached an "advanced state."
Shortly after the fiery incident, the company focused on a breach in the cryogenic helium system of the rocket's upper stage liquid oxygen tank. "Attention has continued to narrow to one of the three composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) inside the LOX tank," the company stated in an update released Friday afternoon. "Through extensive testing in Texas, SpaceX has shown that it can re-create a COPV failure entirely through helium loading conditions. These conditions are mainly affected by the temperature and pressure of the helium being loaded."
SpaceX intends to continue work to identify the precise cause of the accident and to improve its method of loading helium onto the rocket to prevent a repeat failure. The company also plans |
www.kucinich.us"
http://www.fortunecookiesupply.com/vanilla_fortune_cookies.htm
Signs Edit
In Massachusetts you may be fined up to $100 for posting up campaign signs but you can still ask permission from the city or private property owners to put up signs. Some places offer bulleting board space for things like this.
Stamping Edit
Buy a stamp that says "www.dennis4presicent.com", "www.kucinich.us", "Dennis Kucinich 2008", or a stamp that you can customize, and stamp anything that will be circulated beyond your hands, namely, money, letters, etc.
Hints & Traces Edit
Leave hints and traces of the campaign wherever you go. If you use a shared or public computer at a library, at school, or anywhere else, leave campaign websites or video of Dennis up.
Wall of Kucinich Edit
Portable wall of Dennis Kucinich. Using ALL of the printouts from http://www.dennis4president.com/go/resources/issues-library/ and http://www.dennis4president.com/go/resources/downloads/ cover a poster wall and bring it to popular public places to raise support!
Make sure it's durable!Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WAVY/AP) -- A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from implementing its travel ban in Virginia, adding another judicial ruling to those already in place challenging the ban's constitutionality.
*BREAKING* A federal judge in Virginia has blocked enforcement of Pres. Trump's ban. pic.twitter.com/HX57HltC9A - Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) February 14, 2017
Herring requested a preliminary injunction on the portion of Trump's order that temporarily bans entry of lawful permanent residents and visa holders from seven majority-Muslim nations.
Last week, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the states of Washington and Minnesota in refusing to reinstate the ban, opening the possibility that the case could advance to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Friday, a federal judge in Virginia also seemed inclined to rule against the administration in a different challenge.
But the preliminary injunction issued late Monday by U.S. District Court Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria is a more permanent type of injunction than the temporary restraining order issued in the Washington state case. Still, because of the 9th Circuit's decision refusing to reinstate the order, the practical effect of any decision in Virginia may be muted for now.
Brinkema's injunction, though, applies only in Virginia.
In her 22-page ruling, Brinkema said the Trump administration offered no justification for the travel ban and wrote that the president's executive power "does not mean absolute power."
Trump said Friday that he is considering signing a "brand new order" while the ban is held up in court.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.Please enable Javascript to watch this video
INDIANAPOLIS (March 10, 2015) - The supervisor at the Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis, who sent an internal email appearing to mock veteran suicides, was placed on administrative leave Tuesday.
Robin Paul, who managed the Transition Clinic, will continue being paid as the investigation is ongoing, but has been removed from her position, a statement said.
“The email message that was sent out by Ms. Paul is completely and totally unacceptable,” Tom Mattice said, director of the Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center. “It in no way reflects the attitudes of our staff toward our patients.”
Paul sent an email to her staff in December that mocked services received by veterans returning with disabilities. The email featured a Christmas elf, appearing as a clinic patient, mocking antidepressants and suicide. The email was originally obtained by our media partners at the IndyStar.
Still many are questioning why it took VA officials so long to act.
"This inappropriate email needs to be taken very seriously,” Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) said in a statement. "An immediate independent investigation should occur to determine proper disciplinary action."
On Monday, VA officials said the issue was handled administratively.
But 24 hours later they took further action, as the outrage continued to grow from Indianapolis to Capitol Hill.
“I think it’s reprehensible,” Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) said. “And there’s no excuse given the amount of public embarrassment and public outrage over some of the things that have been happening with the VA.”
Walorski sits on the House Veterans Affairs committee and has spent months working on the issues plaguing the VA.
“Then you see a reprehensible story like this,” she said. “And in my mind, there is no question whatsoever that employee should be fired.”
Tuesday afternoon, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars demanded Paul be immediately removed.
“There is nothing amusing about 22 veterans committing suicide every day,” John W. Stroud said in a statement. “And it is absolutely inexcusable that a VA supervisor would make light of any issue that veterans face.
Veterans advocates across Indiana say they are just as appalled.
“In our world, there’s a joke that it actually takes an act of Congress to get rid of a VA employee,” Lisa Wilken said, the women’s liaison for AMVETS. “"We have a lot of employees at the VA's across the country, and right here in Indianapolis, that do not deserve to be taking care of our veterans, and this employee is an example of one."
Kent Morgan, representing disabled veterans in Indiana, is glad VA administrators are investigating further.
“At first glance it looks pretty bad,” he said. “But again, we want to know everything.”
VA officials wouldn’t say how long the investigation will take and if all the results will be made public.
“I ask Veterans to accept my apology for this failure,” Mattice said. “And to allow us to continue to demonstrate to you our commitment to your health and well-being.”At the end of the last post, I wrote about the modern sexual market and how it may relate to dysgenic breeding.
In my opinion, the current situation is unsustainable. Something’s gotta give. In a near-future post, I will explain how our postmodern sexual market dovetails with evidence that the West is careening toward idiocracy.
Well, the evidence is arriving by hatemail, and it doesn’t look good for the Pollyannas.
From the linked research paper:
Social Epistasis Amplifies the Fitness Costs of Deleterious Mutations, Engendering Rapid Fitness Decline Among Modernized Populations Deleterious mutations are typically understood exclusively in terms of their harmful effects on carrier organisms. But there are convincing reasons to think that such adverse effects are not confined to the individual level. We argue that in social species, interorganismal gene-gene interactions, which in previous literatures have been termed social epistasis, allow genomes carrying deleterious mutations to reduce via group-level pleiotropy the fitness of others, including noncarriers. This fitness reduction occurs by way of degradation of group-level processes that optimize the reproductive ecology of a population for intergroup competition through, among other mechanisms, suppression of free-riding. Such damage to group regulatory processes suggests a hidden role for the accumulation of behavior-altering “spiteful” mutations in the dynamics of the demographic transition—these mutations may have contributed to the maladaptive outcomes of this process, such as widespread subreplacement fertility. A structured population model is presented describing aspects of this social epistasis amplification model. This phenomenon is also considered as a potential explanation for the results of Calhoun’s mouse utopia experiments, which provide an opportunity to directly test a major prediction stemming from the model.
In plainspeak, the dangerously scaled-up and decadent postmodern West has lost the ability (and the willpower) to cleanse itself of toxic people who have bad DNA mojo and even worse character, and the resulting sludge will build up to the level where the West will collapse under the weight of its welfare state-supported genetic sewage (insert visual of those Ethiopians buried alive by a garbage heap avalanche (true story)).
The paper (according to second-hand sources….I wasn’t able to access the full text) has data that the IQ of Western nations is falling some 0.8 points per generation, and the blame for it is apportioned mostly to dysgenic patterns of fertility, which it explains as consequences of modern post-industrial societies easing up the cultural selection pressures on their populations. The study authors finger the source of the problem as postmodern marriage and childbirth trends; more dumb people (specifically, women) than smart people are having kids, and more people (specifically, women) are waiting until later in life to have kids and therefore passing on more genetic mutations that have accumulated with age in the parents.
The cock carousel is birthing the moron merry-go-round. Sex and the City is being remade as IVF and the Refugees.
Modern, indulgent society — which in reality is the modern sexual market, since society is an emergent property of reproductive dynamics — creates massive, positively reinforcing feedback loops that essentially reward degeneracy and corruption by allowing it to run wild and unopposed, instead of snuffing it out in the crib. Free-riders at first slowly increase in number in a prosperous, proto-declining society, and if their growth isn’t halted early a rapid, exponential decline metastasizes until free-riding becomes the norm. When that happens, social collapse is guaranteed and maybe even necessary for the rebirth that can only occur after the free-riders are washed out of the system (usually in not-so-nice ways….think fire hoses and flamethrowers or, if we’re lucky, the humane option of welfare contingent on mandatory birth control).
There’s a lot going on in this paper, which draws Calhoun’s rat experiments and group selection (a controversial subject) into its theory of dysgenic breeding enabled by a soft, feminized, virtue signaling West. Urban density and anonymity are increasing within the population a lot of weird sexual paraphilias and psychological problems, and as discussed in the previous CH post the severing of the sexual market from the marriage market is delaying family formation and childbirth and contributing to the dysgenic reproductive skew. That, coupled with the pathological altruism that has run amok among White Westerners who basically want the West to be an enormous safety net and catch basin for the world’s 7 billion poors, is pushing White societies close to complete collapse — a cosmic own-goal so amazingly self-destructive that Darwinian selection is practically guaranteed to work swiftly and mercilessly at the task of culling the White West of its low fitness leftoid freaks.
In the end, as always, Diversity + Proximity = War, and as the study authors note, if a group isn’t bothering to defend itself, other groups will be more than willing to fill the power vacuum.
I’m warning shitlibs, get on board the Trump Train. Because if he fails to stop the Sewer World inflow and Globohomo one market dystopia, you libs are NOT gonna like what has to follow.
“You have to be cruel to be kind, in the right measure.” The West needs to relearn the value of this timeless lesson.
***
Readers wonder about suggestions to stem the idiocratic tide. I have offered many within these hallowed Chateau halls. For instance, there’s the CH BOSSS system; let’s break the back of the FemKunt KKKollective and get our HSMV men paired off with young, feminine secretaries less interested in careers than in mothering so the good genes can spread around more evenly to the whole of the White tribe. Close the borders. Kick out the illegals and anchor babies. End wage-gutting cheat codes like the H-1B visa program. Destroy the anti-White propaganda mills (many tools for this, including anti-trust and defunding leftoid institutions). As a last resort, allow the blue states committed to their suicidal ideation to secede from the union.
We in the West are on the precipice of annihilation and a complete repudiation of our past greatness. The good news: there’s still time to fix this. The bad news: there’s not much time left, and there’s a lot to fix.Two airlines operating in the prairie and northern regions have “lost the confidence” of federal regulators because of recurring accidents and lack of compliance with safety regulations, according to a Transport Canada briefing document.
An official confirmed on Thursday that Buffalo Airways, the Northwest Territories-based carrier that was the focus of a hit reality TV show, and Keystone Air Service of Manitoba are the operators under scrutiny.
Transport officials took the unusual step of grounding both carriers over the last two months.
“Suspending an (air operator certificate) is a serious action. While Transport Canada does not take this action frequently, we act in the interest of public safety when required,” Sean Best, a Transport Canada spokesman, said in an email.
“The suspensions will be terminated when we are satisfied that each air operator has adequately addressed our safety concerns.”
Officials from either airline could not be reached for comment on Thursday. However, Sol Taboada, a consultant hired by Buffalo Airways to address the problems, acknowledged the company did not have a robust safety verification system in place and “paperwork was spotty.”
In recent weeks, his firm has helped Buffalo Airways develop corrective action plans that included a proposal to bring in a third-party “gatekeeper” who would be responsible for making sure everything was in order before each flight. The airline’s president, Joe McBryan, known in the North as “Buffalo Joe,” also signed a letter stating that he would agree to step away from the company’s day-to-day operations.
Yet, to Taboada’s surprise, federal regulators would not agree to lift the suspension.
“Transport Canada is killing these guys,” Taboada said. “We are confident our corrective action plans were done properly and achieved the goals of remedial action. They should be allowed to go into force.”
Taboada, whose consulting firm, DTI Training, trained Transport Canada staff on how to carry out inspections years ago, said he wonders if the agency has a personal beef with McBryan because his reality show, Ice Pilots NWT, did not always represent the federal agency in a positive light.
“Are they singling them out? I just don’t understand why they’re treating them different,” he said.
According to a briefing handbook prepared for Marc Garneau, the new federal transport minister, the carriers’ “history of accidents and poor inspection results justifies taking action in the public interest.”
“This approach represents a change of perspective, as minimal compliance with regulations has proven to be insufficient to deem these operators safe,” said the handbook, which was made available this week on Transport Canada’s website.
Family-run Buffalo Airways operates passenger flights between Hay River and Yellowknife. It also delivers cargo — including food and medical supplies — across the northern region. It has been in operation since 1970.
In August 2013, one of the company’s DC-3s had just taken off from Yellowknife with 21 passengers when an engine caught fire. The plane struck a stand of trees before making a hard landing south of the runway. No one was hurt.
In its final accident report released in April, the Transportation Safety Board said the company was not doing enough to identify hazards and reduce risks.
“The company’s response to deficiencies identified during (Transport Canada) surveillance activities demonstrated an adversarial relationship between the company and the regulator,” the report said. “The company refuted the regulatory basis of findings, questioned the competence of TC inspectors, and initially did not take responsibility for the issues identified.”
Ice Pilots NWT ended a six-year run on the History Canada channel a year ago. Promotional materials still posted on the channel’s website say the popular “docu-series” followed the adventures of the “renegade” Arctic airline and describe Joe McBryan as a “northern aviation legend” facing increased scrutiny from Transport Canada.
One season opened with a “meltdown when the C-46 suffers an engine fire on the runway, sending the crew scrambling for a back-up plane.”
After its operating licence was suspended Nov. 30, the company started chartering flights to support its passenger service and cargo deliveries. But a Facebook post on Wednesday indicated all passenger flights were being postponed.
Keystone Air Service, a small charter airline based in Winnipeg, has been in operation since 1985. A 2011 aviation magazine profile of the company said many of its customers are government employees, construction workers and tourists in northern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.
Its operating certificate was suspended on Oct. 9, a few weeks after one of its planes crashed shortly after taking off from Thompson, Man. All eight people onboard survived.
According to the Transportation Safety Board, the twin piston-engine aircraft requires aviation gasoline but was fuelled with turbine-engine fuel.
In January 2012, four people were killed when a Keystone flight crashed into a frozen lake in northwestern Ontario.
Pilot inexperience was cited as a key contributing factor in that crash.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Investigators are trying to determine how much fuel has leaked into the St. Johns River Tuesday evening after a boat began to sink.
The Coast Guard received a report of The Lady St. Johns, a retired passenger vessel, sinking into the St. Johns River while docked along the Southbank Riverrwalk.
The National Response Center was notified and pollution investigators were dispatched to the scene.
Investigators are trying to determine exactly how much oil has leaked into the river so far and trying to find out what the leak has done to the river, since the diesel fuel has been seeping out for hours.
There were approximately 150 gallons of diesel in the boat, but it's undetermined how much has spilled into the river.
Officials have placed absorbing booms around the boat that are designed to soak up diesel.
Moran Environmental Recovery has been contracted by the owner of the boat for cleanup and is working to contain the release of the diesel.
The ship has been docked and out of service for a while.
City officials said that they don't not expect the spill to do much damage to river.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, the Jacksonville City Waterways Manager and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection also responded to the scene.
The cause of why the boat sank was unknown.
Officials said they hope to have Riverwalk opened back up as soon as possible.
No injuries were reported.
Copyright 2015 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.When you love baking/decorating, holidays are something you look forward to no matter which one it is. If there is an excuse to decorate something in a theme, I’m there in a second. The 4th of July is no exception. I spent a decent amount of time looking through my cookbooks/magazines/online/etc for something red white and blue themed. I wanted something cute but not exceptionally challenging because its about 95 degrees still at about 7pm here and that is not something you want to be elaborately baking in.
Sidenote: Danielle got me this lovely Martha Stewart Pies and Tarts cook book for my birthday that I am OH so excited to start cooking out of 🙂
There are really two ways you can go with when making a dessert for the 4th. You can make something with blueberries, strawberries and cream to get that red/white/blue theme going OR you can use your magnificent decorating skills to transform whatever you bake into a themed treat.
I went with the decorating side, just because I’ve got an addiction to these sugar cookies and I havent made them since last time I posted them on here…or here. So technically this isnt anything new, but I’ll show you anyways 🙂
I tried a few different ways, but was told that it looked like the French flag and not very American.
Simple, consistent and lots of frosting 🙂
The best sugar cookie recipe
I’ve tried a bunch of different frostings for sugar cookies and the most traditional way is Royal Icing which uses egg whites, but I find that this recipe with Meringue powder is a million times easier, and tastes better in my opinion.
Royal Icing Recipe
Enjoy! Madeline
AdvertisementsWashington, D.C. (November 12, 2015)—Do battery electric vehicles really reduce global warming emissions compared to gasoline cars? The answer is a clear yes, according to a new study from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Over their entire lifetimes—from manufacturing to driving to disposal—battery electric cars produce half the global warming emissions, on average, of comparably-sized gasoline cars. In addition, driving a battery electric vehicle is cleaner than the average gasoline vehicle on global warming emissions everywhere in the country, and has been improving over the last 3 years.
The new report, "Cleaner Cars from Cradle to Grave," looks at two battery-electric car models—a mid-size 84-mile range model and a full-size 265-mile range model. (These models are based on the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla S, the two most popular battery electric vehicles on the market.) The report examines the emissions from building, driving, and disposing of these vehicles. While making an electric car can have higher manufacturing emissions than building a gasoline car (mostly due to battery production), those emissions are canceled out quickly by the big advantage electric vehicles offer on the road – on average, within 6 months for a 84-mile range EV and 16 months for the 265-mile range model.
"Electric cars cut emissions and oil use, period," said Rachael Nealer, a Kendall Science Fellow at UCS and the lead author of the report. "It's really impressive how much cleaner electric cars have gotten in just the past three years, and that's going to keep improving."
An up-to-date regional analysis shows that even in the dirtiest grid regions, driving the average electric vehicle results in lower emissions than the average new gasoline car. Two-thirds of Americans live in regions where driving on electricity is cleaner than driving a 50 mpg car—an increase from 45 percent in 2012. As electric vehicle technology improves and more regions invest in renewable electricity generation and decrease their use of coal, emissions from electric vehicles will continue to fall.
"This research shows how quickly both electric vehicles and the U.S. electric grid are improving," said Don Anair, Research and Deputy Director for the UCS Clean Vehicles program. "Electric vehicles have big potential to help us cut our oil use in half over the next 20 years and are critical to cutting carbon emissions. Incentives that get more electric vehicles on the road are a good idea—policymakers need to continue and expand these efforts. And automakers need to offer consumers more ways to drive electric."The British Humanist Association (BHA) has today commented on a Court of Appeal judgment that has found the admissions criteria of the Jewish Free School (JFS) in breach of the Race Relations Act 1976. The Court of Appeal found that the qualification for admission to the school is a test of ethnicity and not religion and therefore that JFS has discriminated on racial grounds in its admissions.
The BHA, which intervened in the High Court case against the school in 2008 and in the Court of Appeal, says the case illuminates the wide discrimination in admissions that state-funded ‘faith schools’ believe they are permitted to employ.
Andrew Copson, BHA Director of Education and Public Affairs, said, ‘JFS will admit pupils that are not religiously Jewish – they can be atheists or Muslims or Christians – as long as their mother is Jewish. It is that criterion of ethnicity that is contrary to the Race Relations Act. The judgment makes clear that even though there may be a religious motivation for doing so, discrimination against children in admissions on racial grounds is illegal under any circumstances.’
‘It is our position that there can be no justification for discrimination on racial or religious grounds in admissions to any state-maintained school. Even where schools do legally discriminate on religious grounds, this can lead to ethnic, socio-economic and religious segregation of pupils in practice and create wider problems for social cohesion and equality. All state-maintained schools should be held to the same standards of equality and non-discrimination in the way they operate as each other and be inclusive, and that means an end to religious discrimination in admissions, in the curriculum and in the staffing of our schools.’
Notes
For further comment or information, contact Naomi Phillips, BHA Public Affairs Officer on 020 7079 3585 or 07779 703 242.
The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity representing and supporting the non-religious and campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief. It is the largest organisation in the UK working for a secular state.Syria warned Tuesday it is ready to fight "for years" against rebels, as world powers worked on a new initiative to find regime officials suitable for peace talks with the opposition.
The UN children's agency, UNICEF, said meanwhile that an entire generation of children risked being lost in the spiralling conflict between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and the insurgents.
As the bloodletting approached a third year without a solution in sight, France said it was working with Russia and the United States to draw up a list of regime officials with whom the opposition can negotiate.
"We worked together on an idea... of a list of Syrian officials who would be acceptable to Syria's opposition National Coalition," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told the foreign affairs committee of the National Assembly.
Opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib has offered to talk to regime representatives without "blood on their hands", while his National Coalition has ruled out any solution that includes Assad and his top military command.
Fabius said France had discussed Khatib's "very brazen" offer "with the Russians and the Americans" and that there had been "exchanges to seek a political solution".
In Strasbourg, meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres told the European Parliament the Arab League should be empowered to act in Syria with UN backing since Western intervention could be perceived as "intervention".
On the battlefield, rebels and troops fought fierce battles over the contested district of Baba Amr in third city Homs, and clashed on the road linking Damascus to the international airport.
Pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said the army was "in perfect condition" and that it "has at its disposal enough men and weapons to fight for years to defend Syria".
Syria "is in a state of war" and "facing a real invasion," it said, stressing citizens could also join in the battle, echoing a call made by the country's top religious authority, the High Islamic Council.
Assad's regime, which has consistently blamed foreign powers for the violence in Syria, also sent letters to the UN urging "pressure on certain Arab and Western countries that supply aid to terrorism."
In Homs, which the insurgents have dubbed the "capital" of their two-year uprising, fighting focused on Khaldiyeh, with regime forces backed by tanks pounding the northern district, activists said.
The fighting comes one week into a massive army and pro-regime militia assault to reclaim Homs's Baba Amr district that has become a symbol of resistance before the army overran it a year ago.
"Troops launched rockets from the Baath university into parts of Baba Amr," said the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers for its reporting.
Battles also raged on the road linking Damascus to the airport, southeast of the capital, said the watchdog. Rebels have for months being trying to seize control of the road.
In Geneva, the UN children's agency sent out an SOS warning a whole generation of Syrian children could disappear.
"As the crisis in Syria enters its third, tragic year without any end in sight, the risk of a lost generation grows every hour, every day and every month," UNICEF spokesman Patrick McCormick told reporters.
"We cannot afford to lose any more time. We certainly cannot afford to lose another year. We risk creating a generation of children who have seen, or know, only fighting, and may well end up perpetuating that cycle of violence."
UNICEF pointed out that nearly half of the four million in dire need of aid inside Syria are under the age of 18, and 536,000 of them are children under five.
Russia, meanwhile, delivered 10 tonnes of food aid and blanket to Syria on Tuesday, SANA news agency said, and evacuated 103 citizens from the war-torn country, according to news reports from Moscow.McLaren-Honda driver Jenson Button has claimed that if hadn’t retired on Lap 7 during the Bahrain Grand Prix he could have finished the race in P5 or P6.
The Brit, who started the race in 14th, climbed up to 9th before he had to retire due to engine problems, while his teammate for the weekend Stoffel Vandoorne continued the race and finished in 10th.
“There was a massive loss of power and then the car stopped," revealed Button.
"We had a good start and I was running ninth when the car stopped, saving loads of fuel and just cruising behind the two cars in front. We were going to try something a little bit different.
"It's a tough pill to swallow – the pace was good, just cruising in ninth place behind the two cars in front, saving fuel, saving tyres, getting ready to pounce at the right time – but the right time didn't come.
"The people that I was racing [Grosjean and Verstappen], they are in fifth and sixth. I think we had very good pace today. My long runs over the weekend have been very good. I feel that I could've put the car in fifth, sixth place."
The 2009 World Champion explained that the early retirement hurt even more because after a poor season last year he felt that the car was finally competitive again in Bahrain.
"It was one of those days when a lot of people made mistakes and we should have capitalised, but we couldn't," said the 36-year-old.
"My pace in FP2, Q1 was great, we were very close to Q3. It didn't work out in Q2, we had a problem, we actually know what the problem was now, with the tyres overheating before I started the lap.
"And we had a great start and it was looking like a great race and it's not really going our way. But there are many positives with the team and the car right now, just hopefully we can show it."Whenever we feature a private torrent tracker, direct download link forum or any other site on this blog, we usually make it a practice to revisit the site later on to check on its progress. If the site has really done well and reached important milestones, we even go ahead an post an updated article highlighting recent changes. This is one such occasion when a tracker has done well and deserves a second mention. Neptoons, a classic cartoon tracker we featured a couple of months ago, has managed to expand its torrent index beyond 100 complete series packs (this is without taking into account individual episodes and full season packs indexed on site – we’re talking about complete series where all seasons/episodes of a show are packed into a singe torrent). In addition, Neptoons has forayed into the interesting niche of comics torrents – the site now has around 50 different comics indexed. Most of these are again complete series packs where all issues in a particular comic are bundled together.
Neptoons (formerly Fox Kids) is not one of those huge torrent sites where you can find 50k+ users and an equal number of torrents. It’s a small community targeted at a specific set of users, namely fans of classic cartoons, comics and hard to find animated series. It’s torrent index which currently has 350+ active torrents might look small at first – but that’s until you realize almost every torrent on this site is either a season pack or a complete series. The amount of content integrated into these packs is without a doubt equivalent to 10000+ torrents on any other torrent site. And that fact that most of the stuff indexed on Neptoons isn’t available anywhere else adds even more value to this tracker.
As mentioned earlier, Neptoons’s main attraction is classic cartoons. From cartoons made in the 1930s to the early 2000s, you can find a great selection of animated content on this tracker. This includes popular shows aired on networks such as Boomerang, Nick, Cartoon Network, etc as well as those that ran on movie theaters back in the 1940s and 1950s. In addition to toons, a lot of comics have also been uploaded to the tracker recently. In true Neptoons style, comics too seem to be uploaded in packs – usually all the issues in a particular comic are grouped into a single torrent. The site indexes both scene and non scene releases. However, exclusive uploads by the tracker’s internal encoders far outnumber scene releases which is pretty impressive (note that Neptoons internal releases are not available on any other torrent site). Some of the torrents are shown in the screenshot below:
If you didn’t manage to get into Neptoons during it’s last open signup, don’t panic - there’s still a chance for you to get in. Although unnoticed by many, Neptoons is currently open for signup. However, the registration page will ask for a username and a password before the signup form is displayed. You can obtain the username and password by simply logging into Neptoon’s IRC channel (no need to go through interviews or contact staff). Follow the steps below to create an account.
Log into Neptoons IRC channel.
Channel name: #neptoons
Server: irc.dejatoons.net
Direct Link: irc://irc.dejatoons.net/neptoons
(If you are new to IRC click here for a brief tutorial) Note down the username and password mentioned in channel topic. Visit http://www.neptoons.info/signup.php and enter the credentials you obtained above.
Signup form should now be displayed and you’ll be able to continue the signup process normally, as you’d on any other private tracker.
Related ArticlesLet’s play a little game. Pick out which item does not belong in this group: apples, bananas, spinach, quinoa, sweet potato, and milk. If you picked milk because it’s the only beverage in the group, you would be right, but there’s another reason the drink doesn’t belong. Fruits, vegetables, and grains are unquestionably good for you, while milk is … well not, entirely. That’s right. Despite what the dairy industry would like us all to believe, milk is not needed for a balanced diet. In fact, since only one in four people can digest the stuff, we’d say it makes for a pretty imbalanced diet.
This video by Vox illustrates the facade of the dairy industry perfectly. As they point out, despite the fact that consumers can get the daily recommendation of calcium, potassium, and protein from fruits and vegetables, the dairy industry has spent billions of dollars to convince you otherwise. The dairy industry convinced parents and children that the only way they were going to “grow up to be big and strong” was by chugging a big ol’ glass of milk. What they left out was the fact that milk actually doesn’t protect against bone fractures, and oh yeah, it’s linked to certain types of cancer.
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With this vital information left out of the equation, the dairy industry has been able to lobby their way into schools, touting milk as a nutritional powerhouse. Luckily, despite all of their embellishing, many people have been able to wake up to the fact that milk is not as amazing as they paint it to be. Research shows that hormones and cow’s bodily fluids make their way into the milk, disrupting our own systems. Even some governments have started to lower their daily dairy intake, and are instead placing emphasis on the other portions of the dietary guideline “plate,” such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes.
With new information about the dairy industry coming to light, consumers have started to look for cleaner options to replace the creamy beverage.
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“U.S. milk consumption has been steadily declining by 25 percent per capita since the mid-1970s. Americans, on average, drink 37 percent less milk today than they did in 1970, according to data from the USDA,” said Nil Zacharias, Co-Founder of One Green Planet, “On the other side, non-dairy milk sales are up 30 percent since 2011, representing a $2 billion category, and growth is expected to continue outpacing dairy milk sales at least through 2018. Consumers don’t want milk anymore, and better alternatives are growing every day.”
In fact, the non-dairy milk market has surged within the past few years. Almond milk sales, in particular, have increased by 250 percent from 2000-2o15 to almost $895 million. New nut-free and soy-free alternatives, made from hemp, rice, and vegetables, have also been cropping up. The latest release, a milk formulated from pea protein, shows great potential since it appeals to consumers looking to avoid soy as well as nuts. Plus, pea-protein milk has a much smaller environmental impact than almond and boasts more calcium and nutrients overall.
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The combination of milk prices going down, consumers looking for cleaner alternatives to milk, and a general awakening to the dairy industry’s deceptive ways, has led to a major decline in dairy consumption in the U.S. and around the world. While, this archaic industry has not been completely wiped out, at least the end appears to be in sight.
Image Source: VoxI’m writing an email to Ryerson University administrators about this, and I invite you to join me in doing so. The contact info is below. First I’ll give everyone a recap of what is/has been going on, and then present the email.
Karen Straughan, aka the YouTube sensation GirlWritesWhat, is scheduled to speak at Ryerson University in Canada on February 6 on various men’s issues. According to her sponsor the Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) she will address:
* The drop in male high school graduation and university enrolment, and the lack of men in key professions like nursing, education and early learning, the latter despite the fact that having a male role model in early life could offset the disastrous results of fatherlessness in our society
* Dangerous expectations of masculinity that exacerbate men’s health and make it “unmanly” to seek help even when desperately needed
* Sexist stereotyping of men that is now routine in everything from television and pop culture, to policies like legal aid clinics that deny service selectively to males and hospital abuse screening programs that refuse to consider the possibility of domestic violence against men even when confronted with data to the contrary.
See CAFE’s advertisement for the event here.
CAFE has sponsored other speakers on men’s issues in the past at the University of Toronto. Although men’s advocates behaved in a rather calm and civilized fashion, the Feminist protesters were nothing short of chaotic and hateful.
During |
said. "We haven't done enough and people recognize that and we're trying to fix that right now."
District leaders say they are doing everything they can to help students who might be suicidal. A crisis team has been at the school since Monday to support grieving student and staff. In the community, church youth groups have conducted forums to talk about ways to identify and prevent bullying and suicide. The Rochester Post-Bulletin last week published a front-page editorial calling for an end to bullying.
Since 2007, the Rochester school district has used a bullying policy modeled from the private Minnesota School Boards Association. An updated version of that policy is pending approval from the school board.
Superintendent Munoz acknowledges bullying takes places in Rochester schools, but said there are often multiple factors that drive a person to suicide. He said while the district's bullying policy is instrumental in setting a tone, it is up to students and staff to make it work.
"I don't think you can ever possibly cover every possible topic or issue that somebody could be bullied for. To me it's all about the respect thing. If we're not treating each other respectfully, then we need to deal with it," Munoz said. "It's all about providing a safe environment for our students and when I say that, it's not just physical safety. It has to be emotional safety as well."
While schools are not always an inviting place for students who want to dress or act differently, the district should not be expected to be the only player to address mental health issues of students," Rochester Diversity Council Youth Manager Vangie Castro said.
Castro, who also sits on the Governor's Task Force on the Prevention of Bullying, describes the group's recent visit to Rochester. Only 15 adults and 12 students showed up.
"I don't know why it needs to take such extreme measure for us to be able to know that there is something wrong happening and that we can do something about it if we just all participate, if we all just show up," Castro said. "That's all it really takes, is for people to show up and to listen and to ask questions and want to do something — not when a child dies but when a child needs us. When they're still alive."
Strader said school officials did everything they could to try to stop the bullying his son was facing, but he cautions kids to think hard before they say things to each other.
"Some people can't take it. We just say things that hurt other kids. We know what we're doing, just to get a laugh," Strader said. "Some kids can't take it. A lot of stuff you can't take."
Funeral services for Jones will be conducted on Saturday in Chicago. His dad is planning a vigil in Rochester in a few weeks.Veteran newsman Ted Koppel appeared as a special contributor to NBC’s “Rock Center” on Thursday to launch an apparent war on what he believes is “partisan ranting” masquerading as news coverage at Fox News, MSNBC and other partisan media. But, first he sat down for an interview Bill O’Reilly and told him to his face that he’s hurting the country.
His conclusions: Fox News and MSNBC seem to only market “fear”; the partisan divide has actually become impossible to bridge; and it’s now up to the American people to reject it or suffer the consequences.
But just before the “Rock Center” special report aired, Koppel sat down with Fox News’ own Bill O’Reilly, and the two immediately squared off over whose brand of journalism is more righteous.
But that’s not going to be easy, New York Times media columnist David Carr told Koppel during his NBC segment — especially when Fox News alone turns in over $1 billion a year.
O’Reilly opened his interview by claiming Fox news does “eight hours of hard news” all day, whereas he believes MSNBC does not. “We’re a news agency,” he insisted.
“I don’t think anyone is going to be confused as to the ideological belief of most of the people who appear on Fox,” Koppel said.
O’Reilly went on to describe all of the old television news hosts as “left wing guys,” but he stopped at Koppel and the late ABC News host Peter Jennings. “I think you were just in a daze all the time,” O’Reilly said. “I was at ABC News. I heard the scuttlebutt about you. You weren’t a big interferer. And Jennings wasn’t either. Jennings didn’t like all that ideology, he didn’t, that’s why I didn’t bring his name up.”
“You know, I’d rather you criticize me,” Koppel said, “because your compliments are more damaging and more devastating than your criticism.”
He went on, saying: “Ideological coverage of the news, be it of the right or be it of the left, has created a political reality for the country that is bad for America. I think it’s made it difficult if not impossible for decent men and women in Congress, on Capitol Hill, to reach across the aisle and find compromise. If we can’t do that, we’re going to be — and I think we have been for the last few years — in a terrible situation in this country where, politically, we can’t make deals anymore.”
The theme is not a new one for Koppel, but his two television spots represent a more significant effort to point out what he thinks is really wrong with American journalism. Speaking at Washington State University last year, Koppel cautioned that there must be a firm line between news, entertainment and opinion.
“I think we’ve sort of taken things too far,” he said in a speech after receiving the 2011 Edward R. Murrow award for excellence in journalism. “Much too far. Now the soft material is outweighing the hard news, and that’s, I think, very dangerous to our Republic.”
This video is from “The O’Reilly Factor,” broadcast Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012.
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com
This video is from “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” broadcast Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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Photo: Screenshot via YouTube.Russian astronomers are planning to start their own search for planets outside the Solar System using ground-based telescopes, head of the Institute for Space Research Lev Zelyony said on Wednesday.
Russian astronomers are planning to start their own search for planets outside the Solar System using ground-based telescopes, head of the Institute for Space Research Lev Zelyony said on Wednesday.
“Scientists from the Pulkovo Observatory are planning to use ground-based instruments to study the transit of planets around their parent stars,” Zelyony said at a roundtable meeting at RIA Novosti headquarters in Moscow.
The search for extrasolar planets or exoplanets is one of the fastest developing areas of astronomy. A total of 755 such planets have been identified since 1989 when observations suggested that a planet orbits the star Gamma Cephei in the constellation of Cepheus.
The U.S. Kepler and France’s CoRoT space telescopes proved to be very successful in identifying exoplanets but ground-based projects could also be effective, Zelyony said citing the example of the Hungarian Automated Telescope Network (HATNet) which so far has discovered 29 exoplanets.
The transit method of detection, which the Russian astronomers are planning to use, is based on the observation of a star's small drop in brightness that occurs when the orbit of a planet passes in front of the star.
“It is an interesting research, which should be pursued,” Zelyony said. “It will also help us look at our Solar System from a different perspective.”As has been widely reported, Peter Jackson unveiled ten minutes of 3D footage from December's first installment of The Hobbit prequel shot in new 48 frames per second format promoted by James Cameron. The surprise was that the audience of fanboys at CinemaCon on Tuesday, who were primed to love it, did not.
Cameron gave a presentation at CinemaCon last year where he introduced higher frame rates as the "future of cinema," and said, “If watching a 3D movie is like looking through a window, then [with this] we’ve taken the glass out of the window and we’re staring at reality.” Peter Sciretta of Slashfilm went from saying, "The footage shot at 48 frames a second looked incredible," to "It looked like a made for television BBC movie.… It looked like when you turn your LCD television to the 120 hertz up-conversion setting.… It looked uncompromisingly real—so much so that it looked fake."
Jackson defended the footage after the fact, telling EW, "Nobody is going to stop. This technology is going to keep evolving. At first it's unusual because you've never seen a movie like this before.… It's literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn't last the entire experience of the film; not by any stretch, after 10 minutes or so. That's a different experience than if you see a fast-cutting montage at a technical presentation.… There can only ever be a real reaction, a truthful reaction, when people actually have a chance to see a complete narrative on a particular film.… You settle into it."
As a hedge against audience reaction and the theater's skepticism about the new technology, the film will be released in a crazy number of formats: 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D, each in the traditional 24-frames style and the new 48-frames version. This will be an effective multivariate test of how consumers vote with their ticket purchases, but the debate about whether people will "get used to it" is perhaps missing the most interesting point.
Sciretta's description of his reaction is very revealing. "The footage opened up with wide expansive shots of people walking on mountains and over rich green landscapes — those awesome shots that became synonymous with the Lord of the Rings series when it began a decade ago," he writes. "These shots looked incredible — almost like something you would see in an IMAX 3D nature documentary — so extremely vivid and breathtaking, and more real than we’ve ever seen these shots before.… This is the future of Cinema… I thought… But my amazement quickly came to an end as the sizzle reel transitioned from the landscape footage to the character centric. Everything looked so… different. It was jarring."
The break point in his experience reminds me of the section in Adrian Bejan and Peder J. Zane's Design in Nature, that describes eye movement as a combination of "long and the fast" horizontal moves and "short and slow" vertical ones. Bejan uses this fact to explain our preference for "golden rectangles," but I think the same insight can help explain why the faster frame rates work much better for distance shots than for closeups.
The "wide expansive shots of people walking on mountains and over rich green landscapes" of New Zealand were convincing to the audience because the dominant movement in these scenes is horizontal and can be scanned across quickly. The reel abruptly cuts to an interior shot of The White Council featuring Saruman, Gandalf, Galadriel and Elrond discussing the Morgul blade that Gandalf has just placed on a table before them, with a green screen in the background. The following scene shows a "prison-crypt, where Gandalf is investigating in the dark, using only his staff as a light source."
These closer up shots force the viewer to scan their eyes up and down to see the changes in the characters' faces and body positions and to separate the figures from the background. These shorter movements are slower than the wide sweeping ones we use to take in landscapes and it could be that there is a cognitive "breakpoint" here that we stumble across when we move from 24fps to 48fps.
Like the "retina" display that is supposed to cross the threshold beyond which we cannot discern any additional detail, there may be such thresholds for the speed of moving images. But unlike pure resolution—image pixels—experiences that engage illusions of depth and movement—moving pixels— trigger decidedly unpleasant sensations. My own experience of the 3D effects in Avatar involved considerable vertiginous discomfort, and I think it is the combination of price and sensory ambivalence that has slowed the adoption of 3D films by consumers.
So the question is, are Cameron and Jackson solving a problem that we do not actually have? There is no question that filmmakers and the movie industry in general need to create experiences in the theater that cannot easily be recreated in the home theater (much less the iPad) if they are to be able to continue to make big budget movies. But only some of what is technologically possible will turn out to be cognitively enjoyable for theater goers. It may be that there needs to be (or in fact already is) a process of video mastering that adjusts the frame rate effects based on the focal length of the scene. But Jackson's assertion that we will just "settle into it," is not convincing. We may, or we may not. It will be interesting to see how popular the different formats turn out to be when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is finally released. If it is as good a movie as the other films of the franchise, nobody will fuss about the format. If the frame rate turns out to be a major point of criticism, it will not be a good sign.
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To keep up with Quantum of Content, please subscribe to my updates on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.To be fair, this will be a very tiny flamethrower. You would only be able to burn an elf or one of those things from Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. But it's still cool.
Sometimes something is so cool that you wonder why more people haven't told you about it. Then you realize that most of the people - at least the ones who both know about it and know you - think that you're going to use it to burn your house right down to the ground, and that's why you weren't told. So, to allow me to pass this information along to you lot of anonymous internet readers, let me preface this by saying, you need to be careful. Make sure the candle you use is small. Make sure the segment of orange peel is, too. Make sure the whole experiment is conducted on a substance that doesn't burn, near a big bucket of water.
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Now light up that candle and place is somewhere steady. Peel an orange and savor its sweet, sweet insides. Then grab a section of peel and fold it very lightly in your hand, with the waxy outer side facing towards the candle. Be sure to hold it next to the candle flame, not above or directly below the candle flame. Now squeeze the orange peel so some of the juice squirts out towards the candles. You should see a sudden burst of flames as the liquid catches fire.
That liquid is part of the orange's defense system. It wants to attract big animals that will eat its seeds and'redistribute' them away from the tree to take root. Mold and insects won't do this, but would like to snack on the sugar, so the orange has to keep its fruit safe. Running your hand along the skin of the orange, you should notice little pouches just beneath the skin. These pouches contain oils that kill insects. The oils are flammable, so when they burst forth, as they would if an insect breached the skin of the orange, and hit flame, they catch fire and make a fireball. This raises the question - when oranges finally gain sentience, will they weaponize their skin and come after us?
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Via The Naked Scientists.Former NBA power forward Lamar Odom was found unconscious on Tuesday afternoon at a Nevada brothel, according to Nevada police.
TMZ first reported that Odom was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and intubated after taking too much “herbal Viagra” at Dennis Hof’s Love Ranch South in Pahrump, Nev. The New York Daily News and BuzzFeed later confirmed the story.
The Nye County Sheriff’s office confirmed Wednesday evening in a press conference that Odom had been using cocaine and “sexual performance enhancers.” The Sheriff’s office played the recording of the 911 call placed on Odom’s behalf from a woman identified as a Love Ranch employee, who said on the recording that Odom had blood coming from his nose and “white stuff” coming from his mouth, and that he was in a “deep sleep” and struggling to breathe. He was said to have used cocaine Saturday and 10 doses of the sexual enhancer over a three-day period.
The Sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant for Odom’s blood, which is currently being processed. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported late Wednesday night that Odom is “not out of the woods yet,” but had made small improvements. He remains intubated, according to Shelburne.
• SI VAULT: The odyssey of Lamar Odom by Lee Jenkins (03.23.09)
Hof told the Los Angeles Times’s Matt Pearce that Odom was in a “somber” mood on Sunday, and “wanted to get away from everybody, wanted to have fun.” When Hof’s employees discovered the former NBA star unconscious, “terrible stuff came out” of his nose and mouth, Hof said.
Physicians had arranged for Odom to be airlifted from the Pahrump hospital to Las Vegas, but due to his height (6'10") he needed to be taken by ambulance, according to a statement from police.
Full statement: Nevada sheriff on Lamar Odom found unconscious at brothel http://t.co/KK9DYqdkhX pic.twitter.com/6bEKdh79je — Jon Passantino (@passantino) October 14, 2015
Jeff Schwartz, Odom’s agent and president of Excel Sports Management, released the following statement on Wednesday morning:
“Lamar Odom is a long-time member of the Excel family, and we are keeping him in our thoughts and prayers. We are staying close to the situation but have no additional information or comment at this time.”
Odom married Khloe Kardashian in 2009, and while the two split in 2013, the divorce has yet to become official. TMZ reported that Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner, flew to Las Vegas to be with Odom. It was also reported as of late Tuesday night that he was in a coma, breathing “with the assistance of machines and remains in critical condition.”
Odom, who helped the Los Angeles Lakers win back-to-back NBA Finals in 2009–10, was an integral part of the post-Shaquille O’Neal Lakers. Kobe Bryant and general manager Mitch Kupchak were among the Lakers to visit Odom in the hospital, Los Angeles Daily News’ Mark Medina reported, despite L.A.’s preseason game Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings.
Odom started his career in 1999 with the Los Angeles Clippers, before moving on to play with the Heat, Lakers and Mavericks. Most recently, he was signed and waived by the Knicks at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season without appearing in a game.
- Kenny DuceyThe Kaiser Family Foundation released a new poll this morning showing that unfavorable views of Obamacare have jumped to an all-time high since they began tracking opinions of the law in April 2010.
Kaiser’s July tracking poll shows that 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Obamacare, a significant jump from June’s 45 percent. Thirty-seven percent view the law favorably, down from 39 percent last month.
The crosstabs reveal that the unfavorable views of Obamacare increased across party lines, though Democrats and independent-leaning Democrats still remain the law’s biggest supporters. Republicans and independent-leaning Republicans remain the law’s biggest opponents.
Fifty-nine percent of self-identified independents, however, have an unfavorable view of Obamacare, while 31 percent have a favorable view.
Sixty percent want Congress to “work to improve” Obamacare, while 35 want to repeal and replace it. “Even among Republicans and those with an unfavorable view of the law,” Kaiser explains, “about a third would prefer to see the law improved rather than repealed and replaced (32 percent and 36 percent, respectively).”
The poll also finds that Americans are evenly divided on the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision. Forty-nine percent disapprove of the decision, while 47 percent approve. Only 12 percent describe themselves as “angry” about the ruling. Eleven percent say they’re “enthusiastic.” Most, however, don’t have as strong of feelings. Thirty-five percent are “disappointed” by the decision, about the same as those who say they’re “satisfied.”WASHINGTON -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) responded on Monday to comments made by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) about net neutrality, the latest exchange in what is becoming an ongoing, public back-and-forth. The debate began when Cruz dubbed the concept "Obamacare for the Internet." Franken said in an interview on Sunday that Cruz has no idea what he's talking about.
“When [Cruz] says this is the Obamacare -- Obamacare was a government program that fixed something, that changed things,” Franken said. “This is about reclassifying something so it stays the same. This would keep things exactly the same that they've been.”
In a video provided to The Huffington Post, Cruz, a conservative Texas Republican, shoots back at Franken, a liberal Minnesota Democrat, seizing on Franken's explanation that net neutrality is not a new regulatory regime, but rather would keep the Internet "the same" as it always has been.
Watch Cruz's response to Franken, above.
Last week, President Barack Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify the Internet as a utility similar to electricity or water.
For Cruz, a champion collegiate debater, Franken's use of the phrase "the same" is proof that net neutrality regulation is anathema to innovation.
"We want a whole lot more of this," Cruz says in the video, waving an iPhone in the air, which he used as a proxy for innovation that can occur in the absence of government regulation. "And a whole lot less of this," he adds, pointing to a rotary phone, a symbol of an industry he says was "frozen in place" by regulation.
Cruz's argument, though, relies on a different reading of what "the same" means. Franken is arguing that the Internet will be just as open to innovation as it always has been, since net neutrality has always been in effect and will remain in effect. Indeed, it would be hard to make the case that the Internet's current regulatory structure has made innovation impossible. Cruz instead is re-appropriating the phrase to imply that the Internet as a whole will never be able to change from the way it is now.
But on a more general level, Cruz is embedding his argument in populist terms, condemning the involvement of the FCC, which he calls an unelected commission "influenced by lobbyists and politicians and unaccountable to regular, working Americans."
It's also worth noting that it's not clear that the rotary phone's failure to evolve was a result of overregulation. Perhaps more important was the monopoly AT&T had over the industry until the courts broke it up.
By taking such a firm stand against net neutrality -- which even the telecom companies say they're for rhetorically -- Cruz is putting at risk the GOP's longterm effort aimed at cleaving Silicon Valley companies away from Democrats.
Net neutrality refers to the idea that Internet service providers should not be allowed to charge companies different rates for the same amount of data across the network. Doing so could allow big companies to buy faster speeds for their own data, while startups face slower download speeds, preventing them from gaining traction. Tilting the field against startups and small players, Franken argues, stifles innovation.
Enter your email address:Gen. Joseph Dunford was nominated the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday after only serving as the Commandant of the Marine Corps for six and a half months – leaving many to wonder who will follow him as the next commandant.
The Marine Corps only has two four-star generals other than Dunford: Gen. John Paxton, the assistant commandant, and Gen. John Kelly, commander of U.S. Southern Command.
It’s not a given that one of them will succeed Dunford, though.
The Marine Corps has only two statutorily established positions for four-star generals – the commandant and assistant commandant – but throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan many Marines have been promoted to take on four-star joint staff jobs, retired Gen. James Mattis told USNI News.
Two years ago, in fact, the Marine Corps had six four-stars generals, which was a rarity.
The service has about a dozen statutory spots for lieutenant generals, and there are currently more than that – 17 as of last fall, due to a handful of Marine three-stars in joint staff jobs.
Mattis said commandants historically are selected from the pool of lieutenant generals, so the cadre for the president to select from is actually quite large.
“They’ve got plenty to choose from,” Mattis said, calling the current generals and lieutenant generals “very, very capable.”
Typically, the commandant comes from the ground community and the assistant commandant is an aviator. Gen. James Amos, an aviator, nomination as the 35th commandant was an anomaly in that regard.
Another aviator replacing Dunford is unlikely as the next top Marine. However, if Paxton were bumped up, the pool of candidates to serve as ACMC (pronounced: Ack-Mac) would be wide open.
Similarly, if Kelly were selected as either commandant or assistant commandant, any number of Marine lieutenant generals – as well as three-stars from the other services – would be qualified to take over SOUTHCOM.
Below are some possible contenders for the job of 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps:
Gen. John Paxton
Paxton has served as the assistant commandant since 2012 and therefore would be well prepared to step into the role of top Marine. Paxton being selected as the next commandant would continue the recent trend of picking a previous ACMC. Among other jobs, Paxton commanded the 1st Battalion 8th Marines in support of operations in Somalia and Bosnia, directed the programs division of Headquarters Marine Corps’ programs and resources, and commanded Marine Corps Forces Command and Fleet Marine Force Atlantic.
Gen. John Kelly
Kelly has served as SOUTHCOM commander since 2012. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1970, was discharged two years later, and was commissioned in 1976 after graduating from the University of Massachusetts. He led forces in the initial invasion of Iraq as assistant division commander of 1st Marine Division, and then returned to the country as commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). Kelly also led the Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North.
Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser
Waldhauser serves as the director of joint force development on the Joint Staff and has worn his third star the longest of all the current lieutenant generals. As an infantry officer, he commanded the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit beginning in 2000, a job that included participation in the initial invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. He has led the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Forces Central Command.
Lt. Gen. Ronald Bailey
Bailey serves as the deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations (PP&O). Though he is a more junior three-star, several retired officers still mentioned his name as a serious contender for the top job. Prior to his current job, Bailey commanded the 1st Marine Division, the Marine Corps Recruiting Command and 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Bailey’s selection as the next commandant would make history, as he would become the highest-ranking black Marine.
Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle
Schmidle serves as the principal deputy director for Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has worn his third star the second-longest, behind Waldhauser, and comes from the aviation community. Though an unlikely candidate for commandant, Schmidle may be a good option for ACMC if Paxton is tapped for a promotion.
Lt. Gen. Kenneth Glueck
Glueck currently serves as the commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC) and deputy commandant for combat development and integration. Glueck will step down from that post later this year when his replacement arrives, but the Marine Corps has not announced a next assignment for Glueck. The general, also an aviator by trade, has served in the Marine Corps since 1976 but has not formally said if he would retire or accept another assignment.
Lt. Gen. Jon Davis
Davis has served as the deputy commandant for aviation since last summer and would therefore be an unlikely pick for commandant but could be selected for assistant commandant if that job opened up. Davis began his career as an AV-8B Harrier pilot and commanded several aviation units. In 2006 he was made deputy commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Network Warfare, and in 2012 he was appointed deputy commander for U.S. Cyber Command.Gardaí are investigating the cause a collision involving a Luas Red Line tram and a car in Dublin on Friday night which resulted in 12 injuries.
The incident happened at the junction of Davitt Road and Suir Road, Inchicore, at about 10.20pm. Full Red Line services resumed shortly after the collision.
Ten males and two females, aged from their late teens to mid 30s, required medical treatment following the crash.
Suir road Luas stop: We're attending a vehicle vs tram incident, a number of units sent including ambulances pic.twitter.com/o8dL3oVQZC — Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) October 23, 2015
Dublin Fire Brigade sent three fire engines and three ambulances from Dolphins Barn and Tara Street to the scene and the National Ambulance Service despatched six ambulances, an incident officer, an advanced paramedic car and an emergency doctor.
The rear carriage of the Luas was struck in the incident and most of those injured were passengers on the tram.
The injured were taken to St James’s Hospital and Tallaght hospitals with “non-serious injuries”.By Jason Mark
Christmas has come and gone, New Year's is right around the corner. That must mean it's time for my annual roundup of the most important environmental stories of the past year.
Some of these topics got a ton of attention (cue: Donald Trump, Standing Rock) while others didn't get half as much as they deserved (think the Kigali HFC deal and a proposed delisting of the Yellowstone grizzlies). No matter how much ink and airtime they earned, all of these stories revealed some larger trend about the state of the environment and environmental advocacy.
Without further ado, here's my list of the big, the bad and the good from 2016.
1. Climate Science Denier-In-Chief
Fleetingphoto / iStock
Donald Trump's stunning Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton was the biggest story of 2016, period. American progressives were gutted by the upset and have spent much of the time since figuring out how to resist the Trump-Pence administration.
Many people reasonably fear that a Trump White House will threaten women's reproductive rights, basic civil liberties, undocumented immigrants, the rule of law and any hope of political discourse (and policy-making) rooted in, well, facts. Trump also poses a clear and present danger to our shared environment—especially the maintenance of a (more-or-less) stable climate.
Make no mistake: A Hillary Clinton presidency wouldn't have been all rose petals and kumbaya for the environmental movement. At the very least, though, Clinton would have continued President Obama's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Now, we're facing a climate science Denier-in-Chief, as Trump will hold the distinction of being the only head of state not to accept the basic science of human-driven global warming.
Since the election, he has flirted with environmental luminaries like Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio, but his cabinet picks make plain he's determined to stall, if not reverse, the U.S.' recent progress on climate change. Scott Pruitt—a long-time oil and gas industry bagman, and fellow climate change denier—has been chosen to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The CEO of ExxonMobil has been nominated for Secretary of State. The Clean Power Plan will face attacks from within the federal government beginning on Day One of Trump's presidency. In the face of the coming onslaught, environmental leaders say they are ready to fight like hell to preserve clean air, clean water, a stable climate, and the integrity of public lands and wildlife protections. Expect four long, tough years of political battles to maintain a healthy environment.
2. The Standoff at Standing Rock
Brian Nevins
When LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, a member of North Dakota's Standing Rock Sioux nation, set up an encampment near the Missouri River in April to draw attention to a planned petroleum conduit, hardly anyone had heard of the Dakota Access Pipeline. By September, the resistance camp of "water protectors" had grown to include thousands of people, and the standoff between indigenous and environmental activists and Energy Transfer Partners and North Dakota law enforcement had catapulted into the national headlines.
Scenes from the weeks of rolling conflicts—women set upon by attack dogs, people arrested in the midst of prayer, sound cannons targeted at marchers and their horses, heavy equipment lit on fire—galvanized public sympathy for the Native-led resistance. Solidarity caravans and resupply convoys poured into the water protectors' camps throughout the fall. Then the water protectors' (provisional) victories sparked new hope for the power of grassroots activism.
In early September, the Obama administration halted pipeline construction at the Missouri River, and in a sweeping statement said the controversy should prompt "a serious discussion on whether there should be a nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes' views on these types of infrastructure projects." On Dec. 4, Obama called on the Army Corps of Engineers to look for a different pipeline route.
The battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline is huge for two reasons.
First, it made visible the strength and sophistication of a resurgent Native sovereignty movement. This movement has been building for years. As I wrote in an article for The American Prospect, "From the Coast Salish nations of the Pacific Northwest, to the Ojibwe lands around the Great Lakes, to the Iroquois territory of New York, a new fighting spirit is sweeping across Indian Country." The mediagenic images from the banks of the Missouri River put that spirit front and center of (non-Native) Americans' attention. Environmental organizations have long sought to create alliances with indigenous peoples, with whom they share a similar worldview about how humanity should treat the planet's lands and waters. The fight against Keystone XL was a good example. Now environmental groups are taking leadership from Native Americans. And just in time. When it comes to disputes over resource extraction and environmental protection, Native Americans' moral authority can supply a countervailing force to the ethic of greed and corruption that will likely emanate from a gilded Oval Office.
Second, the #NoDAPL movement offers a template for resistance in the Age of Trump. We know what to expect from a new resource rush: attempts to put in place more fracking wells, more pipelines, more oil trains, more gas terminals, more clear-cutting, more mining. And with the Standing Rock experience fresh in our minds, we also know how to oppose that resource rush: with blockades, marches, petitions and prayer in the face of violence. The water protectors showed the power and force of putting bodies on the line to keep oil and gas and coal in the ground.0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has kicked Donald Trump out of a scheduled Wisconsin Republican event and announced that the Republican presidential nominee.
Ryan said in a statement:
Paul Ryan kicks Trump out of his Wisconsin event tomorrow, not out of the party yet pic.twitter.com/kLRs9Bn7VP — Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) October 8, 2016
The Speaker of the House just gave the boot to the Republican presidential nominee, because he is too toxic to be near.
Make no mistake, Ryan’s actions had nothing to do with doing the right thing for women. Trump’s record of sexism was well documented before Speaker Ryan ever endorsed him.
Republicans are fleeing Trump in an attempt to save their own skins. The big move by the GOP is substitute Pence for Trump, which is the equivalent of Republicans swapping the gay and woman hating half of their ticket for the woman assaulting half of the ticket. In other words, Pence for Trump isn’t a big improvement.
If Speaker Ryan really wanted to earn the respect of the American people, he would take back endorsement of Trump and apologize for ever supporting him. Such a move would take courage, and if there is one thing that Paul Ryan lacks it is the courage to lead his party.
If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:7 years ago
Franksville, Wisconsin (CNN) – Rick Santorum on Sunday said Mitt Romney’s ties to universal health care would make him the “worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama” in the general election.
Despite calls from his party to focus on Obama, Santorum has intensified his critique of Romney in recent days.
Last week, he was widely criticized for suggesting there are so few differences between his presidential rival and the democratic president that “we may as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk” with Romney.
As he campaigned in Wisconsin over the weekend, the former Pennsylvania senator continued to cast aspersions on Romney’s ability to defeat an incumbent president if he were to become the Republican nominee.
According to Santorum, the biggest risk with Romney is the Massachusetts health care reform law, implemented when he was governor and which became the “blueprint” for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare - the mandate that every American buy health insurance.
“Seventy-five percent of Americans disagree with Obamacare's mandate. Why would the Republican Party nominate someone who agrees with that mandate, on the most important issue of the election? That's why it's become so important because it's the establishment types who don't mind Obamacare,” Santorum told a crowd at a bowling alley in Fond du Lac on Sunday. “They're okay with someone who will be just a little different from Obama. Bottom line is, we're not going to win with someone who is just a little different.”
Later, at a rally held at South Hills Country Club south of Milwaukee, Santorum assailed his Republican opponent, even though he endorsed Romney during the latter’s presidential run in 2008.
"Why would we put someone up who is |
personal ownership. No controlling interest or immediate family ownership. Company doesn't own more than 1% of chip stock equity. We have done semiconductor investment banking within the last 12 months.New DC Entertainment Logos in Full Color!
Last week it was revealed that DC Entertainment was getting rid of the “swoosh” logo in favor of a newer, more modern look. The new “peel away” logo was quickly dismissed by many as ugly, plain and generic. Well, today, DC officially announced their “new brand identity” along with some examples and uses of their logo, which is based on the appropriately named Gotham font.
While I was one of those who hated the original design, which turned out to just be a template, I can tolerate the examples that DC has provided. I still don’t really quite like the new sleeker look entirely, but it looks much better then the basic design in black and white.
Take a look at the designs below and let us know what you think. You can also take our poll over on the right sidebar. —->
Whether you like it or not, this new DC Entertainment corporate logo makes it’s debut in March 2012… until they design the next one a couple of years down the road. Maybe.
Media Release — DC Entertainment, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company and home to iconic brands DC Comics, Vertigo and MAD, revealed today a new brand identity. The new identity is reflective of the company’s mission to fully realize the value of a rich portfolio of brands, stories and characters, distinguished by incredible breadth and depth across publishing, media and merchandise. A new logo for DC Comics was also introduced, closely aligning with DC Entertainment’s new mark. “It’s a new era at DC Entertainment and the new look reflects a dynamic, bold approach while at the same time celebrates the company’s rich heritage and robust portfolio of characters,” stated John Rood, EVP of Sales, Marketing and Business Development for DC Entertainment. “It was just a few months ago that Superman, Batman and many of our other Super Heroes were updated when we launched DC Comics – The New 52 and now it’s time to do the same for the company’s identity while remaining true to the power of storytelling which is still at the heart of DC Entertainment.” DC Entertainment worked with Landor Associates, one of the world’s leading brand consulting and design firms, to develop an identity that creates a visual connection among the company, its three brands DC Comics, Vertigo and MAD and its vast array of properties as well as celebrates the power of the company’s stories and characters. The design of the new DC Entertainment identity uses a “peel” effect – the D is strategically placed over the C with the upper right-hand portion of the D peeling back to unveil the hidden C – symbolizing the duality of the iconic characters that are present within DC Entertainment’s portfolio. “It was our goal to capture DC Entertainment in a dynamic and provocative identity. Our solution is a living expression which changes and adapts to the characters, story lines and the ways fans are consuming content,” explains Nicolas Aparicio, Executive Creative Director at Landor’s San Francisco office. “The new identity is built for the digital age, and can easily be animated and customized to take full advantage of the interactivity offered across all media platforms.” The new brand identity will come to life across all consumer touch points in order to create a clear and consistent message in support of DC Entertainment. The new identity will begin to appear on comic books and graphic novels as well as new websites in March. Consumers will also see the new identity rolled out over time on other DC Entertainment products from Warner Bros. including film, television, interactive games and merchandise. “We believe our new brand identity will strongly resonate with our loyal fans who will want to proudly express their affinity for DC Entertainment and their passion for their favorite stories and characters, this new look allows them to easily do this. In addition we were excited to update our identity, it’s not often a company gets to revisit something as important as its brand and we took the opportunity to make sure it represented the multi-media business we set out to build with the formation of DC Entertainment,” said Amit Desai, SVP of Franchise Management for DC Entertainment.
– The Comic Book CriticThe hard problem of consciousness is the problem of explaining how and why sentient organisms have qualia or phenomenal experiences—how and why it is that some internal states are felt states, such as heat or pain, rather than unfelt states, as in a thermostat or a toaster.[1] The philosopher David Chalmers, who introduced the term "hard problem" of consciousness,[2] contrasts this with the "easy problems" of explaining the ability to discriminate, integrate information, report mental states, focus attention, etc. Easy problems are easy because all that is required for their solution is to specify a mechanism that can perform the function. That is, their proposed solutions, regardless of how complex or poorly understood they may be, can be entirely consistent with the modern materialistic conception of natural phenomena. Chalmers claims that the problem of experience is distinct from this set and that the problem of experience will "persist even when the performance of all the relevant functions is explained".[3]
The existence of a "hard problem" is controversial and has been disputed by philosophers such as Daniel Dennett[4] and cognitive neuroscientists such as Stanislas Dehaene.[5]
Chalmers' formulation [ edit ]
The hard problem [ edit ]
In Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness (1995), Chalmers wrote:[3]
It is undeniable that some organisms are subjects of experience. But the question of how it is that these systems are subjects of experience is perplexing. Why is it that when our cognitive systems engage in visual and auditory information-processing, we have visual or auditory experience: the quality of deep blue, the sensation of middle C? How can we explain why there is something it is like to entertain a mental image, or to experience an emotion? It is widely agreed that experience arises from a physical basis, but we have no good explanation of why and how it so arises. Why should physical processing give rise to a rich inner life at all? It seems objectively unreasonable that it should, and yet it does.
In the same paper, he also wrote:
The really hard problem of consciousness is the problem of experience. When we think and perceive there is a whir of information processing, but there is also a subjective aspect.
The philosopher Raamy Majeed noted in 2016 that the hard problem is, in fact, associated with two "explanatory targets":[6]
[PQ] Physical processing gives rise to experiences with a phenomenal character. [Q] Our phenomenal qualities are thus-and-so.
The first fact concerns the relationship between the physical and the phenomenal (i.e., how and why are some physical states felt states), whereas the second concerns the very nature of the phenomenal itself (i.e., what does the felt state feel like?). Most responses to the hard problem are aimed at explaining either one of these facts or both.
Easy problems [ edit ]
Chalmers contrasts the hard problem with a number of (relatively) easy problems that consciousness presents. He emphasizes that what the easy problems have in common is that they all represent some ability, or the performance of some function or behavior. Examples of easy problems include:[3]
the ability to discriminate, categorize, and react to environmental stimuli;
the integration of information by a cognitive system;
the reportability of mental states;
the ability of a system to access its own internal states;
the focus of attention;
the control of behavior;
the difference between wakefulness and sleep.
Other formulations [ edit ]
Other formulations of the "hard problem" (formerly called the mind–body problem and the explanatory gap) include:[citation needed]
"How is it that some organisms are subjects of experience?"
"Why does awareness of sensory information exist at all?"
"Why do qualia exist?"
"Why is there a subjective component to experience?"
"Why aren't we philosophical zombies?"
Historical predecessors [ edit ]
The hard problem has scholarly antecedents considerably earlier than Chalmers, as Chalmers himself has pointed out.[7]
The physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton wrote in a 1672 letter to Henry Oldenburg:
to determine by what modes or actions light produceth in our minds the phantasm of colour is not so easie.[8]
In An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), the philosopher and physician John Locke argued:
Divide matter into as minute parts as you will (which we are apt to imagine a sort of spiritualizing or making a thinking thing of it) vary the figure and motion of it as much as you please—a globe, cube, cone, prism, cylinder, etc., whose diameters are but 1,000,000th part of a gry, will operate not otherwise upon other bodies of proportionable bulk than those of an inch or foot diameter—and you may as rationally expect to produce sense, thought, and knowledge, by putting together, in a certain figure and motion, gross particles of matter, as by those that are the very minutest that do anywhere exist. They knock, impel, and resist one another, just as the greater do; and that is all they can do... [I]t is impossible to conceive that matter, either with or without motion, could have originally in and from itself sense, perception, and knowledge; as is evident from hence that then sense, perception, and knowledge must be a property eternally inseparable from matter and every particle of it.[9]
The polymath and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz wrote in 1714, as an example also known as Leibniz's gap:
Moreover, it must be confessed that perception and that which depends upon it are inexplicable on mechanical grounds, that is to say, by means of figures and motions. And supposing there were a machine, so constructed as to think, feel, and have perception, it might be conceived as increased in size, while keeping the same proportions, so that one might go into it as into a mill. That being so, we should, on examining its interior, find only parts which work one upon another, and never anything by which to explain a perception.[10]
The philosopher and political economist J.S. Mill wrote in A System of Logic (1843), Book V, Chapter V, section 3:
Now I am far from pretending that it may not be capable of proof, or that it is not an important addition to our knowledge if proved, that certain motions in the particles of bodies are the conditions of the production of heat or light; that certain assignable physical modifications of the nerves may be the conditions not only of our sensations or emotions, but even of our thoughts; that certain mechanical and chemical conditions may, in the order of nature, be sufficient to determine to action the physiological laws of life. All I insist upon, in common with every thinker who entertains any clear idea of the logic of science, is, that it shall not be supposed that by proving these things one step would be made towards a real explanation of heat, light, or sensation; or that the generic peculiarity of those phenomena can be in the least degree evaded by any such discoveries, however well established. Let it be shown, for instance, that the most complex series of physical causes and effects succeed one another in the eye and in the brain to produce a sensation of colour; rays falling on the eye, refracted, converging, crossing one another, making an inverted image on the retina, and after this a motion—let it be a vibration, or a rush of nervous fluid, or whatever else you are pleased to suppose, along the optic nerve—a propagation of this motion to the brain itself, and as many more different motions as you choose; still, at the end of these motions, there is something which is not motion, there is a feeling or sensation of colour. Whatever number of motions we may be able to interpolate, and whether they be real or imaginary, we shall still find, at the end of the series, a motion antecedent and a colour consequent. The mode in which any one of the motions produces the next, may possibly be susceptible of explanation by some general law of motion: but the mode in which the last motion produces the sensation of colour, cannot be explained by any law of motion; it is the law of colour: which is, and must always remain, a peculiar thing. Where our consciousness recognises between two phenomena an inherent distinction; where we are sensible of a difference which is not merely of degree, and feel that no adding one of the phenomena to itself would produce the other; any theory which attempts to bring either under the laws of the other must be false; though a theory which merely treats the one as a cause or condition of the other, may possibly be true.
The biologist T.H. Huxley wrote in 1868:
But what consciousness is, we know not; and how it is that anything so remarkable as a state of consciousness comes about as the result of irritating nervous tissue, is just as unaccountable as the appearance of the Djin when Aladdin rubbed his lamp in the story, or as any other ultimate fact of nature.[11]
The philosopher Thomas Nagel argued in 1974:
If physicalism is to be defended, the phenomenological features must themselves be given a physical account. But when we examine their subjective character it seems that such a result is impossible. The reason is that every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that point of view.[12]
Relationship to scientific frameworks [ edit ]
Neural correlates of consciousness [ edit ]
Since 1990, researchers including the molecular biologist Francis Crick and the neuroscientist Christof Koch have made significant progress toward identifying which neurobiological events occur concurrently to the experience of subjective consciousness.[13] These postulated events are referred to as neural correlates of consciousness or NCCs. However, this research arguably addresses the question of which neurobiological mechanisms are linked to consciousness but not the question of why they should give rise to consciousness at all, the latter being the hard problem of consciousness as Chalmers formulated it. In "On the Search for the Neural Correlate of Consciousness", Chalmers said he is confident that, granting the principle that something such as what he terms global availability can be used as an indicator of consciousness, the neural correlates will be discovered "in a century or two".[14] Nevertheless, he stated regarding their relationship to the hard problem of consciousness:
One can always ask why these processes of availability should give rise to consciousness in the first place. As yet we cannot explain why they do so, and it may well be that full details about the processes of availability will still fail to answer this question. Certainly, nothing in the standard methodology I have outlined answers the question; that methodology assumes a relation between availability and consciousness, and therefore does nothing to explain it. [...] So the hard problem remains. But who knows: Somewhere along the line we may be led to the relevant insights that show why the link is there, and the hard problem may then be solved.[14]
The neuroscientist and Nobel laureate Eric Kandel wrote that locating the NCCs would not solve the hard problem, but rather one of the so-called easy problems to which the hard problem is contrasted.[15] Kandel went on to note Crick and Koch's suggestion that once the binding problem—understanding what accounts for the unity of experience—is solved, it will be possible to solve the hard problem empirically.[15] However, neuroscientist Anil Seth argued that emphasis on the so-called hard problem is a distraction from what he calls the "real problem": understanding the neurobiology underlying consciousness, namely the neural correlates of various conscious processes.[16] This more modest goal is the focus of most scientists working on consciousness.[15] Psychologist Susan Blackmore believes, by contrast, that the search for the neural correlates of consciousness is futile and itself predicated on an erroneous belief in the hard problem of consciousness.[17]
Integrated information theory [ edit ]
Integrated information theory (IIT), developed by the neuroscientist and psychiatrist Giulio Tononi in 2004 and more recently also advocated by Koch, is one of the most discussed models of consciousness in neuroscience and elsewhere.[18][19] The theory proposes an identity between consciousness and integrated information, with the latter item (denoted as Φ) defined mathematically and thus in principle measurable.[19][20] The hard problem of consciousness, write Tononi and Koch, may indeed be intractable when working from matter to consciousness.[21] However, because IIT inverts this relationship and works from phenomenological axioms to matter, they say it could be able to solve the hard problem.[21] In this vein, proponents have said the theory goes beyond identifying human neural correlates and can be extrapolated to all physical systems. Tononi wrote (along with two colleagues):
While identifying the “neural correlates of consciousness” is undoubtedly important, it is hard to see how it could ever lead to a satisfactory explanation of what consciousness is and how it comes about. As will be illustrated below, IIT offers a way to analyze systems of mechanisms to determine if they are properly structured to give rise to consciousness, how much of it, and of which kind.[22]
As part of a broader critique of IIT, Michael Cerullo suggested that the theory's proposed explanation is in fact for what he dubs (following Scott Aaronson) the "Pretty Hard Problem" of methodically inferring which physical systems are conscious—but would not solve Chalmers' hard problem.[19] "Even if IIT is correct," he argues, "it does not explain why integrated information generates (or is) consciousness."[19]
Responses [ edit ]
Consciousness as fundamental or elusive [ edit ]
Some philosophers, including David Chalmers in the late 20th century and Alfred North Whitehead earlier in the 1900s, argued that conscious experience is a fundamental constituent of the universe, a form of panpsychism sometimes referred to as panexperientialism. Chalmers argued that a "rich inner life" is not logically reducible to the functional properties of physical processes. He states that consciousness must be described using nonphysical means. This description involves a fundamental ingredient capable of clarifying phenomena that have not been explained using physical means. Use of this fundamental property, Chalmers argues, is necessary to explain certain functions of the world, much like other fundamental features, such as mass and time, and to explain significant principles in nature.
The philosopher Thomas Nagel posited in 1974 that experiences are essentially subjective (accessible only to the individual undergoing them—i.e., felt only by the one feeling them), while physical states are essentially objective (accessible to multiple individuals). So at this stage, he argued, we have no idea what it could even mean to claim that an essentially subjective state just is an essentially non-subjective state (i.e., how and why a felt state is just a functional state). In other words, we have no idea of what reductivism really amounts to.[12]
New mysterianism, such as that of the philosopher Colin McGinn, proposes that the human mind, in its current form, will not be able to explain consciousness.[23]
Deflationary accounts [ edit ]
Some philosophers, such as Daniel Dennett[4] and Peter Hacker[24] oppose the idea that there is a hard problem. These theorists have argued that once we really come to understand what consciousness is, we will realize that the hard problem is unreal. For instance, Dennett asserts that the so-called hard problem will be solved in the process of answering the "easy" ones (which, as he has clarified, he does not consider "easy" at all).[4] In contrast with Chalmers, he argues that consciousness is not a fundamental feature of the universe and instead will eventually be fully explained by natural phenomena. Instead of involving the nonphysical, he says, consciousness merely plays tricks on people so that it appears nonphysical—in other words, it simply seems like it requires nonphysical features to account for its powers. In this way, Dennett compares consciousness to stage magic and its capability to create extraordinary illusions out of ordinary things.[25]
To show how people might be commonly fooled into overstating the powers of consciousness, Dennett describes a normal phenomenon called change blindness, a visual process that involves failure to detect scenery changes in a series of alternating images.[26] He uses this concept to argue that the overestimation of the brain's visual processing implies that the conception of our consciousness is likely not as pervasive as we make it out to be. He claims that this error of making consciousness more mysterious than it is could be a misstep in any developments toward an effective explanatory theory. Critics such as Galen Strawson reply that, in the case of consciousness, even a mistaken experience retains the essential face of experience that needs to be explained, contra Dennett.
To address the question of the hard problem, or how and why physical processes give rise to experience, Dennett states that the phenomenon of having experience is nothing more than the performance of functions or the production of behavior, which can also be referred to as the easy problems of consciousness.[4] He states that consciousness itself is driven simply by these functions, and to strip them away would wipe out any ability to identify thoughts, feelings, and consciousness altogether. So, unlike Chalmers and other dualists, Dennett says that the easy problems and the hard problem cannot be separated from each other. To him, the hard problem of experience is included among—not separate from—the easy problems, and therefore they can only be explained together as a cohesive unit.[25]
Critics of Dennett's approach, such as Chalmers and Nagel, argue that Dennett's argument misses the point of the inquiry by merely re-defining consciousness as an external property and ignoring the subjective aspect completely. This has led detractors to refer to Dennett's book Consciousness Explained as Consciousness Ignored or Consciousness Explained Away.[4] Dennett discussed this at the end of his book with a section entitled Consciousness Explained or Explained Away?[26]
Like Dennett, Hacker argues that the hard problem is fundamentally incoherent and that "consciousness studies", as it exists today, is "literally a total waste of time":[24]
The whole endeavour of the consciousness studies community is absurd—they are in pursuit of a chimera. They misunderstand the nature of consciousness. The conception of consciousness which they have is incoherent. The questions they are asking don't make sense. They have to go back to the drawing board and start all over again.
Though the most common arguments against deflationary accounts and eliminative materialism are the argument from qualia and the argument that conscious experiences are irreducible to physical states—or that current popular definitions of "physical" are incomplete—the objection has been posed[by whom?] that the one and same reality can appear in different ways, and that the numerical difference of these ways is consistent with a unitary mode of existence of the reality.[citation needed] Critics of the deflationary approach object that qualia are a case where a single reality cannot have multiple appearances. For example, the philosopher John Searle pointed out: "where consciousness is concerned, the existence of the appearance is the reality".[27]
A notable deflationary account is the higher-order theories of consciousness.[28] In 2005, the philosopher Peter Carruthers wrote about "recognitional concepts of experience", that is, "a capacity to recognize [a] type of experience when it occurs in one's own mental life", and suggested that such a capacity does not depend upon qualia.[29]
The philosophers Glenn Carruthers and Elizabeth Schier said in 2012 that the main arguments for the existence of a hard problem—philosophical zombies, Mary's room, and Nagel's bats—are only persuasive if one already assumes that "consciousness must be independent of the structure and function of mental states, i.e. that there is a hard problem". Hence, the arguments beg the question. The authors suggest that "instead of letting our conclusions on the thought experiments guide our theories of consciousness, we should let our theories of consciousness guide our conclusions from the thought experiments".[30]
In 2013, the philosopher Elizabeth Irvine argued that both science and folk psychology do not treat mental states as having phenomenal properties, and therefore "the hard problem of consciousness may not be a genuine problem for non-philosophers (despite its overwhelming obviousness to philosophers), and questions about consciousness may well'shatter' into more specific questions about particular capacities".[31]
The philosopher Massimo Pigliucci distances himself from eliminativism, but he said in 2013 that the hard problem is still misguided, resulting from a "category mistake":[32]
Of course an explanation isn't the same as an experience, but that's because the two are completely independent categories, like colors and triangles. It is obvious that I cannot experience what it is like to be you, but I can potentially have a complete explanation of how and why it is possible to be you.
In 2017, the philosopher Marco Stango, in a paper on John Dewey's approach to the problem of consciousness (which preceded Chalmers' formulation of the hard problem by over half a century), noted that Dewey's approach would see the hard problem as the consequence of an unjustified assumption that feelings and functional behaviors are not the same physical process: "For the Deweyan philosopher, the 'hard problem' of consciousness is a 'conceptual fact' only in the sense that it is a philosophical mistake: the mistake of failing to see that the physical can be had as an episode of immediate sentiency."[33]
Source of the illusion [ edit ]
A complete reductionistic or mechanistic theory of consciousness must include the description of a mechanism by which the subjective aspect of consciousness is perceived and reported by people. Philosophers such as Chalmers or Nagel have rejected reductionist theories of consciousness because they believe that the reports of subjective experience constitute a vast and important body of empirical evidence which is ignored by modern reductionist theories of consciousness.[7]
Dennett argued that solving the easy problem of consciousness, that is finding out how the brain works, will eventually lead to the solution of the hard problem of consciousness.[4] In particular, the solution can be achieved by identifying the stimuli and neurological pathways whose operation generates evidence of subjective experience.
Neuroscientist Michael Graziano, in his book Consciousness and the Social Brain, advocates what he calls attention schema theory, in which our perception of being conscious is merely an error in perception, held by brains which evolved to hold erroneous and incomplete models of their own internal workings, just as they hold erroneous and incomplete models of their own bodies and of the external world.[34][35]
Cognitive neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene, in his 2014 book Consciousness and the Brain, summarized the previous decades of experimental consciousness research involving reports of subjective experience, and argued that Chalmers' "easy problems" of consciousness are actually the hard problems and the "hard problems" are based only upon ill-defined intuitions that, according to Dehaene, are continually shifting as understanding evolves:[5]
Once our intuitions are educated by cognitive neuroscience and computer simulations, Chalmers' hard problem will evaporate. The hypothetical concept of qualia, pure mental experience, detached from any information-processing role, will be viewed as a peculiar idea of the prescientific era, much like vitalism... [Just as science dispatched vitalism] the science of consciousness will keep eating away at the hard problem of consciousness until it vanishes.
See also [ edit ]Posted on by riverdaughter
Hi everyone, this is the first time in 2 days that I’ve been able to get decent cell phone service so I’m going to try to update as completely as I can.
Monday night was scary. Brooke had just finished her class online when Sandy made landfall at about 8:10pm. The lights stayed on until about 8:15 and then for an hour and a half, it sounded like a freight train was bearing down on us. We had been getting gusts off and on throughout the evening but when Sandy made landfall, it was one continuous gust coming from the southeast. The back of the house faces that direction. About 30 feet from the house, the landscape slopes up about 15 feet to where the pool is located. I think it was the berm that acted as a natural windbreak that saved our house from any structural damage. There is plenty of damage in our immediate neighborhood. The neighbor to my immediate left lost a tree close to the house. He’s very lucky he didn’t lose more. He’s not protected by the pool elevation so he got the wind straight on.
I don’t know how fast the wind was moving but in comparison, I waited out hurricane Charlie in a condo in Naples, Florida facing the gulf. I’d say the wind was at least that strong. So, if someone says 100 mph, that wouldn’t be far off, in my guesstimation. Brooke was upstairs in her room in the central most part of the house and she said she heard a lot of snapping noises. I was downstairs in the back of the house and could hear ominous groaning throughout the worst of it. It turns out that this is what trees sound like as they’re being uprooted. The house trembled and shook and it sounded like the roof was going to lift off.
I turned on my crankable radio and listened to Leonard Lopate broadcasting via generator from WNYC. He and Will Shortz did a good job keeping everyone calm. But when they reported that the wind was going to keep up like that for about another 3 hours, I started to get nervous. For reference, my town is about 36 miles from NYC as the crow flies directly west. So, whatever winds they were getting were the same ones I was getting minus the storm surge. In fact, this hurricane was very different from Irene. There was very little rain and the basement stayed dry.
The Aftermath
After I checked the house the next morning and discovered that we miraculously escaped any damage, Brooke and I went out to get gas for the generator. Now, we’re about an hour away from Belmar so we didn’t get the massive flooding but we have some pretty severe damage to the power lines. As we exited our development, we saw probably a hundred downed trees, including a tree that was (and is still) leaning dangerously over the power line and the street. There’s a traffic cone to direct traffic around it but it won’t help anyone if it falls. It’s a ginormous tree. For that reason, the road is blocked off in the return direction, which means we had to get on rt 206 to get back home. That’s when we saw about half of the main thoroughfare was closed because of more downed and live power lines. There were only two gas stations opened in this town of about 40,000 people and one of them ran out of gas at about 5:00pm yesterday. Exxon was closed although I can’t see any clear reason for that when the gas station across the street was open and so were a couple of other businesses on its side of the street.
This morning, the other gas station was closed. They must have run out of gas later in the evening.
There’s no place to get ice.
The New Jersey Hall of Shame award has to go to Jersey Firewood (jerseyfirewood.com on rt 206 that is gouging local residents for firewood, Yep, the MFers won’t sell less than 20 cubic feet to customers. It’s not like they’re going to run out. They have a couple of acres of firewood but if you aren’t going to buy a t least 20 cubic feet, they won’t sell you so much as a single log. They have no problem selling a small bundle any other time of the year. Just not now. So, since I have just a small car and can’t imagine needing that much firewood anyway, I had to do without. No amount of begging and pleading would get me so much as a stick of kindling. I can’t believe they’re able to get away with this in an emergency situation. We have a couple of Duraflame logs and a few logs so we should be ok tonight but unless the gas situation gets better tomorrow, we’re going to have to just wear our thermal undies and burn some furniture.
What really burns my oatmeal is that Jersey Firewood will have plenty of free material to sell next year when the downed trees are cut up and the logs allowed to season. Avoid these people like the plague.
The local Hall of Fame Award goes to the guys as the Getty gas station on rt 206. They weren’t even planning to open yesterday but they did. They opened early in the morning and kept going until late in the evening when they finally ran out of gas. I saw the same gas station attendant twice as I refilled my 2.5 gallon container. He was directing people very efficiently and keeping the line moving even though I could tell he was exhausted from 12 hours of bending over to fill the tanks. I offered to bring him hot chocolate, cider, coffee, a beer, anything he wanted. He finally cracked a smile and said he’d love a beer but he’d be done for the day at that point.
This afternoon as I went looking for firewood, I saw the Comcast and PSEG trucks finally in the vicinity of my neighborhood. I think the rate limiting step is going to be dealing with that massive tree that’s threatening to fall down. But there are a lot of them.
John Hockenberry is taking Sandy Stories in the evenings on WNYC. Some of the stories coming out of Newark and Hoboken are hair raising. You would not believe what these two cities have been through. Half of Hoboken is under water and at some point during the storm caught fire. Rescue vehicles from neighboring towns were called in but watched helplessly because they couldn’t get through the rising flood water. Staten Island was flooded and Long Island, where Katiebird’s sister Bev lives was inundated on the ocean and sound sides. Bev’s house is about 1/4 mile from the sound. I don’t know what kind of damage she’s looking at but about 95% of the island is without power.
I’ll have more to say about infrastructure on another post but let’s just say that this is not a good week to be an asshole Libertarian. Yeah, we hate those people this week. Really, really hate them with a white hot passion. Oh, and AT&T too. The next Republican who says that everything should be privatized and that phone and cable companies shouldn’t be regulated is going to be strung up by his balls in the northeast.
One last thing: John Hockenberry took a call from a guy in Somerset NJ which is about 5 miles from here. The guy said he finally saw the cherry picker trucks in his neighborhood last night. Their license plates said Michigan. I knew I wasn’t imagining the cherry picker convoy last Saturday night. So, I would just like to add:
THANK YOU MICHIGAN!
And that goes for all of the other states who sent equipment and power line experts to our state.
BTW, the generator is working great! We have light and can charge our computers and phones, not that we can get a good signal or use the wifi yet but it is good and I can’t thank you enough for the generator. In the even that Sandy comes back through with rain, I can hook up the sump pump.
I’ll try to check back in the comments. Later…
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Filed under: General | Tagged: cell service, firewood, Gas, generator, Hurricane Sandy |The exposé of child sexual abuse in Rotherham over 16 years reads more like a horror story than an academic report. It was more than a dossier on how girls (and a few boys) were abused by gangs of men; it was also a damning indictment of multiple cover-ups at a senior institutional level. The details simply beggar belief.
This isn’t the first time either. Nearly ten years ago there were similar reports of institutional failure in Keighley involving the abuse of young girls, and I had to argue against sections of the Asian media so a Channel 4 film could be aired to shed more light on the problem. The importance of helping victims and dealing with their injustices should always take precedence over worries of racism.
But it’s immensely frustrating that when these incidents come to light, people use them to score political points and push their prejudices than understand what happened. Pakistanis should be as angry with what happened as everyone else.
It was a Pakistani – Nazir Afzal – who made the convictions happen. As chief crown prosecutor for the North West, he was not only responsible for bringing the perpetrators to trial, but re-opened the case after watching police testimony. Without him this could have been buried for much longer.
Across Yorkshire and elsewhere, Pakistani girls have been targeted by gangs too. A report last year also found that gangs had raped Asian (many Muslim) girls along with white girls, but the abuse of Asian girls was being missed because of a focus on white victims. Turning this into a narrative of ‘Pakistani men preying on young white girls’ completely ignores all the victims outside that narrative.
Yesterday’s report found that councillors did not bother engaging with Pakistanis directly to address the issue (pg 2), that there was too much reliance on “traditional community leaders” and the voices of Pakistani women were generally ignored. There was also an unwillingness among Pakistanis to accept that Pakistani girls were also being abused (disproved by recent reports).
In the report, one local Pakistani women’s group described how Pakistani-heritage girls were targeted by taxi drivers and on occasion by older men lying in wait outside school gates at dinner times and after school. They also cited cases in Rotherham where Pakistani landlords had befriended Pakistani women and girls on their own for purposes of sex, then passed on their name to other men who had then contacted them for sex. The women and girls feared reporting such incidents to the Police because it would affect their future marriage prospects (11.14).
It also found that some local councillors had demanded social workers reveal the whereabouts of Pakistani victims of domestic violence, or recommend reconciliation rather than supporting the women to make up their own minds (11.8). This is astonishing and has been entirely ignored in the media coverage.
Of course, most of the perpetrators were men of Pakistani heritage. That in itself demands debate and discussion. But the report quoted one senior officer as suggesting that some influential Pakistani-heritage councillors in Rotherham had acted as barriers to open dialogue of the issue.
The accusation that authorities didn’t tackle child sex abuse because of political correctness is entirely misleading and give them a free pass. It ignores the fact that council leaders barely made themselves aware of the problem (13.3), the police weren’t focused on it (13.13) and that social care managers “seemed reluctant to accept the extent of the problem” (13.14).
Neither is there specific evidence that political correctness stopped police work. The report specifically states (11.6): “[Dr Heal] also |
Nearly every toxin gets processed through the liver, and the bile from the liver is the key to digesting fats and keeping your mind and body happy and healthy.
For those that have struggled with poor liver function due to medication side effects, alcohol consumption or disease, black seed oil could greatly speed the healing process. In a recent animal model study, scientists discovered that black seed oil benefits the function of the liver and helps prevent both damage and disease. (17)
3. Combats Diabetes
Explained in a recent article published by the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research highlight that black seed oil “causes gradual partial regeneration of pancreatic beta-cells, increases the lowered serum insulin concentrations and decreases the elevated serum glucose.” (19) This is actually quite profound because Nigella sativa is one of the few substances on the planet that is suggested to help prevent both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
In fact, according to the study, black seed “improves glucose tolerance as efficiently as metformin; yet it has not shown significant adverse effects and has very low toxicity.” This is huge because metformin, one of the most commonly prescribed type 2 diabetes drugs, can cause a wide slew of side effects, including: (20)
Bloating
Constipation/diarrhea
Flushing of the skin
Gas/indigestion
Heartburn
Headache
Nail changes
Metallic taste in mouth
Muscle pain
Stomach pain
4. Aids Weight Loss
Black seed oil weight loss claims actually do have some science behind them. The Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders published a study systemically reviewing the literature for plants that have anti-obesity properties and discovered that black seed oil was among the most effective natural remedies on the planet. (21)
Another systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2018 highlights the findings of at least 11 placebo-controlled clinical trials that reveal the ability of a black seed supplement to help lower body weight. Supplementation was also shown to decrease body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. It’s also important to note that there were no serious side effects of black seed supplementation reported in any of the studies. (22)
5. Protects Skin
In a study conducted by Iranian researchers, Nigella saliva was found as effective as the skin cream Betamethasone in improving quality of life and decreasing severity of hand eczema. (23) As long as you don’t have an allergic reaction to black seed oil, it does not come with a laundry list of terrifying side effects like conventional creams.
Betamethasone, for example, may cause swelling in your face or hands, swelling or tingling in your mouth or throat, chest tightness, trouble breathing, skin color changes, dark freckles, easy bruising, muscle weakness, and severe attention. Weight gain around your neck, upper back, breast, face or waist is also in the realm of possibility. (24)
I don’t know about you, but I would much rather use something natural on my skin like black seed oil.
6. Benefits Hair
In addition to being a natural skincare aid, there are also black seed oil benefits for hair. Not surprisingly, black seed oil is often featured on lists of natural ways to boost hair and scalp health in numerous ways. Since it contains nigellone, shown by research to be an impressive antihistamine, it may help with hair loss due to androgenic alopecia or alopecia areata. With its antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, it can also help the health of the scalp in general, discouraging dandruff and dryness, and improve hair health at the same time. (25, 26)
7. Treats Infections (MRSA)
Of all the superbugs that black seed oil can kill, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most important. MRSA is plaguing hospitals and nursing homes across the globe because ordinary staph infections are becoming resistant to generic antibiotics. The elderly population is especially at risk because it is generally associated with invasive procedures, such as surgeries, intravenous tubing and artificial joints. (27) Primarily due to weakened immunity, the growing population of senior citizens has made MRSA a global public health risk.
Thankfully, one of the strongest black seed oil benefits may help. Pakistan scientists took several strains of MRSA and discovered that each one was sensitive to N. sativa, proving that black seed oil can help slow down or stop MRSA from spreading out of control. (28)
8. Improves Fertility
In addition to possibly helping with hair loss, there are some other really impressive black seed oil benefits like its ability to naturally improve fertility. One randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluated whether or not black seed oil could help infertile male subjects with abnormal sperm. The control group orally took 2.5 milliliters of black seed oil while the placebo group received the same amount of liquid paraffin twice a day for two months. What did researchers find? The results revealed that the black seed oil group had improvements in their sperm count as well as sperm motility and semen volume. (29)
A systematic review published in 2015 in the Journal of Herbal Medicine also looked at the effects of black seeds on male infertility. The researchers reviewed studies that took place between 2000 and 2014, and overall, they concluded that black seed can “positively influence sperm parameters, semen, Leydig cells, reproductive organs and sexual hormones.” (30)
9. Balances Cholesterol
Did you know that there may even ben black seed oil benefits for cholesterol? It’s true! A study using an animal model published in 2017 found that an aqueous extract of Nigella sativa not only had anti-diabetic effects on animal subjects, but also helped with cholesterol. After six weeks of given the diabetic animal subjects low doses of black seed, total cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and glucose levels all came down while HDL (“good”) cholesterol increased. (31)
Another older randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted with human subjects who had mild hypertension. There was a placebo group, a group that took 100 milligrams of black seed twice a day and a group that took 200 milligrams twice a day. After eight weeks of this supplementation, researchers found that the people who took the black seed supplement had their systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure decrease in “a dose-dependent manner.” Additionally, the black seed extract supplement caused a “significant decline” in both total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. (32)
So overall, it appears that black seed may help lower cholesterol as well as blood sugar and blood pressure.
Black Seed Oil Uses
With the long list of black seed oil benefits, you might think were were talking about multivitamins, but no, we’re just examining one simple yet incredible seed. Now, let’s talk about how to use black seed oil. Spoiler alert: There are so many ways!
For starters, black cumin oil can be used topically, but always make sure to dilute it with a a few teaspoons of a carrier oil like coconut or almond oil. Once diluted, it can help with common skin concerns like acne and eczema thanks to its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Some people also find it helpful for psoriasis and rosacea.
It can easily be added to homemade massage oils and lotions to experience the many black cumin seed benefits. For a warming massage, simply add one drop to one tablespoon of a carrier oil. To boost hair and scalp health, a few drops of oil can be added to hair products like shampoo and conditioner. If you enjoy making homemade fragrances with essential oils, it’s good to know that black seed oil has a peppery scent and works well as a base note.
With its spicy flavor, a high-quality (100 percent pure, therapeutic grade and certified USDA organic) black seed oil can be used in all kinds of recipes from meat main courses to soups and stews. You can also add it to beverages like chai tea latte and smoothies.
A premium black seed oil option should always be 100 percent pure, therapeutic grade and certified USDA organic. Some companies also specify that their black seed oil is cold-pressed, which typically means that the oil is extracted from the Nigella sativa seeds without the use of heat from an external source resulting. Sometimes, cold-pressed oils are said to be more flavorful.
If you don’t like taking liquid supplements, you can also find black seed oil capsules.
The appropriate black seed oil dosage can vary by individual and health status. At this time, there is no standard dosage, but the following dosages by mouth have been studied in scientific research to date: (33)
For diabetes: 1 gram of black seed powder take twice a day for up to 12 months.
1 gram of black seed powder take twice a day for up to 12 months. For high blood pressure: 0.5–2 grams of black seed powder daily for up to 12 weeks or 100–200 milligrams black seed oil twice daily for eight weeks.
0.5–2 grams of black seed powder daily for up to 12 weeks or 100–200 milligrams black seed oil twice daily for eight weeks. To improve sperm function: 2.5 mL black seed oil twice daily for two months.
2.5 mL black seed oil twice daily for two months. For asthma: 2 grams of ground black seed taken daily for 12 weeks. Also, 15 mL/kg of black seed extract has been used daily for three months. A single dose of 50–100 mg/kg has also been used.
Possible Side Effects of Black Seed Oil + Precautions
Black seed may cause an allergic rash when taken by mouth or applied to the skin. Before using black cumin essential oil topically, it’s a good idea to perform a patch test to make sure you don’t have a negative reaction to the oil. Always avoid your eyes and mucous membranes when using black seed oil.
When taken internally, black seed oil side effects may include upset stomach, vomiting, or constipation. For certain individuals, it may increase seizure risk.
Talk to your doctor before using black seed oil if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, are currently taking any medication or having a medical condition (especially diabetes, low blood pressure or a bleeding disorder). If you’re taking black seed oil and have surgery scheduled, it’s recommended to stop taking it at least two weeks prior to your surgery date.
As with all essential oils, make sure to store your black seed oil away from heat and light and out of the reach of children.There must be some sort of directorial ability expressed in the Y-chromosome genes of the Scott family. Ridley Scott gave us Alien, Blade Runner and (egads) Prometheus, while Ridley's brother, the late Tony Scott, directed Top Gun and Enemy of the State. Now Ridley's son Luke Scott is about to fulfill his genetic destiny by directing the upcoming sci-fi thriller Morgan.
In 2014, Morgan had the dubious honor of appearing on the "Black List," a list of excellent yet unproduced screenplays. But the mere fact that it appeared on the Black List brought it the attention it needed to catapult it into preproduction. Former Back Listed films include Zombieland, Snow White and the Huntsman, World War Z and the upcoming Pan.
So, what's it all about? According to ComingSoon, "A corporate risk management consultant is summoned to a remote research lab to determine whether or not to terminate an at-risk artificial being."
If past performance guarantees future results, you'll know that the answer is "terminate." After all, this comes from the son of the director of Alien. And we all know what happened to the crew of the Nostromo after they discovered an at-risk alien being. ("Crew expendable.")
Morgan is set to star Kate Mara (Transcendence, the upcoming Fantastic Four). ComingSoon writes, "Scott Free’s Elishia Holmes and Michael Schaefer will also produce Morgan. George Heller will serve as executive producer with Steve Asbell overseeing for 20th Century Fox." The film currently has no release date.
Ridley's older son Jake directs music videos. But perhaps it's not just the Y chromosome that make the Scotts more likely to direct: Ridley's daughter Jordan is also a director.
Via ComingSoon.Pierre Joseph Proudhon 1847
On the Jews
Source: Carnets de P.J. Proudhon. Paris, M. Rivière, 1960;
Translated: for marxists.org by Mitchell Abidor.
Translator’s note: Though some twentieth century writers have maintained that Proudhon was not an anti-Semite, we find in his notebooks proof of the contrary. In this selection from his notebooks Proudhon’s anti-Semitism goes far beyond that of Marx at approximately the same time, calling not for the end of what Jews represent, i.e., capitalism, but of the Jews as a people. Proudhon’s privately expressed thoughts were elaborated on in the same year as this entry by his follower Alphonse Toussenel in his “Les Juifs, Rois de l'Epoque,” The Jews, Kings of the Era. After reading the passage translated here it can come as no surprise that the founder of the royalist group Action Française, the Jew-hater Charles Maurras, drew inspiration from Proudhon.
December 26, 1847: Jews. Write an article against this race that poisons everything by sticking its nose into everything without ever mixing with any other people. Demand its expulsion from France with the exception of those individuals married to French women. Abolish synagogues and not admit them to any employment. Demand its expulsion Finally, pursue the abolition of this religion. It’s not without cause that the Christians called them deicides. The Jew is the enemy of humankind. They must be sent back to Asia or be exterminated. H. Heine, A. Weill, and others are nothing but secret spies ; Rothschild, Crémieux, Marx, Fould, wicked, bilious, envious, bitter, etc. etc. beings who hate us. The Jew must disappear by steel or by fusion or by expulsion. Tolerate the elderly who no longer have children. Work to be done – What the peoples of the Middle Ages hated instinctively I hate upon reflection and irrevocably. The hatred of the Jew like the hatred of the English should be our first article of political faith. Moreover, the abolition of Judaism will come with the abolition of other religions. Begin by not allocating funds to the clergy and leaving this to religious offerings. – And then, a short while later, abolish the religion.“We shall drink water and walk slow.” – Muriel Spark in The Prime of Miss Jean Brody
Source: Money can't buy happiness by Tom Henrich Flickr Licensed Under CC BY 2.0
Saving money consistently is a challenge for many people. As I wrote recently on this blog, setting a saving goal―whether it’s a few hundred dollars for a summer vacation or a large lump sum for a life-changing down payment on a new home―isn’t always effective. What is more, studies have shown that even after controlling for level of income, people still differ in their success (or lack thereof) at saving money steadily. This was illustrated memorably in the late Dr. Thomas Stanley’s research on American millionaires. Participants of his studies had amassed over a million dollars (and often a lot more), but many of them had relatively small and below-average incomes. Some millionaires owned small businesses; others were high- teachers or blue collar workers. They became wealthy by saving week after week, month after month, over long periods of time and letting their savings grow. Saving money was a part of their lifestyle.
The fact is that just like some people have no trouble with maintaining their (by following a routine of healthy behaviors such as eating moderately and exercising, and staying away from clearly unhealthy activities such as or heavy drinking), some people are better than others at making saving money a part of their lifestyle, no matter how much money they make.
In a recent paper titled “The Ant and the Grasshopper: Personal Saving Orientation of Consumers” that can be downloaded here, my coauthors Leona Tam, Sunyee Yoon, Nancy Wong and I advanced the idea that the difference in consistent saving is a characteristic of people. We call it the “Personal Saving Orientation” or PSO for short. We argued that every individual has a chronic level of PSO, and found that higher PSO confers significant benefits.
What is a Personal Saving Orientation?
Source: Money by Nick Ares Flickr Licensed Under CC BY 2.0
This is how we defined Personal Saving Orientation. It is an individual difference supporting a constellation of activities to save money, some of which are habitual and routinized, while others are opportunistic and intentional, that the individual performs on a consistent basis and incorporates into his or her lifestyle. So instead of conceiving of saving money strictly as the setting and reaching of a series of goals, we described it as a “motivational tendency” that is based on a combination of focused and a variety of routinized activities; in other words, as a lifestyle. (Social psychologist Julius Kuhl developed his Action Control Theory in the 1980s in which he described how a motivational tendency is formed, its workings, and how it influences behavior. We used his ideas as the basis for the Personal Saving Orientation concept).
We also developed the PSO scale to measure an individual’s level of Personal Saving Orientation. Starting with 120+ items and reducing and testing their properties in a series of psychometric studies, our final PSO scale has nine statements representing the set of behaviors that individuals need to cultivate and sustain in order to save money successfully. You can indicate your agreement with each statement on a 7-point scale where 1 = “I disagree completely” and 7 = “I agree completely”:
I keep a careful watch over my spending on a daily basis. I do not spend money thoughtlessly, I would rather save it for a rainy day. Putting money into personal savings is a habit for me. I actively consider the steps I need to take to achieve my personal savings goals. I like to discuss the topic of saving money with my family and I usually save money without having a specific goal in mind. The goal of saving money is always at the back of my mind. Saving money on a regular basis should be an important part of one’s life. Saving money is like a lifestyle, you have to keep at it.
Take a moment, take the PSO test, and calculate your score. High scores are 50 points or more (you would be in the top 25% of respondents in most of our studies with this score), while low scores are those below 35 (the bottom 25%).
What Are the Benefits of a Personal Saving Orientation?
In all, we conducted a total of 19 studies for this project involving thousands of consumers to examine how the Personal Saving Orientation affects different financial outcomes. We found that high-PSO consumers:
Save a greater percentage of their income regularly
Put away more of any windfall they earn (for instance, a tax refund) into savings instead of spending it on luxuries or even necessities
Have more liquid cash in their bank accounts
Have more investments in stocks and bonds
Have less credit card debt
Are more likely to have a fund for emergencies
Use credit cards more prudently (they pay off their balances each month, use a fraction of their total credit limit, and so on)
Are more patient and able to delay gratification
Are less likely to act on an impulse to buy something in an unplanned fashion (even when they are naturally impulsive shoppers)
Are better able to utilize factual knowledge about how personal finances work for their benefit (The topic of financial literacy and how it affects financial behaviors is a fascinating one; I will write about this in a future post).
Perhaps most importantly of all, high-PSO consumers possess greater financial well-being, the equivalent of “money.” They experience lower levels of about finances, they report being more satisfied with their current financial situation, and they make their decisions about whether to buy or experience something based on whether they want it rather than whether they can afford to. Simply speaking, they have greater control over their consumption decisions.
Source: Successfulness by Fernando Rossi Flickr Licensed Under CC BY 2.0
What is the main lesson of this research? Rather than thinking of saving money as a goal to be reached or as a task to be deferred to the future, it is useful to think of saving money as a lifestyle that covers a broad set of contributory activities to be undertaken on a regular basis. One implication is that we can be more of ourselves. If a certain virtuous saving behavior is hard to pull off―say, someone loves to splurge regularly on new fashions―there are many other behaviors that may substitute in its stead. The fashion lover may find it easier to cook and eat at home more often, or cut the cord on pricey cable television. Making money saving a part of one’s lifestyle has broad-based psychological and tangible benefits.
I teach core and pricing to MBA students at Rice University. You can find more information about me on my website or follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter @ud.One of the most exciting parts of dynasty football leagues is the rookie draft. Once a year you get to pick players with no track record and a ton of potential who will fill some type of hole on your roster. Let’s be honest though, rookie drafting is a risky proposition and in my experience, which consists of ten years of commissioning a dynasty league, at best you have a 50/50 chance of any particular pick making an impact on your team. I’ve had first round busts, fifth round studs and everything in between. So how do you stack the cards in your favor? Here are a few tenets that I keep in mind when making my annual picks. They are in no particular order, but they have worked for me over and over again.
Just to level set: Our league’s rookie draft is 5 rounds with 12 teams (60 picks). We use IDPs, so we draft both offense and defense. No veterans are allowed to be chosen (we’ve done that in the past, but putting the initial waiver wire order equal to the rookie draft order takes care of it for us). There is no official time limit for choices, although you start to get severely heckled if you take more than a minute! We also do the draft within two weeks of the start of the season to allow for tracking during the NFL draft all the way through training camp. We then have one week to cut our rosters to 40 players.
Tenet #1 – Two WRs are Better Than One
In almost every draft in which I’ve taken a wide receiver, I’ve actually taken two. Here’s my rationale: receivers take longer to develop for the most part (i.e. the third year WR rule) and even then there is a lot of variability around first and second round NFL wideouts. If you take two you like in the first three rounds, there are only three scenarios that will occur and two of them are favorable.
Scenario #1: Both WRs develop into productive players for you.
Scenario #2: One develops and the other is a bust.
Scenario #3: Both WRs are a bust.
Now, Scenario #1 is both obvious and rare, but scenario #2 is also a darn good deal. If I told you that if you drafted six receiverss and half would be productive for you, wouldn’t you rather do that over three years rather than six?
Now, it’s also possible that Scenario #3 occurs but I’ve found that to be rare too. In 2004, I picked Larry Fitzgerald and Reggie Williams. In 2005, it was Mark Bradley and Vincent Jackson. In 2008, it was Chad Jackson and Eddie Royal. In 2009 it was Darrius Heyward-Bey and Jeremy Maclin. That makes eight receivers in four different years, with two studs (Fitz & Vjax), 1 solid contributor (Maclin) and 5 duds (Heyward-Bey could still develop). You’ll notice I took on this strategy in 2004/2005, then skipped to 2008/2009. Bunches of receivers – that’s how you do it. I picked up Marques Colston as a rookie, Roddy White the year before he broke out and last year Victor Cruz in free agency, so I’ve got myself a wide receiving corps. In rookie drafts, two receivers are simply better than one!
Tenet #2 – Your first pick is critical, don’t overreach
This seems so stupid you don’t even have to say it, right? Well, you’d be surprised how much overreaching I’ve seen. Onterrio Smith was a top three pick in 2003. Kevin Jones was a top five pick in 2004. Mike Bell was a top three pick in 2006. It’s not confined to just running backs, either – Chad Henne was a top five pick in 2008. Not that all of these players didn’t have potential, they did. I would argue they were all drafted well above their actual potential mostly due to a hunch or a great preseason. Again, for the most part, drafts are a 50/50 proposition. If you miss on a few first round picks in a row, suddenly everyone around you has uber-talent and you don’t. You have to make your first pick count.
How do you do that?
If you pick in the top half, stick to the top five consensus rookies after doing your research online. Don’t pick Mike Shanahan’s rookie running back just because it’s Mike Shanahan’s rookie running back. Don’t take a quarterback unless it’s Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck. If you’re at the bottom of the first round, let the draft come to you. Inevitably you will value six or eight of the top players and one of them will fall to you, so make sure you take that player. After picking Marion Barber in the fourth round in 2005, DeAngelo Williams with pick #6 in 2006, Adrian Peterson with pick #1 in 2007 (yes, even dynasty veterans have an off year), I felt really good with my running backs and didn’t plan on taking another one in 2008. I had the tenth pick that year and low and behold, Rashard Mendenhall fell into my lap. I HAD to take him. Let the draft come to you. You’re first pick is critical, don’t overreach.
Tenet #3 – Never Pick a DB or a Kicker
There is just no value in a rookie draft for DBs and kickers. I’ve done both in the past and have quickly realized the folly of my ways. In 2005, I picked Mike Nugent in the fifth round thinking I was getting the next great kicker. Wow, was I proud of myself! Now granted Nugent is alive and kicking (pardon the pun), but he’s never been fantasy relevant and I would have been much better off with a DL or taking a chance on a second tier WR. In terms of DBs, I’ve picked Ken Hamlin and Mike Doss in 2003, Bob Sanders in 2004 and Laron Landry in 2006. None of them are on my team and none of them had any fantasy relevance whatsoever. If you use IDPs in your league, take a look at the top 20 DBs last season and tell me how many you would have drafted as a rookie. In my league there were two, Patrick Peterson and Morgan Burnett. Rather than shoot for a needle in a haystack, just don’t draft a DB and pick them up as free agents. As you can tell from above, I stopped drafting DBs in 2006 and I’ve been quite successful picking up different guys every year that fill out my IDP squad who finish in the top 20 (starter quality) for DBs. Never pick a DB or a kicker, there are plenty out there for free.
Tenet #4 – Pick a TE sooner than anyone in the league would expect you to
This is a relatively new one for me, but it’s been very effective. Let’s set the stage here – two years ago we were breaking into the second round of our rookie draft and midway through the second round is usually when the first tight end goes off the board. That year, you might recall, was the year of the tight end. Jermaine Gresham was the consensus #1, followed by Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Jimmy Graham and Tony Moeaki. Now, typically not a lot of tight ends are picked in the rookie draft, but this year was different. That being said, consensus was that Gresham and Gronkowski were second round material, Hernandez was third round material and Graham and Moeaki were guys with big upside to take a flier on in the fourth or fifth round (remember, Graham had all of one season as a college tight end at the University of Miami).
So, back to the story…
Gresham goes at pick 13, Gronk goes at pick 15 and then at pick 19, I take Jimmy Graham. The whole room laughed because they thought I was nuts. Hernandez was taken late in round round three and Meoki late in round four. One of the guys during round four even forgot that I took Graham and called for him again (which also solicited a round of laughs). You know the rest of the story. Tight ends are no longer an afterthought in the NFL and they should not be in your league either. Following my success with Graham, I took Lance Kendricks during round two last year. The jury is still out on Kendricks for sure, but he has the potential to be a top tight end in the near future. The point is, if you feel strong enough about a guy, take him where you feel he’s a value, not where the rest of the league values him. Pick a tight end sooner than anyone in the league would expect you to and you may well be paid off handsomely in the future.
Tenet #5 – Every Position is Important, Draft Accordingly
This one slightly cuts against the grain of Tenet #3, although I would argue if you can get quality DBs and kickers outside of the draft, they are still important, just not draftable. I’ve won multiple dynasty league championships in my ten years of playing in them. The one thing I’ve learned is to have a well balanced team. In 2011, I won our league again and I had the worst quarterback situation in the league, bar none. I had Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jay Cutler, Sam Bradford and John Skelton. Fitzpatrick was in the top ten early, but dropped out at the end and none of my other quarterbacks even sniffed the top ten all of last year. Last year I won by being balanced everywhere else and absolutely stinking at quarterback. In a league that starts 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1K, 2DL, 3LB and 2DB, although I didn’t have a starting quality QB, I had 2 top 20 RBs, 4 top 10 WRs, 3 top 10 TEs, 2 top 10 Ks, the top 2 DLs (Jared Allen and JPP), 3 top 30 LBs and 2 top 20 DBs. Depth everywhere else carried me to the championship this season.
The lesson here is that every position is important and you should draft accordingly. Every draft has a different strategy depending on the depth at each position in the draft and your needs. If the draft is strong at DL and you need depth there, draft early and often. If you don’t need a RB, get depth in the first round at WR or QB. Make sure you see what positions are deep in each draft and try to focus on how you can exploit that, either by taking early and often or waiting for quality late and using early picks at a different position of need. The point is, every draft needs a different strategy. Make sure you have one that will focus on your needs as well as the talent that presents itself in any given year.
I know our drafts are still months away, but these tenets are always worth talking about!
Editor’s Note: Ken Clein can be found on twitter @DynastyFootball. Ken also blogs at dynastyfootballfan.com. Be sure to catch him there as well.”Is Obama a dictator? He has circumvented both the Congress and the Constitution in appropriating funds and trampling on the Bill of Rights.
But what about Congress… which is supposed to write the law?
At this point I think we can finally admit that Congress has ceased to be a branch of government.
At most, they pass enabling acts.
Obama is a dictator.
Is there any doubt that if the a Republican wins the Presidency, they won’t have the balls to reverse what Obama did?
The FCC will harass ISPs and hosting companies to drop or block sites, just like Holder harassed the banks to drop legal business like gun stores.
But it would be so sweet for a President Walker to pass “right to work” by executive fiat.
We’ve passed the Rubicon. The best we can hope for is to have our dictator in charge.
What was intended by the Founding Fathers, was for Congress to pass laws, with the executive limited to doing A, B, and C.
Now, the executive agencies (some independent of even the President) who are given power to do anything except X, Y, or Z — with the X, Y, or Z so vaguely written that the agency can even do that unless the courts slap them down, and then usually only for a single instance with no other repercussions.
To put it another way as “rhomboid” commented on the Ace of Spades HQ:
“The Hat is right. “And I *love* the analogy to the Enabling Acts (blank slate authority given to Hitler as temporary, emergency measures ….. which, um, turned out a bit differently than some anticipated). Sure, it’s over the top, a bit, and technically speaking. “But you know what? In proper context – that is, the American historical context – that analogy is spot-on, not outlandish at all. “Lawlessness now defines most of our system. Co-equal branches? Nope. Imperial presidency (like nothing seen since the Civil War, which was, um, a CIVIL WAR, which tends to bring out extreme measures). Judiciary completely unhinged from its constitutional channel, legislating wildly and arrogantly (and about as intelligently as you’d expect for a branch not intended for this role). Congress? Essentially dealt itself out of the system. “I’ve harped on it before, but the thing about recess appointments, where the Senate eventually won its lawsuit, was stunning and revealing. At no prior time in US history would the president’s party have tolerated such poaching on Senate prerogatives. Which is why such a thing would not even be attempted, not pressed seriously. “But Senate Dems just sat there, silent, while one of their institutions’ main powers was diluted by bold presidential over-reach. “Seems like some geeky, obscure thing to most, perhaps. To me, it is/was a chilling, astonishing development. The glue that made our system work has fallen apart. We are now more or less ruled, there is not representative, lawful government.”
And somewhere in the bowels of hell Elagabalus smiles…
TweetAn illustration of WFIRST, a 2.4-meter infrared space telescope that will formally become a NASA project in February towards a mid-2020s launch. (credit: NASA/GSFC) Accelerating the next, next space telescope
In a clean room at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, the light-collecting heart of NASA’s next great space telescope is finally coming together. For the last several weeks, technicians, aided by a robotic arm, have been putting hexagonal mirror segments into a structure for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). As of last week, 13 of the 18 mirror segments were in place, with all 18 expected to be in position by the end of February. NASA officials announced last week that WFIRST will “enter formulation” in February. “That’s the official start of the project,” said Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s astrophysics division. The assembly of JWST’s primary mirror is just one aspect of the telescope’s construction. Elsewhere, the telescope’s instruments are being tested while the spacecraft bus and its deployable sunshade, the size of a tennis court, are put together. Several years after a critical “replan” of the observatory, years behind its original schedule and billions of dollars over its original budget, NASA says JWST remains on track for launch on an Ariane 5 in October 2018. That means that spending on JWST—$620 million for the 2016 fiscal year—will soon ramp down. For several years, NASA had been anticipating the “wedge” in the budget this would create and started planning for the next large space observatory beyond JWST that wedge of funding would enable. The leading candidate for that mission has been a concept called the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), one endorsed by astronomers as their top priority large mission in their latest decadal survey in 2010. WFIRST, as it turns out, will start even sooner that NASA expected. At the 227th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) held last week in Florida, agency officials announced that WFIRST will “enter formulation” in February. That milestone, also known in NASA’s project management terminology as “Key Decision Point A,” sets WFIRST on course for a launch in the mid-2020s. “That’s the official start of the project,” Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said of that WFIRST milestone in a presentation at the conference January 4. As recently as last year, NASA didn’t expect a formal start for WFIRST until next year. In its fiscal year 2016 budget submission, which requested $14 million for WFIRST pre-project studies, NASA said that would “enable the potential start of Phase A formulation activities no earlier than FY 2017.” Congress, though, had different ideas. The omnibus spending bill approved by Congress last month provided $90 million for WFIRST. It also adopted language in the report accompanying a Senate spending bill in June calling on NASA to accelerate the start of the mission. “The Committee has accelerated this key mission recommended by the decadal survey and expects it to achieve overlap and scientific synergy with Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope, including linking science operations and the science archive,” the June report from the Senate Appropriations Committee stated. At the time, the Senate asked NASA to start formulation no later than January 15, a deadline the agency will miss by about a month. This wasn’t the first time Congress provided additional funding for WFIRST. In |
the killing and contemplating multiple ways in which he would carry it out, but was still convicted of second-degree murder. He served roughly ten years in prison – less than what many states in the U.S. require for manslaughter convictions. Many Canadians felt his sentence was overly-harsh, and that Tracy’s was a “compassionate-killing.” Latimer had “saved” her from a life of immobility and difficulty.
Alex Spourdalakis, an autistic 14 year old in Illinois, was stabbed multiple times in the chest by his mother and godmother, and then fed an overdose of sleeping pills. In a show of bringing attention to the issue, CBS shot a piece called “Behind the Tragedy: Mother Murders Autistic Son.” The documentary cites the severity of Alex’s autism and the amount of care that he needed as justification for his murder. Despite statements by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network condemning the media’s misrepresentation of the case, and a petition of over 2,000 signatures on change.org, this video is still available to watch on CBS’s website and other outlets.
A Life Lived Fully with Disability
The deaths of Tracy and Alex were tragedies – their lives were not. In order to prevent future abuse and murder we must stop seeing disability as tragedy. Instead, we can see natural human variation, diversity, and life capable of being lived fully. These murders were not justifiable as “acts of compassion” or manifestations of a “great burden.” The people killed were denied a worthy life by an act of hatred and fear.
Of the fifty or more people who came to the Berkeley vigil, many spoke of their feelings of grief, anger, and being largely misunderstood. Brent White, an autistic person who designed and directs ACAT, remembers his first experience seeing an autistic child portrayed on television about 25 years ago,
“He was portrayed as this feral kid – incapable of loving or caring about his family – and violent.”
He says that personally, his identifying openly as autistic is important in changing this perception,
“There’s an idea that there are no autistic adults. It’s important that people who are autistic identify that way, and understand that there’s a spectrum, and a huge range of capabilities.”
Making a Change
How do we step away from the perception that a disabled person’s life is one of suffering and tragedy? How do we perpetuate the reality: that a person with a disability struggles, succeeds, creates, loves, and lives a fully human existence different from, but no less worthy than, those of able-bodied peers?
I am an able-bodied person at this time in my life. I have not lived the experience of disability, and therefore must defer to others for ideas and expertise. But as allies and people who believe broadly in social justice and human rights, we have a responsibility to listen and to help change the narrative to one that reflects the inherent value of life and a shared humanity.
So what can we do? We can educate ourselves: through blogs, newsletters, members of our communities, and other first person accounts. We can support visibility by increasing access to businesses and public spaces. We can take steps toward greater inclusion in policy-making and the work-force. Working with self-advocacy networks and members of the disability community, everyone must, “Fight like Hell for the Living.”
Heather Yaden (Rutgers University) Heather is a 2011 Rutgers–New Brunswick alumni with a degree in Psychology and Cognitive Science. She currently lives in Oakland, CA and works as a team member of Ala Costa Adult Transition program in Berkeley, CA. ACAT supports self-determination, independence, and empowerment in young adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities through teaching community engagement and life skills. She is passionate about social justice and class issues: feminism, queer theory, disability rights, diversity, equality and the intersections of identity. Check out her twitter @HdAvery.
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List of Known Murder Cases Commemorated
in the Day of Mourning 2014If you strip it down to its essence, the battle over SOPA/PIPA is Property vs. Freedom: the media companies want to defend their intellectual property, while Internet-users want to defend their freedom.
You won’t often hear it characterized that way in the corporate media, though, because Property and Freedom are supposed to be inseparable, like Love and Marriage. Sing it, Frank:
This I tell you, brother:
You can’t have one without the other.
Or, as Ron Paul more prosaically put it in 2004:
The rights of all private property owners … must be respected if we are to maintain a free society.
Simply saying the phrase “Property vs. Freedom” marks you as some kind of extreme Leftist. All right-thinking people know that Property can’t possibly oppose Freedom.
Last summer I wrote Six True Things Politicians Can’t Say. Well, here’s another one: The relationship between Property and Freedom is highly contentious. (On second thought, the Love-and-Marriage parallel isn’t that bad.)
Get off my lawn. Why is that relationship so contentious? It’s simple: The essence of Property is the right to tell people to get off your lawn, and to sic the police on them if they don’t. If you can’t do that, it’s not really your lawn.
So naturally Property increases Freedom for the owner. Once you have the right to sic the police on trespassers, your lawn becomes available for cookouts, gardening, minimally supervised children, and all sorts of other expressions of freedom.
But look at it from the other side. What if you’re constantly being forced off other people’s lawns and own no property you can retreat to? How free is that?
Free to be Jim Crow. Now read the Ron Paul quote in its full context. On the 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Wikipedia entry, text of bill), which banned racial discrimination in “any place of public accommodation” (like the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro) and in hiring, Paul portrayed the law in this light:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave the federal government unprecedented power over the hiring, employee relations, and customer service practices of every business in the country. The result was a massive violation of the rights of private property and contract, which are the bedrocks of free society.
In other words, business owners lost some of their right to tell black people to get off their lawns. Definitely it was a diminishment of Property. But was Paul right that it was a net loss of Freedom, or did the freedom gained by blacks more than make up for the freedom lost by businesses?
Why is it your lawn anyway? Post-slavery America may look like an exceptional case, but actually it was just a particularly egregious example of a general rule: Never in the history of humankind has private property been fairly distributed. By the time American blacks stopped being property themselves, all the good stuff was already owned by whites.
Welcome to Freedom, suckers! Now get off my lawn.
One standard pro-property response to this point is that in a free economy property tends to move to the people who earn it through hard work and ingenuity, so mal-distributions even out over time. Maybe the newly-freed slaves did get a raw deal, but that was a long time ago. According to this point of view, by now their great-great-grandchildren must be pretty much where they deserve to be.
But far from an exception, the race problem is a convenient color-coding that makes the general historical pattern easier to see. Michael Hudson described that pattern like this:
The tendency for debts to grow faster than the population’s ability to pay has been a basic constant throughout all recorded history. Debts mount up exponentially, absorbing the surplus and reducing much of the population to the equivalent of debt peonage.
In other words, the typical trend is not for things to even out after a few generations, but for unfair distributions of property to get moreso. Sing it, Billie:
Them that’s got shall have.
Them that’s not shall lose.
The only exception I can think of is post-World-War-II America and Europe, where property tended for decades to become more evenly distributed. But far from the natural workings of a free economy, that outcome required inheritance taxes, progressive income taxes, public education, laws to break up monopolies and protect unions, a significant social safety net, and many other government interventions.
Freedom and public property. America’s two greatest symbols of freedom are the Cowboy and the Indian, both of whom own little, but live in a vast public common where they can hunt in the forests, drink in the streams, and swim in the lakes without worrying about ownership.
Contrast that freedom with economic blogger Noah Smith‘s account of downtown Tokyo.
there are relatively few free city parks. Many green spaces are private and gated off (admission is usually around $5). … outside your house or office, there is basically nowhere to sit down that will not cost you a little bit of money. Public buildings generally have no drinking fountains; you must buy or bring your own water. Free wireless? Good luck finding that! Does all this private property make me feel free? Absolutely not! Quite the opposite – the lack of a “commons” makes me feel constrained.
To me the lesson is clear: For all but the fabulously wealthy, freedom is maximized by balancing public and private property. It’s nice to have your own lawn, but public property you can’t be chased off of — roads, parks, sidewalks — is even more important. It’s also nice to have public access to water and sanitation, and not to be at the proprietor’s mercy whenever you enter a store, restaurant, or theater.
Intellectual property. Applying that logic to intellectual property gets you to the kind of public/private balance we used to have: Copyrights and patents grant creators and inventors valuable temporary rights, while producing a rich public common allowing fair use of recent creations. And since everything eventually becomes public, a balanced copyright law increases the value of the public domain by encouraging the creation of works that otherwise might be impractical.
Protests of SOPA and PIPA make no sense until you understand that we have lost that balance.
Consider how the music-downloading problem arose: By controlling distribution, media corporations inserted themselves as toll-collectors between creators and users. You’d pay $20 for a CD you could easily copy for $1, knowing that precious little of the difference made it back to the artist. Napster-users had few moral scruples against “stealing” music because the system was already amoral. (Call it the Leverage Principle: “The rich and powerful take what they want. We steal it back for you.”)
Also, endless copyrights have dammed the flow of material into the public domain. When Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse in 1928, he was granted a 28-year copyright with the prospect of renewing for another 28 years. Evidently, the prospect of Mickey entering the public domain in 1984 didn’t deter Walt from creating him.
But every time that expiration date approaches, the Disney Corporation leans on Congress to extend the length of existing copyrights. Tom Bell illustrates how copyrights lengthen as Mickey ages.
Unless corporate money loses its primacy in our political system, nothing created after 1928 will ever enter the public domain. Unlike Mickey, the vast majority of that cultural treasure-trove will be orphan works that no one has the right to use. (For a book-length treatment of these issues, see The Public Domain, which the author has graciously put in the public domain.)
As Lawrence Lessig has pointed out, extending an existing copyright does nothing to promote creativity or otherwise advance the public interest:
No matter what the US Congress does with current law, George Gershwin is not going to produce anything more.
In short, the Infosphere is slouching towards Tokyo. Gradually the public common is shrinking towards the day when almost everything of value will be corporately owned.
SOPA/PIPA. The Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the equivalent Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate are two more corporate attempts to buy laws that serve the private interest but not the public interest. (Interestingly, Politico covers the SOPA protests as a battle between Hollywood and Silicon Valley, as if the public were not involved.)
These laws would make search engines, internet-service providers, and other middlemen responsible for blocking access to web sites that copyright-holders claim are pirating their works. Since they bear no comparable responsibility for defending fair use, their safest course will be to block any site Disney or Time-Warner complains about.
Consider the quotes and images in this article. Traditionally, they would be considered fair use. But what if somebody complains? Is WordPress really going to pay a lawyer to read this article and write an opinion? Or are they just going to shut the Weekly Sift down?
The protests worked, for now. Websites like Wikipedia went dark on Wednesday to protest SOPA/PIPA, and a massive public response forced many lawmakers to change their positions.
But it’s naive to think that’s the end of the story. Corporate money is relentless. When public outrage dies down, we’ll soon see the basic ideas of SOPA/PIPA back in some other form.
In addition to protests, we need a fundamental rethinking of intellectual property. As long as we’re just talking about theft and how to prevent it, we’re missing the point. The right question is how we restore the public/private balance to intellectual property.
We need intellectual property lines that are widely seen as legitimate. When we have that, the problems of trespassing and theft will become much, much smaller and easier to police.A Free Syrian Army fighter carries his weapon as he and fellow fighters escort a convoy of U.N. vehicles carrying a team of United Nations chemical weapons experts at one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Damascus' suburbs of Zamalka, on August 28, 2013. Source: Reuters / Bassam Khabieh
Experts say Saudi Arabia and Turkey are drawing the West into a war, and Russian arms will not help.
The U.S. and its allies are likely to start bombing targets in Syria in the near future. Russian experts believe the real goal is not to destroy the country’s chemical potential but to reduce the combat capability of the government army and secure the victory for the armed opposition.
They also point out that Moscow will have little time to help Damascus with weapons and should focus on diplomatic support, instead.
"This military action will resemble the El Dorado Canyon operation against Muammar Gaddafi in 1986 — not a very long one, not a very costly one," Sergei Demidenko, an expert at the Institute of Strategic Studies and Analysis in Moscow, says in prediction. He is confident that the West will not drag out the air campaign, and it will not start an expensive ground invasion in Syria, either.
According to Demidenko, the United States does not want to intervene in the Syrian conflict — this is not their war. The U.S. is being drawn into the conflict by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. For these countries, the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has become a matter of principle, though they are unable to achieve it on their own.
The question arises: What will happen to targets in Syria that produce and store chemical weapons, if the claimed purpose of the military operation in Syria is the prevention of any further use of these weapons?
"What is at issue here is not the bombing of locations for the storage or production of chemical weapons. If an airstrike is applied on some storage of chemical weapons, you can obtain a result that would be a lot worse than what it was during the recent attack near Damascus," says Andrei Baklitsky, an expert at the PIR Center. He contends that airstrikes would be applied on sites belonging to the armed forces — command posts and communication lines.
Sergei Markov, a political analyst, also believes that Western armies will fight in Syria, in part as mercenaries of Arab monarchies.
"We have a generally accepted view that the U.S. is acting in Syria through the hands of the U.K. and France; but it seems to me that everything is exactly the opposite. It is rather Paris and London who are the leaders, and Washington is following them — and with some resistance,” the analyst says.
“The situation is similar to Libya's. However, in Libya, France at least had a mercantile interest (to gain control over the oil fields), whereas, in the Syrian situation, I think it is the banal bribing of the British and French governments by the Saudis and Qataris. And the money is being given at the government level in the form of contracts, as well as at the personal level,” says Markov.
In this case, the West in Syria, in the pursuit of tactical advantages, is committing huge strategic mistakes, according to Markov. "Unfortunately, we are forced to live in a world where chaos grows strong, and so does the use of military force," the analyst says. "Our partners in Washington, London and Paris are committing gross blunders and acting against their own interests."
"What did the U.S. win from the war in Iraq? Nothing. What did they win from the overthrow of Mubarak? Loss, nothing else. How did they benefit from the overthrow of Gaddafi? Is it the fact that they tore their ambassador to pieces?" says Markov.
In these circumstances, the question arises: What can Moscow do in the days and weeks remaining before the intervention? Experts believe that the only option available on the diplomatic and public relations front is to continue the previous policy of appealing not so much to governments as to Western public opinion.
"Russia needs to focus on the mission of the U.N. inspectors. It is the results of their work that will either give grounds for a military strike against Syria or an opportunity to raise a voice in protest," says Markov.
"Secondly, we must conduct an intensive campaign among the world public opinion, because a bloated majority of people of the West are misinformed: They are being told over and over again that Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons. We should write and say that this was an obvious provocation, and that it was the opposition who committed the chemical attack," the expert says.
Some Russian politicians believe that Moscow should limit itself to diplomatic efforts. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, for example, has called for urgent and massive arms supplies to Syria.
Indeed, an extra supply of anti-ship missiles and air defense systems could theoretically delay or even thwart the attack on Syria. Russia could strengthen Yakhont anti-ship missile systems already delivered to Syria, which have a destruction range of about 250 miles and can hinder actions of the navy of the allies.
As for additional air defense systems, experts believe that the Syrians simply do not have time to deploy them before the attack, whereas the use of Russian military personnel to this end would mean entering the conflict on the side of Damascus. Moreover, any urgent supplies of arms would lead to a further deterioration of relations with the West.
However, as long as the bombing has not begun, there is hope that common sense will prevail. U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have yet to obtain consent from their legislatures. At the forthcoming summit in St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin is likely to make a final attempt to explain to the "friends of Syria" how dangerous their plans are.
Based on materials from Gazeta.ru and Vzglyad.
All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.These four spelling fails from ESPN last night during the Virginia Tech-Florida State game have to be the work of an intern because a full timer would never destroy graphics like this.
We’re still not sure, and it doesn’t matter, if this came from a piece on Heisman contenders or the best quarterbacks in college football. Of course we’re all human. Of course BC will have multiple spelling and grammar errors in the course of a day. The thing is, you only needed to nail one word in these graphics.
It really was a legendary night for ESPN interns. There are fails and then there are these four fails.
Good luck working Richmond vs. Western Kentucky football games on the NBC Sports Network.
Update: @TheGisser also points out that Tajh Boyd’s name is wrong. C’mon, interns!Yesterday, Apple announced two new iPads: the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display. Both carry Apple's speedy new A7 processor, and both come with high-resolution screens. But when the dust settles, Apple will actually carry four different iPads you can buy — including, improbably, the two-and-a-half-year-old iPad 2.
$100 upgrades
At first, Apple's iPad lineup seems perfectly symmetrical. The math makes sense. Small-screen iPads start at $299, big-screen iPads start at $399, and upgrades are $100 each. $299 buys you the original iPad mini, which comes with an Apple A5 processor and a 1024 x 768 non-Retina screen. At the top end, you can spend $499 on an iPad Air and get Apple's flagship tablet, with a Retina display and the latest internals. But at $399 you find yourself at a strange crossroads: you can either go back in time to the $399 iPad 2 with the same internals as the older mini, the outdated 30-pin connector, and a larger screen, or you can step into Apple's future: the $399 iPad mini with the same A7 chip as the iPad Air and a beautiful Retina display.
The problem is that the iPad 2 isn't just a larger product: it's one that's woefully out of date. It's three generations behind the times, and it's far too expensive for what you'll get. Like the $299 iPad mini, it feels a little sluggish running iOS 7. (That A5 processor is only roughly half as fast as the A6X in the fourth-generation iPad, to say nothing of the new A7 chip in the new iPad mini and Air Apple announced yesterday.) But unlike the iPad mini, the iPad 2 doesn't have Siri. It also doesn't support AirDrop, an easy way to share pictures and videos with other Apple devices around you.
Click the image above to compare
For $299, the iPad mini still makes sense despite the aging components inside. You can't get a higher-quality iOS device for the price. But at $399, consumers have to pick between the iPad 2 and the new iPad mini with Retina display, and that's not much of a choice: that mini will be far faster, crisper, more portable and likely more futureproof for the same price.
"It's all about size."
So why does the iPad 2 still exist? Asked at Apple's event, Tim Cook said only that there was still demand for the iPad 2, and Apple wanted to meet it. But the real answer might be simpler still.
"It's all about size," explains Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. "There are a lot of people who walk into a store with their minds already set on a 10-inch tablet or a 7 or 8-inch tablet, and they go from there." Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research, agrees. "For many consumers, that extra inch or so of diagonal real estate is of paramount importance," he says.
There might be a reason for that fixation beyond "bigger is better." Moorhead says there's a conception that 10-inch displays are better for content creation and multitasking, while smaller devices are geared more towards consuming content.
Why not a cheaper iPad 2, then, to make up for the shortcomings? "The reality is that unless you're designing a lower-cost product, it doesn't cost less," says Moorhead. "Lowering the price would only be lowering [Apple's] margins." Rubin thinks that a lower-cost iPad 2 replacement is only a matter of time, but Apple just didn't have the right product at the right price this week. In other words, Apple doesn't yet have the tablet equivalent of an iPhone 5C, one that could offer the appeal of a new product while preserving the company's margins.
Still, Rubin thinks keeping the outdated iPad 2 around could work for Apple, since the company has done the same thing with its smartphones in the past. Both analysts also pointed to the stockpile of existing iPad 2-compatible accessories as a plus for consumers, who will likely be able to get cases and cables cheaper than buying a set for the newer tablets. But the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S are Apple's last products with the aging 30-pin connector, and the accessory market is moving on the newer Lightning interconnect quickly.
"Unless you're designing a lower-cost product, it doesn't cost less."
Until Apple has a modern 10-inch tablet that it can profitably sell for $399, we're stuck with the iPad 2.left) ends a long-established blue line combination that has worked under head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov with Ak Bars and the Russian national team. It’s feeling like the end of an era in Kazan. The summer departure of veteran defensemen Evgeny Medvedev and Ilya Nikulin ) ends a long-established blue line combination that has worked under head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov with Ak Bars and the Russian national team.
Nikulin in particular has been a hugely influential figure – not just for his defensive play but also for his habit of popping up with crucial goals. Fans throughout the KHL will surely recall him as a player to be feared on the power play; the later in the game and the more desperate the situation, the more potent his threat seemed to become.
In Kazan, fans are following Nikulin’s bid for an NHL deal with interest: many are still hoping that he might come back ‘home’ to Tatarstan if things don’t work out across the Atlantic, but Bilyaletdinov himself is looking to the future. “I can understand why players like Medvedev and Nikulin want to try and play in the NHL,” he told Sovietsky Sport during the current pre-season tournament in Nizhny Novgorod. “It’s a good league, and it’s an honor to play there. I’m sure Ilya [Nikulin] will make the right choice and will get his contract over there.”
That future will also be without Alexander Burmistrov and Kirill Petrov, two young forwards heading to the NHL next season. But it will involve plenty more of Bilyaletdinov’s trademark work on special teams: a rigorous, systematic approach to extracting maximum value from the power play was still apparent in Nizhny as Ak Bars downed Salavat Yulaev 5-4 thanks to four power play goals and one short-handed effort.
New faces have arrived: Mattias Sjogren, part of the Swedish squad at the last two World Championships, arrives from Linkopings to beef up the offense. NHL-bound goalie Anders Nilsson is set to be replaced by incoming Finn Jussi Rynnas, back in Europe after failing to establish himself at the Dallas Stars. There’s also a new generation of Kazan defensemen emerging.
right), late of Atlant, is another player returning to his hockey ‘birthplace’ with hopes of establishing himself as a regular. Eduard Nasybullin is back after a season in the QMJHL with the Oceanics. The 19-year-old is hotly tipped as a star of the future and has the chance to show why now that slots have opened up on the blue line at the Tatneft Arena. Albert Yarullin ), late of Atlant, is another player returning to his hockey ‘birthplace’ with hopes of establishing himself as a regular.
Ak Bars’ prospects of improving on last year’s Gagarin Cup final defeat will hinge on how well Bilyaletdinov and his men can find answers to those questions.Reports allege that a dozen ISIS members were killed and many more hospitalized after Syrian rebels poisoned their meals at the Fath El-Sahel camp.
Sources with the Syrian Free Army say that cooks at the camp planned the operation with members of the Syrian Free Army to poison the meals of ISIS members at the camp.
The cooks reportedly poisoned lunches that were to be served later on in the day and were able to flee to safety with their families after the lunches were prepared.
Nearly a dozen ISIS militants have allegedly died from being poisoned, and Pangea Today reports that at least 15 others have been taken to nearby field hospitals for treatment.
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This latest report comes less than two weeks after another report claimed that four ISIS members in Iraq were poisoned by a local resident.
Sources: Pangea Today, Latest.com, Three Percenter Nation
undefinedJos Ruffell, Pete Gillespie and Ian Gillespie of Garage Project aren't strangers to publicity, with one of their latest stunts including producing a Red Peak beer.
Garage Project is brewing up a storm as the fastest-growing company in this year's Deloitte Fast 50.
The Wellington craft brewer recorded more than 660 per cent growth, beating Christchurch construction firm Farrell Group, food company Mad Group and bespoke jeweller Naveya & Sloane.
The Fast 50 is an annual index that measures New Zealand's fastest-growing companies based on three years' growth.
Garage Project also won the national award for fastest-growing manufacturer.
The results were announced at a ceremony at Auckland's Villa Maria wine estate, where a celebration of this year's top 50 followed a day of workshops.
Deloitte private partner Bill Hale said the high level of diversity among this year's Fast 50 companies showed any type of business, from anywhere in New Zealand, could do well with the right approach.
"This is important as it creates job opportunities across more than just the tech industry, and demonstrates that SME businesses can be successful in their niche with good strategy and good execution," he said
"What's more, the high percentage of first-timers and the large number of smaller companies with revenue under $5 million suggests that there is plenty more growing to do for this year's group of companies."
The threshold for entry into this year's Fast 50 was 194 per cent growth and the top seven companies had three-year growth rates of more than 500 per cent.
Almost half the companies on the list were from the Auckland and upper North Island.
Dairy products company Lewis Road Creamery was named the 2015 national Rising Star, an award won by My Food Bag in 2014.
The Rising Star awards recognise early-stage, high-potential companies.
Farrell Group, the Fast-50 runner-up, won the national fastest growing services business award and third-ranked Mad Group won the national retail or consumer products business award.
Vend won the national award for fastest-growing technology business and The Collective won the national fastest-growing exporter award.
The award for the fastest-growing agribusiness went to Compass Agribusiness Management, while EBOS won the fastest-growing mature business award.Songwriter Don McLean – perhaps best known for his classic 1971 song “American Pie” – was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence Monday morning in his home in Camden, Maine, PEOPLE confirms.
A spokesman for the Knox County Jail confirms to PEOPLE McLean spent several hours there this morning and was released after 11:30 a.m. on an unspecified amount of bail.
“He’s not the first celebrity we’ve dealt with and he won’t be the last,” says Corporal Bradley Woll.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Police were called to McLean’s home just before 2 a.m. Monday morning, Woll says. Woll would not discuss the allegations against McLean in any detail, and would not discuss exactly what led to the 70-year-old musician’s arrest.
McLean’s wife, Patrisha, is a photographer who regularly exhibits her work.
McLean rose to prominence during the early 1970s with “American Pie,” a song that has since been covered by dozens of artists, including Madonna.
McLean is booked for an Australian tour in March.
Woll did not know whether McLean had legal representation.
A rep for McLean could not be reached for comment.John, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou
In 1199 King John inherited not only the British throne, but also extensive lands in Western France, acquired by his father Henry II through inheritance, war and circumstance, and defended during his reign by his brother Richard I against the King of France. During much of his reign John was at war with France, and by the time of his death in 1216 the French empire was substantially lost.
As a feudal king, John was landlord of his entire empire. The occupiers of the great rural estates, the barons, were tenants of the king, and held the land in return for allegiance to the crown. This entailed providing military support, and the payment of a complex system of taxes to secure favours and privileges: land, position, release from law or custom. The king’s taxes filtered down to others in rents, duties and fines.
King John exploited and abused the traditional sources of revenue. Desperate for money to wage wars in defence of his estates, John demanded unprecedented amounts in ‘scutage’, or money from his tenants in lieu of providing knights for the king’s service. He was intemperate and at times cruel in his manner of enforcing his rights from his land-holders and from the church, and unjust in his treatment of people at all levels. There was no redress against the absolute power of the king.
Barons who resisted paying the excessive levies had their lands confiscated and members of their families taken as hostages. By 1215 rebel barons outnumbered those loyal to John. They united and marched on London from the north and captured the Tower of London on 17 May 1215.
Weakened by a major defeat against the French at Bouvines in July 1214, and disagreements with the Pope, John agreed to negotiate, using Archbishop Stephen Langton as an intermediary. In drawing up a list of demands, the barons looked to earlier times, when kings granted ‘ancient liberties’ in the form of agreements to limitations of their arbitrary powers.
On a meadow at Runnymede, between the king’s court at Windsor and the barons’ camp at Staines, during a week in mid June of 1215, the barons and the king met and agreed to terms which were recorded as a charter of liberties, later known as Magna Carta. The barons pledged fealty to the king, and the king swore that he and his heirs would abide by the conditions of the Charter, ‘in all things and places forever’.
Tomb of King John. Photograph by Mr Christopher Guy, Cathedral Archaeologist. Reproduced by permission of the Chapter of Worcester Cathedral (UK).Where's Gov. Chris Christie? And is New Jersey actually going to get that 23-cent gas tax hike that state lawmakers passed on Friday after all? If so, when?
There was a sense of mystery floating around Trenton over the weekend as the governor virtually disappeared from public view following the video revelation of lewd comments made by Donald Trump in 2005.
The revelation by The Washington Post came about an hour after both houses of the state Legislature approved the Christie-backed gas tax hike, which is supposed to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund.
Perhaps the puzzling state of affairs on the legislation and Christie's whereabouts was best summed up by Luke Margolis, a spokesman for Senate President Steve Sweeney, when asked about the fate of the gas tax bill.
"No idea, sorry!" he wrote in an email to Patch.
Some press releases from Christie, who is one of Trump's strongest surrogates as he seeks election to the presidency, were released Friday morning reflecting some support for the gas tax hike.
Read more: Who Voted For New Jersey's 23-Cent Gas Tax Hike?
Since then, however, the Christie administration's communication hasn't gone past a release of daily schedules. Every day, his office has said he will have no public schedule. The state offices were closed on Monday because of Columbus Day.
His spokesman, Brian Murray, only had this to say when asked if there was any word about Christie's next step on the gas tax:
"Not yet."
Christie also was not at the presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday, according to Newsmax and CNN.
"The official line is he has important business to tend to New Jersey," CNN reporter Dana Bash replied. "But he always has important business to tend to in New Jersey, and yet he has found an incredible amount of time in his schedule to help his good friend Donald Trump through thick and thin."Breaking News at Newsmax.com
Christie's only appearance came on Saturday, when The Philadelphia Inquirer captured him as he entered Trump Tower, presumably for debate prep with the GOP presidential nominee.
Even then, however, Christie didn't speak to reporters.
Christie arrives at Trump Tower wearing a Mets hoodie, remains silent on Donald Trump video https://t.co/SttDq2NDXm pic.twitter.com/5qHf4S4xub
— Philly.com (@phillydotcom) October 8, 2016
Christie also was expected to appear on at least one Sunday show, presumably to act as a surrogate for Trump. Once the lewd comments were made public, however, the schedule changed.
Christie bails on @jaketapper for 2nd time this cycle. Highly unusual. Even he couldn't Trumpsplain Friday's video? https://t.co/9kxDCfe4tO
— Matt Katz (@mattkatz00) October 9, 2016
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, meanwhile, broke with Chrisitie and announced on Twitter on Saturday that she's not voting for Trump.
Others have taken to social media and elsewhere and asked the same question: Where in the world is Chris Christie?
CHRIS CHRISTIE silent on Trump -- HOBOKEN terminal partially reopening -- GARRETT's political payback? https://t.co/jDS3YJkrC1
— Matt Friedman (@MattFriedmanNJ) October 10, 2016
where in the world is Chris Christie?....Christie maintains silence on Trump video https://t.co/vG2bhbx61t via @AsburyParkPress
— Paul D'Ambrosio (@Paul_DAmbrosio) October 10, 2016
Christie was reported to have helped Trump w/ town hall debate prep. But none of his style came through in St. Louis https://t.co/GTsKHsjk64
— Dustin Racioppi (@dracioppi) October 10, 2016
Patch file photoSri Kanda, the Sacred Mountain rising majestically above the equatorial island of Taprobane, bears silent witness to the hazardous lives of two obsessed men.
King Kalidasa, tyrant of the second century, murderous usurper of an ancient kingdom, sought to reach heaven by creating his lofty Pleasure Garden, with their towering fountains and the panorama of |
1, Japan says nuclear energy is still among its vital sources of electricity. This comes after three years of nationwide calls to shut down nuclear plants – and pledges to reduce dependency on nuclear.
The government in Tokyo has said it would restart nuclear reactors, but only those that meet new safety standards put in place after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, AP reported. Japan has 48 commercial nuclear reactors, but all are presently shut down until they pass new safety standards.
The draft of the Basic Energy Plan advised that a combination of nuclear energy, renewables and coal-burning fuel will be the most reliable sources of electricity to meet the nation's growing energy needs.
The document, however, failed to establish the exact mix ratio, citing uncertain factors such as the number of reactors that will be brought online and whether renewable energy can be introduced in a timely manner.
Cabinet members had planned to present the draft in January, but a proposal submitted by an expert panel was deemed to be too pro-nuclear. Many Japanese citizens in the wake of Fukushima – the world's worst nuclear meltdown since the Chernobyl accident in April, 1986 – have expressed their opposition to nuclear power, and are pressing the government to come up with safer means of producing energy.
Tuesday's draft placed more emphasis on renewable energy resources.
Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, told reporters that "in principle, the direction has not changed." He called for greater strides in the development of renewable energy over the next several years.
Japan has accumulated many tons of spent fuel, as well as a stockpile of extracted plutonium, stirring up international concerns about nuclear proliferation. Officials have said the most effective method for reducing the plutonium is to reopen the nuclear reactors to burn it.
Japan's previous energy plan, compiled in 2010, called for increasing nuclear power to about 50 percent of the nation's energy needs by 2030 from about 30 percent before the Fukushima disaster forced a rethink about the technology.Dark Talk Of A Rigged Election Signals New Emphasis For Trump Campaign
Enlarge this image toggle caption Evan Vucci/AP Evan Vucci/AP
Traditionally, candidates do not complain about an election being rigged until they have actually lost. But 2016 is not a traditional year, and Donald Trump is no traditional candidate.
Allegations of media conspiracy, partisan collusion and Election Day shenanigans have become a staple of Trump's rally speeches and Twitter blasts. In his widely quoted tweet on Sunday, he was characteristically blunt: "The election is absolutely being rigged by the dishonest and distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary — but also at many polling places — SAD."
Doubling down on Monday, Trump tweeted: "Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day."
Suggestions of dark doings at the ballot box, hinted at in earlier phases of the campaign, have become a central theme for Trump in October — especially since accusations of sexual assault threatened to overwhelm his campaign. Surrogates such as Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich thumped that tub over the weekend; and after running mate Mike Pence had failed to do so on Sunday on NBC, he turned up in Ohio Monday talking "voter fraud" and recruiting party poll-watchers from the crowd.
The villains in this speculative narrative usually include the media (especially those reporting on women who have accused Trump of sexual assault), the Hillary Clinton campaign and compliant local officials who might allow skulduggery at actual election sites. Trump has also added "global financial interests" to his list of shadowy conspirators "against you, the American people."
That message resonates in some quarters. If you listen to the pollsters these days, most of what they say sounds bad for Trump. But the notion that something is rigged is finding an audience. The idea, and the term itself, were a hit for Bernie Sanders at his rallies earlier this year when he was challenging Clinton for the Democratic nomination. So far, it seems to be working for Trump, as well.
A poll by Politico and Morning Consult done Oct. 13-15 found only 28 percent of registered voters feeling "very confident" their votes would be counted accurately. Among Trump supporters, only 15 percent felt that way. It appears then that, after several weeks of negative stories and adverse developments, the Trump team has decided to change the subject to something the voters respond to.
Some in GOP dissent
As usual, there are other Republican voices with a different hymnbook. House Speaker Paul Ryan has expressed full confidence that "the states will carry out this election with integrity." And Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, also a Republican, called out the Trump campaign for its attacks, calling them irresponsible.
In fact, extensive studies by various independent researchers over recent years have found surprisingly few cases of in-person voter fraud. The idea that such infractions could happen on a mass scale according to some master plan ignores the decentralized structure of the American voting system. The Constitution left the administration of elections to the states that, in turn, delegate the job to hundreds and thousands of local authorities, clerks and volunteers.
Nonetheless, the threat of ineligible voters voting (or the eligible voting more than once) remains vivid in Americans' political imagination. It is a reliable source of humor, yes, but also of distrust. There are memories of sketchy vote counts in Chicago in the 1960 presidential election, or in the 1948 Texas Senate race won by future president Lyndon B. Johnson.
More recently, fears of fraud have been stirred by rising numbers of immigrants and visions of noncitizens in voting booths. More than 30 states have moved to tighten their voting requirements in recent years, often prompting pushback from the courts — including, most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court.
Trump himself tends to cast doubt on vote counting only in certain highly specific venues. He has referred to "some precincts" in cities such as "Philadelphia" that "need watching." This follows a longstanding contention in conservative media that voters were intimidated by African-Americans at some urban precincts in the 2008 election.
An article of conservative faith
But what makes the current critique from the Trump campaign more telling for his supporters is its conjunction with a separate indictment — the media. For as long as tales of voter fraud have had currency among conservatives, the notion of liberal media bias has been an article of faith for even longer. The two make a potent combination.
There is an irony here. Trump rose above a large field of rivals in the GOP primaries in large part because he made such a compelling story — especially for cable TV. His rallies and other appearances were often carried in their entirety, while other Republican presidential hopefuls could scarcely get a mention.
Nonetheless, as his prospects have faltered, Trump has increasingly blamed the media. That includes both the news media and the entertainment media, such as the Saturday Night Live episodes that feature a Trump parody by actor Alec Baldwin. Trump sent a Twitter blast against that show hours after it aired over the weekend. The show should be canceled, he said; it's not funny anymore.
But Trump's main antagonists are still the news people. He has been especially at odds with The New York Times, which he is said to read obsessively. He has demanded a retraction for the Times story about two women he allegedly groped in years past. And he has denied categorically all of the alleged assaults that have been detailed in the Times and elsewhere since The Washington Post released an NBC video of Trump himself describing his sexual exploits in offensive language.
Trump can also point to the remarkable array of newspaper editorial boards aligned against him. Even some papers that had never endorsed a Democrat for president, such as the Arizona Republic and the Cincinnati Enquirer, have done so this fall. Several other regular GOP endorsers have opted instead for Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson. No major daily paper has so far backed Trump. USA Today, which has never endorsed anyone for president, published an extraordinary editorial urging readers not to vote for Trump.
Such a phalanx of opposition can be read as an extraordinary critique of the candidate, of course, but for Trump supporters it is obviously an indictment of the media. Frequent surrogate Newt Gingrich has said that without the media ganging up on him, Trump would be ahead of Clinton "by 15 points."
Playing a longer game?
Some believe that Trump is focusing on the media now not to turn around the polls but in hopes of building a movement after the election. If he loses, he will have a following among those who think he was denied the White House unfairly or by media moguls in collusion with the Clinton campaign.
All this folds neatly into another conspiracy theory — one that is popular, you guessed it, with the media. It has Trump reorganizing his post-election empire around a new enterprise, a cable TV network that will either be built from scratch or grafted onto a pre-existing TV operation. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was reported Monday to be talking to potential investors in New York about just such a project.
Some have surmised that Roger Ailes, the political ad-maker and legendary TV producer who invented Fox News in the 1990s, might run the new Trump TV (or "helm" it, as they say in Variety). Ailes is no longer at Fox, having been forced out by lawsuits over his own sexual behavior.
Whether or not Ailes would be interested in a Trump alliance down the road, he has not been prominent in the campaign apparatus to date. That is notable given Ailes' involvement with Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan — helping make those men winners in a total of four presidential elections.
Although friendly with Trump at times, Ailes has seemed at arm's length in recent weeks — and his influence has not been in evidence in Trump's first two debate performances.Perfect for summer suppers or entertaining, this layered salad has all my favorite ingredients like fresh spinach, tortellini, tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions and (last, but certainly not least) bacon – all topped off with creamy homemade Parmesan Ranch Dressing.
Make individual servings in pint-size mason jars or layer this salad in a glass 13×9 pan; you can also do multiple layers in a trifle bowl for large groups. Make it your own by adding any of of your favorites such as bell peppers or olives.
Layered Tortellini and Spinach Salad
Ingredients:
fresh baby spinach
cheese tortellini, cooked according to package directions
cherry tomatoes
mushrooms, sliced
green onions, sliced
bacon, cooked and diced
Parmesan ranch dressing (recipe here)
Instructions:
Layer spinach, tortellini, tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions and top with ranch dressing. Sprinkle with bacon bits. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.Since the outbreak of war in Syria, Turkey’s predicaments have forced it to turn a number of its red lines to yellow lines. Now, Turkey seems to be taking a step back on the Kurdish issue.
A sensitive topic these days is whether the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) — the prime mover behind the push for “democratic autonomy” in northern Syria — will be invited to the Syrian National Dialogue Congress that Russia is organizing in Sochi. In return for cooperating with Moscow and Tehran in the Astana process, Ankara wants to get dividends on the Kurdish issue. Ankara's two critical demands are known: a green light for a military move on Afrin to uproot affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and the PYD’s exclusion from the Sochi congress.
On Dec. 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the seventh time this year, flying to Ankara in a whirlwind regional tour, which also included a visit to Syria's Khmeimim air base, where he ordered the Russian military to begin its withdrawal from the country. According to Deutsche Welle’s Turkish service, Erdogan reiterated his objections to PYD attendance in Sochi. Putin responded with a proposal for the participation of non-PYD Kurds. Erdogan reportedly raised no objections to this formula. “Diplomatic sources who closely followed the meeting say Erdogan and Putin agreed that the Syrian National Dialogue Congress can convene with the participation of Kurds other than the PYD,” according to the report.
The two leaders shared few details about their talks in remarks to the press after the meeting. Erdogan spoke of discussions on “additional steps” in Syria. “We will contribute to the Geneva process with the aim of finding a permanent solution in Syria,” he said.
Putin said, “During the trilateral meeting of the Russian, Iranian and Turkish presidents on Nov. 22 [in Sochi], we reached certain agreements concerning [political settlement in Syria]. Now it is important to go through with them. In particular, we continue to work together on preparations for the Syrian National Dialogue Congress to be held early next year. The plan is for the congress participants to analyze issues … such as future state structure, adopting a constitution and holding constitution-based elections under the supervision of the United Nations.”
Referring to the Astana process, Putin added, “We continue to maintain the cease-fire and ensure stability in the de-escalation zones and to increase trust between the conflicting parties. … I would like to note the positive contribution of the Turkish Republic and President Erdogan to the reconciliation between the parties.”
Russia’s initial invite list for Sochi included 33 parties and groups. It had extended two invitations to the PYD in terms of separate delegations from Qamishli and Kobani. The Kurds have now changed their approach — both because of the prospect that the PYD would be unable to attend under its own banner and because of its desire to have the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria included as a whole. Members of the self-rule administration are now seeking ways to get around Turkey's objections and ensure the participation of all ethnic elements involved in the autonomy movement, and not only the Kurds. To do so, they have drawn up a list of numerous figures and groups involved in the Democratic Federation rather than institutional parties.
Due to Turkey’s reservations, the congress has been twice postponed. Originally scheduled to take place in November, the congress was then postponed to December and now January. The Kurds have adopted a flexible approach that could facilitate Putin’s efforts.
Abdul Karim Omar, a top foreign relations official in the Jazeera canton, attended the Kurds’ Dec. 3 meeting with Russian generals in Deir ez-Zor. He told Al-Monitor that the Kurds gave the Russians a list of 140 names representing all communities in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, including Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Assyrians, Chechens and Turkmens. After the initial invitation to the congress in November, he said, officials from Russia's Foreign and Defense ministries visited the region to discuss the issue.
“The invitation we received was on the behalf of all communities in the democratic self-rule administration and northern Syria,” Omar said. “The PYD is only one of the parties in this structure. All meetings, visits and contacts abroad are taking place on the behalf of the democratic self-rule administration.”
Underscoring that the self-rule administration comprises various ethnic groups, he added, “We have no fixation on attending [the Sochi congress] under the PYD name. We are seeking to attend all international meetings under the name of the self-rule administration.”
All 140 people on the list would go to Sochi on behalf of the Democratic Federation, he said, adding that they would seek to attend the Geneva talks and other future meetings as either the self-rule administration or the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.
Asked about any contacts with Damascus on participation in Sochi and Geneva, Omar said, “We have absolutely no communication with the regime regarding [any] settlement. Late last year, we had a meeting with the regime at Khmeimim through the mediation of the Russians. The regime, however, was not ready for any settlement. Since then, we have had no meeting with them on a political solution.”
The new formula designed for Sochi offers Turkey a dignified, honorable exit as it keeps the PYD away from the spotlight. Yet Ankara’s essential aim is to prevent any pro-PKK, self-rule administration from maturing and gaining a de jure status across its border. This, in fact, is what Turkey expects as an end result from its partnership with Russia. At the same time, however, Turkey is aware that a solution excluding actors who control one-third of Syria’s territory (under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces) cannot be a real solution and could also pave the way for US entrenchment in the region. This awareness appears to be producing some flexibility.
Meanwhile, one peculiar expectation seems to be softening Ankara. Although the democratic self-rule project has advanced from Iraqi Kurdistan to the western banks of the Euphrates, Ankara has focused its objection on Afrin, as if things will let up once the PYD flag comes down in this particular area. The talk in Ankara is about a scenario in which Damascus takes over Afrin. It may sound like black humor, but a Turkish official knowledgeable on the issue — quoted last week by Haberturk columnist Muharrem Sarikaya — believes that Afrin could change hands overnight. “They could suddenly go away one night. The PYD and PKK armed forces could be gone, bag and baggage, with only the local population left,” the official said. According to the official, Damascus — with Russia’s help — would let the PYD know that it wants to take control of Afrin and would appoint its own local administrator. Thus, someone appointed by Damascus would govern Afrin.
One must be quite detached from reality to argue that the PYD or its armed wing, the People’s Protection Units, could vanish overnight from Afrin. Still, the comments offer an important hint of what Ankara has in mind for a face-saving exit from Syria. There is no doubt that what actually happens in the north will be decided through negotiations. Still, flying the Syrian flag at the border, along with some other symbolic steps, could serve the Kurds as well as the Syrian government, since both of them want Turkey to withdraw all the elements it has thrust into Syria. Having failed to achieve its goals, Ankara could see a surgical operation in Afrin as the way to make an honorable exit from Syria and start rebuilding bridges with Damascus.FROM: High Command
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PRECEDENCE: Flash
SITUATION
Preparations for the 1.58 main branch update are beginning to kick off this week on the #RoadToApex. That means we'll be creating a snapshot of the data and code, and we'll start organizing an intensive testing period. Besides regular maintenance of the platform and game, the update is to include the Tasks Overhaul. Several additional improvements are being mobilized for Dev-Branch deployment this week. We're quite excited about those, but their inclusion into this particular update is still unsure. Keep your sights trained on our channels for more information as well as details about Release Candidate tests starting.
INTELLIGENCE
The mod team behind FFAA has published another development update in a SITREP of their own. Read all about their progress on the forums, but especially take a look at the accompanying video. The Spanish Navy B.A.M. offshore patrol ship, with functional components and weapon systems, looks especially impressive.
Community author RedKeyMon has published a lovely screenshot of a pilot and his wingman flying jets above Altis. But that's certainly not the only cool shot posted to the Steam Community Hub. Another great source for visual stimulation is the Arma subreddit, which this gallery and this one clearly show. Check those channels out for yourself every now and then; we find the activity both inspiring and motivating!
OPERATIONS
If there's one feature we're eager to add to Eden Editor, it's the ability to create and share custom compositions. We're happy to let you know that a first version should be arriving to Dev-Branch very soon. Select a mix of entities of any type, and save the composition under its own name, with an associated author and category. These compositions will be saved as new kind of file (SQE), separate from scenarios, so you can manage and share them manually if you wish. Of course we'll want these to be shareable on Steam Workshop as well, but that may take a little longer.
Meanwhile, we've added an option to disable the random starting position for the editor. The randomization is intended to expose interesting locations to users, but we can imagine it being less useful in the workflow of some advanced designers. Go to "Settings" and then "Preferences..." (or Ctrl + K) to find the toggle.
LOGISTICS
As was announced last week, the Linux and Mac ports have been updated to 1.54 (Nexus Update). Given longer testing in-the-wild, and based on your feedback, we've adjusted the minimum and recommended system requirements for these ports specifically (they differ from the Windows version). Further information, such as known issues, is being collected on our Community Wiki. We'd also like to remind users that the Steam beta branches should not be used for the port platforms. There is no way for us to hide them just for Linux and Mac. Selecting them should not download any data, but if it does, that data would be incompatible. Stay on main branch for the ports please. And be sure to let us and Virtual Programming know about your experiences with this version on our forums!Previous Ixalan Set Reviews
Limited:
Constructed:
Let’s take a look at the grading scale, with the usual caveat that what I write about the card is more relevant, as there are many factors that aren’t reflected in a card’s grade.
Ratings Scale
5.0: Multi-format all-star. (Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Tarmogoyf. Snapcaster Mage.)
4.0: Format staple. (Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy. Collected Company. Remand.)
3.5: Good in multiple archetypes and formats, but not a staple. (Jace Beleren. Radiant Flames. Shambling Vent.)
3.0: Archetype staple. (Jace, Architect of Thought. Zulaport Cutthroat. Explosive Vegetation.)
2.5: Role-player in some decks, but not quite a staple. (Jace, Memory Adept. Anticipate. Transgress the Mind.)
2.0: Niche card. Sideboard or currently unknown archetype. (Jace, the Living Guildpact. Naturalize. Duress.) Bear in mind that many cards fall into this category, although an explanation is obviously important.
1.0: It has seen play once. (One with Nothing). (I believe it was tech vs. Owling Mine, although fairly suspicious tech at that.)
Arcane Adaptation
Constructed: 2.0
It’s cute that this makes everything in every zone the appropriate type, as that opens the door for many more combos. Of course, in Constructed you are also just allowed to put as many cards of the right tribe into your deck as you want, so I’m not sure it’s worth adapting your deck to fit this in.
Chart a Course
Constructed: 3.0
I really hope there’s a blue beatdown deck around, because a 2-mana draw 2 is quite a Constructed playable. I like that this is perfectly castable early if you need to smooth out your draws, and just gets better once you do start attacking. It might be hard to find a tempo-based blue deck that can utilize this, but the power is there.
Daring Saboteur
Constructed: 2.0
There may be enough going on here to make it interesting, as a 2-cost looter that has evasion later is decent. It strikes me as a bit too expensive, so my guess is that you are sabotaging your chances if you play it.
Deadeye Quartermaster
Constructed: 2.0
I love me a Trinket (or Treasure, or Trophy) Mage, and I can’t help but like the idea of Quartermaster. Still, I’m not blind to the extra mana, and that probably kills my dreams dead. I think it’s sweet and would like to keep an eye on it, even if I can admit it’s a bit pricey.
Deeproot Waters
Constructed: 2.0
I’m not gonna lie—making an army of 1/1 hexproof Merfolk sounds sweet. Goblinslide never came close to being close to good enough, but shaving a mana off the ability makes a world of difference. This could be a sideboard card in Merfolk for attrition matchups, though I’m not holding my breath.
Dreamcaller Siren
Constructed: 3.0
If there really is a Faeries-like tempo Pirate deck in Standard, this Siren seems very alluring. It adds a lot of power to the board, and can easily swing races in your favor. If does require support, but in midrange creature-based formats, this is a powerful card.
Entrancing Melody
Constructed: 2.0
Every control magic is worth looking at, though this particular one is expensive enough that I’m immune to its charms. It does steal tokens nicely, so keep that in mind if there is a deck that generates zero-cost tokens at a high enough rate.
Favorable Winds
Constructed: 3.0
A 2-mana Glorious Anthem is a big enough payoff that it’s worth building around, and there are a lot of cheap flyers running (flying) around that the outlook looks favorable.
Jace, Cunning Castaway
Constructed: 2.5
I’m not super high on Jace, though I do appreciate that he ushered in a rules change. Finally I can flip Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy while I have Jace, the Mind Sculptor in play in Vintage, something that comes up surprisingly often for me. As for the most cunning of castaways—in a blue tempo deck, this looks like a good way to punish control decks. Looting and ticking up to a cheap ultimate is powerful, and in a pinch this can make some 2/2s to defend himself. Any 3-mana planeswalker is worth looking at, and I guarantee you this is better than it looks (judging from how many people seem to think he’s insultingly bad, which he’s not). That said, blue tempo decks are few and far between, and that is what it will take to make Jace a card you want to cast and not just a castaway.
Kopala, Warden of Waves
Constructed: 2.5
The comparison to Kira, Great Glass-Spinner is obvious and not unwarranted. In older formats, I think I prefer Kira, as letting the opponent pay 2 mana to get out of the lock is pretty annoying. That said, this stops Abrupt Decay from being played, and Decay cuts right through Kira’s protection, so that’s a relevant enough interaction to be worth trying. Plus, this is an actual Merfolk, and gets all the benefits that spring from that. Standard waved goodbye to Kira many years ago, and Kopala is the only game in town. It seems good enough to try in a fast Merfolk deck, as it can punish reactive decks nicely.
Lookout’s Dispersal
Constructed: 3.0
There are sure a lot of cards that work well with Pirates, and aggro-control decks with flash creatures and cheap counterspells have done well historically. I’d look out for a deck that can utilize a good chunk of the 1- and 2-mana Pirates, because a 2-mana counter in that deck sounds quite good. This needs to cost 2 most of the time to be good, though the fail case of paying 3 is one I can live with.
Opt
Constructed: 3.5
While this competes with Hieroglyphic Illumination in Standard thanks to Torrential Gearhulk, it’s still a great option to have (and is relevant in Modern as well). Cheap blue cantrips that help card selection tend to be really good, and this adds a lot of punch to Snapcaster Mage decks in Modern and any blue deck in Standard that can afford to spend mana early to increase consistency.
Perilous Voyage
Constructed: 2.5
Scry 2 is perilously close to drawing a card, making this an interesting one for Constructed. There are a lot of cheap cards to bounce, and hitting any nonland card goes a long way. I dislike that you can’t bounce your own stuff, since that does limit what this can do by a reasonable amount.
River Sneak
Constructed: 2.5
How good River Sneak is rests solely upon the shoulders of my favorite tribe, Merfolk. I love the deck in Modern and Legacy, and this may help it sneak into Standard as well. If it’s a reliable 2/2 unblockable for 2, that’s decent, and if it hits 3 power often enough it could be great. The bar is pretty high to make into Modern, so I’m a little skeptical of that, especially since the lords present in older formats already do a good job of preventing blocks.
Search for Azcanta
Constructed: 3.0
I’m really digging this. It offers selection for a couple turns before flipping into a really sweet land, and even functions as a kind of acceleration for some expensive spells. This slots perfectly into control decks, and acts as a deck-smoother and card advantage engine/finisher all in one. If it wasn’t legendary it would be much better, but even as is you can probably get away with multiples (and decline to flip the second one).
Shaper Apprentice
Constructed: 2.0
A 2/1 flyer for 2 isn’t quite good enough in a vacuum, but tribal synergies do matter. I’m still not seeing the big Merfolk payoff in Standard, unfortunately, which is what it would take to get this into playable shape.
Siren Stormtamer
Constructed: 3.0
Cursecatcher and Judge’s Familiar have done plenty of work over the years, so I’m not dismissing a new version out of hand. Adding a mana to the cost really hurts in fast formats, but in something like Standard, I could see this making its mark. Being able to counter spells or abilities even in the late game is strong, and if there’s a deck that really wants 1/1 flyers, this is perfect.
Spell Pierce
Constructed: 3.5
Like Duress, I love having Spell Pierce legal. It’s a great sideboard card and sometimes even a main-deck option, and it adds a lot of counterplay and interesting lines to Standard. It’s no longer safe to slam planeswalkers into 1 open mana, and punishing expensive cards is fine by me (even if I get the short end of that).
Spell Swindle
Constructed: 2.5
This is better than Mana Drain when you resolve it, which is high praise indeed. Of course, costing 2.5 times as much is a real drawback, but if you can land this on a Gearhulk or something you get really far ahead. This also pays for itself right away, making it a great way to answer the end-of-turn bait spell. This might not be the format for it yet, but I think Spell Swindle could actually be a playable 1- or 2-of.
Storm Fleet Aerialist
Constructed: 2.5
This is an aggressive Pirate for this hypothetical tempo deck that’s going to take Standard by storm. It is a good deal if you raid it, and can be a start to some pretty nice draws with enough playable 1- and 2-drops.
Top 3 Blue Cards
3. Search for Azcanta
2. Spell Pierce
1. Opt
I like what Spell Pierce and Opt add to the format, and Search for Azcanta is a sweet build-around. Blue gets some good additions to control and tempo decks, and I’m curious if Pirates or Merfolk can get there.On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher stated President Trump is the worst person of all-time and compared the Senate healthcare bill to a manifesto by the Zodiac Killer.
Maher began by saying Trump is “the worst person ever.”
He added, “Democrats have to stop losing elections, because — sorry Republican viewers, I love you, but the wrong people are in power. And they are not afraid to use that power. And let me tell you, they are full of good ideas. This week, a Republican Congressman introduced a bill to make it legal for senators and representatives to carry firearms at work, there at the Capitol. Which sounds like a good plan, until [Senator] John McCain’s (R-AZ) cell phone rings and he answers his gun.”
Maher later said that the Senate healthcare bill is “More like a manifesto from the Zodiac Killer. They should’ve published this by cutting out letters from the newspaper.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchettBitcoin Bank of England Doomsday Scenario Paints Positive Outlook for Bitcoin
Doomsday scenarios are not very popular for an obvious reason, but now and then, it is important to consider what would happen if push came to shove. Bank of England posted their doomsday scenario, to reveal how UK banks would deal with a massive economic shock. While it is important to keep in mind most of these events will most likely not happen anytime soon, it gives valuable insights as to why Bitcoin is so important.
Also read: Bitcoin Heist: The Full Length Crypto-Themed Film
The Bank of England Doomsday Scenario
Depending on who you pose the question to, banks will either be around for a very long time, or for a handful of years. This has lead to a scenario drafted by the Bank of England to see what would – most likely- happen if the world of finance would see another major shock or disruption.
Some of the points raised in this doomsday scenario are not that unrealistic. Over the past few months, the Chinese economy has undergone some changes, and even though the country is still on target with its growth, a slump could prove to be fatal to some major banks. It would take a major disruption to slow down the growth to catastrophic levels, but the world of finance is very unpredictable since the crisis of 2008.
China is not the only concern for Bank of England and their doomsday scenario, though. Deflation in the UK and across Europe leads to weaker world trade and commodity prices. As the Euro has been struggling for quite some time now to keep its value, further deflation could push the EUR value to new lows in the not-so-distant future.
While a declining oil price sounds like music to the ears of consumers, it’s not healthy for the global economy at all. Prices are currently sitting around the US$40 mark per barrel, whereas oil used to be in the US$120-150 price range for quite some time. For countries relying on oil export, falling prices are anything but good news.
But perhaps the biggest threat comes from the US, where the US Dollar is on a rampage at the moment. At this rate, the US Dollar will reach parity with the Euro before Christmas 2015, and there is no end in sight for the value increase. The economy in the United States has recovered relatively well, and interest rates may – finally – be raised.
Bitcoin Is The Solution
Regardless of how anyone wants to look at it, the squabble between different local fiat currencies is destabilizing the global economy. If financial experts truly want to create a stable economic level all over the world, we will need to transition to a global currency. Right now, Bitcoin is the only suitable candidate, as it works the same in every country and has no central oversight.
However, it is that lack of oversight that makes Bitcoin less appealing to financial experts all over the world. In the end, it won’t matter how they feel about Bitcoin, as the digital currency is becoming more popular every month. For now, all of these currencies peacefully co-exist, but times are changing rapidly.
What are your thoughts on this doomsday scenario by Bank of England? How realistic is this concept? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: CNN Money
Images courtesy of Bank of England, ShutterstockMorgan previously played for Ireland before making his England debut in 2009
England one-day captain Eoin Morgan was the victim of a five-figure blackmail attempt after an alleged relationship with an Australian woman five years ago, cricket chiefs have revealed.
Police were contacted by the England and Wales Cricket Board, which says the matter has now been resolved.
The ECB will not seek further action "at this stage" against the Australian man involved, who has since apologised.
He had emailed the ECB, threatening to contact media in the UK and Australia.
"I am pleased this issue has now been brought to a swift conclusion," said ECB managing director Paul Downton.
The incident related to a brief relationship Morgan was said to have had with the Australian woman five years ago, the ECB said in a statement.
It added that the Australian man is the current partner of the woman, and had blamed "jealousy" when confronted by police.
Dublin-born Morgan, 28, was appointed England one-day captain after Alastair Cook was removed from his ODI position last month.
Morgan is currently in Australia with the England team, participating in a triangular series with Australia and India, a prelude to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand starting on 14 February.
England's next match is against Australia in Hobart on Friday.News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch personally told one of his former tabloid editors to have someone followed, according to a documentary that aired Monday night on Australian TV.
Ita Buttrose, former editor-in-chief of Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph, told ABC’s Australian Story that Murdoch instructed her to have a subject tailed because legitimate reporting techniques were not producing the desired results.
“I assigned a reporter to do it but [Murdoch] wasn’t happy with the result and said, ‘No, that wasn’t good enough. Have you followed this person?'” she recalled.
“I can’t give this instruction,” Buttrose later told then-News Limited chief executive Ken Cowley. “I’m not having anybody that works for me, for whom I’m responsible, follow anybody. I don’t want to be a part of it.”
Murdoch’s Australian-based News Limited vehemently denied the accusation.
“Mr. Murdoch has never asked any journalist to do anything improper,” a spokesman said.
“Mr. Cowley has never been asked by Mr. Murdoch to have a reporter conduct surveillance of any kind on any individual and nor would he have agreed to it had he been asked by Mr Murdoch or anyone else,” he added.
Buttrose said that in the end, the matter was “dropped.”
“If you run a newspaper there’s a responsibility that goes with it, and sometimes you have to be able to say to the boss, no, I don’t think we should go down this path.”
Watch this video from ABC’s This Week, broadcast Aug. 21, 2011.There is one summary for S.792. Bill summaries are authored by CRS.
Shown Here:
Introduced in Senate (04/23/2013)
Exp |
. I have been busy over the last few months creating digital and printable writing resources that teachers can utilize with Google Slides to offer students options with their writing.
Use these resources to teach a focus lesson, allow students to brainstorm, begin the drafting process, edit, and complete the final piece as students work at their OWN pace, all in Google Slides.
Here are a few that can be used throughout the course of the school year…
I would love to hear of the innovative ways you are incorporating technology into your Daily 5 structure! Keep me posted on your clever ideas…(CNN) -- Mitt Romney claimed a much-needed victory in Tuesday's Michigan Republican primary, making the race for the GOP presidential nomination anybody's game.
Mitt Romney speaks to supporters after his Michigan win. more photos »
"Tonight marks the beginning of a comeback -- a comeback for America," the former Massachusetts governor said.
"Let's take this campaign to South Carolina and Nevada and Florida and all over the country. Let's take it all the way to the White House," he said to a cheering crowd.
Some political analysts said Michigan was a must-win for Romney, who finished second in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Romney, who won the overshadowed Wyoming caucuses, is a Michigan native and his father was governor of the state in the 1960s.
Forty-one percent of people who voted in the GOP primary said Romney's Michigan ties were important to them, according to exit polls. Watch Romney declare victory »
With 81 percent of precincts reporting, Romney had 39 percent of the vote compared to Arizona Sen. John McCain's 30 percent. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee had 16 percent of the vote, followed by Texas Rep. Ron Paul with 6 percent. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson had 4 percent, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani trailed with 3 percent.
Despite receiving little support from Michigan, Giuliani was happy, according to Steve Forbes, the national co-chair of the Giuliani campaign.
Giuliani has largely skipped the early voting states and devoted his resources to Florida and the delegate-rich "Super Tuesday" states that hold primaries February 5.
"I think the McCain defeat tonight simply underscores how volatile this race is -- how fluid it is, and also underscores how wise Rudy Giuliani was to focus on Florida. We're going to do very well [in Florida]. That means he'll do well on February 5, and that means we're going to get the nomination," Forbes said. Check out the CNN analysis of the results »
Huckabee congratulated Romney after his win, but pledged to take South Carolina's January 19 Republican primary. Watch Huckabee say he's not disappointed »
"It looks like I won Iowa. John McCain won New Hampshire. Mitt Romney won Michigan. But ladies and gentleman, we're going to win South Carolina," Huckabee said.
McCain, who won Michigan in 2000, told his supporters he "didn't mind a fight."
"We're ready for the challenge ahead," he said. "We fell a little short tonight, but we have no cause to be discouraged." Watch McCain congratulate Romney »
On the Democratic side, CNN projected that Sen. Hillary Clinton would win Michigan. See scenes from Michigan's primary »
The New York senator was the only front-runner on the ballot.
Party officials voted to strip Michigan of its Democratic delegates for its decision to schedule the primary so early.
In a show of solidarity with the party, the top-tier Democratic presidential candidates, except for Clinton, asked that their names be removed from the ballot.
But some Democratic leaders in the state urged supporters of Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Clinton's closest rivals, to vote "uncommitted" in the primary.
Under state law, their supporters cannot cast write-in votes for them. But if at least 15 percent of the voters in a congressional district opt for "uncommitted," delegates not bound to any candidate could attend the national convention. That could allow Edwards or Obama supporters to play a role in candidate selection -- if the national party changes its mind and decides to count Michigan's delegates.
With 81 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton had 57 percent of the vote and 38 percent of Democratic primary voters had selected "uncommitted." Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich received 4 percent of the vote.
In 2008, more than in recent campaigns, the delegate count may prove important. Narrow losses -- which still add to a candidate's delegate total -- could keep more than one hopeful in contention.
"For the first time since 1988, this is a delegate race," Clinton aide Howard Wolfson said last week.
Romney was expected to win at least 12 Michigan GOP delegates, according to CNN estimates. McCain was expected to win at least 9. Nine of 30 delegates had not yet been allocated.
Most of Michigan's Republican voters had the same thing on their mind -- the economy, according to exit polling.
A majority of Michigan Republican primary voters -- 55 percent -- said the economy is the most pressing issue facing the nation.
That compares to 18 percent who said Iraq, 14 percent who named illegal immigration, and 10 percent who pointed to terrorism.
Michigan has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country -- 7.4 percent, compared with 5 percent nationally -- and the top-tier Republicans vowed to make the revival of Michigan's economy a priority.
The next contests come Saturday, when the Democrats face off in Nevada and the Republicans fight for South Carolina.
The wide-open GOP race is a sign of ongoing dissatisfaction with the Republican electorate, according to Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for President Bush.
"I think South Carolina will be inconclusive. It's not going to be what it used to be because it's too much of a jumble. Florida will be a vital springboard to February 5," Fleischer said. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Peter Hamby, Alexander Mooney, Rebecca Sinderbrand, Mary Snow and Alexander Marquardt contributed to this report.
All About Michigan • U.S. Presidential ElectionRussia claims to have killed the Islamic State founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But what does that mean? Does it even matter?
The Islamic State continues to lose terrain by the hour, finding itself besieged on every front. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) have jointly secured the majority of al Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State’s self declared caliphate. The Iraqi armed forces have surrounded the Islamic State’s enclave in Mosul, as well as elsewhere. Just a few years ago, the Islamic State held vast territories – but now, the total amount of land that it clings on to can be counted in mere double digits of square kilometers.
Amidst this situation, Russia now claims to have killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder and caliph of the Islamic State. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), the Russian Air Force targeted a May 28th high level leadership gathering on the outskirts of the Raqqa province, near the border to the Deir Ezzor province, and sent a volley of air-to-ground missiles into the compound area. The MoD report specifies it believes that amongst the high ranking members attending the meeting was none other than Abu Bakr al Baghdadi himself, and that all attending leaders succumbed to the attack. The MoD report remains unconfirmed, but as of yet – the Russians appear to be standing steadfast by it. This is not the first time that al Baghdadi has been reported dead from a coalition, or affiliated forces, airstrike. Past reports have however all been proven to grossly exaggerate the Islamic State leader’s demise.
While the Russian MoD report of al Baghdadi’s demise remains unconfirmed, the reaction across the world is obvious; consumer grade news touting the possibility.
Yet, the professional intelligence and strategic section consider it somewhat irrelevant – with one major caveat. The crass fact is that while al Baghdadi is a valid high value target (HVT), he is considered to be increasingly irrelevant, as a leader, inside the Islamic State. The organization is growing increasingly decentralized, and with the battle in Syria going poorly for the group the focus is keenly on evolving into an entity that can inspire and aid activities and actors across the world to strike where it hurts the most – the soft underbelly that is unshielded civilian targets.
Intelligence reports have long since indicated that al Baghdadi was forced to step down from actively wielding power due to injuries he sustained from a US airstrike in Western Iraq in 2015. As a result of this, emerging ranking emirs and regional leaders have gained a significant amount of responsibility and influence in the organization. When al Baghdadi released his latest audio recording in November 2016, only those that took real note of it were professional observers and people that were keenly invested in the cult of personality. Most jihadi forums, a solid recruitment ground for new Islamic State soldiers, took note of the audio recording, but it was apparent that it caused little in ways of impression.
The death of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani during the summer of 2016 was a much more direct impact, and devalued the group’s theological standing noticeably. Al-Adnani, the-then chief ideologist and strategic mind inside the upper echelon of the organization, was widely believed to be the logical successor of al-Baghdadi when that day would arise, and the man that had largely stepped up to run the core of the organization after al Baghdadi’s injuries forced him away from the spotlight. Al-Adnani’s demise combined with the more recent death of Turki al-Binali, the latest Islamic State chief ideologist, were considerably harder punches against the actual structure and ideology of the group than what al Baghdadi’s possible demise might entail.
If the Russian MoD report is accurate, that in addition to al Baghdadi, the Islamic State Emir of Raqqa Abu al-Haji al-Masri, Ibrahim al-Naef al-Hajj, and ISIS security chief Suleiman al-Sawah, were all in attendance at the meeting and all perished in the Russian airstrike, then the implications might be severe for all involved. This would mean the Islamic State has lost the majority of its leading old guard. That could mean the organization will morph into something much more dangerous quickly. As new members take the reigns, the new blood might have a keener sense of what the organization is capable of evolving into, in order to remain a truly dangerous foe to the West and regional powers alike.
If the Russian MoD report is accurate … This would mean [ISIS] has lost the majority of its leading old guard. That could mean the organization will morph into something much more dangerous quickly.
In addition to this scenario, recent reports from both the Levant front and the Yemeni front have spoken of the possibility of the younger guard seeking an alliance, or even amalgamation, with the regional al Qaeda chapters. Such a proposal was largely held back, and rejected, by the old guard under the leadership of al Baghdadi. Al Baghdadi himself being the main objector, resolutely opposing such suggestions, thus his removal would effectively spell the possibility of a merger.
If the old Islamic State leadership has perished, then very little stands in the way of a merger between the two entities. The Islamic State originated as a fiercely conservative militia group that was affiliated with al Qaeda, and it was not until the Syrian Civil War boiled over that it emerged as a separate entity – one at odds with its old masters. As a result, the Islamic State’s regional chapters have been battling al Qaeda’s regional chapters across the world, from Indonesia, to Syria, to Sinai, to Yemen. The old Islamic State guard were the ones that either betrayed the al Qaeda leadership in order to break away, or were chased away from the organization and saw no other refuge than the Islamic State. A merger between the two would create a new entity with predictably violent goals, with a dangerously cemented theological foundation, as well as ranks of soldiers that are seeking new battlefields to die upon, all in the name of their interpretation of Allah.
With this in mind, U.S. military officials have, along with regional intelligence officials, stated repeatedly that they can neither confirm, nor deny, the Russian MoD report of al Baghdadi’s demise.
Most experts are vividly aware of the fact that al Baghdadi has repeatedly been attacked, only to emerge alive, despite various statements to the opposite. Those experts that have gone along with statements to the effect of al Baghdadi being dead have received ridicule and mockery. This time, experts are wary of making any claims or statements. Especially considering that Russia is operating, much like the West, in a post-truth vacuum. Noted terrorism analyst Michael Smith, for instance, dared only go so far when he stated that he doubted the authenticity of an al Amaq video that some claim to be showing the body of al Baghdadi.
The coming weeks
The situation continues to escalate. On June 18th, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched 6 Zolfaqar, an Iranian designed solid-fuel medium range ballistic missile (MRBMs) with an estimated range of 750km, against Islamic State targets in the Deir Ezzor province, eastern Syria, some 600 kilometers away from the launch sites. The targets were a command-and-control center operated by the Islamic State, along with two nearby logistical hubs, and one suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) factory. Reportedly, one of al Baghdadi’s brothers-in-law was killed when the two missiles struck the command-and-control center in Deir Ezzor. Two missiles also impacted targets in two different locations to the north and south of the town of Mayadin, 45 kilometers southeast of Deir al-Zour, a known IS stronghold.
The Iranian government has stated that it considers the missile strikes to be a “proportional response” to the Islamic State terror attacks inside Tehran, the Iranian capital, on June 7th. A few days before the missile strike, an unarmed Iranian drone on a reconnaissance assignment had been shot down by the US Air Force operating in the area. On June 20th another Iranian drone was shot down, again by the US Air Force. Earlier that same week, the US had engaged and shot down a Syrian Air Force fighter jet that was engaged in supporting advancing Iranian-affiliated militia groups and SAA forces.
The battle for al Raqqa City appears to have a foregone conclusion, although it will take months, before the city is truly under SDF control. What is more interesting is what battle must come afterwards. Aside from the coming conflict between Kurdish nationalist forces and Iraqi, Turkish, even Iranian, forces, is the battle for the new Islamic State’s refuge – al Mayadin, outside of Deir Ezzor. The Islamic State had months to prepare for the SDF offensive on al Raqqa City, and part of their preparation was to move administrative and leadership personnel from the Raqqa province to the Deir Ezzor province. Particularly to the town of al Mayadin. While the town’s official use remains undeclared, it can be viewed as a de facto new capital for the Islamic State.
Throughout the later part of 2016, and for all of 2017, the SAA has been engaged in a fierce ground battle inside Deir Ezzor City against Islamic State fighters. For a while it looked like the Islamic State would manage to drive the Syrian forces out. Thanks to reinforcements from Iranian and Turkish affiliated forces, along with a series of morale crushing defeats on other fronts, the odds were leveled. Now the Islamic State holds on to only a sliver of the terrain it held inside Deir Ezzor City and enemy militia groups are quickly advancing towards the al Mayadin area.
By late January, the Islamic State had already moved the majority of its financial and administrative structure to al Mayadin. By late February, large numbers of senior leaders followed suit. Since the SDF offensive on the Raqqa province, the fall of the Tabqa town, dam and airbase, followed by the expected offensive on al Raqqa City, the Islamic State has quietly been reallocating troops from the Raqqa and Mosul frontlines to safeguard al Mayadin, and the Deir Ezzor frontline along with it. This is where the next battle, maybe the last battle, against the self declared caliphate’s physical entity will take place.
As the battles for al Raqqa and Mosul rage on, the battles for Deir Ezzor and al Mayadin are still taking shape, and the Islamic State will no doubt see fit to strike out everywhere it can – to try to take as many civilians across the region, and as many opposition fighters, with it as the walls of the self declared caliphate crumbles.
As ISIS crumbles and returns to its roots as a highly mobile and asymmetrical militia, or terror group – the Syrian Civil War will without a doubt not just continue to tower over the region and its people, it will escalate. And as the world turns its attention away, thinking that all is well in Syria yet again, new and old players will reemerge to commit acts of terror against civilians and governments alike.
John Sjoholm, Lima Charlie News
[Edited by May Hamza]
John Sjoholm is Lima Charlie’s Middle East Bureau Chief, and founder of the consulting organization Erudite Group. He is a seasoned Middle East connoisseur, with a past in the Swedish Army’s Special Forces branch and the Security Contracting industry. He studied religion and languages in Sana’a, Yemen, and Cairo, Egypt. He lived and operated extensively in the Middle East between 2005-2012 as part of regional stabilizing projects, and currently resides in Jordan. Follow John on Twitter @JohnSjoholmLC
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In case you missed it:The 1977 Burt Lancaster version of The Island of Dr. Moreau was the first movie South African director Richard Stanley ever saw, and the furious boy wanted his money back. He loved the H.G. Wells novel about a mad scientist surgically blurring the line between human and beast, and years later, after his first two cult-hit horror films — Hardware (a robot techno-tragedy with Iggy Pop and Lemmy) and Dust Devil (an unearthly Namibian demon flick) — earned him enough creative cachet to get his own version of Moreau green-lit, he went for it with headlong fervor.
Stanley decamped to rural Australia, cast Val Kilmer, Marlon Brando and a 26-inch-tall Dominican celebrity in key roles, and molded a wild menagerie of masks. Like a flesh-eating parasite, the story buried so deep in his brain that Stanley quarantined himself from the cast and crew, refused to show up for meetings and, when he did, had a hard time explaining his ambition. The set was spooked by hurricanes, witchcraft allegations and Kilmer's continual tantrums. The studio was terrified of losing millions. Three days after filming started, Stanley was fired. His replacement, veteran director John Frankenheimer, held his rescue mission in such contempt that chaos reigned. Kilmer and Brando commandeered the schedule. The extras blew their accruing per diems on drugs. Stanley, legally barred from the set, crept back on in a canine costume to bear witness, mourning that he had suffered “a full arc from creator to dog.”
The final 1996 film won six Razzie nominations and is most charitably remembered as that weird mess where Marlon Brando demanded he be slathered in white face paint. Like all film disasters, it's merited a wrenching making-of documentary: David Gregory's Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau, which will screen Feb. 28, March 1 and March 3 at Cinefamily. Hardware, Dust Devil and, yes, The Island of Dr. Moreau will screen two weekends later with Stanley in attendance — except during Moreau, which he refuses to watch. “It's like having somebody sandpaper my brain,” he sighs. Yet two decades later, Stanley finally has some good news: He may soon have a second shot at directing his vision of the jinxed Wells classic — and this time, it'll be X-rated.
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The rumor was true: Even after you were banned from set, you snuck back on in a dog costume. How hard was that, to stand by and act like an extra while watching your movie fall apart?
I was there largely because I was feeling sympathy for the cast members. Most of the cast members had come on board because I'd talked them into it, and then they were trapped under contract, unable to leave because they'd all been life-cast for the creature effects and they couldn't recast the movie. No matter how bad they wanted to get out of the film, they had to be there or be sued for breaking contract. To simply take the money and run and leave Fairuza Balk and everyone else trapped there felt wrong, so sticking around meant I was able to show solidarity. Point of fact: It also cheered me up tremendously to see how much worse things were without me. We hadn't been doing such a bad job after all. If everything had run like clockwork, I think I would have quit forever. Realizing that the budget had continued to skyrocket, that was very satisfying. There was something like 40 shooting days after I left where they never got a shot off at all. Day after day, it was completely out of control, and the budget quadrupled because they gave Frankenheimer a lot more slack than they gave me. The overhead was something close to $150,000 a day without getting a shot. No matter what you think, there's no possible way I could have made a worse job of it.
Was it frustrating to think that you could have handled Marlon Brando better and kept him more in line?
Personally, I never thought that Brando was the problem. He always behaved in a very gentlemanly manner and was very, very nice to me. I don't really know what planet Val [Kilmer] was coming from. But Marlon was always very friendly. I think that comes through in the documentary: His first act on set was to introduce himself to everyone and shake the paws, claws and trotters of the various creatures. He felt contempt for the confusion. By the time he arrived there, the script had been effectively destroyed. They started rewriting the script instantaneously, and that process never really stopped — I think virtually everyone on that project tried to write the script at some point. I'd hoped that there was the potential in there for Brando to have that great swan-song performance, which the world was cheated of. At the time as well, he was going through such a nightmare. The shooting in Mulholland Drive and thereafter, the death of his daughter Cheyenne. Really, his life resembled a Greek tragedy at that point. The problems of a monster movie seemed trivial in comparison.
Did any part of your original vision survive in the 1996 version?
The Frankenheimer film is very much like a bad dream — the difference between a lucid dream and a nightmare. You can recognize yourself and pieces of your life, but it's all in the wrong order. I recognize the interior decor, I recognize the costumes, the bookcases behind the actors. I recognize weird little tiny things, wardrobe details, the basic updating of the story was mine. But there's not one line of dialogue from the original picture that survived through to the final film. I think what happened is after they got rid of me, no one really spoke to the make-up people again. They were just left to follow their basic impulses and not a lot of attention went to the final look of the movie.
When David approached you about digging back into the film for a documentary, what were your first thoughts?
I was reticent because it wasn't really something I'd spoken about for the last 20 years. But I owed David a favor and I thought it would be an extra section on the DVD for The Theatre Bizarre [a compilation film] we were doing. I had no idea he was doing a whole feature-length documentary, and when I first saw a cut, my first impulse was to call a lawyer and try to stop it.
Why?
It touches on so many different things that were hot issues for a long time. At the time, when the film got made, I was legally threatened by a whole bunch of the different folk involved — I shouldn't name names. But I wasn't ever supposed to open my mouth about the Moreau affair or say one word about what had happened. In the documentary itself, I still never actually say anything bad about any of the people involved or anything that happened. I try to keep as optimistic as possible given the catastrophic circumstances. But then when I saw the film with an audience, I realized that the audience found it funny. It got laughs — pretty big laughs. That it somehow works as a black comedy is a redeeming feature. And it's also reawakened interest in the Moreau project. Since the documentary's been around, I've been getting lots of inquiries about the original screenplay.
Wait, so there's a chance you could be involved in making The Island of Dr. Moreau again?
At this stage, it looks very likely. It's too early for me to name the company involved, but I was actually put under contract in January to write a new draft of The Island of Dr. Moreau, which is already completed and delivered. The project has come back to life, which I think is a side effect of David's work.
Can it still feel fresh to you?
I don't honestly think at that point in time anyone really understood the movie. New Line said that all of a sudden they were making a movie about dogs with machine guns that was some kind of art film. Now, of course, we're living in a universe where people have seen Guardians of the Galaxy and the idea of dogs carrying machine guns no longer seems like a way-out art-house idea. I suspect the original script simply came too early. If it had come now, it would make sense as a VFX oddity. I think Dr. Moreau is going to be now better. I've had 20 years of hindsight. The plan is it's going to resurface initially as a graphic novel next year from the Humanoids, who've picked it up. And if that works well, then the insane plan is to develop the comic book back into a movie again.
What is it about this story that's so deep under your skin?
It needs to be told. Someone needs to get it right. I think part of that problem is the world's still not used to the idea of an epic fantasy film for adults. They've always had the desire in the last adaptations to make it safe for the family. The script I've turned in now isn't so much R-rated as X-rated. And then the wrangling can begin after that as to how it will be put on the screen.
EXPAND The crazy character actors gone wild on The Island of Dr. Moreau Courtesy of David Gregory
How long has it been since you've watched Dust Devil and Hardware with a crowd?
It's been quite a while. I particularly love watching Hardware with a young audience. In the first 20 minutes, you sense that people have come to laugh because it's a retro sci-fi movie and look at what some people looked like in the '80s. And of course the film is more more horrific and severe than they're expecting. I like the way that the kids gradually fall silent and then get increasingly traumatized by it — the freaked-out looks on their faces when they leave. It reminds me that film still has the power to grab them by the lapels and shake them around. Always a pleasure. Dust Devil, I've never really seen with an American audience, so I'm looking forward to that experience. It's obviously a more difficult movie. It's longer and requires more work on the audience's part.
Will you stick around Cinefamily and watch The Island of Dr. Moreau?
No. I've never actually seen the Frankenheimer movie from one end to another. I've managed to avoid seeing it the whole way through. I've tried watching 15-minute segments and it's like having somebody sandpaper my brain.
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau starts at the Cinefamily on Saturday, Feb. 28. Click here for details.
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Follow @laweeklyartsORLANDO, Fla. - Florida Gov. Rick Scott is considering running for the U.S. Senate.
During a wide-ranging interview with reporters on Tuesday, Scott said seeking the seat held by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is an option for him in 2018.
Scott was re-elected in 2014, but is limited by law from seeking another term.
Scott spoke of his intentions while attending the Republican Governors Association annual conference in Orlando. He also said he was excited by Republican Donald Trump's election as president, and that other Republicans who offered only lukewarm support for Trump previously should now "embrace him."
Scott predicted that Trump would be a good partner with the state and would help Florida get money to restore the Everglades and make repairs to the Lake Okeechobee dike.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. import prices rose in April for a second straight month as the cost of petroleum products and a range of other goods increased, suggesting
China Shipping containers lie on the dock after being imported to the U.S. in Los Angeles, California, October 7, 2010. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
inflation could start firming in the months ahead.
The Labor Department said on Thursday that import prices increased 0.3 percent last month after an upwardly revised 0.3 percent gain in March. The rise last month reflected a pick-up in oil prices and the dollar’s depreciation. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices rising 0.5 percent in April after March’s previously reported 0.2 percent advance.
Prices for imported goods were down 5.7 percent in the 12 months through April, reflecting the lingering effects of the dollar’s sharp rally and the oil price plunge between June 2014 and December 2015.
Last month’s increase in import prices implied that the disinflationary impulse from a stronger dollar, which has helped to hold inflation well below the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target, was fading.
The dollar.DXY has this year weakened 2.5 percent against the currencies of the United States’ main trading partners. The greenback gained 20 percent on a trade-weighted basis between June 2014 and December 2015. At the same time, oil prices have pushed off multi-year lows.
Imported petroleum prices increased 4.1 percent last month after rising 9.6 percent in March.
Import prices excluding petroleum edged up 0.1 percent, the first increase since March 2014.
Imported food prices jumped 1.3 percent last month, also the largest gain since March 2014. Prices for imported industrial supplies and materials excluding petroleum increased 0.4 percent.
Prices for imported capital goods slipped 0.1 percent, while the cost of imported automobiles edged up 0.1 percent. Prices for imported consumer goods excluding autos fell 0.3 percent.
The report also showed export prices increased 0.5 percent in April, the largest rise since May 2015, after being flat in March. Export prices were down 5.0 percent from a year ago.It was debatable which group came to Rogers Place with the least interest in being there Tuesday night.
The Oilers? Or the fans?
The fans returned to their early season library identity and the Oilers returned from their all-star break looking like it was Jan. 31, 2016, not 2017.
The game set up as another occasion for the Oilers to put some more exclamation marks on their season and to put themselves on pace to end up with 104 points in the standings.
Minnesota came to town leading the Western Conference and with seven straight wins in Edmonton. The Wild went into the all-star break 21-3-2 since Dec. 2. They had not lost in Edmonton since Dec. 22, 2011, and are now 13-1-0 here since Oct. 21, 2010. Minnesota’s 110 points against the Oiler are now the most against any franchise.
The Oilers returned from their break swearing they intended to pick right up where they left off with a 7-0-1 record (and an 8-1-3 record against Central Division opposition) going in.
Instead, they reeked. They were rancid.
Cam Talbot was sharp early and had to be. The defence looked like they came to the game in a clown car. Kris Russell will take most of the spit and abuse Wednesday, but he was only one of the Bozos in the 5-2 loss. Talbot was given a mercy pull after the fourth goal, the 10th goalie the Wild has chased this season.
It was a pathetic, putrid display of …
Ah, sorry. I can’t do it. I can’t bring myself to carve this club today. If there was ever an Edmonton team that deserved a Mulligan it is this one.
That the result turned out to be such a large letdown speaks to the success Todd McLellan’s team has had this season. It had been confirmation after confirmation for the Oilers, exclamation mark after exclamation mark.
Let us review:
The Oilers opened the season with back-to-back home-and home wins over the Flames and then, just before the all-star break, made it a four game sweep of their provincial rivals. The scores were 7-4, 5-3, 2-1 and 7-3. The Oilers had never before managed to sweep a regular-season series against the Flames. Calgary had dominated Edmonton most of the previous decade and won all five games in the series in 2015.
On Dec. 3, after five straight losses to the Ducks and seven defeats in their previous nine games, the Oilers stopped the bleeding against Anaheim with a 3-2 overtime win at Rogers Place.
Just before Christmas, Edmonton ended their most insane run of failure – the team’s first regulation win against the Arizona Coyotes in 26 games – with a 3-2 triumph. Arizona had gone 21-0-4 in the previous 25 against the Oilers. The Coyotes points streak had been tied for the sixth most against one opponent in NHL history.
On Dec. 29 the Oilers were worthy 3-1 winners over the Los Angeles Kings at home. It was only the second time in the last 21 meetings with the tinsel town team that the Oilers had won in regulation time. The Oilers had lost their last six games to Darryl Sutter’s 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup champions.
That the result turned out to be such a large letdown speaks to the success Todd McLellan’s team has had this season.
Then there was the historic home stand where the Oilers took nine of 12 points and significant separation occurred in the standings. The home stand not only put the Oilers on pace for a 100-point season, it turned Rogers Place from library and morgue into a fun house as fans who forgot how to get loud and proud for the home team after a record-equaling 10 years out of the playoffs finally found the feeling again.
The Oilers then went of the road and put three straight exclamation marks on all that with the 7-3 win in Calgary and the emphatic total triumphs over the top two teams in the division, winning 4-1 over the Ducks in Anaheim and 4-0 over the Sharks in San Jose leading in to the all-star break.
That the result Tuesday night turned out to be such a large letdown speaks to the success McLellan’s team has had this season.
It had been confirmation after confirmation for the Oilers.
That people felt such a large letdown because they didn’t put more exclamation marks against the top team in the conference and the hottest team in hockey only speaks to how far they’ve come this season.Government-rooted misinformation has long been central to the very existence of War on Drugs. From government-sponsored anti-marijuana campaigns to the familiar talking points used by politicians over the decades, the Drug War has always been fueled by alleged facts that have no basis in reality.
The federal government’s misinformation campaign is still alive and well, even in these heady post-prohibition days of 2017. And it’s high time Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and state Attorney General Cynthia Coffman do as their counterparts in Washington state have already done and call out this misinformation for what it is: unreliable, misleading and inaccurate.
As most state and federal research documenting the impact of legalized marijuana show encouraging results reflecting responsible regulation, one federally funded agency is still producing reports that paint a very different reality.
Reports from High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas throughout the country have inspired a successful anti-legalization campaign in Arizona, a recent USA Today op-ed under the headline “Marijuana devastated Colorado, don’t legalize it nationally” and much of United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ ongoing attacks on the country’s legal cannabis industry.
The only problem: The reports are “garbage,” according to John Hudak, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Brookings Institute who studies (maintaining a neutral position) marijuana legalization.
Hudak isn’t the only one criticizing the HIDTA reports. After Sessions penned concerned letters to legal cannabis states quoting statistics from HIDTA reports, Washington Governor Jay Inslee and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson responded sharply to the nation’s highest law enforcement official by saying the data he was using was “unreliable” and “inaccurate.”
“It is clear that our goals regarding health and safety are in step with the goals Attorney General Sessions has articulated,” wrote Inslee. “Unfortunately he is referring to incomplete and unreliable data that does not provide the most accurate snapshot of our efforts since the marketplace opened in 2014.”
Added Ferguson in his own statement: “I was disappointed by Attorney General Sessions’ letter, which relies on incomplete, inaccurate and out-of-date information on the status of Washington’s marijuana regulations.”
Ferguson later told Vice: “Misleading information does not produce good policy.”
So Hickenlooper and Coffman, I urge you to compare HIDTA’s findings with those of the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Monitoring the Future study. I urge you both to compare the HIDTA data to that of the Colorado State Patrol and the state departments of Transportation and Public Safety — and ask yourself why these agencies’ data sets vary so wildly from those of HIDTA.
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created, the downturn of 1929 would not have become a major depression. Friedman claims in the paragraph above that without the Fed “the same measures would have been taken [in 1930] as in 1907—a restriction of payments,” which he believes would have prevented the crisis from spreading to “stronger banks,” those not guilty of overextending themselves through over-risky loans. Monetary economist Lawrence H. White of the University of Missouri-St. Louis filled in the blanks in Friedman’s “institutional counter-factual” on the Division of Labour blog (March 12, 2007):
Friedman understood... that before the Federal Reserve Act financial panics in the US were mitigated by the actions of private commercial bank clearinghouses. Friedman and Schwartz’s view of the 1930′s was that the Fed, having nationalized the roles of the clearinghouse associations [CHAs], particularly the lender-of-last-resort role, did less to mitigate the panic than the CHAs had done in earlier panics like 1907 and 1893. In that sense, the economy would have been better off if the Fed had not been created. This position is perfectly consistent with the position that, provided we take the Fed’s nationalization of the clearinghouse roles for granted, the Fed was guilty of not doing its job.
Thus the Fed’s failure in the early ’30s shows the dangers of excessive centralization of important market functions that were previously dispersed among multiple private institutions. Friedman’s bottom line remains intact: The Fed caused the Great Depression.
The Perfect Storm
In the decades following Friedman and Schwartz’s work economists started examining other government-policy failures in the aftermath of the crash. They have found an abundant supply of them. Here are several key examples of these bad policies: 1) In response to a sharp decrease in tax revenues in 1930 and 1931 (caused by a slowdown of economic activities), the federal government passed the largest peacetime tax increase in the history of the United States, which clearly applied the brakes on any recovery that could have taken place; 2) the federal government also passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930, substantially increasing tariffs and leading to retaliatory restrictions by trading partners, which resulted in a considerable decrease in demand for U.S. exports and a further slowdown in production (not to mention a loss of mutually advantageous division of labor); 3) the federal government also instituted all sorts of “public works” programs, beginning under Herbert Hoover and increasing dramatically under FDR; the programs removed hundreds of thousands of people from the labor market and engaged them in economically wasteful activities, such as carving faces of dead presidents into the sides of a mountain, preventing or delaying necessary labor-market adjustments; 4) another federal policy that prevented (labor and other) market adjustments was the price and wage controls enacted under the National Recovery Administration and in effect from 1933 until 1935 (when ruled unconstitutional); this policy massively distorted relative market prices, impairing their ability to function as guides to entrepreneurs; 5) the Fed was not blameless after 1933 either. It increased bank-reserve requirements in three steps in 1936 and 1937, leading to another significant decrease in the money supply. The result was the 1937–38 recession within the Depression, adding insult to injury.
Economists have come to understand the Great Depression as a “perfect storm” of policy failures. A truly frightening number of destructive policies were carried out nearly simultaneously. In retrospect it seems as though whenever the economy began showing the slightest inkling of recovery, a policy would be enacted that would put a quick stop to it.
The better explanation of the Great Depression revealed it was not caused by unfettered market forces. There is nothing in the operation of free markets that would create depressions or even recessions. Rather, we now know that we must look for causes of these phenomena in mismanaged and erroneous government policies. And much of the credit for this change in the way economists look at the Depression must go to Friedman and Schwartz’s groundbreaking work on the Fed’s role. Friedman provided—and ultimately persuaded most economists of—this alternate explanation because of his insistence on honest intellectual inquiry, untainted by ideological biases. It was a courageous thing to do at the time of absolute Keynesian dominance of the economics profession, and it could have been damaging or even destructive to his career. But Friedman’s personal strength of character and intellectual honesty obliged him to stick to the truth, and we are all much better for it today.
Ironically, as a result of the banking crisis of 1930–33, the Fed was granted more responsibilities and more control over banking. As is often the case in politics, failure was used to justify an expansion of power. That expansion of the Fed’s power resulted in a great amount of economic destruction through the subsequent decades. In 1980 Milton and Rose Friedman wrote of the Fed’s record over the 45 years after the banking crisis of 1930–33:
Since 1935 the [Federal Reserve] System has presided over—and greatly contributed to—a major recession of 1937–38, a wartime and immediate postwar inflation, and a roller coaster economy since, with alternate rises and falls in inflation and decreases and increases in unemployment. Each inflationary peak and each temporary inflationary trough has been at a higher and higher level, and the average level of unemployment has gradually increased. The System has not made the same mistake that it made in 1929–1933—of permitting or fostering a monetary collapse—but it has made the opposite mistake, of fostering an unduly rapid growth in the quantity of money and so promoting inflation. In addition, it has continued, by swinging from one extreme to another, to produce not only booms but also recessions, some mild, some sharp.
The Fed’s performance has improved since 1980, but that does not mean it is no longer capable of mistakes that would have devastating consequences for our lives. Friedman’s work should serve as a warning of what can happen when so much power is artificially concentrated in one institution. It is for this reason that it is so vitally important that people today be taught the real story of the Great Depression. Their faith in government institutions might be considerably undermined if they understood what really happened.This is the official transcript of the meeting between the Russian President and Russia’s Foreign and Defense Ministers published by the Kremlin’s website.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, please provide an update on the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, and the disarmament dossier in general. What is going on in terms of limitation of offensive arms?
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: Mr President,
Regarding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, as you know, it has been in force since 1988. It had an indefinite term. According to the information at our disposal, the United States has been violating the Treaty since 1999, when it started testing combat unmanned aerial vehicles that have the same characteristics as land-based cruise missiles banned by the Treaty.
The United States went on to use ballistic target missiles for testing their missile defence system, and in 2014 they began the deployment in their missile defence system positioning areas in Europe of Mk 41 vertical launching systems. These launchers are fully suitable as they are for Tomahawk intermediate-range attack missiles.
Vladimir Putin: And this is an outright violation of the Treaty.
Sergei Lavrov: This is an outright violation of the Treaty. Launchers of this kind have already been deployed in Romania, and preparations are underway to deploy them in Poland, as well as Japan.
Another matter of concern for us is that only recently, just a year ago, the United States in its 2018 Nuclear Posture Review set the task of developing low-yield nuclear weapons, and it is probable that intermediate-range missiles will serve as a means of delivery for these weapons. It was also announced only recently that this provision of the US nuclear doctrine is beginning to materialise with missiles of this kind entering production.
In October 2018, the United States officially declared its intention to withdraw from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles. We did everything we could to save the Treaty considering its importance in terms of sustaining strategic stability in Europe, as well as globally. The last attempt of this kind was undertaken on January 15, when the US finally agreed to our request for holding consultations in Geneva.
In coordination with the Defence Ministry, we proposed unprecedented transparency measures that went far beyond our obligations under the INF Treaty in order to persuade the US that Russia was not in violation of this essential instrument. However, the US torpedoed these proposals. Instead, the US presented yet another ultimatum. It is obvious that we cannot accept it since it contradicts the INF Treaty in both letter and spirit.
With Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The US announced that it was suspending its participation in the INF Treaty, launched the official withdrawal from it, and said that it will no longer consider itself restricted by the INF Treaty. As far as we can see, this means that the US will make missiles in addition to engaging in research and development activities that have already been factored into the current budget.
There is no doubt that these developments make things worse overall in the sphere of nuclear disarmament and strategic stability. It all started with the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, when the US decided to withdraw from it in 2002, as you know all too well. This was done despite numerous initiatives by the Russian Federation at the UN General Assembly to save the ABM Treaty. The UN General Assembly passed a number of resolutions supporting the ABM Treaty. However, this did not stop the United States from withdrawing from it.
As a partial replacement for the ABM Treaty, the US and Russia signed a joint declaration that same year, 2002, on new strategic relations with a promise to settle all issues related to the so-called third positioning area of the missile-defence system being deployed in Europe at the time. The declaration provided for holding consultations as a way to reach common ground. This did not happen due to the unwillingness of the United States to take up Russia’s concerns in earnest.
In 2007, we made another gesture of good will at your instructions by coming forward with an initiative that consisted of working together to resolve the problems related to US missile defence system’s third positioning area in Europe. Once again, the US backed out of this proposal.
However, at the Russia-NATO Summit in Lisbon in 2010, we once again called for Russia, the US and Europe to work together on a continental missile-defence system. This call was not heeded. Nevertheless, two years later, in 2012, at the NATO Summit in Chicago it was NATO that called for dialogue with Russia on missile defence. However, all this good will boiled down to the US insisting that we simply come to terms with their missile defence approach, despite all the obvious risks and threats to our security posed by this approach.
Let me remind you that in 2013 Russia once again called on the US Department of State to open consultations, and came forward with concrete proposals. There was no reply. And in 2014, the United States brought the dialogue on missile defence to a halt and declared the intention to deploy its positioning areas in Europe and Asia, while also strengthening other systems, including in Alaska and on the east coast.
With Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Talking about other essential international security and strategic stability instruments, the approach adopted by the United States to performing its commitments under the universal Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons has been a matter of concern for Russia. In fact, despite numerous reminders on our part, the United States commits serious violations of the Treaty in its actions within NATO. The Treaty commits nuclear powers to refrain from transferring the corresponding nuclear technologies.
Despite these provisions, NATO engages in so-called joint nuclear missions whereby the United States together with five NATO countries where US nuclear weapons are deployed conduct nuclear weapons drills with countries that are not part of the five nuclear-weapons states. This is a direct violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Another treaty that had a special role in removing the threat of nuclear war, or, to be more precise, whose preparation was a source of hope for addressing these threats, was the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty [CTBT]. The United States did not ratify it even though doing so was among Barack Obama’s campaign promises when he ran for president.
Right now, this instrument is completely off the radar, since the United States has lost all interest in any consultations on joining this Treaty. Being a party to the CTBT and acting in good faith, Russia holds special events at the UN General Assembly every year in order to promote the Treaty and mobilise public opinion in favour of its entry into force, which requires the United States to join it, among other things.
Apart from the INF Treaty, there is the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty [START] that remains in force. It is also essential for preserving at least some measure of strategic stability and global parity. It is also under threat, since its effective functioning has come into question after the recent move by the United States to remove from accountability under the treaty 56 submarine based Trident launchers and 41 heavy bombers by declaring them converted into nun-nuclear.
This is possible under the treaty, but the other party has the right to make sure that once converted these weapons cannot be reconverted back into nuclear arsenals.
Vladimir Putin: An inspection has to be carried out.
Sergei Lavrov: Yes, an inspection. And there have to be technical means to persuade us that these systems cannot be reconverted and returned into the nuclear arsenal.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
We have been holding talks since 2015 to make sure that the United States complies with its obligations on this matter. So far, there have been no results. The technical solutions we have been offered so far cannot persuade us that more than 1,200 warheads, which is an enormous amount, cannot be returned to the nuclear arsenal. Unfortunately, repeated proposals by Russia to launch talks on extending the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty beyond 2021, when its first term is set to expire, have fallen on deaf ears in the United States. All we hear is that the decision on the New START has yet to be taken.
All in all, the situation is quite alarming. Let me reiterate that the decision taken by the United States on the INF Treaty is of course a matter of serious concern for the entire world, especially for Europe. Nevertheless, the Europeans followed in the footsteps of the United States with all NATO members speaking out in explicit support of the position adopted by the United States to refrain from any discussions on mutual concerns. All we hear are groundless ultimatums requiring us to take unilateral measures without any evidence to support unfounded accusations.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
Mr Shoigu, what is the Defence Ministry’s view on the current situation? And what do you propose in this regard?
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu: Mr President, it is obvious to us, despite the murky language that we hear, that apart from openly conducting research and development on the production of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles, there have been actual violations of the INF Treaty, and this has been going on for several years. To put it simply, the United States has started producing missiles of this kind.
In this connection, we have the following proposals regarding retaliatory measures.
First, we propose launching in the coming months research and development, as well as development and engineering with a view to creating land-based modifications of the sea-based Kalibr launching systems.
Second, we propose launching research and development, followed by development and engineering to create land-based launchers for hypersonic intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.
We ask you to support these proposals.
Vladimir Putin: I agree. This is what we will do. Our response will be symmetrical. Our US partners announced that they are suspending their participation in the INF Treaty, and we are suspending it too. They said that they are engaged in research, development and design work, and we will do the same.
I agree with the Defence Ministry’s proposals to create a land-based version of the Kalibr launchers and work on a new project to develop a land-based hypersonic intermediate-range missile.
At the same time, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we must not and will not let ourselves be drawn into an expensive arms race. I wanted to ask you, would it be possible to finance these initiatives using the existing budget allocations to the Defence Ministry for 2019 and the following years?
Sergei Shoigu: Mr President, we closely studied this matter, and will propose adjustments to the 2019 budget in order to be able to carry out these initiatives within the limits set by the state armaments programme and the defence procurement orders for 2019 without going over budget.
With Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Vladimir Putin: This should not entail any increases in the Defence Ministry’s budget.
Sergei Shoigu: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: Good.
In this connection, there is one more thing I wanted to ask you. Every six months we hold meetings in Sochi to discuss the implementation of the state defence order with the commanders of the Armed Forces and the defence sector representatives.
Starting this year, I propose modifying this format. I want to see how efforts to deploy our systems are progressing. This refers to the Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile, the Peresvet combat laser weapon, which has already been delivered to the army, and the Avangard system, which is now in serial production, having completed the test phase. I want to see how the production of the Sarmat missile is advancing alongside preparations for placing it on combat duty.
Several days ago, you reported to me on the completion of a key stage in testing the Poseidon multipurpose strategic unmanned underwater vehicle. We have to look at how these efforts are advancing.
We are aware of the plans by some countries to deploy weapons in outer space. I want to hear a report on how this threat can be neutralised.
There is another important topic I wanted to raise with both the Foreign Ministry and the Defence Ministry.
For many years, we have been calling on numerous occasions for holding meaningful disarmament talks on almost all aspects of this matter. In recent years, we have seen that our partners have not been supportive of our initiatives. On the contrary, they always find pretexts to further dismantle the existing international security architecture.
In this connection, I would like to highlight the following considerations, and I expect the Foreign Ministry and the Defence Ministry to use them as guidance. All our proposals in this area remain on the table just as before. We are open to negotiations. At the same time, I ask both ministries not to initiate talks on these matters in the future. I suggest that we wait until our partners are ready to engage in equal and meaningful dialogue on this subject that is essential for us, as well as for our partners and the entire world.
Another important consideration I would like to share with the senior officials of both ministries. We proceed from the premise that Russia will not deploy intermediate-range or shorter-range weapons, if we develop weapons of this kind, neither in Europe nor anywhere else until US weapons of this kind are deployed to the corresponding regions of the world.
I ask the Foreign Ministry and the Defence Ministry to closely monitor developments and promptly submit proposals on ways to respond.
<…>Contemporary Christian Music Radio Station Entitled to ‘House of Worship’ Tax Exemption
A central Ohio nonprofit radio station that plays contemporary Christian music and uses space on its premises for church services qualifies for a real property tax exemption, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled today.
In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court found that to qualify under the state law allowing for an exemption for a “house of worship,” the real property must be used primarily for a religious purpose and is not for profit. The decision reverses rulings by the Ohio tax commissioner and the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) rejecting an exemption for the 2.2 acre-facility in Gahanna.
Writing for the majority, Justice Sharon L. Kennedy wrote that Christian Voice of Central Ohio has dedicated all its land and buildings to charity and religion and has all the necessary attributes of a church.
In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor asserted the majority announced a “new and overly broad interpretation of the exemption” that allows a station that sells millions of dollars in advertising to earn the tax break.
Exemption for New Location Denied
Christian Voice originally operated the station from offices located in New Albany. In 1991, the tax commissioner granted the station an exemption under R.C. 5709.07(A)(2), the public-worship exemption, determining the property was “used for church purposes.”
In 2008, Christian Voice relocated its offices to Gahanna and applied for the same exemption that its New Albany property had enjoyed for 17 years. In 2011, the tax commissioner denied the exemption, finding “no evidence that people assemble to worship together on the subject property” and reasoning that the exemption applies only “where people gather to profess their faith or to observe and participate in religious rituals or ceremonies.”
In 2013, the tax commissioner denied a 2007 challenge by the local school district to the continued public-worship exemption for the New Albany property. It reasoned that the property was “being used for church facilities.”
The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals affirmed the tax commissioner’s decision to deny the exemption for the Gahanna property, and Christian Voice appealed to the Supreme Court. Because the appeal was made from the BTA, an administrative agency, the Court had to accept it for review.
Station Dedicated to Religion and Charity
Christian Voice operates three radio stations, with WCVO 104.9 “The River” being the most prominent. Christian Voice is a nonprofit organization established in 1964, and according to the station, it produces radio programming for “furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ through Contemporary Christian Music and Preaching and Teaching radio programs.”
Along with a radio tower, the property has a two-story building with station offices along with a chapel and a basement with a meeting room. The station broadcasts are 95 percent music supported by advertising, which by federal law can mention the business name and telephone number, but not the price of products or services. Christian Voice stated its revenues are primarily from the advertising underwriters and donations. Along with the music, the station employs a full-time pastor who records a one-minute devotional that is played throughout the day, and the on-air staff relay religious messages when speaking between songs. The pastor’s counseling services are promoted on the air. On Sunday mornings, a three-hour syndicated program called “Keep the Faith” is aired.
The pastor leads a prayer devotional with staff in the chapel four times a week to pray for the intentions of listeners. He also holds a bible study once a week. Outside organizations used the church facilities without charge on a regular occasion with some making donations for use of the property. The station is active in community outreach.
Property’s Use Determines Taxation
Justice Kennedy noted the exemption in R.C. 5709.07(A)(2) is granted to “houses of worship used exclusively for public worship” along with the books, furniture, and grounds that are not used with a view to profit and are “necessary for their proper occupancy, use, and enjoyment.” She explained the Court in prior rulings has defined “public worship” as “the open and free celebration or observance of rites and ordinances of a religious organization.” In determining whether the property in question qualifies for the public–worship exemption, Justice Kennedy applied the Court’s previous holding that the real property must be used in a “principal, primary, and essential way to facilitate public worship.” Justice Kennedy wrote that this was the interpretation applied by the Court, the tax commissioner, and the BTA for almost 30 years, and that the Court had not limited the application of this holding to “auxiliary buildings or portions of buildings …when there existed a primary building used exclusively for public worship.”
Justice Kennedy wrote that resolution of this issue was guided by the Court’s 1972 decision in Maumee Valley Broadcasting Assn. v. Porterfield. In that case the nonprofit association operating a broadcasting studio and a 120-person auditorium qualified for sales and use tax exemptions because the Court indicated the tax commissioner should take a holistic view of the operation and not separate the radio station from the rest of the property. In so doing, the Court found that the evidence demonstrated that the association exhibited the necessary attributes of a church.
Justice Kennedy reasoned that “as a church is but one type of house of public worship,” to determine whether Christian Voice qualifies for the exemption in R.C. 5709.07(A)(2), it is necessary to consider the statutory definition of “church” set forth in R.C. 5709.02(D)(1) and the related case law. Justice Kennedy wrote that the evidence demonstrates that Christian Voice “has dedicated all its land and buildings to charity and religion, and … [has] the necessary attributes of a church.”
“The fact that Christian music makes up the majority of the broadcasting strengthens, not weakens, Christian Voice’s arguments that its purpose is religious,” she wrote.
She concluded that as the record clearly demonstrates that the primary use of the Christian Voice’s land and building is for church purposes, it uses its property “exclusively for public worship.”
Justice Kennedy also rejected the BTA’s argument that the sale of commercial advertising is not public worship, because the state law does not ban the sale of advertising when it is not to earn a profit. She noted the advertising sales were done to continue Christian Voice’s ministry, which is part of the organization’s religious mission and not to generate any profit.
“In this respect, Christian Voice is no different from a church that sells advertising on weekly bulletins or on banners at church functions to raise revenue that allows the church to continue its religious ministry,” she wrote.
Justice Kennedy noted that the cases relied upon by Chief Justice O’Connor to argue that “it is the use of the property and not the use of the proceeds derived therefrom that determines whether a tax exemption is conferred” did not involve the public-worship exemption under R.C. 5709.07(A)(2). Instead, the exemption at issue in those cases was the charitable-use exemption under R.C. 5709.12. Justice Kennedy asserted that the dissent’ attempt to extrapolate this rule into the public-worship exemption lacked support in the Court’s case law.
The dissenting justices maintained the rule in Ohio is that if the property is used to generate revenues, it does not qualify for a tax exemption even if the proceeds go for nonprofit uses. Justice Kennedy explained that rule has been raised in the case where a charitable exemption has been sought, and she noted there has been no Ohio cases where that rule has been applied to a house of worship property tax exemption request.
Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Terrence O’Donnell, and Judith L. French joined the opinion.
Dissent Finds Property Is Just Radio Station
In her dissent, Chief Justice O’Connor accused the majority of “blatant activism” for it use of irrelevant case law “flown in on a wing and prayer” to resolve the case in favor of Christian Voice.
Chief Justice O’Connor noted the station derives more than $2 million in advertising revenue a year and rents space on its broadcasting tower. She noted a small percentage of the physical space – about 2 percent of the building – is comprised of the chapel, and no groups were reported to use the chapel regularly for religious purposes.
She maintained that songs described as “bible verse set to music” and delivered to listeners in their homes, vehicles, and workplaces do not transform those locations into houses of worship. She also asserted that music inspired by the biblical passages is not unique to the station’s format and she pointed to examples of Handel’s “Messiah” and Pete Seeger’s “Turn! Turn! Turn!”made famous by The Byrds in the 1960s.
Chief Justice O’Connor maintained the Maumee Valley decision does not apply in this case for a number of reasons, including that the case involved sales and use taxes, not property taxes, and that it was a nondenominational church claiming a tax exemption on the same grounds as a more traditional house of worship. In 1972, a nondenominational church was uncommon, and the organization was arguing that because it also had a radio station it should not be treated differently than a traditional single denominational church.
She wrote the significant differences between the organization in Maumee Valley and Christian Voice are the Maumee Valley group relied on donations, gifts, and contributions and conducted church services on the premises that were broadcast. Christian Voice does not broadcast religious services, and that the station simply runs one 60-second devotional “spot” cyclically throughout the day.
“With millions in advertising revenue that it secures (Christian Voice) is, of course, quite different from the organization in Maumee Valley and quite different from the many traditional churches that receive modest revenue from advertising in their weekly bulletins or on banners and church functions,” she wrote.
She also noted that even if the General Assembly has expanded the meaning of “house of worship” to mean more than physical structures, the Christian Voice property was not being used “exclusively” for public worship, which is required to earn the tax exemption.
Justices Judith Ann Lanzinger joined the chief justice’s opinion.
Justice Lanzinger also wrote a separate dissent focusing on the statute’s use of the word “exclusive.” Justice Lanzinger noted the majority interprets the word to mean “primarily,” but she wrote that in past cases, to qualify for an exemption a property had to be used exclusively for worship, but other property such as a building that housed the heating system for a church was also exempted because its primary use was to support the church building.
“Never before have we expanded the exemption, which again must be strictly construed, to property like the one in the present case – a radio station, which is so clearly unlike the traditional church buildings used for public worship to which we have applied the exemption in the past,” she wrote. “There is no church here.”
Justice William O’Neill joined Justice Lanzinger’s dissent.
2014-1626. Christian Voice of Cent. Ohio v. Testa, Slip Opinion No. 2016-Ohio-1527.
View oral argument video of this case.
Please note: Opinion summaries are prepared by the Office of Public Information for the general public and news media. Opinion summaries are not prepared for every opinion, but only for noteworthy cases. Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official headnotes or syllabi of court opinions. The full text of this and other court opinions are available online.By now, you have almost certainly seen or been emailed the meme picture showing several baboons playing in the snow captioned, "Did you know that a large group of baboons is called a Congress?
"We are all familiar with a herd of cows, a flock of chickens, a school of fish and a gaggle of geese," the email begins. "However, less widely known is a pride of lions, a murder of crows (as well as their cousins the rooks and ravens), an exaltation of doves and, presumably because they look so wise, a parliament of owls.
"Now consider a group of baboons. They are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least intelligent of all primates. And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons? Believe it or not... a Congress! I guess that pretty much explains the things that come out of Washington!"
Well, it does explain one thing. It explains that the person who posted or sent it does not know what a large group of baboons is called.
It’s a ‘Troop,’ Not a ‘Congress’
National Geographic says, baboons "form large troops, composed of dozens or even hundreds of baboons, governed by a complex hierarchy that fascinates scientists."
Of course, the U.S. Congress has recently evolved into a complex, bipartisan hierarchy that largely disappoints the American people.
According to the Oxford Dictionaries list of proper terms for groups of things, organized gatherings of kangaroos, monkeys, and baboons are all called “troops,” while the only group called a “congress” is Congress.
According to an Expert on Baboons
And in an email to PolitiFact, Shirley Strum, director of the University of California's Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project in Nairobi, Kenya, agreed that a group of baboons is known as a “troop.”
“I have never heard the term 'congress' used for a group of baboons!" she wrote, adding, "I would prefer to be governed by baboons than the current Congress! They are more socially committed, abide by the golden rule and are generally nicer people."
Baboons are "socially sophisticated and incredibly smart" and among primates, "no species is as dangerous as humans," said Strum. "Only baboons who have been spoiled by humans feeding them are dangerous and are never as aggressive as humans."
And sure, you get the point of the email that the U.S. Congress has pretty much degenerated into a largely ineffectual collection of lifetime professional politicians, typically trusted by only 10% of the American people, that spends more time arguing, running for reelection and on vacation than it does tending to its real jobs of carrying out the legislative process in a way that helps Americans happily pursue life and liberty.
In 1970, for example, our troop called Congress passed its very own Legislative Reorganization Act, which among other things “required” both the House of Representatives and the Senate to take the entire month of August off every year unless a “state of war” or “emergency” exists at the time. The last time Congress decided to take a break from its break was in the summer of 2005 when lawmakers returned to Washington just long enough to pass legislation authorizing aid for victims of hurricane Katrina.Australia... it's a vast, beautiful, welcoming country. It's also full to bursting with things that can kill you, if the big screen is to be believed. Inspired by Mia Wasikowska's plucky 1,700-mile trek across the Outback in Tracks, we flag up the traps and tropes she should watch out for.
(Un)Natural Phenomena
Exotic wildlife proliferates Down Under, most of it deceptively lethal. Witness the baby stolen by a dingo in horrifying Meryl Streep-starrer A Cry In The Dark (1988). The same – real – tragedy loosely inspired Razorback, a mullet-tastic 1984 horror about a giant marauding pig, directed by Highlander's Russell Mulcahy (mooted tagline: 'There Can Only Be Oink'). The less said about the ballet-dancing were-roos of The Marsupials: The Howling III (1987), the better.
Much more convincing is the giant CG crocodile munching Radha Mitchell's boat tour group (ex-Neighbours actors constitute an Outback peril all of their own) in 2007's Rogue, among them future stars Sam Worthington and – yes – young Mia herself. Perhaps wisely, the croc gets even less screentime than Worthington.
This isn't the only unseen menace. Burgeoning sexuality is as much to blame as brute nature for the disappearance of several Victorian schoolgirls in Peter Weir's Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975). Dubbed "Picnic At Hanging Cock", it's often considered the seminal Outback film, but only by people who haven't seen the awesome Long Weekend (1978).
Written by Everett De Roche – the chief architect of the Ozploitation genre, who passed away in April aged 67 – and loved by Quentin Tarantino, Long Weekend is an object lesson in how not to survive the wilds. Against a backdrop of random bird attacks and nuclear tests, an arguing couple head to a beach nobody's heard of to shoot/eat/run over a huge variety of animals while being extravagantly horrible to each other. Nature, needless to say, takes exception and their eerie, inevitable downfall plays out to a soundtrack of electronic cicadas and screaming seacows (look it up).
SEE ALSO: The Reef (2010), Dark Age (1987), Walkabout (1976)
Road warriors
Because everything's so damn far away, Aussies need to drive. They don't, however, need to form gangs of murderous, sexually ambiguous highway marauders, but what can you do? From Weir's The Cars That Ate Paris (1974), about a small town whose residents cause auto-accidents for their own nefarious ends, to the junkyard concentration camps of Dead-End Drive-In (1986), there's an entire subgenre devoted to petrol-headed psychopathy.
Among the more refined efforts is Road Games (1981), another brilliant De Roche script. Stacy Keach stars as the Shakespeare-quoting Quid, steering a road train full of meat across the Nullabor Plain with only a dingo for company. Quid thinks he's on the trail of a serial killer preying on young women – Jamie Lee Curtis among them – but it's possible he's just watched too many movies. De Roche and director Richard Franklin certainly have, and the result is a witty Hitchcock tribute on wheels.
Daddy of all the drive-time desperadoes is the Mad Max trilogy. Set in a near-future so merciless even Mel Gibson's avenger-turned-scavenger seems heroic, 1979's part one introduces several colourfully named bandits who don't quite live up to their billings – bonkers biker The Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne), for example, barely clips a nail. Meanwhile Nightrider (Vincent Gil), who was "born with a steering wheel in his hand", also dies that way, bursting into girly tears as his "fuel-injected suicide machine" fulfils its messy destiny.
In the all-action, post-apocalyptic sequel, human life has deteriorated into a death race, and the chief antagonist is Wez (Commando's Vernon Wells, also "Bruce" in 1990's The Shrimp On The Barbie, stereotype fans). A Mohawked maniac so tough he wears arseless chaps – which must really chafe – Wez comes to embody the ultimate melding of man and machine when Max parks a truck in his face.
SEE ALSO: Road Train (2010), Running On Empty (1982), Stone (1974)
Ocker psychopaths
The Outback is a place of extremes – and extreme behaviours. It's also suffered its fair share of atrocities, most of which have been subsumed into genre cinema. Based on real murders, and offering about as little fun as you can have at the flicks, Justin Kurzel's shocking Snowtown (2011) is set in a desolate Adelaide suburb full of dealers, rapists and paedophiles. Indeed, the residents are so dysfunctional that local geezer John Bunting (Daniel Henshall) seems like an upstanding member of the community – until he starts burying |
i - 1 ) in let t0 = Clock. time () in loop iterations >>= fun () -> let t1 = Clock. time () in let time = t1 -. t0 in C. log_s c ( Printf. sprintf "Wrote %d bytes in %.3f seconds (%.2f KB/s)" bytes time ( float_of_int bytes /. time /. 1024.)) >>= fun () -> let events = Profile. events () in for_lwt i = 0 to Array. length events - 1 do C. log_s c ( Profile. to_string events.( i )) done >>= fun () -> OS. Time. sleep 1. 0 end
UDP transmission
Last time, we saw packet transmission being interrupted by periods of sleeping, garbage collection, and some brief but mysterious pauses. I noted that the GC tended to run during Ring.ack_responses, suggesting that was getting called quite often, and with the new tracing we can see why.
This trace shows a unikernel booting (scroll left if you want to see that) and then sending 10 UDP packets. I’ve left the trace running a little longer so you can see the acks (this is very obvious when sending more than 10 packets, but I wanted to keep this trace small):
View full screen | Download udp.sexp
Mirage creates two threads for each packet that we add to the ring buffer and they stick around until we get a notification back from dom0 that the packet has been read (actually, we create six threads for each packet, but the bind simplification hides four of them).
It looks like each packet is in two parts, as each one generates two acks, one much later than the other. I think the two parts are the UDP header and the payload, which each have their own IO page. Given the time needed to share and unshare pages, it would probably be more efficient to copy the payload into the same page as the header. Interestingly, dom0 seems to ack all the headers first, but holds on to the payload pages for longer.
With 20 threads for just ten packets, you can imagine that the trace gets rather crowded when sending thousands!
TCP transmission
As before, the TCP picture is rather complicated:
View full screen | Download tcp.sexp
The above shows a unikernel running on my ARM Cubietruck connecting to netcat on my laptop and sending 100 TCP packets over the stream. There are three counters here:
main-to-tcp (purple) is incremented by the main thread just before sending a block of data to the TCP stream (just enough to fill one TCP segment).
(purple) is incremented by the main thread just before sending a block of data to the TCP stream (just enough to fill one TCP segment). tcp-to-ip (red) shows when the TCP system sent a segment to the IP layer for transmission.
(red) shows when the TCP system sent a segment to the IP layer for transmission. tcp-ackd-segs (orange) shows when the TCP system got confirmation of receipt from the remote host (note: a TCP ask is not the same as a dom0 ring ack, which just says the network driver has accepted the segment for transmission).
There is clearly scope to improve the viewer here, but a few things can be seen already. The general cycle is:
The unikernel is sleeping, waiting for TCP acks.
The remote end acks some packets (the orange line goes up).
The TCP layer transmits some of the buffered packets (red line goes up).
The TCP layer allows the main code to send more data (purple line goes up).
The transmitted pages are freed (the dense vertical green lines) once Xen acks them.
I did wonder whether we unshared the pages as soon as dom0 had read the segment, or only when the remote end sent the TCP ack. Having the graphs overlaid on the trace lets us answer this question - you can see that when the red line goes up (segments sent to dom0), the ring.write thread that is created then ends (and the page is unshared) in response to ring.poll ack_responses, before the TCP acks arrive.
TCP starts slowly, but as the window size gets bigger and more packets are transmitted at a time, the sleeping periods get shorter and then disappear as the process becomes CPU-bound.
There’s also a long garbage collection period near the end (shortly before we close the socket). This might be partly the fault of the tracing system, which currently allocates lots of small values, rather than writing to a preallocated buffer.
Disk access
For our final example, let’s revisit the block device profiling from last time. Back then, making a series of read requests, each for 32 pages of data, produced this chart:
With the new tracing, we can finally see what those mysterious wake-ups in the middle are:
View full screen | Download disk-direct.sexp
Each time the main test code’s read call returns, the orange trace (“read”) goes up. You can see that we make three blocking calls to dom0 for each request. I added another counter for the number of active grant refs (pages shared with dom0), shown as the red line (“gntref”). You can see that for each call we share a bunch of pages, wait, and then unshare them all again.
In each group of three, we share 11 pages for the first two requests, but only 10 for the third. This makes obvious what previously required a careful reading of the block code: requests for more than 11 pages have to be split up because that’s all you can fit in the request structure. Our request for 32 pages is split into requests for 11 + 11 + 10 pages, which are sent in series.
In fact, Xen also supports “indirect” requests, where the request structure references full pages of requests. I added support for this to mirage-block-xen, which improved the speed nicely. Here’s a trace with indirect requests enabled:
View full screen | Download disk-indirect.sexp
If you zoom in where the red line starts to rise, you can see it has 32 steps, as we allocate all the pages in one go, followed by a final later increment for the indirect page.
Zooming out, you can see we paused for GC a little later. We got lucky here, with the GC occurring just after we sent the request and just before we started waiting for the reply, so it hardly slowed us down. If we’d been unlucky the GC might have run before we sent the request, leaving dom0 idle and wasting the time. Keeping multiple requests in flight would eliminate this risk.
Implementation notes
I originally wrote the viewer as a native GTK application in OCaml. The browser version was created by running the magical js_of_ocaml tool, which turned out to be incredibly easy. I just had to add support for the HTML canvas API alongside the code for GTK’s Cairo canvas, but they’re almost the same anyway. Now my embarrassing inability to learn JavaScript need not hold me back!
Finding a layout algorithm that produced sensible results was the hardest part. I’m quite pleased with the result. The basic algorithm is:
Generate an interval tree of the thread lifetimes.
Starting with the root thread, place each thread at the highest place on the screen where it doesn’t overlap any other threads, and no higher than its parent.
Visit the threads recursively, depth first, visiting the child threads created in reverse order.
If one thread merges with another, allow them to overlap.
Don’t show bind-type threads as children of their actual creator, but instead delay their start time to when they get activated and make them children of the thread that activates them, unless their parent merges with them.
For the vertical layout I originally used scrolling, but it was hard to navigate. It now transforms the vertical coordinates from the layout engine by passing them through the tanh function, allowing you to focus on a particular thread but still see all the others, just more bunched up. The main difficulty here is focusing on one of the top or bottom threads without wasting half the display area, which complicated the code a bit.
Summary
Understanding concurrent programs can be much easier with a good visualisation. By instrumenting Lwt, it was quite easy to collect useful information about what threads were doing. Libraries that use Lwt only needed to be modified in order to label the threads.
My particular interest in making these tools is to explore the behaviour of Mirage unikernels - tiny virtual machines written in OCaml that run without the overhead of traditional operating systems.
The traces produced provide much more information than the graphs I made previously. We can see now not just when the unikernel isn’t making progress, but why. We saw that the networking code spends a lot of time handling ack messages from dom0 saying that it has read the data we shared with it, and that the disk code was splitting requests into small chunks because it didn’t support indirect requests.
There is plenty of scope for improvement in the tools - some things I’d like include:
A way to group or hide threads if you want to focus on something else, as diagrams can become very cluttered with e.g. threads waiting for shared pages to be released.
The ability to stitch together traces from multiple machines so you can e.g. follow the progress of an IP packet after it leaves the VM.
A visual indication of when interrupts occur vs when Mirage gets around to servicing them.
More stats collection and reporting (e.g. average response time to handle a TCP request, etc).
A more compact log format and more efficient tracing.
But hopefully, these tools will already help people to learn more about how their unikernels behave. If you’re interested in tracing or unikernels, the Mirage mailing list is a good place to discuss things.Retired ICBMs like the Peacekeeper (above) could help stimulate the development of a lunar base, rather than compete directly with commercial launch vehicles. (credit: US Air Force) How an ICBM-based "bridge to nowhere" can help start a Moon Village
Recently, in respective SpaceNews op-eds, Scott Lehr and George Whitesides crossed swords (or plowshares?) about the most recent variation on an old idea: hauling ICBM components out of retirement to put them to more peaceful uses. I’d first heard of something like this in Bruce Lusignan’s proposal to use ICBMs to create an forward base in low Earth orbit for an international Mars mission. What has happened since that time is a wave of commercialization initiatives. So it’s unsurprising that markets, rather than politics, would be the latest arena of debate about non-lethal uses for this inventory. It’s unsurprising that markets, rather than politics, would be the latest arena of debate about non-lethal uses for this inventory. Lehr says using Peacekeeper rocket motors to launch small satellites would make the US more competitive in that particular segment of the launch market, which is currently dominated by subsidized players abroad. Lehr is, of course, talking his book, since his company, Orbital ATK, makes the Minotaur, which is substantially ICBM-based. But Whitesides has a pecuniary interest of his own. He is CEO of Virgin Galactic, which not only offers perpetually delayed suborbital fun-rides, but has also begun a small satellite launch initiative of its own, one that might even orbit a satellite before anything very recreational happens elsewhere in the company. Whitesides’ complaint is understandable: there could be a “crowding out” of private sector initiatives. I’d like to see what I can do to antagonize both sides of this debate. First, however, let me go back to an old ruckus from 2008: the uproar over US congressional earmarks. Many projects that enjoyed earmark funding promises at that time were derided as “Bridges to Nowhere.” Since 2008 was also the year of Sarah Palin’s vice-presidential candidacy, and since Alaska had two Bridges to Nowhere earmarks of its own, I found myself studying bridge projects. I did this in (frankly partisan) hopes of finding some awful embarrassment for Palin. In a way, I was disappointed: neither Alaskan bridge proposal was as ridiculous as it seemed at first. One of these Alaskan bridges would have connected a (low-volume) international airport to a small town nearby. It probably would have improved the local economy by getting more tourists who were bound for Misty Fjords National Monument to stay longer at a slightly more developed waystation. The other bridge would have connected Anchorage to a relatively undeveloped subdivision across a river that was served by a ferry only when winter ice didn’t make the transit too difficult. It might have sparked a construction boom across the water from downtown. But it gets better. With the kind of low-interest financing that tends to be more available when the Federal Reserve targets the lower bound of interest rates in a recession, it seemed possible that these bridges had a kind of business case. That is, they could eventually have been revenue-positive for their respective municipalities. Coincident with the Fed targeting the lower bound is the economic predicament that justifies such low interest rates in the first place: high unemployment in a recession. Later in 2008, the global economy imploded. Suddenly, certain Bridges to Nowhere looked a lot like “shovel-ready” projects. Bridge projects are infrastructure. Stimulus spending tends to be oriented toward infrastructure because it’s most often shovel-ready when a recession hits. Infrastructure investment doesn’t cause much private sector crowding out, because it’s not something the private sector directly invests in. It’s a public good: few users directly pay the carrying costs, but if the project is chosen wisely, the economy as a whole tends to benefit for a long time to come. The sooner a Moon Village can scale up, the more opportunities that launch providers—including American providers—would see to serve a growing Village. Getting back to space launcher plowshares: to be honest, I think George Whitesides is pretty close to correct. Even though a private-sector entity that uses excess ICBM motors is still in the private sector, those freebies could mean there’s effectively been some crowding out done with a past public investment. But Scott Lehr also has an excellent point about how private sector space launch initiatives in the US are not on a very level international playing field to begin with. Against this background of two launcher company executives facing off, there’s the Moon. Remember the Moon? The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation has responded enthusiastically to an ESA director’s proposal to put a base on the Moon, possibly more enthusiastically than any government entity in the EU. The FAA would prefer to have more US-based spaceflight to oversee. And if those launches are mostly for ESA and for any Moon Village partners that happen to materialize, well, it’s still spaceflight, potentially by American launch providers, launches that could still take place within FAA purview. Let’s look at the bright side of all this self-serving talk. Government can sometimes take an economic “pump-priming” role, shoes that the private sector won’t fill on its own. Government is perhaps at its best when it steers private interests toward public good in ways that also help those private interests. What I propose is to crash a lot of these excess ICBMs wherever the ESA says they’d like their Moon Village. Since these vehicles would arrive at speeds in excess of two kilometers per second, the vehicle wreckage would be quite fragmentary, to be sure. But the detritus would consist largely of pure metal pieces. When you consider the costs that would need to be sunk to mine and refine metals on the Moon, starting from bare regolith, these rocket chunks would have great value. Compared to anything you could scoop up on the Moon today, they would have enormous value added. A big plain on the lunar surface strewn with pure metal could give Moon Village a major initial boost in starting ISRU metallurgy of its own. Even in the meantime, metal 3D printers could use collected shrapnel as feedstock. The sooner a Moon Village can scale up, the more opportunities that launch providers—including American providers—would see to serve a growing Village. Surely, the US should crash this Bridge to Nowhere on the Moon only with “international earmarks”: that is, it should make sure Moon Village partners only process these metals if they bought them at some market rate. The proceeds from the sales could be paid into an account that could be drawn upon by Moon Village partners to buy launch services from American commercial providers. I’m not sure whether I’ve antagonized both sides of this debate enough. My hope is far more vaulting, actually. It’s to antagonize sides of the debate I haven’t even heard of yet. This is ambitious of me, I suppose. But we all have our dreams of greatness, do we not? HomeArticle by Ravenstorm Labarcon
It’d be over an hour and a half of waiting just to get in and there was no guarantee they’d let us through. Parking was ten dollars.
So said the parking attendant at Cal Expo.
“You still want to do it?” she asked my friend Peter, who was driving the car.
We did, so we parked at the Hobby Lobby across the street and saved the money for food. We’d be hungry, after all, as we were going to spend the next several hours standing alongside thousands of our fellow community members to show our support for democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders.
The media says he’ll never make it, but we showed up anyway. I read on the news that there were between ten and twenty thousand of us, but estimates vary.
It was a lot of people.
The line was long enough for us not to know where it ended, but we waited all the same. It moved in chunks. Five minutes would pass, and a wave of movement would ripple through the crowd. Five minutes. Another ripple. Maybe it was ten minutes. Another 40 feet forward, anyway.
Waiting with us was an interesting slice of the local community. Kaleidoscopic. Veterans and college students with dyed hair and stern businesspeople and late-twenties couples and single parents with little kids. A colorful crowd decorated with suits, hoodies, turbans, and American-flag short shorts. Volunteers moved along the line registering people to vote and volunteer in turn as they spoke with hopeful smiles about the future. Thumbs tapped out messages for the world to see while thousands of cameras took thousands of pictures. The line hummed with conversation.
The sun had set by the time we approached the field where Bernie was speaking, and the stadium overflowed with excited applause. A faint echo of Sanders’s voice made its way to the waiting crowd through the speakers of smartphones as several people streamed live footage of the speech. Not wanting to miss out on a moment of what they came for, friends and strangers alike huddled just a little closer together and peered over each other’s shoulders for a better look at the man on the glowing screens.
As we walked into the stadium, Bernie was a barely-visible smudge of person up on stage, dwarfed by a crowd of thousands. We’d arrived in time to hear the last half hour of his speech, and in that time he touched on several topics of particular interest to me. He spoke about investing in American infrastructure and prison reform. About rebuilding our inner cities and giving health care to all Americans. Notably, he talked about education–about how the demand for an education and the consequences of pursuing one have changed drastically over the years. About how he wants to shift the load back off of the students and back onto the state.
“We should not be punishing people for getting a higher education. We should be rewarding them.”
Damn straight. Nowadays, it takes education to get work, money to get education, and work to get money. Students are digging themselves deeper into debt than ever before just to attain a modicum of security. To work a reasonable number of hours every day and still have food and water and to be able to see a doctor when they get sick. To have a home and the possibility of raising a family.
He also talked about making this happen by taxing those who can afford it. We pay taxes, why shouldn’t everyone? Why should those privileged beyond the common comprehension not be required to pay into the common pot? The idea makes sense on such a basic level that I find it hard to wrap my head around why it’s not like that already.
It’s one thing to hear about the popular support for Bernie Sanders, but another thing entirely to experience it. I figured that seeing him speak in person would be the best part of the rally, but walking out, I came to realize that it wasn’t the words of the senator that had excited me, but seeing him receive so much support from so many people. It was hearing rapt, powerful applause for ideas I agree with. It was the reassurance that political participation isn’t a dead cause.
Far from it, actually. It’s quite apparent to me now that this isn’t going away anytime soon.
And it’s quite apparent that it’s bigger than Bernie.
The guy didn’t invent worker’s rights or green energy or health care reform or civil liberties. We, the people, want those things, and Bernie Sanders projects to us the promise of opportunity to make those things a reality. He’s the first prominent populist voice in American politics this century, and the ongoing support for his campaign is a reflection of the building momentum and prominence of progressive, people-centric ideas in our modern political consciousness.
We don’t specifically want a Sanders Administration, we want change.
When I yelled and applauded at the rally, I wasn’t yelling and applauding to support Bernie personally. I was there to show my support for that line and that crowd, that stadium full of people and the millions of other Americans who agree that change must happen. I could look around me and really feel that these are the people to whom my decision makes a difference. These are the people whose decision makes a difference to me.
We are the people, the economy, the culture, and the government, and we have a responsibility to each other to care. Our collective actions define our collective future, and as issues like socioeconomic inequity and corporate meddling become more and more pressing, apathy is becoming less and less of an option.
The California Democratic Primary is June 7th. Go vote.
AdvertisementsThis was the first time large lithium-ion batteries were used aboard a commercial jet. The 787 has two of them, one for its auxiliary power unit, or A.P.U., and a second to turn on its flight deck computers.
Boeing had initially determined that a battery cell might fail in one out of 10 million flight hours. Instead, by the time the two episodes happened, the 787 fleet in service had logged fewer than 52,000 hours, according to the safety board.
“The incident resulted from Boeing’s failure to incorporate design requirements to mitigate the most severe effects of an internal short circuit within an A.P.U. battery cell,” the report said. It also faulted the F.A.A. for failing to identify the design problem.
“Boeing should have taken a more conservative approach in its safety analyses,” it said.
The N.T.S.B. had already concluded that the battery failure came from an internal short circuit in cell 5 or cell 6 and led to a fire that propagated to other cells — known as a thermal runaway. But the battery was too damaged for specialists to figure out what had caused the internal short in the first place.
But its investigation found that the manufacturing process allowed defects that could lead to internal short circuiting. GS Yuasa, it said, “did not test the battery under the most severe conditions possible in service, and the test battery was different than the final battery design certified for installation on the airplane.”
Shortly after the report was made public, GS Yuasa issued a statement through a United States-based public relations firm and defended its manufacturing methods.
“We appreciate and respect the N.T.S.B.’s final report, although the root cause of this internal short circuit remains elusive,” GS Yuasa said in a statement. “We remain fully confident, however, in the quality and safety of our batteries, our state of-the-art manufacturing processes and our highly skilled and trained employees.”Sometimes you get lucky and are able to interview the best of the best, the people who bring the art of data visualization to its greatest height, the world experts on building creative, aesthetic and insightful vizzes... In short, the Tableau Zen Masters. Tableau Conference 2015 in Vegas was one of those lucky moments, and we managed to get our hands on a bunch of Zen Masters, that were all eager to share their most valuable designing tips with us.
We asked each of them about: 1. their best Dashboard Design tip, 2. their biggest viz pet peeve, and 3. how they first came accross Tableau Public. As expected for an art as subtle and personal as data vizualisation, they all came up with their very own views, advice and stories.
Anya A'Hearn: Start with the End in Mind and Share the Love
1. To build a great Dashboard, always start from this question: what is the use case and goal of your viz, based on your users and the context in which they will consume, use, and flow through the data?
2. As for the DON'Ts in Tableau, I strongly advise against using "bells and whistles" embellishments just because you can. If they don't add value, please don't use them.
3. As San Francisco school assignment is done through a lottery system, you have to find the right mix of seven choices to maximize your chances of being admitted in a good school. This is a nightmare for SF parents and they usually spend countless hours touring the scools and fretting over selections. I had built a visualization to maximize the chances of my son Max to get into an acceptable public school, and I wanted to post this so other parents could take advantage of it. As there was no Mac version of Reader at the time, and trying to convince folks to download random software even if they were using a PC was difficult, I wasn't able to distribute it for public use. As soon as Public went up though, I was able to provide this analysis to other families so they could take advantage of this data. Go Public!!!
Having ignited our curiosity, Anya kindly accepted to share this original viz, with one disclaimer: "This was about 5 years ago, so please pardon the dated (yet still fairly classic) viz and *gasp*, the map style".
Andy Kriebel: Be Consistent (and Don't Use Pie Charts)
1. Be deliberate and consistent with your choice of fonts. Limit yourself to 1 or 2 fonts max per viz.
2. Pie charts, definitely! Closely followed by using too many colours.
3. I discovered Tableau in April 2007 when I did a Google search for dashboard software. Tableau was the first link, I clicked on it, downloaded desktop trial, watched the first video and got my first project done – all in 30 minutes!
Chris Love: Again Be Consistent, and Keep It Simple
1. It’s about consistency within a dashboard. You can never put as much on a dashboard as you think you can so: choose a few colours and a few fonts and stick to them, and don’t be afraid of your dashboard being boring just because you only have a few items on it.
2. Not being sure how fonts and other custom items are going to render on other people’s screen is my personal nightmare.
3. I downloaded it when I started blogging about data in 2013. I wanted something to visualize what I was blogging about.
Rob Radburn: Build Your Viz Brand
1. Build your own personal viz style. It doesn’t matter what that style is, but find a style and stick to it, so that people recognise your viz ‘brand’.
2. When someone has built a static non-interactive dashboard and you want to interact with it - you want to find your own story – and you can’t.
3. I had a Tableau Desktop licence at work, and only after I had been using Tableau for a while did I realise that there was a community around Tableau and that Tableau Public existed.
Jonathan Drummey: Draft It on Paper
1. Lay out your dashboard on paper first. It will save you a lot of time in Tableau if you know where you want to put things first.
2. When people derive incorrect results from their viz as they don’t have a good understanding of the granularity of their data. And also the Red/Green colour palette.
3. I first heard about Tableau Public when I first found Tableau through a Google search, and I just instantly fell in love with it.
Jonathan Trajkovic: Get To Know Your Data First
1. When I first look at a dataset, I experiment with it creating lots of different sheets until I get a clear idea of the trends. That's when I narrow down to the main items to build my dashboard.
2. The formatting stage and designing a viz for a specific screen size (especially mobile) are my personal pet peeve. I usually use a fixed size for dashboards, but it won’t work properly on a mobile. Also, I hate pie charts!
3. I first used Tableau as part of a university project about data visualization. I did a benchmark of the existing tools (Qlik, Tableau & Spotfire) and chose to go with Tableau. I used Tableau Public for 2 months before the company I was interning bought
Summing up these pearls of Zen Masters' wisdom: spend some time exploring your data until you understand what's in it, then grab a pen and lay out a draft version on paper, keeping the goal in mind all along. In the production phase, remember to keep things simple and consistent: more is not necessarily better. And now, go build this dashboard!In oral arguments before the Supreme Court last week, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. introduced a statistical claim that he took to imply that an important provision of the Voting Rights Act has become outmoded.
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which is being challenged by Shelby County, Ala., in the case before the court, requires that certain states, counties and townships with a history of racial discrimination get approval (or “pre-clearance”) from the Department of Justice before making changes to their voting laws. But Chief Justice Roberts said that Mississippi, which is covered by Section 5, has the best ratio of African-American to white turnout, while Massachusetts, which is not covered, has the worst, he said.
Chief Justice Roberts’s statistics appear to come from data compiled in 2004 by the Census Bureau, which polls Americans about their voting behavior as part of its Current Population Survey. In 2004, according to the Census Bureau’s survey, the turnout rate among white voting-aged citizens was 60.2 percent in Mississippi, while the turnout rate among African-Americans was higher, 66.8 percent. In Massachusetts, conversely, the Census Bureau reported the white turnout rate at 72.0 percent but the black turnout rate at just 46.5 percent.
As much as it pleases me to see statistical data introduced in the Supreme Court, the act of citing statistical factoids is not the same thing as drawing sound inferences from them. If I were the lawyer defending the Voting Rights Act, I would have responded with two queries to Chief Justice Roberts. First, are Mississippi and Massachusetts representative of a broader trend: do states covered by Section 5 in fact have higher rates of black turnout on a consistent basis? And second, what if anything does this demonstrate about the efficacy of the Voting Rights Act?
One reason to be suspicious of the representativeness of Mississippi and Massachusetts is the high margin of error associated with these calculations, as noted by Nina Totenberg of NPR.
Like other polls, the Current Population Survey is subject to sampling error, a result of collecting data among a random subsample of the population rather than everyone in the state. In states like Massachusetts that have low African-American populations, the margin of error can be especially high: it was plus-or-minus 9.6 percentage points in estimating the black turnout rate in 2004, according to the Census Bureau. Even in Mississippi, which has a larger black population, the margin of error was 5.2 percentage points.
As a general matter, I would prefer that everyone be more careful when citing statistical data, and be more explicit about describing the potential sources of error and uncertainty associated with the calculations. But the headline associated with Ms. Totenberg’s article at NPR makes a strong claim: it asserts that Chief Justice Roberts has “misconstrued” the data by ignoring the margin of error.
In fact, several things can be said in Chief Justice Roberts’s defense. Ms. Totenberg cites 2010 voting rates in her article, when the difference in black turnout between Mississippi and Massachusetts was within the margin of error. But Chief Justice Roberts appears to be referring to a lower-court brief that cited 2004 data instead, when the difference was larger and outside the margin of error.
Furthermore, estimating the degree of uncertainty associated with a statistical estimate is not quite so straightforward as it might seem. There is no bright line at which a particular piece of statistical evidence goes from being meaningful to meaningless.
For example, in a poll of 1,000 people, a candidate who is ahead 52-48 has a 90 percent chance of holding the lead (assuming that there are no other sources of uncertainty apart from sampling error). A candidate who is up 53-47 has a 97 percent chance of holding the lead.
If one applies the conventional definition of the margin of error, which usually refers to a 95 percent confidence interval, then the second candidate’s lead would be described as being outside the margin of error while the first candidate’s would be within it. Nonetheless, the first candidate is still nine times more likely to lead his opponent than to trail him. Conversely, while we can be somewhat more confident about the second candidate’s lead, there is still some chance (3 percent) that he actually trails in the race and that the poll was an outlier. Statistical certainty exists along a continuum of probabilities and not in absolutes; I am therefore reluctant to endorse arguments that rely on semantic distinctions about how terms like “margin of error” or “statistical significance” are applied.
Another problem is that sampling error refers to only one potential source of uncertainty in a poll. In surveys of voting behavior, for example, some voters give erroneous responses: lying about whether they voted, misremembering whether they did so or being uncertain about whether their ballot was ultimately counted. This measurement error is in addition to sampling error and will not be accounted for by the margin of error. Further errors can be introduced by the polling method: since some people are more likely to respond to surveys than others, the sample may be biased in some way rather than being truly random. Thus, the true degree of uncertainty in a polling result is usually larger than implied by the margin of error alone.
The debate might be more constructive if we return to the substantive questions that I posed earlier. First, are the voting rates in Massachusetts and Mississippi representative of a broader trend? If so, it seems wrong to suggest that Chief Justice Roberts misconstrued the data merely because he failed to mention the margin of error. But if Massachusetts and Mississippi are outliers, then the chief justice may be guilty as NPR contends. One might draw a parallel to last year’s election campaign, when some Web sites consistently highlighted polls that showed Mitt Romney performing well, ignoring the broader consensus of polls that had President Obama with the lead for most of the campaign in most swing states. Cherry-picking the evidence in this way is the greater statistical sin, in my view, since it involves making misleading rather than merely imprecise claims.
In fact, it would be dangerous to infer very much from Massachusetts and Mississippi. In 2004, for instance, while Mississippi was reported to have strong black turnout, black turnout was poor in Arizona and Virginia, which are also covered by Section 5.
In the chart below, I have aggregated the 2004 turnout data into two groups of states, based on whether or not they are covered by Section 5. (I ignore states like New York where some counties are subject to Section 5 but others are not.) In the states covered by Section 5, the black turnout rate was 59.2 percent in 2004, while it was 60.8 percent in the states that are not subject to it. The ratio of white-to-black was 1.09 in the states covered by Section 5, but 1.12 in the states that are not covered by it. These differences are not large enough to be meaningful in either a statistical or a practical sense.
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So did Chief Justice Roberts misconstrue the data? If he meant to suggest that states covered by Section 5 consistently have better black turnout rates than those that aren’t covered by the statute, then his claim is especially dubious. However, the evidence does support the more modest claim that black turnout is no worse in states covered by Section 5. There don’t seem to be consistent differences in turnout rates based on whether states are covered by Section 5 or not.
The bigger potential flaw with Chief Justice Roberts’s argument is not with the statistics he cites but with the conclusion he draws from them.
Most of you will spot the logical fallacy in the following claim:
No aircraft departing from a United States airport has been hijacked since the Sept. 11 attacks, when stricter security standards were implemented. Therefore, the stricter security is unnecessary.
As much as I might want to be sympathetic to this claim (I fly a lot and am wary of the “security theater” at American airports), it ought not to be very convincing as a logical proposition. The lack of hijackings were in part a product of an environment in which airport security was quite strict, and says little about what would happen if these countermeasures were removed. The same data might just as easily be cited as evidence that the extra security had been effective:
No aircraft departing from a United States airport has been hijacked since the Sept. 11 attacks, when stricter security standards were implemented. Therefore, the stricter security is working.
Similarly, the fact that black turnout rates are now roughly as high in states covered by Section 5 might be taken as evidence that the Voting Rights Act has been effective. There were huge regional differences in black turnout rates in the early 1960s, before the Voting Rights Act was passed. (In the 1964 election, for example, nonwhite turnout was about 45 percent in the South, but close to 70 percent elsewhere in the country.) These differences have largely evaporated now.
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How much of this is because of the Voting Rights Act, as opposed to other voter protections that have been adopted since that time, or other societal changes? And even if the Voting Rights Act has been important in facilitating the changes, how many of the gains might be lost if the Section 5 requirements were dropped now?
These are difficult questions that the Supreme Court faces. They are questions of causality – and as any good lawyer knows, establishing a chain of causality is often the most difficult chore in a case.
Statistical analysis can inform the answers if applied thoughtfully. But statistics can obscure the truth when they become divorced from the historical, legal and logical context of a case.Sometimes, data has to be shared to be useful. For example, a school |
on sand.
Second, we spent most of the decade telling the Russians what was in their interest, rather than listening to them. This occurred on issues large and small, but most significantly on the issue of NATO expansion. This is not the place to debate again the pros and cons of the issue, but its impact on Russia’s view of the new international system should not have come as a surprise. Andrei Kozyrev, probably the most pro-Western foreign minister in Russia’s long history, told us both publicly and privately, shortly before he lost his job, what the impact of NATO expansion would be on Russian reform and reformers. Employing diplomacy cannot reconcile conflicting interests without a willingness to hear the other side define its interests.
Third, we tossed them scraps and expected them to think it was filet. We offered the Russians figurative, but not substantive involvement in selected Western institutions. We appeared to believe they could not understand the difference, managing at the same time to commit the diplomatic errors of both deluding ourselves and insulting them.
Finally, instead of working to establish agreed principles, we appeared to operate on the basis of short-term self-interest. Our principle on NATO membership—anyone may apply—really meant that anyone except Russia might apply. We applied the principles of territorial integrity, noninterference in internal affairs and self-determination selectively and in ways that the Russians saw as harmful to their interests. Kosovo’s right of self-determination took precedence over Serbia’s right of territorial integrity, but Georgia’s right of territorial integrity took precedence over Abkhazia’s right of self-determination. Reaching a common understanding on the meaning of these conflicting principles was an essential, if extremely difficult element in creating a more stable international system. We never really tried. We interfered in the domestic affairs of countries in the name of democracy—Libya, Syria—but supported the violent overthrow of democratically elected regimes whose policies we did not like—Ukraine is the most significant case in point.Like Like Love Haha Wow Sad Angry 2 1
Construct in the late 1650’s, and running buisness for nearly 300 years, Yoshiwara, the red ligth distict of the old Edo ( Tokyo ) was the place of life and death of thousands of men, women and children.
Nowadays, the area re-labels Senzoku 4-chome, is still in the business of « Mizu shōbai/ 水商売 / water trade «, offering various sexual services over soaplands and other borthels.
It said that the between 1743 and 1801 remains of more 25 000 women from the distict, mostly in their early 20′s, were anonimously dumped at the gates of the Jokanji temple, better know as the « Nage Komi Dera / 投込寺 », the « Throw-in Temple ».
Red lipstick, hair pins and small feminine touches are still deposited in our days on the cenotaph build in it for the rest of their souls.
So goes the wheel of karma.It’s been a busy summer at New Belgium Brewing Co. The craft brewer, which has its eastern U.S. facility in West Asheville, has hired a new chief executive officer, filling a job that has been temporarily occupied by company co-founder Kim Jordan.
On the product side, the brewery has started a new small-batch sour brew series called Wood Cellar Reserve and launched a new nationally distributed white ale that’s an extension of its flagship Fat Tire Amber.
Steve Fechheimer, who has been chief strategy officer with spirits giant Beam Suntory, will officially join New Belgium in late August, says Jay Richardson, general manager of New Belgium’s Asheville brewery and part of the team that recruited Fechheimer. The new CEO will be based at New Belgium’s original Fort Collins, Colo., brewery, but, according to Richardson, he’ll pay a visit to Asheville by September. Fechheimer will oversee New Belgium’s nearly 800 employees, 135 of whom are in Asheville. He will also head New Belgium’s executive team, lead short-term strategy and handle day-to-day operations.
With Fechheimer’s arrival, Richardson says Jordan will return to her previous position, continuing as chair of the New Belgium board and focusing on “long-range strategy and industry topics.” Jordan has been pinch-hitting as CEO since the departure of Christine Perich in November.
The company went through at least 50 potential hires for the CEO job. Richardson says the selection team talked with “no more than 20” of the candidates and that Fechheimer has “the natural disposition” that will make him a good fit with New Belgium. “He has the experience in the alcohol industry … that’s very important,” Richardson says. “One of his specialties is strategy development.”
The overall beer industry “is showing a slight decline in growth year over year,” Richardson adds. “Within the craft industry, the [sales] growth rate we have seen over the past five to seven years is slowing.” He notes that some drinkers are consuming more wine and spirits, and as more craft breweries continue to open, competition for customers is strong. In Richardson’s words, the choices that consumers face are “staggering,” especially as brewers look for flavors that the public will find appealing and new products continue to be released.
Doing its part to stay competitive, New Belgium kicked off its Wood Cellar Reserve limited brew series in July with Le Kriek Noir, a Belgian-style kriek lambic made in Fort Collins. The brewery has also added Fat Tire Belgian White, made in Asheville and Fort Collins. Brewed with Seville orange peel, ground coriander and Nugget and Cascade hops, it’s available in 12-ounce bottles, can variety packs and on draft.
Follow Tony Kiss on Facebook at Carolina Beer Guy and on Twiter at @BeerGuyTKSouth Yorkshire towns reject government-backed proposals for Sheffield city region in favour of deal that could lead to mayor for whole county
People in Barnsley and Doncaster have voted in favour of a proposed devolution deal that would elect a mayor for the whole county of Yorkshire.
The results of what the two local authorities called “community polls” were announced on Thursday afternoon. Both south Yorkshire towns rejected a government-backed deal for the Sheffield city region in favour of a proposed deal for the whole county.
In Doncaster, 85% of voters (38,551) supported the proposals to devolve power to the whole of Yorkshire on a turnout of 20.1%, while 6,685 voted in favour of the Sheffield city region deal, with 234 spoiled ballot papers.
In Barnsley, 84.9% of those who voted (34,015) backed the wider Yorkshire deal on a turnout of 22.4%, while 6,064 voted for the Sheffield city region deal.
Ros Jones, the mayor of Doncaster, said the council had a “true mandate from our residents” to pursue a devolution deal for the whole of Yorkshire. “It is the will of the people, our business community and our elected politicians that Doncaster should be part of a wider Yorkshire devolution agreement,” she told councillors on Thursday.
The results are the latest in a long-running debate over devolution to the county of Yorkshire and its population of over 5 million people. In 2015, the government agreed plans to devolve powers over infrastructure investment, transport, skills and housing, plus £900m of funding over 30 years, to a group of local authorities termed the Sheffield city region.
Following challenges by Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire county councils, who described the agreement as a “land grab” by Sheffield, Bassetlaw and Chesterfield withdrew from the deal earlier this year.
Doncaster and Barnsley councils are among 15 Yorkshire local authorities to have given their backing to a “One Yorkshire” deal – put forward by politicians in Leeds – in which a directly elected mayor would oversee a combined authority for the whole region. The proposal has received cross-party support and backing from the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Institute of Directors and the TUC.
Sheffield and Rotherham are the only local authorities to give their full backing to the Sheffield city region deal.
The government has previously insisted it will not consider any whole-Yorkshire devolution plan that includes the councils already signed up to the Sheffield city region deal. But in a change of position, the communities secretary, Sajid Javid, wrote to civic leaders in South Yorkshire on Wednesday to suggest a compromise.
He put forward a two-stage solution in which south Yorkshire local authorities agree to go forward with plans to devolve powers to Sheffield city region and then look at joining a wider-Yorkshire deal later on. The government still plans to push ahead with elections for a metro mayor for the Sheffield city region next May, with or without the backing of Barnsley and Doncaster.
Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton, the leader of Barnsley council, called on the government to enter into discussions with the local authorities that were backing the One Yorkshire deal, and asked them not to impose a Sheffield city region mayor “against the will of the people”.
Responding to Javid’s letter, Ros Jones said both Barnsley and Doncaster were willing to consider interim solutions for the Sheffield city region, but that they were also “clear about the ultimate destination, which is for Doncaster to be part of a Yorkshire devolution agreement based on the widest possible geography”.
Asked why she thought a One Yorkshire agreement was better for Doncaster, she said: “We’ve come a long way since [the Sheffield city region deal in] 2015 and Brexit plays an important part in that. We’ve got to look internationally to bring in investment. Yorkshire is a brand that people can sell out there.”
She defended the cost of the polling, estimated at around £250,000 between the two local authorities. “These deals are going to last for 30-plus years,” she said. “We’re taking about our children’s future and our children’s children’s future. I think it’s right that we ask people what they think.”
Dan Jarvis, the MP for Barnsley Central, said the turnout was impressive given the time of year and the complexity of the subject. He said that Christmas would provide a “period for reflection” over which council leaders could consider how they would respond to Javid’s letter.
“This is massively important for Yorkshire, for the north of England and more generally for the way in which devolution happens across the whole country,” he said. “The notion that government should seek to impose a devolved settlement is a strange one and goes against the whole grain of devolution,” Jarvis added.
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “We have always said we would welcome discussions on a widely supported greater Yorkshire devolution deal provided the Sheffield city region deal was not threatened. While we will not undo the Sheffield city region deal, which has been partly implemented and would bring around £1bn of new investment to the area, we have proposed to the four South Yorkshire leaders what we believe is a good way forward. We look forward to hearing the leaders’ response.”In its latest filing before the federal district court in Dallas on behalf of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and its affiliate organization, the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) in the Hamas-terrorism financing case, the ACLU has made a noteworthy admission.
Rather than deny that there is copious evidence tying ISNA and NAIT to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, the brief argues that such evidence is merely dated. In a curious footnote on page 7, the reply states:
Assuming the authenticity of documents' dates, the most recent documents to mention either ISNA or NAIT are dated 1991, Gov. Exhs. 3-3 and 3-85, but the majority of the documents are older. Almost all of the numerous exhibits that purport to show financial transactions and that contain any mention of ISNA or NAIT are dated 1988 and 1989 (there are two dated 1990), almost a decade before the majority of the overt acts the government alleges in support of its conspiracy charges against the HLF defendants.
So ISNA and NAIT are not saying that the documents tying their organizations to Hamas are "inauthentic," but that the problem with the evidence is just that it is old. Then, even more curiously, the reply goes on to argue something that the government has not even alleged:
Even if the "evidence" provided some basis for alleging criminality against petitioners, the government's discussion of it shows the government utterly fails to grasp the singular weight and consequence that an official accusation of criminal conduct carries in our criminal justice system and in our society.
But, of course, the government has not charged ISNA or NAIT with criminal conduct, or the two groups would be indicted in their own right, rather than un-indicted co-conspirators who worked with the Holy Land for Relief and Development (HLF), the defendant and alleged Hamas-front. The reply brief then, as Shakespeare might write, "doth protest too much."
The government is merely claiming that evidence exists that ISNA and NAIT have sufficient ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood – HLF - that justify the groups' inclusion on a list of un-indicted co-conspirators, which enables prosecutors to more easily enter into evidence information which shows the scope of HLF's pro-Hamas operations.
We have chronicled the financial ties between ISNA/NAIT and Hamas several times, including during the first trial against HLF:
That is NAIT/ISNA money going to a top Hamas official, his wife, and a university controlled by Hamas. So the lawyers for ISNA and NAIT are admitting that both groups supported Hamas financially in the late 80's and early 90's, which, at a minimum, destroys ISNA's contention that the group has no ties to Hamas, let alone the Muslim Brotherhood.
The ACLU reply also states:
Of the exhibits the government cites that contain any mention of ISNA or NAIT (many do not), all pre-date by years the earliest conspiracy charge in the HLF Superseding Indictment (1995) and the 1995 designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Leaving aside the issue of what it means to have supported Hamas before it was officially designated as a terrorist group for now, we have reported on ISNA's post-1995 terror designation relationship with Hamas, which is both interesting and telling:
More notably, in June of 1997, two and a half years after HAMAS was officially designated as a terrorist organization by the United States government (and long after common sense and reality indicated as such), top HAMAS official Mousa Abu Marzook thanked ISNA (and several other U.S.-based Islamist and "civil rights" organizations), writing that ISNA supported him through his "ordeal" – Marzook had been detained at JFK airport in 1995 and arrested and the Israelis were seeking his extradition. Marzook wrote that ISNA's efforts had "consoled" him. ISNA's magazine, Islamic Horizons, is a hotbed of pro-jihadist literature, and has long championed HAMAS and HAMAS officials, notably Mr. Marzook himself. In the November/December 1995 issue, almost a full year after HAMAS was officially designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization, Islamic Horizons published an article titled, "Muslim Leader Hostage to Israeli Interests." That leader was Marzook, characterized by ISNA as: [a] member of the political wing of Hamas, disliked by the Zionist entity for its Islamic orientation, continues to be held hostage in the U.S. at the whims of his Zionist accusers. And in the September/October 1997 issues, two and a half years after the designation of Hamas as a terrorist group, Islamic Horizons published an article describing Marzook as: [j]ailed without trial in New York for-months for alleged ties to organizations seeking Palestinian rights.
That almost incredible Hamas apologia is from after Hamas was designated as a terrorist group. But what was known about Hamas before its 1995 designation? Hamas' Charter, the group's foundational document written in 1988, states:
Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).
and:
This Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), clarifies its picture, reveals its identity, outlines its stand, explains its aims, speaks about its hopes, and calls for its support, adoption and joining its ranks. Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised.
and:
The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Moslem Brotherhood in Palestine. Moslem Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times. It is characterised by its deep understanding, accurate comprehension and its complete embrace of all Islamic concepts of all aspects of life, culture, creed, politics, economics, education, society, justice and judgement, the spreading of Islam, education, art, information, science of the occult and conversion to Islam.
and:
The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the links in the chain of the struggle against the Zionist invaders. It goes back to 1939, to the emergence of the martyr Izz al-Din al Kissam and his brethren the fighters, members of Moslem Brotherhood. It goes on to reach out and become one with another chain that includes the struggle of the Palestinians and Moslem Brotherhood in the 1948 war and the Jihad operations of the Moslem Brotherhood in 1968 and after. Moreover, if the links have been distant from each other and if obstacles, placed by those who are the lackeys of Zionism in the way of the fighters obstructed the continuation of the struggle, the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of Allah's promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said: "The Day of Judgement (sic) will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).
As we noted a few days ago, sentiments very similar to this last paragraph can be found on ISNA's own website. Unfortunately for ISNA's reputation, the Hamas Charter contains many more vile sentiments, including:
The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement (sic) Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all the kings and presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that. Palestine is an Islamic Waqf land consecrated for Moslem generations until Judgement (sic) Day.
and:
Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.
and:
These conferences are only ways of setting the infidels in the land of the Moslems as arbitraters. When did the infidels do justice to the believers? "But the Jews will not be pleased with thee, neither the Christians, until thou follow their religion; say, The direction of Allah is the true direction. And verily if thou follow their desires, after the knowledge which hath been given thee, thou shalt find no patron or protector against Allah." (The Cow - verse 120). There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad.
and:
The day that enemies usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Moslem. In face of the Jews' usurpation of Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised. To do this requires the diffusion of Islamic consciousness among the masses, both on the regional, Arab and Islamic levels. It is necessary to instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the nation so that they would confront the enemies and join the ranks of the fighters.
and:
That is why you find them giving these attempts constant attention through information campaigns, films, and the school curriculum, using for that purpose their lackeys who are infiltrated through Zionist organizations under various names and shapes, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, espionage groups and others, which are all nothing more than cells of subversion and saboteurs. These organizations have ample resources that enable them to play their role in societies for the purpose of achieving the Zionist targets and to deepen the concepts that would serve the enemy.
and:
The Islamic Resistance Movement calls on Arab and Islamic nations to take up the line of serious and persevering action to prevent the success of this horrendous plan, to warn the people of the danger eminating (sic) from leaving the circle of struggle against Zionism. Today it is Palestine, tomorrow it will be one country or another. The Zionist plan is limitless. After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying.
And, scarily enough, there is much more where that came from. Yet it should not need to be pointed out that Hamas' invocation of a long discredited, notorious, anti-Semitic Russian forgery is grounds enough to keep one's distance from the group, whether or not it had been officially designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. But this is exactly who ISNA and NAIT were supporting, both financially and vocally, in the late 80's and early 90's, and on the pages of ISNA's magazine, and even well after Hamas had indeed been officially designated as a terrorist group.
The current admissions in the ISNA/NAIT reply brief are telling, and that their lawyers are claiming that the evidence linking the groups to Hamas and HLF does not rise to the level of criminality – despite the fact that the government so far has imputed no criminal conduct to either ISNA or NAIT in this case – is interesting. If it were true that the only unsavory and irredeemable quality of Hamas is suicide bombings and terrorist attacks, the protestations of ISNA and NAIT might ring a little truer. But Hamas' call to violent jihad and its vile anti-Semitism predate the terror group's "official" designation as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, as does the now-admitted support lent Hamas by ISNA and NAIT.GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday launched an ambitious plan for rich countries to sharply reduce tuberculosis infections and serve as a model for harder-hit countries of Africa and Asia, where the disease still thrives.
Although the 33 targeted countries, 21 of them in Europe, have relatively low rates of infection, the disease still kills 10,000 people a year there - predominantly homeless people, migrants, prisoners, drug users, heavy drinkers or people with HIV/AIDS - the WHO said.
It is in these communities that industrialised countries including the United States could pilot approaches to a disease that is both preventable and curable that could then be transferred to poorer countries, Dr. Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO’s Global TB Programme, told a news briefing.
The goal is to reduce the infection rate by a factor of 10 to fewer than 10 new TB cases per million people per year by 2035 in each of the 33 countries, and to effectively eliminate it by 2050.
“We are after, really, is finding what we call trailblazers or model countries that would embark in a resolute way on this campaign against tuberculosis, proving that it is indeed possible to get to elimination level,” Raviglione said.
The WHO strategy involves broader screening for both active and latent TB infections in high-risk groups, funding high-quality health services, and investing in new drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tests.
GROWING DRUG RESISTANCE
Common symptoms of TB are coughing with sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss and fever. But the disease, which is transmitted through the air, can take years to develop, and it is also vital to test as early as possible to determine if a person has a drug-resistant form.
Of the 155,000 annual new cases of tuberculosis in the target countries, about 500 are multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB), caused by an extreme superbug form of the bacterium that does not respond to the most powerful first-line drugs.
But worldwide, China, India and South Africa are among the hardest hit by TB.
The WHO estimates that 8.6 million people developed TB in 2012 and 1.3 million died. Some 450,000 fell ill with dangerous superbug strains in 2012, and up to 2 million people worldwide may be infected with drug-resistant TB by 2015, it says.
Raviglione said that Belarus and parts of Russia had high rates of MDR, which he called a “disaster situation”. Migrants from countries of the former Soviet Union who carry the infection could pose a threat to Western Europe, he added.
Standard treatment for TB usually includes a mix of four antibiotic drugs over a period of six months. MDR-TB can take 18 to 24 months to treat and cost up to $100,000 in rich countries.
But research efforts are already bearing some fruit.
Raviglione said about 12 promising vaccines were being tested, mostly by U.S. or UK companies, and some could be on the market by 2022.
The first new TB treatment in more than 40 years, Johnson & Johnson’s bedaquiline, was approved in 2012 for use on drug-resistant TB, and in 2013 the European Medicines Agency recommended granting conditional marketing approval for delamanid, a treatment for MDR being developed by Japan’s Otsuka.
(This story corrects 11th paragraph to refer only to parts of Russia and add mention of wider former Soviet Union)I regularly watch the Science Friday video podcast. This week they had an interesting piece on potamology (OK, I just learned that word and wanted to use it in my post: potamology is the scientific study of rivers). The podcast showcased the work Christian Braudrick and Bill Dietrich of University of California, Berkeley, who achieved what had not been done before; they were able to create a meandering river in a laboratory setting.
Such rivers lazily snake back and forth through a gently sloping field. They change shape over time by continually eroding the outer bank of each curve and depositing silt on the inner bank. Occasionally two bends in the river come together, changing the topology of the river, and ultimately leaving behind an oxbow lake.
In passing, the narrator mentioned a very interesting mathematical fact about meandering rivers. It turns out that the size of a river cannot be determined by its shape on a map. In particular, if you looked at an aerial snapshot of a meandering river, you would not be able to tell whether it is the Amazon or a small neighborhood stream! I had to investigate this stunning fact.
It appears that nature forces certain geometric relations on the features of the river. Let denote the length of a meander (the “wavelength”) and be the width of the river (see my drawing below). The curves in a meander are roughly circular (rather than sinusoidal, for example). Let denote the radius of curvature of a bend.
It turns out that these variables are almost always related in the following way:
.
I was stunned to learn this. What a beautiful fact. To see a remarkable scatterplot of the first relationship, see Figure 12.16 in The environment: principles and applications, By Chris C. Park (p. 374).
From what I can tell, the observation dates back to a 1960 paper by Luna Leopold, the Chief Hydrologist of the USGS.
I have no idea why there is a linear relationship between these variables, but it seems to me that if you know that such a relationship exists and you knew one of the constants, then you could estimate the other one. For example, suppose you knew that. In each cycle, a river winds clockwise around one circle of radius, then counterclockwise around another circle of radius. In doing so it will produce a wavelength of roughly.
[Images by:prefers salt marsh (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0), petercastleton (CC BY 2.0), molas (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0), stuant63 (CC BY-NC 2.0)]It’s generally assumed that NATO member nations are going to import their weapons from NATO arms dealers, which pretty much always means the United States, with a few small deals for Britain and France. Turkey however, is going a different way on air defense, signing a deal to buy a $2.5 billion S-400 system from Russia.
Since the whole rest of the NATO alliance is night and day building up military forces on the Russian frontier, such a purchase is raising more than a few eyebrows, and not just because they aren’t going to buy a more expensive alternative from Raytheon or Lockheed.
The deal means Turkey’s new air defense system won’t be compatible with the rest of the alliance for the purposes of integration, though the S-400 is widely considered among the most advanced in the world. Russia will directly provide two S-400 batteries on the deal, and will also produce two more batteries within Turkey in the future.
This isn’t the first time Turkey looked to an alternative supplier outside NATO, as they very nearly bought missile systems from a Chinese company, before the US convinced them not to because the company had sold similar systems to the Iranians.
That Turkey still went outside the alliance may reflect the continued tension with both the US and Western Europe, as well as the Erdogan government’s interest in staking out a more independent foreign policy, as the Russian systems likely won’t come with the same restrictions on deployments as a Patriot missile battery.
Last 5 posts by Jason DitzImproving the health of men and boys is a surprisingly complicated task involving problems, paradigms and gender politics, according to men's health specialist Paul Hopkins.
---This is article #21 in our series of #100Voices4Men and boys
Consideration of a combination of the sciences of human biology - neuroscience, psychology, endocrinology, and socio-biology, alongside social determinants of health, plus recognition of the influence on health of overlying cultural factors appears a reasonable premise for academic study and action on health concerns, with different disciplines working together to achieve a common good. However, add the words ‘gender’ and ‘male’ and academe enters a place of paradigms, politics and problems.
Welcome to men’s health: it’s complicated.
People who consider health to be a generic subject may ask why a focus on men? Why - because there is a sound rationale for action on men’s health. A cursory run through the evidence reveals that:
men die on average four years younger than women – and the gap has remained consistent throughout previous decades
cardiovascular disease is the largest cause of death of men in the UK, occurs at an earlier age in men and is a cause of premature male death
excluding breast cancer, men have a greater probability of cancer than women of most of the common cancers that befall both sexes
men are more likely to work in blue-collar jobs involving industrial processes that have an adverse affect on health
men are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke and use substances than women, more likely to be homeless or in prison
a disproportionate number of young males are killed in transport accidents and young men are consistently the group most at risk of suicide. The burden of suicide is three times greater in men
men tend to use health services less often than women and present themselves to health services at a later stage, often when their illness has advanced
services aren’t constructed so that they’re accessible to men; men may want to access preventative health services but they can’t
So what are we doing about it?
Given the weight of evidence it could be argued that a substantial national male health policy such as those introduced in the Republic of Ireland or Australia should have been put into place, and gendered, preventative health work embedded as part of health work infrastructure. Australia also has a ‘National Women’s Health Policy’ to act on the differential needs of females. However, whilst gendered health work may seem a sensible step to health strategists in Ireland and Australia, Western countries with similar evidence of the burden of male health, the UK has a Gender Equality Act via which inequalities in health are supposed to be addressed.
This may work in terms of ensuring single sex hospital wards, but it does not provide dedicated, gender-based preventative health policies and the actions required to implement them. In the meantime, preventative health work is driven by single-silo strategies that pay passing heed to male health concerns; the national male health policy that would provide a driver for real preventative health work does not appear to be part of the mindset of the architects and bureaucracies of UK health PLC.
The advent of commissioning of preventative health services, allied to the dispersal of health promotion departments and the loss of skilled staff in this area is also problematic. Public health and health promotion are allied but different disciplines. Whilst some public health commissioners may have a background in health promotion work, the current strategic concentration on the fiscal aspect of value for money services and a bean-counter mentality does not sit easily with gendered health work. An understanding of male health, what works, how to engage with men and attract men to services is vital to the provision of preventative services.
Given the single silo nature of public health work, with commissioners concentrating on one health topic - mental health, sexual health, obesity et al, it is likely that few commissioners have an understanding of men’s health, and even more unlikely to have undertaken serious study in the subject. Training, workshops or conferences would be a useful start, as might a discussion of the financial benefits of gendered work. But there’s another issue – and this one also has an antipodean twist to it.
Is feminism a barrier to improving men's health?
Any truly objective training on male health, or any national policy would come up against a paradigm issue, an academic debate at the heart of work on male health that has encumbered the disciplines involved and has resonance for practitioners involved in implementing preventative work. Male Studies is a recent academic discipline that has a largely Australian and American basis and seeks to explain men’s health outcomes based upon the biological sciences, social determinants and cultural factors mentioned at the beginning of this article.
Male Studies acknowledges that research into male health is not confined to any one discipline but covers a range of academic and professional disciplines and theories. The rationale appears straightforward, but for academics and practitioners wishing to establish Male Studies courses and undertake practical health work with men a politicised barrier is encountered; another humanities grounded academic discipline got there first.
There are two perspectives on male health. On one side is the Male Studies perspective already mentioned; on the other is a sociology-based camp that holds that masculinity is largely a social construct, that a traditional Western form of masculinity is damaging to health and thus work should be undertaken that challenges men on aspects of their masculinity, with an aim of decreasing risk-taking behaviours and improving health outcomes. A limited biological basis for men’s health outcomes is acknowledged.
The genitor of this work is an Australian sociologist, Raewyn Connell. This perspective has its roots in gender studies and feminist critiques of men; Connell’s 1995 work Masculinities is the formative text for this body of work. Men’s Studies or Critical Studies on Men are terms used to describe the sociology-based camp, which has a global presence, with established courses in academic institutions in many countries. Sociologists argue that Male Studies perspectives are overly deterministic and fail to take into account men’s hierarchical social practices as the key driver of men’s health outcomes; that Male Studies perspectives of working with some men ‘as they are’ may reinforce what is perceived as a harmful form of ‘masculinity’.
Are men behaving badly or are we helping men badly?
Male Studies advocates consider that health work should acknowledge male psychology and biology and the societal expectations, realities, and demands of men’s lives. That the narrative of ‘men behaving badly’ expressed by sociologists is a negative one, a deficiency approach of blaming males for health outcomes. Male Studies academics contend that male health work should concentrate on addressing the social determinants of health and consider the positive things that can be done to improve health, such as building social connections, promoting lifelong education, developing male friendly services and providing secure employment.
In a UK context, academic work and work that seeks to influence policy on male health is heavily weighted towards a sociology perspective. For example, the recent (2013) Men’s Health Forum, Haringey Man MOT Project. A review of the literature: men’s health-seeking behaviour and use of the internet, states that “there is a clear need for further studies to examine the influence of masculinities on how men behave.” It has been said elsewhere that the sociology-based work on ‘masculinities’ and men’s health holds a place of privilege in academia – primarily due to work being rooted in long-standing feminist and gender studies work.
The Male Studies biological, psychological, social determinants perspective is a more recent academic phenomenon. However, there is no university in the UK that has implemented work from this perspective - a Male Studies course. Indeed there is no university anywhere on the globe that is currently running such a course.
What became of the world's first Male Studies course?
A world first Male Studies course at an Australian university was the subject of a furore in the Australian press earlier in 2014. This emanated from an article by a journalist suggesting that the course was ‘antifeminist’ and that those involved were ‘male rights’ people. The intervention of the journalist occurred just prior to the launch of the course and whatever the official reasons were, it was cancelled. The first part of the course was a Male Health and Male Health Promotion component aimed at doctors, nurses and other health professionals; it was to be run by university staff and health professionals. Feminist academics rallied around the media article stating that there was no need for a Male Studies course and that feminism held the answers to men’s health. You pays your money you takes your choice – except there was no choice of course.
A concern is, is the debate about improving male health, or about the imposition |
the division. Bowen says he issued many warnings to management about the mortgage risk starting in 2006, and e-mailed Rubin in November 2007.Bowen's testimony is part of three days of hearings by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.
UPDATE: 12:00 PM Power Goes Out
Soon after the power went out, casting the hearing room in dark shadows and accentuating the drama of the FCIC's purpose, one reporter quipped, "Now we're literally, as well as figuratively, in the dark."
UPDATE: 11:50 AM Greenspan: Banks Have Been Undercapitalized For Past '40 to 50 Years' - Shahien Nasiripour
The U.S. banking system has been "undercapitalized" for the past "40 to 50 years," former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told a panel today in Washington convened to investigate the roots of the financial crisis.
In response to a question about the Fed's failure to guard against megabanks becoming so large and interconnected that they posed a systemic risk -- risks that pose threats to the entire financial system -- Greenspan said the Fed wasn't alone in that regard.
Rather, he said, everyone -- the financial industry and their regulators at the Fed -- failed to appropriately appreciate how badly banks were guarding themselves against risk.
Once the Fed realized how poorly the banks' risk management systems were, Greenspan realized how poorly they were capitalized -- money, in short, that banks keep on hand to protect themselves from going under in the case of huge losses.
In fact, the banking system has been "undercapitalized" for the past "40 to 50 years," he said.
Put another way: for the past few generations, the U.S. banking system has not been holding enough money to guard itself from insolvency, putting taxpayers at great risk in case a panic were to materialize -- a lesson painfully learned in 2008.
When regulators judge banks to be undercapitalized, the banks are told to shore up their capital or shed potential sources of future losses, like sour loans or underperforming businesses. If they can't, they're shut down. Most of the time, it's an open-and-shut case.
"The risk management paradigm nonetheless harbored a fatal flaw. In the growing state of euphoria, managers at financial institutions, along with regulators including but
not limited to the Federal Reserve, failed to fully comprehend the underlying size, length, and potential impact of the so-called negative tail of the distribution of risk outcomes that was about to be revealed as the post-Lehman Brothers crisis played out," Greenspan said in his prepared remarks.
"For decades, with little to no data, almost all analysts, in my experience, had conjectured a far more limited tail risk. That led to more than a half century of significantly and chronically undercapitalized financial intermediaries, arguably the major failure of the private risk management system.
"The financial firms counted on being able to anticipate the onset of crisis in time to retrench. They were mistaken. They believed the then seemingly insatiable demand for their array of exotic financial products would enable them to sell large parts of their
portfolios without loss."
But that didn't happen -- a lesson the U.S. learned several hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars later.
UPDATE: 10:45 AM Greenspan Says Financial World Too Complex For Regulators - Shahien Nasiripour
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made the kind of admission this morning that may trouble those who assume that better regulators -- rather than a wholesale rewriting of rules -- will better protect Americans from a future financial crisis.
Regulators can't keep up with today's megabanks, he said. They're too complex. Regulators, in short, don't have a chance.
Greenspan, appearing before the panel convened to investigate the roots of the financial crisis, said that the "ideal way" to supervise banks would be to go through its individual loan documents -- the way supervisors used to police banks and financial firms before they grew so large.
But unfortunately, he lamented, that's no longer possible because firms are so complex.
"We are reaching far beyond our capacities," Greenspan told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. "It's not a simple issue of 'Let's regulate better,'" he said. "It's a different world."
"The complexity is awesome," he noted.
Instead, regulators need to rely on banks' counterparties -- those they do business with -- as a first line of defense.
But that failed in 2008, Greenspan admitted. Counterparties were left holding the bag when the firms they did business with -- like Lehman Brothers and AIG, for starters -- nearly went belly up (Lehman ended up declaring bankruptcy). Taxpayers were forced to bail the firms out -- money that in AIG's case went straight to its trading partners, like the billions that went to Goldman Sachs -- in what some members of Congress have called a "backdoor bailout."
"If you cannot depend on counterparty surveillance," Greenspan warned, regulators are much less effective.
So, in effect, it really doesn't matter who's regulating -- the industry has to step up its self-regulation by keeping counterparties in check.
Some experts have offered alternatives to this model, like strict rules calling for specific capital and leverage levels; banning certain activities; and breaking up the megabanks so they don't have such a stranglehold on the financial system.
The Obama administration, notably, has shied away from strict rules. Rather, the administration is pushing Congress to give regulators greater authority to rein in the financial industry -- rather than outlining in law what is and what isn't allowed, what banks need to keep in their reserves, or other firm rules.
In essence, the administration argues, it should be up to the regulators.
UPDATE: 9:45 AM Greenspan: I Was Right 70 Percent Of The Time - Ryan McCarthy
While being grilled by commission chairman Phil Angelides, Alan Greenspan offered a guess about his batting average as head of the Federal Reserve. In fact, Greenspan seemed to pat himself on the back for only being wrong 30 percent of the time.
Angelides asked whether or or not Greenspan would characterize his handling of the subprime crisis as a mistake -- a fair question that got a fairly convoluted answer. Here's the exchange:
Angelides: Would you put this under the category of 'Oops,' we should have done it? Greenspan: When you've been in government for 20 years, as I have been, the issue of retrospective and figuring out what you should have done differently is a really futile activity... My experience has been, in the business I was in I was right 70 percent of the time, but I was wrong 30 percent of the time and there are an awful lot of mistakes in 21 years. Angelides: Would you put this in the 30 percent category? Greenspan: I don't know.
WATCH the exchange:
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Greenspan To Financial Crisis Commission: Roots Of Crisis In Communism's Fall, Fed Isn't To Blame - Shahien Nasiripour
In prepared remarks before the panel investigating the roots of the financial crisis, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan blames the subprime crisis on foreign investors, nonbank lenders, the spread of securitized mortgages and financial firms for failing to manage their risk. The one person he did not blame was himself, or his institution -- the Fed.
Greenspan, long considered "The Maestro" for his handling of the economy during the 1990s, has been widely blamed for putting in place policies and philosophies that led to a bubble economy and the subsequent abrupt bursting of that bubble. In short, he trusted the markets and its participants to act intelligently, and believed regulators best regulated with a light touch -- if not a hands-off -- approach.
With the worst financial crisis to rock the country since the Great Depression, costing Americans more than 8 million lost jobs, critics are now circling Greenspan, pointing out faults and failures that many believe caused the crisis.
Yet while Greenspan admitted in 2008 to Congress that there was a "flaw in the model that I perceived is the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works," he offers no such mea culpa in his prepared remarks.
Rather, it was the securitization of subprime mortgages, readily purchased by foreign investors and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (which were pushed to do so by the federal government); the origination of those mortgages by firms outside the Fed's jurisdiction; and financial firms that bought that junk without appropriately planning for a possible downturn, that caused the downturn, Greenspan contends.
In fact, the Fed "was quite active in pursuing consumer protections for mortgage borrowers," Greenspan said in his remarks.
That contradicts nearly every major report that's come out on the Fed's record since the onset of the crisis.
Also, the Fed, he said, actually tried to rein in the excessive lending that was going on during the go-go years.
In 2002, I expressed concerns to the FOMC, noting that "...our extraordinary housing boom...financed by very large increases in mortgage debt - cannot continue indefinitely." It did continue for longer than I would have forecast at the time, and it did so despite the extensive two-year -long tightening of monetary policy that began in mid-2004
.
Many have blamed the Fed for not doing enough to stem the boom in lending -- particularly risky subprime lending. It is the nation's central bank, after all. It has a plethora of tools to stem reckless lending. But it didn't use a single one.
Interestingly, Greenspan traces the roots of the crisis to the fall of communism and the liberalization of markets. Here's Greenspan:
It was the global proliferation of securitized U.S. subprime mortgages that was the immediate trigger of the current crisis. But its roots reach back, as best I can judge, to 1989, when the fall of the Berlin Wall exposed the economic ruin produced by the Soviet system. Central planning, in one form or another, was discredited and widely displaced by competitive markets.SANTA ANA – U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Wednesday that she hasn’t faced off in a debate against her Republican opponent because she’s heard nothing from her challenger, Elizabeth Emken, that she needed to debate.
“There’s just nothing constructive coming out of their campaign,” said the four-term Democratic senator following a meeting with the Register’s editorial board. She added that she’s been accessible to the public and the media.
“We’ve been on the road five days last week, two days this week,” she said. “I do regular constituent breakfasts, a couple hundred people a week.”
Emken spokesman Mark Standriff scoffed at the explanation and continued to criticize the incumbent’s failure to debate.
“That’s unworthy of the office she’s been holding for two decades and disrespectful of the people she claims to represent,” Standriff said.
Feinstein noted that she has debated in the past – John van de Kamp and Pete Wilson when she ran for governor in 1990, and Tom Campbell and Gray Davis in two of her Senate races.
Polls show Emken posing less of a challenge than those four. A September Field Poll put Feinstein at 57 percent and Emken at 31 percent, a 26-point margin that grew from a 19-point advantage in July.
Feinstein has a huge financial advantage as well, having spent $12.4 million through Oct. 17 while Emken has spent $745,000, according to federal disclosures.Family First fails in attempt to shift South Australia's time zone back by half an hour
Posted
A defeat in South Australia's Parliament has not deterred Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire from his quest to shift the state's time zone back by half an hour.
Mr Brokenshire introduced a private member's bill into Parliament, in response to the State Government's failed bid to have the time zone shifted forward to Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).
But the bill failed to get the support of either the Government or the Opposition.
Mr Brokenshire said shifting SA's time zone — from Australian Central Standard Time (UTC+09:30) to a new time zone (UTC+09:00) — made a lot of sense.
"No-one in this chamber, no-one anywhere from what I've read, can actually disprove the fact that medical science has said that if you work at high noon, (for your) body clock, natural time zones (are) best for your health," he told Parliament.
"We fought the good fight."
Last year the Government pushed to change the time zone to AEST.
It argued there would be significant benefits through adopting Sydney and Melbourne time, from boosting business opportunities, to removing delays to television programs, and overcoming the perception that SA was "out of touch".
At the same time, it asked if the community would prefer shifting west, to better align with the state's "natural time zone" as well as Asian superpowers Japan and Korea.
In an official survey, community support for the shift west (41 per cent) outpolled the shift east (15 per cent) but staying the same was the preferred option (42 per cent).
Much of the disquiet has come from farmers and residents on the west coast, who complain of sending children to school before the sun rises.
Mr Brokenshire said he remained passionate about the idea.
"I learnt a bit about arithmetic and I'm not going to actually beat the two major parties but we will be back," he said.
"At an appropriate time I will bring this debate back to Parliament."
Topics: community-and-society, state-parliament, government-and-politics, adelaide-5000, sa, australiaWe’re pleased to announce the pre-order of David Bazan + Passenger String Quartet / Volume 1. All new studio recordings of Pedro The Lion and Bazan solo songs.
Bands With Managers
How I Remember
Wolves At The Door
The Fleecing
I Do
When They Really Get To Know You…
Lost My Shape
Cold Beer & Cigarettes
Priests & Paramedics
Strange Negotiations
* Full album downloads are available immediately after your purchase is complete.
* CD or Vinyl pre-orders get links to download 320 MP3s and 24/96 WAV files.
* We’ll ship CD and Vinyl pre-orders to arrive on or before September 9.
* All CD and Vinyl pre-orders will be signed by David Bazan.
CD PACKAGE DETAILS
* Gatefold Digipack printed on uncoated paper
* Mastered from hi-resolution 24/96 audio files
VINYL PACKAGE DETAILS
* Gatefold album jacket printed on uncoated paper
* Mastered for vinyl without digital compression or limiting
* Vinyl lacquers cut from high resolution 24/96 audio files
* High quality 140g black vinyl
* Pressed by Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland OH
PERSONNEL
David Bazan – singing, piano, guitar, bass, percussion
Rebecca Chung Filice – Cello
Seth May-Patterson – Viola
Alina To – Violin
Andrew Joslyn – Violin, composer and string arrangements
Chris Colbert – recording, mixing, mastering
Photos by Ryan Russell
Package layout by Bob Andrews & David Bazan
Recorded at Avast! in Seattle WA
TOUR DATES
We have a few shows confirmed now and will be announcing more dates soon.
October 12 : Los Angeles – Masonic Lodge
November 1 : New York – Bowery Ballroom
November 6 : Chicago – Lincoln Hall
November 21 : Seattle – Neptune
FULL ALBUM STREAMIt's no secret that Jaclyn Hill is one of the top YouTubers out there. With over 3.7 million subscribers on her channel, it only makes sense that people listen to her makeup advice and product recommendations. So much so that Ulta is putting up Jaclyn Hill's Favorite signs on her top products, so you'll know exactly which products get the stamp of approval. Fans are freaking out about the new signage and
Whenever Jaclyn Hill recommends a product, people want it. That's not just for makeup items either. As soon as she talks about a clothing item on Snapchat, it's sold out the next day. It's pretty incredible really. Now it's even easier to find the vlogger's favorite products. According to a Hillster, Ulta now has signs pointing out items that were talked about in Hill's Monthly Favorites videos. Whoever thought of this one is a genius, if you ask me.
The product in the photo is the Lancôme Genifique Youth Activating Second Skin Mask. Hill talked about the product in her November/December Favorites video, and said it has quickly become one of her top skincare items. I guess there won't be any mistaking which one it is, because now there's a sign to guide you.
It wouldn't surprise me if more stores started to catch on and do the same thing. Hill tweeted the fan back and said how surreal the sign was. Then other fans started to talk about how other beauty stores do the same thing. According to one Hillster, Sephora stocks all their end caps with the vloggers favorites too. Honestly, it doesn't surprise me one bit.
Fans are freaking out about the signs, to say the least. I wouldn't be surprised if a petition comes up for all Ulta stores to do the same thing. Here's what they had to say about the beauty news.
Ain't that the truth.
That store would be an instant hit.
Taking Ulta stores by storm.
I can't wait to see what other products pop up with Hill signs next to them!
Images: jaclynhill/InstagramThe brothers met on the concert grounds, just like they had planned.
Nick Robone, an assistant coach for the men’s ice hockey club team at UNLV, arrived after skating in his weekly adult beer league. He had scored tickets to the Route 91 Harvest festival last month, a gift from his parents for his 28th birthday. Nick planned to sell the Sunday pass and spend the evening elsewhere, but he had so much fun Friday and Saturday that he decided to return for the final few acts.
Anthony Robone, 25, made the brief trek from T-Mobile Arena, where he and his girlfriend were watching the Vegas Golden Knights’ final exhibition game, prior to the team’s inaugural season. Like his older brother and current roommate—they recently split the cost of a house south of the Strip, 50-50—-Anthony played roller hockey at UNLV and loved that an expansion NHL team had landed in their hometown. He had been on paramedic duty with the Henderson Fire Department throughout the weekend and was scheduled for another shift Sunday, but called out to celebrate with his brother instead.
“Can you make it?” Nick had asked.
“F--- yeah,” Anthony replied.
They arrived around the same time, roughly 8:30 p.m, and met with several others, including Anthony Vignieri Greener, UNLV’s head coach, and William Tufano, an old friend from their youth hockey days. They grabbed drinks at the bar and found a spot to stand, maybe 100 yards from the main stage on the west side of the venue. Across South Las Vegas Boulevard, the golden façade of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino glistened in the night. Not long after, country music star Jason Aldean made his entrance and started to play.
When the first round of bullets hit the crowd, the brothers shrugged aside the noise. Fireworks, they figured, launched somewhere into the sky. They reflexively crouched low upon hearing the next round—pop-pop-pop-pop-pop—but even then, they didn’t quite grasp what was happening. “Babe, it’s not real,” Anthony told his girlfriend, covering her like a human shield. “It’s not real.” The third round thundered mid-sentence.
Then, a voice.
“I got hit.”
Anthony turned. There was Nick on the ground, spitting up blood. “An image I’ll never forget,” Anthony says. From there, instinct took over. He pulled aside the strap of his brother’s tank top and found where the bullet had struck, high on the left chest. No other entry wounds were visible, but there wasn’t time to search.
“I knew we had to get out of there,” he says. “So we went running with him, praying that it was the only hole.”
Along with Tufano, who currently works for a medical care company, Anthony grabbed Nick and headed west. Shots kept ringing overhead. Bodies kept falling to the ground. Nick’s tank top kept turning a deeper shade of red. They ducked behind a squad car with several other parties seeking cover from the gunfire, which was coming from a 32nd floor window at the Mandalay Bay. Anthony searched for the flashing lights of an ambulance, but saw nothing except chaos. “So I said, screw it and picked my brother up,” he says.
They moved northeast, dashing through the dark. Several police cars were parked along East Reno Avenue, but they saw no officers. Anthony looked at Tufano. “We’re going to steal a cop car,” he said, but every door was locked. Finally, further down the road, Anthony spied two officers. He identified himself as a firefighter and requested an ambulance. “And,” Anthony said, “I need any EMS equipment you have.”
Based on the location of the entry wound and the blood still spitting from his brother’s mouth, Anthony feared that Nick had suffered a collapsed lung—or worse. But the officers could only provide a small first-aid kit with Band-Aids and Neosporin. “The kind you can buy at Wal-Mart,” Anthony says. So with Tufano’s assistance, Anthony constructed a makeshift occlusive dressing by removing the thin layer of plastic covering the unopened Band-Aid box and pressing it onto the wound with three bandages.
Nick was awake and alert when the ambulance arrived. Another victim was loaded first, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the neck. Next went Nick. The paramedic told Anthony that they were headed to Sunrise Hospital, less than five miles away. Anthony told Nick that he would see him there soon. He was staying behind to help.
“There was a lot that needed to be done,” Anthony says. “And I knew my brother is a tough m-----------. He gave me a nod like, You go handle it.”
The brothers grew up around the game.
They started with roller hockey, joining a local youth club that spent weekends at tournaments in southern California, Arizona and Colorado. Rink space was at a premium, this being the desert and all, but the Robones quickly caught the hockey bug on the ice too. As kids they cheered for the Kings—their father hailed from Los Angeles—and idolized Hall-of-Fame defenseman Rob Blake. Among Anthony’s childhood travel teammates was Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker, the only Las Vegas native to reach the NHL. After the shooting, which killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500, Zucker was among the first to reach out.
Even before Nick enrolled at UNLV in the fall of 2007, his sights had pivoted to coaching. He was a fast defenseman with a thick upper body, equally capable on the power play and penalty kill, but hockey IQ was always his greatest strength. When Nick was a senior at Centennial High, UNLV founded its roller hockey team and asked him to help on the bench. In 2011–12, Nick was named a third-team all-American by the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association and led UNLV to the national championship game—all while serving as player-coach.
“You could tell that sparked something,” says Anthony, who was his brother’s teammate for two seasons at UNLV. “When I was studying to be a firefighter, I was up at 1 or 2 a.m., reading my textbooks. He was up until 1 or 2 with me, writing up plays and practices and looking at tape. It’s what he wants to do with his life.”
From there, as Anthony puts it, Nick’s life “tumbleweeded” into the profession. He would steer UNLV’s inline program to three straight NCRHA final fours, earn his master’s degree in sports administration online from Western Kentucky, work as a marketing coordinator at the Las Vegas Ice Center, volunteer coach several local youth clubs, and eventually return to his alma mater as an assistant for its club ice hockey team in 2015–16. At the time, the Rebels were “a joke D-3 program,” according to Anthony, who started playing ice hockey at UNLV after Nick graduated. Now they compete in Division I, the highest division of club college hockey—the promotion was announced last November—and began this season 3–1, including an opening-weekend sweep of Arizona State, one of several schools that recently called Nick about coming to work for them.
“He’s always been a leader, a motivator,” Anthony says. “He’s very articulate in the way he does things, very tactical. If he needs someone to do things, he goes about it the right way. He’s not the yeller, not the guy who says, ‘You need to f------ skate, hit harder.’ He’s not going to pound on the bench. He’s an intellect, strategic in what he does.”
As the back doors slammed shut and the ambulance headed for Sunrise, Anthony was wrecked with regret. “I felt like there wasn’t enough closure,” he says. “They left right away. I didn’t get to say bye or I love you or anything. That ate at me the whole time.”
But there was work to be done. They saw off-duty doctors and nurses springing into action, civilians using their belts as makeshift tourniquets, others pulling off their shirts to apply pressure onto wounds. “Everyone helped everyone,” Anthony says. “The selflessness that occurred that night...it makes me proud to live here. It was unreal.”
Along with Tufano, Anthony dashed through the streets to triage victims, grabbing IVs and trauma bandages, loading the wounded into pickup trucks bound for the hospital. He has pronounced people dead on the job before, but this was entirely different; the volume of survivors meant there wasn’t enough room in the ambulances. “Tell a family that we’ll give you a sheet, and you need to stand in this corner and pray over your loved one, there’s nothing we can do,” he says. “We had to do that for a few unfortunately.”
Amid the carnage, Anthony’s mind returned to his brother at Sunrise. “If we don’t get out of here,” he told Tufano, “we’ll be here until 5 a.m.” The opportunity came while under lockdown at Tropicana Las Vegas, where they waited in a hallway with roughly 150 others for the all-clear signal. When an ambulance arrived for a victim who was on the fourth floor with a “superficial” bullet wound in his head, according to Anthony, they offered their assistance to the paramedics and hitched a ride to the hospital.
“You walk into that ER, and I know there are some pictures, there’s blood on the floor, blood on the walls, people screaming,” Anthony says. “If you’ve ever seen any war movies where they walk into a trauma tent and everyone’s wounded, that’s exactly what was going on. But Sunrise did a phenomenal job that night, all hands on deck.”
Nick entered surgery around 2 a.m. and stayed for almost three hours. The bullet didn’t puncture his lung, as Anthony has initially feared, instead wrapping around his muscles before burying itself in his left lat. Two main fragments were removed and given to police for evidence, though smaller pieces of shrapnel remain in his left pectoral. His clavicle was unharmed, his ribs stable and intact, but the velocity of the bullet left his lung badly bruised. He was intubated and sedated for 36 hours but awoke Tuesday.
“The first thing he said was, he was more upset because he had seen some local news articles about him, and he was pissed,” Anthony says. “I walked in the room and was like, ‘Dude, why are you so pissed? You’re alive.’ He said, ‘Dude, 59 people died though.’
“But that’s why he’s a coach. He’s an educator. He’s for his team, his crew. That’s his instincts.”
It’s late Tuesday night now, almost 48 hours after the shooting, as Anthony calls from the ICU at Sunrise. Nick is still there, facing a six-month recovery before his lung function even returns “to semi-normal,” according to his brother, and will remain in the hospital for the foreseeable future to guard against infection. But he’s alert, talking, and might try standing up for the first time soon. He also recently tapped a message into his iPhone and tweeted it out to his 400-some followers:
Hey all!
I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words, love, and generosity. I’m out of surgery and expected to make a full recovery. However, there are others not as fortunate to have the same support system as me and my family. I urge all of you to share the same charitableness and kindness for the rest of the community, victims, and their families as you have for me.
Sincerely,
Nick Robone
Indeed, the hockey world has marshaled its full strength for their “tough m-----------.” A GoFundMe page had raised more than $47,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. The Golden Knights also plan to donate money, says defenseman and year-round Las Vegas resident Deryk Engelland, adding there was talk of the team visiting Robone in the hospital. “That,” Anthony says, “is the brotherhood.”
The UNLV hockey program is still reeling. Several players also attended the concert and are currently receiving trauma counseling from the athletic department, according to general manager Zee Kahn. But it plans to sell t-shirts to benefit the Robone family during its upcoming series against Utah. There was brief talk of postponing the games altogether, but Nick made his wishes clear. When doctors extubated Nick, he promptly told his brother, “Make sure they’re still playing this weekend.”HO CHI MINH CITY (Reuters) - Tycoon Henry Nguyen mopped floors, flipped burgers and even cleaned toilets over a 10-year campaign to convince McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) to let him bring Big Macs and Happy Meals to communist Vietnam.
Henry Nguyen gestures during an interview at his office in Vietnam's southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City July 19, 2013. REUTERS/Nguyen Phuong Linh
McDonald’s is making a late entry into this market, where Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N) already has dozens of Pizza Hut and KFC outlets and Burger King Worldwide Inc BKW.N has 15 restaurants. Even Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) debuted in Ho Chi Minh City in February and opened its second branch last week.
Capitalism has taken root in a country that many Americans associate more with an unpopular war than rising wealth. The super-rich are becoming household names in Vietnam, which showcased its first billionaire in June on the cover of its inaugural edition of Forbes magazine.
Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American who set up Pizza Hut in Vietnam six years ago, says he has lived and breathed McDonald’s. He studied its business model as part of his master’s degree, and pursued the Vietnam franchise opportunity for a decade - even as he worked with rival Yum. When he visited his hometown of Chicago, he would meet McDonald’s executives at the company’s headquarters in suburban Oak Brook, Illinois.
The Golden Arches will first appear in Ho Chi Minh City in early 2014 and later in the capital Hanoi, but the expansion will be “step by step”, said Nguyen, who worked at McDonald’s in the United States as a teenager and again this year at a Singapore outlet.
His timing looks questionable. While rivals have gained a firm foothold, McDonald’s is opening just as the economy falters and consumer demand is fading. Still, the 40-year-old is convinced the local market is ripe for a McDonald’s franchise.
“McDonald’s showing up here shows that Vietnam is a big deal to a lot of people. It means things are happening in Vietnam,” Nguyen told Reuters in an interview at his swanky office here in Vietnam’s most iconic building. He is the son-in-law of Nguyen Tan Dung, Vietnam’s prime minister since 2006, but insists that isn’t why he won the McDonald’s franchise deal.
McDonald’s spokeswoman Becca Hary confirmed that Nguyen had been discussing the franchise opportunity for many years, and said he made the shortlist out of a much larger group.
“His marriage did not preclude him for participating in what was a very competitive selection process for our partner in Vietnam,” she said, adding that the company’s research into a new market can span years and it saw “great opportunities ahead” in Vietnam.
AFFORDABLE LUXURY
Vietnam recorded 4.9 and 5 percent economic growth, respectively, in the first two quarters of 2013, lackluster for a developing Asian market, putting it on track for its slowest annual expansion in 14 years.
Debt-laden banks are struggling to lend and at least 120,000 businesses have closed since 2011, official data shows. Retail sales growth was 11.8 percent in the first quarter, the slowest since 2005, and 2012’s annual increase of 15.7 percent was just half the rate recorded two years earlier.
In advanced markets, McDonald’s tends to do well when the economy weakens because cash-strapped consumers trade down to cheaper food. But in developing economies, Western fast food has cachet and is often priced out of the reach of the masses.
In Vietnam, a piece of KFC chicken costs about as much as a bowl of Vietnam’s trademark all-day meal, pho noodle soup, at 32,000 dong ($1.51), and a KFC meal is more than double that. Burger King’s burgers go for as much as 85,000 dong.
McDonald’s has not yet opened, so pricing information was not available, but Nguyen said he did not want to position it as a luxury brand.
Though this once “tiger” economy might appear to be losing its teeth, Nguyen is adamant McDonald’s hasn’t missed the boat.
“McDonald’s doesn’t look at the conditions today, they look at the long-term potential of the market,” he said. “There’s a big market here, a big part because of the demographic.”
Other big brands have sussed that out too. Two-thirds of Vietnam’s 90 million population are under the age of 30, its cities are swelling and 34 percent of its people are internet users within easy reach of Western marketeers.
It’s not just about the masses. Although average annual income per capita is just $1,400 - one quarter that of Thailand and a seventh of Malaysia’s according to the World Bank - Vietnam has a wealthy, status-conscious urban middle class that enjoys splashing out on big names, expensive smartphones and top of the range Vespa motorcycles.
“My family’s business is doing well, so I don’t see any recession,” said Doan Ngoc Nhu, 33, moments after handing over 200 million dong ($9,400) for an Hermes (HRMS.PA) bag at a posh Ho Chi Minh City mall.
“I chose this bag because it’s expensive,” added Nhu, sporting a well-cut designer dress. “It means quality, it helps me build an image and I care a lot about my image.”
Gucci (PRTP.PA) and Louis Vuitton (LVMH.PA) are now readily available for well-heeled Vietnamese urbanites. Starbucks, the world’s biggest coffee chain, sees “tremendous opportunity” in Vietnam, a spokesperson said.
As Starbucks is aware, in a country that produces 15 percent of the world’s coffee and has an abnormally high amount of coffee shops, it’s about where, not what people are drinking.
“It makes me feel more Western, more dynamic,” said student Tran Thien Thanh, 20, perched on a modern sofa in a Starbucks in the former Saigon thronged with customers web-surfing on iPhones and iPads.
‘SUPER-LUXURY CARS’
Luxury automaker Rolls Royce plans to open its first showroom in Vietnam next year, targeting the entrepreneurs unscathed from the slowdown having earned their riches in the boom years of 2003-2008, when the economy grew an average 7.8 percent annually.
“The Rolls Royce customer owns at least $30 million or has five or more super-luxury cars,” said Minh Doan, head of Rolls Royce Motor Cars in Hanoi. “The fundamentals are sound for long term growth and wealth creation for Vietnam’s businesses.”
But there’s still plenty of chains and brands that aren’t here and many companies have been put off. Infrastructure is often inadequate, supply chains are limited, import taxes are high. Corruption, cronyism, protectionism and excessive bureaucracy are longstanding problems, as shown in Vietnam’s ranking of 99th out of 185 countries last year in terms of ease of doing business, according to the World Bank.
Slideshow (5 Images)
One additional hurdle is the requirement for foreign chains to be set up as local franchises.
“It’s changing, there’s good potential, but the biggest obstacle is a lack of qualified and capable franchise partners with skills and business knowledge,” said corporate lawyer Fred Burke, a managing partner at Baker and McKenzie in Vietnam.
($1 = 21160.0000 Vietnam dong)Exclusive: Official Washington’s “group think” on Syria and Ukraine is so delusional that it is putting the whole world in danger, but as with the Iraq War the mainstream U.S. news media is part of the problem, not part of any solution, writes Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
Neocon ideology appears to have seized near total control over the editorial pages of America’s premier news organizations, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, contributing to an information crisis inside “the world’s superpower,” a development that should unnerve both Americans and the world community.
A Washington Post editorial, for instance, took President Barack Obama to task on Wednesday for one of the few moments when he was making sense, when he answered “no” to whether he was “actively discussing ways to remove” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Obama added, “we are looking for a political solution eventually within Syria. But we’re not even close to being at that stage yet.”
The question itself — from Kristen Welker of NBC News — would have been remarkable enough if you weren’t steeped in the arrogance of Official Washington where it’s common to engage in casual speculation about overthrowing another country’s government. In Neocon Land, it goes without saying that once the United States judges some world leader guilty for having violated international law or human rights or whatever, it is fine for the U.S. government to “take out” that leader, even if the supposed “facts” are a jumble of reality and propaganda that no one has bothered |
the garb of agricultural income thereby not only claiming exemptions on such income but also engaged in the money laundering activities.
4. Since agricultural income is only used for rate purposes, it was noticed that in a few such high value cases, taxpayers may have inadvertently made data entry errors while filling up the fields for agricultural income.
5. Therefore, it is requested that the assessing officers may be directed to
(i) Verify whether the taxpayer may have made a data entry error while filling up the return.
(ii) Wherever scrutiny assessment is completed, AO may provide feedback based on assessment records.
(iii) In cases where proceedings u/s 143(3) are pending, assessing officers may be informed to thoroughly verify the claims.
6. The list of cases having agriculture income more than Rs.1 Crore along with jurisdictional details is placed at itaxnet at the following path :
Resources Downloads Systems Verification of Agriculture-Income
You are requested to kindly send a status report in this regard after verification as mentioned above. This feedback may be urgently provided to this Directorate before March 20th, 2016 so that we can report the correct figures of claims of agricultural income to the Hon’ble Patna High Court.
7. This issues with the approval of Pr. DGIT(S).
To date, there has been no further information on this subject. Nor is it known whether the declarations are indeed agricultural income, or whether they have sought refuge under the “taxpayers may have inadvertently made data entry errors.”
The only statement was one made by Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh in the last week of May 2016, that there is no plan to tax agricultural income. And just yesterday, while addressing a rally of farmers in Maharashtra, Prime minister Modi also reiterated that there would be no tax on agricultural income.
But that raises two questions. First, do the returns filed actually represent agricultural income? Should the onus of proving that it is indeed agricultural income rest on the assessees since there were voluntary returns filed by them? Second, if they are mis-declarations, shouldn’t the minimum tax of 30 percent be levied on them along with applicable penalties as well?
The government is silent. So is P. Chidambaram, who was minister of finance at the time these huge amounts were declared as agricultural income. As a result all people suffer from the consequences of demonetisation that could have been avoided by just targeting some 8 lakh people.
The research pertaining to the data contained within the above piece may be found at this location
Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.(CNN) Hikaru Nakamura was always the smartest kid in the room.
By the time the Japanese-born American reached the ripe old age of 10, he was anointed the title of chess master. Five years later, he became the youngest grandmaster since the legendary Bobby Fischer.
Now 27, Nakamura is the world No. 3 gearing up to face the rest of the top 10 in the $1 million purse Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri.
CNN caught up with the speed-chess expert on his mind-set leading into the tournament's opening move on Saturday, where he expanded on everything from Garry Kasparov to the stock market to sake:
How old were you when you won your first tournament?
I was seven years old.
Did you play high school chess?
No I didn't play high school chess, because by that time I was already being home schooled. So I was competing in individual tournaments all over the world.
At what age were you pulled from the traditional classroom?
At nine years old, after fourth grade. Primarily it was to give me the opportunity to compete abroad because if I stayed in regular school I would not have been able to get the excused absences to compete in enough events to progress my career.
For example one tournament is roughly nine rounds, and most of them were serious enough that it was one round per day, so if you average that out, that's nine days potentially. You can do that once or twice during the school year, but beyond that it's just not going to work.
Any idea you'd go on to be a chess champion at that point?
I think (my parents) had some inclination that I might become a top chess player -- I was already one of the top junior players in America -- but to go from a strong junior player to world champion caliber, you really can't know that ahead of time.
They perhaps had some dreams or thoughts, but I don't think they really thought it was likely. I think they just wanted to see how far it could go.
At what age did the corner start to turn?
I think when I was 15-years-old, when I broke the record for the youngest American grandmaster. Bobby Fischer previously held the record (Nakamura was three months younger; it has been broken twice since.) Once I broke the record, I knew I would have some chances to go quite far.
Was there any fear you'd follow Fischer to become an anti-American recluse?
I don't think there was, but that's probably because the media attention for chess is not quite what it once was. There was definitely some coverage but I don't think at the time that (comparisons to Fischer's eccentricity) came into the equation.
Have you ever played in Washington Square Park (the home of street chess in New York)?
I used to when I was younger, but nowadays most people who hustle there all know who I am, so I really don't have the opportunity to play against them anymore.
I'd have to put on a wig or makeup, something to really alter my appearance, otherwise they would recognize me right away.
How is the level of competition there?
Quite strong. Most of the players are master level, which is about a 2,200 rating. So basically they are better than 99% of anyone who is ever going to play chess -- but they are not better than 99.99%, like I am. So it's a very high level, just not at the elite level.
Have you ever had a job, other than being a chess player?
No, I've never had a job other than being a chess player. It's kind of what I grew up with, so it's what I spent most of my time on.
If you had the opportunity to have any other career, what would it be?
Probably somewhere in finance or Wall Street; probably in trading if I had to take a guess. I do have quite an interest in the markets as well.
Do you invest your prize money in stocks?
Yes, usually I invest my prize money in the market. Right now I think markets are a bit high so I wouldn't be investing, I'd just be keeping it in the bank earning zero interest.
Any similarities between chess and the stock market?
In chess it's very much about planning ahead and thinking things through logically, and if you're actually investing -- not day trading -- then you try to understand the situation, the economics and the financial numbers, (to) make logical decisions. In chess you also try and control your risk- reward ratio.
How long were you at Dickinson College?
One semester from August to December, 2006. Originally, the plan was to get away from chess and do something different. I was a little bit burnt out at the time.
I had been playing a lot of chess and I wasn't really enjoying it, so I decided to go to college to see what else is out there for me. But after about six or seven months away from the game, I just decided that the whole college life wasn't for me and that's why I decided to come back.
I went about five months without playing chess in college. And to not do that is extremely rare; it's quite crazy if you're a serious player.
How do you prepare for a big tournament? Is there an equivalent to a boxer's sparring partner in chess?
I'm not going to play against someone seriously, but there are people that I work with to study the game of my opponents. (We) try to come up with a few ideas for when I actually play them in the competition. So it's not a traditional sparring partner, but you are in a way sparring and training with other people.
Are you good in math?
No, I'm not a natural mathematician. I would say out of all the things I studied growing up, math was probably one of the things that I liked the least. I'm much more a history and languages type of person.
Do you know the quadratic equation by heart?
(Laughs), No I don't.
What about the Pythagorean Theorum?
A long time ago when I much younger I did. But I haven't studied any serious math in 10 years at least. No, I don't know it by heart, but I do know what it is. (Ed: A² + B²= C²)
If you get the opening move, how do you decide what it is?
Usually at the start of the game you play with one of two moves: You move the pawn in front of the king two squares, or the pawn in front of the queen two squares. And normally I just look at my opponents' results and where they have been having difficulties in recent events and recent games.
I think losing games is a good thing, because you learn more from when you lose than when you win. Hikaru Nakamura
There are databases with millions of games, so we're all very much aware of what we've been doing.
So no secrets at all?
Not really, no. Chess is very much a game of complete information.
You play online a lot under aliases (mainly on chess.com). Have you ever lost?
Yeah, absolutely, I've lost many games on the internet. In chess you try to do your best, but there are instances where you make mistakes or you try and take risks that you shouldn't.
And I think losing games is a good thing, because you learn more from when you lose than when you win.
And the people that you lose to have absolutely no idea that they've just beaten the No. 1 chess player in the U.S.?
Most of the time they don't. Sometimes I play on accounts with public aliases, so they are aware, but for the most part I'm just playing randomly and they don't know who I am.
Do people ever rub it in your face when they know who they've beaten?
You know I'm not treating it like a serious tournament, per se. I'm obviously very competitive, so I don't like losing, but usually they are pretty relaxed about it.
How was working with Garry Kasparov (Nakamura trained under the Russian former world champion for most of 2011)?
It was definitely interesting. Working with anyone who has such a great breadth of knowledge, it's definitely a very good learning a lot. Our personalities weren't the best fit, but perhaps that made it a bit difficult (Nakamura has said that Kasparov was too critical in his coaching.) But still, the things that I learned working with him were invaluable.
Do you ever beat him?
We didn't actually play, but I probably would have done quite well against him since he had been retired for some time already.
What was your longest ever game?
About eight and a half hours at a tournament in Germany a couple of years ago.
Did you start cramping up, or getting numbed legs or arms?
If you're opponent goes into a deep think, say 20 to 30 minutes, you can get up and walk around to get some water or use the rest room, so fortunately that doesn't happen. But still, mentally it's very tiring when you play a game that long.
Did you win?
The game ended in a draw.
What attracts you to poker (Nakamura has been known to play competitively)?
I used to play poker a lot more, I haven't played seriously in some time. What attracts me to poker is the element of game theory and just trying to make the right decision as much as possible.
But the big difference -- and this is why I much prefer chess to poker -- is that in chess if you play close to perfect you aren't going to lose, you control your own destiny --and in poker, you don't control your own destiny. You can make the right play all the time, but in any given situation you can also lose.
Is bluffing a part of chess too?
There have been occasional times -- not when I'm playing, but when I'm studying -- that I have found a little bit of alcohol has been good for the creative process. Hikaru Nakamura
The way you can bluff in chess is you can play certain unorthodox moves in the opening phase (the first 10 to 15 moves) which are perhaps not well known or your opponent. He will either think you have made a mistake or you have prepared something before the game. So if they haven't prepared for what you are doing, they can go wrong. That's when bluffing can come into play, whereas later on in the game it's much harder to bluff.
Do tell signs and body language play a role in chess?
I think you can sense if your opponent is a little bit uncomfortable, perhaps. But unlike poker, all the information is on the board. So even if I'm nervous, if I am able to focus I should be able to find the right moves.
Is this why you sometimes wear sunglasses during a game?
It's just something I did (once) which I thought would be a way to rattle my opponent. It was a psychological ploy. It seemed to work out pretty well.
What about blackjack? Seems that would be more of a natural sport for a chess player, since it's all about odds.
It's all about odds, but the odds are all stacked against you. I'm not a big fan.
You're half Japanese from your dad's side (although Nakamura was raised by his step-dad, a former chess master from Sri Lanka), do you feel like you're representing Japan as well as the U.S. in these big tournaments?
I don't feel that I am representing Japan, but I do feel that my makeup is very much Japanese, in that the way that I approach chess, the motivation and the drive very much comes from the Japanese side.
Best sushi you've had?
Probably in San Francisco and Vancouver.
Do you ever play chess on sake?
I've found for playing, that it's generally not a good thing to be drinking. I will say there have been occasional times -- not when I'm playing, but when I'm studying -- that I have found a little bit of alcohol has been good for the creative process.
Is there an age when a chess player peaks, like in, say, golf or tennis?
I think the jury is still out on that. Chess is changing a lot. In the old days, your peak was considered in your late 30s or when you were 40. And slowly that age keeps coming down. Right now, the peak age is considered somewhere between 25 to 35, depending on who you are.
I think I'm still on the way up.
Was (former world champion) Anatoly Karpov past his peak when you beat him in 2009?
Yeah absolutely. He's an example of the older generation. He was peaking in his late 30s, around 1990.
One thing that I really respect about Karpov is that even now he still plays a few tournaments of competitive chess every year. He doesn't care that he isn't the best anymore, whereas some of the other former champions would never be able to compete anymore because he had to be the best, and if he wasn't the best his ego couldn't handle it.
Biggest rival?
Ever get tired of the lifestyle?
I'll play about 110 or 120 games of competitive chess (per year). When you add in all the traveling, the wear and tear is quite substantial.
If I don't like the place -- whether it's the hotel or the city itself -- it can play a role (in performance). Usually it doesn't affect me, but it can play a role.
It has been many years, but it feels so good to back in Gibraltar! pic.twitter.com/uUYKHO9UWq — Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) January 25, 2015
Any hobbies outside of chess and poker?
I love playing tennis.
Being a chess champion must be a useful thing to write on a Tinder profile. Have you found that?
I'm actually engaged so I've never used Tinder (laughs).
I think the most important thing -- whether it's women, or just making a general impression on people -- is to show there is a lot more to chess than meets the eye.
It's a very interesting game; you get to travel a lot and meet many different people from many different backgrounds. Most people think of chess as this nerdy game where you just stay in your room all day and play...but most of the top chess players, we do have a life and there are other things going on.beyond markdown
bowerbird Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 7, 2014
— part 7
text styling and typographic niceties
this is part 7 in a series on “z.m.l.”
— zen markup language — that’s
a light-markup system you might
consider to replace markdown.
for links to the other parts, see below.
in this part, we discuss styling of
words and phrases, plus some of
the small typographical changes
made during a z.m.l. conversion,
and two special.html characters.
text styling
italics
it’s important to enable the type of
text-styling that writers often use,
primary among them being _italics_.
surround a word with _underscores_,
and z.m.l. will show the word in italics.
and for a phrase, _do_ _each_ _word_.
we will explore additional methods,
like the more-traditional “toggle” —
_successively turning italics on and off_
— but for now you must do each word.
(no, z.m.l. won’t show the underscores;
i am just doing that here, on medium,
so i can repurpose this text elsewhere.)
and yes, z.m.l. is smart enough to know
not to replace underscores in a u.r.l.,
so you don’t need to wonder about that.
unlike some flavors in other systems,
you _can_ use intraword italics in z.m.l.
because a survey of printed-books show
it’s not an unknown practice of writers,
and z.m.l. exists to serve writers’ needs.
bold
sometimes *bold* is also used, but
it should be noted that, other than
in headers, *bold* is rarely found in
printed-books. still, as it’s employed
more often online, z.m.l. supports it.
surround a word with *asterisks* and
z.m.l. will display that word in bold.
yes, for a phrase, *do* *each* *word*.
(no, the asterisks will not be shown.)
and yes, you can use asterisks in all
the other places you wanna use them,
and z.m.l. will sort them out, and if
it makes a mistake, you let me know.
monospaced
last, ~a~ ~monospaced~ ~typeface~ is
used in many tech documents, so it
is supported in z.m.l., even though
it’s almost never seen in print-books.
(except for tech-oriented ones, yes.)
to get a monospace typeface, use a
tilde or the “`” key above the tilde.
medium offers no inline monospace,
as far as i know, so no input sample.
the same rules as for italics and bold.
~a~ ~monospaced~ ~typeface~
this is what z.m.l. supports for styling
in its “default” mode, but we make it
easy for users to customize the settings
to meet the needs of a specific document.
so if you need other styling, you can get it.
if you need to disable the default, you can.
typographic considerations
we want our output to look nice,
and to this end z.m.l. supports
a few typographic conventions,
i.e., curly-quotes and em-dashes.
curly-quotes
z.m.l. will turn straight-quotes
into curly quotes automatically.
but if you prefer your document
to have straight-quotes, which is
your right, no matter what some
typographic fanatics might say,
it’s easy to disable this feature.
em-dashes
likewise with em-dashes — z.m.l.
converts a plain-text double-dash
into a long typographic em-dash —
but you can disable it if you choose.
code-blocks
note than none of these substitutions
are performed on code-blocks, of course,
because they would mess up the code.
.html special characters
there are some characters that
have special meaning in.html,
and thus need special treatment
when we do an.html conversion.
the “less than” left-angle-bracket
because the left-angle-bracket is used
to signal.html tags, z.m.l. disables it,
by turning it into its < “equivalent”.
the ampersand
the ampersand — “&* — also has to be
disabled so it won’t cause any problems.
***
ok, that’s all for today!
***
here are the articles in this series:
beyond markdown — part 1 — it’s time for the next step https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-1-2300665659f7
beyond markdown — part 2 — z.m.l. was built to be easy to understand https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-2-b3527d2b9dcf
beyond markdown — part 3 — two types of chunks — paragraphs and blocks https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-3-eed9bebea0da
beyond markdown — part 4 — how to “tag” a block for formatting https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-4-9b4dc6841d7e
beyond markdown — part 5 — shining a spotlight on sections and headers
https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-5-4902097723b0
beyond markdown — part 6 — notes on a few types of “special” paragraphs
https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-6-8056eee5b783
beyond markdown — part 7 — text styling and typographic niceties
https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-7-3158e23f22bf
beyond markdown — part 8 — alignment, horizontal rules, and breaks
https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-8-1a082d7f1f6d
beyond markdown — part 9 — pulling outside resources into your document
https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-9-be74bbbed369
beyond markdown — part 10 — special sections in your document
https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/beyond-markdown-part-10-3ca0c08e5641
***
and, for reference, as an extra bonus:
markdown considered harmful — or perhaps a loved but irritating old uncle
https://medium.com/@bbirdiman/markdown-considered-harmful-495ccfe24a52If I had to single out one fashion/design house as a personal favourite it would have to be Bvlgari. I’m yet to find a fragrance in their male range that I haven’t at some stage really fallen for and none of them get on my goat - to be honest, at the moment it isn’t that hard to really get on my tits so having a nice refreshing series of fragrances that are guaranteed to make me smile are always a bonus.
Bvlgari (pronounced B-U-L-G-A-R-I) Pour Homme and the concentrate Extreme are must haves and I get slightly antsy if there isn’t one or the other around for me to use. I was introduced to both on my 21st birthday when in a shower of gifts two large bottles of each landed in my lap.
At the time, and oh lord I feel old saying this (a whole 14 years ago) they were new fragrances produced by the Italian fashion and design house Bvlgari. Renown more for their excellent, stylish and often lavish jewellery.
The bottle has a rather novel design and is similar in looks to the female versions of the Bvlgari range, however, rather than being flat, the bottle is quite tall standing 15cm high and the glass has a “pinched” effect at the top where the atomiser and lid meet the bottle.
My bottles were gifts but when buying recently costs have varied wildly - and to be frank I would be happy paying up to £50 for a bottle. Realistically though you can expect to part with around £35.99 for 50ml.
The notes state that the Extreme version of Pour Homme has been created to last longer on skin, being the concentrated version. Freshness, simplicity and pureness are all characteristics and the ingredients should combine to create hints of Darjeeling tea mixed with spices and precious musks to give an overall invigorating fragrances that gives an overall sense of well being. Sounds interesting but hey you’d expect that from a group of marketing gurus coming up with the blurb.
After shaving in a morning I remove the lid and use three tiny sprays from the atomiser. The actual results from only three sprays is wonderful, filling the bathroom with a gorgeous aroma. My first impressions were of a light, citrus fragrance similar to CK1 although I was positive I could pick out hints of lemon and lavender. Another interesting point of note was that when applying after shaving it didn’t burn at all, and like my earlier post about Joop this is a massive bonus! There is nothing worse than a sore or red face as you leave the house in a morning.
As soon as the fragrance is applied it begins to alter immediately, becoming lighter and less noticeable to me. The smell continues to become lighter but much spicier on the nose. At no time do I ever become overwhelmed by the actual fragrance. It is so delicate after only a short while in the past I would forget I was wearing it and spray on more - cue comments from staff at work on me smelling extra sweet.
After 5-10 minute the fragrance is completely unnoticeable. In the interests of research I have asked a few people at work what they think to this over the years - girlfriends and the wife love it, colleagues compliment me on it and I am yet to experience the dreading calls of “eurgh what the hell are you wearing”.
Even though I couldn’t smell it, those around me could and they all loved it.
Three tiny sprays of Pour Homme or one/two of Extreme cover me in a light citrus fragrance that became spicy with only the mildest of woody undertones for in excess of 10 hours. Now that is a result.
As this is a personal favourite of mine I wear it all the time, but would highly recommend it for those special occasions, big nights out and formal wear. This is a fragrance that will get you noticed for all the right reasons. Not only do these fragrances have a lovely long lasting smell, it’s not too hard on the wallet and the actual bottle will last for well over 4/5 months making it much better value than poorer relations in the fragrance market.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
You can keep up to date and follow Beautykinguk.co.uk using the various social media below:Doha: The government of Qatar said it will not bow to demands from three Gulf states to alter its foreign policy, sources close to its government said, suggesting Doha is unlikely to abandon support for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Syrian Islamists.
In an unprecedented move, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar on Wednesday, saying Doha had failed to abide by an accord not to interfere in each others’ internal affairs.
Hours later Qatar’s cabinet voiced “regret and surprise” at the decision by the fellow-members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), but said Doha would not pull out its own envoys and that it remained committed to GCC security.
On Thursday, a source close to the Qatari government suggested Qatar would not comply. “Qatar will not let go of its foreign policy, no matter what the pressures are. This is a matter of principles which we will stick to, no matter the price,” the source said.
The source also suggested Qatar would not stop its practice of playing host to members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including Yousuf Al Qaradawi, an influential Sunni cleric and a vocal critic of authorities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“Since the day Qatar was founded we decided to take this approach of always welcoming anyone who seeks refuge in our country, and no amount of pressure will make us kick these people out,” said the source close to the government.
A source at the foreign ministry said: “It’s the right of every sovereign state to have its own foreign policy.” The source also suggested that Qatar had no differences with fellow Gulf Arab states on Gulf matters.
The dispute “is more about differences in foreign policy approaches”, the source added, referring to issues in the Middle East such as the crises in Egypt and Syria.
While the Qatari government’s official reaction was short and simple, the country’s newspapers, however, compensated the next day by publishing bold headlines lashing out at the Gulf trio.
Major coverage
Every major paper splashed their front pages with the story, largely echoing the government line that the decision was not based on intra-GCC disputes but an external issue: Egypt.
Qatar is the only Gulf state that has wholeheartedly supported the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and is believed to have extended that support beyond that country. The Gulf trio has welcomed the new military backed regime in Cairo that ousted the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammad Mursi in July.
Qatar’s Al Raya ran a front-page editorial with the headline: “We don’t follow anyone... This is Qatar”, over a picture of the emir, Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The piece argued that Qatar would not be dictated by any state, alleging that “those who have lost their bets in Egypt” are trying to create conflict with Qatar. The paper continued that the ambassadors’ recall was a “hasty step based on flimsy grounds and vague allegations”.
Al Watan daily ran a full page opinion piece by its editor in chief Mohammad Hamad Al Marri, with the headline: “O Gentlemen, Qatar is a sovereign nation”. The subheading read: “States are not governorates... that do not have the right to choose their own foreign policy,” hinting at the perceived attempt at hegemony by its neighbours.
“Cheap media has been spreading ‘stories’ created by those who are spiteful and published by those who have been paid,” the article said, adding that the Gulf’s security is Qatar’s “red line”.
“This decision is a historical service for those in our countries who incite against us and seek to cause us harm, and it threatens the stability of every Gulf nation — without exceptions.”
Al Sharq had a significantly more toned-down opinion piece on its front page by the editor in chief Jaber Al Harmi expressing his “surprise” at the decision, arguing that the GCC’s security was a priority for Qatar, and that it would do all it can to protect it. He said Qatar was “open for dialogue on all issues, and had nothing to hide”.
Unlike many other newspapers that ran editorials or opinion pieces on their front page, Al Arab ran with news, reporting the government’s position that the decision to recall ambassadors was based on issues external to the Gulf, in reference to Egypt. In a full page opinion piece inside, the editor in chief Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Rumaihi said Qatar’s policies were driven by principles, not interests.
— With inputs from ReutersTo ring in the holiday season, we're ready to launch our next free content update and this one will re-ignite the battle for Zomburbia in dramatic fashion.
I’m very excited to say that the #1 fan-requested feature since we’ve launched the game is now here: Online Split-Screen! Yes, you read that correctly – you can now play split-screen with a friend and jump into online multiplayer matches.
But that's not all. Both the Plants and the Zombies are bolstering their forces with two new characters each. I'm especially proud to announce that we've been able to add two brand-new Legendary characters to the mix, which means a grand total of four new playable characters to enjoy. The festive feeling in this update shines bright as we're also able to gift you a new map (including a whacky laundry chute contraption - watch your head as balls of laundry zip by!!!). To make sure there's something for everyone, this is all wrapped up with lots of additional fixes and a full tuning and balancing pass for characters and maps. Before you run off to launch the game, please read the full details below and let us know if you have any feedback around the new content.
Happy festivities, enjoy the update and please continue to reach out to share your thoughts and suggestions so we can continue to improve the game together.
Marcel Kuhn,
Producer - Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2
New Features
Added Online Split screen (for Xbox One and Playstation4)
Added new map “Frontline Flats”
Added 4 new characters to collect Commando Corn (Legendary) - fast-firing baby corn rockets with splash damage, the Zombies won't know what hit them! Scallywag Imp (Legendary) - a close range specialist that comes with the Scallywag Mech and Legendary Yohoho Mode! Nec’Rose - charge up her wand to "Jinx" Zombies, why, it's fun...and they take extra damage! Captain Squawk - a toxic threat well-versed in close- as well as long-range combat. Arrrrrrrr-ttack!
New Frontline Fighters pack added to the Sticker Shop featuring tons of new customizations to collect
New, exciting wares for RUX
Added progressive bait unlocking for Boss Hunt
Tuned base capture timers for Turf Takeover maps
Character/Weapon tuning & balancing
Numerous quality and stability fixes
Notable FixesEvent: DreamHack Tours 2016
Dates: 14-16 May 2016
Game: StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void
Ingame Channel: DH2016
Web IRC Channel (if needed): DH2016
DAY 2 STARTS AT 12 EDT
In order to compete in the WCS Circuit, all participants must be a resident of a country within the WCS Circuit home regions. The 2016 residency requirements add greater clarity, more checks on time spent outside of the resident region, and a ladder play requirement.
All participants in the WCS Circuit will be required to verify their Battle.net account and provide proof of residency.
Read more at Battle.net
DreamHack ZOWIE OPEN: Ruleset
PRIZE ELIGIBILITY
Once achieving top 12, to be eligible to collect prize winnings players must attend the prize ceremony and tournament photoshoot at DreamHack's request, as well as hand in all appropriate information to DreamHack. For more information see DreamHack's general prize money
to be eligible to collect prize winnings players must attend the prize ceremony and tournament photoshoot at DreamHack's request, as well as hand in all appropriate information to DreamHack.s paid out in USD and not SEK.
PARTICIPATION
To be able to participate in DreamHack ZOWIE Open Tours StarCraft II you need the following:
a) Be eligible to compete in WCS Circuit Events, read more here.
b) You need to have signed up in the form below.
c) You need to be accepted as eligible and receive an email confirming your slot in the tournament. (There are 88 open slots, any further signups will be placed on the waitlist).
GENERAL RULES
AVAILABILITY
Players have to be in the in-game chat channel and out-game chat channel at all times.
ADMINISTRATORS
Players should always address the administrators and each other in a polite and respectful way.
An administrator has the final say in all matters. When the administrator says the word is final, the word is final and cannot be overruled.
Under extreme circumstances administrators reserve the right to change the rules.
SERVER
All games must be played on the LotV NA Battle.net server.
GAME PREPERATIONS
Should a player be late (more than 15 minutes) for the start of a tournament match, the player will forfeit the first game of the match.
If a player is more than 15 minutes late for the first match of the tournament, The player will be disqualified.
Should the player be more than 20 minutes late for the start of a tournament match, the player will forfeit the match.
The players are allowed a 5 minute break between the series in the tournament.
Administrators reserve the right to change these timings if circumstances require it.
DISCONNECT AND COMPUTER FAILURE
The LotV recover game from replay feature will be used in case of a disconnect by technical failure. If for some reason it does not work, see following rule:
If either player disconnects from the game due to technical reasons and the game is heavily favoured to the extent that the game would definitely have been won by one player an administrator may rule the game in favour of said player. Should the game be too close to call, it will be replayed.
COMPLAINTS
If a player wants to make a complaint about a game result, the player has to tell the administrator assigned to the match immediately following the game.
If a player wants to object a game result ruled by an administrator, this has to take place immediately following the game.
MAPS
The tournament map pool will be set by as the current official ladder map pool
Every tournament game will be played on maps from the tournament map pool only.
The map choice is based on veto:
Both players remove a map from the map pool alternatingly as long as necessary until only the maximal required number of maps (= best-of-mode) remains. These are the maps used for the match.
Now both players pick a map from the remaining maps alternatingly as long as maps remain, determining the order of maps to be played.
The player in the top position on the bracket will decide who begins the veto
who had the first veto also starts picking the first map.
PUNISHMENTS
Should a player purposely attempt to sabotage the games, another player or an administrator in any way, the player will be disqualified.
Bad behaviour towards other players, administrators or the audience may result in a disqualification.
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flag suspicious activity, The New York Times reports. Why install all that stuff in with the lights? Sensity, the company that sold Newark its system, explains on its website:
LEDs aren't new. Outdoor networks aren't new. Networked sensors aren't new. Big data and cloud computing aren't new. Even the idea of adding networked devices to light poles has been tried before. What's new and exciting about Sensity's LED-based NetSense platform is the way we've put it all together and how we deliver it to light owners as an easy-to-implement, turnkey package.Texas Wind Power to Double by 2013
October 24th, 2011 by Zachary Shahan
A new $6.8-billion project is expected to help Texas double it’s total installed wind power by 2013. The project isn’t a wind farm, though. It’s a transmission project that would connect more remote areas (where wind is likely to be generated) to major cities, like Dallas and San Antonio.
Laborers are working overtime on the project. The Texas Tribune reports:
“We’re going to work 12 hours a day through Thanksgiving,” said Pat Hogan, a consultant with McCurley Enterprises, a company helping with the construction. The only real break comes around mid-afternoon on Sundays when, he said, “you can get your clothes cleaned or go to the grocery store.”
As reported last week, Texas just broke a wind power output record on October 7 when wind turbines in the service territory of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) produced 15.2% of the region’s electricity (7,400 megawatts).
Wind power is cheap as heck and brings the cost of electricity down (as also reported last week, it brought the wholesale cost of electricity down to $0.00 a week and a half ago), so I don’t think too many Texans will complain about the state’s ambitious goals.
Currently, Texas has about 10,000 MW of wind power installed (much more than the second-biggest wind power state, Iowa, which has under 4,000 MW). It gets about 8% of its electricity from wind power. Will we see 20,000 MW of wind power producing 16% of Texas’ electricity by 2013?
Photo Credit: Some rights reserved by danishwindindustryassociationReuters Workers carry ballots after polling stations closed in the referendum on the European Union in Glasgow, Scotland.
After briefly plunging to its weakest level in more than 30 years, the pound trimmed its earlier losses to finish Friday at a more-than six year low against the dollar.
In a historic decision, the U.K. voted to leave the European Union in a long-awaited referendum on Thursday, plunging global markets in chaos.
At one point, the U.K. currency was down by more than 10% intraday to $1.3230, its weakest level since 1985.
Read: Dimon says J.P. Morgan currency–trading volume hit a record amid Brexit
The pound briefly peaked above $1.50, its strongest level of 2016, as polls closed in the U.K. late Thursday. But it began to weaken sharply as the “leave” vote pulled ahead.
But the pound trimmed its loss as the session wore on, buying $1.3649 GBPUSD, -0.0377% late Friday, its weakest level since the financial crisis. It was down 6.3% from $1.4551 late Thursday — it’s largest daily drop ever.
Though the pound finished off its lows, many market strategists believe it will fall further in the coming months.
Torsten Slok, chief international economist at Deutsche Bank, expects the Bank of England to cuts interest rates in the near future, which could further weigh on the pound.
“As the dust settles here, further downside risk is likely for the pound and for risk assets in general,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange.
Read: How Brexit horribly blindsided investors, in 5 charts
Read: U.K. votes to leave EU in historic Brexit referendum
The first big shock for the pound was when results from Sunderland, a city in northeast England, that was expected to vote “remain.” Instead, the city overwhelmingly favored Brexit, with 61.3% of voters voting to “leave.”
Read: 5 steps the European Union must take regardless of Brexit vote
In other currency trading The euro strengthened to GBPUSD, -0.0377% 83.2 pence, its strongest level against the pound in more than two years, soon after the vote was called in favor of Brexit. The shared currency bought 81.45 pence late Friday, compared with 77.83 pence late Thursday.
Though the euro strengthened against the pound, it lost ground EURUSD, -0.0527% against the dollar, trading as low as $1.0909, its weakest level in more than three months. It recently bought $1.1012, compared with $1.1354 late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, haven assets and currencies saw large inflows. The Japanese yen USDJPY, -0.01% briefly broke above ¥100 to the dollar, its strongest level in more than three-and-a-half years. The dollar trimmed its drop against the Japanese currency as the day wore on, buying ¥102.24 late Friday, compared with ¥104.80 late Thursday.
The Swiss franc EURCHF, -0.0088% another haven currency, also strengthened, with one euro bought 1.0824 francs late Friday, compared with 1.0892 francs late Thursday.
Doug Borthwick, head of currency trading at Chapdelaine & Co., said it’s likely that both the Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank could intervene in an effort to weaken their currencies, though he doubted any central-bank action would significantly pare back their gains.
“The intervention you’d expect right now isn’t one that would change the direction of currency moves. It would merely halt the rise,” Borthwick said.
Providing critical information for the U.S. trading day. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Need to Know newsletter. Sign up here.Mark Cavendish sprints to victory on stage three of the Tour of Qatar in 2013
Mark Cavendish: The Secret World of Sprinting Listen to BBC Radio 5 live's podcast
He is the Usain Bolt of bike racing - winner of 25 stages at the Tour de France and 15 at the Giro D'Italia, a world champion on road and track, a Manx Missile capable of speeds that wreck rivals and destroy records.
No-one understands the pell-mell mayhem of a bunch sprint like Mark Cavendish. No-one before has taken the uninitiated inside that maelstrom quite like this. This is the secret world of sprinting, and it's quite some ride.
Calm before the storm: 'It's not like chess'
You think this is all about a big kick in the last 500 metres of a 120-mile stage? The night before, Etixx - Quick-Step's Cavendish will study Google Street View so he knows every corner and bollard from 2km out. But the lead-out begins, in the words of his long-time team-mate Mark Renshaw, as soon as you decide it's going to be a sprint stage.
"In a race weeks before, I'll make it look like I'm suffering, so a rival team will try to use their resources to drop me before a sprint," says Cavendish. "If they use their resources up, that's easier for me."
Neither is it a carefree tow in the peloton until the critical kilometres.
Cavendish says a team effort is crucial to setting up the perfect sprint finish
"Sometimes the hardest part of the stage is right at the beginning. The other teams will leave it to us to chase down a breakaway, and we can't allow a big group to go up the road - anything more than four riders is trouble.
"But it's not like playing chess. We're not robots. You have to have the physical strength to react to things.
"Between 20km and 10km to go, you want the whole team at the front. You don't necessarily want to take control, and the speed will be dictated by how many surges you get from the other teams. You don't want to go so fast they can't come, but you want to be just ahead so you're in control.
"The stronger you are as a unit, the more you can control a race. The strongest cyclist in the world isn't as strong as two guys, let alone nine."
10 km to go: 'It's getting harder than ever'
Seldom has the pace dropped below 30mph. It is hot, midsummer in the south of France. You are tired, thirsty and being bumped on all sides. And the brutal stuff is yet to start.
"I've already had my last food, a caffeine gel with 30 or 40km to go," Cavendish says. "I don't take anything after 20, because I don't want to take my hands off the bars, or reach round to my back packet. If you're grabbing your brakes with one hand in those conditions, it's not going to end well.
"Ideally you don't want to catch a breakaway too early. It leaves the race open to counter-attacks and chances for small breaks to form that you can't control, because they've been sheltering in the wheels all day.
Mark Cavendish MBE - vital statistics Age: 29 Place of birth: Douglas, Isle of Man Team: Etixx - Quick-Step Sprint speed: 48.47mph (78kph) Tour de France stage wins: - 25 (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) - third in all-time rankings Other notable achievements: 2013 National Road Race Champion, 2011 World Road Race Champion, 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year
"Within the last 10km is perfect. There will be odd riders who attack in that, but you'll never get a full breakaway forming unless it's a difficult last 10km, in which case it probably won't be a sprint anyway.
"As racing has changed over the last few years it is getting harder than ever. It used to be that one team controlled it and other teams were fighting behind for that sprinter's wheel. Nowadays you've probably got five or six sprint teams, all vying for control of the peloton.
"The road might only be six or seven riders wide. So whereas before I had eight guys ahead of me, all controlling it with me in ninth, now you've got six teams on the front row. That doesn't just make you seventh; you've got six lots of nine which is 54 riders ahead or around you."
'An algorithm for every scenario'
This is both your job and your greatest skill, the few minutes of the greatest stress you can experience. How to control the adrenaline, hold your nerve with wheels an inch in front of yours and an inch behind, keep a grip on the endless calculations?
"Circumstances change in every moment of every race. The weather, the terrain, the other riders - it's not just me against another rider, it's my team against 20 other teams. So it's 20 things to the power of 20 that can happen. There are infinite things that can happen.
"But although it sounds quite unromantic, I don't actually get nervous. I get quite the opposite - I get quite clear-headed. I know what I have to do. It's like a procedure.
What's a watt? Sprinters' power output is measured in watts, most often associated with light bulbs Taking a maximum output of 1600W, a cyclist could produce enough power to illuminate 107 energy-saving light bulbs at 15W each The average UK home uses 34 light bulbs, meaning at 1600W, a cyclist could provide light for three UK homes
"We talk about sprinters being aggressive riders, with all the bumping and barging. That's what it's like for most of the guys, but they rely on raw power.
"I'm not so powerful. I rely on - and always had to - on my road craft and instinct. So it's ingrained in me. I know what I have to do.
"There's a certain procedure, a certain algorithm inside me for every scenario. Going through a set of patterns to get the best possible result. Sometimes it doesn't work, because although you get the tactics right you physically can't do what you need. But most of the time, it happens."
3km to go: Swearing in European languages
The peloton has gone from band of brothers to angry swarm. Everyone is fighting for space, everyone is fighting for a wheel. Forget any notions of solidarity. This is elbows-out war.
"In the Olympic road race, the crowd was so loud that we couldn't hear each other. You couldn't even hear the man in front. So we have a system where I call to my lead-out man Renshaw, he calls to the rider in front and so on.
"It's not even a code. We have five words we say in our team. Left. Right. Go. Stop. Easy.
"Each word has to be clear and impossible to confuse as you pass it up the chain. It has to be'stop' and not 'whoah', because 'whoah' could be confused with 'go'.
Media playback is not supported on this device Cavendish sprints to World title
"With any other lead-out man I'd probably have to shout more things. With Mark (Renshaw), the only thing I have to say is his name. Because he knows he will never be so close to the pavement that I can't get on his wheel.
"He always thinks for me. If we're trying to move up the outside and I get cut off by another team, I'll shout 'Mark!' And he knows that's lost his wheel. It's the only thing it can mean."
Can Cavendish, not renowned for stepping back from confrontation, swear in four major European languages?
"I just say one word, and even in English it's not the best word to hear.
"The mentality you have to have is that you're the only one with the right to be there. And that's not just me. Every sprinter believes they are the only one who should be there, so how dare they fight you for it?"
Speeding up to slow down
"Speed?" remarked Jackie Stewart, a few months after winning the first of his three Formula 1 world titles in 1969. "The whole business is the reverse of speed. Speed doesn't exist for me unless I'm driving poorly. Then things seem to be coming at me quickly instead of passing in slow motion.
"In form, I see things a long way off, in fine detail. A corner will come towards me very slowly… everything is clear, neither hurried nor distorted, like a slowed-down movie film."
Sir Jackie Stewart sits in his Matra car before the race at Silverstone in 1969
As true for a road sprinter as a Grand Prix driver?
"That's a brilliant quote," says Cavendish. "That really is how it works.
"You know what's going on around you, you're aware of some things, but there's no detail in your peripheral vision. It's only what's in front of you.
"I watched a documentary on time recently, about how time is just what you perceive it to be. If your adrenaline is going, it's your body trying to absorb every bit of information, physical and emotional, so it can learn for the next time it happens to you.
"And that's what happens to me. It's what your body does in its instinctive state."
2km to go: 'That's when most people crack'
Let's imagine, by some horrible twist in the fabric of time, an ordinary club cyclist were to suddenly find themselves in the middle of that constantly shifting fight. How frightening would it be, how fast? Could they even stay upright?
"If you dropped a club cyclist into a neutral zone of a Tour stage, they would crash," says Cavendish. "Even most professional bike riders don't want to be near the front of a bunch sprint.
"The worst ones are the ones who believe they are fast when they're not. The thing about sprinting is that it's not being able to put out 1600 watts, it's being able to put out 1600 watts when you're in the red zone, when your body's at its limits. That's when most people crack.
"Sprinting on the velodrome is just going full gas. It's tactical, it's physical, but it's about pure sprinting. Endurance sprinting on the road is about being at your limit and then picking it up. Most guys can't do that. They think they can, but they're wrong.
"And they become bollards in the road. They're coming back so fast through the peloton that that's what happens.
"It's as if you get a dog, make him angry and then drop him in with three km to go. That's the scariest thing. It's not your rivals. It's the guys who physically aren't able to do it but think they are. They're the biggest hazard in the last few kilometres."
Man down: 'A massive breach of etiquette'
Which rider are you happy to see appearing alongside you? Whose number do you dread if it suddenly veers into your vision?
"There's a few. One of them is my rival Marcel Kittel's lead-out man, Tom Veelers.
"I had a collision with him in the Tour de France a few years ago. He sat up and started going backwards.
"If you're going backwards you get out of the road. You get out of the side.
"He comes back through the middle of the peloton. Then he starts looking over his shoulder.
"Deviating from your line is banned in the rules. Now, you're always going to deviate from your line unless you paint lanes on the road. But looking over your shoulder, not being on your drops? That's a massive breach of etiquette. It will cause a crash. You won't be lucky if it doesn't cause a crash, it just will."
Cavendish after a crash at the end of the fourth stage of the 2012 Tour de France
Are crashes, to borrow from the opening credits of Porridge, an occupational hazard - even the sort of crashes that leave you in the gutter of your mother's home town with a separated shoulder?
"It's part of the job. That's it. You can't think about consequences, because that's an emotion. And if there's an emotion there then you're not concentrating on the job in hand, which is winning.
"Everything is happening in slow motion. You have time to register that something's going to happen. A lot of the time it's not the exact moment you come off balance that you crash. You have a moment or two for you to realise."
Is there time to be angry before forearm even meets tarmac?
"Yeah. You say two letters. Which are F and U. Then you hit the deck. You don't have time to complete the words."
The relationship: 'It's a special, special thing'
Cavendish comes as a package. The other half is the Australian Renshaw, his lead-out man at both HTC and Quick Step, as essential to his sprint successes as the bike between his legs
"Me and Mark always room together. We are like the anti-each other. I'm quite angsty, always moving, always on edge. Mark is always calm, relaxed, almost boring.
"His personality transfers itself onto the bike. We could say the same thing, but it comes across so different. He'll just say it, but I'll scream it.
"There are very few people - two, three in my career - whose judgement I would take over my own in terms of positioning and movement in the peloton. Mark is definitely one of them. He's on the highest rank.
"He's the most gifted person I've ever seen at moving round the peloton, at knowing where to go. I don't even have to think if I trust him.
Mark Renshaw was also on the HTC Highroad team, a squad which helped Cavendish notch up 21 of his 25 Tour de France stage wins during 2008-2011
"If you have a lead-out man where you have to wonder what he's doing, it takes precious energy away from the sprint. With Mark it's as simple as just following him. He'll get it bang on where he has to be.
"He rides so smooth. He rides like he's riding a tandem, so if he goes through a space there has to be space for me to get through as well. If we move in the wind he stays a little bit out so I'm sheltered as well.
"He's always thinking for two people, which is a gift. You can't imagine saying to many sports people that that their role is entirely for someone else. It's a special, special thing, but we have a very good relationship. If he does it right, I'm going to finish it off."
The drop-off: 'You go deeper than most people could even imagine'
Faces in the crowd flashing by, your team-mates bailing one by one. Riding in Renshaw's slipstream, a rocket waiting for the final fuel tank to drop away.
"The perfect place to go really depends on the conditions. If you're talking an idealised stage, if everything has gone smoothly in a lead-out, if there's no corners, no wind, zero incline, same gradient… 230 metres, probably.
"It's about a 12-second effort that you want. If it's slightly downhill you'll go slightly earlier, if there's a slight headwind you'll go slightly later."
Head low over the bars, covering each metre in less than 0.05 of a second, how can you always sense where that point is?
"Sometimes tactically you have to go earlier or later. I always trained my sprint over-distance so that I can go earlier if need be. A lot of guys would die, but I've always trained for it.
"It's incredible the muscle damage you do in a sprint. You don't see it after the line, because we're smiling. But if you see the tent that we're in straight afterwards, you just collapse.
"You go deeper than most people could even imagine their body going. So if you can leave it late, you do - but you run the risk of someone coming round you, of boxing you in, and then you don't win anyway."
The jump: 'I went with such speed…'
This is it. Renshaw dies. 200 metres of empty road lie between you and victory. What is left in those pumping legs?
"The moment you accelerate is the moment you know if you've won the race," says Cavendish. "It's not how much power you can put out, but how quickly you can accelerate.
"Some days you can feel brilliant, then you go, and… nothing. In Milan - San Remo 2014, I had to go a little earlier because of the position I was in. When I went, I felt great the second before I kicked. I felt a surge.
"Then the second I went, you don't have time to analyse it, but you know it's not there. Three seconds later I had to sit down.
"It wasn't even through my legs being tired; it was that my legs stopped working. I had to sit down. Yet two seconds before I'd felt brilliant.
Media playback is not supported on this device Mark Cavendish says he probably will not be able to compete in the Rio Olympics, as Matt Slater reports
"Sometimes I will spend the whole day on my hands and knees. On the last stage of the Tour of California, I spent the whole day thinking I was going to be dropped.
"I hadn't slept well, I was in pieces. Even on the last lap, following Mark, I was thinking, hmm.
"We started the last km, slightly downhill, and I'd put a bigger chain ring on the front to get a bigger gear, because it would be slightly faster downhill. Normally from the last kilometre you put it in your biggest gear. But I did, and I had to put it back down a gear, because my legs wouldn't do it.
"So I sat behind another guy, and with 200m to go it just felt like we were going a bit slow. Nobody was passing. I looked, and we were still in one line. So I thought, I'll try to sprint. And when I went, I went with such speed that I knew in that moment I would win by two or three bike lengths."
At your limits: 'Your legs can't turn any faster'
Where in the body do you die first - in screaming lungs, in maxed-out heart, in lactic-drenched legs?
"Now, with the aerodynamic advantages in the clothing, in the bikes we use, what limits us is the amount of pedal revolutions we can do.
"Imagine you smash your car into the rev limit - BABABABA! That's the sensation you get.
"It's such a speed that you physically can't turn your legs that quick. It's not that they're filling up with lactic acid. They just can't turn any faster.
"Most guys do between 120 and 130 rpm. And that's where I'm different. I don't put out anywhere near the same amount of power that the other sprinters do.
"I'm doing 1400, 1500 watts, they're doing 1800, 1900 watts, which is a good 20% more. But I can pedal that much quicker. I can pedal with an extra 10% cadence. And that's the difference."
It's one of those counter-intuitive truths in 100m sprinting in athletics: the man who crosses the line first is not the one going the fastest but the one who is slowing down the least.
"It's exactly the same for us. Peak power really isn't a good measure. You might be able to do 1800 watts, bang, but if you drop to 1000 it won't matter.
"I can hold within 20% of my max power for 12 seconds. Mark Renshaw has an even lower peak power, but he can hold that 30 seconds to a minute, which is a different thing all together.
"I wouldn't be able to sprint well at the velodrome. I don't put that amount of peak power out for that short a period of time. But when I'm in the red zone, I can put a high power out."
The moment of truth: Sweet victory, cruel defeat
A wheel alongside, a shoulder in your peripheral vision and a brightly coloured helmet beyond that. A dip and a desperate push of the bike forward. Who has got it?
"When you cross the finish line, you either see ecstasy on someone's face, or absolute horror," says Cavendish.
"It's like the world is coming to an end, because all the emotion that's been put to the back for the last two hours comes out. And it will come out in a massive fireball.
"For some riders it's a massive bonus them winning. They will be high on it. For me, it's my job to win.
"It's everybody's job to try to win, but I'm paid significantly more than a lot of people, and I have a team that's dedicated to the task.
"It's my job to win. It's bigger news, and has bigger consequences, if I don't win. I'll be more caught up in it if I don't win. Then it'll be a sleepless night.
Cavendish won BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2011
"I've become quite reasonable as I've got older. If it's out of my control - a puncture, or I was in the right position but a dog ran in the road, you might be banged up or disappointed but you quickly forget it. But if I'm in the wrong position, if I make a mistake, that's bad.
"It's such a weird thing. In a sport where there are eight on the start line, second's still something. In cycling, you might have 200 bikes on the start line, but second doesn't mean a thing.
"You might be second, but you might as well be last. That's what makes it so special."No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. The tea trees and bushes of northern Vietnam are slowly waking up from their winter slumbers, ready to produce new growth with renewed vigour following their well earned rest. While we await the arrival of the first batches from the new season there is still plenty of opportunity to sample and savour our exciting range of clean wild and estate grown teas.
Featured teas for February enjoying a romantic 15% online discount are Dragon's Breath Oolong Tea, Lady Trieu Earl Grey Tea and Jasmine Oolong Tea. To claim the 15% discount enter the code: VALENTINE during checkout. Offer available until 10 March 2017. You must be logged in to qualify for the discount.
Dragon's Breath Oolong Tea is a brand new offering based on our popular Red Buffalo. It is a high oxidation Oolong from Son La province that forgoes the heavy rolling stage of processing but is subject to a three-times 'roast and rest' phase to develop an intense lightly smoked, golden amber liquor with flavours of charcoal, caramel and toasted rice.
Lady Trieu Earl Grey Tea is our very own interpretation of the ever popular black tea and bergamot oil blend. Using a wild black tea from the mountains of Ha Giang province we hand blend and stir with cold pressed organic bergamot oil imported from the Reggio di Calabria region of Italy. The delightful citrus aroma of bergamot has never found a better partner than this wild crafted mountain tea.
Jasmine Oolong Tea brings together a top quality floral green oolong tea with genuine jasmine flowers. Tea is produced in Son La province and is shipped to Hanoi for blending, over several days, with jasmine buds picked from gardens close to West Lake and the Red River. Oolong tea is much more defiant than Green Tea is absorbing fragrance and up to 2 kilograms of flowers are required to scent each kilogram of tea.
There are many more full of character, clean and affordable Vietnam teas to choose from. Visit our website to see the full range.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption US troops stand at ease before Ukrainian folk dancers at the ceremony opening the military exercise
About 1,300 troops from 15 countries - including the US and other Nato members - have begun a military exercise near Lviv in western Ukraine.
The US says the drill had been planned before the current crisis in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have been battling pro-Russian rebels.
Clashes have continued in eastern Ukraine, particularly around the city of Donetsk, despite a ceasefire deal.
Russia denies sending troops to aid the rebels, as alleged by Ukraine and Nato.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian Defence Minister Valery Heletey said Nato countries had begun arming his nation in the fight against the rebels.
He did not specify the type of weapons being delivered or name the countries involved.
Image copyright AFP Image caption A shaky ceasefire has been in place in eastern Ukraine since 5 September
Several Nato members have denied similar statements made in the past.
Officials from the alliance say they have no plans to send lethal assistance to non-Nato member Ukraine - but member states are free to do so on a bilateral basis.
Some 200 US troops are taking part in the military exercise, codenamed Rapid Trident, near Lviv, on the Polish-Ukrainian border, some 1,000 km (600 miles) from the fighting in the east.
The exercise brings together troops from several Nato member states and from former Soviet-bloc countries that are part of Nato's Partnership for Peace programme.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Ukraine's defence minister says the extra weapons will be used to "stop" Russian President Vladimir Putin
Image copyright AP Image caption The fighting has devastated Ukraine's industrial region
Pro-Russian rebels have been engaged in heavy fighting with government forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since April. Some 2,600 people have been killed over the past five months of conflict.
Shelling was reported again on Monday around Donetsk's government-held airport, with both sides accusing each other of endangering the truce.
Six people were killed and 15 hurt in the violence on Sunday, Donetsk's city council said.
In another development, two vehicles with monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were hit by "artillery fragments" near Donetsk on Sunday, the organisation said in a report. No-one one was injured.
Nato says Russia still has about 1,000 heavily armed troops in eastern Ukraine and about 20,000 more near the border.
But Russia denies sending direct military help to the rebels, insisting that any Russian soldiers there are "volunteers".
Nato has announced the formation of a new "spearhead" force numbering several thousand troops, which can be deployed to protect member countries in a matter of days.
It followed growing concern from Nato member countries bordering Russia over its involvement in Ukraine.Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Police are investigating allegations a 14-year-old Asian pupil was racially abused outside school gates.
Mobile phone footage appears to show the chaotic aftermath of the incident outside Priestnall School in Heaton Mersey, Stockport, after lessons on Thursday.
The girl’s mother says her daughter has regularly been called ‘ISIS’ during an alleged three-year campaign of bullying at the school.
She has now withdrawn her daughter from the school. Both GMP and Stockport Council are investigating.
A group of pupils is said to have followed the girl as she got into her mother’s car and are alleged to have racially abused her through the rear windscreen.
The girl’s mother, Farrah Aftab, 37, from Heaton Chapel, told the M.E.N: “They were saying horrible things, calling her ISIS and saying they were going to break her nose and asking where she was at the time of the Manchester Arena bomb and ‘you are ugly’. It was disgusting.”
Farrah took video of the aftermath of the incident which sees scores of pupils watching on as tempers fray. Teachers are also seen on the footage. Farrah claims the staff “did nothing” to deal with the situation.
She said: “It was worse because it happened in front of the teachers and they did nothing about it. My daughter was crying, saying ‘this is what they do to me’.
"It was racism and disgusting. They are just trying to intimidate her. It’s shocking. I just feel let down. This kind of thing has been going on since she joined the school.”
The girl admitted the incident had left her ‘scared’.
A letter from headteacher John Cregg to the family said if they felt she was too upset to attend school the following day 'we would be happy to authorise this decision and provide academic work for her to complete at home'.
It added that if, however, the family did want her to attend school the 'best outcomes for her and other members of our community would be for her to be educated in our study centre where she could be supported directly by members of school staff'.
Farrah added: “The study centre is basically where children go if they have misbehaved. She’s a victim in all this and yet they are treating her like a perpetrator."
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed officers were investigating a report of a racially aggravated threats and abuse outside the school.
It is also investigating allegations of abusive messages sent to the girl via Snapchat and also an allegation that the mother of one of the alleged bullies threatened Farrah after she went to visit her on Wednesday.
A Priestnall School spokesperson said: “Priestnall School are aware of an incident after school on Thursday 6th July 2017.
"The matter has been referred to the Greater Manchester Police and the Local Authority. As this is now an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further. Priestnall is an inclusive school and takes all concerns shared by parents and carers very seriously.
"The school will work with the family and all parties concerned to address any issues bought to their attention.”The 10 Series, brought to you by Just-Football.com, is our annual special feature scouting the best young players in Europe. Before we release our list of 10 Eredivisie best young players for 2014/15, how did The Class of 2013 get on? Follow this link for an introduction to The 10 Series (including last year’s criteria) and here for a full list of the articles published so far.
Memphis Depay
How’s he done since?
Dick Advocaat got a lot of stick for not giving Memphis Depay a chance in the 2012/13 season and Memphis showed why in 2013/14. After a first half of the season in which Depay was both creative and wasteful, 2014 saw an immense development in his game.
Depay turned into a more mature and economical winger. His name rose further during the World Cup, where he became the youngest goal scorer for the Netherlands ever in a match at the competition.
Success, Failure or Standing Still?
Little more than 12 months ago, Depay wasn’t deemed good enough to start for PSV. A year on, some suggest Memphis is too good for the Eredivisie. The boy from Moordrecht is quickly turning into a man and while he is still quite raw he is also very eager to improve.
With five goals in his first four league matches he is almost halfway to his total production of last season and the youngster extending his contract at PSV was arguably the biggest boost the Eredivisie got all summer as the league was further depleted of talent.
With Memphis set to eventually leave, the only question is whether he will depart with a league title, a Golden Boot or a Player Of The Year award, or maybe even all three?
10 Series Rating (1 = bad, 10 = a 10 Series Legend)
9/10
Viktor Fischer
How’s he done since?
It was only in January 2013 when Viktor Fischer looked odds-on to overtake Christian Eriksen as the most promising Dane at Ajax. Eighteen months later, he might be the most promising one, but that is mainly due to Eriksen leaving rather than Fischer’s development.
In what was meant to be Fischer’s first full season as a starter the winger has been plagued by injuries and a crisis in form and at the time of writing, a return to the first team is still far away. Due to a hamstring injury Fischer is not expected back until 2015 and after that |
and smoking when in (short-shorted, red-and-white satin) uniform, but yet they were in front of gyms filled with families, drawing attention to their derrieres. And, probably because it was not being covered by a network — the Red Heads, figuratively and occasionally literally, drove their own novelty bus — their primary draw was not seen as sexual. The All American Red Heads were closer to Buster Keaton, or the Keystone Cops: acts that, in most normal circumstances, would not be considered titillating. A Life Magazine writer was talking about the quality of their basketball when he called the Red Heads “female muscle pitted seriously against male muscle,” but they represented this fight, conceptually, at large.
On Christmas Day 1973, the Red Heads, at a motel in Joplin, put up a small cedar and festooned it with shaving cream. This was a private party in a plain room, but the performance went on just the same. Beside their Charlie Brown Christmas tree, they had an improvised Miss America contest, lyric dancing and winking and waving, and ultimately chose their “hook-shot artist” Lynette Sjoquist as winner. They gave her a pickle, and then later, singing carols, the whole team drank Dr. Pepper and Coca-Cola. This was how they privately performed in their bodies, and one thing is important to note: It’s not so different from their theatrics on the court.
Why do the All American Red Heads seem to live in a light separate from that of the Superstars? And from that of high-profile female athletes today — let’s say Dara Torres or Maria Sharapova or Lolo Jones? The female athlete’s body is muddied as it is mythologized. But the Red Heads managed to skip the first part: they made their own rad communal rules in a way individual female athletes, pitted against one another, can’t do.
In established structures — formal leagues, organizations, sports medicine — power can be manipulated almost seamlessly. We aren’t surprised to see AJ Lee put Naomi into a sleeper hold, or tie her up with a Guillotine choke, and actually, if we boo it’s because we’re supposed to. We accepted a year ago that in the competitive atmosphere of the WNBA draft, message board and YouTube comments opposing Skylar Diggins’s stunning appearance to that of the equally graceful, though less conventionally feminine, Brittney Griner were inevitable. Even: “natural.”
Gender policing peacocks in many forms and hides in others, but its end is always some sort of violence, the dressing down of humanness. What happened in 2009 and 2010 to Caster Semenya — the South African Olympic runner whose gender was so disputed she had to brave public shame as various committees investigated her — is an embarrassingly clear example. Another one is Stella Walsh losing a race to Helen Stephens at the Olympics in Berlin, then reportedly claiming that Stephens was a “man in disguise” and forcing a physical examination on her opponent — 44 years before Walsh’s own intersex characteristics were confirmed (“Stella’s a fella”) upon her death. Slightly more oblique is Ronda Rousey’s ESPN cover, in which she’s almost comically softened by a foggy, pastel-coloured body halo, her face more bedroom than MMA cage. Girl looks absolutely amazing. And it’s definitely possible she’s happy with how the photos turned out. But what matters is that she is not the one making the decisions about how her body is being shown, and it’s no coincidence a woman who makes a living through force and uncommon strength is shown, hazily backlit, wearing Baker-Miller pink hand wraps.
There is a stone, of course, that Caster Semenya and Brittney Griner need to push against and Ronda Rousey doesn’t. Pop culture, generally, gives black women a harder stare. The Daily Mail reduces Serena Williams to “her power, swagger, physical stature and astonishing reserves of mental grit” — her mind is attached to the highly bodily word grit — and then claims without further explanation that tennis fans will never love her, as if her body is its own justification. Or, from a Toronto Star article about Semenya: “Lindsay Perry, another scientist, says sometimes whole [football] teams of African women are dead ringers for men.” The smokescreen of undefined “science” has been used throughout modern history to validate violently racist, anti-human behaviour, and the fact that it’s still being used almost unchecked in the context of women’s sports should be bewildering. If it’s not, it’s because the reduction of women to their component parts dovetails in these sentiments with the reduction of non-white bodies to their component parts.
Former Olympian Bruce Kidd, writing about Semenya, stressed that “personal household and national income is far more relevant to performance than hormonal makeup.” The quantifiable perks of wealth — nutritious food, sleep, energy conservation — clearly change the way female athletes perform in the
baseball stadium or on the football pitch. But if these things affect the internal functions of an athlete, or what we could call her “private form,” how do they change her public form? The lower-middle-class daughter of a mechanic and a snowmobile/motocross racer, Danica Patrick became sexualized around the time of her commercials for Go Daddy, the syndicate which, perhaps coincidentally, funded her racing ventures and launched her into a higher income bracket. Beautiful world-class boxer Marlen Esparza has enjoyed massive sponsorship from Nike and Coca-Cola, and in a piece in The Atlantic vexingly called “American Sweetheart,” her body is described as “more feminine, less bulky, than the rippling musculature of her peers.” What’s significant is that many of her boxing peers, who would be equally marketable physically (Queen Underwood, Christina Cruz) have not been given endorsement deals at all, much less on the level of Esparza’s. The Atlantic article silhouettes her peers’ difficult upbringings — foster homes, sexual abuse, entrenched poverty — against Esparza’s stable childhood as a means of defending Esparza’s rightful position as a face of CoverGirl, among other things. The American Sweetheart addresses this in the following way: “I have to feel guilty because my parents aren’t drug addicts? […] I guess I’m in a poor-person sport.”
The Coney Island Circus Sideshow, the Planète Sauvage, Old Sturbridge Village, Thomas Edison’s short film on beauty queens — all spectacles are about difference, and in the spectacle of competitive sports, gender is one of the most key sites of difference. We’re looking for something rare, something extraordinary, something that grinds banality under its silver-sequined wrestling boot; when we’re looking for this in the female body, our spectator eyes fill up with judgment, assumption, lust, celebration and shame.
This is not how it has to be. This is just how it’s been written.
Laura Legge lives, writes and dusts her Clyde Frazier memorabilia collection in the beautiful city of Toronto.5TH UPDATE, Monday, 3:18 PM: Screen Gems’ thriller No Good Deed fell right in line with other distribs’ estimates over the weekend to end the three-day at $24.2M, while Warner Bros./Alcon Entertainment’s Dolphin Tale 2 just fell short of $16M to gross a total cume of $15.8M; it was a softer-than-hoped-for opening for the sequel to the 2011 family film, which bowed to $19M on its way for a $95M worldwide haul). Chernin Entertainment’s crime drama The Drop ended the weekend at No. 6 for a $4.1M take or a respectable $5,000+ per screen for Fox Searchlight; it is James Gandolfini’s last film in release. The Identical dropped like a bomb in its second weekend (-75%) falling out of the Top 20 after a dismal opening. In fact, it’s even behind Woody Allen’s Magic In The Moonlight which is its eighth week of release. It was a very soft box office weekend overall, with the one bright note coming from the star Guardians Of The Galaxy which topped $300M to become the first 2014 release to do so. The box office is still down 5.7% from 2013.
Next weekend, we have a mix of films coming into the marketplace with high hopes that audiences will start coming back to theaters. Expectations are high for the sci-fi action thriller The Maze Runner which already opened internationally to strong numbers, outpacing Divergent, which is great news for Fox which is distributing this film based on the YA novel by James Dashner. The film, which stars Dylan O’Brien from MTV’s Teen Wolf, will have the great advantage of being on all 350 IMAX screens next weekend and is tracking better than Divergent with the young male demo. It is expected to outpace R-rated The Walk Among The Tombstones, the next actioner from Liam Neeson which I hear is pretty darn good. The latest from Neeson is tracking better than Non-Stop right now which opened to $28M in February and went on to gross over $200M worldwide. Tombstones is not expected to open to that number, but with tracking in the toilet lately, anything could happen. Finally, the Jason Bateman-Tina Fey,-Adam Driver comedy This is Where I Leave You from Warner Bros. is tracking best with older females and is not expected to set the world on fire, but there’s been nothing in the marketplace for older women since Tammy.
1). No Good Deed (SONY), 2,175 theaters / 3-day cume: $24.2M / Per screen average: $11,149 / Wk 1
2). Dolphin Tale 2 (WB), 3,656 theaters / 3-day cume: $15.8M / Per screen: $4,342 / Wk 1
3). Guardians Of The Galaxy (DIS), 3,104 theaters (-117) / 3-day cume: $8.1M / Per screen: $2,610 / Total cume: $305.9M / Wk 7
4). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PAR), 3,273 theaters (-270) / 3-day cume: $4.8M / Per screen: $1,642 / Total cume: $181M / Wk 6
5). Let’s Be Cops (FOX), 2,755 theaters (-177) / 3-day cume: $4.37M / Per screen: $1,589 / Total cume: $73M /Wk 5
6). The Drop (FSL), 809 theaters / 3-day cume: $4.1M / Per screen: $5,074 / Wk 1
7). If I Stay (WB), 3,040 theaters (-117) / 3-day cume: $3.9M / Per screen: $1,295 / Total cume: $44.8M/ Wk 4
8). The November Man (REL), 2,702 theaters (-74) / 3-day cume: $2.8M / Per screen: $1,036 / Total cume: $22.5 / Wk 3
9). The Giver (TWC), 2,253 theaters (-323)/ 3-day cume: $2.57M / Per screen: $1,142 / Total cume: $41.2M / Wk 5
10). The Hundred-Foot Journey (DIS), 1,943 theaters (-224) / 3-day cume: $2.4M / Per screen: $1,247 / Total cume: $49.3M / Wk 6
11). When The Game Stands Tall (SONY), 2,435 theaters (-331) / 3-day cume: $2.38M / Per screen: $978 / Total cume: $26.5M / Wk 4
12). As Above, So Below (UNI), 2,283 theaters (-367) / 3-day cume: $2.1M / Per screen: $936 / Total cume: $19.1M / Wk 3
13). Lucy (UNI), 1,068 theaters (-103) / 3-day cume: $1.5M / Per screen: $1,445 / Total cume: $123.4M / Wk 8
14). The Expendables 3 (LGF), 1,302 theaters (-676) / 3-day cume: $968K / Per screen: $744 / Total cume: $38.2M / Wk 5
15). Into The Storm (WB), 1,040 theaters (305) / 3-day cume: $903K / Per screen: $869 / Total cume: $45.8M / Wk 6
16). Boyhood (IFC), 659 theaters (-116) / 3-day cume: $865K / Per screen: $1,313 / Total cume: $21.8M / Wk 10
17). Cantinflas (LGF), 424 theaters (-5) / 3-day cume: $575K / Per screen: $1,358 / Total cume: $5.6M / Wk 3
18). Finding Fanny (FIP), 121 theaters / 3-day cume: $515K / Per screen: $4,259 / Wk 1
19). Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt (ATLAS), 242 theaters / 3-day cume: $461K / Per screen: $1,906 / Wk 1
20). A Most Wanted Man (RSA), 397 theaters (-24) / 3-day cume: $443K / Per screen: $1,118 / Total cume: $16.6M / Wk 8
NOTEWORTHY: 23). The Identical (FREE), 1,274 theaters (-682) / 3-day cume: 401K (-75%) / Per screen: $316 / Total cume: $2.57M / Wk 2
4TH UPDATE, Sunday, 8:55 AM: Disney’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, which as previously reported, is a box-office brute force both domestically and internationally. It becomes the first picture of 2014 to pass $300M and is still playing hard in overseas markets. Domestically, the unstoppable crowd-pleaser was still No. 3 this weekend after taking in another $8M seven weeks after its U.S. release.
3RD UPDATE, Sunday, 7:35 AM: Fox Searchlight‘s The Drop, featuring the late James Gandolfini and with a production budget of $12.6M, will end the weekend with a take of $4.2M on only 809 screens for a decent per-screen of $5,191. The Chernin Entertainment offering was the beloved actor’s last film awaiting release.
Fox Searchlight will continue to roll this one out to a wider audience as the weeks progress and plans to be in about 1,000 venues by next Friday. This one got 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. FSL’s smart distribution head Frank Rodriguez booked this pic in a combination of art houses, suburban multiplexes, urban theaters, dine-in runs and in 85 large-format theaters. “It way surpassed what we thought it was going to do,” said FSL’s Rodriguez. “We took a lot of those large formats because there was nothing else this weekend that we knew were going to take those.” That means higher ticket prices, which helped its bottom line. “This just played across the board … it did as well in the urban venues as it did on the large formats. We also got really good reviews.which helped us. We’re very happy.”
The box office crown, however, this weekend goes to No Good Deed, which Sony didn’t really screen for critics and opened it on the strength of a smart marketing campaign. It’s on track to gross $24M+. Its production budget (which doesn’t include marketing and distribution costs) was $13.8M. Sony is expecting to bring in $24.5M with a lesser percentage drop on Sunday. Others have it around $24M to $24.3M. With a heavier female audience mix, I would think this actually might hold up better during NFL Sunday whereas a male-driven film like The Drop would take a bigger percentage dip.
“It’s a stunning result for a film that we believed strongly in,” said Rory Bruer, Sony’s president of worldwide distribution. “It’s a combination of the star power, Sam Miller‘s direction and the marketing. Every spot we had on the film resonated with audiences. It was 60% female and 41% of the audience was under 30,” so the social-media-marketing aspect worked. Gotta give props to Screen Gems‘ Clint Culpepper and his marketing team on this one. Also to producer Will Packer, whose films consistently hit at the box office.
Warner Bros.‘ Dolphin Tale 2 should bring in $16.5M for the three-day weekend after a strong Saturday with the family audience looking for something to see. There hasn’t been a new family offering for a long time and won’t be until The Boxtrolls hits on Sept. 26 from Focus Features. With an A CinemaScore across the board, audiences should share positive word of mouth for Alcon Entertainment‘s sequel.
Meanwhile, the only other news is that faith-based drama The Identical dropped around 73% in its second weekend and The Hundred Foot Journey from Disney is enjoying a good multiple, sneaking into the top 10 this week. The Top Ten are as follows:
1). No Good Deed (SONY), 2,175 theaters / $8.8M Fri. / $9.78M Sat. (+11%) / $5.38M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day est. cume: $24M+ / Wk 1
2). Dolphin Tale 2 (WB), 3,656 theaters / $4.2M Fri. / $7.4M Sat. (75%) / $4.8M Sun. (-35%) / 3-day est. cume: $16.5M / Wk 1
3). Guardians Of The Galaxy (DIS), 3,104 theaters (-117) / $2.1M Fri. / $3.9M Sat. (+85%) / $2.1M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $8M / Total cume: $305.8M / Wk 7
4). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PAR), 3,273 theaters (-270) / $1.1M Friday / $2.3M Sat. (+98%) / $1.2M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day est. cume: $4.7M / Total cume: $181M / Wk 6
5). Let’s Be Cops (FOX), 2,755 theaters (-177) / $1.27M Fri. / $2M Sat. (+57%) / $1M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $4.3M / Total cume: $72.95M /Wk 5
6). The Drop (FSL), 809 theaters / $1.46M Fri. / $1.7K Sat. (+21%) / $967K Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $4.2M / Per screen average: $5,191 / Wk 1
7). If I Stay (WB), 3,040 theaters (-117) / $1.1M Fri. / $1.8M Sat. (+60%) / $959K Sun. (-53%) / 3-day cume: $3.95M / Total cume: $44.8M/ Wk 4
8). The November Man (REL), 2,702 theaters (-74) / $837K Fri. / $1.26M (+51%) Sat. / $653K Sun. (-50%) / 3-day cume: $2.75M / Total cume: $22.5 / Wk 3
9). The Giver (TWC), 2,253 theaters (-323)/ $733K Fri. / $1.2M Sat. (+67%) / $672K Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $2.6M / Total cume: $41.3M / Wk 5
10). The Hundred-Foot Journey (DIS), 1,943 theaters (-224) / $687K Fri. / $1.1M Sat. (+71%) / $584K Sun. (-50%) / 3-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $49.4M
NOTEWORTHY: 20). The Identical (FREE), 1,274 theaters (-682) / $132K Fri. / $159K Sat. (+19%) / $119K (-25%) Sun. / 3-day cume: 410K (-73%) / Total cume: $2.6M / Wk 2
2ND UPDATE, Saturday 11:35 PM: The Drop, the final release of late actor James Gandolfini’s career, rose into the Top Five on Saturday running slightly ahead of the R-rated buddy comedy Let’s Be Cops. The Fox Searchlight crime drama from Chernin Entertainment could end up holding onto that lead through Sunday but it’s going to be close. Quite an accomplishment since The Drop is only in 809 theaters and Let’s Be Cops is in 2,755 theaters (playing out in its fifth week). Also, as expected, Alcon Entertainment’s Dolphin Tale 2 got a boost from its core family audience on Saturday making more of a splash with a 80% increase over Friday to take in $7.7M and push its three-day estimated cume closer to $16.5M to $16.8M mark. It is in second behind Screen Gems’ No Good Deed, which is right on track with estimates and should take around $10M (or just slightly under) today finishing the weekend with around $24M.
Guardians of the Galaxy officially passed the $300M mark, which is welcome news for Disney and Marvel … and the Star Lord Chris Pratt. It takes the No. 3 position and easily passed $600M worldwide. Lastly, in the No. 4 spot is the sixth week of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which got also got a nice bump from family audiences Saturday. After this weekend, its cume should be $181M since opening Aug. 8. That’s the Top Five in what is a soft box-office weekend. Will see you in the AM.
Amanda N’Duka contributed to this report.
1ST UPDATE, SATURDAY, 7:33 AM: As Disney/Marvel celebrates Guardians Of The Galaxy‘s $300M domestic milestone this weekend, Screen Gems is getting a nice reward from newcomer No Good Deed. The $13.8M-budgeted film from director Sam Miller is expected to pull in anywhere from $24.5M-$25M for the three-day weekend, marking producer Will Packer’s third No. 1 opening film of the year, after the success of Ride Along which bowed in January and Think Like a Man, Too this summer. Screen Gems’ No Good Deed, which also was produced by Lee Clay, stars Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson. Elba, who has also been the lead in three No. 1 box office bows now, was in Screen Gems’ thriller Obsessed which opened to $28.6M in April 2009 and went onto gross $68.2M domestically. Henson, who was nominated for best supporting actress in Benjamin Button in 2009, is part of Packer’s Think Like A Man franchise. If this picture plays like Obsessed, it will be profitable for Sony. By the way, I saw Henson in Bernie Weinraub’s stage play Above the Fold and she gave a terrific performance.
Dolphin Tale 2 should get a nice bump from its core audiences today and tomorrow. So, with a 70% splash figured in for family moviegoing Saturday, the fish-in-the-water tale could take in over $7M today. Add that to last night’s $4.2M, and Alcon Entertainment is looking at a $15M-$16M+ three-day weekend.
The Drop, which is debuting at No. 6 this soft moviegoing weekend, is expected to gross around $4.3M to $4.9M for the three-day weekend. On only 809 screens, this $12.6M-budgeted film is having a strong rollout — thanks in part to it being the last big-screen release for the beloved actor James Gandolfini, who died last year after suffering a heart attack in a Rome hotel room. It it on track for a solid $5,800 per screen average for the weekend. Fox Searchlight, which is distributing The Drop, worked with Gandolfini before with Enough Said. That film opened only three months after his death and ended up grossing $17.5M domestically. This one is directed by Michael Roskam, whose 2011 Belgian murder drama Bullhead was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2012. Roskam makes his U.S. directorial debut with this film based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone). Great pairing.
Speaking of the drops, The Identical is plummeting in its second weekend, down 69% after losing 682 screens. Ouch! Here’s the Top Ten chart as it looks now:
1). No Good Deed (SONY), 2,175 theaters / $8.8M Fri. / 3-day est. cume: $24.5M to $25M+ / Wk 1
2). Dolphin Tale 2 (WB), 3,656 theaters / $4.2M Fri. / 3-day est. cume: $15M to $16M+ / Wk 1
3). Guardians Of The Galaxy (DIS), 3,104 theaters (-117) / $2.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $7.8M to $8.3M / Total cume: $305.5M / Wk 7
4). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PAR), 3,273 theaters (-270) / $1.1M Friday / 3-day est. cume: $4.8M to $5.1M / Total cume: $181M / Wk 6
5). Let’s Be Cops (FOX), 2,755 theaters (-177) /$1.27M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.3M to $4.5M / Total cume: $73M /Wk 5
6). The Drop (FSL), 809 theaters / $1.46M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.3M to $4.9M / Per screen average: $5,800 / Wk 1
7). If I Stay (WB), 3,040 theaters (-117) / $1.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4M / Total cume: $44.9M/ Wk 4
8). The November Man (REL), 2,702 theaters (-74) / $835K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.78M / Total cume: $22.5 / Wk 3
9/10). The Giver (TWC), 2,253 theaters (-323)/ $733K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.6M / Total cume: $41.3M / Wk 5
When The Game Stands Tall (SONY), 2,435 theaters (-331) / $715K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.5M / Total cume: $26.8M / Wk 4
NOTEWORTHY: The last installment of Atlas Shrugged, based on the seminal Ayn Rand book, opened this weekend. Here are the numbers:
Atlas Shrugged (Atlas 3), 242 theaters / 177K Fri. / 3-day cume: 530K / Per screen average: $2,194 / Wk 1
20). The Identical (FREE), 1,274 theaters (-682) / $132K Fri. / 3-day cume: 494K / Total cume: $2.65M / Wk 2
PREVIOUS, Friday 9:21 PM and 11:18 PM: Guardians of the Galaxy is going to become the first $300M grosser of 2014 this weekend after powering up August, soaring through Labor Day and resting at No. x after its seventh weekend in release to sit nicely at an expected $306M and will cross $600M worldwide for Disney/Marvel. After the weekend after Labor Day lull, audiences are slowly coming back into theaters to see Screen Gems’ smaller budgeted thriller No Good Deed which stars Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson; it will easily take the No. 1 spot for director Sam Miller and producer Will Packer with about $24M. It received a B+ CinemaScore tonight.
Audiences in search of fresh product are also coming out for Dolphin Tale 2, which is very kid-friendly family film from Alcon Entertainment. Its core audience comes out on Saturday and Sunday and it already has an A CinemaScore which is good news for word-of-mouth. In fact, it could experience a nice boost tomorrow, but at the moment looks to take under the first installment’s $19M from 2011 with about $15M to $16M for the three-day weekend. Warner Bros. has a nice window for this film to play for the next couple of weeks before the 3-D, animated stop-motion The Boxtrolls comes out on September 26th.
Overall, its another tepid Top 10 weekend, down double-digits from last year when Insidious and The Family were in the marketplace.
No Good Deed had a strong marketing campaign from Sony and dominated the social media universe this past week but the studio didn’t seem to screen this one much which was probably a good thing since it only got a very low 8% on Rotten Tomatoes; Flixster was better though with 77% liked. Elba and Henson have a huge fan base on social media. Henson has 5.2 million Facebook fans and 2.8 million followers on Twitter and added 30,000 new page likes this past week leading up to the opening of the film, while Elba has 3.2 million FB fans and 1.2 million on Twitter with his trailer re-posts on FB nearing 100,000 as of today, according to RelishMix which tracks social engagement of the Big Three (YouTube, FB and Twitter). One of the most engaging social media campaigns the two stars got involved in was on Twitter and Instagram interactive games.
In its second weekend of release the non-opener The Identical dropped 67% in its second weekend and is only expected to sneak in with around $525K for Freestyle Releasing.
The bigger news is that Michael Roskam’s crime drama The Drop — which marks the late actor James Gandolfini’s last film in release — opened on roughly 800 screens for a strong per screen average of around $5,200. The film, which should end the weekend with a haul of around $4M, is based on the novel by Boston native Dennis Lehane whose other works include Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone. The Drop was originally optioned by Chernin Entertainment and set up at Fox 2000 before Fox Searchlight came aboard and financed the film; it was shot in only 34 days. It debuted this year at the Toronto Film Festival; it also stars Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace.
Here’s the Top Ten chart as it looks tonight:
1). No Good Deed (SONY), 2,175 theaters / $8.5M Fri. / 3-day est. cume: $24M+ / Wk 1
2). Dolphin Tale 2 (WB), 3,656 theaters / $4M Fri. / 3-day est. cume: $15M to $16M / Wk 1
3). Guardians of the Galaxy (DIS), 3,104 theaters (-117) / $2.1M / 3-day cume: $8M+ / Total cume: $306M / Wk 7
4). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PAR), 3,273 theaters (-270) / $1.2M Friday / 3-day est. cume: $4.9M to $5.3M / Total cume: $181M / Wk 6
5). Let’s Be Cops (FOX), 2,755 theaters (-177) /$1.26M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.4M / Total cume: $73M+ /Wk 5
6). The Drop (FSL), 809 theaters / $1.35M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4M / Per screen average: $5,218 / Wk 1
7). If I Stay (WB), 3,040 theaters (-117) / $1.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4M / Total cume: $44.9M/ Wk 4
8). The November Man (REL), 2,702 theaters (-74) / $825K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.8M / Total cume: $22.6M to $23M / Wk 3
9). When the Game Stands Tall (SONY), 2,435 theaters (-331) / $750K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.62M / Total cume: $27M / Wk 4
10/11). The Giver (TWC), 2,253 theaters (-323)/ $720K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $41M+ / Wk 5
The Hundred-Foot Journey (DIS), 1,943 theaters (-224) / $700K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $49M / Wk 6
NOTEWORTHY: The second weekend of The Identical barely made it into the Top 20; the last installment of Atlas Shrugged, based on the seminal Ayn Rand book, opened this weekend.
19). The Identical (FREE), 1,274 theaters (-682) / $138K Fri. / 3-day cume: 526K / Total cume: $2.7M / Wk 2
17). Atlas Shrugged (Atlas 3), 242 theaters / 190K Fri. / 3-day cume: 570K / Per screen average: $2,355 / Wk 1UN report alleges that Chinese ammunition was sent to Sudan in violation of a UN arms embargo, according to diplomats
China tried to block a UN report alleging that Chinese ammunition was sent to Darfur in violation of a UN arms embargo but apparently didn't succeed, UN diplomats said yesterday.
The UN security council committee monitoring sanctions against Sudan met yesterday afternoon and two diplomats familiar with the closed-door deliberations said China argued that the report by the committee's panel of experts should not be sent to the council. One diplomat said China claimed the panel was unprofessional and flawed, and challenged its methodology.
The diplomats said the committee chairman, Austria's UN ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting, agreed that the annex to the report would be updated with a letter to include additional information on sources. But they said the report itself would not be changed, and will likely be formally sent to the council next week.
Diplomats at the meeting said China got no support from the other committee members, who include representatives from all 15 council nations.
According to the diplomats, the draft report said Chinese shell casings were found after attacks against the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. Markings showed the ammunition had been manufactured after 2009, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the report has not been published.
The security council initially imposed an arms embargo on rebels and the government-allied Janjaweed militias in Darfur. In March 2005, it extended the embargo to include Sudan's government.
The Darfur conflict began in February 2003 when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government in Khartoum, claiming discrimination and neglect. Khartoum is accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing the Janjaweed on civilian populations – a charge the government denies.
UN officials say at least 300,000 people have lost their lives from violence, disease and displacement, and 2.7 million have been driven from their homes.
The UN panel of experts reported last November that the Sudanese government and rebel groups in Darfur were refusing to abandon the military option and increasingly violating the arms embargo.
China has been a key force in developing Sudan's vital oil sector and buying the country's crude oil and has close political ties to the government. Its alleged involvement in supplying ammunition, in violation of UN sanctions, was first reported by Foreign Policy magazine's Turtle Bay blog.
According to the two UN diplomats, the latest report by the panel of experts was first presented to the sanctions committee on 4 October.
The panel alleged that more than a dozen types of Chinese ammunition were used by Sudanese government forces in combat with rebels in Darfur over the past two years, the diplomats said.Photos: November is the month of Thanksgiving and there is plenty to be thankful for in terms of streaming content. Season 1 of "The Crown" debuts on Netflix and tells the tale of the early years of Queen Elizabeth and the royal family. Here's what else the month has to offer: |
not happen again until 2028 when an asteroid will pass near Earth to within.6 lunar distances.
NASA will use its super-sensitive Goldstone radar antennas in California’s Mojave Desert, usually used to study quasars, as well as map planets and comets.
Close shave: The 2005 YU55 asteroid will flash by Earth just 200,000 miles away next week, nearly 30 years since the last one of a similar size came past
Holding secrets: A radar image of 2005 YU55 captured by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerta Rico last year
Scientists say they can reconstruct the shape of the asteroid with a resolution as fine as 13 feet using their instruments and plan to do similar studies at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
2005 YU55 was 'imaged' in Puerto Rico on April 19 last year.
The data collected has allowed the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to refine the space rock's orbit, enabling scientists to rule out any possibility of an Earth impact for the next 100 years.
Safe for now: Data obtained from the Arecibo Observatory has ruled out the chance of 2005 YU55 smashing into Earth within the next 100 years
A NASA spokesman said: 'We hope to obtain images that should reveal a wealth of detail about the asteroid's surface features, shape, dimensions and other physical properties.'
Barbara Wilson, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory added: 'While near-Earth objects of this size have flown within a lunar distance in the past, we did not have the foreknowledge and technology to take advantage of the opportunity.
'When it flies past, it should be a great opportunity for science instruments on the ground to get a good look.'Rhythm and music games in the past have mostly fallen into a handful of categories, think Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, or Rhythm Heaven. Inside My Radio seeks to stray from the formulaic status quo of music games by emerging a a rhythm-driven platformer. It reminds me of Bit. Trip Runner meets Thomas Was Alone. The game comes from indie developer Seaven Studio and recently hit the Wii U eShop following it's release on PC, Xbox One, and Playstation 4.
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4, Wii U [Reviewed]
Developer: Seaven Studio
Release: February 25, 2016
MSRP: $14.99
Press Copy provided by Seaven Studio
Inside My Radio starts off by introducing one of the three playable characters and the protagonist: Boombox. He's a green square that rocks a pair of over-the-ear headphones. Boombox sets off on a quest to meet back up with his two buddies (who are also playable in a rotation, but feature no differences bar asthetics) and esxape the radio that he's trapped in.
As far as enganging and sensical plots go, IMR is seriously lacking. As you advance through the twelve playable levels that are seperated by songs, you'll come accross a bit of dialogue here and there. A few jokes and pop culture references are tossed around, but the writing ends up feeling unfunny and forced. After playing through the game in it's entirety, I was still left confused about what was really going on in the story, but it also wasn't interesting enough for me to care. Luckily, in a platformer, a less-than-enthralling story progression can be forgiven. The worthwhileness of this game lies in it's gameplay and environment.
Boombox has an interesting limtation that seperates this game from platformers like Super Mario or Freedom Planet: with the exception of moving left and right, he can only perform actions to the beat of music. Actions include jumping, dashing, crushing, and a few environment-specific actions. This means that in order to traverse the obstacles and puzzles laid out before you, you've got to stay in time and feel the music. To assist you with this, Boombox will flash with a visual cue and there is an optional rhythm helper that is essentially a metronome.
Because of this gimmick, music is the driving force behind Inside my Radio. None of the platforming is particularly challenging or complex, but a few segments can prove difficult if you get out of time or don't act immediately with the music. I even expirimented with playing my own music instead; it increased the difficulty of the game tenfold. Once you start feeling the grooves and let your avatar move the tunes, navigating the world becomes an artform. The environment and obstacles move with the music, so you feel entirely immersed with the game.
Inside My Radio fails to really rack up in difficulty later in the game, so the progression seems a little off. In fact, the appearance of the final (and only real) boss completely took me by surprise. Not only did the boss fight not flow very well with the music, but it came after only two hours of the campaign. Just as I was starting to really get into the game, it was over. Although I was having a great time with the gameplay, the price to hours of enjoyment ratio was far too steep.
After completing the main story, the only additional playing option is a Time-Attack mode, which lets you play through the campaign levels in an attempt to break your previous record speeds. A game this short could really use a New Game+ mode of sorts, because I was left wanting more, but the game isn't replayable enough for another campaign run to satisfy my desires.
Inside My Radio is the perfect game if you're feeling a little worn out and want to relax with some good music and simple platforming. The beautiful art, solid music and rhythms, and immersive gameplay had me truly enjoying myself as I played through. The lacking story and criminally brief playthrough time was where the game fell short. IMR would be a great indie to snag on a sale or after a price drop, but I'm hardpressed to recommend it at the $14.99 pricepoint. Unless you're a die-hard platformer meets electronic music fan, you might want to wait on this one.
Pros
Great presentation of visuals and sound
Fun and immersed gameplay
Cons
Lackluster story
Very short campaign
Too expensive
Verdict:
Good
Good games are simply that: good. They are generally fun to play but might be lacking in longevity, replay value, or presentation. These games might be good buying decisions for some people but not for others. Some otherwise great games may fall into this category if they are priced unreasonably high. The devil is in the details.
Want to know what this score means? Check out our Scoring Guidelines page.By Doug Powers • December 19, 2017 07:30 PM
**Written by Doug Powers
From the “Climate change is whatever we say it is so shut up” file we find the latest alarms being sounded in Alaska:
Snowfall in central Alaska has more than doubled since the mid 1800s, says a study which pointed the finger at global warming https://t.co/Rt1bZofYXv pic.twitter.com/TmxrmzvPaO — AFP news agency (@AFP) December 19, 2017
Scientists blame global warming for DOUBLING the amount of snow atop an Alaskan mountain range https://t.co/OyyU6ZZ1lp — Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) December 19, 2017
So update your “global warming is going to kill us with ______” talking points from “lack of snow” to “way too much snow” and put these previous Alaska warming warnings on the back burner for now, pun intended:
It's so warm that snow has to be shipped in for the Iditarod, Alaska's annual dog sled race. Thanks climate change.https://t.co/XyGqnQo39v — AJ+ (@ajplus) March 5, 2016
Baked Alaska: A snow-less climate threatens the survival of the Yupik People of Togiak http://t.co/DeDv2Pn258 pic.twitter.com/pEaKp2mIrI — Newsweek (@Newsweek) June 3, 2015
The Left’s climate change narrative makes faster 180-degree swings than a zero-turn lawnmower.
(h/t @JammieWF)
**Written by Doug Powers
Twitter @ThePowersThatBeIsraeli military chief has said his country is prepared for a close cooperation, including sharing intelligence, with "moderate" Arab states like Saudi Arabia in order to rein in Iran. His statement has provided another dramatic twist to the rapidly changing political environment in the Middle East.
In what has been described as an "unprecedented" interview to a Saudi newspaper, the Arabic language Elaph, General Gadi Eizenkot said Tehran remains the "biggest threat to the region" and hence, Israel would even offer intelligence-sharing operation with Riyadh if both can jointly stand up to Iran. He said both Israel and Saudi Arabia share a common interest against Tehran.
Both the Shia-oriented Iran and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia, two regional powerhouses with clashing ideologies, share a fractious relationship due to a power struggle over a series of religio-political issues such as the way Islam is interpreted, the Islamic world's leadership and oil exports.
However, Israel does not have any diplomatic relations with the ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia but there have been indications in the recent past that the two are edging closer so as to challenge their common adversary – Iran.
Yet, this is the first time a top Israeli authority is sending out a public message, which is even more striking, given the ongoing churning taking place in the Saudi monarchy with the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman quickly rising to power.
"We are ready to exchange experiences with Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence information to confront Iran," said Eizenkot, the chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). "There are many shared interests between us and Saudi Arabia."
He also threw hints that the two powers should capitalise on the presence of the Trump administration, which has been fiercely sceptical of Iran, saying: "Under US President Donald Trump there is an opportunity to form a new international alliance in the region. We need to carry out a large, comprehensive strategic plan to stop the Iranian threat." He also added that Israel has no plans to attack the Lebanese Shia militant group, Hezbollah.
In the past several days, the Middle East region has been witnessing an array of dramatic events centred on Saudi Arabia – a missile attack on Riyadh, widespread anti-corruption purge affecting princes and ministers, a theatrical resignation announcement by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and an unannounced visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Saudi Arabia.EMBED >More News Videos Police nabbed the suspect following a crash and foot chase.
A high speed chase in northeast Harris County ended when a suspected carjacker slammed into an innocent driver.Eyewitness News had the exclusive video of the end of the pursuit Tuesday. We had to blur the video because a person in the truck was thrown out of it.The chase ended in the Cloverleaf area, but it began several miles away in Pasadena.Not long before the truck made its way to a neighborhood, the two men in it were accused of an armed robbery in Pasadena. It was a carjacking, police say, and the truck they were in was stolen.Police picked up the trail with a GPS locator and the brief chase was on.But then the truck collided with a car, T-boning it at an intersection. We're blurring the video because one of the two suspects went through the window. The other suspect ran.It all happened in Patrick Seals' front yard."The car came flying through the ditch. A guy in the black hoodie came running down the street."In the end, two arrests were made."And a foot pursuit and subsequently took two suspects into custody," said Lt. John Dombroa with the Pasadena Police Department.The car driver was also injured. And it wasn't only police chasing down the suspect who ran. It involved a very feisty little dog that followed the running suspect, as well.Why June 27 should be a Houston holiday for hip hop fans
PHOTOS: DJ Screw and important figures in Houston hip hop
The legendary "June 27" was recorded at DJ Screw's house in Houston on June 27, 1996. The song has become ingrained in the city's music history and June 27 is celebrated on every Houston hip hop fans calendar.
Browse through the photos above for more shots of DJ Screw, as well as important figures in Houston hip hop. less The legendary "June 27" was recorded at DJ Screw's house in Houston on June 27, 1996. The song has become ingrained in the city's music history and June 27 is celebrated on every Houston hip hop fans calendar. PHOTOS: DJ Screw and important figures in Houston hip hop
The legendary "June 27" was recorded at DJ Screw's house in Houston on June 27, 1996. The song has become ingrained in the city's music history and The legendary "June 27" was recorded at DJ Screw's house in Houston on June 27, 1996. The song has become ingrained in the city's music history and... more Photo: Screwed-Up Records Photo: Screwed-Up Records Image 1 of / 54 Caption Close Why June 27 should be a Houston holiday for hip hop fans 1 / 54 Back to Gallery
Even though banks were open and we all were expected to show up for work as usual, June 27th is a Houston holiday, or at least it should be treated as such.
Despite what your poser friend might try to tell you, the date doesn't commemorate DJ Screw's birthday (July 20) or the day the Houston hip hop legend died (Nov. 16, 2000), it is simply the name of the most famous freestyle in the city's history – yes, more than Z-Ro's Mo City Don Freestyle, although that should be memorized in full for you to become an official Houston representer.
There will be no line-for-line memorization of DJ Screw's June 27, because that's just not what you do with a song that checks in at more than 35 minutes and features seven lyricists.
June 27 actually is DeMo's birthday, and he was the second Screwed Up Click rapper on the microphone when the song was recorded at DJ Screw's house on June 27, 1996 - exactly 20 years ago today.
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When Big Moe, Key-C, Yungstar, Big Pokey, DeMo, Haircut Joe and Kay-Luv stepped to the mic over a screwed-up sample of Kriss Kross' "Da Streets Ain't Right," surely they didn't realize the Houston history they were about to make.
DJ Screw released more than 300 mixtapes in his short career, but none sold more or were more popular than June 27.
"Still to this day I freestyle to that beat at my shows, every show," Houston rapper Lil Flip said. "When that beat comes on, like when I put it on, the crowd just goes crazy. I end every show freestyling to that beat, man. It's a soundtrack to the Houston streets."
How ingrained is June 27 in Houston culture? More than 20 years after it was recorded, you can hear a handful of high school bands play the tune during high school football games on Friday nights.
DJ Screw – real name, Robert Davis Jr. – was a key figure in Houston hip hop in the 1990s and was the creator of the still popular chopped and screwed DJ technique.
Browse through the photos above for a look at DJ Screw as well as some important figures in Houston hip hop.Editor’s note: Matt is a long-time Atlanta resident but visits Charlotte often enough to draw some solid parallels. Be sure to read Sen. Jeff Jackson’s piece on Atlanta before diving into this rebuttal.
While there is certainly a lot to be learned from studying the explosive growth Atlanta has endured the past 20+ years, the picture painted in last week’s piece How not to become Atlanta is misleading.
Size matters
It’s important to note that Atlanta, with a population of less than 500,000, is a much smaller city than Charlotte (pop. 800,000). Undoubtedly, Jackson’s analysis refers to the metropolitan Atlanta area, which has a population of 5.6 million and spans more than 8,000 square miles – an area larger than the entire state of Massachusetts.
Atlanta’s expanse results in a metro area governed by a very fragmented, decentralized system comprising 29 counties and 100+ cities and towns, each with their own governing bodies. These stats matter as we dive into the issues impacting smart growth.
Transportation
Transportation improvement plans in Atlanta, including mass transit, requires not just an act of congress, but rather an act of dozens of local congresses in the form of city councils and county commissioners. The lesson for Charlotteans is clear, and it does not start and end with mass transit preceding future growth as the panacea.
In sprawling cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, the mass transit issue isn’t as easy as “build it and they will come.” In fact, it could be argued that the highly successful commuter bus system (and proposed monorails) serving metro Atlanta should be the model going forward rather than the billions of dollars and tens of years it would take to unidirectionally expand heavy rail.
Smart development (and redevelopment)
Civic leaders in Charlotte would be wise to take notice of the outside-the-box thinking metro Atlanta and community leaders have contemplated in tackling congestion and revitalizing the city as needs for future generations change.
First, despite some early controversy and mismanagement, the Atlanta Beltline has been a successful redevelopment project that has spurred private investment and attracted residents back to previously underdeveloped areas of the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta streetcar is another example, but more as a precautionary tale.
For Charlotte to avoid Atlanta’s mistakes it should invest in the infrastructure that makes common sense and will result in the greatest return… as opposed to developing transit that makes political sense and attracts the most federal investment.
With Atlanta’s streetcar, initial studies showed that the north-south corridor exhibited the most potential for ridership and economic development, but these plans were scrapped to focus on an east-west connector (for the aforementioned political and funding reasons). The result was missed deadlines, delayed openings and missed ridership goals (despite offering the service for free).
Developing affordable housing in dense urban and mixed-use zones is another necessary ingredient to successful growth. Atlanta has done a poor job in this regard as rents are soaring, pricing out the middle income folks who demand the mass transit and other amenities of urban living.
Safety
While Charlotte may be moving towards community policing, it can and should learn from the communities in metro Atlanta that are leading the way with citizen involvement. Dozens of residents in the city of Sandy Springs, for example, volunteer in the Citizens on Patrol program.
Sandy Springs is a model for successful cityhood emulated by many communities around the nation, so Jackson is absolutely on point in suggesting the CMPD follow Sandy Springs’s lead in citizen involvement.
Cityhood
On the subject of cityhood, Charlotte should be prepared for when the residents of south Charlotte, for example, decide to vote in favor of cityhood out of frustration for how their tax dollars are being spent (or perhaps misspent) in other parts of the city.
While the fragmented local political scene and competing interests from one community to the next plays a role in slowing efforts aimed at improving Atlanta’s congestion, blocking city-forming is not the answer.
The people of Charlotte will have to decide for themselves what’s in their best interest; however, should secession occur Charlotte’s leaders should foster a collaborative culture aimed at improving overall quality of life for the entire metro area rather than doing the instinctual thing which is to focus insularly.
Can’t we all just get along?
The last point to make is in response to Jackson’s reference to Atlanta’s “Snowmageddon” that halted the city two years ago. I remember this day vividly as neither my wife nor I made it home that night, and the decentralized governing system in metro Atlanta (including public schools) certainly shares much of the blame for the catastrophe.
But it was the ice, not the snow, right? And while Charlotte can certainly learn from Atlanta’s many mistakes, let us not relive this moment as an example to fuel the egos of our friends to the North who already have a bad enough perception of how us Southerners deal with the cold.Overview (4)
Mini Bio (1)
A genial, laid back, slumber-eyed character player especially adept at the relaxed wisecrack or dry comment, Japanese-American actor Jack Soo was born in Oakland, California, in 1917, his real name being Goro Suzuki. In the post-WWII years, he entertained as a stand-up performer in nightclubs and had made a reasonable dent on the Midwest circuit by the time he earned his big break playing the club MC/comedian in the Rodgers and Hammerstein hit Broadway musical "Flower Drum Song" in 1958. Three years later, Soo was upgraded to the Sammy Wong character in the film version and decided to settle in Hollywood. Over the next decade, despite a typical lack of roles for Asian-Americans, he managed to find a niche for his hip, deadpan demeanor on TV and a few other films including Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963), the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), and John Wayne's controversial pro-Vietnam War film The Green Berets (1968). Soo is probably best remembered for his smart-aleck Detective Sgt. Nick Yemana on Barney Miller (1975), one of the more popular sitcoms of the 1970s alongside Hal Linden and Abe Vigoda. Sadly, he died of cancer during the show's fifth season in 1979 at the height of his popularity.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
Spouse (1)
Jan Zdelar (1945 - 11 January 1979) ( his death) ( 3 children)
Trivia (9)
The cast of Barney Miller (1975) stepped out of character on a retrospective episode that aired in May of 1979 to offer a tribute to Jack, who had died a few months earlier during the show's fifth season. The episode recalled some of his best moments on the show.
In the late 1940s, he first met Barney Miller (1975) creator Danny Arnold while sharing the nightclub stages in the mid-West early in their show business careers.
Was interned in a camp for Japanese-Americans in Utah during WWII.
His last words to Hal Linden as he was being wheeled into the operating room before his death were "It must have been the coffee." This was a reference to the running gag of his character Nick Yemana from Barney Miller (1975) having the reputation for making horrible coffee.
Cast as the show M.C. and comedian Frankie Wing ("Gliding through my memoree") in the 1958 Broadway cast of "Flower Drum Song", and Larry Blyden was Sammie Fong. Jack moved up to the Sammie Fong role for the 1961 film.
According to his daughter, speaking on camera in the 2009 documentary You Don't Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story (2009), his parents wanted him to be born in Japan. But he was actually born on board the ship en route to Japan from Oakland.
In the late 1940s he had a nightclub comedy act with Joey Bishop
Best Known for making bad coffee for TV Dramedy Sitcom "Barney MIller(1975-1982).".
His children are Richard Suzuki, James Suzuki, and Jayne Suzuki by his wife Jan Zdelar, a Croatian American former model.Underemployment, at 18.8%, is up from 18.6% at the end of August
PRINCETON, NJ -- Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 10.1% in September -- up sharply from 9.3% in August and 8.9% in July. Much of this increase came during the second half of the month -- the unemployment rate was 9.4% in mid-September -- and therefore is unlikely to be picked up in the government's unemployment report on Friday.
Certain groups continue to fare worse than the national average. For example, 15.8% of Americans aged 18 to 29 and 13.9% of those with no college education were unemployed in September.
The increase in the unemployment rate component of Gallup's underemployment measure is partially offset by fewer part-time workers, 8.7%, now wanting full-time work, down from 9.3% in August and 9.5% at the end of July.
As a result, underemployment shows a more modest increase to 18.8% in September from 18.6% in August, though it is up from 18.4% in July. Underemployment peaked at 20.4% in April and has yet to fall below 18.3% this year.
Friday's Unemployment Rate Report Likely to Understate
The government's final unemployment report before the midterm elections is based on job market conditions around mid-September. Gallup's modeling of the unemployment rate is consistent with Tuesday's ADP report of a decline of 39,000 private-sector jobs, and indicates that the government's national unemployment rate in September will be in the 9.6% to 9.8% range. This is based on Gallup's mid-September measurements and the continuing decline Gallup is seeing in the U.S. workforce during 2010.
However, Gallup's monitoring of job market conditions suggests that there was a sharp increase in the unemployment rate during the last couple of weeks of September. It could be that the anticipated slowdown of the overall economy has potential employers even more cautious about hiring. Some of the increase could also be seasonal or temporary.
Further, Gallup's underemployment measure suggests that the percentage of workers employed part time but looking for full-time work is declining as the unemployment rate increases. To some degree, this may reflect a reduced company demand for new part-time employees. For example, employers may be converting some existing part-time workers to full time when they are needed as replacements, but may not in turn be hiring replacement part-time workers. Another explanation may relate to the shrinkage of the workforce, as some employees who have taken part-time work in hopes of getting full-time jobs get discouraged and drop out of the workforce completely -- going back to school to enhance their education, for example, instead of doing part-time work. It is even possible that some workers may find unemployment insurance a better alternative than part-time work with little prospect of going full time.
Regardless, the sharp increase in the unemployment rate during late September does not bode well for the economy during the fourth quarter, or for holiday sales. In this regard, it is essential that the Federal Reserve and other policymakers not be misled by Friday's jobs numbers. The jobs picture could be deteriorating more rapidly than the government's job release suggests.
Gallup.com reports results from these indexes in daily, weekly, and monthly averages and in Gallup.com stories. Complete trend data are always available to view and export in the following charts:
Daily: Employment, Economic Confidence and Job Creation, Consumer Spending
Weekly: Employment, Economic Confidence, Job Creation, Consumer Spending
Read more about Gallup's economic measures.In the final month of mandatory water restrictions in California, residents exceeded Gov. Jerry Brown’s goal of cutting water use statewide by 25 percent. Californians used 28 percent less water than they did in May 2013, the baseline year.
“I think 28 is pretty awesome. It’s great,” said Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, at the board’s monthly meeting Wednesday.
Starting in June, municipal water agencies are now on their own to set mandatory conservation goals if they decide they are necessary. The water board has asked all water districts to undertake "stress tests" on their water supply. If they can prove they have enough supply to meet customer demand during three more dry years, they can end mandatory cutbacks.
Water districts were scheduled to send the results of their stress tests to state water officials last month. The water board hasn't yet made them public, but many local agencies, like the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, are saying they no longer need mandatory conservation targets.
In spring of last year, Brown ordered the mandatory cuts in an effort to get Californians to take water conservation seriously. A previous voluntary reduction of 20 percent had failed.
The mandatory cuts were mostly a success. For the 12 months ending in May, California just missed the governor's cumulative reduction target by a tenth of a percent compared to the same period in 2013. That delighted Marcus and the other water board members when they heard it Wednesday.
“I’m going to wait until we actually hit it, and then I’m going to have a drink, neat, without ice,” Marcus said, laughing. “It will not be water. I have something else in mind.”
RELATED: Look up water use over the past several months using KPCC's water use tool.
But beginning in June, the mandatory conservation measures are gone, and it’s unclear whether Californians will keep saving water with the same enthusiasm as in the past year.
After a wet winter filled reservoirs in Northern California and turned brown hillsides green, many water districts urged the State Water Resources Control Board to back off the mandatory cutbacks. In May, the board agreed. A new rule required local water districts to do a "stress test" on their water supplies. As part of the test, they had to prove they had enough water to make it through three more years of drought. If they didn’t have enough, they’d have to keep conserving. If they did have enough, they wouldn’t be required to.
Water districts were required to turn in their “stress tests” on June 22. The agency won’t publicly release the stress tests until officials have followed up with a number of agencies that had incomplete or unclear results. Max Gomberg, the water board’s climate and conservation manager, said there is still a lot of work to do before agency staff release the results.
However, some environmentalists are concerned that water districts that have already struggled to meet the mandatory conservation standards are going to be let off the hook as long as they can prove they have enough water, said board member Fran Spivy-Weber. Eleven agencies, most in Southern California, have had such serious problems cutting their water use that the water board placed them under a customized “conservation order” that requires them do specific things to cut water use. Those range from imposing a drought surcharge on water users to overhauling rate structures.
Southern California Water Agencies With Conservation Orders
Water agency State-imposed water conservation standard*(%) Missed conservation standard by** (%) California City 28% 16.80% City of Blythe 28% 12.70% Indian Wells Valley Water District 32% 8% Mission Springs Water District 24% 4.90% Phelan Piñon Hills Community Services District 24% 3.40% City of Adelanto 16% 1.50% City of Hemet 14% - 6% (negative means exceeded standard)
(*revised March 2016; **From the period of June 2015 – May 2016 | Source: State Water Resources Control Board)
Gomberg said the board has the power to keep the conservation orders in place in the future. He said his agency will closely monitor water the rest of 2016 and decide whether to go back to mandatory cuts next year.
Allowing water agencies to assess the severity of the drought and then set their own conservation targets is “a different approach from the top down approach we used last year,” Gomberg said. “It doesn’t mean that if conservation levels don’t stay high we won’t go back to something closer to what we had in place over the last year.”It’s a story that’s becoming too familiar in Europe: unvetted asylum seekers who come to the West in droves turn out to be jihadis on a quest to annihilate non-believers.
Over one million refugees have flowed into Europe over the past year, most of whom come from Syria.
A Syrian asylum seeker has been charged with war crimes in Sweden after he appeared in a rebel video of a murder. Sweden had been one of the most popular destinations for asylum seekers.
“Austria Convicts Asylum Seeker of War Crimes for Killing 20 Syrian Soldiers,” by Callum Paton, Newsweek, May 11, 2017:
A court in Austria has sentenced an asylum seeker to life in prison after he confessed to murdering 20 wounded soldiers from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army while fighting in a rebel militia in Syria. The court in Innsbruck found the 27-year-old man guilty of war crimes based on his confession. According to local media, he told others at a refugee shelter that he had shot dead government soldiers while fighting with the Free Syrian Army, a group opposed to Assad. He was arrested in western Austria in June. According to the Austrian Press Agency the asylum seeker, identified only as a Palestinian who grew up in a refugee camp in the Syrian city of Homs, claimed a statement he had given to officials confessing to the killings had been incorrectly translated. However, the the interpreter who gave evidence against him vouched for the precision of the confession. “He told me that he shot an injured soldier. I even asked him again and he confirmed it,” the interpreter said. At the end of the interview the accused asylum seeker had signed every page of his testimony….
The Truth Must be Told Your contribution supports independent journalism Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more. Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible. Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too. Please contribute to our ground-breaking work here.
Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best. Contribute Monthly - Choose One Subscriber : $18.00 USD - monthly Contributor : $36.00 USD - monthly Patron : $50.00 USD - monthly Silver member : $100.00 USD - monthly Gold member : $250.00 USD - monthly Platinum member : $500.00 USD - monthlySea Shepherd Calls On Navies To Intercept The “Slave” Ship.
In a radio communication to the Sea Shepherd ships Bob Barker and Sam Simon, the Captain of the Interpol-wanted poaching vessel, Thunder, has reported that one of the deck crew, said to be Indonesian, has attempted suicide.
The report comes in the wake of the news that the Thunder has been de-registered by its flag state, Nigeria, for violations of its registry conditions; an action that means that the Thunder is now officially a stateless, pirate-vessel as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
In the follow-up to the attempted suicide attempt, the Sea Shepherd ship, Bob Barker, launched a small boat and attempted to deliver notes in plastic bottles to the Thunder's Indonesian deck crew. The notes stated that the Sea Shepherd ships are willing and equipped to take the on board not only the injured crewmember, but the entire deck crew of Thunder.
The notes were intercepted by the officers on the Thunder, who are believed to be of Spanish descent, and thrown overboard.
The Captain of the Thunder then radioed the Bob Barker and stated that the Indonesian crew did not want further communication with the Sea Shepherd ships. Another man, said to be the “Indonesian deck boss”, then read a prepared statement in Spanish, stating that the "captain is a good person" and that they did not want Sea Shepherd to deliver any more messages.
An Indonesian speaker on board the Sam Simon then radioed the Thunder in Bahasa, the local Indonesian language, to verify the contents of the prepared Spanish statement. The Thunder’s Captainresponded, saying the deck boss had "gone to bed" and that Sea Shepherd would not be able to speak to him again.
Despite requests for further information, the Captain of the Thunder would not provide the name of the Indonesian deck boss, or the name of the crewing agency responsible for hiring the deck crew. He also stated that the poaching vessel was equipped to remain at sea for another nine months.
Captain of the Bob Barker, Peter Hammarstedt, responded, repeating Sea Shepherd's offer to take the on board the deck crew of Thunder. The Captain of the Thunder refused the offer.Imagine if Alex Ovechkin had followed his original dream instead of playing in the NHL.
Such is the premise of a funny new Papa John's commercial featuring the Washington Capitals forward.
"When I was a kid I wished to become the best pizza delivery boy in the world," Ovechkin says in the brief spot. "But I was not good."
Watch: Youtube Video
Clips of Ovechkin slinging pies follow. He carries them upright like one would carry a book, frisbees them out of a moving car like newspapers and leaves pizzas on top of the car before pulling away.
"But it turns out, I was good in other things," says the three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner.
While the ad is funny, it also comes with a message. For every "Ovechkin's Wish Special" pizza order Papa John's gets from the Washington D.C. area, it will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, Mid-Atlantic.
Ovechkin signed a multi-year endorsement deal with the national chain in January, and shortly after, the company gave away 500 pizzas to celebrate his 500th career goal on Jan. 11.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation's mission is to enrich the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions, so helping a great cause and getting a pizza is a pretty sweet deal.News reports of Anbang deal at Kushner’s tower leave far too many questions unanswered
The deal that put Jared Kushner on the map also nearly destroyed him. In January 2007, his family firm, Kushner Companies, paid a then-record $1.8 billion for 666 Fifth Avenue, a 41-story office-and-retail tower that was the firm’s first major asset in Manhattan.
“In this particular transaction, we bought really the center of the world,” |
Kipchoge exulted as he crossed the line in 2:04:42, and Kipsang celebrated too as he crossed five seconds later. He knew he had been a part of something special and that it took a truly exceptional effort from a truly exceptional runner to beat him. Kipchoge averaged 4:37 pace from 35k to the finish (just under 4.5 miles), that’s 2:01:00 pace for a full marathon.
We knew going in that a true stud was going to wind up third, and that ended up being Kimetto in 2:05:50. Biwott was fourth and Regassa rounded out the top five in 2:07:16. Mekonnen finished up a DNF.
This was a terrific race, especially over the second half, and those American fans that got up early on a Sunday morning to watch were rewarded with a battle between the very best marathoners in the world, one that came down to the final half mile. It’s hard to ask for much more than that from a race.
Post-race quotes from the BBC broadcast
“The race was good,” Kipchoge said. “I felt very ok. I was happy to run against the two world record holders.
“It was tough. It was a championship [race] out there.”
BBC presenter Gabby Logan then asked about him saying it was a championship race. Kipchoge reiterated the point, saying, “This was [like] a real major championship. It was like an Olympic Games,” noting how two guys were sid-by-side with 500m to go.
Asked about his first London experience he said, “The crowd was wonderful. That is what lifted my spirits to compete at the finish line.”
Kipsang was not disappointed at all with second place saying, “This was one of the best [performances]. Today was a very strong field and I am really happy for my friend to have won today. For me [being] defending champion, having run a good time, 2:04, second place, I think it was really good for me.”
Kipsang said what all of us would agree with, “It was a really tough race and a fantastic one.”
Logan asked Kipchoge and Kipsang if we would see them race at the World Championships in Beijing in August. Kipsang noted what we all know, “In Kenya we are in the hands of the federation. If the federation will select us we will honor the selection.”
Kipsang said, “We would really love to compete at the World Championship again [versus one another].”
LetsRun.com’s analysis, race results, race splits and photos appear below.d
Quick Take #1: This was a truly great marathon
London always attracts such a terrific field that sometimes we end up disappointed when we don’t get an amazing race that equals the quality of the field (even when Kipsang broke the course record last year, our first thought was that the race didn’t live up to the hype — many predicted a 2:03 and/or a world record — despite a fast field and ideal temperatures).
Kipsang’s course record may have survived today, but no one can say that this race failed to deliver. The three guys everyone wanted to see it come down to — Kipchoge, Kipsang and Kimetto — were all still in it with three miles to go. At that point, it was anyone’s race and the drama was off the charts. Kipchoge and Kipsang both produced a magnificent final three miles and the finish came down to the final half-mile. Marathons don’t get much better than this.
Quick Take #2: The rabbits ran sensibly and didn’t get in the way
After the ridiculously-fast first 5ks from 2013 (14:26) and 2014 (14:21), we pleaded in our preview for the rabbits to be more cautious, and they were. The field came through 5k in 14:32, which is still fast but not stupidly fast (the first 5k drops over 100 feet in elevation so a fast time is to be expected). The rabbits came reached halfway in 62:20, and in the end the winner Kipchoge ended up running almost dead-even splits (62:20/62:22). It’s probably better that they were a bit cautious rather than going through at a more aggressive 61:45 (as they were supposed to).
The biggest takeaway: they let the runners decide the race. As we wrote in our preview:
So if any of the London elites — or rabbits — are reading this, please don’t go out way too fast on Sunday. The beauty of running — and especially the London Marathon — is that you get to settle things by getting all the best guys together in the same place at the same time and saying, “Have at it.” When the race is over, we want to be talking about Kimetto, Kipsang and Kipchoge.
That’s exactly what happened.
Now whether rabbits are necessary or not is another question (you could argue a similar race would have played out with or without rabbits) but for now let’s commend pacers Edwin Kipyego and Wilfred Murgor for doing their jobs and not screwing up the race.
Quick Take #3: Eliud Kipchoge has to be the World’s #1 Marathoner
The World’s #1 Marathoner is a title that essentially changes every six months. Half the time, you can’t even definitively crown the World #1 because the top guys don’t all run the same race (London was totally loaded, but we’ll never know exactly how Boston champ Lelisa Desisa would have fared against the London field). But after today, it seems pretty clear Kipchoge — who won Rotterdam (2:05:00) and Chicago (2:04:11) last year and now London (2:04:42), all in fast times — is the World #1. Kipsang seems an easy choice for second (before getting second today, he won London and NYC in ’14 and set the WR in Berlin in ’13) with Kimetto and Desisa #3 and #4 in some order.
Kipchoge is quietly building a resume as one of the most versatile distance runners ever. He already had the PRs (3:50.40 for the mile and 2:04:05 for the marathon), now he’s collecting the scalps:
Eliud Kipchoge 2003: Gold at Worlds 5000m over El Guerrouj and Bekele. 2015: Wins London Marathon over Kipsang and Kimetto. — Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) April 26, 2015
Kipchoge is 30 and doesn’t turn 31 until November, so he’s still got time to build on those (extremely impressive) accomplishments.
Quick Take #4: Wilson Kipsang had the right attitude after the race
Kipsang smiled and celebrated as he crossed the line and was quick to congratulate Kipchoge and pose for photos with him after the race. Instead of wallowing in defeat, he realized that his performance today would have been good enough to win pretty much every other marathon in the world and that he simply got beat by a superior athlete in Kipchoge. There’s no shame in that, and Kipsang rightfully held his head high.
Quick Take #5: Has Geoffrey Mutai won his last major marathon?
Mutai was sixth last year in London and New York, which means he’s not done as a marathoner, but when you pair those results with his DNF today, it is going to be difficult for him to win another major marathon (he turns 34 in October). Mutai had a terrific run at the top from 2011 to 2013, as he won four major marathons in that span and set massive course records in Boston (2:03:02) and New York (2:05:05), neither of which appear likely to be broken anytime soon. Mutai certainly would have run better today if he was fully fit during his buildup (he was initially scheduled to run Tokyo in February but withdrew due to injury) but injuries are a part of aging.
You can never totally count out someone as talented as Mutai, but today’s race was more evidence that his best days may be behind him.
It was a rough day for the Mutais in general, as Emmanuel — who ran 2:03:13 in his last marathon in Berlin in September — was just 11th in 2:10:54, his slowest marathon since the 2012 Olympics.
*London Photo Gallery Here
Top 20 Results Place Name Time 1 Kipchoge, Eliud (KEN) 2:04:42 2 Kipsang, Wilson (KEN) 2:04:47 3 Kimetto, Dennis (KEN) 2:05:50 4 Biwott, Stanley (KEN) 2:06:41 5 Regassa, Tilahun (ETH) 2:07:16 6 Kitwara, Samuel (KEN) 2:07:43 7 Guerra, Javier (ESP) 2:09:33 8 Kibrom, Ghebre (ERI) 2:09:36 9 Reunkov, Aleksey (RUS) 2:10:10 10 Lebid, Serhiy (UKR) 2:10:21 11 Mutai, Emmanuel (KEN) 2:10:54 12 Shelley, Michael (AUS) 2:11:19 13 Overall, Scott (GBR) 2:13:13 14 Cooray, Anuradha (SRI) 2:13:47 15 Raymaekers, Koen (NED) 2:14:25 16 Ferreira, Hermano (POR) 2:15:53 17 Hynes, Mathew (GBR) 2:16:00 18 Karayel, Bekir (TUR) 2:16:06 19 Kreienbuehl, Christian (SUI) 2:17:00 20 Lizano, Cesar (CRI) 2:21:31 Men’s splits Mile 1: 4:40. 10 men in lead group.
Mile 2: 4:50 (9:30) Men are right on the rabbits.
Mile 3: 4:33 (14:03)
5K: 14:32. Group of 10. Mekonnen, Kipchoge, Tsegay, Mutais, Kitwara, Regassa, Kipsang, Kimetto, Biwott.
Mile 4: 4:44 (18:47)
Mile 5: 4:40 (23:27)
Mile 6: 4:47 (28:14)
10K: 29:14 (14:42) Still 10 men.Mile 7: 4:44 (32:58)
Mile 8: 4:47 (37:45)
Mile 9: 4:47 (42:32)
15K: 44:04 (14:50) 2:03:57 pace
Mile 10: 4:47 (47:19)
Mile 11: 4:48 (52:07)
Mile 12: 4:47 (56:54)
20K: 59:01 (14:57)
Mile 13: 4:54 (1:01:48)
HM: 1:02:19
Mile 14: 4:52 (1:06:40)
Mile 15:
25K: 1:14:03 (15:02)
Mile 16:
Mile 17: Both Mutais have been dropped. Lead pack down to 7. Men’s pack is Kimetto/Kipchoge leading it looking good. Also Kipsang, Regassa, Kitwara, Biwott.
Mile 18:
30K: 1:28:56. (14:53) Still six.
Mile 19:
Mile 20: 4:54
Mile 21: 4:55 Kipsang goes to the front. Kitwara getting dropped.
35K: 1:44:02 (15:06)
Mile 22: 4:43. Kitwara dropped.
Mile 23: 4:43 Kipsang pushing now. Kipsang and Kipchoge separate in the tunnel and it’s down to two.
Mile 24: 4:41
40K: 1:58:29 (14:27)
Mile 25: 4:33
Mile 26: 4:33 With just over a half mile to go, Kipchoge makes his move and gets a gap. We had Kipchoge at 63 from 600 to 200 out.
More: Discuss this race in our forum: Official 2015 London Marathon Live Discussion Thread.
LRC Did you miss the break in the men’s race at the 2015 London Marathon? The mystery behind the one minute of missing tv coverage explained.
Screenshots from the BBC Broadcast appear below. Click for larger image.House prices in London posted their largest yearly fall in almost six years in February according to the property website Rightmove. The figures represent the first annual decline in London house prices since April 2011. It is believed that high asking prices and fears over Brexit have been putting off buyers.
While February asking prices are up compared with January, the 2.6 per cent increase is the weakest monthly gain for a February since 2009 during the height of global financial crisis.
Across the capital, house prices fell by 0.4 per cent compared with last year with the average property in London now costing £641,116. Reversing the trend of a stronger performance compared with the rest of the UK, the London housing market under-performed the rest of the country during 2016. The latest sign of housing market weakness continues the trend set in the second half of last year. In addition to Brexit fears, tax increases on investors in the early part of the year have been suggested as factors in reducing demand for prime London real estate.
Nationally annual house price growth slowed to the weakest in almost four years this February with average property asking prices rising 2 per cent to £306,231. This represents the weakest February property performance since 2009 well below the 5 percent average gain for the month over the past seven years.
The picture across London as a whole is more mixed. Central London led the price slowdown with asking prices falling 2.1 per cent compared with February a year earlier whereas Outer London suburbs registered a price increase of 1.4 per cent. However, comparing the relative performance between January and February, inner boroughs outperformed as owners of more expensive homes boosted the average by listing their properties for sale after the Christmas break.
Continued
Rightmove claims that potential buyers may also have become price-sensitive as inflation erodes real incomes. The company’s director miles Shipside added: “Perhaps we’re approaching the territory where many buyers are unable or unwilling to pay what sellers are asking, given the negative combination of rises in the cost of living, tighter lending criteria, and a dose of Brexit uncertainty. Values have boomed since 2013, so it’s not surprising that upwards price pressure is running on tired legs.”Brad Haddin scored 3,266 runs at an average of 32.98 in Tests
Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has retired from Test cricket.
The 37-year-old, who stopped playing one-day international matches earlier this year, lost his place to Peter Nevill during Australia's 3-2 Ashes defeat by England in July.
He will also stop playing for his domestic state team New South Wales, but will continue in the Twenty20 Big Bash League for the Sydney Sixers.
"I've enjoyed the 17 years and am comfortable with my decision," he said.
"I've had a privileged run, but I lost the hunger on the Ashes tour. It was an easy decision to retire."
Haddin's hunger Brad Haddin had a starring role in Australia's 5-0 Ashes win over England in 2013-14, averaging 61.62 runs with the bat. Overall, he scored 3266 Tests runs from 66 matches with a career average of 32.98, which eclipses his average in one-dayers and Twenty20 matches.
Haddin, first capped in 2001 in an ODI, played 66 Tests, 126 one-day internationals and 34 Twenty20s for his country.
He is the fourth Australian to retire in the wake of the Ashes defeat following captain Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers and Shane Watson, with the latter still available for limited-overs cricket.
Having had to wait until the age of 30 to make his Test debut because of Adam Gilchrist's prowess, Haddin played a starring role in Australia's 5-0 Ashes triumph in 2013-14, scoring 493 runs at 61.62.
He helped Australia win the World Cup in March, before announcing his retirement from ODIs in May.
He played in the first Ashes Test match defeat by England in Cardiff in July, but missed the second Test at Lord's to spend time with his ill daughter Mia.
Having made himself available for the third Test, Australia's selectors chose to stick with Nevill, drawing criticism from former players including Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting.
Haddin then flew home for family reasons before the fifth Test at The Oval.The News Minute | January 31, 2015 | 05.20 pm IST
A Doordarshan assistant director has been transferred from Ahmedabad to Andaman after the Gujarati channel of the national broadcaster aired a news item regarding Jashodaben, PM Modi’s wife.
The news item which was aired on the Gujarati channel, DD Girnar on January 1 spoke about PM Modi’s wife filing an RTI petition regarding details about her security arrangements as the PM’s wife, reported Economic Times.
The assistant director, VM Vanol was transferred in the second week of January from Ahmedabad to Andamans. He had just over a year to retire, said the report.
However, according to ministry officials the transfer was made on editorial and administrative lines, and not related to any particular incident.
According to Doordarshan officials in the national capital and Ahmedabad, four people, including Vanol had been pulled up the day after the news item was aired.
Interestingly. DD Girnar has been previously known to have blacked out Modi's ads showing Gujarat's development schemes when he was Chief Minister during the UPA rule.At some point someone got the idea to put a taxidermied animal on a remote control (RC) body. Here’s a few examples of this type of animal-machine hybrid. I’m not sure I would want my pet immortalized like this, but to each his own I suppose…
Beloved Cat Turned into a Flying Machine
A former cat, named “Orville” after one of the inventors of the airplane, has now been turned into a quadcopter after his death. Apparently this seemed like a good idea to his owner and “Orvillecopter” creator, Bart Jansen. Whatever your feelings on this type of creation, it’s definitely not the only one of its kind.
OstrichCopter
Here’s an interesting concept: a flightless bird in life, given the ability to fly in death. Engineer Arjen Beltman and visual artist Bart Jansen (who also made the Orvillecopter) first flew this contraption in July 2013. From the video, it looks like it takes a lot of power to get this land-bird off the ground! Via Simplebotics.
Sharkjet
If you think this is a Nazi weapon from a World War II documentary, well, it’s not, but this taxidermied shark jet does bear a resemblance to a V-1 flying bomb. OK, minus the shark. No nation tried a flying shark bomb as far as I know, but it probably wouldn’t have been the weirdest weapon ever devised. Flight starts at around 3:00.
Rat Drone
If there is a cat drone, having a rat drone to chase around would only make sense. The creators of the cat and ostrich drone helped create this for a 13-year-old boy named Pepijn, whose pet died of cancer, and wished it could fly like the Orvillecopter. It’s an interesting configuration for an RC vehicle, with two propellers on the front and two coaxial propellers on the back. Via The Verge.
Angry Ram Takes Down A Drone
If you think this subject is a little demeaning to animals, here’s a video that turns the tables on humans. Someone decided to harass a ram at around 0:30 in this video, but revenge comes very quickly thereafter. Apparently the ram understood who was piloting the craft. He decided to follow the owner, then trips him up at the end. So I suppose nature always has the last laugh!Hotels in Israel are offering their Jewish clients some vacation segregation.
Staff at the Magic Sunrise Hotel in Eilat have been making phone calls of their own volition to Jewish clientele who have reservations this weekend to warn them that there will be a lot of Arabs at the hotel due to the Muslim Eid el-Fitr holiday, and offering them to cancel or push back their reservation free of charge, according to a report on Israel’s Channel 10 Tuesday.
In one audio recording of a conversation (Hebrew), the hotel employee can be heard telling a client that it will be crowded due to the end of Ramadan holiday, and that most of the clientele will be from the “migzar,” which means the “sector” in Hebrew, a common euphemism for Israel’s large Arab minority, over 20 percent of the country’s population. The hotel employee goes on to state, “albeit it Israelis, but from the migzar.”
The reporters called back to make sure the earlier call had not been from just one rogue employee. Another reservations agent confirmed the practice, saying, the hotel warns guests “that there will be a lot of Arabs this weekend.” Some guests, he continued, thank the agents for “saving the vacation” with their warnings. “I say it to all of the guests, it’s important to say it.”
According to the Channel 10 report this is a policy implemented by the Fattal hotel chain — and it is not the first time.
The same thing happened at several hotels in September 2015 (I reported on it here), when the Jewish High Holidays overlapped with the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, except then the warnings were communicated at the time of booking. At the time, the Crown Plaza, Club Hotel and Astral Hotel were telling clients who called to make a reservation that they should take into account many Arabs will also be staying there.
Hotels in Israel, which in my experience are largely overpriced and not very generous, are offering their Jewish clients some vacation segregation.
As I wrote last year about the same phenomenon:The Porsche Mission E, arguably one of the most interesting and beautiful concept cars to debut in 2015, was a huge hit at the Frankfurt auto show a few months ago — but the company hadn't committed to actually building the thing. Now, with a new press release, Porsche says that the Mission E will be on the road "at the end of the decade."
That's a long time to wait, but the promise is pretty big: Porsche says that the 600-plus-horsepower sedan can do 0-62 in under 3.5 seconds with a range of "more than" 500 kilometers (310 miles). And — here's the big one, if Porsche can pull it off — it uses a next-generation quick-charge system that promises an 80 percent charge in just 15 minutes, which is about twice as fast as the fastest chargers available today. In other words, this will be a Tesla Model S fighter through and through by the time it's on the road, so it'll be interesting to see what the Model S looks like (and is capable of) by 2020. Porsche obviously has its work cut out for it.
Volkswagen Group, Porsche's parent company, must've gotten the message that people loved the Mission E at its Frankfurt debut — VW is looking to smooth over its enormous diesel emissions scandal, and committing to building a hugely popular electric car is a great way to divert attention.photo: ©Taili Song Roth. All Rights Reserved
In this candid conversation with Rock Cellar Magazine, Oliver Stone discusses On History, the new book he co-authored with Tariq Ali, the activist/intellectual who inspired Mick Jagger to write Street Fighting Man.
Stone also chats about his related TV documentary series, rock ’n’ roll, his preference in the current presidential race (Ron Paul?), and oh…the fall of the American empire…
Photo by Ed Rampell
Rock Cellar Magazine: What drew you to make The Doors?
Oliver Stone: I had to. Jim Morrison was a poete maudit of my generation. He was ignored by many people. And the music spoke eloquently to me, moved me.
When he died young, I was very distraught – as I was with Jack Kennedy. And I just thought that given this chance – coming off of Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July and Wall Street – I was given an opportunity, because the project was around for several years, and nobody had moved ahead with it.
I got a chance to write the script and do it, pretty much, with free form – the way I envisaged the songs being the driving force of the movie. The songs would tell the story of the movie. So a new form of craft was required. It was more like the early MTV concept, that you’d put the action into the song.
The movie is designed to advance through the songs, which more or less chronologically match his life, the way he laid them down. But it begins and ends with American Prayer, which is actually the last thing he did – the recording session of American Prayer. Amazingly overlooked – a wonderful poem, but overlooked.
RCM: Jim Morrison’s father was a general–?
OS: –An admiral. He was a big shot. I believe, that at one point during the Vietnam War he was a commander of the whole fleet in the South Pacific.
RCM: How do you think that might have affected Morrison?
OS: (Laughs) I can’t say; Patricia Kennealy tried to get to him by torturing him about his father’s involvement in the war. The way I think the movie portrays Jim Morrison, he’s tortured by so many demons; his father is only one of them. I met the father who by the way is a very nice man, a very, very solid lifetime Navy man. He gave us permission after the meeting to go ahead with his [Jim’s] life.
RCM: The first thing one sees as one enters the door to your office is a painting of Jimi Hendrix with the death certificate.
OS: Well, there’s no elaborate concept behind it. A friend of mine, who’s a painter, was doing a series of pop figures with their death certificates. I also have a Sinatra at home. I admired Hendrix very much, and at one point we discussed a Hendrix biography with the party that owned the rights, but it didn’t come to anything. You know, once through this kind of period is enough. I don’t think I would’ve been up for another one.
RCM: Discuss the use of rock songs on the soundtracks of your other movies.
OS: Oh man, so fuckin’ many, come on! I mean, so many styles. It’s all over Born on the Fourth of July, it’s certainly in Platoon, some of the music by Jefferson Airplane, the Temptations, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding – that’s more soul.
We used a lot of rock in Natural Born Killers, we used so many tunes. One of the more famous ones – besides Leonard Cohen, who’s a bit of a rock poet – would be Cowboy Junkies’ Sweet Jane. And in Any Given Sunday there’s a helluva lot of rap, as well as rock.
Posters of a few of Oliver Stone’s celebrated films adorn his office. (Photo by Ed Rampell)
RCM: Let’s talk about your new book On History. There seems to be a lot of cultural amnesia in America today, in general. What do you tell people, especially younger people who say: “I don’t care about history. It’s just dates, facts, figures; it has nothing to do with my daily life. It’s boring.”
OS: It’s a deeply ignorant statement. That person may not have been taught history in a way that was exciting and entertaining.
History is the greatest story of all time. It’s amazing what comes out of history, and how many lessons it can teach us. We ignore it at our peril.
Among many other issues, is the fact the U.S. doesn’t have much memory of the Vietnam War; it’s why we got into the Iraq Wars, and will continue to be the aggressor militarily around the world without learning anything. Unlike the Germans, we never apologized for Vietnam, or for Hiroshima. Although some would say it was, certainly, Nagasaki wasn’t “defensible.”
RCM: How did On History come about?
OS: I’ve been working on this 10 hour documentary called The Untold History of the United States, 1900-2012, perhaps the most ambitious thing I’ve ever done. 10 one-hour shows that come out this year on Showtime. [Scheduled for May, 2012.]
In conjunction with that I’ve been reading a lot of history, certainly catching up, and I met Tariq Ali in my journeys to South America, preparing for South of the Border. He co-wrote the script. He knows a lot about South America and he’s an erudite, interesting man. So I decided, perhaps in conjunction with the series, to do a long conversation with him.
Oliver Stone & Tariq Ali (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
He did a seven hour interview gratis with me in which I asked many of these questions. Because I was interested not only in his view of history as a Pakistani, but as a man from another place and time; a man who had experienced the same world I had, but in a different way.
For example, Tariq was very influenced– and his life was deeply influenced by the coup in Pakistan in 1958, which America had quite a bit to do with. So his viewpoint is more jaundiced than the average American who’s been brainwashed by our education system. He doesn’t see the U.S. as a benefactor to mankind; he sees it quite harshly at times.
Out of that discussion this book was boiled down by his publisher, Haymarket, and Anthony Arnove – he worked with Howard Zinn at length. The questions deal a lot with the Third World and a lot with the U.S.-Soviet relationship early on in the century and what the Cold War was really about.
RCM: So is your series in a Howard Zinn vein?
OS: Our series is classic documentary. We decided to dispense with talking heads; we don’t do any cutaways. We just do archive and narration, because the narration is done in a way that I think is interesting, by me.
It’s written by [history professor] Peter Cuznick, me, and [screenwriter] Matt Graham. The three of us have been exchanging drafts, we’d work on it, refine it: How do you get so much history, boil it down to 10 hours, and make it interesting to young people?
I think On History is a nice primer on this. It takes an hour and a half to read the book. You can read it on a bus. It’s a simple, slim volume, but when you finish reading it you’ve learned a lot about American history.
I guess we’re approaching it like history teachers, but our point of view is left of center though not radically so. Howard Zinn, we deeply admire, but he never did a movie. Howard writes beautifully well but we could not fit Howard Zinn into 10 hours. Nor would I call it a “people’s history;” I would say it’s definitely a liberal progressive history of the U.S.
Photo by Ed Rampell
RCM: As an example…?
OS: The Cold War itself. The whole concept we grew up with in school is that we have been aggressed by the Soviets since World War II; that they started the Cold War, and we responded. We deal with that very in depth, and it’s important because it sets up the mindset that has infected America since then.
Since WWII we’ve become the strongest, greatest national security state in the history of the world. We have fulfilled Orwell’s definition of “perennial war,” and paranoia.
So how did we get here? It wasn’t the world I knew as a young man. My father was a Republican. Conservative. He served under Eisenhower in Europe. I just remember this feeling that drove me to Vietnam: that we had to respond to communism because it was seeking to dominate the world. I think that’s a very important thing to overcome.
Once you can recognize fear and paranoia then you begin to have the methods and the instruments by which you can pick up on it… as it is evoked over and over again in our culture.
When George Bush talks about the terrorists as being the end of the world, he’s going to eradicate evil, you’ve reached an extreme of paranoia and, frankly, insanity.
Oliver Stone & Josh Brolin – “W”
You cannot eradicate evil in the world – to even talk about it in a public speech is beyond any concept of reason that my father would have had back in World War II.
RCM: As your series is called The Untold Story do you deal with episodes in history that may not be in the traditional textbook?
OS: Correct.
RCM: What are some examples?
OS: I don’t want to give too many because that’s part of what we’re doing! But we talk about Henry Wallace. [Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vice president, 1941-1945.] We bring him into the picture.
RCM: In On History you talk about whether or not Wallace would have nuked Japan. What’s your personal opinion if he, instead of Harry Truman, had become the president after FDR’s death?
OS: I don’t think he would have, but I think you should look at the context of the series, because it’s really explained in depth. There are a lot of other decisions that are at work here. Wallace emerges as one of the unsung, forgotten heroes of our history.
James Byrnes, Harry Truman & Henry Wallace at FDR’s Funeral; 1945. (Photo c/o of the Truman Library)
You have to go back to understand the Roosevelt-Stalin relationship, and why that existed, and what Roosevelt and Stalin had in common. We reexamine Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin, we reexamine the British Empire, we reexamine the emergence of the American empire. We examine Kennedy in that regard, and what he was trying to do. And Khrushchev and Gorbachev and Reagan… and we work our way up until the present day.
RCM: And you raise the question whether we would have even had a Cold War if Henry Wallace became president?
OS: True, we do. And it was clear that there were certain decisions taken early on, post-1945, that made it inevitable we would go to this war. But that we had a choice not to.
RCM: Does you documentary go into the Industrial Workers of the World or any of the general strikes?
OS: Yes it does. We go back in time to 1900 and the election between William Jennings Bryan and William McKinley, and we work our way to a pivotal figure, Woodrow Wilson. Who of course was the progressive choice, the first Democratic president in 20 years. And who did more than (laughs) probably anybody to destroy the Wobblies during the World War I paranoia.
RCM: In On History Tariq Ali talks about the Ku Klux Klan as one of the largest political movements in U.S. history, with millions and millions of members.
OS: Yeah, people don’t know that. The 1920s – the Ku Klux Klan was resurgent.
RCM: And a huge march in Washington.
OS: Oh yeah. 30,000 Ku Klux Klan-ers showed up there, at least.
RCM: Is that also in the TV series?
OS: Oh yeah.
RCM: In the book you quote Tariq’s phrase “a pessimist of the intellect and an optimist of the will.” What does that mean?
OS: Because Tariq is a man who has seen much of the worst, he sees what happens in the power vacuums in the Third World and how the U.S. controls much of what happens in the Third World, as well as in the First World. And we have a situation where we have a dominant empire.
Tariq Ali today. And protesting the war with Vanessa Redgrave; London 1968 (AP Photo)
Perhaps one of the worst things that ever happened to the U.S. is losing the Soviet Union as an equalizing balance and enemy; when it had a countervailing force. When we were left in that vacuum we abused that moment badly, and I think it led to a series of conditions where we’re going to expire, and we’ve overstretched ourselves because of our hubris.
RCM: How do you respond to this statement: “George H.W. Bush’s best friend was Saddam Hussein”? Because after we “won” the Cold War, people were clamoring for the peace dividend, and Saddam gave him an out.
OS: I wouldn’t say “best friend;” you’re being satiric in that. Yes, certainly, so did Manuel Noriega. Certainly Hussein did George Bush Sr. and America and the military industrial complex a great favor, continuing the concept that we have enemies that would threaten us. Although I don’t see how Iraq could have threatened the U.S., after the Soviet Union was so much more powerful.
Still, they were able to transform the peace dividend into fear and paranoia again – about terrorists, about Hussein, about Noriega in Panama. And they kept going. Gorbachev was saying, “Look, I’m going to cut all of the military down in Russia,” and the U.S. didn’t give him anything, really. |
there, as it were; you just need your hardware (router, laptop, tablet, etc.) to meet approved specs.
So what LTE-U does is kick over some cellular device connectivity into that 5GHz band where WiFi currently lives. Because it’s unlicensed territory, anyone can use it without first going through the FCC’s licensing process.
Don’t we already have tech that moves mobile features over to WiFi?
Yes, but they’re a little different.
Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T all offer (or will shortly offer) WiFi calling on handsets that support the feature, including any iPhone running the latest versions of iOS. Rather than blending use of cellular tech and WiFi tech, those calls simply take place exclusively over WiFi when you dial.
It’s also slightly different from plans like Cablevision’s Freewheel service, which only operates over WiFi, and doesn’t have an LTE or cellular component at all.
LTE-U would basically bridge the two systems, drawing on the spectrum the WiFi infrastructure uses to boost LTE functionality.
What are the benefits of LTE-U?
Existing mobile tech, 4G LTE, is hitting the limits of its capability. For faster, stronger, better signals — something the rapidly expanding mobile market clearly can support and would use — businesses need new tech. So mobile manufacturers are saying, hey: look at this! We can boost existing LTE with this fancy new idea, and that will create more bandwidth that works faster and better so everyone can go stream more video, hooray.
According to Qualcomm, one of the businesses developing and pushing LTE-U, the combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum harnessed together in aggregate makes “the end-user’s experience seamless creating a fatter data pipe whenever a data boost is needed. In essence, users get an enhanced mobile broadband experience with all of the benefits of LTE Advanced.”
In short, it’s a way of boosting networks. Consumers would get faster, more reliable mobile data and mobile businesses would get to save a lot of money, by using existing technology and infrastructure instead of having to build and deploy something entirely new.
Okay, and what are the problems with LTE-U?
That unlicensed spectrum isn’t empty; we’ve got WiFi in it. WiFi that people are using a lot. And that could pose a problem.
The technical ways in which the current iterations of LTE-U access the unlicensed spectrum can interfere with the performance of tasks over WiFi. Instead of, basically, queuing neatly in the ether and waiting their turn, LTE signals can interrupt existing WiFi transmissions. Those interruptions could lead to degraded, lower-quality data and slower response times over the network.
In other words, the worry is that if you are working along just fine streaming video to your tablet over WiFi, and someone on the other end of the room makes an LTE-U call, your video (or call, or upload, or game, or…) might stutter or cut out, which would drive every consumer crazy and have potential financial harms for some businesses.
This sounds complicated. Who’s fighting it out over what happens next?
The businesses most strongly favor of continuing to develop LTE-U as-is are the ones with a big stake in it: Qualcomm (which develops the chips that power the mobile phones), Nokia, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Sprint did not file a comment with the FCC; however, the CTIA, a mobile industry trade group which includes Sprint among its many members, did — also in favor of LTE-U.
The groups backing LTE-U formed a new lobbying venture at the end of September to try to convince the FCC to take their side.
Businesses that stand to face harm, on the other hand, have expressed concerns to the FCC. Cablevision, which operates Freewheel exclusively over WiFi, wrote in their comments that the “incumbent licensed carriers have an economic incentive to use LTE-U and LAA [a similar technology] to undermine competition.”
The NCTA, the trade group for the cable industry (and therefore, for most of the WiFi broadband providers) is also against the current iteration. “Without a dramatic change of course, both LTE-U and LAA will gravely harm the unlicensed ecosystem,” the NCTA’s comment explains.
Consumer advocate groups, including the Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge, Free Press, and Common Cause, also all urge caution, and back up Cablevision’s perspective that wireless carriers could use LTE-U in anticompetitive ways, and urge the FCC to push for “robust co-existence features in the tech.
At the heart of all the comments, on both sides, is the “good neighbor” principle. Proponents of LTE-U say that polite network behavior that doesn’t trample anyone else can be baked into the system from the start; opponents have their very strong doubts that, absent regulation, businesses have any incentive or desire to do so. Comments in the middle more or less say that the good neighbor behavior needs to be taken into account, and encourage the FCC to make sure it is.
But the FCC gets the final word, right? So what do they have to say?
In remarks he gave in September, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler strongly encouraged the industry — or rather, industries, mobile and cable both — to come together to create one broad-based standards process that would work for everyone.
Should the various technology businesses not feel like cooperating with each other, however, stronger FCC intervention would be called for. In the meantime, the commission has been collecting comments and information in an open docket.A Letter to Barack Obama
I invite you to read my letter.
Tutorials
I wrote these tutorials for Marissa Dominguez during a research scholarship she was awarded in 2014.
Amath 301
This page has some solutions to various homeworks and exams, along with some exercises and extra credit problems I wrote up while TAing AMATH 301 at UW.
Links
Veterans for Peace
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Dimensions is a beautiful film about mathematics. It's free to watch online and it intuitively presents topics like stereographic projection, Julia sets, 4-dimensional objects...
Chaos is another film by the makers of Dimensions. It talks about dynamical systems and chaos. I highly recommend watching it if you're taking any class with "calculus" in the title.
This is an excellent C++ tutorial.Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)- The search giant’s YouTube video service is all set to announce its new paid subscription-based, ad-free system.
Tired of having to watch ads before and during your videos, even if the subject that is being shown has nothing to do with you and your interest? Thankfully, YouTube’s long-anticipated subscription service is expected to be unveiled on Wednesday in Los Angeles during an event.
As Re/code has reported, this kind of service will include ad-free versions of videos that already exist in YouTube. In addition, the monthly $10 subscription will also include original programming, but only to subscribers. The technology news website didn’t mention clearly the type of content that subscribers should expect.
Earlier this year, YouTube said that four of its top stars signed contracts to bring their original series to life on the Google-owned video site: The Fine Brothers, Prank vs. Prank, Joey Graceffa, and Smosh.
Furthermore, according to the Wall Street Journal, YouTube is looking to close some deals with several providers, such as Turner Broadcasting cable unit, Fox Sports, A&E Networks, NBCUniversal, and possibly the Walt Disney Co. It shouldn’t be that hard, judging by the promising earnings for content providers, which include 55 percent of subscription revenue and cut of the money, based on the amount of time folks spend watching their videos.
Surprisingly enough, not everyone is thrilled with that arrangement, though, the paper said.
For the record, YouTube launched the paid channels service in May 2013, as part of a new concept that was still going under tests at the time, which ultimately gave content creators a new smart way to earn money from their videos. But still, the company did not offer an unlimited premium option that eliminated all ads.
“We are progressing according to plan to provide fans more options in how they enjoy content on YouTube,” the company told the Journal. “We have support from the overwhelming majority of our partners … and more in the pipeline about to close.“.
Are you planning on using YouTube’s upcoming content system? Let us know in the comments below.
Via: PCMag, Re/code
Source: Wall Street Journal
Photo credit: Drinkmicro.comRobredo’s P50-M Bicol River revetment under fire after sag Blame game ensues among agencies following collapse 26389 SHARES Share it! Share Tweet
By Ruel Saldico
Local officials are pointing fingers over the collapse of a portion of the P50-million revetment along Bicol River in Naga City, Camarines Sur, funded by former representative and now Vice President Leni Robredo.
Almost 50 meters of the fortification near a private cemetery in Naga City sagged Friday afternoon, November 4, amid four days of continuous rains, chipping away soil in the riverbank some two meters near the tombs.
It forms part of the P650-million Bicol River rehabilitation project by then Camarines Sur third district representative Robredo, funded from the countrywide development fund (CDF) given by the past administration.
Robredo attended the revetment’s inauguration last September 9. Her camp remains mum about the incident.
Illegal fence?
The Department of Public Works and Highways blamed the collapse partly to the 100-meter concrete fence on top of the revetment, which the owner of the private cemetery built without securing consent and permit from barangay and city hall.
The city engineering office also pointed to the fence construction, as well as the revetment’s substandard quality.
Irene Mariano, owner of the Sto. Niño Memorial Park, admitted failure in securing permit for the fence construction, but denied it should be blamed for the collapse.
She also said the government cut 6.5 meters on the easement mandatory property line, but that the cemetery did not complain.
Mariano called for an investigation on the project’s program of work.
Naga mayor John Bongat said the city government has begun a special investigation on the incident and the project won’t be turned over, pending repair.
Bicol Goldrock Constructions (BGCC), the contractor of the project, agreed to reconstruct the structure according to DPWH suggestions.
But BGCC complained it had been working on the project for almost a year unpaid.
Tags: Bicol River, Leni Robredo, Manila Bulletin, Naga City, project, revetment, Robredo’s P50-M Bicol River revetment under fire after sagImage copyright AFP Image caption Venezuelan opposition deputy Amelia Belisario argues with national guard outside the Supreme Court in Caracas
There have been demonstrations in Venezuela after the Supreme Court took over legislative powers from the National Assembly.
Critics say the development takes the country closer to one-man rule under President Nicolas Maduro.
Luis Almagro, the secretary general of the Organisation of American States (OAS), described the move as the "final blow to democracy in the country".
The ruling effectively dissolves the elected legislature which has been dominated by the president's opponents.
Mr Almagro also described the move as a "self-inflicted coup" by Mr Maduro's government.
It comes after months of consolidation of power by the country's president, who is locked in a political struggle with the centre-right opposition.
Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption The president's supporters took part in a demonstration on Tuesday against the OAS
What has happened?
On Thursday the Venezuelan Supreme Court seized power from the opposition-led legislature, a move that could essentially allow it to write laws itself.
The court justified the move by saying the National Assembly's lawmakers were "in a situation of contempt" after allegations of electoral irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections.
It did not indicate if or when it might hand power back.
The court had previously backed the leftist president in his struggles with the legislature - on Tuesday removing parliamentary immunity from the Assembly's members.
The move is the latest example of the socialist President Maduro tightening his grip on power, which critics say he has been doing for months, amid a deepening economic crisis in the country.
The National Assembly's lawmakers were pictured scuffling with members of the National Guard while protesting outside the court on Thursday.
The Speaker of Venezuela's National Assembly, Julio Borges, addressed the media outside the legislative palace in Caracas.
He urged the army, which has so far supported the president, to take a stand against him.
In a tweet, jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez called on people to take to the streets in order to "reject dictatorship and rescue democracy".
Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption The Assembly's Speaker, Julio Borges, tore up a copy of the judgement by the Supreme Court
What has the reaction been?
The crisis has raised international alarm about the stability of Venezuela, which has undergone three attempted military coups since 1992.
The US state department called the court's move "a serious setback for democracy."
Most regional powers including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile have warned that the action is a threat to Venezuelan democracy.
Leftist-led Bolivia defended President Maduro, who has yet to comment publicly.
Venezuela's foreign ministry accused critics of the government of forming a right-wing regional pact against President Maduro.
Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez described the OAS is a pawn of US "imperialism".
Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption A student protesting against President Maduro on a protest on Caracas's main highway
Why is Venezuela in crisis?
Tensions have been high in Venezuela because the country has been engulfed by a severe economic crisis.
It has the world's highest inflation rate, and the International Monetary Fund predicts it could reach 1,660% next year.
The government and opposition blame each other for the country's economic problems.
President Maduro has become increasingly unpopular, and the opposition has called for his removal from office and fresh elections."It’s not about Harriet Tubman, it’s about keeping the picture on the $20," Steve King said, pulling out a $20 bill and pointing at President Andrew Jackson. | AP Photo House GOP dodges vote to block Harriet Tubman from $20 bill
The House will not vote to block the inclusion of Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, dodging a politically charged vote for GOP lawmakers.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) had filed an amendment to a bill funding the Treasury Department to prohibit the department from redesigning any currency to showcase the abolitionist icon, but the Rules Committee denied floor consideration of the proposal Tuesday night.
Story Continued Below
"It's not about Harriet Tubman, it's about keeping the picture on the $20," King said Tuesday evening, pulling a $20 bill from his pocket and pointing at President Andrew Jackson. "Y'know? Why would you want to change that? I am a conservative, I like to keep what we have."
The conservative gadfly said it is "racist" and "sexist" to say a woman or person of color should be added to currency. "Here's what's really happening: This is liberal activism on the part of the president that's trying to identify people by categories, and he's divided us on the lines of groups.... This is a divisive proposal on the part of the president, and mine's unifying. It says just don't change anything."
The Treasury Department announced in April that it would move the image of Jackson to the back of the $20 note, replacing him with Tubman, a former slave who helped other slaves escape to freedom and served with the Union Army during the Civil War. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew also announced plans to redesign $5 and $10 bills to include leaders from the women's rights and civil rights movements. Neither Abraham Lincoln nor Alexander Hamilton would be removed from their spots on the front of the $5 and $10 notes.
King is not alone among Republicans opposed to placing the abolitionist and civil rights icon on the $20 bill. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said in April that the move was "pure political correctness" and recommended that an image of Tubman be placed on the $2 bill.
Amendments to appropriations bills have proven troublesome to Republicans in recent weeks. After a Democratic amendment to prohibit discrimination by federal contractors against LGBT people was added to a bill funding energy and water programs, Republicans dropped their support for the measure, and it was defeated. That kerfuffle led Speaker Paul Ryan to go back on his commitment to allow for an open amendment process and instead limit which amendments could be considered.
The Rules Committee blocked consideration of the LGBT amendment, as it has in recent weeks. The willingness of the GOP-controlled panel to stymie a fellow Republican, particularly amid conservative frustration with a limited amendment process, demonstrates the desire to avoid controversial votes in an election year.
King, for his part, saw the amendment as crucial.
"President Obama's on his way out the door," he said. "He's going to do everything he can think of to upset this society and this civilization."After being hospitalized last month for reported exhaustion, Kanye West returned home in late November, his condition improving as he rests. In an altogether unsurprising but nonetheless encouraging turn of events, TMZ is now reporting that West has begun to record music as part of his rehabilitation and recovery process.
Sources close to the artist say that since returning home, West has been more relaxed and focused. He has reportedly built a temporary studio in his Bel-Air home to work on new music.
After releasing The Life of Pablo in February, Kanye quickly announced his intentions to release a follow-up album titled Turbo Grafx 16. In May, Quavo posted a photo of himself, West, Big Sean, Lil Yachty, Vic Mensa and the rest of the Migos to Instagram, simply writing "TURBO." Then there is the G.O.O.D. Music group album, Cruel Winter, for which "Champions" was supposed to be the lead single. This is all to say, should Kanye seek works in progress during his recovery, he has them by the pair.
Upon his hospitalization, word broke that Kanye r equested studio equipment in his room so he could record in bed. As J. Cole potentially suggested on his new song "False Prophets," Kanye may have strayed from some of the principles that first endeared him to fans, though throughout his life, tragedy, from personal loss to injury, has been a massive creative influence. We'll have to wait and see what's to come from Kanye moving forward.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. 2016 September 24
Heart and Soul and Double Cluster
Image Credit & Copyright: Adrien Klamerius
Explanation: This rich starfield spans almost 10 degrees across the sky toward the northern constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus. On the left, heart-shaped cosmic cloud IC 1805 and IC 1848 are popularly known as the Heart and Soul nebulae. Easy to spot on the right are star clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884 also known as h and Chi Perseii, or just the Double Cluster. Heart and Soul, with their own embedded clusters of young stars a million or so years old, are each over 200 light-years across and 6 to 7 thousand light-years away. In fact, they are part of a large, active star forming complex sprawling along the Perseus spiral arm of our Milky Way Galaxy. The Double Cluster is located at about the same distance as the Heart and Soul nebulae. Separated by only a few hundred light-years, h and Chi Perseii are physically close together, and both clusters are estimated to be about 13 million years old. Their proximity and similar stellar ages suggest both clusters are likely a product of the same star-forming region.He Quanji and his wife, from Fujian province, get comfortable in their basement in Chaoyang district. Zou Hong / China Daily
Beijing is cleaning up the "mouse tribe".
The "mouse tribe", or shuzu in Mandarin, is a large population of mainly migrant workers that live in cramped conditions deep underground.
They are thought to number about one million living in some of the 1,374 civil air defence shelters beneath the city.
Xiao Shi (right) cooking in the home while her husband Xiao Guo going to do the washing (Photo: Xinhua)
Since the 1990s, the city's civil air defence bureau has been renting out the shelters to migrant workers against the backdrop of rocketing house prices.
"Although it was allowed in the past for us to rent out the civil air defence shelters, we will now clear the residents out from the shelters," said a man, surnamed Zhou, from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Air Defense.
He said the migrants should be gone by March.
The poor conditions and safety concerns revolving around such things as a lack of emergency exits prompted the air defence bureau's decision to clean up the "mouse tribe".
The shelters would be turned over to street committees or township governments to be used as underground garages, community entertainment or emergency command centres.
"Nobody wants to live underground," said He Quanji, 28, of Fujian province.
"I have no alternative because the rents are too high."
He and his 22-year-old wife are living in the 10-square-meter cellar that is just large enough for four single beds and two tables. They share the space that is partitioned by a curtain with He's brother and his wife.
There are more than 30 other cellars under the community that are serviced by three bathrooms.
A woman surnamed Zhu acts as the local property agent.
"They are not supposed to cook in the cellars for safety reasons," Zhu said. "But I don't give them a hard time because everybody is cooking in their rooms."
She said cellar rooms usually rent for about 900 yuan or less a month.
A similar-sized room above ground would go for 1,400 yuan.
Zhu said separated cellars could be rented for 300 or 400 yuan a month.
"But those have no windows at all and are only big enough for one single bed."
The "mouse tribe" are now wondering where they will find affordable places to live in.
Editorial MessageAfter more than a year of experimenting with the Oculus Rift on real roller coasters, we now focus on mobile VR.
Note: This VR ride app can be fully experienced without the real roller coaster. In the Demo app, tap the touchpad to start the ride, press the back button to reset during ride.
This VR experience will feature a technically and visually stunning mobile VR roller coaster ride that can be experienced at home as well as when riding the real roller coaster on-site. There, the passenger simply takes a seat, puts on the Gear VR headset and enjoys a perfectly wirelessly synchronized virtual coaster ride while feeling all the g-forces of the real ride.
We're receiving strong support by renowned roller coaster manufacturer Mack Rides and Europa-Park, Germany, who help us realize these incredible ride experiences.
As we are working on a "mine train" roller coaster, our VR ride will narrate a story that expands on the specific cave theming. The passenger will accompany a team of virtual heroes who set out to rescue one of their friends from a dangerous, abyssal underworld. Therefore, the ride will not only feature huge and complex environments, but also many detailed animated characters simultaneously - thus making it technically very challenging.
Each of the characters features a complex skinned mesh with as many as up to 60 bones for body and face motion. In addition, elements like falling rocks, moving lava pools or a swinging chain bridge add up to the dynamic experience. This app often brought us to the limits of the Galaxy Note 4, but with a lot of work and optimization, we finally managed to sustain a constant 60 fps.
The ride starts with a draisine pulling the passenger's car. As the visible track always gives a hint on where the ride will turn, this makes for a comfortable start into the experience. But then the cars will derail, leading to a wild, adrenalin-filled glissade through the caverns. All through the entire ride, the characters interact with each other, climbing, holding on to one another or just sliding along the track.
Edit: Please note that the download URL here on the submission page did not update to the correct URL. The download URL for the APK is: http://www.vrcoaster.com/downloads/VRJam_VR_Coaster_Ride.apk
Also check out www.vrcoaster.com for more.Buy Photo Betty Phelps, left, and Shirley Phelps-Roper, right, of the Westboro Baptist Church protested outside Highview Baptist Church in Louisville in 2015. (Photo: By Pat McDonogh, The CJ)Buy Photo
The Westboro Baptist Church intends to protest Muhammad Ali's memorial service on Friday, officials announced on their website and social media.
From 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., the radical Baptist church plans to picket outside the KFC Yum! Center where a funeral service is scheduled for Ali, according to their picket schedule. They also threatened on Twitter to burn a copy of the Quran, the Muslim holy book.
The group said they're protesting because Ali was a "Christ-rejecting Muslim" and "followed after the false prophet... Muhammad."
Protesting funerals is nothing new for the Topeka, Kansas-based church. They originally gained notoriety for protesting the funeral of a Matthew Shepard in Wyoming in 1998, after it was determined he was beaten to death because of his homosexuality.
They have also protested the funerals of military service members, Steve Jobs, Michael Jackson and the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut. They are particularly outspoken with their anti-LGBT and anti-Semitic views.
Friday's memorial service at the KFC Yum! Center begins at 2 p.m. Eulogists include Lonnie Ali, former President Bill Clinton, actor Billy Crystal and journalist Bryant Gumbel. All available tickets were given out in less than an hour Wednesday, as hundreds lined up outside the arena's box office.
The city announced Wednesday night that it will erect large screens near the Kentucky Center for the Performing Centers at the Belvedere, a downtown park setting a few blocks away, that can accommodate more than 10,000 people. Water and restrooms will be available.
Officials warned visitors to expect heavy traffic and limited parking in the area. They are offering off-site parking with shuttles into the area.
Justin Sayers can be reached at 502-582-4252 or jsayers@gannett.comA national suicide prevention charity is demanding that the government launches a major campaign to raise awareness of suicide.
Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 35 in the UK.
Shoulders hunched and legs pressed together, Danni Mather, 23, told Newsbeat about his experiences of feeling suicidal.
"I just felt empty - that's the only way you can describe it," he says. "It's just complete emptiness."
"You can't smile. You can be told the greatest joke in the world, the greatest news in the world, and you'll just feel like it's nothing. You just exist."
The musician says he did not have much to be depressed about but was unable to push the dark thoughts away.
Every time something goes wrong it becomes the first thing that pops into your head Danni Mather, 23
On several occasions he considered suicide, he says: "Every time something goes wrong it becomes the first thing that pops into your head: just do it.
"You're waiting for a train and the first thing that pops into your head as you're waiting for it is get in front of it - because if that hits you you're not waking up."
Luckily for Danni, he received professional help and says he overcame his depression.
But more than 3,000 male deaths in England and Wales in 2010 were ruled as suicides or undetermined fatalities according to latest figures.
A total of 868 of those were aged between 15 and 35 - that is three times more than the number of women in the same age bracket.
Advice if you're affected by the issues in this article
Unemployment worries
Jane Powell, director of Calm - a charity that concentrates on preventing male suicide, says more needs to be done.
"Nine out of 10 people aren't aware that suicide is the biggest killer of young men under the age of 35," she explains.
I think awareness of the dangers of salt is higher amongst parents then suicide, and that can't be good Jane Powell, Calm
"That disempowers both family and parents, plus the young men themselves.
"I think awareness of the dangers of salt is higher amongst parents then suicide, and that can't be good."
She wants the Department of Health to set up a campaign and says she is worried that economic problems, like high unemployment, could make the problem worse.
"For men, they are defined by in many people's eyes by what they do," says Powell.
"If they haven't got a job, then they're no one. I think that is part of why suicide is such a male issue."
Male suicides in the UK have reduced over the last 10 years but the figures are still far higher than those killed in road accidents or knife and gun crime.
Despite that, the man who used to head up the Department of Health's mental health division says the government's current approach is working.
"It took 25 years for the suicide rate in young men to double," says Louis Appleby.
"It took 12 years for it to fall back again to the same level, so something very beneficial has happened.
"Part of that has been the awareness of the front-line agencies that they are dealing with a very troubled, potentially high-risk, group of people."Photo
One skier’s drought is a potential hiker’s gift.
California’s current drought has inspired DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, concessionaire at Yosemite National Park, to open its horse stables, normally closed for the winter, and offer trail rides. Similarly, its Glacier Point Ski Hut, which normally accommodates cross-country skiers overnight, will be open to hikers by reservation.
The unusual winter openings could be reversed at any time if Mother Nature resumes seasonal behavior. “We had another dry winter two years ago that allowed us to open the stable and the Glacier Point Hut for hikers,” Lisa Cesaro, a spokeswoman for the concessionaire, wrote in an email. “A storm came through shortly after that, when we closed the facilities down. I believe they were open for a week during that season.”
Until further notice, Yosemite Valley Stable is offering two-hour guided trail rides to Mirror Lake three times daily for $64 per rider. Conditions permitting, hikers can follow Four-Mile Trail to Glacier Point Ski Hut and spend the night Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday in the stone-and-log dormitory across from Half Dome. Self-guided trips, including meals, cost $120.50 per person, with advance registration required.
But if it does snow, and the warm-weather activities stop, another park attraction will open: Badger Pass Ski Area.You can build an extensive library on the books detailing the long and sordid history of racial discrimination in the United States. You can find volumes of books on the attempts by activist liberals to convince the country to live up to its promise of equality for all.
Conservatives have a strong presence in both collections -- as perpetrators of racial discrimination in one and obstructionists of racial equality in the other.
This historical narrative shows no signs of changing, given the reactions of the far right to recent events, including restricting voter registration, blocking immigration reform, and the grand jury decisions in Staten Island, N.Y., and in Ferguson, Missouri.
N.Y. congressman Peter King said race did not contribute to the death of Eric Garner, a black man, who died after being put in a chokehold by a white police officer while being arrested in Staten Island. King also said race did not affect the grand jury's decision not to indict the officer.
Fox News commentator Ben Stein said that racism didn't play a part in the death of Michael Brown this summer in Ferguson. Stein says there is no racism among white people. He says that racism is a black thing.
History, too, must be a black thing. It was a black thing when black men were lynched a century ago, or nowadays when a white police officer shoots an unarmed black man, or in the recent case in Cleveland, an unarmed 12-year-old boy.
It also is a black thing when blacks are racially profiled; considered guilty until proven otherwise; sentenced to jail with dubious evidence; or denied jobs or admission to predominantly white schools -- unless they are talented athletes.
We hear ad nauseam from conservative commentators, including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Jonah Goldberg, Charles Krauthammer, and Ann Coulter, that racism doesn't exist anymore or, if does, that liberals perpetuate it for political purposes..
If you think racism doesn't exist anymore, ask someone who regularly faces racial discrimination.
History praises those who saw racism and tried to end it rather that those who either perpetuated racism or denied its existence. We admire Abraham Lincoln, not Nathan Bedford Forrest; Rosa Parks, not George Wallace; Martin Luther King Jr., not "Bull" Connor; and John Lewis, not Jesse Helms.
Why are there so few conservatives in the past who saw racism and tried to end it? Perhaps more importantly, why are there so few conservatives in the present who see racism?President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would nominate Christopher A. Wray, a former DOJ official, to lead the FBI.
Wray is a partner at King & Spalding, a law firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. He worked at the Department of Justice as an assistant attorney general for two years in the George W. Bush administration.
He kept New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie out of jail during the 'Bridgegate' case that ended in charges for three of the Republican's aides but not the governor.
Trump said Wray is 'a man of impeccable credentials' in a Wednesday morning tweet that appeared on his personal account. He promised additional details on the appointment that will run through the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.
'He is an impeccably qualified individual, and I know that he will again serve his country as a fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity once the Senate confirms him to lead the FBI,' Trump said in a White House statement that was distributed in the afternoon.
Asked about Wray after he landed in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday, Trump said, 'He’s going to be great.'
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President Donald Trump said Wednesday morning that he would nominate Christopher A. Wray, a former DOJ official, to lead the FBI
Trump said Wray is 'a man of impeccable credentials' in a Wednesday morning tweet sent from his personal account
The surprise announcement hit two hours before Trump's acting FBI director, Andrew McCabe, was set to take the stand in the first of two Senate hearings this week that will examine the president's shock firing of the bureau's previous head, James Comey
WHO IS CHRISTOPHER WRAY? Age: 50 Alma Maters: Phillips Academy, Yale and Yale. He was heckled by Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss during his confirmation hearing in 2003 for attending the Connecticut school for both undergrad and his law degree, instead of staying down south. 'We will excuse him for attending Yale University for both his undergraduate studies and his legal education, but he saw the light and came back to Georgia,' Chambliss said at the time. Before college, Wray attended Phillips Academy, a boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts. Family: Wray is the son of Cecil Wray and Gilda Gates. His father also received a law degree from Yale and was a partner at the New York law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton. While his mother was a senior program officer at the Charles Hayden Foundation. Relationship Status: Wray has been married to Helen Wray since 1989, the same year they both graduated from Yale University and before he headed to Yale Law School. Her family has lived in Atlanta for generations and her grandfather was a former owner of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Her father was the vice president of the First National Bank of Atlanta. She was the business manager of the Yale Daily News. Children: The couple have two children named Caroline, 22, and Trip, 20, according to Heavy. Professional Accomplishments: Wray was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's attorney during the 'bridgegate' scandal. As the head of the Department of Justice's criminal division he oversaw the Enron Task Force, which charged Kenneth Lay in 2002 with conspiracy, fraud and making false statements. Wray was also a big part of the Department of Justice's response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Wray was assumed to be a finalist for the position after he interviewed with the president. Lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Chuck Grassley, the head of the upper chamber's Judiciary Committee, said they were blindsided by today's tweet, however.
The announcement hit two hours before Trump's acting FBI director, Andrew McCabe, and his deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, were to take the stand in the first of two Senate hearings this week that will examine the president's shock firing of the bureau's previous head, James Comey.
Comey is expected to dispute the president's version of the events that preceded his firing in testimony Thursday but stop short of claiming Trump obstructed justice.
Trump fired Comey in a letter that was hand-delivered to the FBI on May 9 while the law enforcement official was at a bureau branch in LA.
The letter cited a lack of confidence in his ability to lead the bureau as the reason for dismissal, and it included a revelation that Comey told Trump three times that he was not under investigation.
Two other memos in the packet signed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Rosenstein, his deputy, backed up Trump's decision.
In three pages, Rosenstein crucified Comey for running the FBI into the ground.
The bureau's'reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage' over the past year, Rosenstein wrote, 'and it has affected the entire Department of Justice.'
Rosenstein said he could not defend Comey's treatment of Hillary Clinton's email case and harangued the FBI director for refusing to admit he made'serious mistakes.'
'It is one of the few issues that unites people of diverse perspectives,' Rosenstein contended.
Among the mistakes Comey made was his decision to 'usurp' Attorney General Loretta Lynch's authority at a July 2016 press conference where he declared 'no reasonable prosecutor' would bring a case against Clinton.
Lynch had recused herself from the investigation following an encounter with Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, at an Arizona airport.
At most, Rosenstein said Comey should have pronounced the FBI's work finished and handed the case to federal prosecutors.
'The FBI director is never empowered to supplant federal prosecutors and assume command of the Justice Department.'
The White House initially laid the firing at Rosenstein's feet. Three senior Trump aides scrambled to spin Comey's canning as Rosenstein's idea on TV that night, only to back track |
lobby for gun control, Tells about how the N.C.C.H. lobbies for gun control when Congressmen are up for re-election. The N.C.C.H. has set up several committees which fight for gun control in different professional groups, i.e. a Business for Handgun Control Committee. Argues against the N.R.A.'s claim that gun control would disarm the citizenry, leaving them open to Communist attack. The N.C.C.H. supports the weak gun-control bill now being considered in the House.
View ArticleActivists are gearing up for President Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE’s arrival in Philadelphia on Thursday, Politico reports.
On Facebook, more than 3,000 people have said they will attend a Thursday morning protest opposing Republican-led efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Trump is set to speak at the GOP's annual congressional retreat in the city on the same day.
“Donald Trump, [Speaker] Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanBrexit and exit: A transatlantic comparison Five takeaways from McCabe’s allegations against Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Sanders set to shake up 2020 race MORE [R-Wis.], and their billionaire friends have revealed their first act: take away our health care to provide tax cuts for their rich friends,” the event page says.
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“We commit to take non violent direct action to resist any attempts to take away our healthcare.”
The Thursday protest won the support of the Women’s March's main Twitter account, which took to Twitter to encourage people to attend the demonstration.
Protesters took to the streets of Washington and other cities around the country on Saturday in Women's March events to advocate for women’s rights and other civil rights that some worry could be threatened under the Trump administration.
Activists in Philadelphia have also planned a “Queer Rager” dance party to protest the GOP’s ObamaCare repeal efforts, which is also set for Thursday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Trump has drawn widespread criticism for his disparaging remarks against women, immigrants and Muslims, among other groups.Why #sanjose Police fired at a man at this house today. 6th officer involved shooting of year. At 6 @abc7newsBayArea pic.twitter.com/DC0WezS9OM — David Louie (@abc7david) August 11, 2015
San Jose police used deadly force twice in a six-hour time span overnight, bringing the number of officer-involved shootings this year to six.In one case, police say a man threatened them with a knife on East San Antonio Street. In the other, a shotgun was involved on San Marcos Way.The man was standing in his front yard with a shotgun when police arrived, preparing to shoot, and that's when police say they decided to react and shoot at him.Police brass say those officers did everything by the book.Residents of the Cherrywood neighborhood heard noises coming from a house that sounded like an argument.A woman called San Jose police from the house, saying her brother had returned home drunk and had a gun.Officers responded and found the man holding a shotgun."At first the suspect was outside of the residence with a shotgun. Once he racked the shotgun, officers shot at the suspect. He dropped the shotgun retreated into his house. After a few hours, our MERGE unit went into the residence and discovered the suspect dead," San Jose Police Asst. Chief Eddie Garcia said.Police say the man died from a self-inflicted wound. His name is not being released but relatives and friends who gathered nearby described him and his family as kind-hearted and loving.One friend asked ABC7 News not to show his face or use his name. "I just feel sad for his whole family because we really loved him. Like I said, there's going to be hundreds of thousands of people on this street sooner or later because he was very well loved," the friend said.Six hours before this incident, two other San Jose officers were involved in another shooting at East San Antonio and Packing Place.A suspect wanted in a stabbing incident pulled out a knife and threatened them. Officers shot and killed the man.Garcia says in both cases, the officers did what they were trained to do.There have now been six officer-involved shootings in San Jose this year, up from five last year. Of this year's six cases, three were fatal.All four officers have been put on administrative leave while their actions are being reviewed.HONOLULU - A Hawaii man alleging that he was beaten and falsely arrested by Honolulu Police for chanting next to a seal that he believed to be injured filed a lawsuit last week.Jamie Kalani Rice says he was at Nanakuli beach in Honolulu at around noon on Sept. 10, 2014, when he saw an endangered Hawaiian monk seal lying by the shore.He sat about three feet away from it and rubbed sand between his hands "as he spoke and chanted to the seal," he says in his Dec. 29 federal complaint against the City and County of Honolulu, its police Officer Ming Wang and Police Chief Louis Kealoha.Rice alleged that he was only trying to help the seal by sharing his mana or energy with it when National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration volunteers, who shot the video, called police and told them he was "sitting next to the seal and possibly was harassing the seal," Rice said in his complaint.Officer Wang is seen approaching Rice and speaking with him before drawing a baton. Rice then begins to walk away as Officer Wang follows, before Wang allegedly sprays Rice with pepper spray and strikes him repeatedly with the baton. He also appears to kick Rice once after Rice falls to the ground.Rice suffered broken bones in his right hand. He claimed that the beating was unjustified and that he did not offer any resistance. The Honolulu Police Department said that it had investigated Officer Wang's actions but did not release any details about its findings. He remains on patrol in a different part of the city.Note: Video has been cut from its original 10 minute, 51 second length to the point where Rice is approached by Officer Wang. The omitted parts show Rice kneeling near the seal and chanting for several minutes.Bombardier Commercial Aircraft says EgyptAir has signed a firm agreement to purchase a dozen CS300 aircraft along with purchase rights for an additional 12 of the aircraft.
EgyptAir's letter of intent to buy the aircraft was announced Nov. 14 during the Dubai Air Show.
Based on the list price of the CS300, Bombardier says the contract is worth approximately $1.1 billion US and would double to $2.2 billion US should EgyptAir buy the other 12 aircraft.
The C Series has also been ordered by Iraqi Airways, Saudi Gulf and Gulf Air.
"Welcoming EgyptAir to the family of C Series operators is another landmark moment for Bombardier," said Fred Cromer, the president, of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.
"The aircraft is performing exceptionally well, the industry recognizes the C Series as best in class, and this order from another well-established airline is testament to its tremendous value."Previously, we introduced the basics of ACH. As a cheaper alternative to most credit card processing solutions (i.e., 0.8% processing fees for ACH vs 2.9% + $0.30 by most credit card providers), ACH makes a lot of sense for heavy-volume transactions and monthly recurring payments. Payments that don’t need to show up immediately in the user’s bank account—or don’t require immediate feedback from the user’s banking information—are most suitable for ACH, because unlike most credit card transactions, ACH payments take a great deal of time to get processed.
In this article, we’ll take a deeper dive into ACH and break down some of the players working with this system. In particular, we’ll focus on some of the work we’ve been doing here at Plaid with Stripe, and unpack how we’ve enabled everyone from entry-level developers to experienced engineers to accept payments with the most-used method for transferring money.
ACH Providers
To get started with ACH payments, you need a system that can connect you (the originator of the ACH transaction) with an Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI). Additionally, that system should be able to give updates on the status of the payment and give the developer an interface to authenticate, verify, and charge the user on demand.
That’s where Stripe comes in. In January, the payments infrastructure giant debuted support for ACH payments through its platform alongside a partnership with us here at Plaid. Now, Stripe users can authenticate their customers through Plaid (or, if they must, micro-deposits) and then charge them through ACH.
Within a few minutes, any developer can start accepting ACH payments by just signing up for a Stripe account and accepting their ToS.
By also using Plaid, Stripe developers can skip the micro-deposit authentication process delay, and instead authorize their users through Plaid. At its core, Plaid is an entrypoint for applications that want to authenticate users to their banking accounts.
Like Stripe’s sign-up process, Plaid’s kickstarts ACH, and facilitates linking a customer’s Stripe account.
It’s important to understand the relationship between the two entities. Plaid only works as an authentication gateway and data provider for users—tokenizing the ACH process—while Stripe is the entity responsible for the ACH workflow, or the actual funds movement.
Workflow
Once providers are selected, it’s important to get the ACH workflow right. Due to its robustness for both consumers and suppliers, ACH is a slow, multi-staged, layered process that focuses on protecting all parties involved. For a developer, then, it’s not hard to get trapped by one of ACH’s multiple pitfalls, like mistiming, providing the user with the product before the payment was accepted, and being unable to refute accounts with missing funds.
To clarify the workflow, we have created a play-by-play of the actors involved and how Stripe and Plaid work with each of them. Our focus is on modern implementations of the payment method.
Developers : An ACH process might be implemented by a developer who has a software application looking to sell items and a user willing to buy them. These items could be physical products, digital applications, or any other services. Ideally, these items are registered in a online store that can keep track of them and record purchases in a database. Because records need to be kept to process the purchases—whether or not they were executed through ACH—most developers leverage existing ecommerce solutions to help manage their online stores. And in addition to having the application and goods for sale, developers need to register themselves with Stripe, providing personal information, details about their businesses, contact information, and a valid Social Security Number. Plaid doesn’t require information beyond a name and email to get started, although processing more than 100 users calls for some additional info.
Plaid : Plaid authenticates users—the buyers—to be able to authorize ACH payments through Stripe. Plaid allows developers to include a simple module called Plaid Link in their application or store. This provides a safe gateway for users to connect their bank account simply by entering their credentials. After the connection is established, and assuming a Stripe account has been linked to Plaid, Plaid provides a valid token to be used by Stripe to continue with the ACH process.
Financial Institutions : Financial institutions, or FIs, are the heart of the ACH workflow, functioning as the mediators of the network. They receive the ACH files from an ACH provider and transfer them to the proper clearing houses as batches at the end of every day. Depending on whether an FI is an ODFI or RDFI, it may also notify the ACH provider of the status of transactions or notify consumers of a transaction made to their account. Stripe uses Wells Fargo as its ODFI, and customers are reached by their own bank when the ACH transaction is processed. On the other side, Plaid connects with users’ banks to retrieve and authenticate their information to make sure the operations are actually authorized to be performed against customers’ bank accounts.
Stripe : Stripe allows developers to charge ACH payments to customers. In order to do so, the developer needs to create a Customer item within Stripe’s internal system, connected to an authorized token provided by Plaid. After that, with the Customer record successfully created (Stripe will return an error if the bank isn't authorized), the developer needs to actually charge the customer by creating a Charge item in his or her databases. This Charge will then trigger Stripe to create a proper ACH file to forward to its ODFI. Because the authorization was made through Plaid, Stripe has all the information required (such as the account number and routing number) in tokenized form to proceed with the transaction. Stripe will also provide webhooks and endpoints to the developer for updates.
Users : At the other end of the spectrum, customers are mostly unaware of the elaborate process behind the scenes to pay for the products they are aiming to buy. To authenticate transactions, the customer must simply provide his or her banking credentials through Plaid’s module. Once the details are confirmed and the transaction is completed, the user will see a pending transfer in his or her bank account, the delivery of the product or service, and, a few days later, the settled transaction.
Stages
There are multiple steps that can be taken for an ACH payment, but they can generally be divided into four stages: engaging the customer, authenticating the customer and the transaction, executing the ACH payment, and receiving the funds to deliver.
Step 1: User starts a transaction
In this case, let’s say we have a user who goes to a specific webpage. The developer has setup a proper store within that webpage that enables a user to browse, select, and request a specific item for purchasing.
Step 2: User authorizes an ACH transaction to pay for the item
After choosing something to purchase, the user has the ability to pay through his or her bank account (using Plaid) by entering the appropriate credentials. Plaid Link connects to Plaid, which proceeds to reach the user’s bank account. For institutions that require multi-factor authentication, Plaid helps provide the final steps to facilitate the connection.
Step 3: Developer schedules an ACH payment from the authenticated user
Once the user account is authenticated through Plaid, the developer gets a token and uses Stripe to schedule an ACH payment. Stripe defines customers according to their specific tokens, which are used to make charges to the correct customer. Stripe then reaches the ODFI and proceeds to give information to the developer based on the status of the transaction.
Step 4: Developer receives confirmation of payment and delivers item
After 5 to 7 business days, Stripe receives the funds from the RDFI. After that, it will provide a confirmation of the payment through a webhook. The developer can then reach the user and deliver the promised item to complete the transaction.
Conclusion
ACH payments can be intimidating to get started with—especially since not too long ago, only very big corporations could accept money directly via bank accounts. Now, anyone can use these technologies—and manage the biggest technical and security challenges—making it possible to execute all sorts of ideas with ease.Peter Molyneux was an inspiration to me. 25 years ago, upon reading about the tech demo that Populous started out as, I decided to become a programmer.
Yet at the same time the recent grilling he’s received has been mostly deserved too, although not necessarily the way it’s been done. Molyneux has over-promised almost to the point of being disingenuous. More importantly, the combined use in Godus of Kickstarter, “early access” and a keen eye on horrid micro-transactions from the financially successful ex-Microsoft executive with industry contacts really leaves a bad taste in ones mouth. There’s also the small matter of not yet providing Kickstarter backers with what was promised to them. Being called out on all of this is good journalism and long overdue. For years gamers have had to suffer PR restricted interviews that often miss out the question on many readers lips for fear of damaging the journalist/publisher relationship.
It’s also worth mentioning that over the last decade, Molyneux has been publicised heavily by the media to the point that readers have often rolled their eyes at “not another Molyneux” article.
The two stand out articles for me recently are the interview on RockPaperShotgun, where Johnny Walker, rather unprofessionally, starts off by asking if Peter is a pathological liar. The second was the much more reasonable and balanced EuroGamer article by Rich Stanton suggesting that not all of Molyneux’s apologies and promises are born out of honest intentions.
However, there is a double standard taking place in the media.
When the Feminist Frequency videos came out I found that any criticism of them was often dismissed out of hand as misogyny. One of my main counters to this was that I could quite happily criticize Peter Molyneux and receive no such strawmen thrown back at me. Simply being a women does not absolve someone from valid criticism. This is where journalism seems to be failing.
There are shades of grey in most subjects worthy of being reported on, and for any good that Feminist Frequency does, there ARE valid criticisms of the videos series, Anita Sarkeesian, and the Kickstarter. As with Peter Molyneux, Sarkeesian has also received lots of good publicity from the press, which has contributed to a backlash from media saturation.
Peter Molyneux once claimed that the grief he has received is akin to when he was bullied at school, and more recently, has stated that he’s ceasing interviews with the press. Amazingly the press have resorted to victim blaming – it’s his own fault for saying the things he says. This is the very thing they accuse critics of Anita of doing.
So here’s what I’d like to see. I’d like just ONE of the big publications to do an interview with Anita Sarkeesian (or Jonathan McIntosh if they feel that women must be protected from such questioning).
They could ask her about her gaming credentials beyond playing a SNES as a child, when she says in one of her lectures that she isn’t a gamer. Was she lying to the students or to her Kickstarter backers?
They could ask her some counter arguments to her videos. These have been well documented – everywhere except the press.
They could ask her why she thinks games perpetuate misogyny when the journalists themselves once fought against similarly unfounded accusations with violence in gaming.
Most importantly they could ask her why she hasn’t fulfilled her Kickstarter promises OR provided backers with their rewards years after the scheduled date? The exact thing Johnny Walker nailed Molyneux to the wall over.
The only difference between Sarkeesian and Molyneaux is that one is a pretty young woman who’s contributed to a fracture in the gaming community and the other has created some of the greatest games ever.
…their treatment in the press is quite different however.
(Peter is also willing to do interviews that aren’t puff pieces of course.)Coldplay are nearing the end of a restless decade, one that found them cycling through a handful of disparate creative approaches without ever losing much of their commercial momentum. The albums they made under Brian Eno’s warped wing (2008’s Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends... and, three years later, the underrated Mylo Xyloto) pushed their sound to its breaking point with detours into shoegaze, R&B, and chirping electro-pop. 2014’s morose Ghost Stories—a 40-minute shrug made in the wake of Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow’s “conscious uncoupling”—was an obvious outlier the moment it landed on virtual store shelves. And when Martin got his groove back the very next year with A Head Full of Dreams, he didn’t stop at soliciting production from Norwegian pop mercenaries Stargate or a feature from Beyoncé—he joined hands with the emo-EDM doofuses in the Chainsmokers and tag-teamed the listening public with the insipid “Something Just Like This.” Naturally, it became one of the biggest hits of Coldplay’s career.
Kaleidoscope, the band’s new EP, is their first release in years that feels more like a clearing of the throat than a new, distinct statement. The obvious analogue in the Coldplay discography is the Viva La Vida companion EP Prospekt’s March, but there are some key differences separating the two minor efforts. Prospekt’s March was a clear product of the writing and recording that resulted in Viva La Vida; it was released during the same year, and featured several instances of remixed or revised material that appeared on the parent album first. Kaleidoscope is coming out more than 18 months after A Head Full of Dreams, and it largely lacks that album’s blinding sheen and radiant optimism. It’s more of a grab-bag than a coherent release: one-off collaborations and ill-fitting outtakes share space with songs that unexpectedly revisit the sound and spirit of Coldplay’s creative peak.
There’s a version of “Something Just Like This” on here, though maybe not the one you’d expect. Kaleidoscope avoids the studio version for the “Tokyo Remix,” a live take from the band’s mammoth (and ongoing) tour that’s all but indistinguishable from the original in terms of intensity and instrumentation. Lesser Coldplay material can sometimes find redemption through thousands of voices singing in unison, but “Something Just Like This” is the sound of Martin at his smarmiest. A stadium full of eager fans can’t save it. Big Sean feature “Miracles (Someone Special)” fares better, if only because he and Martin are kindred spirits: charming, good-natured presences incapable of resisting their worst lyrical impulses.
Kaleidoscope’s existence is ultimately justified by the two songs that reach into the band’s past. They reunite with Eno and producer Markus Dravs on “A L I E N S,” an earnest take on the European migrant crisis complicated by a jittery 5/4 rhythm. Martin’s never going to grade out as an above-average writer, but he strings together an opening verse that’s unexpectedly moving in its depiction of a family fleeing for its life. (They rush to take a few pictures on the way out so “history has some to know.”) The result is a song that would’ve fit in nicely alongside the mild experiments that made Viva La Vida so refreshing.
The patient, expansive “All I Can Think About Is You” is even better, built on a premise that’s classic Coldplay: a love-drunk Martin stumbles through a world that’s crumbling around him, unable to shake the object of his affection for more than a second. He feels guilty about it, until all of a sudden he doesn’t: the skies part, the band starts rolling, and we’re treated to a stadium-scraping piano melody that’s as gorgeous as anything this side of “Clocks.” This is what Coldplay can do: a vague, familiar sentiment is rendered transcendent through the power of sheer beauty.
Of course, there are plenty of listeners for whom phrases like “classic Coldplay” mean little. The band occupies a rarefied cultural space at this point in their career: they’re popular enough to play the Super Bowl halftime show and uncool enough that no one seemed excited by the prospect. The defensiveness with which Martin used to field questions about the band’s haters has been replaced with a sort of bemused acceptance: “We’re gonna do our thing,” he told Rolling Stone last year. “If you like it, wonderful, and if you don’t, I really don’t mind. There’s so many other things you can do. You can have a PlayStation!” Kaleidoscope isn’t going to kickstart Coldplay’s critical reappraisal, nor does it deserve to. But it rewards those of us who’ve stuck around with a few songs that capture the band at its best.YouTube / FBI A California man who aimed a laser pointer at a Fresno Police helicopter two years ago has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, according to the FBI.
In December, Sergio Patrick Rodriguez, 26, and his girlfriend, Jennifer Lorraine Coleman, 23 were found guilty of using the high-powered laser pointer in an attempt to interfere with the helicopter.
The helicopter had responded to their apartment complex to investigate reports of a laser being pointed at an emergency transport helicopter, according to an FBI report.
Coleman will be sentenced in May, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Last month, the FBI stepped up its efforts to stop "lasing," which can temporarily blind pilots and is rising in popularity — reports of incidents are up tenfold since the FBI and FAA started keeping track in 2005. That added up to nearly 4,000 laser strikes in 2013, about 11 per day. Reporting information that leads to the arrest of an offender can net you a $10,000 reward from the Bureau.
It's a federal felony to knowingly aim a laser pointer at an aircraft, punishable by up to five years in prison and an $250,000 fine. The judge considered Rodriguez's criminal past, including probation violations and affiliation with the Bulldog gang, in his sentencing.
In a statement, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents nearly 50,000 pilots in the U.S. and Canada, commended the decision, saying, "Mr. Rodriguez has been convicted of deliberately aiming a high-powered laser at multiple aircraft, and we hope that his sentencing, along with the future sentencing of his accomplice, will help to spread the message to others that intentionally aiming a laser at an aircraft is not a prank, but a federal crime with very serious consequences.": OSEN via Naver1. [+4,129, -150] Jonghyun's for real ㅋㅋ2. [+3,292, -269] Gong Seungyeon is so pretty..3. [+2,958, -181] Gong Seungyeon looks way prettier in video than she does in pictures. She must look even better in real life.4. [+2,377, -282] Henry and Yewon the gag couple, they were funny today ㅋㅋㅋㅋ5. [+1,958, -847] Yewon's so lovable~6. [+862, -37] As expected, the standard WGM pattern ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ new couple -> I love this couple, daebak -> couple follows scenario with skinship -> wow, this couple looks like they're dating for real, I hope they are -> new couple leaves -> ugh, I refuse to watch if they leave, this show is hopeless -> new couple joins -> I love this couple, daebak -> rinse and repeat ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ7. [+601, -38] Jonghyun looks like he's in love, he keeps smiling to himself ㅋㅋㅋㅋ8. [+581. -38] Jonghyun's totally into Gong Seungyeon ㅋㅋㅋㅋ9. [+531, -36] Wake up Jonghyun-ah, you gotta learn to push and pull10. [+482, -54] Jonghyun has pretty speech, sings well, and looks like he has a nice personalityWhen news broke that Anzhi Makhachkala, the billionaire-backed Russian Premier League club, were cutting their budget and selling their top players, many journalists - myself included - thought it was a late April fool.
But this was no joke. In the hours that followed a series of announcements, each more puzzling than the other, confirmed "The Anzhi Project", at least as we previously knew it, was coming to an end. Suleyman Kerimov, Anzhi's billionaire backer since January 2011, was no longer happy to finance a gravy train.
The club's budget, officially quoted at an extravagant £116m per season (second only to Zenit St Petersburg in Russia), was to be reduced to between £32m and £45m.
Rene Meulensteen, formerly Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United and the man hand-picked by predecessor Guus Hiddink to manage the club, lost his job after just 16 days. And a host of players, foreign and Russian, bought for extravagant fees over the past two and a half years, were to be shipped out post-haste.
Russian Premier League team budgets (2012) Zenit St Petersburg (£184m)
(£184m) Anzhi (£116m)
(£116m) Rubin Kazan (£93.45m)
(£93.45m) Dinamo Moscow (£80.5m)
(£80.5m) Lokomotiv Moscow (£75m)
(£75m) Spartak Moscow (£67m)
(£67m) CSKA Moscow (£58m)
The football media naturally looks for footballing reasons for Kerimov's sudden about-face - and there are several.
After finishing in third place last season, hopes were high of a title push, but Anzhi have begun the campaign in disappointing fashion, losing two and drawing two of their opening four games.
An official statement said as much, stating that "having analysed the club's recent sporting results, the decision has been taken to work on a new long-term strategy for the club".
Rumours have been rife of training-ground bust-ups ever since Meulensteen was handed the manager's job just over a fortnight ago. There were reports that a rift between newly signed Russia captain Igor Denisov and £130,000-per-week striker Samuel Eto'o, with Meulensteen caught in the middle, had destroyed the Dutchman's authority.
Anzhi managers since Kerimov's arrival Gadzhi Gadzhiev (Apr 2010-Sept 2011)
Andrey Gordeev (Sept 2011-Dec 2011)
Yury Krasnozhan (Dec 2011-Feb 2012)
Guus Hiddink (Feb 2012-Jul 2013)
Rene Meulensteen (July 2013)
There are apparent precedents here, with Eto'o's alleged unwillingness to work with previous Anzhi coaches Gadzhi Gadzhiev and Yury Krasnozhan seeing them leave. Ironically - and this could spell the end for Eto'o too - Gadzhiev is widely tipped to replace Meulensteen.
But events on the field only provide a partial explanation for Anzhi's sudden dismantling of more than two years of hard work and investment. Speculation about the personal affairs of owner Kerimov has dominated the headlines in Russia in recent days.
Though rumours the 47-year-old is suffering from ill-health have been denied, what is not in question is that another of the oligarch's main business interests, potash producer Uralkali, has had a rocky few days.
Only last week it was announced the company had severed a trade agreement with a Belarusian company, ending a cartel which had effectively fixed prices and guaranteed a steady flow of income to Uralkali and Kerimov, whose fortune was said to be in excess of £4bn in March.
In the hours after the announcement £5.5bn was wiped off the company's value, with Kerimov losing some £325m in net worth, although the share price has since recovered. Kerimov's representatives are drawing no connections between Uralkali's woes and Anzhi, but the coincidence of events seems instructive.
How things play out for the remainder of the season and beyond remains an open question. But while many are already writing Anzhi's obituaries, club president Konstantin Remchukov insists Kerimov "is still in control of the club" and will remain its chief financial backer.
And several commentators and fans have greeted the change of policy with relief.
Anzhi's big buys £30m Willian from Shakhtar Donetsk
Willian from Shakhtar Donetsk £23.7m Samuel Eto'o from Inter
Samuel Eto'o from Inter £15.8m Lacina Traore from Kuban Krasnodar
Lacina Traore from Kuban Krasnodar £13.2m Yuri Zhirkov from Chelsea
Yuri Zhirkov from Chelsea £12.3m Christopher Samba from Blackburn
Christopher Samba from Blackburn £12.3m Balazs Dzsudzsak from PSV
Balazs Dzsudzsak from PSV £8.8m Jucilei from Corinthians
Jucilei from Corinthians £7m Mbark Boussoufa from Anderlecht
"Having spent £290m, all Kerimov has done is enriched a bunch of speculators," Alisher Aminov, a former board member of the Russian Football Union, said.
Fans have reacted in a similar fashion, with the webpage of Wild Division, the club's supporters organisation, peppered with positive comments.
"Many of us have waited for this for a long time," a user named Gubden wrote. "What difference does it make which players are on our side? The most important thing is that they wear our colours and we support them," another, Maga Pitersky, added.
What is certainly true is that Anzhi will now have to turn towards homegrown talent.
They may finally return to Dagestan; the players currently live and train in Moscow, flying the 800 miles to Makhachkala only for home games.
And even with a budget of £32-£45m, they can certainly compete for the Russian league's European places.
But the days of excess, of Eto'o's enormous contract, of the Bugatti Veyron given to former player Roberto Carlos as a present, and of Anzhi's £24m game of tug-of-war with QPR over Christopher Samba, are now most certainly consigned to the past.Kyungsoo loves autumn in Chicago. The cool breeze is a lovely contrast to the summer heat he experienced in the Hamptons with his parents. The leaves crunch pleasantly under his Louis Vuitton dress shoes as he strides onto campus, happy to be back. He’s in such a good mood, even the sight of a gaggle of students blocking the campus walkway doesn’t put him off at first. The rag tag group, dressed in an array of fashion sins such as cut-off jean jackets and non-ironic berets, is accosting people walking by and animatedly waving clipboards as they prattle on about something. Kyungsoo’s curiosity gets the better of him and he squints to better make out the slogan on the back of one girl’s shirt.BERNIE 2016That’s enough to make Kyungsoo veer left down an alternate path to avoid the group. Unfortunately, one boy seems to have noticed him eyeing the pack of canvassers and jogs after him, his messy blonde hair not even bouncing as he trots, having apparently been purposefully coiffed to stick out in random directions. “Hey there!” he greets with a smile trying to compete with the sun’s brilliant rays. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”For the sake of the pretty day, Kyungsoo half-suppresses his eye roll and speaks before the other has a chance to really launch into a pitch and waste his breath. “Don’t bother. I’m a Hillary supporter.”“Oh, so you’re a Democrat? Awesome. I am, too, but what our party really needs this electi–““I, don’t bother.” Kyungsoo ignores the colorful flyer being held out to him and refuses to make eye contact with the boy, hoping this ends the discussion.But the canvasser persists, walking backwards and still waving the paper sheet at him. “If you’ll just take this succinct info sheet, you’ll see why Bernie Sanders is thesuperior candidate for anyone who truly believes in liberalism.”Fed up, Kyungsoo stops and calmly turns toward the Sander’s fan, accepting the flyer. The tall boy grins at him in victory. Looking him dead in the eye, Kyungsoo rips the sheet in half and then drops it in the recycling bin conveniently located right behind the blonde. In the process, the Hillary supporter breaches the boy’s personal space, brushing against the taller’s arm as he maintains his frigid eye contact. “Oops, I lost that one. Care to give me another?” he challenges with an arched brow.The hipster gapes at Kyungsoo, speechless, before narrowing his eyes as he lets out of a huff of disbelief.“Didn’t think so. You should switch to the winning team and vote Clinton.” With that, Kyungsoo checks his gold Rolex and noting the time, strides away without a further goodbye. There’s no way he’s letting a socialist make him late on the first day.Kyungsoo arrives in the classroom 15 minutes early and selects his preferred seat. Second row, two seats in from the aisle. He proceeds to set up his things on the small desk area in front of him: a fresh notebook, two pens (in case one runs out of ink), a green highlighter, and tiny sticky notes to flag the ‘absolutely cannot forget these’ revelations. He’s been looking forward to this senior seminar class: It’s not every political science major’s luck that they can take the upper level seminar on Campaign Politics during a presidential campaign year.Brushing off a stray piece of lint that somehow attached itself to his blazer between the time he left his apartment and now, Kyungsoo smiles at several of his fellow senior PoliSci majors as they trickle into the room. An auburn-haired boy, dressed in a classic white button-down and navy slacks, strides in and stops by Kyungsoo’s row.“Hey, Soo. Finally back from the Hamptons?” the boy asks with an approving glance over Kyungsoo’s light tan while giving a friendly bro-handshake. “Wish I could’ve gotten out of my internship for at least a week to join everyone.” Kyungsoo nods in acknowledgement. Their families usually summered there together, and it was distressingly quiet without the other boy around. “You’re in your usual spot, I see.”“Just as I imagine you’ll be taking the third row, Baekhyun,” he replies drolly, “so you can hide behind me and hope the professor won’t notice when you’re on your phone.”Baekhyun chuckles and slides into the seat directly behind Kyungsoo. “You know it. Hey, are we still on for flyer distributions later this week?”“Yep. I’ve already coordinated with Junmyeon. I’ll be getting them from campaign headquarters after class.” Kyungsoo turns to face the front just as the door opens again.Their professor, Dr. Lee Jinki, enters the classroom and greets them all warmly. “Good to see so many familiar faces,” the aging man says, nodding at the dozen or so students in the classroom and sharing a particularly approving smile with Ky |
that way. When he is first created, the monster is an innocent, peaceful creature. Thanks to misunderstandings, and Fritz’s cruelty, he is driven to madness and destruction. If Fritz hadn’t tormented him with fire, or if Doctor Frankenstein hadn’t misunderstood his early actions, perhaps he could have had a very different life and death. Instead, the townspeople form a mob, eventually capturing and burning the monster alive. Humanity created this monster in more ways than one.
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11) Martyrs (2008)
This French horror film features a secret society that tortures young women. We learn that they believe they can learn the secrets of the afterlife by making the girls into martyrs, and that all of their attempts have only created victims. We see a young woman beaten and degraded until the head of the cult tells her that she has progressed further than any of their previous victims. They then proceed to flay her alive, and when she survives the horrific procedure she whispers the secret of the afterlife to the cult leader who commits suicide soon after. Seeing people torment others is bad enough, but it’s almost worse knowing that they’re doing it in the name of enlightenment.Louisiana-Lafayette South Alabama Football Dec. 7, 2013
South Alabama players Aleem Sunanon (97), Austin Cole (61) and Chris May (55) celebrate the Jaguars' 30-8 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in last year's season finale with South Alabama students. (Mike Kittrell/mkittrell@al.com)
(Mike Kittrell)
MOBILE, Alabama - As the Sun Belt Conference football season approaches, one that is expected to be a closely contested one for the league championship, which of the 11 Sun Belt football-playing teams has the toughest road to a title?
It's a good question, so with the use of Jeff Sagarin's rankings and some number-crunching, an effort was made to come up with three areas in which to measure the schedules of Sun belt teams - non-conference competition, conference play and overall.
South Alabama (non-conference, overall) figures to have two of the toughest schedules with newcomer Appalachian State (conference) having the toughest league slate for the upcoming season.
Here's how it works: the Sagarin computer rankings, which ranks all of the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision teams from 1 to 252, were used as the measuring stick because it covers all the teams that each Sun Belt team will play this season. It should be noted the rankings are following the completion of last season's bowl games and isn't based on predictions for this season.
In each case - non-conference, conference and overall rankings - the ranking assigned to the opponents was used, with each of those rankings totaled to provide the schedule ranking used here. For example, South Alabama plays Kent State (No. 123 ranking), Mississippi State (No. 31), South Carolina (No. 10) and Navy (No. 51) in its non-conference games this season. That gives the Jaguars a 215 total. Like golf scoring, the lowest total number represents the toughest schedule.
The process was repeated for conference games, using the ranking of each of the Sun Belt teams, and with the overall schedule ranking, which was simply a combined total of the non-conference and conference scores.
Here's how the rankings fell based on this system. In conference rankings these abbreviations are used: South Alabama (USA), Appalachian State (APP), Idaho (IDA), Troy University (TRY), Georgia State (GST), Georgia Southern (GSO), Arkansas State (ASU), Louisiana-Lafayette (LAF), Louisiana-Monroe (MON), New Mexico State (NMS), Texas State (TSU):
Non-conference schedule: 1. South Alabama 215 (Kent State 123, Mississippi State 31, South Carolina 10, Navy 51); 2. Louisiana-Monroe 227 (Wake Forest 86, LSU 15, Kentucky 104, Texas A&M 22); 3. Arkansas State 306 (Montana State 156, Tennessee 60, Miami 49, Utah State 41); 4. Georgia State 351 (Abilene Christian 165, Air Force 161, Washington 14, Clemson 11); 5. Troy 400 (UAB 167, Duke 42, Abilene Christian 165, Georgia 26); 6. Georgia Southern 443 (N.C. State 113, Savannah State 242, Georgia Tech 37, Navy 51); 7. Idaho 445 (Florida 53, Western Michigan 192, Ohio 122, San Diego State 78); 8. Louisiana-Lafayette 463 (Southern 223, Louisiana Tech 166, Ole Miss 27, Boise State 47); 9. New Mexico State 484 (Cal Poly 138, UTEP 185, New Mexico 146, LSU 15); 10. Texas State 500 (Arkansas-Pine Bluff 241, Navy 51, Illinois 76, Tulsa 132); 11. Appalachian State 607 (Michigan 44, Campbell 248, Southern Miss 199, Liberty 116).
Conference schedule: 1. Appalachian State 1,030 (GSO 148, USA 90, TRY 115, GST 183, MON 128, ASU 95, LAF 81, IDA 190), 2. Georgia State 1,037 (LAF 81, ASU 95, USA 90, GSO 148, APP 175, TRY 115, TSU 142), 3. New Mexico State 1,082 (GST 183, GSO 148, TRY 115, IDA 190, TSU 142, LAF 81, MON 128, ASU 95), 4. Idaho 1,084 (MON 128, USA 90, TSU 142, GSO 148, NMS 191, ASU 95, TRY 115, APP 175), 5. Texas State 1,106 (IDA 190, LAF 81, MON 128, NMS 191, GSO 148, USA 90, ASU 95, GST 183), 6. Lafayette 1,119 (GST 183, TSU 142, ASU 95, USA 90, NMS 191, MON 128, APP 175, TRY 115), 7. South Alabama 1,129 (GSO 148, IDA 190, APP 175, GST 183, TRY 115, LAF 81, ASU 95, TSU 142), 8. Monroe 1,137 (IDA 190, TRY 115, ASU 95, TSU 142, APP 175, LAF 81, NMS 191, GSO 148), 9. Arkansas State 1,180 (MON 128, GST 183, LAF 81, IDA 190, USA 90, APP 175, TSU 142, NMS 191), 10. Troy 1,186 (MON 128, NMS 191, APP 175, USA 90, GSO 148, GST 183, IDA 190, LAF 81), 11. Georgia Southern 1,214 (USA 90, APP 175, NMS 191, IDA 190, GST 183, TRY 115, TSU 142, MON 128).
Overall: 1. South Alabama 1,344, 2. Monroe 1,364, 3. Georgia State 1,388, 4. Arkansas State 1,488, 5. Idaho 1,529, 6. New Mexico State 1,566, 7. Lafayette 1,582, 8. Troy 1,586, 9. Texas State 1,606, 10. Appalachian State 1,637, 11. Georgia Southern 1,657.Ingredients
500 g mixed greens (I used kale, purple sprouting broccoli, rhubarb chard and spinach)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
40 g vegetarian Parmesan, grated
100 ml wild garlic oil (see recipe here)
for the wild garlic pasta
325 g “00” pasta flour
3 free range organic eggs
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
75 g wild garlic leaves
40 g semolina or rice flour, for dusting
Method
1. First make the pasta. Wash and drain the wild garlic leaves. Bring a pan of water to the boil and gently add the garlic leaves and stir. After two minutes the leaves will have wilted. Drain them through a colander and then plunge the leaves into a bowl of ice cold water to arrest the cooking process. Drain the leaves again, squeeze out as much excess water as you can, then chop the leaves very finely.
2. Place the flour, chopped wild garlic leaves, eggs and olive oil into a bowl and mix to a smooth, speckled dough. Knead the dough for around 10 minutes, until it is firm but slightly elastic in texture, like a large lump of playdough. Be patient, it will take a little time for the mixture to all come together. If necessary add a tiny amount more olive oil but err on the side of caution or you will end up with pasta that will stick when you roll it. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Remove the pasta dough from the fridge. Divide into eight and roll out each piece into a long, thin rectangle. Using a pasta roller, feed the pasta dough through the machine at its thickest setting (setting number “9” on most machines). Repeat this several times, gradually reducing the setting until you can put it through on the thinnest setting and the pasta sheet has a smooth sheen. Now feed the sheets of pasta carefully through the tagliatelle shape cutter. Carefully gather the tagliatelle strands and place them on a baking tray along with the semolina or rice flour and toss to ensure the tagliatelle strands don’t stick together.
4. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil Add the pasta. After a minute add any of the hardier greens, such as kale and broccoli. After a further two minutes add the more fragile greens such as spinach and chard. Cook for one more minute then drain the pasta and greens in a colander. Return them to the pan, add a couple of tablespoons of the wild garlic oil and stir through.
5. To serve, put a generous mound of the pasta and wilted greens on each plate. Drizzle lightly with more wild garlic oil and finish off with grated Parmesan. http://circusgardener.commisandry:
noun
1. hatred of males.
In an attempt to make herself relevant, the once-future POTUS emerged to make a video:
The video was made for the MAKERS conference and starts with (emphasis added),
“Despite all the challenges we face, I remained convinced that, yes, the future is female,”
Yes, the same woman who chose to alienate anyone not voting for her as deplorable and irredeemable now implies that there is no room for men in the future. [Flashback to The Lonely Life of Julia]
Hillary’s female supporters, who refer to a Catholic gay guy with a Jewish mom and an African-American boyfriend as a Nazi, ought to drop the masks, don their pink pussyhats, and join in a rousing chorus of this song from Cabaret:
As Dana Loesch put it,
“The future is female?” What an incredibly tone deaf and sexist remark — not to mention awful message to send to boys like my sons. The future is EVERYONE’S.
If you don’t like what I’m saying, deal with it. Hillary urged “We need strong women to step up and speak out,” and I have.
And a question,
Where does that leave those transitioning to male?
Cross-posted at WoW! Magazine.
UPDATE
Linked to by Director Blue. Thanks!A military group has emerged in Rakhine state intent on fighting back against what it sees as decades of oppression by the Buddhist majority
The voice crackles down the phone line. Hashem, a Rohingya Muslim fighter, is getting anxious.
“Nah, nah, nah, nah,” he says. His group does abduct informers, but it doesn’t kill them, he claims.
“Yes, it is right that sometimes we kidnap them and keep them with us for some days,” he says, from a refugee camp in Bangladesh. “We are motivating them.”
Rohingya crisis: UN warns 80,000 children 'wasting' from hunger in Myanmar Read more
Hashem, who is 26, says he belongs to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa), a military organisation waging war in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
The region is under lockdown, making access to reliable information extremely difficult. But interviews with a dozen analysts, aid workers and diplomats in Myanmar and Bangladesh, build a picture of a diaspora-led movement that over several years has penetrated the northern part of Rakhine state, harnessing the desperation of persecuted residents and using intimidation to sustain control.
On 25 August, the government said hundreds of fighters armed with guns, sticks and improvised explosives launched coordinated attacks on police posts across the north of the state, killing 12 members of the security forces. The death toll from the clashes has since risen to more than 100, mostly alleged Rohingya fighters.
Since then, tens of thousands of Rohingya have attempted to cross the border into Bangladesh, even as eyewitness reports show Myanmar troops have opened fire on them and hundreds have been turned back.
“Some militants won’t let the men go, they only let the women pass,” a Rohingya man in central Maungdaw Township told the NGO Fortify Rights. “They threaten people and say that if they try to cross the border, they will kill them.”
Rohingya refugees have described a brutal army response, accusing soldiers of burning villages and shooting indiscriminately.
Government officials insist they are fighting back legally. “For the security situation, there is not enough local police and border guard forces, that’s why the army has been helping them with security,” Win Myat Aye, the social welfare minister, told the Guardian.
Meanwhile, some Rohingya in Bangladeshi refugee camps have slipped across the border in the opposite direction to take up arms for Arsa, according to local news reports and a western official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s government has dubbed the group “extremist Bengali terrorists”, implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and accused them of slaughtering civilians. A government spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rohingya refugees crying at a makeshift shelter at the border village of Gumdhum. Photograph: Rehman Asad / Barcroft Images
The militants insist they are freedom fighters and, claiming the attack via Twitter, hailed it as a “legitimate step” to restore the rights of Rohingya, a minority excluded from citizenship in Myanmar.
Rohingya are considered the largest group of stateless people in the world, according to the recent commission report by former United Nations head Kofi Annan. Reviled by many in Myanmar as illegal immigrants, they are denied the ability to move freely. Hundreds of thousands have been confined to internal displacement camps since clashes with Buddhists in 2012. Neighbouring Bangladesh views them as a security threat and is reluctant to take in more refugees.
‘The single biggest threat to stability in Rakhine’
Friday’s attacks came hours after the Annan commission released a series of recommendations for easing entrenched tensions.
“Just by the virtue of their existence and activities and antagonism towards the military they for the last nine months have been the single biggest threat to stability in Rakhine,” says Gabrielle Aron, a Myanmar-based consultant who has lived and worked in northern Rakhine.
Analysts and aid workers say recruitment in the villages of northern Rakhine and the camps in Bangladesh surged after October 2016, when hundreds of fighters attacked border posts in Maungdaw township, prompting a massive army crackdown, with troops accused of rape and indiscriminate killings.
The group’s leader, a Rohingya named Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, who has appeared in videos, is described as extremely charismatic.
“I’ve had very educated and moderate Rohingya saying … ‘I start crying when I watch his videos’,” says a staffer at an international nongovernmental organisation who works in Rakhine and was not authorised to speak to media.
Hashem says he joined Arsa at the urging of “senior people” in his village in Maungdaw. “It was a secret matter in Arakan,” he says, using an alternative name for the region. “Sometimes we had meetings, sometimes we communicated through mobile phone but it was difficult to get together.”
“The senior person told me: ‘[Rakine is] our country. We should take care of it. It’s our nation,’” he says.
While many, like Hashem, appear to have joined the group willingly, there have been reports of communities coming under immense pressure to join the group, Aron says.
“There’s two groups: ones who really want to join on their own volition and others – educated moderates – who are really really scared for themselves and their families, they don’t want to be a part of anything like this,” says an NGO staffer who spoke anonymously.
The product of decades of oppression, the Rohingya diaspora numbers around one million, according to aid agencies, with more than 500,000 in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. A report published last year by the International Crisis Group says Arsa is directed by Rohingya based in Mecca and Medina, with some on the ground in Rakhine.
But Rohingya rebellions – which have a history dating back to the 1940s – have a history of factionalism and analysts believe Arsa may have splintered or spawned offshoots. It is a viewpoint supported by Hashem, who talks of “many leaders” and multiple groups.
‘We are not dead and we are not alive’
In recent months, the group has been accused by the government of murdering scores of Rohingya leaders suspected of informing to the authorities or opposing the violent struggle, and kidnapping others. The Guardian has seen video of masked men making death threats in the name of the group.
Another video shows a teenage boy being threatened with a long knife by men identified as being part of the armed group.
While Myanmar authorities portray them as Islamist radicals, there is little evidence that religion has served as a motivating factor for recruits.
But the campaign has had religious overtones. The Crisis Group report, which was based on interviews with members of the group as well as sources in the area and the diaspora, found Islamic clerics had blessed training camps and issued fatwas legitimising the group.
“Indonesian and Malaysian extremists have been chomping at the bit to go help their brothers in Myanmar,” says Sidney Jones, director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict.
“Decades of persecution have led to this,” says Matthew Smith, CEO and founder of Fortify Rights.
For years, Rohingya have told human rights advocates and journalists that their lives, confined to villages and displacement camps, are not worth living.
“Now we are not dead and we are not alive, so we need to do something,” says Hashem. “We want our rights. If it is not happening, either we die or they die.”
Additional reporting by Cape Win DiamondBut because I criticized the misogynistic treatment of women in predominantly Muslim societies, I was accused of racism. Against my own people.
I had just been accused of racism by a liberal. As an American human rights activist, she had a respectable track record of advocacy. In her free time, she volunteered at Planned Parenthood. Her stances on gender equality, racial justice, individual liberties and religious freedom were unmistakably progressive.
I froze for a second. Although every cell in my body was urging me to respond, I could not utter a single word.
...because I criticized the misogynistic treatment of women in predominantly Muslim societies, I was accused of racism. Against my own people.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris one year ago, Donald Trump called for banning all Muslims from entering the United States. I rolled my eyes. Not because his rhetoric was utterly hateful and discriminatory, but because, deep inside, I knew that it would push many of his liberal opponents to take on the cause of defending Islam. And so they did.
In a televised debate at Drake University in Iowa last November, former Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley said, “We are going to be able to defeat ISIS because of the Muslim Americans in our country and throughout the world who understand that this brutal and barbaric group is perverting the name of a great world religion.”
Such is the pervasiveness of America’s polarized political discourse on Islam post-9/11. Whatever stances the right-wing espouses, liberals are compelled to advocate for the total opposite. What is lost in between is a crucial discussion on the role of religion in perpetuating injustice and violence in countries governed by Islamic law. As Republicans and Democrats settle their scores, nuance and context take a backseat.
I am what you might call a recovering Muslim. In 2013, I left the religion I grew up with at considerable risk to my safety. I did not and do not share O’Malley’s opinion that Islam is a “great world religion.” But, unlike him, I could not afford the luxury of my opinions. In my homeland, Morocco, we do not have a First Amendment. If you leave Islam, the police of the Commander of the Faithful will throw you in jail. That is if angry mobs do not get to you first.
Imagine my surprise as a newly free immigrant in the United States, then, when I was accused of reinforcing Islamophobia each time I criticize Islam. I found out the hard way that liberal opinion-makers had coined a term for the likes of me: “native informant.”
At least I was not the only one. The same slur is thrown at Egyptian feminist Mona Eltahawy, whose life’s work consists of documenting instances of gender oppression in the Arab world. To say nothing of British author Salman Rushdie, against whom a death fatwa was issued after his book "The Satanic Verses" was published.
Taking on these exiled figures, American Mideast scholar Monica Marks writes that their “...personal testimonies of oppression under Islam have generated significant support for military aggression against Muslim-majority countries in recent years.”Counting using tally marks at Hanakapiai Beach. The number shown is 82.
Brahmi numerals (lower row) in India in the 1st century CE. Note the similarity of the first three numerals to the Chinese characters for one through three (一 二 三), plus the resemblance of both sets of numerals to horizontal tally marks.
Tally marks, also called hash marks, are a unary numeral system. They are a form of numeral used for counting. They are most useful in counting or tallying ongoing results, such as the score in a game or sport, as no intermediate results need to be erased or discarded.
However, because of the length of large numbers, tallies are not commonly used for static text. Notched sticks, known as tally sticks, were also historically used for this purpose.
Early history [ edit ]
Counting aids other than body parts appear in the Upper Paleolithic. The oldest tally sticks date to between 35,000 and 25,000 years ago, in the form of notched bones found in the context of the European Aurignacian to Gravettian and in Africa's Late Stone Age.
The so-called Wolf bone is a prehistoric artifact discovered in 1937 in Czechoslovakia during excavations at Vestonice, Moravia, led by Karl Absolon. Dated to the Aurignacian, approximately 30,000 years ago, the bone is marked with 55 marks which may be tally marks. The head of an ivory Venus figurine was excavated close to the bone.[1]
The Ishango bone, found in the Ishango region of the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo, is dated to over 20,000 years old. Upon discovery, it was thought to portray a series of prime numbers. In the book How Mathematics Happened: The First 50,000 Years, Peter Rudman argues that the development of the concept of prime numbers could only have come about after the concept of division, which he dates to after 10,000 BC, with prime numbers probably not being understood until about 500 BC. He also writes that "no attempt has been made to explain why a tally of something should exhibit multiples of two, prime numbers between 10 and 20, and some numbers that are almost multiples of 10."[2] Alexander Marshack examined the Ishango bone microscopically, and concluded that it may represent a six-month lunar calendar.[3]
Clustering [ edit ]
Various ways to cluster the number 8. The first or fifth mark in each group may be written at an angle to the others for easier distinction. In the fourth example, the fifth stroke "closes out" a group of five, forming a "herringbone". In the fifth row the fifth mark crosses diagonally, forming a "five-bar gate".
Tally marks are typically clustered in groups of five for legibility. The cluster size 5 has the advantages of (a) easy conversion into decimal for higher arithmetic operations and (b) avoiding error, as humans can far more easily correctly identify a cluster of 5 than one of 10.
Writing systems [ edit ]
Roman numerals, the Chinese numerals for one through three (一 二 三), and rod numerals were derived from tally marks, as possibly was the ogham script.[7]
Base 1 arithmetic notation system is an unary positional system similar to tally marks. It is rarely used as a practical base for counting due to its difficult readability. It is made by the concatenation of zero.
The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,... would be represented in this system as[8]
0, 00, 000, 0000, 00000,...
Base 1 notation is widely used in type numbers of flour, the higher number represents a higher grind.
See also [ edit ]Joe Ingles / 27 Years Old / Restricted Free Agent this Summer (Jazz extended $1.05 million Qualifying Offer in June) / Undrafted / 6-foot-9 with shoes / 216 pounds / 6-foot-10 wingspan / Agent: Bradley Ames
Joe Ingles: A Story of Two Seasons
After a slow start to his NBA career, trying to work his way into the Jazz rotation, Ingles rebounded after the All-Star Break and was instrumental toward Utah’s 19-10 finish to the season.
Considering Ingles’ dramatic improvement, I pulled all of his statistics post-ASB for remainder of report…
Ingles thrives with good passing:
Ingles is elite at shooting 3-pointers when surrounded by guards. Shot 30-49 (61%) on 3-pointers off of passes from guards. Shot only 7-for-31 (22%) on 3-point attempts that came on passes from big men.
Ingles is best suited for an up-tempo offense:
Ingles is great shooting early in the clock — especially from the perimeter. Shot 16-for-25 on 3-point attempts coming within first nine seconds of shot clock (unclear if these shots came off of offensive rebounds or in transition)
Utah scored 1.25 points per possession when Ingles led transition opportunities last year (79th percentile among NBA players.)
Shot tendencies are a positive (not a ball-stopper):
Largely a catch and shoot player (shot 33-for-69 from deep on C+S post-ASB), will rarely force a pull-up shot.
Biggest area for concern with Ingles is that he’s very turnover prone (just 1.28 AST/TO ratio)… by far his biggest weakness as a player.
In Utah, he was put into situations where he had to create as primary ball handler. He’s a great passer but is oftentimes careless with the ball. Best suited as a secondary or tertiary facilitator (like Draymond Green).
Still, Utah thrived with him on the court post-ASB, outscoring opponents by 3.4 points per 100 possessions.
INGLES’ PASSING
While turnovers are his biggest weakness… his court vision and passing abilities are through the roof:
Knows how to manipulate the defense through his drives and is an expert at cross court passes.
Offensive shot location chart:
Great at the corner three pointer. Shot 13 for 26 (50%) from corners post-ASB.
DEFENSE
Ingles is strong defensively:
Ingles is an above average defender. Holds opponents to 40.4 FG%. Good everywhere on the court defensively (but slightly below average within 6-feet).
Opponents shot 17-for-42 (40%) against Ingles in isolations last season
Opponents shot 10-for-19 in post-ups situations against Ingles last season
Ingles has great hands defensively… Uncanny ability to disrupt the ball handler without fouling.
Ingles’ Defensive FILM ROOM:
NBA INSIDER TAKES:
David Blatt: “He was the 15th roster spot or something like that and he’s worked his way into the starting lineup and is a major contributor to a Utah team who has seen great improvement in their game and in their results. Joe was part of a European championship last year. He helped us a great deal. But not a lot of people really expected to see him in the NBA this season. Now he’s a starter and a major contributor so, as a guy who I really like and a guy I got the chance to work with, I’m extremely happy for him.”
Matthew Dellavedova: “I’ve played with him for a few years with the national team. He’s a really good teammate. He’s a character… a very funny guy. He really knows how to play the game. I think he just makes it easier on his teammates. He’s played as more of a 3 with the national team and we haven’t really gone small too often. But I definitely think he’d be capable of [going to the four]. With the way that the NBA’s going with spread offenses and pick-and-rolls, having a four man that can shoot and pass like he can do would be ideal. It’s pretty funny that they’re still making him carry the rookie bag because he’s a veteran. He’s played professionally since he was I think 17 or 18. He just really knows how to play the game. He’s played in big games for the national team and overseas in Europe. He just does all those little things to help the team win.”
Patty Mills: “He’s great. He’s a leader and he’s been playing for a long time now. His ability to play off the ball has been his strength. Then obviously his size and his length as well. When he does have the ball he’s able to make point guard plays and that’s the beauty of his game. His length and his size and his sort of point guard mindset is what makes him unique. He’s definitely played over his time on the national team the stretch-4 at times. All the way from point guard to the 4 and even the 5 at times. That’s the beauty of his skill-set all around.”Canadian football can be strange.
I played it for 10 years and watched the CFL with a close eye from a strangely young age. I’ve spent countless hours either in a film room educating myself on the game or sitting in front of a television hearing Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor explain the rules and their implications.
Yet still, once or twice a season, we are served a reminder just how unique our game is.
It’s easy to forget all the intricacies of Canadian football which separate it from or American counter parts. Yes the field is bigger. Yes the field goal posts are at the front of the end zone, but it’s far more than that.
My most recent reminder of how strange and beautiful the Canadian game can be came in Week 17 in Toronto on the last play of the first half.
Argos quarterback Drew Willy caught my eye at first for evading about six different Saskatchewan Roughriders in the pocket. This could have been a headline on its own as Willy has struggled to feel pressure and manoeuvre the pocket since donning double blue, but what followed next was a slice of Canadianity as thick as grandma’s family famous apple pie.
It doesn’t matter what your citizenship says; if you break the line of scrimmage and try to throw the football you will not be successful. Instead of throwing, Willy, realizing all his receivers had run vertically, kicked the ball.
For anyone new to the Canadian game: you didn’t read that wrong. He punted the ball — a quarterback, after escaping the pocket.
Of course, before laying laces to pigskin, Willy did the sensible thing… look around quickly to:
A. Make sure he was not about to get his clock and all relevant time related trackers cleaned.
B. See if anyone was onside.
Sadly, the quality of this play’s end did not come anywhere close to matching the spectacular plot twists and climax of the start and middle.
Receiver Kenny Shaw picked up the ball in a rather confused and seemingly uneducated manner, which of course resulted in a touchdown signal revoked by a ‘no yards’ call since Shaw was forty yards ahead of Willy when he punted the ball away.
Again, for those of you new to the room, any player behind the ‘kicking player’ — be it quarterback, punter or receiver — is eligible to recover the kick and be awarded at the spot of the recovery. Those ahead of the kick are ‘off-side’ and do not have the ability to recover said kick.
A lot of people find explaining these situations and nuances annoying and even embarrassing sometimes. A regular play in the Canadian Football League can at times look like the zaniest thing you ever saw from your favourite 1980’s football follies VHS and that can push people away, but I love it.
It’s who we are. It’s what makes us different. If you’re looking to watch fair catches without exciting returns, there are plenty of places to search that out. If you enjoy seeing teams have no option but to attempt a 65-yard field goal when tied at the end of a game instead of attempting to crush a punt out the back of the end zone for a single point and subsequent victory, you can find that wherever you want.
Drew Willy reminded me that weekend just how random and sporadic our unique plays can look to the uneducated, which reminds me of my only CFL special teams meeting experience.
I was a part of the CIS-CFL quarterback internship program while playing at McMaster University. I travelled to Calgary and sat in on a little bit of every meeting to get a feel for the game and its inner workings.
In the second team meeting, special teams coordinator Mark Kilam got up introduced himself and told the rookies to strap in for five minutes. He proceeded to use game footage as visual evidence of Canadian football’s possibilities.
The Montreal-Toronto kick-out scenario from a couple years ago; no yards; returning missed field goals — it was all put on the table for this new group of CFL blood.
They weren’t sure whether to laugh or cry. I actually had one rookie tap me on the shoulder as the resident maple leaf flag waver and ask me, “is this a joke” in order to validate what he was seeing, to which I calmly responded, “nope, I actually won my grade 12 city high school championship game with that single point on a punt thing.”
No, it’s not a joke. It’s Canadian football and when players laugh and ignore the importance of those meetings, we end up laughing at them for not knowing our rules such as Kenny Shaw on Saturday.
Games can be won or lost based on these crazy situations and coaches would do well to refresh their teams on the rules ahead of the playoffs. Heaven forbid we should have a solid player such as Kenny Shaw make a mistake which decides a team’s season.
I would hate for everyone in Canada to be screaming at their televisions as a player failed to understand our unique rules. Then again, maybe I wouldn’t hate it, because it would remind us all just how different our game can be, and that’s a good thing.Former Pro Bowl offensive lineman Shawn Andrews says that his former Philadelphia Eagles teammates—led by Donovan McNabb—spread malicious rumors and verbally abused him so badly that he contemplated suicide and eventually underwent psychiatric treatment. Many of the rumors were about his sexual orientation, he said, and they eventually spread to other NFL locker rooms.
“It just felt like I was in a living hell,’’ the 30-year-old Andrews told Sync Weekly, a website affiliated with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Andrews, who last played in the NFL for the Giants in 2010, played collegiately for Arkansas.
MORE: Report: Incognito mocked wife of Dolphins staffer | PHOTOS: Key figures | RGIII's leadership
Andrews started at right guard for the Eagles from 2005-07, blocking for McNabb—and he said that the star who had his number retired by the franchise in September treated him worst of all.
On Thursday, McNabb vehemently denied the allegations, and was supported by other former Eagles players.
"That is ridiculous," McNabb told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I don't know what comments you expect to get from me, but that is news to me and completely false. For me to bully anybody, that sounds unbelievable."
McNabb said that he was "open to Shawn" and all of his teammates, and often hosted the players at his home.
"Shawn was one of the most talented offensive linemen we had. I was always happy to have him," McNabb said.
Clearly, Andrews saw things very differently.
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: I'm no bully, McNabb says
McNabb, he said, “was a big part of it — he was a big part of my issues there. Bully is a strong word, but he was degrading to me and spread rumors. It’s bothered me that I haven’t really spoken about it.”
Andrews said he once asked coach Andy Reid for a trade “because I was so fed up that I was afraid I might do some uncharacteristic and uncool things.”
After the 2007 season—his second Pro Bowl season—he said his “hate” for the situation in the Eagles locker room drove him to think about killing himself.
“One time I had a crazy idea of flipping my car. I knew I didn’t want to kill myself because I wouldn’t use a gun,’’ he said. “I was a coward in that regard. Because if I flip my vehicle and I’m paralyzed and I live... that’s |
draw spell, which actually becomes even easier when you powerful 2 and 3 drops, since you could draw cards and still play something that has a meaningful impact on the board. The second consequence is that it makes it difficult to play cards that don’t have an immediate impact on your board state between turns two and five. Since everyone has a lot of cards to play on their board at those stages of the game, you want to be careful not to waste your time playing things that just sit off to the side. The obvious offenders here are vehicles; it’s important not to rely too heavily on vehicles in any deck, but especially as the bulk of your low curve, since you’ll need to be playing cards that impact the board immediately on turn w and forward. Instead, it’s useful to have these non-combat cards come down a little bit later and fulfill a stallbreaker sort of function.
Creature Size
Combined Average Power and Toughness
Efficiency: Comparison of Power/CMC and Toughness/CMC
While converted mana cost is a great starting point for looking at creatures, the indicator that has the biggest impact on any limited format is the size of the creatures. The two charts above show two different perspectives on creatures; the first shows the average total power and toughness of creatures in the set, while the second shows the power against the toughness, but divided by converted mana cost. The first gives us an idea of the absolute size of the creatures, while the second gives us an idea about the efficiency of the creatures and how quickly power and toughness can be added to the board.
In the first, we see that Kaladesh has the third biggest creatures of all these sets, coming in just behind Rise of the Eldrazi and Mirrodin Besieged and just ahead of Battle for Zendikar. I should note that this includes vehicles as creatures in the calculations, which puts this number slightly higher, but even without vehicles it would still be in the top five. Kaladesh has big creatures, and a lot of these creatures are at common; the big difference with these other sets is that their big creatures came at high mana costs. They were sets that were designed to slow their formats down so that you could play out big creatures. Kaladesh doesn’t do that; the big creatures in this set come down earlier and are easier to cast, and they’re in a format that seems to give few ways to really slow things down. The kinds of creatures driving these numbers are cards like Glint-Sleeve Artisan, Gearseeker Serpent, Ambitious Aetherborn, Thriving Rhino, or Peema Outrider. All of these creatures are pushing their size for their mana cost within their particular colors.
The really key chart is that second one. In that chart, we see that Kaladesh clocks in with the highest power per converted mana cost of any other set. Even without considering vehicles, Kaladesh still comes in as the highest power per CMC set, ahead of sets like Gatecrash or Zendikar. It also comes in as the highest toughness per CMC, but not by such a wide margin. There is no regular magic expansion in history for which you could buy more power and toughness for such a low price. To really drive this home, take a look at the following chart:
In this chart, we see a scatterplot with Absolute Size on the Y-Axis and Efficiency on the X-Axis. It shows a clear delineation between old magic sets and new magic sets right about at the Conflux/Alara Reborn line, marking what I call the two eras of creatures in limited. Kaladesh is a set unto itself. It is as much different from contemporary limited creatures as those sets are from the previous era. If sets were to continue to be made with the Kaladesh formula, it would mark a third era of creatures in limited. The size of creatures in Kaladesh is unprecedented, and it’s impossible for me to accurately predict how this will affect the format. The closest comparisons are Khans of Tarkir, Journey into Nyx, or Gatecrash, but even those sets are just simply not in the same class.
I cannot drive this home enough. The creatures in Kaladesh are shocking.
One of the goals for these analyses has always been to try to get an idea of the speed of the format, and I used to use Power/Toughness Differential as an indicator for that, but now that I’ve had a chance to get more complete data and run some regressions, I’ve found a few more accurate indicators. The problem with P/T Differential is that it doesn’t hold up very well at predicting the speed of formats when we look at old sets, so I’m going to go ahead and retire that metric. But I’ve found a very strong indicator to replace it, which is Power divided by Converted Mana Cost (or P/CMC). The following chart shows that relationship:
Of note, the way that I measured speed was by just ranking the sets subjectively. I don’t have a good objective method of format speed, though I’d love to have one to make this more accurate. The problem, of course, is that with replays no longer available on MTGO, there’s not a good way to get an objective measure. Feel free to adjust your opinions on this chart based on your own speed determinations.
No other indicator shows a stronger relationship to the speed of the format than Power/CMC. This chart shows that even a small increase in Power efficiency leads to a large likely increase in format speed. It’s not a perfect predictor, and so it’s better to look at this indicator along a range of possible speeds. The following chart shows a red line that estimates the range of speed ranking that Kaladesh is likely to have:
Based on this indicator, it seems that Kaladesh would rank somewhere in the 8 fastest limited formats, along the lines of Zendikar, Gatecrash, or Avacyn Restored, but possibly near Innistrad at the low end. I should note that I haven’t had a chance to test the predictive power of this indicator, since this is the first set for which I’m rolling out the comparison. I’m excited to see where Kaladesh ends up in comparison to other formats. It’s also worth mentioning that there are other indicators that correlate with speed, and Kaladesh doesn’t score as high on those indicators, but it’s still worth keeping in mind that what we are about to see with the release of Kaladesh in unprecedented in normal Magic set releases.
Creature Utility
Creatures aren’t just power and toughness, and the key mechanics and abilities in the set have a major impact on the way a format develops. Of all the creature indicators, utility is the squishiest. Its goal is to try to capture this sense of the power of the words inside a creature’s textbox, but those things are so intangible and difficult to quantify. Utility is a sort of method to boil that down to a metric that can be compared across multiple cards, but its inherent weakness is that different kinds of creature utility are not truly comparable.
One important detail out of the utility score is that the sets that tend to score highest on Creature Utility are the ones with a lot of synergy among their creatures. Sets like Theros, Scars of Mirrodin, or Lorwyn all scored very high on utility because the cards in those sets combine very particularly and multiply their force together. Lorywn had the tribal theme, so each creature made each other stronger with a high density of the right creature types. Scars had infect and metalcraft, and Theros had heroic and devotion, and all of these are examples of mechanics that lead to a lot of decks that are focused around particular synergies. These kinds of high synergy sets tend to be a little bit faster than other sets, so there’s a small connection between the utility score and the speed of the format. It’s not nearly as strong as what we saw with P/CMC, but it’s still a better predictor than any of the other indicators.
The above chart shows that Kaladesh doesn’t score particularly high on creature utility. This comes down to two major factors. The first is that a lot of the creatures in Kaladesh have huge bodies, but they don’t come with a lot of non-combat abilities. But another key part is that it is hard to get a good read on the utility scores for mechanics like Energy and Fabricate. I like to score on the conservative side until I have a better understanding of the format, and I anticipate that once the format has been out for a few months, that I’m going to have to go back and do a heavy revision. It’s possible that entering the battlefield with a couple of energy is a huge bonus and that you’ll be trying to jam every card that can generate energy into your deck that you can find. But it’s also possible that you only really want the best energy producers. If these mechanics end up having more than anticipated synergy and strength, then Kaladesh will move up on the utility scale, and probably end up being an even faster format. My suspicion is that Energy and Fabricate will end up being more modular than focused, which would lead to more open-ended decks and gameplay rather than pushing people down a very tight path of strictly aggressive Energy and Fabricate decks.
Evasion, Card Advantage, and Drawbacks
These three make up the remaining key indicators. The other indicators are more important; they have a bigger impact on the overall strength of the creatures in the format, but all three of these indicators are important and contribute to the overall picture of how a format plays out. Fascinatingly, Kaladesh doesn’t score particularly high in Evasion or Card Advantage, though it ends up scoring very well in the Drawback category. The creatures in Kaladesh are big, but that mostly defines them.
In evasion, Kaladesh scores fairly low for a modern set, coming in around the range of sets like Innistrad, Dark Ascension, or Morningtide. The biggest question I have about that is how servos will interact with a format that has relatively low evasion. The creatures are big, but many of them can just be chump blocked, and there are going to be a fairly high number of chump blockers running around. It’s also possible that this leads to complicated board stalls, especially in sealed.
Kaladesh also doesn’t score particularly high on Card Advantage, following below the trendline for contemporary sets. This is coming after Shadows over Innistrad, which had the highest all time score for Card Advantage, mostly on the back of clues. Most of the card advantage for this set is centered in servo tokens, but I can’t really count those as a full card, so that drags down the numbers a bit. It’s also possible that energy counters play like some portion of a card, but I couldn’t really count them that way in the analysis.
Kaladesh scores particularly low in the drawback category, and that’s even with Vehicles coming attached with a tremendous drawback score. Without vehicles, Kaladesh would score near the bottom all time, only being beaten by sets like New Phyrexia or Eventide, which had some of the easiest to cast creatures of all time. There are two major kinds of drawbacks; the kind that make a card difficult to play until later in the game but allow big payoffs, or the kind that come on things that are easier to use early, but lose value in the late game. Multicolor is a good example of the first, but a mechanic like Vanishing is a good example of the second.
One of the things I’ve tried to do with the creature analysis is develop a model that assigns a weighted rank to the creatures in each set. It’s weighted in favor of the creature size stats, but is informed by all of the key indicators. I don’t mean for the ranking to be taken very seriously; it’s just a vague stab at how creatures might rank, and gives a general idea of where a set falls historically. Here is the rank chart with Kaladesh included:
Kaladesh comes in at 5th place all time for creatures, mostly because of its low scores in the Utility, Evasion, and Card Advantage categories, but this chart still demonstrates a clear trend towards better and better creatures that hasn’t stopped in the past couple of years. I doubt we’ve reached the peak of creatures in limited yet, especially if Kaladesh indicates a new standard for creature size.
Removal
The other most important category for limited is removal. Before I put together the history of creatures in limited, I’d already done a similar project for removal, so that framework is already in place. You can find the article where I broke down those categories at The History of Removal.
The most surprising thing to see when counting the percentage of removal by rarity weight is to see that that number has basically stayed consistent for over a decade. Kaladesh comes in exactly within the normal fluctuation around the average, so we’ll have about the same percentage of removal spells that we’ve seen for over a decade. There’s going to be around 3 removal spells per pack, but the quality of the removal is what really makes a big impact on the set.
The last four magic sets have seen a dramatic reversal in the trend for removal. We had seen removal becoming more and more expensive over time, but with the release of Oath of the Gatewatch, we saw a sudden and dramatic turnaround of the cost of removal. The cost of removal spells in Kaladesh looks something more like Shards of Alara than what we came to expect from sets like Khans of Tarkir, Battle for Zendikar, RTR block, or Innistrad block. I know there’s going to be a lot of people that find this number particularly comforting considering the strength of the creatures in Kaladesh; surprising, the average cost of removal spells in the set comes in a little bit lower than the average cost of creatures. This means that you’ll be able to sometimes deal with something and gain a mana advantage.
Here we see another major shift in the kinds of removal we’re seeing. We had seen a consistent and dramatic increase in the restrictions on removal spells for years, but now we are seeing what seems to be a new era of removal spells that is scaling restrictions back to what we saw in the days of the best removal. Kaladesh comes in with the 5th fewest restrictions on its removal spells all time, which means that you’ll generally be able to use your removal on the creatures that need to be killed, and you won’t have to worry as much about fumbling around to try to find the right situational spell for the situation. Sure, we’re in a world where every creature has to be dealt with or it will kill you post-haste, but it seems that there will be options for interacting.
Effectiveness basically explains how dead a creature is when you kill it. Kaladesh scores right in the middle of this category; it has several pacifism style effects that incapacitate a creature but give opportunities for them to return, as well as some bounce spells that let the creature come back, but it’s also got several things that just kill a creature dead and get it off the board, sometimes even at instant speed. This is especially useful in a time when many of the bombs in a format are creatures, and now there are ways to make sure you don’t just lose to those.
This chart tries to get an estimate of the amount of card advantage that you get from your removal spells. We had seen a big long term trend towards having less and less advantage from killing creatures, sometimes even getting sets where you had to take a major resource blow to try and kill something, but since Battle for Zendikar, we’ve seen a little bit of a reversal of that trend. There still isn’t a huge amount of extra advantage from removal, but at least removal is coming in on a score that lets it be in competition with the creatures. Giving a little bit of advantage means that you can play removal spells that fit into your game plan, rather than just needing them to make sure you don’t get killed by a bomb.
Again, this ranked list isn’t meant to be a definitive placement of every set. Instead, it gives a model that can help contextualize where a set is falling in relation to other sets, once you account for all the different indicators. According to this model, Kaladesh comes in as the 10th highest ranked set for removal, and we can see how the most recent sets have seen a marked reversal in the trends for removal. We haven’t seen a set with removal this good since Morningtide, and that’s a little more than 8 years ago.
The strangest thing is Kaladesh is a contemporary outlier for both creatures and for removal. I’ve heard a lot of people talking about Kaladesh and noticing what they call power creep, and it seems like this analysis confirms that concept. The following chart shows a scatter plot of the model’s ranking of each set by both creature ranking and removal ranking:
This set shows that Kaladesh is in a category of its own. The most comparable sets are Shadows over Innistrad, and Eldritch Moon, and those three sets seem to be forming an entirely new category, or a new era of limited design. Who knows if these trends will continue, but if they do we could be on the cusp of having to radically rethink the way we analyze limited sets in the same vein of what we had to do after Shards of Alara ushered in the format style and philosophy that we’ve been drafting for such a long time.
Conclusions and Recommendations
This new format for spoiler analysis takes a much more holistic approach, which means that it’s harder to come to very specific recommendations about the set, but this analysis makes a few very important points. First, Kaladesh has creatures unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and you’ll want to be able to deal with big creatures coming down on efficient curves. This is likely to make the format a bit faster than average. Second, the removal is relatively strong compared to what we’ve seen in recent years. With the creatures being so strong, it’s possible that the removal is still falling behind in comparison, but it seems like this format will be a little different from what we are used to. This seems like a set that is more modular than synergistic, meaning that a lot of the cards can fit into a variety of decks, allowing you to twist, experiment, and invent on the fly to come up with new solutions to different problems.
People always want to know how good each color is, and I haven’t done an in depth analysis of the commons or uncommons of each color individually, but I figure that it can be a little bit helpful to give my first impressions. On twitter, I tend to joke that blue and green always look good to me, but in this setting, I like to look at things more seriously. On first impression, I think that black is the strongest color, though red also looks quite good. Green seems deep and it has huge creatures, as well as a lot of powerful synergies with energy, +1/+1 counters, and even artifacts with fabricate, so I think that green will at least be in contention with red and black. Both blue and white look weak to me, relative to the other colors, so I would be looking to settle in the Jund colors at the beginning.
As always, thanks for sticking through to the end of the article. If you want to find more information from me, you can check out my blog at oraymw.wordpress.com. You can also follow me on twitter @oraymw for updates about when articles go live, as well as daily discussion about Magic and limited. Finally, feel free to leave any comments below, or drop me a line at my blog or on twitter. See you next time!Christian Dannemann Eriksen ( Danish pronunciation: [ˈkʁεsdjan ˈdanəman ˈeˀɐ̯iksn̩]; born 14 February 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Danish national team. He made his debut for the Denmark national team in March 2010, and was the youngest player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[3][4]
In 2011, Eriksen was named Danish Football Player of the Year, Dutch Football Talent of the Year, Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award), and made the UEFA Euro U-21 Team of the Tournament.[5] He also won the Eredivisie with Ajax in 2010–11, 2011–12 and in 2012–13 before departing for Tottenham in August 2013 for a reported fee of around £11.5 million.[6] He won the Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Year award for the 2013–14 season and in 2015 won his third consecutive Danish Football Player of the Year award.
Club career [ edit ]
Early career in Middelfart and Odense [ edit ]
Born in Middelfart, Denmark, Eriksen followed in his father Thomas' footsteps when he started playing football in the academy of local side, Middelfart.[7] Eriksen's father was also one of the coaches at the time and in 2004 they helped the youth side finish unbeaten in the local youth championship for the third time in a period of four years.[7] The following year, he joined Odense Boldklub who competed in the Danish youth championships and within a year had helped the club to an age-group title. It was at OB that Eriksen first began showing signs of his technical ability, with his dribbling and free-kick techniques lauded by then-coach, Tonny Hermansen.[7] His form at youth level attracted the attention of a number of major European clubs, including the likes Chelsea and Barcelona.[8] Eriksen ultimately underwent trials with both clubs as well as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Milan, but finally decided to move to Ajax, stating, "My first step should not be too big. I knew that playing in the Netherlands would be very good for my development. Then Ajax arrived and that was a fantastic option."[9]
Ajax [ edit ]
2008–2010: Youth and first-team squad [ edit ]
Eriksen represented Ajax between 2008 and 2013 during which time he helped the club to four Eredivisie titles.
On 17 October 2008, Eriksen signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Amsterdam-based club, Ajax.[10] The transfer fee received by OB was estimated at €1 million (£847,199) while Middelfart also received a sum of €35 000 which they later used to construct a football pitch.[11][7] He worked his way through the youth teams at Ajax and was promoted to the first team squad in January 2010, where he was given the number 51 shirt.[12] Later that month, he made his first team debut in a 1–1 Eredivisie with NAC Breda.[13][14] He scored his first goal for Ajax on 25 March in a 6–0 win over Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch Cup and extended his contract with the club the following month.[15] On 6 May, he played in the second match of the final of the 2009–10 Dutch Cup as Ajax beat Feyenoord 4–1, prevailing 6–1 on aggregate.[16] At the end of his first professional season with the club, Eriksen had played 21 competitive matches, scoring one goal, and had made his international debut for Denmark.[17][18] Eriksen's form throughout the campaign earned praise from manager Martin Jol who compared him to former youth products Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart as well as Danish legend, Michael Laudrup for his reading of the game in the traditional "number 10" role.[12][19]
2010–2013: Breakthrough years [ edit ]
Eriksen took the number eight jersey ahead of the following campaign and began the 2010–11 season well, scoring his first Ajax league goal on 29 August 2010 in an away victory over De Graafschap.[20][21] Over the course of the next few months, he scored his first home goal at the Amsterdam Arena, in a 3–0 Cup victory over BV Veendam, and his first European goal, in a 3–0 UEFA Europa League win over Anderlecht.[22][23] In between the milestone goals, Eriksen was also named Danish Talent of the Year.[24] His growing capabilities as the team's playmaker saw him become an undisputed starter in the side and he helped Ajax to their first Eredivisie title in seven years. At the end of the season he was named Ajax's Talent of the Year.[25] His form throughout the campaign also earned him the Dutch Football Talent of the Year award which saw him become only the second Danish player to win the award since Jon Dahl Tomasson in 1996. Johan Cruyff, whose panel selected Eriksen for the award, described Eriksen as a typical product of the Danish school and added to previous comparisons between him and Brian and Michael Laudrup."[26]
On 18 October 2011, Eriksen scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League when Ajax beat Dinamo Zagreb 2–0 in the group stage.[27] In the return fixture the following month, he provided assists to teammates Gregory van der Wiel and Siem de Jong as Ajax recorded a 4–0 victory.[28] Five days later he was named Danish Football Player of the Year in recognition of his role in helping Ajax to the league title the season before and in Denmark's successful UEFA Euro 2012 qualification campaign.[29] Eriksen continued to impress for Ajax and his strong contribution, both in terms of goal and assist returns, helped the club to a second consecutive league title.[30]
Eriksen and Ajax repeated the feat in the 2012–13 season following which he opted not to renew his contract with the club. With only one year remaining on his current contract, Eriksen was permitted to search for a new club and he agreed terms with Tottenham Hotspur in England. Eriksen departed Ajax having made 162 appearances across all competitions and scored 32 goals. Along with his league success, he had also featured in three consecutive editions of the Johan Cruyff Shield, which Ajax won once.[31]
Tottenham Hotspur [ edit ]
2013–2015: Premier League introduction and League Cup runner-up [ edit ]
On 30 August 2013, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur announced that they had completed the transfer of Eriksen from Ajax in a deal believed to be worth £11 million (€12.45 million).[32] Eriksen joined the club on the same day as Erik Lamela, who joined from Roma, and Vlad Chiricheș, who joined from Steaua București, and took the club's total spending for the 2013 summer transfer window to £109.5 million.[33] He made his league debut against Norwich City on 14 September 2013 and provided an assist for Gylfi Sigurðsson in a 2–0 victory.[34] After the match, Spurs manager André Villas-Boas commented, "It was a great debut for Christian, he is a pure number 10, a creative player and his individual quality made all the difference."[35]
Five days later, Eriksen "clipped a wonderful dipping shot" over the goalkeeper to score his first Tottenham goal and complete a 3–0 win over Tromsø IL in the Europa League.[36] He added to his Tottenham goal tally with a goal from a free kick in a 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day 2013, and the second goal in Spurs' 1–2 away win against Manchester United on 1 January 2014.[37] On 23 March, after goals from Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana had given Southampton a 2–0 lead against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, Eriksen scored twice to level the score and assisted Sigurðsson to score the winning goal.[38] He continued his goalscoring form on 12 April 2014 when he scored a stoppage-time equaliser to help Tottenham come from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 at West Brom.[39] By the end of the season, he had scored ten goals and registered 13 assists across all competitions, won the Danish Football Player of the Year award and was named Tottenham's Player of the Season.[40][41]
Ahead of the 2014–15 campaign, Tottenham appointed Mauricio Pochettino as new club manager after the unsuccessful period under Villas-Boas and interim-manager Tim Sherwood. Between November and December 2014, Eriksen scored late winners against Aston Villa, Hull City and Swansea City which he credited to the Argentine manager for raising the team's fitness levels.[42] By the end of the calendar year, Eriksen had scored 12 goals from open play – more than any other player in England – and was soon after awarded his second consecutive Danish Footballer of the Year award.[43] On 28 January 2015, Eriksen scored twice in a 2–2 (3–2 aggregate) win over Sheffield United to send Tottenham into the League Cup Final.[44] His first goal, a 30-yard curling free kick, was later lauded by former professionals Michael Owen and Gary Neville.[45] The final, played against London rivals Chelsea, took place on 1 March and ended in a 2–0 defeat for Tottenham.[46] Eriksen completed the 2014–15 campaign having featured in every Premier League game for Mauricio Pochettino, starting all-but one match, and scored 12 goals across all competitions.[47]
On 9 June 2015, amid speculation that he would be joining Manchester United, Eriksen confirmed to Danish media whilst on international duty that he would stay at Tottenham for the foreseeable future and was quoted as saying, "I feel right at home at Tottenham and I haven't thought about leaving yet."[48] He did in fact remain with the club and scored his first goals of the season in October, netting from two free-kicks in a 2–2 draw with Swansea.[49]
2016–present: Premier League runner-up and PFA Team of the Year [ edit ]
Eriksen striking a free-kick while playing for Tottenham in 2016
In January 2016, Eriksen was once again named Danish Footballer of the Year. In doing so he became the first ever player to win the award in three consecutive years.[43] He ultimately scored 6 goals and registered 13 assists as Tottenham ended the league season in third place, thereby qualifying for the following season's Champions League campaign.[50]
The following season, Eriksen signed a new long-term contract with Tottenham and starred once again for the club, scoring eight goals and assisting a further 15 as the club ended the league campaign as runners-up to champions Chelsea.[51] Eriksen's tally of assists was bettered only by Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne who set up 18 goals for the season.[52] Eriksen also recorded the joint-most assists in the FA Cup and later won the Tottenham Player of the Season award, claiming the award for the second time after previously winning it in his debut season with the club.[53][41]
Eriksen broke the record for the most goals scored by a Danish player in the Premier League when he scored his 33rd goal in a 3–2 win over West Ham United on 23 September 2017, surpassing the record previously held by Nicklas Bendtner.[54] On 9 December, he made his 200th career appearance for Tottenham and marked the occasion by scoring in a 5–1 Premier League win over Stoke City.[55] The following month, he scored his 50th goal for the club when he netted after just 11 seconds in the 2–0 league win over Manchester United.[56] Eriksen's goal was the third-fastest goal ever scored in the Premier League era, bettered only by Alan Shearer and former Spurs captain Ledley King.[57] On 17 March 2018, Eriksen scored twice in an FA Cup fixture against Swansea to send Spurs to the semi-final for the second season running.[58] On 1 April 2018, Ericksen scored a 25-yard goal in the away match against Chelsea, helping Tottenham to their first win in 28 years at Stamford Bridge in a match that finished 3–1.[59] Later that month, in the reverse fixture against Stoke, Eriksen scored twice to earn Tottenham a 2–1 win. Following the match, however, teammate Harry Kane, who was challenging for the season's Golden Boot award, claimed to have made the last touch on the ball for the second goal. Tottenham appealed to the Premier League panel who agreed that the ball touched Kane's shoulder and awarded him the goal.[60][61] On 14 April, Eriksen was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the first time, alongside teammates Kane and Jan Vertonghen.[62]
In the 2018–19 season, Eriksen scored his first goal of the season in the UEFA Champions League away match against Inter Milan.[63] The match ended in a 2–1 loss for Tottenham, but in the home game against Inter, Eriksen scored again in the only goal of the game, giving Tottenham a 1–0 victory.[64] He scored his first Premier League goal of the season on 15 December 2018 in the home match against Burnley, a late goal that earned Tottenham a 1–0 win.[65]
International career [ edit ]
Youth squads [ edit ]
Eriksen was called up to the Denmark national under-17 football team in July 2007,[66] and impressed in his debut for the team on 31 July.[67] In 2008, he scored nine goals in 16 games for the U-17s, and was named Danish U-17 Talent of the Year by the Danish FA.[68] He was also one of four nominees for the 2008 Danish Talent of the Year award,[69] which was won by Mathias Jørgensen.[68] He played 27 games for the under-17 team until February 2009. He played a total of eight games for the Denmark U-18 and Denmark U-19 teams during 2009. Eriksen was also called up for the Danish U-21 squad to the European championship in Denmark in 2011, the Danish team only participated in the group stage and Eriksen scored a goal against Belarus.
Senior squad [ edit ]
Eriksen received his first senior Denmark call-up in February 2010,[70] making his debut in Denmark's friendly match against Austria in March,[18] to become Denmark's fourth youngest full international, being the youngest debutant since Michael Laudrup.[71]
On 28 May 2010, Denmark coach Morten Olsen announced that Eriksen would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[72] He was the youngest player participating in the tournament.[3][4] At the World Cup, Eriksen played two matches, against the Netherlands and Japan, but Denmark were unable to progress beyond the group stage.[73][74]
On 9 February 2011, in a 2–1 friendly loss at home against England, Eriksen was named man of the match, and was praised for his performance by a number of prominent footballing figures, including Chelsea star Frank Lampard,[75] Man Utd star Rio Ferdinand (on Twitter),[76] manager Morten Olsen and several media experts in Denmark and England.[77] On 4 June 2011, Eriksen scored his first national team goal to give Denmark a 2–0 lead over Iceland in their Euro 2012 qualifier. In doing so, he became the youngest Danish player ever to score a goal in European qualification, being nine days younger than Michael Laudrup when he scored his first goal in 1983.[78]
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification and tournament [ edit ]
In the build-up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Denmark were drawn in UEFA Group E alongside the likes of Poland and Romania. Eriksen played a key-role during the nation's qualification campaign during which time he scored eight goals to earn Denmark a play-off against the Republic of Ireland.[79] The first leg of the play-off ended in a 0–0 home draw before Eriksen netted a hat-trick in Dublin's Aviva Stadium in a 5–1 win to earn Denmark a spot at the World Cup.[80] Eriksen's treble took his tally to 11 goals for the qualification campaign, bettered only by Poland's Robert Lewandowski (16) and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (15) in Europe, and earned the praise of national team manager Åge Hareide who stated that Eriksen was one of the top 10 players in the world.[81]
In Denmark's opening match at the tournament, Eriksen assisted Yussuf Poulsen for the only goal in a 1–0 win over Peru before scoring his first goal for the tournament in the 1–1 draw with Australia the following week.[82] Denmark ultimately progressed from their group after which they were drawn with Croatia in the Round of 16. There they were defeated after a penalty shoot-out, with Eriksen being one of three players to have his spot-kick saved by Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subašić.[83]
On 9 September 2018, Eriksen scored twice in a 2–0 win over Wales to lead Denmark to victory in the nation's inaugural UEFA Nations League match.[84]
Personal life [ edit ]
Eriksen lives with his girlfriend Sabrina Kvist Jensen in Hampstead, London.[85] Their first child, Alfred, was born on 4 June 2018.[86]
Career statistics [ edit ]
Club [ edit ]
As of match played 23 February 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Europe Other Total Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Ajax 2009–10[17] Eredivisie 15 0 4 1 — 2[c] 0 — 21 1 2010–11[17] Eredivisie 28 6 6 1 — 12[d] 1 1[e] 0 47 8 2011–12[17] Eredivisie 33 7 2 0 — 8[f] 1 1[e] 0 44 8 2012–13[17] Eredivisie 33 10 4 2 — 8[f] 1 — 45 13 2013–14[17] Eredivisie 4 2 — — — 1[e] 0 |
off the numerous Grimm that resided in this region was strengthening him, making it stronger than before. The fact that the Goliaths had made its power increase incredibly spoke volumes. Perhaps if this beowolf obliterated a lone elder Goliath... the beast smiled, and its sharp teeth grinned, as though it had come across an easy prey. A battle fit for its power. However, the problem was getting an ancient Goliath to trap and then to kill heads on. It knew that the Goliath all herded in a pack, and that scenario would have an effect on getting one Goliath difficult. Younglings were one thing, they were like Beowolves, quick to fight and uncautious. But the old ones... they knew the danger that the Survivor emitted. They knew that they had to avoid the Beast at all costs, and now it had to devise a plan to isolate the ancient and kill it by itself. No possibility of taking down the entire pack, it was not strong enough to do so. No, it needed a plan, and it began to plan, using the violent tendencies in its mind to formulate a strategy. The beast would sit there for a while, pondering on how to complete such a task.
After a long time of calculations and planning, the Deviant stood up, and started to head towards the upper cliffs of Mount Glenn. The beast had a splendid idea on how to isolate a Goliath from its pack, with a little help from the rocks themselves...
I'm not dead! I'm just covered up with midterms, college essays, exams, and... oh wait, I forgot to say. And that was the sixty seventh installment of Hotline RWBY! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and forgive me when it comes to chapter releases. Anyways, Volume 3 is out, and I have been watching that whenever I had free time from writing this series! Don't worry, I haven't hit writer's block, its just that I have pretty much no time at all. So if the fanfic seems dead, it really isn't. I'm just bogged with college work and stuff. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please leave your reviews. I want your feedback, it'll help me in the long run. And as always, enjoy hurting people.
-Happy Very Late Halloween!
Review Responses!
quentin3655: Good to see you again, my dear reader! Yes, I do have an idea on how Torchwick's assault on the docks will go, so don't worry, I have some plans for that certain event. Yep, I am definitely going to move slow with this series, simply so that I could actually do some world building. But anyways, I hope to read another one of your reviews!
ManwithaPlan113: Thank you for the compliment! I hope you enjoy the rest of the chapters that are to come!
UltraLord: Thanks man :D.
Terminator57: Thanks man! That's what I'm hoping to achieve with the reintroduction of the revamped team MRON, along with some other people. And to answer your questions, there are definitely some 50 Blessings members that are so fixated on the cause that they will be willing to do anything to get the job done. So far, we've seen the perspective of those somewhat willing, yet questioning, but don't worry! I'll add in a perspective of one person who's having... second thoughts. Till next time!Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a neuropsychiatric tool that can be used to investigate the neurobiology of learning and cognitive function. Few studies have examined the effects of low frequency (⩽1 Hz) magnetic stimulation (MS) on structural synaptic plasticity of neurons in vitro, thus, the current study examined its effects on hippocampal neuron and synapse morphology, as well as synaptic protein markers and signaling pathways. Similarly, both intensities of low frequency magnetic stimulation (1 Hz) activated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) pathways, including the pathways for mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and for phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt). Specifically, low intensity magnetic stimulation (LIMS, 1.14 Tesla, 1 Hz) promoted more extensive dendritic and axonal arborization, as well as increasing synapses density, thickening PSD (post synaptic density) and upregulation of synaptophysin (SYN), growth associated protein 43 (GAP43) and post synaptic density 95 (PSD95). Conversely, high intensity magnetic stimulation (HIMS, 1.55 Tesla, 1 Hz) appeared to be detrimental, reducing dendritic and axonal arborization and causing apparent structural damage, including thinning of PSD, less synapses and disordered synaptic structure, as well as upregulation of GAP43 and PSD95, possibly for their ability to mitigate dysfunction. In conclusion, we infers that low frequency magnetic stimulation participates in regulating structural synaptic plasticity of hippocampal neurons via the activation of BDNF–TrkB signaling pathways.“Transformers: Robots in Disguise” will be the name of Hasbro’s new animated series starring its shape-shifting characters.
The Hasbro Studios-produced series, which will bow on The Hub kids channel in spring 2015, will feature the voices of Darren Criss (“Glee”), Constance Zimmer (“House of Cards”), Mitchell Whitfield (“TMNT”) and Ted McGinley (“Married with Children”).
Hasbro is revealing new details of the project, first announced in March, as the company is about to head to the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. Event takes place June 17-19 from the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Hasbro has long seen animated series as a way to keep and grow a young fanbase around its Transformers outside of the megaplex and fuel interest in a merchandise program beyond just action figures.
Series will introduce a redesign of Bumblebee and introduce new Autobot characters Sideswipe and Fixit (see above).
Criss will voice Sideswipe, while Whitfield will bring Fixit to life.
Show takes place years after “Transformers Prime,” when Bumblebee is summoned to save Earth from a new faction of Decepticons and assembles a rogue team of young Autobots that includes a rebel bad boy bot, an elite guard cadet, a bombastic Dinobot and hyperactive Mini-Con to capture their new enemies.
Each new bot is a fully capable action hero but inexperienced in working together in a team, forcing Bumblebee to become both squad leader and coach, Hasbro said.
“Robots in Disguise’s” creative team includes kids programming vets Jeff Kline (“Transformers Prime”) as executive producer; producer Adam Beechen (“The Adventures of Chuck and Friends”); and Steven Melching, a writer on “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” who will serve as the show’s story editor.
“Transformers” is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Paramount releases “Transformers: Age of Extinction” on June 27.
The Hub is a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro.“We should be grateful the New York Times chose not to illustrate its Jew tracker by awarding a six-pointed yellow badge to every Jewish opponent of this catastrophic sellout.”
Just in case you were wondering, no, this is not from The Onion. I know it’s hard to tell these days, but this is an actual thing that happened.
According to Adam Kredo at the Washington Free Beacon, the New York Times has provided a nifty new tool, a Congressional ‘Jew Tracker.’
The New York Times has come under fire from Jewish organizations for launching a website aimed at tracking how Jewish lawmakers are voting on the Iran nuclear agreement. The online chart, which tracks whether lawmakers who opposes the accord are Jewish, is being criticized as anti-Semitic in nature and an attempt to publicly count where Jews fall on the issue, which some have sought to turn into a debate about dual loyalty to Israel. The feature, titled “Lawmakers Against the Iran Nuclear Deal,” includes a list of legislators currently opposing the deal.
On the outset, the NYT article seems harmless enough, “Lawmakers Against the Iran Nuclear Deal,” it’s called. But then there are the charts…
As Kredo explained:
Jewish leaders criticized the Times for feeding into anti-Semitic stereotypes. “It’s a grotesque insult to the intelligence of the people who voted for and will vote against [the deal],” said Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which combats anti-Semitism. Cooper said it evokes images of “Jewish pressure” and “Jewish money” influencing the Iran vote. This type of reporting “does a disservice to the issue and that’s the exact opposite job of the New York Times,” Cooper said. “They have some explaining to do. Why’d they do it? Shame on the New York Times for the timing and implications of this piece.” A nationwide poll released this week found that a plurality of American voters, or 37 percent “see accusations of Jewish lawmakers having dual-loyalties on the Iran deal as anti-Semitic,” according to the findings, which were published by the Israel Project. “This includes pluralities across all partisan and ideological lines,” the poll found. “Even among supporters of the deal, 37 percent view these accusations as anti-Semitic.” “As a point of comparison, 35 percent said they saw the Confederate Flag as a symbol of racism in a New York Times poll in July 2015, a position that the paper vocally endorsed,” said Nathan Klein, lead pollster at Olive Tree Strategies, which conducted the poll on the Israel Project’s behalf. One senior official with a Jewish organization based in Washington, D.C., expressed shock when sent a link to the Times feature. “I guess we should be grateful the New York Times chose not to illustrate its Jew tracker by awarding a six-pointed yellow badge to every Jewish opponent of this catastrophic sellout.” A New York Times spokesperson declined to comment on the criticism leveled against the website.
Who thought a ‘Jew Tracker’ was a good idea? WHO?!
I can see the conversation now…
“Hey, you know what we should do? Break down the Iran Nuke Deal Votes by RELIGION! And by religion, I mean only those who are Jewish.”
“Brilliant!”
But seriously, Who does this help and how? What is the point? What are we trying to accomplish with this odd distinction? are all questions the New York Times neglected to ask before publishing this article, apparently.
Meanwhile, Hillary lackeys have accused the New York Times of being, “a megaphone for conservative propaganda.”
Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekayeHow should you choose the labels to put on your Prometheus monitoring targets? Let's take a look.
Target labels are a key aspect of scraping, as they tell you what the target is. They come from service discovery, which is combined with relabelling to extract the labels that make sense in your organisation.
There are a few common misconceptions and misunderstandings around how they are best used that I'd like to go over.
Target Labels Should be Constant
As the target labels are the identity of the target, if you change any of them then that identity changes - and with it the time series you scrape from it. This would result in all your graphs, alerts and other expressions breaking.
So don't do that.
This means that you need your target labels to be the same from the time the thing being monitored is created until it no longer exists. For a machine that'd usually be from the day it's first turned on until the day it's thrown out. For a target running on a scheduling system such as Kubernetes that's the lifetime of the pod. For a part of a service running on a particular machine that's from when it's turned up to when it no longer runs on that machine.
But you may ask, how do I group targets by things like software version, machine owner, and other things that vary over the lifetime of a target? The answer is to include a time series in the scrape with this information, which we've looked at in other posts.
This is not to say that target labels never change. It's not unusual that every few years you'll change your label taxonomy and all the targets need to be updated accordingly. For example you could go from pure bare metal to also using machines in the cloud, and now need to represent new concepts like availability zones. This is okay as it's a one-off breakage which is usually a good trade-off when balanced against the long-term benefits you get from the new naming scheme. This is not the case for targets which continuously change labels.
Target Labels should be Minimal
Those used to event logging might feel the urge to put every possible available piece of data and metadata about the target as label on the target, so that they can do arbitrary dimensional analysis. Resist that urge. You don't want the CPU type, amount of RAM, application, OS, the name of the person who built the machine, and that it was built on a Tuesday as target labels, even if this is constant information.
Why not? Every label is one more label you need to remember when writing expressions that are used in graphs and alerts. Accidentally miss one in your without clause and boom, your alerting just broke. Every label on your time series makes it a little bit harder to work with and write expressions for, so make every target label count.
For the same reason the set of label names used on targets should be bounded and well-known. It shouldn't be possible for extra labels to pop out of nowhere without the forewarning and consent of the person running the monitoring, who may not be the same person running the target. It's not possible to deal with labels you don't know the names of, because you need to know their names to work with them and remove them.
The way to approach this is to ensure that your target labels are normalised. That is to say as you go from least to most specific, each label should distinguish this target from other targets in a way that can't be done without that label.
You'll usually have a datacenter, region, location or cluster label of some form. Even if you're only in one location right now you'll want to distinguish them when you grow in the future. A owner, team or service is common to indicate what the service is and who owns it, and as are env or environment to indicate production versus development.
You'll have some label to tell you the type of thing you're monitoring and where it is in the stack, typically just the job label fulfils this role and should be specified in almost every expression to avoid accidentally working on unrelated targets, but depending on the application you might have additional labels such as shard.
The instance label generally uniquely identifies a target, so there's no need to add additional host or alias labels on top of that to provide a prettier name - instead take advantage of the existing instance label and give it the better name.
If you want labels beyond this, you should look at taking the machine role approach so that the labels are usable in expressions, without polluting the target labels.
Incidentally different teams/owners, clusters/regions and environments should probably have their own Prometheus server. While the labels mightn't be useful inside the Prometheus itself (and may even be external_labels rather than target labels), they're very useful for routing and silencing alerts.
Conclusion
Target labels are a first-order way in which you can take advantage of the multi-dimensionality of the Prometheus data model. To make them as useful as possible and to avoid problems down the line, keep target labels constant across the lifetime of the target, and keep the number of target labels as low as you practically can.As supplies of the drugs used to administer lethal injections in the United States dry up, state governments are turning to other methods to execute their death row inmates. Ohio officials used an untested cocktail of lethal drugs on an inmate in January, to macabre results. Now Virginia has proposed a bill that would mean inmates will be sent to the electric chair if sufficient amounts of lethal injection drugs can't be found. While Virginia hasn't questioned the legality of the electric chair since 1921, courts in other states, such as Georgia and Nebraska, have classed it as cruel and unusual punishment.
The proposed bill would make Virginia the only state in the US in which a death row prisoner could be forced into death by electrocution. It has already passed the state's House of Delegates, and according to The Washington Post, is likely to go up for state lawmakers to vote on this week. Currently, Virginian inmates sentenced to execution are able to choose between lethal injection and electrocution. If no choice is made, the lethal cocktail will be administered. If the new law passes, officials will be able to force inmates to be executed by electric chair if lethal injection drugs aren't available, or the prisoner declines to choose.
If the bill passes, officials will be able to force inmates to be executed by electrocution
In previous years, many states used Nembutal, a brand name for the drug pentobarbital, for their lethal injections. But the drug's Danish manufacturer banned its export for use in human executions in 2011, and since then, state governments have drained their supplies. Nembutal supplies are unlikely to be restocked: even when the Danish company that made the drug sold the rights for its manufacture to a drug maker based in Illinois, it wrote a catch into the contract that prohibited its use for human executions.
State governments have yet to come up with a long-term plan to make up for the lack of Nembutal. Officials in Texas were forced to use a supply of the drug that had passed its expiration date to kill convicted murderer Arturo Diaz last year. Sedative propofol has been proposed as an alternative for lethal injections, but its use has been denounced by American Society of Anesthesiologists. In October, 2013, Missouri officials backed away from a plan that would've seen the drug used in the execution of convicted killer Allen Nicklassen.
Virginia has executed 110 people since 1976
Virginia's Department of Corrections has explored using other drugs in its lethal injections. The Washington Post says the department purchased doses of the same drugs used in Ohio's reportedly botched execution of convicted rapist and murderer Dennis McGuire, as well as a "new three-drug mixture." But, in addition to concerns about these new cocktails' efficiency, state officials haven't been able to secure consistent supplies of either mixture. Virginia is tied for second in total executions in the United States, having put 110 people to death since 1976. The chair is still commonly used as an execution method in the state: three of the last six Virginia executions were by electrocution.
The Washington Post quotes Debra Gardner, chief deputy director of the Department of Corrections, who says the method leaves only "minor burns, just barely noticeable." Ron Elkins, the commonwealth's attorney from Virginia's Wise County, said, "Having been there and watched it, it was not as dramatic as it's portrayed on television." But others, including Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, have pushed for state governments to research new and efficient drugs for production. Even attempts to copy the pentobarbital previously used in lethal injections have been less than entirely successful. In January, convicted murderer Michael Lee Wilson was heard to say "I feel my whole body burning" 20 seconds after being injected with a version of the drug created at an unnamed pharmacy.The new Honda Civic is so mediocre even Consumer Reports, long a cheerleader for the Japanese econo-cruiser, dropped the redesigned 2012 model from its "recommended buy" list after the new model sunk to a rating of just 61 points on the magazine's 100-point scale. That means the newly-redesigned Honda Civic scored too low of a rating to even be recommended.
Increased competition from American and Korean automakers and decreased value conspire to make the new Civic, like many of the Japanese compact models, an also-ran in a category it once dominated.
As we noted in our 2012 Honda Civic first drive, the new model is mostly indistinguishable from the previous one and behind competitors like the Hyundai Elantra and Ford Focus in many key areas.
The reviewers at Consumer Reports agreed, stating:
Compared with its predecessor, the 2012 Civic has lower interior quality and suffers from a choppy ride, long stopping distances, and pronounced road noise. Vague steering impairs its agility and robs it of its fun-to-drive feel.
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The result is a drop from 78 points in their rating, which is considered "Very Good," to a "mediocre" 61 points out of 100 — and dropping it to next to last status behind the Volkswagen Jetta. Effectively going from first to worst.
After decades of domination, it means that the Civic is no longer the car you recommend to your sister-in-law's best friend as a good bet for better-than-basic transportation.Malacañang welcomed on Saturday the recovery of P10-million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu from a house owned by a former Marawi City mayor.
Authorities on Friday seized two kilograms of shabu from the second floor of the house of former Marawi City mayor Omar Solitario Ali following their clearing operations in the city.
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READ: P10M worth of ‘shabu’ seized from ex-Marawi mayor’s house
“This development will hopefully bring to bear the realities existing in the area about the close relation between the illegal drug trade and this ongoing rebellion,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement read over state-run Radyo Pilipinas.
Ali was one of the local government officials named by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte as allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade in the country. He was also reportedly financing the Islamic State-inspired Maute terrorists in Marawi City.
READ: Rody names politicians, judges, cops allegedly into illegal drugs
“His name is likewise included in the arrest order of the Department of National Defense (DND) in connection with the Marawi rebellion,” Abella said.
The military had earlier seized 11 kilos of shabu, including several high-powered firearms, and an Isis flag inside a hideout of the Maute Group in Marawi City.
Abella said that as of Friday, 289 terrorists have been killed while 69 government troops have died in action. IDL
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MOST READA few days before Father’s Day, members of the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus announced their support of a Raleigh-based nonprofit’s mission to get fairer visitation and other rights for fathers.
Rep. Garland Pierce, a Democrat who represents the state’s 48th District (which includes Hoke, Richmond, Robeson and Scotland counties), said the concerns of men who participate in Every Father Counts were brought to the caucus’ attention by President Milton McCoy; legislators thought that Father’s Day weekend was an ideal time to share those concerns.
“We definitely understand the importance of men being in young boys and girls’ lives. We have different problems in our community based on the absence of fathers; some are of our own making,” Pierce said. “There are some who really want to do the right thing, but because of circumstances, once they get in the court system, it stops families from being together.”
Every Father Counts maintains that fathers are not given equal treatment in child custody litigation. The group is fighting to ensure that laws are developed and ratified to guarantee that fathers have child visitation rights at least 33 percent of the time.
According to McCoy, there are 24 million children growing up without a relationship with their father.
“Statistics show if a father has an opportunity to be part of a child’s life, the child has a greater opportunity of being a success and an asset to society,” McCoy said. “If North Carolina is active in reversing this troubling trend, this will benefit the child, the father and the community.”
The nonprofit believes that a father’s rights should only be taken away if the father is convicted of a crime that would deem him a threat to his children. The group argues that no new laws should be made to impede a father’s right to see his children and that existing laws should be reviewed and updated to support a father’s right to be a father.
Sen. Earline Parmon of Forsyth County said fathers deserve a fairer shake.
“It appears that many times, even in the court system, that the father is not given the same opportunity to be a father as mothers,” said Parmon, the first vice chair of the Caucus. “We just want it known, particularly for African American families, that fathers have the opportunity to be the role of a father to their children. Study after study has shown that young children need a father. Young women need a father to help them understand relationships and to understand a fathers role. Young men need that role model to grow into responsible young men.”
Pierce said that while women do a great job of raising their children, the presence of a man is very important.
He said that there was no current legislation proposed to address the nonprofit’s concerns, but that while the legislature is out of session, there are plans to research programs that are working across the United States to see if they can be implemented in North Carolina.
“Now is a good time to look again at barriers that prevent families being together. Once you get in that system, there are just some rules, regulations and legislation that stops the family from being together,” Pierce said. “ I think we should have more of a common sense approach as it relates to husband/wife and boyfriend/girlfriend in general because the children suffer.”
Parmon said she has seen trends and laws that were not always favorable to the male parent. She said that the caucus wants to take an active role in talking to defense attorneys, prosecutors and other organizations to develop legislation that will give fathers equal footing.
“Many times, while father’s may not have the financial resources, they still want that opportunity to be a part of the child’s life,” she said. “We want to be a part of that conversation with fathers to help develop something to ensure that in the court system or mediation.”
Pierce said ultimately, the goal of the caucus is to help children by making families stronger.
“We have to do all that we can to encourage fatherhood and make every attempt to keep children connected with their fathers,” Pierce said. “At the end of the day, regardless of the behavior of fathers or mothers, children love their parents and we want them to grow up not being alienated from one parent.”
For more information about Every Father Counts, visit www.everyfathercounts.org or call 1-855-444-DADS (3237).The Alabama Secretary of State's office said today it has learned that some voters are receiving erroneous messages telling them that they are not registered to vote when, in fact, they are registered.
Two organizations that are contacting voters said they are not sending erroneous message.
Secretary of State John Merrill's office sent out a press release about the erroneous messages today. Some erroneous messages are coming from people who claim to be members of the NAACP and of Open Progress, the secretary of state's office said.
The Alabama NAACP said in a press release today that it used a database from the Voter Action Network System to notify voters that it believed were not registered.
Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama NAACP, said the organization apologized if registered voters were contacted, but said the effort was intended to remind voters to make sure they are registered.
Today is the last day to register to vote for the Dec. 12 special election for the U.S. Senate between Democratic nominee Doug Jones and Republican nominee Roy Moore.
Voters can go here to verify if they are registered.
Voters can go here to find their polling place.
Voters can register in county registrars offices, generally open until 5 p.m., or online until 11:59 p.m. Go here to register online or update your voter registration if you have moved.
The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is Dec. 7. The deadline to return an absentee ballot is Dec. 11.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Dec. 12.
Alabama's new law banning crossover voting does not apply to the Dec. 12 election. The law only applies to party runoffs.
Elizabeth Haynes, co-founder of Open Progress, released on open letter to Merrill today in response to Merrill's press release saying that the organization was sending voters erroneous messages, saying the press release was "false and reckless."
"In fact, Open Progress has done nothing but promote access to the polls in the upcoming special election by helping voters use the tools available on your website to determine their
registration status, and encouraging them to submit new voter registration
applications if necessary to update their address or re-activate their registration status," Haynes wrote.
Haynes wrote that the secretary of state's office caused confusion by placing more than 340,000 voters on inactive status this year.
The secretary of state's office sent non-forwardable post cards to registered voters earlier this year to update voter rolls. If the post cards were returned as undeliverable, the secretary of state's office sent a forwardable post card to the same address asking voters to update their registration.
If the state did not receive a reply to the second card, the secretary of state's office placed the voter was on "inactive" status after 90 days.
Voters who learn they are on "inactive" status when they arrive at the polls can still vote if they update their voter registration at the polls.
If that voter's information has not changed, he or she should be able to vote as usual, the secretary of state's office told AL.com in August. If the voter has moved, or their polling place has for some reason changed, a poll worker should be able to direct that voter to their correct polling place where they can update their information and cast a provisional ballot. For a provisional ballot to be counted, however, it must be cast at the correct polling place.
This story was updated at 4:46 p.m. to add statement from Alabama NAACP. Updated at 6:28 p.m. to add statement from Open Progress. Updated at 6:35 p.m. to change headline.Ray Gonzalez didn’t die in a mine, but his family had hoped that a mine safety bill in Congress might help prevent more deaths like his.
Instead, lawmakers voted down the bill, their latest rejection of a series of laws proposed in recent years to protect workers whose employers subject them to unnecessary risks on the job.
A pipe fitter with more than 30 years experience, Gonzalez died the way far too many others have — in a poorly maintained refinery, the result of an accident that never should have happened.
Gonzalez, Maurice Moore Jr. and Robert Kemp were working near a water pump at BP’s Texas City refinery when a seal ruptured, spraying them with 500-degree water and steam. Kemp survived but endured burns over 70 percent of his body. Moore died the next day. Gonzalez lingered in the hospital for more than two months, enduring painful skin cleaning and undergoing numerous graft surgeries to treat the burns that covered most of his body. He died from his injuries on Nov. 12.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited BP for seven serious violations and one willful one related to the deaths. The company, which earned $17 billion that year, later settled the case and paid a fine of $102,500.
The plant remained a deathtrap, erupting six months later in an explosion that would kill 15 people and injure more than 170.
In addition to mine safety, the bill included provisions, added from earlier legislation, that would have strengthened penalties and OSHA’s ability to prosecute criminally companies that needlessly put workers at risk.
‘No one talked to me’
The bill would also have instructed OSHA to communicate with victims’ families. Gonzalez’s daughter, Katherine Rodriguez, had to request OSHA records under the Freedom of Information Act and pay for the copies.
“I didn’t know what happened,” she said. “No one talked to me. They were charging me for the information to get on my father’s incident.”
Not all families, of course, want that contact, but Rodriguez said it should be offered. Family members often know information that can be useful to investigators as well.
Stricter elsewhere
For years, other countries have had a stricter regulatory response to worker safety.
In mid-2000, an explosion and huge fireball rocked BP’s Grangemouth refinery in Scotland. No one was seriously injured, but BP wound up paying a record criminal fine of almost $1.2 million – more than 10 times the penalty for the accident that killed Gonzalez and Moore.
In the U.S., companies such as BP face stricter fines for pollution than for worker deaths.
Fortunately, OSHA is already making some changes on its own. It’s reaching out to family members of workers killed or injured on the job. Its employees now receive training on dealing with grieving families.
Still, Rodriguez hoped that Congress would codify such family-friendly procedures and give OSHA more teeth in punishing companies for worker deaths.
“I’m frustrated, and I feel like it’s a big setback,” Rodriguez said of the vote.
Since her father’s death, 19 more people have died at the Texas City refinery. Eleven more died last April aboard the Deepwater Horizon, which was drilling a well for BP.
Changes not yet made
BP has paid more than any other company for workplace safety violations, yet as the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board noted last week, it hasn’t made the changes to its safety policies that were called for three years ago.
Ray Gonzalez died, as far too many workers do, working for a company that put him at risk because it didn’t properly maintain its facilities or put a priority on safety.
Last week, Congress once again failed to give regulators the tools to hold companies accountable for their fatal decisions.Kolkata: Pakistani ghazal legend Ghulam Ali arrived in the city on Monday, a day ahead of his scheduled performance in Kolkata.
Ghulam Ali and his son would perform at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
The ghazal meastro was received at the NSC Bose International Airport by West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation chairman Sultan Ahmed, who is the main organiser of the event.
After the cancellation of his concert in Mumbai due to threats by the Shiv Sena, Ghulam Ali in November had expressed his disappointment, asserting "never to return to India".
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had offered Kolkata as a venue following the cancellation of the Mumbai concert.
IANS
Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.CLOSE Protests in Alexandria, Cairo and other cities were sparked by edicts issued last week by President Mohammed Morsi. In Alexandria, protesters broke into the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood. (Nov. 27)
Egyptian protesters attend an opposition rally in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Nov. 27. (Photo11: Khalil Hamra, AP) Story Highlights Morsi says the decrees are necessary for the nation's transition to democratic rule
Opponents say the decrees give Morsi near dictatorial powers
Protesters have been staging a sit-in at Tahrir Square since Friday
CAIRO -- The 200,000 people who filled Tahrir Square - birthplace of the Egyptian revolution - represent the most serious challenge to the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Angry chants filled Tahrir Square as people protested a recent decree issued by President Mohammed Morsi granting him sweeping powers.
The protesters waved Egypt's red-white-and-black flag and chanted slogans against Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood, which took power in Egypt's first elections since the overthrow of dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The demonstrators joined several hundred people who had been camping out in the square since Friday demanding the decree be revoked.
"I'm against the constitution and the dictatorship of Mr. Morsi," says Horeya Naguib, whose first name in Arabic means freedom. "He is selling his own country and looks out for the interests of his group, not the people of Egypt."
Naguib said he had not been to the square to protest since the January 2011 revolution -- until Morsi announced the constitutional decree. That decree placed Morsi above all oversight, including judicial review of his decisions, until a new constitution is adopted and parliamentary elections are held. That timeline stretches to mid-2013.
Morsi said the decree was necessary to achieve steady governance as counter-revolutionary forces create problems and judiciary members seek to "harm the country."
"There are weevils eating away at the nation of Egypt," Morsi said in front of a crowd on Friday, the day after he announced his decree in a televised speech.
Protesters complained that the draft of the constitution will curtail freedoms.
"We won't have the right to talk. There will be no women's rights, children's rights," Naguib says.
Protesters voiced their complaints through megaphones, drawing cheers when the names of opposition leaders Hamdeen Sabahi, Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Hamzawy were shouted. Demonstrators ringed the square with barbed wire and metal bars and on the southern perimeter of the square remnants of tear gas from previous clashes lingered.
Vendors set up shop, clumping chairs in sections of the square, as protesters hunkered down for the evening. The square smelled of popcorn, roasted sweet potatoes and warm seeds as hawkers carted goods through the crowd.
Egyptian security forces arrest a protester during clashes near Tahrir Square. (Photo11: Khalil Hamra, AP)
"The people want the fall of the regime!" protesters screamed beneath a banner high over the square stating, "Egypt is for all Egyptians."
"I'm here to say 'No' to Morsi's recent announcement," said Yasmin Tawfiq, a consultant for a development organization. "It's unlawful – against all laws in Egypt."
Tawfiq was also angered because she believes that Morsi has not yet made improvements for Egypt's people.
"We don't see him doing anything that helps poor people – education, health, you name it," she said. During Egypt's 2011 revolution, protesters, too, demanded bread, freedom and social justice.
Morsi, who rose through the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood, has the same mentality of "listen and obey" as Mubarak, said protester Hossam Amer, a tour guide and Egyptologist. "Morsi with the Brotherhood and Mubarak with the military," he said.
Protesters, as they did for Mubarak, called for their leader -- this time, Morsi -- to resign.
"This is the beginning of him stepping down, and the people will never be repressed," Amer said, marching with chanting and cheering crowds just before sunset. The balance and separation of powers in Egypt has been "utterly demolished," said a statement signed by 23 |
ailing the way civil rights enforcement should be handled."
—Catherine Lhamon of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
According to the memo, "requirements that investigators broaden their inquiries to identify systemic issues and whole classes of victims will be scaled back," the Times noted. "Also, regional offices will no longer be required to alert department officials in Washington of all highly sensitive complaints on issues such as the disproportionate disciplining of minority students and the mishandling of sexual assaults on college campuses."
The directive, first published by ProPublica, was met with outrage from civil rights groups and activists, who portrayed it as part of a larger effort by President Donald Trump to undercut anti-discrimination provisions in public schools and dismantle laws that protect students from gender- and race-based abuse.
Yep, as we reported, Trump's Education Dept really is stopping investigations into systematic discrimination.https://t.co/eqgKz3wrXA — ProPublica (@ProPublica) June 17, 2017
"It's really a way of curtailing the way civil rights enforcement should be handled," Catherine Lhamon, head of the United States Commission on Civil Rights and former chair of the Education Department's civil rights office, told the Times, adding that the administration's proposals are "stunning" and "dangerous."
"It's literally a stick your head in the sand approach," Lhamon concluded.
ProPublica's Jessica Huseman and Annie Waldman, bolstering the claims of civil rights advocates, highlighted a pattern of Trump administration actions that appear to be bent on incapacitating agencies responsible for enforcing laws designed to protect minorities from systemic abuses:
Elsewhere, Trump administration appointees have launched similar initiatives. In its 2018 fiscal plan, the Labor Department has proposed dissolving the office that handles discrimination complaints. Similarly, new leadership at the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed entirely eliminating the environmental justice program, which addresses concerns that almost exclusively impact minority communities. The Washington Post reports the plan transfers all environmental justice work to the Office of Policy, which provides policy and regulatory guidance across the agency.
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Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement the steps outlined by the Department of Education render the Trump administration's insistence that it will prioritize civil rights entirely hollow.
"President Trump and his administration can claim to oppose discrimination all they want, but actions speak louder than words," she said. "Everything they are doing is making it clear that they want to defang and weaken the federal government's tools to protect the civil rights and safety of people across the country."
Shorly after the Department of Education's memo was published, yet another internal memo, obtained by the Washington Post, indicated the department would similarly scale back investigations into encroachments on the rights of transgender students.
The directive, the Post noted, "makes clear that lawyers may decide to dismiss complaints related to the polarizing issue of transgender students' access to school bathrooms."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights both issued statements condemning the strategy outlined in the memo as "shameful" and "mean-spirited."
Reporting on the Education Department's plans comes just days after the bipartisan and independent U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, citing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's "repeated refusal" to seriously commit to enforcing civil rights provisions in public schools, announced (pdf) it would be conducting a two-year investigation into the Trump administration's "proposed budget cuts to and planned staff losses in numerous programs and civil rights offices across the federal government."
"Along with changing programmatic priorities, these proposed cuts would result in a dangerous reduction of civil rights enforcement across the country," the commission concluded, "leaving communities of color, LGBT people, older people, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups exposed to greater risk of discrimination."
Since her confirmation as education secretary, DeVos has been criticized for her "devotion to right-wing ideology," "disregard for public education," and "ignoran[ce] of federal law, federal programs, and federal policy."Saudi Arabia suffers new losses in its ongoing war on neighboring Yemen, with a spy drone shot down and more troops and mercenaries killed by Houthi fighters.
A military source said Yemeni army soldiers and allied Houthi fighters downed a Saudi drone in Midi Desert in the northwestern Hajjah Province on Sunday.
Yemeni fighters also foiled an attempt by Saudi mercenaries to infiltrate into a military base in Dhale Province, the Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.
Separately, Sudan’s army spokesperson Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami said two of the African country’s troops were killed and several others injured in Yemen.
Last month, the Sudanese army said five of its soldiers had been killed and 22 others injured in Yemen.
Sudanese soldiers patrol outside the Yemeni coastal port city of Mukha on April 12, 2017. (Photo by AFP)
On Saturday, Yemeni army snipers shot dead two Saudi soldiers in two separate military bases in the kingdom’s southern Najran region.
Additionally, a unit of the Yemeni military targeted a place of gathering for Saudi mercenaries in Midi Desert.
After more than two years of constant military strikes from the air, sea, and land, and a total embargo on Yemen, Saudi Arabia has been unable to reinstall the former Riyadh-allied Yemeni regime or eliminate the Houthi movement.
Saudi Arabia enjoys backing from its allies such as Sudan in the protracted war which has has already killed over 12,000 Yemenis, according to recent tallies.NSA Memo Shows Unlimited Access To Bulk Records Unnecessary To Keep US Safe From Terrorists
from the but,-of-course,-the-program-must-not-be-restricted-in-any-way dept
The DNI's recent document dump has sprung loose an April 2009 "notification memorandum" from the NSA, which provides updates on its "end-to-end" reviews of both the Section 215 (phone metadata) and the Section 402 (email metadata) bulk records collections. As was noted in earlier posts, both programs were suspended by the FISA court because of the NSA's routine abuse FISA Act limitations.
The declassified document is addressed to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). There's no indication this information was also disseminated to the House Intelligence Committee, but perhaps that will surface in the future. The memo spends a few introductory paragraphs detailing the efforts the NSA has made to clean up its act before delving into more interesting details -- including the limitations placed on the Section 215 collection by the Judge Walton, as well as a new problem it uncovered during its 60-day "end-to-end" reviews.
Here are the rules the NSA was forced to comply with under Walton's court order.
Since the March 5, 2009 FISA Court order, the Court's approval has been required for each selector before it is tasked for BR FISA metadata analysis. On Mar 21 NSA resumed manual access to BR FISA metadata, allowing chaining [redacted] of FISA Court-approved selectors associated with [redacted] following multiple operational and technical reviews to ensure compliance.
A limited number of NSA analysts are now performing manual queries against 209 FISA Court-approved high-priority selectors daily…
[Redacted; presumably includes a start date] NSA and DIA entered into a pilot program which allowed the DlA's Joint Intelligence Task Force - Combating Terrorism (JITF-CT) access to counterterrorism-related SIGINT information, including SIGINT collected pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's (FISC) [redacted]. Access to this FISA data was controlled and was limited to JITF-CT who had undergone training on the application of NSA minimization procedures to the FISA data and who were subject to NSA oversight of their activities. Moreover, these personnel were required to coordinate with NSA regarding dissemination of the information outside of JITF-CT.
[A sentence and half worth of redacted text] there is no way to determine whether, in fact, JITF-CT analysts accessed it without authorization. However, even if such access occurred, the analysts were trained in routine minimization procedures and were required to coordinate with NSA regarding dissemination of information outside JITF-CT…
On review of this access NSA is considering whether allowing this [redacted] access to unminimized SIGINT collection fully complies with NSA procedures.
This explains ODNI counsel Robert Litt's hesitancy to store metadata at a "neutral site." To do so would mean returning to 2009's restrictions -- which were brought on by the agency's own malfeasance. Utilizing a neutral site would likely mean the FISA court would be approvingrather than granting permission for rolling, 90-day collections ofphone records.Also of note is howcourt-approved selectors there were at that point.Once again, hauling in millions of phone records seems like overkill. Since the agency has had (serious) trouble with adhering to the RAS (reasonable articulable suspicion) requirement, it would make more sense to return to this limitation if the Section 215 program is to remain running. With two bulk data programs suspended or significantly altered between 2009-2010, the US still somehow managed to avoid being overrun with terrorist attacks. If the program can't be eliminated, at the very least, it should return to this more minimal standard -- seeking court approval for RAS-compliant selectors and searching offsite, rather than simply amassing millions of non-relevant phone records.Further down, more incidents of data abuse/misuse are detailed, this time at the hands of other agencies which were given access to the metadata collectionsThe NSA made these Task Force members "employees" in order to grant them the privileges needed to access the metadata collection in its unminimized form. While conducting a review of its systems in 2008, the NSA found that one database (name redacted in memo) "lacked sufficient controls." The database was shut down and resurrected with "correct" controls implemented. Unfortunately, it was this "uncontrolled" database that its new honorary employees had access to. The NSA revoked Task Force members' access to the databases but was unable to determine explicitly whether any sort of unauthorized access had occurred.Instead of presenting a possible worst-case scenario, the agency memo delivers this powerful statement of (misplaced) faith.Of course. Because the training and minimization procedures have always prevented actual NSA employees from abusing the bulk records collections.This isn't the only case of problematic shared access. Another agency is discussed in a heavily-redacted paragraph. This unnamed agency was given access to unminimized X-KEYSCORE SIGINT data. Among the other unredacted sentences is one stating that this access is "predicated" on the principle that "collaboration is essential" to prevent terrorist attacks. Whichever agency isbeing named here doesn't seem to have held up its end of the bargain, which resulted in the (perhaps temporary) suspension of its access to the data.Whether or not that access has been returned is still open for debate considering the agency's name has been hidden away under the black and turquoise [!?] ink. Whatopen to debate is the fact that the NSA continues to struggle with handling its data collections responsibly. As more documents are pried loose thanks to the ACLU and EFF's efforts, I'm sure we'll see even more evidence that the agency isn't nearly as careful as its defenders assert it is.
Filed Under: bulk data, fisa court, fisc, metadata, nsa, section 215, terroristsEdward Snowden, is an American technology consultant, an informant in the global surveillance network and a former employee of the CIA and the NSA.
This time he talks about the Cryptocurrency Zcash and his anonymity.
Snowden and Zcash, the Bitcoin alternative
In June 2013, Snowden released the Guardian and The Washington Post papers classified as top secret on several NSA programs, including mass surveillance programs PRISM and XKeyscore.
The world-famous defender of user data security and anonymity talks about digital coins and this time he thinks about Zcash. Edward Snowden has come out in support of privacy-oriented cryptocurrency Zcash, calling it “the most interesting alternative” to Bitcoin.
“Zcash is the only altcoin (I know) designed and built by professional and academic cryptographers. Hard to ignore,” responding to a tweet from a techie, Mason Borda.
He continued: “Zcash’s privacy technology makes Bitcoin’s most interesting Bitcoin alternative, but” if it’s not private, it’s not safe. ”
Zcash is based on a cryptographic operation called zk-snarks, Monero works by hiding the information with ring signatures and covert addresses.
Hide information yes and no
Bitcoin is not, in fact, an anonymous currency, blockchain tracking software can often be used by law enforcement to help them establish the identity of individual wallet holders. Privacy-conscious users can use services such as cryptographic screens to mask transactions, but these services often charge a fee and many occasional users are unaware of their existence. Activation of Segregated Witness (SegWit) is expected to allow developers to add more privacy features to the bitcoin ecosystem, but this process could take some time.
Snowden warns of crypto surveillance
Snowden’s comments resonate with what he has done in the past. In 2015, he stated in an interview that “Bitcoin by itself is defective,” citing concerns about the ability to directly link addresses to a person’s identity, as well as the perceived threat of 51% attacks. Last year, he apparently mentioned Zcash as a “solution to Bitcoin’s surveillance risks” during a video conference, according to Zcash founder Zooko.
Security is becoming increasingly important and privacy is the biggest challenge. Zcash works on these aspects and Monero on reducing transactional visibility. Komodo is already working on what can be the largest secure, private, anonymous and secret cryptocurrency if that is what we want.
Bitcoin is still very young and evolves consistently to the needs of the people. The good opinion of Snowden towards Zcash shows that its use will soon be extended.
We live in a permanently watched society, whether we like it or not, there are mechanisms that make it possible. Bitcoin does not escape being the first to be watched.
Will the crypto private coins be the new trend of use? If so, we would enter another era, the age of private crypts.I must wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you had a great holiday, spent with family and friends. What a great time of year for sure. Now onto the food…and the pumpkin pie grilled cheese.
“Pumpkin Pie Dip”
Gorgonzola
Cracked Wheat
the cheese: gorgonzola
I am not really sure why I thought Gorgonzola would be great for this grilled cheese, but I am really glad that I did. This was different and good.
Gorgonzola is a famous blue cheese originating in Italy, with a distinctive smell which many liken to old shoes. Gorgonzola is part of an illustrious family of blue cheeses, which are formed when ambient molds infiltrate curing cheeses. Today, Gorgonzola is inoculated directly with the mold spores, to guarantee that the cheese is colonized by the right mold. The cheese comes in a young and sweet variation and a much more robust aged version, both of which are widely enjoyed. (WiseGeek)
I always found it interesting that Gorgonzola is purposefully moldy but it sure tastes good. Granted, I haven’t always liked it, as a kid it freaked me out, but as my tastes matured and I became more “daring,” Gorgonzola quickly appeared on my radar. A couple of local restaurants serve Gorgonzola on homemade potato chips and it is delicious. I would definitely recommend. This particular Gorgonzola had a nice color and a great kick to it. Upon initial tasting of the cheese, I was almost worried that it would be too much for the sandwich, but I was wrong. Thankfully.
thoughts
Being that this Sunday fell just a few day after Thanksgiving, I had to get into the holiday spirit and use some sort of Thanksgiving dinner related food in this week’s grilled cheese. There were plenty of options, sweet potatoes, cranberries, etc, but I went with homemade pumpkin pie. Thankfully, the sous chef had created just that a few days earlier. Perfect. Once I decided on pie for the main ingredient in this week’s grilled cheese, I went to Google and found a great recipe for “pumpkin dip” that inspired me.
When I first noticed cream cheese in the recipe, I was not sure how I felt, but it seemed to work out really well. I scooped out the pumpkin pie and mixed it in a bowl with cream cheese and some cinnamon/cinnamon sugar to taste. I made sure that the added cream cheese did not totally overpower the cinnamon flavor evident in the pumpkin pie. If you do in fact try this, make sure to taste as you go, allowing you to figure out the pie:cream cheese:cinnamon ratio. There really isn’t a true science to it.
Prior to making the grilled cheese, I tasted a small sliver of the bread. I was somewhat worried as I was not sure that I liked it. Those fears, however, were gone once it was toasted and hiding some pumpkin pie dip.
the grilled cheese:
pumpkin pie grilled cheese: A
I was searching the local market for a cheese when I saw they had Blue Cheese and Gorgonzola on sale and something clicked. I thought to myself, why not go with Gorgonzola for this grilled cheese? As I said, I am glad I did. The added Gorgonzola added a nice kick to the sweet pumpkin pie. As I was eating the sandwich, I had to add more cheese as I originally did not want to totally overpower the grilled cheese. I found out though, when you find the nice ratio of pumpkin pie dip to Gorgonzola, the taste is awesome.
ingredients were purchased at…Copyright by WJBF - All rights reserved PHOTO: Flooding took out this bridge on Bluff Road in Richland County.
Copyright by WJBF - All rights reserved PHOTO: Flooding took out this bridge on Bluff Road in Richland County.
Columbia, SC (WJBF) - South Carolina lawmakers will have an additional $1.2 billion to spend when they write next year's budget, thanks to state tax collections being higher than predicted. But as big as that surplus is, it won't cover the state's needs for additional money.
Some lawmakers want most of the surplus to pay for the state's share of fixing recent flood damage, while others think it should go to the road and bridge needs the state already had before the flooding. The Department of Education is asking for an additional $227.4 million to raise the base student cost, which is the amount of money the state sends to local schools. And the Department of Social Services is also asking for a budget increase to hire more caseworkers, to lower the caseloads of those protecting children and vulnerable adults.
State Representative Tommy Stringer, R-Greenville, says, "The first thing we need to do is take a look at what the true cost of the flood damage is, and we're not there yet. So determining what that number is, combining that with what we know we need to do about the road conditions before the flood happened, those are the two primary things we need to look at."
State Representative Gary Clary, R-Clemson, says education and DSS should also be in the mix. When it comes to using the surplus for roads and bridges, he says, "Our long-term needs are going to have to have some sort of consistent method of funding those, because it's not something that we can expect to pay for out of the surplus every year and put our roads and bridges in the condition they need to be in."
But a lot of taxpayers think using most of the surplus for roads makes sense. Matt Kennell of Columbia says, "I'd like to see it go into infrastructure--roads, bridges, flood damage, anything we can do to improve the infrastructure in our state."
Rodney McClinton of Columbia agrees. "I drive 18-wheelers for a living and this is one of the worst places I've been as far as the roads, so I think that's where it should go as far as flood recovery and the roads," he says.
Robin Chaplin of Columbia says, "I think it should go to the roads, just because I travel so much and I see so many potholes that are causing tire damage and knocking your front end out of alignment, and it's just a big issue for me."
But several lawmakers want at least some of the surplus to go back to taxpayers in the form of some kind of tax relief. Rep. Stringer says, "While we are calling it a $1.2 billion windfall for the government, that's $1.2 billion that the taxpayers don't have. So it's, in reality, $1.2 billion that's their money, so we should always bear in mind that as we consider what we're going to do next."The Kangxi Emperor (5 May 1654 – 20 December 1722), personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.
The Kangxi Emperor's reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history (although his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor, had the longest period of de facto power) and one of the longest-reigning rulers in the world.[1] However, since he ascended the throne at the age of seven, actual power was held for six years by four regents and his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.
The Kangxi Emperor is considered one of China's greatest emperors.[2] He suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, forced the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan and assorted Mongol rebels in the North and Northwest to submit to Qing rule, and blocked Tsarist Russia on the Amur River, retaining Outer Manchuria and Outer Northwest China.
The Kangxi Emperor's reign brought about long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos. He initiated the period known as the "Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong" or "High Qing", which lasted for several generations after his death. His court also accomplished such literary feats as the compilation of the Kangxi Dictionary.
Early reign [ edit ]
Born on 4 May 1654 to the Shunzhi Emperor and Empress Xiaokangzhang in Jingren Palace, the Forbidden City, Beijing, the Kangxi Emperor was originally given the personal name Xuanye (Chinese: 玄燁; Möllendorff transliteration: hiowan yei). He was enthroned at the age of seven (or eight by East Asian age reckoning), on 7 February 1661.[a] His era name "Kangxi", however, only started to be used on 18 February 1662, the first day of the following lunar year.
Sinologist Herbert Giles, drawing on contemporary sources, described the Kangxi Emperor as "fairly tall and well proportioned, he loved all manly exercises, and devoted three months annually to hunting. Large bright eyes lighted up his face, which was pitted with smallpox."
Portrait of the young Kangxi Emperor in court dress
Before the Kangxi Emperor came to the throne, Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (in the name of Shunzhi Emperor) had appointed the powerful men Sonin, Suksaha, Ebilun, and Oboi as regents. Sonin died after his granddaughter became Empress Xiaochengren, leaving Suksaha at odds with Oboi in politics. In a fierce power struggle, Oboi had Suksaha put to death and seized absolute power as sole regent. The Kangxi Emperor and the rest of the imperial court acquiesced to this arrangement.
In the spring of 1662, the regents ordered a Great Clearance in southern China that evacuated the entire population from the seacoast to counter a resistance movement started by Ming loyalists under the leadership of Taiwan-based Ming general Zheng Chenggong, also titled Koxinga.
In 1669, the Kangxi Emperor had Oboi arrested with the help of his grandmother Grand Dowager Empress Xiaozhuang, who had raised him.[5] and began taking personal control of the empire. He listed three issues of concern: flood control of the Yellow River; repair of the Grand Canal; the Revolt of the Three Feudatories in south China. The Grand Empress Dowager influenced him greatly and he took care of her himself in the months leading up to her death in 1688.[5]
Military achievements [ edit ]
Army [ edit ]
The Emperor mounted on his horse and guarded by his bodyguards
The Kangxi Emperor in ceremonial armor, armed with bow and arrows, and surrounded by bodyguards.
The main army of the Qing Empire, the Eight Banners Army, was in decline under the Kangxi Emperor. It was smaller than it had been at its peak under Hong Taiji and in the early reign of the Shunzhi Emperor; however, it was larger than in the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors' reigns. In addition, the Green Standard Army was still powerful with generals such as Tuhai, Fei Yanggu, Zhang Yong, Zhou Peigong, Shi Lang, Mu Zhan, Shun Shike and Wang Jingbao.[citation needed]
The main reason for this decline was a change in system between the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors' reigns. The Kangxi Emperor continued using the traditional military system implemented by his predecessors, which was more efficient and stricter. According to the system, a commander who returned from a battle alone (with all his men dead) would be put to death, and likewise for a foot soldier. This was meant to motivate both commanders and soldiers alike to fight valiantly in war because there was no benefit for the sole survivor in a battle.[citation needed]
By the Qianlong Emperor's reign, military commanders had become lax and the training of the army was deemed less important as compared to during the previous emperors' reigns. This was because commanders' statuses had become hereditary; a general gained his position based on the contributions of his forefathers.[citation needed]
Revolt of the Three Feudatories [ edit ]
The Revolt of the Three Feudatories broke out in 1673 when Wu Sangui's forces overran most of southwest China and he tried to ally himself with local generals such as Wang Fuchen. The Kangxi Emperor employed generals including Zhou Peigong and Tuhai to suppress the rebellion, and also granted clemency to common people caught up in the war. He intended to personally lead the armies to crush the rebels but his subjects advised him against it. The Kangxi Emperor used mainly Han Chinese Green Standard Army soldiers to crush the rebels while the Manchu Banners took a backseat. The revolt ended with victory for Qing forces in 1681.
Taiwan [ edit ]
In 1683, the naval forces of the Ming loyalists on Taiwan—organized under the Zheng dynasty as the Kingdom of Tungning—were defeated off Penghu by 300-odd ships under the Qing admiral Shi Lang. Koxinga's grandson Zheng Keshuang surrendered Tungning a few days later and Taiwan became part of the Qing Empire. Zheng Keshuang moved to Beijing, joined the Qing nobility as the "Duke Haicheng" (海澄公), and was inducted into the Eight Banners as a member of the Han Plain Red Banner. His soldiers—including the rattan-shield troops (藤牌营, tengpaiying)—were similarly entered into the Eight Banners, notably serving against Russian Cossacks at Albazin.
A score of Ming princes had joined the Zheng dynasty on Taiwan, including Prince Zhu Shugui of Ningjing and Prince Honghuan (w:zh:朱弘桓), the son of Zhu Yihai. The Qing sent most of the 17 Ming princes still living on Taiwan back to mainland China, where they spent the rest of their lives.[6] The Prince of Ningjing and his five concubines, however, committed suicide rather than submit to capture. Their palace was used as Shi Lang's headquarters in 1683, but he memorialized the emperor to convert it into a Mazu temple as a propaganda measure in quieting remaining resistance on Taiwan. The emperor approved its dedication as the Grand Matsu Temple the next year and, honoring the goddess Mazu for her supposed assistance during the Qing invasion, promoted her to "Empress of Heaven" (Tianhou) from her previous status as a "heavenly consort" (tianfei).[7][8] Belief in Mazu remains so widespread on Taiwan that her annual celebrations can gather hundreds of thousands of people; she is sometimes even syncretized with Guanyin and the Virgin Mary.
The end of the rebel stronghold and capture of the Ming princes allowed the Kangxi Emperor to relax the Sea Ban and permit resettlement of the Fujian and Guangdong coasts. The financial and other incentives to new settlers particularly drew the Hakka, who would have continuous low-level conflict with the returning Punti people for the next few centuries.
Vietnam [ edit ]
In 1673, the Kangxi Emperor's government helped to mediate a truce in the Trịnh–Nguyễn War in Vietnam, which had been ongoing for 45 years since 1627. The peace treaty that was signed between the conflicting parties lasted for 101 years until 1774.[9]
Russia [ edit ]
In the 1650s, the Qing Empire engaged the Tsardom of Russia in a series of border conflicts along the Amur River region, which concluded with the Qing gaining control of the area after the Siege of Albazin.
The Russians invaded the northern frontier again in the 1680s. A series of battles and negotiations culminated in the Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689, by which a border was agreed and the Amur River valley was given to the Qing Empire.
Mongolia [ edit ]
The Inner Mongolian Chahar leader Ligdan Khan, a descendant of Genghis Khan, opposed and fought against the Qing until he died of smallpox in 1634. Thereafter, the Inner Mongols under his son Ejei Khan surrendered to the Qing and he was given the title of Prince (Qin Wang, 親王). The Inner Mongolian nobility now became closely tied to the Qing royal family and intermarried with them extensively. Ejei Khan died in 1661 and was succeeded by his brother Abunai. After Abunai showed disaffection with Manchu Qing rule, he was placed under house arrest in 1669 in Shenyang and the Kangxi Emperor gave his title to his son Borni.
Abunai bided his time then, with his brother Lubuzung, revolted against the Qing in 1675 during the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, with 3,000 Chahar Mongol followers joining in on the revolt. The revolt was put down within two months, the Qing defeating the rebels in battle on April 20, 1675, killing Abunai and all his followers. Their title was abolished, all Chahar Mongol royal males were executed even if they were born to Manchu Qing princesses, and all Chahar Mongol royal females were sold into slavery except the Manchu Qing princesses. The Chahar Mongols were then put under the direct control of the Qing Emperor unlike the other Inner Mongol leagues which maintained their autonomy.
Emperor Kangxi's camp on Kerulen during the campaign of 1696.
The Outer Khalkha Mongols had preserved their independence, and only paid tribute to the Qing Empire. However, a conflict between the houses of Tümen Jasagtu Khan and Tösheetü Khan led to a dispute between the Khalkha and the Dzungars over the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1688, the Dzungar chief, Galdan Boshugtu Khan, attacked the Khalkha from the west and invaded their territory. The Khalkha royal families and the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu crossed the Gobi Desert and sought help from the Qing Empire in return for submission to Qing authority. In 1690, the Dzungars and Qing forces clashed at the Battle of Ulan Butung in Inner Mongolia, in which the Qing eventually emerged as the victor.
In 1696, the Kangxi Emperor personally led three armies, totaling 80,000 in strength, in a campaign against the Dzungars in the early Dzungar–Qing War. The western section of the Qing army defeated Galdan's forces at the Battle of Jao Modo and Galdan died in the following year.
Manchu Hoifan and Ula rebellion against the Qing [ edit ]
The Kangxi Emperor at the age of 45, painted in 1699
In 1700, some 20,000 Qiqihar Xibe were resettled in Guisui, modern Inner Mongolia, and 36,000 Songyuan Xibe were resettled in Shenyang, Liaoning. The relocation of the Xibe from Qiqihar is believed by Liliya M. Gorelova to be linked to the Qing's annihilation of the Manchu clan Hoifan (Hoifa) in 1697 and the Manchu tribe Ula in 1703 after they rebelled against the Qing; both Hoifan and Ula were wiped out.[10]
Tibet [ edit ]
In 1701, the Kangxi Emperor ordered the reconquest of Kangding and other border towns in western Sichuan that had been taken by the Tibetans. The Manchu forces stormed Dartsedo and secured the border with Tibet and the lucrative tea-horse trade.
The Tibetan desi (regent) Sangye Gyatso concealed the death of the 5th Dalai Lama in 1682, and only informed the emperor in 1697. He moreover kept relations with Dzungar enemies of the Qing. All this evoked the great displeasure of the Kangxi Emperor. Eventually Sangye Gyatso was toppled and killed by the Khoshut ruler Lha-bzang Khan in 1705. As a reward for ridding him of his old enemy the Dalai Lama, the Kangxi Emperor appointed Lha-bzang Khan Regent of Tibet (翊法恭顺汗; Yìfǎ gōngshùn Hán; 'Buddhism Respecting, Deferential Khan"). The Dzungar Khanate, a confederation of Oirat tribes based in parts of what is now Xinjiang, continued to threaten the Qing Empire and invaded Tibet in 1717. They took control of Lhasa with a 6,000 strong army and killed Lha-bzang Khan. The Dzungars held on to the city for three years and at the Battle of the Salween River defeated a Qing army sent to the region in 1718. The Qing did not take control of Lhasa until 1720, when the Kangxi Emperor sent a larger expedition force there to defeat the Dzungars.
Chinese nobility [ edit ]
The Kangxi Emperor granted the title of Wujing Boshi (五经博士; 五經博士; Wǔjīng Bóshì) to the descendants of Shao Yong, Zhu Xi, Zhuansun Shi, Ran family (Ran Qiu, Ran Geng, Ran Yong), Bu Shang, Yan Yan (disciple of Confucius), and the Duke of Zhou's offspring.[12][13]
Economic achievements [ edit ]
The Kangxi Emperor returning to Beijing after a southern inspection tour in 1689.
The contents of the national treasury during the Kangxi Emperor's reign were:
1668 (7th year of Kangxi): 14,930,000 taels 1692: 27,385,631 taels 1702–1709: approximately 50,000,000 taels with little variation during this period 1710: 45,880,000 taels 1718: 44,319,033 taels 1720: 39,317,103 taels 1721 (60th year of Kangxi, second last of his reign): 32,622,421 taels
The Kangxi Emperor's Last Will and Testament
The reasons for the declining trend in the later years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign were a huge expenditure on military campaigns and an increase in corruption. To fix the problem, the Kangxi Emperor gave Prince Yong (the future Yongzheng Emperor) advice on how to make the economy more efficient.
Cultural achievements [ edit ]
A vase from the early Kangxi period ( Guimet Museum
During his reign, the Kangxi Emperor ordered the compilation of a dictionary of Chinese characters, which became known as the Kangxi Dictionary. This was seen as an attempt by the emperor to gain support from the Han Chinese scholar-bureaucrats, as many of them initially refused to serve him and remained loyal to the Ming dynasty. However, by persuading the scholars to work on the dictionary without asking them to formally serve the Qing imperial court, the Kangxi Emperor led them to gradually taking on greater responsibilities until they were assuming the duties of state officials.
In 1705, on the Kangxi Emperor's order, a compilation of Tang poetry, the Quantangshi, was produced.
The Kangxi Emperor also was interested in Western technology and wanted to import them to China. This was done through Jesuit missionaries, such as Ferdinand Verbiest, whom the Kangxi Emperor frequently summoned for meetings, or Karel Slavíček, who made the first precise map of Beijing on the emperor's order.
From 1711 to 1723, Matteo Ripa, an Italian priest sent to China by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, worked as a painter and copper-engraver at the Qing court. In 1723, he returned to Naples from China with four young Chinese Christians, in order to groom them to become priests and send them back to China as missionaries. This marked the beginning of the Collegio dei Cinesi, sanctioned by Pope Clement XII to help the propagation of Christianity in China. This Chinese Institute was the first school of Sinology in Europe, which would later develop to become the Istituto Orientale and the present day Naples Eastern University.
The Kangxi Emperor was also the first Chinese emperor to play a western musical instrument. He employed Karel Slavíček as court musician. Slavíček was playing Spinet; later the emperor would play on it himself. He also invented a Chinese calendar.[citation needed] China's famed blue and white porcelain probably reached its zenith during the Kangxi Emperor's reign.
Christianity [ edit ]
In the early decades of the Kang |
up with EmergeUSA and MPAC to successfully pass a House Resolution which condemns ethnic, religious and racial hate crimes. The bi-partisan resolution was co-sponsored by Representatives Dingell, Taylor and Curbelo and mirrors its Senate Counterpart, S. Res. 118... The Resolution is now in the House and we need you to help pass it. Take action and contact your Representatives today and urge them to sign on to pass this resolution".
Would it not be appropriate for the politicians sponsoring and voting for these resolutions first of all to find out what drives the organizations responsible for drafting them?
EmgageUSA likes to describe itself as a civil rights style organization, "non-partisan" with the innocent sounding purpose of:
"...develop[ing] the capacity of the Muslim voter to ensure that our narrative is part of the American fabric. Our programs include civic educational events such as issue forums and town halls, voter initiatives including Get Out The Vote (GOTV), and specific programs for the youth in order to mentor and support the next generation of leaders".
The co-founder of EmgageUSA (founded in 2006 as EmergeUSA), Khurrum Wahid, a South Florida attorney, is the organization's National Board Co-Chair. In a 2011 interview with The Intelligence Report, the magazine of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Wahid listed the numerous cases in which he has represented terrorists, including members of Al Qaeda, such as Omar Ahmed Abu Ali, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2006 for joining al-Qaeda and plotting to assassinate President George W. Bush, Shahawar Matin Siraj, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2007 for conspiring to plant bombs in New York City; Dr. Rafiq Sabir, who was convicted of conspiring to treat injured al-Qaeda fighters and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2007; Syed Hashmi, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2010 for providing supplies and money to a senior al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan. He also represented Hafiz Khan, who was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in 2013 for funneling tens of thousands of dollars to the Pakistani Taliban.
Khurrum Wahid appears to have a positive view of the terrorists he has represented, despite their proven guilt. According to a 2012 interview with Miami New Times:
He [Wahid] believes terrorism cases are, in many ways, the civil rights battles of his generation. While outsiders might paint his clients as criminals, he says people... are being prosecuted for giving money to groups the U.S. government doesn't like. "I think these things are not so black-and-white... I think innocent people get caught up in the politics."
In 2011, Wahid himself was put on a terror list. Asked by the Miami New Times about this fact Wahid said, "It tells me that the system is broken."
Khurrum Wahid is a former board member of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR has repeatedly been identified as a Muslim Brotherhood front group.
EmgageUSA has hosted Islamic lecturer Sayed Ammar Nakshawani repeatedly at its yearly events. Nakshawani, has called for the destruction of Israel, saying "It is barbaric that this Zionist state is allowed to continue".
EmergeUSA has collaborated with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) to "engage American Muslims" in last year's elections. Like CAIR, ISNA was one of the unindicted co-conspirators of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) named by the US government in the HLF, with offenses including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, namely, Hamas.
According to the Investigative Project on Terrorism:
"Far from being the zealous champion of civil rights that it presents itself to be, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) has followed a consistent pattern of defending designated terrorist organizations and their supporters, opposing U.S. counterterrorism efforts and spouting anti-Semitic rhetoric".
The Investigative Project on Terrorism has authored a damning 88-page report about MPAC. American politicians do not seem to have taken much interest in it.
The question that all Americans ought to ask their representatives is this: Why do they let themselves be duped by policy initiatives driven by terrorist sympathizers and activists associated with Muslim Brotherhood front groups?Germany decided to go nuclear-free by 2022. A CO2-emission-free electricity supply system based on intermittent sources, such as wind and solar - or photovoltaic (PV) - power could replace nuclear power. However, these sources depend on the weather conditions. In a new study published in EPJ Plus, Fritz Wagner from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Germany analysed weather conditions using 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015 data derived from the electricity supply system itself, instead of relying on meteorological data. By scaling existing data up to a 100% supply from intermittent renewable energy sources, the author demonstrates that an average 325 GW wind and PV power are required to meet the 100% renewable energy target. This study shows the complexity of replacing the present primary energy supply with electricity from intermittent renewable sources, which would inevitably need to be supplemented by other forms of CO2-free energy production.
Intermittent sources are, by definition, unsteady. Therefore, a back-up system capable of providing power at a level of 89% of peak load would be needed. This requires creating an oversised power system to produce large amounts of surplus energy. A day storage to handle surplus is ineffective because of the day-night correlation of surplus power in the winter. A seasonal storage system loses its character when transformation losses are considered; indeed, it only contributes to the power supply after periods with excessive surplus production.
The option of an oversized, intermittent renewable-energy-sources system to feed the storage is also ineffective. This is because, in this case, energy can be taken directly from the large intermittent supply, making storage superfluous. In addition, the impact on land use and the transformation of landscape by an unprecedented density of wind convertors and transmission lines needs to be taken into consideration. He also warns of the risk that it will intensify social resistance.
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Reference:
F. Wagner (2017), Surplus from and storage of electricity generated by intermittent sources, Eur. Phys. J. Plus 131: 445, DOI 10.1140/epjp/i2016-16445-3Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images In The Arena Jeff Sessions Just Revived a Policy Nobody Supports Why is the Justice Department going backward on civil forfeiture?
Robert Everett Johnson is an attorney at the Institute for Justice.
Every day, law enforcement officials across the United States seize cash from motorists stopped at the side of the road. It’s called “civil forfeiture,” and the stories of abuse are legion: over $17,000 seized from the owner of a barbecue restaurant in Staunton, Virginia; over $13,000 seized from a former church deacon in DeKalb County, Georgia; and over $50,000 seized from a Christian rock band in Muskogee County, Oklahoma.
Civil forfeiture allows government to seize property based on the mere suspicion that it is connected to a crime. For instance, the fact that the cops think someone has too much cash is enough to warrant a seizure. After the property is seized, in a complete reversal of the way the American justice system is supposed to work, owners must prove their own innocence to get it back.
Story Continued Below
Public outrage over the practice has grown as more tales of abuse have been reported. And fortunately, over the past three years, 24 states have passed reforms to protect property owners and curtail civil forfeiture. Less fortunately, on Wednesday Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new federal policy that threatens to undermine those reforms.
Speaking in a small conference room surrounded by law enforcement officials, Sessions announced the federal government was rolling back an Eric Holder-era policy that had sharply curtailed so-called adoptive seizures. An adoptive seizure occurs when a state police officer seizes property and then transfers it to the federal government, which then forfeits the property under federal law. Importantly, state law enforcement gets to keep up to 80 percent of the proceeds of the forfeiture.
To understand why that matters, imagine you are a motorist whose cash is seized in a state with strong protections for property owners. Under state law, state police can take your property only if they convict you of a crime. But, using an adoptive seizure, state police can take your property without convicting you of anything and can rely on federal prosecutors to forfeit the money and pay a kickback of 80 percent to the local police department. Those state-law protections no longer protect you from anything.
In other words, by reauthorizing adoptive seizures, the attorney general’s policy will allow state police to circumvent protections for property rights put in place by state legislatures. Worse, because proceeds from the sale go to state law enforcement, the federal government actually pays state police to circumvent their own law. It’s practically an open invitation to corruption and abuse.
A March 2017 report from the Department of Justice’s own inspector general makes the point. The report found that law enforcement in states with strong protections for property owners were more likely to engage in adoptive seizures and concluded—based on interviews of state police—that the “primary reason” was “that their states’ forfeiture laws restrict law enforcement’s use of forfeiture.”
Bringing back adoptive seizures is a big step in the wrong direction. The federal government should be working with the states to protect private property rights, not mounting a rearguard action to undermine reforms.
Wednesday’s directive is particularly jarring coming from an attorney general who has previously embraced federalism—for instance, criticizing the Voting Rights Act as overly “intrusive.” Proponents of federalism often say that states are “laboratories of democracy,” and, by reforming their forfeiture laws, many states have embarked on an experiment to provide greater protection for property rights. The federal government accomplishes nothing by cutting off those experiments at the knees.
Or, perhaps it would be more fair to say the new policy accomplishes nothing good. In the year before former Attorney General Eric Holder abolished adoptive seizures, they totaled more than $65 million. Wednesday’s announcement reopens that funding source.
It is not hard to see the financial motivation underlying this change. That same March 2017 inspector general’s report found that eliminating adoptive seizures had “financially affected state and local law enforcement,” particularly in states with more “restrictive state forfeiture laws.”
Of course, everybody agrees that law enforcement needs to be funded. Law enforcement does important work keeping Americans safe, and somebody needs to pay for it. But law enforcement should be funded just like any other government activity—not by seizing cash on the side of the road.
When law enforcement profits from forfeiture, law enforcement has a pernicious financial incentive to take property. This incentive warps priorities, redirecting focus from the worst criminals to the fattest financial targets. For instance, a study of highway stops on I-40 in Tennessee compared seizures on the highway’s eastbound lanes (where cars are more likely to involve drugs coming in from Mexico) with seizures on the westbound lanes (where cars are more likely to carry cash). The study found that officers made 10 times as many stops on the westbound lanes. In other words, given the choice between stopping drug sales or confiscating money, law enforcement chose the money.
Nor is Wednesday’s announcement limited to highway seizures of cash. Using civil forfeiture, law enforcement can take all manner of property—including homes and businesses.
In Massachusetts, for instance, the federal government teamed up with state police to target the family-owned Motel Caswell. Prosecutors claimed the motel was subject to forfeiture because guests committed drug offenses in the privacy of their rooms. The motel owners ultimately won in court, but only after five years of litigation. Without free legal assistance from the nonprofit Institute for Justice, the owners never could have afforded to fight.
Or consider the case of Terry and Ria Platt, an elderly couple who were targeted for civil forfeiture after their son was pulled over for a window tint violation. When police found cash in the car—along with a small amount of marijuana—police did not stop at taking the cash. They also seized the car, although it is owned by Terry and Ria. They had to fight to keep their car, simply because they had lent it to their son.
These are exactly the kinds of abuses of power that Wednesday’s policy change will encourage. Indeed, the directive explicitly contemplates seizing peoples’ homes, even “where title or ownership lies with persons not implicated in illegal conduct.” The directive calls for “caution” in such cases, but does not institute concrete protections to prevent abuse.
Fortunately, states can fight back. Several states have passed measures limiting the ability of state law enforcement to transfer property to the federal government for forfeiture. Ohio, for instance, prohibits transferring property to the federal government unless the property is valued over $100,000. Pennsylvania, meanwhile, prohibits adoptive seizures outright.
Congress can fight back, too. At a minimum, lawmakers should move quickly to ban adoptive seizures. But more fundamentally, Congress should overhaul federal civil forfeiture laws to provide greater protection for property owners. If federal laws are updated to provide the same kinds of protections that are being instituted in the states, then state law enforcement will no longer look to Washington to sidestep reform.
Good bills have already been introduced. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) has reintroduced the DUE PROCESS Act, which would restore the presumption of innocence for owners facing civil forfeiture, raise the standard of proof for those proceedings, and provide legal representation for indigent owners. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has gone even further with the FAIR Act, which would ban federal agencies from retaining forfeiture proceeds and curtail law enforcement’s ability to use federal law to circumvent state reforms.
Practically everybody agrees that civil forfeiture is wrong. Indeed, a 2016 survey found that 84 percent of Americans oppose the practice. With or without the attorney general, now is the time for reform.Now that Arizona has an official state nickname ("The Grand Canyon State" in case you didn't know), the Legislature is on track to name an official state firearm.
The weapon of choice: the Colt Single Action Army revolver. It dates from 1873, making it far older than the state, although arguably it was in use during territorial days. It was the standard Army issue until 1892.
Senate Bill 1610 would memorialize the Colt as the official nickname, joining other official symbols such as the cactus blossom as the official state flower and the bolo tie as the official state neckwear.
In a sign of the continuing partisan divide at the Capitol, particularly where gun bills are concerned, SB 1610 had 43 Republican sponsors, but not a single Democrat.
The bill was heard Tuesday by the Senate Appropriations Committee, where a "yes" vote was expected.
If passed into law, Arizona would join Utah, which is on track to make the Browning-designed M1911 its official firearm.ES News Email Enter your email address Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in or register with your social account
A Christmas tree in south London has been branded the most depressing in Britain.
Lewisham Police station's festive offering stands behind metal barriers and leans sadly against a fence, decorated only with a meagre string of white lights.
Twitter users were quick to offer it up as a nomination for this year's most depressing.
Mickey-James tweeted to say: "Lewisham's Christmas tree outside the police station is a proper joke! Embarrassing."
My nomination for Most Depressing Christmas Tree: #Lewisham police station. pic.twitter.com/LS70vzwhxZ — Vestal McIntyre (@VestalMcIntyre) November 27, 2015
And some have pointed out that the metal barriers give the impression that the tree has been kettled by police.
One tweeter, Rachel, posted a picture of the tree, saying: "Lewisham police station put up a Christmas tree, then kettled it."
Her post was retweeted almost 500 times, and Twitter was quick to respond with the festive policing puns.
lewisham police station put up a christmas tree, then kettled it pic.twitter.com/WJBWSrOw0L — rachel (@stopgrinning) December 4, 2015
Marcus Leroux tweeted: "I see there's limited police presents in the area.
"If they have a sense of humour they'll only put baubles on one bit and call it special branch."
@stopgrinning Suspected of carrying needles. — Anarchist Federation (@AnarchistFed) December 4, 2015
While Dan Hancox said:"'Containment', please, not 'kettling'. they're only interested in protecting the tree's safety."
Catherine Mary posted: "Looks like it might have been strip searched already."
@stopgrinning you could say it was TOT-YULE POLICING — ben p (@romandavid) December 4, 2015
While Fergus Smith tweeted: "Haven't you heard of the treerorist threat?"
Mrs Trevithick posted: "FREE THE YULETREE ONE!"
And another Twitter user, Emmett, said simply: "Trunk & disorderly."“This nasty and backwards budget green-lights cuts to Medicare and Medicaid in order to give a tax break to big corporations and the wealthiest Americans,” Mr. Schumer said.
The Senate approved the budget blueprint after considering a flurry of amendments, a tedious process that gives the minority party an opportunity to force the majority to endure politically difficult votes. One Democratic amendment that was rejected sought to stop tax cuts from going to the top 1 percent; another would have restored cuts to Medicare.
The Senate approved the budget after a so-called vote-a-rama, a legislative whirlwind in which amendments are considered one after another. One proposal would have deleted language that could allow for drilling legislation; the amendment failed, 48 to 52.
“The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most pristine areas of the United States, and we have been protecting it for decades for a reason,” said Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
But Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska and the chairwoman of the energy panel, said erasing the language would “deprive us of a substantial opportunity to benefit our country at the same time that we care for our environment.”
In Congress, the annual budget resolution provides an outline of federal spending and revenues. The Senate’s blueprint, for the 2018 fiscal year that began Oct. 1, claims to achieve a balanced budget within a decade, assuming greater economic growth and using an accounting method that excludes Social Security. In order to erase projected deficits, it calls for trillions of dollars in spending cuts over the coming decade.
But the cuts exist only on paper, without legislation to achieve them.
Even so, Democrats sounded the alarm, warning that the aspirational cuts in the budget plan called for slicing more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and about $470 billion from Medicare over a decade.Story highlights Survey: Three out of 10 of us say that we don't password-protect our phones
McAfee security says more than half have shared their password with others
Advice: Never use the "remember me" function on apps, Web browser
Creating a password? Take a pass on 1-1-1-1 please
More than three out of every 10 smartphone owners don't have a password on the device that could give easy access to their e-mail, bank account, credit card information and other sensitive info.
That's one of the findings of a recent worldwide survey by Web security company McAfee.
On top of that, 15% of people surveyed said they save password information on their phones to apps and websites they use and more than half (55%) who do have passwords said they've shared those passwords with others.
"The unfortunate reality is that everyone loses things, and our devices can get stolen," Robert Siciliano, an identity-theft specialist at McAfee, wrote in a blog post about the findings. " And when that happens to your smartphone or tablet, it can be devastating."
In all, 36% of respondents said they don't have a phone password. And women are slightly less likely to password-protect their phones. Some 54% of those who said they don't were women.
Guys aren't blameless, though. Out of all the respondents who said they "hide" passwords to websites and apps in the Notes app on their phone, 62% were men.
"Many of us use upwards of 10 apps on our devices during a typical week," Siciliano wrote. "The majority of these apps are logged into our most critical accounts including e-mail, text, banking, social media, payment apps and others that are linked to our credit cards.
"And because mobile app developers know that we are more apt to use their programs if they are easy to access and convenient to use, a lot of apps are programmed to automatically keep you logged in for days, weeks, months or until you manually revoke access."
He offered some basic tips for protecting data on your phone. Among them:
-- Password-protect all your devices and don't use easy ones such as "1-2-3-4" or "1-1-1-1."
-- Never use the "remember me" function on sensitive apps or your Web browser and remember to log out of those apps when you're done with them.
-- Consider not sharing your password, even with family members. "This might be a tough one," he concedes.
-- Predictably, use a mobile security product -- such as McAfee's.College of Origami
Bards are usually known for their spontaneity and spur of the moment ways of thinking. The College of Origami, unlike most colleges, teaches the contrary; it teaches of calm and patience; of fore-thinking and planning.
Crafting Material
When you join the College of Origami at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with the origami tool set.
Origami Tool Set This toolset is composed of 100 small paper sheets and a small set of wooden or bone tweezers and folders, and it's usually found in any town of small size or larger. One Set costs 1 gp., and weighs 1 lb.
Basic Folds
Also at 3rd level you learn to shape paper into small beast-like figurines enhanced with magical properties. To make such a figurine you must spend one use of your Bardic Inspiration and 1 minute crafting the desired object. After doing so you may keep it or bestow it upon anothercreature, which then gains its benefits for one hour. At 3rd level you know 4 of these creations:
*Crane-* The creature bearing this figurine gains the luck of the crane, gaining a +1 bonus to attack rolls made with melee or throw weapons.
Ox- The creature which holds this figurine gains the vigor of the ox; when it rolls for initiative, it may roll a die equal to your Bardic Inspiration die and gain that amount as Temporary Hit Points.
The creature which holds this figurine gains the vigor of the ox; when it rolls for initiative, it may roll a die equal to your Bardic Inspiration die and gain that amount as Temporary Hit Points. Tiger- The bearer of this figurine gains the power of the ferocious tiger, gaining a +1 bonus to damage rolls made with weapons.
The bearer of this figurine gains the power of the ferocious tiger, gaining a +1 bonus to damage rolls made with weapons. Turtle- The turtle bestows it’s defensive capabilities to its wielder, granting a +1 bonus to AC.
A creature benefiting from one of these effects may end it immediately to gain the normal benefits of your Bardic Inspiration
You may have only one of each figurine active at the same time, and a creature may only benefit from one effect at a time.
Permanent Paper
Through your adventures you gathered power and knowledge, to the point that you learned to make your creations stronger and sturdier.
At 6th level you can make one of your figurines last until you take a long rest. If you choose to do so, you do not regain the use of that Bardic Inspiration after a short rest.
You also learned how to harness the endurance of those pesky, annoying dragons that keep showing up. You can now create the dragon figurine:
Dragon- By making use of colored paper, or very minute details on the figures’ heads, you can create the resemblance of the dragons down to its type. Choose acid, cold, fire, lightning or poison when creating this figurine. The bearer gains resistance to that damage type.
Master Fold
Your time adventuring and observing now allows you to even try to recreate some of your allies (or previous ones). Starting at 14th level you learn the following figurines:
The Brute- Choose between bludgeoning, piercing or slashing, the bearer gains resistance to that damage type. It may also go into a rage once(as per the Rage feature, PHB, pg 48) as if it were a 1st level Barbarian.
Choose between bludgeoning, piercing or slashing, the bearer gains resistance to that damage type. It may also go into a rage once(as per the Rage feature, PHB, pg 48) as if it were a 1st level Barbarian. The Adroit- The bearer may choose one of the Fighting Styles gained by the Fighter (PHB, pg 72) when it first receives the figurine. Furthermore, it can use Action Surge (as per the Fighter feature) once.
The bearer may choose one of the Fighting Styles gained by the Fighter (PHB, pg 72) when it first receives the figurine. Furthermore, it can use Action Surge (as per the Fighter feature) once. The Sneaky- The bearer gains proficiency in stealth, and it can use Sneak Attack (as per the Rogue’s feature, pg 96) following the table below: Once it does so, it can’t use it again until it finishes a short rest. Sneak Attack Damage
Character Level Damage 1st - 4th 1d6 5th - 8th 2d6 9th - 12th 3d6 13th - 16th 4d6 17th - 20th 5d6
The Sagacious- The bearer gains a +1 to attack rolls and to its spell save DC when attacking with a cantrip. It may also impose disadvantage on a single saving throwmade to resist a spell it cast.
You can have only one of these four active at a time.
Credit: Joseph Wu2014 Event!
WANT TO JOIN THE COMPETITION?
REGISTRATION OPEN UNTIL 4/8/14 AT 11:59PM!!!
SIGN UP HERE!
TICKETS NOW ON SALE, GET YOURS HERE!
This year’s event will take place on National Grilled Cheese Day, April 12, 2014 from 11:00am – 6:00pm at Los Angeles Center Studios in downtown Los Angeles.
The LAST Grilled Cheese Invitational tickets are on sale now!
Avoid the long lines at the gate!
Purchase your tickets online, print ‘em at home and then be scanned into the event at breakneck speed….WITH LASERS!!!!
Pre-event tickets are only $15 ($20 day of event) and with all the mondo queso we’re packing into this bad Larry, you’re going to want to make sure you get your tickets before the event.
The event WILL SELL out so do not hesitate, buy as soon as you have the nickels!
Come game day, you don’t want to be left holding you cheese in your hand listening to your girlfriend cry her eyes out because you decided to risk it all and wait to buy tickets.
Save yourself! Save your relationship! Win your life!
The Last Grilled Cheese Invitational will be a glorious day for cheese!
This year’s event will be just as spectacular as in years past, with one added bonus. A final, fifth competition heat, where all previous Grilled Cheese Champions throughout the years will be invited to compete for the grand crown, the Final Grilled Cheese Champion!
General Admission tickets are available here!
Judging Society Membership and Tickets are SOLD OUT!
We have over 20 vendors lined up to bring you the very best in gourmet grilled cheese, plus there’s beer, costumes and yelling!Pashtun leader Umar Daud Khattak accused the Pakistani government and the army of abducting hundreds of Pashtun girls and using them as sex slaves.
Khattak said Pashtuns, an ethnic people living mostly Waziristan, sprawled across Pakistan and Afghanistan, have been targeted by the Pakistani army which has destroyed their houses and suppressed their freedom.
"Pakistan has misled Pashtuns enough, now we won't be fooled anymore. We are forming a Pashtunistan liberation army aiming for an armed struggle against Pakistan," Khattak told ANI.
Khattak, an activist based in Afghanistan, said the Pashtuns are forming a Pashtunistan Liberation Army, and that they will launch an armed struggle against Pakistan.
The Pashto-speaking people live in the region straddling Hindu Kush in northeastern Afghanistan and the northern stretch of the Indus River in Pakistan. There are around 10 million Pashtuns in Afghanistan and more than 20 million in Pakistan, where they are the third largest ethnic group.
Khattak said that according to UNHCR, about 500,000 Pashtuns from the area have fled to Afghanistan to escape atrocities of the Pakistani army. He said the Pashtunistan liberation army "will put an end to terror."
He said the Pakistan army bulldozed several of the community's houses, looted markets and raped their women. "It's a catastrophe, Khattak added.
Pakistani Pashtuns have been increasingly getting caught up in the army's battle with the Afghan Taliban terror outfits operating in the country. "Sometimes Pak fights with the US, sometimes with neighbours. We people of Waziristan have never been on the side of terrorists," a Pakistani Pashtun told media following a bombing raid conducted by Pak military in the region last year as part of terror crackdown.
"Everyone know where the so-called terrorists are hiding and operating. They are hiding in Islamabad and Karachi," another Pakistani Pashtun said, according to India Today.
Originally thought to be Afghanistan natives, several Pashtun tribes moved to Pakistan between the 13th and 16th centuries, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. "Pashtun tradition asserts that they are descended from Afghana, grandson of King Saul of Israel, though most scholars believe it more likely that they arose from an intermingling of ancient Aryans from the north or west with subsequent invaders," it says.The powerful and hard-hitting documentary, American Holocaust, is quite possibly the only film that reveals the link between the Nazi holocaust, which claimed at least 6 million Jews, and the American Holocaust which claimed, according to conservative estimates, 19 million Indigenous People.
It is seldom noted anywhere in fact, be it in textbooks or on the internet, that Hitler studied America’s “Indian policy”, and used it as a model for what he termed “the final solution.”
He wasn’t the only one either. It’s not explicitly mentioned in the film, but it’s well known that members of the National Party government in South Africa studied “the American approach” before they introduced the system of racial apartheid, which lasted from 1948 to 1994. Other fascist regimes, for instance, in South and Central America, studied the same policy.
Noted even less frequently, Canada’s “Aboriginal policy” was also closely examined for its psychological properties. America always took the more ‘wide-open’ approach, for example, by decimating the Buffalo to get rid of a primary food source, by introducing pox blankets, and by giving $1 rewards to settlers in return for scalps of Indigenous Men, women, and children, among many, many other horrendous acts. Canada, on the other hand, was more bureaucratic about it. They used what I like to call “the gentleman’s touch”, because instead of extinguishment, Canada sought to “remove the Indian from the Man” and the Women and the Child, through a long-term, and very specific program of internal breakdown and replacement – call it “assimilation”. America had it’s own assimilation program, but Canada was far more technical about it.
Perhaps these points would have been more closely examined in American Holocaust if the film had been completed. The film’s director, Joanelle Romero, says she’s been turned down from all sources of funding since she began putting it together in 1995.
Perhaps it’s just not “good business” to invest in something that tells so much truth? In any event, Romero produced a shortened, 29-minute version of the film in 2001, with the hope of encouraging new funders so she could complete American Holocaust. Eight years on, Romero is still looking for funds.
American Holocaust may never become the 90-minute documentary Romero hoped to create, to help expose the most substantial act of genocide that the world has ever seen… one that continues even as you read these words.A Michigan man has been fined $400 and given 40 hours of community service for accessing an open wireless Internet connection outside a coffee shop.
Under a little known state law against computer hackers, Sam Peterson II, of Cedar Springs, Mich., faced a felony charge after cops found him on March 27 sitting in front of the Re-Union Street Café in Sparta, Mich., surfing the Web from his brand-new laptop.
Last week, Peterson chose to pay the fine instead as part of a jail-diversion program.
"I think a lot of people should be shocked, because quite honestly, I still don't understand it myself," Peterson told FOXNews.com "I do not understand how this is illegal."
• Click here for FOXNews.com's Personal Technology Center.
His troubles began in March, a couple of weeks after he had bought his first laptop computer.
Peterson, a 39-year-old toolmaker, volunteer firefighter and secretary of a bagpipe band, wanted to use his 30-minute lunch hour to check e-mails for his bagpipe group.
He got on the Internet by tapping into the local coffee shop's wireless network, but instead of going inside the shop to use the free Wi-Fi offered to paying customers, he chose to remain in his car and piggyback off the network, which he said didn't require a password.
He used the system on his lunch breaks for more than a week, and then the police showed up.
"I was sitting there reading my e-mail and he came up and stuck his head inside my window and asked me who I was spying on," Peterson told FOXNews.com.
Someone from a nearby barbershop had called cops after seeing Peterson's car pull up every day and sit in front of the coffee shop without anybody getting out.
"I just curiously asked him, 'Where are you getting the Internet connection?', you know," Sparta Police Chief Andrew Milanowski said. "And he said, 'From the café.'"
Milanowski ruled out Peterson as a possible stalker of the attractive local hairdresser, but still felt that a law might have been broken.
"We came back and we looked up the laws and we figured if we found one and thought, 'Well, let's run it by the prosecutor's office and see what they want to do,'" Milanowski said.
A few weeks later Peterson said he received a letter from the Kent County prosecutor's office saying that he faced a felony charge of fraudulent access to computer networks and that a request had been made for an arrest warrant.
The law, introduced in 1979 to protect Internet and private-network users from hackers, and amended in 2000 to include wireless systems, makes piggybacking off of Wi-Fi networks, even those without a password, illegal.
"It wasn't anything we were looking for, and it wasn't anything that we frankly particularly wanted to get involved in, but it basically fell in our lap and it was a little hard to just look the other way when somebody handed it to us," said Lynn Hopkins, assistant prosecuting attorney for Kent County.
Under the statute, individuals who log on to a Wi-Fi network with the owner's permission, or who see a pop-up screen that says it's a public network, can assume they're authorized to use the network, Hopkins said.
If they don't, they could be subject to prosecution.
Peterson was given two choices: He could try to fight the felony charge and face a sentence of up to 5 years in jail or a $10,000 fine; or he could enroll in the diversion program, which would require paying a $400 fine, doing 40 hours of community service and staying on probation for six months.
After consulting two lawyers — both of whom were until then unaware of the law — Peterson decided last week to take the diversion program.
If he fails to complete it, the arrest warrant will be issued and felony charges will be filed, Hopkins said.
"A lot of people tell me I should fight this, but they're not the ones looking at the felony charges on their record if it happens to go bad," Peterson said.
The case has surprised locals, including the owner of the barbershop that initially called police, as well as Donna May, owner of the coffee shop.
"He could have just come in the cafe, even if he didn't have any money, I would let him get on it," May said.
May said that the wireless connection is free for customers to her cafe.
The barbershop owner defended his decision to call police.
"I felt bad about it, but we've had problems in the past," said the man, who declined to give his name. "I'd rather be safe than sorry."
For Peterson, who's never had a criminal record, the experience has been an eye-opening one.
"All over the TV, all the commercials and whatnot you see, they're all trying to get you to buy all these laptops and things that are wireless," he said. "They're trying to get you to buy this wireless stuff because you can go anywhere and still be connected.
"Well, they don't happen to tell you that it's illegal," he continued. "And I guess obviously you're just supposed to know that."
It's up to the consumer to figure that out, said Hopkins, the prosecuting attorney.
"When you buy a Wi-Fi equipped device, it's your responsibility to find out what you can and can't legally do with that device, just as it would be if you were buying a radar detector or any other piece of electronics," she said.
But don't look for a flurry of prosecutions anytime soon.
"We're not going to be running stings to go out looking for people who do this," Hopkins said. "But people should be aware that if we come across them, and it is a violation of the statute, then we will enforce the statute |
of handing out cards legitimizing irresponsible behavior.
The other thing he’s doing is throwing about wild accusations, including this one:
After a woman accused PZ Myers of rape, he bullied her into silence, violating Title IX in the process. Details: http://t.co/kA0gHCkvP8 — Mike Cernovich (@PlayDangerously) March 2, 2015
After a woman accused PZ Myers of rape, he bullied her into silence, violating Title IX in the process.
One has to wonder…what does that have to do with Cernovich’s misuse of CDC data? He’s a lawyer, he should know the irrelevancy of bringing in that charge.
It’s also a grossly dishonest accusation. It’s based entirely on an exchange I reported of an unfortunate encounter with a student — they have no witnesses for their dishonest extensions of the story, because they’re entirely confabulations of their own bizarre obsessions.
Here’s the facts. A desperate student threatened to threaten me with public accusations of sexual behavior if I didn’t give her a good grade. My response was to immediately leave my office, check in with a women graduate student next door and ask her to talk with the student, and then went to my administrator to explain the situation. I moved fast because hanging about and arguing about the situation would have been pointless, and also would have given an opportunity to claim prolonged private contact. My chair requested some assistance from a woman faculty member, and they met with the student to get her story.
I was not there. I had basically recused myself from further involvement. There was no “bullying” — I did not tell the student to do anything, and had no further conversation with her about the accusation in any way. I placed the entire problem in the lap of the university administrators, who made sure that people who could be sympathetic, or at least objective, about her claims were present. She was given ample opportunity to talk freely about the situation, without me present.
I later heard second-hand that she’d retracted the accusation, and that there was no punishment or penalty. That was the end of it.
Now some fuckwits like to claim that I was somehow out to avoid investigation, when my entire response was to 1) remove the possibility that I was engaged in inappropriate behavior with a student by getting the hell out, and 2) be completely open and honest about the situation and allow third parties to handle it.
I don’t know why these morons are bringing up Title IX. You can read about sexual harassment and Title IX, and nothing I did was in violation. I was threatened in private, I stepped away from further engagement, and brought in official representatives of the university, to whom she could have made a public, official complaint. She chose not to, because her claims were false, she would not be able to support them, and I had taken steps to make sure that there wasn’t even an opportunity for her to claim I’d attacked her.
But this claim that I violated Title IX and bullied a student into silence, with the implication that I’d engaged in sexual misconduct, appears frequently enough, thanks to certain dissembling, obsessed assholes who repeat it with their confabulated slant added to it. Keep in mind that the frauds perpetuating their version of the story have no information to justify their bogus twists: so far, they all even get the university where it occurred completely wrong. They are making shit up.
You will also notice something else: these people who peddle the myth never say what they would do differently. Stepping away from the situation and turning it over to official representatives of the university is exactly what you’re supposed to do, and exactly what should be done under Title IX guidelines.
But there is one silver lining to all of this: nowadays when someone cites this event and spins into it this collection of legendary interpretations from the mouths of liars, I know exactly what kind of contemptible idiot I’m dealing with.criticism from fellow party members after the Democratic loss in a Georgia special election this week, Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she's "worth the trouble" as Democrats' leader in the House.
"I feel very confident about the support that I have in my caucus," Pelosi said at a press conference in the Capitol after Republicans featured her in almost every ad attacking Democrat Jon Ossoff in the Georgia congressional race which he lost Tuesday.
"I think I'm worth the trouble, quite frankly," she concluded. "I love the fray."
Democratic critics say it's time to change the party's House leadership, which has been static for over a decade, to make room for fresh voices and a new direction. But Pelosi insisted she's already done that by bringing younger members into leadership.
"We're paving a way for a new generation of leadership, and I respect any opinion that my members have," she said. "But my decision about how long I stay is not up to them."
© House Minority speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks at the Capitol on June 22. Image: US-politics-PRESS CONFERENCE-PELOSI And while Democrats have been on a losing streak lately — going down to defeat in all of the special congressional elections so far this year — she said that would turn around soon.
"History is on our side," she said, noting that presidents almost always lose House seats in their first midterm election.
"You want me to sing my praises?" she asked defiantly. "Well, I'm a master legislator. I am a strategic, politically astute leader. My leadership is recognized by many around the country, and that is why I'm able to attract the support that I do."
Pelosi added that Republican opponents will always go after the other party's leaders — "and usually they go after the most effective leader."
Pelosi beat back a leadership challenge late last year from Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), with two-thirds of her caucus supporting her.Alright let’s get to it shall we? That’s right, the Outcasts are back once again with a brand new episode for you all to enjoy and you’ve got Kyle and X bringing you all of the running commentary this week.
NEWS YOU MISSED – Mormon leadership suggests you make sure you pay your tithing over feeding your family, Russia sees JWs as a terrorist group, Paul Ryan and the GOP are coming for your health care, Utah can’t have a TESLA dealership sell any new cars from the factory because business, Trump is the chosen one, Kirk Cameron is hosting a bible game show, McCain has gone insane about the nuclear option.
THE TRUMP ROUNDUP – Bannon is out of the NSC, Susan Rice is being used as a scapegoat by the GOP to horrible effects, and we talk a bit about Syria and the chemical weapons we missed out on.
That’s all until Wednesday when we’ll bring you this week’s features segment for all of you to enjoy. Thank you so much for giving us a listen! Please get in touch with us if you have anything you want to discuss with us further or to let us know what you thought of the episode this week. We love hearing from our listeners!
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Buy some Merch!Today is an incredibly exciting day as we unveil the new Power BI – a service we believe will fundamentally transform the “business of business intelligence.” Power BI can help every company adopt a data culture with easy-to-use, accessible tools and innovative technology that lowers the barrier to entry, for all.
For those not familiar with Power BI, it is a cloud-based business analytics service (software-as-a -service) for non-technical business users. With just a browser – any browser – or a Power BI mobile app, customers can keep a pulse on their business via live operational dashboards. They can deeply explore their business data, through interactive visual reports, and enrich it with additional data sources. We launched the first version of Power BI last February and since then customers have used it to gain powerful insights, helping them become more productive and competitive.
Meet the new Power BI
Available in preview today, Power BI’s new business analytics experience makes it easy for customers to:
Sign up – All you need is a business email address and you’re in.
– All you need is a business email address and you’re in.
Connect – Connect to your data in minutes, with built-in connectors and pre-built dashboards and reports from a wide variety of sources including GitHub, Marketo, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Salesforce, SendGrid and Zendesk. More are coming in the next few months including Inkling Markets, Intuit, Microsoft Dynamics Marketing, Sage, Sumo Logic, Visual Studio Application Insights, Visual Studio Online, and many more. And Power BI is “hybrid” by design, so customers can leverage their on premise data investments while getting all the benefits of our cloud-based analytics service.
– Connect to your data in minutes, with built-in connectors and pre-built dashboards and reports from a wide variety of sources including GitHub, Marketo, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Salesforce, SendGrid and Zendesk. More are coming in the next few months including Inkling Markets, Intuit, Microsoft Dynamics Marketing, Sage, Sumo Logic, Visual Studio Application Insights, Visual Studio Online, and many more. And Power BI is “hybrid” by design, so customers can leverage their on premise data investments while getting all the benefits of our cloud-based analytics service.
Use – With a new tool – Power BI Designer – that allows business analysts to connect to, model and visually analyze their data. They can then effortlessly publish the results to any Power BI customer. We also released a preview of Power BI for iPad – now available for download from the Apple App Store. Later this year we’ll also introduce iPhone, Android and Windows universal apps.
Today, anyone with a US business email account can try the preview of the new Power BI for free. We’ll expand to international users in the future. When we reach general availability we will introduce a free offer, available as Power BI. We’ll also introduce Power BI Pro, available at a low monthly price, with additional data capacity and features for the enterprise. In anticipation of this move, on February 1 we are lowering the price of our in-market Power BI service to $9.99 per user a month, a 75 percent reduction in price. More information on these offers is available here.
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Maximizing your data dividend
With Power BI customers can wring every drop of value from each byte of their data. Whether it’s in a datacenter, private cloud, our public cloud — or a combination of all three — customers who store their data in the Microsoft platform stand to realize a greater data dividend than with any other vendor.
Data drives business and we are all dealing with more data than ever before. So, I encourage you to preview the new Power BI today by signing up for a free account. To find out more about Microsoft’s data platform and how we can help create new solutions that bring together big data insights, predictive analytics and powerful visualizations, go here.
Tags: Power BIBROCKTON – Former Boston firefighter and 9/11 responder Richard Parker showed no emotion as he was sentenced Friday to 4 to 6 years in prison for throwing knives at his wife in 2011.
A jury found Parker guilty of kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon and intimidation of a witness Thursday night in Brockton Superior Court.
Parker, accused of throwing knives at his wife, Kimberly Parker, had also been charged with assault to murder and threat to commit a crime as a result of the incident.
Parker had failed to convince the jury of his innocence despite his second straight day on the witness stand.
Kimberly Parker's sister, niece and friend gave teary victim impact statements Friday morning before his sentence was handed down.
On Dec. 18, 2011 just after 5 a.m., Parker's wife, who has since died, called 911 and told police that her husband was throwing knives at her.
“My husband is trying to kill me,” Parker yelled over the phone. “He’s got knives all over the house he just keeps throwing.”
Police responded and placed Richard Parker under arrest.
For Kimberly Parker's family, the trial was another part of a long road they traveled in recent years, accentuated by her mysterious death at the age of 45 in her home on March 10, 2013.
MORE PHOTOS
After 17 months of waiting for her autopsy results, Kimberly's sister Stephanie Deeley said they were told last August that her cause of death was officially considered “undetermined.”
Also, Deeley said Richard Parker has not given anyone on Kimberly’s side of the family access to any of her belongings, including her cremated remains.
“He (Richard Parker) told us that we could all have some memory, some memorabilia, something of Kim’s. But we never even got to do that,” Deeley told The Enterprise Wednesday.
When officers arrived at the Parker house at 3 Satucket Ave., in East Bridgewater in December 2011, they found Kimberly Parker 200 yards down the street in the woods with her two dogs. A police officer had stayed on the phone with her until officers arrived.
East Bridgewater Police officer Joel Silva found Richard Parker in the woods 50 feet behind his house lying on the ground.
The inside of the house was in shambles, police said. On a bedroom door there were several stab marks believed to be made from knives. Inside the disheveled bedroom a wall had multiple stab marks and slash marks and holes.
Richard Parker testified on Thursday that he had previously been prescribed several medications for anxiety and depression after attempting suicide twice in 2011. He said he has flashbacks and trouble dealing with the memories of responding to 9/11.
Parker told the jury that he had been drinking heavily the night of Dec. 17, 2011 while on his medication.
He said he never touched his wife and never threw knives at her but that he was depressed and drunk and taking his anger out by destroying items in the house and stabbing a wall with a knife.Read (7 minutes)
Financial abuse is when someone takes control of your money, stops you from being financially independent or earning your own money.
Financial abuse is a systematic behaviour where one person tries to control another person’s access to money and often occurs between partners. Financial abuse is a form of family violence and can be present with other forms of abuse like physical or emotional abuse, but can also be present without these other behaviours.
There are a lot of different ways someone can be financially abusive, and sometimes it might not be very obvious. Some forms of financial abuse may even seem like displays of affection initially, like your partner offering to take control of the finances to take the pressure off you, but are really an attempt to control your access to money.
Financial abuse can occur throughout a relationship, or may begin after you and your partner have split up through things like property settlement and child support processes.
Financially abusive behaviours include:
Controlling your money:
Taking control of your finances (e.g. being in charge of all the household income and paying you an allowance).
Controlling how all of the household income is spent.
Forcing you to claim social security benefits like Centrelink.
Making you go guarantor on a loan or take a loan out in your name.
Making you take out a second credit card.
Forcing you to work in a family business without being paid.
Filing fraudulent insurance claims.
Stopping you from earning:
Stopping you from getting a job or going to work.
Stopping you from going to work or important meetings by keeping you up all night or physically hurting you.
Stopping you from studying.
Limiting your access to money:
Not giving you access to bank accounts.
Denying you access to money so you can’t afford basic expenses like food or medicine.
Destroying or damaging or stealing your property.
Racking up debt on shared accounts or joint credit cards.
Withholding financial support like child support payments.
Refusing to work or contribute anything to the household income.
Gambling away your money or shared money.
Financial abuse can have a huge impact on your life, both emotionally and financially. If you’re experiencing financial abuse it’s important to remember it’s not your fault. No one has the right to control your money, even if you’re in a relationship with them.
What are the warning signs?
So how do you know if your relationship is financially abusive? Here are some warning signs to look out for.
Your partner might be abusive if they:
want to join finances early in your relationship.
are pressuring you to get a joint bank account or second credit card.
want you to go guarantor on a loan you don’t really know much about.
react badly when you try to talk to them about money, making you scared to bring it up.
do things that stop you from going to work.
want you to give up your job.
stalk or harass you or your colleagues at work.
forge your signature for financial documents.
Where can you get help?
If you think you might be in a financially abusive relationship it might be a good idea to start looking for help and support.
Talking to someone you trust could be a good start, whether that’s a friend, relative, a counsellor or psychologist. There are also a number of organisations that may be able to help you.
1800 RESPECT
1800 RESPECT is a national counselling helpline for women who have experienced family violence or sexual assault. Their support line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Relationships Australia
Relationships Australia is a leading provider of relationship support services for individuals, families and communities. They aim to support all people in Australia to achieve positive and respectful relationships.
Financial counselling
Financial counsellors are non-judgmental, qualified professionals who provide information, support and advocacy to people in financial difficulty. Working in community organisations, their services are free, independent and confidential. Take a look at the Financial Counselling Australia website to find a financial counsellor near you.
Mental health
If the abuse is affecting your mental health you may be eligible for a Mental Health Care Plan which gives you access to up to 10 sessions with a psychologist at a rebated rate. Mental health care plans are for people with mental health issues who have several healthcare professionals working with them.
A care plan explains the support provided by each of those professionals and when treatment should be provided. If you think a care plan could be helpful for you, make an appointment with a GP to discuss whether or not you are eligible. When you book the appointment let them know you want a care plan because you'll need a longer appointment than usual.
Living with financial abuse
Coping with financial abuse can be really tough, and sometimes you can be so caught up with everything going on that you can forget to look after yourself. So try to remember to take some time out to do something you enjoy. It might seem like your last priority but taking time for yourself can really help when you're trying to cope with something serious like financial abuse.As Pamela Meredith sank onto her living room sofa to watch an action movie with her visiting grandson, she felt unusually relieved that their busy day was over. The sultry heat of a Washington August, combined with the pace required to keep up with an active 12-year-old, had sapped her energy, which had flagged in recent weeks. As she put her feet up, Meredith was alarmed to see that her normally slim ankles were swollen, obscured by bands of puffy flesh.
The retired nurse practitioner gingerly pressed her finger into one ankle. The pressure left a visible dent in her skin, a telltale indication of a condition called pitting edema, caused by an accumulation of fluid in body tissues.
As Meredith mentally scrolled back through the events of Aug. 1, 2013, for a possible cause, she suddenly worried that her worsening fatigue might portend something ominous. She had dismissed recent sporadic heart palpitations as a mere nuisance, the recurrence of a harmless condition that had first appeared in her 30s. But the combination of pitting edema, worsening fatigue and palpitations seemed to point in one direction: a heart attack.
A few hours later, tests at a Northern Virginia hospital quickly ruled out Meredith’s biggest fear. She had not had a heart attack. But her level of potassium, critically important in regulating blood flow and kidney function, was perilously low and her normally low blood pressure was dangerously high. Meredith was admitted to the intensive care unit, where doctors spent the next four days figuring out what had caused her problem — and how best to treat it.
The answer proved to be both simple and surprising, revealing a malady with which Meredith, the former editor of a nursing magazine, was unfamiliar.
Pamela Meredith’s fatigue began soon after she returned from a family reunion. (Courtesy of Donna Leabhard)
“This is definitely an underrecognized problem,” said Hesham Omar, a hospital-based internist who was not involved in her case. “I think these cases get admitted and treated, but the cause is never figured out. Luckily, it’s not very common.”
The fatigue began in July soon after Meredith, then 70, returned from her family’s annual summer reunion in Atlantic, Iowa, an event that drew relatives from as far as Chile.
She began having difficulty completing her customary two-mile daily walk through her hilly Alexandria neighborhood, and noticed brief palpitations. They didn’t alarm her. In her 30s, she had experienced similar irregular heartbeats when she was stressed; testing at the time had ruled out a serious problem. “I’d always associated them with anxiety,” Meredith said. Although she did not feel anxious, “I’d just come back from a trip, and it was 100 degrees out.”
Her grandson was staying with her for a week, and they relaxed by watching movies in the evening as Meredith snacked on the Dutch salt licorice candy coins she had first tasted at the reunion.
On the afternoon of Aug. 1, Meredith had a physical therapy appointment designed to treat a shoulder problem. Two years earlier, she had been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, an autoimmune disorder that causes joint pain, swelling and stiffness in people with the scaly skin condition.
At the start of her PT appointment, a student took her blood pressure. The reading was unusually high: about 168/90; Meredith’s reading is usually about 100/60. Meredith said she assumed the elevated reading reflected the student’s inexperience.
“I asked her, ‘Are you sure your monitor’s working okay?’ ” she remembers inquiring.
A foolish move
Meredith recalled that blood pressure reading as she considered what to do about her swollen ankles. She chewed an aspirin tablet, something a person suspected of having a heart attack should do to prevent platelets from clumping and blocking an artery. Then she called her daughter, who lives nearby, and told her to pick up her son. “I knew I had to get to the hospital as soon as possible,” she said.
Then she did something she admits was dumb, partly to avoid upsetting her grandson.
Rather than calling 911, as she should have, Meredith got in her car and at 10 p.m. drove three miles to Inova Alexandria Hospital. She parked her car and walked across the darkened parking lot and into the emergency room. “If I had collapsed in the parking lot at that hour of the night, I might not have been found until daylight,” she said.
Inside the ER, she waited while another patient discussed a hand injury, then announced to the triage nurse in oddly stilted language, “I think I’m having a cardiac event.” Meredith was quickly whisked by wheelchair to an examining bay.
Several hours later, after tests ruled out a heart attack, she began to relax. “I was surprised — and delighted,” she said. She figured that a few intravenous bags of potassium would restore her count and that her blood pressure could be lowered with medications.
But Meredith’s doctors were concerned. Her systolic blood pressure, which measures pressure in the arteries when the heart beats, had risen to nearly 200 at one point, increasing her risk of a stroke. And her potassium level hovered around 2.6, a condition called hypokalemia, considered a medical emergency because it can trigger ventricular fibrillation, a wildly irregular heartbeat that can be fatal.
Doctors were perplexed by the cause of her sky-high blood pressure and hypokalemia. Hypokalemia has many causes, among them the use of diuretics (medicines used to treat high blood pressure); other causes include tumors, metabolic disorders, kidney disease and vomiting or diarrhea that leads to dehydration. Blood tests of Meredith’s levels of plasma renin, an enzyme that regulates blood pressure and kidney function, and aldosterone, a hormone produced in the adrenal gland, were abnormally low.
“People can die from low potassium,” said Irmindra S. Rana, a kidney specialist who was among the doctors who treated Meredith.
Meredith said she was repeatedly asked by her doctors and nurses whether she had taken diuretics or had suffered a recent bout of vomiting or diarrhea; the answer to those questions was no.
On the second or third day of her hospitalization, a second kidney specialist asked her a new question, one that commanded her attention.
“Have you eaten licorice lately?” he asked.
Meredith said, “I sat up in bed and said ‘Yes! What does that have to do with it?’ ”
Everything, it turned out.
An unexpected culprit
Meredith told her doctors she had not just eaten a few black licorice coins. A lifelong licorice lover, she enjoyed the candy coins so much that after the reunion she had ordered two two-pound bags. And in the space of about a week after she returned home, she had eaten one of those bags herself. “My practice with forbidden goodies,” she said, “is to eat them as fast as possible” so they’re not around to tempt her.
The type Meredith had eaten is called salt licorice and is popular in northern Europe. It contains glycyrrhizin, which causes the candy to taste sweet. The ingredient is made from licorice root, consumption of which can prompt the kidneys to release too much potassium, disrupting cardiac function and sometimes causing palpitations. Glycyrrhizin is not present in red licorice or in some licorice-flavored candy that uses a sweetener other than licorice root.
“We were looking for a unifying hypothesis” to explain her symptoms, said Rana, who made the diagnosis in conjunction with the other nephrologist and the hospital internist. In the absence of other findings, patients with very high blood pressure, fatigue and very low potassium and who have consumed large quantities of licorice are presumed to be suffering from licorice poisoning. And eating a two-pound bag of licoricein a short time is clearly enough to cause it.
“The key is to take a good history from patients,” said Rana, who said he has seen one other case of licorice toxicity in his career.
Shortly before Halloween 2011, the Food and Drug Administration cautioned consumers to avoid overconsumption of black licorice. The agency warned that people older than 40 who consume too much black licorice in a concentrated period could risk heart rhythm disturbances or muscle weakness. Sensitivity to glycyrrhizin varies and may be affected by genetic factors as well as sex and age.
The link between licorice and metabolic problems goes back decades, said Hesham Omar, an Iowa hospitalist who has written two papers on licorice poisoning.
Omar, who graduated from an Egyptian medical school, said that the problem is not uncommon among Muslims during Ramadan, when people are forbidden to eat or drink for 12 hours or more each day. Some consume enormous amounts of liquid licorice — sometimes in the form of tea — to blunt thirst, he said, only to wind up in the hospital. Patients who also take diuretics are particularly susceptible to accidental poisoning as are those who binge on licorice.
After four days in the ICU, Meredith was discharged from the hospital; by then, her potassium level had returned to normal. Her blood pressure declined slowly but steadily, though it remained elevated for several months, as is common in cases of excess licorice ingestion.
“I was dumbfounded by this,” Meredith said. “I certainly had never heard of it.”
She regrets driving herself to the emergency room. “If anyone in my family had done this, I would have hit them upside the head,” she said.
Meredith, who saw Rana several times after discharge to monitor her blood pressure and kidney function, has recovered completely with no ill effects, as do most patients. She has not touched licorice since, although the second large bag of Dutch candy coins remains in her kitchen cupboard.
“I’m not sure why,” she said. “Maybe as a reminder.”
Submit your medical mystery to sandra.boodman@washpost.com. Solved cases only, please. Read previous mysteries.0 Driver threatens Charlotte woman with gun on busy Independence Boulevard
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kelly Wiggins said she was a victim of road rage for about 1.5 miles Thursday morning on East Independence Boulevard.
Wiggins said a man started driving very close behind her and then beeped, flipped her off and cursed at her in the middle of morning rush-hour traffic.
“I was trying to get up so I can get over and this car just comes up behind me, all up on my butt and I'm, like, 'Dude, what did I do?'”
Wiggins said the man driving behind her was so enraged that he pointed a gun at her.
“It was really crazy,” Wiggins said. “I've never experienced road rage that bad.”
Wiggins doesn’t know what triggered the other driver's behavior and was shocked by his actions.
“It's just crazy to me that people get this way over driving,” Wiggins said.
She said, at one point, she slammed on her breaks to get him off her tail and exchanged a few choice with him.
That's when, she said, she saw a gun through her rearview mirror.
“He had it pointed and he just went down like that,” Wiggins said.
Wiggins filed a police report but didn’t jot down his license plate number.
"I did not get the license plate number and that is what is, like, ah, because he would be in jail right now if I would have gotten the license plate number,” Wiggins said.
The man could be charged with assault by pointing a gun.
Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:
© 2019 Cox Media Group.Image caption Would a $50 penalty help change lifestyles?
Overweight welfare claimants in the US state of Arizona face paying $50 (£31) fines if they don't follow a dietary regime laid down by their doctor. Is that fair?
Just as American waistlines - like many in the Western world - continue to expand, so does the budget to meet the associated costs.
Medicaid, the programme which provides healthcare for the poor, costs the US federal and state governments $339bn (£209bn) a year, a figure climbing 8% annually.
The federal government matches state spending on the program, providing as much as $3 for every $1 spent in poorer areas.
Given the size of the budget, it's no surprise that Medicaid has become one of the fiscal battlegrounds in Congress.
Why the Medicaid bill is rising Medicaid is the state health programme for people on low incomes
In recession, more jobs are lost, incomes decline and people lose employer health cover
This results in higher Medicaid enrolment
At the same time, state revenues are declining
Medicaid enrolment has increased by 6m people in last few years
Not to be confused with Medicare, which is the state health insurance cover for over-65s Source: Kaiser Commission
President Obama's healthcare reforms would extend cover further, increasing costs to states by tens of billions of dollars. But the Republican budget proposal put forward by Congressman Paul Ryan caps the government contribution, saving an estimated $750bn (£463bn) over 10 years, but forcing states to make cuts.
Now the state of Arizona is proposing a radical idea. It wants to impose a $50 annual fine for overweight Medicaid recipients who don't follow a strict health regime developed with their doctor. Those with children, and people overweight due to a medical condition, would be exempt.
Smokers and diabetics who ignore their medical advice would also have to pay.
Monica Coury, assistant director at Arizona's Medicaid programme, says the aim is to change behaviour using a carrot and stick approach, in the same way that increasing cigarette taxes reduced smoking.
"It's undeniable that there is a link between obesity and the rising cost of healthcare in America, so we can't be afraid to discuss this issue.
"It's reaching a crisis level in the US and we continue to complain about the rising uncontrolled costs of care - and yet we don't drill down and test some of these concepts."
Would a fine encourage weight loss? "It's a silly idea. Overweight people are motivated to lose weight but it's very hard. Only 5% of people lose weight and keep it off for five years. The state would be wiser to change the conditions driving obesity rather than penalising people that have it." Kelly Brownell, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University "The reason people are obese is complicated and saying 'eat less' is not enough. People don't have access to grocery stores that carry healthy foods, don't have the funds to buy them and don't have the education to know what to buy." Ziporah Janowski, Camp Shane weight loss camp, Arizona
Rewards for those who meet slimming targets could come in the form of keep-fit videos or other kinds of incentives, says Ms Coury. People with children, and those overweight due to a medical condition will not have to pay.
"But if you are just an average person who is able to do something to address your weight issue, and your doctor believes you can do something about it and prescribes a regime for you and you choose not to follow it, your treatment [for heart problems in later life, for example] is costing more and we're asking you to put something back to the system."
Details of how the scheme, put forward by Governor Jan Brewer, would be administered have yet to be thrashed out, and would be agreed if the state gets the go-ahead from Congress.
Although some private companies have similar penalties in their health insurance cover, this would be the first time any state health care programme has charged people in this way for what could be deemed an unhealthy lifestyle.
If your wife is nagging at you, you roll your eyes and eat another chip, but if your doctor says you have to lose 10lbs, then you take it more seriously Fitness instructor Lisa Johnson
Arizona has the second-highest proportion of Medicaid recipients in the US, and a quarter of its residents are classed as obese. Among its other plans to cut its annual $10bn (£6.2bn) Medicaid bill is to freeze enrolment for some childless adults.
Other states will be watching closely as they all scramble to cut costs, says Matt Salo of the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
"They don't know how they will survive the next two years. States are facing a $175bn (£108bn) shortfall. It's a huge amount of money and it's a time of great uncertainty.
"What Arizona is doing is a combination of short-term budget savings that will have a long-term change of behaviour with health outcomes.
"Is this the answer? I don't know, but people are looking at it closely because there are so few other options."
Some overweight people believe it could work. Kevin Woodman, 46, weighs 264lbs (120kg) and lives in Tucson, Arizona. He lost 161lbs (73kg) in nine months by cutting out carbohydrates and enduring a strict fitness regime at a boot camp called Swat.
"A friend offered me $1,000 to lose weight and I didn't, I gained weight," says the radio show host. "For me, it was only when I was faced with losing a limb or diabetes that I lost weight. But for those on low incomes, this could work."
But Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema thinks the tax is unfair because people like her diabetic grandmother could be penalised because there is no system to determine when a person is or isn't following a medical regime.
Ballooning budgets and waistlines Michelle Obama (above) has led an anti-obesity campaign called Let's Move
For every dollar spent on health care, 83 cents is spent on a patient who is overweight or obese
Annual health costs related to obesity in the US are as high as $168bn (£104bn)
25.5% of Arizona residents are obese, which is about the US average Source: Campaign to End Obesity
Most Americans would agree it's not fair for healthy people to subsidise unhealthy people, she says, but unhealthy people who work for the state and get state health insurance aren't subject to this proposal.
"This proposal targets only the working poor and elderly, and includes punishing people like my grandmother who aren't unhealthy but have a medical condition."
A better solution to spiralling Medicaid costs, she says, is to lift more people out of poverty by creating jobs in the state.
This is just another example of nanny-state social engineering, says Wes Benedict of the Libertarian Party.
"If you want to save the state money, which libertarians do, cut Medicaid across the board, but don't single out overweight people and smokers. I wouldn't be surprised if this programme costs 10 times more to administer than it saves."
The $50 fine alone might not be enough to change behaviour, says fitness expert Lisa Johnson, but it could help encourage doctors to talk about weight issues with patients.
"A recent Harvard study said 61% don't have time to talk to patients about weight loss, so this could have a more dramatic impact on the way doctors see their patients than on the behaviour itself.
"If your wife is nagging at you, you roll your eyes and eat another chip, but if your doctor says you have to lose 10lbs, then you take it more seriously."Wairarapa teenagers are feared to be involved in a mass-suicide pact.
After the sudden deaths of four teenagers, authorities and community groups are clamping down on frenzied social media messages which make claims of a pact among some teenagers to end their lives, and identify – often falsely – teenagers who have killed themselves and ways they have done it.
Four teenagers have died tragically since June – three from Masterton and one from Pahiatua. A girl, 17, died in Masterton on Thursday morning, following the deaths of a Masterton girl, 14, last week and a boy, 17, in June.
One was an ex |
The students saw the police as equally corrupt in the west and the east. In order to get a driver’s license, wherever you might be, you have to pay a bribe. The tax police who raid businesses to extort rents speak both Russian and Ukrainian. The challenge isn’t just stopping bribes but confronting a system where every role is never what it seems: where cops are actually gangsters; bureaucrats are businessmen; state institutions serve private interests; and reformers are nothing of the kind. Theoretical debates about a conceptual model for Ukrainian reforms often crumble into absurdity. The legacy of late-Soviet society, of the doublethink of acting like you believed in Communism when you didn’t, has fostered a sense that politics involves fake parliaments, fake TV news, fake budgets, fake reforms.
The skepticism is multidirectional and, at times, unbounded. “Why don’t the oligarchs in the east do more to control the pro-Russian crowds?” Olga Myrovych asked, before I left. She wondered whether they found the pro-Russian displays useful, because it encouraged Kiev to give them more financial and political power. Similarly, Ostap Drozdov, one of Lviv’s most popular current-affairs TV presenters, told me, when we met for coffee at an Art Nouveau café, that he suspected Svoboda, too, was “part of the insider pseudo-politics. And all their showmanship … only plays into Moscow’s hands.”
Vitaly Portnikov, a Ukranian journalist and columnist, points out that one of the two leading candidates for President, Petro Poroshenko, is viewed as being open to compromise with other oligarchs. For all her overt pro-Europe cries, Yulia Tymoshenko, the other leading candidate, is thought of as being the most amenable to Russia, in part because of the gas deals she signed with Moscow while she was Prime Minister. (While she served time in prison for abusing her power at the time, Tymoshenko has denied any wrongdoing.) When a tape on which Tymoshenko, most likely referring to Putin, can be heard saying that she wants to “shoot that asshole in the head” surfaced recently, skeptics suspected that Tymoshenko leaked it herself, in order to appear more independent. (Tymoshenko has confirmed that it’s her voice on the tape, but claims that some of her comments have been manipulated; she didn’t specify which ones.) Ukraine has managed to throw off a gangster kleptocracy, but the fear is that it will return to a pseudo-democracy, where all politics is gaudy theatre.
In our final meeting, the students agreed that corrupt officials need to be made to feel they can’t act with impunity; they need to be scared, probably with arrests and firings. But who will be prepared to do it? The West is giving eighteen billion dollars to Ukraine, and maybe local anti-corruption N.G.O.s could be employed to help insure that it’s not all stolen. Because, if nothing changes, the heavenly hundred might have died for nothing. Architecture is not necessarily destiny. The revolution is either only just beginning or it’s already failed.
Photograph: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/GettyLEINSTER House authorities will spend €1.6m on refurbishment and changes to committee rooms to facilitate the banking inquiry hearings.
LEINSTER House authorities will spend €1.6m on refurbishment and changes to committee rooms to facilitate the banking inquiry hearings.
The changes, which will include wheelchair and disabled access and more space in the public gallery, will also benefit future parliamentary inquiries.
The expenditure is part of an overall €5.3m budget set aside for the inquiry, with the bulk of the money being earmarked for administrative back-up, information technology including a website, and other facilities.
Sources said the most likely venue for the 11-member panel was Committee Room Number 1, in the basement of the Leinster House 2000 building.
There are already issues about disabled access to this area, which have to be resolved and this is expected to be done as part of other alterations.
The Office of Public Works is expected to be preparing a tendering process but it cannot go ahead until the committee is given full legal status in September.
Logistical
Senior officials considered a lot of options on the venue for the hearings before settling on keeping it at Leinster House.
Dublin Castle, which was the scene of previous marathon tribunal of inquiry hearings, was considered but not chosen because of logistical problems.
The seven TDs and four senators on the committee have already had two meetings.
Work will continue at its next meeting on Wednesday on trying to work out a compromise on the inquiry's timescale.
The committee has agreed that work should be completed by November 2015, which suggests a very focused timeframe.
But some members believe the inquiry should begin a decade ago with the property price spiral.
Committee chairman Ciaran Lynch of Labour believes a compromise can be agreed but the broad timeframe of about 15 years does not appear feasible.
The inquiry will look at the bank collapse in autumn 2008 which left taxpayers with €64bn in debt to bail out the banks.
It is likely to focus especially on the quality of information given by the banks to the Government in late September 2008 when a special guarantee on deposits of up to €100,000 was approved.
Irish IndependentNandlal Meghani’s, Dr Vishandas Mankani’s and Kishanlal Andani’s joy knows no bounds. They are among the 114 Pakistan citizens to have received Indian citizenship. The recipients will receive their citizenship certificates today.Sharing his joy with Mirror, Nandlal Meghani, 50, a resident of Ghatlodia, said, “I along with my wife and daughter came to India 16 years ago from Sindh in Pakistan. We sold our home and business to make a new start here in India. We were impressed with the common man’s life here as soon as we arrived and applied for the Indian citizenship. The main reason to opt for Indian citizenship was the high crime rate in Pakistan. Even our Muslim friends back in Pakistan encouraged us to shift to India, looking at widespread terrorism there.” Meghani was engaged in auto parts business in Pakistan. In India, he started afresh by starting a home renovation firm. His sons are engaged in medical stores.Kishanlal Andani, 59, said, “I had migrated to India in 2005 with my wife and four sons. My sons will arrive tomorrow and we plan to apply for Indian citizenship for our daughter-in-laws as well.” Andani owned a general store in Tharpakar town of Sindh province in Pakistan. In India he has started a utensils shop along with his children. With tears welling up in his eyes, Andani said, “I often think about the place I left behind and my friends there. However, the menace of terrorism had made it difficult for us to survive. When we ventured out every day, we remained unsure whether we would return home in the evening. My Muslim friends there stood by me when riots broke out over the issue of a local temple and mosque. They offered me protection during the most critical time of our lives.”Appreciating the central government’s move to grant collectorates power to decide upon applications, Dr Vishandas Mankani, 50, a resident of Sola Road who came to India in 2001 on visitor visa with four children, said, “I and my wife got citizenship in 2016. Now my children have also got it. We are impressed with development in India, which is absent in Pakistan. Safety is also something one can vouch for in India.” Dr Mankani recently retired from medical practice while his sons run a mobile shop to earn livelihood.According to the Citizenship Act, 1955, district magistrates (district collector) are empowered to examine applications seeking Indian citizenship and take the final decision. The Ahmedabad collector’s office is examining another batch of 216 applications, the decision on which will be taken soon. Ahmedabad district collector Avantika Singh said, “Powers have been delegated to respective collector’s offices to process applications seeking citizenship, including those made by residents of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Earlier, the pleas had to be made to the central home ministry. All these cases have now been transferred to collectorates.”The futures of more than 800 people are on the line as San Diego Unified school board members voted unanimously Tuesday night to make $124 million dollars worth of cuts to its budget. Included in those cuts are the jobs of 150 special education teachers, custodians and Vice-Principals.
Before the vote Tuesday evening, dozens of people voiced their opinions to school board members.
Lisa Neilson broke down with emotion talking about her son, Evan. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy is six and was born with a chromosomal abnormality. His mother said doctors didn't have much hope for him. But he's proven them wrong.
“He's learning to write his name," she said. "He's talking more, he's more social.”
Neilson credits his devoted special education teachers at Foster Elementary with his success. Tuesday night, all of that success was on the line as San Diego Unified school board members voted to cut $124 million dollars from its budget. On the chopping block are little Evan's special education teachers and the those at 36 other schools. The cuts will also force special needs children like Evan, to move to new schools.
During the school board meeting his mother broke down while addressing the board members.
“He has 68 more days because of your poor budget, adults budget mistakes," she said.
Other parents were also angry and didn’t hold back.
“School sites are running on fumes," one mother said. "Our students in our schools should not suffer due to the district's mismanagement of taxpayer dollars.”
State law requires layoff notices be handed out by March 15 to anyone who could possibly be laid off. But none of this will be a done deal until June when Governor Brown releases his final budget.The courts are hearing petitions against the government’s expansion of schemes for which Aadhaar linkage is mandatory. Civil rights activists complain of privacy erosion, large-scale leakage of Aadhaar data, and violation of Supreme Court limits on Aadhaar. Some fear, rightly, that a premature insistence on Aadhaar can deprive poor people of welfare benefits: not all have Aadhaar numbers, and the telecom infrastructure is still woefully inadequate. The biggest fear is that Aadhaar’s expansion will convert the government into George Orwell’s ‘Big Brother’, watching your every move and robbing you of personal space.
Proponents of Aadhaar sneer that the activists are anti-technology Luddites, who unwittingly aid tax evaders and other crooks. These crooks can be caught by making Aadhaar mandatory for several purposes, producing data that helps catch the guilty.
However, this debate is irrelevant for the biggest privacy issue, which has nothing to do with Aadhaar. Privacy has mostly disappeared already with computers and cellphones being penetrated by hackers. Any misuse of Aadhaar pales in comparison with the misuse of viruses sitting on your computer or cellphone, watching all you say or write, and analysing this into behaviour patterns that even you may not realise.
The main threat to privacy does not come from giving access to your fingerprints and iris photos to the government. Immigration officials in dozens of countries routinely take your fingerprints and iris photos when you enter their airports, and passengers do not mind since this obviously helps track undesirables.
A top cybersecurity expert estimates that every email and phone call is monitored by at least a hundred invisible entities, of whom 52% are private actors and 48% are state actors (of more than one country). The state has no monopoly on snooping. Rather, states themselves are hacked daily. Despite spending billions on cybersecurity, states are losing this war. Far from governmental Big Brothers becoming all powerful monopolists of information, they themselves are leaking data and secrets like a sieve to foreigners and non-state actors. Privacy has disappeared for governments as well as individuals.
Russian hackers helped Donald Trump win the US presidential election by hacking into the Democratic Party’s computers and releasing uncomfortable facts about Hillary Clinton. Hackers stole $101 million from the central bank of Bangladesh. In 2014, hackers called ‘Guardians of Peace’ leaked confidential data of Sony Pictures, including personal emails of employees and their families, copies of then-unreleased Sony films, and other information. The group demanded that Sony abandon its comedy film on a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un. Other hackers have stolen huge sums. Corporations buy leaked data for commercial gain. Criminals use leaked data for blackmail, theft, kidnapping and murder.
Countries and corporations with the most powerful anti-hacking systems have failed to protect themselves. What hope, then, is there for individuals?
The cybersecurity expert says that 70% of websites worldwide are compromised. Daily checks are no defence: it can take 240 days for experts to detect a hack. Viruses are growing by 66% per year, some aiming to watch and record, others aiming to destroy systems. They can see every financial transaction, every compromising revelation in emails and phone calls, every movement of you and your family.
Cyberspace is a global commons that defies regulation. Anybody can enter it and penetrate systems globally. Not all hackers are criminals or corporations seeking commercial data: some seek to do good by exposing facts (like WikiLeaks).
Through history, states have been powerful and individuals powerless. States were therefore the main threats to civil liberties and privacy. But increasingly non-state actors (notably ISIS and the Taliban) can threaten and overwhelm states. Tax evaders, money launderers and drug traffickers remain untouched by the most powerful states.
Civil rights activists say little or nothing to the threat to privacy from private actors. Yet these threaten both privacy and security, and governments need additional powers to deal with hackers as well as criminals. Data mining is a powerful tool that helps governments detect tax evaders, blackmailers, terrorists, and other undesirables who escape the traditional police system. Governments must beef up cybersecurity, for itself and citizens. Making Aadhaar leakproof is only a small part of that.
India needs a Privacy Act, not just to check excesses in government snooping but to guard against private snooping. When civil rights are being breached massively by undesirable private actors of all sorts, to focus on government misuse alone — as activists are doing — is myopic.The San Diego Zoo will start work this week on what will be its largest attraction to date, a $68 million Africa-centric exhibit populated with a wide variety of animals, reptiles, birds and plant life, along with a special habitat dedicated to penguins.
Located on the northern side of the zoo, the new exhibit will transform what is now a steep canyon area that at one time was the home of 1930s-era grottos and enclosures into a much more easily traversed, switchback-style path that will lead visitors through various plant and animal exhibits.
Dwarf crocodiles, a spurred tortoise, baboons, vervet monkeys and lemurs, and an African leopard will be among the new inhabitants of Conrad Prebys Africa Rocks, along with several old-growth trees and other African-native plants, including acacia, aloe, Madagascar ocotillo and palms.
The start of construction, to be celebrated this morning in a special groundbreaking, culminates a years-long fundraising effort that so far has collected $61.5 million from 4,500 donors. The remaining funding still needs to be raised.
Key among the major donors are philanthropist Conrad Prebys, who donated $11 million, local investment mogul Ernest Rady, who contributed $10 million, and Dan and Vi McKinney, who committed $5 million toward a new habitat dedicated to preserving endangered African penguins and breeding center that will be known as Penguin Beach.
Another key focal point of Africa Rocks, which will open in 2017, will be Rady Madagascar Habitat and Falls, the centerpiece of which will be a 65-foot tall waterfall that will cascade down several levels of the attraction.
The current site of Africa Rocks, which has been closed to the public for the last year, previously was home to the zoo’s large cats, snow leopards, jaguars, and hyenas, which already have been moved to other areas of the zoo or are in the process of being relocated.
Before Africa Rocks, the largest zoo project was Elephant Odyssey, which encompasses 7.5 acres and cost $45 million.Why do some books, as simple as they may be, succeed in becoming worldwide sensations? Do their authors treat the language differently? How do printed symbols lure us into epic worlds? I had to dig in.
I picked the most successful book series of the last 20 years and applied text mining techniques, seeking for patterns and, well, a way to reverse engineer an author’s mind while writing.
I analyzed the Harry Potter books by J.K.Rowling, the Game of Thrones books (ok nerd, “A Song of Ice and Fire”) by George R. R. Martin, the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and the Lord of the Rings trilogy + Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
4 authors. 19 books. 3,896,568 words.
Contents
Common phrases Top nouns Top verbs Top adverbs Top adjectives Lexical density Understandability
1) Phrases
The first thought while messing with natural language processing on books, is to isolate the most frequent phrases, usually found in bigrams, trigrams..n-grams. You may not find many common phrases among authors, but you get a hint about the story and the significance of some key concepts, such as the ring in LOTR or the arena in Hunger Games. Displayed are the top 2-grams to 7-grams.I have two small children that on long road trips sometimes need a little entertainment. I had previously purchased (via Amazon) a makerspot kit for my Pi Zero that came with a micro USB 4 port hub, which was great for plugging in USB wireless and an external hard drive, however became too many wires for my comfort level.
I purchased this item so that I could have a solid chassis for the child entertainer that would have the breakdown characteristics of that micro USB plug or its wire while also reducing the number of loose wires.
When this item arrived it did exactly as expected and a slight bit extra. Thanks to the product I have a solid computer chassis (the size of a couple of packs of Trident gum stacked on top of each other), 4 standard USB A ports and a micro USB port in addition to the Pi Zero's single micro USB port.
Five stars, before we subtract two stars for issues I have about this.
In total I have three issues, since only two are hardware those are the reason I subtracted two stars. Here are the three issues in order of which they occurred.
First; I'd ordered this hub prior to Christmas from MakerSpot.com in hopes that I'd get it early enough to put it to service for my families 2016 Christmas Trip. My kids would be in the vehicle for just over 3 hours during the trip and I'd planned on showing then movies via this small form computer. While their entertainment went of unhitch, thanks to my previous Makerspot purchase via Amazon, this purchase was not thru Amazon and instead arrived from Hong Kong a week after Christmas. Seeing as this was not an issue with hardware I did not subtract any stars for this, though if I did subtract a star it would be from Makerspot.
Second; In researching this hardware add-on I looked at different sites, it came down to this one and the similar hardware from Adafruit.com, I chose this one because the pictures did not show cheap nylon part to attached it where Adafrui did. Much to my surprise the screws, stand-offs and nuts it came with were all cheap nylon parts. That is hardware, goodbye star.
Third; My previous Makerspot purchase included a slick case to protect my Pi Zero with a couple of acrylic shields that came with metal screws and nuts. Unfortunately, probably due to any inconsistencies at Makerspot, there was no reasonable way to re-attach my acrylic shields. The screws from the shield assembly were a different thickness than the nylon stand-offs. More importantly, the soldering that had been done on the bottom side of this part actually made it virtually impossible to attach the bottom shield onto the computer chassis as the gobs.of unsightly solder stuck too far to use the compatible screws and stand-offs. Goodbye second star.
In the end the hardware functions beautifully in spite of its minor hardware flaws. I recommend this hardware to anyone wishing to expand their Raspberry Pi Zero's basic capabilities. As for me however, the issues of travel from Hong Kong combined with gobs of solder is more than I'd asked for and I'd order a similar hardware or this hardware again thru Amazon instead. Christopher Jackiewicz on 9th Jan 2017UPDATED (1/19/16): Eater caught up with Vinyl Tap co-owner Todd Hedrick regarding his plans for the project. A fourth generation East Nashvillian, Hedrick says that he's had the idea for a number of years, and that the former Family Wash space was the perfect fit. As advertised, they will specialize in local craft beer (primarily Tennessee) and new and used vinyl records. They plan to have about 24 taps, along with wine and a limited food menu. Hedrick also notes that they plan on having live music "at some point down the road." A May opening is the current target.
Nearly a year after The Family Wash served their last shepherd's pie out of their original location, Vinyl Tap, a craft beer bar and record store, is taking over the space. Interior demo of the building appears to have begun just within the past week. And while their website is not yet up and running, you can follow their construction progress on Facebook or Instagram.
Eater has reached out for more details, so be sure to check back for updates.Former Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Sheldon Robinson was off duty when he fatally shot Michael Swatosh in September 2013 at the Best Budget Inn in Tulsa.
A Tulsa County judge awarded a $2 million judgment Tuesday to the estate of a man who was fatally shot by a former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper at a Tulsa motel in 2013.
The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, which was a co-defendant in the case along with former Trooper Sheldon Robinson, also agreed Tuesday to settle its part of the wrongful death case for $25,000, according to Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman Terri Watkins.
In addition, Tulsa County District Judge Rebecca Nightingale issued a finding stating that Robinson was not acting in his official capacity as a law enforcement officer when he fatally shot Michael Swatosh on Sept. 1, 2013, at the Best Budget Inn in Tulsa.
Robinson has not been criminally charged with wrongdoing in the case, though attorneys for the mother of Swatosh’s child, Mykelynn Vasquez, say they plan to submit the case to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, which previously declined to file charges against Robinson.
Former Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris, who is a candidate in the 1st Congressional District race, declined to file charges against Robinson. In a January 2014 letter to the Highway Patrol, former First Assistant District Attorney Doug Drummond acknowledged that Robinson’s statements regarding the shooting were contradictory and inconsistent with other evidence collected, but that there was “insufficient evidence” to file charges against Robinson.
Robinson told investigators that he was running errands and saw Swatosh and another man pointing guns at passing vehicles as he drove by, according to an OHP investigation. Though he was off duty, Robinson said, he turned around and, identifying himself as a law enforcement officer, confronted Swatosh on the motel’s second floor stairs, the investigation states. Seeing Swatosh had a gun and was ignoring commands to drop it, Robinson opened fire, hitting Swatosh six times and killing him. Swatosh’s gun turned out to be a BB gun.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol investigators later found that Robinson had lied to them in the early part of the investigation.
“We found … that there were a lot of inconsistencies with the evidence and Trooper Robinson’s statements,” said OHP Lt. Brent Jones, an investigator in the case who testified during Tuesday’s hearing.
Jones said the area where the shooting occurred was known for prostitution and drug activity, and investigators wondered what Robinson was doing there.
“There should have been no reason a trooper should have been there in off-duty status,” Jones said.
Using surveillance video, witness statements and other evidence, investigators discovered that Robinson had visited the motel earlier that night in an effort to find a woman believed to be a prostitute he had noticed while passing by, investigators said.
When he was unable to find the woman, Robinson left before returning to the motel a short time later, investigators said. Robinson whipped his car into the motel parking lot and exited holding his badge and with his gun drawn, and loudly announcing that he was law enforcement, witnesses told police.
As Robinson went up the stairs he met Swatosh, who had been sitting on the second floor landing and who, witnesses told investigators, had earlier been drinking and brandishing the BB gun investigators later found next to his body. An autopsy also revealed methamphetamine in Swatosh’s system.
“We don’t want to get out here and say he (Swatosh) was a saint or perfect,” said Vasquez’s attorney, Mitchell Garrett, “but that night his only crime was drinking a beer at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Robinson did not use his OHP-issued weapon in the shooting, but rather his personal weapon, which was loaded with armor-piercing rounds, said Garrett, who filed the suit on behalf of the mother of the victim’s child.
A year after the shooting, the Highway Patrol fired Robinson for conduct unbecoming an officer and lying to investigators. Robinson appealed the decision to the state employees’ merit protection commission, but it was upheld, court records show.
Disciplinary records show that Robinson had been reprimanded in 1998 after accidentally firing his gun while chasing a fleeing vehicle, and that he had previously shot a man who had approached him with a gun while off-duty in 2005. The 2005 shooting also was ruled as justified by former Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris.
After the lawsuit was filed against Robinson and the Department of Public Safety in 2014, Robinson made appearances in court to defend himself against the suit. However, in 2016 he stopped showing up for court, his attorney could not find him, and a default judgment was issued against him, court records show.
“Once the facts started coming to light about how culpable he was going to be, he disappeared,” Garrett said.
Late last year, Nightingale ruled that the case against the Department of Public Safety could go to jury trial. The move was appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court by the Attorney General’s Office, which argued that Robinson was not acting within the scope of his law enforcement employment when he shot Swatosh and that allowing the case to go to trial would throw into question the ability of law enforcement across the state to “go active” while off duty.
In January, the Oklahoma Supreme Court declined to take the case.
During Tuesday’s hearing, prior to the acceptance of the settlement agreement, Assistant Attorney General Kevin McClure reiterated that Robinson was not on-duty when he shot Swatosh.
“It’s the state’s position that this individual was off-duty and did not go active,” McClure said.
After accepting the settlement agreement with the Department of Public Safety, Garrett asked Nightingale to award a $3.2 million judgment against Robinson individually. Nightingale awarded a $2 million judgment instead.
“It (the money) would never bring him back or even come close to him being here, no money amount,” Vasquez told The Frontier.
Vasquez said she hopes criminal charges will eventually be filed against Robinson.
“That is my dream right now for my daughters and for our family,” Vasquez said. “My 7-year-old has asked me for years, ‘Mommy, he (Robinson) did something bad, why is he not in jail?’ How can you answer that for a kid when you as an adult don’t even know the answer?”
Garrett said he hopes the District Attorney’s Office will take another look at the case. He said he plans to send a packet outlining the issues that have come to light since the office first reviewed the case.
“This is murder. There’s no statute of limitations on murder,” Garrett said. “Officers are allowed to use deadly force in limited circumstances. In this case, it’s our contention that the use of deadly force would have never been appropriate because as a private individual he wasn’t at home or standing his ground. As a private individual, you can’t just go out and commit homicide.”
Your financial support for our investigative journalism is now tax deductible. To become a Friend of The Frontier, click here.window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-3', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 3', target_type:'mix' });
Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Image 2 of 4 A crane operator is believed to have died in the accident at the site of the former Garden Ridge store on I-45. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle ) A crane operator is believed to have died in the accident at the site of the former Garden Ridge store on I-45. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle ) Image 3 of 4 A crane operator is believed to have died in the accident at the site of the former Garden Ridge store on I-45. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle ) A crane operator is believed to have died in the accident at the site of the former Garden Ridge store on I-45. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle ) Image 4 of 4 Man dies after 100-ton crane topples in Conroe 1 / 4 Back to Gallery
A crane operator died when his 100-ton crane toppled over Thursday morning at a construction site where a garden store burned down last year in Conroe.
The crane fell over about 10 a.m. at 16778 Interstate 45 near Texas 242 at the site of the former Garden Ridge store, according to the Conroe Police Department.
The crane was on its side when Conroe firefighters arrived at the scene. They found the body of the operator, Louis Ruiz, 56, within the wreckage, authorities said.
The force of the impact crushed the cab. More cranes were pressed into service to secure the scene and pull away the wreckage. The body of the Porter man was finally removed about 7:15 p.m., officials said.
The cause of the collapse wasn’t known but Conroe police officials at the scene said it appeared Ruiz was trying to lift a concrete wall.
No other injuries were reported.
Ruiz was working at the site where crews are rebuilding the store that burned down in October 2011. Police said investigators are trying to determine what caused the crane to fall over. However, police added, there appeared to be no foul play or criminal intent involved.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be investigating the wreck, officials said.
Read more: Feds join investigation into Conroe Garden Ridge FireHouse Speaker Paul Ryan, the country's highest-ranking Republican in office, said he is "not ready" to endorse Donald Trump for a potential GOP presidential nomination.
"I hope to support our nominee," Ryan said on CNN. "I'm just not there right now. We have work to do. Our nominee has work to do."
Ryan is the current chariman of the Republican National Convention and has gone on record repeatedly saying he would support the GOP's nominee.
That said, Ryan has been critical of Trump's opinions on a variety of topics.
According to a Politico report, Ryan said he was opposed to Trump's plan to restrict entry of Muslims into the United States, and when Trump seemed reluctant to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, Ryan said, "This party doesn't prey on people's prejudices."
Trump responded with a statement Thursday evening.
"I am not ready to support Speaker Ryan's agenda. Perhaps in the future we can work together and come to an agreement about what is best for the American people. They have been treated so badly for so long that it is about time for politicians to put them first!"
"Lincoln and Reaganesque"
During Thursday's CNN interview, Ryan had this to say about Trump: "We hope that our nominee aspires to be Lincoln and Reaganesque," someone who "appeals to a vast majority of Americans."
Ryan later hit the campaign trail at the Veterans Terrace in Burlington for a gathering of about 100 supporters as he stumped for Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who is seeking re-election versus Democratic challenger Russ Feingold.
According to a Journal Sentinel report from Thursday's event, neither Ryan nor Johnson spoke about Trump.
Clinton Capitalizes:
The Hillary Clinton presidential campaign wasted no time responding to the news, issuing this statement:
On Tuesday, Donald Trump effectively captured the Republican nomination, successfully bullying his way through a crowded primary field. However, many prominent activists, journalists and elected officials in his own party have figured out what Hillary Clinton has argued all along: Donald Trump is too big a risk for America.
Her campaign is also compiling a list of conservatives who they say "Rebuke Trump"
Take a look at the large group of prominent conservatives who are already promising that they'll never vote for Trump.
As of Thursday, there are 74 days until the GOP Convention kicks off in Cleveland, Ohio. Stay tuned.
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Stay up-to-date with Metro Milwaukee News with Patch! There are many ways for you to connect and stay in touch: Newsletters and E-Mail Alerts | Facebook | TwitterAntibiotic-resistant bacterial strains continually arise and their increasing prevalence poses significant clinical and societal challenges7,10. Functional analyses of resistant mutants and the study of the endogenous processes responsible for resistance by mutation have yielded valuable insights1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12. However, population dynamics and communal interactions that underlie the development of resistance through mutations are often overlooked. To study these neglected aspects, we tracked a bacterial population as it developed antibiotic resistance in a bioreactor.
Starting with an isogenic strain of wild-type E. coli, we continuously challenged the population with progressively increasing concentrations of norfloxacin. To provide evolutionary pressure while maintaining a sizeable population, the concentration of antibiotic was chosen such that no more than 60% of growth was inhibited; we defined this concentration as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Every 24 h, the daily population MIC was determined and the norfloxacin concentration adjusted as tolerated. From each daily sample, 12 individual isolates were randomly chosen and each of their MICs was determined.
We found that the group’s MIC was not usually predictive of its constituents’ MICs (Fig. 1a). The vast majority of individual isolates were actually less resistant isolates (LRIs), that is, isolates whose MICs were lower than the concentrations of norfloxacin in which they were found and, therefore, also lower than the group MIC. Intriguingly, we also isolated a mutant with an MIC higher than the bioreactor concentration, a highly resistant isolate (HRI). We suspected that our rare detection of HRIs was due to their low abundance in the population throughout most of the experiment. Indeed, when we plated daily populations under norfloxacin selection, we frequently detected low-abundance HRIs that emerged before increases in the group MIC (Fig. 1b). We were, however, surprised by the large number of LRIs in the population. We speculated that the few HRIs were generating a benefit for the numerous LRIs, thus allowing weaker isolates to endure more antibiotic stress than they could in isolation. Media conditioning by HRIs seemed a plausible mode of protection for LRIs. To test this hypothesis and to examine the conditioning that may be taking place, we focused our studies on the most resistant HRI that we detected: c10,12 (colony number 12 of those isolated on day ten). Supernatant from c10,12 following growth in the presence of norfloxacin was analysed by protein gel electrophoresis. We detected a dominant protein band, along with several weaker protein bands, in the media. We next subjected the observed protein bands to mass spectrometry for identification (Supplementary Table 1). The dominant protein band was identified as TnaA (Fig. 2a). We verified the identification of TnaA by creating the corresponding genetic mutant, c10,12ΔtnaA, and analysing its supernatant for protein following growth under antibiotic stress. The dominant band was completely absent from the resulting gel. We also found this to be the case for c10,6, the least resistant isolate found on day 10. We next verified, by Sanger sequencing, that the promoter and coding regions of the tna operon of c10,12 had not undergone gain-of-function mutations. tnaA codes for the enzyme tryptophanase, whose major enzymatic reaction is the breakdown of tryptophan into ammonia, pyruvate and indole8.
Figure 1: Tracking a population of E. coli developing antibiotic resistance. a, A clonal wild-type E. coli MG1655 population was continuously cultured in a bioreactor for ten days with increasing concentrations of the quinolone norfloxacin. MIC is defined as the drug concentration inhibiting no more than 60% of unstressed cell growth. The initial bioreactor concentration was set as the MIC of wild-type cells. Every 24 h thereafter, the population MIC (red lines) was measured. Following increases in group MIC, the bioreactor concentration (dashed green lines) was adjusted accordingly at the next sampling interval. Twelve individual isolates were selected from plating daily populations on non-selective plates and their MICs (grey bars) were determined. MICs shown are representative of biological duplicates. b, Daily population analysis profiles, representing the fraction of the population resistant to each drug level, were taken throughout the ten days of continuous culture. Daily populations were serially diluted and spotted on plates with a range of norfloxacin concentrations. The percentage resistance (circles coloured according to norfloxacin concentration) was calculated as the number of colonies at specific norfloxacin concentrations relative to the total number of cells (plated on non-restrictive plates). Results shown are representative of biological duplicates. Full size image Download PowerPoint slide
Figure 2: Indole production by isolates and the protective effect of extracellular indole. a, Proteins were detected in the supernatant of c10,12 when grown clonally under the bioreactor concentration of norfloxacin (1,500 ng ml−1). These protein bands were subjected to mass spectrometry for protein identification. The top hit for the dominant protein band matched over 75% of residues for tnaA, which encodes the enzyme tryptophanase. The major enzymatic activity of tryptophanase yields indole. This dominant band was absent from the supernatant of c |
of students and faith-based groups to talk with those without family nearby.
The house runs on donations to cover its $800 a month cost of rent and utilities, mostly from other graduates of the JustFaith program. Volunteers prepare meals and snacks for the families. Grants complement the aid from individual donors, including from Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, CIVIC, and the Catholic Foundation of North Georgia, said Edwards.
In 2014, the house welcomed nearly 200 overnight guests. The organizers facilitated 342 visits to 152 different detainees, according to Edwards. It was done with the help of 335 volunteers willing to serve.
The only certainty about a weekend here is the unknown. A small billboard at the entry of the detention center could catch a visitor’s eye and they will show up or people make plans to stay here but don’t come. The house and its volunteers stand out from the crowd.
“It is such an unusual thing—people just offering Christian hospitality, particularly these white faces—to these people that all they hear on the news is how much Americans hate them and they are unwelcome here and we’re going to build a wall,” said Edwards.
For Amy, the effort is being present to people, with an open door and food at the ready.
“There is not a lot I can do. I can’t create the miracle. I can’t fix or change massive systems that exist within the United States, and that we need to all talk through, but I can be there for another human being,” she said.
The service isn’t always easy. She said for about a year she felt annoyed about waking up at 6 a.m. on weekends to drive three hours, but “then there is this great peace.”
Six years on, the detention center remains open. Edwards isn’t discouraged because faith at times demands sitting with people.
“It is frustrating that things don’t progress as quickly as I would like them to, but at the same time, it is part of our practice, it is part of our faith practice to come here and be present,” he said.
“It is really practicing and exercising your faith,” said Edwards, “to bring these values out of Smyrna, out of our house, and to try and practice them here.”
Around El Refugio’s large table, a family from New York City is eating breakfast. Debora Calderon, her husband, and three kids pack up the pickup truck. They drove for 18 hours the day before to visit her teenaged brother, a native of Honduras, for one hour. They will visit again for another hour before driving back up the East Coast to their home. Calderon is able to stay in the United States with what is called temporary protected status because of the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch to her country. She said her brother fled Honduras more recently because gang members showed up at their mother’s house and he also received threats from the police.
“We try to do the right way, but it’s not possible,” she said.
It’s her family’s second visit to El Refugio. She said, “God is good. In a bad situation, somebody is doing good.”Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
If there were an award for failing upward in this town, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would be a sure-fire winner. The House majority whip is poised to replace the primary-defeated Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) as House majority leader on Thursday. Yet, in none of the glowing profiles of the leader-in-waiting have I read about his failure in his current job.
All of the pieces I’ve read have focused on “McCarthy’s strong personal relationships” with the Republican majority, on how he is “the likable majority whip who spent an inordinate amount of time getting to know almost every Republican lawmaker” and on how he has donated to their campaigns. But those stories neglect to point out that McCarthy could never deliver those loyal members when House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) needed them most. “If the speaker sets the legislative agenda and the majority leader lays out the game plan,” The Post’s Ed O’Keefe writes today, “it’s the whip who ensures that legislation will pass.” And time and time again, McCarthy failed.
There was the embarrassing failure in 2011 to pass a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut negotiated by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). There was the abrupt decision to withdraw Boehner’s plan to avoid the “fiscal cliff” in 2012 “after failing to win support from his fellow Republicans for a plan to let tax rates rise for millionaires,” as The Post reported then. There was the unheard-of failure to pass the farm bill last year. And then there were the fights over raising the debt ceiling that rattled world markets and left Boehner’s leadership crippled.
As the speaker, all those failures and others I didn’t mention fall squarely on Boehner’s shoulders. But as I wrote after the payroll tax cut fiasco three years ago, that there have been so many legislative failures should call into question not only McCarthy’s ability to count, but also whether he has Boehner’s best interests at heart. McCarthy’s promotion to the No. 2 spot in the House leadership won’t make things any better for Boehner or the chamber he tries so hard to lead.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @CapehartjA gunman wearing a ski mask stormed into a Nashville-area church on Sunday, shooting seven people, including the pastor, before attacking a church usher who ultimately subdued him with a personal weapon, Nashville police said.
The shooting — which left a 39-year-old woman dead — occurred shortly before noon at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tenn., about 12 miles southeast of downtown Nashville. Police identified the shooter as Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, of Tennessee, a Sudanese native who they said is a legal resident of the United States and apparently had attended worship services at the church in recent years. Police said Samson will be charged with murder and attempted murder.
Don Aaron, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, said Samson drove up to the church and shot and killed a woman who was standing near her vehicle in the parking lot. The shooter — who police said was armed with two handguns — then entered the church through a rear door, shooting and wounding six people inside.
Police say Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, shot seven people in a Nashville-area church on Sunday, Sept. 24. (Metro Nashville Police Department/Metro Nashville Police Department)
At some point, the gunman also pistol-whipped a church usher, causing "significant injuries" to the man, Aaron said. The usher, 22-year-old Robert "Caleb" Engle, confronted the gunman, police said, and during a struggle, Samson was wounded by a shot from his own gun. The usher then ran to his car and retrieved a handgun, police said.
Aaron said the usher ensured the gunman did not make any more movements until officers arrived. "It would appear he was not expecting to encounter a brave individual like the church usher," Aaron said.
Police Chief Steve Anderson praised Engle for intervening: "We believe he is the hero today."
The shooting comes a little more than two years after Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, shot and killed nine people inside an African American church in Charleston, S.C. Roof is awaiting execution after being convicted in federal and state cases.
Authorities on Sunday did not release a motive for the Antioch attack. But in a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nashville said it had opened a federal civil rights investigation.
"The FBI will collect all available facts and evidence," said David W. Boling, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. "As this is an ongoing investigation we are not able to comment further at this time."
Police identified the deceased victim as Melanie Smith, 39, of Smyrna, Tenn. The six surviving victims, all described as being between the ages of 60 and 83, are being treated at Nashville-area hospitals, as is the usher. The church's pastor, Joey Spann, 60, and his wife, Peggy, 65, were among the injured.
Smith was a longtime church member with two teenage children, said Linda Grimes, 51, of nearby La Vergne, who is friends with Smith's sister. "She was a devout Christian and she loved God," Grimes said. "It's a sad day for everyone here in the flesh, but she's face-to-face with her maker. I'm sure of that."
Police said Samson was taken to a hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound to the chest. He was later released and was expected to appear before a judge late Sunday night.
Police said Samson moved to the U.S. from Sudan in 1996. Nashville has a vibrant Sudanese community, and the city's churches frequently host and help care for refugees.
Aaron said the gunman left his vehicle idling after he pulled up to the church, and he was wearing a "neoprene mask, best described as a ski mask." About 50 parishioners were inside the church at the time, police said.
Police said the mask concealed the shooter's identity, but when police told parishioners who had been arrested, several gasped because they remembered him attending the church multiple times one or two years ago.
Jimmy Merritt, 68, of La Vergne, said he was near the front of the sanctuary when he heard the shots. He thought they were fireworks but then saw "folks started going down" and, after the shooter was subdued, saw "people lying everywhere and blood everywhere."
Merritt said he met and spoke with Samson when he attended the church a few years ago. He said Samson and three other men who came together seemed like nice guys.
Doug Ramey, 45, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., said he met with Engle, the usher, at TriStar Skyline Medical Center, where he was being treated for injuries including a separated shoulder. Ramey said Engle told him he sprang into action after hearing gunshots inside and outside the church.
Engle told Ramey that he approached the shooter thinking he had his handgun on him, but he realized that he didn't and instead engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle. After Samson was shot in the struggle, Engle's father stood guard over him while Engle went to get his firearm from his vehicle. When he returned, Engle put his gun on Samson and held him down with his foot, Ramey said.
"Robert said the guy didn't say a word," Ramey said as he stood at the police barrier at the church on Sunday afternoon, waiting for Engle's girlfriend, who remained with other worshipers as police continued to gather evidence. "He had a mask on the whole time."
Police investigate outside the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ after a deadly shooting on Sunday. (Andrew Nelles/AP)
Shortly before the shooting, Samson appears to have left cryptic messages on what appeared to be his Facebook page.
"Everything you've ever doubted or made to be believe as false, is real. & vice versa, B.," said one message, apparently posted shortly before the attack.
"Become the creator instead of what's created. Whatever you say, goes," another read.
Samson's other recent posts dealt with fairly routine matters, including photographs of what appeared to be his physical progression as a body builder and concerns over the hurricanes threatening the United States.
Aaron said authorities are working on determining a motive for the shooting but are not ready to release it publicly.
"There are certain things that have come to our attention that are under investigation, but that remains to be announced," Aaron said.
A massive police presence remained at the Burnette Chapel on Sunday afternoon, with a police officer standing guard on Pin Hook Road a quarter mile from the church, turning away motorists.
The church is in Antioch, a working-class neighborhood and one of Nashville's most diverse. Located in a rural area in the southeastern corner of Nashville's combined city-county boundary, the church also serves La Vergne in neighboring Rutherford County, where auto factories are among the region's largest employers.
On social media, the church has posted inclusive messages and photographs showing a congregation that reflects the diversity of the surrounding neighborhood, which is majority white, but also includes sizable black, Hispanic, and foreign-born populations.
In a statement, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry said the shooting was a "terrible tragedy."
"My heart aches for the family and friends of the deceased as well as the wounded victims and their loved ones," Barry said. "My administration, especially Metro Nashville police, will continue to work with community members to stop crime before it starts, encourage peaceful conflict resolution and promote nonviolence."
Kaitlyn Adams, a member of the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, hugs another worshiper at the scene after shots were fired at the church on Sunday. (Andrew Nelles/AP)
Craig reported from Washington. Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.The Westgate Las Vegas will soon have a poker room again. The hotel and casino best known for its sportsbook will open an intimate six-table room on Wednesday, in a space occupied by the former sportsbook “fan cave.”
The Westgate most recently closed their poker room in June 2015, just a week after Paragon Gaming took over casino operations at the Westgate. The hotel itself has changed hands several times over the years, and with it the poker room room has opened and closed multiple times.
According to Poker Room Supervisor David Fried, the possibility of bringing poker back to the Westgate had always been possible, but interest in the most current transformation only recently made it real.
“[Management] really wanted to open this up again,” Fried said. “It happened pretty quickly.”
Fried said the room will mimic the former fan cave and will be hopping just in time for the NFL season.
“We have the three large projection TVs on one wall and four large flat screens on the other,” Fried told CardsChat.com. “I want to get some more TVs on the other side as well. It will be perfect for football season.”
The proximity of the room, which is located right behind the sportsbook, is also next to a deli, but Fried said table-side dining should be available shortly after the opening.
Soft Opening Wednesday
“It will be word of mouth at first,” Fried said of the re-opening. “But I think people will find out pretty quickly about us.”
Workers were putting finishing touches on the area on Monday as Fried was shoring up details about games the room will spread. Right now $1-2 no-limit, and $2-4 and $3-6 limit Texas hold’em will be offered, with pot-limit Omaha also an option.
To start, Fried is hoping to offer $40 daily tournaments at 11 am and 7 pm.
“We wanted to have lots of incentives for players,” Fried said while thinking about high-hand jackpots and other player incentives. “We’ll start giving away buffets or restaurants credits starting at three hours of play.”
The Westgate also intends to hold a private tournament next week, an invitational for people in town for the American Poolplayers Association World Championship.
Fourth Time a Charm?
As an off-Strip venue, the Westgate has seen multiple poker rooms come and go. The property was still the Las Vegas Hilton when it opened a poker room in the 1990s, only to see it shuttered in the early 2000s, just before the poker boom hit.
The hotel opened a new poker room in 2005, but closed that room in 2007, at a time when new rooms were still opening up at casinos in Las Vegas and across the world.
Under new management and calling itself the LVH, the hotel would try its hand at poker again in 2013, only to see interest wane and the doors close in 2015, this time under the Westgate banner.This spring, two tragedies hit Ilmi Umerov in one week. First his father died suddenly after a short illness. Then his homeland of Crimea was wrenched from Ukraine and absorbed by Russia.
Mr Umerov is one of 240,000 indigenous Crimean Tatars who live on the Crimean peninsula, which dangles from Ukraine into the Black Sea but which was annexed by the Kremlin in March. His father, Rustem, survived Joseph Stalin’s brutal deportation of the Tartars to Central Asia in 1944 and a ten-year stint in the gulag to return home from exile to his native Crimea as the Soviet Union collapsed.
Now, six months on from the annexation, the Muslim Tatars are facing a new wave of cruelty as Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, brings his own brand of authoritarian rule to this newly-minted Russian republic.
Anxiety among the Tatars contrasts sharply with the happiness expressed by Crimea’s dominant Russophone population, still riding the euphoria of joining Russia, despite a tricky transition.
Mr Umerov, 57, lives in Bakhchysaray, not far from the 16th century Khan’s Palace of his ancestors, whose graceful towers puncture the sky over the town.
In the weeks before he died, Mr Umerov’s father peered out of the window and saw the “little green men” - the Russian soldiers who took over Crimea by stealth and later oversaw the flawed referendum that found 97 per cent of voters in favour of the region leaving Ukraine for its neighbour. “My father and the other old people warned us to beware of a new deportation,” said Mr Umerov in an interview. “He thought it was the beginning of the Third World War.”
The Tatars, historically fearful of Moscow after their persecution by the Russian-dominated Soviets, boycotted the referendum and spoke out against the Kremlin's seizure of Crimea.
Since then, Mr Putin’s authorities have responded in character, restricting Tatar gatherings, calling critical journalists from the community’s lively media to meetings with the FSB (Federal Security Service), and launching raids on Tatar businesses.
Sevket Qaybulla, a member of the Mejlis, standing in front of a Crimean Tartar flag. He says: "Anyone who disagrees with the Kremlin must be crushed. If you want to criticise, you have to whisper at home." (Tom Parfitt / The Telegraph)
On October 6 there were fears the campaign was turning violent after the body of a young Tatar man abducted last month was found dumped at an abandoned holiday camp in the coastal city of Yevpatoriya. Another 17 Tatars are said to have gone missing since the Russian takeover.
In April and July, Russian prosecutors dealt the heaviest blows; slapping five-year bans on the Tatars’ two most important leaders, Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov, preventing them from re-entering Crimea after they visited Ukraine - a banishment with painful echoes of the 1944 exile, in which tens of thousands perished or lost contact with their relatives.
Then, in May, Crimean authorities announced a temporary ban on demonstrations and fenced off central Simferopol in an attempt to prevent the Tatars marking the anniversary of the deportation. The community defied the ban and met on the edge of the city.
In September, the campaign peaked with a raid on the Mejlis, the Tatars’ self-governing council in the Crimean capital, Simferopol. Men in masks with automatic weapons guarded the building as it was searched, officially in connection with protests at the border when Mr Dzhemilev was refused entry. Russia’s foreign ministry said extremist literature, computer hard discs and a firearm had been confiscated, and the council was ejected from the building. Mr Dzhemilev called it a “robbery”.
The raid came two days after the Mejlis had urged Crimeans not to vote in September 14 local elections that were dominated by the slavishly pro-Kremlin United Russia party.
Mr Umerov, a former deputy speaker of Crimea’s parliament who resigned as head of the Bakhchysaray regional administration after Russian grabbed the peninsula, is convinced such measures are designed to bend the Tatars to Moscow’s will.
“First they prevent us from freely marking our genocide, our Holocaust,” he told the Telegraph. “Second, they exlude our leaders. Third, they attack us with these gun-toting search teams and shut down the Mejlis. This is nothing less than a campaign of terror.”
Sergei Aksenov, the de facto acting head of Crimea, appeared to admit the measures were designed to stifle free speech when asked about the Tatars’ plight in a recent magazine interview.
“All activities aimed at non-recognition of Crimea’s joining to Russia and non-recognition of the leadership of the country will face prosecution under the law and we will take a very tough stance on this,” he said.
Mr Aksenov added that the Mejlis – which has 33 elected members and was established in 1991 – had “little authority” and “does not exist, legally speaking”.
“The Russian authorities want to instill fear in us Tatars and force us to stop supporting Kiev,” said Sevket Qaybulla, a member of the Mejlis and editor of Avdet, a Tartar newspaper that has received two official warnings for allegedly “extremist material” in articles that explained the elections boycott.
“It’s not that life was ideal under the Ukrainians but we had a degree of freedom,” he added. “Now we see a new Russian reality: anyone who disagrees with the Kremlin must be crushed. If you want to criticise, you have to whisper at home."
Other signs of Moscow’s takeover in Crimea are more suble but perhaps just as telling. Harmonising with bureaucratic Russian rules and practices can test the patience.
“My sister works in a firm that got bought up by the Russian state insurance company and now they spend most of their day sewing documents together with a needle and thread,” said one resident of Simferopol who asked not to be named. “It’s total ‘sovok’,” he added, using the word for dated Soviet-style behaviour.
Switching to Kremlin rule brings bigger headaches that are beginning to throb. Ukraine provides most of Crimea’s water and electricity, and there are already power cuts in Simferopol in order to conserve supply.
Moscow has said it could spend up to $7bn (£4.4bn) this year alone to integrate Crimea’s economy and shore up its good standing after the takeover. A 12-mile long bridge linking the Russian mainland with Crimea across the Kerch Strait should be completed by 2018.
“Russia is providing a big boost in funding compared to the tiny amounts we received from Ukraine, which always preferred to ignore or humiliate us,” said Igor Shapovalov, who heads a new government agency tasked with developing Sevastopol, the military port at the tip of the Crimean peninsula.
If the Tatars are the vanguard of dissent, then Sevastopol is a pole of pro-Russian fervour.
Russia first took Crimea in 1783, wresting it from the Crimean Khanate. The territory passed to the Bolsheviks in the early 20th century but in 1954 it was transferred from Russian to Ukrainian jurisdiction inside the USSR, and it stayed with Ukraine after the Soviet breakup, in what Russian nationalists have long viewed as a deep injustice.
The peninsula’s population of 2.3 million is around 60 per cent ethnic Russian, 24 per cent Ukrainian and 11 per cent Tatar, but in Sevastopol Mr Shapovalov says the Russian population is in the high 90s.
The city is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and a cradle of Russian heroism. Once it was known for its “two sieges” but locals now say a third has been added.
“In the first we defended the empire against your British and Turkish forces [during the Crimean War] in the 1850s,” explained Lyudmila Ponomareva, 70, a retired officer’s wife who was walking the city’s Lenin Street. “In the second we defended the Soviet Union against the Nazis in 1942. And in the third, this year, our men defended the city against the fascist plague from Kiev.”
Nearby, groups of schoolchildren flocked to an exhibition supported by Russia’s ministry of culture about the national anthem.
In an upstairs room, phalanxes of Russian soldiers, a space rocket being prepared for launch and a waving Mr Putin played across a screen. At the end of the video, the students gathered excitedly in front of a camera that projected them on to a background of Red Square as they sang the anthem.
Downstairs, Olga Tkacheno, 77, an attendant who survived the second siege as a child, said: “I thank God every day that Putin is now our president. The children come here and sing the anthem and they cheer when they see Vladimir Vladimirovich on the screen. The elderly visitors sometimes cry. Putin raised Russia up and now our Crimea will flourish.”
Yet even here there were signs of dissent. In the exhibiton guestbook, one visitor had drawn a Ukrainian trident and written “Glory to Ukraine!” Another scrawled over the top, “Shame on the fascists! Glory to Russia!’
Thirty miles to the north of Sevastopol, Mr Umerov sat in a restaurant opposite the Khan’s Palace. The night before he had used his political clout to invite two FSB officers to the same place, to express his disgust afer a court suddenly evicted the local Bakhchysaray Tatar council from its building.
“They don’t hide the fact they are pressing on us,” he said. “But if no-one resists Russian power the world will think that all Crimea supported this illegal annexation.”Welcome to 1984: Russia gets Soviet-era 'thought crime' law
New legislation: Dmitry Medvedev signed the law allowing its intelligence agency to detain people suspected of preparing to commit crimes
It sounds like something straight out of George Orwell's nightmarish Nineteen Eighty-Four.
In a move that harks back to the dark days of the KGB, the Russian security service has been given new powers to crack down on so-called 'thought crime'.
The Federal Security Service, successor to the feared Soviet KGB, will now be able to summon and imprison people it believes are about to carry out a crime.
In a statement yesterday, the Kremlin said the security service, known as the FSB, would now be able to issue warnings to those 'whose acts create the conditions for the committing of a crime'.
Suspects can be held behind bars for up to 15 days or face fines.
Critics blasted the decision by the Russian parliament, claiming the law could be used to detain opposition activists and journalists.
'It's a step towards a police state,' said Vladimir Ulas, a member of the Communist Party.
'It's effectively a ban on any real opposition activity.'
Independent political analyst Yulia Latynina added: 'In the case of a drunken FSB officer shooting at you - and there have been many such cases - you might end up getting jailed for 15 days for merely trying to escape.'
Reactive: The bill was submitted to Russian authorities in April shortly after twin subway bombings in Moscow killed 40
The law was submitted in April after subway bombings in Moscow killed 40 people, and was said to be a response to the attacks.
Kremlin loyalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic party, praised the law.
He said: 'This is not a repressive law. We're only talking about preventive measures.’
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who initiated the bill, angrily retorted to criticism. He said earlier this month that 'each country has the right to perfect its legislation'.
The legislation continues a trend under former President Vladimir Putin, blamed by the opposition and the West for rolling back Russia's democratic reforms of the 1990s. The former KGB officer and FSB head allowed the security services to regain power and influence at the expense of Russia's democratic institutions.
Putin is now prime minister, and many see his intolerance of dissent as influencing Medvedev, his hand-picked successor.
The bill has raised doubts about Medvedev's commitment to promoting full-fledged democracy and freedom of expression. Medvedev often has spoken of instituting judicial and police reforms, and has taken a less hard line on many issues than Putin.Yes we managed a full day without a Ryzen news! But, a day has passed and some new information popped up. The AMD Ryzen launch date is firm and steady on March 2nd, likely 3PM CEST. Lock that date in your agenda.
The new information was posted earlier today at sweclockers and does confirm the signals we've been hearing for a while now. Obviously there's an AMD Capsaicin event February the 28th. We do expect to see full product announcements that day and then on the 2nd the review embargoes will be lifted, not just for Ryzen but also for the board partners that will be selling motherboards.
At the same day AMD will be launching the X370 and B350 chipsets based motherboards first. Processors wise you'll see three 8-core parts launched with availability on March the 2nd. Some webshops have however listed the 28th, so there remains to be a little confusion there. Motherboards wise a lot has surfaced online already, including details on the flagship Crosshair VI Hero and Prime X370 motherboards.
Processors then:
You will have noticed that the naming has been changed to Series 3 5 and 7 and no longer is it R3, R5 and R7. I do like that subtle simplified change. ALL models will be unlocked, AMD made that bold claim themselves in early January. The X models thus simply are better binned ones with less restrictions on likely voltage.
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X - 499 USD
AMD Ryzen R7 1800X is the flagship processor and it has has 8 cores with 16 threads and is assumed to get a Boost frequency of 4.00 GHz. The boost frequencies are not confirmed, but the indications we have seen the past few weeks would state a 4.0 GHz Turbo and 3.6 GHz base clock. No further data was revealed. Now keep in mind (if the perf is close) a similar 8-core Intel CPU would cost you about 1,200 euros, the cost for the flagship Ryzen R7 1800X processor would be 599.99 euros. These are unlocked (multiplier) processors.
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X - 389 USD
The next AMD Ryzen in line is the R7 1700X, this one would again get 8 cores and 16 threads but this time at a Turbo frequency of 3.80 GHz, so yes this is pretty much the same processor, just with a lower base at 3.4 GHz and Turbo frequency.
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 - 319 USD
Then there is the AMD R7 Ryzen 1700, this would be a top-end CPU for gamers and yes, again you'll receive an 8 core and 16 threads processor. This time at a Turbo frequency of 3.70 GHz, the most notable being that it is the only model that indicates a TDP, which is set as 65W whereas the other two would be 95 Watt parts. The base clock frequency would be 3.0 GHz.
Other models have been spotted. I personally do not think the processors listed below aside from the three aforementioned ones will launch anytime soon. Again the above three processors (we think) will launch first. All these processors would fit Socket AM4 and thus you can use the same motherboard.
Processor model Cores/Threads L3 Cache TDP Base Turbo Unlocked Price AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 8/16 16MB 95W 3.6GHz 4.0GHz Yes $499 AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 8/16 16MB 95W 3.4GHz 3.8GHz Yes $389 AMD Ryzen 7 1700 8/16 16MB 65W 3.0GHz 3.7GHz Yes $319 AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 6/12 16MB 95W 3.3GHz 3.7GHz Yes $259 AMD Ryzen 5 1500 6/12 16MB 65W 3.2GHz 3.5GHz Yes $229 AMD Ryzen 5 1400X 4/8 8MB 65W 3.5GHz 3.9GHz Yes $199 AMD Ryzen 5 1300 4/8 8MB 65W 3.2GHz 3.5GHz Yes $175 AMD Ryzen 3 1200X 4/4 8MB 65W 3.4GHz 3.8GHz Yes $149 AMD Ryzen 3 1100 4/4 8MB 65W 3.2GHz 3.5GHz Yes $129Methamphetamine (METH), a highly addictive drug used worldwide, induces oxidative stress in various animal organs, especially the brain. This study evaluated oxidative damage caused by METH to tissues in CD-1 mice and identified a therapeutic drug that could protect against METH-induced toxicity. Male CD-1 mice were pretreated with a novel thiol antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA, 250 mg/kg body weight) or saline. Following this, METH (10 mg/kg body weight) or saline intraperitoneal injections were administered every 2 h over an 8-h period. Animals were killed 24 h after the last exposure. NACA-treated animals exposed to METH experienced significantly lower oxidative stress in their kidneys, livers, and brains than the untreated group, as indicated by their levels of glutathione, malondialdehyde, and protein carbonyl and their catalase and glutathione peroxidase activity. This suggests that METH induces oxidative stress in various organs and that a combination of NACA as a neuro- or tissue-protective agent, in conjunction with current treatment, might effectively treat METH abusers.“Don’t fight a battle if you don’t gain anything by winning.”
– General George S. Patton
Sometimes the greatest gift I can give myself is to walk away. Until very recently, I was unaware that this option was even available to me. The only option I thought I had was to stay. To argue my point. To fix the thinking of others. In short, to be “right”. Now I can see, in hindsight, that so many times I was in a “lose-lose” situation. Even if I could prove my point, what would I really have gained? Certainly I’ve learned that I cannot change others or their thinking. Most situations turned out just as they would have if I had not argued my stance, if I had accepted reality rather than fighting it.
Today I can recognize when I’m in a situation that is simply not a fit for me. Instead of arguing and explaining and trying to make it a fit, I can give myself the gift of walking away. I can live and let live, recognizing that I no longer have to fight battles in which I will gain nothing of value, even by winning.
Prayer: God thank you for teaching me to recognize situations and relationships that are not a fit for me. Thank you for showing me how to graciously walk away, letting others be who they are and allowing you to work things out in your way and time. Thank you that when I humble myself, let go and simply follow you, I find that where you lead me is always good and life giving.
~Heidi
AdvertisementsTrespassing and weapons charges against a process server attempting to deliver a subpoena to Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter have been dropped by prosecutors, according to public documents on file at the Lee County Clerk of Court.
Multiple outlets reported last week that a federal judge had granted a restraining order against Carter in connection with the arrest of the 71-year-old process server, Robert Terry Wade of Clayton. Wade was charged on May 12 by Lee deputies with trespassing and carrying a concealed weapon as he attempted to bring the subpoena to testify in a federal lawsuit against the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to Carter at his home.
According to WRAL, Wade said in court documents that “when he showed up at Carter’s house, the sheriff yelled at him and blocked him from leaving until deputies showed up to arrest the man.”
Tuesday, Lee County prosecutor Ray Pleasant signed a dismissal of both charges, writing “interest of justice” as his rationale.
The Sanford Herald reported Saturday (subscription required) that all of the parties in the lawsuit, including Carter and Lee County Attorney Kerry Schmid, had declined comment. But a magistrate’s order obtained by the Rant outlines in legalese the sheriff’s version of events.
The order indicates that Brad Wood, a Winston-Salem attorney contracted by the county to defend against the lawsuit, had ordered Wade to deliver any subpoenas to him personally.
“…the defendant named above unlawfully and willfully did without authorization enters (sic) and remains (sic) on the premises of TRACY CARTER,” reads the order, before noting that he had been “notified not to enter or remain there by the owner, a person in charge of the premises and a lawful occupant, TRACY CARTER VIA LEE COUNTY ATTORNEY BRAD WOOD.”
The order also indicates that the concealed weapon in question was a “SMITH AND WESSON BODYGUARD.380 PISTOL.”
According to The Herald’s report, the lawsuit itself dates to 2009, when Steven Wayne Thomas “sued the sheriff’s office for $5 million … after an incident in which he alleged deputies used excessive force by punching him repeatedly and shocking him with a stun gun after he was handcuffed on the ground.”
Thomas’ attorney is Kieran Shanahan, a Republican and onetime Raleigh City Councilman who also served as N.C. Governor Pat McCrory’s Superintendent of Public Safety for several months in 2013.
AdvertisementsWatch carefully. John Pilchard dives head first into Cronenberg’s Videodrome.
It’s hard to unpack concepts and underlying themes within a movie when the concepts and underlying themes are the movie. Videodrome is one of the most iconic examples, and Videdrome will be unpacked, albeit poorly and incomprehensibly, below.
Videodrome is the 1983 classic directed by body-horror master, David Cronenberg. The themes within the movie are pretty blatant: mass media and its manipulation over the psyche, or what effects do mass media have over the mind? It’s what Videodrome is really about during the first viewing. These themes are the face value. Some would say it doesn’t warrant a re-watch. But this film was made in 1983 and some concepts have come to fruition over the years.
Netflix Is Not A Choice
VHS debuted in the late 1970s, and in 1985, Blockbuster Video revolutionized the home viewing experience. There was a tiny window of time when collectors of VHS and Betamax were known as videophiles. |
atmosphere is eye opening, with the study estimating the total amount released by cattle yards in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas exceeds 46,000 lbs.(21,000 kg) per day.
Antibiotic-resistant bacterial DNA is already known to be transferable to humans if ingested via water or meat.
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Contact us at editors@time.com.The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on Iran to stop identifying Baha’i children in schools, and to stop intimidating and expelling them.
In a report released earlier this month, the Committee, composed of 18 independent experts, said it was generally concerned about discrimination against religious minorities in Iran, observing that many such children have been deprived of rights afforded under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a signatory.
The Committee said it was “particularly concerned about harassment, intimidation and imprisonment of persons of Bahai’ Faith, including their children, on the account of their religion.”
Among other things, the Committee called attention to Iran’s practice of imprisoning Baha’i children with their mothers, adding that some have “reportedly developed medical problems due to poor living conditions they are subjected to in prisons.”
It also expressed concern over the “identification, intimidation, and harassment of Baha’i children in schools and the lack of access for such children to higher education,” calling on Iran to send such practices.
Diane Ala’i, a representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva welcomed the Committee’s observations.
“Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, Baha’is have faced persecution, intimidation, and discrimination solely on account of their religious beliefs,” said Ms. Ala’i, “and Baha’i children are particularly affected by these policies.
“Baha’i children have been singled out and maliciously excluded, shunned, and intimidated in their schools because of their beliefs.
“They have been expelled when they correctly and honestly fill out mandatory declarations of religion on registration forms, or when they express their opinion and do not remain silent while teachers make false accusations about their religion in class.
“And young Baha’is continue to be barred from accessing higher education and those few who are accepted are expelled once it becomes apparent that they are Baha’is,” said Ms. Ala’i.
The Committee’s concluding observations can be read here. A report of the BIC to the Committee on the current situation in Iran can be read here.Retired Captain Ray Lewis – who served for 24 years in Philadelphia's police force – has become an iconic figure within the Occupy movement. In both New York and Philadelphia, Lewis has legally donned his uniform on a regular basis during Occupy protests.
He's worn it while belting out mic checks at Zuccotti Park and marching on Wall Street. He's worn it while holding sharp-tongued signs and chanting with Occupiers before financial institutions in Manhattan and Philadelphia.
Retired Captain Ray Lewis, in uniform, being confronted by police at an Occupy protest.
Why? It's been a small, personal effort on his part to visually legitimize Occupy's concerns and critiques in the eyes of the general public by marching in uniform, by showing that many in mainstream America – including those in law enforcement – support Occupy's goals and ideals.
However, as William Bender of the Daily News reports, the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police is looking to expel Lewis from its union for his support of Occupy and for, specifically, wearing his uniform during protests.
As Bender reports, this is a union from which it is nearly impossible to be expelled:
IT’S USUALLY TOUGH to get kicked out of Philadelphia’s Fraternal Order of Police. You really have to screw up. Worse than, say, the cop who allegedly beat his girlfriend with a closed fist and left her a voice mail threatening to “stomp your f---ing heart out.” Or the officer convicted of child endangerment for pointing a loaded Glock at a kid who changed the radio station in his truck at the Police Academy. Or the cop who allegedly forced a suspect to perform oral sex on him in his police cruiser. The local FOP, which represents about 14,600 current and retired officers, went to bat for all three of those guys in arbitration hearings. In recent years, the union also has stood by cops accused or convicted of other transgressions, including drunken driving, assault, sleeping on the job and lying during a police investigation.
This is no small matter. Lewis, if expelled, would likely be stripped of all his union benefits, including life insurance policies and free legal assistance the union offers members.
And for what? For legally wearing his uniform in public at Occupy protests, an act that apparently is far more obscene than forcing suspects to perform oral sex or pressing loaded guns to the temple of a child.
Retired Captain Ray Lewis, in uniform, outside Zuccotti Park in 2011.
We had to dig into the books to see what we could do and couldn’t do,” said FOP pension director Henry Vannelli, who made the motion to refer Lewis’ case to the union’s grievance committee. “We don’t want that guy around.”
The union has been working hard to figure out a way to expel Lewis, who has broken no laws, but has clearly caught the ire of union members in a profound and unusual way:We don't want that guy around.
This has become about retribution, about punishing and disgracing an officer with a pristine record for daring to demonstrate that there are many in uniform – both past and present – who support Occupy Wall Street.
This is about the powerful trying to bully someone who represents that very power:
“He’s not respecting the uniform,” union president John McNesby said. “People died for that uniform. It’s not Halloween.” Not only should Lewis be punished by the union, McNesby said, he “absolutely” should be locked up every time he sets foot in Philly with his uniform on.
The irony here is that the mere suggestion of arresting Lewis for wearing his police uniform is the true act that disrespects the uniform Lewis consistently wears.
It is the actions of the FOP – its current investigation into Lewis and its hypocrisy in supporting true criminals – that are disrespecting the uniform.
And this is something that Lewis himself is implicitly intoning:
On Thursday, with two documentarians in tow, he was protesting outside the Police Administration Building and FOP headquarters, asking...McNesby to explain why he wants to infringe on his First Amendment rights. [When] a retired police captain stopped by to offer his support, he said. “Would you want me arrested if I was protesting cops losing their health care?” Lewis asked. “If I wore this uniform to a cop’s funeral or my mother’s funeral, would they want to arrest me for impersonating an officer? No, it’s because I want to hold corporations accountable.”
Holding people accountable is apparently something the FOP is not accustomed to doing. Which is all the more reason why Lewis, and those like him, must be supported.
For his rights are our own.
------------------------------------
Follow me on Twitter @David_EHG
------------------------------------by Alexander Kolokotronis
There are alternatives: economic, political, and cultural. The trick of any ruling elite is to convince just enough people that there are no such alternatives. There is no magic bullet alternative; no singular alternative institution that by itself can transform or transcend a system. Yet, in combination, as a set, and in a network, such alternative institutions carry the possibility of both building and fomenting system-change.
In all likelihood a single type of alternative institution will not do the job. In fact, any one type would likely be subsumed to the logic of capitalism, and/or the State. Historically, this has been borne out in both democratic employee-owned firms and community participatory governance institutions. In the United States the former took place in the northwest where plywood worker cooperatives. These cooperatives degenerated into capitalist firms due to the combination of their great success and inadequate legal structuration. With the latter, there is the possibility of fermenting a xenophobic localism and provincialism. Thus, the importance of mapping already-existing alternative institutions.
Two alternative institutions key to societal transformation are: participatory budgeting, and worker cooperatives.
The International Cooperative Alliance defines a cooperative as "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise." As such, a worker cooperative is an enterprise that is owned, controlled and democratically operated by its employees. Accordingly, cooperatives are generally guided by seven principles: "voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; member economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community."
According to the Participatory Budgeting Project, participatory budgeting (PB) is "a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget." Or, as put by Student Organization for Democratic Alternatives (a student group in New York that advocates for PB and worker cooperatives), PB is a democratic process wherein "people meet, discuss and propose things they'd like to see implemented and funding in their communities." Started in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre in 1989, it is one powerful example of present-day direct and participatory democracy and governance.
San Francisco Bay Area
In charting the development of worker cooperatives and participatory budgeting it is important to start here at home.
The United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) estimates there are 350 worker cooperatives in the United States. It is also estimated that forty of these worker cooperatives are immigrant-run and owned. Numerous examples of such can be found in the Bay Area.
With approximately thirty dues-paying worker cooperatives comprising the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives (NoBAWC; pronounced "No Boss") the San Francisco Bay Area is a major site of democratic employee-ownership. The total amount of worker cooperatives in the Bay Area is unknown. Nonetheless, they range from radical book-publishers such as AK Press in Oakland, to cafes such as Alchemy Collective in Berkeley, to even a bakery called Arizmendi in San Francisco which has five "sister" worker cooperatives across the Bay Area.
Yet, one of the best examples of empowerment through worker-ownership can be found in the efforts of Prospera. Formerly known as Women's Action Gaining Economic Security (WAGES), Prospera is an Oakland, California based non-profit "dedicated to empowering low-income Latina immigrants through cooperative business ownership." Many find worker cooperatives are a means to tackle the feminization of poverty. As a 11 July, 2014 Yes! Magazine notes, "women comprise two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers." Of this amount, 26.2 percent are white women, while 35.8 percent and 46.6 percent are African-American and Latina, respectively. To combat this, Prospera itself has incubated five immigrant-owned and run cleaning worker cooperatives with over 100 worker-owners in total. These worker-owners earn approximately double to triple the incomes they had previously made.
The Bay Area has also seen the growing implementation of participatory budgeting. Currently three districts in San Francisco have incorporated PB. Yet, it is Vallejo -- another Bay Area city -- that is moving full steam ahead with the implementation of PB. In 2012 Vallejo was the first city in the United States to establish PB city-wide with the community deciding how to spend $3.2 million USD. PB has recently come under attack from local politicians, though. Nonetheless, there has been pushback by residents to, at minimum, keep PB as is.
New York City
There have been similar developments in New York in terms of immigrant-run and owned worker cooperatives. Specifically, this can be seen with cleaning worker cooperatives Si Se Puede!, Pa'lante Green Cleaning, Apple Eco-Cleaning, and EcoMundo Cleaning.
New York City is also home to the largest worker cooperative in the United States: Cooperative Home Care Associates (CHCA). Founded in 1985, the Bronx-based CHCA employs a staff of over 2,000 while assisting over 4,000 elderly people. Forming a partnership with 1199 SEIU, CHCA has also been a leader in building bridges between worker cooperatives and labor unions. Together they're working to promote worker-ownership, as well as institute best-practices across the home care industry.
In New York, however, another momentous development has taken place: passage of the $1.2 million USD Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative as part of the Fiscal Year 2015 New York City budget. Setting a historic precedent, the Initiative aims to spur on the incubation of another twenty-eight worker cooperatives through the various on-the-ground incubator organizations. If successful, there will be over fifty worker cooperatives in New York City. This has included Worker-Owned Rockaway Cooperatives, or WORCs. The WORCs are an attempt to make worker cooperatives part of the revitalization process in Rockaway, Queens. Thus far, two of five worker cooperatives have been launched: a construction cooperative called Roco Mia, and a bakery named La Mies.
Simultaneously, New York has also seen a significant rise in the implementation of participatory budgeting. Only two years ago PB was used in four city council districts. Currently PB is in twenty-four of fifty-one districts, with constituents directly deciding upon the usage of $25 million USD. As pbnyc.org notes, "voting in participatory budgeting is open to all residents 16 years of age and older, removing tradition obstacles of full civic participation such as youth, income states, English-language proficiency and citizenship status." In fact, even those as young as eleven years old can participate in the neighborhood assemblies wherein residents suggest ideas and proposals. This aspect of PB has generally held up across the United States, including in Vallejo.
Chicago
PB has also slowly expanded in Chicago. Currently, PB operates in four of the fifty wards of Chicago. Due to brain cancer, teacher and popular labor leader Karen Lewis was prevented from challenging incumbent Rahm Emmanuel in the Chicago mayoral election. Her platform was expected to include participatory budgeting.
According to a 23 September, 2014 DNAinfo article "Lewis said she would call for the'restoration of participatory democracy,' giving Chicago residents a voice in everything from the Board of Education's annual budget to the city's annual budget." Lewis went as far as to state "Instead of giving us something and saying 'Here's what it is, comment on it and we're going to do what we do anyway,' [let's have] participatory budgeting."
Lewis's speech was given at an event held at New Era Windows Cooperative. New Era underwent a profound transformation. In 2008, when it was known as Republic Windows and Doors, the business was caught in the midst of a financial scandal as its private owners attempted to fire the workers with only three-day notice. Reminiscent of the old syndicalist vision, the workers of New Era held a number of direct actions from 2008 to 2012, including a six-day sit-down strike in 2008. In aggregate, the direct actions paved the way to cooperativization. Conversion to a worker cooperative was cemented when The Working World (a cooperative revolving loan fund) stepped in, providing a loan of $665,000 USD. The conversion received wide scale media attention, including from Democracy Now!.
New England
New Era was no isolated case of business conversions to worker cooperatives. In fact, conversions are being deeply analyzed and strategized for the growth of cooperatives by various organizations across the United States. Why?
Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) cites a 5 July, 2013 New York Times article by Gar Alperovitz. In it Alperovitz states “Every year 150,000 to 300,000 businesses owned at least in part by boomers become candidates for employee takeovers as their owners hit retirement age. That means that over the next 15 years retiring boomers could help create two to four million new worker-owned businesses nationwide." Other organizations, such as the New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives (the New York City worker cooperative business association) and Sustainable Economies Law Center, among many more, have incorporated conversions into their expansionary outlook and strategy.
There was also another crucial factor in the strategizing of conversions within the worker cooperative movement: Island Employee Cooperative (IEC) in Maine. With 62 worker-owners, IEC is the largest worker cooperative in Maine. From the towns of Deer Isle and Stonington, IEC was formed out of three rural Maine businesses: Burnt Cove Market, V&S Variety and Pharmacy, and The Galley. According to the Cooperative Development Institute, these businesses have provided "the community with a full array of groceries, hardware, prescription drugs, pharmacy items, craft supplies, and other goods and services."
Being one of the larger firms in the area, converting and combining into a worker cooperative was not just simply about manifesting the vision of democratic employee-ownership. Buying and converting the businesses -- which were purchased from retiring owners Vern and Sandra Seile -- was also about keeping jobs in the community. An article from 17 November 2014 from Shareable notes that "For every $1,000 spent at a food coop, $1,606 goes into the local economy." While IEC is not a food cooperative, cooperatives in general prove to be a means of keeping funds and resources in the community.
The Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives (VAWC) has also had a hand in conversions. According to its website VAWC has converted five "traditionally owned businesses" into worker cooperatives. VAWC contains eight member cooperatives in the area of Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont. Solar power installation, recycling and trash, body care products, and printing are some of the industries these cooperatives are in. Boston has a number of worker cooperatives as well. This is indicated by the Worker-Owned and Run Cooperative Network of Greater Boston (WORC'N). In its directory it includes approximately fifteen cooperatives.
In January of 2014 Boston also launched the first youth PB in the United States. All city residents within the ages of twelve to twenty-five have deliberative and decision-making power over $1 million USD. This year's first ever youth PB included the decision to fund playground upgrades, art walls, laptops at schools, and sidewalks.
Nearby Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it was announced that $500,000 USD would be allocated through PB.
Jackson, Mississippi
While Karen Lewis was planning a run for mayor based, in part, on a platform of instituting participatory democracy, Chokwe Lumumba won the mayoral election of Jackson, Mississippi on such a platform. Despite raising five times less the amount of money than his main primary opponent, Lumumba was catapulted to victory through grassroots work.
Part of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) (which itself calls for the creation of worker cooperatives), Lumumba pushed for a heavy dosage of participatory governance and workplace democracy. In fact, as a June 2014 Jacobin article notes, Lumumba went as far as to advocate for "the new organs of people’s power, absolute and direct democracy, to replace existing structures."
In the interview portion of the article Lumumba himself states "people should become more and more involved in reforming and changing the structures that surround them and the people that surround them — determining who handles structures, and how they should be elected, and who should be elected — until the people’s power becomes the same as, becomes simultaneous with, the development of government." Lumumba proved that one successfully run a lowly-funded political campaign based on a policy platform of building participatory governance and economic democracy. For Lumumba, participatory democracy and solidarity economy weren't meant to be a simple supplement, but the pillars of a new society.
Lumumba died early in 2014. Nonetheless, as indicated by the "Jackson Rising: New Economies Conference," Cooperation Jackson and its parent-organization MXGM are still touting and actively seeking to build the "Mondragon of the South."
Spain
What is Mondragon? Mondragon is likely one the first names you will hear in introductory cooperative circles. Founded in 1956, and consisting of 85,000 worker-owners, Mondragon is the world's most successful worker cooperative. Based in the Basque region, Mondragon is a cooperative of cooperatives -- specifically 110 worker cooperatives across a whole range of industries. Mondragon even has its own cooperative university.
Generating €12.5 billion EUR in revenue in 2013, Mondragon is comprised of 289 organizations and enterprises in total, though, as Mondragon states on its website, "Any company interested in joining Mondragon must already be or must become a cooperative." In being a transnational enterprise, the rate at which cooperativization occurs varies. There are varying legal and cultural conditions; many places still do not accord a legal status to cooperatives.
Speaking adequately about Mondragon, its governance structures and bodies, its unionization, and its numerous past and present ventures and projects exceeds the scope of this article. In fact, it would likely take a book, and there have been books written on Mondragon alone. Many have been overwhelmingly positive, while others have been critical, however, Mondragon has undergone internal reforms this last decade so as to spur on further participation and to stay true to its constitution as an alternative mode of production and organization.
Two important things to note with Mondragon: its connection with United States cooperative movement, and its response to market failures and difficulties. As it regards the latter, this can be seen with the failure of Fagor. Rather than responding to crisis by simply laying employees off, Mondragon retained workers of the failed firm at 80 percent of their salary while seeking to relocate them to new positions. This is in sharp contrast to the average firm, which, in an age of neoliberalism, often seeks any excuse to cut down its workforce and ramp up lean production. Since the 2008 financial crisis such can be found in both the private and public sector.
As to Mondragon's presence in the United States cooperative movement, it has its own United States office with Mondragon USA, and it has partnered with a number of organizations. This includes a partnership with the 1.2 million member United Steelworkers (USW) union. In its 2014 constitutional convention, the USW passed Resolution No. 27 on Worker Ownership and Workers Capital, which states "Our union will continue to promote and develop unionized, worker-owned Union co-ops." Mondragon has also been involved with the scaling up of the cooperative movement in Cincinnati, Ohio (In Ohio, both Cleveland and Cincinnati are pioneering a new strategy for cooperative development through, in part, utilizing their universities as "anchor institutions," which aim to hold down and create community wealth).
Mondragon is not the only worker cooperative in Spain though. According to a 7 May 2014 CICOPA (International Organisation of Industrial, Artisanal and Service Producers’ Cooperatives) article, 734 worker cooperatives were created in Spain in 2013, following the creation of approximately 500 the year before. In a 2009 International Labor Organization (ILO) report titled 'Resilience of the Cooperative Business Model in Times of Crisis,' there were "18,000 worker cooperatives employing 300,000 people." Adding the recent upsurge in launched worker cooperatives in Spain, it is reasonable to estimate that the number has increased to over 20,000.
In Spain PB has been more widely implemented than in the United States. This includes cities such as Madrid, Sevilla, and Malaga. In a mapping of participatory budgeting around the world, Tiago Peixoto notes that PB is used in over fifty cities and towns around Spain. The Participatory Budgeting Project notes in its own map that in Sevilla "From 2004-2013, residents decided on roughly 50% of local spending for their city districts, for capital projects and programs."
Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy
PB has also spread widely in Italy. Peixoto notes that in Parma "citizens have access to the information about the PB process and to all of the proposals for the allocation of the budget." There has been heavy inclusion of online features to PB with a map allowing "citizens to visualize the location of the proposed projects and to access further information about them (e.g. purpose, scope)." Voting may be done online as well "by providing ID number and date of birth, which allows the system to identify the eligible voters (i.e. Parma residents)." In Parma citizens have two votes: "one vote for one of the projects proposed in the district of residence" and one "for projects that are considered to be of general interest."
Yet, even more notable than PB in the Emilia-Romagna region is the degree to which worker cooperatives have taken hold. According to a piece from Kent State university citing University of Bologna economist Stefano Zamagni, "about 30% of the GDP in the region and up to 60% of the GDP in some cities like Imola." The Kent State study notes that there are 8,000 cooperatives in Emilia-Romagna, and Erbin Crowell in his article "Cooperating Like We Mean It: The Co-operative Movement In Northern Italy," notes that approximately two-thirds of these are worker cooperatives.
In her article, "Financing the New Economy," Abby Scher notes that Italy "requires cooperatives, by law, to contribute 3 percent of their annual surpluses toward the loan fund of their choice to develop the cooperative sector," with this portion remaining untaxed. This is merely one example of how Italy has tailored policy around growing the cooperative sector.
France
As reported by The Guardian on 3 October, 2014 Paris will now open up € 20 million EUR of its municipal budget to be allocated through PB. It has also been implemented in the outskirts of Paris as well as in cities such as Poitiers.
Worker cooperatives are also on the rise in France with its new policy implementation. Leading the round of new policies is, according to CICOPA, a law favoring workers in the buyout of firms with less than 250 workers. The law has introduced a requirement to "provide information when the company owner decides to sell his business" so as to allow the workers to submit a bid. This law of "preferential right" is part of a package of policies intended to result in a "cooperative shockwave," or, in other words, the doubling of the amount of worker cooperatives in France within five years. The number of worker cooperatives in France currently stands at approximately 2,300.
South America: Cuba, Venezuela, and Argentina
Cuba dawned the cover of the 24th-30th March issue of The Economist. The title read "Cuba hurtles towards capitalism" with an accompanying ten-page "special report." Since then, the periodical has made little to no mention of the waves of worker cooperative conversions. According to CICOPA, between 2012 and mid-2014, 498 worker cooperatives have been approved by the Cuban government, with plans for much more. Some in Cuba see worker cooperatives as a means to revive a stagnant economy.
According to 21 November, 2014 article from Venezuela Analysis, there are an estimated 90,000 cooperatives with one million members today. Alongside this, Venezuela has seen the rise of a system of Communal Councils (CC), which bears some similarity to the ethos of PB if not even more direct control. According 30 June, 2013 article by Dario Azzellin, anywhere between 10-450 families can form a CC, depending on whether such families lie within an indigenous, rural, or urban zone. By 2013, approximately 44,000 communal councils have been setup.
Famously, in 2001, Argentina was home to a number of factory "recuperations," wherein over 200 businesses where taken over by their workers and converted into worker cooperatives. These 200-plus worker cooperatives are composed of over 12,000 worker-owners. The cooperative movement as a whole has been growing of late in Argentina as well. Also, Argentina has increasingly incorporated PB. Most significantly, this has taken place in Buenos Aires, however, more innovative efforts have been undertaken in La Plata. According to Peixoto, 30 percent of La Plata's budget is directly decided upon, while the residents are permitted to "present a list of options for the allocation of the remaining 70 percent of the budget."
Conclusion
Neither PB or worker cooperatives are magic bullets of change, however, in combination, they present viable alternatives to the existing dominant order. PB is only contingently part of the State, and worker cooperatives are still required to compete with capitalist firms. Yet, the contingency of the current alignment and placement of these alternative institutions allows us to analyze and situate them within a more forward-looking manner. Cooperatives have proven to weather market failures and crises better than capitalist firms, while PB constitutes a more transparent and hands-on alternative to politics as usual. As such, cooperatives and PB both prove to be alternatives that can exist right now as well as work towards the future.
A major reason for the Left to push for these alternatives institutions wholesale is that they provide the wider populace with a vision beyond hyper-individualism, manifested in politics as representative governance and in economics as individualistic entrepreneurship. The Left has not only failed in times of stability, but it has failed during times of crisis due to its inadequacy in presenting viable alternatives, let alone vision. Participatory budgeting and worker cooperatives are not simply institutions that the Left can tailor policy around, but are also institutions that can capture the public imagination when the next crisis comes. If system-change is to be achieved it is necessary that institutional alternatives are made real and tangible, especially ones that hold the potential to move us beyond capitalism and the State. Constructing alternative institutions is necessary for building experience and providing a guiding vision; these are prerequisites for practicable system change and transition. Constructing in itself is both a means of building solidarity and overcoming present conditions. In addition, overnight transformation usually wreaks of brutality and shoddy implementation; historically this has resulted in violent regression. Building and implementing alternative institutions allows us to more adequately and creatively put together a new system -- a new whole -- as its parts and pieces begin to emerge and come into place.
Alexander Kolokotronis is a BA/MA philosophy student at Queens College, City University of New York. He is the founder of Student Organization for Democratic Alternatives, a Worker Cooperative Development Assistant at Make the Road NY, and the Student Coordinator for NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives.This piece originally appeared in the GC Advocate of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.* At least 260,000 displaced within Ukraine
* Some 814,000 Ukrainian nationals in Russia
* Tens of thousands in Baltics, Moldova, European Union
* Some flee on foot; others in European spas, with grandparents
* UN refugee chief Guterres warns crisis could destabilize region (adds quotes, details, byline)
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - More than one million people have been uprooted by the conflict in Ukraine, including 260,000 within the country where further mass displacement is feared due to ongoing fighting, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Some Ukrainian nationals have fled by motorcycle to Russia, while others have escaped the crisis by spending the summer months at European spas or visiting grandparents, it said.
The total includes 814,000 Ukrainians now in Russia with various forms of status, as well as compatriots who have fled to Belarus, Moldova, the three Baltic states and European Union, a senior official of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said.
"It's safe to say you have over a million people now displaced as a result of the conflict, internally and externally together," Vincent Cochetel, director of the UNHCR's bureau for Europe, told reporters in Geneva.
"I mean 260,000 in Ukraine, it's a low estimate, 814,000 in Russia, then you add the rest... Belarus, Moldova, the European Union."
Of 814,000 Ukrainian nationals who have entered Russia this year, 260,000 have applied for some sort of protective status, he said. The remaining 554,000 have arrived on the basis of a visa-free regime allowing them to stay up to 270 days, he added.
"We see them arriving sometimes by foot, by bus, by motorcycle," said Cochetel, recently returned from the region.
Within Ukraine, most people displaced by earlier fighting have returned to areas retaken by Kiev's army, Cochetel said.
"In terms of people leaving, recent arrivals over the last two days, we see less people coming from Luhansk and Donetsk city themselves. Is it attributable to more controls at checkpoints or people not able physically to cross through the lines, we don't know.
"The people that are arriving now are mainly arriving from Novoazovsk and Bezimenne where fighting was reported this morning, so it's close to the sea of Azov, it's on the road to Mariupol, so south of the Donetsk area," he added.
Russian troops are strengthening their positions in eastern Ukraine and using aid shipments to smuggle in arms and other supplies to separatist forces, Kiev's military said on Tuesday.
"RISK OF FURTHER EXODUS"
"In terms of the ongoing fighting, in Donetsk, Luhansk and in the south of Donetsk oblast (district), we very concerned about risk of further exodus," Cochetel said.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres is "very concerned about the risk of further displacement of major proportion in that part of the country", he said.
Guterres said in a statement: "If this crisis is not quickly stopped, it will have not only devastating humanitarian consequences, but it also has the potential to destabilize the whole region."
In all, 4,106 Ukrainians have applied for asylum in EU countries led by Poland, Germany and Sweden, UNHCR figures show. Some 380 Ukrainians have sought asylum in Belarus, but many more have gone to the former Soviet republic, it said.
"We have reached 20,000 for residence permits in Belarus, the authorities don't want to call them refugees, they have asked us not to call them refugees because we don't know what will happen to those people in the future.
"But that's the visible tip of the iceberg. We believe there are more people in Moldova," he said.
Ukrainian nationals have also gone to eastern Europe for summer months and their plans are unclear.
"You have Ukrainians also of Hungarian ethnicity, of Romanian ethnicity, of Slovak ethnicity. You have many of these people who have moved during the summer, we thought that is the seasonal movement, they go to spas, they visit relatives, kids going to their grandparents for the summer and then they will return. Are they returning?," Cochetel said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, editing by Dominic Evans)Despite the fact that earlier this week presidential hopeful Donald Trump made his way to the top of the extensive GOP field in an Iowa poll as the first choice of 22 percent of those surveyed, a study of Trump's social media audience found that the polarizing businessman's position might be weaker than polls indicate.
The study, conducted by audience analytics company Macromeasures, found that Trump trails his GOP rivals in a handful of crucial metrics in terms of his Twitter following. Macromeasures compared Trump's social audience to those of Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina. The most glaring discovery was that of Trump's Twitter following, a mere 39.4 percent were actually eligible to vote—the lowest of any GOP candidate analyzed. To put this in perspective, 95.7 percent of Fiorina's following could cast a ballot. To determine this, Macromeasures filtered out Twitter followers under 18 years old based on detected high school or middle school student status. Additionally, the study filtered out followers determined to be outside the United States, with little other U.S. interaction on the platform. According to a company spokesperson, the data on this group of followers was found on the individual level through Macromeasures' machine learning and natural language processing platform, which offered strong signal into users that were unlikely to be American.
On top of that, Trump only received 0.9 percent of social media activity coming out of the key, early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, according to Macromeasures' findings (defined by hashtag use by Twitter users with primary residences in these three states).
It is very important to note, however, that this study is based off the candidates' Twitter followings, which varies among the candidates and does not represent the voting population at large. This data is broken down by percent not raw numbers, so the size of a candidate's following impacts the size of the group identified.
The analysis also found that Trump's following is weak among women, young conservatives and people with strong Christian values.
Rubio leads the pack in engagement with women on Twitter, which accounts for 44 percent of his total engagement. In the wake of his flare-up with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly it is not surprising that a mere 28 percent of Trump's engagement comes from women. Rubio also leads in engagement from young conservatives. The study found that university-level students account for 14 percent of Rubio's recent followers on social media, nearly twice that of Trump and Fiorina at 9 percent and 8 percent, respectively. These groups were identified by a variety of criteria such as names, handles, followers and use of key hashtags and phrases.
It is Huckabee atop the field, however, when its comes to engaging with people who identify with Christian values on Twitter. Of Huckabee's followers, 37 percent fall into this camp. Comparatively, a mere 11 percent of Trump's followers identify as having strong Christian values. Similarly to the other metrics, Macromeasures filtered out followers who showed moderate to strong Christian based on their interactions on Twitter and followers. Again, this is reported as a percentage of total followers for each candidate.
Below is the full data breakdown from Macromeasures' study. Rand Paul, who wasn't included in the original study, has also been added to the table below.The Philippines |
week, a YCT leader, perplexed by the apparent clash of the message of Chanukah with his open, pluralistic religious orientation, declared that Chazal actually rejected the hashkafah of the Chashmona’im, instead favoring the values of pluralism and openness. Invoking a very radical understanding of Chanukah, we are told:
The rabbis were giving a clear indication of their distaste for the Chashmonaim and their approach… Chazal did everything they could to squelch this holiday of zealotry and intra-Jewish fighting. Ultimately compromising with a people who wanted or needed the heroics of the Maccabees marked on the calendar, they allowed for a much muted holiday… But Chazal’s approach to Chanukah espouses openness to the world around us and tolerance of difference. In lighting the candles, we open up to the world around us with the light of Torah and mitzvoth guiding us in our exploration of the other. Let us celebrate this beautiful chag by remembering the pride of the Chashmonaim but also the openness of Chazal to the outside world…
Another well-known far-left rabbi, who prides himself as the first openly gay/same-sex married Orthodox rabbi, writing on the Neo-Conservative Morethodoxy website, has just posited that we reinvent Chanukah in our own image, as it were.
After a lengthy summary of some of the Chanukah accounts from the Book of Maccabees, with a secular twist from an historian, we are advised that:
Instead of eight days of presents, (a coarse imitation of both Christmas and the materialist society we live in) why not remake Chanukah as an eight day celebration of diaspora Jewish culture? We could celebrate a different aspect of Jewish culture each day—food, literature, art, music, dance, philosophy, wisdom and faith. Perhaps Chanukah is the time of year that we ought to look at the tensions between our desire to be part of the larger world and our mandate to be a unique and special people. Such a remaking of Chanukah would not make us comfortable allies with zealots, but it might well allow us to ask ourselves some challenging questions about Jewish authenticity and purpose.
Then, the inner spiritual message of Chanukah as elucidated by the Chassidic masters is presented, but the Morethodoxy writer suggests that this inner spiritual message should replace the approach to Chanukah as conveyed by Chazal:
Chanukah in this Hasidic key isn’t about the war against the Greeks, or miraculous oil, but its also not about a cultural rededication to outward expressions of Jewish practice or observance. It is about rededication to a form of Jewish life that begins with a recovery of an authentic self, a rediscovery of one’s deeper sense of unique purpose. The light that for the rabbinic sages served to publicize an ancient miraculous renewal, was turned into a flashlight leading inwardly on a journey to the soul.
I am more than confident that the great rebbes who plumbed the inner meaning of Chanukah would be aghast to read that a Morethodoxy writer has presented their thoughts as a rejection of the basics of Chanukah.
The writer concludes:
Perhaps the most exciting element of Chanukah then is its quicksilver nature. It renews itself by reconstituting the original material of military and spiritual resistance into dazzling new forms of cultural and spiritual creativity. And so, perhaps its fundamental image is that of a rededication as a reboot, a recovery of something lost, a restoration that is also a renewall like the rekindling of a lamp with an ember found deep inside us.
In less eloquent terms, Chanukah is really whatever we decide it to be, according to this writer.
In stark contrast to the above Neo-Conservative approaches, let us turn to the words of Rav Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Soloveitchik zt”l:
Just as the Ner Tamid (Perpetual Flame) was the symbol of Hashra’as Ha-Shechinah (Manifestation of the Divine Presence) in the Beis Ha-Mikdash, so, too, the Ner Chanukah also serves as the symbol of Hashra’as Ha-Shechinah among Jews all over the world. The Ner Chanukah, itself, embodies the Ner Tamid of the Mikdash. Thus, the purpose of the mitzvah of Pirsumei Nisa (Publicizing the Miracle), by Chanukah, is to demonstrate the presence of Giluy Shechinah (Revelation of the Divine Preence), through the lighting of the Ner Chanukah. The light of the Ner Chanukah is the medium of revelation of the Hashra’as Ha-Shechinah among the Jews. In the same manner as the Ner Tamid tells the story of the Hashra’as Ha-Shechinah among the Jews in the Mikdash, so too, the Ner Chanukah states the story of the Hashra’as Ha-Shechinah in the present generation. The main conflict between the Hellenists and the Jews centered around the concept of Bechiras Yisrael (Chosenness of the Jewish People). The Hellenists wanted the Jews to abandon their awareness of Bechiras Yisrael. The Hellenists, and later the Romans, hated the Jews because the Jews believed in Bechiras Yisrael. Thus, the function of Ner Chanukah is to remind us of the Hashra’as Ha-Shechinah… The Shechinah addresses itself through the Ner Chanukah, and the Ner Chanukah demonstrates that the Shechinah resides among the Jews: “.עדות היא לבאי עולם שהשכינה שורה בישראל” (“The Western Lamp of the Menorah in the Beis Ha-Mikdash is testimony that the Divine Presence resides among the Jewish People.” – Shabbos 26b) This concept is the crux of the entire Torah. Thus, the Rambam used special language (explained earlier in this shiur – AG) with regard to Chanukah. Furthermore, הנרות הללו קודש הם (“These lights are holy”) means that one should react to the Ner Chanukah in the same manner that Moses reacted to the fire of the Burning Bush, where he immediately sought to investigate that strange phenomena: “.אסורה ואראה את המראה הגדול הזה” – “I will detour and investigate this strange sight.” Our reaction to the Ner Chanukah should be similar to that. One must investigate and analyze the purpose of Nes Chanukah. The Rambam, thus, repeatedly emphasizes that Ner Chanukah is not to be taken as simply another mitzvah d’Rabbanan (rabbinical enactment), but is to be regarded as one of the fundamental mitzvos which symbolizes the relationship between God and the Jews.
In an essay presented in Sefer Mi’Peninei Ha-Rav (Chanukah, s. 1), Rav Soloveitchik explains that the author of Book of Maccabees recorded the historical events of Chanukah without appreciating their profundity; it was a superficial narrative. Rav Soloveitchik elaborates that the crux of Chanukah is the battle against desecration and defilement, and the “aliyah mi-tumah” (“emergence from impurity”) on the part of the nation, after the Hellenist Jews, who were the primary adversary, were overtaken by the Chashmona’im and recommitted to Torah.
Chanukah compels us to think and act as Torah Jews under all circumstances, in the face of all cultures and environments. Let us recommit and rededicate ourselves to this charge, and may we soon merit to again have the Ner Tamid and experience a complete Hashra’as Ha-Shechinah.When Agent Amy from the BIA went for a walk on Bernal Hill late yesterday afternoon, she discovered fresh evidence of unholy activities by Satanists in our midst. She says:
I saw this brand-spanking new pentagram at the top of Bernal Hill. The paint’s still wet! In the center there’s a red paper goat, but also charred goo and drip marks suggesting some mysterious satanic gore. At the points of the pentagram are playing cards and melted black candles. And leading away from the pentagram, the cloven hoof-prints of Lucifer himself? Also in photo: An innocent three-year old, for scale.
Yikes. Frankly, I have no idea what to make of this.
Also, I admit that as soon as I saw Agent Amy’s photos of the pentagram, I pictured that old album cover by Rush, and “Tom Sawyer” began playing in my head. But that may just be a generational thing…
PHOTOS: Agent AmyEight years ago marked the launch of Xbox 360 in India. Now, Microsoft is back in the country with its latest gaming console, Xbox One. The console has finally started shipping in the nation through e-commerce portal Amazon India.
The Xbox One with Kinect bundle is priced at Rs 45,990, whereas the Kinect-less console will set you back by Rs 39,990. Amazon India and Microsoft are also offering several enticing deals to lure in customers. With every purchase of Xbox One (either of the bundles), customers are being provided goodies worth Rs 6,000 for free. Additionally, customers are also getting a Rs 2,000 eGift coupon that they can use to reduce the price of an Xbox controller or their favorite Blu-ray titles. If that wasn’t enough, Microsoft is also giving away a 14-day free trial subscription of Xbox Live.
The launch day titles include Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, Destiny, Ryse: Son of Rome, and FIFA 15. The Xbox One with Kinect bundle ships with two free titles, FIFA 15 and Dance Central Spotlight DLC, while the Kinect-less bundle comes with FIFA 15.
In 2006, Microsoft released its then flagship console Xbox 360 in India. The console was launched eight months earlier to its rival Sony’s PlayStation 3. Eight years later, Sony has already launched its PlayStation 4, incidentally 8 months earlier to Xbox One launch in the country. Perfect marketing, complemented by great pricing, and a timely launch gave Xbox 360 a head-start against Sony’s PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 was priced at Rs 23,900, while the PlayStation would have cost you Rs 39,990.
However, things have changed since then. Microsoft has been missing in action from any sort of marketing. As if the online-store route wasn’t enough of a challenge, it seems that the company hasn’t invested much in advertising either. At Xbox 360’s launch, Microsoft had roped Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, and Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh for brand promotion, in addition to running ads in local newspapers. This time, no such glittering is found anywhere. It will be interesting how things fare this time around with Xbox One.
Pic Credit: Games in Asia
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Further reading: IndiaI was wondering why Trent was no longer showing up on my Twitter feed. Apparently, he’s over it because some people were saying nasty things about his lady friend. He’s always been very sensitive. “Pretty Hate Machine” was one of my favorite albums as a teenager and when I re-discovered it a few years ago, I realized why. The lyrics were basically excerpts from my diary. Of course, I was a 16-year-old GIRL at the time, while he was 26. I still love that record to pieces though.
But the point is, while Trent is slipping on the tears you made him cry, he has also stopped shaving. And I dare say my favorite pocket-sized goth is looking pretty terrific.
What a wonderful, thick, blacker-than-the-blackest-black beard he has these days! I’m not quite as fond of the frumpy hoodie. But imagine how delicious he’d look in a clean, collared shirt (black, of course)! I never knew he had it in him. I always assumed his face was as smooth as Rosemary’s baby’s ass.
As usual, I have D-listed to thank for the pic.
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July 31, 2009
Categories: Uncategorized.. Author: Baxter
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Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URIFew principles hold a more prominent place in Texans’ personal creeds than the right to own property. It’s why many settled here. It’s why many bridle against regulations that impinge on how they ranch, farm, or manage their property.
And they recoil at the notion that a private company can ask and receive permission from state or federal governments to have part or all of their property condemned by eminent domain, limiting access to essential parts of a farm or ranch or, in more dire cases, rendering the property unfit for agriculture, hunting, or sale.
Landowners in Medina County, Texas, in dwindling numbers, hope to prevent a private out-of-state corporation — Vulcan Materials, a Fortune 500 multinational materials company based in Birmingham, Ala. — from completing condemnation of 43 properties to build a 9 mile rail spur from a quarry site. Vulcan has been trying to build the rail spur from a leased 1,700 acre quarry site to connect with the Union Pacific rail line 7 miles south at U.S. Hwy. 90.
Attorneys for Southwest Gulf Railroad filed a Petition in Condemnation in the Medina County Court on 43 properties belonging to farmers, ranchers, and other landowners in northeast Medina County.
“This is the first step in the process of forced taking of land by eminent domain,” says Alyne Fitzgerald, writing for the Medina County Environmental Action Association, Inc. (MCEAA) in a recent press release.
EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE
She explains that the organization has been active since 2000, evaluating all the impacts of the proposed quarry and rail line. “In the 16 years since, there have been between 93 to 150 member households. MCEAA has been successful in getting federal and state agencies to move the rail line to avoid sensitive historic areas and floodways and mitigate some impacts, but permits for construction have still been granted.
For the latest on southwest agriculture, please check out Southwest Farm Press Daily and receive the latest news right to your inbox.
“What separates this case is that eminent domain is being abused by a private corporation, solely for its own benefit,” Fitzgerald writes. “A restrictive covenant barring rail construction binds 9,622 acres, on 56 separate properties with 108 signatories, along Vulcan’s proposed rail line.
“Only condemnation, using the power of eminent domain, would extinguish these restrictive covenants and remove them. But such power can only be validly exercised by a common carrier, which Vulcan’s paper railroad, Southwest Gulf Railroad, plainly is not.
“No other companies will have goods on this proposed 9 mile rail spur to transport at this time — or likely ever — due to the restrictive covenant. Yet, now Vulcan, not the landowners, seeks the power to control future land use in northeast Medina County, Texas.”
If this taking is allowed, she says, the resulting precedent will affect future land rights across the state. “No landowner in the entire state of Texas is safe from seizure of their property. Any company, even an out-of-state company, can come in and seize property for private gain if this case is ruled in favor of Vulcan and its paper railroad.”
STILL HOLDING OUT
Richard Fournier, who runs a Black Angus cow/calf operation, raises Boer goats, and does horse rescue, is one of the few remaining holdouts.
“This is your typical big business rolling over farmers and ranchers,” he says, claiming it a particularly burdensome injustice “after we just fought off a four year drought here in Texas. This will destroy my land value and cut my property almost in two halves.”
He has rangeland and also produces coastal bemudagrass and hay grazer for his livestock and for sale. That production is threatened. “If this rail goes through, I will have no access to the back of my property, except to go about 2 miles on the county road.”
Land value also declines. “This rail already has ruined our land value — just on the rumor. If you tried to sell property since they started talking about a rail, you had to disclose that information to the real estate agent, and nobody wants to buy land that could have a railroad cut right through it — nobody wants to purchase land that has a railroad running near it. Just the rumor of the railroad has ruined local land values.”
He says Vulcan’s acquisition practices are different from similar companies. “They buy narrow strips of land and condemn what they can't get. Other companies buy the entire land parcel, and they make the land boundaries butt up against the rail. That's not what's happening here.”
He says an alternate route already exists. “There was a narrow gauge rail across here in 1910 to 1914 to build Medina Lake Dam. After four years, they packed up and left. Vulcan wants to be here for 50 years. MCEAA attempted to give Vulcan the same route that the Medina Lake rail took on a silver platter. We still don't know why they want to cause flooding and break up land values.”
SGRR Denies Claims
Scott Burnham, Southwest Gulf Railroad (SGRR), takes issue with some of the MCEAA claims. Burnham dismisses the notion that no companies will “likely ever” transport goods or utilize the Medina Line. “SGRR is working with Union Pacific Railroad to actively market development opportunities on or near The Medina Line to provide local businesses with a low-cost and convenient connection to the regional, national and global marketplace,” he says
He also rejects the land value devaluation, claiming recent appraisals, compared to “what land is actually selling for,” indicate no negative impact.
He says SGRR has purchased entire properties, not just “narrow strips” from “several landowners along the route,” adding that SGRR begins discussions by offering to buy entire properties.
“Only 20 properties are located along the route, and SGRR purchased property, acquired easements, or otherwise reached agreements with landowners for nearly 90 percent of The Medina Line route.” He adds that SGRR reached mutually agreeable solutions with 17 of the 20 landowners to build the common carrier line and contends that federal and state laws recognize the common public benefits of projects like the Medina Line.
Landowners reluctant to sell their properties, however, remain committed to fighting eminent domain.
OTHERS JOINING FIGHT
Fournier, Fitzgerald, and others are at a loss to explain how the private company received common carrier status. “They don't fit the description,” he says.
“It's the idea that they can come in here illegally, wreck your land, and then tell you what they are going to pay you for it. You have no rights whatsoever — private companies have the ability to condemn land at will for their private profits. You can see where this is going to end up.”
Fournier says MCEAA may be outgunned, but they are not alone in the fight. “Farm Bureau and other ag organizations are fighting this in Washington as we speak. They stand with us. Farmers, ranchers, and all land owners in the state of Texas should be concerned,” says Fitzgerald.
“Texans are very proud of their land, and their land is very dear to them. For generations Texas farmers and ranchers have produced abundant crops and livestock and strong families. The right to private property ownership is the cherished heritage passed down to us by the early settlers of the Republic of Texas, and it’s the bedrock of our unique way of life in Texas.
“This case is potentially precedent-setting. How the courts handle this case will establish the law in all future court cases in Texas involving the taking of private property by private companies for their own use. No one’s land is safe from confiscation if Vulcan and its paper railroad prevail. Landowners, farmers, and ranchers across the state should rise in protest and outrage.”
“This is a major case, and if we do not win no landowner in Texas (and possibly other states) will be able to stop any private company from destroying their land and their land value,” Fournier says."Boomerang 3" being used by British forces in Afghanistan
For a broader coverage of this topic, see Gunfire locator
Boomerang is a gunfire locator developed by DARPA and BBN Technologies primarily for use against snipers. Boomerang is mounted on mobile vehicles such as the Humvee, Stryker, and MRAP combat vehicles. There were plans to integrate it into the Land Warrior system.
Development [ edit ]
Boomerang grew out of a program conceived by the U.S. Department of Defense in late 2003, months after the traditional combat phase of the Iraq War had ended on 1 May, at a time when it was clear that U.S. troops were increasingly at risk from a growing and aggressive insurgency. Often, troops in noisy Humvees did not know they were being shot at until someone was hit. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approached DARPA and asked for near-term solutions that could be applied to the conflict in Iraq. Rumsfeld was looking for something that did not have to be a perfect solution, but was at least better than nothing.[1]
The U.S. Army and Special Operations Command began using a limited number of French-made PILAR anti-sniper systems in 2003. DARPA developed an American system. Karen Wood, a program manager at DARPA, said BBN's previous work was the most impressive that was examined. BBN had previously developed a less sophisticated counter sniper system named "Bullet Ears" under DARPA sponsorship in 1997.[2][3]
The new requirements included:
Shooter localization to plus or minus 15 degree accuracy, and within one second of the shot
Reliability for shot miss distances of one to 30 meters
Ability to detect and localize fire from AK-47s and other small arms at ranges from 50 to 150 meters
Reliable performance in urban environments with low buildings
Operable when mounted on a vehicle moving up to 60 miles per hour on either rough terrain or highways
Ability to withstand sand, pebbles, rain, and light foliage impacts
Ability to deliver alert information in both a voice announcement and on an LED display
Microphone array and electronics box must be replaceable in the field[4]
The first prototype was developed in 65 days. Challenges that it faced were filtering out noise from the vehicle on which it is mounted (such as loud engines and static sounds from the radio), ignoring sounds similar to that of a gunshot (such as fireworks or a car back-firing), factoring in bullet ricochets, and ignoring outgoing fire from friendly troops. Small quantities of Boomerang were battle tested in Iraq and further improvements led to 2nd and 3rd generation versions called the Boomerang II and Boomerang III. In June 2008 a $73.8 million firm fixed price contract was awarded by the U.S. Army to BBN for 8,131 Boomerang Systems, spares and training services.[5]
In 2005 Boomerang won both the DARPA "Significant Technical Achievement Award" and the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX) "Technology Influencer of the Year Award."
Boomerang does not claim to be able to detect shots fired from firearms with sound suppressors.
Operation [ edit ]
The Boomerang unit attaches on a mast to the rear of a vehicle and uses an array of seven small microphone sensors. The sensors detect and measure both the muzzle blast and the supersonic shock wave from a supersonic bullet traveling through the air (and so is less effective against subsonic ammunition). Each microphone detects the sound at slightly different times. Boomerang then computes the direction a bullet is coming from, distance above the ground and range to the shooter in less than one second. Users receive simultaneous visual and auditory information on the point of fire from an LED 12-hour clock image display panel and speaker mounted inside the vehicle. For example, if someone is firing from the rear, the system announces "Shot, 6 o'clock", an LED illuminates at the 6 o'clock position, and the computer tells the user the shooter's range, elevation and azimuth.
Boomerang works in extreme weather, in open field and in urban environments, whether static or moving. BBN states that false shot detections are less than one per thousand hours of system operation at vehicle speeds under 50 miles per hour.
Related development [ edit ]
Starting in 2011, the US Army began issuing the Individual Gunshot Detector (IGD) which is similar to the Boomerang in function and purpose, but is worn by dismounted soldiers.[6]
The 118th Boston Marathon (2014) [ edit ]
Stationary Boomerang III units were utilized in the "Athletes' Village", at the starting line, and finish line areas of the 118th running of The Boston Marathon as a result of the 2013 bombings that took place at the finish line. The Boomerang units were mounted to telephone poles and setup on tripods and networked together so all could be monitored from any of the mobile command units. Some were also deployed on mobile vehicles.
See also [ edit ]In this final installment of a series on the Donald Trump phenomenon, RealClearPolitics explores a growing divide in America and why the 2016 GOP frontrunner is embraced by those who feel silenced.
Having looked at Trump’s true base of support and his general election prospects, I ask: “Why Trump? Why now?” The answer is a bit abstract; to explain what I think is going on requires a lot of wind-up, but I promise I’ll bring this home at the end.
There is an important but often overlooked divide that runs throughout modern western history (possibly other histories as well; I’m not familiar enough to say) – a divide between what we might call cultural cosmopolitanism and cultural traditionalism (the more loaded term is modernism v. anti-modernism). You can see it in studies of Stuart and early Hanoverian England, where discussions of so-called court/country disputes are central. You see it in various populist insurgencies throughout American history. It features prominently in the works of American cultural critics, especially the late Christopher Lasch (who got so many important things right that it only makes the crucial things he got wrong the more tragic).
Part I: The Meaning of Trump
Part II: Cruz, Trump and the Missing White Voters
This divide is typically shoe-horned into the white/nonwhite, rich/poor, religious/secular divides that receive so much attention, but it has reached the point that it needs to be intellectually separated from them; indeed, most of these splits are in many ways derivative of the cosmopolitan/traditionalist split. In other words, there are plenty of poor Americans who who nevertheless would consider themselves culturally “blue,” while there are a plenty of wealthy ones who spend much of their time rolling their eyes at their elite counterparts’ comments.
It’s difficult to describe the divide precisely. While I’m probably more in the culturally cosmopolitan camp these days, especially as it relates to politics, I can think of numerous events from my Yale undergraduate days, which today we might have labeled “micro aggressions,” that encapsulate the differences. Some are small and innocent (“Do you have electricity and/or ride horses in Oklahoma?”) Some are oddly revealing (the freshman-year friend from Andover, Mass., who, upon finding out my I’d forgotten my father’s birthday, couldn’t fathom why I was beside myself and assured me Dad would understand “because it was during finals.”) And some are grotesque (the teaching assistant who found out my father served in Vietnam and immediately asked if he had nightmares from the horrible things he must have done).
But suffice it to say, there is simply a difference in attitudes in America about the importance of family, religion, achievement, intellectual advancement, diversity (at least within categories deemed important by elites), patriotism, and nationalism. This isn’t to say that cultural cosmopolitans don’t value family or hate their country – though it appears that way to many cultural traditionalists – nor is it to say that traditionalists don’t place emphasis on intellectual advancement or achievement – though it appears that way to many cosmopolitans – but rather to say they express and often prioritize these things differently.
I’m not entirely certain why this has catapulted to the forefront of American politics over the past few decades. One possibility comes from this outstanding, lengthy SlateStarCodex piece, which remains one of the best things I’ve ever read on the Web, period, and which I’ll quote at length:
There are certain theories of dark matter where it barely interacts with the regular world at all, such that we could have a dark matter planet exactly co-incident with Earth and never know. Maybe dark matter people are walking all around us and through us, maybe my house is in the Times Square of a great dark matter city, maybe a few meters away from me a dark matter blogger is writing on his dark matter computer about how weird it would be if there was a light matter person he couldn’t see right next to him. This is sort of how I feel about conservatives. I don’t mean the sort of light-matter conservatives who go around complaining about Big Government and occasionally voting for Romney. I see those guys all the time. What I mean is – well, take creationists. According to Gallup polls, about 46% of Americans are creationists. Not just in the sense of believing God helped guide evolution. I mean they think evolution is a vile atheist lie and God created humans exactly as they exist right now. That’s half the country. And I don’t have a single one of those people in my social circle. It’s not because I’m deliberately avoiding them; I’m pretty live-and-let-live politically, I wouldn’t ostracize someone just for some weird beliefs. And yet, even though I probably know about a hundred fifty people, I am pretty confident that not one of them is creationist. Odds of this happening by chance? 1/2^150 = 1/10^45 = approximately the chance of picking a particular atom if you are randomly selecting among all the atoms on Earth. About forty percent of Americans want to ban gay marriage. I think if I really stretch it, maybe ten of my top hundred fifty friends might fall into this group. This is less astronomically unlikely; the odds are a mere one to one hundred quintillion against... I live in a Republican congressional district in a state with a Republican governor. The conservatives are definitely out there. They drive on the same roads as I do, live in the same neighborhoods. But they might as well be made of dark matter. I never meet them.
Some of this is a function of self-segregation; if you want to raise a devoutly religious household, you don’t move to Charlottesville, Va., whereas if you are looking to be a family of free thinkers, Danville, Va., is probably low on your list of places to go. You can walk through a list of interrelated causes: income inequality, gated communities, the rise of DINKs in cities, but they all point to a situation where the red tribe and the blue tribe (and the small-but-growing gray tribe, described in the above link) rarely interact.
I think the outcome of this is that neither side is capable of seeing America as it actually is, and both sides believe they are far stronger than they actually are. Cultural traditionalists don’t know many gay marriage supporters (much less anyone who refers to “Caitlin Jenner”), are flummoxed as to how it could have become the law of the land, and are convinced that it must be the result of some giant lawless action. Theirs is a world turned upside down.
Cultural cosmopolitans, on the other hand, forget everything they learned in college about social desirability bias when they view polls rapidly swinging their way (with some notable exceptions), mistakenly see their victories as largely total (people online are always surprised when I point out that a near majority of Americans consider themselves Young Earth Creationists), assume that their discussions about diversity at the Oscars or transgender rights resonate with almost all Americans, and have recently moved to purge an increasing number of opposing views from the bounds of acceptable discourse, again, without a full understanding of just how many people they are silencing.
In fact, I think many cultural cosmopolitans, and again, I largely place myself in these ranks, don’t recognize these beliefs for the purely ideological statements that they are (evolution aside). The cultural cosmopolitans have an advantage in that they occupy the commanding heights of American culture, but the democratization of cyberspace and the freedom that comes with 2,000 channels on television have weakened their influence and have probably only further inflamed tensions between the groups.
Where this becomes relevant – indeed, I think this is crucial – is that the leadership of the Republican Party and the old conservative movement is, itself, culturally cosmopolitan. I doubt if many top Republican consultants interact with many Young Earth Creationists on a regular basis. Many quietly cheered the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decisions. Most of them live in blue megapolises, most come from middle-class families and attended elite institutions, and a great many of them roll their eyes at the various cultural excesses of “the base.” There is, in other words, a court/country divide among Republicans.
This has been exacerbated by the crack-up of the Clinton Coalition and the rapid transformation of the Democratic Party into an aggressively culturally cosmopolitan institution (think Bill Clinton to Al Gore to John Kerry to Barack Obama). This change pushed out many of the Jacksonians that formed the backbone of the party for 150 years, creating an influx of lower-middle-class/working-class voters, in turn swelling the ranks of the cultural traditionalists among the Republicans.
We’re left with an odd situation in which neither party’s leadership is particularly well attuned to the most important divide in American life. Democrats are openly suspicious, if not hostile, to these voters, while Republicans at best hold their noses on cultural issues if it advantages them (but they will go to the mattresses for unpopular tax cuts for wealthy Americans).
So the Republicans offer up candidates who are from cosmopolitan America, who have their speeches written by speechwriters from cosmopolitan American, who have their images created by consultants from cosmopolitan America, and who develop their issue positions in office buildings located in cosmopolitan America. Then they wonder why the base isn’t excited. Say what you will about George W. Bush, but a large part of why he was successful was that he didn’t talk like your average D.C. denizen. He was routinely mocked by the press and his own party derided his malapropisms, but he connected with a class of voters that Republicans sure could use these days, in a way that Willard Mitt Romney never could hope to (and without resorting to the demagoguery of Trump).
Which brings us to Trump. If there is anything positive I can say about Trump it is this: He gets this cosmopolitan/traditionalist divide, and he is the only candidate who lands foursquare with the traditionalists. He isn’t a fundamentalist, but he gets the whole “why can’t we just say Merry Christmas in supermarkets anymore?” He’s a billionaire, but he gets the anger at wealthy donors that many see as perverting the political system. There’s little doubt that his hotels have employed undocumented workers, but he gets the anger at what many see as a foolish unwillingness of this country to “control its borders” as the unwillingness of many in the Republican leadership to take strong, unambiguous stands on these issues (largely as a result of their own discomfort with these stands).
How did Republicans and the political class respond to Trump initially? They made fun of how he talked. Everyone was then surprised when people whose speech patterns are among the only patterns that are still socially appropriate to mock responded by liking Trump more (I actually think Trump’s accent is one of his biggest advantages). Making fun of his hair? Think about this the next time you make fun of someone with a mullet. Expressing outrage at his politically incorrect statements? I think Kevin Drum is part of the way there in this typically thoughtful essay in which he discusses the impact that political correctness has on people who feel silenced because they don’t know how to talk. But even this reflects Drum’s own internalized belief that the politically correct way to speak is the correct way to speak, while non-cosmopolitan Americans’ response is more visceral: “Why the hell can’t we call them illegal immigrants? Says who?” And Trump is the only candidate who unambiguously calls this out.
Take Trump’s speech announcing his candidacy. David Byler and I had no idea what we were onto when David text-mined Trump’s speech and found that his announcement was the only one out of the 15 candidates’ announcements that sounded different. We (and others) took this as a sign of Trump’s quirkiness and a reason Trump wouldn’t last. But we clearly missed the boat. It was actually one of the most important data points of the campaign, and it has a lot to do with why Trump has been successful.
We can go down the list of events in the Trump campaign since then. Cosmopolitan America sees a strong, moral – frankly ideological – interest in accepting refugees from Syria. Traditionalist America thinks that after Paris, this is insane. Which candidate is unafraid to say this unambiguously, without feeling the need to offer caveats? Traditionalist America thinks that the nation that put a man on the moon can “control its borders"; cosmopolitan America at best offers lip service to the need for doing so. Again, how many of the surviving Republican candidates fully side with the traditionalists? Traditionalist America wants to “kick the tires and light the fires” against ISIS/Daesh, and Trump goes on Blutarsky-ish rants against them. Trump doesn’t do nuance on these issues, but the cosmopolitan Republican candidates feel the need to. (Suggest raising taxes on the wealthy, however, and all nuance goes out the window with the rest of them).
All of this is a lengthy way of saying that Trump is a creation of the Republican establishment, which is frankly uncomfortable with many of its own voters, and which mostly seeks to “manage” them. This is a group that looked at the Tea Party revolts of the past decade, looked at the broad field of Republican candidates (many of whom at least had ties to successful Tea Party revolts), and decided that none of these candidates were good enough.
This is a dangerous situation (the Democrats have their own, similar problems, but |
chance that it works out that way.
I kind of expected it today. The team had a really successful road trip. They played a very very good team, the team that gave them trouble on the road as well. You get in late after a long trip back on Sunday, leaving at 4 in the afternoon, driving all through the night, you get home Monday, play here Tuesday. I’m not surprised that the team wasn’t sharp.
PPP: So I have a whole list of questions from [PPP] -- I’ll only ask a few.
Dubas: Sure.
PPP: First, people were concerned that the Grabner trade kind of got rid of some of the depth that was supposed to come down to Orlando. Did the perception of the use of Orlando change in this time you’ve been -- since the Grabner trade?
Dubas: I think it’s certainly -- we can’t fool people and say that it didn’t deplete some of the depth from the minor league system. The trade was done for one to bring Grabner to Toronto, and two, to increase our flexibility in our contract slots, and the cost of doing that was moving out some of the prospects that we did. I think that the players that are here in Orlando, there are really only two guys that it’s cost them, and we tried to make that up by sending players down right away.
I only got to ask this guy 2/10 questions, 1 was the Grabner trade as it related to org depth. Darn other reporters. pic.twitter.com/AJIl7CBI5I — Acha (@tanyarezak) November 25, 2015
PPP: One recent call-up was Zach Bell. What goes into the decision making process to bring players up to the Marlies, or not?
Dubas: What we usually do is confer with Anthony, and say, this is the type of team we’re playing against, here’s the duration of time we think we’ll need the recall for. In that case, we weren’t sure whether Andrew Campbell was going to be able to play in St. John’s, so Sheldon spoke with Anthony and I spoke with Anthony, and decided to call up Zach.
Don Money/Pro Hockey News: From the last time you were here, going by the in-person eye test, were there points that you see progression on, and points that you see regression on.
Dubas: Well, I think that when it comes to the eye test part of it, I’ve only seen the team play live now twice, so I don’t feel that’s a good enough sample size based on the number of games they’ve played. I’ve watched all but a few of the games online, and I’ve watched a lot of them live, so I’m happy with the way the team has progressed. Especially -- the team struggles with the same thing that we struggled with, with the Marlies earlier in the year. They’re a young team relative to the league, and when you’re younger, you’re smaller, and they struggle with teams like South Carolina tonight that are an older, bigger, more veteran team.
Watching the road trip especially I was happy in the second game at South Carolina how the team came out and played. I think it’s a testament to the coaching staff and the job that they have done so far, and a testament to the players. So when I watch, I can’t just base it on the two games I’m here, especially when there’s been so many other games played, over a dozen of them. So we try to watch them all, and talk to Anthony and get his pulse on the team, and talk to Joe [Haleski] and Jason [Seigel] when we’re here, and get a sense for how things are going. But we’re happy with the progress that’s made.
The team is 8 - 4 - 2 now, or 8 - 4 - 3, so that’s a pretty good start.
Here is a profile shot for those of you who like his glasses. pic.twitter.com/9a3lGHd0sY — Acha (@tanyarezak) November 25, 2015
Don: One of the buzzwords down here is a 60 minute game, playing a full game. Is that something you guys in Toronto can help Anthony with, to get this game to a full 60 minutes.
Dubas: I think that it comes with time. We’re always here to help Anthony and the players with anything that they need. He’s been great working with Sheldon. He and I talk in some form or another nearly every day, and if not it doesn’t go more than two days without us speaking. So, you know, getting the team to play 60 minutes -- this league is much harder to do that in than any of the leagues that we play in. The mode of travel, the nights that you play, and the various different things that impact it. It’s a lot of wear and tear on the players.
Players here, they play Saturday night, travel all the way back. It’s tough to have an athlete come out here and try to play a perfect game tonight. So I’m proud of the guys who tried to grind through it, stay to the end, get it in two with an empty net goal. And I know they’ll be better on Friday night. Just, they looked tired today and the execution was off.
Shane Whitehead/WFTV Channel 9: How do you guys up there in the front office view winning vs. development? You hope it goes hand-in-hand…
Dubas: I think that in order for winning and development to go hand in hand, that’s on us in the front office, it’s not on the coaches and the players. If we do a good job finding good enough players, and coaches do their best developing them, then the team’s going to have success, but we have to start that off by finding talented players for the coaches to work with.
The coaches can develop players as much as possible, but if they aren’t really good, they aren’t going to be able to win games.
So it’s up to us to find quality talent for all of our clubs, the Leafs, Marlies, and Solar Bears, and to support the coaching staff throughout, and I think they’ve done a very good job here, and it’s shown up in the standings so far.
Shane: Would you like to find better players at a faster pace?
Dubas: Always, yeah. We’d always love to find as many good players as you can as quick as you can. That’s the goal, and there was one thing that we were obviously challenged with starting here, about a year and a half now, or a year and four months, it kind of goes by pretty quickly. But we’re trying to get there, we think we’re on the right track. I think that the seasons the Marlies and Solar Bears have started to have out of the gate lends some credence to that. The way the Maple Leafs are playing … we’ve got a long road ahead of us still, a long ways to go.
Shane: So how does this work, you come down here, you watch, you go up there, you report, and say hey, they could use this, this, or this, or …
Dubas: I’ll always confer with Anthony on where the team is at, and if they think there’s anything we can help with… Our needs as an organization are pretty much the same all throughout. We’ve really got to focus on defense, and trying to identify D at all different levels that can come and help us, that’s a focus of ours. But we just, we’re not good enough yet to be picky on positions, we’re trying to find as many good players as we can, and go from there.
When I’m down here, it’s more to get a grasp on what’s going on, on the ground, for myself, and evaluations of the players, that’s always happening, whether through Anthony’s reports or my own watchings of the games.
Shane: Not the weather?
Dubas: It’s cold here! I came here today, I was expecting it to be pretty warm, and I was disappointed, but what can you do.(Newser) – Walkman, Trinitron, PlayStation: In the US, we know Sony as a longtime player in the electronics world. But its electronics arm has lost $8.5 billion over the past decade, the New York Times reports. In fact, the driver of its current success is its insurance business, which doesn't exist in the US or Europe. In Japan, however, the company sells life, auto, and medical insurance, and last year, some 63% of its total operating profit came from its financial operations. Life insurance has brought in $9.07 billion in such profit for the company over the past decade.
It's figures like these that have some analysts calling for drastic action. "Electronics is its Achilles’ heel and, in our view, it is worth zero," says a report issued this week by investment bank Jefferies. “In our view, it needs to exit most electronics markets." US hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb has a different plan: He says the company should spin off its successful music and film business (Sony has been behind entertainment ranging from Spider-Man to Daft Punk) and use that cash to fund its electronics arm. Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai says the firm will consider Loeb's idea, but he made his views clear last week: "Electronics has a future. And it is in Sony’s DNA," he said. "It is my mission to revive it." (Read more Sony stories.)Barring something major happening, Hillary Clinton is now the Democratic nominee for president. A party supposedly in favor of progressive policies and values has chosen a candidate who voted for the Iraq War, was the driving force behind the intervention in Libya, and who is beholden to Wall Street.
I cannot join them.
For me, it is a matter of conscience. If I vote for Hillary Clinton, I am basically saying I approve of, or at least can accept, her militarism and advocacy of “humanitarian” interventions. It would say I accept the economic deregulation pushed through by the Clintons in the 1990s. It would say I approve her support for fracking. Barring some major change in circumstances, I cannot do that in good conscience.
If I voted for Hillary Clinton, I would be indirectly responsible for any military interventions she carries out. I would be endorsing her plan to establish a no-fly zone in Syria, in airspace where Russian military jets are active. If a Republican were pushing this, everyone on this site would pointing out how dangerous and irresponsible this plan is. (I do not believe that Hillary Clinton, or Vladimir Putin for that matter, would deliberately seek to start World War III, but a situation involving the shoot down of a Russian or American plane could easily spiral out of control.)
This will be my last diary dealing with the presidential campaign. I have no interest or desire to continually point out the foolish and dangerous course the Democratic Party is taking. Nor do I intend to express support for a candidate I differ with on fundamental issues. I will continue to blog here about liberal issues, but presidential politics are no longer my concern.In the midst of earthquake reconstruction and political violence in the country's south, Nepal's new constitution provides a reason for many citizens to celebrate -- particularly its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community.
After more than seven years of deliberation, on September 20, Nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav promulgated the small Himalayan country's historic constitution. It stands as the first national constitution in Asia--and only the third in the world along with South Africa (1996) and Ecuador (1998)--to include explicit rights and protections for LGBTI people.
Gai Jatra Gay Pride Nepal, 2015. Photo: Madhav Dulal/Pahichan Media
"This is a momentous step forward for LGBT equality in Nepal. The nation's leadership has affirmed that its LGBT citizens deserve the constitutional right to live their lives free from discrimination and fear," said Ty Cobb, Director of Human Rights Campaign Global
The new constitution marks a final stage in the peace process implemented following Nepal's ten-year civil war that ended in 2006. Although this is actually the country's seventh constitution, it is the first created by a Constituent Assembly directly elected by the people, and it establishes Nepal as a federal democratic republic.
The main LGBTI-specific provisions included in the constitution are Article 18, "Right to Equality," which states that the state or judiciary cannot discriminate against gender and sexual minorities; and Article 42, "Right to Social Justice," which provides gender and sexual minorities with the right to participate in state mechanisms and public services. Additionally, Article 12 ensures that citizens of Nepal can choose their preferred gender identity--male, female, or other--on citizenship documents.
Nepal's LGBTI Movement
The landmark decision to include these in the constitution is a testament to widespread LGBTI advocacy efforts and the growing influence of civil society in Nepal. Ever since the 1990 "People's Movement"--which forced King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah to cede power and allow for a constitutional multi-party democracy--NGO's have emerged as a growing force in the country. This opened up space for various types of advocacy organizations and opportunities for international donors.
Initially, funding allocated for HIV response helped to galvanize LGBTI advocacy in Nepal, according to a UNDP country report. As of 2001, there was no organized LGBTI organization in Nepal so activists combined forces to establish the Blue Diamond Society (BDS). At that time, Nepal's constitution did not recognize sexual or gender minorities, so BDS registered as a sexual health program NGO. Since its inception, BDS has been at the forefront of LGBTI advocacy, education, and programming in Nepal.
The founder of BDS, Sunil Babu Pant, has been instrumental in championing Nepal's rising LGBTI movement. In 2007, Pant and three other leading activists petitioned the government in a prominent Supreme Court case. The verdict resulted in the government scrapping discriminatory laws against LGBTI people, recognizing a third gender category of "other", and establishing a committee to explore the legalization of same-sex marriage in Nepal. This Supreme Court decision largely paved the way for the LGBTI rights enshrined in the new constitution.
Sunil Babu Pant in Gai Jatra Parade, 2011. Photo: Blue Diamond Society
From 2008 to 2012, Pant served as a Member of Parliament in Nepal becoming the first openly gay parliamentarian in Asia. Therefore, Pant has become somewhat of a poster child for Nepal's LGBT community and many credit him for elevating sexual and gender minority rights to the national agenda.
"This new Constitution makes clear that we can be proud of our LGBT identities, and that we can be proud citizens of Nepal," said Sunil Babu Pant. "This victory is just the beginning of our long road towards full equality. We are ready to move beyond the discrimination, violence and exclusion of the past, and continue with even greater integrity, responsibility and dedication to contribute to the nation-building process."
Manisha Dhakal, the current Executive Director of BDS, emphasizes the role that extensive advocacy efforts have played in changing perceptions and highlighting LGBTI issues at the national level. Leading up to the constitution, BDS held a national consultation, regional workshops throughout Nepal, and a South Asia regional consultation to educate the public and stakeholders on LGBTI issues.
"Some key rights are included in the new constitution, but we need to see proper implementation of those articles that affect LGBTI rights," said Dhakal in an interview. "We need more advocacy now because we need to reflect the new constitution in laws and policies."
She identified that the challenge moving forward will be to sensitize the country's bureaucrats as well as the public to LGBTI issues. "We need to change the perceptions of the public and society, but it takes time."
National Consultation for LGBTI community, 2014. Photo: Blue Diamond Society
Dhakal stressed that national laws and policies must be coupled with grassroots outreach to create change at the societal level. Currently, BDS operates 53 branches throughout Nepal and is working to transform perceptions at the local level through programs like Pahichan Media, which houses a LGBT-specific national news website as well as a daily LGBT national radio broadcast.
One major issue still to be determined in Nepal is same-sex marriage. The new constitution does not explicitly address this, but does include vague language that states a citizen cannot be discriminated against based on marital status. Earlier this year, the national committee tasked with exploring the issue of same-sex marriage submitted its report to the government recommending Nepal to adopt same-sex marriage. Dhakal said the report is currently with the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, but BDS is lobbying the government to transfer the report to the Law Ministry to ensure legal implementation.
Nepal as Regional Leader in LGBTI Rights
Ideally, Dhakal said, Nepal's progressive constitution can serve as a model for other countries in South Asia and around the world. BDS works closely with the South Asia Human Rights Association of Marginalized Sexualities and Genders, which facilitates collaboration between it and its counterparts in Nepal and the larger region.
Several social and cultural factors have facilitated Nepal's tolerance of LGBTI people, creating a more conducive environment for progressive judicial decisions and constitutional rights. Historically, Nepal has been a diverse, multicultural, and multiethnic country. The presence of various gender and sexual identities goes back centuries and is recorded in ancient religious texts. Additionally, Nepal's two main religions--Hinduism and Buddhism--are tolerant of gender and sexual minorities and lack the violent religious extremism that exists in some other regional countries.
Another unique characteristic of Nepal is that it was never colonized--unlike many of its South Asian neighbors. In other regional countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, Section 377 of the former British penal code criminalized homosexual acts and is still reflected in national legislation and societal norms.
Despite its flaws, Nepal's new constitution stands as a place to start for democracy. Same-sex marriage, equal gender citizenship provisions, and the exclusion of minority groups are just a few of the key issues that the government must address moving forward. For the moment, however, the new constitution marks a changing tide for LGBTI rights in Nepal and, perhaps, the region.
As Dhakal explained, "Gaining acceptance in society is a challenge, but the new constitution has provided us with an opportunity."View Tests by Category View Tests by Category View Tests by Name
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Our Price: $175.00 Add to CartThe man accused of killing Michael Wassill inside his Orléans home four years ago broke down Monday as he told a jury he "didn't mean to hurt" the young man.
"I didn't want a confrontation," Carson Morin said in the witness box Monday, his fifth day of testifying at his first-degree murder trial.
The 24-year-old has pleaded not guilty in the stabbing death of Wassill, 20, who died inside his home on Fernleaf Drive in May 2013.
The Crown has said Wassill was fatally slashed across the throat with a boxcutter while trying to protect a woman who was Morin's former girlfriend.
Morin's defence lawyer, Natasha Calvinho, has told the jury her client did kill Wassill, but that he did so in self-defence.
Got call from victim
Morin testified Monday that on May 14, 2013 — the night before the killing — he got a call from Wassill.
Carson Morin is seen in a court sketch made on Feb. 9, 2017, at the Ottawa courthouse. Morin has been charged with first-degree murder in the 2013 death of 20-year-old Michael Wassill. (Lauren Foster-Macleod/CBC)
Wassill had been providing temporary shelter to the woman, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, after she had a fallout with Morin over her job at a local strip club.
Morin had been driving the woman to and from the club, he testified last week, taking a cut of her earnings and paying for her tanning, hair and makeup bills.
He told court Monday that during that phone call, Wassill invited him over to his house. In the background, Morin said, he could hear male voices saying "get him over here" with an aggressive tone.
Morin testified he was scared he would be hurt if went over to the house. He said he remembered exactly where he was when Wassill called, and it was at that point during Morin's testimony that he lost his composure.
"You don't forget that stuff. It just kind of hits me weird that way," he said, breaking down. "I didn't mean to hurt him."
A photo of the utility knife allegedly used to kill Michael Wassill was entered earlier during the trial as evidence. (Exhibit)
After Justice Julianne Parfett ordered a short break, Morin resumed testifying. He said that on the morning of May 15, 2013, he drove to Wassill's house to collect money he believed the woman owed him — money he needed to pay his rent, he told court.
When he pulled into the driveway, Morin said, he was "nervous [and] sweating."
Morin said that before he approached the house, he put on a pair of blue latex gloves he'd been using earlier to clean his condo. He also grabbed an exacto knife from the centre console of the car, sticking it in his pocket.
Morin said he'd taken the knife out of a drawer in his condo and placed it in the car "as a last resort," adding that he had "no intention to use it."
As for why he decided to wear the gloves, Morin called it a "last-minute decision."
"It gave me confidence, and calmed my nerves," he said.
Scuffle on doorstep
Earlier in the trial, the woman testified she'd become afraid of Morin, and that Wassill and his friends were planning to invite him over and insist that he leave her alone, with no intention of harming him.
Morin shared his own take on that encounter Monday afternoon.
He said that when he went up to the front door, he saw the woman sitting on the staircase inside. He said he motioned for the woman to answer the door, but that it was Wassill who opened up instead.
Wassill looked him straight in the eyes and aggressively demanded to know what he wanted, Morin said. He then told him to "f--- off," Morin said, lifting his right arm "quickly, like he was going to push me back."
"I pushed back with my left hand into his chest. I pushed harder than I thought," Morin said, adding his momentum carried him into Wassill's house.
It was around that point that Morin's lawyer noted it was getting late in the afternoon — prompting Parfett to note the day's testimony would end on a "cliffhanger."
The trial continues Tuesday.After leading the “Play Pau Properly” charge for so long, it almost comes out as a natural defense mechanism whenever I hear the speculation of a Gasol for fill in the blank scenario being discussed. The fact is, Gasol isn’t responsible for not automatically morphing into a player with a skill set more suitable for the most recent offensive system. That said, at 8-9 (W/L) and struggling to maintain any level of consistency, the Los Angeles Lakers are a team searching for answers. Lakers’ management does not seem keen on the idea of waiting patiently while their $100 million investment takes time to figure things out.
If anything, the firing of Mike Brown after just a 1-4 start (without the services of PG Steve Nash) proved just how dire the circumstances truly were. It comes as no surprise that a source close to Lakers’ management has confirmed an interest in New Orleans Hornets’ PF Ryan Anderson as “legitimate.” Anderson is in just the first year of a 4-year, $36 million deal, having agreed to a sign-and-trade to join the Hornets in the off-season. The source went on to state:
The interest is coming from the Lakers, not New Orleans. Mitch (Kupchak) would prefer to keep Pau, as would Kobe. Jim (Buss) would prefer to continue cleaning house, and bring in players able to fit a more fast-paced style of play.
It should come as no surprise to hear of Jim Buss’ desire to obtain players to suit D’Antoni’s offense. Following the news of the organization deciding to go with D’Antoni over Phil Jackson there were plenty of reports surfacing about the Buss family strongly favoring an offense closer to the “Showtime” era to a more slow and methodical (Triangle) approach. The source went on to say:
Kupchak was clear about these facts 1.) No deal was imminent. 2.) Any proposed deal for Anderson would likely require a third team. 3.) Naturally, Gasol was generating a lot of interest from around the league, but reinforced that nothing was imminent.
Again, none of this should come as a shock, as Lakers’ brass was willing to part ways with both Gasol and Lamar Odom in pursuit of (now) Los Angeles Clippers PG Chris Paul just prior to the start of the 2011-12 season. While Anderson may lack some of the all-around offensive skills Gasol possesses, he would seem to be the perfect fit as the prototypical “stretch-4” player within D’Antoni’s system.
Personally, if I were Lakers’ management, considering Gasol with the second unit while awaiting the return of Nash would come before deciding to trade the 2-time champion. Not only would that open the floor for the starting unit by placing Jamison opposite Dwight Howard, but it would provide an opportunity to play Gasol out of the post, which has become his more natural position. That said, of all rumored deals/interest, Anderson fits the D’Antoni mold better than anyone else. With the organization seemingly grasping for answers, this will certainly be a story worthy of monitoring as the NBA season progresses.
Per ESPN:
Ryan Anderson
2012-13 Season
17.2 PPG, 8 RPG,.3 BPG, 20.30 PER
GP MPG FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT% 2012-13 Regular Season 15 32.8 6.4-13.9.459 3.3-7.8.427 1.1-1.3.842 Career 269 22.7 3.7-8.5.430 1.8-4.8.388 1.6-1.9.851
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Pau Gasol
2012-13 Season
12.6 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.2 BPG, 15.04 PERMedia ownership law reform generally welcomed by the sector
Posted
Media companies have generally welcomed the Turnbull Government's sweeping changes to Australia's ownership laws, which would scrap rules that restrict broadcasting and allow more freedom in cross-platform ownership.
Overnight, the Cabinet approved Communications Minister Mitch Fifield's plan, which would allow media companies to own radio and TV stations, as well as newspapers in a single media market, effectively abolishing the "two out of three rule".
It will also scrap the "reach rule" which prohibits any one media company from broadcasting to more than 75 per cent of the population.
In a statement sent to the ABC, a Fairfax spokesman said the company "welcomes Cabinet's decision to remove outdated restrictions in the present legislation".
The Ten Network told the ABC the reforms are an important first step in reforming "outdated laws and freeing up Australian media companies to compete on a level playing field, with overseas based content".
"The rules are now actively hurting our efforts to compete for viewers and for advertising revenue with overseas-based technology companies that are exempt from local media regulation," argued Ten Network chief executive officer Paul Anderson in a statement sent to the ABC.
News Corp disappointed, diversity an issue
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, however, said it is disappointed the changes do not reform anti-siphoning laws regarding pay TV.
Current anti-siphoning laws in Australia stop pay television broadcasters from buying the rights to events the Government believes should be made available free to the public, before free-to-air channels have the opportunity to purchase the rights.
A majority of those protected are sporting events.
In a statement emailed to the ABC, News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said the company is disappointed.
"The fact that broader media reform issues such as the anti-siphoning regime are not part of the proposal makes it difficult to accept this as genuine media reform," he said.
Elsewhere, industry experts have flagged diversity in the Australian media landscape may become an issue with the reforms.
"I would say that the Minister will have to look at a lot of protection, you wouldn't want local flavour news, everything that goes on just to disappear into the big city," media buyer and entrepreneur Harold Mitchell told Melbourne's ABC 774 local radio.
Mr Mitchell said, despite the reforms, the biggest change to the sector has been the arrival of digital.
"It took maybe nearly 50 years to get 30 per cent of all the advertising dollars taken away from newspapers," he observed.
"I can tell you within 16 years digital advertising is now about to take 40 per cent of all advertising and that's the great big change that puts aside everything else."
Topics: media, federal-government, print-media, radio-broadcasting, television-broadcasting, australiaComing Soon
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A gifted but insecure woman is in for a transformative experience when she enlists an enigmatic con to help recover her stolen car from a Mumbai thug.I’m scared. Those are words I never thought I would write when referring to St. John. But I’m scared. We’re only four days into this mess, and we’re hearing some awful things. For starters, Joe’s Rum Hut was broken into the day after Irma hit. The ATM was stolen. They attempted to get cash out of the register, but it was empty as Joe’s closed for season earlier this month. The ATM next to Cruz Bay Landing was stolen. The ATM at the ferry dock was stolen. Scoops has been broken into. St. John Insurance has been broken into. They hold almost all of the insurance policies on this island. Makes you wonder the intentions of that burglary, doesn’t it? Dolphin Market in Coral Bay was looted the very first night. The very first night. We heard this morning that the Customs building in Cruz Bay was broken into and that guns were stolen. We heard that there was at least three robberies at gunpoint on Gifft Hill. This is not St. John anymore. I’m not sure what it is. What I do know is that I am scared. My friends are scared. And we don’t know what to do.
Last night I was able to go home. What I failed to mention was that we had to install a bar on the inside of our door so no one could break in. This is our new reality. Last night, for the first time since moving here, I was afraid to walk down the streets of Cruz Bay. And it was only 6:30 p.m. People are getting desperate, and desperate times call for desperate measures from some unfortunately. We are only on day four. What’s going to happen next?
I have seen absolutely no aid today except a few boxes of MREs walking down the street. I haven’t seen one helicopter land today. We hear help is on the way. Let’s hope so. We need the military. We need men and women guarding our streets with guns. Our police force does nothing. They sit in their cars and yell at people over the loudspeaker. I kid you not. They’re not even helping with traffic in areas where it’s needed. You know who is? Our homeless people. Our homeless people are directing traffic, and our police are not. Let that sink in for a minute. Several police officers can be seen constantly at Ronnie’s Pizza – our new cell phone spot – and they’re scrolling through Facebook rather than patrolling our streets. Im shocked they actually got out of their cars for that. I took pictures and I cannot wait until I have internet so I can share them with the world.
We need help. We need the United States government to step up. We need military. We need security. We all survived this monster storm. But will we survive the aftermath? No one knows. And that’s not me being dramatic at all. That, unfortunately, is the new reality of St. John. This is no longer paradise. This is no longer my happy place.
Please share this folks. Share away. Please get us help.
JennPhoto by Dan Toulgoet from the Vancouver Courier.
There are a fair amount of cheapos in Vancouver who don’t want to pay for our futuristically named, public transit system: the Skytrain. I’m one of them. Our city has since cracked down and tried to install London-esque turnstiles in most of the stations downtown, so that drunken kids and drunken bums can’t jump on the train for free. Everyone has to get paid, guys. That became even more evident with the recent 25-cent fair hike that made a bunch of people grumpy.
Even though the grumpy levels were already operating at a fairly high degree, the poodle in the sky appeared, and people got even grumpier.
The latest installment from a series of public art works called the 88 Blocks Public Art Project, funded by B.C. transit, popped up a few days ago. Untitled(Poodle) by Montreal-born artist Gisele Amantea is a 33-foot-high sculpture, comprised of a seven foot high cast aluminum representation of a porcelain poodle figurine, perched on a platform atop a 25-foot high steel pole. The poodle cost $100,000 and it's been installed right in front of a new condominium complex on Main Street.
The artist responsible for the poodle in the sky issued a highly academic and somewhat skippable statement:
“(Untitled) Poodle flows from the material culture that contributes so strongly to the character of the street. Rather than high-end consumption, Main Street is more typically characterized by the presence of a multitude of objects that tend to have a personal meaning and relate to everyday life. The poodle was chosen as a motif for the sculpture because it is evocative of the general ambiance of the street.”
People seem annoyed by the poodle. At least the people who were raged up enough to comment about it on the internet. After reading comments like: “$64,000 for some pretentious statue of a poodle. Or you could cut that grant up 64 ways and get sixty-four sick graffiti murals all over Vancouver. Why do all the assholes get the arts grants?” I decided to visit the monolithic poodle and ask some local residents what they thought of this work of public art.
The answers I got included:
“I like the poodle and I’m so sick of all the haters. If everyone hates it so much I will gladly take it off their hands and put it in my room.”
“This poodle is three stories off the ground so it can shit on all the hard working artists in this city that are living off of nothing with no help from the city what so ever. Every time a venue or art space gets jeopardized the dog takes a shit and City Hall smiles.”
“This is a total embarrassment to the local neighbourhood. I cannot wait till a coked up Hells Angel uses it for target practice. Poodles are for Yaletown, you moron artist. But you live in Montreal so what the fuck do you know except my tax dollars?”
The best answer that I got was from my friend Tony: "For |
recently become almost legendary and are on Su-34 frontal bombers, but also about Mi-8 helicopters equipped with ‘Rychag’ stations. Also recently the Russian Air Forces’ aircraft inventory has gotten some jamming source based on the Il-18 — Il-22 ‘Porubshchik.’”
“‘Krasukha,’ ‘Murmansk’ and strong secrets”
“The most secret system in the entire Russian EW arsenal until recently was the ‘Krasukha-2’ jammer, though, currently first place in this nomination has gone to communications suppression station ‘Murmansk-BN,’ supposedly capable of jamming more than 20 frequencies at a range up to 5,000 kilometers. However, there is no reliable confirmation that the newest system has such characteristics.”
“Judging by existing photographs of ‘Murmansk’ in open sources (several 4-axle increased mobility trucks with tall masts), where beside the main antennas characteristic low-frequency whip antennas are visible, it’s possible to suppose that this system is capable of jamming signals in wavelengths from 200 to 500 MHz.”
“The main problem of such a system, most likely, is that, to achieve the announced range, the signal must reflect off the ionosphere and therefore it is influenced heavily by atmospheric disturbances, which, undoubtedly, affect the operation of ‘Murmansk.’”
“At the Moscow Aerospace Show [MAKS] last year, KRET officially presented the 1L269 ‘Krasukha-2’ system for jamming long-range radar surveillance aircraft (first and foremost American E-3 ‘AWACS’ aircraft) in its static exhibit. It’s notable that, in the words of the concern’s leadership, this system can jam ‘AWACS’ at ranges of several hundred kilometers.”
“Still, ‘Krasukha’ continues the line of development of the ‘Pelena’ and ‘Pelena-1’ systems worked out back in the 1980s by Rostov NII [scientific-research institute] ‘Gradient.’ A very simple decision put forth by then-director of ‘Gradient,’ but later general designer of the EW department in the USSR Yuriy Perunov underpinned the idea of these items: the signal of the jamming station must exceed the power of the signal which it is supposed to jam by 30 decibels.”
“Judging by the information we have, it’s very difficult to suppress a target like the E-3 ‘AWACS’ since its radars have more than 30 tunable frequencies which are constantly changing during operations. Therefore, Yuriy Perunov in his day proposed that the most optimal decision would be suppression of entire bands with powerful, focused noise jamming.”
“However, such a decision has serious shortcomings — ‘Pelena’ / ‘Krasukha’ jamming covers only one direction, but the aircraft flies a route, and the effect of the equipment on ‘AWACS’ will be quite limited in duration. And if there are already two DRLO [long-range radar surveillance] aircraft operating in the area, then even accounting for jamming during the overlap of the particular aircraft E-3 operators will still be able to receive the necessary information.”
“Powerful noise jamming will not only be detected by the radar reconnaissance means of the probable enemy, but will also be a good target for anti-radiation missiles.”
“All these problems were well-known to the developers of ‘Pelena’ from the very beginning, therefore the more modern ‘Krasukha’ became highly mobile to allow it to get away quickly from a strike, but also at the same time to get into a better position to deliver electromagnetic suppression. It’s possible that not one, but several stations constantly changing position will be used against DRLO aircraft.”
“But ‘Krasukha-2’ is not altogether such universal equipment capable of jamming numerous radars as it is fashionable to believe. It cannot simultaneously jam both E-8 ‘AWACS’ and E-2 ‘Hawkeye,’ since a jamming station suppressing only the required band of very distinct frequencies for DRLO aircraft radars will be needed for each type of DRLO aircraft.”
“It’s notable that work on ‘Krasukha-2’ began back in 1996 and was completed only in 2011.”
“The ‘+30 dB’ idea is used in yet one more of the newest developments of VNII ‘Gradient’ — 1RL257 ‘Krasukha-4,’ which is at present being actively placed in EW brigades and independent battalions and is designated for suppression of air-based radars, including not only those on fighters and fighter-bombers, but also on E-8 and U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. True, there are doubts about the effectiveness of ‘Krasukha’ against the ASARS-2 radar at a U-2 altitude, since, judging by the available data, its signal is not only sufficiently complex, but still also noise-like.”
“In the opinion of developers and the military, under certain conditions, the 1RL257 can even jam warhead seekers of AIM-120 AMRAAM ‘air-to-air’ missiles, and also the command and control radars of the ‘Patriot’ surface-to-air missile system.”
“As in the case of ‘Krasukha-2,’ ‘Krasukha-4’ is not a completely original item, but the continuation of a line of jamming equipment in the SPN-30 family, on which work began at the end of the 1960s. The new station uses not only the concept of the old ‘30s,’ but also, undoubtedly, some of the technical decisions applied in it. Work on the 1RL257 began in 1994 and was completed in 2011.”
“The ‘Avtobaza’ system also thanks firstly to the Russian media has become together with ‘Khibiny’ some kind of super weapon to the casual observer, knocking down any drone with jamming. In particular, victory over the American UAV RQ-170 is being ascribed to this system. At the same time, ‘Avtobaza’ itself, and also the recently accepted into the Defense Ministry inventory ‘Moskva’ system resolve completely different missions — they conduct electronic reconnaissance, they provide target designation for an electronic warfare system and are the command post of an EW battalion (company). It is understood that ‘Avtobaza’ had a sufficiently tangential relationship to the landing of the American UAV in Iran.”
“‘Moskva’ which is currently entering the force is the continuation of a line of systems of command, control, and reconnaissance of which ‘Mauzer-1,’ adopted into the inventory in the 1970s, is considered the beginning. In the composition of the new system, there are two vehicles — a reconnaissance station, which detects and classifies types of radiation, their direction, signal power, and also a command post from which data is automatically transmitted to subordinate EW stations.”
“According to the thinking of the Russian military and EW developers, ‘Moskva’ allows for covertly determining the situation and delivering surprise electronic suppression on the enemy’s forces and equipment. If the system conducts electronic reconnaissance in passive mode, then it forwards commands on radio channels and the enemy can intercept them in certain conditions. In such a situation, it isn’t even necessary to decode the signals, it’s sufficient to detect the radio traffic and this reveals the presence of each EW battalion (company).”
“Muting satellites”
“Besides battle with the enemy’s aviation means, Russian EW developers devote great attention to suppressing the enemy’s radio traffic, and also muting GPS signals.”
“Developed and produced by Kontsern ‘Sozvezdiye,’ the most well-known silencer of satellite navigation is the R-330Zh ‘Zhitel’ system. NTTs REB, whose item R-340RP is already being supplied to Russia’s Defense Ministry sub-units, also proposed a sufficiently original solution. Small diameter jamming transmitters, whose signal is amplified by the antenna array, are placed on civilian cell phone towers.”
“Not just the media, but also some specialists assert that it is practically impossible to mute the GPS signal. But in Russia technical solutions for ‘turning off’ satellite navigation appeared at the beginning of the 2000s.”
“In the GPS system there is the ‘bearing frequency’ concept. At the basis of the system lies the transmission of the elementary signal from the satellite to the transmitter, therefore the smallest turning off from the assigned frequency even by milliseconds will lead to a loss of accuracy. The transmission of the signal goes in a sufficiently narrow band, according to open data — 1575.42 MHz and 1227.60 MHz, and this is the bearing frequency. Therefore modern jammers are focused directly at blocking it which, taking into account the narrowness of the bearing frequency and possession of a sufficiently powerful noise jammer, to silence it does not constitute a special effort.”
“The ‘Leyer-3’ system with an electronic reconnaissance vehicle on a ‘Tigr’ base, but also several ‘Orlan-10’ pilotless aircraft equipped with dispensable jamming transmitters capable of suppressing not only radio but also cell phones, is a particularly interesting solution in the area of suppressing the probable enemy’s radio traffic. The ‘Infauna’ RB-531B system produced by Kontsern ‘Sozvezdiye’ fulfills similar missions but without the use of drones.”
__________
¹The practice of holding some forces as reserves of the Supreme CINC dates to the Great Patriotic War (WWII) if not earlier. The VDV and LRA are both still specified as belonging to the VGK.CLOSE Take a look inside Historic Terrace Hill as volunteers from across the state help decorate the official residence of the Iowa Governor. First Lady Chris Branstad explains what it's like to share their home with the public for the holidays. Michael Zamora/The Register
Buy Photo Kerrienne Buettner of Iowa City (left) and Raven Hirsch of Sumner, both floral careers students at Kirkwood Community College, place a wreath around a mounted moose head Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, as volunteers from across the state help decorate Terrace Hill, the Iowa Governor's residence in Des Moines. (Photo: Michael Zamora/The Register)Buy Photo
Grinnell-based florist Stephanie Connor focused with rapt attention and the detailed eye of a surgeon as two assisting floral artists hung a bejeweled wreath from one of Terrace Hill’s historic chandeliers.
Teetering on ladders, the two florists attached the wreath with care, calling down frantically for more wire to secure it. Connor and an assistant directed from the ground, noting where to shift the brightly beaded festoons or add just a bit more glitz.
“It looks magical,” Connor said, never shifting her gaze from the wreath. “Everyone who walks through this room is going to look up and their mouths are just going to fall open.”
Like bees in a hive, about 40 volunteers moved among the dozen rooms scheduled to be trimmed with holiday decorations. Christmas music pounded as garland was strung and ornaments lovingly placed. Holly jolly obstacles such as poinsettias and boxes stuffed with strands of lights littered the floor.
Buy Photo Fran Newsom of Waterloo helps hang a wreath on a chandelier Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, as dozens of volunteers help get Terrace Hill in Des Moines ready for the holidays. (Photo: Michael Zamora/The Register)
For about three decades, Terrace Hill, a historic mansion used as the governor’s residence since 1971, has been decorated by a troop of florists and Christmas enthusiasts who infuse the holiday season into all corners of the house. For one day every year, each of the rooms on the first and second floors is taken over by a different florist or organization.
Their handiwork will be exhibited in the mansion until just after the New Year. The public is welcome to view the holiday adornments on a tour of the historic building — held various times Tuesday through Saturday — or at one of the many events scheduled for December.
“I love sharing this home with the people not just of Iowa, but of the whole world actually,” first lady Chris Branstad said. “They are so impressed when they come in here. Just to be able to go into a governor’s residence and see the architecture, the décor, plus all the Christmas decorations, it just doesn’t get any better than that.”
By 3 p.m., the house would be a winter wonderland, but at about noon, it was more chaos than Christmas.
It was an all-florists-on-deck scenario.
Tradition valued at Terrace Hill
Fran Newsom has decorated Terrace Hill “on and off for 40 years,” she said while finishing a tree in what is known as the “peacock room” due to a large statue of the exotic bird displayed in the chamber.
She and the rest of the volunteers started at about 9 a.m. Instead of having her own room, she moved from place to place offering a hand where needed. Newsom, who is a florist at a Waterloo Hy-Vee, said she has decorated the mansion for five inaugural celebrations and every Christmas in her recent memory.
“I’m in awe of the history of this place and the tradition of the holiday decorating,” she said. “I’m very patriotic. This is a place for all Iowans, maybe all Americans, and, honestly, the opportunity to be a part of this brings tears to my eyes.”
Branstad said Terrace Hill’s holiday decorating started around 1985 when Kirk Enwright, an Altoona florist, presented the idea to her.
But festive embellishments aside, tradition runs through every inch of Terrace Hill, which was constructed from 1866 to 1869.
“A true Iowa treasure, Terrace Hill was built by bankers, inhabited by governors and their families, and has hosted guests from around the world,” reads the official Terrace Hill welcome letter.
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AutoPlay Watch as the peacock room at Terrace Hill goes into full bloom in this 360 time lapse video. Michael Zamora/The Register
Built by Des Moines’ first millionaire, Benjamin Franklin Allen, a general store and bank owner, for about $400,000, the house featured modern amenities like running hot and cold water and indoor bathrooms, according to Terrace Hill’s website. After Allen fell on hard times, he sold the home to business tycoon Frederick Marion Hubbell for just $60,000. A Hubbell relative lived in the house until 1956, when the family’s youngest son died, the website says.
Dubbed the “castle among cornrows” and the “palace on the prairie,” the building stood empty until the Hubbells donated it to the state in 1971. Today, the mansion features mostly Christmas decorations in a nod to the Hubbell family, who celebrated Christmas and whose family photo around their tree adorns the drawing room, according to Diane Becker, Terrace Hill’s administrator.
For the Questers, a group of antique enthusiasts, the mansion’s tradition is paramount. Every year, the group decorates the sitting room in the Victorian style that would have marked the house’s first holiday season, including era-appropriate gifts under the tree.
“We like to make sure the history shines through at least a little bit at this historic mansion,” said Quester Martha Rasmussen of Fairfield. “Every year different florists come in and do different decorations, but this room is always the same. It is preserved just like the beautiful Terrace Hill.”
Buy Photo Taylor Greko of Cedar Rapids (left) and Rylee Kunde, both floral careers students at Kirkwood Community College, wrap ribbon around the banisters leading up to the second floor Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, as volunteers from across the state help decorate Terrace Hill, the Iowa Governor's residence in Des Moines. (Photo: Michael Zamora/The Register)
Creative differences
No corner nor chest nor table at Terrace Hill is immune from the Christmas decorations — not even the large stuffed moose head that adorns the mansion’s entrance way.
Just after lunch, the volunteers from Kirkwood Community College’s horticulture/floral careers department had a problem: They couldn’t find the “traditional bow” that trims the moose’s neck.
“We are going to think of something else,” said professor Lora Dodd-Brosseau, who brings her students annually for this “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“A Santa hat?” offered one of her students.
“Oh, no, he’s more elegant than that,” she said.
The team went with a wreath embellished with icicles.
Despite the critical role of tradition at Terrace Hill, most of the rooms are decorated differently each year. Whether new florists join the ranks or returning florists want to push their personal boundaries, most of the people who do this are so creative they don’t want to do it the same way every time, Branstad said.
“I love thinking of new ways to do Christmas,” said Laurel Hollopeter, a florist from a Hy-Vee in Iowa City. “I stretch my creativity to bring new life to the tree that I do every year. Last year, I did an Iowa theme with corn cobs. This year, I matched the terra cotta color in the border of the wallpaper on the second floor and went with a copper theme.”
Buy Photo Stephanie Campbell of Omaha (left) and Minnie Fisher of Missouri Valley, Iowa, hang decorations on the lights in the library Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, as volunteers work to decorate Terrace Hill in Des Moines for the holidays. (Photo: Michael Zamora/The Register)
For Monty Lovell, Terrace Hill’s groundskeeper, the one-day decorating extravaganza is actually a week long. He begins to drag the boxes and tubs of decorations out of storage the week before the volunteers arrive. A few days before the florists show up, he picks up the trees from a local grower and places them in their appropriate rooms.
Lovell, who started during the Tom Vilsack administration, has seen almost two decades of decorating. In addition to the differences in the garnishes inside, he has seen the embellishments on the outside of the house change, as well.
“I follow whatever the administration says,” Lowell said of the exterior adornments. “Branstad doesn’t want a lot, just a nice tree in the front. (Former Gov.) Culver wanted lights up and down the driveway and everywhere. He wanted it to look like the East Village.”
“I’m happy to do anything,” he continued. “This is an old building and it’s nice that people who care take the time to give it some holiday life.”
Buy Photo Casey Allen of Independence, a florist from the Hy-Vee in Waterloo, places a bow atop one of the main trees in the Governor's residence Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, as dozens of volunteers help get Terrace Hill in Des Moines ready for the holidays. (Photo: Michael Zamora/The Register)
But the ornamentation is fleeting
By the time area schools let out for the day, the florists and decorators had put the finishing festive touches on the mansion. The house, which mere hours ago was a hive of activity, had fallen silent.
But the glitz of the rooms, perfectly prepared for the holidays, spoke volumes.
“There is a saying, ‘Many hands make less work,’” Becker said. “If there was anything to prove that correct, it’s this.”
Branstad said she enjoys the decorations for both the tradition and the inspiring creativity, but also because she personally doesn’t have to do very much decorating. The governor and his family live in a modern apartment on the third floor of the house, which the first lady adorns with her Father Christmas collection.
Buy Photo Rosetta Mason, a floral careers student at Kirkwood Community College, looks through boxes of decorations Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, as volunteers from across the state help decorate Terrace Hill, the Iowa Governor's residence in Des Moines. (Photo: Michael Zamora/The Register)
In the lower two stories of the home, decorations will stay up until January, when everything — including the Questers’ historical ornaments and gifts — will be carefully packed up and stashed away for next year.
During the months of January and February, Terrace Hill will be closed for its annual deep clean, which includes polishing every inch of wood and individually cleaning each crystal on the mansion’s grand chandelier.
“The house itself is beautiful,” Becker said, “but when they take it all down, it’s almost like it feels too bare.”
Like the holiday itself, Terrace Hill’s decorations are fleeting. But for the next few weeks, visitors and inhabitants alike can enjoy the home as less of a mansion and more of a fairy tale-like winter wonderland.
Events at Terrace Hill
Guided tours
Hosted at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., Tuesdays-Saturdays
Terrace Hill is located at 2300 Grand Ave.
Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children aged 6-12. For more information, visit Terracehilliowa.org/visit.
Holiday Open House
10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Dec. 3, Terrace Hill, 2300 Grand Ave.
The event is free and open to the public.
Holiday tea with first lady Chris Branstad
10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., Dec. 12, Terrace Hill, 2300 Grand Ave.
Reservations are required. For more information, visit Terracehill.iowa.gov/events.
Read or Share this story: http://dmreg.co/2gfRZGTCorrection: An earlier version of the headline incorrectly said that federal agents had grilled Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli II about Star Scientific chief executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr. One FBI agent, along with a state investigator, questioned Cuccinelli about Williams. This version has been corrected.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II tried to put his association with a gift-giving Virginia businessman behind him by writing an $18,000 check to charity, but the payback triggered more questions from his opponents and handed Democrats a new campaign attack in the race for governor.
Cuccinelli (R) announced Tuesday that he was making a charitable donation equal to the $18,000 in gifts that Star Scientific chief executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr. gave him. The gifts had become a liability for Cuccinelli in the governor’s race, because Williams’s much larger presents to Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his family are the subject of state and federal investigations.
While discussing his donation in a TV interview that aired Tuesday night, Cuccinelli said for the first time that federal investigators have questioned him about his relationship with Williams.
That disclosure might not, in the end, amount to all that much. But for most of Wednesday, Democrats were freely running with the idea that Cuccinelli had been under federal investigation. And they were using clips from his own, carefully planned interview to do it.
“BREAKING: Cuccinelli Questioned By Fed Investigators over His Ties to Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams,” read the headline on a news release posted on opponent Terry McAuliffe’s campaign Web site.
“This revelation is just the latest shoe to drop in the Star Scientific scandal and leaves voters wondering what else Cuccinelli has been hiding about his scandal plagued tenure as Attorney General,” McAuliffe spokesman Josh Schwerin said in the release.
Cuccinelli’s campaign said that the attorney general was referring to a law enforcement interview that was publicly disclosed months ago. The interview was coordinated with a state review, which Cuccinelli had requested and which ultimately cleared him. By the end of the day, the state prosecutor who handled that review also was backing Cuccinelli’s contention that federal officials seemed focused on McDonnell’s ties to Williams, not Cuccinelli’s.
Cuccinelli disclosed the federal questioning in the course of day that his campaign had sought to keep tightly scripted. He gave just two interviews, one to the Associated Press and one to a television station, Richmond’s WWBT (Channel 12). The campaign informed the rest of the media via a two-minute video shot in his kitchen. But NBC12’s Ryan Nobles, who conducted the TV interview, threw Cuccinelli a curveball.
“We know the governor is under federal investigation for his connection to Jonnie Williams,” Nobles said. “Were you ever contacted by federal investigators for your connection to Jonnie Williams?”
Cuccinelli responded: “Yes. I was asked questions about Jonnie.”
Nobles: “And it never led to anything further than that? They haven’t said anything since then?”
Graphic A look at the two major-party candidates' views on some of the most pressing issues facing Virginians.
Cuccinelli: “No. That was months and months ago.”
A campaign official quickly noted Tuesday night that Cuccinelli was never under federal investigation. But the campaign also suggested that federal officials had asked Cuccinelli only about McDonnell’s relationship to Williams, not his own.
“Ken Cuccinelli was cleared by a Democrat Commonwealth Attorney in a review that he initiated,” campaign spokesman Richard Cullen said in an e-mail. “During the course of that independent review, he was also asked questions about the federal investigation concerning Governor McDonnell.”
Around mid-day Wednesday, the campaign clarified that federal and state investigators jointly interviewed Cuccinelli about gifts he received from Williams.
Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring (D), who oversaw the state review, said a Virginia State Police report on the interview does not make reference to participation by a federal investigator. But he did not rule that out.
“It is entirely possible that the FBI was present and it’s just not reflected in the VSP report,” he said. “I don’t see the issue here. In my opinion, the fed focus has always been on McDonnell and Williams, and rightly so.”
Williams gave the governor and his family luxury items and $120,000 that McDonnell has characterized as loans. McDonnell has apologized for embarrassing the state and returned the gifts, but he said he never provided any state favors to Williams or Star. The company makes a dietary supplement, Anatabloc, that McDonnell and first lady Maureen McDonnell have promoted.
Cuccinelli initially failed to report $4,500 in gifts from Williams as well as substantial stock holdings in Star, lapses he called inadvertent. They took place when Cuccinelli’s office was opposing Star in a civil tax case and pursuing charges against the chef at the governor’s mansion, who first notified investigators of Williams’s gifts to McDonnell.
Cuccinelli asked Herring to review his disclosure forms after acknowledging his reporting failures last spring. He sat for a single interview, his campaign said, without an attorney.Today I found out the “ye” as in “Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe” should be pronounced “the”.
The “Ye” here is not the “ye” as in “Judge not, that ye (you) be not judged”, but is rather a remnant of the letter “thorn” or “þorn” (Þ, þ). The letter thorn was used in Old Norse, Old English-Middle English, Gothic, and Icelandic alphabets and is pronounced more or less like the digraph “th”. As such, this letter gradually died out in most areas (all but Iceland), being replaced by “th”.
Around the 14th century, the use of “th” started to gain in popularity. At the same time, the way the letter thorn was written gradually changed to look a lot like the letter “Y” instead of “Þ”. Because of this shift in written form of the letter, combined with the advent of the printing press in the 15th century many of which had no letter thorn, printers chose to use the letter “Y” as a substitute for the letter.
This is why you’ll occasionally see in manuscripts from that period things like “yat” or “Yt” for “that” and, of course, “the” abbreviated “Ye” or “ye”. Despite the use of the letter “y” here, it was still understood by readers to be pronounced like thorn or the digraph “th”.
Eventually, all but the “Ye” popularly died out in favor of the respective “th” forms. Later, even the “ye” went the way of the Dodo bird, excepting being used in the names of trendy sounding old stores the English speaking world over.
Thanks to the Bible, most people are more familiar with the second plural pronoun “ye”, which is pronounced with a “y” sound. As they are spelled the same, most naturally assume the two words are the same. (Of course, “You Olde Coffee Shop” would be kind of an awkward name for a shop.)
In the end, “ye” as in “Ye Olde Bookstore” is a completely different word using the letter thorn and should just be pronounced exactly like “The”. This doesn’t sound nearly as archaic, so not exactly what the store owners are likely going for, but that can’t be helped.
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Another common mispronunciation is “Seuss”, as in Dr. Suess. This should actually be pronounced “Zoice” (rhymes with “voice”), being a Bavarian name (after Theodore Geisel’s mother’s maiden name). However, due to the fact that most Americans pronounced it incorrectly as “Soose”, Geisel later gave in and stopped correcting people, even quipping that the mispronunciation was a good thing because it is “advantageous for an author of children’s books to be associated with—Mother Goose.”
It has been speculated by some linguists that we all pronounce “thou” wrong as well (as “thow”), when it should perhaps be pronounced similar to “you”- so “thu”. “Thou” comes from the Latin “tu” and is a cognate of the Middle Dutch “du”, Old Norse and Gothic “thu”, and Old Irish “tú”.
As “thou” started to be replaced with “ye” (as in “you”), for a time “ye” was used when referring to a superior person, and “thou” was used when referring to an inferior person; or at the least to be used informally, while “ye” and “you” would be used formally. The French (and in parts of England) also used “thou” to imply intimacy or friendship.
Today the common ignorance of this transition from “thou, thy, and thee” to having implications on class and relationship often results in loss of understanding of certain subtleties in old works or confusion at the usage of words when the subtly is explicitly stated. For example, in Les Miserables where Marius is speaking to Eponine and says (translated): “What do you mean?” Most today would see no problem with him stating this, yet this offends Eponine. She then laments, “Ah! you used to call me thou!” He then replies, “Well, then, what dost thou mean?”
A modern work which apparently uses this sense of intimacy or friendship of “thou/thy/thee” is Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, when Darth Vader states “What is thy bidding, my master?” to the Emperor.
While you may have never consciously thought about it, there are two ways to pronounce “the” that are commonly used and both are used in distinct grammatical situations. “The” as in “thee” is used when the following word begins with a vowel sound, such as “‘thee’ end” or “‘thee’ hour”. It also can be used when you’re wanting to stress a specific word like “Are you saying you once dated ‘thee’ Kevin Spacey?” In all other cases, you use “the” as in “thuh”. Most people use “thuh” and “thee” naturally without ever having noticed the distinction; in case you’re one of those, now you know why. 🙂
Besides being used in the name of coffee shops, “ye” is also used today as the internet top level domain for the country of Yemen.
The letter thorn still survives today in Icelandic, being the 30th letter of their alphabet.
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This story appears courtesy of the Chicago Reporter, a nonprofit investigative news organization that focuses on race, poverty, and income inequality.
In the fallout from the release of the Laquan McDonald video, Chicago’s top cop lost his job. But the police officer who shot the teenager 16 times is still employed.
Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is captured on police dash cam video shooting McDonald, can thank the police union.
The Fraternal Order of Police contract with the city shapes how Chicago handles police misconduct allegations, disciplines rank-and-file officers, as well as when the city pays legal costs for police officers accused of wrongdoing. While activists have long called for changes to the contract, many people in local government have not been eager to take on that fight—until now.
With cries of reform ringing louder than before and a federal investigation of the police department, aldermen are demanding changes to a union contract that breezed through the City Council in 2014.
“Yes, the FOP is strong,” said Dick Simpson, a political science professor and former Chicago alderman. “But there is huge public pressure at the moment to provide oversight for police and to curb police abuse and corruption.”
The police contract expires in 2017. The Black Caucus is demanding that an officer’s liability risk be tied to their employment, as well as other changes, including tougher punishment for misconduct.
Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) said the contract makes it harder to cut ties with cops like Van Dyke who had numerous citizen complaints against him and had reportedly cost the city more than $500,000 in legal settlements and fees. And critics said the evidence against Van Dyke was damning enough for him to be fired immediately.
“We have to be able to get rid of bad police officers,” Brookins said. “Maybe that’s something we shouldn’t have to bargain for.”
The union contends that changes to the contract would discourage people from becoming cops.
FOP President Dean Angelo said the contract contains fair and necessary protections for cops and doesn’t tie authorities’ hands in misconduct cases such as Van Dyke’s as much as some people think. He cast the aldermen as opportunists riding the wave of public outrage over a white cop shooting a black youth.
“It’s easy now in this environment to point fingers at us,” Angelo said.
Brookins acknowledged that there hasn’t been momentum on the council to change the contract. But now, he said, “There is a political will.”
The police contract
The current police contract, which was approved by the City Council unanimously in November 2014, sets the bar high for firing or suspending a cop.
Part of the agreement, known as the police bill of rights, gives cops a layer of due process beyond what most citizens enjoy. The contract allows officers to get in writing information about an investigation, including who will question them and what they’ll be asked. Cops who shoot civilians can delay making an official statement for several days, and investigators can’t interview them without providing transcripts of every prior interviews or notifying them.
Another union protection came into play in McDonald’s death. Experts suggested the officers who saw the shooting—whose accounts clash with the video—should have been subject to lie detector tests, but the police bill of rights in the contract gives them the right to refuse the tests. In addition, police complaint and disciplinary records must be destroyed in five or seven years based on the type of alleged offense, making it harder to show a pattern of misconduct.
The union recently halted a city effort to grant requests for police misconduct records dating back to the 1960s, arguing that the city violated the union agreement by keeping the files. Investigators are also limited in how they can use past allegations of abuse to resolve new claims, according to the contract.
The superintendent has to file charges with the Chicago Police Board and win an evidentiary hearing to fire an officer or issue a lengthy suspension. Even when investigators sustain allegations against an officer, the contract allows police to skirt the police board. For example, if the Independent Police Review Authority recommends suspending an officer, the contract lets him appeal the decision through arbitration, a process that experts characterize as heavily stacked in favor of cops.
“The incentives of the chief of police on down are further dampened by the knowledge that anything they do can be undone easily in arbitration,” said Max Schanzenbach, a law professor at Northwestern University. “So they have these cops well known to have numerous citizen complaints and settlements paid out for them, but they’re not dismissed from the force.”
Angelo contends that the FOP shields its officers from unfair discipline due to unfounded allegations just as any union would do for its members. He said the life or death stakes many cops operate under and the possibility of false complaints affords them special consideration.
While the public has expressed outrage over cops like Van Dyke, who, until recently, collected a check on desk duty, there’s little the city can do if the cop hasn’t been charged with a crime or had a complaint against them sustained.
The police department was able to suspend Van Dyke without pay when he got charged with murder by the State’s Attorney’s office a year after McDonald’s death, but the department did not fire him. The Independent Police Review Authority froze its investigation after forwarding the case to county prosecutors.
A call for contract reform
Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th) said he wants a separate expedited disciplinary process in the contract for fatal shooting cases like Van Dyke’s where evidence of excessive force is obvious, even without criminal charges or a drawn out investigation.
“There are a lot of questions around why this officer was not removed,” Pawar said.
Some aldermen are scrutinizing the issue of indemnification, or covering legal costs for cops sued for alleged misconduct.
Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) released a statement calling for the police union to chip in for misconduct settlements, which cost the city more than $50 million last year. She argued that “residents of Chicago should not be solely responsible for the cost of settlements in police cases.”
Ald. Will Burns (4th) a close ally of the mayor, also issued a statement that said “officers with a high number of complaints are a liability for the city of Chicago, and erode the critical trust between police and community.” He said the contract should be reviewed to allow authorities to suspend or fire cops with too many |
on the part of the stache. The big factor here is the question, "Will this hair ever be part of the beard?" Those hairs, not so much.I feel like I have crossed the abyss with this beard. I still have the slightly awkward amount of growth that is not quite long enough to fill in the body of the beard, but still much better than before. I started taking Biotin as well a while back. Not really seeing any real difference, but to be perfectly honest I observe the Beard fairly casually (except for the whole daily beard journaling I guess.....)Today was pretty mellow. The Beard continues to billow out. I am also very happy to see the beard beginning to fill out between the neck and jaw lines. It looks pretty strange to have this multidimensional texture between these areas, but they are beginning to merge.
I am starting to think I might be sick. Not sure, just feel less awesome than normal. The Beard seems fine though.
Week 8
Day 49
Day 50
Day 51
Today I trimmed a few strays along the top of the stache. Even though I am not struggling, I am starting to look forward to cleaning up my lines next week. Still wondering if I am sick. My son has had a cough, so nobody gets to sleep - especially my wife.Well, still feel like my brain is kinda dull today. My zest is gone. I hate that point when you are sick and you wonder if this is just the way you are hahaha. meh.
Yes, I am sick. If I keep typing, I fear I will say something stupid. Have a great day. Drive safe.
Day 52
Day 53
Day 54
Day 55
Feeling Better, but still feeling pretty dull. I will say that the the Beard is in full bloom. I am really noticing a big difference in the fullness. Digging that.One thing I am happy about this time around is the fact that the Beard directly in front of the ears does not "bush out". That was my main concern going into the re-grow, especially since the goal is to trim as minimally as possible. Glad to see this is not an issue.Man, the Mustache is in full effect. I am considering a trim, but just kinda busy/ lazy to do it. I am loving how it is coming along, but I am also aware that light maintenance now can prevent the attempt to fix something down the road and making a huge mistake.
Today was another awesome day Living the Beard. I am beginning to contemplate a trim of the mustache.
Week 9
Day 56
Holy crap, it has been another 2 weeks - and I am totally unprepared for the update. Here it is anyways, in all of its terrible glory! So I have continued to be in this weird half-sick limbo for like a week now. I am still not sure if I am sick or not, but I am just not myself. Nothing to do with the Beard, but hey - onward to the Yeard!
Day 57
Day 58
Day 59
Day 60
WASSSSSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPP! Sorry, just always wanted to do that. Dude, I am wretchedly sick today - which is actually kinda good. I was starting to worry that I was just loosing all zest for life, so it is nice to know I just have a bug. Things will continue to get more and more awesome.Hot dog! The Beard gets fuller every day. Still thin in the cheeks, as you can see. Hey, thats just the way I was made. Glad I have stuck it our this long without trimming, but I am due for a clean up.The Beard rises. I noticed my first major strays today. The odd thing was that it was 2 hairs in the same spot on the opposite sides of my face, in the side burn zone. still didn't trim them...
I have really started to notice a curl forming along my jawline. The only thing I really don't like about it is right at the corner of the jaw.
Day 61
Day 62
Living the Beard baby! Here we are in the month of March already! Happy with everything,looking forward to more.
Today I am really noticing the Bushyness of the beard along the neckline. It isn't so bad if I brush it, but it kinda "falls" back out of line after a while. Not a huge deal, but yeah, it is a little irritating.
Day 63
So the areas at the very back of the jaw are kinda "tufting" out. I hate that. I used to keep this area trimmed. I'd always bring that "corner" in. Starting to consider it again....
Week 10
Day 64
Man, another week in the bag. Hard to believe that time can move this fast.
Day 65
Day 66
Very little seems to really change day to day, but it seems like all of the sudden something will. Punctuated Equilibrium I think they call it. So for weeks, nothing seems to change, and then suddenly as if by magic the mustache is bugging the living crap out of me.
Beard actually got some sun for a few days. I think it helped. I know it helped, even if it didn't do anything for the Beard!
Day 67
Bang Bang Bang. Not a ton happening at this point. I am absolutely contemplating a trim of the old Mustache.
Day 68
Got referred to as the "guy with the Beard" today by a stranger. Guess it's official It's good to be back.
Day 69
Day 70
So I am right around one year of being open for business - I think 3/18/2014 was the official day. Thinking about this last year, I am so incredibly grateful for this whole experience. Beard Mountain has changed me as a person, and I have no one to thank but you. Thank you.
Loving Life. Living the Beard. What else is there?
Week 11
Day 71
Week 10 update Baby! Great to be here, looking forward to more.
Day 72
Day 73
Used Beard Polish for the first time since the shave today! Not a lot, but just enough to get some hold. I am actually more interested in the relaxing effect. Felt good!
Major stache trim today, very happy. I put it off for as long as possible, but I think I did alright. Just going for comfort!
Day 74
Day 75
Day 76
Very happy with the stache trim - even if I don't look happy in the picture hahaha. The Beard is really becoming mane-like. I like it, but I wonder how this will progress in the coming months. Still loving the progress!The Beardedness continues to blossom. I have been wondering why the Beard seems so much more bushy this time around. I was thinking that it was possibly just a lack of trimming, but I forgot that I have been taking Biotin everyday for a couple months now with my other vitamins. Could be part of it!
I am starting to get a pretty pronounced curl right at the top of the sideburns. Not a fan, considering a trim. I will do my classic "sit on it" for a few days at least.
Day 77
Hey hey hey. I am amazed at how differently different areas of the beard grow in. If this continues, there may come a point where I need to come in and even things out.
Week 12
Day 78
Week 12 Update Day! Totally forgot again, and I think I may go to a monthly Update from here on out. Time flies!
Day 79
Day 80
Day 81
Day 82
Day 79 leaves me wondering why my chin isn't growing faster. Just seems like it is one of the slowest growing areas now, but used to be the fastest. Ah, the mysteries of the Beard...Today I have a couple of college students coming to film a documentary about Beard Mountain. Should be fun. The Beard abides....Man, what a great day. Filming was interesting, and even a bit exhausting - but I got to see some customers (totally by chance) out and about with the film team. I even had a customer of mine from North Carolina just "drop by"!
Life is good! Just relaxing today, and watching the beard grow!
Day 83
Day 84
I can really feel the beard getting thicker now along the jaw line. I am just so happy that it is coming back. A life without Beard is no life at all.
Great day to have a Beard! Not much more to say than that, but hey - what else do I need to say?
Week 13
Day 85
Day 86
Man, so today is week 13 of the year. This means the year is seriously 25% done! What have we got done? What do you want to? If you have been passively following this, you would have a 4 month beard by now! Think about it! Stop watching, start doing!
Things keep moving along I am really noticing how full the beard seems to be getting. And I like it
Day 87
Day 88
I am really thinking of trimming back the sideburn area. I don't really want to do anything yet, but the only area bothering me is that "bush" around the sideburns. I may get to it, but my main hesitation is getting in over my head and taking off too much.
Man, life is good. Maybe it is the warm weather starting to get here. I am digging it.
Day 89
Day 90
Day 91
I am finding now that combing/brushing is absolutely essential. I remember trimming as a kind of balance for this previously, but now with the lack of trimming I am seeing the need for more combing to keep it together. Still looks awesome.I did just the smallest amount of trimming right below my ears, and it made huge difference! I am way more happy, and the actual amount trimmed was so minuscule it was almost unnoticeable in the sink. Crazy. I guess the major change was looking from the front.
I am noticing my stache filling back in. I like it. I think I will keep it trimmed in very specific places, but otherwise I want to see it fill in.
Week 14
Day 92
The Weather is starting to get real nice around here! Loving the sunshine. The Beard continues
Day 93
Day 94
Day 95
Day 96
I am trying to grow the stache out a bit more. I noticed after trimming that it just didn't quite strike me as being balanced. This will only get worse if I keep the stache the same length and let the Beard Grow.I have many people trying to get me to make soap, so that may be coming down the line. The Beard Lives! I slept on it funny or something, and when I woke up it was smashed against my face.My neckbeard area looks like it is growing tendrils. It is kinda cool, but not really what I am going for. I am still hoping the chin area kicks it up a notch and fills in a bit more in the front.
Live the Beard. Love the Beard. The Beard is a deeper journey than most understand.
Day 97
Day 98
Research must continue on a firmer wax. I have been busy with other things lately, but a firmer wax is needed to push through the stache barrier i am up against. I am on it.
Not much to say, I am in a pretty solid holding pattern. I am also very happy with where the Beard is. What else is there?
Day 99
Day 100
Yeehaw. Back once again for the daily journal. I noticed that the beard is now long enough that I can leave a comb in it. Another milestone reached.
Here we are, DAY 100! It is hard to believe that we are already here. Doing this every day has really put things in a new frame for me - looking at myself every day. I will be doing monthly updates from here on out, and even though it is an oddball day of the month to do it on, day 100 seemed fitting for an update vid. Enjoy!
Day 101
Day 102
It is getting tough to come up with new beard stuff every day! I am noticing a bunch of crap growing along the jawline that I am really not a big fan of. I am contemplating a slight trim there, and adding a slight taper into the sideburns.
Yep. Beard. Keeps on beardin.
Day 103
Not sure where the right balance is for the stache, or if I will ever truly find it. The stache, just like the Beard, is very similar to life in that it is never "done" and you never "get there". It is all a process, and we are just walking the path a little more every day.
Well, I fell of the daily update wagon at this point.....
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
TL;DR: And there you have it folks, that is how you grow a Yeard. Really, besides individual issues, it gets easier as you go. The hardest part is just being patient most of the time. This project has been more about showing the average guy what the average guy Yeard can look like. The trick to the Yeard is two things: Patience - Anything that takes a year is going to feel like it is taking too long. You have to rewire your brain to see the process rather than the "event" of hitting one year with the Yeard. My guess is that those are the guys that shave it off at a year as well. Perseverance - There are absolutely going to be moments when you think you are done. You will get frustrated. You will have to solve problems. There are times that it is a pain. Just don't take things too seriously, and stick it out. Of course, using great products makes the whole process a lot easier. If you are struggling with what products to use, check out THIS PAGE. Check out this post on the Stages of Growing a Beard if you want a more 'big picture' overview of the first year of growing the yeard.
If you are ready to start your journey to the Yeard, Get yourself some good products and begin today!Originally Posted by Barns (Source) Originally Posted by
I'm assuming no joystick (and so no hat switch). Also, I don't know if "snap" views (i.e. instantly seeing left / right / up / down / etc) are supported, all we know is supported is "looking around" in the way you would with OR head tracking. So I'm thinking your head has to actually spend time turning to look each direction, not instantly snap to look. In that case a joystick hat switch will turn at a fixed speed, which would be a disadvantage vs a mouse look (variable turn speed). If a hat switch can instantly turn, that will be an advantage over an OR say, as you could "cover" every direction by flicking the hat each way much quicker than looking around with OR or mouse.
It'll be interesting to see how all this gets balanced and which control mechanism ends up being optimal.ABU DHABI (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday distanced himself from President Donald Trump’s assessment of the media as “the enemy of the American people,” saying during his first trip to the Middle East that he had no problems with the press.
Mattis, a retired Marine general seen as one of the most influential voices in Trump’s cabinet, did not mention his boss by name. But asked about Trump’s Tweet on Friday that branded the media as America’s enemy, Mattis took a different position entirely.
“I’ve had some rather contentious times with the press. But no, the press, as far as I’m concerned, are a constituency that we deal with,” he told reporters traveling with him in the United Arab Emirates.
“And I don’t have any issues with the press, myself,” Mattis added.
Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has fiercely criticized various news outlets that have reported unflattering revelations of dysfunction or other problems in the White House.
He has described them as “lying”, “corrupt” and “failing,” and late on Friday he said the news media was “the enemy of the American people.”
Asked about the latest salvo, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program, “I think you should take (Trump’s Twitter statement) seriously.”
“Certainly we would never condone violence. But I do think that we condone critical thought,” Priebus said, adding the media, in some cases, needed to “get its act together.”
“HOW DICTATORS GET STARTED”
Mattis spoke after talks with European leaders at a security conference in Munich, Germany, where U.S. Senator John McCain warned that suppressing the free press was “how dictators get started.”
“If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time,” McCain told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program on Sunday.
On Friday McCain told the Munich forum that the resignation of Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, over his contacts with Russia reflected “disarray” in Washington.
But Mattis played down any concerns about the reshuffling within the administration.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks at the opening of the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder
“Welcome to democracy. It’s at times wildly contentious, it’s at times quite sporting. But the bottom line is this is the best form of government that we can come up with,” he said.
Mattis added that the military was very ready to “hold the line” as the political process played out.
“We don’t have any disarray inside the military and that’s where my responsibility lies,” he said.Officers were called by the homeowner at about 10:30 this morning. He lives in the 2400 block of Sumpter in the Fifth Ward. He told police he feared for his life when he shot someone breaking into his home.Houston Police Homicide investigator Willis Huff says the 66-year-old just returned from a trip out of town and he noticed tools and equipment missing from a shed in his backyard. As the homeowner was taking inventory he saw a ladder inside his yard against the fence.Police say he heard a noise on the other side of the fence and went to investigate. That's when, Huff says, the homeowner claims a man popped up above the fence line from the other side."As big as a bear, he describes him. He lunged at him and that's when he (the homeowner) discharged his weapon," said Huff.Upon arrival police found the man, shot in the head, on the street side of the fence. The home is surrounded by razor wire, no trespassing signs and surveillance cameras. Police will be looking at any video to see if that can help them determine what happened.The homeowner, in his mid-60s, did not respond to us as he was taken from the scene to police headquarters for questioning.As things stand its not clear if the suspect was earlier inside the homeowner's property. He never went inside the home.Police have not yet released the suspect's identity but they do tell us he is in critical condition at Ben Taub Hospital.I was cleaning up my bookmarks today, and accidentally clicked on a Deviantart bookmark. For the uninitiated, Deviantart is one of the largest online art communities out there. Since the browser already loaded up the page, I decided to browse around for a bit. A few minutes in, I found something remarkable.
I came across a Deviantart user by the name of carriezona.
She finds poetry on pages of books by connecting words together; words that are not intended by the original author to be together; words that form poetic sentences that touch upon, albeit ever so slightly, the original meaning of the text but through a whole different form of literature.
This is found poetry, and below are a "few" of my favorites.
(I've typed out each poem in plain text in case the original is hard to follow. Best results if you keep an open-mind about how words are used here; I know some of these poems may read a bit disjointedly!)
The books separated him,
He would wait for that time alone.
To forgive,
Is a beautiful balancing act.
Reasons to live:
Good books
A bar
A few friends
Love
The gravity insisted upon daybreak,
The new day became any other,
All sober and smiling.
Heaven is anywhere.
No explanation needed :)
One night I went to him,
And I offered my soul.
I'm nervous,
About getting swept up in love.
Two in perfect unity,
A number created heaven for the universe,
To bond and fuse,
Into all things and one but two,
Together.
Understand that your soul is not bound by,
Three-dimensional earthly existence.
In my nature is one who wishes to know himself,
I am a sleeping thought that does not cease thinking.
I am the dream that I see and feel I am.
We are all in the circle together,
Drawn to the center.
The world is engulfed in battle,
Lest we reach the sublime.
Men of language speak,
And their souls confuse words,
With machines as neither should think,
On their own,
Yet they have a mind,
As any of us do.
Shapes,
Equally balanced,
But swaying unevenly to and fro,
Motion again shook them,
Shaken threshing borne away,
And from one,
All things began to form.
Love is a spark of light,
Dazzling blaze of flame,
Like accidents which happen,
In the untempered heat we feel.
Death is a reshuffling,
Of bodies and truth,
Whose order is changed,
Taking away everything else,
And leaving some raw fire.
His hands began to seek,
And found me in forever.
How to look at trees and recognize something beautiful,
In the formation of an ordered beauty as to catch the eye,
And discover the secret of the whole,
Such is the grandeur against the sky,
And we are the broken light silhouette of.
True meaning appears to anyone who can see,
That his mind is not a copy,
But a thing-in-itself embodied in significance,
Never bound to reality.
Let the thing we mean to be,
Know the thing we feel we are.
Life is inertia,
Ever losing something under the setting sun,
Echoing the same word over again,
In sin.
Let me shoot the arrow of chaos into your creation,
And become an invented being.
"Why?" I asked,
And the world answered,
With centuries of carnage and selfish quietness.
There was a secret of the world,
That would be unaware of me.
The night overtakes us in an eager desire.
We soon lost sight of the sun.
We go seeking looking for a conscious meaning,
I doubt if there are any who know it knowingly.
I thought to myself, he would...
...he would...would be...
...would.
He would see,
He is so a part of the cosmos in me.
He knew the danger of passion,
Formed in the hollows like breath in the lung.
The heart is always feeding the visions.
To find a proper burn,
They trace the path into the ground,
With atomic rays.
The feeling of gravity,
Keeps us down.
The passing through time,
Is a new blood falling into that one hollow heart,
One hundred times a day.
Yesterday is almost like a moment in my mind,
A well-furnished collection of memories that,
I forgot at the time.
Distance and time,
Separated them.
"I, uh stumbled into a moment."
The city is desolate,
With a weeping recollection of joy.
These lights replaced the forest,
Arcades of foliage,
Broken by lines of avenue,
Insufferable.
You have all my heart,
You have me.
Why shouldn't the cat have a pretty thin story,
He threw it downstairs across the fireplace,
He was clearly an expert.
The cat could not be trusted.
And there was the evening breeze on his neck and he knew.
But what is a man?
An unravel of flesh and bones,
And the soul.
Subtle like vapour,
I was a thought,
I had to feel to be.
At the beginning,
He wrote of the end.
Carrie no longer updates her Deviantart page as often as before, but you can find her and her found poetry project at her tumblr page here: http://foundpoetries.tumblr.com/.
I've sent her an email asking for an interview, and will update this blog post with the interview!
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Set in a "futuristic, yet feudal Japan," and stars a samurai named Afro for his hair. The story follows Afro as he tries to avenge his father's murder. In the world of Afro Samurai, it is said that the one who becomes "Number One", will rule the world, wielding powers akin to a god.Someone becomes Number One by killing the previous Number One and taking his ceremonial headband. However, the only rule in this world is that only the "Number Two" (also designated by a sacred headband) is allowed to fight the "Number One." The downside of this is that anyone (and typically everyone) can... M ore...
Set in a "futuristic, yet feudal Japan," and stars a samurai named Afro for his hair. The story follows Afro as he tries to avenge his father's murder. In the world of Afro Samurai, it is said that the one who becomes "Number One", will rule the world, wielding powers akin to a god.Someone becomes Number One by killing the previous Number One and taking his ceremonial headband. However, the only rule in this world is that only the "Number Two" (also designated by a sacred headband) is allowed to fight the "Number One." The downside of this is that anyone (and typically everyone) can challenge and try to kill the Number Two, to gain the right to move forward and challenge Number One. Afro Samurai's father was the old Number One, until he was challenged by a gunman, "Justice" (who was then Number Two), who fought him in a duel to become the new Number One. At the time the gunman challenged his father, Afro had only been a child. The gunman severed his father's head right in front of the young Afro.Now an adult, Afro Samurai is the current Number Two and a master swordsman; he travels the road seeking revenge on Justice, the current Number One. Lengthy flashbacks interspersed throughout the story detail how Afro rose from frightened boy fleeing the death of his father, to master swordsman, and eventually to become the current "Number Two", while the story in the present deals with the adult Afro making his way to the mountain top keep of the "Number One" to duel Justice, while at the same time the mysterious cult known as the "Empty Seven Clan" sends various agents to kill Afro and take his Number Two headband.Note: This is a remake of the Afro Samurai dōjinshi. The anime adaptation is different in narrative and structure, as it was produced earlier. Less...A new article published in the journal PLOS ONE focuses on the buried vampires of 17th- and 18th-century Poland. Who were these unlucky souls, so feared by the living that they were buried with sickles placed firmly across their necks and rocks piled atop their jaws? And why were others so afraid?
USA Today's Traci Watson reports on the skeletons, the first of which was discovered in 2008:
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As researchers unearthed one skeleton, "the rusty red color began to darken around the pelvis in a distinct crescent-moon shape,"...Amy Scott of the University of Manitoba recalls via email. They'd found a "vampire" with a sickle curving around her abdomen and a large rock on her neck, "like nothing I had ever seen before," Scott says. The six people interred as vampires were probably regarded as vampires-in-waiting – liable to spring out of the grave after burial – rather than full-fledged vampires that had already risen from the dead, [researcher Tracy] Betsinger says. But why were these six singled out? An examination of the skeletons found no signs of trauma or disease that could have aroused suspicions, the researchers report in the latest issue of the Cambridge Archaeological Journal. Perhaps the "vampires" were immigrants whose foreignness made them suspect. But the make-up of the vampires' teeth suggests they grew up in the area, according to University of South Alabama bioarchaeologist Lesley Gregoricka, the leader of the tooth analysis, published today in the journal PLOS ONE.
Now, there is a different theory: The study suggests that those buried in this unusual manner actually may have been the first to die from cholera. "Cholera was attributed to the supernatural," said Grigoricka in an interview with the New York Times. "They believed people would return from the dead, feed on living individuals and cause the disease to spread."
"Today we might find it silly to believe in vampires," Gregoricka said in another interview with USA Today. "Before scientific understanding of contagion... vampires were perceived as a very real threat and represented one way of explaining the unexplainable."John Roll, Arizona’s chief federal judge, was killed in the same incident in which Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot on Saturday morning.
A federal law enforcement official first confirmed to TPM that a federal judge was shot. The U.S. Marshals Service is on the scene of the shooting, the federal official told TPM. The Marshals Service employees responded to the scene after the shooting, the official said.
WNBC reporter Jonathan Dienst confirmed Roll was killed. A statement from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement that Roll had been attacked.
Roll faced death threats in 2009 after presiding over a $32 million civil-rights lawsuit, the Arizona Republic reported:
When Roll ruled the case could go forward, Gonzales said talk-radio shows cranked up the controversy and spurred audiences into making threats. In one afternoon, Roll logged more than 200 phone calls. Callers threatened the judge and his family. They posted personal information about Roll online. “They said, ‘We should kill him. He should be dead,’ ” Gonzales said.
Roll, who is the chief federal judge in Arizona, said both he and his wife were given a protection detail for about a month. “It was unnerving and invasive.... By its nature it has to be,” Roll said, adding that they were encouraged to live their lives as normally as possible. “It was handled very professionally by the Marshals Service.” At the end of the month, Roll said four key men had been identified as threat makers. The Marshals Service left to him the decision to press charges but recommended against it. Roll said he had no qualms about following their advice. The recommendation was based on the intent of those making the threats. “I have a very strong belief that there is nothing wrong with criticizing a judicial decision,” he said. “But when it comes to threats, that is an entirely different matter.”
Editor’s Note: This post has been updated since it was first published.His wife Ensaf Haidar tweeted the news. Canada granted her and their three children political asylum. Arrested in 2012, he is serving a ten-year sentence and has to receive 1,000 lashes. On Tuesday, he stopped eating. In 2015, he received two major awards for his action in favour of freedom of thought: the Pen Pinter Prize and the Sakharov Prize, the European equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Riyadh (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who was jailed for "insulting Islam" online, began a hunger strike on Tuesday after being transferred to a new, isolated prison, this according to his wife, Ensaf Haidar.
Haidar, who lives in Canada where she and their three children were granted political asylum, confirmed the news by phone after tweeting it.
For four years, Badawi ran a blog called the Liberal Saudi Network, which encouraged online discussions on the most important current events, including politics and religion.
He was arrested in 2012, convicted and initially given a seven-year sentence and 600 lashes. Later the Court of Appeal considered the punishment too light, and so imposed a ten-year sentence, a US$ 210,000 fine, and one thousand lashes.
In June 2015, the Saudi Supreme Court upheld Badawi’s conviction of “insulting Islam by using the electronic media” via his "liberal" blog, later closed.
Badawi received the first 50 lashes in January. According to Canadian sources, he was later transferred to a different prison for “administrative reasons”.
His wife twitted the news but the information could not be independently confirmed. She also addressed an appeal to the Saudi monarch. “I call on his majesty King Salman to pardon my husband,” Haidar tweeted. “Please unite my children with their father.”
This year Raif Badawi’s action in favour of freedom of thought was recognised with two awards: the Pen Pinter Prize for "the simplicity of” his “liberal goals" and the Sakharov Prize, the European equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize.
His wife Ensaf Haidar plans to travel to France to accept the Sakharov prize on behalf of her husband during a ceremony in Strasbourg on 16 December.
Saudi Arabia applies a strict version of Islamic law (Sharia) and does not tolerate any form of political dissent.
Internet and social media such as Facebook and twitter are highly popular in the Kingdom. However, the authorities forcibly suppress all criticism, dissent or calls for change.PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Roughly two years after an American Indian tribe began an ambitious push to open the nation’s first marijuana resort in South Dakota, a consultant who helped pursue the stalled venture is heading to trial on drug charges.
Jury selection starts Thursday in the case of Eric Hagen, a consultant who worked with the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe on its operation about 45 miles north of Sioux Falls. Hagen was indicted on state marijuana charges months after the tribe destroyed their crop amid fears of a federal raid.
Here’s a look at key information about the trial:
___
WHAT’S GOING ON?
Hagen and fellow consultant Jonathan Hunt, officials with Monarch America, a Colorado-based company in the marijuana industry, were charged last year after assisting the tribe.
The Santee Sioux began a marijuana growing operation after the Justice Department outlined a new policy clearing the way for Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana under the same conditions as some states that have legalized pot.
State Attorney General Marty Jackley warned against the idea from the outset. The tribe ultimately destroyed its crop in November 2015 after federal officials signaled a potential raid.
Jackley announced charges against Hagen and Hunt about nine months later. Hagen, 34, of Sioux Falls, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to possess, possession and attempted possession of more than 10 pounds of marijuana.
He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on both the conspiracy and possession counts and 7 1/2 years on the attempted possession count. Hunt last year pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy count after agreeing to cooperate with law enforcement.
Court documents say Hunt ordered marijuana seeds from a company in the Netherlands that were shipped surreptitiously to the tribe’s office in 2015. Authorities say he and others cultivated the plants at the Flandreau grow facility before they were burned.
___
LEGAL ISSUES
The state doesn’t have jurisdiction over the tribe. But prosecutors argue that state courts have jurisdiction over non-Native Americans who commit “victimless” crimes in Indian Country, so Hagen can be prosecuted. Hagen’s defense has argued that the federal government has jurisdiction.
___
THE DEFENSE
Hagen’s defense against the indictment is that the marijuana belonged to the tribe. Mike Butler, Hagen’s attorney, said Jackley doesn’t have jurisdiction to charge the tribe, so perhaps the prosecution is “an offshoot of his frustration that he couldn’t impose his will on the tribe.”
“The tribe voted to enact a law. The tribe paid for this stuff. The tribe ultimately voted to burn it. Not my client,” Butler said. “It was the tribe’s exclusive possession in this case.”
Butler said law enforcement was fully informed and involved from the beginning of the venture. He pledged to appeal if Hagen is convicted.
“This is a one-of-a-kind prosecution,” said Tim Purdon, a former U.S. attorney for North Dakota. “That doesn’t mean it’s a bad one. It’s just, this is truly groundbreaking.”
___
THE PROJECT
When tribal leaders initially touted their plan to open the resort on tribal land in Flandreau, President Anthony Reider said they wanted it to be “an adult playground.”
They projected as much as $2 million in monthly profits, with ambitious plans that included a smoking lounge with a nightclub, bar and food service, and eventually an outdoor music venue. They planned to use the money for community services and to provide income to tribal members.
Reider said after the marijuana was burned that federal officials had concerns about whether the tribe could sell marijuana to non-Indians, along with the origin of the seeds used for its crop.
Purdon, now a partner at the Minneapolis law firm Robins Kaplan, said that if Hagen is convicted, it would put a “huge chill on non-Native consultants working with tribes who are interested in exploring medical or adult use cannabis.”
___
THE TRIBE
Reider this week called the prosecutions of Hagen and Hunt “very unfortunate,” saying that the tribe originally reached out to Monarch America about the project.
He said the Santee Sioux have looked into the possibility of growing marijuana again, but said they’re waiting for more clarity at the federal level with President Donald Trump’s new administration.
The grow facility hasn’t been used since the marijuana crop was burned, Reider said.
“It’s unfortunate that we were unable to be successful with the project,” he said. “We were hoping with the revenues to do a lot of positive things for the tribe and the local community.”
To subscribe to The Cannifornian’s email newsletter, click here.Gus Edwards, the running back from Miami, is transferring to Rutgers.
Edwards' former high school coach told Scout the big-bodied running back is graduating in May and will be on the Rutgers campus in June. He is expected to compete immediately for playing time.
"This gives Rutgers a dude," said Jim Munson, who coached Edwards at Staten Island (N.Y.) Tottenville High. "He's got a lot of running left in him. |
of off Palau.
"I was very much affected by that," Scannon said. "No one knew anything about what had happened to that plane or its crew, and I decided it needed to be answered."
For years, Scannon searched for planes on his own or with a small team of researchers, based on military records of planes that had gone down, as well as dozens of eyewitness accounts from interviews he conducted with Palau natives, some of whom were children when they saw the planes go down into the ocean.
In BentProp's early days, Scannon said, he and the team he built relied mostly on legwork and their own dives, often in milky water that made it very difficult to search. As technology evolved, the task got easier: Scannon said, for example, that Google Earth did wonders for being able to plot out his expeditions.
Then, three years ago, Scannon was introduced by chance to a team from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, based at the University of California, San Diego, and a team from the University of Delaware. The oceanography teams were working on ways to explore and map the ocean floor in Palau. The two groups quickly struck a deal to work together.
It's hard to overstate the impact that the technology -- even the simple addition of drones equipped with cameras donated by GoPro -- has had on the searches. The waters BentProp is searching are relatively shallow -- 100 to 300 feet deep, Scannon said -- but can pose dangerous risks to divers who stay on the sea floor too long. Using underwater drones with cameras lets the searchers look for debris all day, rather than in short bursts. Being able to scan for a plane's debris field lets them use their dive time more efficiently.
In the dive documented in Friday's video, the teams used the technology to find the wreckage of an Avenger torpedo bomber that it first found evidence of in 2005. "After searching over a nine-year period [for one plane], with the technology from Scripps and the University of Delaware, we found it in one day."
Finding a plane is an almost indescribable experience, Scannon said. The video GoPro released showed Scannon and Eric Terrill, who leads the Scripps team, sharing a handshake over the propeller -- a restrained gesture, but the only one that they could muster in the moment. "You really can’t hug underwater -- you get tangled up," Scannon said. "But it was a very emotional handshake because we knew that, in all likelihood, there were Americans missing right below us."
With the Avenger debris, as with all of the group's finds, the organization holds its own simple flag-folding ceremony in the water over the plane; a retired Navy lieutenant commander receives the flags on behalf of the families, who don't learn of the finds until they've been verified by the U.S. government.
Based on estimates derived from his research, Scannon believes Bent Prop could still find 70 to 80 more MIAs in the waters around Palau. The U.S. Office of Naval Research has since sponsored a pilot program to help the university teams find soldiers missing in action, and to use these expeditions to encourage young people to get interested in the science behind it.
"As scientists, we're not typically out in the public telling our stories," Terrill said. "This particular project has motivated us. We can send messages back to the families and show there's still a lot of U.S. interest in thanking them for their service."
"I initially thought this would be a one-plane adventure," Scannon said, but now he's driven to keep going because of the families of these soldiers. The U.S. government, through the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), verifies and informs relatives of BentProp's findings. But on occasion the government allows Scannon to deliver the folded flags to the families himself.
What strikes him speechless every time, he said, is the fact that even though these soldiers have been gone for generations, they still often hold a place of honor in their families' homes -- even among family members who never even knew their fallen relatives.
"MIA families never forget," he said. "They never, ever forget."In two preliminary experiments reported last month in Science Translational Medicine, 11 adults, including Matthews, spent 27 hours in hospital beds tethered to intravenous lines that drew their blood and tested their sugar levels every five minutes. The reading was fed into a laptop computer, which used software developed by BU research scientist Firas El-Khatib, Damiano’s former student, to decide when to deliver insulin or glucagon just beneath the skin using commercially available pumps.
A bioengineer specializing in the mechanics of blood flow, Damiano expanded his research to develop an artificial pancreas after his son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 11 months old. Damiano checks his now-11-year-old son’s blood sugar every two hours throughout the night.
If further testing shows the system works, it could take up to five years to reach the market, said Dr. Steven Russell, a Massachusetts General Hospital endocrinologist who is part of the development team. His coleader, Edward Damiano of Boston University, estimated the system will cost up to $7,000 for the glucose monitor and pump, plus another $100 a week for insulin, glucagon, and sensors that must be replaced every few days.
The “artificial pancreas’’ Matthews used is one of several devices in development that marry a glucose sensor with a computer-guided insulin pump. It automatically monitors blood sugar levels and, when needed, delivers insulin to lower blood sugar. In an advance over some other systems, it can also inject another hormone, glucagon, to raise blood sugar as needed. People with type 1 diabetes make glucagon but do not secrete it properly in response to low blood sugar.
If blood sugar falls too low, they risk falling into a coma. If blood sugar levels stay too high, they can suffer long-term complications that result in kidney damage, heart disease, amputations, and blindness.
Because their pancreases no longer produce insulin, which ferries blood sugar into cells, people with type 1 diabetes must inject the hormone several times a day or wear a pump that infuses preset amounts into their bodies.
For people with type 1 diabetes, keeping the condition under control is a constant process of testing blood sugar levels and adjusting how much insulin they need, based on what they eat and how active they are.
Now 48 and a Marlborough firefighter, Matthews is still waiting. But he has high hopes for a device being developed by Boston researchers that mimics the healthy human pancreas. Matthews participated in a study of a prototype of the device, and while it’s not a cure, it kept his blood sugar in check without the guesswork of current treatments.
In 1965, doctors told Edmoth Matthews’s mother that by the time her 3-year-old son turned 18, there would be a cure for type 1 diabetes.
The subjects averaged blood sugar levels within the target range for good control, although in the first experiment five of them occasionally had levels sink low enough that they needed to drink orange juice to bring them back up. After the researchers determined the patients were absorbing insulin at widely different rates, they adjusted the computer algorithm and succeeded in keeping blood sugar levels where they should be, without dips into hypoglycemia.
The researchers eventually hope to replace the laptop with a computer chip that would reside in a dual insulin-glucagon pump. Together with a glucose monitor that measures blood sugar levels every five minutes through a sensor inserted beneath the skin, the system would approximate what the healthy pancreas does minute by minute.
The work is funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Diabetes specialists called the study an important step forward, but said there are challenges.
Dr. Howard Wolpert of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston said continuous glucose monitoring systems aren’t as accurate as one would hope because they measure sugar in the fluid between cells, not in the bloodstream. That means there’s a delay in sensing glucose levels, just as there is a lag when insulin is injected or infused beneath the skin rather than released into the bloodstream, as a healthy pancreas would do. “The system can’t turn on and off rapidly enough to respond to changes in the glucose level,’’ he said.
Dr. David Harlan, director of diabetes at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester and former diabetes branch chief at NIDDK, also said there are more hurdles to clear.
“The new system’s advance is that it can respond by infusing glucagon to overcome low blood sugars,’’ he said, but it doesn’t control doses of insulin or glucagon finely enough. “Imagine driving a car where the accelerator was all the way down or not. You could control the speed of the car by taking your foot completely off it or flooring it and then putting your foot on the brake.... It works, but it’s not ideal.’’
NIDDK considers artificial pancreas systems a research priority, said Dr. Guillermo Arreaza-Rubín, director of the institute’s Glucose Sensing and Insulin Delivery Technologies Program. “They are not a cure but they may represent what some patients would call a cure. If my glucose is well controlled without fear of hypoglycemia, if my chances of developing kidney failure, blindness, or other chronic complications [decline], it may really make a great difference in terms of quality of life.’’
Damiano has a deadline.
“I have this little ticking clock that goes off in seven years when my son goes off to college,’’ he said. “I firmly believe that we are building... a system that will regulate people’s blood sugar exquisitely well. It will nearly normalize their blood sugar to the point where they won’t have to fear going to bed at night and not waking up.’’
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.The rise in open cloud platforms, Linux-based technologies and the innovative new products that run on them are fueling the continued demand for Linux pros, according to the annual survey from The Linux Foundation and job board Dice.
It polled 1,010 hiring managers and 3,446 Linux professionals to report on the state of the Linux job market.
Ninety-seven percent of the hiring managers said they plan to bring on Linux talent in the next six months, up four points from last year. And half say they’ll hire more Linux talent this year than last.
Meanwhile, the love for all things Linux continues to grow. While 51 percent of Linux pros last year cited a passion for Linux as their primary reason for their career choice, this year that number was up to 75 percent.
The rise of open cloud platforms are playing into that. Forty-two percent of hiring managers say that experience in OpenStack and CloudStack will have a major impact on their hiring decisions, while 23 percent report security is a sought-after area of expertise and 19 percent are looking for Linux talent with Software-Defined Networking (SDN) skills.
Among the factors driving growth:
Forty-nine percent of Linux professionals say open cloud will be the biggest growth area for Linux in 2015.
Security vulnerabilities such as the 2014 Heartbleed bug have also fueled a need for Linux-savvy security pros. Twenty-three percent of hiring managers say security experience has an impact on hiring decisions.
And despite all the hype, only 5 percent of hiring managers point to containers as a big growth area, while just 19 percent of Linux professionals see it as the biggest area of growth in the industry.
“We frequently get requests for Linux administrators, with salary rates anywhere from $75k to $120k depending on level of experience,” said Deborah Vazquez, CEO of IT staffing firm PROTECH in Boca Raton, Fla.
“We’ve also been seeing a lot of software engineer and developer requirements where our clients consider having Linux experience a plus. In these cases, it’s usually not a hard requirement, but a nice plus since the software these developers/engineers develop will be deployed on top of the Linux operating system.”
Riviera Partners, however, a San Francisco staffing firm focused on startups, sees Linux demand more focused on the DevOps side.
At the same time, 88 percent of hiring managers in the survey report that it’s “very difficult” or “somewhat difficult” to find these candidates.
Sixty-six precent of hiring managers report they are looking to fill SysAdmin positions. Forty-four percent of hiring managers say they’re more likely to hire a candidate with Linux certification, and 54 percent expect either certification or formal training when hiring SysAdmins.
Among Linux pros, 90 percent say that knowing Linux has advanced their careers, an increase of four points from last year.
Citing a need to expand the skills pipeline faster, the Linux Foundation announced two new certifications last fall: the Certified System Administrator (LFCS) exam covering skills for basic to intermediate system administration, and the Certified Engineer (LFCE), focusing on design and implementation of system architecture. Both are performance-based certifications allowing candidates to choose the distribution in which they wish to certify.
It had previously offered its “Introduction to Linux” course for free on edX, which became one of the most popular courses offered.
Analyst firm Foote Partners, which tracks premium pay trends from 2,688 North American employers in its quarterly “IT Skills Demand and Pay Trends Report,” has been reporting an uptick in employer interest in certifications overall. Premium pay is the amount companies are willing to pay above base salary.
It reports, for example, that premium pay for a Linux Professional Institute certification-Level 3 has risen 14.3 percent in market value in past six months of 2014 and up 33 percent for 2014. Meanwhile, the value of the Linux Professional Institute certification-Level 2 is up 30 percent for the calendar year.
“When you see increases in pay for certs it’s usually because demand is rising faster than supply,” said CEO David Foote. “… in this case the supply of Linux talent is quite strong. Linux has been around for a long time.”
He says increased employer interest in Linux certifications could be related to increased marketing of certifications.
Employers have been less willing to pay premiums for non-certified Linux skills which have shown a 12.5 percent decline in market value in the last six months of 2014, he said.
Feature image via Flickr Creative Commons.In the moments after delivering the biggest speech of her political life, when the balloons had finished falling and the upbeat music had faded out, Hillary Clinton headed backstage at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. She had just become the first woman nominated for the presidency by a major party and the convention was about to close. But before she left the arena, she took her husband’s hand and they huddled around a television monitor with her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, and his wife, Anne.
The group stood in silence, watching a feed from the convention platform, where the Rev. Bill Shillady was to offer the final benediction, drawing from a refrain familiar to most Methodists, including Mrs. Clinton. “Do all the good we can, by all the means we can, in all the ways we can, in all the places we can, at all the times we can, to all the people we can, as long as we ever can,” said Mr. Shillady, a Methodist minister who had buried Mrs. Clinton’s mother and married her daughter. The Democratic candidate wiped her eye.
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We know about Mrs. Clinton’s post-convention prayer because a camera crew filmed it and the campaign posted the gauzy video on her Twitter account. It is perhaps the most intimate moment we have seen so far during Mrs. Clinton’s run for the White House, and reaction was swift.
Some jeered, accusing her of sensing a political opening to attract faith voters disillusioned with her seemingly irreligious opponent, Donald J. Trump—of “I drink my little wine” and “have my little cracker” infamy. But others, including those who know her well, were thrilled that Mrs. Clinton had invited the public to see her at her most authentic, practicing the faith that, they say, has guided her from childhood through her very public career.
RELATED: Trump Makes a Place for Faith
This was not the first time Mrs. Clinton’s faith surfaced during the 2016 race. Back in January, when pressed by an Iowa voter to describe what she believed, Mrs. Clinton responded with a trinity of faith statements. “I am a person of faith. I am a Christian. I am a Methodist,” she said. Unpacking those three assertions sheds light on a part of Hillary Clinton that those close to her say is integral to how she lives her life and the decisions she makes.
Profoundly Methodist
Growing up, Mrs. Clinton attended First United Methodist Church in Park Ridge, Ill., a white, upper-middle-class suburb of Chicago. She has said in speeches and in her memoir that she recalls her father praying each night before bed and her mother helping out in various church ministries.
As a teenager, Hillary Rodham took a liking to the church’s youth pastor, Don Jones. According to a 2014 CNN profile, Mr. Jones shook things up at First United, focusing on Methodism’s social justice tradition, perhaps at the expense of the faith’s emphasis on personal salvation. Mr. Jones brought the young people to Methodist churches in dicey sections of Chicago in order to expose them to how their peers lived, in sharp contrast to their own lives in Park Ridge. He pushed them to question their faith, once arranging a debate with an atheist about the existence of God. He took them to Jewish synagogues to introduce them to different religions.
His style ultimately did not mesh with conservative Park Ridge, and Mr. Jones left after just two years. But Mrs. Clinton was clearly affected, and she and Mr. Jones stayed in touch for decades after. The pair exchanged letters when Mrs. Clinton headed off to college, and Mr. Jones went on to attend both of her husband’s presidential inaugurations.
When Mr. Jones died in 2009, Mrs. Clinton said that the former youth minister, who looked to figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Franklin Delano Roosevelt for inspiration, had “helped guide me on a spiritual and political journey of over 40 years.”
Though Mrs. Clinton has cited a range of spiritual figures from varying faith communities as personal inspirations, her faith journey has been profoundly Methodist, says Mike McCurry, a professor of theology at Wesley Theological Seminary and a former press secretary for President Bill Clinton.
“She is a very much a part of that tradition,” Mr. McCurry told America.
Methodists are guided by what is known as the Wesley Quadrilateral, he said. These are four principles that the denomination’s founder, John Wesley, used to “illuminate the core of the Christian faith for the believer,” according to the United Methodist Church’s website. The four pillars are Scripture, tradition, reason and experience. (According to family lore, Wesley himself converted Mrs. Clinton’s forebears back in 18th-century England.)
Calling Mrs. Clinton “a child of the Methodist Church,” Mr. McCurry said she probably could not offer “a long dissertation on the Wesley Quadrilateral, but she knows her faith tradition and she knows that thinking because it’s very much what you’re exposed to when you grow up in the Methodist Church.”
In the 1960s, Mrs. Clinton was a subscriber to motive, a now-defunct magazine published by the Methodist Student Movement. During that period, the publication was largely anti-war, pro-worker and anti-nuclear weapon, publishing essays by Methodist thinkers and activists, as well as other Christians, including Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O., and Sister Mary Corita Kent, a one-time Catholic sister active in the 1960s peace movement and known for creating colorful pop art.
Mrs. Clinton and her husband were married by a Methodist pastor in Arkansas, and when they moved to Washington, they attended Foundry United Methodist Church, located just a few blocks north of the White House. The church’s pastor at the time, the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman, can be described as both a theological and social progressive. In 1997, when the Clintons were still attending Foundry, Rev. Wogaman signed a petition disagreeing with the United Methodist Church’s refusal to ordain openly gay ministers or bless same-sex unions. (It would take more than 15 years for Mrs. Clinton to articulate her own support for gay marriage.)
It was during her years as first lady, one Clinton biographer argues, that Mrs. Clinton began to feel reticent about discussing her faith.
Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a history professor at Calvin College who is writing a book about Mrs. Clinton’s religious history, points to a 1993 speech in which the first lady called for a “new politics of meaning.” With her husband’s administration in turmoil, Hillary Clinton called on Americans to embrace “a new ethos of individual responsibility and caring” and to recognize that “we are part of something bigger than ourselves.”
The address was panned in the media, and, Ms. Du Mez suggests, remains the reason Mrs. Clinton still shies away from publicly expressing her faith more often.
The Candidate’s Faith
Nonetheless, there have been some hints throughout the years at the kind of religiosity that informs Mrs. Clinton. She is said to read snippets of Scripture each day; she has cited figures from the familiar canon of progressive, modern theologians, including Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr and Henri Nouwen, as inspirations; and during her husband’s affair with a White House intern, Mrs. Clinton is said to have leaned especially hard on her faith.
“The moments in which I’ve seen her draw most deeply on her faith have been very, very personal,” Mr. McCurry said. “You can imagine that they are related to events that I had to publicly deal with when I was at the White House.”
“During moments of enormous personal pain for her, I think her faith sustained her,” he said.
A Southern Baptist political activist named Burns Strider met Mrs. Clinton in 2006, when they bonded over how faith informs social justice issues. He then served as a faith outreach director during her 2008 campaign, and today he sends Mrs. Clinton emails several times a week with short passages from Scripture or quotations from figures she has said she enjoys reading, including the Catholic writer Flannery O'Connor, the poet Mary Oliver and the Christian writer Jim Wallis.
Mr. Strider told America he is happy the campaign seems to be highlighting Mrs. Clinton’s faith, and he hopes it happens more frequently heading into November.
“Good campaigns reveal the real person that carries the label candidate,” he said, praising the video the campaign posted on Twitter. He said he has seen Mrs. Clinton pray backstage before and after big events, often making it a point to meet local clergy. “Films and discussions about Hillary's faith would be doing just that, revealing the real Hillary.”
Back in January, when an Iowa voter pressed Mrs. Clinton on her faith during a town hall event, the candidate riffed on a couple of passages from the New Testament.
“The most important commandment,” she said, “is to love the Lord with all your might and to love your neighbor as yourself.” She spoke of the Bible’s commandments about “taking care of the poor, visiting the prisoners, taking in the stranger, creating opportunities for others to be lifted up.”
She then asked some rhetorical questions about the Sermon on the Mount and offered an off-the-cuff exegesis. “What is it calling us to do and to understand?” she asked. “Because it sure does seem to favor the poor and the merciful and those who in worldly terms don’t have a lot but who have the spirit that God recognizes as being at the core of love and salvation.”
Finally, she expressed disappointment that Christianity is “sometimes used to condemn so quickly and judge so harshly” and concluded by saying that reflecting on her faith is “something that I take very seriously.”
One of the reasons Mrs. Clinton’s religious sincerity is questioned could be the clash of her social positions with the priorities of the U.S. religious right, which is often perceived as synonymous with U.S. Christianity.
Yet Methodists rank as the third largest Christian denomination in the United States, behind Catholics and Southern Baptists. The church’s numbers peaked in the 1960s, with about 11 million members, and today U.S. Methodism claims about 7.5 million adherents. Methodists are part of the mainline Protestant tradition, a slice of Christianity more politically liberal as a whole than their evangelical or Catholic peers.
Ms. Du Mez says Mrs. Clinton’s religiosity can be best perceived through this prism of socially liberal Christianity, both her own tradition and the relationships she has formed with African-American pastors and churches that compose a large part of the Clinton political base.
“Her views on many social issues are absolutely in line with her church’s views, with the possible exception of war and capital punishment,” Ms. Du Mez told America.
That includes toeing the church line on the issue of abortion, says Katey Zeh, an abortion rights activist who has worked for the United Methodist Church. The church’s stance on abortion seems compatible with former president Bill Clinton’s assertion in the 1990s that it should be “safe, legal and rare.”
The church’s “Social Principles” state, “Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion.” But the principles also “recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures by certified medical providers.” The denomination was even one of the founding members of a nonprofit group that pushes for increased access to abortion, though the denomination recently withdrew from the organization.
RELATED: Will 'Extremism' on Hyde Amendment Hurt Democrats in 2016?
While Mrs. Clinton’s views on abortion have become more extreme in recent years—she is currently pressing for the repeal of a ban on federal funding for abortions—Ms. Zeh told America that Mrs. Clinton still falls squarely within the Methodist tradition on the issue.
“There’s no conflict,” she said. Methodists should consult the church’s guiding principles, “but there’s also acknowledgement that we don’t all agree about all of these issues.”
The Catholic Church, of course, is against abortion, and no matter how much she draws on her faith, Mrs. Clinton is unlikely to win over some Catholic voters who reject her and her party’s views.
More on Faith to Follow?
With some traditionally Republican evangelicals and Catholics pushing back against Donald. Trump, it is likely that Mrs. Clinton’s team will continue to encourage her to speak more openly about her faith. It could be that her foes will continue to call her a phony when she does so.
Should she decide to continue opening up about her faith on the campaign trail, Mrs. Clinton may look to a speech she gave to the 2014 United Methodist Women’s Assembly in Louisville as a model.
Mrs. Clinton was introduced to a crowd of more than 7,000 women and praised as “a relentless advocate for women, children and youth,” to thunderous applause.
Curiously, the woman introducing Mrs. Clinton, Yvette Richards, noted in her introduction that the former secretary of state had covered her own expenses and refused the assembly’s standard honorarium, a contrast to the $300,000-or-so stipends she had been receiving for speeches to Wall Street banks and public universities.
During her speech, Mrs. Clinton delivered her usual thoughts on the need to strengthen opportunities for the disadvantaged, especially women and girls, but this time through an explicit lens of faith. She riffed on her church’s social justice tradition as well as the Gospel, focusing on the story of the loaves and fishes and how it has motivated her politics.
“Like the disciples of Jesus, we cannot look away, we cannot tell those in need to fend for themselves and live with ourselves,” she said. “‘You feed them,’ [Jesus] said, feed them, rescue them, heal them, love them.”
Also see: A look at Donald J. Trump’s alliance with evangelical Christians and how it could shape his presidency.Over time, the chaotic motion of the droplet builds a coherent pattern of positions. Saenz et al. / Nature Physics
Physicists have used droplets in a vibrating pool of silicon oil to replicate an effect known as a ‘quantum mirage’, in the latest in a series of experiments that create analogues of quantum-mechanical behaviour at a macroscopic level. The discoveries have gone hand in hand with a resurgence of interest in a century-old interpretation of quantum mechanics known as pilot wave theory.
Pedro Saenz and colleagues at MIT, writing in Nature Physics, believe their study represents “a significant advance”, not only because of the result but also some of the methods they used to reach it.
The pilot wave interpretation of quantum mechanics was first proposed by Louis de Broglie in 1923 to explain the famous wave-particle duality displayed by subatomic particles, in which they sometimes appear to behave as particles and sometimes as waves. He argued that if an electron created ripples in the electromagnetic field around itself, these ripples could in turn act as a “pilot wave” that would steer the particle’s movement in a way that would produce wavelike effects such as interference patterns.
Two droplets bouncing on a vibrating pool of silicon oil. Couder et al.
While the theory had no less than Albert Einstein in its corner, it was eventually discarded in favour of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, which holds that we can’t know what is “really” happening at the subatomic level. We can only use a mathematical construct called the wave function to predict the probability of finding a particle at a certain place and time.
Though unpopular, the pilot wave idea has occasionally been updated, notably by David Bohm in the 1950s – who refuted some earlier arguments against the idea – and more recently by Luis de la Pena and others, who have brought the theory into line with some modern developments in particle physics.
In 2005, French physicist Yves Couder and colleagues built a model pilot wave system in the lab. They discovered that if they took a shallow bath of silicon oil and shook it up and down at the right speed, they could add another droplet of oil to the surface and it would “walk” along it. When the droplet hits the surface of the bath, it bounces off, creating ripples. The ripples mean that the droplet, when it lands again, encounters a slightly tilted surface that pushes it off in one direction or another. In this way, the droplet moves over the surface of the oil, creating a “pilot wave” that directs its own future motion.
Recommended A floating droplet Physics
While the motion of the droplet appears chaotic in the short term, over time complex patterns appear that correspond to the probability densities that are the currency of quantum theory. This set-up has since been used to demonstrate analogues of quantum behaviour including the double-slit experiment, the orbits of electrons in atoms, and tunnelling through seemingly impenetrable barriers.
In the latest finding, Saenz and his fellow researchers created an analogue of the so-called “quantum mirage” effect, in which manipulating a single atom at a certain point in an electron trap can affect the behaviour of electrons elsewhere. They also used a much shallower bath of silicon oil than has been used in the past, which may allow finer control of the properties of the waves.
While pilot wave theory is not poised to displace the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics any time soon, the steady accumulation of experimental evidence – even if indirect and working by analogy – is worth keeping an eye on.Sam Bradford's promising preseason has been short-circuited.
The evolution of the NFL:
Take a look at how the NFL has evolved from its humble roots, and the efforts being made to ensure it continues to grow.
The Rams' starting quarterback left Saturday night's 33-14 win over the Cleveland Browns after injuring his left knee on a first-quarter incompletion. Bradford was wrapped up by Armonty Bryant on a play that saw veteran left tackle Jake Long beaten off the edge.
Bradford crouched on the field in pain before limping off toward the locker room with a pair of team trainers. The fifth-year signal-caller finished the game having completed 4 of 9 passes for 77 yards.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher was "very optimistic" after the game, saying "it appeared just to be a hyperextension."
A Rams source tells NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport that the first tests on Bradford's knee were inconclusive and Bradford underwent an MRI on Sunday. He's undergoing more tests now, and Fisher is expected to update Bradford's status during a 6:30 p.m. ET news conference.
Coming off ACL surgery on that same knee, Bradford showed well last week against the Packers before marching the Rams down the field against the Browns on the team's opening drive. After Bradford exited, Shaun Hill stepped in to lead St. Louis to a field goal.
Bradford started just seven games last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7. Losing him again would equal a devastating blow for this middling St. Louis offense.
It's been an ugly night all around for the Rams.
Starting offensive lineman Rodger Saffold left the game later in the first quarter with an apparent right ankle injury. In the second quarter, cornerback Trumaine Johnson and defensive tackle Michael Brockers also got hurt. While Brockers walked off under his own power, Johnson needed to be carted off after colliding with a teammate.
UPDATE: A team source tells Rapoport that a battery of tests reveal Bradford tore his ACL and will miss the 2014 season.
The "Around the League Podcast" Fantasy Football Extravaganza has landed. Tell your friends and lovers.[UPDATE] Sale. From 1000 to 300 points.
My love for RWBY, airplanes, and anime all in one image. I spent one whole day on this. I'm not sure if it is a good use of a day or a total waste XP
I simply adore inverted gull-wings. And seaplanes. And propellers. And perhaps you've noticed: I didn't to much research into the anatomy of airplanes. I just used what I knew about them and the glimpses I caught of airplanes in Warthunder (I do play, I'm geek96boolean10 there too) as references. Blake's is a modified Orville and Wilbur plane.
...is it just me, or does Yang's plane look like candy corn?
This is a 2400x1200 image. The purchaseable download contains the full size, a 16:9 version for most laptops, a 4:3 version for most desktops, 3x5 for mobile devices, and the complete PSD (with all my sketches and other little things including failures) that you can resize and move the 4 around according to your wishes. The given resolutions move Blake to various locations to fill up the space except the mobile version, which overlays the 4.
If you do decide to buy this, allow me to thank you in advance! Please don't distribute, and this goes without saying: don't change the positions or background and claim it to be your own.
(BTW - this is just a shot at luck - if any RT crew peeps see this and they'd like to use it for something, please notify me!)Two people visiting from California say they were eaten alive by a swarm of bedbugs in their room at the Astor on the Park Hotel on the Upper West Side.
Elgin Ozlen was staying there with his girlfriend when they were attacked in their bed, he said, and posted a video on YouTube showing the evil insects meandering menacingly on their mattress.
“We were expecting a vacation to remember the rest of our lives,’’ he told ABC News.
“We will remember it the rest of our lives, but it won’t be a pleasant memory.’’
A hotel employee to whom The Post spoke Saturday refused to give his name, but said he was in charge and had been “instructed’’ not to say anything about the claims of the guest.Soccer Stadium, Snelling Bridge Opening, Pedestrian Safety, Movies in the Parks, and more! View this email in your browser Neighborhood Matters Taking advantage of the Vintage photo booth at our Bastille Day Block Party on July 12! Our offic is located at 1602 Selby Avenue, Suite 10 -- just west of Snelling.
Upcoming Board and Committee Meetings
UPDC Board:
August 5, 7:00-9:00 pm,
Concordia University Library Technology Center, Room 215
Neighborhood Involvement: August 12, 6:00-7:30 pm
Land Use: August 17, 6:30-8:30 pm
Parks and Recreation: August 19, 7:00-8:30 pm
All of our meetings are held at the Merriam Park Recreation Center at 2000 St. Anthony Avenue, unless otherwise noted.
Contact us!
Julie Reiter,
Executive Director
julie@unionparkdc.org
651-645-6887
Michael Johnson,
Community Organizer
michael@unionparkdc.org
651-645-6887 Facebook Website Community Conversation on the Soccer Stadium Have you heard that the Bus Barn site at Snelling near I-94 is being considered as a possible location for a Major League Soccer stadium? As the City explores the option, we'd like to hear about the issues that you think would need to be addressed if a stadium were built at that site.
Please join us on August 11 from 6-8 p.m. at the Midpointe Event Center (415 N Pascal), adjacent to the Bus Barn. We'll have light refreshments during this moderated conversation.
Snelling Celebration! The Snelling Avenue bridge over I-94 will reopen by August 20th! To celebrate the bridge improvements and show appreciation for area residents, MnDOT is hosting a party just north of the bridge on August 20 from 4:30-7:00 p.m. Join the fun with local businesses and help the Friendly Streets Initiative explore ways to make the bridge even better in the future through pocket parks, placemaking, and public art. Pedestrian Safety Week As part of a Citywide Pedestrian Safety Awareness week, Union Park will be holding two crosswalk events on Thursday, August 6. We'll be at the intersection of Snelling and Hague (near Dairy Queen) from 4:00-5:00 p.m. and at Cretin and Dayton (just south of Marshall) from 5:30-6:30.
Union Park volunteers will be on hand to draw attention to traffic laws related to pedestrians and provide information to pedestrians on how to stay safe. If you care about pedestrian safety, please join us as a volunteer! Contact Michael@unionparkdc.org for more information. UST NeighborFest on July 30th
The University of Saint Thomas invites neighbors to enjoy a family friendly evening in Monahan Plaza on campus on Thursday, July 30 from 5 - 7 p.m. The featured musical guests will be |
to disagree since your are reading this. That said, anyone who thinks NCFM or any of it’s members condone sexual assault in any way, shape, fashion or form is misguided. What we don’t condone is false accusations of sexual assault. The article below is concerned with facilitating false accusations, not condoning sexual assaults.
By Paul Elam, A Voice for Men
On Wednesday night, after much anticipation across the nation, President Obama signed the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law. In the end, it included 19 amendments to significantly reform Department of Defense sexual assault and sexual harassment policies. This landmark bill has the largest number of sexual violence provisions ever signed into law
Specifically, the law now provides for:
• Prohibiting the military from recruiting anyone convicted of a sex offense
• Mandatory separation of convicted sex offenders
• Insurance coverage for abortions in cases of rape or incest for service women and military family members
• Retention of restricted report documentation for 50 years if so desired by the victim
• The creation of “Special Victims Units” to improve investigation, prosecution and victim support in connection with child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault cases
• Allowing victims to return to active duty after separation to help prosecute sex offenders
• The creation of an independent review panel comprised of civilian and military members that will closely examine the way that the DOD investigates, prosecutes, and adjudicates sexual assaults
• Required sexual assault prevention training in pre-command and command courses for officers
• Improved data collection and reporting by the military on sexual assault and sexual harassment cases
• Annual command climate assessment surveys to track individual attitudes toward sexual assault and sexual harassment
• A review of unrestricted sexual assault reports and the nature of any subsequent separations of victims who made those reports
• Notification to service members of the options available for the correction of military records due to any retaliatory personnel action after making a report of sexual assault or sexual harassment
• Requirement for DOD to establish a policy for comprehensive sexual harassment prevention and response
• Language that will allow better oversight and tracking of DOD’s implementation of sexual assault provisions from prior Defense Authorizations in order to ensure they are being enforced properly
In a normal, sane world, this list might read like a sensible enough policy to deal with problems encountered by service women, as well as service men.
But we are not living in a normal, sane world. We are living in a world where problems involving sexual assault and harassment, or the allegation of the same are politicized, twisted and transformed into draconian measures that will invariably inflict unnecessary harm on innocent people.
We are living in a world where the above list is nothing less than the announcement of an Inquisition Policy in the United States Military.
On behalf of AVfM, I am using this opportunity to appeal to any of our retired/former military readers, preferably of higher ranks, to write an analysis of what they see here, including the implications for military justice, for the pages of AVfM.
If what you see here concerns you, and you served in the United States Military, we invite you to help us bring awareness to the public of what this kind of policy will actually look like on the ground. I can be reached at paul@avoiceformen.com.
Thank you in advance to those who consider helping with this mission, and as always, thank you for your service.
Sexual Assault
Sexual AssaultA processing powerhouse: 7th Gen 45W Intel® quad-core H Series CPUs rip through processing functions when needed.
Minimal loading: NVMe PCIe SSDs run up to 4x quicker than conventional SATA. Load apps or data faster, run your machine faster, stretch battery life and improve shock resistance.
Conveniently quick: 2x2 WiFi antennas improve speed, range and stability while the SuperSpeed USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 enables up to 40Gb/s transfer speeds so you can game where you want while keeping a stable connection. The Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming laptop’s SuperSpeed USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 can support a single 5K display or dual 4K display output.
Stay cool under pressure: The aggressive sub-1” design is equipped with huge cooling vents and dual fans to keep your system from buckling under the load of demanding games while still staying cool and quiet.Peak Oil & EvPsy
Peak Oil Overview
Evolutionary psychology and peak oil:
A Malthusian inspired "heads up" for humanity.
-- by Michael E. Mills, Ph.D.
"Oil peaking will be catastrophic, beyond anything I have seen...
We are about to drive the car over the cliff and say, `Oh my God,
what have we done?' "
-- Robert L. Hirsch, Ph.D., US Department of Energy consultant. "It’s a perfect storm headed our way -- a steady rise in global demand
for oil crashing up against an increasingly limited supply of economically
recoverable oil."
-- William Chameides, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental
Science, Duke University "... (we) cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity, our long-term
security, on a resource that will eventually run out."
-- President Barack Obama, 3/3/2011
Overview.
I initially developed this webpage for my students, especially those in my Ecological Psychology course. The goal was to provide a succinct overview of peak oil, and a "heads up" about the social and personal challenges that we will need to confront in the near future as oil reserves and oil production gradually go into decline.
As of now, we have no renewable energy source nor combination of sources that can replace the amount of energy we have been able to get from oil. That is, renewable energy cannot produce even a small fraction of the energy that is needed to power industrial / technological civilization.
Most people are unaware of this, and learning about it for the first time comes as something of a shock.
Unless some new "energy scientific miracle" is discovered very soon (e.g., some new energy source as game-changing as, for example, nuclear fusion) the oxygen of modern civilization -- energy -- will be thinning over the next several decades.
The world's debt-based economies, which depend on ever increasing economic growth to survive, will be gasping for air.
This web page is divided into the following topics, which will be explored in turn:
Ecological overshoot as a general problem in population biology. The possibility of avoiding a human Mathusian collapse via a Kurzweillian "techno-fix"
Peak oil as a an example of human ecological overshoot.
Possible economic and social scenarios following peak oil.
Contributions by psychological science, and evolutionary psychology in particular, that may help to mitigate these problems.
Notes:
To listen to an audio of these webpage, click on the link or right click to download MP3.
If this is your first introduction to peak oil, you may wish to bookmark this page. It is a bit much to take in all at once. You may also wish to return to view some of the video clips that you might skip over on the first reading. And, psychologically, it takes some time for much of the information that is presented here to really sink in. All of us living in developed countries have always had cheap gasoline readily available. It is difficult to even imagine otherwise.
Table of ContentsSWTOR News from the NYCC Cantina
Here are some news regarding the new expansion and future content from the NYCC Cantina, including possibility of new operations in early 2017.
If you went to the Cantina and would like to contribute please leave a comment below and I will get the added in.
Special thanks to @CristiPetrarca for the following tweets
Choices & Story in KOTET
Charles Boyd:in KotET choices matter,we can change some chars alignments & in regards to companion deaths…..#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
…. companion deaths he said we can "rack up quite a body count"#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
.@Tougakun Ben Irving said it was because we live in a binge-watch era & they realized people like that and not monthly episodes — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
.@xprdc @Tougakun Not sure if it'll be all at once or a couple big releases, but it will not be monthly like kotfe.#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
3 difficulty levels: Story, Veteran, Master for Kotfe & Kotet (they have achieves) and they are repeatable.#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Companions/Alliance Alerts: "Not going to answer that because it's too spoiler-ery".
Me: Come to mama Ashara. #swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Group Content
There will be no operations with the launch of KOTET. #swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Instead KOtET has "uprisings" which is something to do with 1-4 players that has 3 different modes. Glorified FPs?#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
More updates in Jan bc in 2017 they want to go back to making more multiplayer gameplay. Possible ops early next year.#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
@Gravek Only that there are none coming with the Xpac. They might be putting some out in early 2017, livestream in Jan about it. — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Focus in 2017: Group content. Will there be new ops? New pvp maps? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Lots of elusiveness, nothing concrete.#swtor — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
PvP
Pvp Rewards (1): Rewards are tricky in general, especially in regards to pvp. Everyone wants to flex their e-peen & they try to find#swtor — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
PvP Rewards (2): Ways to do that & what "rewards they have available at the time" influence that a lot. #swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Pvp: Season 8 starts at the launch of Kotet.#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Misc
Lotto machines: They had talked about bringing back the Nightlife event, but did not due to DvL & the need to run those events.#swtor — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Mega guilds: Nothings specific on conquest, they are focusing on DvL & the new server DvL shift and Galactic Command.#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Galactic Command: @musco is currently writing many blog entries about this waiting to be approved and released in about 3-4 weeks.#swtor — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Galactic Command: GC is a way to access many "activities" in the game to "gain more power".Insert @musco's winky face.#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Dressing room bug: They are aware of it, but it takes time and engineers to fix it & they have to prioritize. #swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016
Solo mode for Shroud & Seeker quests: They are aware that people are asking for this.#swtor #swtorfamily — Cristina Petrarca (@CristiPetrarca) October 8, 2016The federal government is concerned about Chinese influence in Australia, particularly on universities. While we don’t know exactly how deep this influence runs, we do know quite a bit.
Financially, many Australian universities depend on international students from mainland China. It was recently suggested that 16% of the University of Sydney’s revenue comes from these students. Over the past two decades, this rapid change has made universities look and feel different.
From a financial perspective, it didn’t really matter if universities changed; the more enrolments the better. From a social perspective, university administrators suggested that the presence of Chinese students would create mutually beneficial cross-cultural communication and exchange. Academics initially thought that while it might take a while, Chinese students would “adjust” to Australia.
More recently, academics have come to a more pessimistic conclusion: Chinese students in Australia inhabit a “parallel society”, in which they engage with Australian society only rarely.
The combination of these factors — Australia’s financial dependence on China, the increasing Chinese presence in Australia, the disconnection of mainland Chinese students from Australian society and culture, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) increasing global assertiveness — has begun to create conflict.
What are the conflicts?
When university students and teachers discuss contentious issues relating to China, they often face criticism from PRC students. The criticism can be harsh, well-organised, and heavily publicised. Cases at the University of Newcastle, Monash University, and the Australian National University illustrate the scope of the problem.
Nothing about student protest is inherently undesirable. In fact, it is a manifestation of the academic freedom that university students deserve – and would not have in China. But what constitutes a “contentious issue”, and who is orchestrating this criticism? Examining the issues disputed makes two things clear: first, that the issues Chinese students deem “contentious” are exactly the same issues that the Chinese government deems “contentious”, particularly those relating to China’s territorial integrity and history. Second, that the organisations orchestrating the response to these issues, particularly the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), are funded by and work closely with Chinese state bodies such as consulates.
This runs in parallel with a steady intensification of “ideological education” in the PRC, together with attempts to shape how China is seen by the world through Confucius Institutes, the CSSA, and other “soft power” bodies. At last week’s Party Congress, President Xi Jinping stated China’s priority is to become a globally “stronger” nation.
So, should universities and the Australian government draw the line at some point? Should they ban or restrict contentious organisations? And if these groups cause friction on campus, how should university students and administrators respond?
Read more: Telling Chinese students to conform won't fix cross-cultural issues
Three main issues in question
Is this really the Chinese government’s fault?
In some ways, yes. The chain of command is clear: from the PRC government to consulates to student organisations to students. On the other hand, students often don’t need to be encouraged to support Chinese interests. Teachers hear spontaneous outbursts of nationalism in class all the time.
Students in the CSSA are being manipulated by the PRC government, but they are individuals too. Universities should set a high standard for suppressing individual views. Supporting one government’s policies does not meet that standard.
Who is really being harmed here?
Broadly speaking, local students and academics are hearing views they don’t want to hear, often inaccurate, and frequently phrased in an inflammatory way. Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with that. Student politics is fundamentally confrontational. If local students and academics disagree, we can speak up, as several students have done.
The more severe harms are to Chinese-background students, whether or not they are from the PRC. Chinese culture is not the same as PRC culture. It is complex and diverse, and Chinese students have wide-ranging views on many topics. As a teacher of Chinese students, I am not particularly concerned when my students support the PRC. They have many reasons to do so. But I am extremely concerned when students tell me that they are afraid to criticise China, even in essays, because they are worried that their fellow Chinese students will attack them.
When dissenting Chinese students are ostracised by student organisations, this harms the dissenting students, who lose the valuable cultural connections and support that student organisations provide. It also harms the majority of PRC students, who never get the opportunity to debate ideas suppressed in the PRC media, and who accept too frequently that the views of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are correct and normal.
What right do universities have to intervene in student organisations?
As a rule, academic freedom should apply to everyone in the university. While it is reasonable to suggest that it should be restricted in some circumstances (for example, to restrict fascist organisations), the trend towards censoriousness on campus is also concerning. Free speech should be paramount, even when the CSSA says things people don’t like. Banning or restricting the CSSA, for example, would have no effect on the PRC but would irritate and harm many Chinese students.
It should not end there. Universities can actively facilitate diversity in debate. Responsible universities would prioritise funding to the setup of Chinese student groups without political alignment and to facilitating debate about contentious topics relating to China. They would also give prominent dissenters, like Wu Lebao, special support.
What do we need to do?
Australian universities have sometimes been naive about China. Chinese students have been admitted in large numbers without concern for their academic skills, taught without concern for their social and cultural needs, and little has been done to help them adapt to Australia and its culture. Under these circumstances, it’s not surprising that they feel disconnected from universities and turn to student organisations that speak their language and understand their culture.
Universities need to have the courage to do two contrasting things: they should both acknowledge that the opinions of the CSSA are opinions that many Chinese students hold, and provide avenues for alternative points of view. This would allow students to hear debates about China and reflect on China critically — something they cannot do within Chinese borders. This would not create a new band of anti-PRC revolutionaries, but it would do something rather rare at Australian universities — treat Chinese students as humans with the capacity for rational thought.At No. 3 is impresario Sean "Diddy" Combs, formerly known as "Puff Daddy," who lords over Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group. That enterprise is responsible for TV series like MTV's Making the Band franchise, the Sean John clothing line, the bestselling Unforgivable cologne and a pair of restaurants called Justin's, named after one of his sons. The Bad Boy Records label, backed by Warner Music Group, released albums last year by Danity Kane, Cassie and Yung Joc. Last year, Diddy himself released his first album in four years; Press Play debuted at the top of the U.S. pop and rap charts. All told, Combs made an estimated $28 million last year. (Representatives for Diddy, ever the showman, insist that figure is much higher.)
Generally, the most successful "hip-hopreneurs" run their own labels, taking a cut from the artists they sign. Both Eminem ($18 million) and Dr. Dre ($20 million) boast Interscope-backed imprints; both helped produce and release 50 Cent's last two albums, which have sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Fifty owns his own G-Unit label which produces artists like Young Buck and Lloyd Banks, among others.
Other lucrative businesses: producing tracks and beats for other artists. Listers like Timbaland ($21 million), Scott Storch ($17 million) and Pharrell Williams ($17 million) are among the most sought after--and pricey-- producers on the planet. Rappers like Snoop Dogg ($17 million) collect massive fees for cameos on other artists' tracks. Last year, in addition to releasing Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, his eighth studio album, Snoop Dogg ($17 million) made guest appearances on hit singles by Akon, Mariah Carey and the Pussycat Dolls.
While endorsement deals with top-shelf brands used to be the exclusive domain of pop's biggest acts--Michael Jackson and Madonna, among them--hip-hop artists now routinely land such gigs. This year Chamillionaire ($11 million) inked a deal with Energizer; The Game ($11 million) peddles Skechers sneakers. And in an irrefutable sign of just how corporate hip-hop has become: Last October Anheuser Busch named Jay-Z "co-brand director" for Budweiser Select.
Our estimates are based solely on 2006 income. In March, Jay-Z sold his Rocawear apparel label to Iconix for $204 million. Forbes estimates he pocketed about a quarter of that, after taxes and other payable commitments. And in May, Coca Cola announced it would buy Glaceau, maker of VitaminWater, for $4.2 billion in cash. Once the deal is consummated, 50 Cent, who agreed to endorse the brand in 2004 in exchange for a small stake, should walk away with some $100 million. Best efforts were made to contact every member of the list for comment.
Forbes and E! Entertainment teamed up for a one-hour special about the list, which will premiere on Saturday, Aug. 18, at 6 p.m. ET. The E! special features exclusive interviews with Big Boi, Lil Jon, T.I., Swizz Beats and Scott Storch. Check your local listings.
In Pictures: Hip-Hop Cash KingsJustin Bieber took a painful looking fall through the stage in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Thursday.
The Sorry singer is in the middle of his Purpose World Tour and performed in front of 12,000 fans at the SaskTel Centre.
As he walked to the end of a sloping stage he suddenly fell through a hole which was almost the same height as the singer.
In a video posted on website TMZ, Justin’s blonde hair could be seen peeking out over the edge of the stage after the nasty fall.
The singer escaped injury and quickly scrambled back onstage where he addressed the crowd.
“Good thing I’m like a cat and landed on my feet...oh my goodness..” a stunned Justin told the audience.
This isn’t Justin’s first mishap on stage. In April Justin took an embarrassing tumble into a big pool of water during a performance in Kansas City.
The 22-year-old slid into a pool of water during the song Sorry and ended up on his bottom.
The Baby singer is scheduled to perform live in Orlando, Florida later this month, and he insists the show must go on despite renewed security fears following a tragic weekend there.
Singer Christina Grimmie was shot and killed by a deranged fan at a post-gig meet and greet in the city. In a separate attack 49 people lost their lives when a gunman opened fire inside the city’s Pulse nightclub.
In a simple tweet he wrote: “For all those asking no I won’t cancel the Orlando show. I stand with Orlando in support. Love you Orlando! #OrlandoStrong.”An NDP candidate has dropped out of the race in a Winnipeg riding after it emerged that he compared the actions of an Orthodox Jewish group to the Taliban.
Stefan Jonasson, a Unitarian minister, is no longer a candidate in the riding of Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingly.
Jonasson said the party asked him to step aside after he criticized the treatment of women by the Haredim, an Orthodox Jewish sect.
"I wish that the party had had the courage and the foresight to believe that my candidacy was worth defending, but they did not," he said.
"I'm conflicted. I understand the party's reasoning and it's a disappointment to me."
Jonasson is a minister in the Unitarian Universalist church, a liberal religious organization that draws on Christian, Jewish, Hindu and other beliefs and also includes agnostics and atheists.
Statements attributed to him, which appear to have been published on social media in 2011 and 2012, showed up on The True North Times, a political website that has pledged to out nine politicians over nine days for comments they have made.
In a religious article, Jonasson condemned Haredim practices such as strict dress codes and segregation of the sexes, writing, "Much like the Taliban and other extremists, the Haredim offer a toxic caricature of faith, at odds with the spirit of the religious tradition they profess to represent."
Other posts show him stating that "the deployment of police is a propaganda tool, not a security measure." He also wrote, "We still have some embarrassingly wealthy people in Manitoba."
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair told reporters following the leaders' French debate in Montreal on Thursday: "I think that that person clearly recognized that he had said something totally inappropriate and has withdrawn and that's enough."
With files from The Canadian Press
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Building Your Own Effects
It is NOT usually cheaper to build something that is not a "vintage" item.
If you want to tinker and play around with building effects because you like it, go ahead. However, if you're after a vintage effect, the prices may be so outrageous for re-creations or originals that you can duplicate it for a song. (sorry, I had to...)
If you want a few effects and think it is cheaper to build your own, think long and hard about it. The economies of scale being what they are, the commercial companies can produce a finished effect and sell it at retail for less than your cost of parts. Common semiconductors are from three to ten times cheaper in thousand unit lots than in ones and twos. Finished, painted, lettered boxes to put this stuff in are ten to fifty times cheaper for a manufacturer to make than for you to do. See Appendix A - Effects Economics 101 below.
Most people who start down this path never build an effect. Effects are hard to build -* mechanically *- not electronically, so the interest in electronics is immediately subverted when you try to package one. Making one reliable under typical music conditions is even harder. If you are not already involved to a signifcant degree in electronic tinkering, it will be expensive to acquire the tools and parts to build effects. Faced with these problems, most folks give up.
If, on the other hand, you just love tinkering with guitar effects, have some electronics know how, and have some money to put into the hobby, forge ahead. It is my personal choice of a good time. Has been for a couple of decades.
You have to be really good with digital logic and programming as well as prototyping to make a sophisticated Digital Signal Processing kind of integrated effects box like the rack units. With some experience, you can make effects which are not commercially available, or have your own personal likes written into the wires and parts.
It is also in general NOT possible to build a good wah pedal or other rocker kind of pedal, as the mechanical construction of a reliable rocker-pedal mechanism is impractically difficult for the average Joe. However, you can often find a dead-or-dying Cry baby or other wah pedal to cannibalize for the case and pedal; I've seen dead ones for as little as $15.
box $10 jacks 2 stomp switch 15 paint 4 controls 2 knobs 1 wire 2 PC board 3 electronics 5 - 12
Some economies are available if you already have tools, or a dead pedal to cannibalize for the box, controls and switches.
Reading Schematics
You'll have to be able to understand what the schematics are telling you. A schematic is a form of shorthand which just tells what parts are hooked together and what the values of the components are. There are many ways to physically wire up the same schematic. Unfortunately, there is no super easy way to understand schematics without some basic understanding of the electronic parts for which the symbols stand. I recommend you pick a book or two from the bibliography and put in some study time if you have no electronics background.
You'll have to be able to understand what the schematics are telling you. A schematic is a form of shorthand which just tells what parts are hooked together and what the values of the components are. There are many ways to physically wire up the same schematic. Unfortunately, there is no super easy way to understand schematics without some basic understanding of the electronic parts for which the symbols stand. I recommend you pick a book or two from the bibliography and put in some study time if you have no electronics background. Basic Construction Tools For circuit boards: Pencil soldering iron (15-25 Watt) Needle nose pliers Small diagonal cutters Rosin core solder (acid core plumbing solder will eat up your circuit boards) For Boxes: Straight and Phillips screwdrivers Electric drill and bits Hack saw File Nibbling tool
Basic Construction Skills
You'll have to be able to get the electronics to work to complete an effect. This generally means soldering parts to a circuit board. Although it is possible to solder the parts all together, space-frame style and then pot them up in epoxy or something, or to use wiring lugs, I don't recommend these methods (and I've done both of them!) Some skills reading: An introduction to making printed circuit boards A soldering primer from Evan Winstanley with pictures of good - and bad!- soldering.
You'll have to be able to get the electronics to work to complete an effect. This generally means soldering parts to a circuit board. Although it is possible to solder the parts all together, space-frame style and then pot them up in epoxy or something, or to use wiring lugs, I don't recommend these methods (and I've done both of them!)
Skills Bibliography
Reading Schematics The Design and Drafting of Printed Circuits by Darryl Lindsay, Published by Bishop Graphics ISBN 0-9601748-0-X
Electronics Construction: Electronic Projects for Musicians by Craig Anderton Electronic Projects for Guitar by Robert Penfold
You can package several effects together in a rack enclosure or in some of the schemes espoused by Anderton. I don't personally like this, but it is a reasonable way to package your effects. Penfold doesn't say much about boxes, for some reason.
A good box for an effect should be about 3 inches wide, 5 inches long, and 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep. A sloping front for the bypass switch is nice, but not essential. A very good starting point is the line of Hammond die cast aluminum boses - tough, durable, easy to work, almost ideal. Try the 1590B or the 1590BB, about $10 from DigiKey or Mouser.
The 1590BB is a cast aluminum box with a fitted base/cover. It is very durable, and inexpensive in quantities of one. It is reasonably easy to find, and about the right size for an effects box. The early MXR effects like the Phase 90 and Distortion plus were packaged in a box the size of the 1590B, just slightly smaller than the 1590BB, and were very tightly packed indeed. The 1590BB is big enough for a non-manufacturer to get a whole effect shoehorned in.
Other boxes that are about right are:
Hammond 1590B -similar to the 1590BB, but smaller, the size of old MXR's Hammond 1590C -similar to the 1590BB, but bigger, about 2 1/4" high. LMB #138 -folded sheet metal, not too sturdy, but cheap LMB #139 -folded sheet metal, not too sturdy, but cheap LMB MDC 642 -folded sheet metal, sturdier, moderate price LMB MDC 532 -folded sheet metal, sturdier, moderate price LMB UCS 1 3/4-5-5 -folded sheet metal, much sturdier, also pricier
Putting it all in the box
A big part of making it come out right is the right selection of controls and their placement on the box. Think about commercial effects you may have used, and how the controls are placed, how close together they are, etc. Make several drawings, or better yet, mount your controls in a cardboard or foam-board mockup of your effects box before you drill and possibly ruin your box. It is easy to drill holes and hard to grow them closed again.
Making It Look Good
If you want to do good labeling artwork on a box but can't get it screen printed, the "Toner Transfer System" sheets sold by DynArt for making printed circuit boards can help. This is a laser printer/copier sheet that has a water soluble release layer. You print on it, then iron it onto copper clad. You can also print on it, spray the sheet with clear lacquer, and then water release the lacquer film, which holds the black toner. This can be slid onto a box (or glass, or anything else) that you want to letter. If you print on the sheets in a color laser copier, you get - yep- color laser decals. The black printing is good for light colored boxes, though. I recently ran onto a material called "IBFOIL". This is a sheet of plastic with a very shiny colored metalic foil appearance available in silver, gold, blue, red, and green. This material is intended to add color to ordinary copies by being heat-fused to the toner on the sheet. You can print to the Dynart sheets, iron the Ibfoil onto the dynart and peel it away, leaving bright metal lettering, then spray lacquer and make decals. The artwork you can do is limited only by what you can print on a laser printer or copier...
A very durable, cool looking paint is now available in spray cans at most hardware stores. It is called "Hammerite" and comes in many colors. It is advertized as "no primer needed". It is a bumpy finish like the old Fuzz Faces, the red is a great match for the ORIGINAL red fuzz faces.
I got a tip on how to make even really ugly boxes look good - All about Bondo auto body filler.
Both Anderton and Penfold have good discussions of which parts are good, and which are not. I will add to that only where I think I'm really adding.
I list some recommended suppliers in the next section.
Integrated circuits
Anderton's circuits used some strange op-amps and some opto-isolators that are not easy to find, although they DO exist. Most commercial effects except recent Japanese ones pretty much stick with either single or dual 741-style op amps or CMOS logic IC's which are easy to find. Many IC chips can be found at radio shack by checking their cross reference book. They are convenient if you don't live in a big city with real electronics stores, and cannot meet the minimum order requirements for mail-order. Many older effects use very simple ICs that are still being made.
Anderton's circuits used some strange op-amps and some opto-isolators that are not easy to find, although they DO exist. Most commercial effects except recent Japanese ones pretty much stick with either single or dual 741-style op amps or CMOS logic IC's which are easy to find. Many IC chips can be found at radio shack by checking their cross reference book. They are convenient if you don't live in a big city with real electronics stores, and cannot meet the minimum order requirements for mail-order. Many older effects use very simple ICs that are still being made. Transistors and diodes
Some of the more interesting effects used germanium transistors and diodes. You can occasionally find germaniums in surplus places and you can find germanium diodes in Radio Shack, of all places. Ordinary silicon diodes are in Mouser and DigiKey. I usually don't buy from Radio Shack except as a last resort, like if you need a connector RIGHT NOW. They are more expensive.
Some of the more interesting effects used germanium transistors and diodes. You can occasionally find germaniums in surplus places and you can find germanium diodes in Radio Shack, of all places. Ordinary silicon diodes are in Mouser and DigiKey. I usually don't buy from Radio Shack except as a last resort, like if you need a connector RIGHT NOW. They are more expensive. Resistors and Capacitors
Mouser and DigiKey. Read their catalogs and select parts BEFORE you do your layout, then the parts you actually get will fit in place on the board.
Mouser and DigiKey. Read their catalogs and select parts BEFORE you do your layout, then the parts you actually get will fit in place on the board. Jacks, switches, knobs, etc.
This is the kind of stuff you usually think of last. Big mistake. The classic stomp box has this big metal switch you stomp on to switch it in and out. This switch is the Carling 317PP. It costs $15 (yes, apiece!) in unit quantities, and only drops lower in hundreds. I have not found a good replacement that is the same function. Just the economics of this switch has driven me to adapt some form of electronic switching in my effects, as I can make an Anderton-style CMOS equivalent for less than $3 in parts and two square inches of circuit board. It is really important to know this before you hack up your box.(I understand that Maplin Electronics in the UK has Arrow DPDT stomp switches for the equivalent of $6 US, so this might help if you can buy from them) The control pots are another problem. Effects units in small stomp boxes need small controls to fit in the box. It is usually hard to locate a set of small, physically similar pots in different values for an effect. Manufacturers can do this because they can buy large numbers and get essentially anything they want. A bright spot is Mouser's selection of miniature pots, for about $1 apiece, in many values.
Mouser Electronics Mouser Electronics Mouser Electronics 11433 Woodside Ave. |
dangerous to do traffic stops" on Deerfoot Trail.[13] A 1993 incident in which a stolen vehicle struck and killed a police officer on Deerfoot was the catalyst for the Calgary Police Service's acquisition of a helicopter.[34] 2013 statistics confirmed that Deerfoot Trail had more crashes and traffic jams than any other road in Calgary.[35] Deerfoot has many entrances and exits in close proximity which exacerbates problems, but some have attributed a portion of the congestion to driver error. Constable Jim Lebedeff of the Calgary Police Service stated, "a lot of people don’t understand, or don’t want to understand, how to merge properly."[13] 30% of respondents to a 2016 poll stated that the main reason they avoid Deerfoot Trail is because they do not feel safe on the freeway.[36]
In 2015, plans for improvements to Deerfoot Trail near Southland Drive were cancelled and a study was initiated to determine the best course of action to begin improving the freeway.[21][37] The Calf Robe Bridge is also prone to collisions as its concrete deck becomes slick in cold weather, and large curves precede and follow the bridge.[13] A 1996 crash on the bridge claimed the life of a teenager when her northbound car struck the rear of a fire truck parked in the left shoulder attending to an accident in the southbound lanes. Poor visibility due to the curve prior to the bridge was a contributing factor in a successful lawsuit by the girl's family against Calgary.[38]
Traffic volumes[c] Location De Winton Stoney Tr SE Anderson
Road Glenmore
Trail Memorial
Drive 32 Ave NE Beddington
Trail Country
Hills Blvd Traffic
volume 2001 18,860 93,830 104,060 138,960 110,030 55,970 49,440 2010 28,280 62,180 129,690 120,130 158,050 140,570 79,820 62,080 2017 37,670 86,410 144,100 130,600 170,460 157,840 108,930 80,690
Interchanges [ edit ]
The ramp from westbound Peigan Trail to southbound Deerfoot Trail was modified in 2009 to loop back upon itself, allowing for a greater merge distance before crossing Ogden Road and the Bow River
The freeway features 21 interchanges of varying design. The most recent interchanges to be constructed at the north and south ends of the freeway are more consistently of the partial cloverleaf type, a design highly utilized in Alberta as it is a desirable compromise between cost and capacity. The two interchanges with Stoney Trail are cloverstack interchanges, where high capacity directional flyovers carry traffic turning left through the interchange and lesser utilized left turn movements are serviced by loop ramps.[39][40] Older and less efficient designs are used at Deerfoot's intersections with both Glenmore Trail and Highway 1. The junction with Glenmore is an incomplete cloverleaf interchange; traffic northbound on Deerfoot does not have direct access to westbound Glenmore and one must first exit to the east, proceed through a traffic light behind Calgary Auto Mall, and enter Glenmore Trail from the north side.[6] At Highway 1, a split diamond interchange significantly slows east-west traffic even outside of peak hours, because all left turn movements must pass through three sets of traffic lights.[41] This outdated interchange was Calgary's most dangerous road junction in 2011, with 234 crashes recorded.[13]
History [ edit ]
Predecessor highways [ edit ]
Highway 2 in Calgary in the late 1960s (red line) when it followed the alignment of present-day Macleod, Glenmore, and Blackfoot Trails, 17 Avenue SE, and Barlow Trail. The green line represents the present-day alignment of Deerfoot Trail.
Prior to the completion of Deerfoot Trail, the historic alignment of Highway 2 in south Calgary was along Macleod Trail as an extension of 4 Street, parallel to a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway from Calgary to Macleod.[42][43] Macleod Trail has since been designated Highway 2A, on a routing largely the same as the original.[44] It is now a busy expressway connecting Midnapore and other southwestern suburbs to downtown. The southernmost portion of the route from Highway 22X to De Winton would continue to serve as Highway 2 until completion of a Deerfoot Trail extension from its then southernmost point at the neighbourhood of Cranston to De Winton in 2003.[45]
In north Calgary, Highway 2 was originally composed of four present-day routes: Edmonton Trail, 41 Avenue, 48 Avenue, and Barlow Trail. Edmonton Trail is now a busy urban street on the west bank of Nose Creek through the neighbourhood of Highland Park, but its alignment in the 1920s had it curving to the northeast across the creek along present-day 41 Avenue to 48 Avenue where it continued east past the airport to Barlow Trail and north to Edmonton as Highway 1, later renamed to Highway 2.[46][47]
By the 1960s, Highway 2 had been realigned to follow Macleod Trail until turning east at Glenmore Trail before continuing north on Blackfoot Trail, veering to the northeast, and crossing the Bow River to join Barlow Trail to the north city limit.[48] The former Edmonton Trail was re-signed as Highway 2A. As the airport continued to expand, 48 Avenue was reduced to an airport service road after the construction of McKnight Boulevard.[7] Long after the completion and opening of Deerfoot Trail and its signing as Highway 2, the segment of Barlow Trail north of McKnight Blvd was closed in 2011 to allow construction of a new 14,000-foot (4,300 m) runway at Calgary International Airport.[49]
Deerfoot, also known as Scabby Dried Meat, was a prominent runner in the Calgary area before 1890.
Early plans and construction [ edit ]
Due to its quickly rising population in the 1960s, Calgary initiated planning for the construction of an extensive freeway and expressway network that included numerous north–south and east–west routes.[50] Many of these routes were ultimately not developed into freeways, but a 1967 transportation study planned for a major north–south freeway running along the west side of the Calgary Airport across the Bow River into Inglewood, remaining west of the Bow River through present-day Fish Creek Provincial Park.[51] Initially called the Blackfoot Trail Freeway, the first segment stretched from the northern city boundary (then near Deerfoot's present-day split with Beddington Trail) to 16 Avenue NE, opening in 1971.[13] It was named after a historic route that approximated the location of present-day Memorial Drive across Nose Creek, between Barlow Trail and the community of St. George's Heights, now the location of the Calgary Zoo.[13][43] This trail appears on Calgary maps as early as 1891.[52]
In 1974, signs were unveiled renaming the road after a Siksika Nation long-distance runner nicknamed Deerfoot.[53][54] In 1884 he became known in the Calgary area as a great talent and won races against runners from as far away as Europe. Controversy arose when Deerfoot won a race but his opponent was credited with the victory. Unhappy with the result, his attitude began to change; he committed theft from a cabin, and was later the subject of a massive manhunt.[55] He spent time in and out of police custody for various crimes, before dying of tuberculosis while in prison for assault.[53] He had reportedly been receiving medical treatment for the disease since his arrival to the prison.[56]
In December 1974, Premier Peter Lougheed reiterated his opposition to the planned routing for the southern portion of Deerfoot Trail, which would take the freeway along the west side of the Bow River through Fish Creek Park.[48][57] Lougheed acknowledged that diverting the freeway to the east would be significantly more expensive, but was firm on protecting and preserving Fish Creek as an urban park.[57] The revised alignment took the freeway approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) east of the river through present-day Douglasdale, McKenzie Towne, and McKenzie Lake.[13] Bow Bottom Trail, a major arterial road, was built in the wide right of way that had been reserved for Deerfoot Trail.[58]
A second section extending the road further south to 17 Avenue SE opened on January 20, 1975.[54] The new pavement continued south alongside Nose Creek and was originally to carry on straight across the river into Inglewood, but residents of the neighbourhood fought adamantly against construction of the freeway in their community. City Hall conceded, resulting in the present-day alignment that keeps the freeway east of the Bow River as it passes downtown.[13][22]
Completion [ edit ]
Deerfoot Trail in 1982 after it had been extended to Highway 22X in south Calgary.
On December 2, 1980, an extension of Deerfoot Trail south to Glenmore Trail was opened, able to handle up to 80,000 vehicles per day.[59] It was advertised as an alternative north–south route to the nearby Blackfoot Trail.[59] Construction of the $70 million 6.5 km (4.0 mi) extension took more than two years, and was described as "badly needed" by mayor Ralph Klein.[59] The new concrete road included the Calf Robe Bridge over the Bow River and an interchange at 43 Avenue SE, now called Peigan Trail.[59] The next section, then intended to be the final segment, extended Deerfoot to Highway 22X (now Stoney Trail) on the altered alignment east of the river. It opened on November 22, 1982 at a cost of $165 million.[60] It featured interchanges at Southland Drive and Anderson Road/Bow Bottom Trail. A second crossing of the Bow River on the Ivor Strong Bridge took Deerfoot to an at-grade intersection with 24 Street, and a signalized intersection at Barlow Trail which had been extended south from Glenmore Trail as part of the Deerfoot project.[60]
Highway 2 was realigned in Calgary to follow Macleod Trail north to Anderson Road, then east on Anderson Road to the new interchange at Deerfoot Trail where it turned north to follow Deerfoot to the city limit near the airport.[61] Plans to add a third level flyover at Memorial Drive by 1987[60] did not come to fruition. The original configuration of the interchange was modified in 1983 to add a loop ramp for traffic turning northbound onto Deerfoot Trail from eastbound Memorial. A new ramp was also constructed for traffic turning west onto Memorial from northbound Deerfoot, passing underneath eastbound Memorial before joining westbound Memorial from the left.[62][15]:30
The province took over responsibility from the City of Calgary in 2000 to upgrade the route to a freeway and render the CANAMEX Corridor a contiguous route through the city, after which they intended to return the road to the city.[63][64] In 2003, a $100 million extension was completed extending Deerfoot Trail from its junction with Highway 22X to its present terminus near De Winton.[45] During planning, the segment had been temporarily designated as Highway 2X.[65] Prior to the 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) project, Deerfoot was effectively disconnected from the rest of Highway 2.[66] Traffic continuing south to Fort Macleod proceeded west on a two lane bridge carrying Highway 22X over the Bow River, before turning south onto Macleod Trail, which was then designated as Highway 2.[61] The section of Highway 22X over the river became Stoney Trail (Highway 201) in 2013,[44] and a second bridge was completed in 2007 to carry the westbound lanes, while the original bridge built in 1974 carries the eastbound lanes.[15]:109
During construction of southeast Stoney Trail in 2013, two new bridges were built across Deerfoot Trail, including this structure spanning the northbound lanes
Interchanges were constructed at Barlow Trail, 130 Avenue SE, McKenzie Towne Boulevard, Cranston Avenue, and Dunbow Road between 2000 and 2004.[15]:21–24 The last set of traffic lights was removed in 2005 upon completion of the interchange at Douglasdale Boulevard, making the entire length of Deerfoot Trail a freeway.[15]:25
Since completion [ edit ]
In an effort to reduce head-on collisions caused by vehicles crossing over the grass median in north Calgary, the installation of high tension cable barriers was completed in the first half of 2007.[10]:3 In 2009, modifications were made to the interchange of Peigan, Barlow, and Deerfoot Trails, built in 1979.[15]:28 The existing westbound to southbound ramp left little distance for traffic to merge, causing bottlenecks.[67] The ramp was modified to first curve north and then loop back underneath itself, extending the merge distance before the three southbound lanes crossed Ogden Road and then the Bow River.[67] In November 2009, construction of a major interchange at the northern terminus of Deerfoot Trail was completed, connecting it to the northeast and northwest sections of Stoney Trail.[68]
In August 2013, 96 Avenue NE was extended to the east across West Nose Creek and the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks to meet the existing interchange at Deerfoot Trail and Airport Trail.[69] It provided an alternative to Beddington Trail and Country Hills Boulveard for access to the neighbourhood of Harvest Hills.[69] The project included a controversial $470,000 piece of public art, a 17-metre (56 ft) tall blue ring called "Travelling Light" that lies on the north side of 96 Avenue between the railway and Nose Creek.[70] Highly visible from Deerfoot, the ring received national attention and was called "awful" and "terrible" by Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi,[70] and "an example of bureaucracy run amok" by Councillor Jyoti Gondek.[71] The mostly negative feedback prompted Calgary to review its allocation of funds to public art on infrastructure projects.[72] As part of Stoney Trail construction in 2013, Deerfoot Trail was upgraded between the most southerly Bow River crossing north and McKenzie Lake Boulevard.[29] It was widened to six through lanes from Stoney Trail to the Bow River at Calgary's southern limit, and elevated directional ramps were added to the major interchange at Deerfoot and Stoney Trail to support significantly higher traffic levels. A braided ramp was constructed northbound between Cranston Avenue and Stoney Trail, preventing northbound traffic exiting to eastbound Stoney Trail from conflicting with Auburn Bay and Cranston traffic merging onto northbound Deerfoot Trail.[73][74]
Future [ edit ]
South of Memorial Drive, the main canal of the Western Irrigation District splits from the Bow River and passes underneath Deerfoot Trail, providing water to areas east of Calgary.
In March 2017, construction of a partial cloverleaf interchange was approved in south Calgary at 212 Avenue SE, between the Bow River and 192 Avenue.[75] Calgary will pay for the project initially, and later be repaid by Alberta and Brookfield Residential, who are developing the neighbourhood in the vicinity of the interchange.[75] Prior to a firm commitment for a portion of the funding by Brookfield, Alberta had been reluctant to front the estimated $50 million in funding required for the project, though the city of Calgary had offered to pay for it in the interim as long as the money was paid back by the province.[76] The city had also considered contributing $20 million in tandem with Brookfield, with the province paying for the remaining $30 million.[77] City councillor Shane Keating stated in August 2016 that development of the Seton neighbourhood will be hampered until the 212 Avenue interchange is completed.[76]
A study was completed by Alberta in 2007 to determine the best course of action for upgrades to the incomplete interchange of Glenmore Trail and Deerfoot Trail.[78] The interchange carries 130,000 vehicles per day on Deerfoot Trail and 100,000 vehicles on Glenmore making it one of the busiest interchanges in Alberta, but there is no direct access for traffic turning from northbound Deerfoot to westbound Glenmore.[78] Stage 1 of the proposed improvements would not remedy this problem, but rather correct a pinch point on Deerfoot Trail by constructing a new three lane bridge to carry the northbound lanes over Glenmore.[79] Deerfoot Trail would then be three lanes each way through the interchange. Ultimately, a large cloverstack interchange is planned with left-turn movements handled by third-level directional flyovers providing free-flowing access to and from Deerfoot Trail. The proposed ultimate configuration would require acquisition of land from adjacent properties for the construction of the flyovers and other modifications to Glenmore Trail.[80]
Looking south on Deerfoot Trail where it lies on the east bank of Nose Creek near Calgary International Airport, north of Beddington Trail
The planning study also calls for the construction of a new bridge alongside the existing Calf Robe Bridge, as part of a local-express system between Peigan and Glenmore Trails.[78] Glenmore Trail would be widened to as many as 10 lanes between Blackfoot and Deerfoot Trails, along with modifications of the interchange at Blackfoot Trail, and the addition of braided ramps to facilitate the new flyovers.[78]
Alberta Transportation and the city of Calgary began a study in 2016 to develop short-term and long-term plans for Deerfoot Trail.[81] Almost the entire length of the freeway is being assessed, though changes are not anticipated for the two major interchanges at Stoney Trail, completed in 2009 and 2013.[81] The study hopes to address Deerfoot Trail problems overall, as opposed to localized solutions that could simply shift traffic bottlenecks to another section of the freeway.[81] Due to the complexity of the freeway, long-term recommendations will not be available until the end of 2018,[81] but five short-term options were presented in May 2017.[3] They include a braided ramp in south Calgary between Southland Drive and Anderson Road, a jughandle intersection at 32 Avenue NE and 12 Street NE, left turn restrictions on McKnight Boulveard east of Deerfoot, and a pair of new northbound on-ramps between McKnight Boulevard and Airport Trail.[3] All possibilities for improvement are being considered, including high-occupancy vehicle lanes.[82] Despite the initial fixes presented by the study, Alberta Transportation has not included any of the proposed projects on the list of unfunded capital projects.
In 2017, the City of Calgary began work to construct a 2-lane bridge for bus rapid transit over Deerfoot Trail south of 17 Avenue SE. As part of Calgary Transit's developing network of bus-only routes, the new bridge does not interchange with Deerfoot Trail and will be completed in late 2018.[84]
Exit list [ edit ]
Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as: KML · GPX
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
^ Construction of the entire 46-kilometre length had been completed by 2003, but several signalized intersections remained in south Calgary until 2005. ^ [15]: 21, 32 Length is derived from the difference between the locations of the northbound Macleod Trail bridge over Deerfoot Trail (located at a mileage of 2.456 km on the section of Highway 2 known as "2:15") and the southbound Deerfoot Trail bridge over westbound Stoney Trail NE (located at a mileage of 48.859 km on section "2:15"), a distance of 46.403 km (28.8335 mi). ^ [27] Alberta Transportation publishes yearly traffic volume data for provincial highways. The table compares the AADT at several locations along Deerfoot Trail using data from 2001, 2010 and 2017, expressed as an average daily vehicle count over the course of one year (AADT). Each value is the AADT between the listed road and the next road junction to the north. ^ As of April 2018, construction had not yet begun and the exit number has not been announced, but existing Deerfoot Trail exit numbers are based on mileage, suggesting an exit number of 230.
References [ edit ]
Route map:
KML is not from WikidataThe draw for the group stage of the ESEA Season 25 Global Challenge has been made, with the eight participating teams having been split into two groups.
Held this weekend in Burbank, California, the Global Challenge will see the leading teams of the ESEA MDL divisions in Europe, North America and Australia, plus the winner of the Brazilian Open division, square off for their share of a $50,000 prize pool.
FlipSid3 Tactics will take on Mythic in the first round
The tournament will begin with a double-elimination, best-of-one group stage, which will determine the four teams advancing to the single-elimination playoffs, in which all matches will be played in a best-of-three format.
Below you can find the group draw in full:
The complete schedule for this two-day tournament looks as follows:The property was most recently listed for $6.5M
Playing the Tool has really paid off for musician Danny Carey.
Carey, drummer of the 1990s rock band Tool, has been revealed as the mystery buyer of Emilio Estevez’s Malibu pad, according to Los Angeles’ most reliable real estate gossip, Yolanda Yakketyyak.
Carey paid $6.35 million to buy the Point Dume bungalo from Estevez, a.k.a. the jock in “The Breakfast Club” and Charlie Sheen’s brother.
The Tuscan-style property, which sits on about an acre of land, includes a 3,700-square-foot main house, a detached guesthouse and a backyard big enough to grow the Pinot Noir grapes used in the actor’s own artisanal brand of wine, Casa Dumetz.
The main house has four bedrooms, 4.5 baths, hardwood floors, wooden trusses, a wine cellar and a pool and firepit in the backyard. [YLBB] — Cathaleen ChenIntel today launched an Atom system-on-chip (SoC) line that combines extremely low power usage with server-class features, including virtualization technology and Error-Correcting Code (ECC) for higher reliability.
The Intel Atom S1200 chips are for microservers as well as storage and networking systems that need energy efficiency and enterprise features that—Intel says—you just can't get in ARM chips. Intel called the S1200 "the world's first 6-watt server-class processor," and said microservers using the chip will be able to fit 1,000 nodes into a single rack.
ARM may dominate smartphones and tablets, but Intel hopes to lead the way in bringing smartphone CPUs to data centers. (As we've previously reported, Intel is making Atom-based SoCs for PCs, phones, and tablets as well.)
"Right now there are no ARM-based enterprise-class servers," Intel VP Diane Bryant said at a press conference for today's announcement. In addition to the hardware-assisted virtualization and ECC features already mentioned, Bryant noted that the Intel S1200 chips are 64-bit and support the x86 software prevalent in today's data centers.
The prospects of ARM servers from AMD and the likes of Calxeda are intriguing, but ARM isn't a major player in the data center yet. With Atom S1200, Intel hopes to pre-empt ARM's entry into the server market.
To prove the Atom chips' usefulness, Intel trotted out partners HP and Microsoft to talk about servers that will use the S1200 SoC and Windows Server's support for the new product line.
Describing the importance of 64-bit, Microsoft's Windows Server lead architect Jeffrey Snover said, "the benefits of a large, flat address space are just critical for a server operating system, so much so that Microsoft stopped supporting 32-bit chips [in Windows Server] a couple of releases ago. We're very excited that we'll now have a very low-energy part that could run the demands of Server."
Intel also scored support from Facebook. Facebook isn't using servers based on the chips yet, but had one of its top executives on stage with Intel to tout the new architecture's potential.
Facebook's involvement is interesting given that the social network previously joined AMD in touting the launch of ARM-based chips for servers. AMD's server processors using 64-bit ARM chips won't arrive until 2014, however, so Facebook may simply not want to wait.
There are three Intel Atom S1200 processors with frequencies of 1.6GHz to 2.0GHz, and power usage from 6.1 watts to 8.5 watts. Each SoC has two physical cores that can run four threads thanks to Intel's Hyper-Threading, and up to 8GB of DDR3 memory.
Intel's recommended price is $54 per chip in quantities of 1,000 units.
Smartphone CPUs in Facebook data centers
Today, Facebook VP of hardware design and supply chain Frank Frankovsky said, "Xeon-class processors have helped us scale Facebook very effectively so far." But not every workload needs what Frankovsky called "brawny cores."
Now that "smartphone-class CPUs" for servers are 64-bit and include ECC, they're ready for certain parts of the Facebook infrastructure, he said.
"We've applied what I'll call brawny cores unilaterally across our environment," Frankovsky said. "What's interesting about these smartphone-class CPUs is we can right-size them to the needs of maybe the photo storage tier, for example. Maybe that's a great place to start, where we don't need a brawny core, what we need is maybe a smartphone-class CPU that also includes 64-bit and also includes ECC."
(UPDATE: Another Facebook executive told GigaOm that Facebook is not actually using these latest Intel chips in its data centers. Frankovsky's remarks at the Intel event do show that Facebook is interested in the architecture, so perhaps the company will adopt future versions of the Atom SoC.)
Frankovsky noted that you might need two or three times as many Atom (or "wimpy") cores to do the same work Xeon-class processors handle, but ultimately come out ahead when measuring "how much useful work you can get done per watt and per dollar."
Those advantages only exist for certain types of workloads—the key is different CPUs for different applications. According to HP, compute-intensive applications still require Xeons, but the Atoms will be appropriate for "light scale-out applications" such as static Web serving and in-memory caching. HP said its calculations show Atom processors doing twice as much performance per watt as Xeon for light scale-out apps, but only half the performance-per-watt of Xeon for compute-intensive ones:
HP is hedging its bets, going both with Atom and striking a partnership with Calxeda on ARM-based servers. In addition to HP, Intel said systems based on the new Atoms are coming from Accusys, CETC, Dell, Huawei, Inspur, Microsan, Qsan, Quanta, Supermicro, and Wiwynn.
And of course, Intel is working on the next generation of Atom, code-named Avoton. "Available in 2013, Avoton will further extend Intel's SoC capabilities and use the company's leading 3-D Tri-gate 22 nm transistors, delivering world-class power consumption and performance levels," Intel said.
Intel noted that next year's Xeons based on the Haswell architecture will also have impressive energy efficiency, but of course they will still require more power than the Atom SoCs.After shooting an incredible Ellaria/Cersei face-off, the actor discusses Ellaria Sand’s passions and humiliations – and how they all came to play in her final scene.
HBO: Explain Ellaria’s mindset at the start of Season 7 — is she at all out of her depths?
Indira Varma: That’s exactly it. The end of Season 6 is the first time we see her being reasonable. She’s always been so rash, killing her brother-in-law and behaving quite passionately. But at the beginning of Season 7, she’s sort of turned over a new leaf. We see her collaborating — and she’s not a natural-born collaborator. She knows she can’t do it alone, so she’s joined forces with everyone else.
HBO: Does she believe in Daenerys, or does she simply hate Cersei?
Indira Varma: It’s a means to an end. Ellaria’s never been a leader. She’s not had the practice Daenerys has had. Ellaria has snatched control, and doesn’t know what to do with it. But I think she has acquired a begrudging respect for Daenerys. And she’s a woman! (And she has dragons!) But, she’s not happy to just toe the line. Daenerys is cool — she’s not silly, crazy or driven by her passions. Ellaria is. She’s hot-headed, which is why in Episode 2 [”Stormborn”] she’s already chasing tail, rather than strategizing.
HBO: Fans loved the Yara/Ellaria flirtation — what was filming that scene like?
Indira Varma: It was quite fun. We laughed a lot. You have to go for it and enter into the spirit of it. There’s two straight girls getting it on.
HBO: In Episode 3, what is happening for Ellaria when she sees the Mountain is alive?
Indira Varma: I think there’s the humiliation of being caught [by Euron]… she’s absolutely gutted. Her dream was to meet Cersei head-to-head and battle it out as equals. When you’re chained up and gagged, that is not meeting someone in an equal way. So that in itself is horrendous. Then seeing the Mountain, oh my God — it’s utter shock, and it brings it all back. It’s sorrow at that point, and disbelief. She feels humiliated.
HBO: What was your first reaction to reading the dungeon scene?
Indira Varma: Initially, I got the phone call from [series creators] Dan [Weiss] and David [Benioff], who said, “We’re really sorry. We’re going to kill you off.” I said, “I knew it was coming. Don’t worry – but it better be a good death!” Then I read it and I was like, “What the f**k? I don’t even speak! I don’t even die on camera!” That was me, the actor, going, Where’s my moment? Then, re-reading it, I thought it was brilliant. It’s even better than I could have expected. As I was reading it, I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I didn’t know what [Cersei] was going to do to Ellaria, and I thought that was really exciting.
The revelation after the kiss was brilliant. I really enjoyed the challenge of having to express more than one color through my eyes. It’s difficult. You don’t want to play one note in a long scene like that. Because I didn’t have any dialogue, and I was gagged and chained to the wall, I had to find ways to tell her story in a different way.
HBO: What did she think of the irony of Tyene’s death?
Indira Varma: Poor Ellaria, I don’t think she was expecting that. She thinks of herself as the poison queen. The idea that Cersei had figured out what her poison was — it’s the ultimate humiliation. And then to watch her lovely daughter die... It’s hell, awful, beyond your nightmares.
HBO: Does any part of her regret killing Myrcella?
Indira Varma: No. It’s, if you’re going to kill me and my daughter, at least I’ve done that to you. She wants to tear Cersei down, one family member at a time. I don’t think she would try and apologize for that in order to win back her daughter. It’s too late. Too much blood has been shed.
HBO: What would you say are Ellaria’s best and worst qualities?
Indira Varma: They’re probably one in the same. Her spontaneity and her passion are her best qualities, but in terms of being a leader, they’re her worst. She’s not cut out to lead. But it’s quite fun playing someone who doesn’t think and completely follows their gut instinct. She’s an insatiable hedonist and sensualist and that has translated into her politics — she just wants revenge.
HBO: Do you think Ellaria could have ever changed?
Indira Varma: The biggest change for Ellaria was the death of Oberyn. Before that she was happy-go-lucky and slightly stoned most of the time, probably. After that moment, she just turned and became rotten. I would have been interested to see if there would have been some sort of redemption within it, whether she could have found forgiveness for Cersei or a way to live with that.
HBO: Through the seasons, what was your favorite on-set moment?
Indira Varma: Joffrey’s wedding in Season 4 was great fun. For one, we were in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Pedro [Pascal, who played Oberyn Martell] is a great actor and a lovely man to work with, and people were enjoying the different energy our characters brought to that world. There was a decadence and it was special. Watching Oberyn’s fight [in Episode 8] was really amazing.
HBO: Did you take a parting gift from the show?
Indira Varma: I was given Ellaria’s little leather bracelet, which I love. She doesn't wear it in Season 7, but she’s worn it throughout. They’re all hand-hammered, hand-stamped, beautiful leather bracelets.
HBO: How was working on Game of Thrones compared with your work with Rome?
Indira Varma: It’s funny because they’re not dissimilar. Rome was an amazing series. And they’re both controversial, thought-provoking and challenging. I feel like Rome was a precursor for Game of Thrones because it was on such a massive scale. It was political and it had that historical aspect as well, and the period drama. I feel really proud of Rome. I feel like without it there wouldn’t have been a Game of Thrones.
More from "The Queen's Justice":The countless struggles constructing the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral
Believe it or not, the Cathedral took 344 years to complete! Here’s why.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Vitalis, more popularly known as the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral is the ecclesiastical seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cebu. It was one of the first churches in the Philippines (besides the Basilica del Santo Niño) dedicated to St. Vitalis of Milan, an early martyr for Christ.
The temple was first built near the Fort San Pedro in April 1565 by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. He was mandated to build a church near the assigned fort by the Spanish Crown. It was the feast day of St. Vidal when he was ordered to do so, that’s why he built the church in honor of him.
Construction of the cathedral took many years due to frequent interruptions, the groundbreaking of the construction didn’t even happen until 1689. (124 years later!)
#cebumetropolitancathedral #cebuchurch #amazingcebucity A post shared by Bubalan Chillayah (@ciyanbalan78) on Feb 12, 2017 at 9:48pm PST
One of the reasons for the delay was brought about by lack of funds and other unexpected events. At one time, funds meant for the building of the cathedral were diverted to the Moro wars. The death of an incumbent bishop who spearheaded the construction/reconstruction and vacancies in the office were also factors.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Angels and of St. Vitales • #CEBU2017 #esperidiontravels #cebumetropolitancathedral A post shared by val butardo tolentino (@kuyaesperidion) on Jan 24, 2017 at 7:24pm PST
Finally in 1909, 344 years since Legazpi was asked to construct it, the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Vitalis was finally complete. But during World War II (1939-1945), much of the cathedral was destroyed by Allied bombings of the city. Only the belfry (built in 1835), the façade, and the walls remained. It was quickly rebuilt in the 1950s under the supervision of architect Jose Ma. Zaragosa, during the incumbency of Archbishop Gabriel Reyes.
In 1982, a mausoleum was built, and in 2009 the cathedral was renovated for the 75th anniversary of Cebu’s elevation into an archdiocese.
#TBT to November 2009. This was among the first few shots I took when I shifted to a Canon 1000D. A post shared by Jerika (@jerikaomandam) on Sep 15, 2016 at 6:55am PDT
#rhythmofthecity #y101fm #alwaysfirst #cebusbestPM’s threat to use Europe-wide sharing of intelligence for leverage in trade deal is unlikely to be taken seriously
Theresa May’s opening bid of putting security on the Brexit negotiating table will be viewed by defence, intelligence and police chiefs across Europe – and even within the UK – as both surprising and brutal.
Theresa May has signed, sealed and delivered article 50. Our writers respond Read more
The president of the European parliament, Antonio Tajani, able to speak more openly than officials, responded relatively politely, saying “close cooperation on defence, police, intelligence and action against terrorism” should continue whether there is a deal or not. The European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, was less restrained, throwing in the word “blackmail” and saying security should not be used as a bargaining chip.
At the heart of the threat is the pre-eminence in Europe of UK intelligence-gathering on terrorism, crime and perceived international threats such as Russia. Much of this intelligence is routinely shared with partners elsewhere in Europe.
One of the biggest problems for May is that the threat will be seen not only as reckless – using European-wide sharing of intelligence on terrorism for leverage in a trade deal – but that it lacks credibility. The former permanent secretary to the Treasury, Sir Nicholas Macpherson, said as much: “Not a |
.Steven Gerrard won the Uefa Cup with Liverpool in 2001 Photo: Back Page Images
Steven Gerrard is convinced Liverpool can recover from a 2-0 loss to Zenit St Petersburg when the Russian side travel to Anfield for the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie next week.
Luis Suárez endured a miserable 90 minutes by the South American’s high standards, with the striker missing a series of first-half chances in Russia.
And Liverpool were made to pay for being wasteful when Hulk struck a venomous long-range strike to given the home side the advantage with 20 minutes remaining.
Sergei Semak then produced a close-range finish to double Zenit’s lead and leave the Reds on the brink of a European exit.
“We’re obviously down. On the back of two defeats, it’s a difficult moment but we need a reaction,” Gerrard said.
“We’ve got a big game in a couple of days against Swansea and we need to bounce back.
“Up until the 70th minute against Zenit, the game was under control. It was a tough night in tough conditions. We’re disappointed with the two sloppy goals we conceded, but the tie is not over.
“If anyone can pull it back, it’s us.”
The Liverpool captain also believes that home support at Anfield could prove crucial and swing the tie back in the Merseyside outfit’s favour.
“We’ll have an advantage with our supporters,” he added. “If they can create the noise they’re capable of, get behind the team and we can get an early goal, it’s game on.
“But we are disappointed. It wasn’t the result we wanted – we wanted an away goal and to try and sneak away with a clean sheet, but if you concede sloppy goals, you get punished and that’s what happened.”Anne Auclair
Posts: 2119
10/24/2017 Hello! Have you given a confession to Feducci to gain his favor, spite someone, or get your hands on a shiny certificate? Did you echo these interactions? If so, be the first to share them here and receive a surprise package at some point in the near future.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Anne%20Auclair
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trajing
Posts: 24
10/24/2017 Here's the result of giving the Cheery Man's confession to Feducci.
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Adam Sanzelwicky - http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Adam%20Sanzelwicky
Kukapetal
Posts: 1441
10/25/2017 I spat at him, but that probably doesn't count :P
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Anne Auclair
Posts: 2119
10/25/2017 That's it for this week's confessions. But what about the Menace Reduction, the Bundle of Oddities, Making Waves Preservation, and Criminal Record Reduction?
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Anne%20Auclair
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Richard Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
Posts: 30
10/25/2017 Passionario wrote:
Acquiring a lance replica
How many fedduci's favours are given by one confession? I am surprised that it is possible to get so early the lance.
Or you used a lot of Fate?
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" All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well". *
Passionario
Posts: 777
10/25/2017 Richard Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart wrote:
Or you used a lot of Fate?
A lance is worth 15 confessions, so yes, I did.
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Passionario: Profile, Story, Ending
Passion: Profile, Appearance
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Anne Auclair
Posts: 2119
10/25/2017 You can apparently get more than one title via certificates - so has anyone bought and journaled multiple certificates?
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Anne%20Auclair
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Barse
Posts: 703
10/25/2017 I'm sure people have been doing it already, but I will get it as high as I can and report back - likely towards the end of the festival, however, just to be safe & make sure I get what I want.
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The Scorched Sailor, up for most social actions and RP. Not as scary as he looks.
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Anne Auclair
Posts: 2119
10/25/2017 Barse wrote:
I'm sure people have been doing it already, but I will get it as high as I can and report back - likely towards the end of the festival, however, just to be safe & make sure I get what I want.
Well, I'd like the full range of titles, if possible ^_^
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Anne%20Auclair
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Omega8520
Posts: 102
10/25/2017 http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Menacing%20Gentleman?fromEchoId=12746150 is the menace reduction. The little extra is a few Dangerous cp.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Menacing%20Gentleman?fromEchoId=12761994 is the bundle of oddities. I got the 501-750 result, so I assume it's up to 1000.
edited by Omega8520 on 10/25/2017
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Omega8520
A Correspondent of measure and restraint, not-withstanding a tendancy to rush into things.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Menacing%20Seeker
Northwards with Noman. At least they'll have company.
Anne Auclair
Posts: 2119
10/25/2017 Omega8520 wrote:
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Menacing%20Gentleman?fromEchoId=12746150 is the menace reduction. The little extra is a few Dangerous cp.
Did anyone get an "a little extra" that wasn't Dangerous?
.
edited by Anne Auclair on 10/25/2017
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Anne%20Auclair
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Alice Lutwidge
Posts: 43
10/31/2017 (Since this title isn't shown on the tooltip) Here's the seventh and highest certificate one can get from Feducci It required 27 Favours.
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Professor Alice Lutwidge
Poet-Laureate, Correspondent, Legendary Charisma
dov
Posts: 2522
10/31/2017 Alice Lutwidge wrote:
(Since this title isn't shown on the tooltip) Here's the seventh and highest certificate one can get from Feducci It required 27 Favours.
Nice.
How do you know it's the highest? Does the option lock up after that?
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Want a sip of Hesperidean Cider? Send me a request in-game. Here's an_ocelot's guide how.
(Most social actions are welcome. Please no requests to Loiter Suspiciously and no investigations of the Affluent Photographer)
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Alice Lutwidge
Posts: 43
10/31/2017 dov wrote:
Alice Lutwidge wrote:
(Since this title isn't shown on the tooltip) Here's the seventh and highest certificate one can get from Feducci It required 27 Favours.
Nice.
How do you know it's the highest? Does the option lock up after that?
Yes; I can still see the option, but it's not playable as your certificate quality has to be 1-6. Interestingly though, if there were (or in the off-chance that there will be) an even higher certificate, the requirements say it would cost 34 Favour.
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Professor Alice Lutwidge
Poet-Laureate, Correspondent, Legendary Charisma
0 link
dov
Posts: 2522
10/31/2017 Alice Lutwidge wrote:
Yes; I can still see the option, but it's not playable as your certificate quality has to be 1-6. Interestingly though, if there were (or in the off-chance that there will be) an even higher certificate, the requirements say it would cost 34 Favour.
Interesting. And weird.
From what I can tell, it's:
0->1: 4 x favours
1->2: 6 x favours
2->3: 9 x favours
3->4: 13 x favours
4->5: 17 x favours
5->6:?
6->7: 27 x favours
7->8: 34 x favours (locked)
I wonder if the numbers are arbitrary or if there's a formula here.
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edited by dov on 10/31/2017
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Want a sip of Hesperidean Cider? Send me a request in-game. Here's an_ocelot's guide how.
(Most social actions are welcome. Please no requests to Loiter Suspiciously and no investigations of the Affluent Photographer)
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Skinnyman
Posts: 1688
10/31/2017 Alice Lutwidge wrote:
(Since this title isn't shown on the tooltip) Here's the seventh and highest certificate one can get from Feducci It required 27 Favours.
Congratulations on your achievements! Both the lance and level 7 title with ~6 days left to spare!
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I am accepting Plant battles, Neath's Mysteries card, Starveling Cats and boxed cats.
No suppers, no second chances gain and no need to cure my menaces!
Achievement list if you're feeling bored!Before I restarted my screencasts a month ago I had an average of 35 daily views. Then in the past month it went up to an average of 115 views per day. That's mostly due to the initial peaks when I release a new screencast. In the last week when I have not released any new screencast it went down to an average of 80 views. I guess this would be the long time average if I did not upload any new screencasts. This is the chart YouTube provided for the last 3 months. On one hand these are nice numbers but they are quite far from what the viewer counts of elmexable. There were more that 6000 viewers in 2 days of his first Construder video. You know, the 3D game he wrote in Perl. Then there was the first Mojocast it seems it managed to generate a lot more buzz than any of my screencasts. He got lost of positive comments even from Ruby programmers! Congratulations to Glen Hinkle. The 3 screencasts I made are all Padre related and they are part of my experiment to create a set of video based tutorials on how to use the editor. I even created a new page for all the Padre related screencasts. I was think how someone might learn to use a new tool so I approaching this from 2 or maybe 3 directions: Going over every (important) menu item.
Looking at specific features and their configuration.
Trying to accomplish specific task that might involve several features. Does this make sense? How do you learn a new tool? The new videos are here: The View menu of Padre including Syntax checking, Outline, List of Functions, Project browser and more. The File menu of Padre mostly basic stuff but also including example and default Perl files and sessions. Autocompletition in Padre has several options. This video explores those options. Enjoy!Distributed Transactions on App Engine
Posted by Nick Johnson | Filed under coding, app-engine, cookbook, tech
This is the fourth in a series of 'cookbook' posts describing useful strategies and functionality for writing better App Engine applications.
As promised, today we're going to discuss Distributed Transactions on App Engine. Distributed transactions are that feature that you didn't know you needed until they were gone: The ability to update any set of entities or records in your database in a single transaction. Due to the requirements of scale, App Engine supports transactions, but only on predefined Entity Groups. For most cases, this is all you need, but occasionally you really have to use a distributed or global transaction.
There are proposals for implementing distributed transactions on App Engine, but they're complicated, and none of them have yet been implemented as a robust library you can simply plug in and use. We're not going to attempt to recreate a general purpose distributed transaction system - at least, not today - instead, we'll address one common use-case for distributed transactions.
The usual example of the need for distributed or global transactions - so common that it's practically canonical - is the 'bank account' example. Suppose you have a set of accounts, defined something like this:
class Account(db.Model): owner = db.UserProperty(required=True) balance = db.IntegerProperty(required=True, default=0)
Naturally, you need to be able to transfer funds between accounts; those transfers need to be transactional, or you risk losing peoples' money, or worse (from a bank's point of view) duplicating it! You can't group users into entity groups, because it would still be impossible to transfer money between users that were assigned to different entity groups. Further, you need to be able to prevent people from overdrawing their accounts.
Fortunately, we can make it possible to do transactional transfers between accounts fairly simply. The key thing to realise, that makes everything much simpler, is that funds transfers do not have to be atomic. That is, it's okay to briefly exist in a state where the funds have been deducted from the paying account, but not yet credited to the payee account, as long as we can ensure that the transfer will always complete, and as long as we can maintain our invariants (such as the total amount of money in the bank) along the way.
Let's start by defining a simple transaction record model:
class Transfer(db.Model): amount = db.IntegerProperty(required=True) target = db.ReferenceProperty(Account, required=True) other = db.SelfReferenceProperty() timestamp = db.DateTimeProperty(required=True, auto_now_add=True)
As you can see, this is fairly straightforward. A Transfer entity will always be the child entity of an Account; this is the account that the transaction is concerned with, and being a child entity means we can update it and the account transactionally, since they're in the same entity group. Each transfer will create two Transfer entities, one on the paying account, and one on the receiving account.
The amount field is fairly obvious; here we'll use it to signify the change in value to the account it's attached to, so the paying account will have a negative amount, while the receiving account will have a positive amount. The target field denotes the account the transfer was to or from, while the 'other' field denotes the other Transfer entity.
At this point, it would help to describe the basic process we expect to follow in making a transfer between accounts:
In a transaction, deduct the required amount from the paying account, and create a Transfer child entity to record this, specifying the receiving account in the 'target' field, and leaving the 'other' field blank for now. In a second transaction, add the required amount to the receiving account, and create a Transfer child entity to record this, specifying the paying account in the 'target' field, and the Transfer entity created in step 1 in the 'other' field. Finally, update the Transfer entity created in step 1, setting the 'other' field to the Transfer we created in step 2.
Each of the three steps above is transactional, thanks to the guarantees made by the App Engine datastore. What's less obvious is that the process can only proceed forwards: Once step 1 has succeeded (eg, because the user had sufficient funds in their account at the time), steps 2 and 3 will inevitably succeed - either immediately, or at some later point if something causes a transient failure. A process picking up the pieces later can easily determine which steps have been completed, and pick up where the previous process left off, without omitting or repeating anything.
Let's implement step 1, in the form of a 'transfer_funds' method:
def transfer_funds(src, dest, amount): def _tx(): account = Account.get(src) if account.balance < amount: return None account.balance -= amount transfer = Transfer( parent=account, amount=-amount, target=dest) db.put([account, transfer]) return transfer return db.run_in_transaction(_tx)
Straightforward, right? At the point that this function returns successfully, the transaction can only go one way - forward. If the process currently handling it dies unexpectedly, another one can pick it up later, and 'roll it forward'. Since the process of completing a transaction and rolling it forward if it fails are one and the same, we'll define a roll_forward method that completes the transaction:
def roll_forward(transfer): def _tx(): dest_transfer = Transfer.get_by_key_name(parent=transfer.target.key(), str(transfer.key())) if not dest_transfer: dest_transfer = Transfer( parent=transfer.target.key(), key_name=str(transfer.key()), amount=-transfer.amount, target=transfer.key().parent(), other=transfer) account = Account.get(transfer.target.key()) account.balance -= transfer.amount db.put([account, dest_transfer]) return dest_transfer dest_transfer = db.run_in_transaction(_tx) transfer.other = dest_transfer transfer.put()
This function is a little more complicated than transfer_funds, but it's still straightforward if we break it down: We pass in the transfer entity returned by transfer_funds. First, the function tries to fetch an existing Transfer for the destination account - this might already exist if a previous attempt to roll the transaction forward failed - using the receiving account as the parent, and specifying a key name based on the key of the paying account's Transfer entity. We need to specify a key name in order to ensure there can only be one matching Transfer entity for the destination account.
If the receiving account has no matching Transfer, we create one, specifying the amount and target based on the first Transfer, and setting the 'other' field to the first Transfer. Then, we fetch the Account, add the transferred amount to its funds, and put both the new Transfer and the updated Account back to the datastore.
Finally, outside the transaction, we get the returned dest_transfer entity, and update the original Transfer entity to reference it. We don't need to use another transaction when we store this entity back to the datastore, because the only possible modification of a Transfer after creating it is to set the 'other' field, which is what we're doing.
That, in a nutshell, is how to transfer money between accounts in App Engine in a robust and consistent fashion. Simply call transfer_funds(src, dest, amount), then call roll_forward() on the returned Transfer object. If you wish, you don't even have to roll_forward the transaction right away - for example, you can enqueue the key of the returned Transaction in the Task Queue, and leave it up to the task to complete the transaction, thus decreasing user-perceived latency for transfers.
You may be wondering, though, how partially applied transactions get rolled forward. The solution is simple: We find Transfer entities with their 'other' field unset, and call the roll_forward method on them:In a post on the first day of this year, I noted the surprisingly rapid decline in e-book sales growth over the course of 2012. The trend appears to be continuing this year. The Association of American Publishers reports that in the first quarter of 2013, overall e-book sales in the U.S. trade market grew by just 5 percent over where they were in the same period in 2012. The explosive growth of the last few years has basically petered out, according to the AAP numbers*:
Looking at the major segments of the trade market, e-book sales were up 13.6 percent in the adult segment, down 30.1 percent in the children’s segment, and down 0.6 percent in the religious segment. The children’s segment accounted for a big part of e-book growth last year, thanks in large measure to the Hunger Games franchise, but that boost has proved temporary.
E-books are still taking share from printed books, as overall trade sales declined by 4.7 percent in the quarter, but the anemic growth of the electronic market calls into question the strength of the so-called “digital revolution” in the book business. E-books now represent a bit less than 25 percent of total book sales. That’s an impressive share, but it’s still a long way from dominance. Other big e-book markets also show signs of maturing. A new Nielsen Research report indicates that UK e-book sales actually declined slightly in April from year-earlier levels.
I speculated in my January post about some reasons why e-books may fall short of expectations:
1. We may be discovering that e-books are well suited to some types of books (like genre fiction) but not well suited to other types (like nonfiction and literary fiction) and are well suited to certain reading situations (plane trips) but less well suited to others (lying on the couch at home). The e-book may turn out to be more a complement to the printed book, as audiobooks have long been, rather than an outright substitute. 2. The early adopters, who tend also to be the enthusiastic adopters, have already made their move to e-books. Further converts will be harder to come by, particularly given the fact that 59 percent of American book readers say they have “no interest” in e-books, according to the Bowker report. 3. The advantages of printed books have been underrated, while the advantages of e-books have been overrated. 4. The early buyers of e-readers quickly filled them with lots of books, most of which have not been read. The motivation to buy more e-books may be dissipating as a result. Novelty fades. 5. The shift from e-readers to tablets is putting a damper on e-book sales. With dedicated readers, pretty much the only thing you can do is buy and read books. With tablets, you have a whole lot of other options. (To put it another way: On an e-reader, the e-reading app is always running. On a tablet, it isn’t.) 6. E-book prices have not fallen the way many expected. There’s not a big price difference between an e-book and a paperback. (It’s possible, suggests one industry analyst, that Amazon is seeing a plateau in e-book sales and so is less motivated to take a loss on them for strategic reasons.)
Those still seem reasonable. Most intriguing, to me, is the possible link between the decline in dedicated e-readers (as multitasking tablets take over) and the softening of e-book sales. Are tablets less conducive to book buying and reading than e-readers were?
UPDATE: A little more confirming data: A recent report on the Canadian market, from BookNet Canada, indicates that the market share of e-books peaked in the first quarter of 2012 at 17.6% and then started falling, dropping to 12.9% in the fourth quarter of 2012. BookNet sees evidence that e-books may be “plateauing” at about 15% of the Canadian market: “‘The research suggests that the ebook market in Canada may have reached a plateau,’ says BookNet Canada President and CEO Noah Genner. ‘Early 2013 data backs this up. So far, we’re seeing the same pattern repeating itself.'”
And this from a March 2013 report on the “stalling” of e-books in the UK market: “Yet even as book sales continue to move online, ebooks are making notably slow gains, and likely slowing down the etailing book market overall. Bowker found that ebooks’ share of the UK market reached a high of 13% in July 2012, driven upward by ebook purchases of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey.’ But by November the share had fallen back down to 9%.” (Even without “Fifty Shades,” the current ebook bestseller list in the UK is “filled with erotic fiction,” reports The Guardian.)
UPDATE 2: The original version of this post described the Nielsen data as being worldwide; it actually reflects only the UK market.
*Sources of AAP data in chart: 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013. The AAP doesn’t seem to release its sales reports directly to the public, so collecting the data, from secondary sources, is a bit of a trial. In general, good information on book sales is hard to come by.When it comes to sharing opinions on controversial social issues, Richard Sherman is ready to speak out.
The Seahawks star cornerback, in an interview this week with the sports blog The Undefeated, talked about athletes, social activism and how he feels about the Black Lives Matter movement, reports For The Win.
“Any time you see people who are saying, ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and then saying it’s time to kill police, then it is difficult to stand behind that logic. They are generalizing police just like they are asking police not to generalize us. It is very hypocritical. So, in that respect, I find it difficult to fully support that movement.”
Many have criticized the saying “all lives matter” in response to “black lives matter.” But Sherman said this:
“I stand by what I said that All Lives Matter and that we are human beings. And speaking to police, I want African-Americans and everybody else treated decently. I want them treated like human beings. And I also want the police treated like human beings. I don’t want police officers just getting knocked off in the street who haven’t done anything wrong.”
His comments sparked a wave of criticism on social media. Sherman responded to those comments on Twitter.
Everything is possible through hard work and dedication. I will help them understand that circumstances do not dictate your future — Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) July 27, 2016
Being a Critic takes no talent.... Persevering and perusing a dream takes courage.... Keep believing — Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) July 27, 2016
(Read full story on For The Win)
Copyright 2016 KINGAn impassioned cry almost drowned out the sound of Formula One cars coming back to life at the Circuit de Catalunya, as Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, implored the sport to save itself at a meeting in Geneva on Tuesday afternoon.
The meeting is, effectively, the last chance for F1 to endorse a series of radical proposals to revitalise the sport in 2017 with more aggressively designed cars with wider tyres that are more difficult to drive and five seconds a lap quicker.
Sebastian Vettel quicker than Lewis Hamilton in first F1 testing session Read more
“We need to do it now because if we need unanimous agreement [required after the end of February deadline] then you might as well forget it,” he said.
The day that must be seized is a long one. A morning meeting of the F1 strategy group, involving the leading teams, will be followed by a full meeting of the F1 commission, involving Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s chief executive, the FIA president, Jean Todt, race organisers, sponsors, the tyre-makers Pirelli and the teams.
Horner said: “It is a great opportunity to do something fantastic for the fans. We should do it properly. You don’t want to be half-pregnant. We’ve got to grab the bull by the horns and address the fundamentals that were set out for next year almost 12 months ago. We have a clean piece of paper.”
Vladimir Putin should be in charge of Europe, says F1’s Bernie Ecclestone Read more
Radical change would suit Red Bull fine. For in Adrian Newey they possess the finest designer in F1. He craves a clean piece of paper more than anyone else so he can create a new, aero-led car. Horner, at his most evangelising, continued: “It would be a great shame if this opportunity was missed. The thing that concerns me is that every team has a vested interest. We need to see strong governance and leadership. I don’t think F1 is in crisis but we have got an opportunity to do something really good.”
More pessimistically, he added: “It will be an interesting day. We’ll probably go round and round again.”
Ecclestone has recently described F1 as “the worst it’s ever been,” adding, “I wouldn’t spend my money to take my family to watch a race. No way.”
Horner came to the aid of his ally when he said: “I think Bernie is frustrated with where Formula One is and in the old days it would have been easier to fix it. Now we have this democracy in Formula One it’s very hard to get everyone to agree.”
He asked Ecclestone to play a full part at the meeting. “We need the commercial rights holder [Ecclestone] and the governing body [the FIA] aligned, or there is no chance.”
The first day of testing in Barcelona was dominated by the world champion, Lewis Hamilton, who pounded around the circuit 156 times while his Mercedes gathered data for the season ahead. “It’s been an amazing day,” he said. “I’ve never had a day-one practice like it. To get in a new car and have no problems is a remarkable job done by the team. It was encouraging.
“It’s hard to improve. Perfection is always moving. The car is better. I feel very strong, and wanting to win is part of my DNA. It’s not as if I have to reinvent myself or get motivation out of thin air. There is more to come.” He has admitted he stopped training last season after winning the championship in Austin.
Hamilton was the busiest driver but Sebastian Vettel was the fastest for Ferrari. The quickest of his 69 laps was half a second better than Hamilton’s, though such figures are meaningless at this stage.
The McLaren’s racing director, Eric Boullier, is still haunted by last year’s awful start with the Honda engine and he seemed disappointed after the morning session when he said: “Not good enough. We didn’t have the best mileage and we had a couple of issues in the car.” McLaren looked happier at the end of the day, by which time Jenson Button had clocked up a very respectable 84 laps.Homicide investigators have arrested a 70-year-old man in connection with the death of a woman who was found near a Toronto community centre.
Shou Quan Chen of Toronto was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 65-year-old Xian Xu Liu.
Liu was found dead, with severe injuries to her face, Wednesday morning, near Wallace Emerson Community Centre.
Police were in the neighbourhood on Thursday, waiting on a search warrant of Chen's home on Davenport Road, when Det. Paul Worden of the homicide squad ran into him by chance.
"I had a sore throat and I needed some cough drops," Worden told CBC News. "We happened to cross paths as I was walking... so I arrested him."
"It all happened very quick," he added.
Police allege Chen approached Liu while she was walking near the community centre on Wednesday morning. They spoke for several minutes, after which he assaulted her and she fell to the ground, police say.
Her family came to the scene later, looking for her after she failed to return from her daily walk. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police had deemed Liu's death a homicide after watching surveillance-camera video from the community centre. They are still trying to establish a connection between the suspect and the victim.
Chen is due to appear in court at Old City Hall on Friday morning.SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah will not pass a medical marijuana bill this year.
Lawmakers on Thursday killed the more restrictive of two medical marijuana bills introduced in the state. They rejected a broader plan earlier this week.
The proposal by Rep. Brad Daw of Orem and Sen. Evan Vickers of Cedar City would have allowed those with certain debilitating conditions to use a cannabis extract with very low levels of the plant's psychoactive components.
Daw says there is not enough money in the budget for the proposal this year. He says he plans to introduce the proposal again next year.
The separate, broader plan would have made edible marijuana products legal in Utah for those with chronic pain.
Utah currently allows the extract to be used by only those with severe epilepsy, as long as they obtain it outside of the state.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
×Listen to Narration
While most of the major powers of western Europe spent the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries racing around the world carving out empires for themselves, Japan felt threatened by the influx of foreigners and ended up spending this period as one of the most reclusive nations on the planet. In the 1630s, a series of proclamations closed the country’s borders, marking the beginning of the period now known as sakoku (‘locking the country’) or sometimes kaikin (‘sea-restriction’). Non-Japanese-citizens were not permitted on Japanese soil; potential violators were warned that they would be subject to capital punishment. Only a small amount of trade with China, Korea, and the Netherlands was permitted, and the Dutch were restricted to Dejima, an artificial island in the harbour at Nagasaki. Nor were Japanese citizens allowed to leave Japan. Even the construction of long-range ships was illegal. These measures remained in place well into the 19th century.
But occasionally a group of Japanese citizens left Japan by mistake. Smaller ships were still permitted under sakoku since they played an indispensable role in the transportation of goods and people, and once in a while unpredictable forces of nature would drag one of these vessels away from the coast of Japan. In the autumn of 1832, for instance, a cargo-ship known as the Hojunmaru was transporting rice and porcelain to Edo (now Tokyo) when it ran into a storm and was blown off-course. The 15-metre-long ship was left far from shore without a rudder or a mast, meaning that there was no way to steer it. All that the crew could do was let their vessel drift on the ocean until they happened upon either another ship or a useful bit of land. For one of them in particular – 14-year-old Yamamoto Otokichi – this would prove to be only the beginning of a decades-long accidental circumnavigation of the globe.
In the aftermath of the 1832 storm, Otokichi and 13 of his crewmates were left adrift on the maddeningly empty North Pacific Ocean. Most of them had been sailors since their teenage years, but their combined skills could do nothing to help nudge the crippled vessel towards civilisation. Month after month passed. The sailors’ odds of surviving were enhanced considerably by a makeshift seawater-desalination facility, possibly adapted from sake-brewing equipment that the ship had happened to be carrying. There was also plenty of rice to eat, and occasionally someone managed to catch a fish or a sea-bird as well. However, nothing that the crew-members consumed was able to provide an adequate amount of Vitamin C, and most of them fell victim to scurvy; by the time approximately a year had passed, the only sailors remaining were 29-year-old Iwakichi, 16-year-old Kyukichi, and now-15-year-old Otokichi. And only after fourteen months of being pushed around by ocean currents did the disabled Hojunmaru finally hit a shoreline.
Dr. John McLoughlin
With absolutely no idea as to where they were, the three men went ashore. They were greeted by people who ultimately turned out to be Native Americans from the Makah group; the castaways had unwittingly crossed the North Pacific in its entirety, reaching present-day Washington State. Otokichi and his two shipmates were not the first Japanese castaways to inadvertently travel to North America, but most of the rest had arrived a good deal farther south. Certainly the Makah had never encountered Japanese sailors before, and were curious. They are said to have boarded the Hojunmaru to examine its contents before leading its three remaining crew-members to their own settlement. They fed the sailors just in time to save them from the threat of scurvy, and cared for them more generally as well. On the other hand, the Makah also enslaved the Japanese men for a time, as servitude was a fairly common part of local cultures.
It wasn’t long before people of European descent in the area heard about the castaways of unknown origin. A record of the men’s arrival – probably a small set of drawings – had been created and passed around from one Native American community to another, and eventually it fell into the hands of Dr. John McLoughlin, a British official at Fort Vancouver (now Vancouver, Washington, near Portland, Oregon). McLoughlin was a somewhat fierce-looking man; he was six foot four with long, prematurely white hair. However, he had a reputation for dealing very fairly and responsibly with people from all societies. He examined the description of the castaways, which included a number of Japanese written characters. McLoughlin suspected these to be Chinese – a very good guess given knowledge of the time – and sent out a party to bargain with the Makah and retrieve the castaways. Weather and impassable trails intervened, but McLoughlin tried again. He instructed an American captain to stop in at Cape Flattery, to “do [his] utmost to Recover the unfortunate people said to be wrecked in the Vicinity of that place” and also to “reward the Indians for their trouble”. McNeill found Iwakichi and Kyukichi on his first attempt, and Otokichi on his second. All three men were taken to Fort Vancouver in the summer of 1834.
A local church-assistant taught the three men English, noting that they were “remarkably studious” and showed “very rapid improvement”. Interestingly, the castaways were only one part of an eclectic mix of ethnicities and backgrounds at Fort Vancouver: there were British, Irish, and French-Canadian employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company that had established the fort, as well as Hawaiian labourers and all sorts of Native Americans. A number of younger people were bi- or multi-racial.
McLoughlin soon learned that the castaways were not Chinese but Japanese. Although McLoughlin did want to see Otokichi and company return to Japan, he was acutely aware of the potential value of having citizens of a closed country on-hand. In the previous few decades, Britain had expressed interest in establishing trade with Japan; and McLoughlin realised that having Japanese sailors could |
11 o’ clock on Friday in Kensington High Street, motorcycle policemen appeared, blowing whistles and blocking the traffic at a busy junction.
Soon afterwards a small convoy came barreling down the wrong side of the road, headed by a car with blacked out glass and finishing with a large van from whose rear window the words ‘POLICE –STAY BACK!’ glared in illuminated letters.
It reminded me of my days in Moscow, when similar convoys would growl and thunder along the special lane (heated in winter to stop ice forming) down the middle of my street, bearing the leaders of the Soviet Union to and from their fenced-off country estates.
Why do we have this sort of thing in Britain? Who among us is so important that he can’t wait for the lights and has to have the traffic stopped for him.?No doubt the excuse of ‘security’, that pretext for all sorts of high-handedness, will be advanced.
But I suspect the occupant of the car would have attracted less attention, and less danger, if he had taken an ordinary taxi. If he’s really so worried about being recognised (I suspect he was probably in more danger of not being recognised) he should buy a bicycle and one of those silly anti-pollution masks that cover most of your face.
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Christian Europe's lost its nerve and its future
So, the transformation of this country by mass migration, begun by New Labour to rub the right’s nose in diversity, has now moved up a gear. One in eight of us was born abroad and how long before that’s one in six, and then one in four?
These people are not (as I am) the children of British subjects born while overseas. They are people who have grown up in a different culture. Never before in our history have we faced the task of integrating a minority so large. Never before have we had such a feeble idea of what being British is.
And yet people ask me, as if the idea were absurd, why I think this will be a Muslim country within a couple of generations. I can think of no force or idea or movement or faith more likely to prosper in the state to come.
Like all other civilisations which lost their nerve and the will to live, European Christianity is destined to become a minority in its own territory. By the way, if you don’t like this, and voted Tory at the last election, you have no business complaining. I told you repeatedly that the Tory concern about immigration was faked. They don’t want the power to stop it.
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They haven't gone away, you know
Great turmoil over in Northern Ireland because the police have suddenly discovered that the IRA still exists. Of course it does, along with its power to kill and maim. It is that unspoken but real threat which prevents the prosecutions of terror suspects, which prevents the flying of the British flag on public buildings in Belfast, which has ripped the British crown off police badges in the province, and which forces the Royal Family to consort with Sinn Fein godfathers. And it will go on existing until Sinn Fein rule a united Ireland from Dublin. Then the threat will become the government. And we call this disgrace ‘peace’.
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Another 'lone wolf' turns out to be a dope user
Forgive me for mentioning it, but the latest ‘lone-wolf terrorist’ (just like almost all the others) turns out to be a cannabis user – arrested three times on hashish charges. One of those on the Amsterdam-Paris train who bravely subdued Ayoub El Khazzani, British IT consultant Chris Norman, said afterwards he was ‘concerned that he was on drugs of some sort’. Please, please, please can we have an inquiry into the drug use of violent criminals, even if it does upset the Big Dope lobby?Generally speaking, as long as a team has a solid quarterback and reasonably capable skill players, as the offensive line goes, so goes a team's overall capability on the offensive side of the ball.
Arizona State players know this. It's been stressed ad nauseam to them since Todd Graham arrived in Tempe three and a half years ago. The team's starting offensive line entering 2015 includes four seniors and a junior, each of whom has been with the program a majority of Graham's tenure at the school.
For this year's iteration of the Sun Devils, the onus is even more on the veteran offensive line this season. Their quarterback, fifth-year senior Mike Bercovici, is garnering some Heisman Trophy mentions as a sleeper pick, and sophomore running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage form a potent one-two punch that may be as good as any in the Pac-12.
There's no substitute for experience and maturity and that's especially true with college football linemen who have had the time to get bigger, stronger and more battled tested. On the interior of ASU's offensive line, senior right guard Vi Teofilo is ASU's team-leader with 27 consecutive starts. At center, Nick Kelly enters his second year as starter and is a Rimington Trophy Watch List candidate. At left guard, Christian Westerman is also a returning starter and ASU's strongest offensive lineman.
At the point of attack, the Sun Devils want to wear on teams more physically in a way that allows them to establish the run game, provides a clean pocket for Bercovici to operate within, and opens up the play action capability at full throttle. That's how this ASU offense really goes.
The Sun Devils averaged 36.9 points per game last season in the Pac-12, which was good but off their near-historic highs from the previous two seasons. At times, they struggled, particularly when then-quarterback Taylor Kelly wasn't fully healthy coming off a foot injury and the run game didn't release the pressure valve enough. ASU finished sixth in rushing offense in the league, at 168.8 yards with a 4.3 yard-per-carry average.
It isn't a coincidence that two of ASU's best teams in the Pac-12 era, the 1996 Rose Bowl squad and following year's team which combined to go 20-4, each led the league in rushing. More recently, Oregon has had its flag atop the Pac-12 mountain for a prolonged run of greatness that has been, at its foundation, enabled by its remarkable run game success.
The Ducks have also boasted what may be the league's biggest and best offensive line over that span, which also isn't a coincidence. ASU isn't as big or as long as it wants to be quite yet -- tough that's in the works given what ASU has with its young players in the group -- but it is trending in that direction, clearly. In addition to its veterans in the middle, first-year starting junior left tackle Evan Goodman and senior right tackle Billy McGehee are each bigger than the players they're replacing. McGehee, in particular, presents as a clearly more capable run blocker. ASU's overall capability should be improved to some degree int his regard, but may still not be ready to maul the best opponents they'll face at the point of attack.
With the transition from Kelly to Bercovici at quarterback, ASU will be less dynamic in the read option part of its run game capability. That makes it even more vital that the team's offensive line is able to open interior run lanes for its potential running backs. Also of critical importance, of course, is how the line protects Bercovici in the pocket. This is an extreme focus of attention entering the season as Goodman and McGehee are totally devoid of experience in big game situations, and they'll get one of the biggest challenges any team could face in the opener with Texas A&M, which features a great pass rush duo. How they perform in this setting will be a great barometer of what can be expected the rest of the season, and ultimately what the team's offensive capability will be.
One of the strengths of ASU's offensive line is the capable depth that exists, especially on the interior, where junior Stephon McCray is able to play either guard or center. At tackle, redshirt freshman Sam Jones looked very solid in the spring when Goodman was out with a hamstring strain. He's able to play on either side and could still contend for a starting role at some point. Redshirt freshman Quinn Bailey has made tremendous strides in his first year and is likely the team's No. 8 offensive lineman. He's able to play right tackle or right guard.
Waiting in the wings are four true freshmen, led by 330 pound Zach Robertson, who will play tackle in an emergency situation, and 315 pound Steve Miller, who can play tackle or guard.
Quotable
Chris Thomsen on the evolution from Taylor Kelly to Mike Bercovici at quarterback, and in particular the read option: “It’s going to be interesting because in my time here we’ve always had a guy in Taylor (Kelly) who could pull it on the zone read and make you pay for it. Last year, not as much with the injury, but in 2013, we saw some of those pulls with 40-yard runs, so I don’t think you get that with Mike, to be realistic about that. Mike will still have the threat of the zone read where he pulls it and you get four or five yards, or if they don’t play it right get a bigger play, but that’s not going to be as much of a threat. Defenses know that, we know that, but also, when you pull the ball and you throw the ball on the perimeter, with Taylor the ball didn’t get there as quick, so those receivers were waiting and the defense has time to collapse. That ball now is on the perimeter quicker so now a guy like D.J. and Gump have a chance to make big plays.”
Thomsen on new senior starter Billy McGehee at right tackle: “Billy has had a really good spring, a really good camp, he was part of it at Camp (Tontozona) where we ran the ball really well. He’s just such a bigger, more physical player. That’ll be a big difference in down blocking and working at the backside of zones, and creating that space backside where Tyler who was 290 pounds, it was a little bit different whereas Billy is right at 315. That’s about 25 more pounds and he’s a stronger guy, he’s a “Dirty Dozen” (strength and conditioning honor) guy so I’m excited about that and then Evan (Goodman's) a bigger guy than Jamil was.”
Christian Westerman on ASU offensive line depth: depth “Every offensive line across the country will have bumps and bruises, which is essentially what we had, we had a guy miss a game or miss a practice, but at the end of the day, we’ve got guys who can step in and fill gaps and come in and play for us so we’re not really worried about depth but as a whole we want to stay healthy so we can get out there and perform at our best level.”
Westerman on the group's senior presence: “I think the main leadership right now is me, Nick and Vi. Being veterans back on this offensive line, we really take energy off each other, each of us are getting better every day and we’re helping these other young guys come in. We’ve got two other guys coming in at tackle and they’re sort of like veterans, they’re coming along and we’re coming along as a group and we’re getting better every day.”
Nick Kelly on his improvement: “I feel even though I started last year, I have so much more to offer now. I have so much more to work forward to, I can’t be complacent. I have to continue to get better and bring the freshmen along with me and get this whole team to become one unit and one family.”
Vi Teofilo on setting the tone: “We all know, we’re the older group, so we all know the whole gameplay starts and ends with us so if we have a bad day, we know the whole team is going to have a bad day but if we have a good day, we know the whole team is going to have a good day.”
Todd Graham on the group's depth and youth: “Zach Robertson is coming on, I feel really good with some depth, he’s probably further along as far as the freshmen. Steve’s (Miller) would be the next guy, he’s going to be a great player. Connor Humphreys, you take Conor and you take Stephon McCray and we’re solid with five guys inside. I think Quinn (Bailey) is coming along getting better too.”
Player Capsules
Nick KellyIn a Tight Senate Race, Gun Reform Groups Tried Targeted Strikes. The NRA Waged All-Out War. Kay Hagan’s 2014 loss in North Carolina showed how far upstart gun violence prevention organizations may have to go to match the NRA when it spends big.
The mailings began well before the 2014 election. One featured a picture of a pensive young woman with the caption, “38% fewer women are shot to death by partners when there are background checks on all gun sales.” On the reverse side, it said, “Thom Tillis is against closing loopholes that put guns in the hands of domestic abusers.”
The mailings were paid for by Americans for Responsible Solutions, a gun violence prevention advocacy group founded by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, as part of its attempt to influence the outcome of a tightly contested senate race in North Carolina. ARS spent $1.3 million to persuade core Democratic constituencies to vote in support of incumbent Democratic Senator Kay Hagan in her contest against Tillis, the Republican challenger.
The big investment by ARS was part of a broader effort by groups favoring stronger gun regulations to challenge the National Rifle Association’s prodigious election spending by ramping up their own independent expenditures — a bucket term for leaflets, postcards, and ads supporting or opposing candidates in federal elections, but not given directly to a campaign. This year, organizations on both sides of the gun debate are expected to devote millions of dollars to attempting to sway voters in key congressional races and states. General election years bring more voters to the polls — and feature a more diverse electorate — than midterms like 2014. But that election cycle, and the North Carolina Senate fight in particular, shows just how far proponents of tighter gun laws may have to go if they hope to match the NRA when it decides to go all-in.
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In North Carolina, ARS spent more than it ever had on a race outside Gifford’s home district. But it was swamped nonetheless.
The NRA spent nearly four times as much as ARS on the Hagan race. It invested $2.5 million in just attack ads, which blasted the Democrat as a tool of “out of state gun control groups,” and “liberal billionaires.” One video financed by the group flashed an image of Hagan between President Barack Obama, then suffering from low approval ratings, and Michael Bloomberg, founder of Everytown for Gun Safety, another gun violence prevention group. (Everytown is a seed donor to The Trace.)
In total, the gun rights organization accounted for 10 percent of the spending by all independent groups in the race, a remarkable sum for a single-issue advocacy group. The only entities that outspent the NRA in the Hagan-Tillis race were affiliated with the national arms of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Rather than targeting specific demographics, the NRA paid for television and radio ads that ran statewide.
Hagan lost by 50,000 votes.
The ARS election strategy, according to documents provided by the group, was to target voters it deemed most likely to support Democratic candidates, and encourage them to go to the polls.
ARS documents say it only contacted “those individuals likely to be persuaded to vote for Senator Hagan.” The largest single share of the group’s monetary support — more than $800,000 — financed direct mailings sent to female voters and voters of color, key members of the Democratic voter base. The group also paid for broadcast ads, but those spots only aired on black radio stations.
Going into the election, Tillis was a state legislator with an A+ rating from the NRA and a record of opposing universal background checks and supporting expanding where concealed carriers may take their guns. The mailers aimed to showcase Tillis’s legislative history and highlighted statistics that show that women are in more danger when states lack strong gun laws. The ARS wanted to convince these specific voters that Tillis put their physical safety at risk, according to the documents. (The group would not comment directly on its strategy.)
As ARS was making its pitch to female voters, the Senate Majority PAC, a group founded by former aides to top Senate Democrat Harry Reid, spotlighted a different gun issue as part of its broader messaging campaign meant to boost Hagan: It aired radio ads lambasting Tillis for supporting the sorts of “stand your ground” laws that drew widespread criticism from African Americans after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
Related Story National Rifle Association The NRA's New Campaign Math: Pour More Money Into Fewer Races, Defeat Democrats at Any Cost An analysis of $56 million in election spending shows a group willing to take out gun-friendly former allies.
In contrast to ARS’s highly targeted advertising, the NRA made sure that voters across North Carolina could hear its message and levied a full-throated bid supporting Tillis, ultimately dropping $4.4 million in independent expenditures on the race. The sum was in keeping with a pattern identified in an analysis conducted last month by The Trace and the New York Daily News, which found the NRA directing ever-larger amounts of money into fewer races in a so-far successful effort to increase the winning percentage of its preferred candidates.
Reaching specific voter blocs with carefully tested messages has become an increasingly popular part of campaign managers’ playbooks. But as some pundits assessed the 2014 results, they found a downside to applying the approach to the gun issue, where it could look less like precision and more like reticence. “Pro-gun-control politicians and advocates are wary about where and how to make themselves heard,” wrote Alec MacGillis in The New Republic. By focusing only on voters already likely to be sympathetic to their cause, groups like ARS, he argued, risked undercutting reformers’ efforts “to persuade other elected officials and the media that gun politics are heading in their direction.”
That may be changing. This year, Democratic congressional candidates will be running down-ticket from Hillary Clinton, who has spoken more about gun violence than any major candidate in memory. Since early in her party’s nominating contest, she has openly and directly challenged the NRA, decrying it as a special interest bent on stopping sensible solutions to a plague of violence not experienced by any other major Western country.
Even when Clinton’s embrace of gun reform may be intended to motivate specific constituencies to turnout to the polls, she’s conveyed those targeted messages from platforms that have ensured spillover media coverage. Where the North Carolina race featured mailers about black shooting victims, Clinton has spoken about the toll of gun violence on black Americans from the pulpits of predominantly black churches in at least three different states.
An ARS spokesman tells The Trace it is too soon to say how the group will approach various Senate races in 2016. He said that approaches will depend on state characteristics and may not mimic the targeted approach in North Carolina, a mostly Republican state where Democratic candidates’ hopes rest on large turnout in swing suburbs and a handful of heavy pockets of black and liberal voters.
Last month, ARS began running television ads in New Hampshire attacking Republican Kelly Ayotte for her opposition to the Manchin-Toomey amendment, a set of gun reforms that failed in the Senate in 2013. Ayotte quickly responded, defending her record. She is running against Governor Maggie Hassan, who has vetoed legislation that would allow residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit.
Meanwhile, gun rights groups have already begun to lob attacks at Democrats that are reminiscent of their 2014 arguments against Hagan. The NRA began to target former Ohio governor Ted Strickland via direct mail this spring and is expected to air ads against him later this year. (By the end of May, the total amount the NRA had already spent supporting Republicans through direct donations and independent expenditures neared $1 million.)
The group is using the same line against Strickland that it used against Hagan. An NRA mailer sent earlier this spring warned Ohioans, “You can’t trust Ted Strickland to stand up against the Clinton/Obama/Bloomberg gun control agenda.”
[Photo: AP/Gerry Broome]Cats empire reigns over Pies
Updated
Geelong confirmed its place in the annals of modern day football by winning its third premiership in five seasons courtesy of a gutsy 38-point grand final win over Collingwood at the MCG.
The Cats lost key forward James Podsiadly to injury half-way through the second term whilst facing a 16-point deficit, but managed to battle their way to a tense 18.11 (119) to 12.9 (81) victory on the back of tremendous performances by Tom Hawkins and Norm Smith medallist Jimmy Bartel.
The triumph hands Geelong its ninth VFL/AFL premiership just a season after being discounted as an AFL contender following an unceremonious thrashing by the Pies in the 2010 preliminary final and the subsequent departures of superstar midfielder Gary Ablett and mentor Mark Thompson.
But under new coach Chris Scott, a talented list laden with now three-time premiership stars (a first for any Geelong player) regrouped with a much-needed injection of youth to lose just three games on its way to the 2011 flag.
"It's just credit to the group, their belief and strength and character is unbelievable," Cameron Ling told Channel 10 after captaining the oldest premiership-winning side in 67 years.
"I feel I am honoured and lucky to be playing with these guys. I'm playing with some of the greatest players of all time.
"They're just mentally tough. They're so competitive, they never give up and have that inner belief that they can do it."
Scott, a two-time premiership player with the dominant Brisbane Lions side in the early 2000s, becomes the first coach to win a flag in his debut season since Alan Joyce achieved the feat with Hawthorn in 1988.
In contrast, AFL icon Mick Malthouse was denied a fairytale chance to hoist a fourth premiership trophy in his final game as a senior coach and announced he will not be part of Collingwood in any position in 2012.
Hawkins took the game by the scruff of the neck after the Cats trailed by three points at half-time, booting three goals in the third quarter and consistently outmarking All Australian opponent Ben Reid to give Geelong a vital target on half forward.
Steve Johnson overcame a long week of speculation over his knee injury to kick four goals while Joel Selwood and Bartel played crucial parts in overcoming the dogged Pies.
Bartel in particular filled the gaping hole left by Podsiadly in the Geelong forward line, his superior overhead marking ability helping him to three goals, six marks and 26 disposals.
"This one is pretty sweet after everyone wrost us off," Bartel said.
"We knew if we kept grinding away, and kept playing the game at the contest, we backed ourselves to get over the top of them."
Ling did an outstanding job limiting the influence of Brownlow medallist Dane Swan, while the Geelong defence recovered to negate the threat of Travis Cloke despite the Collingwood big man bagging three majors in the first half.
Magpies guns Scott Pendlebury and Dale Thomas accumulated 33 and 31 disposals respectively and Andrew Krakouer was at his elusive best in a three-goal performance.
The last month he has really come of age. The last quarter of a grand final he took it by the nuts. Andrew Mackie on the rise of Tom Hawkins
But Collingwood missed the influence of some of its lower profile and younger contributors whilst being forced to carry injured pair Reid and ruckman Darren Jolly, who were clearly not at 100 per cent fitness.
The grand final triumph capped a brilliant finals series from the Cats which included impressive wins over both Hawthorn and West Coast.
The Magpies, whose only three losses this season tellingly came at the hands of the Cats, faced the same two opponents but were clearly held back by their less convincing path to the decider, and for the fourth match in a row were held to 12 goals or less.
Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell said Geelong was clearly the better side on the day and his side wasted early chances to build a match-winning lead.
"Grand finals are renown for that. The team that takes its opportunities wins," he told reporters.
"We got to three goals up and let them back in with some easier goals."
"We know how good we are as a group, we know what we can achieve," added Maxwell after saying Leigh Brown was the only retiring player from the list.
"We have to make sure we know how much it burns, make sure it hurts."
Answering the challenge
Despite the soggy, cold conditions both sides delivered a high standard, free-flowing encounter that matched the blockbuster billing of a final featuring the competition's two best sides.
Travis Varcoe kicked the opening goal of the game after just 11 seconds but the Cats' early advantage was cut to just one point at quarter-time.
Collingwood's chances of winning back-to-back premierships for the first time in 75 years were lifted when the Pies booted three straight goals at the start of the second term to take an 18-point lead - their biggest advantage of the game - while Podsiadly was carried out of the game with a dislocated shoulder.
But the Cats, led by some inspirational work by the likes of Selwood and Bartel, managed to close the margin to 9.3 (57) to 8.6 (54) at the long break.
Collingwood briefly reclaimed a narrow lead in controversial fashion when Sharrod Wellingham's long-range kick scraped the post but was still given a goal in a similar scenes to Hawkin's famous poster in the 2009 grand final against St Kilda.
Geelong kept its composure however, kicking five-goals-to-two in the premiership quarter, hassling the weary Pies out of the contest as the hulking frame of Hawkins this time took the grand final centre stage for a different reason.
Maxwell yelled a passionate three-quarter time address to his charges with Malthouse by his side, but the Pies were unable to reel in a seven-point deficit against the ferocious Geelong pressure.
The reigning premiers were kept goalless while cool and stylish finishes by Varcoe, Bartel, Johnson and Ling iced the contest for Geelong well before the final siren.
Geelong: 18.11 (119) - S Johnson 4, J Bartel 3, T Hawkins 3, T Varcoe 3, J Selwood 2, C Ling, M Duncan, M Stokes.
Collingwood: 12.9 (81) - A Krakouer 3, T Cloke 3, S Sidebottom 2, B Johnson, L Ball, L Brown, S Wellingham.
Topics: australian-football-league, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia, collingwood-3066, geelong-3220
First postedSteve Homrich was getting ready for bed around 9 p.m. last Friday when his dog barked, prompting him to look out his window.
He knew his neighbor was allowing short-term rentals through websites such as HomeAway, but he’d never seen something like this.
“It was pretty phenomenal,” Homrich said. “My wife stopped counting at 300 people.”
READ: Police: Party at waterfront home in Boynton Beach ends in arrest
Unbeknownst to him — or the owner of the home, who lives in Germany — the waterfront property at 695 Northeast 15th Place had become the scene of a “mansion party.” A flyer was circulating on social media outlets like Instagram that let attendees know women could get in free and men would be charged $5 before 10 p.m. and $10, after.
The planners had dubbed it “PALMGHANISTAN MANSION PARTY.”
A post shared by Micro DJ (@microxdj) on Jun 9, 2017 at 1:22pm PDT
Hundreds of strangers had taken over their cozy single-family home neighborhood and Homrich started to worry about potential damage to his property.
Some partygoers parked in the lots on Federal Highway and walked down the street to where the home sits in a small cul-de-sac. Other vehicles were on neighbors’ lawns. Homrich has thicker hurricane-impact windows, but he still heard the music and chanting orchestrated by the party’s DJ.
“The crowds got bigger and bigger,” neighbor Ozzie Leal said. “They were coming in groups of 30.”
Neighbors called the police, who eventually broke up the party, which topped out at about 500.
When police arrived just before 10 p.m., there was mass and chaotic exit by partiers.
People ran. Some climbed over Homrich’s fence from the party house’s backyard and left through his gate as police told them to leave over loudspeakers. A 19-year-old was arrested on drug charges.
“You see 400 people walking down your street, it’s scary. You don’t know these people,” Homrich said.
The homeowner, Thierry Chevrier, called police Sunday after he found his house in shambles. About $6,000 worth of televisions, cash, wine bottles and clothing were gone.
The person who rented the house paid with a stolen credit card, Chevrier told police. Because of that, HomeAway cancelled the insurance for property damage, he said. That left him with an additional $9,000 in damages, he claims. Police said what likely happened is someone rented the mansion pretending to be a family on vacation.
But Boynton Beach laws can’t stop the property from being rented this way again.
“Our codes are silent to it,” said SaLeica Brown, a business development specialist with the city.
Friday night had been the finale to a weeklong of activity on the street.
On Tuesday, there was a smaller party. On Wednesday, drivers spun cars in circles in the cul-de-sac, doing doughnuts, evident by the tire marks. Homrich stood outside and called the police while a dozen people at the home watched him. They stopped racing by the time police arrived.
“It’s like living next to a hotel now,” Homrich said.
Homrich has turned to the city for help before but without success, and likely won’t be satisfied until city code changes.
A homeowner can legally rent a property with a certificate of use and occupancy and a business tax receipt. There are about 2,500 legal rentals in Boynton, Brown said. After searching this property, Brown told The Palm Beach Post this particular owner doesn’t have either requirement. Brown said she plans to open a case on the owner.
As far as short-term rentals like this on websites, the city doesn’t have any language in its codes that addresses them.
“So we would say they’re not allowed,” Brown said. “But we don’t have a code to address it so it’s not something the city can go after.”
The city’s officials recently passed a new law called Chronic Nuisance that could apply to this situation, Brown said. If the city decides a business — which includes rental properties — is a nuisance, the owner has 15 days to create a plan to remedy the issue before the case goes to a special magistrate. Nuisances include noise, according to city documents. A property that requires police come to the site three or more times for nuisance activities in 30 days, or seven or more times in six months, can be declared a nuisance property.
A man who goes by the name StephToTrill said he participated in planning the Boynton party, which he called the “biggest house party Palm Beach County has ever seen.”
As for the next party?
“That is yet to be determined,” he said. “But best believe there will be another one.”He is the next great Providence College basketball player.
He's probably not going to get all the way there this year, not on a team that features Kris Dunn, but greatness is in his future, right out there over his outstretched hands, just waiting for him to reach out and grab it. If the history of PC basketball long has been written by kids who turned out to be much better than anyone ever thought they were going to be, then Ben Bentil is the latest, this 6-foot-9 sophomore who seems to get better by the week.
Count on it.
On this afternoon, he is sitting in the PC basketball office, where the hallway is a shrine to the school's great basketball story with photos of the players who helped write it.
Earlier in the day, there had been a big announcement of the new state-of the-art practice facility that the school is going to build, one more symbolic statement that this is a school that's still pointed toward a basketball future and not just looking back at its storied past. But now the afternoon news conference was over and Bentil was talking about the long journey that's taken him to this place, this moment.
And it's a journey, no question about that.
It began back in his native Ghana, where he was the middle of five kids, back when volleyball, not basketball, was his favorite sport. Back when playing college basketball in the United States must have seemed as far away as the stars in the nighttime sky. But he left home for the United States when he was 15 to live with a relative of his mother in Philadelphia, left for the age-old reasons people always have come to America, in search of a better life, a better future.
He went to St. Andrew's, a private school in nearby Wilmington, Del. And it wasn't always easy being a stranger in a strange land, and it wasn't always easy playing a game he didn't really like, not in the beginning anyway.
"It takes time to find out what you love,'' Bentil says quietly.
From the beginning, he was told he had the size and talent to one day play college basketball. But what does that really mean when you're just a kid far from home, just a kid in some strange new country playing some game you weren't all that crazy about in the first place? What was it like when one day a college coach came to see him play and said he was coming back, but he never did, because he thought the kid wasn't good enough?
That became Bentil's motivation.
Still, there was the adjustment to his new country, a huge adjustment. There was the adjustment of learning how to deal with racial inequality. In many ways, there was the adjustment of having to deal with everything.
But he also knew something else, something that, in retrospect, made all the difference.
"It was time to be a man,'' Bentil said.
Certainly, Bentil has become a man on the basketball court, and it's more than that he's very tall with a 235-pound body that easily would fit into an NBA game. He keeps getting better, now making jump shots that he would not have made a year ago. He now has a presence on the court he didn't have a year ago. Maybe more important is the sense that he's getting closer to what he came to this country for in the first place. For opportunity. For the promise of a better life. For all those words on the Statue of Liberty.
"I really appreciate America,'' he says. "In America, there's a lot of opportunity.''
Last Saturday afternoon, when the Friars played Bryant at the Dunk, he was on the bench in the first half because of an ankle sprain he'd suffered the game before. Coach Ed Cooley was trying to get through the game without him. Until Cooley felt he could not, and there was Bentil coming into a game to a huge ovation.
"I heard it and didn't think it was for me,'' he says.
But it was, in this season that is changing his life, this season that is so far from the Ghana of his childhood. He is so much more confident than he was a year ago, a confidence that's made all the difference. And he knows what this game has given him and he knows what this country has given him — that it's giving him the opportunity to have a better life than he could have had back in Ghana.
And every once in a while, when Ben Bentil wakes up in the morning in his dorm room, in those fleeting seconds when he's between sleep and consciousness, it hits him: He is in the United States, with all the promise of his life right in front of him, the next great Providence College basketball player.Director wants to join the films together in a're-written history' trilogy
Quentin Tarantino has revealed that he plans to join Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained together under a “rewritten history” trilogy by making a third film in the series.
The director, who won Best Original Screenplay for Django Unchained at last night’s BAFTAs in London, told assembled journalists at the award ceremony that the films “beg” to be part of a trilogy, according to Empire.
He said:
This (rewritten history theme) begs a trilogy, it begs to have a third movie on this theme. I haven’t decided about what yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised…
Django Unchained, Tarantino’s first since 2009’s World War II movie Inglourious Basterds, is a Western set in the American South during the 1800s.
The film stars Jamie Foxx as Django, a freed slave who teams up with a bounty hunter, played by Christoph Waltz, in a bid to hunt down Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and free his enslaved wife from the murderous plantation owner.
Django Unchained is in UK cinemas now and you can watch the trailer below.GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida's Antonio Callaway has been found not responsible for an alleged sexual assault by a Title IX hearing officer in a case presented by his accuser following an incident in early December.
Callaway had been suspended from the university in late January when the allegations were brought by his accuser to the UF student conduct code and conflict resolution office.
In short, the Title IX investigation found that while Callaway did have sex with his accuser, the burden of proof that Callaway assaulted his accuser or caused her bodily harm from "the totality of evidence" was not met. Callaway was under investigation for three alleged conduct code violations: sexual assault, sexual misconduct and conduct causing physical injury or endangering another's |
arm,’ he instructed the students around him—and make their presence known in a silent, but conspicuous, circle. ‘It will speak louder,’ Lewis said, ‘than anybody who interrupts Trump’s speeches.” http://politi.co/1P7Czuh
KIRK ON TRUMP -- U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk tells NBC/5’s Mary Ann Ahern he would support Trump: “If he’s the nominee I certainly would.” http://bit.ly/1SM1Oco
CEDING MORAL HIGH GROUND -- “Brown: Protesters can’t blame Trump crowd for this ugliness," by Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Brown: "I haven’t figured out quite yet how anybody is going to beat Donald Trump, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t it. The protesters who caused Trump to cancel his Friday night rally at the UIC Pavilion erupted in elation at the announcement and took to the arena floor to celebrate. I’m not sure what they were celebrating. You can’t shut up Trump by shouting him down. Maybe for an hour. But his chance to speak is never further away than the next microphone.” http://bit.ly/1pig7d2
DURBIN: CLINTON CAN’T TAKE ILLINOIS FOR GRANTED -- “Bernie Sanders bashes Rahm, Hillary Clinton,” by Chicago Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles and Lynn Sweet: “Bernie Sanders bashed Mayor Rahm Emanuel for a second day in a row on Saturday and then looked for African American votes on the South Side, while a worried Hillary Clinton campaign will be bolstered with a likely Bill Clinton visit on Sunday. Democratic presidential rivals Clinton and Sanders are hopscotching among Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and North Carolina in the final days before the Tuesday vote, with less personal emphasis this weekend on Florida. ‘I would just tell you, after Michigan, the Hillary Clinton campaign cannot take any state for granted, including her home state of Illinois, where she was born,’ said Sen. Dick Durbin D-Illinois, a Clinton ally. ‘They should take it very seriously.’” http://bit.ly/1QRGQHT
UP NEXT, JENNY MCCARTHY AS TRIB COLUMNIST? -- “Susanna Homan named editor and publisher of Chicago magazine,” by Robert Feder: “Susanna Homan, the high-profile Chicago media executive and celebrity journalist, was named editor-in-chief and publisher of Chicago magazine Friday in a move that reunites her with Tribune Publishing chairman Michael Ferro. Homan previously worked for Ferro at Wrapports LLC, where she founded Splash, the lifestyle and fashion supplement, and served as publisher and general manager. In her new combined role at Chicago, Homan replaces publisher Tom Conradi and editor Beth Fenner. Conradi is expected to continue with Chicago Tribune Media Group in another position. Fenner is out after more than four years at the monthly publication.” http://bit.ly/1TZMwSZ
SHE WAS JUST EXPLAINING NAZISM -- “Trump Supporter Who Made Nazi Salute Explains Why She Made the Gesture," The New York Times' Eli Rosenberg: "The photo, taken outside the arena where Donald J. Trump’s appearance had just been canceled on Friday in Chicago, circulated far and wide: A woman in a Donald Trump T-shirt, eyes locked with a protester, her right arm raised skyward, her palm faced down. It did not take a second glance to understand that she was making a Nazi salute. Many took the photo, published by The Chicago Tribune, as a sign of the support Mr. Trump has engendered from extremists. Others surmised that it was maybe a Bernie Sanders supporter in disguise. But in an interview on Saturday from her home in Yorkville, Ill., Birgitt Peterson, 69, who says she was the woman in the photo, explained why she had made the salute." http://nyti.ms/1QRGRMa
MERIT-BASED HIGHER ED FUNDING -- “Rauner pushes for increase in performance-based higher education funding,” The Southern Dan Petrella: "While Gov. Bruce Rauner is calling for a 20 percent cut in guaranteed state support for public university operations next year, his budget proposal would spend an additional $50 million on 'performance-based funding.' That money -- 5 percent of the $1.01 billion Rauner suggests spending on state universities -- would be divvied out to schools competitively based on the number of degrees they award, the cost per degree, the amount of money spent on research and public service, and other measures designed to show how well they’re doing the job of providing high-quality, affordable education to students of diverse backgrounds." http://bit.ly/1UrGyZA
LAYOFFS BECAUSE NO HIGHER ED FUNDING -- “Eastern Illinois U president blames layoffs on state leaders,” by The Associated Press: “Eastern Illinois University President David Glassman says 177 campus employees who earlier who were given layoff notices because of the state-budget stalemate have now lost their jobs. Glassman sent a message to people on campus Friday, calling it a sad day and blamed the state’s political leaders. The university president said those who lost jobs are victims of 'the lack of any bipartisanship and compromise.’” http://bit.ly/1Mh8qZL
FATALLY FLAWED POLITICS -- “Death by a thousand cuts,” by Illinois Times' Patrick Yeagle: "Someone may have to die before this is resolved, and even that might not be enough. That’s the consensus among several social service agencies in Springfield which are running on fumes as a result of the state budget crisis.” http://bit.ly/1UrGRU6
NO SAFETY, NO PROBLEM -- “Cited for safety, company still wins juicy city contracts," by Chuck Neubauer & Sandy Bergo: “The Emanuel administration gave 10 contracts worth as much as $43 million to a Chicago sewer and excavation company after federal inspectors cited the business twice for serious workplace-safety violations on city jobs. City officials say they hadn’t been aware of the safety citations and resulting fines, totaling $150,000, on the two sewer jobs when they gave Pan-Oceanic Engineering Co., Inc. the millions of dollars in additional business.” http://bit.ly/1QX3zyY
RESIDING HERE, LIVING THERE -- “Cook county judge candidate fights residency ‘problem,’” by BGA’s Casey Toner: “In the months leading up to filing day, Chicago lawyer Travis Richardson did a variety of things to run for Cook County judge. Renting a house in the Brainerd neighborhood, he changed his driver’s license as well as auto and voter registrations to reflect the place he now called home — about a mile and a half from his Beverly house for the past 14 years, a residence he still owned and where the rest of his family still lived.” http://bit.ly/24ZfgyG
BREITBART ‘SOLD OUT’ TO TRUMP -- “Michelle Fields, Ben Shapiro Resign From Breitbart,” by Rosie Gray and McKay Coppins - “Today I informed the management at Breitbart News of my immediate resignation,’ the reporter at the center of the controversy at the conservative site told BuzzFeed News, the week after Trump’s campaign manager allegedly grabbed her. In his own statement, Shapiro said the episode was emblematic of how he believes the site’s management had sold out the legacy of its founder and namesake, the late Andrew Breitbart.
Bully upon bully -- ‘Andrew’s life mission has been betrayed,’ Shapiro wrote. ‘Indeed, Breitbart News, under the chairmanship of Steve Bannon, has put a stake through the heart of Andrew’s legacy. In my opinion, Steve Bannon is a bully, and has sold out Andrew’s mission in order to back another bully, Donald Trump; he has shaped the company into Trump’s personal Pravda, to the extent that he abandoned and undercut his own reporter, Breitbart News’ Michelle Fields, in order to protect Trump’s bully campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who allegedly assaulted Michelle.’” http://bzfd.it/1THm28l
TROUBLE BUILDING -- “Breitbart divisions erupt over handling of Michelle Fields incident,” by POLITICO’s Hadas Gold: “Some staffers at the conservative news site Breitbart are furious over the company’s handling of an incident between one of their reporters and Donald Trump’s campaign manager. Internal chats shared with POLITICO and conversations with staffers at Breitbart suggest a groundswell of feeling at the company that leadership was uninterested in supporting Michelle Fields after she accused Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski of strong-arming her as she tried to ask the candidate a question at an event in Florida Tuesday night.” http://politi.co/1QRH2a6
LAST DASH IN STATE’S ATTORNEY RACE -- “State’s Attorney candidates hit the campaign trail," by WGN's Sean Lewis: "Across Cook County today, The final 48 hours in the three woman race for State’s Attorney. In Lakeview, current State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez accepted the endorsements of North Side Aldermen Tom Tunney and James Cappleman, both giving her credit for crime reduction programs. On the South Side, challenger Kim Foxx made one of her stops this Sunday at West Point Baptist Church.” http://bit.ly/1P7CCX2
WHAT TO EXPECT FOR DEMS ON TUESDAY -- “Breaking down the Democratic map,” by POLITICO's Daniel Strauss and Natasha Korecki: "Bernie Sanders has been looking forward to Tuesday’s string of industrial Midwestern contests for some time, confident that his economic message and opposition to trade deals will resonate in working class areas hit hard by manufacturing losses and foreign competition. The Vermont senator comes in with some momentum after his upset victory Tuesday in Michigan, and figures to be competitive in at least three of Tuesday’s five Democratic presidential primaries: Illinois, Missouri and Ohio. In the other two states, North Carolina and Florida, Hillary Clinton has the clear advantage. Sanders has been crushed everywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line, largely because of Clinton’s landslide margins among African-Americans -- and North Carolina and Florida have large black populations.” http://politi.co/1THdBtE
PROTESTER FACING ‘TRUMPED-UP’ CHARGES? -- “Trump Protester 'Blindsided' Police Officer at Rally Friday: Prosecutors," by DNAinfo's Alex Nitkin: "Three men and a woman were formally charged after being arrested at Friday's canceled Donald Trump rally at UIC Pavilion, according to a police notice issued Saturday night. Sohaan Goss, 21, and Sergio Giraldo, 23, were both charged with felony aggravated battery of a police officer, according to the notice. But supporters who attended bond court said the two faced ‘trumped-up’ charges, and people from across the country had donated to help them make bail." http://dnain.fo/1LluEyQ
“Father of slain 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee charged with shooting 3,” by DNAinfo's Simone Alicea: "The father of slain 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee has been charged with shooting three people last week in the Gresham neighborhood, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office announced Sunday. Pierre Stokes, 25, was charged with three counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon for a March 8 shooting that left three people injured in the 7900 block of South Ashland, state attorney’s office spokeswoman Sally Daly said." http://bit.ly/1RIFuMb
LEGEND-ARY BACKING -- “Singer John Legend tweets endorsement in Cook county state’s attorney race," ABC7: “Crooner/songwriter John Legend weighed in Sunday via his verified Twitter account on the Cook County State's Attorney's race. In a 4:35 p.m. tweet, he endorsed Kim Foxx, who faces off against incumbent Anita Alvarez for the Democratic nomination on Tuesday's primary election. Alvarez has been under fire the last few months for her handling of the Laquan McDonald shooting.” http://abc7.ws/22cEsD1
-- “THE WATCHDOGS: You paid to build them, now you pay to lease them,” by Chicago Sun-Times' Tim Novak, Mick Dumke, Brett Chase and Chris Fusco: "Under Mayor Richard M. Daley, the city of Chicago chipped in $19 million to build Sky55, a 40-story apartment building that was part of City Hall’s plan to redevelop the South Loop neighborhood where Daley lived. Now, the city’s taxpayers are paying to help fill the privately owned building. They’re helping to cover the rent for people in the Chicago Housing Authority’s housing choice voucher program, formerly known as Section 8, to lease 28 apartments in the tower." http://bit.ly/1M1mVWH
REFERENDUM ON RAUNER -- “Rauner's Help In Key Senate Contest: A Boost, Or Deterrant?" by NPR IL's Amanda Vinicky: "Gov. Bruce Rauner has endorsed state trooper Bryce Benton in the 50th state senate district, over incumbent Sen. Sam McCann. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner spent his Sunday trying to give a boost to a central Illinois Republican candidate for state senate. The race is seen as a key test of Rauner's own agenda, and power within his party." http://bit.ly/22eBBWC
EXPLAINING TRUMP -- “Muslim child's fear: 'Is Trump going to exile us?'" by Chicago Tribune's Alison Bowen: "Many parents know the feeling of a child asking a difficult question they're not prepared to answer. But for many Muslim parents, those questions are increasingly fearful and focused on Donald Trump and the presidential race. 'I have kids coming in asking, 'Is Trump going to exile us?' said Dr. Azmaira Maker, a San Diego psychologist. Muslim children throughout the country are expressing fear amid fiery campaign rhetoric, say therapists and community leaders." http://trib.in/1pFVMyF
STATE OF THE RACE -- “Poll Finds Kasich, Rubio Moving in Opposite Directions," by The Wall Street Journal’s Patrick O'Connor: "The fortunes of Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Marco Rubio appear to be heading in opposite directions on the cusp of must-win primaries for both, a new poll finds. Mr. Kasich narrowly leads the Republican field in his home state of Ohio ahead of a winner-take-all primary on Tuesday, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll shows. The governor is the preferred pick of 39% of likely primary voters, followed by businessman Donald Trump at 33% and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 19%.” http://on.wsj.com/1THdu1f
URBAN EAGLE -- “Bald Eagle Spotted in Chicago, Basking In Its Glory at Rainbow Beach Dunes," by DNAinfo’s Justin Breen: "While driving on Chicago's South Side recently, veteran wildlife photographer Jerry Goldner noticed three crows bothering a large bird. Goldner at first thought the bird being harassed on a tree near Rainbow Beach Dunes and the vacant former South Works steel mill site was a great horned owl. But, upon further inspection, Goldner realized it was a mature bald eagle.” http://dnain.fo/22cEpqF
Where’s Rahm? No public events.
Where’s Rauner? In Springfield in the evening to attend Asphalt Pavement Association meeting.
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Follow UsJohannesburg - Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is turning to the Constitutional Court to try to overturn his murder conviction, but it might be tricky to convince the highest court of the country to hear his appeal, a legal expert has warned.
But he has definitely bought himself some time.
While Pistorius can base his appeal only on the judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that turned his culpable homicide conviction into murder, he cannot base it on the earlier High Court judgment, Marius du Toit, a defence lawyer and former prosecutor, told News24.
"I would love to see their application [to the Constitutional Court]. Some people are saying they will focus on his right to a fair trial, but they are bound by the judgment handed down by [SCA justice Eric] Leach," said Du Toit.
"You have to look for constitutional grounds in that judgment. Not [High Court Judge Thokozile] Masipa's."
He said the Constitutional Court will look at the application and then decide whether to hear it, or dismiss it.
"I somehow think the Constitutional Court is not going to willy nilly grant leave to appeal. They could say 'Sorry guys, we are not interested'."
- Read:Oscar plans to approach Constitutional Court
The possibility for the Constitutional Court deciding to hear the matter is there, and if it does so, Pistorius's sentencing proceedings might be postponed from April 18.
"You can't put the cart before the horse," Du Toit said.
He said it was difficult to "guesstimate" when the Constitutional Court would make a decision.
"It sometimes takes months, or weeks. But not years."
15 days to apply
Du Toit said Pistorius's legal team will have 15 days to apply for leave to appeal. However it was not "the end of world" if the application was slightly delayed.
"He will have to file an affidavit saying why it was delayed, and he could say it was because of finances, or they were getting the record ready."
He said "a lot of paper" is used in a Constitutional Court application.
"Whatever you file, you have to do it 22-fold. That's for the 11 justices and their clerks."
- Read: Oscar granted R10 000 bail
The High Court in Pretoria granted Pistorius bail of R10 000 on Tuesday.
Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba said Pistorius must be electronically monitored. He would also only be allowed to travel within a radius of 20km around his uncle's Waterkloof home, where he was previously under correctional supervision for his original sentence of culpable homicide.
He will be allowed to leave the home between 07:00 and midday, and will need written permission from the investigating officer to leave the house outside of those hours.
Pistorius's lawyer Barry Roux earlier told Ledwaba that an application for leave to appeal would be brought to the Constitutional Court, and if that was unsuccessful he would return to the high court for sentencing.
NPA not convinced
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said: "We acknowledge he has the right to bring that application... We're not convinced that the accused has made out a good case and that his application to the Constitutional Court will be successful."
Pistorius's culpable homicide conviction was overturned for a stronger conviction of murder by the SCA last week in Bloemfontein.
He faces a minimum of 15 years for the murder, unless he provides substantial and compelling reasons to the high court to deviate from that.
The SCA's ruling came almost three years after Pistorius shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp, later stating he mistook her for an intruder. He fired four shots into the door of a toilet cubicle in his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day in 2013.
He served one-sixth of his five-year sentence in prison and was released in October to serve the remainder under correctional supervision.European Commission - Speech - [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Michel Barnier in front of the Committees of Foreign Affairs and the Committees of European Affairs of the Italian Parliament Presidents, Members of Parliament, I am happy to be here to give you an update on the ongoing negotiations. At midnight on 29 March 2019, the United Kingdom will leave the European Union and will become a third country. This is the UK's sovereign decision. It must be respected. The question facing us over the coming months is serious, but simple: will the United Kingdom leave in an orderly fashion with an agreement, or not? From our side, I repeat once again that an agreement is the best outcome. It is in our common interest. But if we want a deal, time is of the essence. The Treaty on European Union foresees a period of two years to negotiate withdrawal. 6 months have gone by since Theresa May's letter on 29 March 2017.
6 months will be necessary to allow for ratification before 29 March 2019. There is therefore only one year left: To swiftly reach an agreement on the United Kingdom's orderly withdrawal and to provide certainty where Brexit has created uncertainty: for citizens, for beneficiaries of EU programmes, for the new borders, particularly in Ireland. To subsequently define the length and precise conditions of a short transition period, if the British government requests one. To begin scoping our future relationship, in parallel to the finalisation of the withdrawal agreement. The sooner we make real "sufficient progress" on the conditions of the UK's withdrawal, the sooner we can begin discussing our future partnership. This was the approach set out unanimously by the European Council on 29 April in its guidelines. Above all, this approach is an essential condition for the success of these negotiations. Putting things in the right order is the best way to deal with the uncertainty created by Brexit, and the best way to create the necessary trust between us for our ambitious future relationship. If we didn't do this, and allowed the uncertainty to continue, and pushed these difficult subjects to the end of the negotiations, then we would run the risk of failure in the absence of trust between us. *** Ladies and gentlemen, We are a few days away from the fourth round of negotiations. I am asking myself questions. I'm wondering why – beyond the progress we've made on certain points – there is still today major uncertainty on each of the key issues of the first phase. To make progress, we are waiting for clear commitments from the UK on these precise issues. We will listen attentively and constructively to Theresa May's important speech tomorrow in Florence. 1/ On citizens' rights, our priority in this negotiation: The issue of guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens in the United Kingdom has not been solved. It is absolutely necessary that all these citizens, hundreds of thousands of whom are Italian citizens living and working in the United Kingdom, can continue to live as they did before, with the same rights and safeguards. This is a human and social question, which the European Parliament and its president, Antonio Tajani, are vigilantly watching, and rightly so. Citizens should be able to enforce their rights directly from the withdrawal agreement. This would prevent any possible dilution of these rights, if the rules implementing them in the UK were to change. In the same way, we want these rights to be valid in national courts and that national courts have the possibility – or even the obligation – to refer questions related to the interpretation of rights deriving from European law to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Court of Justice would remain the ultimate guarantor of the agreement. This is for a simple reason: rights need to be effectively guaranteed. Our citizens have real concerns today – which we share – when the Home Office sends deportation letters or appears to defy High Court orders, as we read in the press. Our position on this point has been clear since the beginning. We want to provide the strongest safeguards for the rights of citizens on both sides of the Channel. We are waiting for the United Kingdom to express the same wish. 2/ On the financial settlement: All that is necessary in this negotiation is that everyone honours the commitments that they have made to each other. To settle the accounts. No more, no less. To settle the accounts in an objective manner, on the basis of all commitments made at 28. We want to provide – and we must provide – certainty for project managers working in Europe, such as in Italy and its regions, and in other continents, such as Africa, on the basis of the commitment of the 28. But beyond money, this is a question of trust between the 27 and the United Kingdom, based on the respect of one's signature. And everyone knows that we will need this trust to create a solid relationship in the future. 3/ Finally, on Ireland, and the Border in particular, we must act responsibly to respect both the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and the integrity of the Single Market. We are advancing, but there is still more political work to be done. As I was saying, I am asking myself questions. These questions, as far as I see it, should not be controversial because this is about protecting our citizens, our businesses, our partners, and the credibility of our promises. *** Ladies and gentlemen, Once we have clarity on these points, we should also define the precise conditions for a possible transition period, if the British government requests one. This period would begin on 30 March 2019, when the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European institutions, and therefore no longer takes part in the decision-making process. An important point: this short transition period will be part of the Article 50 withdrawal agreement. Without a withdrawal agreement, there is no transition. This is a point of law. I would like to be very clear: if we are to extend for a limited period the acquis of the EU, with all its benefits, then logically "this would require existing Union regulatory, budgetary, supervisory, judiciary and enforcement instruments and structures to apply" – as recalled in the mandate I received from the European Council, under the authority of President Donald Tusk. I am convinced that a rapid agreement on the conditions of the UK's orderly withdrawal, and a transition period, is possible. For that to happen, we would like the United Kingdom to put on the table, as soon as next week, proposals to overcome the barriers. To quote Machiavel: "Dove c'è una grande volontà, non possono esserci grandi difficoltà."[1]. For all the reasons I have just explained, I repeat that an agreement on the orderly withdrawal is a precondition for any constructive and trustworthy discussion on our future relationship with the United Kingdom. We want this future relationship! Ladies and gentlemen, It was here, in Rome, that the founding treaty of our Union was signed in 1957. And it was here that the Heads of State and Government of the 27 decided, 60 years later, to refound our Union. This decision was not only symbolic. It has now given a new dynamic to the 27. This is what President Juncker said in his important State of the Union speech, in the European Parliament on 13 September. At a time when we are accelerating economically and politically at 27, we are of course open to future cooperation with the United Kingdom, within the framework of a close partnership. *** We have been a Global Europe for quite some time now. We have trade deals with 60 countries with whom we trade goods and services, whilst respecting our social, environmental, data protection and food safety standards. And we will continue to do so: with Canada and Japan, with Mexico and Mercosur, soon with Australia and New Zealand, as President Juncker announced in his speech last week. We will obviously continue to trade with the United Kingdom. The future trade deal with the United Kingdom will be particular, as it will be less about building convergence, and more about controlling future divergence. This is key to establishing fair competition. Naturally, if the United Kingdom wanted to go further than the type of free trade agreement we have just signed with Canada, there are other models on the table. For example, Norway and Iceland have chosen to be in the Single Market, to accept the rules, and to contribute financially to cohesion policy. But one thing is sure: it is not – and will not – be possible for a third country to have the same benefits as the Norwegian model but the limited obligations of the Canadian model. And naturally, any agreement must respect the regulatory autonomy of the EU, as well as the integrity of its legal order. *** Ladies and gentlemen, This new relationship will go well beyond a trade relationship and will also involve an external, security and defence dimension. Under the initiative of Federica Mogherini – and as Italy has often advocated – the EU is moving forward. We are strengthening our ability to work together at our borders, and occasionally beyond. We want to invest together, to do research together and to develop our common capabilities, with particular thanks to the European Defence Fund, as proposed by the European Commission. The UK will also become a third country in these areas. But because this is about the stability and security of our continent, the EU and the UK should be ready to cooperate in due course. There should be an unconditional commitment to the security and stability of our continent, as the UK government's paper correctly stated recently. There can be no trade off here. We are tied to the UK through a community of values and destiny. *** Ladies and gentlemen, The dialogue we are having here today – as in all national parliaments – is essential because our future partnership with the United Kingdom, and its legal text in the form of a treaty, will have to be ratified by you, when the time comes. Once again, the future of the Union is our priority, not Brexit. We will advance together, without delay. Beyond trade policy, our security and our defence, the EU is taking new initiatives in many other areas, such as research, innovation, the digital agenda, energy, the fight against climate change, and migration. Allow me therefore to conclude by repeating the words of your President of the Council, Paolo Gentiloni, when he was commenting on the return of the European spirit and economic growth: "This is not the time to relax, but to take advantage of the momentum, to take the European project into our hands and bring it into the future."[2] [1] "Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great". [2]“Non è il momento del relax, ma di approfittare di questo slancio, per prendere in mano tutti insieme questo progetto e riportarlo ancora una volta tutti in avanti”. (Etats généraux des Italiens dans les institutions européennes, 23 juin 2017) SPEECH/17/3404 Press contacts: General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by emailUPDATE 7
Resuming work after a 3-month hiatus
August 29, 2016
Seed of Life is a meditative game in which you deflect colourful elements to create sacred patterns.
Catch up on what the game is in this post.
Some updates and things to mention
I have been finishing up some contract work the past few months. Immediately after that, I spent about 2 weeks on a different and larger scoped personal project with a friend. All the while I’ve been playing a ton of Overwatch, and more recently, finishing up the Blood and Wine expansion in The Witcher 3.
Now that the contract is finished, my other project in a decent place to lay dormant, and my gaming lust sated; it’s time to get back into Seed of Life.
Meanwhile, here are some bits of news worth mentioning:
Getting back into things
In my last update, I referenced the game Splice as a specific example of what I’m aiming for when it comes to the look and feel of the menus and UI, and that hasn’t changed.
Here’s what’s ahead for Seed of Life.
My immediate goals
Get the core game loop going
Splash screens, start screen, mode select, option to quit
Core modes (I want only one playable for now, which is Challenge)
Story, Zen, Endless, Challenge
Refine the menus and UI to fit the new 3d aesthetic
Create a test executable
My medium term goals
Integrate Analytics
This is pivotal for testing and collecting data
Integrate Steamworks
The game is not exclusive to Steam, but getting this done will get the ball rolling for implementing a platform-independent solution for Achievements, Statistics, and Leaderboards
Refine the aesthetics, visuals, colours, and audio
Playtest + iterate (publish alpha version?)
My long term goals
Explore more projectile types and projectile gameplay
It’s important to look more at sacred geometry, the golden ratio and the golden rectangle, the seed of life and the flower of life, Fibonacci sequences, Phi, Fractals, the Millenium Run/Simulation, and so on.
Look at nature: flowers, plants, honeycomb, pinecones, cobwebs, galaxies
Refine all game modes
Story, Zen, Endless, Challenge
Finalise the visuals and audio for the game
Playtest + iterate more (publish early access version?)
My ultimate goal
To create a beautiful looking and sounding game that is fun to play, one that dazzles and surprises its players with the gentle introduction of new mechanics and visuals
In terms of a marketable game, one that should garner a high number of positive reviews and maximise buyer satisfaction:
Screenshots to look pretty
GIFs and videos to look even prettier
Music to sound appropriately emotive
Game to instill a strong thematic vibe (math / geometry, philosophy / theology)
Endless and Challenge modes to feel appropriately fun and challenging
Story and Zen modes to feel appropriately dazzling and mesmerising
Game overall to have elements of understanding and epiphany
ANYONE should be able to pick up and play
design with simplicity and ease-of-use
minimise frustration, friction, and negative reinforcement
maximise communication and positive reinforcement
Conclusion
I hope to continue making development posts weekly. I am still trying to ease myself into an efficient working routine, the details of which I’ll touch upon in my next post.It started at CES, nearly 12 months ago. NVIDIA announced GeForce Experience, a software solution to the problem of choosing optimal graphics settings for your PC in the games you play. With console games, the developer has already selected what it believes is the right balance of visual quality and frame rate. On the PC, these decisions are left up to the end user. We’ve seen some games try and solve the problem by limiting the number of available graphical options, but other than that it’s a problem that didn’t see much widespread attention. After all, PC gamers are used to fiddling around with settings - it’s just an expected part of the experience. In an attempt to broaden the PC gaming user base (likely somewhat motivated by a lack of next-gen console wins), NVIDIA came up with GeForce Experience. NVIDIA already tests a huge number of games across a broad range of NVIDIA hardware, so it has a good idea of what the best settings may be for each game/PC combination.
Also at CES 2013 NVIDIA announced Project Shield, later renamed to just Shield. The somewhat odd but surprisingly decent portable Android gaming system served another function: it could be used to play PC games on your TV, streaming directly from your PC.
Finally, NVIDIA has been quietly (and lately not-so-quietly) engaged with Valve in its SteamOS and Steam Machine efforts (admittedly, so is AMD).
From where I stand, it sure does look like NVIDIA is trying to bring aspects of console gaming to PCs. You could go one step further and say that NVIDIA appears to be highly motivated to improve gaming in more ways than pushing for higher quality graphics and higher frame rates.
All of this makes sense after all. With ATI and AMD fully integrated, and Intel finally taking graphics (somewhat) seriously, NVIDIA needs to do a lot more to remain relevant (and dominant) in the industry going forward. Simply putting out good GPUs will only take the company so far.
NVIDIA’s latest attempt is G-Sync, a hardware solution for displays that enables a semi-variable refresh rate driven by a supported NVIDIA graphics card. The premise is pretty simple to understand. Displays and GPUs update content asynchronously by nature. A display panel updates itself at a fixed interval (its refresh rate), usually 60 times per second (60Hz) for the majority of panels. Gaming specific displays might support even higher refresh rates of 120Hz or 144Hz. GPUs on the other hand render frames as quickly as possible, presenting them to the display whenever they’re done.
When you have a frame that arrives in the middle of a refresh, the display ends up drawing parts of multiple frames on the screen at the same time. Drawing parts of multiple frames at the same time can result in visual artifacts, or tears, separating the individual frames. You’ll notice tearing as horizontal lines/artifacts that seem to scroll across the screen. It can be incredibly distracting.
You can avoid tearing by keeping the GPU and display in sync. Enabling vsync does just this. The GPU will only ship frames off to the display in sync with the panel’s refresh rate. Tearing goes away, but you get a new artifact: stuttering.
Because the content of each frame of a game can vary wildly, the GPU’s frame rate can be similarly variable. Once again we find ourselves in a situation where the GPU wants to present a frame out of sync with the display. With vsync enabled, the GPU will wait to deliver the frame until the next refresh period, resulting in a repeated frame in the interim. This repeated frame manifests itself as stuttering. As long as you have a frame rate that isn’t perfectly aligned with your refresh rate, you’ve got the potential for visible stuttering.
G-Sync purports to offer the best of both worlds. Simply put, G-Sync attempts to make the display wait to refresh itself until the GPU is ready with a new frame. No tearing, no stuttering - just buttery smoothness. And of course, only available on NVIDIA GPUs |
's benefit is an unreasonable burden is probably a case Apple could make (and its one the EFF has argued in the past). But this particular legal fight looks like it could blow up to a scale much larger than that particular point. For now there's no telling what the outcome of a clash between Apple and the FBI over a 227-year old will be, but it will almost certainly affect the legal status of encryption in the United States for years and decades to come.
Want to hear more about Apple's battle against the FBI, plus learn a little about survival and find out which Popular Mechanics editor would die in the wilderness? Download and subscribe to the Most Useful Podcast Ever here!INDIANAPOLIS -- "Can I come in," Peyton Manning asked, approaching the office of the Indianapolis Colts president.
"Of course," Bill Polian responded.
It was the summer of 2011. The quarterback was still more than seven months from becoming a Denver Bronco, and in the dark enough on his neck condition to think playing that fall was probable. The lockout had just ended.
So it was time for some hard questions after six months away from the facility.
Somewhere in the two-hour conversation, Manning got down to brass tacks with Polian: "How much longer do you think you'll stay?" Polian responded, "Until we get back to the point where we can be a genuine Super Bowl contender one more time." Manning shot back, "How long will that take?" Polian answered, "In three years, we should be ready to go."
Polian then turned the tables, asking Manning how much longer he planned to play. "At least that long," the quarterback responded. Finally, Polian looked back at Manning and said, "Let's go get it."
Manning didn't know he'd already played his final game as a Colt any more than Polian knew that he was in his final season running team. But Polian remembered this exchange. And Manning did, too.
"As it turned out, it only took him two years to get back -- and then he went back again this year and he won it," Polian said on Sunday morning. "It was fulfilling what we both thought could happen."
That would be a heck of a story, even if this had all played out according to plan -- if Manning's neck fusion took the first time around, and he stayed with the Colts, and Polian and Jim Caldwell and Co. all kept their jobs as a result, and they rode off into the sunset together a few years later.
It's a far more incredible one, having played out as it did.
Since that talk, Manning had three neck surgeries (on top of the one he'd already undergone), then threw for 19,062 yards, 151 touchdowns and 59 interceptions on 1,639-of-2,479 passing. He went 50-15 in his 65 starts for the Broncos. He played in two more Super Bowls, and won another one. In the process, he just about drove his body until the check engine light was bright red and the tank was at "E", which is where a lot of people thought he was four years prior.
What's left? There'll be a lot to unpack here on Monday as Manning says goodbye -- and we certainly haven't heard the end of the HGH story, or the resurrected Tennessee trainer saga -- but a good place to start would be with the impact he's had on the people who'll come after him. That's where, of course, his place in the NFL lives on, and it's where he continued to make a dent long after that summit five summers ago, and even longer after Manning showed the capability of creating such a legacy.
Manning's first NFL coach, Jim Mora, happened to be the same guy who let the young quarterback on the Saints' practice field first as a Louisiana teenager, and later as a college athlete. Archie Manning -- a New Orleans legend and Peyton's dad -- would call Mora and ask if his son could watch practice, which often would turn to the younger Manning actually jumping in and, well, practicing.
Mora could see then what everyone would soon find out: The kid saw the game on a different level.
"I think, if there's been a lasting impact Peyton has made, it's the mental part of it," Mora said on Sunday. "His ability to go to the line, recognize what the defense was doing, and be correct about it on a consistent basis, then call a play based off that, and have it work most of the time -- you didn't see that consistently from quarterbacks in the NFL prior to Peyton."
In fact, Polian's belief is Manning's ability to do it led to the advent of the spread offense as we know it today, and as it's prominently played at the college level. Not everyone can think like Manning. But looking to cull a similar edge, coaches started using cards on the sideline as a device to get play calls in after the defense was set, simulating the advantage Manning gave the Colts on every snap.
So in a way, guys like Chip Kelly were looking to coach like Manning strove to play.
The former Colts GM and president also mentioned how Manning's pitter-patter footwork was revolutionary -- "People in the media accused him of having happy feet, and now every quarterback from the fourth grade on is taught to keep their feet alive in the pocket" -- and there's no question his family's summer camp has impacted how young passers are raised. But even greater was the impact Manning had on the city he played his first 14 seasons in.
The team didn't leave for Los Angeles, as it might've otherwise. High school football boomed, and the state now has the kind of talent pipeline for football that had long been reserved for basketball in those parts. And so many were left with such strong memories that they kept rooting for the guy even after he changed shades of blue in 2012.
"It's very clear -- when we got there [in 1998], the Colts were fifth in the pecking order, behind Indiana basketball, Purdue basketball, Pacer basketball and the Indy 500," Polian said. "In a year or two, he turned that around, by the dint of personality and by his play. Lucas Oil Stadium and the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital are monuments to him that will stay there for the rest of his life, beyond his life. He's a civic icon on par with Larry Bird."
He'd never be that in Denver -- that's what his boss there was -- but he was able to create something in Colorado that he couldn't in Indiana: His own coaching tree. Manning played, for the most part, under one offensive staff with the Colts, led by Tom Moore. In Denver, the coaches were younger, and rising -- and he could affect them the way coaches had previously affected him.
As one prominent former Bronco assistant explains it, "It's an adapt-or-die situation. He was so much more of a forward-thinking player, it was all the information you could possibly handle. And if you couldn't hang with him, you'd weed yourself out naturally."
At first, it was so overwhelming that head coach John Fox, offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and quarterbacks coach Adam Gase convinced John Elway to lend the staff a personnel assistant, Bert Watts, to help Brian Callahan with the extra work. When Watts left after the season, Jim Bob Cooter replaced him. Cooter left the next year, and Bo Hardegree replaced him.
McCoy's now the head coach in San Diego, Gase is the head coach in Miami, Watts is the defensive coordinator at UC-Davis, Cooter is the Lions' offensive coordinator, Callahan is quarterbacks coach in Detroit, and Hardegree is quarterbacks coach in Miami. Just like that, Manning has a coaching tree.
And they all took lessons from Manning. Here's one: Hanging in his office at Chargers Park, McCoy has a picture of Manning with his hands submerged in a bucket of ice as a confused Eric Decker walks by. Unbeknownst to some on the practice field, the quarterback was trying to freeze his hands, to simulate the conditions he'd be up against in that week's divisional playoff against Baltimore.
"That goes back to the whole thing -- attention to detail, work ethic, doing everything to get an edge," McCoy said on Sunday afternoon. "That's what it's about. The preparation you see every day is amazing. It makes you better. You prepare differently because you see that. He was always trying to get that little extra edge. Not a lot of people knew about the bucket of ice. He set it up with the trainers, and had the receivers out there ready to go. It's just different.
"I love that I have that picture."
Like the rest of these guys, Polian heard from Manning on Saturday night, before the quarterback's final call as a pro became public. And as Polian reflected on Manning's career, the feeling he got was much different than what he was feeling a few years ago, when No. 18's football mortality was first called into question. So he thought back to the first time it really clicked for him that Manning was special -- sitting with his personnel director, Dom Anile, in Lexington, Kentucky, back in 1997. He remember the championship and the records. He recalled the pain of 2011. And he, like Manning, knew now it was time.
The story's finally complete.
"During that time, when he left the Colts, there were tears," Polian said. "He didn't wanna leave, none of us wanted him to leave, the fans didn't want it, we didn't want it. It was hard. It was emotionally difficult. Now, there's only applause. This is the end of a great, great career. Someone wrote a book about presidents, and called this kind of thing 'the second act'. He had a second act in football, and he's one of very few people to ever do that.
"I'm grateful for that. We all are. We're joyful that he went out on the highest note. And I'm grateful, and proud to be associated with him."
Manning got those years he told Polian he would back in his office on that summer day five years ago. And he got the second championship he was so focused on, and took all the records with him.
But ask Polian, and others, about that.
They'll tell you he gave back a whole lot more.
Follow Albert Breer on Twitter @AlbertBreer.A chained library is a library where the books are attached to their bookcase by a chain, which is sufficiently long to allow the books to be taken from their shelves and read, but not removed from the library itself. This would prevent theft of the library's materials.[1] However, it also led to crowding and awkwardness when readers had to stand side by side, each holding a book or clumping so they could share one.[2] The practice was usual for reference libraries (that is, the vast majority of libraries) from the Middle Ages to approximately the 18th century. However, since the chaining process was also expensive, it was not used on all books.[3] Only the more valuable books in a collection were chained.[3] This included reference books and large books.[3]
It is standard for chained libraries to have the chain fitted to the corner or cover of a book. This is because if the chain were to be placed on the spine the book would suffer greater wear from the stress of moving it on and off the shelf. Because of the location of the chain attached to the book (via a ringlet) the books are housed with their spine facing away from the reader with only the pages' fore-edges visible (that is, the 'wrong' way round to people accustomed to contemporary libraries). This is so that each book can be removed and opened without needing to be turned around, hence avoiding tangling its chain. To remove the book from the chain, the librarian would use a key.[4]
Chained library in Hereford Cathedral
The earliest example in England of a library to be endowed for use outside an institution such as a school or college was the Francis Trigge Chained Library in Grantham, Lincolnshire, established in 1598. The library still exists and can justifiably claim to be the forerunner of later public library systems. Marsh's Library in Dublin, built 1701, is another non institutional library which is still housed in its original building. Here it was not the books that were chained, but rather the readers were locked into cages to prevent rare volumes from 'wandering'. There is also an example of a chained library in the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, as well as at Bolton School. Hereford Cathedral has the largest surviving chained library. While chaining books was a popular practice throughout Europe, it was not used in all libraries. The practice of chaining library books became less popular as printing increased and books became less expensive.[4] Wimborne Minster in Dorset, England is yet another example of a Chained Library. It is one of the first in England and the second largest.[5]
Recent interest in saving and preserving chained libraries [ edit ]
Recently, there has been increased interest in reconstructing chained libraries. Worldwide, only five chained libraries have survived with their original furniture, chains, and books.[1] This includes the library built in the Church of Saint Walpurga, located in the small town of Zutphen in the Netherlands.[1] This library was built in 1564.[1] The library is now part of a museum that allows visitors to tour and view the library's original books, furniture, and chains.[1] Another chained library is the Malatestiana Library in Cesena near Bologna in Italy, dating back to the Italian Renaissance. A lot of work has gone into rebuilding and preserving these great libraries.[4]
For example, many workers, over a decade, and massive monetary donations were spent to restore the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library museum located in Hereford, England.[4] Built over 900 years ago, the library fell into disrepair and faced destruction.[4] The oldest chained book found in the library is the Hereford Gospels.[6] Written in the eighth century, it is one of 229 chained books located in this great library.[6] The Hereford library is the largest surviving chained library with its chains and books intact.[6] The library is now open to the public as a tourist attraction and museum.[4]
The chained library in Wimborne Minster is the second-largest chained library in the UK. The first donation came from Revd William Stone. These were theological books, used mainly by the clergy and therefore were not chained. When another local donor, Roger Gillingham, gave another 90 books in 1695, he insisted that the books be chained up, but also that the Library should be opened, free, for the people of the town, providing they were ‘shopkeepers or the better class of person'.[7]
Surviving examples of chained libraries [ edit ]
Chained libraries in popular culture [ edit ]
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, the library of the magical Unseen University also has a number of chained books—however, in this case, the purpose of the chains is to prevent the more vicious magical books from escaping or attacking passers-by.
David Williams has written a mystery, Murder in Advent, that features a chained library. [8]
, that features a chained library. In the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the Restricted section of the library features chained books.
, the Restricted section of the library features chained books. In the season six finale of Game of Thrones, Samwell Tarly is granted access to the Citadel Library where many of the books are chained.
In the film Doctor Strange, the library of Kamar-Taj is home to countless ancient books, but some books are forbidden and on chains and watched over by the librarian, Wong.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]SHARE
The assassination of a Guatemala mayor with alleged links to a drug trafficking group illustrates the links between elites and criminal groups — and the power they can wield over local politics.
Carlos Darinel Aguirre, the mayor of La Libertad municipality in Huehuetenango department on Guatemala’s northwest border with Mexico, was killed in a heavily armed attack on October 25, AP reported. His 12-year-old daughter and a bodyguard who were with him at the time also died in the ambush.
Aguirre was traveling in an armored white SUV in the border town of La Mesilla, Huehuetenango, when a group of men attacked him and his escort with high-caliber rifles and grenades, according to initial reports. At least 100 shots appeared to have been fired, police stated.
ElPeriódico reported that the Anti-Drug Trafficking Unit of the Attorney General’s Office (Fiscalía Contra el Narcotráfico) had been keeping an eye on Aguirre after he was allegedly linked to the Huistas — a criminal organization active in the area. However, direct investigations had been stalled due to a Guatemalan law requiring government officials to undergo a lengthy “preliminary hearing” process before they can be tried, Attorney General’s Office sources told the newspaper.
SEE ALSO: Guatemala Elites and Organized Crime
A local official also told elPeriódico that before occupying the top municipal post, Aguirre allegedly made a small fortune from trafficking drugs and renting out machinery, and would finance political parties.
Diario Digital reported that preliminary investigations by anti-narcotics bodies determined that Aguirre was part of a drug trafficking organization and owed 300 kilograms of cocaine, which was one of the motives for the assassination.
The same news outlet stated that Aguirre and three other individuals had become “the new leaders” in the region following the 2013 arrest of Eduardo Villatoro Cano, the head of a local criminal group in competition with the Huistas.
The deceased mayor of the opposition party Renewed Democratic Liberty (Libertad Democrática Renovada – Líder) was reportedly also a state contractor, which had put him on the radar of the Supreme Electoral Court (Tribunal Supremo Electoral – TSE) and the Comptroller General’s Office for Accounts (Contraloría General de Cuentas – CGC), EFE reported.
Carlos Darinel Aguirre
InSight Crime Analysis
Aguirre is not the first Guatemalan mayor with apparent links to organized crime to be targeted in recent years. If the allegations against him are true, the mayor’s death illustrates the at times tense relationship that can exist between criminal organizations and their political allies, especially in this strategic corner of Guatemala.
As InSight Crime has documented in an extensive study of the Huistas, this organization has for years mastered the art of infiltrating local businesses and political elites to further their drug smuggling and money laundering activities. Just across the border with Mexico, Huehuetenango department is a traditional contraband and human smuggling route that has grown in importance in recent years.
The Huistas have sustained their symbiotic relationship with regional elites — which includes ties to the congressional representatives, Attorney General’s Office and the local police — through their economic, political and social activities, and by not relying heavily on violence.
However, there are precedents to Aguirre’s case. In 2010, the mayor of La Democracia municipality — which borders La Libertad — was allegedly killed for attempting to set up his own drug trafficking operations, a Guatemalan told InSight Crime.
But while the group appears to settle their scores with the local elite, the Huistas themselves are essentially untouchable. A number of rival criminal groups have fallen across Guatemala over the past few years, yet the Huehuetenango network has so far remained intact.Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard is defending Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's controversial comments on the death of Fidel Castro, saying the Cuban leader was a "giant of the 20th century."
When asked whether Trudeau's statement was "tone deaf," Couillard said no. He called the statement "well-balanced."
"It was alluding to a reality that no one can contest," he told reporters in Madagascar, where both he and Trudeau are attending a summit of la Francophonie.
"Fidel Castro was a giant of the 20th century. I think nobody can express any disagreement on this. As to his influence on his own country, the human rights questions, of course historians will have to look at this as time goes by, but again, nobody can contradict the fact that we have seen the passing away of a giant of the 20th century."
He added that, Castro's "accomplishments will be in various tones of grey, some white, some black, but historians will have to decide this."
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, seen here during a visit to Havana in September, has made an effort to establish stronger ties with Cuba in the past year. (Ramon Espinosa.Pool/AP)
The prime minister has been criticized for his written statement expressing "deep sorrow" following Castro's death.
Trudeau remembered the late president as a "legendary revolutionary and orator," and said he was a good friend of his father's.
He stood by his original statement in Madagascar on Sunday, but added that Castro was a dictator.
"He certainly was a polarizing figure and there certainly were significant concerns around human rights. That's something that I'm open about and that I've highlighted. But on the passing of his death I expressed a statement that highlighted the deep connection between the people of Canada and the people of Cuba," he told a news conference.
Calls for an apology
Opposition politicians were quick to denounce Trudeau's original statement.
Conservative leadership hopeful Lisa Raitt wrote on Facebook that Trudeau should be ashamed of himself after his remarks.
"With those words, Justin Trudeau has placed himself on the wrong side of history — against the millions of Cubans yearning for freedom. The Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself. He must retract this statement and apologize," she wrote.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed "deep sorrow" following Castro's death. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Lawmakers in the United States, including former Republican presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, also slammed Trudeau.
Is this a real statement or a parody? Because if this is a real statement from the PM of Canada it is shameful & embarrassing. <a href="https://t.co/lFXeqU7Ws0">https://t.co/lFXeqU7Ws0</a> —@marcorubio
Castro was an extremely divisive figure, viewed by many as a revolutionary icon and by others as a totalitarian dictator. His system of one-man and one-party rule kept him in power for 49 years, the longest of any head of government in the world.
Warm relations with Quebec
Quebec has a long history of warm relations with Cuba.
Earlier this year, Quebec announced plans to open a permanent office in Havana, and Couillard visited the country on a trade mission two months ago.
On that trip, he met with Raul Castro, Castro's brother and the country's current president.
"I was able to confirm that Cuban society, to which Fidel Castro contributed so much, is in the process of transforming and opening," Couillard said in his own statement on Saturday following Castro's death.
People walk past a graffiti that reads, 'Long live Fidel,' in Havana on Sunday. (Enrique De La Osa/Reuters)
Jean-Francois Lisée, head of the Opposition Parti Québécois, also called Castro a historic figure who "shaped the 20th century."
"In their fight against the dictator Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro and his companions, especially Ernesto Che Guevara, embodied, at the start, the hope of liberty and justice," Lisée said in a news release.Unemployment is non-existent in Marinaleda, an Andalusian village in southern Spain that is prosperous thanks to its farming cooperative. In a country in the grip of austerity, the village mayor, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, heads a grassroots resistance movement.
Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, made the headlines recently by leading a "forced expropriation" of food stuffs from several supermarkets.
Aided by his allies in the Andalusian Farmers' Union (SAT), the food was then distributed to the most needy. Clearly, the mayor of Marinaleda stands out among Spanish politicians.
Sánchez Gordillo is a historic leader of the Farm Workers' Union (SOC), the backbone of the current SAT. He has been the mayor the little village, which numbers fewer than 3,000 people and is in the Seville region, since 1979. There, thanks to the participation and support of the local population, he launched a unique political and economic experiment which turned the village into a kind of socialist stronghold in the midst of the Andalusian countryside.
New utopia
With the economic crisis, Marinaleda was given the chance to verify that its 25 square kilometres of utopia is a genuine solution to market forces.
Its current rate of unemployment is zero per cent. A good part of the residents are employed by the Cooperativa Humar-Marinaleda, created by the farm workers themselves after years of struggle. For a long time, the farmers repeatedly occupied the land of the El Humoso Farm, which belonged to an aristocratic family.
Each time, they were dispersed by the Guardia Civil [police] and would chant: "The land belongs to those who work it." In 1992, they were finally beat the authorities. They now own the farm.
They grow beans, artichokes, peppers and produce high-quality olive oil. The workers themselves control each phase of the production while the land belongs to "the community as a whole". The farm includes a canning facility, an olive mill, facilities for livestock and a farm store. No matter what their position, the workers all get a salary of € 47 per day.
They work a 35-hour work week over six days and earn a monthly salary of €1,128, at a time when the minimum wage in Spain is €641 per month. In high season, the cooperative employs about 400 people and never less than one hundred. But positions are not attributed to a specific person. They are done on a rotation basis so as to insure a revenue for all. "To work less so that all may work," that is the basic principal. In addition, some people work their own small land parcels. The rest of economic life is made of shops, basic services and sporting activities. In practice, all of the residents of the village earn as much as a worker at the cooperative.
Marinaleda’s experience
In an interview in Público last month, Mayor Gordillo himself explains the repercussions of the crisis on Marinaleda. "In a general way, the crisis was less noticeable in farming and food production," he says, adding "What happened was that those people that had left the countryside to work in construction came back, looking for work. As a result, existing employment needs to be not only maintained but increased. But remember that organic farming creates more jobs than traditional agriculture."
For decades, as Spain was gripped by a real estate boom. Speculation took over the construction sector. Marinaleda decided to swim against the current. here, it is possible to rent a house of 90 square metres, in good condition, and with a terrace for only €15 per month. The only catch is that everybody must participate in the construction of their home, in accordance with the philosophy that guides all of the activities in Marinaleda. The local council obtained some land through a mixed policy of purchase and expropriation.
Thus, it offers the land and provides all the building materials needed to construct the house. The labour is left to the tenants themselves, unless they pay someone to do it for them. Furthermore, the council employs professional masons to provide advice to the residents on the more complicated tasks. One last point, the future tenants do not know which home will be theirs, which helps fosters a community spirit.
"A person working to build a house is paid €800 per month," notes Juan José Sancho, a resident of Marinaleda. "Half of the salary is used to pay for the home," he says. Aged only 21, this young man is already a member of the village "action squad", whose mission, through the village assembly, is to manage daily business. According to him, "if this measure was taken, it was so that real estate speculation would not be possible".
Previously, a large number of the farm workers barely knew how to read. Today, they have a kindergarten, a primary school and a secondary school. School lunches cost only €15 per month. Yet, according to Sancho, "The dropout rate is a little high. People have a home and are assured a job, so many don't see the need to study. That is one of the points on which we can improve."
In Marinaleda, there is no police force and political decisions are taken by an assembly in which all citizens are asked to participate. As for the "action squad", it deals with "all urgent questions, on a day-to-day basis," explains Sancho, adding, "It is not a group of elected officials. It is people who, together, decide how to allocate tasks and what needs to be done in the best interest of the village."
As for taxes, "They are very low. They are the lowest in the entire region," if Sancho is to be believed. The budget is decided in a plenary session of the assembly, which also approves budget items. The process then shifts to the neighbourhood level, with each neighbourhood having its own assembly. It is at this level that the decision is made on how to invest each euro of each budget item devised by council.This won't exactly be Dr. Shoji Yamashiro's original score as you remember it, though. Although still credited to Geinoh Yamashirogumi, the musical collective founded by Yamashiro that created the original soundtrack, Bottleneck Gallery calls this release a "rerecorded and remastered edition," so we're curious and excited to find out exactly what that means. What we do know is that it looks awesome: The gatefold double LP is filled with fantastic art, and includes two 180g clear red splatter vinyl records, a perfect homage to the violent film. Check it out:
The release will be available for pre-order starting tomorrow, August 1st, for $32 from the Bottleneck Gallery website, and it's scheduled to ship in mid-September. In the meantime, check out a sample from the original score below, "Kaneda":
Is this a must-have for you, or are you uncertain about the prospect of this being re-recorded? Let us know what you think in the comments, and check out the album's tracklist below.
Akira tracklist
01. "Kaneda"
02. "Battle Against Clow"
03. "Winds Over Neo Tokyo"
04. "Tetsuo"
05. "Doll’s Polyphony"
06. "Shohmyoh"
07. "Exodus From the Underground Fortress"
08. "Illusion"
09. "Mutation"
10. "Requiem"
Images: Toho, Bottleneck GalleryThe legislative framework for Gibraltar to participate in the UK’s referendum on whether it stays or leaves the European Union is now operational.
The Gibraltar Government has confirmed that the final steps were taken with the publication, last Friday, of the notice of commencement of the European Union (Referendum) Act 2016 and ancillary subsidiary legislation and the relevant legislation in the UK.
By so doing, Chief Minister’ Fabian Picardo’s commitment to Prime Minister David Cameron that Gibraltar would follow the timescales set by the UK Government has been satisfied, the Government said.
“It gives me great pride that officials from both administrations have worked closely over the past months to enable Gibraltar to participate in a referendum which, whatever the outcome, will define the UK’s relationship with Europe for many years to come,” Mr Picardo said.
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“I am especially pleased that the Gibraltar team of officials, led by the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for European Affairs Dr Joseph Garcia, have delivered on the commitment that I gave the Prime Minister that we would not delay the process.”
“The Government is now looking forward to the referendum, which has been confirmed as being held on 23rd June, and to making the case for the UK and Gibraltar’s continued membership of the EU,” he added.
AdvertisementFormer Florida coach Urban Meyer is joining ESPN as a college football analyst.
Meyer, who won two BCS national championships at Florida, will make his debut Wednesday during ESPNU's coverage of national signing day. He will work weekly regular-season games during the season, as well as provide studio analysis on ESPN's "College Football Live" and "College GameDay.
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"Football has played an extremely important role in my life for the past 25 years and ESPN has given me an incredible opportunity to join its world-class team and share my passion, knowledge, and enthusiasm for the game with fans across the country," Meyer said.
Meyer resigned from Florida after the 2010 season. He served as a guest analyst for ESPN's coverage of the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game.
When he resigned Dec. 8, the 46-year-old Meyer said he wanted to spend more time with his family. He insisted on a conference call his new job wouldn't get in the way of that, with minimal commitment during the offseason and travel only over the weekend in-season.
"It's a great opportunity to stay around the game," he said.
He and his family visited ESPN's studios in Connecticut over the holidays. Meyer, who hasn't ruled out returning to coaching someday, said he hoped he would like it.
"I not only liked it, I loved it," he said.
"Coach Meyer brings a fresh voice and a contemporary knowledge of the game," said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president for production. "As he showed during BCS coverage, his ability to communicate the strategic aspects of the game and his incredible track record for success will serve college football fans everywhere."
Meyer was 104-23 in 10 seasons at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida. Known for having a distant relationship with the media as the Gators' coach, now he'll be on the other side.
"I don't think it's my job to be critical -- it's my job to analyze college football," Meyer said.Share This Video Facebook Twitter EMAIL
Football helmets have been mandatory in the NFL since 1939, when the dingy, leather helmets of old were considered safe enough to protect players who were being tackled and running into the oddly-placed field goal posts. As the sport graduated to bigger helmets and pads, what used to look like rugby developed into highly-trained athletes slamming into each other while wearing body armor. These hits have led to a deadly-serious amount of brain injuries which we are only beginning to understand today. The A7FL is trying to change football into a much safer game by removing the pads and the helmets, but you wouldn’t know it from some of these highlights.
Speaking to Complex, A7FL co-founder Sean Korkusuz considers this brand of football to be more safe, even if the safety doesn’t pass the eyeball test.
“We see the A7FL as the future of football. We’re pushing it as hard as we can for safety, morality, and promoting football internationally. There’s an ongoing CTE epidemic. We feel our format is the sport that will pick up internationally—seven-on-seven is an international format, easier to play, no equipment cost.”
Not so sure if some of these hits won’t contribute to the CTE epidemic that the NFL is currently navigating. Take a look at this.
A7FL
Yes, that’s a human head bouncing off the turf. I’m no alternative football league owner or neuroscientist, but that looks like it could cause a concussion, and the A7FL doesn’t offer its players insurance (they have to sign waivers to play).
Beyond the many insane hits, however, remains the heart of football as we know it. We’ll see if this is a healthier, viable solution to the NFL’s CTE issues in due time.Did NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell ask Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton a softball question fed to her by a leading Clinton campaign official Wednesday evening? It sure looks that way.
The concern is utterly reasonable because of Mitchell's track record of running interference for Hillary Clinton's campaign and liberal politicians and causes in general.
After Wednesday's third and final presidential debate, as Clinton began taking questions from the press on the campaign's jet, Clinton traveling press secretary Nick Merrill was seen typing something into his cellphone. He then reached over and showed the phone's display to Mitchell. After looking at it and making eye contact with Mitchell, Merrill pulled his arm back with what appeared to be a smug grin.
Here is the 14-second sequence showing what transpired:
As seen in the three-minute segment which follows, which also includes the opening 14 seconds shown above, Mitchell waited for Mrs. Clinton to finish her non-answer to the current question (more on that shortly). She then asked Mrs. a softball question about terms Donald Trump had used to describe her during the debate:
Transcript (from 0:14 to 2:00, beginning with the question and answer which preceded Mitchell's question):
JENNIFER GRIFFIN, FOX NEWS: Will you accept the results of the election? HILLARY CLINTON: You know, it was horrifying what he said on the debate stage tonight. You know, our country's been around for 240 years. Um, and, y'know, we are a country based on laws, um, and, we've had hot, contested elections going back to the very beginning. Uh, but one of our hallmarks has always been that we accept the outcomes of our elections. We do the best we can to have free and fair elections, which we do. Uh, and somebody wins and somebody loses. So what he said tonight is part of his whole effort to blame somebody else for his campaign and for where he stand in this election. As I said, uh, whenever he is losing, he says the system, whatever the system is, whether it's, uh, you know, being in court about Trump University, or losing the Iowa caucus and the Wisconsin primary, or losing Emmys for goodness sakes, he says that it's rigged against him. ANDREA MITCHELL: How did you feel, how did you feel when he said, y'know "nasty woman, nasty woman," and "you're a puppet," and the issue of Vladimir Putin? HILLARY CLINTON: I just didn't pay attention to that. I was very concerned that even now after 17 intelligence agencies in our government, both military and civilian, have confirmed that Russia has engaged in cyberattacks against Americans, that he refused to admit that it's true and condemn it for what it is, which is a blatant effort to try and interfere in our elections.
Note that when given a chance to answer a direct "yes or no" question about whether she would accept the results of the election |
Schefter says.
6. The Miracle at the Meadowlands Two-thirds of the way into the 1978 season, the Eagles head to Giants Stadium at New Jersey's Meadowlands Sports Complex to face their archrivals in an important division matchup. The Giants take control of the game early on the strength of two touchdown passes by quarterback Joe Pisarcik. One of those passes burns Eagles cornerback Herm Edwards. The Eagles rally, but trail, 17-12, with less than a minute to go in the game. With Philly out of timeouts, the Giants need simply to run out the clock. As the TV audience at home watches the credits roll over the screen, Pisarcik takes the snap and botches a handoff to fullback Larry Csonka. The ball hits the turf and Edwards picks it up on one hop at the Giant 27 and hustles all the way into the end zone with the game-winning score. Says Edwards, now an ESPN NFL analyst: “That was nothing that you could ever draw up. When opportunity knocks, you better be ready. That time it just happened to be me, so I scooped up the ball and ran with it.”
5. The Horse Rides Home The Baltimore Colts and New York Giants are in an epic struggle for the NFL Championship at Yankee Stadium in 1958. After trailing for most of the game, the Giants go up by three points early in the fourth quarter. New York is able to keep Baltimore from scoring on its next two drives, and with just over two minutes to go, the G-Men need just one more first down to secure a victory. But Frank Gifford's run is short and the Colts get the ball back, setting up a miraculous game-tying drive by Johnny Unitas. What follows is the first sudden-death overtime game in pro football playoff history. The Giants win the toss and get the ball, but the Colts hold them. Unitas and company pick up where they left off in regulation, picking apart New York's defense. Facing a third-and-goal from the 1, Colts running back Alan “The Horse” Ameche gallops into the end zone for the win. The thrilling finish earns the match the title of “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” and for good reason: Ameche’s run "put pro football on the map,” says ESPN's Chris Berman. "The game was never the same after that. It was on its way to becoming America's most popular sport.”
4. The Music City Miracle The first game of the 1999 playoffs sends the fifth-seeded Bills to Nashville to face the No. 4 Titans. Buffalo is completely outplayed in the first half, netting a paltry 20 yards of offense. But Buffalo rights itself in the second half and, thanks to a Steve Christie 41-yard field goal with 16 seconds to play, appears poised to sneak out of Music City with a 16-15 victory. Good downfield coverage on Christie’s ensuing kickoff will practically guarantee a win -- but there are no guarantees in sports. The kick is caught at the 25-yard line by Titans fullback Lorenzo Neal, who passes it off to tight end Frank Wychek. Wychek scampers to his right for a few steps before surprising everyone by planting his front foot and turning to throw the ball back across the field to wide receiver Kevin Dyson. The throw is low, but Dyson scoops it up and rumbles down the sideline for the improbable game-winning touchdown. Many thought the throw from Wychek was an illegal forward pass, but referee Phil Luckett decides there isn't enough evidence in the replay to overturn the ruling on the field. The rest is history. "I've seen that play attempted 1,000 times since, and it always ends up in futility. It may be one of the greatest executions of a desperation return in NFL history," says Jon Gruden.
3. The Flee to Tyree The 2007-2008 New England Patriots are perfect. After playing 18 games in 150 days, they have won them all. All that's left between them and the undisputed title as greatest team in NFL history is quarterback Eli Manning and the New York Giants, in Super Bowl XLII. Unfortunately for New England, David Tyree's helmet isn't ready to anoint the team just yet. Down 14-10 with 1:15 left in the game, the Giants have a crucial third-and-5 from their 44-yard line. Manning takes the snap, and the Patriots’ pass rush is on him immediately. But Manning spins through and shirks off the tacklers, finding just enough time to chuck it up for Tyree, who is waiting 32 yards down the field. A career special teamer, Tyree has caught just four passes all season. That doesn't matter now, though, when he leaps for Manning's ball alongside Patriots defender Rodney Harrison. Tyree comes down with the ball, pinned improbably against his helmet, to keep the drive alive. The rest is history: The Giants’ comeback culminates with a touchdown, and the Pats finish the season an imperfect 18-1—all thanks to Tyree’s classic catch. "It was a remarkable example of determined resilience," says Jarrett Bell, football writer for USA Today. ESPN's Adam Schefter calls it "the greatest catch I've ever seen.”
2. The Immaculate Reception Trailing the Oakland Raiders, 7-6, with 22 seconds left in the 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff game, the hometown Pittsburgh Steelers face fourth-and-10. Flushed from the pocket, Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw heaves a pass downfield toward John Fuqua. But intimidating Raiders safety Jack Tatum meets Fuqua as the ball arrives, popping the pigskin out of his hands. While Oakland celebrates, Steelers rookie running back Franco Harris trails the play. At the Raiders' 42-yard-line, he grasps the ball off his shoes -- to some eyes, off the ground -- and rumbles down the left sideline untouched for a score. The Immaculate Reception, as the play will soon be called, will go on to be viewed more than the Zapruder film, thanks to pressing doubts about whether Harris actually catches the ball cleanly. But make no mistake: The stunning grab kick-starts a Steelers dynasty. "Harris' catch is probably the greatest play in the history of pro football,” says ESPN's Chris Berman. "The Steelers didn’t win the Super Bowl that year, but that was their first playoff win. This game put them on the map for four Super Bowls in six years. It was the start of something great in Pittsburgh for a franchise that had been horrible."The latest intel on No 1.-ranked prospect Marvin Bagley coincides with the Duke surge in his Crystal Ball.
Duke is up to 50 percent in Bagley's Crystal Ball, with the 6-10 power forward scheduled to officially visit next weekend. The Blue Devils are believed to be in a strong position with Bagley, and I have changed my Crystal Ball pick from USC to Duke.
Sources continue to tell 247Sports that the ultimate desire for Bagley is to be a 2017 prospect and play college basketball this season. Whether or not Bagley, who is currently the No. 1 ranked prospect in the 2018 247Sports Composite, can become eligible as a 2017 prospect has yet to be determined.
Arizona and Kentucky are also in the mix with Bagley.
Jerry Meyer is the Director of Basketball Scouting for 247Sports. You can follow him on Twitter here.Conservation groups across the country are calling into question both the ethics and the effectiveness of a proposal to recover woodland caribou in Alberta.
The draft plan includes an experiment to fence a 100-square-kilometre area where caribou would be able to breed, and any predators that pose a threat to the enclosed herd would be killed.
The trial would study whether it is possible to restore caribou numbers in the absence of specific factors that either are responsible for caribou mortality or that compete with caribou for resources.
MORE WILDLIFE NEWS | 'I'm going to get killed here': Man recounts grizzly attack near Calgary
Paul Paquet, senior scientist with the Raincoast Conservation Fund, said destroying wolves, deer, elk and moose, in order to provide an unknown benefit to caribou would be an unethical course of action.
"As a scientific experiment, it's of real interest," said Paquet.
"But science, even the best science, doesn't give us permission to do whatever we want," he told CBC's Alberta@Noon.
"This is a case of just because we can do it, doesn't mean we should."
'Claims of the efficacy of previous wolf culls in the name of caribou recovery have been determined to be unfounded in the past, and trials have been ineffective,' says independent wildlife specialist Gilbert Proulx. (Chris Corday/CBC)
Focus should be habitat, not predators, say groups
Moreover, Paquet is "doubtful" a wolf cull would do much for the caribou by itself.
He believes the government's priority should be habitat restoration and protection from industrial and recreational activities that are destroying the caribou's natural landscape.
"The recovery plan proposes a bloodbath so that industry can continue at all costs," said Liz White, director of the Animal Alliance of Canada, in a release.
"Outside of these caribou farms, industry will continue to fragment what little is left of caribou habitat into land that supports the very animals targeted for killing."
Hannah Barron, director of wildlife conservation campaigns at Earthroots, said more than 1,000 wolves have been killed in an attempt to protect the Little Smoky Caribou herd over the past decade, with "no significant increase in caribou numbers."
More than a dozen environmental groups, independent scientists, and animal welfare organizations are now encouraging the public to urge the Alberta government to abandon its plan before the Aug. 5 deadline.
With files from Alberta@NoonIf you are looking to raise money online for your favorite cause, listen up. A real-world analysis of human behavior reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on April 16 shows that men treat online giving as a competitive enterprise. Men will donate four times more money to an attractive female fundraiser in response to the contribution of another male.
Researchers say that they suspect this tendency is a subconscious part of human psychology that exists because it is (or was) evolutionarily beneficial to us.
"People are really generous and are right, a lot of the time, to say that their motives for giving to charity are altruistic, not self-serving," says Nichola Raihani of UCL (University College London). "This does not, however, preclude these motives from having evolved to benefit the donor in some way."
While the findings make perfect sense from an evolutionary point of view, the researchers say they were still quite surprised at how clear it was from their real-world data that people--and particularly men--engage in "competitive helping." Earlier studies had primarily involved games played in the lab.
In the new study, Raihani and Sarah Smith of the University of Bristol relied on a large, UK-based, online fundraising platform to test a key prediction of the competitive helping hypothesis: that males respond competitively to the generosity bids of other males in the presence of attractive females. On the platform, people host fundraising pages including their personal information--name, photo, charity, and the event they are being sponsored for--and collect donations, mostly from people they know. Donations are made and posted sequentially, along with the name of the donor (unless they've opted for anonymity).
"This creates a potential tournament in which donors may compete by responding to how much others have given," Smith says.
Smith's earlier work showed that existing donations on a page act as a kind of "anchor" for current donors. In other words, seeing a small or a large donation influenced what subsequent donors were willing to contribute. Raihani and Smith wanted to know whether the behavior of donors would also be influenced by the gender and attractiveness of the fundraiser, along with the gender of the previous donor. And, indeed, it most certainly was.
That's not to say that anyone is really making these decisions about giving in a conscious or purposeful way, the researchers say.
"We don't think that males are seeing large donations from other males to attractive female fundraisers, and then thinking 'Yeah, I'll give more than him because she will find me more attractive then.' In fact, I think that is quite unlikely," Raihani says.
"I think it is more likely that humans have an evolved psychology that motivates us to behave in ways that would have been, on average, adaptive in our evolutionary past--and may still be nowadays also."
The findings do suggest ways to improve the success of fundraising campaigns. First of all, fundraisers should smile. The attractiveness ratings of female fundraisers had a lot to do with their facial expression. And it may pay off to seed a campaign with larger donations early.
"Large donations can elicit other large donations, so fundraisers might raise more if they get their most generous friends or family to donate early in the appeal," Raihani says.The breathing tube in U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' throat was removed and replaced with a tracheotomy tube in her windpipe, a procedure that potentially offers doctors a chance to evaluate whether she can speak.
The tracheotomy was performed Saturday morning by doctors at University Medical Center. It frees her from a ventilator, or breathing device, while protecting her airway.
Giffords has been breathing on her own for several days, but doctors kept the breathing tube in place as a precaution.
Surgeons on Saturday also inserted a feeding tube to provide nutrition to the wounded congresswoman.
Both procedures are not uncommon among brain-injured patients in the intensive-care unit, according to the University Medical center report Saturday. Giffords is still listed in critical condition.
Another shooting victim, James Tucker, was discharged Saturday, leaving only Giffords and two other victims of the Jan. 8 rampage as patients at the medical center.
Susan Hileman and George Morris remained in the hospital. Both were listed in good condition.
Giffords continues to make progress after being shot in the head at point-blank range just a week ago. She is able to track with her eyes and has the ability to move her arms and legs, doctors reported Friday.
On Wednesday, Giffords opened her eyes spontaneously. On Thursday, she began a physical-therapy routine after showing doctors she could lift both arms and legs when held upright by medical staff.
Doctors had said they should be able to evaluate her ability to speak once the breathing tube was out.
Dr. Michael Lemole, neurosurgeon at University Medical Center, earlier this week outlined how doctors will assess Giffords' condition.
"We look at whether or not someone is able to move when we ask them to, we look at whether or not they open their eyes spontaneously and the last piece is what is their verbalization," Lemole said Thursday. "We can't assess that with a breathing tube in."Blake is the content manager for DailyMTG.com, making him the one you should email if you have thoughts on the website, good or less good (or not good). He's a longtime coverage reporter and hasn't turned down a game of Magic in any format ever.
This past weekend, we unveiled a lot of information about Battle for Zendikar at PAX Prime. Like, a lot a lot. Ulamog, Gideon, all of the mechanics, and the truly gorgeous Zendikar Expeditions were all shown off, and the response was electric.
Today's news is a bit less earth-shattering, but it's still the newest nugget of information about the set that's soon to fly off shelves. Today we have the Battle for Zendikar packaging, plus a couple preview cards just for tuning in.
First, we have the booster packs, and first up on the booster packs is the baddest Demon Planeswalker this side of the Multiverse.
Next up is a familiar-looking Merfolk. Kiora, is that you?
Next up we have this... thing. It's an Eldrazi I presume, but man is that thing terrifying.
Back on the other end of the normal/weird scale, we have a creature that might look familiar to anyone who has picked up Duel Decks: Zendikar vs. Eldrazi—Veteran Warleader!
Finally, we have a mug you should start getting used to. Gideon's all over Battle for Zendikar, and boy does he have his determined face on.
The boosters can all be picked up in booster boxes that look a little like this. Look, more Gideon!
And, of course, we have the Fat Pack as well, with Gideon looking pretty menacing in the foreground, and facing off against Ulamog in the background.
Taking a break from Gideon, Battle for Zendikar will also have an Event Deck! This one looks a little something like this:
Which brings us to the Intro Packs. We showed off four of the face cards at PAX, but we figure we might as well just show off all five today. Because we like you.
Let's take a better look at the one face card you haven't seen.
You can get all of these, together with so, so much Gideon determined-face staring back at you, when Battle for Zendikar releases October 2. And come back next week as previews for the set kick into high gear!This is a list of redirects that have been proposed for deletion or other action on April 12, 2015.
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Relisted, see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2015 April 21#శ్రీ లంక మాతా
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This was a band which changed its name to Nullset. It was moved in 2009, then Nullset went through AfD with a result to merge to the mathematics term, which of course doesn't mention the band under either name ( see discussion here ). — Rhododendrites talk \\ 17:16, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
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Looking at the sources, I don't see any indication that Johnni Black goes by "Johnni". So this redirect seems implausible to me. Howicus (Did I mess up?) 00:52, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
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The following is an archived discussion concerning one or more redirects. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on an appropriate discussion page (such as the redirect's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this section.
The result of the discussion was delete. There seems to be consensus that the concept of "sealioning" is not well known enough to make this a helpful redirect. This could change in the future, I suppose. --BDD (talk) 14:40, 20 April 2015 (UTC)
This is an offensive neologism used to disparage one side in a "culture war." It has no place on a policy page. 169.57.0.216 (talk) 07:08, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
Comment: The issue is not the term's notability but that it's derogatory, as explained in EurekaLott's link. If this were a standard redirect, no problem, we have for example a disambiguation page for "faggot." But we would never consider redirecting WP:FAGGOT to a policy page, regardless of suitability. Interestingly enough Jimbo himself has some thoughts on the term. 169.57.0.216 (talk) 05:50, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Delete as WP:POVPUSH. Si Trew (talk) 07:27, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
as WP:POVPUSH. Si Trew (talk) 07:27, 12 April 2015 (UTC) Offensive? Offensive to whom? It seems like an accurate place to point the shortcut. I don't see what we'd gain by deleting it. - Eureka Lott 20:18, 12 April 2015 (UTC)
Can someone provide a story or history behind this redirect? "Sea lion" isn't mentioned in the targeted page and I can't seem to figure out the connection between the two. Tavix | Talk 00:11, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
The term comes from a Wondermark comic. Know Your Meme has a good overview. - Eureka Lott 02:42, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Delete It might be a bit confusing to our non-meme savvy readers. I'm inclined to change my vote to keep if the keep proponents can show in the article that this is a valid synonym to "civil" POV-pushing. That comic is kind of cute although I have no evidence to support that claim ;).-- Lenticel ( talk ) 03:44, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
It might be a bit confusing to our non-meme savvy readers. I'm inclined to change my vote to keep if the keep proponents can show in the article that this is a valid synonym to "civil" POV-pushing. That comic is kind of cute although I have no evidence to support that claim ;).-- 03:44, 13 April 2015 (UTC) Conditional keep. EurekaLott's source made the whole "sealioning" thing clear to me, and I definitely think there should be a place for this redirect because it's something that happens on Wikipedia. However, I think there should be a section in Wikipedia:Civil POV pushing (or a new essay?) that fully explains the term so people like me know what you memers are talking about. So I'm leaning to keep it if/when that happens, otherwise I'm neutral. Tavix | Talk 04:32, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Comment Just a crazy suggestion. Why not make another member of the Wikipedia:WikiFauna? Since WP:SLOTH redirects to Wikipedia:WikiSloth then why not retarget WP:SEALION to a future WikiSealion page-- Lenticel ( talk ) 05:28, 13 April 2015 (UTC) I don't think it's that crazy of a suggestion. I actually think that solution makes the most sense. Now we just need someone to make it... Tavix | Talk 16:32, 13 April 2015 (UTC) Comment. Excuse me for being 43 yesterday but I have no idea what this "meme" is supposed to mean. Could someone give me a clue? Do you all know it and I am not in the club? If so, it is useless. If not, not. Si Trew (talk) 08:03, 13 April 2015 (UTC) Yes, Lenticel makes a valid point, a little tangentially. WP namespace is shared between Wikipedia itself and WikiProjects, somewhat unfortunately. We could take it to which redirects to Wikipedia:WikiProject Mammals. 08:07, 13 April 2015 (UTC) OK I checked EurekaLott's links (thank you for those) and it was invented in Septmber 2014. That is a neologism and does not belong in an encyclopaedia until it becomes established term. I think we should at least wait until it is in a printed dictionary. (WP:RS). at Wiktionary does not have it in this sense, in fact that is a DAB to saying "less common spelling for sea lion" although I would spell it as one word, so I am less common, apparently (woo hoo!). I am not sure we have an article on word fusing, over time words tend to jump together and lose their spaces. I wouldn't be able to RS that now but it is a well known linguistic trend. Nevertheless, (or "Never the less") this is misleading. Si Trew (talk) 08:15, 13 April 2015 (UTC) Comment. I'll try to draft a new essay for your consideration. Need to go on the big computer so I have room to move. Report back in an hour or so but will be at Draft:Sealion (obviously we then decide where to move it). Si Trew (talk) 08:23, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Keep. This is cute and useful- as a redirect, it's not going to confuse anybody as the regular title will still be in place (unless I guess they're trying to get our policies on the aquatic mammal?) I'm sorry to hear that some people find it offensive. Humour is like that, I guess. Fully in support with expanding civil POV pushing with more info, though. I will note that the notice seems to have broken the redirect. Would somebody be able to fix that? PeterTheFourth (talk) 09:06, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Oh I totally agree with you about WP:NOTCENSORED and so on, I just disagree whether this is actually useful. If you think people will search for it I should certainly change my!vote to a keep, but I am not sure it is useful. 09:13, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
(ec) Delete. Not even going to bother with the draft, that I have done many times before. This is a neologism that appears in a cartoon. It has not, as far as I can find out, been used before or since. New words come into use every day and I used to contribute, on paper slips, to the Longman Dictionary of New Words especisally to get the first use registered. But it has been, now, and we have the history and it is time for it to be deleted, no good comes of it, it is a nonce word and WP:NOTDICT. Si Trew (talk) 09:10, 13 April 2015 (UTC)− Forgive me if I'm mistaken- I believe you may have accidentally voted twice. PeterTheFourth (talk) 09:42, 13 April 2015 (UTC) You're right I did. But I still go with Delete. Thanks sincerely for pointing that out. Si Trew (talk) 12:34, 13 April 2015 (UTC) Comment. To declare an interest, you are talking to the man who made, with another editor, {{etymology}}. That does not give me any more right than you to have an opinion, but I do know what I am talking about sometimes (not very often). Just declaring the interest. Si Trew (talk) 09:18, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Keep - I wasn't familiar with this term either until I read through the links above, but it has a definite meaning as indicated by internet usage, and that meaning is accurately reflected by the current target. Being a neologism (it most certainly is) does not preclude its usage as an essay shortcut here, and as I seem to keep having to say to people, pages existing in project space do not imply endorsement of any concept by Wikipedia. I do wonder if Wikipedia:Wikihounding might be a better target, but I don't think so. I'm confused as to who this is alleged to be insulting to, but I think that WP:SPADE may apply. It's also not clear to me what Jimbo's opinion of this is, from the linked thread. Also support Lenticel's idea to add a new WikiFauna entry. Ivanvector (talk) 17:04, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
- I wasn't familiar with this term either until I read through the links above, but it has a definite meaning as indicated by internet usage, and that meaning is accurately reflected by the current target. Being a neologism (it most certainly is) does not preclude its usage as an essay shortcut here, and as I seem to keep having to say to people, pages existing in project space do not imply endorsement of any concept by Wikipedia. I do wonder if Wikipedia:Wikihounding might be a better target, but I don't think so. I'm confused as to who this is alleged to be insulting to, but I think that WP:SPADE may apply. It's also not clear to me what Jimbo's opinion of this is, from the linked thread. Also support Lenticel's idea to add a new WikiFauna entry. Ivanvector (talk) 17:04, 13 April 2015 (UTC) Comment with regards to creating a wikifauna page To anyone considering making a wikifauna page for the sealion, and redirecting WP:SEALION to it, please please PLEASE don't do that. Anything related to gamergate breeds drama like mad, and while sealion is meant as an insult gamergate supporters have taken it as a mascot too. The inevitable and highly depressing result of such a page existing, would be edit warring and POV pushing on what is meant to be a humorous page, followed by a nasty MFD.Bosstopher (talk) 18:29, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Delete This page is nothing more than an "Epic may-may" that somebody wanted to put on Wikipedia. Pepsiwithcoke (talk) 21:12, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Delete Bosstopher really provided the key information there. The "mascot of gamergate supporters" in question, as far as I can tell, was chosen ironically, in response to detractors using the term. It is a term very specific to those detractors and to like-minded individuals; that is, it is particular to a very specific POV. I say it is neither "humour" as User:PeterTheFourth posits, nor inherently "offensive" as the proposer argues; rather, it is in-group identification - a shibboleth, in other words. IMO this is harmful for two reasons:
it draws undue attention towards a not-very-noteworthy essay (POV-pushing is bad regardless of civility; incivility is a separate problem; and the observation that "pov-pushing isn't always incivil" doesn't really add anything to a rational Wikipedian's ability to detect either);
it encourages the formation of editor blocs by highlighting that like-mindedness (an issue I would also have with any other shibboleth).
Incidentally, I have seen the argument made that, per the moral principles of the same people lauding it, the Wondermark cartoon in question ought to have pretty much the opposite meaning to that which has been ascribed. That is (I don't do the argument justice here, but you get the gist), it rather clearly depicts a wealthy and thus "privileged" couple exhibiting prejudice towards a presumably "oppressed" sea lion, whose attempts at self-justification are dismissed as a need to dominate the conversation. Malki apparently disagrees. (So much for "death of the author", I guess.) 70.24.4.51 (talk) 21:22, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Comment The meaning of the comic more closely matches WP:HOUNDING. Rhoark (talk) 23:41, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
Delete This whole thing breeds too much drama. There are better labels for this. 72.92.42.4 (talk) 00:21, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
This whole thing breeds too much drama. There are better labels for this. 72.92.42.4 (talk) 00:21, 14 April 2015 (UTC) Comment. It is plainly WP:NOTFINISHED, we do not chuck in an article or redirect simply for a neologism, we need WP:RS of which there are none, since the only reference to the article is the article itself. Falls on WP:PRIMARY as well. I have listed here about five of Wikipedia's core policies and yet it still doesn't go WP:SPEEDY. Do you want me to take it to WP:CSD? They would probably just bash it back so no point. I appreciate cartoons, I draw them, but I am not notable. This is patently a nonce word that will never be used again and was invented for a joke in a cartoon, and not a very funny one, he is no Gary Larson or Bill Watterson. Si Trew (talk) 01:10, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
. It is plainly WP:NOTFINISHED, we do not chuck in an article or redirect simply for a neologism, we need WP:RS of which there are none, since the only reference to the article is the article itself. Falls on WP:PRIMARY as well. I have listed here about five of Wikipedia's core policies and yet it doesn't go WP:SPEEDY. Do you want me to take it to WP:CSD? They would probably just bash it back so no point. I appreciate cartoons, I them, but I am not notable. This is patently a nonce word that will never be used again and was invented for a joke in a cartoon, and not a very funny one, he is no Gary Larson or Bill Watterson. Si Trew (talk) 01:10, 14 April 2015 (UTC) Delete In my view, one editor, or a small group of editors, does not get to claim ownership of a loaded term in the WP namespace and redirect it to a mere essay. If it was a guideline or policy there'd be room for argument, but this subtly lends a spurious sense of authority to the essay and in the long term could create (by inertia) a resistance to replacing the redirect with something more balanced. We'd soon have editors saying "stop WP:SEALIONing" and some editors would assume it to be a policy or guideline without checking. Not good.--greenrd (talk) 09:05, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
In my view, one editor, or a small group of editors, does not get to claim ownership of a loaded term in the WP namespace and redirect it to a mere. If it was a guideline or policy there'd be room for argument, but this subtly lends a spurious sense of authority to the essay and in the long term could create (by inertia) a resistance to replacing the redirect with something more balanced. We'd soon have editors saying "stop WP:SEALIONing" and some editors would assume it to be a policy or guideline without checking. Not good.--greenrd (talk) 09:05, 14 April 2015 (UTC) Comment. WP:RfD tends to be an exclusive club for the simple reason that not very many people hang out here... which is no fault of the regulars heree but just how it happens. But the telling thing I think is that Bustopher Jones is a cat named in T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, 1922 I think, and so this is obviously an in.joke. I can check that as I have it in original from Faber & Faber, for whom Eliot was an editor for many years, so it is from the horse's mouth, so to speak. The difference with the WP:RFD club is that anyone is welcome to enter without charge. Si Trew (talk) 12:31, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
Keep. Despite being asked to whom it is offensive, OP has failed to reply. I think getting touchy over something as small as this is a bit absurd. — Richard BB 16:55, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
OP here. Well, it's likely offensive to the group it's intended to disparage. What an odd question. 169.57.0.213 (talk) 17:28, 14 April 2015 (UTC) Which group is it intended to disparage? People who engage in this behaviour, the people harassed by it, or some other group? Ivanvector (talk) 18:48, 14 April 2015 (UTC) Why, are there groups whose disparagement wikipedia encourages? That seems contrary to WP:NPOV. A link was provided above and referenced in my opening comment. I could repeat it here but I'd rather encourage you to read this discussion fully if you're casting a vote. 169.57.0.217 (talk) 19:11, 14 April 2015 (UTC) Yes, I've read the links provided as I noted above in my actual!vote, but what I'm saying to you here is that I don't understand who you're implying is offended by this term. Other comments here suggest I'm not alone in missing the offense. If you think that the links you provided are clear, maybe you could try to paraphrase? Ivanvector (talk) 03:12, 15 April 2015 (UTC) Does me asking again for you to provide insight to further this discussion make me a sealion? If so, should I be offended if someone were to point that out? For the record, were someone to point that out (and having not already been pointed out by me) then I would not be offended, because it is a simple and accurate description of my behaviour. I mean, I might be offended by the implication that my behaviour is disruptive, but not by the simple fact that someone accurately described what I am doing. Or, on the contrary, should you be offended because I am sealioning, if that's what I'm doing? Ivanvector (talk) 03:16, 15 April 2015 (UTC) "Offensive"? It may be negative, but to say that it's offensive seems to be backed up by nothing. Who, precisely, is being offended by this? It's not some kind of slur, after all. — Richard BB 19:39, 14 April 2015 (UTC)
Delete. It doesn't seem to pertain to Civil POV pushing at all. The comic itself is extremely ambiguous too, both parties are in the wrong. In fact, this only seems to apply to situations in a public place. The idea isn't applicable to WP where consensus building is necessary. I can think of no reasons to keep this. TyTyMang (talk) 04:16, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
. It doesn't seem to pertain to Civil POV pushing at all. The comic itself is extremely ambiguous too, both parties are in the wrong. In fact, this only seems to apply to situations in a public place. The idea isn't applicable to WP where consensus building is necessary. I |
surviving by the skin of his teeth. Death Patch raised his greatsword and flicked his wrist - in a fraction of a second, the wall, the ground, and perhaps the air in between was obliterated. His sword rang in protest and his sword arm seized up with the resistance, but this time, Death Patch was sure he had gotten the human.
Or maybe not. The lightest of brushes against his sword-arm, a deep human breathe, and-
"Ahh!" Haruhiro plunged his dagger as deeply as he could into Death Patch's ear and twisted it. He met resistance, and blood soaked his glove as he tore the thin flesh. Fingers encircled him before he could remove his dagger, though, and then Death Patch bodily threw him across the cavern. With a sickening thwack, Haruhiro hit the wall and collapsed again. The world spun around him and all he could manage were short breaths. Haruhiro was on his side- now, he felt like he was on the ceiling. The only certainty was that his head hurt.
"I'm sorry, Mary," Haruhiro gasped. His knife was gone, his hands numb. "I'm so useless. I can't... I can't do anything."
He thought back to their last moments just a while ago, when Mary had Purified the reanimations of her former friends. 'Please take care of me, Mary. Let me rest as ash,' he thought to himself. How horribly depressing. Would his party have nominated a new leader by then? Would they even come back?
Mary's face flickered in his mind's eye as Death Patch lurched closer to Haruhiro, teeth bared in disgust. Maybe it was a good thing that Haru had never told Mary that she looked beautiful. How much time had passed since they had fled?
Death Patch raised its gargantuan sword and bellowed, raining spit upon Haruhiro's body. It was full of rage and arrogance, and the monster glared at Haruhiro with his last good eye, as if to say, "You shall die now, unworthy one."
At the thought, Haruhiro couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Unworthy to the end, useless and good-for-nothing through and through, that was him. All that was left was to turn to ash-
The line. It burned bright in his vision. From his body to the rock besides him. Haruhiro did not think, only obeyed it. Sluggishly moving his arms and feet like he was moving underwater-
Boom! Death Patch obliterated the ground he was sitting upon just a moment ago. Haruhiro clung to the rock he had jumped to, squinting as the dust and soil rained from the mine ceiling and threatened to smother him under.
The line. Shining like a candle in the dark, it traced a simple, elegant curve. Jumping from his rock, to Death Patch's back, and finally looping around his wounded ear to end at the still-buried dagger.
Haruhiro jumped. He did not think, did not try to do anything else. As a roar of displeasure shook the ruined cavern, Haruhiro lept onto Death Patch's back, nearly losing his footing in the process. He grabbed a handful of fur in one hand, and curled his right hand around his dagger. Yanked it out. A spray of blood triggered a fresh bellow of rage from Death Patch.
"Shit, I pissed it off now." Haruhiro blinked.
Death Patch began to run backwards - he was going to squish Haruhiro between himself and the wall again! Haruhiro flipped around and scrambled over Death Patch, clambering through his matted fur before jumping off and falling to the ground. Meanwhile, Death Patch collided with the far side, and an impressive wham! echoed throughout. Dust trickled from the ceiling and into remaining good eye, forcing the kobold heavyweight to raise a hand and rub his eye-
The line. Nothing fancy about it - just a straight line joining his dagger, and a point almost in the center of Death Patch's chest, off to the right. It glowed bright like the argent moon among the stars at night.
Haruhiro jumped. Placed both hands on his dagger, and screamed. Death Patch dropped his sword and tried to swat him out of the air, but-
Schick! With a soft, wet sound, he sunk his dagger deep into a surprisingly fragile-feeling spot. The fur was flattened and sparse, as though it was covering an old wound made many years before.
"..."
Death Patch's claws, each easily the size of Haruhiro's arm, dropped to his sides and twitched. A death rattle emerged from the man-sized throat just above Haruhiro. Life itself seemed to drain from the being beneath his hands as Death Patch slowly curved forwards and toppled over with a resounding boom!
Where he had crawled out from underneath Death Patch's body, Haruhiro was able to examine the sheer size of the monster - easily five times his height, with legs and arms easily the size of Mogzo. Mogzo... Them! Were they alright? Were they safe?
Haruhiro's dagger slipped from his fingers and clattered on to the ground. Was he going to die like this? Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.
"Haru!" A familiar voice from far away at the end of a tunnel. Haruhiro's eyes fluttered shut and his body began to feel light.
.
"Hm hmm, hm-hmm, hm-hm-hmm~"
The straw bed. Tickling his skin like it always did, and getting tangled in his hair. He'd have to comb it out later.
"Hm hmm, hm-hm-hmm," a strange, but somewhat familiar voice. Who was that? The tune she was humming sounded happy and sad at the same time.
"Ughh..." The worst headache Haruhiro had ever felt in his short second life began to throb. The bright sunlight streaming through the window didn't help either.
Then he sat up and opened his eyes properly, only to behold the most beautiful sight ever: Mary by his bedside, staring wide-eyed at him. And she was completely unharmed, save for a hint of shadow beneath her eyes. Had she been there all night? Their gazes met, and Haruhiro forgot what he was going to ask.
"Is this heaven?" he finally blurted out. After all, if heaven means that you wake up next to a cute girl, Haruhiro wouldn't dare ask for more.
Mary stared at him, not understanding him for a moment, before she turned away and laughed. She laughed. Delightful peals of laughter filled the air and his ears. She sounded like bells. Happy bells. Wait, how did he know what a bell sounded like?
When Mary turned back to face him, there was a tear in the corner of each of her teal eyes. "Welcome back, Haru." she whispered fervently. A smile blossomed across her face like the rising sun of a beautiful day. They locked gazes again, and time seemed to stop for Haruhiro.
"I'm home."
Nothing Is Replaceable.
.
Author's notes:
So this is a fix fic, huh. The name itself has negative connotations, but really, wouldn't you agree that the last battle of the series was quite...rushed? At least show a bit of struggle. Show how Haruhiro works his ass to buy time for his dear friends. That would have made the reunion so much sweeter.
I realised that most of the subbed episodes have it spelled as Cyrene Mines and call the boss Death Spots, but I personally prefer the novel's rendition of Siren Mines and Death Patch. I trust that the small differences don't bother you.
Hai to Gensou no Grimgar is a light novel written by Ao Jumonji. Cover Image was created by akihdna on his Devianart with vector art.7 Cars That Took the Empire Hill Climb to New Heights
The 2016 Empire Hill Climb brought reverberating echos of rumbling exhaust and howling tires, mixed musically with the whirring superchargers and spooling turbos, to upper Michigan’s lush woodland. Fresh fall air enhanced the scents of burning rubber and high-octane fuel, which left exhilarated spectators with a gratified, warm-and-fuzzy feeling as each of the 22 registered racers whipped around the winding, wheel-squealing corners. Here are seven cars that left their mark:
1. Record-Setting 1980 Toyota Starlet
VHT Racing Engineering’s 1980 Toyota Starlet was a white and yellow blur that only left behind swirling leaves and rebounding roars as evidence of driver Mikko Kataja’s multiple full-throttle runs up the hill. Every spectator knew who earned the balls-to-the-wall driving award before even looking at the scoreboard, and of course, it was the Starlet with a 21.222-second overall best time, which set a new record for the entire event’s history.
2. Lola T-192 Open Wheel Racer
Mead Korwin’s 1971 Lola T-192 was a rare sight at the Hill Climb, being the only car in the Open Wheel Class this year. The little blue slingshot ran a jaw-clenching 23.092-second best time, which took second-place overall.
3. The Comeback Enviate Hypercar
Everyone knew when Cody Loveland of Lovefab, Inc., was about to make a pass. The 2016 Enviate Hypercar’s launch control sent him off with rocket-like big bangs, which likely shook the resident houses below. After years of blood, sweat and tears, the Enviate is proving its capabilities by earning first place in 2WD-Over 2.5-liter class and the third best time overall with a 23.507-second run time. What better way to test and tune a Pikes Peak build than compete in the Empire Hill Climb?
4. 1987 BMW 325is That's More Than Just Looks
Ascended Motorsports’ Patrick Waligore crossed the finish line at 24.038-seconds with his brilliant blue 1987 BMW 325is. He finished first in the 2WD-Under class, and he looked good doing it.
5. AWD Class-Dominating 2000 Subaru Impreza
The Relentless Rally Team fan’s entertainment was provided by driver Dylan Helferich, who skidded to an effortless win in the AWD class with his rough-and-rugged 2000 Subaru Impreza, securing a time of 25.59-seconds.
6. Awe-Inspiring BMW 2002
Andrew Eagan traveled from Beaufort, South Carolina, to sweep spectators off their feet in his vintage BMW 2002. His throttle broke on a practice run, but he was able to get it repaired in time to dominate the hill for the remaining time he had left.
7. Tribute-to-Dad Porsche 911
A neon-yellow Porsche 911 immediately caught our eye when it whizzed by.
"This was my dad’s car," driver Justin Cutler told us when we caught up with him later. "I’ve always wanted to drive it as a memorial to him." Justin gained experience through lemon racing, then made it to the Empire Hill Climb for a fantastic tribute.
After a solid eight hours of racing, the whimsical town returned to its tranquil state, but rubber scarring the pavement serves as nostalgia, at least until the snow flies.
See more beautiful shots from the Empire Hill Climb in the gallery below, and explore another popular hill climb—Pikes Peak.TORONTO • It’s a tax realtors have never stopped fighting in Toronto since it was introduced seven years ago, and now their worst fears may be coming true: The land transfer tax is spreading across Ontario.
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) insisted Tuesday the governing Liberal party is going ahead with plans that will allow municipalities to follow Toronto’s lead and implement their own land transfer tax. Ontario government officials deny anything has been decided. The plans were revealed by the Toronto Sun Tuesday.
“We’ve certainly hoped it was not going to happen,” said Patricia Verge, president of OREA, about the tax rules being implemented province-wide. “But we’ve heard from the minister’s office that it is absolutely going to allow municipalities to add this to the bill.”
In the red-hot Greater Toronto Area market, a new tax threatens to tilt the map against suburbs that have been booming — in small part due to an economic advantage they have over the city because of the levy. Buyers in Toronto purchasing a $1 million home get slapped with a $32,200 tax to transfer property, $15,725 of which is the city of Toronto’s portion.
“I see people say I’m avoiding the double taxation by moving to York Region,” said Barry Cohen, a specialist in high-end real estate with Re/Max Realtron, referring to an area north of Toronto proper. He said there has been a spike in sales of homes worth $2 million or more in York Region — 90 properties sold in that price range over the first six months of the year versus 30 for the same period a year earlier.
Cohen said cash-strapped consumers who have been looking for better deals outside of the city may be chased away by the tax change. “No tax has been the icing on the cake (when buying outside Toronto),” he said. “But it will create a surge of buying before they implement the tax.”
Realtors have little doubt that once the province allows the tax to proceed, municipalities will take advantage of it. “It’ just a matter of time before they levy the tax,” Matthew Thornton, director of government relations with OREA, who think cities across the province will just follow one another. “They’ll fall like dominoes.”
OREA predicts that if the Liberal plan comes to fruition, Ontario home buyers will pay the highest land transfer tax in North America. There are other Canadian municipal jurisdictions with similar taxing powers — Montreal has what is sarcastically called a “welcome tax” that is much higher than the rest of the province.
There are also some provinces, such as Alberta, that don’t even bother with a provincial land transfer tax, according to the C.D. Howe Institute.
Ontario government officials considering extending the tax say some municipal partners have raised concerns regarding the adequacy of existing revenue tools to meet infrastructure needs.
“In 2014 at the (association of municipalities of Ontario) conference, I was asked whether I would consider looking at municipal revenue tools as part of the Municipal Act review. I gave the shortest answer possible, yes. We are currently reviewing the Municipal Act. No decisions have been made,” Ted McMeekin, the minister of municipal affairs and housing, said in an emailed statement.
As part of the review of the Municipal Act, comments will be accepted until Oct. 31
The City of Toronto put its tax in place two years after the Ontario government extended it the powers to do so. OREA said over five years 38,227 Toronto housing transactions were not completed because of the tax.
Benjamin Dachis, a senior policy analyst with C.D. Howe, said if the plan goes through it will lower real estate sales across Ontario. He said Toronto sales were 16 per cent lower than they would have been otherwise following the new tax.
“We also saw lower prices equal to if not greater than the amount of the tax,” said Dachis, who expects the same impact elsewhere across the province. “People know it’s not just this transaction subject to land transfer taxes, it’s the one after that and the one after that.”
While Toronto’s booming housing market might need a bit of a cooling, the same can’t be said for all of Ontario. “Land transfer is not a major factor but it can make a difference at the margin between yes or no (to buying),” said Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. “Most of Ontario’s real estate market is not booming.”
gmarr@nationalpost.com
twitter.com/dustywalletMark Lynas (born 1973) is a British author, journalist and environmental activist who focuses on climate change. He is a contributor to New Statesman, The Ecologist, Granta and Geographical magazines, and The Guardian and The Observer newspapers in the UK; he also worked on the film The Age of Stupid. He was born in Fiji, grew up in Peru and the United Kingdom and holds a degree in history and politics from the University of Edinburgh.[1] He lives in Oxford, England. He has published several books including Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet (2007) and The God Species: Saving the Planet in the Age of Humans (2011). He has stated "I think there is a 50–50 chance we can avoid a devastating rise in global temperature."[1]
Main work and publications [ edit ]
In 2004, Lynas' High Tide: The Truth About Our Climate Crisis was published by Macmillan Publishers on its Picador imprint.[2] He has also contributed to a book entitled Fragile Earth: Views of a Changing World published by Collins,[3] which presents before-and-after images of some of the natural changes which have happened to the world in recent years, including the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, alongside a bleak look at the effects of mankind's actions on the planet.
In January 2007, Lynas published Gem Carbon Counter,[4] containing instructions to calculate people's personal carbon emissions and recommendations about how to reduce their impact on the atmosphere.
In 2007, he published Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet, a book detailing the progressive effect of global warming in several planetary ecosystems, from 1 degree to 6 degrees and further of average temperature rise of the planet. Special coverage is given to the positive feedback mechanisms that could dramatically accelerate the climate change, possibly putting the climate on a runaway path. As a possible end scenario the release of methane hydrate from the bottom of the oceans could replicate the end-Permian extinction event. This book won the Royal Society's science book of the year award in 2008.[5]
In 2008, National Geographic released a documentary film based on Lynas's book, entitled Six Degrees Could Change the World.[6]
In 2010, Lynas published an article in the New Statesman entitled "Why We Greens Keep Getting It Wrong"[7] and the same year was the main contributor to a UK Channel 4 Television programme called "What the Green Movement Got Wrong."[8] In these he took a line similar to environmentalists such as Patrick Moore, Bjørn Lomborg, Stewart Brand and Richard D. North, explaining that he now felt that several of his previous strongly held beliefs were wrong. For example, he suggested that opposition by environmentalists, such as himself, to the development of nuclear energy had speeded up climate change, and that GM crops were necessary to feed the world.
This latter position was attacked as patronising and naive by some developing world commentators, including one featured in a Channel Four debate after the programme aired. A number of experts also criticised Lynas's factual errors in contributing to the film. British environmentalist George Monbiot wrote in the Guardian that 'Brand and Lynas present themselves as heretics. But their convenient fictions chime with the thinking of the new establishment: corporations, thinktanks, neoliberal politicians. The true heretics are those who remind us that neither social nor environmental progress are possible unless power is confronted.[9] Since writing this, George Monbiot is no longer opposed to nuclear power as an alternative to more polluting sources such as coal.[10]
In July 2011, Lynas published in the U.K. the book entitled The God Species: How the Planet Can Survive the Age of Humans. It was also published in the U.S. by National Geographic in October 2011 as The God Species: Saving the Planet in the Age of Humans (ISBN 978-1426208911). Lynas argues that as Earth has entered the Anthropocene, and as such humanity is changing the planet's climate, its bio-geochemical cycles, the chemistry of the oceans and the colour of the sky, as well as reducing the number of species. Based on the planetary boundaries concept, he proposes several strategies that are controversial among the environmental community, such as using nuclear power and the Integral fast reactor to reduce carbon emissions and geoengineering to mitigate inevitable global warming; or genetic engineering (transgenics) to feed the world and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture.[11] In 2012, Mark Lynas was bestowed the Paradigm Award by the Breakthrough Institute in recognition of his intellectual leadership on the Anthropocene.
"In defence of nuclear power" [ edit ]
In January 2012, Lynas published an article titled In defence of nuclear power,[12] in which he states that "nuclear provides the vast majority of the UK's current low-carbon electricity – as much as 70%, whilst avoiding the emission of 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. This is why I want to see more nuclear power in the UK and elsewhere, in order to avoid more carbon emissions". In September 2012, Lynas wrote a follow-up article in the Guardian entitled "Without nuclear, the battle against global warming is as good as lost."[13]
In 2013, Lynas published Nuclear 2.0: Why A Green Future Needs Nuclear Power. Lynas is featured in the 2013 pro-nuclear documentary film Pandora's Promise. Generation IV reactor research programs are developing the type of nuclear power described in Pandora's Promise.
Conversion to support GMOs [ edit ]
Mark Lynas speaks about how he changed his mind on GMOs at the European Skeptics Congress 2017.
In a January 2013 lecture to the Oxford Farming Conference, Lynas detailed his conversion from an organizer of the anti-GMO food movement in Europe to becoming a supporter of the technology.[14] He admitted "... in 2008, I was still penning screeds in the Guardian attacking the science of GM – even though I had done no academic research on the topic, and had a pretty limited personal understanding. I don't think I'd ever read a peer-reviewed paper on biotechnology or plant science..." He apologized for engaging in vandalism of field trials of genetically engineered crops, stating that "anti-science environmentalism became increasingly inconsistent with my pro-science environmentalism with regard to climate change." Lynas criticized organizations with which he was previously associated, including Greenpeace and organic trade groups like the U.K. Soil Association, for ignoring scientific facts about genetically modified crop safety and benefits because it conflicted with their ideologies and stated he "was completely wrong to oppose GMOs."[15][16]
An Ecomodernist Manifesto [ edit ]
In April 2015, Lynas joined with a group of scholars in issuing An Ecomodernist Manifesto.[17][18] The other authors were: John Asafu-Adjaye, Linus Blomqvist, Stewart Brand, Barry Brook. Ruth DeFries, Erle Ellis, Christopher Foreman, David Keith, Martin Lewis, Ted Nordhaus, Roger A. Pielke, Jr., Rachel Pritzker, Joyashree Roy, Mark Sagoff, Michael Shellenberger, Robert Stone, and Peter Teague[19]
Appearances [ edit ]
In 2017, Lynas appeared at the 17th European Skeptics Congress (ESC) in Old Town Wrocław, Poland. This congress was organised by the Klub Sceptyków Polskich (Polish Skeptics Club) and Český klub skeptiků Sisyfos (Czech Skeptic's Club). Here he was a speaker along with Marcin Rotkiewicz and Tomáš Moravec on the topic of genetically modified organisms.[20]
Bibliography [ edit ]
Books [ edit ]
Essays and reporting [ edit ]
Lynas, Mark (Feb–Mar 2014). "Environmentalists' double standards". Special Feature. Food Wars. Cosmos. 55: 49.Why make refillable notebooks?
I carry around a notebook everywhere. I rarely have good ideas at my desk. I also rarely remember ideas I have by the time I get back to my desk. Because of this, I have a notebook on me all the time. I go through a lot of them. The last time I organized my shop, I found this huge box of notebooks I had already filled. It wasn't like I was going to use them again. Any ideas I wrote in them had long since been transfered to other places. (Say nothing of the number of pages taken up by lists of things I needed to do or get.) It occurred to me that notebooks that I use once and then never use again are kind of a waste. That got me thinking: What if there were a notebook that you could use over and over again? What if we looked at the notebook like a piece of well-made furniture? I wanted to make something that was durable and beautiful while still being useful.
What’s special about these notebooks
First off, these notebooks look pretty neat. Whenever I take mine out to use it people always ask me where I got it and where they can get one. They’re really comfortable to hold, as well. They're lightweight but still substantial. Because they’re finished with a combination of beeswax and citrus oil the color and texture of the bamboo really comes through nicely. Designs can also be laser etched into the cover, so there's a lot of room for customization and personalization.
As far as writing in it goes, the cover is designed so that it will either lay flat on a table, or you can just flip the top over and it’s a stable writing surface by itself.
Because it’s refillable, you can use it over and over again and all you have to do is put more paper in it. Another nice side benefit of the fact that the pages come out is that they’re easy to put on a scanner. That, and once you fill a notebook, you can take an extra ring and clip the pages together for easy archiving. (Demonstrated in the video.)
They’re really durable, too. They’re designed to last a really long time.
The dimensions of the notebook are 4.25" x 6.5" x 1.25". It weighs 10.75 oz. with paper in it.
Why use bamboo?
Why use bamboo? Well, I originally tried making notebooks out of oak. They looked really nice but they were kind of heavy. Also, oak actually isn’t that strong in the thickness I needed to use. Bamboo is lighter, stronger and even better looking than just about any other wood I could make them from.
Equally important is that the bamboo used to make these notebooks is produced sustainably by a local company. Additionally, the power used in the shop is solar/wind and I purchase carbon offsets for shipping and the like. We use minimal packaging and recycle everything we can right down to the sawdust.
Why do you do this?
I do what I’m doing because I love making things. I want to make things that are beautiful and useful. I want to make things that last. I want to make objects that people can look at and feel good about. I want to make things that I feel good about. I figure if I do that, there are people will probably like what I’m doing.
So what's the money for?
I want to be able to produce these notebooks in meaningful numbers. That means I need to purchase enough raw materials to be cost-effective. I also need to upgrade some of my tools, rent some additional space and hire a shop assistant or two.
I'd also like to be able to complete the design work on a few other models, including a notebook where the hinge is at the top as well as some smaller and larger ones.
You can look at all the current available designs here.AUBURN, Alabama -- A running back who won All-American honors in 2011 is transferring to Auburn.
Illinois announced today that sophomore fullback Jay Prosch has transferred to be closer to his mother who has brain cancer in Mobile. Prosch, who was an all-state prep player at UMS-Wright in Mobile, was named first-team All-American by Pro Football Weekly and won academic All-Big Ten honors. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
"He will have an opportunity to be much closer to his mother, who continues to face health issues. We wish Jay the best as he makes this move," said Illinois coach Tim Beckman.
Prosch talked of his desire to play closer to his mother and of her illness
.
Prosch was a blocking back the past two seasons, registering two carries for nine yards in his career. He won Illinois' outstanding special teams player award for 2011. He led Illinois with 10 special teams tackles. In 2010, he helped Illinois' single-season rushing leader, Mikel Leshoure, and the Big Ten's top rushing offense, according to an Illinois press release.
Prosch was an all-state lineman as a high school junior and all-state linebacker at UMS-Wright.
Follow Auburn on Twitter:Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards, is proud to announce its GeForce GTX 950 lineup with the introduction of the Colorful 950-2GD5 and iGame 950-2GD5 Ymir-U graphics cards. Both cards feature the 2nd-generation Maxwell GPU from NVIDIA, featuring highly efficient performance per watt, this translates to excellent efficiency making the new Colorful GTX 950 consume less power but still deliver excellent performance. Perfect for those concerned about keeping their electric bills to a minimum.The iGame 950-2GD5 Ymir-U is the latest member of the iGame family of gaming graphics card from Colorful featuring revolutionary technology to improve gamers' visual experience. The NVIDIA GTX 950 GPU delivers the perfect upgrade for users still using older-generation graphics cards looking to find a better visual experience with their games. The GTX 950 is the perfect graphics card for MOBA with optimization intended to bring the best response times for these games.The iGame 950-2GD5 Ymir-U features Colorful's innovation for its iGame series of graphics card which features select components and improvements to bring a new level of performance for gamers over reference cards. The iGame features including high-performance GDDR5 memory, Silver Plating Technology for improve stability than regular PCB together with the iGame Pure-Power Inductance (IPP) assuring stable power delivery. low operating temperatures and reduced electo-magnetic interference. To further aid in performance, the custom iGame cooler features Bio-Shark design fans for 30% more cooling efficiency in tandem with the sand-blasted cooling module. The iGame950 2GD5 Ymir-U features passive cooling when the operating temperature is under 59 °C.To further increase performance, Colorful's new iGame 950 2GD5 Ymir-U has a unique one-button overclocking feature allowing the this graphics card to achieve faster clock speeds giving everyone an instant speed boost without knowing how to overclock.Colorful also introduces the Colorful 950-2GD5 graphics card featuring the same GM206 2nd generation Maxwell GPU delivering high-efficiency and performance for mainstream users. The Colorful 950-2GD5 features a custom cooling fan with Colorful's Shark fin fans for maximum cooling rated for 30,000 hours.Twitter Takes Down Unoriginal Jokes, But All Of Yours Are Probably Safe
Enlarge this image toggle caption John Davisson/Invision/AP John Davisson/Invision/AP
Twitter has started taking down jokes for copyright infringement. The removals were first spotted by @PlagiarismBad, which traced the takedown notices to Olga Lexell, a freelance writer in Los Angeles.
Lexell, whose bio describes her as a freelance writer, confirmed that she had asked Twitter to take down jokes. In her post, Lexell says she makes her living writing jokes, and that the users who had tweeted them — many of them spam accounts that "re-post tons of other people's jokes every day" — did not give her credit.
But Lexell may not have a good copyright claim, according to Jim Burger, a Washington, D.C.-based copyright attorney.
"You can copyright a joke, but it's not a very strong copyright," he says. "And a lot of jokes are derivative of other jokes, so I think you would have a hard time defending your copyright."
Christopher Jon Sprigman, a law professor at New York University who has written about jokes and copyright, agrees. He says you can't copyright an idea, only a way of expression; if a joke can only be expressed in a few ways you probably can't get a copyright on it.
Among Lexell's reposted jokes that were taken down by Twitter: "Saw someone spill their high-end juice cleanse all over the sidewalk and now I know God is on my side."
Joke Stealing Is No Laughing Matter, Comedians Say Joke Stealing Is No Laughing Matter, Comedians Say Listen
Comedy Writer Brings 'The Tweet Of God' To Broadway Comedy Writer Brings 'The Tweet Of God' To Broadway Download · 10:40 10:40
Sprigman says it's debatable whether that joke can be copyrighted. Sometimes, he says, a joke is just in the zeitgeist of the moment.
Take the case of Carlos Mencia, who made a joke during an appearance on Comedy Central about plans to build a fence along the southern U.S. border to keep Mexicans from entering the U.S. illegally. Mencia quipped, "Um, who's going to build it?"
Comedian Ari Shaffir claimed Mencia stole the joke from him, and cited earlier recordings of himself making the joke — but it turned out that comedians D.L. Hughley and George Lopez also had told similar jokes.
Sprigman says that, historically, the comedy community has policed itself by shaming those who steal jokes.
According to Twitter, the accounts that had Lexell's jokes removed can file a counter notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act within 10 days. But, if Lexell is right and it's only spambot accounts stealing her jokes, they'll just move on to finding other good lines to pilfer.Cement is made from limestone, calcium, silicon, iron, and aluminum, among other ingredients. This mixture is heated in large kilns to about 2,700°F (1,482°C) to form a product known as clinkers, which roughly resemble marbles. These are ground into a powder and gypsum is added, creating the gray flour-like substance known as cement. When water is added to cement, it triggers a chemical process that allows it to harden.
The primary difference between concrete and cement is that concrete is a composite material made of water, aggregate, and cement. Cement is a very fine powder made of limestone and other minerals, which absorbs water and acts as a binder to hold the concrete together. While cement is a construction material in its own right, concrete cannot be made without cement. The two terms often are incorrectly used interchangeably, but concrete and cement are distinctly separate products.
Portland Cement
There are many different types of cement, but the type most commonly used in construction is Portland cement. Joseph Aspdin of Britain developed the building material in the 1700s, when he found that adding clay to limestone and superheating the mixture allowed the resulting blend to set anywhere. Portland cement is a type of hydraulic cement, which means that when water is added, it starts a chemical reaction that is not dependent on how much water there is. This allows the cement to harden underwater and remain strong even in wet conditions. The different types of hydraulic cement are primarily used in concrete and mortars.
Concrete
Concrete, in contrast, is a masonry material that uses cement to bind together crushed stone, rock, and sand, also called aggregate. Cement makes up from 10% to 15% of the total mass of concrete; the exact proportions vary depending on the type of concrete being made. The aggregate and cement are mixed thoroughly with water, which starts the chemical reaction causing the cement to harden and set. Before this happens, the concrete mix can be poured into a mold so that it will harden in a specific shape, be it a block or a slab.
The amount of time it takes for concrete to set depends in part on how much gypsum is added to the mixture. This time can be accelerated by adding calcium chloride or slowed by adding sugar. These compounds work by affecting the development of the hardening crystals that form as concrete sets. Concrete that is exposed to freezing and thawing conditions may have additional chemicals added to help prevent cracking.
Concrete and Cement Ratios
The properties of concrete depend a great deal on the ratio of aggregate-to-cement-to-water in the mix. The water-to-cement ratio is the most important, as too little water will make the concrete mix difficult to work with, while too much will weaken the final product. This ratio is calculated with the following equation:
In this calculation, r is the ratio, q H2O is the quantity of water in US gallons, and W c is the weight of cement in pounds. A ratio of at least 0.25 is required for concrete to harden, while values of 0.35 to 0.4 are typical for most applications.
Aggregate is also important, as it makes up more than 60% of a concrete mix — and up to 80% in some cases. Larger rocks require less concrete, which means less water is needed, and a stronger final product can be made. Aggregate is also less expensive than cement, so a higher percentage can lower the cost. Generally speaking, a good aggregate has a combination of rocks of many different sizes, with a specific average and maximum size; these stones must be clean and durable, and should not contain clay or other minerals that can absorb water.
Concrete's high rock content makes it extremely durable, and it often is used in swimming pool decking, skyscrapers, subways, and lamp posts, as well as sidewalks, driveways, and roads. The ingredients in both concrete and cement are among the most abundant on Earth, and both can be recycled. Cement production does require a large amount of energy, however, because of the high temperatures required and the industry has been criticized for its contributions to carbon dioxide emissions.We are truly excited to announce that Michael Jones will be joining us as our new CEO.
Prior to joining Wearality, Michael served as chief technology advocate for Google, representing technology's benefit to users and societies around the world. He came to Google through its acquisition of Keyhole Corp., the digital-mapping software company based on his patents that more than a billion users enjoy as Google Earth.
Michael was also engineering director of the team that created OpenGL, a cornerstone of the computer graphics industry. His experience redefining the possible for users and developers exemplifies the character of Wearality.
David Smith, Wearality’s inventor, founder, and former CEO will assume the role of chief technology officer and maintain his focus on inventing and extending the company’s technological advantage.
Folded Wearality Devkit
Wearality EngineeringRand Paul |
’s assume this is all true, did this channel get set up? No? Oh. Okay then. That is the gist of this article and I can’t help but laugh at that.
In the second quoted piece, they literally said Russia feeds false information but then question if Kislyak would do that. Does anyone proofread this before it gets sent out or what? That seems like a pretty big statement to make. Almost as if it nullifies this entire article. In fact, I would say it casts a large amount of doubt on the validity of this information considering the next part is an anonymous letter.
But then we have an anonymous letter. And miraculously, we have “anonymous officials” who are able somehow confirm this letter. How can we trust this official is even real or that this letter is even real given their track record? The bigger problem we have here is that the Washington Compost is not updating any of their articles or issuing retractions when they get something wrong. Instead, all the other outlets are using them as their source. This is literally why we have the term “fake news.”
Some other stories this is drowning out:
Those seem like some fairly big stories that are being shoved back to make sure you don’t hear about it. Also, thanks CNN. Stay classy. There is also NO story on Jacob Schwartz on CNN as well. You can’t make this stuff up!Thousands will be eligible for state licenses and ID cards available to immigrants regardless of their legal status
Colorado will begin issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards to immigrants on Friday regardless of their legal status, underscoring a sea change in a state that less than a decade ago passed strict immigration enforcement laws.
Now, thousands of immigrants are waiting to get cards they hope will add a degree of legitimacy to their residency in Colorado. About 9,500 people are signed up for appointments through the next 90 days to get the documents, with more getting scheduled every day. Both people in the country illegally and those who have temporary legal status will qualify.
The demand for the licenses and identification cards has been tremendous, with the state’s website for appointments crashing at one point because of traffic, and immigrant advocates urging officials to add more locations where people can go. So far, appointments are being handled at only five locations – Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Grand Junction.
But it wasn’t long ago that immigrants could only dream of walking into a department of motor vehicles office to get a license. In 2006, Democrats and Republicans in Colorado passed a package of laws cracking down on illegal immigration, including requiring law enforcement to notify federal authorities when they arrested someone suspected of living illegally in the US. That law has since been repealed.
Last year, Colorado was among eight states that passed laws allowing identification documents for people in the country illegally. Two of those states, Illinois and Nevada, have already started issuing the documents. California plans to start in January.
“The changes we’ve seen in Colorado are absolutely remarkable and really reflect a turning of the tide in the debate on what immigration means and how immigrants are viewed, not only in Colorado but in the country,” said Hans Meyer, a Denver-based immigration attorney who was involved in crafting the new law.
Still, there are detractors who argue it will encourage illegal immigration.
“You reward illegal behavior, you beget more illegal behavior,” said state senator Ted Harvey.
Supporters of the law say it will lead to safer roads because drivers who get licenses will have a better understanding of the rules when they pass the required tests, and law enforcement will correctly identify people in traffic stops and accidents.
Colorado immigrants started making appointments to get licenses and identification cards July 1. But the rush has created frustration for those who have been unable to make an appointment, like 41-year-old Adriana Gaytan. Gaytan, who lives in Aurora, came to Colorado in 1997 from the Mexican state of Zacatecas.
For Gaytan, having a license would bring peace of mind.
“It’s going to help us so that, for example, we’re not put in the hands of immigration officials, so police don’t view us as if we were criminals,” she said in an interview in Spanish. “I think it’s going to give us a valid identification to show police.”
Immigrants with temporary legal permits don’t have to make appointments, only those in the country illegally. Those without legal status must show documents like a utility bill to prove they’ve lived in Colorado the previous two years, in addition to an identification number they’ve used to pay taxes. They must also show a passport or other identification from their home country.
Those with a temporary legal status must present the documents that prove that, as well as evidence that they’re Colorado residents.
Driver’s licenses will cost $50.50, higher than the $21 that legal residents pay. Identification cards will be $14, also higher than the $10.50 paid by everyone else. The new program will be supported by user fees.
The documents must be renewed every three years, and the cards will be marked to say they can’t be used for voting or to obtain federal benefits.
In Oregon, one of the eight states that passed a driver’s license legislation last year, opponents collected enough signatures to put the law on hold and ask voters in November whether it should be implemented.Fox News announced Wednesday that it will air a new one-hour special in which Donald Trump gives a tour of his famously ostentatious residence and shows off his material possessions for viewers. The special, titled OBJECTified: Donald Trump, and hosted by TMZ founder Harvey Levin, will air Friday, at 10 p.m. ET. It will re-air twice throughout the weekend, with 8 p.m. airings on Saturday and Sunday. According to the network’s press release, Levin and Trump will tour the home while the president-elect “showcases the objects in his home and offers the stories behind each memento.” Fox News has long been accused—with the general exceptions of Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace—of being too cozy with Trump. Prime-time host Sean Hannity reportedly advised Trump in an unofficial capacity during the campaign, and provided millions of dollars of free airtime to the candidate. A handful of the network’s other stars, from Eric Bolling to Jeanine Pirro to Lou Dobbs, have been among the reality-TV star’s most vocal boosters. Before he announced his presidential run, Trump appeared weekly on Fox & Friends to discuss news of the day.INDORE: It's not brute power but sublime timing with which Rohit Sharma produces the big knocks and the Indian opener says it is the ability to play according to the field that is key to his batting."I definitely don't have so much power. I rely a lot on timing the ball more than anything else. I know what my strengths are as well as my weaknesses. I try to play to the field as much as I can, to be honest," Rohit, who flattened the Sri Lankan attack with joint fastest T20 century, said.He clears the boundary ropes with consummate ease, in complete contrast to modern day's aggressive batsmen such as Chris Gayle, who rely on power hitting.Yet he is the only batsman, who has three double hundreds in ODIs and now two in the Twenty20 format Asked if he makes any technical adjustment to hit the long shots, Rohit explained his strategy."The field is spread after six overs. I try and see where I can find my boundary options. It's important to be able to play with the field," he said."I want to score all around the park and not just one area. It's important to explore the fielding the opposition keeps for me."In all formats, I try to do that. You can't just hit in one area, you become predictable then. It's always important to score runs all over the field and that's my strength."The way he was mauling the Lankan attack, a double hundred in T20 was a possibility. However, Rohit said he did not think of double century."Not really. I was just thinking to score runs. I wasn't thinking of any particular target. In all the formats, I don't look to score runs to get to a particular milestone," he said."My job is to go out there and score as many (runs) as possible. Not just 100s or 200s or 300s. I go out there to make sure I get my team into a good position."There are times when you don't get runs. There are times when you get runs. That is all part and parcel of the game. Never do I ever walk out thinking that I want to score a century or a double century. I just want to give my best and get the team a victory," he said.Rohit, who is leading the side in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, also realised how tough it is to captain the Indian team, considering the heavy weight of expectations from billions of people."There is lot of pressure, specially after first match in Dharamsala. We were in such a position that we were on the verge of getting all out on our lowest score," he said."I thought a lot about my captaincy and team and that it is very difficult. We are representing 140 crore people and there is lot of pressure of that."Since I am leading the side for the first time, there was pressure and there will be pressure when we play next match in Mumbai. I don't know when will I captain the side again, so every minute spent on ground is important for me," he said.During his sensational 118-run knock off just 43 balls, Rohit hit 10 sixes and 12 boundaries.Asked if he surprised himself with any one particular shot, Rohit replied in a negative."I don't play any of those flamboyant shots. I just try to hit the ball in the area I look to hit. All the shots please me since it takes a lot to pull that off," he said."Even when you defend you should like that as well. It's not just about hitting boundaries and sixes even the ball hit in the gap should make you more happy," he said.NEW DELHI – The controversial video of the Indian soldier Tej Bahadur who revealed the shocking state of affairs in the Indian army gained instant popularity in Pakistan and apparently, the soldier has become fodder for Pakistanis to taunt Indians.
NEW DELHI – The controversial video of the Indian soldier Tej Bahadur who revealed the shocking state of affairs in the Indian army gained instant popularity in Pakistan and apparently, the soldier has become fodder for Pakistanis to taunt Indians.
According to the Times of India, a top BSF official (Gujarat Frontier) has revealed that at sectors where Indian and Pakistani border posts are located opposite each other on either side of the border — such as some places in Barmer sector of the Gujarat frontier — the Pak Rangers taunt Indian soldiers with jibes like, “If you are hungry, please come over. We have food here.”
A top BSF official also claims that the ISI was delighted at Tej Bahadur’s social media posts that revealed that essentials meant for them were being illegally sold in the market by their higher-ups and officers.
“The ISI of Pakistan and terror outfits operating from across the border are taking advantage of the social media posts of the Indian jawans, which demoralises the BSF,” claimed the BSF official.
The Indian authorities have already ordered an inquiry into the social media posts of another BSF jawan, Navratna Choudhari, who has also alleged corruption. Choudhari is currently posted as head constable (ministerial) at Gandhidham, Kutch.Not to be snarky or anything, but does anyone else think there's something just the slightest bit odd about this whole situation with Michael Arrington and AOL?
I'm talking about how, in the last 24 hours, it's been reported that the TechCrunch founder was starting a venture fund to invest in the kinds of companies he cover; that, because of this, he would be "taking a backseat" at TechCrunch but "continue to report to Arianna Huffington," AOL's editor in chief; that, actually, he would not be reporting to Huffington anymore; that, hang on a second, he doesn't even work for AOL at all anymore; and finally that, yes, he does still work for AOL, only in its ventures arm rather than its media division.
You see what I mean, that there's something a little irregular going on here, maybe?
It raises a few questions, at any rate. Here are some of mine:
-Tim Armstrong, when you made the deal to buy TechCrunch for a reported $25 million-plus, it was with the condition that Arrington stick around for at least three years. His continued services were part of the value you were getting. Now, less than a year later, he's off to do something other than what you hired him to do. Why are you okay with that? Did this one just get away from you?
-What does it mean that CrunchFund is "part of AOL Ventures"? AOL reportedly put up about half of the fund's $20 million. Does Arrington work for AOL more than he works for the guys who put up the other $10 million? Can he be "fired"? Ie. Can AOL put someone else in charge of CrunchFund if it wants to?
-Tim and Arianna, AOL's strategy is supposed to be all about building great premium content that attracts a mass audience. In the past few months, the editors of TechCrunch and Gizmodo Engadget, the two AOL sites that have done the best job of that, have left. Aren't they exactly the folks you want leading your content charge -- not overseeing your tech investments, or off launching sites for your competitors?
-Mike, when you announced a few months ago that you were going to start investing in start-ups again while remaining editor of TechCrunch, you promised it would all be okay because you planned to be super transparent about every potential conflict of interest. So why are you being so opaque about this whole thing?
-Did you, as Fortune suggests, kind of fleece your CrunchFund investors who thought their millions were buying them not just your investment acumen but also access to the editor in chief of TechCrunch and his journalistic network?
-Everyone, why have you had such a hard time getting your stories straight on this? Did you just get caught flat-footed by a leak before you had a chance to iron out some details, or are we seeing deeper internal issues working themselves out in public here?
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Speaking of transparency: I used to work at AOL. They were very nice to me, and I miss the foosball table.COULD our girl crush on Emma Watson get any bigger? Probably not.
The Harry Potter actress and newly-appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador gave a stirring speech promoting gender equality at the United Nations HQ on the weekend.
Watson was helping to launch the ‘HeForShe’ global campaign, which aims to get 100,000 men and boys involved in the fight to achieve gender equality.
Fighting back her nerves, Watson spoke of her confusion at being labelled “bossy” as a child and sexualised by the media in her teens.
The Brown University graduate hit out at potential critics who might ask “what is that Harry Potter girl doing at the UN?” and invited men to take feminism seriously.
“Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue too,” she said.
She admitted that modern feminism has an image problem — and clarified that feminism is not about man-hating. “If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.
“For the record, feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. I started questioning gender-based assumptions a long time ago.”
Here is a full transcript of the speech:
“Today, we are launching a campaign called HeForShe. I am reaching out to you before we need your help. We want to end gender inequality and to do this, we need everyone involved. This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN. We want to try to galvanise as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for change and we don’t just want to talk about it. We want to try and make sure that it’s tangible.”
“I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for U.N. Women six months ago and the more I’ve spoken about feminism, the more I have realised that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.”
“For the record, feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. I started questioning gender-based assumptions a long time ago.”
“When I was 8, I was confused about being called ‘bossy’ because I wanted to direct the plays that we would put on for our parents. But the boys were not. When at 14, I started to be sexualised by certain elements of the media, when at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams, because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscle-y,’ when at 18, my male friends were unable to express their feelings, I decided that I was a feminist. And this seems uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word.”
“Women are choosing not to identify as feminists. Apparently, I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, ‘too aggressive,’ isolating and anti-men, unattractive, even. Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one?”
“I am from Britain and I think it is right that I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body, I think [applause break]... I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and the decisions that affect my life. I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men.”
“But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights. No country in the world can yet say that they have achieved gender equality. These rights, I consider to be human rights but I am one of the lucky ones, my life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn’t love me less because I was born a daughter. My school did not limit me because I was a girl. My mentors didn’t assume that I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day. These influencers are the gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am today.”
“They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing the world today. We need more of those and if you still hate the word, it is not the word that is important. It’s the idea and the ambition behind it. Because not all women have received the same rights that I have. In fact, statistically, very few have been.”
“In 1997, Hillary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women’s rights. Sadly, many of the things that she wanted to change are still true today. But what stood out for me the most was that less than 30 per cent of the audience were male. How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?”
“Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation.” [Applause break] “Gender equality is your issue too. Because to date, I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent being valued less by society despite my needing his presence, as a child, as much as my mother’s. I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for help, for fear it would make them less of a man. In fact, in the U.K., suicide is the biggest killer of men, between 20 to 49, eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality, either.”
“We don’t want to talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes but I can see that they are. When they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence. If men don’t have to be aggressive, women won’t be compelled to be submissive. If men don’t need to control, women won’t have to be controlled.”
“It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals. We should stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by who we are. We can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom. I want men to take up this mantle so their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice but also so their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human, too and in doing so, be a more true and complete version of themselves.”
“You might think, ‘Who is this Harry Potter girl? What is she doing at the U. N.?’ And it’s a really good question — I’ve been asking myself the same thing. All I know is that I care about this problem and I want to make it better. And having seen what I’ve seen and given the chance, I feel my responsibility to say something. Statesman Edmund Burke said all that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.”
“In my nervousness for this speech and my moments of doubt, I’ve told myself firmly, ‘If not me, who? If not now, when?’ If you have similar doubts when opportunities are presented to you, I hope that those words will be helpful because the reality is, if we do nothing, it will take 75 years or for me, to be nearly 100, before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work — 15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children and at current rates, it won’t be until 2086 before all rural African girls can have a secondary education.”
“If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I spoke of earlier and for this, I applaud you. We are struggling for a uniting word but the good news is that we have a uniting movement. It is called HeForShe. I am inviting you to step forward to be seen and to ask yourself, ‘If not me, who? If not now, when?’ Thank you very, very much.”
Watch a video of her speech below.Police are looking for this man they said used a stolen debit card to withdraw $800 from a Staten Island bank. View Full Caption NYPD
PORT RICHMOND — A man wearing a hoodie with "Buy Your Own F---ing Weed" emblazoned on the front used a stolen debit card to withdraw $800, police said.
The suspect used the card to withdraw the cash from the Chase Bank at 1480 Forest Ave. on Oct. 21 at 7:13 p.m., the NYPD said.
It's unclear why police waited so long to release information about the incident.
The suspect has a mustache and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and the black hoodie, police said.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).You must enter the characters with black color that stand out from the other characters
— House Speaker Tim Moore said Wednesday that a bill filed Tuesday that would outlaw same-sex marriage in North Carolina and refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states was effectively dead.
According to House Bill 780, the state would declare that the federal government is not legally authorized to regulate marriage. Therefore, the state's 2012 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage would remain in effect.
The proposal presumes that the state could simply refuse to recognize the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. According to the bill, that ruling "exceeds the authority of the Court relative to the decree of Almighty God that 'a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh' (Genesis 2:24, ESV) and abrogates the clear meaning and understanding of marriage in all societies throughout prior history."
The bill's primary sponsor, Rep. Larry Pittman, R-Cabarrus, is a Christian minister. He refused to comment on the legislation he filed.
The bill's second sponsor, Rep. Michael Speciale, R-Craven, first denied that the bill would outlaw same-sex marriage in the state, then said that, since the constitutional amendment remains on the books despite the Supreme Court ruling, state lawmakers should "do something about it." He declined to say what action that should be, and he turned down an interview request, accusing reporters of misrepresenting his positions in earlier stories.
"There are strong constitutional concerns with this legislation given that the U.S. Supreme Court has firmly ruled on the issue," Moore said in a statement. "Therefore, House Bill 780 will be referred to the House Rules Committee and will not be heard."
The bill appears to follow the same logic as several other states' rights measures filed by Pittman and Speciale in sessions past, citing the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as the authority that gives the state the power to refuse to recognize or comply with federal laws or decisions state leaders deem excessive or unconstitutional.
Sarah Gillooly, policy director for the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, called the proposal a "half-baked legal theor[y]," noting same-sex marriage is "the law of the land in North Carolina and the entire nation."
"This bill is absurd, unconstitutional and further proof that some North Carolina legislators remain committed to discriminating against LGBT people and their families," Gillooly said in a statement. "North Carolina lawmakers cannot defy the U.S. Supreme Court based on their extreme personal views."Photo courtesy of Pete Romano Jr.
If you want a lesson in rebranding, look no further than Sporting Kansas City.
A move from CommunityAmerica Ballpark to the beautiful soccer-specific Children’s Mercy Park (then Livestrong Sporting Park) coupled with a rebrand from Kansas City Wizards to Sporting KC resulted in a 73% jump in attendance from 2010 to 2011.
.@KCCauldron still call their team the Wizards and I love it — The Soccer Tour (@TheSoccerTour) June 4, 2017
Since the change, the club has been able to shed the “MLS 1.0” image that still plagues such clubs as the New England Revolution and D.C. United. Instead, the club is raved about — and rightly so. The branding is sleek and professional. The stadium is among the best in Major League Soccer and the atmosphere created by The Cauldron fuels the team to success on the field.
What a game. Thanks @KCCauldron for the reception and @SportingKC for the spectacle pic.twitter.com/0Z8XG6fZdU — The Soccer Tour (@TheSoccerTour) June 3, 2017
I was fortunate enough to witness a 3-0 win for the good guys during my visit. And after seeing it on TV so many times, finally shower in blue confetti following each goal Sporting scored in The Blue Hell goal.
Check out photos and video from my experience in the supporters section here
Big thanks to Zach Cobb and the rest of The Cauldron for the hospitality.Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive
BROSSARD, Que. — The reporter attempted to ask about the Montreal Canadiens’ window of opportunity, but before the words could form a complete question, Marc Bergevin cut him off.
“I don’t believe in that,” Bergevin said last month.
Whether it's 25 years or five years, every team has a window to win. Just ask Ken Holland and Dean Lombardi, who are both navigating extremely unfamiliar territory this week.
Bergevin doesn’t need to look far for further proof - just the visitor’s crease at the Bell Centre during Game 1 on Wednesday night, where Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers will offer a cautionary tale on opportunities missed.
Lundqvist and Carey Price will take centre stage in this Original Six first round matchup, but their duel will also magnify the unpleasant realities about each team’s window, which are both propped up by all-world goaltending. The Rangers are seemingly doing everything possible to make sure theirs doesn’t slam on their fingers, while the Canadiens know their wide-open window may only be open for two more years.
No one knows how many more kicks at Lord Stanley’s can the Habs have with Price at his absolute prime.
It’s Carpe Diem time for the Canadiens.
All of which helps explain what Bergevin has been piecing together over the last year, by mortgaging tomorrow for today with Shea Weber, by signing Alexander Radulov, and by trading for a truckload of truculence at the deadline.
“You don’t really talk about a window, because you don’t really know how long that is,” Brendan Gallagher said Tuesday. “But we’re in a position where we have an opportunity. We have a lot of good players here, guys that are in the best parts of their careers.
“That is certainly something you want to take advantage of, but I think it is no different this year than it was last year or it will be next year.”
Last year and next year only heighten Montreal’s urgency.
Last season, the Canadiens’ record-setting start exploded into oblivion when Price went down at Madison Square Garden, highlighting one goaltender’s impact in a way never really seen before in hockey’s history.
And after next year: Who knows?
Price will embark on the final year of his contract next season. If last summer taught us anything about Bergevin, it was to expect the unexpected.
But even if Price is re-signed to a massive extension, likely to make him the highest paid netminder in the NHL, north of Lundqvist’s $9.5 million AAV, there are no guarantees for the Canadiens - in health and otherwise.
Price is 125 days from the wrong side of 30. There was a time when goaltenders routinely played until their late 30s; Lundqvist began his seven-year deal at age 32 in 2014, while Martin Brodeur was still playing at age 42.
In the blink of an eye, just three goaltenders are older than Lundqvist, now 35, and only one of them carried his team to a playoff berth. Lundqvist himself arrives at these playoffs on the heels of the worst regular season of his career, part of the oldest five per cent of NHL roster now.
It happens fast. Mike Babcock summed it up best when he said Tuesday that young players in the league are always thinking “next year, next year” when it comes to the Stanley Cup.
“Next year never comes in sport,” Babcock said. “You make good on the opportunities you get.”
Few are going to look better for the Canadiens, since this first step against the evenly-matched Rangers and Lundqvist may be the hardest for the first two rounds.
The Canadiens begin their Drive for 25 as one of the hottest teams in the NHL (16-7-1) since Claude Julien took over as head coach on February 18. The core of the cast in front of Price is similarly in its prime: from Weber to Max Pacioretty to Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk. They have speed and creativity to harness.
They have warts, which have reared their heads this season. The Habs struggle to score for stretches. They will also almost always be overmatched in a series down the middle. But Julien has righted the ship with what he said Tuesday was “fine-tuning.”
The confidence comes in that Price, who is playing his best hockey under Julien since his Hart Trophy campaign two years ago, will be there to smooth over the blemishes. Julien knows the power of the goaltender: Tim Thomas put together one of the best playoff campaigns in NHL history in 2011 to end the Bruins' 39-year Stanley Cup drought.
“In this day and age, every goalie is really important to his organization, but we have the privilege of having the best goaltender in this league, so that’s the biggest asset we have,” Julien said Monday. “When you have a goalie like that, there’s no doubt there is a feeling of confidence around your team.”
The tough part is converting that confidence to hardware, before it’s too late. Lundqvist eked achingly close, with three conference final trips and that Stanley Cup Final in 2014. That would be nothing to sneeze at, of course, anywhere except Montreal.
“When you have that opportunity, you want to take advantage,” Julien said. “You don’t want to look too far ahead.”
The other end of the ice should be far enough. Lundqvist will be there, reflecting back a mirror image of Price, only five years older, with a message to the rest of the Canadiens: to you from failing hands we throw the torch.
It’s up to them whether they catch it and hold it high.
Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalliOpen Source Brewathon Results Tasting
Earthbound Beer is partnering with OpenDataSTL to celebrate open source licensing and collaborative brewing for the National Day of Civic Hacking. The partnership includes the release of an open source beer recipe, educational events, and a brewing contest.
The event kicked off Monday, April 27 at Earthbound (2710 Cherokee St) with the release of the open source brown ale recipe and Benjamin Siders of Lewis, Rice & Fingersh (and home brewer) presenting on open source software, creative commons licensing and iterative development.
Now comes the big finish.
Wednesday, May 27th, 7pm at Earthbound. Time for tasting and juding as home brewers from around the metro area submit their interpretations of the brown ale recipe for public and juried critique. Awards and prizes will be presented, and Earthbound will brew the winning recipe. All recipes will be collected and saved in a central repository.
##Open Source Brown Ale
This recipe is a malt-forward brown ale that pairs dry roasty notes with a soft body. The belma hops provide aromas of fruit candy.
Recipe scaled for 1.5bbl production (46 gallons)
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.013
ABV: 5.0%
IBU: 24.8
SRM: 21.3
GRAIN BILL:
70 lbs 2 row Brewers Malt (2.0 SRM)
10 lbs Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM)
4 lbs Roasted Barley (300 SRM)
5 lbs crystal 120 (120 SRM)
MASH SCHEDULE:
Add 112 quarts of water at 164 degrees
Mash at 154 for 45 minutes
Mash out to 170 for 15 minutes
Sparge
HOP ADDITIONS:
4 oz of Belma hops (9.4% AA, 14.6 IBUs) at 60 minutes
.15 oz of supermoss (hydrated) at 15 minutes
4 oz of Belma hops (9.4% AA, 7.2 IBUs) at 15 minutes
4 oz of Belma hops (9.4% AA, 2.9 IBUs) at 5 minutes
Whirlpool, chill and pitch yeast (Our house strain is Wyeast 1332, NW Ale, though we’ve also experimented with Wyeast 1469, West Yorkshire Ale).
Ferment in primary until desired attenuation is reached.BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State attacked villages near the only useable road that links the government-controlled cities of Aleppo and Homs on Thursday, killing many residents, Syrian state media and a Britain-based war monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said 52 people, civilians and fighters on both sides, had been killed and dozens injured. At least 25 were civilians, including five children, and three of them died in execution-style killings, it said.
State-run SANA news agency said that Islamic State fighters killed 20 people in the village of Aqarib al-Safi — east of Hama city before the army and allied militia repulsed the attack.
The Observatory said government forces and their allies took back Aqarib al-Safi and nearby positions after heavy clashes, reversing the gains Islamic State made on Thursday.
The militants had said earlier on social media that they had captured the village.
Many of the people in the area belong to the Ismaili sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam, and would be regarded by Islamic State as infidels. In 2015, Islamic State killed 46 civilians in the nearby al-Mabouja village, the Observatory said.
The army and its allies hold the road and a small strip of land on each side, with Islamic State controlling the eastern area and Syrian rebel groups the west.
The Observatory said Thursday’s attack was the most violent so far this year by Islamic State along the road.
Islamic State has recently lost large swathes of territory, mainly in the north, to separate military campaigns, including by the Russian-backed Syrian army and U.S.-backed militias.
The jihadist group still mounts attacks in Syria, however, including a swift advance in December to capture Palmyra, which it held for several weeks before the army retook the city.
Separately, Syrian state television said Islamic State shelled a government-held district in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor also killed 13 people on Thursday, many of them children.
Syria’s conflict, now in its seventh year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people. The multi-sided war has drawn in global powers, made half the country’s population homeless, and allowed ultra-hardline jihadists to expand.''No one can speak with conclusive facts in hand about the impact of this industry on the health of the workers, because we have not been able to do the necessary studies,''said Dr. Bolívar Vera, a health specialist at the Health Environment and Development Foundation in Quito. ''So the companies have been able to wash their hands of the matter.''
In the 20 years since the farms started here, Ecuador has out of nowhere become the fourth-largest producer of roses in the world, with customers from Kazakhstan to Kansas.
St. Valentine's Day is the biggest rose event in the United States, which buys more than 70 percent of its cut flowers from South America and is Ecuador's biggest trading partner. Roses retail for up to $6 a bloom. Last week, workers at RosaPrima, a plantation here, moved at a dizzying pace |
science, public opinion and the reality of marijuana's future in this country.
As long as an Illinois soldier with severe PTSD is denied access to his best treatment option, I refuse to call this a win.
To subscribe to my blog, type your email address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.The London nurse who abused residents of the Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care during a 12-month period will not face criminal charges.
London police on Friday said they investigated the allegations against Susan Muzylowsky and the case has been closed.
“The investigation is complete and no charges have been laid,” London police spokesperson Const. Sandasha Bough said.
St. Joseph’s Health Care, operator of the Mount Hope home, called in police in June to investigate allegations against Muzylowsky.
The call to police followed the release a month earlier of disciplinary action by the College of Nurses of Ontario against Muzylowsky in which she agreed not to practice nursing.
In a hearing of the college, Muzylowsky admitted to withholding pain medication, treating patients roughly, advising other staff to help residents masturbate and intimidating colleagues through profanity and insults.
She admitted to professional misconduct and abuse against
19 patients, including telling one, “I’ll give you something to cry about.”
Results of a separate investigation by Ontario Ministry of Health inspectors were posted this week on the ministry website.
In those reports, Mount Hope staff related how the registered practical nurse had repeatedly touched a number of residents in a sexual way without their consent during a 12-month period.
Staff also detailed verbal abuse of residents by the nurse and the withholding of prescribed medications.
Front-line staff had reported incidents to nurses who were in charge during the overnight shifts, but those complaints were not passed along to senior managers or the Health Ministry as required by law, the reports said.
Muzylowsky was suspended immediately after some staff presented documented evidence of misconduct to administrators on Aug. 5, 2014, St. Joseph’s president Gillian Kernaghan said this week. Muzylowsky was fired a month later after an investigation.
But St. Joseph’s did not notify London police about Muzylowsky’s abuse in 2014, a failing noted by ministry inspectors.
The inspection system itself was criticized this week by the Progressive Conservative health critic. Jeff Yurek, the MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London, said a Health Ministry inspection of Mount Hope in 2014 didn’t turn up any violations, but the re-inspection found numerous violations detailed in the reports.
The provincial Liberals need
to make changes to the inspection system to prevent similar abuse in nursing homes, Yurek said.
The ministry inspectors ruled that Mount Hope had failed to protect residents from physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
A Health Ministry spokesperson this week said the ministry is continuing to monitor the situation at Mount Hope.
jminer@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JohnatLFPressCLOSE At this year L.A. Auto Show, a number of carmakers are adding electric cars and upgrading their existing models.
Tesla Motors unveils the new lower-priced Model 3 sedan (Photo11: Justin Prichard, AP)
The Chevrolet Bolt EV, Tesla Model 3 and electric vehicles in general face a radically new regulatory and political playing field as a professed climate change skeptic prepares to occupy the White House.
The budding Trump administration so far has been short on policy specifics. But just two days after the election, automakers' chief lobbying group, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, urged the Trump transition team to revise not only the fuel economy standards, but also the Obama administration's autonomous vehicle standards, on the grounds that they could cost its member companies billions of dollars.
"The short answer is that we don’t know what will happen with the Trump administration and electric vehicles," said Dave Reichmuth, senior engineer for the Union of Concerned Scientists clean vehicles program. "It might be awhile before we understand the policy priorities for the new administration."
Reichmuth points out that the EV tax credit is embedded in the larger federal tax code, so removing it would require action from Congress. So it’s not likely to be changed soon, even if that was the direction that was chosen.
It’s worth noting that many of the cars receiving the credit come from U.S. assembly lines — Tesla in Fremont, Calif., the Volt and Bolt in the Detroit area and the Nissan Leaf in Smyrna, Tenn. None of this will shake automakers' resolve to advertise and sell these plug-in vehicles.
The Bolt EV comes off a week when it won two Car of the Year awards, one from Motor Trend, the second from Green Car Journal. Its certified 238-mile range on a full charge should ease consumers' anxiety about being stranded. The Bolt comes to market, beginning in California, at least one year ahead of the Tesla Model 3. Both are in the same price range — about $30,000 or slightly less after the $7,500 federal tax credit.
"We have six now, and four are already sold. Mid-December is the target week for when we get any more," said Brian Satterlund, new car sales manager at Ron Tonkin Chevrolet in Portland, Ore., which has more public charging stations per capita than any U.S. city.
About 1,100 miles south in Redwood City, Calif., about 40 customers have preordered Bolts, according to Michael Little, a sales consultant at Boardwalk Chevrolet.
"Those people have paid a $1,000 deposit that holds your place in line," Little said. "We're expecting to receive 39 Bolts the week of Nov. 28 and another 14 on Dec. 12."
Despite the turmoil in Washington, D.C., the West Coast remains a strong market for EVs.
California alone accounted for 54.5%, or 62,119, of the plug-in electric vehicles sold in 2015, according to hybridcars.com. The nation's largest state also has its own EV tax credits — $2,500 for battery electrics and $1,500 for plug-in hybrids.
In addition, the California Air Resources Board has required that zero-emission vehicles account for a certain percentage of each automaker's sales in the state. Those targets are 4.5% of sales in 2018, rising to 22% in 2025.
Nine other states have the same targets. They are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.
But plug-in hybrids such as the Chevrolet Volt and Ford's Fusion Energi and C-Max Energi, and pure electrics such as Tesla's Models S and X, Nissan Leaf and BMW i3, are still just a sliver of the U.S. market.
This year through October, Americans bought or leased 54,816 plug-in hybrids, up 64% from a year earlier, and 64,932 pure EVs, a 12.6% increase from the same period of 2015.
General Motors hasn't discussed its production plan for the Bolt, beyond saying it will build to meet demand.
Tesla has more at stake. So far it is selling the Model 3 on the charm and media manipulation of CEO Elon Musk. It holds about 400,000 refundable $1,000 deposits for a car it won't begin assembling until late 2017 at best.
Musk plans to produce Model 3s at an annual rate of 200,000 by 2018, which means he's assuming a lot of those depositors will be patient.
Despite earning $21.9 million on revenue of $2.3 billion in the third quarter, only its second quarterly profit ever, Tesla must prove it can produce affordable vehicles in high volumes to establish its sustainable business model.
Musk, who publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, appears unfazed by the potential of less-EV-friendly regulations.
Indeed, on Thursday Musk taunted GM for its modest production targets for the Bolt, saying, "A car like that should be aiming at shipping 300,000 to 500,000 per year."
Unlike Tesla, GM's profitability doesn't depend on Chevy's sales of Bolts or Volt. And it might even be more profitable as it sells more pickups and large SUVs, especially if the new administration relaxes the current regulations that require automakers to achieve a fleet average of about 42 miles per gallon in 2020 and 54.5 mpg by 2025.
“GM is using a similar approach to what they’ve done for 100 years. Tesla is following its own playbook," said Stephanie Brinley, an industry analyst with IHS Automotive. "Tesla has been very interesting, but it hasn’t proven it can be profitable over the long term."
Dan Sperling, founding director of the University of California Davis Institute for Transportation Studies, said the industry's letter to the Trump transition team should not be interpreted as a plea to drop emission or fuel economy standards altogether.
These are global companies, and China and Europe are moving forward with their incentives for non-gas-burning vehicles. Whatever the Trump administration does, the rest of the world won't abandon the Paris Agreement to reduce the global growth of carbon emissions.
"The industry has made a massive investment in electric vehicles," Sperling said. "While some would prefer to slow it down, most companies are going to continue along that path."
From the Los Angeles Auto Show:
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2fJoDjWHello!
It’s Decay week! The week when scrolldiers celebrate the arrival of our fourth faction.
To celebrate, I trapped Måns and Jakob into a room and talked to them for ten minutes.
Here’s the resulting interview. Hope you enjoy it!
Owen – @bopogamel
Owen Hill (Chief Word Officer): It’s Decay week! But first, let’s have a quick rundown of the other three factions.
Jakob Porser (Lead Designer): OK. Energy is quite life heavy. It’s got a lot of toughness and heavy hitters. It’s effective at clearing the board quickly.
Måns Olson (Programmer and designer): Order is all about positioning. Placing units next to each other on the same board, controlling movements and using manipulation spells.
JP: Growth is about trying to create early dominance and building up from that. There are a lot of creatures that either grow over time or have strength in numbers. They’re very aggressive dudes.
OH: Nice job. Now let’s talk about the newest kids on the block: Decay. Why are they fun to play?
JP: I like the way you can gain by sacrificing your own units. Given the right circumstances, their deaths can make your board stronger. You have some sacrificial lambs. When your enemy attacks you with a full-blown attack, you can defend cunningly and come back more powerful.
MO: Decay is all about profiting from death.
OH: Can you give me some specific examples?
JP: The Illmire Witch Doctor is an interesting one. He’s a large unit with plenty of attack and health. When a human creature dies next to him, the unit turns into a Husk – one of our zombie-like creatures. It’s not a very strong unit, but they’re great to defend with, and they hardly cost anything.
MO: Then there’s the Totem of Suffering, which damages your opponent’s idols when your units die. By killing your units, your opponent slowly kills him- or herself.
JP: Ooo, the Harvester. His countdown only gets reduced when units die. He’s a big fellow, so by letting your small dudes go down, you can trigger a massive attack on your opponent.
OH: Do you think people will play mostly mono Decay decks, or maybe splash some of the more exotic units into multi-resource creations?
MO: We’re hoping for both. I think Decay has synergies that will combine with the other factions. There are no Memorials into, or out of, Decay. However, there are other Decay scrolls that increase resources. The on-death effects also work nicely in most decks.
JP: There are also some obvious synergies, such as the new Gravelock, providing synergy with Energy. But it also has links with Growth’s rats, for example. It’s going to be very interesting to see how it all works out.
OH: Have you guys cooked up any saucy decks during testing?
MO: I’ve got a “Necromantician” deck. You take all the low cost units, and all the units that have effects that trigger when they die. Next, put those together with the cheap Order units; one of the cheap Decay units gives you Order. Then run the Necrogeddon scroll that sacrifices all your units and gives you Husks that immediately attack. Combine it with Totem of Suffering to make that sacrifice damage idols.
OH: Nice! Got anything like that, Jakob? Eh?
JP: I don’t have anything quite as technical, but I love using poison buffed by Miasma Well. I just love poisoning things. There’s something about damage over time effects that really speak to me.
OH: Decay has come come to the game post-beta. How hard was it to test before release?
JP: Having the test servers and getting great feedback from the community helps a lot. We get the chance to test out everything in different situations which we can’t do while designing the game.
MO: It’s a learning process. The complexity of testing goes up as we see more combinations. But our methods and use of the test server get better over time.
OH: If you were a Decay unit, which unit would you be?
JP: Ummm.
MO: I’m the Mire Shambler.
OH: Why?
MO: …because his legs are very useful for walking about the Mires?
OH: And so are yours?
MO: Why, thank you. I also love the ability of the scroll.
JP: Umm… I can be any unit?
OH: Yes. You’re probably… a husk.
MO: I think you’d be puppet soldier.
JP: Oh, I don’t know. Make something up, Owen.
OH: No, I’m not making it up, and that’s going in, you lazy, lazy man.
JP: I would be…
MO: How about the Slayer unit?
JP: Because everything I touch dies? I don’t know…
MO: The Rot Eater? No, you’d be the Viscera Sage.
OH: You could be one of the brain lice…
MO: Or Infectious Blight…
OH: You remind me a bit of Draining Mist. You want to be Draining Mist?
MO: How about Oblivion Seeker, old man?
OH: God, Mattis and Måns handled this question without too many issues.
MO: Who did Mattis choose?
OH: The Mire Shambler.
MO: No! That’s what I am.
JP: OK, I’m going to be the Mire Shambler as well.
OH: OK, why?
JP: No. I’m not the Mire Shambler. Actually, I can imagine being the Harvester. He’s kind-of lazy, and doesn’t want to really pitch in and help out, but sometimes he gets forced to by circumstance.
OH: This is over.Obamacare has a 99.6 percent rating—and not in a good way.
A paltry 36,000 people managed to enroll in the federal online health-insurance marketplace in its first, software-glitch-ridden week of operation, a grim new analysis found Wednesday.
That's "far fewer than one percent of all visitors to HealthCare.gov" for the week ended Oct. 5, wrote Matt Pace, managing director of research firm Millward Brown Digital, on a blog post entitled "A Bleak First Week."
In fact, the firm found 99.6 percent of HealthCare.gov's visitors left before enrolling in coverage, a sobering statistic given the Obama administration's goal of signing up 7 million people on new government-run health exchanges by 2014.
HealthCare.gov is offering a menu of health insurance plan options to residents of the 36 states that are not operating their own health exchanges. Previously released data from the states running their own exchanges—a number of which are struggling with tech problems of their own—also suggests a very low level of enrollment so far.
"Unfortunately, what started as a fire hose of interest, resulted in only a small trickle of actual health-care enrollments," Pace wrote.
The federal government disputed Millward Brown Digital's findings, with an official calling them "inaccurate."
(Read more: Aetna CEO saw Obamacare tech tornado coming)
But the findings mirror reports that insurance companies are seeing very low enrollment from HealthCare.gov visitors. And experts have said the website has just about three weeks or so to address its myriad tech problems, or face the prospect of significantly hampering enrollment.We have been closely co-operating with Battlefield 3's developer, DICE,to get completely accurate Battlefield 3 weapon stats. All the datais taken directly from the data files to ensure that your performace runsoff the most accurate stats.We have also the most active non-official BF3 forum in the world. Feel free to visit!Also check out our game tools for the Battlefield 3. We have scriptsto extract and even mod the BF3's data files in the game tools section
Symthic..? What's that? Good question.
Symthic is the #1 place for you to find weapon and vehicle stats for the most popular games.
We're a community that love being gaming scientists and helping others by saying things like, "up to 11.525 meters that weapon will 1 hit kill with a headshot" as opposed to "yeah that gun feels good, nahh that one doesn't".
It is our community's goal to nitpick and examine every single statistic to see exactly how you can overcome it and what it will do to your performance.
Originally the site was founded by Sym in November 2011 and ever since it has been growing fast. Our forums have become a place where ideas and information flow freely and people's personalities shine.
We currently support four games and are constantly working on adding more. For more information check out the actual about-us page.Bastian Schweinsteiger danced along the end line like Hemingway working his pen across a moleskin notebook page in a Parisian café.
It was late in the day, the Chicago Fire nursing a 1-0 lead over D.C. United as the match dove deeper into extra time. The Fire merely needed to bleed the clock, and D.C. knew it. And so when Taylor Kemp and Lloyd Sam cornered Schweinsteiger along the end line, they expected him to keep ducking toward the corner flag. The wily veteran didn’t follow convention, instead dipping back toward goal and shucking both before also beating Jose Ortiz for a pinpoint cross into the box.
Nemanja Nikolic couldn’t deposit the chance into the net, but the bell chimed soon thereafter anyway. Another three points for the almost incomprehensibly surging Fire. Or at least compared to where they were a scant year ago, anyway.
MLS is a whipsaw league, where teams are capable of reversing course on a dime. These three have made the most headway from last year en route to significantly better seasons in 2017.
At this point in 2016: 3-5-5
Where they are now: 6-6-1
Why they’re better
Crew SC experienced a bitter, uncontrollably strange 2016 season. After Gregg Berhalter’s pressing, possession style reoriented Central Ohio toward arguably MLS’s most consistently watchable system in 2015, Columbus cratered in 2016. They couldn’t finish in key spots, gave up one of the league’s highest late-game goal rates in recent memory, and they were a rambling wreck on the road. They finished the year just five points out of the Eastern Conference cellar and came nowhere close to the playoffs.
At least through the first third of the season, gravity has largely stabilized in Columbus.
Part of the reason is the simple reality of road form. Columbus finished 2016 a dismal 2-11-4 away from MAPFRE Stadium. Crew SC already have that win total matched, with road wins in Montreal and D.C. with most of the year left to play. The club has 11 more chances to win more road games than it did all of last year. Road form is often the slim decider in a playoff system that rides the rails between in and out, so Columbus are already working ahead of last year’s form.
Aside from the raw standings, there’s actually very little to separate 2016 Columbus and 2017 Columbus so far in a statistical sense. Berhalter’s men are still stacking short passes like a derelict pancake chef (420 in 2016 compared to 434 through last weekend), still putting up quality shots on target numbers (No. 6 in 2016 vs. No. 4 so far in 2017) and still not doing much outright tackling on the defensive end (No. 19 of 20 in 2016 vs. No. 22 of 22 at the moment).
But sometimes the simple answer’s the best one. Crew SC have simply converted more of the same chances they were getting in 2016 and not converting. Go figure. Columbus certainly aren’t complaining.
At this point in 2016: 3-7-2
Where they are now: 6-5-1
Why they’re better
At this very point last year, the final featherweight straw floated down off another demoralizing Dynamo result and broke the Owen Coyle era. After a less-than-ideal 2015 season, Coyle lasted 12 games into 2016 with just three wins behind him before parting ways with the Dynamo. Whether due to a desire to be closer to home, a lack of results or a bit of both, the Coyle era left Houston in a precarious middle distance.
Tell Dynamo fans a year ago this moment that in 365 days they’d have an idealistic coach pushing a recognizable style fronting triple the wins from a year ago at this point? Joy doesn’t begin to cover it.
The Orange were mostly poor in 2016 because they had no recognizable style. They were 19th of 20 teams in possession share, which would indicate a desire to either press numbers on the ground hard and fast or bypass the midfield entirely with looping long balls in behind defenders. Lacking width and speed and a singular creative force in the final third, the Dynamo somehow did neither with any regularity. They managed to be 17th in the league in both long balls per game and short passes. They were also tied for 17th in set-piece goals and in on-target shots per game.
Coyle’s successor Wilmer Cabrera has so far flipped that on its head. The Dynamo are suddenly recognizable beyond belief. They do very little substantive defending – their 20 goals are the most allowed by any team currently in a playoff position – but they’ve also scored as many as anyone in the league through a brutishly beautiful style that goes straight at the jugular.
Houston pour a manic 5.3 shots on target per game at opposing keepers, second in the league only to New York City FC. Dams burst at that frequency level. Meanwhile, only three teams in the league have attempted fewer raw passes this year, meaning the Dynamo basically rip straight at you with twin engines Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto off the wings.
With the (somewhat predictable) resurgence of Erick Torres and Cabrera’s willingness to experiment (DaMarcus Beasley at left wing on Saturday? Why not?) these truly are wildly enjoyable days in Houston.
1. Chicago Fire
At this point in 2016: 2-5-5
Where they are now: 6-3-3
Why they’re better
I could probably stop at “Bastian Schweinsteiger” here and call it a day, right? But I have an editor jabbing me in the ribs, so in the interest of fairness I suppose we go deeper.
Schweinsteiger is the obvious answer, of course. He’s chipped in two goals and two assists inside his first nine MLS games, and he should’ve had his third assist on Sunday if not for that glaring miss rifled over the crossbar he so lovingly set up.
The Fire rarely wriggled into dangerous enough positions to snap off meaningful shots in 2016, and they finished second-to-last in shots per game and dead last in shots on target. This year, the Men in Red are up to ninth in the latter category, and Schweinsteiger’s average of 0.3 shots on goal per game by himself helped nudge them in the right direction.
But it’s more than Schweinsteiger. In 2016 Chicago had no player consistently capable of cranking down the verve dial when a game got too hot, which is where Dax McCarty’s been undeniably critical. He’s basically an easily adjustable in-match thermostat. McCarty’s picked up where he left off in New York, and his 67.8 passes per game is sixth in the league. Of note: Schweinsteiger’s 67.4 is seventh, and no midfield combo in the league can come close to matching a combined 135.2 passes per game (at an almost identical 84 percent clip).
Then there’s Nikolic, that other recent Fire signing who’s maybe been the league’s best striker this year. Schweinsteiger’s tactical malleability wouldn’t mean all that much without some help up top for David Accam, and Nikolic’s 10 goals in his first 12 games more or less proved the theory that his signing was perhaps more prescient than anyone’s.
Whether the Fire keep up this pace or not, it’s clear they’re a changed team down to molecular level. Credit where it’s due for seeing far beyond most of us.On the face of it, Marty Corboy, the National Party’s candidate for Indi in north-eastern Victoria, has at best a ringside seat to one of the more keenly anticipated battles of this coming election.
In the blue corner is the Liberal Party’s Sophie Mirabella, keen to avenge the 2013 result, which robbed her not only of her seat of 12 years but also of a ministerial prize in Tony Abbott’s cabinet.
In the red corner – or make that orange, in keeping with her campaign paraphernalia – is the Independent incumbent, Cathy McGowan. In 2012, McGowan was part of a community network called Voice for Indi, which famously harnessed “kitchen table” discussions to force Mirabella, who’d come to be perceived as putting her ideological and professional interests ahead of the electorate’s, to listen. Apparently spurned instead, Voice for Indi became a movement, propelled by a social media–savvy posse of young Indi “expats”, and kept “nice” by McGowan’s pleas to “be our best selves”.
But as both Mirabella – bitterly – and Marty Corboy – with a wink – acknowledge, it took two pot shots to help McGowan narrowly win. One came from the then retiring but highly popular Independent Tony Windsor, who revealed in the lead-up to the election that Mirabella was by far the “nastiest” politician in parliament. The other came from Ken Jasper, a National Party stalwart who’d held the local state seat of Murray Valley from 1976 to 2010 and who, by bagging Mirabella and publicly backing McGowan, lent McGowan a cloak of conservatism.
“Ken’s intervention was a huge thing,” says Corboy, 36, who works in the family stockfeed business. “There were those in the Nats who didn’t like it. But many supported what he did. To this day it remains a very sore point.”
Under the terms of the Coalition agreement, a sitting Coalition MP is spared three-cornered contests, so the Nationals did not contest Indi in 2013. (Nor in 2004, 2007 and 2010, to the frustration of Jasper and co.) By the same agreement, when there is a contest to reclaim the seat, Coalition candidates must direct voters’ preferences to each other.
But anti-Mirabella feeling among Nationals has hardly dissipated – she’s still routinely branded a “city barrister” – and the former National Party leader Tim Fischer, who recently moved into the electorate, doubts the preferences will flow as directed on Corboy’s how-to-vote cards. “Electors will be making very deliberate choices down the ticket,” he says. “More than normal.”
To ensure they do, Ken Jasper plans to urge his sizeable base to preference McGowan, after Corboy. “I’m just waiting till I can have maximum impact,” he said at the time of writing. “Cathy has worked hard for her electorate these past three years. Whereas the previous member took the electorate for granted.”
In Wodonga last September, on one of his final regional forays as prime minister, Tony Abbott claimed Mirabella’s loss had shocked her into becoming “a changed and better and more focused person”. The two have always been close, not least ideologically. Mirabella, in the special praise Abbott likes to reserve for those in his own image, had been a “warrior for the party” – specifically, its right wing. From that end of the spectrum, anyone appearing to be somewhere in the middle, like McGowan, is the left in sheep’s clothing.
And so, Mirabella’s re-election strategy consists chiefly of ripping this disguise to shreds. “Cathy’s more of a Green than Labor,” she tells me. “It was very clever to generate the illusion that she was a rural conservative. This was largely perpetuated by Ken Jasper, who did radio and TV ads [for her]. But a lot of her policy positions that some would say were deliberately obtuse before the election have now become clear.”
It’s true that McGowan, who is 62, has socially progressive views: on refugees, on climate change, on same-sex marriage. She doesn’t support the resumption of cattle grazing in the region’s High Country, and she opposed the Coalition’s repeal of the carbon tax. Then again, of the nearly 500 bills passed during her time in parliament, she voted with the government 93% of the time.
If McGowan’s weekend clobber of jeans and RM Williams boots is a front, the disguise runs deep, for she is a sheep farmer. She is also the churchgoing Catholic daughter of a Liberal Party branch member who, ironically, helped preselect Mirabella in 2001 over now health minister Sussan Ley.
McGowan claims she can’t be pigeonholed on the political spectrum. Yet her views are largely consistent with those of a classic moderate, or “wet”, in the old-fashioned Liberal tradition. Think Malcolm Fraser – a man who, incidentally, Mirabella once likened to a “frothing-at-the-mouth leftie”.
Before Mirabella’s accession, Indi was, like most rural seats, a bastion of small-l liberalism. The preceding MPs, Lou Lieberman and Ewen Cameron (for whom McGowan used to work), were moderates and popular. Since then, the electorate’s conservatism has, if anything, softened. Towns from Yackandandah to Mansfield now thrum with tree-changers and tourists. Valleys once coated in tobacco are now lined with vineyards. However, locals continue to feel short-changed by Canberra: they want more trains, better schools, upgraded hospitals, improved broadband communications, no cuts to the ABC, and drought relief for farmers in the grip of climate change. In hindsight, Indi was always going to be an awkward fit for a representative known for her disdain of bleeding hearts.
Mirabella acknowledges that her stridency on the national stage may have cost her votes. Nonetheless, she says she’ll always be a “warrior”. “Well, what other reason is there to be in politics than to stand up for the things you believe are right?” She adds, “There’s a distinction between standing up and fighting [for issues] and taking on the role of a warrior for the party. I probably shouldn’t have taken so much of that [latter] burden on myself. I should have been more selfish.”
It’s not exactly a mea culpa. Instead, Mirabella mostly blames “nasty” politics (read Windsor and Jasper) for her loss and hints at sexism. “There’s a way to go in this country where we accept strong, outspoken women.”
That doesn’t seem to be a negative for her opponent, at least not yet, although McGowan doesn’t subscribe to the “warrior” archetype. “Too masculine,” she reckons. “I’m not here to fight the other side; I’m here because I love communities, and I’m their conduit.”
Although McGowan, a self-confessed one-time “leadership course junkie”, likes to say that the rebranded Voices 4 Indi campaign is not about her, she’s far from unassuming. My time with McGowan began at a suitably orange-themed giant pumpkin festival in a valley shrouded in burn-off smoke. During what I’d figured would be a one-on-one interview over tea and cake in the local hall, she grabbed my recorder to start interviewing others around the table, and then passers-by. Handing back the recorder, her priority became hustling for selfies – with the tea ladies, among supporters, amid the pumpkins. It’s the price of modern rural politics, evidently: whereas once it was enough to turn up to things, now you have to be seen to have turned up.
Afterwards, she asked me to a luncheon an hour’s drive away. I duly tailed her little orange hatchback through the picturesque towns of Beechworth and Chiltern to the banks of the blue-green Murray near Rutherglen. Once there, she sat me down at an outdoor banquet organised by local Rotarians for a party of visiting Romanians, whom she’d helped with visas. She poured me a glass of wine, introduced me as a journalist who wanted to hear their thoughts, buzzed about for a few photos, and then bade goodbye as the antipasto was served. “I just wanted you to get a sense of the community,” she said.
Unusually for a politician in election mode, she’d omitted to mention an incident that had occurred the night before, at the opening of an aged-care redevelopment in Benalla. McGowan had been angling for a photo with the government’s assistant minister for health and aged care, Ken Wyatt, when Sophie Mirabella, according to one witness, “barged across” and told McGowan “to stay out of my campaign”. The Benalla Ensign drily reported days later that it left Wyatt rather “bewildered”. (And well he might have been: the notion of Mirabella putting “dibs” on him is all the more curious in view of her infamous boycott of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations, of which Wyatt is a descendant.)
The Benalla Ensign story proved a hoot on Twitter, which led to national headlines. Two days after that, McGowan and Mirabella were again side by side, this time in a Wangaratta pub for a live debate on Sky News. Mirabella, as usual, was on the attack. Trying to hammer home that a Coalition MP could achieve more for Indi, she revealed that immediately after the last election the Coalition government had revoked a commitment of $10 million to upgrade the Wangaratta hospital, “because Cathy got elected”. This time Mirabella was instant news. If her claim were true, it was crooked; if not, it was still a threat: elect me, or else.
When I rang Marty Corboy a few days later, he was sounding chipper. “Soph needs to pop a Mogadon,” he said. “She hasn’t changed, people can see that now. But she’s going to keep doing real damage to Cathy. We could pinch this.”
Corboy, a fresh-faced father of six (there’s a seventh on the way), can appear disarmingly naive in conversation. Asked about his views on refugees, he replies, “Look, I want a big Indi. I want a big Wang, I want a big ’Donga …” then looks puzzled to see me grinning.
His election strategy is clear: to be the nice Coalition alternative. He says he admires Voices 4 Indi. He likes the Labor candidate. And the Greens candidate is “so good she would win a seat in Melbourne”. Says Corboy, “I’m a right-winger, I know, but I get along better with lefties than I do with hard-righters.”
As for Mirabella: “I get along fine with Sophie. Her kids are the same age as [two of] mine, we’re in the same Rotary Club, and quite possibly we agree on most of the things she carries on about, like the monarchy. But many of those things are side issues. It’s the way she puts things. I might disagree with republicans, but to her they’re a left-wing conspiracy.
“Thing is, the left is not the enemy here. It’s the unknown that worries people, what’s coming for them. People just want someone to have their backs.”
So how conservative is Corboy? Ten years ago, he stood as a Family First candidate for the state seat of Benambra. He remains pro-life, thinks homosexuality is wrong, homeschools his kids and doubts humans can cause climate change. “The science isn’t settled,” he says.
Does he mean this in the same way that the science of evolution isn’t settled?
“Well, yes,” he says. “That’s the nature of science. But when it comes to the argument that man evolved from apes, I guess you could call me a creationist.” He shrugs, then adds, “As far as I’m concerned it’s a side issue.” Perhaps. All the same, he may just have sidelined himself. There’s not a whole lot of space to the right of Sophie Mirabella.AURORA | A modest development to solve a post-War housing shortage, Hoffman Heights may soon be the hottest brand going for well-paid Anschutz workers.
The nearly 1,700 single-family houses built after World War II in Hoffman Heights, in north Aurora, once served military families on the Fitzsimons Medical Hospital and Lowry Air Force Base. Now the quaint homes sit a mile from the booming Anschutz Medical Campus and two light rail stations that will open as part of the Interstate 225 line next year.
Aurora Councilwoman Sally Mounier wants to make the area more attractive to prospective buyers, which is why she has worked with metro real estate agent Marianne Farrell to mail fliers to 700 registered voters in the historic neighborhood to let them know they can renovate and expand their homes.
“Overall, it will help the neighborhood,” Mounier said of the fliers, which give a brief history of Hoffman Heights |
to hover over the above image to pin/share to remember this list for later!!)A US military C-130 Hercules transport aircraft has crashed into fields in Mississippi, with all 16 aboard believed killed.
LeFlore County emergency services director Fred Randal has told local media 12 of the 16 bodies had so far been recovered in and around the burning wreck of the aircraft in dense soybean fields.
Firefighters have told local media they had been forced back from the wreckage on several occasions due to ‘high intensity’ explosions.
A Mississippi State Trooper said the aircraft was ‘loaded with ammunition’.
“There’s a lot of ammo in the plane. That’s why we are keeping so far back. We just don’t know what it’ll do. It burns a bit then goes out, burns a little more then dies down,” the trooper told WMC Action News 5 crews.
A USMC KC-130 mishap occurred the evening of July 10. Further information will be released as available. pic.twitter.com/QEFhooJZmC — U.S. Marines (@USMC) July 11, 2017
The aircraft is believed to have exploded mid-air as wreckage has been found on both sides of the nearby Highway 82
The aircraft was reportedly last detected by air traffic control at a height of 20,000 feet (6km).
Sheriff Ricky Banks earlier told media his officers were searching for bodies and that no survivors were expected.
The US Marine Corps Twitter account posted that “A USMC KC-130 mishap occurred the evening of July 10. Further information will be released as available.”
LeFlore County deputy coroner Will Gnemi says the crash site was in a rural area, and emergency services were scouring the thick soybean crops for bodies.
The C-130 Hercules is a workhorse four-engined turboprop aircraft used by military logistics, firefighting, disaster relief and search-and-rescue missions.
The KC-130 believed involved in this crash are used for air-to-air refuelling.Thurs. July, 21, 2016
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Alicia Gasperveric makes her two daughters wear shorts under their dresses.
"They like to run out and do flips and stuff. I want to make sure that no matter what they do, you know, they keep covered up," said Gasperveric.
A precaution for runs, flips and now peeping toms. The Georgia Court of Appeals ruling upholds upskirting or taking video under a person's skirt is legal.
"What? No that's not OK," said Gasperveric. "I don't even know how this is an issue. it shouldn't be an issue. No and that's it," said Gasperveric,
The ruling sending shock-waves.
"It's appalling that they would say this was OK to do," said mother of four Regina Sims.
"I don't see how someone get's the nerve to shoot under a women's dress anyway," said Heather Howard.
Brandon Lee Gary had the nerve to do it in a Houston County Publix.
The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled because it was in a public place what Gary did was legal.
Senator Jones says he understands what the court was trying to say.
"That you don't have an expectation of privacy in a public place," Sen. Harold Jones (D)
But he thinks they read the law too literally in this case.
"The fact of the matter is even if you are in a public place you certainly have an expectation of privacy underneath your clothes," said Sen. Jones.
Rep. Jodi Lott disagrees with the ruling too. But she actually thinks the current language makes upskirting illegal in Georgia.
"It did capture what it needed to capture to make this punishable," said Lott. "Now we have opened the door," said Rep. Lott.
A door that can't be shut until the next legislative session, 6 months away.
"Certainly this is absolutely ridiculous and horrendous that a person is going to get away with this for now," said Sen. Jones.
Both Sen. Jones and Rep. Lott say this is something they can tackle easily in the next legislative session.
Rep. Barry Flemming also chimed in saying there is "no doubt so called 'upskirting' should be against the law in Georgia."
Rep. Flemming says he will support changing the code during the next legislative session.
In the meantime, Sen. Jones says he hopes prosecutors will find other ways to hold digital peeping toms accountable.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
ATLANTA, Ga. (WGCL/WRDW) -- Women across Georgia may want to reconsider wearing a dress or skirt. Georgia's Court of Appeals just ruled taking a photo up a skirt in public does not count as an invasion of privacy.
Women across Georgia are speaking out about the new ruling.
"I think that's kind of ridiculous, honestly, I think that's terrifying," says one woman.
"It makes us uncomfortable to walk around a store and we have to worry about who's watching us," says another. Several folks are against the new ruling that makes taking photos up a woman's skirt, also known as "upskirting," legal in almost all public places.
"I think that's kind of crazy," says another Georgia woman. "If someone came up my skirt and tried to take a picture, I assume they would want to arrest that person."
A reporter with WGCL CBS 46 in Atlanta says after the 6-3 ruling, judges said the current wording of state law does not include upskirting.
So while women are protected against photos behind closed door spaces like bathroom stalls and dressing rooms, it's still legal in the supermarket or on the sidewalk.
Georgia State Law Professor Tanya Washington says the biggest problem is not being able to confront the issue until next year.
"You've given people license to continue this kind of behavior," Washington says, "until the next legislative session which is not until next year."
Judges say its up to state lawmakers to fix the wording. State Senator Vincent Fort says until they do, it puts women in more danger.
"So we're going to have six months or so," Senator Fort says, "where these creeps can run around doing this stuff."
Georgia lawmakers say they won't waste any time closing that loophole in the law.
A statement from State Senator Harold Jones reads in part, "The Court of Appeals in my opinion erred. I understand their rationale but the key to me is although this was a public place - the young lady has an expectation of privacy in the area he filmed."
There have been upskirting cases in our area and across the state, but it's not known how those cases will be affected by the ruling.On the campaign trail the other day, Donald Trump suggested Bernie Sanders is getting a raw deal. “He wins and wins and wins, and I hear he doesn’t have a chance?” an incredulous Trump asked his audience. “This is a crooked system, folks. I couldn’t care less, but he wins, like me.”
The same day, the New York Times published a puzzling paragraph:
Backers of Senator Bernie Sanders, bewildered at why he keeps winning states but cannot seem to cut into Hillary Clinton’s delegate count because of her overwhelming lead with “superdelegates,” have used Reddit and Twitter to start an aggressive pressure campaign to flip votes.
There appears to be some confusion about the state of the race. Sanders has fared well, and won several contests in a row, but at least at this stage in the process, Clinton has won more pledged delegates, more votes, and more states. Just as important is the fact that Clinton has actually won several states with larger populations by wide margins, which explains her significant advantage in the metric that actually decides who wins the presidential nomination.
The role of superdelegates is interesting, and arguably worth keeping an eye on, but they’re not the Sanders campaign’s principal problem. If we were to rank the key hurdles standing between the senator and his goal, superdelegates would actually be fairly low on the list.
Which is why it’s all the more curious that the Washington Post reports that some Sanders boosters have been courting superdelegates so aggressively that some are starting to make claims of “harassment.”
Among those efforts is a website created last week under the name Superdelegate Hit List, providing phone numbers and addresses for superdelegates and encouraging users to submit further contact information, presumably to help advocates pressure them. Site creator Spencer Thayer, a Chicago activist, described the goal this way in a Twitter message: “So who wants to help start … a new website aimed at harassing Democratic Superdelegates?”
I can imagine a situation in which Sanders was narrowly leading the race for the nomination, edging Clinton among pledged delegates and votes. That’s not an accurate reflection of what’s actually happening, but I’m describing a hypothetical scenario. And in this hypothetical scenario, let’s say Sanders was narrowly leading the race, but he hadn’t locked down the majority he needed.
At that point, the superdelegates would be of critical importance. These Democratic officials would have the power – again, in this imaginary situation – to either follow the will of the voters who cast ballots in primaries and caucuses, or they could exercise their own judgment. Their collective decision would decide the outcome of the entire race.
Given those conditions, lobbying superdelegates would make a lot of sense. If party officials were prepared to elevate Clinton over Sanders, despite Sanders’ lead among pledged delegates and raw vote totals, an aggressive messaging campaign would be the obvious next move.
But this hypothetical situation is actually the opposite of the currently unfolding circumstances. When the New York Times says Sanders backers believe Clinton is well positioned to prevail “because of her overwhelming lead with ‘superdelegates,’” that’s not quite right. Sanders is, to be sure, trailing badly among superdelegates, but even if these party leaders are removed from the picture altogether, the Vermont senator is nevertheless facing a serious deficit among pledged delegates.
Now, if Sanders’ supporters are leaning on superdelegates, telling them to ignore, and ultimately override, the results of the primaries and caucuses, that would at least make tactical sense (though it probably won’t work as a political strategy). But to see superdelegates as the main obstacle between the senator and the nomination is incorrect.Image copyright AFP Image caption Vladimir Putin has denied that Russia interfered in the US elections last year - but questions continue to be raised about alleged meddling in other democratic processes
British MPs have asked Facebook if it has evidence of paid-for activity by accounts linked to Russia at the time of the Brexit referendum.
A letter addressed to Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg also asks about similar activity at the time of this year's general election.
It was written by Damian Collins, chairman of the Digital, Media and Sport Committee.
Facebook said it would respond to the request once it had been reviewed.
"Part of this inquiry will focus on the role of foreign actors abusing platforms such as yours to interfere in the political discourse of other nations," wrote Mr Collins.
He said he wanted to know whether Facebook could provide:
examples of adverts bought, and pages set up by Russia-linked accounts
information on how these ads and pages were targeted
how much money was paid to promote these ads or pages
how many times they were viewed
"We have received a letter from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee and will respond once we have had the opportunity to review the request," a spokeswoman for Facebook said.
The committee's inquiry - which was put on hold during the general election earlier this year - aims to explore the impact of fake news.
The closing date for submitting evidence is 7 November.
Russia has consistently denied interfering in the democratic processes of other countries."There has been a river crossing at Woolwich since the Saxon times." Russell Boyce, Reuters photographer
Anyone who drives in London knows the struggle of crossing the River Thames, especially in the east of the capital. Sixteen miles to the west from the arterial Blackwall tunnel there are 18 other river crossings. The same distance to the east there is only one, the Woolwich Free Ferry.
For years, the future of the ferry has been uncertain. Will there be a new bridge or tunnel in Woolwich? If yes, when and at what costs? These questions are continually asked.
In the race to Britain’s national election in May 2015, finance minister George Osborne and London Mayor Boris Johnson have jointly stated that ten billion pounds ($15,3 billion) will be invested in London’s transport system. Critics say the investment might just be an empty election promise.
Richard de Cani, planning director at Transport for London (TfL), said the Mayor had asked TfL to continue working on a package of plans for new river crossings.
“The Woolwich Ferry may be discontinued in the event that a suitable replacement is provided but no firm decisions have yet been taken,” he said.
There has been a river crossing at Woolwich since the Saxon times. State papers from 1308 show that William Atte, a mason, bought the ferry business for 10 pounds. Since then, the rights to run and charge for the ferry crossing have changed hands many times.
In 1320, the business was sold for 100 silver marks. During the reign of Henry VIII, the Royal Arsenal ordnance depot was built at Woolwich and the military established its own ferry. In 1811, parliament passed an act to set up a common ferry for the passage of “persons, cattle, carriages, goods, wares and merchandise”.
The free ferry opened in 1889, with each boat licensed to carry 1000 passengers and 15-20 vehicles. Latest figures show that on average just under 80,000 vehicles and 22,000 foot passengers use the ferry every four weeks.
So what does the future hold for this ancient ferry link? According to de Cani, TfL is planning to submit an application for a Silvertown tunnel, a new crossing that could potentially open by 2021. Two further crossings at Gallions Reach and Belvedere are being developed and could be completed by 2025.
“The Woolwich Ferry will continue to run in its present form until new crossings are completed. Renewal works are currently underway to ensure that the service is able to reliably continue as at present until new crossings are available,” de Cani said.
But many crew members at the Woolwich Free Ferry are not so convinced: “We have heard it all before. They talk about a bridge or a tunnel but they just can’t agree. There will always be a ferry at Woolwich.”MAHMUD RAQI, Afghanistan - Last night, on the anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama stood in front of armored military vehicles at Bagram Air Base and spoke of "the light of new day on the horizon" after more than a decade of war. He told an American television audience, "The goal I set - to defeat Al Qaeda, and deny it a chance to rebuild - is now within our reach."
But here in Kapisa province, less than one hour from where Obama spoke, lies an entirely different reality.
On the surface, the province appears tranquil, especially from the vantage of the governor's office, which sits high on a hilltop overlooking the provincial capital, Mahmud Raqi. It has a beautiful view of the river below and the mountains, trees and fields that stretch into the distance.
But just outside town, roadside bombs are planted to target NATO convoys.
Two of Kapisa's seven districts have been in insurgent hands for years, according to local residents, politicians and officials. One is Tagab, where the Taliban stop and search vehicles, run a shadow judicial system and stage regular attacks on foreign and Afghan troops.
This is one of Afghanistan's forgotten battlegrounds, a place quietly unraveling as Washington debates the future of the war. Behind the calm facade is a strategically vital part of the country with a fragile security situation that shows every sign of worsening.
"The government does not have control there. I am the representative of the people and I cannot go without employing very heavy security," said Al Haj Khoja Ghulam Mohammed Zamaray, deputy leader of the provincial council.
Conditions are arguably even more extreme in Alasay. A June 2009 US embassy cable published by WikiLeaks described the militants as having "relative freedom of movement well inside putative secure areas" there. With NATO having since left the district, that has not changed. Elders and members of parliament all insist the Taliban walk openly in the local bazaar.
Similar situations can be found across rural Afghanistan, but history shows events in Kapisa are of particular concern. Guerrillas resisting the Soviet occupation in the 1980s traveled here from safe havens in Pakistan, via the provinces of Kunar and Laghman. It put them within striking distance of the Afghan capital and Bagram air base - then an important Russian facility and now a huge US installation - as well as the main highways connecting Kabul to the north and east of the country.
Speaking to GlobalPost, Abdul Jabar Farhad, a former mujahideen commander serving in the security forces, said "it's the same story today" and the insurgents are now establishing crucial forward positions in Kapisa in preparation for a wider war.
Attempts to stop them have proved ineffective so far. In September 2010 the government launched the High Peace Council nationwide to help negotiate with rebel groups and persuade their men to lay down arms in exchange for financial aid and vocational training. It finally opened an office in Kapisa earlier this year. The man hired as the local head was Mawlawi Abdul Momin Muslim, who once fought against the Taliban regime. He must now convince his old enemies to accept the constitution.
He admitted people here often have more faith in the rebels than the corrupt government. "The Taliban will sit with them, issue serious orders and solve their problems," Muslim said.
Initial efforts to win over local residents have also backfired. When NATO delivered leaflets to villages announcing his appointment, insurgents called him to complain that the propaganda was written like a military decree, rather than an offer of reconciliation.
It is a common grievance among Afghans that foreign soldiers have never understood their culture. In a spectacular example, US troops stationed at Bagram in February burned copies of the Quran. Despite a swift apology from NATO, the incident caused nationwide protests and less than a fortnight later the anger in Kapisa was still palpable, neither forgiven nor forgotten.
Haji Mohammed Ibrahim, aged 84 and from Tagab, summed up the mood when he said, "If someone has disrespected your religion, your holy book and your women, they are not your friends anymore."
In contrast, the Taliban have long possessed the ability to tap into the innate piety of life here. One elder recalled watching an insurgent deliver a sermon at a mosque in Alasay. Members of the audience were so moved by his speech, they cried.
This is not to say the Taliban are supported everywhere in Kapisa. The province is split along faultlines that date from the Soviet era. Tensions between two rival mujahideen parties are contributing to the violence. Fighters linked to Hizb-e-Islami are now swelling the Taliban's ranks, while members of Jamiat-e-Islami hold key official posts, allying themselves to the government and by extension the occupation.
Ethnicity also plays a role in the unrest. Pashtuns and some Pashayi make up the bulk of the resistance. Tajik areas remain predominantly safe. The worry is that these divisions will grow when NATO leaves.
A small American military reconstruction team is based locally but the majority of foreign troops here are French. They are due to depart in 2013. The forces that remain may not be enough to prevent conditions from deteriorating.
Kapisa's governor, Mehrabuddin Safi, said he has only 900 to 1,000 police and roughly 1,200 Afghan soldiers to protect a population of 700,000. Pro-government militias have been set up to boost the numbers. He was confident that with greater manpower, and improved training and equipment, he would be able to maintain security.
"This is our country, this is our province," he said. "We have to look after it."
Only time will tell if such optimism is misplaced, but the omens are not good. A combination of afflictions has left people struggling to survive. The foreign troops are increasingly mistrusted and opinion of the local authorities is little better, giving the insurgents free reign at the gates of Kabul.
Mohammed Farouq, a villager from Tagab, suggested what may be the future for Kapisa when he described a commander in the Afghan army verbally abusing women and deliberately firing mortars at civilians.
"If he is captured by us does he hope for mercy? There is no hope for mercy then," he said. "But if we can't do anything, then one day, if he is going somewhere, we will inform the Taliban."+ READ ARTICLE
WikiLeaks has claimed that its co-founder, Julian Assange, has had his internet access “intentionally severed by a state party” and the team have “activated the appropriate contingency plans”.
The whistleblowing group’s claim comes less than two week s after Assange, who has been living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for more than four years, said via a video link to a news conference in Berlin that the site would be releasing documents “significant to the U.S. election” in the build up to the Nov. 8 vote.
Assange was granted asylum by Ecuador in August 2012 following allegations that he raped and molested two women while he was attending a conference in Sweden, which he has denied. The 45-year-old has so far avoided possible extradition to the Scandinavian country, but Swedish prosecutors were reported to be interviewing him at the embassy today. It is unclear whether or not this will still go ahead following Wikileaks’ latest claims.
“ Julian Assange's internet link has been intentionally severed by a state party. We have activated the appropriate contingency plans. — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 17, 2016
The internet has gone wild with possible theories about Assange’s supposed internet severing. Here are four of the most captivating ones:
1. Julian Assange is dead
On Sunday, before Wikileaks tweeted about Assange’s internet access being “intentionally severed,” the verified account, which has 3.7 million followers, sent three tweets which they called ‘pre-commitments’ and appeared to be written in an encrypted code.
This fueled speculation that Assange had died, and the tweets were a “dead man’s keys” or “dead man’s switch” – encryption codes revealing highly classified secrets to be unveiled in the case of his death. “Praying for Julian. I hope he isn’t dead. This does look like an emergency dead man’s switch,” wrote one Reddit user
But these tweets likely do not mean Assange is dead, Gizmodo reported. “‘Pre-commitment’ in this case is a references to a cryptographic scheme to prevent unreleased information from being tampered with. Essentially those unique codes are proof to anyone reading the documents in the future that their contents remain unchanged: alteration to the leaks will likewise alter those 64-character codes,” the article explained.
In any case, the WikiLeaks account has tweeted several times since the “pre-commitments” went out with no mention of its founder’s supposed death.
2. John Kerry is about to be WikiLeaks’ next victim
The first WikiLeak ‘pre-commitment’ tweet mentioned John Kerry, the Democratic Party politician who is the current United States Secretary of State. This has sparked rumors that the site is about to release Kerry’s emails, following its publication of troves of Democratic National Committee (DNC) documents in July and, more recently, emails from the account of Hillary Clinton advisor John Podesta. The U.S. government says the accounts were hacked, but WikiLeaks will not confirm how it obtained the documents.
Roger Stone, the former Trump advisor known for his outspoken comments, has got involved in this theory. “John Kerry has threatened the Ecuadorian President with ‘grave consequences for Equador’ if Assange is not silenced,” he tweeted, adding “Reports the Brits storm the Ecuadorian Embassy tonite while Kerry demands the UK revoke their diplomatic status so Assange can be seized.”
“ John Kerry has threatened the Ecuadorian President with "grave consequences for Equador" if Assange is not silenced John Kerry has threatened the Ecuadorian President with "grave consequences for Equador" if Assange is not silenced @StoneColdTruth — Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) October 17, 2016
3. The U.S. government has severed Assange’s internet access
Reddit users have been sharing the powerful poem “First they came…” written Pastor Martin Niemöller about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazi’s rise to power.
“‘First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.’ Our government is corrupt; I will continue to speak out if it is the last thing I do,” wrote one user, exploring the theory that the U.S. government is the unnamed “state party” behind the latest alleged internet attack on Assange.
Many have been connecting Assange’s alleged internet severing with his release of sensitive material on Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president. Clinton’s team has suggested WikiLeaks is working with the Russian government to help Donald Trump’s chances of winning.
“So far there had been no intervention by outside entities to attempt to silence Julian Assange, so the latest intervention “by a state party”, if confirmed would be a notable escalation in the status quo, and suggests that Wikileaks may have even more damaging revelations to come,” reports Zero Hedge
4. Pamela Anderson killed Assange with a vegan lunch
It’s bizarre, but true: on Saturday, the former Baywatch star surprised many by paying Assange a visit at the Ecuadorian embassy, bringing with her some bags from the popular U.K. sandwich chain Pret A Manger.
The Canadian-American actress, 49, came bearing gifts for Assange, saying she supported him and had concerns for his family and well-being. She told the U.K.’s Press Association that her gifts included “a nice vegan lunch and some vegan snacks.” Assange was apparently unimpressed with the meal choice. “He said I tortured him with bringing him vegan food,” she added.
Anderson’s visit has sparked possibly the most ridiculous of all the theories – that she killed him with her food. “GET ASSANGE OUT OF THERE AND INTO HIDING. How do we know that Pamela Anderson isn’t working 4 someone to set up him up?” wrote one Twitter user.For Americans, the sight of Greeks lined up outside shuttered banks evokes images from the Great Depression – the last time all banks in the U.S. were closed on government orders. In fact, while banking crises are depressingly common around the world, governments typically only impose such “bank holidays” as a last resort, to keep funds from fleeing the banking system and sending it crashing down.
We examined a comprehensive database of financial crises from 1970 through 2012 compiled and maintained by two economists for the International Monetary Fund to see just how unusual the current situation in Greece is. The IMF economists defined “systemic banking crises” as those with both “significant signs of financial distress in the banking system,” such as major bank runs, losses and liquidations, and significant policy interventions in response, such as deposit guarantees, nationalizations, recapitalizations, deposit freezes and bank holidays.
Of the 147 banking crises listed, in only seven cases did national governments freeze deposits and/or order bank holidays. Most of those cases were in Latin America: Argentina (in 1989 and again in 2001-02), Brazil (1990), Ecuador (1999), Panama (1988) and Uruguay (2002). In Africa, there was Chad (1983). The most recent major incident occurred in 2013 in Cyprus, as part of a bailout deal with the European Union and the IMF.
In the past, bank holidays usually lasted a week or less, according to the database. However, Cypriot banks were closed for two weeks in 2013, and Greek banks have been shut since June 28.
History shows that even after the shuttered banks reopen, restrictions on accessing deposits and transferring funds – especially those held by foreigners or denominated in foreign currency – can last for months or even years. Uruguay, for example, restructured $2.2 billion in dollar-denominated time deposits, stretching out their maturities over a three-year period. This past April, Cyprus lifted the last of the capital controls imposed in 2013.
The IMF researchers found that nearly a third (32%) of banking crises since the 1970s were accompanied by sovereign-debt crises (i.e., a government being unable or unwilling to repay its bondholders), currency crises (when the nation’s currency rapidly loses value), or both. Greece’s banking crisis, in fact, began in 2009-10 as a debt crisis. To keep the Greek government from defaulting on massive bank loans it had taken out before the global financial crisis, the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF agreed to two bailout loans totaling more than 240 billion euros in exchange for a series of austerity measures.
Greece was supposed to repay 1.55 billion euros ($1.73 billion) to the IMF last month, but instead became the first developed nation ever to miss an IMF payment. The country has 29.15 billion euros (nearly $32 billion) in debt coming due in the next three years, including a repayment of 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) to the European Central Bank on July 20.
Failure to reach agreement on a third bailout package could result in Greece’s abandoning the euro entirely in favor of a new national currency, which analysts generally expect would rapidly lose value relative to the euro. That would mean Greece could face simultaneous banking, debt and currency crises – something that’s happened fewer than a dozen times since 1970, according to the database.
Topics: Economic Recession, World EconomiesThe election was a catastrophe for the Tories and everything is back on the table. Forces across parliament are pressing for their respective leaderships to adopt a more moderate interpretation of the Brexit mandate. There is a potential shift happening.
All of this is typically called'soft Brexit'. But when people say'soft Brexit' they're not always talking about the same thing. There's often a lot of hard Brexit under that soft Brexit wrapper. And with the government coming under severe pressure to rethink its strategy, it could well try to flog you some form of soft Brexit where the small print doesn't match the ad.
So here, to help you assess any offers which come your way, is a brief explainer of the different types on offer.
Total 100% Pampers-approved soft
The standard definition of soft Brexit is to leave the EU but stay in the single market and customs union.
The single market tries to apply a uniform regulatory structure to products and services made in member states of the EU. This means that someone selling from France into Italy, say, knows that the regulations on either side are identical, be it on the noise level of lawnmowers, the chemical safety specifications of a child's toy, or the surveillance arrangements of currency traders. And that in turn means goods and many services can cross the border without being checked or doubted. Everything flows smoothly, allowing trade between Britain and Portugal to happen as easily as trade between London and Bristol.
The good side is that this allows you to massively increase your exports and make imports cheaper for domestic consumers. The downside – for some people – is that you must allow goods, services, money and people to move freely from all the countries in the single market. You also need to produce things to a continent-wide specification even if you’re just going to sell it down the road, which can be irritating for small businesses.
The customs union, meanwhile, basically harmonises tariffs – a tax on goods people sell overseas – across Europe and eradicates them within Europe. So if America wants to sell a car to Europe it will pay a ten per cent tariff to sell it to France and the exact same tariff to sell it to Spain. But if France wants to sell it to Italy there is no tariff. To work out tariffs there are very complex tests called country-of-origin checks. These are really laborious and bureaucratic and companies absolutely hate them. Many of our exporters haven’t faced the expensive, time-consuming nightmare of what they entail yet - but if we're outside the custom union, they soon will.
There are a several countries outside the EU but inside the single market. Norway, for instance, is a member of the European Free Trade Association (Efta), a group of countries outside the EU. But most Efta members are in the single market via the European Economic Area (EEA).
None of these countries are EU members. That isn't just a technical distinction, it has big implications. They are not part of a project dedicated towards ever closer union, so they have a more arm's length relationship with Brussels than the UK. They are exempt from EU policy on justice, home affairs, foreign policy, defence, agriculture and fisheries. But they do, on the other hand, have to accept free movement of goods, services, capital and – yes - people. There is a bit of wriggle room there. Article 112 of the EEA agreement allows for'safeguard measures' in case immigration raises serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties, but it would need quite a bit of work to make it viable. EEA states are also outside the confines of the European Court of Justice (one of Theresa May's red lines) although the Efta court, which they are under, does have to take account of its rulings.
This kind of soft Brexit has many advantages. It would be infinitely easier than trying to secure a comprehensive trade agreement, which is the current plan. That would likely take up to ten years and leave you in a worse state than you started. It also largely removes the threat of a cliff edge where the UK drops out the EU with no deal and a black hole in its regulatory infrastructure. We would probably save a lot of jobs and livelihoods by staying in. Leaving the customs union is expected to cost Britain about £25 billion a year, the single market up to £36 billion. It is by some distant the safest, most moderate interpretation of the vote.
There are still downsides, however. Being in the single market means you have to accept EU rules governing it without being in the forum which decides them. Again, there is more wriggle room here than is commonly made out, but it's still restrictive. And it is not 100% 'taking back control'. Also, the EEA agreement doesn't cover financial services, so that would still need to be worked out.
Single market soft Brexit
Alternatively we can mix and match these options. For instance, Britain could stay in the single market but leave the customs union. This is actually pretty attractive, because it allows you to do independent trade deals.
The key trade off here is nimbleness versus size. Being wrapped up in the European project means we have access to half a billion consumers. So firms from overseas use London as a beach head and we get to enjoy the strength that comes from wielding this huge consumer economy when Brussels negotiates trade deals on our behalf. The flip side to this is that we don’t negotiate our own trade deals. As a services economy, we're forced to sit there while the EU comes up with a deal that works for everyone, including countries mostly interested in manufacturing exports or even primarily selling agricultural products.
Staying in the single market and leaving the customs union potentially gives you the best of both worlds. You're nimble and can sign your own trade deals outside of that EU straightjacket. But also, you can get better terms because you are a gateway to half a billion consumers, not just the 65 million in the UK.
You would still need to accept free movement though and you'd still have that problem of being subject to single market rules you were not in a position to formulate. Also, you would have to face up to the chance of an imposition of tariffs on our largest export market, plus the sudden introduction of country-of-origin checks.
Customs union soft Brexit
Or you could try the opposite and leave the single market while staying in the customs union. The big advantage here is that you remove the threat of tariffs and country-of-origin checks, which would come as a huge relief to lots of businesses, especially in manufacturing and agriculture. And you’d do a lot to reduce the effect of a cliff edge, no-deal Brexit. Meanwhile, you can still promise voters that you're going to end free movement by leaving the single market. Labour in particular will be attracted to this option.
But you'd still take a massive hit to your exports by leaving the single market. And there is also a big political cost. The prospect of future trade deals is the great sunny upland of the Brexit debate. The whole idea of this project is that we act independently and do whatever we like. Those trade deals with the USA and India and Brazil and the like are the best concrete example of that and have been treated as a key test of Brexit. Staying in the customs union means it'll never happen. It's all drudgery and no reward at the end.
No 'no-deal' soft Brexit
This form of soft Brexit has nothing to do with either the single market or the customs union. It has a much lower benchmark. It simply says that Britain must avoid a no-deal outcome at all costs. This is based on the danger to the UK's quality of life and international reputation from a chaotic Brexit. Labour already holds this position, having ruled out a no-deal outcome in its manifesto.
The problem with a no-deal outcome is not just that we'd lose revenue from the customs union and single market with no trade deal to replace them. It's more that we would not have set up the customs checkpoints and systems we need in time for that March 2019 cliff edge. That would lead to tailbacks of lorries at the border and a juddering halt to Britain's global supply chain. Not only that, but we'd overnight lose access to EU regulators on things like drugs authorisation and the handling of nuclear materials without any organisation standing by to take over the responsibility, leaving a massive black hole in our legal and regulatory infrastructure. And then there'd be the EU citizens fearing having to leave and the UK citizens in the EU having to return. Plus the protracted court cases at the WTO and UN over the budget and our tariff schedules. It would be a horror show, and people are increasingly unconvinced by the government's attempts to pretend otherwise.
This school of thought demands that the British government admits what Europe already knows: it won't walk away. It demands that ministers accept that, be realistic, and stop threatening to blow their own brains out.
This isn't really a soft Brexit at all, but because the rhetoric around the issue became so deranged and hysterical during the 12 months after the vote that it was eventually considered a part of the soft Brexit spectrum. When people say |
43.2% 29.0% 15.6% 39.7% 2003 113.9% 44.9% 30.3% 15.7% 44.2% 2004 127.2% 47.1% 30.8% 15.6% 48.1% 2005 135.4% 48.7% 30.8% 15.0% 50.7% 2006 143.4% 52.1% 32.5% 15.7% 51.6% 2007 156.2% 55.4% 34.1% 16.7% 52.7% 2008 137.5% 53.8% 34.2% 16.0% 53.0% 2009 116.2% 53.6% 35.4% 16.0% 56.1% 2010 130.9% 55.7% 35.7% 15.2% 60.7% 2011 134.1% 56.9% 36.3% 14.6% 60.9% 2012 148.4% 58.3% 36.3% 14.7% 61.7% 2013 137.7% 59.5% 37.2% 15.2% 61.9% Chart Data Download data The data below can be saved or copied directly into Excel. The data underlying the figure. Note: Data are for all workers. Net productivity is the growth of output of goods and services minus depreciation, per hour worked. Source: EPI analysis of Kopczuk, Saez, and Song (2010, Table A3), and data from the BLS and SSA (see technical appendix for more detailed information) Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of Kopczuk, Saez, and Song (2010, Table A3), and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Indexes and Labor Productivity and Costs programs, and Social Security Administration wage statistics (see technical appendix for more detailed information) Share on Facebook Tweet this chart Embed Copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. Download image
Individuals’ productivity cannot be inferred from industry trends
Occasionally critics of our pay–productivity analysis try to infer the productivity of individual workers by looking at the productivity performance of particular industries. For example, when trying to infer the underlying productivity of workers who would see a raise from an increase in the federal minimum wage, it is occasionally suggested that one could examine reported rates of productivity growth in the restaurant sector.
However, this is an invalid test, for a number of reasons. Most simply, industry productivity can change either because the productivity of inputs (i.e., low-wage labor) changes, or because the mix of inputs changes (substituting more capital for labor, or workers with fewer educational credentials for higher-credentialed workers), or because general technological improvements change over time. Just looking at the overall productivity trend of an industry tells us nothing about the productivity over time of a specific input. Empirically, this point can be seen by looking at some industries that, according to the BLS industry productivity data, have seen worse productivity performance than limited-service restaurants since 1997; these low-performing industries include dental laboratories, mining, pharmaceuticals and medicine manufacturing, ornamental and architectural metalwork, newspaper publishing, wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers, and tax preparation services. Despite the slow industry productivity growth in these sectors, nobody infers that every group of workers in these sectors has failed to become more productive over time.
Continue for a second with this example of the tax preparation sector. Say that this sector employs a number of highly credentialed lawyers. Why can’t we extrapolate from industry productivity trends and infer that lawyers as a group have seen little growth in the marginal productivity they bring to enterprises? Because these same lawyers could in theory move to a sector that has seen enormous productivity growth, say, production of computer hardware. All of a sudden, these same lawyers would look much more productive if one just used industry productivity trends to infer their marginal productivity.
The same reasoning holds for workers in fast-food restaurants. If these workers were offered jobs in a manufacturing plant, then their inferred productivity would all of a sudden be much higher (as productivity levels in manufacturing are much higher than in fast-food restaurants). Theoretically, if there were no low-wage workers in any other sector besides fast-food restaurants, then one might be able to infer that they were too intrinsically low-productivity to compete for employment in any other sector, and one could then indeed infer their productivity growth from that of the fast-food sector. But as an empirical matter, that’s not even close to true.
Finally, take an industry that these same BLS industry productivity data indicate has seen exceptionally fast productivity growth: textile mills (78 percent productivity growth just since 1997) or transportation equipment (84 percent productivity growth since 1997). Does anybody really take this industry performance to mean that workers in these sectors are just much more intrinsically productive than workers in other industries? Or does one instead view this performance as likely due to a changing mix of productive inputs (i.e., lots of mechanization)? And does anybody expect that wages for typical workers in these industries “should” have grown more than 75 percent since 1997? Or should labor market competition ensure that similar workers make similar wages even across industries with very different productivities?
In short, economic theory is clear that industry-level productivity bears no relation to the wages that individual workers should expect to receive, precisely because labor market competition will (roughly) equalize the wages of similarly productive workers across industries.
This recognition that wages will rise based on the economy-wide productivity of workers of a given skill level even in industries or occupations with little scope for productivity growth (barbers and musicians are two key examples) is the driving force behind what has been labeled Baumol’s law, which posits that the goods and services of low-productivity sectors tends to become relatively more expensive over time because their productivity growth does not offset the compensation growth of their workers as happens in fast-productivity sectors (see “Productivity and compensation growth across sectors” text box for an explanation).
It is also worth noting that the last few decades have seen the fastest expansion of college graduate (presumably the most skilled workers) employment in the industries where productivity has grown the least: government and the service-producing sectors, including finance. Yet, the wages of college graduates rose relative to those of other workers. The production/nonsupervisory workers whose pay was fairly stagnant since 1973 are more concentrated in the sectors with fast-growing productivity than are the higher-paid workers whose wages grew faster. This general pattern of productivity and wage growth would be especially puzzling for those who think that individual productivity (and hence expected pay) could be simply inferred by looking at the productivity growth of a particular industry. The text box below presents data showing the lack of correspondence between industry-level productivity and pay in any period.
Productivity and compensation growth across sectors: Illustrating Baumol’s law In this box we illustrate the drivers of Baumol’s law by presenting data on productivity and compensation trends in specific industry sectors. That is, we show empirically that there has not been a close correspondence between industry-sector productivity growth and sector compensation growth across sectors in either the 1948–1973 or 1973–2014 periods. Baumol’s law is driven by a misalignment of compensation and productivity within specific sectors in a market economy that needs to attract similarly skilled workers into disparate sectors. Some sectors have fast productivity growth while others lag. Each type of sector must pay similarly for workers of particular skills (by occupation or education) or it would not be able to attract such workers. In fast-productivity sectors, though, rising compensation can be offset by rising productivity, thus allowing prices to rise more slowly than those of the slow-productivity sector. By contrast, those sectors with slow productivity growth but rising compensation costs will need to gradually increase their prices relative to other sectors; this is the “cost disease” that Baumol described. By demonstrating this dynamic we are also illustrating why the productivity trend of an aggregation of individuals—in this case the productivity of people in specific industrial sectors—should not be expected to necessarily result in a correspondingly equivalent compensation trend. Table 2 uses Bureau of Economic Analysis data on real value-added (VA), compensation and full-time equivalent (FTE) employees by industry to illustrate the growth of productivity (log annual VA less log annual FTE) and real compensation (inflation adjusted-compensation per FTE) in the economy as a whole (gross domestic product), in the private sector, in service-producing industries (comprising 69 percent of employment in finance, hospitality, retail trade, health, transportation, etc.), and in manufacturing. This allows us to compare the aggregate trends with those of a high-productivity sector, manufacturing, and a low-productivity sector, services. The analysis would be improved if we could use actual hours worked in each sector, but these data are unfortunately not available. We think these data are adequate to illustrate Baumol’s law. Table 2 Growth of productivity and compensation by sector, 1948–2014 Log annual growth Gross domestic product Private industries Private services-producing industries Manufacturing 1948–1973 Productivity* 2.1% 2.4% 2.1% 3.1% Real compensation* 2.7% 2.7% 2.5% 2.8% 1973–2014 Productivity* 1.7% 1.7% 1.0% 4.6% Real compensation* 1.0% 1.0% 1.1% 1.4% * Per full-time equivalent employee Source: EPI analysis of data from the BEA and BLS (see technical appendix for more detailed information) Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis' National Income and Produce Accounts and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Indexes and Labor Productivity and Costs programs (see technical appendix for more detailed information) Share on Facebook Tweet this chart Embed Copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. Download image In the earlier period we see that productivity grew substantially faster in manufacturing (3.1 percent) than in the service-producing sector (2.1 percent), yet compensation growth was very similar. We would not expect each sector to have the same compensation growth since changes in the composition of employment by skill level would differ across sectors (and because of other reasons). This disparity of productivity and compensation in particular sectors is why the prices of manufactured goods fell relative to those of services—the predicted outcome of Baumol’s law. Note that these sectoral differences were present during the times when production/nonsupervisory worker compensation economy-wide grew in tandem with overall productivity growth. The same dynamic was present but even sharper in the later period. The gap between manufacturing and service-sector productivity (4.6 percent versus 1.0 percent) was wider, while compensation trends across sectors remained similar. This pattern of productivity and compensation growth by sector should lead those whose intuition maps an individual’s productivity directly onto their wages and compensation to reevaluate their implicit model of the world. This would be especially the case since the sector with the slowest productivity growth—services—saw the fastest expansion of the share of workers considered the most skilled: college graduates. Individual skills and productivity certainly shape relative wages but do not necessarily determine absolute wages across occupations, industry sectors, or nations.
To summarize, capital deepening can account for a significant share of economy-wide productivity gains in recent decades, and there is no significant evidence that only a select group of workers are able to work with more and better capital than their predecessors. Further, all observable measures of labor quality (educational attainment and potential experience, for example) have risen steadily since 1979 for groups of low- and moderate-wage workers. Finally, the share of workers who saw wage gains keeping pace with productivity growth in recent decades is quite small—one would have to believe that all productivity gains in the economy shifted from being broad-based for decades following World War II to being driven essentially by only 5 percent of the workforce in recent decades. All of this makes the claim (generally proffered with no evidence) that the growing gap between productivity and pay is driven by the failure of the vast majority of American workers to become more productive very hard to credit.
So if there is no evidence that the individual productivity of the typical worker has failed to keep pace with average productivity over time, what could be causing the widening gap between their hourly pay and economy-wide productivity? Our explanation is that typical workers’ bargaining power has been intentionally hamstrung by a portfolio of intentional policy decisions on behalf of those with the most income, wealth, and power. Bivens et al. (2014) detail the policy decisions that have sapped typical workers’ bargaining power: the abandonment of a policy commitment to full employment, the policy-induced erosion of labor standards like the minimum wages and institutions such as collective bargaining, and the pursuit of economic globalization in a way guaranteed to damage typical workers.
In short, it is not that the median worker’s productivity has stagnated (again, there is no evidence for this). Instead, it is that policymakers have tilted the labor market playing field so far toward employers that firms are able to recruit workers without offering rising compensation levels because the ability to earn higher pay has been undercut for workers in a generalized way.
Summing up
This growing gap between pay for typical workers and economy-wide productivity is not just a niche problem in the labor market. In fact, labor market problems are never niche problems for the vast majority of American households. Labor earnings constitute the predominant source of income for the middle-income families in the U.S. economy and those in the bottom fifth. Profound failures in the labor market hence have huge impacts for nearly all households, except those reliant on capital income (in the top 1 and 0.1 percent).
The entirety of the gap between productivity and hourly pay growth is income accruing somewhere in the economy besides the paychecks of typical workers. Mostly, this “somewhere” has been in the pockets of extraordinarily highly paid managers and owners of capital. While the rise in transfer income (government programs such as unemployment insurance and Social Security and Medicare) has blunted some of the sting of the growing gap between pay and productivity, even this transfer income has grown much more slowly in the post-1979 period relative to before. Further, transfer incomes are a much smaller share of typical household incomes than are labor earnings, so it would have taken a huge increase in these transfers to fully compensate for the near stagnation of hourly pay. This has not happened.
Breaking the ever-upward spiral of inequality and the near stagnation of hourly wages will require relinking productivity growth and the pay of typical American workers.
For more than 20 years EPI has highlighted this divergence between economy-wide productivity and the pay of typical American workers as a crucial economic problem to be solved. Over that time this analysis has become a part of the conventional wisdom in Washington policymaking circles, while also attracting attacks meant to distract from its main points.
The attacks are baseless. It is an incontrovertible fact that hourly wages and benefits for the majority of American workers have lagged behind overall productivity growth. And even if one just looks at the divergence attributable solely to rising inequality instead of to other economic failures, it is large and explains by far the largest portion of the gap. Disputes centered on many of the technical issues discussed above are primarily an exercise in distraction and muddy the waters about the basic facts of pay and productivity.
It is also a fact that this delinking of typical workers’ pay and economy-wide productivity is intricately connected to the extraordinary rise in income inequality and income concentration that has focused so much attention in recent years.
Finally, it also seems worth noting that this decoupling coincided with the passage of many policies that explicitly aimed to erode the bargaining power of low- and moderate-wage workers in the labor market. It seems to us that this is a fruitful place to look for explanations for the gap and for policies that will shrink the gap. This effort is a driving force behind EPI’s Raising America’s Pay project, a multiyear research and public education initiative to make wage growth an urgent national policy priority. See the “Raising America’s Pay” box for more on this initiative.
EPI’s Raising America’s Pay initiative As this report has shown, pay of the vast majority of Americans has been stuck for decades, even though productivity and earnings at the top are escalating. This is a solvable problem. It can be traced to policies that have allowed labor standards, business practices, and ideas of fairness to increasingly favor employers at the expense of working people. That is why the Economic Policy Institute launched Raising America’s Pay—an initiative that explains the role of labor market policies in wage and benefit patterns, and identifies policies that will generate broad-based wage growth by tilting bargaining power back toward low- and moderate-wage workers. As EPI’s Agenda to Raise America’s Pay explains, these policies include: Raising the minimum wage
Updating overtime rules
Strengthening collective bargaining rights
Regularizing undocumented workers
Providing earned sick leave and paid family leave
Ending discriminatory practices that contribute to race and gender inequalities
Supporting strong enforcement of labor standards
Prioritizing very low rates of unemployment when making monetary policy
Enacting targeted employment programs and investing in public infrastructure to create jobs
Reducing our trade deficit by stopping destructive currency manipulation
Using the tax code to restrain top 1 percent incomes
About the authors
Josh Bivens joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2002 and is currently the director of research and policy. His primary areas of research include macroeconomics, social insurance, and globalization. He has authored or co-authored three books (including The State of Working America, 12th Edition) while working at EPI, edited another, and has written numerous research papers, including for academic journals. He appears often in media outlets to offer economic commentary and has testified several times before the U.S. Congress. He earned his Ph.D. from The New School for Social Research.
Lawrence Mishel, a nationally recognized economist, has been president of the Economic Policy Institute since 2002. Prior to that he was EPI’s first research director (starting in 1987) and later became vice president. He is the co-author of all 12 editions of The State of Working America. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and his articles have appeared in a variety of academic and non-academic journals. His areas of research are labor economics, wage and income distribution, industrial relations, productivity growth, and the economics of education.
Technical appendix: Decomposition methodology and data sources
In the first of two sections, this appendix describes the methodology for decomposing the growth in the productivity–median hourly compensation gap into three wedges: compensation inequality, “terms of trade,” and changes in the share of income going to labor. The second section describes the data sources used in these calculations.
Decomposition methodology
Our analysis of the wedges between productivity and median compensation draws on the decomposition framework developed by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (Sharpe et al. 2008a; Sharpe et al. 2008b; Harrison 2009) and previously implemented for U.S. data by Mishel and Gee (2012) and Mishel (2012). Our analysis updates Mishel (2012) but does so for two different measures of productivity: gross productivity and net productivity.
The basic decomposition is based on the following, where Δ is “change”:
Net productivity–pay gap = Δ net productivity – Δ real median hourly compensation = – Δ labor’s share – Δ labor’s terms of trade + Δ compensation inequality
Or, more formally for net domestic productivity:
[Y/(PY×H)]/[Cmed/PC]=[Y/(Cave×H)]×(PC/PY)×(Cave/Cmed),
where Y is nominal net domestic product, PY is the net product deflator, H is the total number of hours worked, Cmed is nominal median compensation, PC is an implicit price index for consumers, and Cave is the average nominal hourly compensation. Therefore, Y/(PY×H) is net labor productivity, Cmed/PC is real median hourly compensation, Y/(Cave×H) is the inverse of labor’s share of nominal NDP, PC/PY is labor’s terms of trade (ratio of consumer to producer prices), and Cave/Cmed is compensation inequality.
The analysis of gross domestic productivity follows with the substitution of gross domestic product as Y, PY being the implicit deflator for GDP, and labor’s share being the share of compensation in nominal gross domestic product.
The second equation holds for each year. We compute annual changes of each of these terms for the entire 1973–2014 period and for particular subperiods as well. The annual changes of the three terms on the right side of the second equation sum to the annual change of the productivity–median compensation gap (except in some periods where small interactions result in the sums being slightly off). We present the contribution of each wedge as its share of the sum of all the wedge contributions (i.e., summing the growth rates of the three terms on the right).
Data sources
Gross domestic product and net domestic product
Data on nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and net domestic product (NDP) come from the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s (BEA) National Income Product Accounts (NIPA Table 1.7.5). GDP is the most comprehensive measure of economic activity and reflects the total value of goods and services produced in an economy. NDP equals GDP less the depreciation (or decline in value) of capital goods.
Price deflators for output
The GDP implicit price deflator is reported by the BEA in NIPA Table 1.1.4. The default GDP price deflator is benchmarked to 2009 chained dollars. We re-index the deflator to 2014. We calculate the implicit price deflator for NDP by taking the nominal NDP as a share of real NDP for each year. Again, this deflator is indexed to 2009, so we index it to 2014.
Ratio of compensation to wages (nominal and real)
The compensation-to-wage ratio allows us to convert a wage value to total compensation using detailed information on earnings of the average worker. We calculate the compensation-to-wage ratio using BEA NIPA data on the makeup of compensation for all workers. Compensation is the sum of the values of wages and salaries (NIPA Table 6.3); health insurance, life insurance, and pension benefits (NIPA Table 6.11); and social insurance contributions (NIPA Table 6.10). Total compensation and wages/salaries are both converted to hourly rates by dividing them by the total number of hours worked by all full- and part-time workers (NIPA Table 6.9). The nominal compensation-to-wage ratio is the ratio of total nominal hourly compensation to nominal hourly wages.
To obtain the real compensation-to-wage ratio, we adjust the BEA NIPA compensation data on all workers for inflation. Wages, pension contributions, and social insurance contributions are deflated using the overall Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, except for insurance costs (group health insurance and group life insurance), which are deflated using the PCE Health Care index. Both PCE measures are available in NIPA Table 2.3.4. Total compensation and wages/salaries are both converted to hourly rates by dividing them by the total number of hours worked by all full- and part-time workers (NIPA Table 6.9). The real compensation-to-wage ratio is the ratio of total real hourly compensation to real hourly wages.
Average hourly compensation of production/nonsupervisory workers
Production/nonsupervisory workers make up approximately 80 percent of the workforce. Wage data for these workers serve as a useful proxy for the median hourly wage when we extend our analysis back to 1948, as data on median wages (from the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group, or CPS-ORG) only go back to 1973. As we find in the paper, the trend of average earnings (i.e., wages) for production/nonsupervisory workers is similar to the trend in median hourly wages since 1973, so it’s reasonable to assume a similar pattern held for 1948–1973.
The most recent series of average hourly earnings for production/nonsupervisory workers (available from the BLS Current Employment Statistics [CES]) extends from 1964 to the present. Prior to 1964, the series of average hourly earnings of production workers (also available from the BLS CES) measured the earnings of a similar pool of workers. We backcast the average hourly earnings of production/nonsupervisory workers from 1964 to 1948 using the percent changes in the average hourly earnings of production workers.
Data on the average hourly earnings of production/nonsupervisory workers are then converted to real (2014) dollars by deflating them by the CPI-U-RS. Finally, we multiply the real average hourly earnings by the real compensation-to-wage ratio to obtain the real average hourly compensation of production/nonsupervisory workers.
Average hourly compensation of all workers (nominal and real, consumer and producer)
The base nominal average hourly compensation of all workers comes from unpublished BLS Total Economy Productivity data. This measure of compensation represents data for the entire distribution of workers (including self-employed workers). Compensation includes all wages and salaries, supplements (such as shift differentials, all kinds of paid leave, bonus and incentive payments, and employee discounts), and employer contributions to employee benefit plans (such as medical and life insurance, workmen’s compensation, and unemployment insurance).
The real consumer average hourly compensation is then calculated by deflating the nominal average hourly compensation by the compensation deflator. For the real producer average hourly compensation, we deflate the nominal average hourly compensation by the NDP implicit price deflator when analyzing net productivity and by the GDP deflator when analyzing gross productivity.
Total hours worked
Total hours worked includes the hours worked of all employed persons and is taken directly from the unpublished Total Economy Productivity data available from the BLS Labor Productivity and Costs program.
Median hourly wages
The median hourly wage represents the 50th percentile worker’s wage. The median hourly wage is estimated using microdata from the CPS-ORG. For information on the sample specifications, see Appendix B of The State of Working America (Mishel et al. 2012). To convert median hourly wages to real 2014 dollars, we deflate it using the CPI-U-RS.
Real median hourly compensation
Real median hourly compensation is derived from nominal median hourly wages. We first adjust for prices by deflating the wage series by the Consumer Price Index Research Series Using Current Methods (CPI-U-RS), available from the BLS Consumer Price Indexes program. Next we multiply the real median hourly wage by the real compensation-to-wage ratio to convert the wages to compensation.
Wage growth data
Wage growth data that appear in Figure D reflect an EPI analysis of Social Security Administration wage data and Kopczuk, Saez, and Song (2010, Table A3). For more information on methodology, see the documentation and methodology for Table 4.7 of The State of Working America (Mishel et al. 2012).
Compensation deflator (consumer prices)
Other sections have described our procedure for developing the real and nominal ratio of compensation to wages and real hourly median compensation. The compensation deflator is the implicit deflator that converts nominal hourly compensation (which is the nominal median hourly wage times the nominal ratio of compensation to wages) to real hourly compensation.
Labor’s share (inverse)
We calculate labor’s share of output by taking total nominal labor compensation (BLS unpublished Total Economy Productivity data) as a share of nominal NDP (NIPA Table 1.7.6). The second equation presented above employs the inverse of labor’s share (1/labor share). A similar labor share is computed for GDP.
Ratio of consumer to producer prices
This ratio is the ratio of the compensation deflator to either the deflator of net domestic product or gross domestic product, depending upon whether the analysis is of net productivity or gross productivity.
Gross and net productivity
Gross productivity is calculated by dividing real GDP (NIPA Table 1.1.6) by the total hours worked of all employed persons, which comes from the BLS unpublished Total Economy Productivity data. Net productivity is calculated by dividing real NDP (NIPA Table 1.7.6) by the total hours worked of all employed persons.
Industry productivity and compensation
Industry output is available from BEA’s tables on GDP by industry (“Value Added by Industry” table). Full-time equivalent (FTE) employment, which comes from BEA NIPA Table 6.5, is used to compute productivity and compensation per FTE. Productivity is computed as the log annual growth of real value-added minus the log annual growth of FTE. Industry compensation data are available from BEA NIPA Table 6.2. Compensation per FTE is deflated using the CPI-U-RS.
There are breaks in some series. These are bridged by backcasting from the most recent year for which we have a continuous series to earlier years using the available series.
— This appendix was written by Will Kimball.
Endnotes
As explained later in the report, we’d ideally want to use the median wage or compensation. But our source for median wages (Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group data) only goes back to 1973. The average hourly compensation of production/nonsupervisory workers serves as a useful proxy series that extends all the way back to 1948.
We reduce nominal GDP by the share of net-to-gross domestic product and deflate by the GDP deflator to obtain real net domestic product, which when divided by total hours worked becomes a measure of net productivity.
Based on the ratio of benefits to compensation from an update to Table 4.2 of Mishel et al. (2012) using NIPA data as updated in July 2015.
In the post-1980 period, this seems very likely to be true. In the employment cost index (ECI) data, for example, trends in the ratio of wages to compensation are very similar for the blue-collar and overall workforce.
We should note that while chaining is the superior technique for estimating a given price index once the appropriate index has been selected, this does not always mean that chained price indices should always be preferred over nonchained ones. For example, it has often been suggested that switching to a chained version of the CPI-U (available only since 2002) would make the price index used to adjust Social Security benefits for inflation more accurate. This is flat wrong. The reason why is that that CPI-U—whether it is chained or it is not—is not representative of the consumption basket of retirees and disabled recipients of Social Security. The only predictable change that results from chaining an unrepresentative price index is that it will reflect lower inflation. This could well go in the opposite direction of costs actually faced by Social Security recipients. If one was determined to introduce chaining into the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, one must first construct a price index that actually represents the consumption decisions of elderly and disabled households (such as, for example, the currently experimental CPI-E) and then introduce chaining to that appropriate deflator.
GDP is the sum of consumption, investment, government, and exports (less imports), and the prices of each of these categories determines the GDP implicit price deflator
As a measure of production (or income) generated by domestic residents of the United States, imports are not included in measures of GDP. In output measures of GDP, which include consumption, investment, exports and government spending, imports are subtracted out because they may appear in these other categories. For example, consumption as measured by GDP tallies the money spent on all consumption goods in the U.S. This includes imported apparel and automobiles, so to properly measure only that consumption spending that is attributable only to domestic production, imported consumption goods must be excluded. This same logic holds for investment, exports, and government spending, so in the end all imports coming into the U.S. need to be subtracted to gain accurate measures of GDP. Note that if imports increase and no other component of GDP changes (consumption, investment, exports, or government spending), this means by definition that GDP has contracted. So, measured imports are not irrelevant to trends in GDP, but they are not a part of GDP, by definition.
Further, income gains made possible by productivity improvements spurred by capital deepening should not be restricted just to capital owners. In competitive labor markets where employers have to bid for workers, the possibility of higher productivity per hour worked should translate directly into higher hourly pay for workers. A key reason why capital deepening may have led to wage gains for most workers in an earlier period but not recently is precisely because labor markets in the post-1979 period have not been ones where employers were forced by competition to bid for workers. The biggest reason for this is the failure to target and attain genuinely full employment in these more recent decades.
References
Baker, Dean. 2007. The Productivity to Paycheck Gap: What the Data Show. Report from the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
Bivens, Josh, Elise Gould, Lawrence Mishel, and Heidi Shierholz. 2014. Raising America’s Pay: Why It’s Our Central Economic Policy Challenge. Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper No. 378.
Bucknor, Cherrie. 2015. Low-Wage Workers: Still Older, Smarter, and Underpaid. Center for Economic and Policy Research Issue Brief.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (U.S. Department of Commerce) National Income and Product Accounts. Various years. National Income and Product Accounts Tables [data tables].
Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Department of Labor) Consumer Price Indexes program. Various years. All Urban Consumers: Chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) [database].
Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Department of Labor) Labor Productivity and Costs program. Various years. Labor Productivity and Costs by Industry Chart Dashboard [interactive tables].
Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Department of Labor) Labor Productivity and Costs program. Various years. Major Sector Productivity and Costs and Industry Productivity and Costs [databases]. http://www.bls.gov/lpc/#data. (Unpublished data provided by program staff at EPI’s request.)
Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata. Various years. Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics [machine-readable microdata file]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau.
Fernald, John G. 2014. “A Quarterly, Utilization-Adjusted Series on Total Factor Productivity.” FRBSF Working Paper 2012-19 (updated March 2014).
Freeman, Richard B., Joseph R. Blasi, and Douglas L. Kruse. 2011. Inclusive Capitalism for the American Workforce: Reaping the Rewards of Economic Growth through Broad-Based Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. Center for American Progress.
Harrison, Peter. 2009. Median Wages and ProductImagining The End
There’s a quote frequently used by leftists to illustrate how deeply ingrained society’s prevailing economic ideology is: “today, it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” First offered by Fredric Jameson, and now almost starting to lose meaning from overuse, the quote points out something that honestly is quite astonishing: it does seem far easier to conceive of the possibility of being boiled alive or sinking into the sea than the possibility of living under a substantially different economic system. World-ending disaster seems not just closer than utopia, but closer than even a modest set of changes to the way human resources are distributed.
Jameson’s quote is often used to show how capitalism has limited the horizons of our imagination. We don’t think of civilization as indestructible, but we do seem to think of the free market as indestructible. This, it is sometimes said, is the result of neoliberalism: as both traditionally left-wing and traditionally right-wing parties in Western countries developed a consensus that markets were the only way forward (“there is no alternative”), more and more people came to hold narrower and narrower views of the possibilities for human society. Being on the right meant “believing in free markets and some kind of nationalism or social conservatism” while being liberal meant “believing in free markets but being progressive on issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation.” Questions like “how do we develop a feasible alternative to capitalism?” were off the table; the only reasonable question about political intervention in the economy became: “should we regulate markets a little bit, or not at all?”
There’s definitely something to this critique. It’s true that, where once people dreamed of replacing capitalism with something better, today human societies seem to face a choice between apocalypse, capitalism, and capitalism followed shortly by apocalypse. Every attempt to speak of a different kind of economy, however appealing it may be emotionally, seems vague and distant, and impossible to know how to actually bring about. Plenty of young people today are socialists, but socialism seems a lot more like a word than an actual thing that could happen.
Some of this is the result of a very successful multi-decade campaign by the right to present free-market orthodoxy as some kind of objective truth rather than a heavily value-laden and political set of contestable ideas. And the Jameson quote also partly succeeds through a kind of misleading pseudo-profundity: it’s always going to be easier to imagine visceral physical things like explosions than changes in economic structures, and so the relative ease of imagining the former versus the latter may not be the especially deep comment on 21st century ideological frameworks that the quotation assumes.
But if socialism seems more remote than ever, it’s also surely partly the fault of socialists themselves. If we ask the question “Why is it difficult to imagine the end of capitalism?”, some of the answer must be “Because socialists haven’t offered a realistic alternative or any kind of plausible path toward such an alternative.” It’s very easy to blame “neoliberal” ideology for convincing people that free-market dogmas are cosmic truths. Yet while Margaret Thatcher may have propagandized and evangelized for the principle that less government is always better government, she didn’t actually prevent people on the left from using their imaginations. If our imaginations have been stunted, it may also be because we have failed to use them to their maximal capacity, falling back on abstractions and rhetoric rather than developing clear and pragmatic pictures for what a functional left-wing world might look like.
I blame Karl Marx for that, somewhat. Marx helped kill “utopian socialism” (my favorite kind of socialism). The utopian socialists used to actually dream of the kind of worlds they would create, conjuring elaborate and delightfully vivid visions of how a better and more humane |
to verify for the network, making the acceptance and addition of a valid block to the blockchain much less intensive than solving the crypto puzzle. So whats the point of making all the miners on the network compete to solve puzzles? This act of completing these difficult problems is known as “proof of work” and it is essential to ensure submitted blocks are genuine attempts at adding valid transactions to the blockchain. Because there is no way to trust that everyone in the bitcoin network is honest, there needs to be a way to stop miners from packaging up blocks of transactions (real or fake) that will benefit themselves and sending them to be added to the blockchain. To do this the bitcoin network makes it energy intensive to create a new block so that miners will be prevented from creating a large number of fraudulent blocks with the hope that one of them will be accepted and added to the blockchain. Therefore it is economical to try and produce as many valid and correct blocks as quickly as possible, incentivising the network to process valid transactions, then add them to the blockchain and move on to the next block. When people talk about the vast energy requirements of maintaining the Bitcoin network, they are talking about the energy used by the highly intensive computing tasks in solving the proof of work algorithms that are integral to the bitcoin payments system. Unfortunately, there is no tangible benefit from this computational work being done and economically speaking, the computation is almost 100% wasted effort (it only exists to ensure miners are trustworthy). The blockchain The blockchain is the distributed ledger of the bitcoin network and represents a history of every bitcoin transaction that has ever taken place. Bitcoin network participants maintain a copy of the blockchain and ensure it is kept up to date by comparing each other’s blockchain copy with one another and continuously updating their version of the blockchain to match the most complete/longest version of the chain. This gives the bitcoin network an easy way to form a consensus as to which copy of the blockchain is true and complete. Having a distributed blockchain ledger means that no individual network participant can cheat the bitcoin system by editing transaction records to suit themselves, as they would need to simultaneously edit every copy of the blockchain held by the bitcoin network such that their edits wouldn’t be overridden by another more complete copy of the blockchain. Bitcoin in practice The bitcoin network has been a victim of its own popularity, as the bitcoin network is currently drowning in transactions and processing times are reaching all-time highs (up to many days to complete a transaction). In order to have your transaction validated and approved by the bitcoin network ahead of others, you can pay an additional fee to the bitcoin miners to have the network prioritise your transaction. These transaction fees have become expensive, making smaller value transactions uneconomical. Some vendors have started to remove themselves from accepting bitcoin as a form of payment due to these issues, and the delays in transaction processing and expensive fees are impeding the success of bitcoin as a useful medium of exchange. Future updates to bitcoin technology may solve these issues, and there is a team of dedicated developers working to improve the bitcoin system. Bitcoin’s price volatility has also made it unusable as a long-term store of value, as recent price movements of up to 30% per day make it very difficult to feel confident that the purchasing power of your currency will be maintained in years to come. Is bitcoin fungible – Yes. Is bitcoin an effective medium of exchange – Maybe, bitcoin can be sent internationally theoretically instantly and with no fees. Practically, however, due to the large number of bitcoin transactions currently on the network, there is a delay in processing transactions (sometimes taking days) and transaction fees to incentivise swift payment processing by the bitcoin network can be expensive. Can bitcoin be used as a store of value – Maybe, the decentralised inflation policy is something that may be favourable for a currency to act as a store of value. The recent price volatility of bitcoin means that it is impossible to have certainty that you will be able to retreive your investment with retained purchasing power if storing it as bitcoin for an extended period of time.
Compare those currencies!
So what is bitcoin good at?
So bitcoin has some features which are similar to gold, in that the rate of currency production cannot be manipulated by governments or banks, and it has other similarities with fiat currencies in that it is easily fungible and can be used as a medium of exchange. Bitcoin sets itself apart from the currency competition by having market-leading privacy capabilities, a decentralised payments network and issuance function, and an ability to be transferred worldwide with theoretically minimal costs and no reliance on the banking or finance sector. This would make bitcoin incredibly useful if you were in Zimbabwe in 2009 and you needed to protect your wealth, as you could transfer your ZWD into bitcoin and not have to worry about government policy such as re-denomination that may impact the value of your ZWD. Bitcoin would also be very useful if privacy was one of your primary requirements due to the way it anonymises its transactions and bitcoin addresses. It would be fantastic for transferring funds cross-border undetected, or to store and hide wealth from governments or authorities who may have a claim to it. A downside is that some of the users that have rushed to bitcoin pre-2017 have been those seeking to use it as a way to facilitate the purchase of illegal goods. Bitcoin was the currency of choice of merchants operating on the famous dark-web site the Silk Road due to its anonymity and ability for payments to be hidden from governments and tax agencies. This lead to an earlier boom in bitcoin’s popularity before the Silk Road was shut down by law enforcement in 2013. The current difficulties in the bitcoin payments network make it unusable for making small transactions however these issues may be addressed with further updates to the bitcoin source code. So at present, bitcoin is not best suited for those who wish to make frequent, low-value transactions for goods and services. To be an effective store of wealth bitcoin needs to have price stability. Again bitcoin has been a victim of its own success as due to the large demand for bitcoin prices have risen violently through 2017, before falling just as spectacularly in the past week as currency speculators who were originally attracted to the currency have jumped ship. Price stability will need to improve before bitcoin could be considered as a currency which is effective as a store of value.
How do we value bitcoin?
Bitcoin is not a cash-generating asset so we can’t value bitcoin like we would normally value a small cap company. Instead, we need to look at the economic problems that bitcoin is able to solve and discuss which currencies bitcoin is likely to capture market share from. Then based on our assessment of how well bitcoin supersedes these currencies, we will be able to think about what is a fair price for bitcoin. Bitcoin is the best of our example currencies when it comes to privacy and international payments capability, it also ranks in line with gold in that it has a pre-set “central bank monetary policy” which is unable to be influenced by a government or private institution. As a store of wealth bitcoin is outperformed by gold and the Australian dollar due to the recent volatility in the price of bitcoin, and as a medium of exchange, the current technical issues prevent it from being as useful as the Australian dollar however it does outperform gold. It is fair to say that in time bitcoin could take market share from both gold (for its privacy and store of value benefits) and the Australian dollar (for its international transaction capability) however there are technological advancements required before this will happen. Bitcoin could have a genuine use case for countries struggling with the instability of their local fiat currency, and bitcoin could easily have taken currency market share from the Zimbabwean dollar had it existed a few years earlier. Bitcoin has also caught on with a new generation of individuals who have lost trust in governments and banks, wherein the past gold took the role as a safe haven currency during political instability, millennials and tech-savvy individuals are now turning to digital currencies as a way to protect their capital from ineffective governments and a reputationally damaged banking sector. So why the recent price rise? Our view at Little Hedge is that the recent increase in the price of bitcoin is not due to making inroads as a superior currency, but rather a massive inflow of speculative capital attempting to make short-term capital gains by chasing historic price increases. We don’t believe that growth in demand for these privacy and decentralisation features has been the main driver of this year’s price explosion, instead, it has been the attention of speculators who are plowing money into bitcoin in the hope that they will receive price appreciation. Bitcoin does have some very real economic benefits over other currencies of course, so in time there should be a long-term stable demand for it as a currency, therefore we feel that bitcoin is worth more than $0. However, in order to work out the true market value of bitcoin, we need to know what the true demand for these privacy and decentalisation features are. One indication that we can look at to try and identify the number of speculators versus genuine currency users is by analysing the number of transactions being passed through the bitcoin network and comparing the increase in bitcoin’s uptake as a medium of exchange versus the change in market cap over time. If bitcoin is being used by individuals with a real demand for its features need then we would expect there to be a large increase in transactions occurring along with the increases in market cap. However if the market cap of bitcoin is growing whilst transaction volumes are stagnant, then we can assume that a portion of the recent growth in the value of bitcoin is attributable to speculation (however some of this behaviour could be due to bitcoin being used as a long-term store of value, despite the recent price volatility).
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Chart 1 – Bitcoin market cap
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Chart 2 – Bitcoin daily transactions
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Chart 3 – Bitcoin unique wallet IDs
At face value, it would appear that the recent increase in price cannot be attributed to the growth of the network, and instead must be due to speculation. The market cap of bitcoin has increased more than 500% this year whilst transaction volumes and the number of wallet IDs on the blockchain is roughly unchanged other than seasonal movements, this gives us the opinion that we haven’t seen a large enough uptake in bitcoin usage this year to justify the increases in the bitcoin price. This year’s bitcoin-buyers could be forward-looking speculators, however, and they know that as adoption grows transaction volume and use will also increase, thus making their investment worthwhile as genuine users begin to join the bitcoin network. Again it is our view that the vast majority of recent bitcoin purchasers are chasing a speculative return on capital driven by past returns that bitcoin has been able to achieve.
How do I get involved?
So, now you want in? Whether it is that you are attracted to bitcoins privacy features or perhaps you are attracted to its decentralised network, fortunately, there are a number of Australian exchanges that you can use to buy bitcoin via EFT, BPAY or credit card such as Coinjar, Cointree, Independent Reserve, or BTC Markets. Alternatively, you could opt for an offshore exchange such as the popular Coinbase. Buying bitcoin in Australia is easy, however, most sites require you to present 100 points of ID… whilst this isn’t great if you were seeking out bitcoin for its privacy capabilities, these requirements for identification are due to Australia’s anti-money laundering laws which bitcoin exchanges must adhere to. Now that you have bought your bitcoin from your exchange of choice it is very important to keep it safe. Its recommended that you transfer your bitcoins to a private wallet not connected to a bitcoin exchange so that you can be in control of the private wallet keys used to authorise transactions. This way you will avoid falling victim to one of the sadly frequent bitcoin exchange hacks. You may opt for a hardware wallet such as those made by Trezor, or Ledger, or you could even make your own hardware offline wallet out of paper! Alternatively, a software wallet can be used such as breadwallet, Electrum or Mycelium, however, keep in mind that the closer your wallet is to the internet, the higher the chance that someone will be able to hack your device and steal your precious bitcoins! So now that you have your bitcoin safely stored in your wallet you may want to sell some of your bitcoins to take advantage of the 1,000% price rise they have experienced in the time it has taken to read this article. Selling bitcoin in Australia can be done via a number of sites including most of the exchanges listed above that are used for purchases and bitcoin can also be used to pay bills using BPAY in the Australia only site, Living Room of Satoshi (remember the creator of bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto?). Some sites will charge transaction fees to buy and sell bitcoin, and other sites will offer lower/higher prices to account for their transaction costs and to earn a margin to maintain the business of running the exchange. It’s important to also keep in mind that there are situations in Australia where transactions related to bitcoin are taxed by the ATO.
Conclusion
Bitcoin isn’t for everyone, and there is an argument to be made that investing in bitcoin consequentially supports those facilitating and supporting criminal activities due to its history as the payment of choice for the dark-web. When friends have asked about if they should invest in bitcoin or not, our view has been that a currency isn’t something you should invest in, it is something that you either use to transact or speculate with. Speculate with only what you can afford to lose. We haven’t seen a market with this kind of frenzy in a very long time, and the experience of going through this wave of speculator-driven madness is probably worth the price of admission. So if Bitcoin technology is something that interests you, and you aren’t put off by the ethical considerations of supporting a currency that may be used in criminal activity, then there’s nothing wrong with buying a small amount of bitcoin (or any other cryptocurrency) just to be a part of the ride. It would be dangerous however to think of your crypto holdings as anything more than a bit of speculative fun, let alone an investment! We hope you have enjoyed this article and please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.Under the hood, you're looking at a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 and 2GB of RAM. Basically this phone will laugh in the face of almost any task you throw at it. Edit photos, put together video montages, play taxing 3D games -- this thing should churn through it all with ease. As far as storage goes, you've got two options: either 16GB or 32GB. But if you feel that's not enough, there's a microSD slot for adding up to 128GB more. Plus, Google is throwing in 50GB of storage on Drive for two years, replacing Dropbox. Unless you're truly abusive to your gadgets, there's no way you should run out of room to store stuff. A sizable 2,600mAh battery keeps the whole thing chugging along for an estimated 20 hours of talk time or, with the new Extreme power saving mode enabled, 40 days of standby. Regardless, it's a nice, but smallish boost from the 2,300mAh one found in last year's model. And, of course, the expected set of radios and sensors are on board, including Bluetooth 4.0, dual-band 802.11ac WiFi, AWS compatibility, LTE, NFC, an accelerometer, gyroscope and barometer.
Of course, the two big unique features from last year's model make a return here: the front-facing stereo speakers with BoomSound and the UltraPixel camera around back. But both have been given significant upgrades for 2014. The speakers are connected to a new dedicated amplifier and a more powerful DSP chip. They're also seated deeper in the phone's chassis, which should lead to richer, louder audio with better-defined low-end sound. The UltraPixel shooter around back is, for all intents and purposes, the same exact camera as last year. The sensor is the same 4-megapixel backside-illuminated one with giant 2µm pixels, but there's a new imaging processor attached and HTC has ditched the optical image stabilization tech. But, it's also added a second camera to the back in what it's calling a Duo Camera array. Truth be told, the second "camera" isn't actually a camera in the traditional sense; it's a depth sensor. It allows the One to perform all sorts of neat tricks especially in post processing, such as blurring backgrounds or changing the focus point like a Lytro.
No new flagship phone would be complete without a significant software update, and HTC isn't going to let you down. At its core, the One is running Android KitKat 4.4, which means it's got all of the latest enhancements straight from Google. On top of that, however, it's running Sense 6.0, which includes BlinkFeed and a heavy focus on themes. Several of its primary UI elements have been given subtle redesigns that bring a more modern and open look. Perhaps most exciting though, BlinkFeed has been opened up to developers, who will be able to push information to your feed. For example, Foursquare will be able to publish lunch recommendations or Fitbit can send you activity-tracking data. Interestingly, the company has also broken several of its proprietary apps free of its firmware, such as Zoe, which will find itself on the Play Store soon. That will make it much easier to push updates to users, which means features will be available much quicker.
Most of the tweaks are relatively small, but Motion Launch is a pretty significant new feature. When the phone senses movement, it "listens" for prompts to launch particular apps or actions. For example, swiping right on the screen will take you straight to BlinkFeed; holding the volume rocker while turning the phone into landscape mode launches the camera; and you can answer a call simply by putting the phone to your ear -- all without unlocking it first. The Dot View case, seen above, extends those features, by allowing you to tap the case twice to receive notifications without turning on the phone's display.
The new HTC One will be available in three colors (gunmetal gray, glacial silver and amber gold) starting today, March 25th.
Richard Lai and Brad Molen contributed to this report.According to his biographer, Robert Coram, John Boyd made “more contributions to fighter tactics, aircraft design, and the theory of air combat than any man in Air Force history.”
As a fighter pilot, he was undefeated and earned the nickname “40-Second Boyd” for his ability to win any dogfight in under a minute.
Unmatched in the cockpit, his mind was also without rival. He was not simply a warrior of combat, but a warrior-engineer and warrior-philosopher.
When he was 33, he wrote “Aerial Attack Study,” which codified the best dogfighting tactics for the first time, became the “bible of air combat,” and revolutionized the methods of every air force in the world.
His Energy-Maneuverability (E-M) Theory helped give birth to the legendary F-15, F-16, and A-10 aircraft.
A briefing he developed, “Patterns of Conflict,” changed combat strategy for both airmen and ground troops, introduced the oft-cited, and typically misunderstood OODA loop, and “made him the most influential military thinker since Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War 2,400 years ago.”
All in all, John Boyd served in the United States Air Force for twenty-four years and through three wars.
But he was never promoted above colonel.
All because Boyd stubbornly refused to compromise his principles and ideals for advancement.
A Fork in the Road
Even though Boyd joined the military at a young age – dropping out of high school as a junior to join the Army Air Corps during World War II – he was never a good fit for America’s fighting forces.
It’s not that he didn’t have a head for combat strategy and methods. Quite the opposite. When he earned his wings, his fellow pilots considered him such a “good stick” they constantly went to him for tips and ideas on how they could improve. So he started writing informal briefs, drawing up diagrams on handling skills and air-to-air combat techniques, and holding ad hoc classes for the interested. This led to a gig as instructor and then Director of Academics at the highly elite Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force base just outside Las Vegas. There he set about completely overhauling the tactics curriculum. Aerial tactics had previously been a kind of art passed down from pilot to pilot; Boyd set out to develop and codify the very best techniques — to turn dogfighting into a science.
Boyd, however, didn’t quite fit at the institution. He wasn’t the classic soldier who would follow orders to a tee simply because they were orders. A military officer is expected to be well-disciplined, deferential to superiors, and a defender of the status quo. Boyd was none of these things. Aerial tactics hadn’t changed much since WWI, but not everyone was happy to see them challenged – they liked doing things they way they had always been done. But Boyd would not back down when he knew he was right.
The intensity of his convictions and his confrontational style earned him the nicknames “The Mad Major” and “Genghis John.” Boyd constantly flirted with the very edge of outright insubordination, and he knew it. He was fond of saying, “You gotta challenge all assumptions. If you don’t, what is doctrine on day one becomes dogma forever after.”
Boyd’s mix of brilliance and brashness made him a truly polarizing figure within the ranks. In his performance reviews, some of his superiors criticized his manners and lack of deference, while others called him the most talented and dedicated officer they had ever known. The former tried to sabotage his career, while the latter worked to keep him in the ranks, and Boyd at first felt sure his supporters would win the day.
So when he was passed over for a promotion that was instead given to some inconsequential but compliant paper-pushers, Coram writes that Boyd was “deeply affected” by the blow:
“This was a pivotal event in his career, as well as a personal epiphany. Often, when a man is young and idealistic, he believes that if he works hard and does the right thing, success will follow. This was what Boyd’s mother and childhood mentors had told him. But hard work and success do not always go together in the military, where success is defined by rank, and reaching higher rank requires conforming to the military’s value system. Those who do not conform will one day realize that the path of doing the right thing has diverged from the path of success, and then they must decide which path they will follow through life. Almost certainly, he realized that if he was not promoted early to lieutenant colonel after all that he had done, he would never achieve high rank.”
Many officers quit when they realize they won’t be able to reach the top of the hierarchy. But Boyd hadn’t joined the military to accumulate insignia on his uniform; he was driven by the desire to “change people’s fundamental understanding of aviation” and sincerely wanted to make a significant, lasting contribution to warfare and the world. The Air Force was a highly imperfect channel to do so, but the best possible one. He understood that the best way to change an institution is oftentimes not to drop out and rail against it from the outside, but to stay in and work to transform it from the inside. And his work was far from finished.
To Be or Do
After Nellis, Boyd was assigned to the Pentagon, an atmosphere even less suited to his temperament. As Coram notes, it is a place for careerists – blue suiters as they’re called. Getting ahead inside “The Building” involves equal doses of butt-kissing and back-stabbing and success if often measured in winning the maximum amount of dollars for one’s own branch of service. One false move can torpedo your career.
Boyd wasn’t about to sell his soul, though. And he wasn’t intimidated by the fact that as a 39-year-old major, everyone else in the building was higher in rank and longer in the tooth.
He worked tirelessly to improve the military’s aircraft, and especially hated the blank check attitudes of his superiors that often came with lackadaisical mindsets towards the design and efficiency of the planes. Because Boyd sincerely believed that he worked for the American taxpayer, he not only enjoyed putting the kibosh on bloated budgets, but positively relished it. He took so much delight in picking apart deceptive data and “hosing” generals, that friends would buy him garden hoses as a gag gift on his birthday. He once burned a hole in one general’s tie, after he cornered him and started poking him with his lit cigar while arguing for one of his ideas. He made another general literally foam at the mouth and fall out of his chair while talking to him on the phone.
Boyd had left a long line of enemies in his wake, and it was thus no great surprise that he was ultimately passed over for promotion to general. Having offended so many of them, they refused to allow him to join their rarefied ranks. Boyd was deeply disappointed. But he was proud of the course he had chosen. When he had gotten to the crossroad where institutional success and doing the right thing diverge, he chose to do what was right. It was a philosophy he would espouse to his Acolytes (a group of his mentees) as they weighed whether to work for him and help do something important, but have their careers retarded for the association, or to keep their nose down and work their way up the ranks. “Tiger,” he would say, “one day you will come to a fork in the road:”
“And you’re going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go.” He raised his hand and pointed. “If you go that way you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and you will get good assignments.” Then Boyd raised his other hand and pointed another direction. “Or you can go that way and you can do something — something for your country and for your Air Force and for yourself. If you decide you want to do something, you may not get promoted and you may not get the good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won’t have to compromise yourself. You will be true to your friends and to yourself. And your work might make a difference. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That’s when you will have to make a decision. To be or to do? Which way will you go?”
Which Way Will You Go?
There comes a point in every man’s life where he must decide if he will strive to be somebody important, or if he will work to do something important. Sometimes these pursuits go hand-in-hand; often they do not.
Research has shown time and time again that kids of our modern age aspire for what’s perceived as a more glamorous life than one of service and lasting legacy. In fact, the top three career aspirations of today’s 5- to 11-year-olds are sports star, music star, and actor. Just 25 years ago, that same survey turned up teacher, doctor, and banker. Young people want to be recognized, to be famous, and very early on pick up the fact that the path to celebrity (not to mention government service) largely involves telling people what they want to hear — packaging up what’s already popular and selling it back. For it’s not just the military that prizes the status quo; while society is supposedly more tolerant than ever, any nail that pops up from the mainstream very quickly gets hammered down. In our digital age, the righteous online mob can quickly mobilize and silence any opinion considered aberrant. The result is a chilling effect where people have to watch every word they say lest it be publicly trounced upon.
Even the field of science is not immune to this trend. Getting one’s studies not only published in academic journals, but picked up in popular media publications can lead to lucrative book deals and speaking engagements, while working on research with even a hint of controversy can lead to a firestorm of criticism. When it was revealed that a prominent social psychologist had completely fabricated studies that purported to show things like littered environments increase racist tendencies, he admitted that he would try to come up with experiments and results that seemed original and exciting, and yet also flattered people’s preconceived expectations. In explaining his ethical lapses, he pointed to the fact that modern scientists, in competing for funding and admiration, have been forced to become both researchers and marketers – “traveling salesman” skilled in the art of persuasion. This has set up a situation where recognition is sometimes sought at the expense of truth.
Challenging the status quo is never easy. You may not be worried about winning fame, but simply holding onto your job. College students, schooled in the importance of cultivating their “personal brand” are understandably fearful of doing or saying anything that may make them less desirable to employers in a slow economy. This is why the ability to speak truth to power has always necessarily been tied to an indifference to material security. As Coram writes, Boyd understood this, and said that “if a man can reduce his needs to zero, he is truly free: there is nothing that can be taken from him and nothing anyone can do to hurt him.” His extreme frugality earned him the nickname “The Ghetto Colonel,” and throughout his life he lived in a tiny apartment and ran his clunker cars into the ground. This Spartan lifestyle was tough on Boyd’s family; when it comes to risking one’s career in order to rock the boat, fathers admittedly have a tougher line to walk. Yet plenty of the children of history’s greatest firebrands are, despite the sacrifices their dads’ stances involved, extremely proud of the legacy and name they left them.
As you ponder what you would do when faced with the decision of choosing to pursue the right and meaningful or the popular, we’ll leave you with this stirring message former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave during a commencement speech at the Air Force Academy. It applies as well to the cadets sitting in the audience that day as it does to all men reading it now:
“Here at the Air Force Academy, as with every university and company in America, there’s a focus on teamwork, consensus-building, and collaboration. Yet make no mistake, the time will come for each of you when you must stand alone in making a difficult, unpopular decision; when you must challenge the opinion of superiors or tell them that you can’t get the job done with the time and resources available; or when you will know that what superiors are telling the press or the Congress or the American people is inaccurate. There will be moments when your entire career is at risk – where you will face Boyd’s proverbial fork in the road. To be or to do. To be ready for that moment, you must have the discipline to cultivate integrity and moral courage from here at the Academy, and then from your earliest days as a commissioned officer. Those qualities do not suddenly emerge fully developed overnight or as a revelation after you have assumed important responsibilities. These qualities have their roots in the small decisions you will make here and early in your career and must be strengthened all along the way to allow you to resist the temptation of self before service. And you must always ensure that your moral courage serves the greater good: that it serves what is best for the nation and our highest values – not a particular program nor pride nor parochialism.”
Roll call time: To be or to do? Which way will you go?
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Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert CoramIn the furor over Todd Akin’s inventive understanding of biology, we should not lose sight of another matter. His position on abortion--that the victim of rape should be compelled to bear her rapist’s child--has been the official position of the Republican Party for more than thirty years.
Indeed, the language of the GOP platform--all but certain to be adopted in Tampa next week--goes further. It declares that: "Faithful to the'self-evident' truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.”
Taken together with its support for “a human life amendment to the Constitution,” and for “legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children," its platform calls for a ban on all abortions--even to save the life of the mother.
So why has this decades-long position triggered comparatively little political furor?
It’s simple: Nobody takes the platform of a political party seriously any longer. And that is one of the most striking, if all but ignored, changes in American political life.
For most of our history, conventions were held not only to nominate candidates, but also to debate and define what the parties stood for. The platform was a serious declaration of purpose, and the fights were hugely consequential. Candidates accepted not only their party’s nomination, but the platform as well.
Declaring the spread of slavery “a crime against humanity”, the 1860 Republican platform defined the stakes of Lincoln’s candidacy. (The party also called on the federal government to support a railroad to the Pacific, which today’s GOP would no doubt label “socialist.”)
The fight “free silver” at the 1896 Democratic convention led directly to the nomination of William Jennings Bryan, and gave a populist dimension to the party. The 1924 battles over Prohibition and immigration tied Democrats in knots; it took 103 ballots to nominate its doomed candidate for President.
Then, in 1948, the Democratic Party’s embrace of a strong civil rights plank led to walkouts and the third party states. In fact, the segregationist candidacy of South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond carried four Southern states.
In 1964, the Republican convention’s failure to denounce extremism (including the radically right-wing John Birch Society) was a key reason why moderates and liberals (including Michigan Gov. George Romney) refused to back the candidacy of Barry Goldwater.
In 1968, the fight over the Vietnam War was both a symbol and cause of the deeply divided Democratic Party.
And today? The platform is largely regarded as a way to placate the more ideologically-fervent constituencies, without really binding the nominees to much of anything. Mitt Romney backs an exception for abortion in the case of rape, and his running mate, Paul Ryan, has recently adopted the same position. Four years ago, John McCain’s campaign made an effort to put that exemption into the platform, and then more or less shrugged off the issue.
As we’ve seen, the platform struggles go beyond abortion. In 1996, GOP nominee Bob Dole publicly rejected the platform plank that called for an end to “birthright citizenship” for the children of illegal immigrants. Back in 1980, Jimmy Carter’s campaign allowed into the platform planks calling for increased government spending on behalf of “full employment” as a sop to the vanquished backers of Ted Kennedy.
Why does the party platform mean so little these days? For the same reason conventions don’t nominate candidates anymore. Just as candidates for president no longer emerge from those infamous smoke-filled rooms, but spend two years traipsing across the country, the President and the party leaders in Congress argue their views in front of the whole nation. Even when a candidate tries to fudge an issue--could you give us a clue about just what loopholes you intend to close, Rep. Ryan?--there’s comparatively little need for a platform to set down what a party stands for. Anyone who cannot see the exceptionally clear divisions between Obama and Romney has simply been living off the grid.
I confess to a sense of loss at the decline of platform fights. I would have loved to have been in the galleries or the floor when a chant of “Free and Unlimited Coinage of Silver at Sixteen-to-One!” erupted from the hall.
Of course, I’m still waiting for the chance to analyze potential vote-switches as a second-ballot draws near.Joshua Roberts / Reuters There are so many homophobic bills pending in state legislatures right now it's hard to keep up.
WASHINGTON ― It’s been almost a year since the Supreme Court’s historic ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. And in that time, there’s been an ugly backlash.
A new law in Mississippi lets any person or business deny services to same-sex couples because of religious objections. In North Carolina, the governor signed a law banning cities from passing LGBT anti-discrimination ordinances and barring transgender people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity. Tennessee also has a “bathroom bill,” plus a bill that lets mental health professionals refuse to treat LGBT patients.
There are more than 100 active bills like this right now, across 22 states. They fall into a handful of categories — some are bathroom bills, some let judges refuse to marry same-sex couples, some let businesses deny services to LGBT people — but they all have the same goal: legalizing discrimination against queer people.
While it might seem like this onslaught of legislation came out of nowhere, religious conservatives have been working toward this kind of full-blown assault for years. They’ve been test-driving various anti-LGBT bills at local levels, anticipating the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision on marriage equality and preparing ways to weaken it.
“Specific laws like this that seek to target and marginalize one small segment of the population is nothing less than mean-spirited,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday. “President Obama has talked on a number of occasions about the important progress our country has made with regard to civil rights. This is a good illustration that the fight for civil rights is not over.”
Davis Turner via Getty Images North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) rushed through a sweeping anti-LGBT law in his state. He also pissed off Bruce Springsteen, who canceled a concert there in protest. Who's The Boss now?
Conservatives have found some success with these bills, particularly when they can move them under the radar. When the Arkansas governor rescinded local LGBT rights ordinances in 2015, for example, it got next to no media attention. Last month, North Carolina passed one of the most sweeping anti-LGBT laws in the nation within 24 hours, moving so quickly that critics hardly had time to campaign against it.
But some of their efforts have failed spectacularly. Facing outcry from the business community, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) vetoed a bill in 2014 that would have let businesses cite their religious beliefs to deny services to |
to approach poverty in a more systematic way. Conservatives preferred the ideas of Adam Smith, the father of free-market fundamentalism, who suggested that a mysterious power called the invisible hand of the market would take care of the poor, providing them with a free, expanding economy that would bring a “universal opulence which extends itself to the lowest ranks of the people.”
So now conservatives had both a bird and a supernatural agent to solve the problem of poverty (though truthfully, some were relieved to dispense with the Turkey altogether and just abandon the poor to the Hand). Unsurprisingly, this approach didn’t work. In the aftermath of the Great Depression, which woke up most thinking people to the mythology of a free-market paradise in which everyone would enjoy opulence, massive government programs were needed to counter the tsunami of poverty and prevent complete social chaos. Thanks to these programs, which included protections like unemployment insurance, America prospered, poverty was dealt a body blow, and income inequality shrank for the next several decades.
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But American conservatives could not abandon their peculiar idols. Starting in the 1970s, they began to agitate for a return to the old thinking. They called upon Marvin Olasky, a minor academic and religious zealot, who dusted off the ancient theories in the 1980s and repackaged them as “compassionate conservatism” — a doctrine dedicated to reducing the federal role in helping the poor and leaving them to the free market and whatever turkey baskets might come their way.
Paul Ryan serves up the latest Turkey-Hand recipe, relying heavily on promoting volunteerism and advocating charity in the place of food stamps to conquer poverty. And if that doesn’t work, hey, folks — just pray! “You cure poverty eye to eye, soul to soul,” Ryan explained to a Heritage Foundation forum. “Spiritual redemption: That’s what saves people.”
Well, Mr. Ryan, it didn’t save the nearly 6 million American children who live in homes where there isn’t enough food, a number which will rise if cruel cuts to unemployment benefits are made three days after Christmas.
It didn't save the 7 percent of all workers who earn wages that leave them below the poverty line of $18,530, while the CEOs of McDonalds, Disney, and Coca-Cola make over 25 million dollars a year.
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It didn't save the 7 homeless people who have frozen to death so far this winter in one of the wealthiest zip codes in the country.
With the GOP's latest attempt to confront poverty by depriving 1.3 million jobless Americans of unemployment benefits and requiring hungry people to urinate in a cup in order to get food stamps, it's obvious what today's conservatives really means when they talk about compassionate conservatism: conservative compassion.
We know where the real turkeys are.In retrospect it’s interesting to note which albums that broke big and which didn’t. It often has to do with financing; distribution and marketing. Or maybe the circumstances surrounding the release weren’t right. Or the market wasn’t ready for the sound. Or the sound was regarded as outdated at the time.
The latter may have been at least one of the problems why Sceptre’s debut Essence of Redemption Ina Dif’rent Styley didn’t break at the time of its release. The interest for deep roots reggae in the mid-80s wasn’t huge. Dancehall and slick lovers rock ruled the scene at the time.
Fortunately the reggae champions over at Reggae Archive Records have a mission to reissue long lost UK roots dating from the late 70s to the mid-80s. And they have now dusted off this gem.
Sceptre was founded in 1981 in Birmingham and dropped Essence of Redemption Ina Dif’rent Styley in 1984. It’s a strong set with six out of ten tracks being essential early UK roots. Get up And Go is more on a funky tip, while the three remaining cuts lean more toward lovers rock with Jean McLean singing lead vocals.
It’s certainly a versatile set that has stood the test of time.Yasser Arafat is not the only leader whose body has recently been exhumed. South America has seen a wave of exhumations of political leaders who died in debatable circumstances. Bolívar’s televised exhumation in 2010 was orchestrated by Hugo Chávez, who wanted to prove that Colombian oligarchs had poisoned the liberator of Latin America. In 2011 in Chile, Salvador Allende was exhumed at the request of state prosecutors to ascertain whether the two bullet holes in his skull were self-inflicted or whether at least one was the work of Pinochet’s troops. Both exhumations failed to prove murder. Last year Chile also exhumed Pablo Neruda, to determine whether his apparent death from cancer in 1973, shortly after he published an article denouncing Pinochet, was actually the result of poisoning. No signs of poison were found, but the Chilean Communist Party complained that the forensic pathologists had failed to test for biological as well as chemical agents. In Brazil, a truth commission examining the abuses of the country’s long dictatorship has just exhumed João Goulart, the president toppled in the US-backed coup of 1964, in an attempt to establish whether he was poisoned while in exile in 1976.[*]
The modern history of forensics is most often seen as one in which states police their subjects. But these exhumations are part of a narrative in which the victims of power are used in evidence against the state. That the anti-imperial heroes of the past are being dug up is a sign that their politics are in short supply among the living. The turn to forensics as a tool for uncovering past political crimes – as well as a way of gathering evidence of mass violence, as in the case of large-scale exhumations conducted in Bosnia, Spain, Guatemala and elsewhere – is in part a reaction to the obsession, dominant at the end of the 20th century, with the verbal testimony of victims. In recent years, as a means of adjudicating on the past, the ambiguities of memory and trauma have been replaced with the supposedly conclusive proofs of natural science. But, as the story of Arafat’s exhumation demonstrates, forensic findings are very often not conclusive – are subject, as science is, to degrees of probability and margins of error – and the practice itself is invariably politicised. There is a clue in the word: ‘forensics’ is derived from the Latin forensis, meaning ‘pertaining to the forum’; forensics is concerned not only with scientific study but, crucially, with its presentation.
The investigation into the cause of Arafat’s death began with his famed keffiyeh, the one he had with him on 29 October 2004, when he left Palestine for medical treatment in France after suddenly falling ill. In the summer of 2012 it was one of a few items, along with a toothbrush and underwear, handed over for analysis to the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne by Arafat’s widow, Suha. The Swiss scientists found that the items contained traces of the radioactive poison polonium 210, and that November, in a process directed by the Palestinian Authority, a pathologist exhumed Arafat’s grave in Ramallah. Sixty samples from his remains and the surrounding parts of his tomb were distributed to three forensic teams: one Russian, one Swiss, one French.
The analysis was complicated by the length of time that had passed since Arafat’s death. The half-life of polonium 210 is 138 days. After 22 half-lives, any polonium in Arafat’s body would have decayed to such an extent that it would be difficult to measure directly. So the investigators also looked for the signs that polonium leaves behind – high levels of lead 210, for instance. If used as a poison, polonium not only destroys the body that ingests it but also erases its own traces: valuable qualities in a murder weapon. The Russian team’s findings have not officially been disclosed, but a statement in November – retracted the same day, possibly after pressure from the Foreign Ministry – suggested that they had detected no traces of polonium. This conclusion was immediately criticised by other scientists, who complained that the Russians, for unknown reasons, had examined only four of the twenty bone samples they had received, choosing particularly those bones, like the skull, that polonium would be unlikely to penetrate. The Swiss team found levels of polonium that were 36 times higher than expected, and declared themselves 83 per cent confident that he had been poisoned – a figure that, in a careful choice of words, ‘moderately supported’ polonium as the cause of death.
The French reported on 3 December. They agreed with the Swiss about the high levels of polonium, but argued that these were likely to be a result of the radioactive decay of naturally occurring radon gas present in Arafat’s tomb. They concluded that he died of natural causes. The Swiss were dismissive: unlike the French, they said, they had actually measured the radon levels in the tomb, which weren’t high enough to produce the amounts of polonium both teams had seen. The French countered that as Arafat lay dying in the Percy military hospital outside Paris, he had shown none of the symptoms of radiation poisoning, such as were dramatically seen in the case of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. It is possible that the cause of death will never be proved either way, or not to the satisfaction of the most interested parties. Even the Swiss team’s 83 per cent confidence that Arafat died of polonium poisoning was dismissed by the spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Yigal Palmor, as ‘inconclusive, at best’. It seems that the sixty fragments from Arafat’s tomb – now scattered across Europe like the relics of a medieval saint – will go on being the subject of this bizarre political-scientific battle, in which the credibility and expertise of all the teams are perpetually cast into doubt.
The removal of the keffiyeh to Lausanne was only a temporary setback for the creators of the Arafat museum, construction of which is now finally nearing completion after many delays. The plans call for the keffiyeh to be displayed alongside Arafat’s medal for the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. One object represents the militant founder of the modern Palestinian national movement, the other the negotiator and peacemaker. It is a sign of how contested everything around Arafat is that one became material evidence in an inquest, while Hamas confiscated the other, the medal, in 2007, when it took control of Gaza, and still refuses to return it.
The museum, which stands next to Arafat’s grave, is the work of the Palestinian architect Jafar Tukan. Its modern, sober look is meant to reflect the PA’s pretensions to legitimacy. Tukan also built the mausoleum that adjoins the museum, a cubic structure – 11 metres by 11, for 11 November, the day of Arafat’s death – surrounded by a reflecting pool. A mosque was built nearby; its minaret is designed to shine a laser beam that via several reflectors along the way would finally land at the al-Aqsa Mosque, where Arafat specified in his will that he wished to be buried. Israel vetoed the laser. The PA declared that this would merely be a temporary resting place for Arafat, until a Palestinian state was formed, at which point his remains would be exhumed and reburied in the Haram al-Sharif. The quality and expense of the mausoleum suggest that the PA didn’t believe the move was imminent.
From the mausoleum visitors will now be able to walk a short distance to enter the museum building, where four long ramps follow a timeline depicting Arafat’s life in photographs, documents and filmed material. On the second floor, the path turns into a bridge that leads to the remaining section of the original presidential headquarters, where Arafat was confined for the last two years of his life. When the architects decided to preserve his windowless office and his sleeping quarters with his bed, desk and effects ‘as they were during a prolonged Israeli siege’, they weren’t aware they were preserving forensic material.
The siege of al-Mukatah (literally ‘the district’), the area at the northern end of Ramallah containing Arafat’s compound, began in the spring of 2002, after a spate of suicide attacks in Israeli cities gave Sharon a pretext to invade the West Bank. He held the army back outside the gates of the compound, determined, it seemed, to keep his promise to Bush not to harm Arafat, against the advice of his chief of military staff. Palestinians joked that the compound was like the Gaulish village in the Asterix books: the only part of Palestine left unoccupied. But in September 2002 the Israeli military entered with bulldozers and started demolishing the buildings. Only the offices that housed Arafat’s headquarters were spared: an island in a sea of rubble. The bulldozers began scraping at the walls; Arafat and his entourage retreated deeper into a windowless part of the building. Then, on 12 October 2004, Arafat fell ill and was flown out for treatment. He didn’t come back until he was dead.
Arafat’s death brought an end to the siege. A few weeks later, Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of the PA, a truce ended the Second Intifada and Sharon was free to shift his attention to Gaza, where – until he had his stroke – he pursued the assassination of Hamas’s political and military leadership, while evacuating Israeli settlements. In Ramallah, al-Mukatah was rebuilt with international funds. The PA’s new presidential headquarters, Abbas’s chief of staff declared, were to be a place where ‘the president can meet world leaders and deal with the world in a civilised and modern manner.’ Al-Mukatah was built by the British as part of a network of military outposts used to suppress the Arab Revolt of 1936-39; after 1948 it was used as a base by Jordanian troops; in 1967 it was taken over by the Israeli army, which added a notorious prison; in 1996 it was ceremonially passed to the PA, as part of the Oslo agreement, and former prisoners became tour guides. But in the years that followed the PA rounded up its rivals and put the prison to new use, until the final siege. Now, apparently, al-Mukatah is internationally respectable.Feb 25, 2014
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forward you go with brave mind.Colorado judge strikes down state’s marriage ban; 24th consecutive win in 1 year
Today, July 9, District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree struck down Colorado’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples, marking the 24th consecutive ruling in favor of the freedom to marry (with no rulings against) since June 2013. See all of the marriage wins in court here.
The ruling has been stayed for now, pending an appeal.
Today's decision is in two consolidated marriage cases, Brinkman v. Long and McDaniel-Miccio v. State of Colorado, filed in October and February, respectively, by private counsel from Wilcox & Ogden, P.C.; Thomas Russell; Reilly Pozner LLP; Law of the Rockies; and Gutterman Griffiths PC. The cases involved more than ten same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry in Colorado or respect for their marriage licenses from other states.
In the ruling, Judge Crabtree explained how civil union - which Colorado has had in effect since 2013 - is a lesser, unequal form of family status that does not compare to marriage. He writes:
The fact that the State has created two classes of legally recognized relationships, marriages and civil unions, is compelling evidence they are not the same. If civil unions were truly the same as marriages, they would be called marriages and not civil unions. If they were the same, there would be no need for both of them. The fact that Colorado denies same gender couples the same right to apply for federal benefits that it grants to opposite gender couples is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
Read the full ruling here.
Notably, Judge Crabtree was appointed by Republican Governor Bill Owens in 2001. He is the fifth Republican-appointed judge to rule in favor of the freedom to marry, following judges in New Jersey, Kentucky, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, released the following statement:
Yet another court has concluded that there is no good reason for denying gay couples the freedom to marry, and has found marriage discrimination unconstitutional. It is time that Colorado’s gay couples and their loved ones be able to share in the joy and security that marriage brings, and time for the Supreme Court to bring the freedom to marry home nationwide. Every day of denial is a day of wrongful deprivation. Today’s latest victory in the Mountain West shows that all of America is ready for the freedom to marry.
Wendy Howell, State Director of Why Marriage Matters Colorado, applauded the ruling today and called on the state Attorney General to stop defending discrimination. Freedom to Marry has been proud to serve as a founding and leading member of Why Marriage Matters Colorado, the public education campaign to increase public support for the freedom to marry in the Centennial State. Howell said:
Today’s ruling, combined with the earlier decision of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, leaves no room for doubt that Colorado’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional and indefensible. With court after court recognizing the freedom to marry, their decision should be a simple and immediate one.
We call on Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and the other defendants to let today’s historic ruling stand and to drop, once and for all, their defense of Colorado’s unconstitutional marriage ban.
For information on all 75+ marriage cases currently working their way through state and federal court in 32 different states and territories, visit our Marriage Litigation resource.The rich are always with us, and we’ll have more of them soon. A report last week from Boston Consulting Group shows that the global millionaire population is some 13.8 million. That is twice the size of Switzerland, which is, incidentally, where many of them have parked much of their wealth. More will accrue, and more individuals will pass the million-dollar mark. Global private wealth will, says Boston Consulting, grow by almost 5 percent per year over the next five years, reaching $171.2 trillion.
This is what we, who like precision in such matters, call “a lot.” The millionaire population in the UK – the fourth-largest in the world – stands at over half a million households. This is so many that when I reminded a wealthy friend of mine, who was complaining about a personal setback, that she was a millionaire, she snapped, “Isn’t everybody?” Tactless as the response seemed, the rich hobnob with the rich. After a while it becomes the prevailing wisdom.
Within rising global wealth, BCG sees a sign that Western economies are edging upward at last. Indeed, the United States seems to be set for appreciably faster growth. But Europe is stuck in recession; If there is growth, it’s anemic and is happening outside the euro zone.
Some 6 million young people are unable to find work in the European Union. This is fewer than the more alarmist figures of a quarter or more of youth unemployment, but it is a vast army nonetheless ‑ one governments hope will not do what armies do, which is stop marching and start fighting.
These doleful figures have plagued Europe for several years. But most of us assume – or are assured – that things will get better, since they have in postwar years, until now. Stephen D. King, the group chief economist of the banking giant HSBC, wrote the recently published When the Money Runs Out: The End of Western Affluence (Yale University Press), in which he says:
Our societies are not geared for a world of very low growth … persistent postwar economic success has left us with little knowledge or understanding of worlds in which rising prosperity is no longer guaranteed.
Before they helped to create a world of rising prosperity, Europeans developed two powerful streams of political thought that ultimately allowed for the peaceful governance of their societies when they came into their own after World War II. One – which could date its beginning to 150 years ago in May 1863, with the founding of the German Workers Association – was social democracy. It was an ideology that in its early years swung between revolution and reform, but which, especially in its British incarnation, the Labour Party, chose the latter route of seeking to tame capitalism and improve the conditions of the poor with the weight of the popular vote.
The other route – Christian democracy – is a little over 120 years old, seeing its foundation in the encyclical Rerum Novarum – literally, “Of New Things” and in its common meaning, “Of Revolution.” Pope Leo XIII, who wrote the encyclical, was alarmed both by the greed of the capitalists and by the rising discontent of the industrial proletariat. He sought to describe the mutual dependence and differing responsibilities of the worker and proprietor – the first was to work “faithfully,” the second to pay “fairly.” A worker who could not obtain a fair wage was, says the document, “a victim of force and injustice.”
Over time the substantial claims of these two great and antagonistic ideologies came to resemble each other. Social democrats like those in the Catholic Church rarely admire capitalism, but they no longer wish to destroy it. The best-known theorist of modernized social democracy, Anthony Giddens, wrote in Beyond Left and Right that “the only common characteristic of socialist doctrines is their ethical content … ideas brought together by a condemnation of the evils and injustices of capitalism.” It is a claim that rests on the fact that few leftist governments hew to the once-standard policies of nationalization, workers’ control or the high taxation of the rich.
Both social and Christian democracies are weaker today. The Catholic Church is led by the Argentine Pope Francis, who has stressed the need for solidarity, observing tartly that “while the income of a minority is increasing exponentially, that of the majority is crumbling.” Francis’ power to shame the wealthy minority into renouncing their pursuit of riches will be limited, as was the futile gesture of the Socialist Party president of France, Francois Hollande, in making the actor Gerard Depardieu pay the 75 percent wealth tax last year (an action later judged unconstitutional).
In a lament for the passing of a social/Christian democracy that enjoyed widespread support through much of the Western world in the decades after the war, the late scholar and writer Tony Judt argued in one of his last public appearances that the only impetus to revive such a political economy and to escape from what he saw as the dire consequences of a steadily fragmenting and unequal world, was a “social democracy of fear.” The fear, of course, would be of social disturbances that such a fragmented world would bring, as well as of the poverty it would re-impose.
The ethical energy of these two versions of democracy that have been dominant in Europe for the past six decades is diluted today. King is likely right in his view that the more we face aging societies, ascendant new nations and increasingly costly resources, the less likely it is that we will not recover the fine, careless assumption that growth is our birthright. The United States, too, faces higher health and welfare bills over the next two decades – at the end of which the federal debt is forecast to be 90 percent of gross domestic product. The “end of Western affluence” in King’s title may be more than hyperbole.
We will need to find, within fear or in a change of heart (fear seems more likely), a way of identifying which economic arrangements will keep democracy on the road. The way is not easy to glimpse; but it’s a central task for the coming generations of politicians.
PHOTO: Protestors scuffle with French CRS riot police in front of tyre maker Goodyear Dunlop France headquarters during a demonstration against job cuts in Rueil Malmaison, near Paris March 7, 2013. REUTERS/Jacky NaegelenPlease enable Javascript to watch this video
MARION, Ind (Nov. 30, 2015)- Federal drug enforcement agents spent hours inside the Marion Veteran Affairs Medical Center on Monday.
An inspection warrant was filed with the United States District Court for Northern Indiana on behalf of the DEA.
The warrant reveals that the VA in Marion purchased more powerful and addictive prescription pills than any other facility in the northern district. There have been no arrests or allegations of wrongdoing, but the DEA wants to know why the hospital is ordering such large quantities.
The pills in question are the same types of pills that are often sold on the streets illegally and have high rates of drug abuse across the country. In 2014 the VA in Marion was the largest purchaser of hydrocodone, oxycodone, hydromorphone, methadone and morphine.
According to court documents, the hospital bought 832,310 tablets of hydrocodone in 2014. The VA in Fort Wayne was ranked second, purchasing 441,700.
Through just the first three quarters of 2015, the amount of hydrocodone purchased by the VA has skyrocketed to more than one million pills.
During the same period of time the VA Hospital in Fort Wayne has purchased 915,240 tablets of hydrocodone, which is the second largest amount by any facility in the Northern District of Indiana.
The DEA has never inspected the VA in Marion and according to court documents, doctors and VA employees are the focus of this inspection and not the VA patients.
Doctors at the Marion VA don't report to "INSPECT," the statewide database used to hold doctors accountable. Therefore, there are no readily available records of prescribing practices.
According to VA officials, the Marion location treats 26,442 unique patients and the Fort Wayne VA cares for more than 38,000 unique patients. The same VA representative described the DEA inspection as "routine."
In 2014, the Marion VA ordered 638,000 tablets of oxycodone and the VA in Fort Wayne ranked second, purchasing 553,500 tablets.
Through the first three quarters 2015, the VA in Marion purchased 526,000 tablets of oxycodone and the VA in Fort Wayne bought 321,700.
Oxycodone is a Schedule II narcotic and in 2009 it became the most frequently encountered drug by law enforcement according to court documents.
Federal investigators expect to inspect records for several days due to the large quantity of records and the size of the Marion VA Hospital.Why Not Artificial Wombs?
Christine Rosen
On the meaning of being born, not incubated
In 1924, the British scientist J. B. S. Haldane coined the term “ectogenesis” to describe how human pregnancy would one day give way to artificial wombs. “It was in 1951 that Dupont and Schwarz produced the first ectogenetic child,” Haldane wrote, imagining how an earnest college student of the future would describe the phenomenon. “Now that the technique is fully developed, we can take an ovary from a woman, and keep it growing in a suitable fluid for as long as twenty years, producing a fresh ovum each month, of which 90 percent can be fertilized, and the embryos grown successfully for nine months, and then brought out into the air.” By the year 2074, Haldane imagined, ectogenesis had become a popular technique — with “less than 30 percent of children... now born of woman.” Writing at a time when debates over contraception and eugenics raged on both sides of the Atlantic, his prediction was an understandable outgrowth of these new efforts to control fertility. “Had it not been for ectogenesis,” Haldane prophesied, “there can be little doubt that civilization would have collapsed within a measurable time owing to the greater fertility of the less desirable members of the population in almost all countries.”
Today, we have inched slightly — but only slightly — closer to perfecting the technology that would realize Haldane’s vision, albeit for reasons other than the eugenic improvement of the race. A small knot of scientists in the United States and Japan are experimenting with both live animals and human cells to mimic the functioning of the womb. And while their work is in its early stages, it is worth exploring the scientific prospects and ethical implications of research on artificial wombs.
Haldane’s chosen title — Daedalus — is perhaps telling. In Greek mythology, Daedalus, “the cunning worker,” was an ingenious practitioner of the mechanical arts, a figure whose inventions proved, at best, ambiguous contributions to humanity. His most famous invention — wings crafted from bird feathers, wax, and string, built to escape with his son Icarus from the clutches of King Minos — became the tool of his son’s destruction, when “the boy, exulting in his career, began to leave the guidance of his companion and soar upward as if to reach heaven.” The hot sun promptly melted the wax wings, Icarus plunged to his death, and Daedalus was left “bitterly lamenting his own arts.”
Haldane chose a very different side of Daedalus to praise in his essay, however. He hailed Daedalus as “the first modern man,” because “he was the first to demonstrate that the scientific worker is not concerned with gods” and not haunted by old taboos. The doomed flight of Icarus was, after all, also a triumph of engineering. The same might be said of artificial wombs. With scientists impatient to extend research on embryos at the earliest stages of life, and researchers at the other end of pregnancy constantly pushing back viability for prematurely-born infants, at some point these two forces will likely meet. If they do, the result will be a new era in human procreation: a world in which children are created in the laboratory, gestated in some artificial womb-like environment, and brought “to term” without ever really being “born.”
Building Better Wombs
Efforts to mimic nature’s reproductive powers are nothing new. As long ago as the fifteenth century, breeders of Arabian horses practiced crude forms of artificial insemination to ensure the continuation of the best of the breed. Early students of anatomy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, such as Andres Vesalius, Nicolaas Hartsoeker, and Marcello Malpighi, examined chicken eggs, animals, and, when they could, the bodies of deceased pregnant women to determine how reproduction and gestation worked.
Closer to our own time, scientists attempted, with little success, to create artificial wombs for lambs in the 1950s and 1960s. The pursuit of ectogenesis languished, with the exception of sporadic debates in the pages of journals such as Utopian Studies, until the 1980s. It was then that researchers in Tokyo began achieving increasingly promising results in their artificial womb experiments with goats. Led by Dr. Yoshinori Kuwabara of Juntendo University, this work resulted, in 1997, in the announcement that a 17-week-old goat fetus, removed from its mother’s uterus, had survived for three weeks in an artificial womb. The technique, called extrauterine fetal incubation, involved placing the goat fetus in a plastic container of warmed, amniotic-like fluid, where it was supplied with nutrients through a tube inserted in its umbilical cord.
At the same time, developments in interspecies gestation in animals continue to whittle away at the barriers to reproduction between species, raising the possibility of gestating or partially gestating a human child in a non-human animal uterus. In 2002, researchers at the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported the creation of 2,300 hybrid panda-rabbit embryos (produced by inserting panda DNA into enucleated rabbit eggs) and their implantation into rabbit wombs. No pregnancies resulted from this experiment, but later attempts using panda-rabbit clones implanted in cats yielded a pregnancy. In similar experiments, scientists in Spain have produced live ibex kids from ibex embryos implanted and gestated in domestic goats. Researchers at the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, have been studying interspecies and hybrid pregnancies in sheep and goats. And researchers at Iowa State University have created “interspecies chimeric calves” in an effort to help preserve certain endangered species.
Speculation about using such interspecies techniques in humans is already a regular feature of much scientific commentary, at least among the most vigorous enthusiasts and critics of our new reproductive powers. “Rather than expending all scientific talent and resources developing artificial wombs,” Reason science correspondent Ronald Bailey wrote recently, “I suspect that it will be much easier and cheaper to establish pregnancies with human embryos in other mammals, like cows and horses, than it will be to achieve the same thing using artificial uteruses.” This interspecies prospect was recently the subject of discussion by the President’s Council on Bioethics, which is considering recommending a ban on the implantation of human embryos into any non-human animal uterus.
Research in three other areas may also contribute to the creation of artificial wombs: studies of amniotic fluid and the possibilities of liquid ventilation; efforts to mimic the lining of the womb using human uterine cells and a cocktail of hormones; and the many physicians and scientists involved in the field of neonatology, who are constantly pushing back the boundary of viability in their work with prematurely-born babies.
Working at the embryonic stages of life, Dr. Hung-Ching Liu of the Weill Medical College at Cornell University has engineered endometrial tissue in the laboratory by taking cells from a woman’s endometrium and prompting them to grow on a biodegradable scaffolding shaped like a human uterus. When Liu introduced an embryo to the artificial uterine lining, it successfully implanted. “The embryo grows very happily and very healthy,” she noted during the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in 2001. “The characteristic of this embryo development is very similar to that in vivo.” In these early experiments, she allowed the embryo to grow for six days. But Liu told reporters that, in future experiments, she has every intention of allowing embryos to develop further and longer.
Advances in neonatology may also lay the groundwork for the eventual creation of artificial wombs. It is already possible to save a child born during the early part of the second trimester of pregnancy and weighing only two pounds. Research on liquid ventilation, particularly that conducted by Dr. Thomas Schaffer at Temple University, offers hope for treating premature infants by mimicking the fluid found in the lungs in utero. Isolettes — the technologically sophisticated incubators that fill the neonatal intensive care units of major hospitals — are, one might say, a cruder version of an artificial womb.
The question is whether these different avenues of research — at the beginning of pregnancy and the end of pregnancy — will one day converge. “I’ve talked to researchers who are doing research on partial ectogenesis — interventions for premature births, mainly — and I’ve talked to in vitro fertilization researchers who are trying to extend the period of time an embryo can live outside the womb,” says Scott Gelfand, Director of the Ethics Center at the University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, who organized a conference on artificial wombs in 2002. “Put the two together and eventually we’re going to be able to do this.” Of course, many scientific and biological hurdles remain, and physicians who work with assisted reproductive technologies are hesitant to predict the future. “The uterus is a complex organism,” says Dr. David Adamson, Director of Fertility Physicians of Northern California and past president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. “There are still issues related to immunology and cardiovascular development that are extremely complicated and not very well understood. In terms of putting together all of these and having a clinically successful artificial womb,” he says, “my personal perspective is that it is decades away.”
The boldest claims come from those who are actually engaged in the research. After his successful artificial womb experiments in goats in 1997, Dr. Kuwabara told reporters, “If I have the time and money for experiments, maybe within ten years we will have made the move from animal to humans.” Similarly, during an interview at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Conference in 2001, Dr. Liu didn’t exactly demur when asked about the implications of her research. “Is it... science fiction to say maybe in the far future you could have a real breathing embryo and have a child in the laboratory?” the interviewer asked. “That’s my final goal,” said Dr. Liu. “I call it an artificial uterus. I want to see whether I can develop an actual external device with this endometrium cell and then probably with a computer system simulate the feed in medium, feed out medium... and also have a chip controlling the hormone level.” While conceding that such baby-incubating technology lies in the future, Dr. Liu said, “I believe this can be achieved, we could possibly have an artificial uterus so then you could grow a baby to term.”
Ethicists, as is their wont, appear willing, if perhaps less able, to make more specific forecasts. Speaking to a New York Times reporter in 1996, bioethicist Arthur Caplan thought |
straight out walk away from what they loved.[Currently reading Minsoo Kang, Sublime Dreams of Living Machines: the Automaton in the European Imagination (Harvard UP, 2011).]
Human beings groove on creating things in which they can see themselves. Mirrors, of course – but also cave paintings, sculptures, plays, poems, music, and robots. Each creation brings on an out-of-body experience, as we can see our lives from some outside perspective, one that makes what’s ordinary suddenly seem bewildering, beautiful, or tragic. This ability to step outside ourselves in order to see ourselves is the magic jewel of human consciousness.
Lately I have been reading about the stunning automata created in the 17th and 18th centuries. From the hydraulic moving statues of gods and monsters found in the garden at the royal château of Saint-Germain-en-Lay – which inspired Descartes’s musings on human physiology – to the notorious chess-playing Turk built by Wolfgang von Kempelen, automata have presented ourselves to ourselves in manners both charming and frightening. One of the greatest early machinists of the era, Jacques de Vaucanson (1709-82), created a flute-playing robotic maiden who really played an actual flute, blowing into the mouthpiece and fingering the valves. He also constructed a duck that would eat and poop, to everyone’s great amusement, though he exaggerated when he claimed that the duck was engaging in true digestion. But most amazing of all, Vaucanson’s contemporary, the Swiss watch-maker Pierre Jaquet-Droz, fabricated a little boy who could be programmed to write anything you please in a perfectly lovely script, pausing occasionally to dip his quill in ink, and scanning the page with his beautiful blue eyes. The boy was entirely self-contained, meaning the machinery was all within his body – rather like our own.
At first, these wondrous automata demonstrated that there could be a mechanical explanation of human behavior, and that engineers and plumbers might be more useful than alchemist doctors in diagnosing and treating human ills. It was a vindication of the mechanical philosophy over magical thinking. But before long these same demonstrations brought on more worrisome ways to picture ourselves. Are we all just machines? Are our lives nothing but what plays out from a stack of well-crafted cams and springs? And to what extent are our lives just working components enslaved to even greater machines – political systems, cultural engines, the dynamo of the world?
In 1793, the revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre called the recently beheaded king “that crowned automaton called Louis XVI” (166). People began to see their rulers – and, eventually, themselves – as robots mindlessly performing the rituals commanded by society. The historian Minsoo Kang neatly recounts the vivid stories of E. T. A. Hoffman (1776-1822), stories planted in the hazy “no-man’s land” between humans and automata –
For this purpose, the narrative device he used to great effect was that of uncertainty, centering on a series of questions that crop up repeatedly: whether a particular automaton is nothing but a mechanical construct or some unknown force is at work in it; whether the perception that there is indeed something otherworldly about an automaton is based on reality or a misunderstanding or, in extreme cases, the madness of the viewer; and whether the feeling of the uncanny that is aroused by the automaton emanates from the object itself or from the mind of the perceiver who finds its operation difficult to assimilate into the worldview based on the categories of ordinary reality. (Sublime Dreams of Living Machines, p. 207)
That feeling of the uncanny – both troubling and thrilling – was the secret behind the wild success of von Kempelen’s chess-playing Turk. The Turk sat behind a wooden desk on which was positioned a chessboard. Kempelen would open panels in the desk so all could see the machinery displayed within. A wide range of people, from Ben Franklin to Napoleon, played chess against the Turk, whose left hand would extend in clunky mechanical fashion over the board, pick up a piece, and deposit it on a legal square. And the Turk’s game was very good; he could even complete a knight’s tour, which means moving a knight around the board so that it visits every square exactly once. Everyone knew the Turk wasn’t just a machine – no machine could be that clever! – but no one could figure out how Kempelen’s trick was being played. Years later, it was discovered that the desk in fact could hide within itself a full-sized human being, who could track the game and control the Turk’s arm and head. But this revelation only deepens the weirdness: for, as the historian Simon Schaffer observes, here was a man, pretending to be a machine, pretending to be a man.
We can’t help but see our faces in our children. When we started making clocks, we started wondering whether we were clocks; and the story repeats itself as we invented automata, steam engines, computers, and video games. Our latest self-reflective device is Ultron, the newest villain in the “Marvel universe”: he’s “got no strings,” meaning first that he has no sentimental attachment to any meaty thing – but also that he requires no necessary connection to any individual robot body: he can live in the cloud. We movie-goers carry our cell phones into the theater, alerting social media to where we are, what we’re doing, and how much we like it; and these posts and tweets become the cloud-based ingredients of our lives. Do we live in the cloud? Are our connections only virtual? The uncomfortable fact that the Marvel universe itself, as a media dynasty, shares the same cloudspace with our social lives suggests that Ultron does not live in any alternate universe – we are his cloudmates, and we too have no strings.Coinsetter has announced it intends to divide a 10% stake in the company’s business among interested market makers who agree to add liquidity to its order book.
The company’s newly announced Market Making Equity Incentive Program will require participating market makers to maintain at least $300,000 in holdings with the New York-based exchange. Coinsetter will then partition its corporate equity based on trading volume that can be linked to quotes provided by its market makers.
CEO Jaron Lukasiewicz framed the program as possibly the “most exciting announcement” in the company’s history, one that would grab the attention of larger hedge funds that may not be swayed by smaller investment opportunities.
However, Lukasiewicz told CoinDesk that he believes the program is also attractive for Coinsetter as it will allow the company to provide a more enticing suite of offers to traders.
“Our liquidity is hugely valuable to our customers, and ultimately we’re trying to double the amount of liquidity we can provide near the top of the book for the companies in the space. Ultimately, that results in less slippage, better pricing and a better, more liquid bitcoin space.”
Lukasiewicz further positioned Coinsetter as one of the only exchanges with a capitalization table necessary to offer equity to exchange participants.
All 10% of Coinsetter’s equity stake offering remains unclaimed as of press time, according to the company, which said it does not plan to advertise new entrants into the program.
Strategy necessary for long-term success
Though a novel offering in the bitcoin space, Lukasiewicz explained the equity extension as a tested strategy used by major stock exchanges.
“We’ve seen similar things in the equities space, a lot of electronic communications networks (ECNs) have done somewhat similar programs in terms of incentivizing well-capitalized market makers to provide liquidity through equity,” he said.
Lukasiewicz stressed that, for him, the deal was primarily about ensuring Coinsetter would be able to offer a competitive product for the exchange’s current and future customers.
Bitcoin businesses like Circle, he said, will be looking for competitive markets to offload the bitcoin they receive from consumers and require liquidity as a prerequisite to any relationship.
“Our fundamental belief is that, if you look at the structure behind what we’re offering, the core belief is that we can incentivize market makers to make quotes near the top of our book, quotes that aren’t available on any other exchange,” he said.
Liquidity as a top priority
Notably, the news comes during a relative flurry of activity for US-based bitcoin exchanges that are targeting institutional investors and businesses.
Tim Draper-backed bitcoin startup Vaurum, for example, recently rebranded as Mirror as it prepares for its formal launch. Mirror will leverage the nearly 30,000 BTC purchased at auction by Draper to add liquidity to its exchange as it grows internationally.
Further, Buttercoin recently opened its exchange to US businesses and consumers, advertising at the time that an unnamed hedge fund is currently acting as a market maker for its order books.
Lukasiewicz, however, said the exchange is choosing instead to focus on its own goals, and that it intends for the results of its newest program tell the story of its success, concluding:
“In the end it all comes down to the numbers, and the numbers will be displayed 24/7 on our order book.”
Images via Coinsetter; ShutterstockPhotographer Troi Anderson was interested in Vodou before he ever visited Haiti. But attending a ritual in person was nothing short of a transformative experience.
“The absolute immediateness of that place,” he described to The Huffington Post, “the fact that you cannot isolate yourself in that country, that everything happens in a split second and things are occurring all around you like a kaleidoscope of sound and light. There is a power in Haiti, like a supernova. It is pure light there.”
Vodou is often misunderstood by Westerners who come to it through pop culture or folklore, where it is often tinged with racist stereotypes and legends. In reality, there are typically no dolls, no animal sacrifices, no dark magic. Simply speaking, Vodou rituals consist of music, rhythm, theater and dance, performed with such acute intensity that bodily movements access something transcendent and divine. Vodou practitioners frequently aim to experience divine possession, as a spirit flows through their physical form, achieving ecstasy through the tools of everyday life.
Troi Anderson
As the saying goes, Haiti is “70 percent Catholic, 30 percent Protestant, and 100 percent Vodou.” The spiritual system, in part responsible for the Haitian Revolution and liberation of Haitian people from French colonial rule in the early 1800s, was born within a structure of institutionalized slavery, in which Haitian people were forced into inhuman amounts of labor in the cane plantations, treated virtually as cattle.
“Vodou is the response to that,” Ira Lowenthal, an anthropologist, Vodou arts collector, and former aid worker, explained in an interview with The Guardian. “Vodou says ‘No, I’m not a cow. Cows cannot dance, cows do not sing. Cows cannot become God. Not only am I a human being ― I’m considerably more human than you. Watch me create divinity in this world you have given me that is so ugly and so hard. Watch me become God in front of your eyes.’”
Troi Anderson
Today, Haitian life remains plagued by pain and injustice. A cholera outbreak has killed over 10,000 Haitians over the past six years, believed to have been imported by United Nations peacekeepers. Women and individuals with disabilities are subjected to horrific violence, while Haitian migrants struggle to find the food and shelter necessary to live. Voudou provides a way to process and transcend the struggles of daily life through music and dance. Vodou practitioners physically create a more beautiful reality.
“Haiti contains a profoundly religious mind because it exists in a wasteland,” Anderson explained. “This necessitates an inner strength that is unknown in the economically privileged countries. Direct, unfiltered communication with the unconscious, what the vodouisant calls ‘esprit’ or the ‘mysteres’, acts as a source by which suffering can be translated, released through ritual forms.”
Troi Anderson
Portland, Oregon-based Anderson has returned to Haiti several times over the past few years, documenting the rituals that move him to such an intense degree. “Creating this sort of photography is different than other works I’ve done because it relies on having an instinctual sense of each other,” he explained. “The actor and the photographer have to have complete trust. If my actions are sincere, than that person, the the performer, would allow me to work with them.”
In his series “Defiant Rite,” Anderson, whose other projects have documented solar eclipses and mud baths, specifically captures Vodou through the physical expressions of people’s faces and bodies. His camera depicts, in sharp detail, bulging eyes, enraptured smirks, bodies flailing with a power that can only be described as otherworldly. There are few props, costumes or notable regalia. The primary spectacle on view is the potential of human spirituality and the potential of divine transcendence through movement.
“These are ancestral movements that are without real explanation,” Anderson said, “except that this urge propels them through the nightmare of history.”Woodward
Camp Woodward is known world wide as being one of the first premier action sports camps. From China to Pennsylvania to California, thousands of athletes of all experience levels frequent the Woodward facilities every year. It's only appropriate that Woodward hosts two of the most unique summer snowboard programs in the country; one at Boreal on Lake Tahoe, and one at Copper Mountain in Colorado. Woodward also offers a fully integrated dry slope and skate/trampoline oriented snow program at their Pennsylvania facility. Visiting pro's and local AM crews always keep the Tahoe and Copper parks exciting, and highly experienced coaches and counselors are plentiful at all three Woodward snow locations. Lift accessed private terrain, jumps and jibs galore, and plenty of snow to go around, if you live near one of Woodward's on snow summer parks you'd be a fool not to visit. As a major added bonus, all of Woodward's locations feature massive, California Skateparks designed indoor skateparks for off hill and rain day excitement. Along with their extensive trampoline program Woodward also offers the unique experience of their snow/skate hybrid boards for training in the skateparks (See the Woodward PA video).
Woodward Tahoe Snowboard Camp Summer 2013
Woodward Tahoe
Boreal Mountain, Truckee, CA
Eight total, June 15- August 9, Seven days each
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Woodward Copper Best of Snowboard Camp Summer 2013
Woodward Copper
Copper, CO
Seven total, June 15- July 31, Seven days each
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Colony of Summer Snow 2013
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Twelve total, June 1- August 23, Seven days each
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Brent Oftedal ripping it up in The Barn at Woodward Tahoe. Photo Paul HeranStar Wars: The Last Jedi will officially be the longest film in the epic series, as director Rian Johnson confirms a 2 hour, 30 minute runtime for the highly anticipated follow-up to The Force Awakens...
Rian Johnson has just confirmed this rumor (although it was pretty concrete at the time) that the running time for #TheLastJedi will be 150 minutes, officially making it the longest Star Wars movie ever. https://t.co/q1VpOItzsw — John Hoey (@JohnnyHoey) November 17, 2017
's runtime will indeed be 150 minutes, making it the longest installment in the series to date.Speculation on the film's runtime became public back in September when multiple theater chains posted 2 hours, 30 minutes for the movie on their site; however, some felt that could have simply been a placeholder until something official was announced. Thanks to confirmation from director Rian Johnson, we can now officially saywill be the longest film in the series.Johnson confirmed the runtime during a press conference for the film in France.
For comparison's sake, here are the lengths of the previous seven Star Wars movies:
A New Hope – 121 minutes
– 121 minutes The Empire Strikes Back – 124 minutes
– 124 minutes Return of the Jedi – 131 minutes
– 131 minutes The Phantom Menace – 133 minutes
– 133 minutes Attack of the Clones – 142 minutes
– 142 minutes Revenge of the Sith – 140 minutes
– 140 minutes The Force Awakens – 135 minutes
The lengthy runtimeis probably warranted given the number of questions we have leftover from. Just how many of those questions get answers the film remains to be seen, but we'll find out soon enough whenhits theaters December 15th.MPs, peers and MEPs form new group to block attempts to weaken UK links to single market, calling for shift by leadership
More than 50 Labour politicians, including frontbenchers, have signed a statement claiming young voters backed their party in 2017 because they wanted it to “stop the Tories in their tracks” over Brexit.
The group, made up of dozens of MPs, peers and MEPs on the left and right of the party, claimed the best way to do that was by “fighting unambiguously for membership of the single market”.
In an intervention that will increase the pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to further differentiate his position from that of the Tories, the politicians say “mere access” to the internal market will make working people poorer and hit revenues.
That will make it harder to “bring an end to years of damaging Tory austerity”, they say.
As Labour politicians, we reject a hard-right Brexit, and defend the single market | Stephen Doughty, Chuka Umunna and others Read more
The Labour politicians claim a “motley crew of hard-right, pro-Brexit Tories” such as Michael Gove and Boris Johnson, are among those pushing hardest for the UK to leave the market.
“We should not be providing political cover to hard-right Tories who stand diametrically opposed to Labour values,” they say, after claims that the general election had “dramatically changed” the situation regarding Brexit.
Among the signatories are shadow ministers Andy Slaughter, Daniel Zeichner and Ruth Cadbury, as well as Thangam Debbonaire, an opposition whip.
Others involved are Chuka Umunna, Stephen Doughty, Stella Creasy, Chris Bryant, and the peers Peter Hain and John Monks, who used to be general secretary of the TUC. There are also 10 MEPs, including Lucy Anderson – a strong supporter of Corbyn.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Labour’s Brexit spokesman Kier Starmer has said full membership of the single market will not be possible Photograph: Reuters
Dozens of those signing up to the statement are also creating a new anti-hard Brexit PLP group that will try to block any government moves that could weaken Britain’s economic ties to the EU.
While they do not directly criticise the Labour leadership over Brexit, the statement calls for a clear shift in position given that the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, and the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, have made clear that full single market membership is not on the table.
The group praises Corbyn’s “jobs first” attitude, but says that “mere access to the single market” is not enough. They argue that membership will help protect workers’ rights, such as holiday pay, maternity and paternity leave and the right to join a union, protect the environment and help “advance social justice”.
They also question the motives of those wanting to break economic ties more completely.
“Who is leading the charge to junk our membership of the single market? A motley crew of hard-right, pro-Brexit Tories. Michael Gove. Boris Johnson. John Redwood. Iain Duncan Smith. Priti Patel,” they write, saying the Conservative figures want to weaken social protections.
“Redwood authored a plan to cut regulation in Britain by 25%. Priti Patel went one further, calling on the ‘burden’ of EU regulations – those rules that protect working people – to be ‘halved’. We should not be providing political cover to hard-right Tories who stand diametrically opposed to Labour values.”
Moreover, the group argue that pushing for continuing membership need not mean giving in on free movement of people. They stress that under the rules, Britain could require EU citizens to leave if they have no job or a prospect of a job within three months of arriving. They also claim that state aid rules – sometimes cited by those opposed to ongoing membership – have not stopped Germany from supporting their industries.
The group calls for Labour, under Corbyn’s leadership, to “not throw in the towel as May had done but … seek membership with reforms on immigration and the other matters we seek”.
Lord Hain said: “Although I think that Keir Starmer is doing a brilliant job, there is a massive appetite in the country for protecting jobs and prosperity through retaining membership of the single market, [and] that is what we should prioritise. I’m confident we can get a deal to restrict EU migrants to just those who work.”
He said he hoped the leadership would respond by endorsing the policy laid out in the letter, claiming that no one in Labour – from the leader to the grassroots – wanted anything to do with a deregulated, low-tax Brexit.
The anti-hard Brexit PLP is likely to meet fortnightly and try to organise over parliamentary votes and early day motions. Members are also likely to talk to backbench MPs in other parties about how to coordinate action in favour of the softest possible Brexit.
“We desperately want to mount the strongest possible opposition to the Tories’ nasty, extreme Brexit. Loads of Labour voters – particularly new, young voters – expect us not to go along with the Tories’ negotiating strategy but to argue for a more socially just alternative,” said Umunna.
The MPs are likely to get the backing of some unions, with the TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, telling the Guardian: “All MPs in the new parliament must take a fresh look at Brexit, because working people are still worried they will be left paying a price. We need a deal that puts jobs and workers’ rights first.”
Gina Miller, who led a Best for Britain campaign in the general election in support of candidates who would keep an open mind on Britain’s future relationship with the EU, said many voters did flock to Labour to stop the Tory Brexit.
“In my electoral campaigning we asked a direct question - do you want the next government to negotiate membership of the single market and against an extreme Brexit. And we spoke to people on the ground and that was the reason they were voting for Labour,” she said.
She pointed out that the Labour manifesto did not commit to leaving the single market, but did put jobs first. “The problem is that people were listening to the Labour message and they believed that message was against the Conservative party message. They were voting against the Conservative manifesto.”RSR’s founder Renat Garipov: "Next year, 2015, might not be the best for Russian startups given the current economic situation." Source: Press Photo
This year’s list of the top 50 Russian startups as identified by Russian Startup Rating was released on Dec. 8. The best projects were selected from among 1,600 applicants.
Russian Startup Rating (RSR) announced the year’s top 50 Russian teams and developments with the most potential at an event on Dec. 8. The rating was presented Moscow’s Culinarion, one of the largest culinary studios in Europe.
Over 50 top experts and representatives of leading venture funds, tech companies, and development institutions were consulted in the process of compiling the rating. Among them were Kaspersky Lab Russia, Intel, Microsoft, Helsinki Ventures, PwC, Russian Venture Company, the Technology Transfer Center at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Rusnano, and many others.
More than 1,600 projects competed to make it into the rating this year. Any startup could submit an application; there were only two criteria: the company must be younger than six years old and have no more than 120 employees.
RSR announced the year’s top 50 Russian startups. Source: Press Photo
Startups were separated into three categories: Hi-Tech (new materials and equipment), BioMedTech (biotechnology and medicine), and IT/Internet/Mobile. Russia Beyond the Headlines has been the project’s information sponsor since 2012.
RSR’s founder Renat Garipov said that the number of applicants for this year’s rating was significantly higher – there were only 800 participants in 2013.
“Next year, 2015, might not be the best for Russian startups given the current economic situation, but that simply means the strong will become stronger, while the weak will have an even more difficult time. RSR has big goals and challenges for next year. We will do everything possible to fulfill them and support Russian startups both in terms of introducing them to investors and in terms of media support,” Garipov said.
RSR is a service that assesses the potential of Russian startups. The project aims to develop the ecosystem for technological entrepreneurship in Russia. RSR identifies promising developments that are not well known to investors or the broader public in Russia and abroad, be it due to their geographic location or the characteristics of the product.
The rating was compiled based on an evaluation of the information in the application and the opinions of industry experts. The key criteria were the characteristics and prospects for each individual product, its relevance, its market niche, and the team’s qualifications.
Among other interesting startups, this year’s rating included Brain Target, a startup that visualizes and measures brain tumors and monitors their dynamics; online consultancy LiveTex; a service for automating small businesses called FreshOffice; GeoCV, an app that creates 3D models of buildings; and Piligrim XXI, an augmented reality technology.
All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.A member of the State Department’s science envoy program resigned Wednesday, tweeting a copy of his resignation letter that spelled out the word “impeach.”
Daniel Kammen, a professor of energy at the University of California, Berkeley, tweeted Wednesday morning that he was resigning from the Trump administration out of protest to the president’s response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Mr. President, I am resigning as Science Envoy. Your response to Charlottesville enables racism, sexism, & harms our country and planet. pic.twitter.com/eWzDc5Yw6t — Daniel M Kammen (@dan_kammen) August 23, 2017
“My decision to resign is in response to your attacks on core values of the United States,” Mr. Kammen wrote. “Your failure to condemn white supremacists and neo-Nazis has domestic and international ramifications.”
Several social media users pointed out that the first letter of each paragraph of Mr. Kammen’s letter spelled out the word “impeach.”
“Particularly troubling to me is how your response to Charlottesville is consistent with a broader pattern of behavior that enables sexism and racism, and disregards the welfare of all Americans, the global community and the planet,” Mr. Kammen wrote. “Examples of this destructive pattern have consequences on my duties as Science Envoy. Your decision to abdicate leadership opportunities and the job creation benefits of the Paris Climate Accord, and to undermine energy and environmental research are not acceptable to me.
“Acts and words matter,” he said. “To continue in my role under your administration would be inconsistent with the principles of the United States Oath of Allegiance to which I adhere.”
The State Department’s website lists six other science envoys in the program.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Display resolution is critical to creating compelling virtual reality (VR) titles. Anyone that’s used the first development kit (DK1) for the Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD) will know that pressing a low resolution screen against a user’s eyes will cause a ‘screen door effect’ in which the pixels themselves can be seen. It’s an issue that will continue to improve as display technology comes along, with recent HMDs using 1080p displays as the next step up and the Oculus Rift’s Crescent Bay prototype beating even that. But, according to Oculus VR’s Michael Abrash, there’s a long way to go before resolution is truly convincing.
Speaking at this year’s F8 Facebook Developer Conference in San Francisco, California, USA, Abrash noted that VR HMDs would have to reach 16K resolutions in order to achieve ‘retinal resolution’. “To give you just one example of how much better visuals can get; in order for Crescent Bay to deliver the same pixel density as a monitor at a normal viewing distance, it would have to have a resolution of about 5K by 5K per eye, something like 20 times as many pixels as it currently has,” he said. “In order for it to have retinal resolution at a field of view of 180 degrees, it would have to have something on the order of 16K by 16K resolution, roughly 200 times as many pixels.”
Oculus VR is yet to announce the specific resolution for Crescent Bay, though has confirmed that the HMD uses two screens instead of one. The device also features integrated audio and full positional tracking. While not the consumer version of the device, both Oculus VR and Facebook have noted that it is ‘on the cusp’ of what will be released. A launch date for the consumer Oculus Rift is yet to be announced, with rumours of a possible hint of a 2015 launch stemming from F8 recently shot down by Facebook.
VRFocus will continue to follow the Oculus Rift closely, reporting back with any further updates on its progress.‘Allo poppets!!
Sir Nigel Archibald Blogberry here! Marianne and I docked the commvee for some petrol while the kids fetch a cuppa and some take-away. Earlier this year Eliza asked us to install wireless Internet on the old boat. In fact she was rather demanding, although I must say now I quite enjoy being able to stream BBC Radio to Zanzibar while on safari. She also insisted I begin a web journal which sounded like a simply magnificent idea.
So let me tell you about our most recent discovery! Whilst rummaging about in the archives of the Bodleian I had found an old map of labyrinthine catacombs along the banks of the Charles River. So we pipped across the pond to explore the secrets of the old colonies and whatnot. I must say upon our arrival the seafaring natives looked at us a tad queerly, but after I deployed some primitive sign language they seemed to understand and welcome us. Some of them even brought us some terrific whopping rashers of bacon that were simply splendid.
We packed our kit and started exploring the catacombs. I had barely touched pick to whisker before I fell into a great honking cavern. After I got over a slightly embarrassing case of the screaming abdabs, Eliza handed me a lantern and I began peering about.
That’s when I saw them: the most SPLENDIFEROUS cave paintings I have ever seen, complete with ancient inscriptions in a mysterious tongue carved beneath them!
Once, in the distant past, in the ancient land of Beaveria, there were two warring peoples: the people of Pi, and the people of Tau.
For many moons they fought bitterly amongst themselves over how the circumference of a circle might properly be measured and honored.
Until one day a wise old man, Stuartus Schmillius, came down from his home on the mountain top, bearing with him two stone tablets.
“People of Beaveria!” said Schmillius, “It is time for us to cease this battle and live in peace!” He held his tablets aloft, shining in the sun.
“From this day forth, we shall honor both our ways!” proclaimed the old man. “On Pi Day, at Tau Time, our peoples will join together in a celebration of peace, and also math!”
Schmillius planted the tablets into the hillside, where they stand to this very day. Then he sprightly skateboarded away into the horizon.
The people of Beaveria were somewhat puzzled, but thankful for this wisdom. And thereafter they honored Pi Day – 3/14 – at Tau Time – 6:28 PM – as a moment of special significance, as do their descendants to this very day.
And beside this last painting was a final, lengthier message, carved deeply into the rock, as if its creators wanted to make sure it would last long after them.
MIT Regular Action admissions decisions will be available online on Wednesday, March 14, beginning at 6:28 PM ET. When decisions are released, access decisions.mit.edu and log in using the same username and password that you use to log into your MyMIT account. There are no interim screens, so you should be sure you are ready to receive your decision online before logging in to decisions.mit.edu. To ensure that you will receive a decision online, please visit https://decisions.mit.edu/verify.php and enter your username and password. The verify page is available now for applicants to confirm their login ability and decision eligibility. If you've forgotten your MyMIT username and/or password, you may use our automated system to reset it. Visit MyMIT and click on the lost username or password links beneath the log-in box on the right.
I must say I haven’t the foggiest idea what this all means. A dark myth of wizards and warlords? Perhaps a primitive clamor for crops? An unusually dapper vision of the gods and ancients? Alas, we shall never know, as I’m afraid their language is clearly long dead and totally indecipherable, even to a learned expert such as myself.
More’s the pity, but ah well! The tots are back from Tesco and it’s time for us to be Blogberrying about again!
Cheerio!Signs That You Are a Gen-Xer Going Through Menopause
1. You sweat those newly-applied purple streaks right out of your hair.
2. You use the word “fuck” more now, even more than you used it in the 1980s — and you swore a lot in the ’80s.
3. Previously, you thought you were too punk for Sufjan Stevens. Now you hear a song of his in the car and sob uncontrollably, thinking: Sufjan, you may be young enough to have been a Comp 101 student of mine back when I was adjuncting in the ’90s, but you’re still the only one who understands me.
4. You start referring to anyone fifteen years or more younger than you as “the kids,” for example: “What is all that fucking horrific monotonous bass coming from the apartment above me? Oh, must be the kids and their fucking EDM again.”
5. Sometimes at the very beginning of a hot flash, when your face is prickly and the sweat is just starting and the lights in your living room seem to suddenly strobe, you convince yourself that it’s 1987 and you are back at Man Ray dancing to the Sisters of Mercy, and it’s not the end of the world as you know it and you feel fine, really.
6. You have, on more than one occasion, googled an acronym you’ve seen “the kids” post online – and the realization that this is something your elderly mother might do cues a sweat tsunami.
7. Spoken aloud, while looking in the bathroom mirror: “What the everloving fuck is going on with my neck?”
8. You hear that new St. Vincent song on the car radio and sob uncontrollably, thinking: Annie Clark, you may be nearly young enough to be the child I might have had if I’d been pregnant that time I missed my period in 1985, but you’re still the only one who understands me.
9. You’re 50 and still underemployed, because Gen. Fucking. X.
10. You privately think “the kids” are alarmingly intolerant of free speech these days, but you’d never say this aloud or online because “the kids” are your bosses.
11. WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH CAGE THE ELEPHANT DO THEY PAY ROYALTIES TO THE PIXIES ON EVERY FUCKING SONG WHY DON’T “the kids” JUST LISTEN TO THE FUCKING PIXIES INSTEAD, FUCKING HELL I’M GETTING A HOT FLASH.
12. Injustices besides Cage the Elephant’s career that trigger hot flashes/rage sobbing: mealy peaches; being cut off in traffic by a gas-guzzling pickup truck festooned with un-ironic DON’T TREAD ON ME flags and TRUMP bumper stickers; having a project you designed and developed canceled on a whim by a manager who’s young enough to have been the baby you — thank god! — didn’t conceive that time you forgot your diaphragm in 1986.
13. Suddenly you can’t hold your liquor. This is especially bad because your plan for dealing with old age had been to get rip-roaring drunk every day from age 70 on.
14. The “San Junipero” episode of Black Mirror makes you sob uncontrollably, thinking: Charlie Brooker, you’re the only one who understands me.
15. You realize that all those times you thought you were enjoying things ironically, you were really just enjoying them. (See: Lifetime movies, Bonnie Tyler’s “A Total Eclipse of the Heart.”)
16. You never thought you’d ever get this fucking old, man.
17. Whatever.Sharif’s son-in-law demands withdrawal of decision to name Quaid-i-Azam university’s dept after Dr Abdul Salam
ISLAMABAD: Two major topics were debated extensively in the National Assembly by lawmakers from both sides of aisle on a private members day on Tuesday in a session where three resolutions and a private members bill were also passed.
PML-N’s Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar took the floor to again reiterate his stance on the finality of Prophethood while PTI lawmaker Dr Shireen Mazari warned the government against any joint raid with the US against the Haqqani network.
In an emotional speech, Safdar, who is also son-in-law of deposed premier Nawaz Sharif, called for a ban on hiring Ahmadis in the armed forces and other important institutions of the country.
He also demanded administering oath of the Finality of Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to the officers of grade-22 and judges.
Khatm-e-Nabuwwat oath: Fazl claims credit for defending religious law
He again demanded withdrawal of a decision to name a department of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) after Nobel laureate Pakistani scientist Dr Abdul Salam, who belonged to the Ahmadiyya community.
The department should be named after a Muslim, he added. He questioned the loyalty of Ahmadis to the state of Pakistan. He said that the military coup of October 12, 1999 was an Ahmadis’ revolution.
PTI’s Dr Shireen Mazari, taking the floor |
1997)
When Tien took the chancellorship in 1990, he became the first Asian to be at the top of a major research university in the United States. Before becoming chancellor, Tien was a professor in the campus Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Tien’s chancellorship was one of the campus’s most prosperous periods. When state funding to campus dropped severely and 27 percent of active faculty members departed the campus within four years, Tien recruited top tier professionals. His fundraising campaign, “The Promise of Berkeley — Campaign for the New Century,” raised more than $1 billion from 1996 to 2001, according to a campus press release.
A well-known advocate of affirmative action, Tien also established Berkeley Pledge, a program meant to strengthen academic performance of students in Berkeley public schools and surrounding school districts.
The Haas School of Business, the Main Stacks of Doe Library, Soda Hall and the Tang Center were also all constructed under Tien’s leadership.
Among students, Tien was popular for his school pride and approachability. He was frequently seen around campus, at football games or delivering cookies to students in the library during finals week, as the Daily Cal reported in 2012.
Robert M. Berdahl (1997 – 2004)
After serving as president at University of Texas at Austin from 1993-1997, Berdahl joined campus as chancellor in July 1997 and stayed with the campus until 2004 and returned to academic scholarship.
His chancellorship saw all-time high graduation rates for the time, and higher female representation in entering classes, according to the Berkeleyan. He also launched major research initiatives, including the Health Sciences Initiative, Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research.
Berdahl, however, was accused of threatening free speech after campus administration threatened to suspend the privileges of Students for Justice in Palestine and suspend student protestors for a year for occupying Wheeler Hall, as reported by the Daily Cal.
Robert J. Birgeneau (2004 – 2013)
Birgeneau also dealt with controversies during his tenure.
Emails by the chancellor showed that Birgeneau did not object to police use of batons during Occupy Cal protest in November 2011, as reported by The Daily Cal. During the Occupy Cal demonstrations, hundreds of protesters set up tents on Sproul Plaza and locked arms so police could not access the tents. The police officers, however, used batons and force to get through protesters and break the chain of linked arms.
Upon announcement of his resignation, students told Daily Cal in an interview that they were not too surprised, specifically pointing at his response to the Occupy Cal protests.
Beside a number of controversies, Birgeneau is remembered for fighting for civil rights during his time as chancellor and establishing the Middle Class Access Plan in 2011 — a financial aid plan meant to help middle class families.
The world has changed immensely since 1952. Over the course of these chancellors the campus has evolved in equal magnitude.
Christine Lee is an assistant news editor. Contact Christine Lee at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @christinejlee17.10;15 p.m. UPDATE:
Large numbers of cars reportedly now are leaving McAdams Park, with a few walkers still heading along 13th Street. But a small group is reported on a ramp to Interstate 135.
10:00 p.m. UPDATE:
The demonstration remains peaceful, with the bulk of the crowd now back in McAdams Park. KAKE's Ben Jordan says a few people are heading to their cars, as if they might be leaving.
9:30 p.m. UPDATE:
Someone shoots off fireworks amid the crowd. A few people fear it might have been gunfire. No one apparently is injured.
KAKE's Ben Jordan reports some people now are marching back west on 13th Street, heading back toward Interstate 135.
9:20 p.m. UPDATE:
KAKE's Ben Jordan reports on Facebook Live the demonstration has all ages and races, carrying signs and waving fists in the air.
The crowd is heading east on 13th Street toward Hillside. A caller told KAKE News earlier in the evening a large number of police cars were parked at Wichita State University.
9:10 p.m. UPDATE:
The demonstration is now centered at 13th and Grove, on the other side of I-135 from Barry Sanders Field.
9:00 p.m. UPDATE:
KAKE's Ben Jordan reports protesters are trying again to climb the ramp to Interstate 135. Police are blocking their path. He estimates the size of the Black Lives Matter protest as 200 people.
8:50 p.m. UPDATE:
KAKE's Ben Jordan reports someone in the Black Lives Matter crowd threw a soda bottle at a man on a motorcycle who tried to talk with them. When the bottle was thrown, the biker left.
The marchers blocked 13th Street, but have been unable to get onto Interstate 135 because of a strong police presence.
8:30 p.m. UPDATE:
Black Lives Matter protesters came face-to-face with law officers near Interstate 135. They shouted slogans at the officers for several minutes, while a line of officers stood watching but saying nothing.
8:00 p.m. UPDATE:
Organizers of a Black Lives Matter in northeast Wichita say they plan to shut down Interstate 135.
"Whose streets? Our streets!" was one chant of the crowd as it moved toward the 13th Street ramps.
Video posted on the KAKE-TV Facebook page showed one of the organizers wearing a "Black Lives Matter" T-shirt, with the word "Black" in blue on purpose.
"In no way, shape or form am I against police officers," the organizer told the crowd. "But if I call 911, I want you to come help me. I don't want you to come kill me." The man added being a "blue life" is a choice, while being black is not.
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Public safety vehicles lined Interstate 135 in Wichita Tuesday night, apparently in preparation for a Black Lives Matter rally.
The rally was called for 7:30 p.m. at Barry Sanders Field on 13th Street, near I-135. Similar rallies in other cities have turned into marches occupying freeways. One of them blocked a highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for hours Sunday night.
The rally began hours after Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay met with several young black professionals. The meeting ended with Ramsay saying in a video he supported cultural competency training for officers, as well as other adjustments.Google late Wednesday announced that it would pay $1.1 billion for employees from HTC's smartphone unit, prompting waves upon waves of speculation about what might come next from this hookup.
But I have one hope: that Google's clout and HTC's design can give us something to challenge Apple and Samsung.
Now, let me be clear. I'm not against either Apple or Samsung — they both make nice phones. I'm also not saying there aren't other smartphone companies out there, because there obviously are. But while there are firms doing interesting things — Essential, LG, even Google's former acquisition Motorola — it definitely feels like this is Apple and Samsung's market and we're all just living in it.
Having more players is also good for innovation. "Two is better than one. But three is better than two," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights.
Yes, it's true that both Apple and Samsung face pressure globally from smartphone makers, particularly in China, where cheaper smartphones from companies such as Huawei are getting better. But it's still hard not to say Apple and Samsung are at the top when, combined, they make up 74 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, according to comScore, as well as 94 percent of the global industry's profits, according to Strategy Analytics.
Many have tried and failed to at least become a viable third player for the smartphone world. Microsoft and Nokia hooked up and, for a time, put out interesting phones that ultimately didn't capture consumers' hearts. Google's acquisition of Motorola was a clear attempt to take on the iPhone and Samsung. And even HTC looked like it had a shot at becoming a viable third player, with unique phone designs and high quality that actually made its phones stand out from a fairly boring pack of black (or silver) slabs.
But, of course, it was not meant to be. HTC was just not big enough, and after trying to shore up sales by moving into the growing market of low-end smartphones, it lost some of its sheen on the high-end.
Google has also failed to make a major dent in the market for hardware in general. It does well enough with its own phones — first the Nexus, now the Pixel — but they aren't a main focus for the company and haven't broken beyond a more limited market of Android enthusiasts. Google's move into hardware with its Nest acquisition has been successful in some ways, but also fraught with insider drama. There have been more recent successes, such as the Chromecast and the Google Home, but they are still more the exception than the rule.
An optimist could look at this partnership, which puts thousands of HTC's engineers under the supervision of Google's hardware heavyweight Rick Osterloh, and say that bringing these firms together will allow them to focus on a product and iterate quickly. With Google's checkbook and the keys to the Android operating system, there is potential for an Apple-like unification of hardware and software design.
A pessimist could say that there's no reason to think that these companies, which have already been working together on Pixel, will be able to pull off a goal neither have accomplished individually.
To succeed at cracking Apple and Samsung's grip would require a shift in Google's priorities as a company — and we've had some signs of this, but we've also been down this road before. As Richard Windsor of Edison Investment Research said in a Thursday note to investors, Google's "hardware acquisitions feel like unwanted orphans that have no business being part of Google. Google has yet to show any sign that it has learned from the mistakes, but better late than never."With the recent release of the documentary Waiting for "Superman" there has been much talk about the lack of support for students within the school system. The film portrays the public education system as a place where the dreams of America's youth go to die. The mighty arm of the teachers union seemingly strangles the motivation and desire to succeed right out of our students' minds in its never-ending battle for power against the Department of Education. One answer, according to the film, is to make way for the charter school revolution. In schools where the teachers and administrators are free from the cruel bonds of the public education system, there must be a greater chance for students to reach their full academic potential, right?
As a high school teacher, I do occasionally have to deal with issues between my administrators and my union, but these events are few and far between and I have never felt that either of these two parties have had any meaningful impact on exactly how I chose to teach my students. Nor have I ever felt that the ultimate success or failure of my students has anything to do with the squabbling that occurs between the two rival factions. Rather, the most important thing in any of my students' lives, the one common motivator between students that succeed and students that fail, is the support and encouragement that they receive outside of school in their homes.
The public schools in New York City are in the midst of their mandated parent-teacher conference days, and the list of parents that attend the conferences offers an insight as to how well a student is performing academically. This is by no means an attempt to say that every student that has support at home will be successful, or that a student with no home support will be unsuccessful, only that in my experience the student that has someone at home that encourages them to do well and is willing to make an effort to see the child succeed will most likely fare far better than the student that does not have this built-in support system. It is not uncommon, after an afternoon of scattered conferences, to hear one of my coworkers say, "You never get to talk to the parents you need to talk to."
Although I called all of my students' homes multiple times, I was only able to arrange conference times for a little less than half of my student families. How can we expect students to take school seriously and be motivated to learn when the people closest to them treat education like some sort of cruel joke? To some, school is a place you have to go to if you don't want to go to jail, or if you have to get out of the house. School is where friends meet up and hang out, and getting an education takes a back seat. A student recently told me that she didn't want to go to school because her parents told her she was just going to end up selling drugs anyway, why waste her time?
When most teachers only see their students for roughly four to five hours each week it is imperative that the students be guided towards success from other sources. It really doesn't matter what goes on between the teachers union and the department of education if parents don't care about their child's education. Falling test scores and rising drop-out rates have less to do with what happens inside the school than what happens at home. I see this proven every single day when it is time to collect homework. The students that have someone at home asking about their homework, looking over their homework, caring about their homework are the students that will have a better understanding of the material being studied and the students that are setting up patterns and routines that will help them succeed later in life. The students that are allowed to skip school on rainy days, that are told school comes second, and that turn in homework that has more wrinkles than answers are those that are falling into the unfortunate trends highlighted by the film.One-minute clip from yesterday of Geithner being questioned by Rep. Hensarling regarding the Fed's and Treasury's decision to use an artificially low Libor as the interest rate on hundreds of billions in crisis loans to AIG and other bailed-out banks.
Mark Gongloff - HuffPo
Timothy Geithner claimed on Wednesday that the government had no choice during the financial crisis but to lend to banks and AIG using an interest rate, Libor, that everybody knew was flawed.
Call it a back-door bailout: By using an artificially low Libor, the government saved the banks and AIG millions, maybe billions -- and cost the taxpayers the same amount.
The use of Libor in the bailouts also rubber-stamped that hopelessly manipulated interest rate as a market measure, raising still more questions about just how worried Geithner and other regulators really were about it.
In a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Geithner was asked why Treasury and the Fed used the London Interbank Offered Rate as a basis for loans to insurance giant American International Group and to U.S. banks under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility -- even though Geithner and other regulators had long suspected that Libor was artificially low, as Geithner testified.
"We were in the position of investors around the world," Geithner shrugged. "You have to choose a rate, and we did what everybody did -- use the best rate available at the time."
Geithner repeated his claim that he warned other U.S. and British regulators in the spring of 2008 about possible manipulation of the key interest rate and recommended changes to the way the rate was set.
But he also said that, months later, when it came time to set bailout terms for the Too Big To Fail Set, the government just had no other choice but to use Libor.
Sure, that's one way to look at it. Another, less charitable way to look at it is that the Fed was fully aware that Libor was being manipulated lower, and was fine charging an artificially low rate to lend money to banks and to AIG, in what amounted to yet another kind of bailout. Why make life harder for them, right? They had enough problems dealing with the crisis they had created. Raising red flags about Libor might have only made the crisis worse, making it harder for banks to borrow money.
But in the process, the government left untold mountains of cash on the table for U.S. taxpayers. Even if Libor was only manipulated a tiny bit lower, these small breaks add up.
In fact, if you wanted to be cynical about it, you could say this is yet another example of the Treasury Department and the Fed once again putting the needs of banks ahead of all else, including such niceties as "faith in the market" and "taxpayers."
I wrote a story for the Wall Street Journal back in 2009 estimating that banks may have saved $24 billion by borrowing at unusually low rates in another crisis-era government lending program, the Term Liquidity Guarantee Program -- loans that were frequently based on Libor.
There's still a lot of number crunching to be done in the weeks ahead, but it would not be surprising if TALF banks and AIG saved similar amounts by borrowing from the government at an artificially low Libor rate.
Continue reading...WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic-led U.S. congressional panel on Tuesday authorized a subpoena of Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff in its probe of possible U.S. torture of suspected terrorists.
Vice President Dick Cheney attends a meeting with Iraq's President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad March 17, 2008. A Democratic-led U.S. congressional panel voted on Tuesday to authorize its chairman to Cheney's chief of staff in its probe of possible U.S. torture of suspected terrorists. REUTERS/Mohammed Jalil/Pool
House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers of Michigan was expected to move within days to subpoena David Addington, who the administration maintains is immune from being required to testify to Congress.
If Addington refuses to show up, a court fight is likely, but it may not be resolved until after President George W. Bush and Cheney end their terms in January and leave office.
Regardless, Conyers pushed ahead.
“The administration’s use of harsh interrogation methods — with approval of the Justice Department and other administration lawyers — requires the strictest scrutiny and oversight,” Conyers said.
“In the view of the many reports that Mr. Addington played a key role in shaping interrogation policy and drafting legal memos on the subject, it is very important to hear from him,” Conyers said.
Without debate, a subcommittee of Conyers’ panel approved a resolution authorizing him to subpoena Addington.
Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said: “We have not yet received a subpoena. Once we do, we will review and respond accordingly.”
Bush maintains that the United States does not torture, but he has refused to discuss interrogation techniques, saying he does not want to tip off the enemy.
The CIA has acknowledged using a simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding on three terrorism suspects, but says it stopped using that method in 2003.
Waterboarding has been condemned by human rights groups, foreign countries and many U.S. lawmakers as torture.
The subcommittee authorized the subpoena shortly before beginning a hearing on treatment of enemy combatants.
Those who testified were primarily legal and academic figures who discussed what amounts to torture and the scope of the administration’s power to establish interrogation methods.
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft has agreed to testify at a yet-to-be scheduled hearing. John Yoo, a former deputy assistant attorney general, also agreed to testify at a later date after facing a possible subpoena.
Bush has invoked executive privilege in rejecting congressional subpoenas for a number of current and former administration officials, many sought as witnesses in the 2006 firing of nine federal prosecutors.
In March, the House Judiciary Committee filed suit in U.S. District Court asking it to direct White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten to produce subpoenaed documents and order former White House counsel Harriet Miers to comply with a subpoena and testify about the ousted prosecutors.
A ruling is not expected for at least several months.
Cheney’s counsel, Kathryn Wheelbarger, in a letter to the subcommittee, argued Addington cannot be required to testify.
“The office of the vice president remains of the view that the courts, to protect the institution of the vice presidency under the Constitution from encroachment by committees of Congress, would recognize that a chief of staff or counsel to the vice president is immune from compulsion to appear before committees of Congress,” Wheelbarger wrote.Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R). EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS
Who would have imagined that the U.S. would be moving, in a bipartisan way, to advance its climate policy and clean energy goals less than a week after the Paris agreement?
And yet in the budget deal struck on Wednesday, Democrats traded a lifting of the oil export ban for an extension of much-desired tax credits for wind and solar. The legislation isn’t law yet, but it is currently expected to pass.
The solar tax credit is a 30 percent investment tax credit previously set to expire at the end of 2016 that would now be extended through the end of 2021, though it will begin to phase down at the end of 2019 and would end at only 10 percent. The wind credit is a production tax credit that previously expired at the end of 2014 but now would be extended through the close of 2019, but would also begin a phaseout at the end of 2016.
[Meet the biggest energy efficiency rule the U.S. has ever released]
There’s little doubt that these policies, if enacted, will lead to a world in which the U.S. installs more wind and solar by 2020 than it would have otherwise. And given that the U.S. just went to Paris and signed a global deal to bring climate change under tough controls, that’s precisely the kind of policy you would expect to see.
“With solar prices [having] fallen 80% in the last decade, gaining another six years of subsidies will provide investors a significantly long period of certainty regarding costs of investment,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton administration staffer on climate policy. “Whether adequate to the climate challenge or not, this should be seen as the first new policy attempt to meet the US emissions target pledged in Paris.”
“This has been a breakthrough year for solar,” added Tom Werner, the CEO of SunPower, one of the U.S’s biggest solar companies. “We have seen increased global, national, and state support for solar through COP 21, the Clean Power Plan and local net metering efforts in California. The ITC extension will end the year on a high note, and it sets the scenes for continued growth in 2016.”
And yet at the same time, it seems likely that that growth will still remain incremental, and that wind and solar still remain the minority when it comes to the sources of our power for some time.
Wind energy in the U.S. stands at about 66 gigawatts of installed capacity (a gigawatt is a billion watts) and provides about 5 percent of our electricity. Solar, meanwhile, stands at about 25 gigawatts and generated less than half of a percent of U.S. power last year — though it may be close to 1 percent by the end of this year, said Shayle Kann, senior vice president with GTM Research.
[The U.S. solar industry is having its biggest year ever]
According to analysis by GTM and the Solar Energy Industries Association, the extension of the solar credit will have a big impact — they estimate it would “increase solar installations 54 % through 2020.” By that year, the analysis finds, about 20 gigawatts a year of solar would be installed — a little less than the total amount in existence right now.
By the end of 2020, suggests Kann, solar might have 98 total gigawatts installed and hit “around 3% of total generation.” (He called this a “rough estimate.”) A spokesperson for SEIA suggested the number could be even a little higher.
However, a Bloomberg New Energy Finance analysis of the impact of the extensions has a somewhat less rosy projection, finding that from 2016 through 2021 under the proposed policy, solar would see 59 gigawatts of capacity installed, versus 41 without the extension. Wind, meanwhile, would see 44 gigawatts installed over the same time period, versus 25 gigawatts without the extension, in BNEF’s analysis.
Add it all up and you can imagine a world in which wind and solar provide a little more than 10 percent of America’s electricity as the decade of the 2020s begins — and if growth is faster than expected, perhaps several percentage points more. When the Clean Power Plan then commences in 2022, these sectors will be favored further; indeed, the tax credit extensions provide a kind of bridge into that era.
Still, coal provided 39 percent of U.S. electricity in 2014, and natural gas 27 percent. Continual growth in wind and solar would slowly eat away at these percentages, may not unseat fossil fuel dominance any time soon.
The Clean Power Plan itself projects that these fossil fuels, in 2030, will remain the “leading sources of electricity generation in the U.S., with coal providing about 27 percent of the projected generation and natural gas providing about 33 percent of the projected generation.” With the tax extensions taken into account, perhaps these percentages would shift downward somewhat.
The picture, then, is one of steady — but not radical — growth in renewable energy, and thus a steady — but not radical — decline in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
The only question is whether this rate of change is compatible with a sense of climate urgency — or with a recently embraced global goal of striving to limit the planet’s warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius.
More at Energy & Environment:
The world just adopted a tough new climate goal. Here’s how hard it will be to meet
Holding warming under two degrees Celsius is the goal. But is it really attainable?
Another danger of climate change: Giant flying boulders?
For more, you can sign up for our weekly newsletter here, and follow us on Twitter here.SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s special prosecutor said on Sunday it will take into account the economic impact of whether to arrest Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] leader Jay Y. Lee in connection with an influence-peddling investigation involving the president.
The office also delayed by one day, until Monday, its decision on whether to seek the arrest of Lee, the third-generation leader of South Korea’s largest conglomerate, or chaebol, citing the gravity of the case.
The special prosecution had said it would make a decision on Lee by Sunday. But spokesman Lee Kyu-chul told reporters on Sunday investigators were deliberating all factors including the potential economic impact of the arrest of Jay Y. Lee.
Prosecutors have been investigating whether Samsung provided 30 billion won ($25.46 million) to a business and foundations backed by President Park Geun-hye’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, in exchange for the national pension fund’s support for a 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates.
The Samsung chief denied bribery accusations during a parliamentary hearing in December.
Taking into account the economic impact could prove beneficial to the 48-year-old Lee. The imposition of less severe punishment on erring business leaders to avoid negative economic consequences has precedent in South Korea.
“Law and principle are the most important metric, and after also considering various factors mentioned previously, we will decide by law and principle,” the prosecution spokesman Lee said, referring to economic impact, without elaborating.
A Samsung Group spokeswoman declined to comment.
Samsung’s Lee was questioned for 22 hours before leaving the special prosecutors’ office in Seoul on Friday morning as part of the investigation into a corruption scandal that has led to President Park’s impeachment by parliament.
Establishing a money-for-favor exchange between Samsung and Park or her surrogate is critical for the special prosecutor’s investigation, analysts say.
COURT DELIBERATING
Park, the daughter of a military ruler, has denied wrongdoing, although she has apologized for exercising poor judgment. Her friend, Choi, who is in detention and facing her own trial, has also denied wrongdoing.
The Constitutional Court is deciding whether to uphold or overturn the impeachment vote.
If Park is forced to leave office, a presidential election would be held in 60 days. Among the expected contenders is former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The chiefs of South Korean chaebol have over the years had prison sentences shortened or forgiven, or received pardons, with the economic impact of imprisonment cited as a factor.
Jay Y. Lee’s father Lee Kun-hee, who has been incapacitated since a 2014 heart attack, was handed a three-year suspended jail sentence in 2009 for tax evasion. He was later pardoned.
Jay Y. Lee, center, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, arrives to be questioned as a suspect in bribery case in the influence-peddling scandal that led to the president's impeachment at the office of the independent counsel in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. REUTERS/Ahn Young-joon/Pool
Samsung has acknowledged making contributions to the two foundations as well as a consulting firm controlled by Choi but has repeatedly denied accusations of lobbying to push through the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries Inc.
The world’s biggest maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-screen televisions has delayed its annual executive promotions, which typically take place in early December, amid the scandal.
The special prosecution also said it plans to indict early next week National Pension Service chief Moon Hyung-pyo, who was arrested in December after acknowledging he pressured the fund to approve the merger while he was health minister.Google Fiber announced on Tuesday it was freezing expansion and laying off staff, but Google's CEO says the company remains "very active" in its other cities. George Frey/Reuters Google isn't getting out of the internet service provider business anytime soon.
That's according to CFO Ruth Porat, who reaffirmed the company's commitment to Google Fiber, its high speed internet cable company. News broke on Tuesday that Google was halting expansion plans and laying off 9% of its staff.
Here's what Porat had to say about the future of Fiber during the company's quarterly earnings call on Thursday:
"We are very active in a lot of cities. In the third quarter alone, we rolled out four new cities, so that brings us to 12 cities across the US where we're deployed, in construction or in development. We're making great progress in those cities and we remain committed to growth in those cities. We also have a presence in six cities with our wireless acquisition, Webpass. We're pausing for now in our work in eight cities where we've been in exploratory discussions but...it's to better integrate some of our technology work that we've been developing."
Porat said the company scaled back its growth to focus on new technologies that would improve effectiveness and efficiency. Google wanted to focus on those efforts before continuing with work in the eight new cities, Porat said.
In 2010, Google Fiber began offering Gigabit-speed internet access to residents in Kansas City, and began expanding to other cities soon after. But the project soon proved expensive and got caught up in numerous regulatory challenges.UK faces further spending cut shock
Friday 13th July 2012
The Office for Budget Responsibility has said that the Government must make more cuts or raise taxes to keep UK public finances under control.
The OBR said in 2017-18 public spending needed to be cut by another £17billion. If not, then the same amount of money needs to be raised in taxes.
Doing this would then peg back total debt to 40% of GDP by 2061 - otherwise it will rocket to 89% of annual income by 2061.
OBR chairman Robert Chote told the BBC: "There are big uncertainties around these sorts of numbers, but it does suggest that once the current crisis-related repair job has been completed, there are still challenges to confront thereafter."
Meanwhile, also speaking to the BBC, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said: "There is a continuing challenge for governments not just to take the right decisions in the short term, as I believe we are with the plan on dealing with the deficit, but also to take the right decisions for the long term, as I think we have, for example, by increasing the state pension age and by those dramatic reforms to public service pensions which will be saving some £430billion over the next 50 years."
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George BaileyThis article is over 1 year old
White House adviser uses flash cards with words ‘Conclusion? Collusion’ and ‘Illusion, delusion’ to illustrate arguments in defense of Donald Trump Jr
Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday deployed two small flash cards to make the case that there has been no collusion between the Trump administration and Russia … “yet”.
Democrats call for Jared Kushner's security clearance to be revoked Read more
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Conway said she was using the cards “to help all the people at home” understand the significance of revelations that Donald Trump Jr agreed to meet a Russian lawyer, after being told the lawyer would provide damaging information about Hillary Clinton because the Russian government was supporting his father’s presidential campaign.
At the end of her interview with Hannity, Conway held up her first placard, which read: “conclusion, collusion”.
Conway crossed out the word collusion and explained: “What’s the conclusion? Collusion? No. We don’t have that yet.”
She then held up a second card, which read “Illusion, delusion”, and said: “I just thought we’d have some fun with words.”
The night before, Trump Jr appeared on Hannity’s show and said: “In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently.”
The New York Times reported the existence of the Russia emails over the weekend. Trump Jr released them on Twitter on Tuesday, minutes before the Times published them itself.
Defending the Trump administration, Conway told Hannity the media talks “more about Russia than America”.
The cards, she said, were like Sesame Street’s “Word of the Day”, a reference to the children’s TV show which features a segment in which Elmo and occasionally other muppets, such as the hapless Grover, explain the meaning of words such as vote, stumble and canteen.
Conway later tweeted a link to an article about her segment and said: “Apologies to the humorless.”
But by Thursday morning, inevitably, her appearance had become a meme:
Scott Kerr (@scott_kerr) Kellyanne Conway did the worst version Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" pic.twitter.com/siU8fG5GUz
Martin Pengelly (@MartinPengelly) She's on the pavement
Thinking about the government
Mike Glennon (@MrMikeGlennon) I never knew Kellyanne Conway was into INXS. pic.twitter.com/3aquOk6Twm
Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) I am so so sorry everyone pic.twitter.com/jLjENz2c1O
Sign up for the Minute email. Catch up on today’s US politics news in 60 secondsIn the July 28th Nature, researchers announced the discovery of a pulsing white dwarf, part of the system 380 light-years from Earth known as AR Scorpii. Amateur astronomers have long kept an eye on AR Sco, thinking they were watching the flickering of a single variable star. But when they took more detailed observations last year, they saw entirely unexpected behavior and began a fruitful collaboration with professional astronomers to find out the answer.
A multitude of ground- and spacebased observations later, and astronomers now have a working hypothesis that explains the system. AR Sco is not one star but two: a cool red star and its companion, a white dwarf generating a lighthouse beam of energetic particles. The two revolve around each other every 3.6 hours in a precise cosmic dance. The white dwarf is spinning too, lashing its companion with the beam again and again, causing the whole system to brighten dramatically and fade away again every 1.97 minutes.
Read more about this result in European Southern Observatory’s press release.
"We've known pulsing neutron stars for nearly fifty years, and some theories predicted white dwarfs could show similar behavior,” says study coauthor Boris Gänsicke (University of Warwick). “It's very exciting that we have discovered such a system, and it has been a fantastic example of amateur astronomers and academics working together."
Josch Hambsch, an life-long astronomer and coauthor on the Nature paper, describes the research from the amateur perspective:
I have been interested in astronomy since childhood — in 1975 I started out performing visual observations with a 4.25-inch Newtonian. About 25 years later, I started using a CCD camera to shoot pretty pictures, some of which even became Astronomy Pictures of the Day (e.g., September 15, 2006).
However, after a few years of CCD experience and maybe because I make a living as a scientist (nuclear physics), I switched to observing variable stars. Nowadays, you can contribute to scientific research using your CCD or DSLR. So I joined an amateur group in Belgium, where I live, that focuses on variable stars, called Vereniging voor Sterrenkunde. I also joined two other variable star groups: Groupe Européen d'Observation Stellaire in France and Bundesdeutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Veränderliche Sterne in Germany, my country of origin.
Among the projects I undertook when I began observing variable stars was to monitor High-Amplitude Delta Scuti (HADS) variables, short-pulsating stars for which several maxima can be observed in a single night.. My research on this topic had already resulted already in several earlier publications.
Since weather conditions in the central part of Europe are not that favorable, many amateurs turn to armchair astronomy. It was such a group of amateurs mining databases of automatic surveys who approached me to observe AR Scorpii, a star varying 2 magnitudes in brightness and previously classified as a Delta Scuti variable. However, the changes in brightness and the star’s classification didn’t match and new observations were needed.
The star’s southern declination made it difficult to observe from central Europe, so it was fortunate that I had built my remote observatory in Chile a few years ago. The weather in the Atacama Desert is marvelous, and I began observing immediately and continued to do so for several weeks.
I performed these observations with a 40-cm f/6.8 telescope from Orion Optics on an ASA direct drive mount DDM85. The CCD I used is an FLI ML16803 binned 3x3. I used a photometric V filter from Astrodon. I initially timed the exposure at 60 seconds, as I thought I’d need such a long exposure for a star of magnitude 14.5 to 16.5. The results show a rather scattered light curve (see the figure at right), but confirmed the period of the brightness variations, known since the 1970s. The light curve’s shape also ruled out a Delta Scuti classification.
Additional observations didn’t bring us any closer to explaining the nature |
ulli was sacked by Briatore before the end of the season.
Trulli next moved to Toyota alongside Ralf Schumacher. Trulli’s qualifying pace was too much for Ralf, beating him 39-17. In race trim, the two drivers were closely matched, with Trulli ahead 22-16 in races and behind 70-66 in points. From 2008-2009, Trulli partnered Timo Glock. Again, Trulli was ahead in qualifying, this time 25-8, and again he was closely matched with his teammate in race results, behind Glock 15-14 in races and ahead 53.5-49 in points.
29. Felipe Massa (2008-2010, 6.87 ppr)
Massa began his career fast but crash-prone, before developing into one of the sport’s best drivers under the guidance of Michael Schumacher. In his debut year, Massa crashed out 5 times and was significantly outperformed by Nick Heidfeld. After a year testing, he returned alongside Giancarlo Fisichella. Massa showed signs of improvement, but was again outperformed by his teammate. In 2005, he raced alongside Jacques Villeneuve and outperformed his teammate for the first time.
In 2006, Massa moved to Ferrari, racing alongside Michael Schumacher. Massa was beaten 13-4 in qualifying, 12-3 in races, and 134-80 in points. Nevertheless, he showed significant improvement towards the end of the year and stayed at Ferrari to partner Kimi Raikkonen from 2007-2009. The advantage swung between the two drivers, with a very small advantage to Massa overall. He finished ahead 25-19 in qualifying, 18-16 in races, and 213-195 in points.
Massa’s career nearly ended at Hungary 2009 when he was struck by an errant spring, but he returned to race at Ferrari alongside Fernando Alonso from 2010-2013. Massa was dominated 57-19 in qualifying, 62-12 in races, and 1029-496 in points. It is unclear how much Massa’s performance suffered as a result of his injury; some drivers have fully recovered from severe head injuries (e.g., Hakkinen), while others have not (e.g., Wendlinger). Below are Massa’s results relative to Alonso in each half-season from 2010-2013. Massa’s relative performance on his immediate return was actually one of his strongest performances relative to Alonso. This is suggestive of Massa’s performances tailing off due to the competitive and political climate that developed, especially after the 2010 German Grand Prix.
28. Jody Scheckter (1974-1976, 6.97 ppr)
Scheckter started in Formula 1 with a bad reputation. There was no doubting his raw speed, but his driving was impetuous. On debut, he was running 3rd until he spun. He then looked set for victory in his third race, but crashed into Emerson Fittipaldi, prompting the Brazilian to call Scheckter a “menace to himself and everybody else”. At the next race, Scheckter caused a monumental crash at Silverstone, leading to the McLaren team resting him for 4 rounds. On return, he crashed again.
Witnessing the death of Francois Cevert first-hand had a profound effect on Scheckter: “From then on, all I was trying to do in Formula One was save my life.” In the next three years, he crashed only once.
At Tyrrell, Scheckter drove alongside Patrick Depailler, beating him 27-18 in qualifying, 19-10 in races, and 114-65 in points. From 1977-1978, Scheckter was sole entrant for the Wolf team, taking 2nd in the championship in 1977 with an impressive Postlethwaite-designed chassis.
In 1979, Scheckter made a canny move to Ferrari to partner Gilles Villeneuve, replacing Carlos Reutemann. Ferrari delivered the best car and Scheckter duly took the championship, outscoring Villeneuve 60-53 (and 51-47 in points counting towards the championship), but points don’t tell the full story. Although Scheckter was ahead 8-7 in qualifying, Villeneuve was ahead 6-4 in races and suffered 4 mechanical DNFs to Scheckter’s 1. Villeneuve’s bad luck dropped him behind in the points tally, leading to team orders in Scheckter’s favor at the Italian Grand Prix. After correcting for team effects, the model awards the 1979 championship to neither Ferrari driver — instead selecting Alan Jones — dropping Villeneuve to 7th and Scheckter to 11th.
The 1980 season was an unmitigated disaster, as Ferrari dropped from world-beaters to bottom of midfield. Scheckter seemed completely uninspired; he was beaten by Villeneuve 13-1 in qualifying, 5-1 in races, and 6-2 in points. He retired at the end of the year.
27. Elio de Angelis (1980-1982, 6.99 ppr)
Elio de Angelis was much loved within the Formula 1 community, but never had the car to challenge for a title. Interestingly, my model awards him the 1982 championship and rates him above contemporaries Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, Jody Scheckter, Mario Andretti, and Keke Rosberg.
de Angelis began at Shadow in 1979, racing alongside Jan Lammers (no 3-year peak). de Angelis scored all of the team’s 3 points and outqualified Lammers 9-5, but was behind 3-2 in races. In 1980, de Angelis joined Lotus to race alongside Mario Andretti. Against expectations, de Angelis outperformed his teammate, outqualifying him 8-6 and outscoring him 13-1, although Andretti was ahead 3-2 in races.
Late in 1980, Nigel Mansell debuted at Lotus, and he raced alongside de Angelis until 1984. de Angelis beat him 46-15 in qualifying, 12-7 in races, and 76-38 in points.
In 1985, de Angelis was paired with young phenom Ayrton Senna. Senna demolished de Angelis in qualifying 13-3, but held only a 5-3 edge in races and a 38-33 edge in points.
de Angelis died in a testing crash in 1986. He was the last driver to die in a Formula 1 car until Roland Ratzenberger.
26. Chris Amon (1970-1972, 7.05 ppr)
Chris Amon and the next driver in the list are ranked the two greatest drivers to never win a race. Amon’s career was hobbled by unreliable cars and poor luck, with mechanical DNFs in 40% of his race starts. Nonetheless, his talent showed through. In 1967, he dragged an uncompetitive Ferrari into 5th in the championship. In 1968, he showed great qualifying pace, taking 3 pole positions, but was outscored 27-10 by teammate Jacky Ickx. Reliability problems disrupted Amon’s 1969 campaign, with 5 failures in 6 starts; he nonetheless achieved Ferrari’s best race finish of 3rd that year.
In 1970, Amon drove a much more reliable March-Ford and outscored fellow March-Ford drivers Francois Cevert (ranked 65th), Jo Siffert (ranked 100th), and Ronnie Peterson. The only March-Ford driver to outscore him that year was Jackie Stewart, by just 2 points. Amon was equally impressive in 1971, outscoring Jean-Pierre Beltoise 6-1. His appearances subsequently dwindled until retirement in 1976, mostly appearing as a sole entrant for Matra, Tecno, Ensign, and the shortly-lived Amon team.
25. Nick Heidfeld (2005-2007, 7.07 ppr)
Nick Heidfeld is arguably the most underrated driver of the past decade. He was limited by the cars at his disposal, but showed his capabilities alongside 7 drivers from this top 60.
After a superlative junior career (221 points by my junior driver scoring metric), Heidfeld raced for Prost in 2000 alongside Jean Alesi. The car was uncompetitive and scored no points, but Heidfeld matched his more experienced teammate, finishing behind 9-7 in qualifying and equal 2-2 in races. In 2001, Heidfeld beat highly-rated rookie Kimi Raikkonen 10-7 in qualifying, 6-5 in races, and 12-9 in points, but Raikkonen suffered 5 mechanical DNFs to Heidfeld’s 1.
Setting the tone for the rest of his career, Heidfeld was overlooked by top teams in 2002, with McLaren taking Raikkonen. Heidfeld spent two more years at Sauber, first alongside rookie Felipe Massa, whom he beat 11-5 in qualifying, 8-4 in races, and 7-4 in points. He then raced alongside Heinz-Harald Frentzen. In qualifying, Heidfeld was ahead 10-7. In races, Heidfeld finished ahead 6-2, but Frentzen achieved the team’s best finishes, including a podium, outscoring Heidfeld 13-6.
After a year in the doldrums with Jordan in 2004, where he dominated rookie Giorgio Pantano (no 3-year peak), Heidfeld moved to Williams alongside Mark Webber (ranked 63rd). Webber was ahead 9-5 in qualifying but Heidfeld beat Webber 6-4 in races and 28-24 in points, despite suffering 3 mechanical DNFs to Webber’s 1.
In 2006, Heidfeld outperformed Jacques Villeneuve at BMW Sauber before being joined by Robert Kubica. The two remained together for 3 years and were extremely closely matched. Heidfeld outscored Kubica 150-137 points overall, but also had slightly better luck, with 4 mechanical DNFs to 6.
With BMW withdrawing from the sport, Heidfeld was left without a seat for 2010, narrowly losing a McLaren seat to Jenson Button. He regained a seat at Renault in 2011 under unfortunate circumstances, when he replaced the injured Kubica. Heidfeld was surprisingly outqualified by Vitaly Petrov (ranked 92nd) 7-3, but beat Petrov 5-4 in races and 34-32 in points. He was dropped by the team before the end of the season, ending his Formula 1 career.
24. Carlos Reutemann (1973-1975, 7.18 ppr)
Reutemann took his place in history with pole on debut — a feat only matched by Mario Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve. However, Reutemann is also remembered as a perennial bridesmaid, finishing the championship in the top 3 four times, but never claiming a title. After correcting for team effects, my model awards him the 1974 championship, just ahead of Emerson Fittipaldi.
During his early career with Brabham, Reutemann matched Graham Hill and outperformed Wilson Fittipaldi (no 3-year peak). From 1974-1976, he raced alongside Carlos Pace. Pace beat Reutemann 17-15 in qualifying, but Reutemann beat Pace 10-6 in races and 63-39 in points.
In 1977, Reutemann joined Niki Lauda at Ferrari. In qualifying, Lauda was ahead 8-7, but Reutemann was unable to handle Lauda’s race pace, being beaten 11-1 in races and 72-36 in points. For the last two races of 1977 and all of 1978, Reutemann was joined by the rookie Gilles Villeneuve. Reutemann saw off the challenge, beating Villeneuve 15-3 in qualifying, 6-6 in races, and 54-17 in points.
Reutemann made a poor decision in 1979, moving to the now declining Lotus, while Ferrari delivered the year’s best car. Reutemann was closely matched with Mario Andretti, finishing behind 8-7 in qualifying, behind 3-2 in races, and ahead 20-14 in points. Andretti had 10 mechanical DNFs to Reutemann’s 4, meaning Andretti scored fractionally more points per counting race.
Reutemann made a better move in 1980, joining Williams just as they became a serious force. From 1980-1981, he was closely matched with Alan Jones (see Jones’s entry for a full description). He came painfully close to a championship in 1981, missing out by a single point after leading going into the final round. After just two races with Williams in 1982, he quit following a dispute with Frank Williams.
23. Emerson Fittipaldi (1974-1976, 7.19 ppr)
Like Damon Hill at Williams in the aftermath of Ayrton Senna‘s death in 1994, Fittipaldi galvanized the Lotus team around him following the tragic death of Jochen Rindt in 1970.
In 1971, Fittipaldi beat Reine Wisell (no 3-year peak) 5-2 in qualifying, 2-1 in races, and 12-9 in points. He then partnered David Walker (no 3-year peak) in what proved to be the most mismatched driver pairing in history — Fittipaldi took the championship in dominant fashion, winning 5 of 12 races, while Walker scored zero points, never finishing higher than 9th. In qualifying, Walker was between 1.3 seconds (Jarama) and 19.6 seconds (Nurburgring) slower than Fittipaldi, with a mean time difference of 5.0 seconds and a median time difference of 2.7 seconds!
The next year, Fittipaldi was joined by an equal talent: Ronnie Peterson. Fittipaldi finished ahead 55-52 in points, with 4 mechanical DNFs versus 6 for Peterson. Seeking more success, Fittipaldi moved to McLaren. He dominated his two teammates in 1974, outscoring Denny Hulme 55-20 and Mike Hailwood (ranked 94th) 37-12. The next year, he outscored Jochen Mass (ranked 82nd) 45-20.
Much like Jacques Villeneuve, Fittipaldi had a career in two acts, with great success in the first and disastrous failure establishing a new team in the second. Fittipaldi raced for his own Fittipaldi Automotive team from 1976-1980. He scored just 37 points across those 5 years — fewer than he scored in each year from 1972-1975. He was the team’s sole driver for most races. After a disappointing year in 1980 where he was outpaced by young teammate Keke Rosberg, Fittipaldi retired from Formula 1.
22. Alan Jones (1978-1980, 7.29 ppr)
In naming the best drivers of the 1980s, Alan Jones is frequently forgotten. My model rates him better than Nelson Piquet, Gilles Villeneuve, and Nigel Mansell. It also rates him the best Australian, ahead of Jack Brabham.
Jones’s early years were spent with the Hesketh, Hill, and Surtees teams, consistently dragging uncompetitive cars into unlikely points-scoring places. In 1977, he took his maiden win at Austria for Shadow in a storming drive from 14th on the grid. He trounced teammate Riccardo Patrese (ranked 76th) 6-3 in qualifying, 5-0 in races, and 13-1 in points.
Jones was sole driver for Williams in 1978, then raced with Clay Regazzoni (ranked 90th) in 1979. Jones won 4 races and would have challenged for the title but for 7 mechanical DNFs. The model awards Jones the 1979 and 1980 titles. Regazzoni suffered 2 mechanical DNFs yet was outscored 43-32.
Williams delivered a reliable car in 1980 and a strong line-up: Jones and Carlos Reutemann. Jones took the title comfortably. In 1981, however, the teammates battled fiercely, costing the title. Overall, Reutemann was ahead 16-13 in qualifying, and Jones was ahead 12-9 in races and 117-98 in total points.
Jones retired temporarily, but made a full return in 1986. He struggled for pace alongside Patrick Tambay (ranked 83rd), being outqualified 11-4, but beat Tambay 3-2 in races and 4-2 in points.
21. Robert Kubica (2008-2010, 7.29 ppr)
Kubica’s Formula 1 career was short but spectacular, ending prematurely with a rallying crash that left him severely injured. In late 2006, he was called up to replace fading star Jacques Villeneuve at BMW Sauber, alongside Nick Heidfeld. Although less experienced, Kubica proved to be an extremely close match for Heidfeld. Across their time together from 2006-2010, the results were 29-28 to Kubica in qualifying, 25-24 to Heidfeld in races, and 150-137 to Heidfeld in points.
In 2010, Kubica moved to the Renault team, alongside rookie Vitaly Petrov (ranked 92nd). Kubica far outperformed his car, taking an impressive 8th in the championship and outscoring Petrov 136-27. The model rates Kubica’s performance the 3rd best that year. Unfortunately, Kubica’s career ended before he could show his potential in a top team. My model’s ranking of Kubica suggests that he certainly had the ability to be champion, given the right car.
20. Jenson Button (2005-2007, 7.32 ppr)
In an era of sharp, dynamic driving styles, Button stayed true to smooth, classical lines, achieving great success. Of the five world champions currently in Formula 1, Button is often maligned as the worst of the group. My model rates him behind the four others, but not far behind. Statistics suggest that he is also the best wet-weather driver of his generation.
In 2000, Button was a surprise pick for Williams, after just two years in single-seaters. His first two years in Formula 1 were difficult. He was beaten by his more experienced teammate Ralf Schumacher 11-6 in qualifying, 6-3 in races, and 24-12 in points. Then he moved to Benetton and was beaten by Giancarlo Fisichella 13-4 in qualifying, 7-0 in races, and 18-12 in points. Button admits today that a year in Formula Ford and a year in Formula 3 was insufficient preparation.
For me when I arrived in 2000, I was nowhere near ready for Formula 1 … if I had the option to race for two more years and know I would get into a Formula 1 car after that, I would have taken that option.
By 2002, Button had matured. He outscored Jarno Trulli 14-9, although Trulli had 8 mechanical DNFs to Button’s 5. Then in 2003 he outscored Jacques Villeneuve 12-6. From the last race of 2003 to the end of 2005, Button raced alongside Takuma Sato (ranked 127th) at BAR. Sato was a fan-favorite, but he was utterly crushed by Button, 28-8 in qualifying, 20-1 in races, and 127-38 in points.
From 2006-2009, Button raced for Honda then Brawn with Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello was ahead 36-34 in qualifying, and Button was ahead 34-21 in races and 160-118 in points. Although 2009 was his title year, the model rates 2006, 2005, and 2011 his best single-year performances.
Despite winning the 2009 championship, Button was not expected by most to keep up with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren from 2010-2012. Over one lap, Hamilton indeed had a huge advantage, beating Button 44-14. However, Button’s race pace, consistency, and wet-weather skills saw him closely match Hamilton, finishing behind 27-20 in races and ahead 672-657 in points.
Button continues to perform to a very high level, comfortably outscoring Sergio Perez (ranked 71st) in 2013 and Kevin Magnussen (no 3-year peak) this year.
19. Ayrton Senna (1985-1987, 7.33 ppr)
Ayrton Senna was arguably the best driver over one lap in the history of the sport. He was outqualified by his teammate only 11% of the time. By comparison, Juan Manuel Fangio was outqualified 12% of the time, Alberto Ascari 27%, Jim Clark 26%, and Michael Schumacher 14% before 2010 (25% in total). Head-to-head, Senna outqualified every teammate: Cecotto 8-2, Johansson 2-0, de Angelis 13-3, Dumfries 16-0, Nakajima 16-0, Prost 28-4, Berger 40-8, Andretti 13-0, Hakkinen 2-1, and Hill 3-0. Senna was also one of the greatest wet-weather drivers.
In many expert and fan polls, Senna has been ranked number 1. Like Gilles Villeneuve before him, Senna was killed at his peak and has since become a racing icon. My model places Senna in the top 20 of all time, but does not support ranking him above all others.
Senna’s ranking is lowered slightly by the fact that competition was relatively weak in his era, as explained above. His ranking is also lowered slightly by including all races in calculating scoring rates. In 1988, Senna outscored Alain Prost in the best 11 finishes that counted towards the championship, whereas Prost outscored Senna over all races. I explored other model specifications (e.g., different scoring functions) before selecting this one as best (based on parsimony and goodness of fit), and the rankings were robust; Senna consistently appeared between 10th and 25th.
Senna dominated four weak teammates: Johnny Cecotto (no 3-year peak), Johnny Dumfries (no 3-year peak), Satoru Nakajima (ranked 139th), and Michael Andretti (no 3-year peak). Considering his stronger teammates, he beat Gerhard Berger (ranked 67th) 19-7 in races and 224-135 in points, and beat Elio de Angelis 5-3 in races and 38-33 in points. Versus Alain Prost, he was ahead 14-9 in races and behind 186-154 in points (behind 163-150 in points that counted towards the championship), with 5 mechanical DNFs to Prost’s 3. As a result, Senna is ranked well above Berger, slightly above de Angelis, and close to Prost. The model considers Senna and Prost very evenly matched across their careers.
18. Ronnie Peterson (1971-1973, 7.38 ppr)
Rated just place above Senna is Ronnie Peterson. Both were one-lap specialists with phenomenal car control and both died at 34. You can watch Peterson in action in rare onboard footage here.
Peterson entered Formula 1 in 1970 as sole driver in a privateer March-Ford entry. In his second year, he was promoted to the March works team and astonished everyone by finishing 2nd in the championship, scoring 33 points to his teammates’ collective zero.
In 1972, Peterson dominated the rookie Niki Lauda 10-2 in qualifying, 6-1 in races, and 12-0 in points. Peterson was then closely matched with Emerson Fittipaldi at Lotus in 1973, beating him 11-4 in qualifying and equaling him 3-3 in races. Fittipaldi was ahead 55-52 in points, but Peterson suffered 6 mechanical DNFs to Fittipaldi’s 4.
From 1974-1975, Peterson dominated Jacky Ickx 21-3 in qualifying, 7-3 in races, and 38-15 in points. 1976 was spent in a March-Ford, beating teammates Hans-Joachim Stuck (ranked 75th) 13-2 in qualifying, 2-2 in races, and 10-5 in points, and Vittorio Brambilla (ranked 91st) 11-5 in qualifying, 5-1 in races, and 10-1 in points.
1977 was a difficult year for Peterson, racing the uncompetitive Tyrrell P34B with Patrick Depailler. Peterson finished behind 9-8 in qualifying, ahead 3-2 in races, and behind 20-7 in points. As a driver with great natural feel, Peterson seemed less comfortable in the higher-downforce cars of the late 1970s. In 1978, he returned to Lotus with Mario Andretti and was beaten 11-3 in qualifying, 8-2 in races, and 64-51 in points. The title was sealed for Andretti when Peterson died from injuries sustained in a crash at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix.
17. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (1998-2000, 7.39 ppr)
Frentzen’s appearance at 17th is surprising, but arises from the fact that Frentzen was outperformed only once. Unfortunately for Frentzen, this occurred in what should have been his breakthrough year. Failing to capitalize on a dominant car scuppered his chances of racing for a front-running team again, and he subsequently spent his career in midfield.
In his early years at Sauber, Frentzen upstaged Karl Wendlinger (ranked 108th), Andrea de Cesaris (ranked 87th), Jean-Christophe Boullion (no 3-year peak), and Johnny Herbert (ranked 88th). He seemed set for a title challenge in 1997 when he moved to Williams alongside Jacques Villeneuve. Instead, he wilted. Villeneuve beat him 13-4 in qualifying, 7-5 in races, and 81-42 in points. 1998 saw a partial revival for Frentzen, finishing the season behind 10-6 in qualifying, 7-7 in races, and 21-17 in points. Dropped by Williams, Frentzen moved to Jordan, where he obliterated the uninspired Damon Hill 14-2 in qualifying, 10-1 in races, and 54-7 in points. Hill was at this point just shy of 40 years old, so Frentzen’s ranking likely benefits from comparison to Hill near the end of his career arc. This can be explored by completely removing Hill’s 1999 results from the analysis, which drops Frentzen’s ranking to 57th and raises Hill’s ranking to 26th. This treatment is obviously unfair on Frentzen, given it ignores probably his strongest ever year, but it also suggests he may be overrated by the model based on this particular teammate comparison.
From 2000-2001, Frentzen raced at Jordan with Jarno Trulli. Frentzen was beaten 18-9 in qualifying, but finished ahead 7-4 in races and 17-15 in points. In 2002, he moved to Arrows, beating Enrique Bernoldi (no 3-year peak) 11-1 in qualifying, 2-1 in races, and 2-0 in points. In his final season, Frentzen returned to Sauber alongside Nick Heidfeld. Heidfeld was ahead 10-7 in qualifying, but Frentzen was ahead 6-2 in races, and 13-6 in points.
Comparing Frentzen with Mika Hakkinen gives a lesson on the importance of timing for success in Formula 1. Most fans and pundits rate Hakkinen well above Frentzen, whereas my model does the opposite. It is Frentzen’s failure to perform in his one year in a top car that captures attention. As a hypothetical, imagine that Hakkinen had performed to the exact same level in each of his years of racing, but also imagine that he spent only 1997 in a top car, like Frentzen — a year in which he was outperformed by Coulthard.
16. Alain Prost (1984-1986, 7.53 ppr)
Ranked at number 16, just ahead of his great rival Ayrton Senna, is Alain Prost. After correcting for team effects, he is awarded 6 titles: 1983-1986, 1988, and 1991.
Prost was not significantly outperformed by any teammates in his career, despite racing against some of the greatest drivers of all time. He was matched by John Watson in 1980, then dominated Rene Arnoux (ranked 112th) from 1981-1982 and Eddie Cheever in 1983.
In 1984, he was beaten to the title by Niki Lauda by just half a point. The following year, he massively outscored Lauda, but this was due to Lauda’s incredible reliability problems, with only 4 starts in which he did not have a mechanical DNF. Overall, Prost beat Lauda 29-2 in qualifying, 7-5 in races, and 137.5-86 in points. The two got along famously and enjoyed the fact that they could use almost identical set-ups. Prost learned from Lauda the value of settling for consistent points: “In ’84, if I had this philosophy, I would have been champion easy.”
In 1986, Prost dominated Keke Rosberg 12-4 in qualifying, 5-1 in races, and 74-22 in total points. He then beat Stefan Johannson (ranked 113th) 16-0 in qualifying, 7-2 in races, and 46-30 in points.
On Prost’s own advice, McLaren signed Ayrton Senna for 1988-1989. More has been written about their fractious relationship than any other in Formula 1. Suffice to say, the two drivers were very closely matched based on their race results.
Prost joined Ferrari in 1990 and was paired with Nigel Mansell. Not for the first time, Prost’s deceptive pace in race trim proved too much for his teammate, outscoring Mansell 73-37. It was a similar story in 1991, when he outscored Jean Alesi 34-21.
Prost was given the boot from Ferrari before the last round of 1991 for making critical remarks about the Ferrari chassis. After a sabbatical year in 1992, he returned with the dominant Williams team in 1993. There, he slightly outperformed Damon Hill before retiring.
15. John Watson (1979-1981, 7.54 ppr)
John Watson makes a rather outlandish appearance at 15th. In 1997, a panel of experts assembled by F1 Racing magazine rated Watson 61st. There are good reasons to think that the model has overrated Watson and that experts have underrated Watson — the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.
Watson had mixed results in his early career, then blossomed at McLaren, matching the performances of two outstanding drivers: Alain Prost and Niki Lauda. However, Watson benefited from racing Prost as a rookie and racing Lauda when he was on return from a two-year break. These factors are not considered by the model, meaning Watson’s rating is probably inflated.
In 1977, Watson joined the works Brabham team alongside Hans-Joachim Stuck (ranked 75th), following the death of Carlos Pace. Watson was ahead 11-3 in qualifying and 3-2 in races, and behind 12-8 in points. In 1978, Watson partnered Niki Lauda and was dominated 10-6 in qualifying, 6-1 in races, and 44-25 in points, despite Lauda suffering 7 mechanical DNFs to Watson’s 3.
1979 saw Watson move to McLaren to begin the most successful phase of career. He first beat Patrick Tambay (ranked 83rd) 13-2 in qualifying, 4-1 in races, and 15-0 in points. He then raced the rookie Alain Prost, and was beaten 8-5 in qualifying, 1-0 in races, and 5-3 in points across their races together. Watson suffered 6 mechanical DNFs to Prost’s 3, and scored an additional 3 points in a race Prost missed with a broken wrist. Prost was replaced by the inexperienced Andrea de Cesaris (ranked 87th), whom Watson thrashed 14-1 in qualifying, 7-2 in races, and 27-1 in points.
Watson’s last two seasons with McLaren were spent alongside Niki Lauda, who had returned from his two-year break. It is difficult to know how much Lauda had declined or how much Watson had improved since 1978, but in 1982 the two drivers were closely matched. Lauda was ahead 10-5 in qualifying and 5-2 in races, but Watson was ahead 39-30 in points. In 1983, the car was less competitive and Lauda’s season was disrupted by 7 mechanical DNFs to Watson’s 3. Lauda was ahead 12-3 in qualifying, but Watson beat Lauda 4-2 in races and 22-12 in points.
14. Kimi Raikkonen (2003-2005, 7.56 ppr)
Raikkonen is an example of talent spotting done right. As discussed in a previous post, he spent just two years in Formula Renault 2.0 before Formula 1. On debut, Raikkonen was paired with the more experienced Nick Heidfeld. There was a real risk of Raikkonen’s career being rapidly extinguished, but he rose to the challenge, driving with incredible composure and equaling his teammate for points per counting race. McLaren were impressed and signed him to fill the seat left by Mika Hakkinen.
From 2002-2004, Raikkonen partnered David Coulthard (ranked 66th). He outperformed his teammate 32-19 in qualifying, 19-7 in races, and 160-116 in points. For 2005-2006, Coulthard was replaced by Juan Pablo Montoya, with Raikkonen again having the advantage, beating Montoya 19-8 in qualifying, 10-7 in races, and 145-86 in points.
Raikkonen then moved to Ferrari alongside Felipe Massa. In 2007, Raikkonen slightly outperformed his teammate, but Massa took the upper hand in 2008. In 2009, Massa held a slight edge prior to his near-fatal accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but Raikkonen had a superb second half to the season. Across their time together, the two drivers were very closely matched, with a marginal edge to Massa.
Following a temporary retirement, Raikkonen returned with Lotus for 2012-2013. He seemed to lose none of his speed, beating Romain Grosjean 20-16 in qualifying, 23-7 in races, and 380-210 in points. This year, he has rejoined Ferrari, alongside Fernando Alonso, providing a direct comparison between two of the era’s best drivers.
13. Stirling Moss (1959-1961, 7.65 ppr)
Moss is often cited as the greatest driver to never win a championship. The model rates him the highest performing driver in each year from 1958-1961.
Despite a lack of early results in Formula 1, Moss was highly regarded due to victories in the 1952 Rally of Monaco, the 1954 12 hours of Sebring, and the 1955 Mille Miglia (chronicled here by co-driver Denis Jenkinson). He followed Juan Manuel Fangio to Mercedes in 1955 and proved a fast but compliant number 2 driver, beaten 6-2 in qualifying, 5-1 in races, and 58-28 in total points.
In 1956, Moss emerged from Fangio’s shadow to lead Maserati, beating Jean Behra (ranked 123rd) 4-3 in qualifying, 3-1 in races, and 28-22 in total points. Moss then partnered Tony Brooks (ranked 109th) at Vanwall from 1957-1958. He beat Brooks 10-4 in qualifying, 3-1 in races, and 57-35 in total points.
Moss drove a Cooper-Climax for most of 1959, winning the only 2 races in which his car did not fail. He then raced a Lotus-Climax from 1960-1961, outscoring other Lotus-Climax drivers Innes Ireland (ranked 62nd), John Surtees, and Jim Clark. Moss suffered a serious head injury in a crash trying to pass Graham Hill at Good |
, and Lowitja O’Donoghue among others, said Rudd was “a friend and champion of First Nations peoples”.
“The man who delivered the apology is a man who is suitable for the post of secretary general of the United Nations,” it said.
“Kevin Rudd has demonstrated his commitment to First Nations peoples. Under his leadership our stolen generations received an acknowledgement and apology for the hurt and trauma endured.”
The statement said under Rudd’s leadership “clear targets and accountability” on closing the gap were introduced for the first time and it was “a true disappointment” he had not been endorsed.
Huggins, who is the co-chair of National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples said the leaders all signed as individuals and not as representatives of their respective organisations. She told Guardian Australia the decision was “unAustralian” and “mean-spirited.”
She said the apology was the greatest moral achievement in Australia. “That would have been one of the most historical and significant acts from any prime minister in this country.
“Many Aboriginal people owe him a great debt for that. Many of us are very disappointed he didn’t get the chance to nominate for the UN, where we think he would have made a huge difference.”
Huggins said she had spoken with Rudd yesterday and told him a number of Indigenous people had approached her about putting together a statement.
On Sunday the special minister of state, Scott Ryan, said Turnbull had been frank about his rationale for the decision not to endorse Rudd. “He made the point that when Australia nominates someone it’s not just to put them in the race,” Ryan said during an interview on Sky News.
“We’re nominating them because we believe they’re the most suitable person for the role, and in this case, that wasn’t the case.
“The truth is the prime minister has shown more dignity towards Kevin Rudd than most of his Labor colleagues have over the last three years, in that he went out, took questions after making the announcement, but like all big decisions in government, these aren’t easy.”It’s often surprising for fans to remember that Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted in 1996. After all, the show appears fresh and modern, from its snappy and witty dialogue to its focus on the supernatural. In reality, Buffy helped shape our culture and entertainment in many distinct and surprising ways.
10 Language
One of the clearest ripple effects from Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s legacy is the way the characters speak. One example is the tendency of the characters in the show to turn nouns into verbs, such as lamenting that they might have all been “Keyser Soze’d” or Buffy telling another character “don’t Psych 101 me.” The specific phrases may not have lingered, but the transition of nouns into verbs is still more predominant in modern culture than it was pre-Buffy.
A very ’90s-esque vocal habit of the characters also continues into the 21st century, at least among the show’s fans: the act of adding the word “much” after a verb to sarcastically point out something about another person, as with phrases such as “overestimate much?” and “procrastinate much?” Another practice, though more common when the show was still on, was fans repeating silly phrases the actors made up for their characters, such as Xander describing the experience of “Guiltapalooza.”
9 Long Story Arcs
One major change in television in recent years had its seeds planted during Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s run, and that was having longer story arcs. Nowadays, spoiled TV viewers are likely to take for granted long-term character development and stories in seminal television programs like The Wire and Breaking Bad. However, through most of the ’90s, TV followed an episodic format. That is, whatever happened on one episode was never referred to in subsequent episodes. This made things very easy for new viewers or channel surfers but could be frustrating for long-term viewers who watched their stories grow stagnant.
Buffy changed all of that. In Buffy, not only were seasons unified by the season’s villain—cheekily referred to as “The Big Bad”—but the groundwork for later seasons and events was often laid up to two years in advance. And the show often drew on its history to create new and satisfying episodes, as when Buffy encounters a belligerent Council of Watchers who once tormented her and fired her mentor, Giles. In the follow-up two years later, she gets Giles reinstated, retroactively paid, and asserts in no uncertain terms that Watchers are nothing without someone to watch. Namely, her. It seems mild by modern standards, but Buffy was one of the first shows to build its own complex history of characters that were dynamic and changed from episode to episode.
8 The Big Bad
Photo credit: Mutant Enemy Productions/20th Century Fox
Buffy’s use of a singular Big Bad rather than relying solely on monsters of the week was so successful that the format is being emulated across many modern and popular programs. This can be seen in shows such as Doctor Who, wherein the Doctor might spend most of a season unraveling and grappling with the plots of nemeses such as The Master. This is also present in shows such as Sherlock, where the titular detective may spend the entire miniature season out-deducing his evil counterpart Moriarty. This influence is not limited to British programming, either, with American shows such as Sleepy Hollow featuring iconic enemies such as the Headless Horseman as ongoing villains.
While this might seem common nowadays, when Buffy debuted it was a fresh approach, particularly in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. While shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation still focused on encountering strange new worlds, creatures, and enemies in every episode, Buffy was one of the first to feature its own crew of erstwhile Scoobies worried about a singular threat throughout the season.
7 Buffy Influenced The Avengers
Saying that Buffy influenced The Avengers may seem pretty obvious: After all, the movie was written and directed by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, so it seems likely there would be some small influence. However, there are very specific Whedon characters that foreshadow some great Avengers moments and characters. For instance, one of the most crowd-pleasing moments of The Avengers was when Bruce Banner revealed the secret to controlling his anger: “I’m always angry,” he says, right before transforming into the Incredible Hulk. Buffy fans, however, had already seen this all play out with the character of Oz, a werewolf who attempts to cage himself away when he transforms but eventually realizes that he is “the wolf all the time,” which grants him control over his transformations.
The relationship that SHIELD has with the Avengers is also foreshadowed by a Buffy storyline focused around the mysterious military group “The Initiative.” The show reveals that the military is aware of demons and working on how to combat and contain them, but the soldiers are initially uneasy about working with Buffy and the magical world she represents. This clearly foreshadows the SHIELD of the first Avengers movie, who work with heroes like Thor even as they secretly work on weapons that can contain out-of-control superpowered people.
6 Children’s Names
Photo credit: Mutant Enemy Productions/20th Century Fox
Nerdiness is a legacy we pass onto our children, and Buffy fandom is a major part of that. Specifically, Buffy fans—many of whom were teenagers when the show was on the air—have grown up and begun having children whom they christen with familiar Buffy names. While the Buffy name itself never got very popular, Willow became the 171st most popular name for girls in America as of 2013. Before Buffy premiered, the name was barely in the top 1,000 names for girls. Similarly, the name “Xander” was not even on the charts of popular names for boys, but now is in the top 200.
Finally, the name “Anya”—a Russian variation on the name “Anne”—shot out of relative obscurity to a place within the top 400 names for girls in America since the introduction of her vengeance demon character on the show. Certain character names were already popular when the show premiered, such as William (the proper name for vampire-bad-boy-turned-hero Spike) and Faith, which was already in the top 100 names for girls when the show premiered.
5 The Otherworldly Bad Boy
Photo credit: Mutant Enemy Productions/20th Century Fox
Speaking of Spike, he and soulful vampire Angel represented something unique during Buffy’s time that has become ubiquitous in the pop culture landscape: the otherworldly bad boy. These two characters were vampires who, through having both a soul (Spike seeks one out later, whereas Angel is cursed with one to torment him for his past murders) and a love of Buffy, are able to straddle the lines between good guy and bad guy.
Of course, that then-unique idea has been repeated over and over, particularly in supernatural television shows. This includes both Bill Compton and Eric Northman in HBO’s True Blood, who each play murderous vampires tamed by Anna Paquin’s character, Sooki Stackhouse. And the Twilight books and movies are based on the idea of vampires (and other supernatural beings) who put aside their natures to help human Bella Swan. This, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg for otherworldly bad boys tamed by love, but Buffy has the honor of blazing the trail for this modern phenomenon.
4 Awareness Of Misogyny
Photo credit: Mutant Enemy Productions/20th Century Fox
Buffy has a more dubious honor than that of predicting Avengers plot points and the rise of the bad boy demon, and that is predicting the future world of geek misogyny. Specifically, Buffy’s sixth season deals with a trio of young human bad guys whose knowledge of magic, demons, and technology is matched only by their anger and confusion about women. They are led by Warren Mears, a man who has committed a list of bizarre sexual crimes, from creating sentient sex robots that he allows to die to turning a human girlfriend who breaks up with him into a hypnotized sex slave. Together, they gaslight Buffy to make her feel crazy, make her feel invisible, and try to become more powerful than her... all not-so-subtle nods to misogynist men wanting to triumph over women.
Sadly, these isolated attitudes toward women (and fantasies of not having to rely on women) are expressed eagerly and openly on worldwide platforms such as Reddit, whose pursuit of free speech also means creating a safe haven for fantasies of violence, areas to post sexual photos of young women without consent, and so on. Buffy predicted this highly specific geek rage and misogyny over a decade before it bloomed in full. And while Internet misogyny is one foe that Buffy’s Willow cannot tear the skin off of, part of the show’s legacy was painting the perpetuators of such misogyny in stark, sad terms for the world to see.
3 The Crossover Effect
Photo credit: Mutant Enemy Productions/20th Century Fox
One aspect of the modern world that is impossible to ignore is how widespread geek culture is. Fans of Avengers, Daredevil, and Star Wars are all over the world, and stores such as Hot Topic make a killing peddling clothes and other merchandise based on once-niche shows like Doctor Who. It doesn’t take that long a trip down memory lane to remember a time when geeks were, well, geeks—the marginalized groups that had held the torch of comic books and genre television for the previous decades. What happened?
Call it the crossover effect. Michigan Daily writer Kayla Upadhyaya points out that Buffy was the precursor to Game of Thrones and other genre hits that gained mainstream appeal. She credits Buffy with pioneering the idea of a genre show that is not actually a genre show. That is, Buffy told fundamentally human stories about realistic human characters that just happened to take place in a fantasy world. Viewers did not have to be steeped in vampire lore or demon mythology to enjoy the show. Instead, they were drawn to stories about love, jealousy, friendship, and hope... and then they stayed for the inevitable kung fu fights with the undead.
2 The Highbrow/Lowbrow Effect
In a pre-Buffy world, there was a pretty clear divide between highbrow and lowbrow television. That is, TV was typically broken into discrete sections, with light comedies seen as having nothing to say. Hugely popular Seinfield wore this as a kind of badge of honor, proudly touting itself as “a show about nothing.”
Buffy broke new TV ground by mixing tones in new and exciting ways. The show never lost its dramatic current—the stakes were often life-and-death, with Buffy and her crew saving the world from more than a few apocalyptic events. At the same time, it was deeply funny, with quotable lines and iconic characters. In short, it was a show that dared to be both intelligent and humorous, and that legacy continues into modern television shows such as breakout hit Orange Is the New Black. Buffy writer Jane Espenson describes Buffy’s legacy in this regard as showing a “recognition that humor creeps into our darkest moments.” In this respect, Buffy paved the way for TV that feels much more human in its varied tones—ironic, perhaps, for a show that focused so much on vampires and demons.
1 Feminism
Photo credit: Mutant Enemy Productions/20th Century Fox
No discussion of Buffy’s influence and legacy is complete without discussing its place within the media landscape of feminism. Before Buffy could become a mainstay of slaying prowess, creator Joss Whedon had to teach the public to re-think the predator/prey paradigm. Whedon’s own frustration with watching decades of horror heroines wander vapidly into demonic deathtraps led him to create both a show and a character that played with our expectations. As Bitch magazine notes, viewers did not yell at their TVs for Buffy to avoid going into the dark dens of monsters, but learned to cheer on her strength and inevitable victory over the evil monsters.
Many are quick to point out that Buffy was hardly the first superheroine, with characters like Wonder Woman dotting the comics landscape and Xena’s sword slashes cutting through countless foes. However, part of Buffy’s subversive charm is the line the show walks: While Sarah Michelle Gellar is certainly attractive and Buffy’s marketing forces never hesitated to deploy the face that launched a thousand T-shirts, the show avoided explicitly sexualizing Buffy. That is, she saved the day without running around in a metal bikini or star-spangled underwear. In this sense, Buffy helped lay considerable groundwork for later feminine heroes, such as Katniss Everdeen, who show viewers that women can kick ass without showing their ass. As Buffy herself might ask: Progress, much?
@PocketEpiphany once had a Willow screensaver and apologizes for NOTHING.FILE PHOTO: The Al Jazeera Media Network logo is seen on its headquarters building in Doha, Qatar June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon/File Photo
DOHA (Reuters) - Pan-Arab satellite network Al Jazeera said on Saturday the Twitter account for its main Arabic language channel was back up and running after briefly being suspended.
A source at the Qatar-based broadcaster, which is caught up in an economic and diplomatic dispute between Qatar and other Arab powers, said a technical issue had been to blame.
On another of its Twitter feeds, the broadcaster had earlier tweeted: “The account of al Jazeera on twitter @ajarabic is currently suspended due to what seems to be an organized campaign and we are doing the necessary work to get the service back.” It did not say who was behind the alleged campaign.
The @ajarabic account later resumed, with a message saying: “We bring the attention of our followers to the fact that our main al jazeera account @ajarabic is now working again.”
No comment was immediately available from Twitter.
Al Jazeera is the flagship broadcaster for Qatar, which is the target of a diplomatic and economic boycott by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, in a stand-off that is endangering stability in the region.
The other Arab powers accuse Qatar of supporting Islamist militants, which it denies, and some of them have criticized Al Jazeera as a terrorist mouthpiece and an agent of interference in their affairs.
The network has rejected those accusations and said it will maintain its editorial independence.
Al Jazeera said on June 8 it was combating a large-scale cyber attack but that all its entities remained in operation.The medical image community embraced open source as a standard practice back in 2000, with the adoption of the Insight Toolkit (ITK). ITK is sponsored by the US National Library of Medicine and was built as a C++ library. It is the equivalent to a usable encyclopedia of image processing algorithms.
From 2000 to 2005, the development team realized that a large part of the effort of developing and maintaining ITK was dedicated to converting algorithms published in technical articles into runnable and maintainable code that could be shared across members of a larger community. It was through this effort that the development team decided that a new type of publication venue was required to suit the needs of a community for which computational methods were essential.
The traditional method of writing an article with a verbal description of an algorithm was completely insufficient for readers to be able to implement such algorithms from scratch.
To this end, in 2005, also with the support of the National Library of Medicine, the ITK community designed and implemented The Insight Journal. This new journal, born in the digital age, started by throwing out all the limitations inherited by the constraints of publishing in physical paper. Free of those constraints, it became possible for us to adopt progressive practices of scientific discourse, all built around the notion of enabling efficient reproducibility of the published work.
In particular, The Insight Journal champions the adoption of:
online only publications
open peer-reviews (all readers are allowed to post reviews)
immediate publication (papers go online in 24 hours)
post-publication reviews (papers are first published, and then publicly reviewed)
continuous reviews (the review process never ends, new reviews can be submitted any time)
reproducibility requirements (the article must include all the elements to replicate the work, in particular: source code, data, parameters, and scripts)
a virtual environment for reproducibility verification (a server backend was set up to configure, build, run, and test the software submitted as part of the publication; this process was automated using the Xen virtualization platform)
versioning and revisions of articles (authors are encouraged to submit corrections and subsequent versions of their articles, accelerating the cycle of self-correction and providing the best quality material to readers)
readers as raters (readers were empowered to rate articles as well as the comments posted by reviewers, creating a self-controlling system of check and balances)
As usual, technology was not the difficult part of creating and implementing The Insight Journal. Instead, it was the cultural resistance of a community accustomed to traditional ways of publishing, and in particular, the inertia imposed by the reward system used in the scientific and academic community where, at the time, there was not appreciation for the true sharing of reproducible materials.
After almost ten years of embracing and promoting open science practices, The Insight Journal has 2928 registered users, 570 publications, and 805 open reviews. The cultural resistance has begun to subside, and a larger number of community members are now appreciating the importance of reproducibility verification as an anchoring rock of scientific research.
This Journey has transformed an entire research community into a more open and collaborative one, capable of advancing research at a much faster and solid pace.
View the complete collection of stories for Open Science Week.Georgia fans helped turn Notre Dame Stadium into a sea of red on Saturday night, as the Bulldogs faithful filled the home of the Fighting Irish and saw their team come out with a hard-fought 20-19 win.
Some Notre Dame fans are a bit perturbed by their fellow fans’ lack of loyalty as seen in the South Bend Tribune’s opinion pages.
“I walk into our stadium and see more red than I care to even think about again,” wrote Wayne Troiola of South Bend, Ind. “Shame on the professors, university employees, season ticket holders and alumni who sold their tickets and allowed the Georgia nation to enjoy a home game away from home.”
Bulldogs fans seemingly were everywhere in the area surrounding South Bend leading up to game day, with many enjoying the sights and attractions of nearby Chicago before traveling to Notre Dame’s campus for the game.
Phil MacGregor, also of South Bend, was just as upset as Troiola.
“This letter is addressed to the lame Notre Dame ticket holders who sold out to the Georgia football fans. What a disgrace to see nearly one-third of the stadium in red rather than Irish blue and gold. These were the same fans who were lame when Nebraska came to our stadium. Was their monetary gain worth the obvious slap in the face of the Notre Dame football team and their true fans? There isn’t any control over ‘sellouts,’ but they should be ashamed.”
Not all the letters to the newspaper were out of anger, though, as Georgia fan Christian Roemer of Chattanooga, Tenn., took a moment to thank the Irish fans for their hospitality.
“I’ve been to many Georgia games as a student and alumnus, and I can safely say that our Southern hospitality comes nowhere close to the kindness you all displayed this weekend. Where you all could have been angry, resentful, and frustrated for the throngs of us barkers on your campus, you instead were patient, smiling, and abundantly affable.Besides, the notion of a city naturally precedes that of a family or an individual, for the whole must necessarily be prior to the parts, for if you take away the whole man, you cannot say a foot or a hand remains, unless by equivocation, as supposing a hand of stone to be made, but that would only be a dead one; but everything is understood to be this or that by its energic qualities and powers, so that when these no longer remain, neither can that be said to be the same, but something of the same name.
In the wild spirits one faces the undead and unborn,--the stuff of unabating and non-metabolised energic generativity that both chums out and consummates its own self-differentiation into the luno-solar life-and-death flow.
75) affirms that Phoenician follows the Northwest Semitic pattern in its verbal system: qatala (perfect), yaqtul (short imperfect/preterite-jussive), yaqtulu (long imperfect/present-future), and energic yaqtulan(na).
Both have three conjugations, the indicative has the preterite yaqtul, the imperfect yaqtulu and the energic yaqtulun(n)a, the injunctive has the jussive yaqtul, the volitive yaqtula (indistinguishable from the Akkadian ventive) and the energic yaqtulan(n)a (vol.
After an introductory section ([section]71) and a brief section providing counts of verbal forms in the entire Ugaritic corpus and in the poetic corpus ([section]72), the finite and nonfinite forms of the G stem are presented ([section]73): imperative, prefix-conjugation(s), suffix-conjugation, verbal adjectives (active and passive participles), verbal nouns, and verbs with the energic ending.
It is associated with an energic action of the body and/or mind and with the attributes hard, exhausting, productive, and hardworking.
This mysterious substance is likened to electricity or an "atmospheric magnetism" which has attained "unity in natural energic agencies.
Jin, coming into the free skate in fifth, rode on the energic wave of Dragon Racing to present a difficult routine which earned him 181.
ENERGIC OD will address these problems by adopting a broker architectural approach, designed and developed in recent research activities and implemented in.
French brand Darphin has added a Replumping Energic Cream to its Vitalskin range, which is derived from up to 85% natural ingredients.
Darphin Vitalskin Replumping Energic Cream, PS39 Sometimes it is worth splashing out and when it comes to your skin, you don't need an excuse.Share. "These are dangerous times and we need dangerous shows." "These are dangerous times and we need dangerous shows."
Lost and The Leftovers co-creator Damon Lindelof recently shared new details about his next project, an adaptation of Watchmen, which received a pilot order from HBO back in September.
During a panel at Vulture Fest (via IndieWire), Lindelof was asked why he opted to tackle a comic book property after finishing The Leftovers. In response, the showrunner highlighted how Watchmen is a "dangerous" graphic novel, which is something he'd like to carry over in the TV adaptation.
"The reason I'm doing this is because these are dangerous times and we need dangerous shows. What we think about superheroes is wrong," Lindelof explained. "I'm all for Wonder Woman and Batman," he added, noting that while he loves with these superheroes, "we should not trust people who put on masks and say they are looking out for us. If you hide your face you are up to no good."
Exit Theatre Mode
The showrunner recalled his experience reading the first issue of Watchmen when he was 12, noting that while the graphic novel was "probably too mature" for him, "it crackled with energy." Referring to himself as a "superhero junkie," he said that while he's "never done a superhero movie or a superhero TV show... now is the time."
While HBO has yet to officially greenlight a TV series adaption, Lindelof said that in the event the network does pick it up for a full series, he thinks it would debut sometime next year or in 2019. According to comments from HBO president Casey Bloys earlier this year, the potential series won't be a straight adaptation of the graphic novel.
Earlier this month, Lindelof posted the following image on Instagram, accompanied by the caption: "Day 40."
Lindelof's latest work, the critically acclaimed HBO drama The Leftovers, concluded with its third season earlier this year. For our thoughts on the show's emotional conclusion, read IGN's The Leftovers: Season 3 review.
Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @alexcosborn.A loose polity, much of the power of the Allergonian Empire remains in the hand of it's eight kingdoms and the landed nobility. One of their most ancient rights (in some cases) and sources of said power is that to raise their own forces. Some simply make do with their vassal knights, but most raise troops from the ranks of unbound commoners known as Levies and Armsmen. In the case of prominant lords they can have private armies thousands of men strong.
Levies are the most common and while they can be pressed into service in times of war most of them serve for economic reasons. As a general rule peasants are required to pay a tax rate of 25% (10% to the peasant's imediate Knight or Lord, 5% for his Liege Lord, 5% for the king and 5% to the Emperor) and have to spend two weeks a year as corvee laborers (though this can more often than not be substituted with payment in cash or in kind). If a young man becomes a levy, that means for the next five years a tenth of his family's direct tax burden is removed as is the corvee requirements for the next five years. As such lords usually have a fair number. In peacetime service usually entails a couple weeks training, a year's worth of service (which includes a bit of drilling, practicing and guarding, but more often than not involves doing grunt work around the estate) and then two weeks of drills for the next five years as reservists. In times of war, reasonably young levy veterans are the most likely to be pressed into service. Levies typically receive a pfennig every week in peace times, a pfennig every day in times of war as well as rations and a bunk to sleep on. For the most part levies are required to provide their own weapons and some of their gear out of their own pocket, though over the last century and especially from about 10 IA onwards an increasing number of Lords have been providing at least part of the equipment (at least in peacetime). Nowadays levies usually have a second hand helmet, a vest or poncho indicating their house and either a flintlock or caplock rifled musket with a small number having Pattern-1405 Yorigsov rifles or other breechloaders. It is now the norm for guns to be sold to levies at a 50% subsidy and to be given a free helmet and an allowance of gunpowder by their liege lord.
Armsmen are in contrast full time soldiers of common birth retained by Allergonian Lords. Some of them are hardened veterans, some are mercenaries which have decided that steady employment for a respectable master is better than the chaotic life in a roaming company, some are the sons and grandsons of armsmen, some are the creme of the crop of recruits and some are simply regular soldiers given additional training and held to a higher standard. Regardless, armsmen are better fighters due to the fact that to them soldiering is their job. Since it's seen as a better investment they usually have better gear, though one would be hard pressed to find an armsman wearing runic armor. They also receive a better wage of 5-10 pfennigs a day. They serve as instructors and NCOs for levies, medium and heavy infantry on the battlefield and as body guards. The general rule is that their is usually 10-15 levies for every armsman, though some lords elect to raise only smaller forces composed exclusively of Armsmen. About 80% of the commoners who have been elevated to become knights or nobles over the Empire's history have been Armsmen.
The general quality of these Armsmen and Levies varies considerably, ranging from underpaid laborers who do some token drills and patrols that get dragged off to war to respectable if not exceptional soldiers who are proud to serve. If pressed, the nobility of the Allegonian Empire could muster at least hundreds of thousand of levies and armsmen. Some estimates put this figure over a million. In any case it does represent the bulk of the Empire's military manpower. Despite this, many nobles do feel that their old feudal rights are under threat with the rise of the new Imperial Army which they fear will eventually be used to supplant their feudal forces with a Standing Army, as had happened in the Principality of Oestia. The introduction of improved firearms and other new technologies based on Infrastructural designs has accelerated the process of centralization in the Empire, and with it encouraged an increasing level of discord.State Department investigators subpoenaed the Clinton Foundation last fall looking for documents involving Hillary Clinton’s longtime aide Huma Abedin, a report said Thursday.
The department’s inspector general asked for records about the six months in 2012 that Abedin was working for the foundation, the department, Clinton’s personal office and a private consulting firm with ties to the Clintons, the Washington Post reported.
The paper said the subpoenas also focused on foundation projects that possibly required approval from the feds when Clinton was secretary of state.
And while the investigators were not eyeing Clinton, any probe into one of her closest advisers could be another blow to her presidential campaign, already staggering after a blowout loss Tuesday to Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire primary.
Abedin is the wife of disgraced former US Rep. Anthony Weiner.
A foundation representative told the paper that the foundation was not the target of the probe.
A spokesman for the Inspector General’s Office declined to comment.
Reps for Clinton’s presidential campaign and Abedin, the campaign’s co-vice chairwoman, also declined to comment.
The revelation comes after months of controversy over Clinton’s use of a private email server in the basement of her Chappaqua home to conduct official business while she was at the State Department.
Although Clinton denied sending or receiving any classified emails, federal investigators determined that she had, and the FBI is conducting a criminal probe to determine whether she compromised national security.
Fox News reported last month that the FBI had expanded its probe of the links between the State Department and the foundation — a report that Clinton vigorously denied.
Abedin was the deputy chief of staff at the State Department beginning in 2009.
She also cut a deal that allowed her to work at the foundation for the final six months of 2012.
Critics charge that donors wrote checks to the foundation when Clinton was secretary of state to gain influence with her, a charge she denies.
GOP critics, including Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, have charged that Abedin’s dual roles with the foundation and State Department, along with her longtime ties to Clinton, created potential conflicts of interest.
The inspector general investigated Abedin in 2015 and found that she was overpaid about $10,000 because of sick-leave and vacation-policy violations. Abedin disputed the ruling.Stephen Colbert’s live election night special on Showtime has revealed some of its guest list. Jeff Goldblum, Katy Perry, Patton Oswalt, Nick Offerman, Larry Wilmore, Jena Friedman, and Charlamagne Tha God will be joining Colbert at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York as he reacts to the election results that will be pouring in. Previously announced guests include Elle King, Mark Halperin, and John Heilemann of Showtime’s “The Circus,” and political campaign strategist Mark McKinnon.
“Stephen Colbert’s Live Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale: Who’s Going to Clean Up This Sh*t?” will be airing starting at 11/10c on Showtime; the pay cabler is pitching it as an option for those who want to get the news without actually having to sit through the election coverage on more traditional networks. Colbert and his guests will have free rein to swear, make obscene gestures, or strip down to their socks if they’re so inclined, without fear of network censorship. For those without a Showtime subscription, Colbert’s uncensored monologue will be streamed on Facebook Live via the Showtime Facebook page.
The election night special is produced by the same team behind CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Colbert, Stewart, Chris Licht, and Tom Purcell are the executive producers.Alison Anderson slams 'racist' Country Liberals after suspension from NT Government's parliamentary wing
Updated
Disgruntled Northern Territory backbencher Alison Anderson has labelled the Country Liberals (CLP) Government as "racist", after she was suspended from the parliamentary wing of the party.
Three of the Government's Indigenous members - Ms Anderson, Larisa Lee and Francis Xavier - had presented Chief Minister Adam Giles with a list of demands and on Thursday walked out of Parliament.
Mr Giles on Friday announced Ms Anderson, the Member for Namatjira, would be suspended and accused her of leading a rebellion within the Government.
Ms Anderson has told ABC News Radio she has been an MLA with the Labor Party too, but the Country Liberals have treated her worse.
"I've never seen anything like it. Like I said, I've been with Heckle and I've been with Jeckle. And I think we've always been sort of safe with Labor," she said.
"They've got that social conscience and they want to do things for Aboriginal people, but if ever I've met a racist group of people, I've met them in the Country Liberal Party."
Ms Anderson will now have to sit on the cross benches, and it is possible a meeting of the CLP executive may move to expel her from the party.
But Ms Anderson's rebel colleagues say they will stand by her and will walk out on the CLP if she is expelled.
Ms Lee has told the ABC's 7.30 NT program she remained united with Ms Anderson.
"Since the Chief Minister has come out and said Alison is suspended from attending wing meetings, I myself, Larisa Lee, and Francis Xavier will not attend the wing meetings," she said.
"As a block, as a three, we came in together, we will leave together."
Mr Xavier says he will stand with his fellow bush members, despite what he says are threats being made by Mr Giles.
"As far as I'm concerned there's been a threat by the Chief Minister, and the meeting went well yesterday and we thought we had all in good faith, but the Chief Minister started to threaten me and pulling the ferry away from us and he start to threaten the Tiwi people," he said.
Giles will not 'be held to ransom'
The CLP lurched into crisis on Thursday when the three disgruntled bush MLAs walked out of Parliament.
Mr Giles said talks between himself and the three MLAs had broken down because the CLP was "being asked to govern with a gun to our heads".
"I will not allow the Northern Territory to be held to ransom by one particular member of Parliament," Mr Giles said.
"To that vein, this afternoon I have tried to make contact with the Member for Namatjira, Alison Anderson, to advise that she will now be suspended from the parliamentary wing until further notice."
On Thursday, before the walkout by the three members, Mr Giles told media he was not looking to expel anyone.
But on Friday he said the list of demands had gone too far and he would not be held to ransom.
"It has got to a point when it is simply a joke," he said.
"Alison Anderson and others, I believe, have a gun to our head. Not just the Government's head, but the Territory's head, and it's just not good enough and I won't tolerate it."
The ABC understands the list of demands included creating a new Aboriginal affairs department and making Ms Anderson the minister for Aboriginal affairs.
Former chief executive of the Northern Land Council Norman Fry was to be her chief of staff, according to the demands.
Ms Lee wanted to be made minister for youth, sport and recreation, parks and wildlife, and women's affairs.
Mr Xavier wanted to be a parliamentary secretary.
The rebel MLAs also demanded CLP colleagues Matt Conlan and Bess Price be dumped from Cabinet.
They pushed for firm budget allocations for bush electorates.
Advisers to rebel MLAs sacked
The saga has thrown the NT Government into crisis in the lead-up to a vital by-election next month in the seat being vacated by former chief minister Terry Mills.
If the CLP lose that election and the three disgruntled members go to the cross benches, Mr Giles will be forced to govern in minority and will need the support of independent Gerry Wood.
There were signs something was in the works earlier on Friday when two advisers to the three rebel backbenchers were sacked.
The CLP had originally hired Norman Fry and Don Fuller to manage their bush MLAs, but Mr Giles has confirmed they have now gone.
"I made a decision that neither of those two people were operating in the best interests of myself, of government or of the Northern Territory," he said.
"I think there were operations and actions that were taken and activities that were put into play that were working against government and I won't tolerate that either."
The |
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Image copyright AFP Image caption Vladislav Surkov (left) is said to have masterminded Mr Putin's "managed democracy" brand
Dubbed by one Russian politician as "a puppet master who privatised the political system", Mr Surkov is credited with inventing the theory of "managed democracy", through which President Putin now runs Russia unchallenged.
Widely seen as a master of political spin, Mr Surkov specialised in manipulating information in a way which often left his interlocutors unsure as to where the facts ended and the fiction began.
This also appears to be an approach used by Dmitry Kiselyov, the powerful head of the state-run Russia Today media network, and a man often referred to as "the Kremlin's chief propagandist".
Tasked with broadcasting the Kremlin's point of view, both to Russians and the rest of the world, Mr Kiselyov told the BBC earlier this year that "the age of neutral journalism" had passed.
Blurred reality
Image copyright AFP Image caption Anton Vaino: The bureaucrat's grandfather was a communist boss in Soviet Estonia
In expounding his theories about the "nooscope" Anton Vaino seems to be echoing these more high-profile Kremlin colleagues.
There is no way to prove that the world "exists in reality and not in our imagination", he writes in the Economics and Law article, explaining why the nooscope is needed to interpret and manage world events.
Prof Kordonsky feels he has heard it all before.
"It's a state of mind," he told BBC Russian. "It's a rejection of the current realities. They want to change things but they don't want to understand what things are really like. They have a perception of potential greatness […] and they're suggesting a way of changing the country and building a better tomorrow."
If AE Vaino the political scientist and Anton Vaino the new chief of staff really are the same person, as most Russians presume, then the coming months may show if the nooscope can really deliver a "better tomorrow".The lawsuit against Donald Trump's self-styled "university" accusing it of scamming hundreds of students can head to trial, a New York judge decided Tuesday.
Eric Schneiderman, New York state's attorney general, filed a $40 million civil suit against Trump University — an online program for would-be real estate investors — in 2013. He claimed the school used fraud and false advertising techniques to lure students with the promise that they could get rich — just like Trump.
The school has come under renewed scrutiny since the businessman became the front-runner in the GOP presidential race and touted that Trump University earned an "A" rating with the Better Business Bureau.
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The agency said in February that Trump University no longer had any rating because it was believed to be out of business. While it had "A" ratings in the past under a previous name of the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, it also collected ratings of "D-minus."
Trump's lawyer argued Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court that the fraud case against the university deserves a jury trial. The judge didn't set a trial date, but said lawyers for both sides can submit arguments in regards to a jury.
Related: Donald Trump's Failed Business Ventures Are Back in the Spotlight
Schneiderman said he wants a trial to move quickly in court after "thousands of Mr. Trump’s alleged victims have been waiting years for relief from his fraud."
He added that Trump and the school's president, Michael Sexton, are expected to be called as witnesses.
"As we will prove in court, Donald Trump and his sham for-profit college defrauded thousands of students out of millions of dollars," Schneiderman said in a statement Tuesday.
Statement on our case against Trump University: pic.twitter.com/KremZXyxH7 — Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) April 26, 2016
The school — which was never accredited — first launched in 2004, charging students anywhere from $1,500 to $35,000 for access to web seminars.
Real estate mogul and TV star Donald Trump, left, listens as Michael Sexton introduces him to announce the establishment of Trump University at a press conference in New York, on May 23, 2005. Bebeto Matthews / AP
Trump lawyer Michael Cohen previously denied the allegations lobbed in Schneiderman's suit, and said the attorney general's office only wanted a campaign contribution. The website 98PercentApproval.com was set up by the Trump team to combat the accusations.
But the New York suit isn't the only one against Trump U, and cases are pending elsewhere, including in California and Florida. The businessman-turned-politician has said he expects to testify and is looking forward to clearing the school's name.
But he wouldn't want to go to court until after his White House bid ends.
“Whenever it happens, it happens. But, you know, I would imagine the courts would make it not go on during a campaign,” Trump told TIME this month. “I would think that would be very unfair.”2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Crystal Meth: Funde je Landkreis
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52 Kilogramm Gift. Polizisten haben in den vergangenen acht Jahren in Bayern Crystal Meth für mehr als eine halbe Million Konsumeinheiten sichergestellt. Genug, um jedem einzelnen Bürger einer Stadt der Größe Nürnbergs den vermeintlichen Kick zu versetzen. Und Fälle finden sich nicht mehr nur an der tschechischen Grenze, sondern auch in Gemeinden wie Gersthofen, Weibersbrunn oder Heimertingen im Unterallgäu.
Und bei Ihnen? Um die Situation in Ihrem Landkreis kennenzulernen, klicken Sie hier.
Crystal Meth breitet sich aus. Die bayerische Polizei hat fast überall in Bayern Konsumenten, Dealer und Kuriere mit der Droge erwischt. Die Zahl der Funde und die sichergestellte Menge haben sich vervielfacht. Auch die Todesfälle, die mit Crystal Meth in Verbindung stehen, sind seit 2010 deutlich angestiegen und summieren sich inzwischen auf 100. In den vergangenen acht Jahren haben Polizeibeamte in Bayern zudem insgesamt 48 illegale Crystal-Labore ausgehoben. Das belegen Auszüge aus der Falldatei Rauschgift, einer Polizeidatenbank für Drogenfunde, die BR Data und BR Recherche exklusiv vorliegen.
Die Daten stammen aus Antworten der Staatsregierung auf Anfragen der Landtagsopposition, etwa von Katharina Schulze von den Grünen. Seit 2008 hat sich die Droge demnach sukzessiv über ganz Bayern ausgebreitet, allerdings mit deutlichen regionalen Unterschieden. In manchen Landkreisen hat die Polizei in acht Jahren nur wenige Gramm sichergestellt, in anderen dagegen mehrere Kilo – bei teilweise mehr als hundert Fällen pro Jahr. Und Fahnder gehen von einer hohen Dunkelziffer aus.
Raum Nürnberg im Fokus Allein in der Stadt Nürnberg stellten Polizeibeamte mehr als acht Kilogramm der Droge sicher, weitere 4,7 Kilogramm waren es im angrenzenden Fürth und im Landkreis Nürnberger Land. Das Bayerische Innenministerium verweist immer wieder auf die Brennpunkte in Bayern: Neben den Grenzregionen zu Tschechien nennt das Ministerium besonders die Ballungsräume München und Nürnberg - in einem Atemzug. Allerdings zeigen die BR-Recherchen: Im gleichen Zeitraum waren es in München nur 410 Gramm. Auch die Anzahl der Funde zeichnet ein klares Bild: Funde pro 100.000 Einwohner Und während das Münchner Umland kaum vom Problem Crystal betroffen ist, zählen die an Nürnberg angrenzenden Landkreise zu den am stärksten betroffenen Gebieten überhaupt. Neben einigen spektakulären Großfunden findet sich in den Daten eine hohe Zahl von kleinen Einzelfunden, die auf erhöhten Konsum in der Stadt hindeuten.
Crystal-Schmuggel nimmt zu Der Zoll hat im vergangenen Jahr noch einmal so viel Crystal sichergestellt wie die Polizei. Jürgen Thiel, Sachgebietsleiter für Rauschgiftschmuggelbekämpfung, Zollfahndungsamt München: "Die von uns geführten Verfahren zeigen, was leider zu befürchten war: Dass die Ausbreitung der Droge in die Fläche über die Ballungsräume hinaus stattfindet und nach meiner Einschätzung auch weiter stattfinden wird." Wie viele Menschen wirklich Crystal konsumieren, lässt sich aus Daten über sichergestellte Mengen und Funde nicht direkt ableiten. Allerdings: Über die Jahre gesehen geht die Entwicklung sowohl beim Zoll als auch bei der Polizei klar nach oben. Im vergangenen Jahr waren es zwar etwas weniger Fälle, die gefundene Menge hat aber zugenommen. Entwarnung ist also nicht angesagt.
Zwölf Tote allein im Raum Passau In allen Teilen Bayerns sterben Menschen an Crystal Meth. Auch hier zeigt sich: Die Brennpunkte liegen in Nürnberg und an der tschechischen Grenze. Aber auch in den Regionen Lindau, Traunstein oder Memmingen sind bereits Crystal-Konsumenten an den Folgen der Droge gestorben. Allein zwölf Crystal-Todesfälle meldete die Kriminalpolizeiinspektion Passau. Insgesamt hat die Polizei zwischen 2010 und November 2015 genau 100 Drogentote in der Falldatei Rauschgift vermerkt, die unter anderem Crystal Meth konsumiert hatten. Bei den meisten dieser Fälle handelt es sich um Konsumenten, die neben Crystal Meth auch andere Drogen wie Heroin oder Kokain nahmen.
Knapp 50 Crystal-Labore in Bayern
Tschechien ist zwar Haupteinfuhrland für Crystal, aber die Droge kommt nicht nur über die Grenze nach Bayern. Immer wieder stößt die Polizei auch im Freistaat auf illegale Labore, die unter anderem Crystal herstellen, oder "deren Aufbau den Versuch belegt, Crystal herzustellen", wie es im Beamtendeutsch heißt. Seit 2008 haben bayerische Polizeibeamte insgesamt 48 solcher Labore ausgehoben, zuletzt Ende Dezember 2015 in der Gemeinde Lam im Landkreis Cham. Dort fanden die Fahnder 55 Gramm der Droge. Beim Crystal-Kochen kommen Ephedrin und verwandte Stoffe wie Pseudo- und Chlorephedrin zum Einsatz. Pseudoephedrin kann aus Nasentropfen und anderen Medikamenten gewonnen werden. In Tschechien und Polen ist die Abgabe solcher Medikamente mittlerweile beschränkt, in Deutschland sind sie dagegen weiterhin rezeptfrei erhältlich.
BR-Umfrage bestätigt Tendenz Klar ist: Crystal Meth hat sich in Bayern ausgebreitet. Eine nicht repräsentative Umfrage, die der Bayerische Rundfunk unter Suchtberatungsstellen in ganz Bayern durchgeführt hat, bestätigt dieses Bild. Drogenberater in allen Teilen Bayerns sind mit Crystal-Konsumenten konfrontiert. In Oberfranken hat offenbar jeder fünfte Süchtige, der zur Drogenberatung geht, Probleme mit Crystal Meth. Anteil der Crystal-Konsumenten in Suchtberatungsstellen (in %) Fast alle befragten Beratungsstellen gaben an, dass die Zahl der Crystal-Konsumenten in den vergangenen drei Jahren gestiegen oder zumindest gleich geblieben ist. Ein Drittel der Beratungsstellen hat außerdem Schwangere betreut, die die Droge konsumiert haben. Die Umfrage sagt auch einiges darüber aus, wer Crystal Meth nimmt: Viele Berufstätige sind darunter, oft, um den Anforderungen im Job zu genügen. Und 40 Prozent der Suchtberatungen in Bayern betreuten im vergangenen Jahr auch Akademiker, die nicht mehr von der Droge loskamen. Bei Nachfragen ergab sich eine breite Palette an Berufsbildern: Banker, Gerüstbauer, Kurierfahrer, Bauarbeiter, aber auch Studenten und Meisterschüler greifen gerne auf Crystal Meth zurück.
Die Situation in Ihrem Landkreis Crystal Meth ist in fast ganz Bayern ein Thema, allerdings mit deutlichen regionalen Unterschieden. Um herauszufinden, wie Ihre Heimatregion von Crystal Meth betroffen ist, klicken Sie in der Karte auf Ihren Landkreis und finden Sie es heraus:
Crystal Meth: Funde je Landkreis seit 2008
1 35 70 105 140 175 210This is a man’s world—as vastly evidenced by the sex robot market.
Meet Samantha, the “smart” sex doll built by Barcelona-based engineer Sergi Santos. Or the Harmony AI app, a customizable Siri-like platform for your on-the-go intimacy needs.
Then there are those artificial sex partners programmed to cure erectile dysfunction.
But where are the Liams and Lukes and Jesses? The six-pack-ab revealing, flannel-wearing, cuddle-prompting male robots programmed for a bit of pillow talk after a bit of gettin’ it on.
Some companies claim to be developing male robots—Harmony AI maker Realbotix said a male version of its app is in the works—but few have followed through. Which leaves women, gay men, and anyone who likes having a penis around the house wanting.
There is no shortage of alternatives, of course. But sometimes even the illusion of a fellow human can help boost your libido. So why should straight men get to have all the fun?
A recent report by the Foundation for Responsible Robotics (FRR) revealed a potential market for sex robots—particularly, yet unsurprisingly, among heterosexual men. Women, however, answered positively about half as often, suggesting there is a demand, however small, for phallus robots.
In October, writer Karley Sciortino teamed up with VICE to research the subversive world of custom male sex dolls—a specialty of California-based artisan doll company Sinthetics.
Don’t get your hopes up, though: Male products, each hand-crafted to meet customers’ individual requirements, start at $6,750; the female base price is only $6,400. Want a custom skin tone, freckles, tan lines, tattoos, body hair, and nipples? That’ll be another $1,000-plus.
“As the primary maker of ultra-realistic male dolls in the world, we are getting excellent feedback from buyers and curious people who have never seen this kind of product before,” Bronwen Keller, head of administration and sales for Sinthetics, told Geek in an email.
“The male dolls are an integral part of our business, which currently make up about 60 percent of our sales (for about the past year),” she continued. “This is a new product type for the industry, so we’re sure it’s just beginning to gain momentum and will continue to increase as awareness increases.”
Still a very niche market—seemingly open only to the independently wealthy (or the incredibly desperate)—is still in its infancy. And, as University of London lecturer and writer Kate Devlin recently pointed out: “There are no actual sex robots in production yet—just dolls.”
So maybe there is a glimmer of hope for the pecker predisposed; perhaps the robot revolution can be shepherded toward gender equality. (And perhaps they can all look like Jude Law in A.I.)
(A girl can dream, right?)
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Aug. 15 with comment from Sinthetics.
Let us know what you like about Geek by taking our survey.As many as 25 celebrated writers of India have returned their Sahitya Akademi Awards in protest against the lynching of a Dalit man in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh.
Recently Chetan Bhagat made a statement that if ever offered the Sahitya Akademi award, he will never ever accept it in this lifetime.
As per newspaper reports, he was one of the contenders for the award for his latest novel "Half Girlfriend". The story is a moving tale set in modern times and highlights modern relationships.
As per his twitter post, he came up with this decision because he thinks that there is no pint in receiving an award if he will have to return back later on. And he would rather prefer to boycott the award.
As soon as his post came into limelight, his fans requested the author to not be so harsh with the Indian government. Many also came forward to express their sympathy for Amitav Gosht whose books have recently been under the ire of BJP because they are still debating over the presence of beef in Gosht.
Bhagat did not respond to the tweet after that.
Literary stalwarts such as Nayantara Sehgal, Ashok Vajpeyi, Krishna Sobti and many more have also returned their Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the central government's lackadaisical attitude towards the "vicious assaults" on Indian multicultural society. They have also accused the Akademi for not providing a platform for the writers to write with freedom.So you want to know how it is like to live in that Muslim, Arab, Democratic country named Algeria? Well, this is how I see it.
(It’s very important to stress the obvious: I’m just generalizing. Plus, this is just my own personal perspective. Still, not everyone will agree with me and that's fine.)
Society...
The best thing about the Algerian Society is that there's a strong relationship between its citizens that makes them deeply love and care for each other. Naturally, that gives rise to nepotism and all sorts of bureaucratic abuse.
Society is scattered: Everyone is self-centered (either on their personal or familial levels), which allows businessmen and politicians to manipulate people easily; so it has become a pretty "normal" and accepted fact that expenses go crazy in "happy events" (Like Ramadan, festivals, and national days). Eh, what do you expect from these people who don’t know a thing about teamwork, having a cause or activism?
Familial bonds (as in 'family') are so strong that real friendships hardly exist: Gossip, hypocrisy, and backstabbing are the norms. (It's not like Algerian families are perfect or anything; dysfunctional families are not uncommon.)
There's an unspoken rule that everyone knows: "see no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil". This "No Evil" thing means that if you get raped in front of everyone, probably nobody shall do anything about it (like telling authorities or -God forbid- testifying in court). If you dare to stand up against wrongdoers, chances are, you are starting a “minuscule civil war” between families and friends (or should I say ‘gangs’?), and it gets really bloody sometimes...
Politics...
Democracy in Algeria has already manifested itself in the so-called "Civil War": A long story short, Islamists won the elections, and the FLN Party was like, "No, no, you ain't gonna rule, fuck off!!" and then they started screwing everyone. That is why Algerians generally don't believe in voting. You see, the majority of the people I know don't vote and the ones who do are into other Parties, yet His Highness -Bouteflika- is being elected over and over again. Since I was born, he has been in power. (Die already, for God's sake!)
To some extent, we live under the rule of a totalitarian gov. where you are taught to fear the State and not to love and work for your nation. (Seems to work...)
And let’s not forget the Mandatory Military Service, the shitty internet connection, and their inability to operate a basic working website and keeping it up. (Ahem, ONEC...)
Healthcare...
I don’t have a lot to say about this topic... so, here are some random thoughts:
Whenever a powerful and wealthy person needs healthcare, he or she leaves aboard. (And gramps Bouteflika knows what I’m talking about...)
Mainly in public health centers, doctors aren’t really qualified. Rather, they are unprofessional, arrogant, biased, short-tempered, and think of you as second-class citizens and that they’re doing you some sort of a favor. (I know what I’m saying, some of my relatives are in this domain... OvO)
A comment on Reddit reads something like: “You’ve a better change in splitting an atom using your bare hands than in convincing an Algerian to get therapy.”
Whenever someone needs a false medical certificate, they go either to a public hospital/clinic or a private one to get it. Super easy. (Some for marriage, others to join the army, or maybe for justifying skipping school and not taking exams or something like that... I admit, I’m no angel, I’ve done the ‘school’ thing once or twice...)
Education...
Education in Algeria is... emmmmm... well... indescribable? OvO
Memory is the only thing you need to succeed. You’re facing a difficult lesson? Your teacher isn't willing to explain it or cannot do it? Damn it, just push it into your head! Memorize it! Use it in your exams and if you get stuck teachers and monitors will help you (Like, in my bac exam, a woman -whose job was to prevent us from cheating- came to me and whispered the correct answers in my ear; dumbfounded, I asked her what; she told me that my answers weren't correct and advised me to change them; being from a conservative Muslim family, I refused. Her response was like, "What a retarded asshole!" then she left).
My teacher once told us, “One by one, University will get rid of those who have cheated in their bac exam”. I totally disagree...
And, of course, at the end of the school year, forget everything you’ve "learned"! (This is how it works, throughout the “educational” system.)
Over 12 years and you are studying in Arabic, you enter the university and, voila, everything is French-ify-ed. No surprise, after all, Algeria's Systems are all French-like. But, seriously, what the hell, who still uses French as the lang of sci? English is the new thing, is it not? Then why am I frequently hearing, "La langue française est la langue du monde et science en particulier"?
If you were an Algerian student, you'd be questioning whether some of your teachers have really graduated college; but then you realize that you're in ALGERIA and that they probably have cheated to get to their current positions. (like, my cousin's bac degree didn't allow her to choose a respectable specialty, yet -surprise, surprise- she's now an architect, thanks to her rich father's connections.)
Mentality...
The highest level of “open-mindedness” that Algerians have reached can be summarized in these words: "Theirs is good; Ours is bad; New is good; Old is bad.” Add to that, “and if anyone ever tries to convince you that what you’re going is wrong, simply tell them that they are retarded. Don’t listen to them. Don’t even try to understand anything. After all, you are the open-minded one. They aren't."
In other words, blindly copying what Westerns do. Sadly, they don’t adopt the good stuff (Like love of science, helping and supporting each other, humanism, skepticism, constructive criticism, etc.), but shallow -and often shitty- ones, like having boyfriends and girlfriends (and y’all know what it means), haircuts, clothes, “Love Day” (St. Valentine's Day, but do these "open-minded" human beings know anything about its origin? Of course not! Why would they? In the West they do it, let's copy!), etc., etc…
It is very likely to see a soft, hairless jerk badmouthing those who have beards because that's a backward thing ("old is bad") and that's what our prophet has encouraged ("ours is bad"). Days later, you see him again and hardly recognize him for he has taken a Talibani-like style. How is that? Well, some famous guys made it "à la mode" to have a beard ("Theirs is good; New is good") and so he embraced their style. (In fact, I know some folks of this kind.)
Or imagine this: A homophobe wearing a pro-gay shirt (sometimes contains explicit language). Weird, right? Visit Algiers and you'd be stunned!
People-Pleasing...
Of course you've heard of the saying "live and let live". Well, here, it's the opposite: "I've got no life and ain’t letting you have one either."
This is a dangerously common mentality. Your dreams would be crushed. Even positive words like “hope, optimism, dream, friendship, love” are looked down at.
In Darja (AKA Algerian Arabic), the passive voice is almost never used; instead of saying, “the apple was eaten”, you’d be hearing something like, “they ate the apple”. But who are “they”? Simply put, “they” means “not us”, “someone” or “someones” else. You may be saying, “What is he talking about? What does that have to do with life in Algeria?” The answer is “everything!”. You know, your way of talking reflects your way of thinking (duh!).
So, you see, in Algeria, it feels like there’s an invisible entity in the middle of every town whose name is “THEY” or “EVERYONE”, that people try to adjust their behavior to match... Meaning: it is forbidden to be yourself or to have your own style, personality, mentality, nothing!! Everyone strives to be like EVERYONE and you are expected/socially-forced to do the same.
Take Eid for example: You are not religiously obligated to sacrifice sheep for God, yet it has become a social obligation that even awfully poor families that barely get their basic necessities, struggle to do it.
Bigotry...
You will face all sorts of bigotry, teased, judged, and mistreated for not being like THEM in every aspect:
* Religion: If you follow any religion other than Sunni Islam, you are an enemy, even though most Algerians are Muslims by birth and hardly know or practice their religion. If you show tolerance towards others, you’d be hated and may be called Atheist, Christian or whatever...
* Race (Especially if you are black or Chinese)
* language: “Arabic is retarded. English is sissy and gay. French is perfect.”
* Accent: If your accent doesn’t sound like THEIRS, if you mis-rhythm your speech, or “mispronounce” your Ts, they’ll notice.. and judge you. When you meet some strangers, don’t expect being asked for your first name, but expect to hear something along these words: “You don’t talk like us. What’s “your origin”? What’s your family name? Your father’s work? What are you doing here?” (Happens to me all the time)
* Family: What family you are from; your social-economical status.
I once went to an office to get some papers done. I was badly treated perhaps because my accent was way different than the city’s? Which suggested that I was an outsider? I will never know. I wasn’t allowed to get what I needed for no apparent reason. But then, I silently showed my id to an employee whom I never met but was told to talk to. He instantly reformed his mood, surprisingly saying, "You- [Family Name]- Aren't you [this]- isn't [that] your uncle? C'mon, we are family!" and then he started shaking my hand, smilingly. With his help, I finished my business there and left, feeling sorry (upset with) for our society: I needed no favoritism, yet I somehow needed it to pass that sort of bureaucracy.
You don’t like soccer? You’re going to be bullied. Oh, I remember that time when there was a “very important” football event (Algeria v Egypt) that everyone was going nuts because of it. For me, it was nonsense to hate your Egyptian brothers and sisters just for a football match, so I didn't take a side. I stayed neutral. But that only brought me problems -"If you aren't with us, you are against us"- and I was accused of treason and was called many names (believe me, Darja's vocabulary is rich when it comes to this field), and let's not talk about being physically hurt...
Being mentally or physically challenged is yet another excuse to be hurt. This answer’s lengthy, so no examples. But you get the image, I think...
A sickening sense of humor that is based on the misery of others. “Takli ljaj, ah?!” is the recent famed and viral “joke” throughout the country, it’s about a real old man, torturing real canines. That ain’t a joke, it’s sick… But, hey, that’s Algeria — a place where both human and animal abuse are allowed to some degree.
Enough Pessimism!
Despite all of that, Algerians seem to be happy. I myself am almost always cheerful and optimistic... I wonder why.
Well, sure, there are some good things about Algeria...
Life is relatively cheap.
Algerians are rather warm, nice, friendly, hospitable, and xenophilic (better than xenophobia, I believe).
Another good thing, in my opinion, is Piracy...? Yeah, as far as I know, copying others' properties (selling illegal copies of CDs of games, software, movies, you name it!), and downloading pirated stuff can be done without using VPN or proxy or any hiding methods (who knows what those stuff are anyway? Plus, why do you need to know them?)
All in all, currently, Algeria is a pretty shitty country to live in, but it’s getting better day after day thanks to the effort of some great people who are making big transformations in the development of this nation (and I shall be one of them, God willing...)In my line of work—helping people understand that climate change is going to bake them if nuclear weapons don’t fry them first—it can be tough to decide which danger is more resistant to effective communication. Nuclear weapons, hunkering in their prairie silos, mostly evoke in the public mind a muscular, nostalgic bravado—Kennedy unmanning Khrushchev is a story that never really tires—and the average American fears nuclear annihilation about as much as a Canadian invasion. Now and then, like a ghost from '62, a hint of nuclear dread troubles the public consciousness, as when the Kim dynasty renews its “sea of fire” rhetoric. Or when a US president contrives to suggest that a secular tyrant will transfer nonexistent nuclear weapons to religious fanatics who want the tyrant dead. Otherwise, skies are clear.
Climate change evokes a broader, stranger range of responses. The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, for example, splits public attitudes into six categories, ranging from Alarmed (climate scientists) to Dismissive (members of my extended family). People in at least four of the six categories feel no great urgency to achieve climate mitigation, though the virulence of their opposition to it varies widely. Such attitudes have attracted attention from the world of psychology, with the University of Victoria's Robert Gifford identifying seven psychological "dragons of inaction" that impede efforts to address climate change and Harvard's Daniel Gilbert observing that the public would find climate change much more alarming if only it had a villain's moustache.
I don't disagree, but it isn't necessarily true that climate policy would start running in the right direction if the public were more engaged with the issue—that people would clamor for action to counter climate change if only they understood. Indeed, in the nuclear and climate realms, desirable policy often seems to flow less from public engagement than from public obliviousness. Disarmament advocates, no matter how they try, cannot tempt most ordinary people into caring about nuclear weapons—yet stockpiles of weapons steadily, if still too slowly, decrease. Climate advocacy provokes greater passion, but passion often manifests itself as outraged opposition to climate action, and atmospheric carbon has reached levels unseen since before human beings evolved. It feels undemocratic to say it, but the Greenland ice sheet might need no political constituency working for its survival if no passionate mob were, effectively, cheering its extinction. Likewise, it might seem retrograde to suggest that citizen engagement is the biggest enemy of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (next to the moneyed interests who profit from climate pollution). But benign neglect from the public might be just what the climate needs. If granted the obscurity and freedom of action that disarmament bureaucrats enjoy, the pallid technocratic elites who work to arrest climate change might just manage to save the planet.
Dramatic formulation. Why does the disarmament movement engender relatively little public controversy at this point, while climate change provokes the furious conviction among a small but highly active cohort that global warming is a dangerous hoax perpetrated by malevolent eggheads? Don't climate scientists and disarmament advocates both toil in unglamorous shadows? Don't both shout to be heard above the furor of lesser threats, from Ebola to killer asteroids? Yes, but it is only the climate scientists who stand accused of conspiracy and borderline treason. The difference between the issues, I think, is salience and immediacy. The climate issue provides, or seems to provide, more compelling answers to three basic, instinctive, immediate questions: What exactly am I supposed to worry about? How soon am I supposed to start worrying? What do you expect me to do about it?
What is everyone supposed to worry about? Well, disarmament types say the world should worry about a military technology destructive enough to slaughter billions in minutes. This is terrifying—and also, somehow, ignorable. The problem is nuclear weapons themselves, their esoteric nature, their deep estrangement from street-level experience. For instance, how do nuclear weapons work? Unless you're the kind of person who reads the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, you probably have no idea. Even if you've got an idea, you'll never see a nuclear weapon detonate, except maybe in the movies. You've never noticed one lying around. Heck, you can’t even get within 20 feet of highly enriched uranium unless you’re an octogenarian nun. Nuclear weapons' potential for immediacy is extraordinarily high, but their invisibility to the public tends to vitiate that potential.
If most people are blind to the power of nuclear weapons because they never see them, they are blind to climate change because they see weather every day. Weather's unfortunate overlap with climate makes every trip to the grocery store an opportunity to internalize faulty data—and Senator Ted Cruz doesn't help matters when he opines with a straight face that "there's never been a day in the history of the world in which the climate is not changing." The grocery store experience, combined with the Cruz experience, has encouraged many a layperson to reason in this specious fashion: "Weather changes so fast that nobody can predict it, plus it's snowing, so climate change is fake. And I have nothing to worry about."
As to when the world should start worrying, the disarmament movement once again struggles against nuclear weapons' tendency to seem distant. Though devices capable of planetary devastation pertain urgently to this red-hot second, no wartime nuclear detonation has occurred for almost 70 years, nearly outside living memory. Disarmament advocates will patiently explain how this drought in nuclear warfare has depended too much on luck, how apocalypse has approached more than once, how madness or miscalculation could undo us while we sleep tonight. But to nonspecialists, nuclear weapons seem very good at not exploding, so how urgent can their abolition be? Disarmament, oddly, cannot advance so persuasively the dramatic formulation that climate change advances: that what people do right now bears massively and irreversibly on the future of Earth. Do nuclear weapons matter more right now than they’ve always mattered? Not unless they go boom.
Finally, how can ordinary people speed disarmament? It's a mighty short list of action items. Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, observes that "[t]here is almost nothing an individual can do. There's no equivalent to using a more efficient light bulb. The closest thing is for localities to declare themselves nuclear-weapon-free zones." Environmental advocates, meanwhile, know precisely what people should do, right now, about climate change: drive pathetic hybrids, shiver all winter for virtue’s sake, abandon their coal-mining livelihoods, and adopt a disgusting vegetarian diet. This extensive prescription for addressing climate change (admittedly exaggerated, but not all that much) helps achieve an immediacy of which the disarmament movement can scarcely dream. But it's a pretty unpalatable prescription.
Pickaxe ready. Climate change may seem a more immediate danger than nuclear weapons but immediacy is a mixed blessing, at best. To be sure, immediacy means personal engagement. Immediacy means passion. But immediacy also means petulant, blindered, conspiracy-minded backlash. Thus, to skeptics and deniers, climate scientists become sinister quacks employing ruthless methods. Politicians become enemies of the free market (unless they practice ritual self-humiliation at the knees of carbon fuels). Journalists become malicious propagandists misleading a gullible public. Columnists become fifth columnists.
The disarmament movement once struggled against similar portrayals. But that was a long time ago. As soon as the Cold War ended, the peace-movement people whom defense hawks had portrayed as Politburo puppets, or worse, were consigned again to regular civilian identities—dopey college kids, |
, yet I did not make it to heaven."106 Christ will see the travail of His soul and be satisfied (Isa. 53:11) or, as Calvin expresses it: "Christ so arose from the dead, that his death was not yet abolished, but it retains its efficacy for ever.107
The bloody, sacrificial, atoning death of Christ is eternally present in the mind and decree of God Almighty, for Christ is the ''Lamb slain from the foundation of the world'' (Rev. 13:8). It is not that two millennia have passed since the death of Christ and it has "gone stale." It will never go stale! The effects of the atonement are everlasting! When Christ appears before His Father on behalf of His elThe Dubai carrier is the largest operator of the double-decker plane – the world’s largest commercial aircraft in service.
Emirates airline has launched the world’s shortest scheduled A380 service, from Dubai to Doha.
A first A380 flying the route touched down on Thursday and was welcomed with a water cannon salute – a traditional welcome for aircraft flying new routes.
The 379-kilometre flight lasted 80 minutes on the outbound leg and 70 minutes on the return flight to Dubai.
Emirates is the largest operator of the double-decker plane – the world’s largest commercial aircraft in service.
Emirates currently has 87 in service and 55 pending delivery and currently operates the A380 to over 45 destinations around the world. But use of the super jumbo which seats around 550 passengers has proved patchy.
Despite large orders from Emirates and other Middle Eastern airlines, the aircraft has struggled to win over customers from North America and Europe. They fear that the large scale of the aircraft is too big to fill profitably.
US airlines have eschewed ordering the aircraft and some European operators have cut back orders.
“Emirates derives such massive economies of scale from its wide-body fleet, it is able to deploy any jet on any route and benefit from whatever yield and passenger classes it can,” said Saj Ahmad, the chief analyst at StrategicAero Research.
“Given the size of Emirates’ A380 fleet, then can easily fill the airplane because demand on this sector is so very robust.
“And even if they never fill first or business class, they carry more than enough economy passengers to build revenue via the greater numbers carried.”
Emirates currently operates nine daily flights between Dubai and Doha, making the Qatari capital the most served destination in the Emirates network.
Emirates said that over the past five years it has carried more than 3.7 million passengers between the two cities.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
Follow The National’s Business section on TwitterHaving sold out nearly every one of 60 previously announced dates, two more night have been confirmed for the band's iNNOCENCE & eXPERIENCE Tour.A seventh show at NYC's Madison Square Garden will take place on July 30th and a fifth night has been added at Chicago's United Center on July 2nd.Tickets for both shows will go on general sale next Tuesday, February 10th, at 10am local time.U2.com subscribers who have not yet used their unique pre-sale access code - or new subscribers - can take part in a ticket pre-sale for these additional two shows from tomorrow, Wednesday February 4th at 10am (for eXPERIENCE subscribers) and from Thursday, February 5th at 10am (for iNNOCENCE subscribers). The pre-sale ends this Friday Feb 6th at 5pm. All times are local venue time.Tickets will be general admission on the floor and reserved seating in the stands.Qualifying subscribers will be emailed pre-sale details.With the band performing multiple shows as they stop in different cities through North America and Europe, Bono has described how the band plan to mix things up.'We are going to try to have a completely different feeling from night one to night two and have some fun playing with the idea of innocence and experience. More to be revealed!'Below, the complete tour itinerary to date.May 14th, Vancouver, BC, Rogers ArenaMay 15th, Vancouver, BC, Rogers ArenaMay 18th, San Jose, CA, SAP Center at San JoseMay 19th, San Jose, CA, SAP Center at San JoseMay 22nd, Phoenix, AZ, US Airways CenterMay 23rd, Phoenix, AZ, US Airways CenterMay 26th, Los Angeles, CA, ForumMay 27th, Los Angeles, CA, ForumMay 30th, Los Angeles, CA, ForumMay 31st, Los Angeles, CA, ForumJune 12th, Montreal, QC, Bell CentreJune 13th, Montreal, QC, Bell CentreJune 16th, Montreal, QC, Bell CentreJune 17th, Montreal, QC, Bell CentreJune 24th, Chicago, IL, United CenterJune 25th, Chicago, IL, United CenterJune 28th, Chicago, IL, United CenterJune 29th, Chicago, IL, United CenterJuly 2nd, Chicago, IL, United Center -July 6th, Toronto, ON, Air Canada CentreJuly 7th, Toronto, ON, Air Canada CentreJuly 10th, Boston, MA, TD GardenJuly 11th, Boston, MA, TD GardenJuly 14th, Boston, MA, TD GardenJuly 15th, Boston, MA, TD GardenJuly 18th, New York, NY, Madison Square GardenJuly 19th, New York, NY, Madison Square GardenJuly 22nd, New York, NY, Madison Square GardenJuly 23rd, New York, NY, Madison Square GardenJuly 26th, New York, NY, Madison Square GardenJuly 27th, New York, NY, Madison Square GardenJuly 30th, New York, NY, Madison Square Garden -Sept. 4th, Turin, Italy, Pala AlpitourSept. 5th, Turin, Italy, Pala AlpitourSept. 8th, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Ziggo DomeSept. 9th, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Ziggo DomeSept. 12th, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Ziggo DomeSept. 13th, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Ziggo DomeSept. 16th, Stockholm, Sweden, GlobeSept. 17th, Stockholm, Sweden, GlobeSept. 20th, Stockholm, Sweden, GlobeSept. 21th, Stockholm, Sweden, GlobeSept. 24th, Berlin, Germany, O2 WorldSept. 25th, Berlin, Germany, O2 WorldSept. 28th, Berlin, Germany, O2 WorldSept. 29th, Berlin, Germany, O2 WorldOct. 5th, Barcelona, Spain, Palau Sant JordiOct. 6th, Barcelona, Spain, Palau Sant JordiOct. 9th, Barcelona, Spain, Palau Sant Jordi -Oct. 13th, Antwerp, Belgium, SportpaleisOct. 14th, Antwerp, Belgium, SportpaleisOct. 17th, Koln, Germany, Lanxess ArenaOct. 18th Koln, Germany, Lanxess ArenaOct. 25th, London, UK, O2Oct. 26th, London, UK, O2Oct. 29th, London, UK, O2Oct. 30th, London, UK, O2Nov. 2nd, London, UK, O2Nov. 6th, Glasgow, UK, The SSE HydroNov. 7th, Glasgow, UK, The SSE HydroNov. 10th, Paris, France, BercyNov. 11th, Paris, France, BercyNov. 14th, Paris, France, BercyNov. 15th, Paris, France, Bercy“Darwin Turns 200” read the January 2009 headlines. The birthday fireworks included a series of fascinating articles published by Science News; a commemorative edition of National Geographic with the suggestive title “What Darwin Didn’t Know,” and a related web site with an interactive Flash app showing a 50-million-year-old wolf-like Pakicetus morphing into amphibian-like Ambulocetus, morphing into dolphin-like Dorudon.
Had Darwin lived to be 200, his jaw would have dropped to learn that indeed you can mess with mother nature. Technology now exists to make multiplex alterations to genetic material so that changes to bacteria that normally take several months can be completed in days. Evolution on fast forward.
Twenty-two-year-old Cambridge graduate Charles Darwin was many years away from publishing his paradigm-shifting book, The Origin of Species, when His Majesty’s Ship Beagle was anchored near Bahia Blanca – a settlement at the opening of a bay not far from Buenos Aires –- on its epic journey towards the now famous Galapagos Islands in 1832. Darwin’s observations and discovery of the role of natural selection in evolution on this voyage led to his famous and highly controversial statement in later life that, “All the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from one primordial form.” Heresy, of course, at the time.
There are a lot of things that Darwin didn’t — and couldn’t — know then about the mechanisms of evolution. It took a team of young researchers in the 1950s, including Francis Crick and James Watson – to elaborate the structure of chemist Linus Pauling’s alpha helix using X-ray crystallography and molecular model building. And so they decoded the language of life, — the double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and a simple four-letter chemical code. With this discovery, the fossil evidence of the “descent of species” that Charles Darwin initially observed in armadillos, rheas, and ground sloths while surveying the South American coastline — and later in the now famous Galapagos finches — became a matter of reading encoded strands of DNA like a book.
Genetic sequencing of DNA is now big business. George Church, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Center for Computational Genetics developed the first direct genomic sequencing method. This led to automation and software used for the first commercial genome sequence, a pathogen called Helicobacter, a genus of bacteria possessing a characteristic helix shape (ah, there’s that helix again). This nasty little guy is associated with peptic ulcers, chronic gastritis, duodenitis, and stomach cancer. Other bacterial genomic sequences are more benign and potentially very beneficial. With more effective genomic sequencing, this will mean better bacteria for the production of drugs, nutrients, and biofuels.
Biological evolution as observed in the fossil record spans millions of years. Machine evolution, arguably the progeny of biological evolution in the form of ever more sophisticated human-generated computational devices and associated AI software, has spanned maybe a hundred a fifty years since the landmark design of Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine (the first mechanical “computer” that was never actually built but was designed during Darwin’s lifetime). Now, with Church’s genetic sequencing technology, biological evolution can occur in days.
This, in fact, is what Church and his team of researchers are now able to demonstrate. Called multiplex-automated genomic engineering (MAGE), up to 50 changes to a bacterial genome can be made nearly simultaneously to accelerate development of bacterial cells. "What once took months now takes days," says Stephen del Cardayré, vice president of research and development at LS9, a biofuels company based in South San Francisco of which Church is a founder.
Using MAGE, researchers generate 50 short strands of DNA, each containing a sequence similar to a gene or gene regulatory sequence in the target genome, but one that has been updated in some way, incorporating a change that might “make an enzyme more efficient, or boost production of a particular protein.”
The DNA is mixed into a vial of bacteria, which is then put into a special machine in Church’s lab. The mixture is subjected to “a precisely choreographed routine of temperature and chemical cycles that encourage the bacterial cells to take up the foreign DNA, swapping it into their genomes in place of the native piece it resembles.” Single-stranded pieces of DNA most likely "fake out the cell’s DNA replication machinery, sneaking in and filling a gap”, says Church. Each successive generation of the rapidly reproducing bacteria absorbs more and more of the foreign DNA, “ultimately producing a population that has all the desired genetic changes.”
In one experiment, the DNA strands targeted genes known to be involved in lycopene production. Lycopene is a red, fat-soluble pigment found in certain plants and microorganisms and is a powerful antioxidant. Church’s team was able to monitor multiple tubes of engineered bacteria for production of the bright-red compound. Amazingly, in just three days they had generated a genetic strain that could produce five times more lycopene. The results, to be published by Harvard University. show that “The best lycopene producer had 24 genetic changes — four that completed blocked production of the gene’s protein, and 20 that resulted in small or large changes in the expression of that gene.”
Speeding up the evolution of a bacteria to produce an antioxidant or biofuel sounds pretty promising. But what about the production of a pathogenic bacteria like Helicobacter? Messing with mother nature is not without its critics, and the field of bioengineering ethics is still fairly immature. Bill Joy’s well-known article, “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us,” offers a warning about the possible extreme consequences of tinkering with evolution through bioengineering. In the SciFi novel, The White Plague by Frank Herbert, a molecular biologist is driven insane by the senseless murder of his family and seeks revenge by constructing and disseminating a new and highly contagious plague “that kills widely but selectively.” Joy writes, “While there are many important issues here, my own major concern with genetic engineering is narrower: that it gives the power – whether militarily, accidentally, or in a deliberate terrorist act – to create a White Plague.”
Hmmm… so a possible trade off in the development of a biofuel –- one that might help solve the world’s energy crisis –- is the risk of a runaway sped-up evolutionary process that results in a doomsday scenario like a White Plague? Hypothetical, yes, but what would Darwin say? He might have trouble blowing out his 200 candles.Hello Pox. I have extensive experience working on very high line vehicles. I have done work on vehicles before going through the Barrett-Jackson Auction House in Scottsdale, Az. I have traveled the world repairing autos that have been damaged by hail. I've not actually worked on a Tesla however the panels are accessible just as other high line vehicles are. My repairs are flawless and I encourage my customer to watch the process of repair if it makes them more comfortable. I am not aware of any paintless dent removal companies that are Tesla approved. However, you have given me an idea and maybe I will be the first. Please contact me if you have any questions or If I can give any suggestions or advice for repair. 1-866-GOT-HAIL? Thanks, BobElectric bike are slowly becoming part of landscape of Siem Reap, Cambodia like in Bagan its sister city in Myanmar where ebikes are more widely used. By law, it is forbidden for tourists to rent a motorbike to go in the Angkor park. Being an alternative, an electric bike will be the perfect companion in your discovery of the temples of Angkor, especially for photographers.
With this in mind, Angkor Photography Tours designed two photography tours using powerful electric bikes with a driving range of up to 50 kilometers (rental of the ebike is included in the price).
The first tour called Countryside and Sunset will bring you outside to the city of Siem Reap to dirt roads and villages and to witness sunset from the vantage point of an Angkorian temple.
The second tour, Hidden temples of Angkor, will bring you to several temples and locations around Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom away from the crowd to visit less known but nevertheless beautiful temples.
For more classic half-day and full-day photography tours please have a look at Angkor Photography Tours.
Looking forward to see you in Siem Reap!
AdvertisementsIn the modern city it is not too difficult to find a public washroom – local authorities usually require that a restaurant, shopping mall, or office complex provide easily accessible toilets and sinks. The situation for people in medieval cities would be different. Where could they find a public toilet in the Middle Ages?
Medieval public toilets is one of the topics raised by Carole Rawcliffe in her book Urban Bodies: Communal Health in Late Medieval English Towns and Cities. Rawcliffe looks at the records from London, York, and other English urban areas to see how people dealt with various health, hygiene and environmental issues that they would encounter in their daily lives. This would include how to get treatment for illnesses, having a supply of clean water, making sure that food and drinks were meeting minimum standards.
She begins by noting that people often did just find any place they could to relieve themselves – including along the side of the road – but that this might not be acceptable for their neighbours. In 13o7, for example, one of the King’s Grooms got into a fight with two Londoners when they found him urinating on a side-street – they told the groom “that it would be be more decent to go to the common privies of the City.”
By the Later Middle Ages people were more concerned with health and hygiene issues, and municipal authorities were enacting laws and spending money on keeping their cities clean. In medieval London, this included establishing public latrines, and by the fifteenth-century we know of over a dozen such facilities throughout the city. They would often be placed on bridges, where you could easily have the waste just fall into the waterways. For example, in 1382 the Wardens of London Bridge spent £11 on building a latrine. Besides the Thames River, two other streams went through London – the Walbrook and the Fleet – but the disposal of waste into these waterways was much more managed as they became more polluted.
Rawcliffe finds that in almost every late medieval city or town there would be records noting the building and maintenance of public toilets. For example, she writes:
The colloquially named ‘pissyngholes’ and privies over the Ouse Bridge in York were maintained, like their equivalents in London, by bridge wardens, who were also responsible for cleaning and repairing the domestic privies in their various tenements throughout the city. The contract made in 1544 with a local widow ‘for keping cleyn’ the conveniences on the bridge and allowing ‘none to lye any wodd or other noysaunce in the same, nor caste no fylthe nor other ramell [rubbish] furthe … into watter of Owse’ continued the medieval practice of providing lavatory attendants and adequate lighting…In 1411-12 the treasurers of Norwich recorded a substantial outlay on ‘scouring an making new’ the privies at the fish market and nearby Guildhall, where the mayor’s court met; and over £10 was spent in the 1450s on the gutters leading from another latrine on the north-west approaches to this crowded area.
Rawcliffe finds that there were strong communal efforts on building and maintaining public toilets – in addition to the money spent by civic governments, individuals made donations and bequests to assist in their upkeep.
So, if you happen to find yourself in a medieval city and need to find a toilet, look for the nearest bridge!
You can also read this interview with Carole Rawcliffe about her book Urban Bodies: Communal Health in Late Medieval English Towns and Cities. Click here for more details about the book.
See also: Roman toilets were quite stinky, large international study reveals
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our weekly emailFor mysterious reasons, U.S. politicians and major media outlets are today hyperventilating over one religious group’s unproven claims of ghostly miracle cures. President Obama has sent a presidential delegation to pay tribute to the ghost faith healer.
I’m speaking, of course, of today’s canonization of Mother Teresa by the Catholic Church, making her a saint. A saint is someone Catholics believe has special after-death powers to which they can appeal for miracles, as evidenced by at least two miracles so far.
The political and media honors would be slightly more understandable if this were one of the secular tributes for her that have also taken place for her non-miraculous work. Work, that is, which largely involved raising vast sums of money to convert Hindus to Catholicism and crusade against contraception and abortion, thereby increasing poverty and suffering. Using the funds to bring modern medical cures and comforts went against her belief that poverty and physical pain made sufferers more holy to Jesus.
But no, in this case the honors are for her elevation in heaven to God’s miracle broker.
My question is, how exactly does Pres. Obama determine which unproven miracle cures to honor? Will we soon be seeing this? Catholics may say Mother Teresa caused one miracle cure in Brazil, but Protestants say they’ve cured hundreds:
With thousands more all over the world.
Who are President Obama and CNN to pick and choose which religion’s unproven miracle cures should be honored? Peter Popoff’s claims for his Miracle Spring Water are just as deserving as the Pope’s claims for Teresa. There are so many heartfelt testimonies that we’re clearly in need of a White House Office of Miracle Cures to organize the tributes. Are Catholic miracles more impressive than Protestant miracles? I think not! Did Teresa ever cure people by throwing her nun’s habit at them like the vastly popular Rev. Hinn? No!
Are Catholic lives saved by faith healing worth more than Protestant lives? Really, what gives, Mr. President? Shouldn’t all religious miracle cures receive similar level of respect, including Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Voodoo, tribal groups, or New Agers like Edgar Cayce?
Heaven forbid that the fawning over this particular faith healer be more about the claiming organization’s power and influence? Are you sure, Mr. President, that sucking up to the Vatican is worth endorsing medieval superstitions that trap people in poverty and suffering?The final deal on Texas A&M University’s purchase of the private Texas Wesleyan School of Law — a deal that was officially closed on Monday — is significantly different from the plan that was originally announced in June 2012.
Whereas the previous plan was more of a merger, complete with joint degrees, the new deal is a complete acquisition. Going forward, the Fort Worth school will be called the Texas A&M University School of Law. Texas A&M has also arranged for the purchase of the building and the property.
“It’s what we wanted from the beginning." Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp said. "It's our law school. We own it."
When A&M’s intention to acquire a law school was first announced, the plan was for the new institution to be called the Texas A&M School of Law at Texas Wesleyan University.
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A&M planned to give $25 million to Texas Wesleyan, allowing A&M to assume ownership and control of the law school. But the private university intended to retain the buildings and the surrounding property, which A&M would lease for $2.5 million each year for at least the next 40 years.
The total price tag in the new deal is roughly $73 million over five years, according to system spokesman Steve Moore, who noted that figure is less than the total of the originally proposed deal over its entire lifespan.
Under the deal, A&M paid Texas Wesleyan $31.7 million at closing, which covered the first year's lease as well as the purchase of the law school and the option to purchase the real estate. They will continue to pay $7.7 million annually over the next four years, which will cover the lease and the purchase of non-real estate assets. On the fifth anniversary, A&M will finally have the opportunity to buy the real estate for $11 million. Sharp said donors and tuition revenue from the new law school are expected to help with the extra up-front costs of the new arrangement.
"For a lot of reasons, it’s a lot better deal for us," Sharp said. "It’s not just the name. Our regents and the president will have total and complete control of the law school, so they can produce the lawyers as we think they ought to be."
The proposal cleared its final hurdle last week when the American Bar Association Council for the Section on Legal Education signed off on the arrangement. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board had already given its approval.
"We believe this agreement will enhance the educational experience at both the School of Law and at our historic campus," Texas Wesleyan President Frederick G. Slabach said in a statement.
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As it transitions, the school will retain all of its existing accreditations. A website has launched to help current students adjust.
Leaders of both institutions plan to make a formal announcement about the law school's future at a news conference Thursday in Fort Worth.
Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.Israel celebrates its 68th Day of Independence this week. Let me put my cards on the table. I'm not dispassionate when it comes to Israel. Quite the contrary.
The establishment of the state in 1948; the fulfillment of its envisioned role as home and haven for Jews from around the world; its wholehearted embrace of democracy and the rule of law; and its impressive scientific, cultural, and economic achievements are accomplishments beyond my wildest imagination.
For centuries, Jews around the world prayed for a return to Zion. We are the lucky ones who have seen those prayers answered. I am grateful to witness this most extraordinary period in Jewish history and Jewish sovereignty - in the words of Israel's national anthem, "to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem."
And when one adds the key element, namely, that all this took place not in the Middle West but in the Middle East, where Israel's neighbors determined from day one to destroy it through any means available to them -- from full-scale wars to wars of attrition; from diplomatic isolation to international delegitimation; from primary to secondary to even tertiary economic boycotts; from terrorism to the spread of anti-Semitism, often thinly veiled as anti-Zionism -- the story of Israel's first 68 years becomes all the more remarkable.
No other country has faced such a constant challenge to its very right to exist, even though the age-old biblical, spiritual, and physical connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel is unique in the annals of history.
Indeed, that connection is of a totally different character from the basis on which, say, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the bulk of Latin American countries were established, that is, by Europeans with no legitimate claim to those lands who decimated indigenous populations and proclaimed their own authority. Or, for that matter, North African countries that were conquered and occupied by Arab-Islamic invaders who totally redefined their national character.
No other country has faced such overwhelming odds against its very survival, or experienced the same degree of never-ending international demonization by too many nations ready to throw integrity and morality to the wind, and slavishly follow the will of the energy-rich and more numerous Arab states.
Yet Israelis have never succumbed to a fortress mentality, never abandoned their deep yearning for peace with their neighbors or willingness to take unprecedented risks to achieve that peace (as was the case with Egypt and Jordan, for example, and in the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza), never lost their zest for life, and never flinched from their determination to build a vibrant, democratic state.
This story of nation-building is entirely without precedent.
Here was a people brought to the brink of utter destruction by the genocidal policies of Nazi Germany and its allies. Here was a people shown to be utterly powerless to influence a largely indifferent world to stop, or even slow down, the Final Solution. And here was a people, numbering barely 600,000, living cheek-by-jowl with often hostile Arab neighbors, under unsympathetic British occupation, on a harsh soil with no significant natural resources other than human capital in what was then Mandatory Palestine.
That the blue-and-white flag of an independent Israel could be planted on this land, to which the Jewish people had been intimately linked since the time of Abraham, just three years after the end of the Holocaust -- and with the support of a decisive majority of UN members at the time -- truly boggles the mind.
And what's more, that this tiny community of Jews, including survivors of the Holocaust who had somehow made their way to Mandatory Palestine despite the British blockade and British detention camps in Cyprus, could successfully defend themselves against the onslaught of five Arab standing armies, is almost beyond imagination.
To understand the essence of Israel's meaning, it is enough to ask how the history of the Jewish people might have been different had there been a Jewish state in 1933, in 1938, or even in 1941. If Israel had controlled its borders and the right of entry instead of Britain, if Israel had had embassies and consulates throughout Europe, how many more Jews might have escaped and found sanctuary?
Instead, Jews had to rely on the goodwill of embassies and consulates of other countries and, with woefully few exceptions, they found there neither the "good" nor the "will" to assist.
I witnessed firsthand what Israeli embassies and consulates meant to Jews drawn by the pull of Zion or the push of hatred. I stood in the courtyard of the Israeli embassy in Moscow and saw thousands of Jews seeking a quick exit from a Soviet Union in the throes of cataclysmic change, fearful that the change might be in the direction of renewed chauvinism and anti-Semitism.
Awestruck, I watched up-close as Israel never faltered, not even for a moment, in transporting Soviet Jews to the Jewish homeland, even as Scud missiles launched from Iraq traumatized the nation in 1991. It says a lot about the conditions they were leaving behind that these Jews continued to board planes for Tel Aviv while missiles were exploding in Israeli population centers. In fact, on two occasions I sat in sealed rooms with Soviet Jewish families who had just arrived in Israel during these missile attacks. Not once did any of them question their decision to establish new lives in the Jewish state. And equally, it says a lot about Israel that, amid all the pressing security concerns, it managed to continue to welcome these new immigrants without missing a beat.
And how can I ever forget the surge of pride -- Jewish pride -- that completely enveloped me 40 years ago, in July 1976, on hearing the astonishing news of Israel's daring rescue of the 106 Jewish hostages held by Arab and German terrorists in Entebbe, Uganda, over 2,000 miles from Israel's borders? The unmistakable message: Jews in danger will never again be alone, without hope, and totally dependent on others for their safety.
Not least, I can still remember, as if it were yesterday, my very first visit to Israel. It was in 1970, and I was not quite 21 years old.
I didn't know what to expect, but I recall being quite emotional from the moment I boarded the El Al plane to the very first glimpse of the Israeli coastline from the plane's window. As I disembarked, I surprised myself by wanting to kiss the ground. In the ensuing weeks, I marveled at everything I saw. To me, it was as if every apartment building, factory, school, orange grove, and Egged bus was nothing less than a miracle. A state, a Jewish state, was unfolding before my very eyes.
After centuries of persecutions, pogroms, exiles, ghettos, pales of settlement, inquisitions, blood libels, forced conversions, discriminatory legislation, and immigration restrictions -- and, no less, after centuries of prayers, dreams, and yearning -- the Jews had come back home and were the masters of their own fate.
I was overwhelmed by the mix of people, backgrounds, languages, and lifestyles, and by the intensity of life itself. Everyone, it seemed, had a compelling story to tell. There were Holocaust survivors with harrowing tales of their years in the camps. There were Jews from Arab countries, whose stories of persecution in such countries as Iraq, Libya, and Syria were little known at the time. There were the first Jews arriving from the USSR seeking repatriation in the Jewish homeland. There were the sabras -- native-born Israelis -- many of whose families had lived in Palestine for generations. There were local Arabs, both Christian and Muslim. There were Druze, whose religious practices are kept secret from the outside world. The list goes on and on.
I was moved beyond words by the sight of Jerusalem and the fervor with which Jews of all backgrounds prayed at the Western Wall. Coming from a nation that was at the time deeply divided and demoralized, I found my Israeli peers to be unabashedly proud of their country, eager to serve in the military, and, in many cases, determined to volunteer for the most elite combat units. They felt personally involved in the enterprise of building a Jewish state, more than 1,800 years after the Romans defeated the Bar Kochba revolt, the last Jewish attempt at sovereignty on this very land.
To be sure, nation-building is an infinitely complex process. In Israel's case, it began against a backdrop of tensions with a local Arab population that laid claim to the very same land, and tragically refused a UN proposal to divide the land into Arab and Jewish states; as the Arab world sought to isolate, demoralize, and ultimately destroy the state; as Israel's population doubled in the first three years of the country's existence, putting an unimaginable strain on severely limited resources; as the nation was forced to devote a vast portion of its limited national budget to defense expenditures; and as the country coped with forging a national identity and social consensus among a population that could not have been more geographically, linguistically, socially, and culturally heterogeneous.
Moreover, there is the tricky and underappreciated issue of the potential clash between the messy realities of statehood and, in this case, the ideals and faith of a people. It is one thing for a people to live their religion as a minority; it is quite another to exercise sovereignty as the majority population while remaining true to one's ethical standards. Inevitably, tension will arise between a people's spiritual or moral self-definition and the exigencies of statecraft, between the highest concepts of human nature and the daily realities of individuals in decision-making positions wielding power and balancing a variety of competing interests.
Even so, shall we raise the bar so high as to ensure that Israel -- forced to function in the often gritty, morally ambiguous world of international relations and politics, especially as a small, still endangered state -- will always fall short?
Yet, the notion that Israel would ever become ethically indistinguishable from any other country, reflexively seeking cover behind the convenient justification of realpolitik to explain its behavior, is equally unacceptable.
Israelis, with only 68 years of statehood under their belts, are among the newer practitioners of statecraft. With all its remarkable success, consider the daunting political, social, and economic challenges in the United States 68 or even 168 years after independence, or, for that matter, the challenges it faces today, including stubborn social inequalities. And let's not forget that the United States, unlike Israel, is a vast country blessed with abundant natural resources, oceans on two-and-a half sides, a gentle neighbor to the north, and a weaker neighbor to the south.
Like any vibrant democracy, America is a permanent work in progress. The same holds true for Israel. Loving Israel as I do, though, doesn't mean overlooking its shortcomings, including the excessive and unholy intrusion of religion into politics, the inexcusable marginalization of non-Orthodox Jewish religious streams, the dangers posed by political and religious zealots, and the unfinished, if undeniably complex, task of integrating Israeli Arabs into the mainstream.
But it also doesn't mean allowing such issues to overshadow Israel's remarkable achievements, accomplished, as I've said, under the most difficult of circumstances.
In just 68 years, Israel has built a thriving democracy, unique in the region, including a Supreme Court prepared, when it deems appropriate, to overrule the prime minister or the military establishment, a feisty parliament that includes every imaginable viewpoint along the political spectrum, a robust civil society, and a vigorous press.
It has built an economy increasingly based on innovation and cutting-edge technology, whose per capita GNP exceeds the combined total of its four contiguous sovereign neighbors -- Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
It has built universities and research centers that have contributed to advancing the world's frontiers of knowledge in countless ways, and won a slew of Nobel Prizes in the process.
It has built one of the world's most powerful militaries -- always under civilian control, I might add -- to ensure its survival in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood. It has shown the world how a tiny nation, no larger than New Jersey or Wales, can, by sheer ingenuity, will, courage, and commitment, defend itself against those who would destroy it through conventional armies or armies of suicide bombers. And it has done all this while striving to adhere to a strict code of military conduct that has few rivals in the democratic world, much less elsewhere -- and in the face of an enemy prepared to send children to the front lines and seek cover in mosques, schools, and hospitals.
It has built a quality of life that ranks it among the world's healthiest nations and with a particularly high life expectancy, indeed higher than that of the U.S.
It has built a thriving culture, whose musicians, writers, and artists are admired far beyond Israel's borders. In doing so, it has lovingly taken an ancient language, Hebrew, the language of the prophets, and rendered it modern to accommodate the vocabulary of the contemporary world.
Notwithstanding a few extremist voices of intolerance, it has built a climate of respect for other faith groups, including Baha'i, Christianity, and Islam, and their places of worship. Can any other nation in the area make the same claim?
It has built an agricultural sector that has had much to teach developing nations about turning an arid soil into fields of fruits, vegetables, cotton, and flowers.
Step back from the twists and turns of the daily information overload coming from the Middle East and consider the sweep of the last 68 years. Look at the light-years traveled since the darkness of the Holocaust, and marvel at the miracle of a decimated people returning to a tiny sliver of land -- the land of our ancestors, the land of Zion and Jerusalem -- and successfully building a modern, vibrant state against all the odds, on that ancient foundation.
In the final analysis |
, though, became distracted by a "situation" with his newborn child and never removed Mojo from the back of his county squad car.
Fuller noticed Mojo was not in his kennel around 7:15 p.m., Lauer said. He went out to the squad car and found Mojo dead of an apparent heat stroke.
Copyright by WANE - All rights reserved Mojo, the canine partner of school resource officer Courtney Fuller, enjoys a scratch from his master at Eastside Junior-Senior High School in this December 2014 photo. (Photo courtesy KPC News)
Copyright by WANE - All rights reserved Mojo, the canine partner of school resource officer Courtney Fuller, enjoys a scratch from his master at Eastside Junior-Senior High School in this December 2014 photo. (Photo courtesy KPC News)
Fuller immediately contacted his supervisor, who contact the Allen County Sheriff's Department to conduct an investigation, according to Lauer.
Mojo was taken to Purdue University for a necropsy to officially confirm the cause of death.
Fuller, who served as the SRO at Eastside Junior/Senior High School in Butler with Mojo, has been placed on suspension pending the result of the investigation, Lauer said.
"The DeKalb County Sheriff's Department regrets this tragic mistake and mourns the loss of one of its members," Lauer wrote in a release.
No other information was provided.
On Monday, the DeKalb County Sheriff's Department refused to comment on the incident. A receptionist told NewsChannel 15 that Lauer and a lead deputy weren't available, and said the Allen County Sheriff's Department would handle questions.
A spokesperson with the Allen County Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the incident, refused to discuss the probe. It's not clear when the investigation will be completed.
Neither department would release a photograph of Mojo or Fuller.WORLD-CLASS Perth Stadium will be a major upgrade on the soon-to-be defunct Domain Stadium – and that includes the quality of the playing surface.
The new state-of-the-art venue ticked-off a significant milestone this week when turf was laid for the first time.
Over the next month, about 60 truckloads – or more than 18,000 square metres – of turf will be rolled out in preparation for Perth Stadium's opening events early next year.
Unlike Domain Stadium's convex playing surface, Perth Stadium's field is flat, due to improvements in drainage, and will be safer for athletes because of the stabilised turf – a combination of artificial and natural grass also used at the MCG.
"(Athletes) get injured when they go from one surface that's inconsistent with another surface," said Hamish Sutherland, managing director of HG Sports Turf, which designed and constructed the field at Perth Stadium.
"So if you got from a loose surface to a tight surface, that's when they have to adapt – their muscle groups have to adapt, the body has to adapt – so it's very important we have a consistent surface.
"By having the artificial and the natural it gives you that consistency.
"It's thoroughly tested. There's a lot of performance testing that is undertaken to make sure it meets international standards."
Milestone day @NewPerthStadium with turf going down for the first time. Will be fully laid in 2-3 weeks. Stadium = 👌🏻 pic.twitter.com/RI4T77JvLh — Travis King (@TravisKing) August 1, 2017
Footings for the goal posts and cricket pitches have now been installed at the 60,000-seat venue, which is more than 88 per cent complete.
About 1000 workers are on site focusing on fitting out the internal areas ahead of the opening event, which is currently scheduled to be a one-day international cricket match between Australia and England on January 28.
Which teams will feature in the first AFL home-and-away match at Perth Stadium is yet to be decided, although it appears unlikely a Western Derby will be staged in round one.
The Dockers are pitching to open the 2018 season against one of the big Victorian clubs.
"We've certainly laid our case to have the opening game, and that being a Fremantle home game, ideally on a Saturday twilight," Fremantle CEO Steve Rosich told Triple M last month.
"We think there's a great business case for that, so we'll work through that with the AFL.
"I think we'll play a few games there before, in terms of the JLT (Community Series) games and maybe a practice game, so the people of Western Australia will get to see the new Perth Stadium in all its glory well before round one."
If West Coast doesn't finish in the top six this season and host a final, the last match at Domain Stadium will be the Eagles' round 23 clash against Adelaide on Sunday, August 27.Warner Bros. and director Peter Jackson are seeking to turn the planned two-film "Hobbit" franchise into a trilogy, a move that could pay off in bigger box office returns, according to people familiar with the situation.
The Burbank film studio originally planned to release two "Hobbit" movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's literary prelude to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and principal photography on those two pictures finished in New Zealand this month. The first is set to come out in December, followed by the second in December 2013. The two films combined cost about $500 million.
But Jackson has concluded that there is enough material from the book, as well as the extensive appendixes to "The Lord of the Rings," to make a third film, according to three people who were not authorized to speak publicly. New Line Cinema, the Warner Bros. unit overseeing production of the movies, is eager to see it happen, and talks are underway with actors and others who would need to sign off on the plan.
A third film is far from a certainty, however, because there are numerous rights-holders and actors with whom new deals must be made. Lead actors in particular hold leverage as they know New Line would need them for the picture. (Actors and some rights-holders had previously made commitments only to two pictures.) Talks with a number of the franchise's actors — including Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen — have been taking place in the last few weeks.
New Line President Toby Emmerich did not return a call for comment, and Jackson could not be reached for comment.
With its blockbuster "Harry Potter" and Christopher Nolan-directed Batman franchises both now concluded, Warner Bros. is hungry for franchise pictures. It has a handful of tent-pole movie set for release next year, including the Superman movie "Man of Steel" and Guillermo del Toro's sci-fi picture "Pacific Rim." But so far it has only one film of note on its 2014 calendar — a movie based on the Lego children's toys.
What plot details would be held back for the third "Hobbit," and how the first and second would be shaped as a result, is a critical question for fans. Of particular interest is whether Jackson would hold back the climactic battle that takes place at the end of the "Hobbit" book for the third movie.
If Jackson were to keep that battle in the second film, the third movie could center on material from the "Lord of the Rings" appendixes, which have not previously been adapted for screen. (The six appendixes ran with "The Return of the King," the final book in the trilogy, and feature backstories on many of the characters and cultures in Middle Earth.)On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” Rep.Adam Schiff (D-CA) responded to Rep. Peter King’s (R-NY) statement that he has seen no proof of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign by saying, “I have to disagree with my colleague in terms of whether there is any evidence of collusion. I believe that there is.” Schiff later added that it’s “certainly premature” to say that there will be no proof of collusion.
Anchor Chris Cuomo asked Schiff, “No proof, Peter King says. I’ve seen no proof of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Carter Page says the allegations are laughable. What do you say?”
Schiff answered, “Well, Carter Page is a person of interest to the committee, and I think, probably likely to come before the committee, so I don’t want to comment on anything he’s had to say in particular. But I do think that we need to get to the bottom of these allegations of collusion or coordination. I have to disagree with my colleague in terms of whether there is any evidence of collusion. I believe that there is. But nonetheless, this is something that we need to investigate. I think there was a reason why the FBI began its investigation, and why it continues that investigation. I don’t think it’s something the FBI does without any basis. But that’s about as much as I can say without going into particulars. I will say this, I think it would be deeply irresponsible of us not to follow the facts wherever they lead, to do it objectively and not to predetermine a conclusion. But there’s certainly, as we have seen from many of the public reports, ample reason to do this investigation.”
He later added that the investigation “shouldn’t be seen as a failure if we do our job, and we follow the facts wherever they lead and we reach a unified conclusion. We shouldn’t go into this with the object that we want to score this political point or that political point or we want to come up ultimately, with a certain conclusion. we’ll be doing our job if we thoroughly investigate this, and if we can reach a sound determination about what happened, what the Russians did, the different levers the Russians pulled. We know the Russians used a variety of techniques to interfere in elections in Europe. We know they used some of those techniques here, and we want to find out about everything the Russians did.”
Schiff was later asked, “Can you say with confidence at this point, that it is premature for people to say there’s going to be no proof of collusion?”
He responded, “Yes. It’s certainly premature. And one of the challenges we have, Chris, in the investigation is, there are the members of the gang of eight in the committee that have received certain information, and then there’s the rest of the committee members. And what I’ve been urging the FBI is to share the information that the gang of eight has received with the full committee, so that we’re all on the same page, we’re all doing the same investigation, but that’s an issue that has yet to be resolved.”
(h/t RCP Video)
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchettnews Palmer United Party Senator Dio (Zhenya) Wang has taken the Government to task over its handling of Australia’s ICT research and tech startup sector, in a fraught Senate session which appeared to illustrate how little the Government’s Senate spokesperson on the issue appeared to understand about the sector’s basic dynamics.
Australia’s peak ICT research organisation, National ICT Australia, is currently undergoing a merger with Australia’s peak scientific group the CSIRO, as a result of the Government cutting all funding to NICTA in the 2014 budget. Up to 200 jobs remain at risk in the merger, which is still being finalised.
In Senate Question Time last week, Palmer United Senator Dio Wang asked the Government a series of questions about the merger and about Australia’s technology startup sector in general. The first question, posed to Senator Michael Ronaldson, who is the Minister for Veteran’s Affairs but also represents Industry and Science Minister Ian Macfarlane in the Senate, was as follows:
“We learned this week that up to 200 jobs are at risk while the apparent merger of National ICT Australia, NICTA, with CSIRO is being negotiated behind closed doors. NICTA is projected to contribute over $3 billion to Australia’s GDP and has been incubating and producing start-up business at an average of one new company every three months. Minister, are we going to discover that this so-called merger is a backdoor for cost-cutting and how do government promises square with the continual shedding of valuable jobs in the research sector?”
However, Senator Ronaldson appeared to have little understanding of the issue Senator Wang was discussing. In response, the Minister read from a document passed to him by an advisor.
“The two organisations have begun working together on some projects. Formal ratification is required, but I understand that the merger will build a more impactful ICT capability for Australia by creating one of the largest single digital innovation teams in the world,” Senator Ronaldson said.
“In relation to the staff, I have a note here from the minister saying that it ‘will create one of the world’s largest cohorts of highly qualified ICT staff and the collective skill of this team will be used to keep Australia at the leading edge in science and innovation.’ The current reduction in funding to NICTA requires a close inspection of all aspects of the merged body to reduce cost.”
However, the Minister’s answer was given in such a monotone, with Senator Ronaldson reading directly from his notes, that the Opposition appeared to lose patience with the answer and started counting down the seconds to his conclusion.
Senate President Stephen Parry described the interjections “very disappointing” and reined in the Senate Chamber, but the mocking of Senator Ronaldson continued after Senator Wang asked a series of follow-up questions. The Palmer United Party Senator asked firstly, why the Government insisted NICTA be self-sustaining, instead of viewing “viewing well-founded ICT driven productivity gains as a boon to our economy and to our standing in this globally aggressive digital age?”
Secondly, Senator Wang said: “Yesterday an ABC report stated that early-stage businesses in Australia are being starved of funding, because venture capital is drying up. What is the government doing today, apart from [the Medical Research Future Fund], to restore confidence in Australia’s research capabilities and address the insecurities that are impairing the motivation of our research workforce?”
Senator Ronaldson appeared unable to substantially answer either question.
“CSIRO is of course an independent body,” he said in relation to the first question. “They will make decisions about how they think the organisation can best go forward. The merger with NICTA, clearly, is from the board’s view an appropriate way forward for both organisations. Like you, I would hope that they would manage any potential job losses on the way through.”
And in relation to the second:
“I say to Senator Wang that the relationship between science, scientific organisations, the business community and education institutions is the only way that this nation will advance. The day before yesterday we announced an advanced manufacturing institute in Geelong.”
“We are determined to ensure through a variety of programs—and I will get you further information as I have only got 21 seconds left—that the entrepreneurship that drove this nation’s growth is at the heart of what this government wants to achieve. We believe that appropriate partnerships between government, education and commerce will indeed drive that and we have many, many programs in place which will achieve that.”
The news comes as the Opposition appears to be seeking to increasingly capitalise on Australia’s growing digital economy in terms of its political strategy.
The Australian Labor Party has created a new internal policy group focused on building a “new economy” through fostering innovation, startups and entrepreneurs, in a move that appears to have support from the highest political levels within the party.
Senior Labor figures such as Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer Ed Husic are regularly attending tech startup sector events in Australia and discussing the issues being faced by the sector. The Coalition has also started to focus on the sector, but not to the same degree.
opinion/analysis
It’s important to acknowledge that Industry and Science is not Senator Ronaldson’s portfolio or expertise. Minister such as Senator Ronaldson have to be across many, many different topic areas, and we have to cut him a bit of slack for not being 100 percent across technology sector details.
However, it’s also important to acknowledge Australia’s technology sector could not help but view the performance given by the Minister on these issues in Senate Question time as a little disappointing. Whatever you think of NICTA, it is a major organisation, and Australia’s tech startup sector is likewise a highly important economic vehicle. One can hardly imagine a Government Minister being as unprepared for questions on the resources, agricultural or financial services sectors.
One would hope the Government prepares its Ministers for these sorts of questions about tech issues better in future — I suspect there will be more along these lines down the track as the Parliament as a whole starts to recognise their importance.
And kudos to Senator Wang — he clearly understands the issues facing Australia’s ICT research and tech startup sectors. It is fantastic to see the Palmer United Party raising these questions in Question Time — it makes a fantastic break from the usual Government/Opposition bickering over the political issue of the day.
Video credit: Parliamentary BroadcastingDear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.
Ten years ago, the overflow crowd during the height of the summer season at Rabbi Marc Schneier’s synagogue in Westhampton Beach, New York, was so large it had to be housed in tents on the lawn outside.
Acoustics were terrible, if not nonexistent, and many congregants decided to cease attending services because they felt disconnected from the activity inside.
Turning to then-Israeli Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and former Haifa Chief Rabbi She’ar Yashuv Cohen, Schneier was referred to Yisrael Rozen, a national-religious rabbi whose Zomet Institute in Alon Shvut had developed a Halacha- friendly sound system.Microphones, like the issue of separation of the sexes during prayers, had long been one of the dividing lines between Orthodox and Conservative congregations, with traditionalists shunning the technology as a violation of the legal norms regulating Shabbat observance.The use of electricity on Shabbat, especially when completing a circuit or causing an element to heat up, potentially violates several biblical prohibitions. When Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the leading light of modern Orthodoxy during the mid-20th century, came out against the use of microphones in synagogues during a meeting of the Rabbinical Council of America he was expressing what had become the consensus among the rabbinate.“In the ’50s and ’60s the true dividing line between Orthodox and Conservative synagogues was the issue of mehitza. Microphones, while an issue, were more a halachic concern and were addressed separately,” explained RCA head Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky. “Zomet’s microphone is a halachically valid option and, therefore, not a concern for an Orthodox synagogue.”According to Brandeis Professor Jonathan Sarna, who studies American Jewish history, when Soloveitchik came out against the use of microphones, it was “no doubt as part of his effort to distinguish Orthodoxy from Conservative Judaism.”“Nowadays, the threat from Conservative Judaism to Orthodoxy is much reduced – everybody knows the difference – and there is much more sensitivity to the hearing impaired, as well as more pressure for larger synagogues in communities with large Orthodox populations.”Relying upon rulings by decision makers such as Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli, Isser Yehuda Unterman and Rav Haim David HaLevi, the Zomet microphone uses only transistors “without any glowing [or ‘burning’] elements;” is turned on by an automatic “Shabbat timer;” and, once turned on, “current flows continuously in the system,” according to technical notes on the setup released on the group’s website.According to Zomet executive director Rabbi Dan Marans, the system has come into use in 15 synagogues in Baltimore, Montreal, West Stamford and other locations, as well as in 18 old-age homes. Leading American poskim, or decidors of Halacha, have even “stipulated in contracts with synagogues that they change the system to our system so that the RCA [will be] able to send rabbis.”In many aging congregations, as the Rabbi’s voice weakens and his listeners find themselves with decreasing auditory capacities, such technology can enable people to be a part of the service, he added.Asked about the possible stigma of using the system, Marans said Zomet usually recommends that synagogues post signs stating that it is rabbinically approved, adding that innovations such as the automatic Shabbat timer and Shabbat elevator took time to be accepted but eventually became mainstream.“I’ve not heard comments [against it]. If anything, people find the service more enjoyable and more elevating,” agreed Schneier, adding that “We must get a dozen calls a year from rabbis contemplating putting this system into their synagogues.“I believe within 25 years it will be commonplace in Orthodox synagogues here in the Northeast.”
Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>Images returned from the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission indicate that during its most recent trip through the inner solar system, the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was a very active place - full of growing fractures, collapsing cliffs and massive rolling boulders. Moving material buried some features on the comet's surface while exhuming others. A study on 67P's changing surface was released Tuesday, March 21, in the journal Science.
"As comets approach the sun, they go into overdrive and exhibit spectacular changes on their surface," said Ramy El-Maarry, study leader and a member of the U.S. Rosetta science team from the University of Colorado, Boulder. "This is something we were not able to really appreciate before the Rosetta mission, which gave us the chance to look at a comet in ultra-high resolution for more than two years."
Most comets orbit our sun in highly elliptical orbits that cause them to spend most of their time in the extremely cold outer solar system. When a comet approaches the inner solar system, the sun begins to warm the ice on and near the comet's surface. When the ice warms enough it can rapidly sublimate (turn directly from the solid to the vapor state). This sublimation process can occur with variable degrees of intensity and time-scales and cause the surface to change rapidly. Between August 2014 and September 2016, Rosetta orbited comet 67P during the comet's swing through the inner-solar system.
"We saw a massive cliff collapse and a large crack in the neck of the comet get bigger and bigger," said El-Maarry. "And we discovered that boulders the size of a large truck could be moved across the comet's surface a distance as long as one-and-a-half football fields."
In the case of the boulder, Rosetta's cameras observed a 282-million-pound (130-million-kilogram), 100-feet-wide (30-meter) space rock to have moved 150 yards (460 feet, or 140 meters) from its original position on the comet's nucleus. The massive space rock probably moved as a result of several outburst events that were detected close to its original position.
The warming of 67P also caused the comet's rotation rate to speed up. The comet's increasing spin rate in the lead-up to perihelion is thought to be responsible for a 1,600-foot-long (500-meters) fracture spotted in August 2014 that runs through the comet's neck. The fracture, which originally extended a bit longer than the Empire State Building is high, was found to have increased in width by about 100 feet (30 meters) by December 2014. Furthermore, in images taken in June 2016, a new 500- to 1,000-foot-long (150 to 300 meters) fracture was identified parallel to the original fracture.
"The large crack was in the 'neck' of the comet -- a small central part that connects the two lobes," said El-Maarry. "The crack was extending--indicating that the comet may split up one day."
Understanding how comets change and evolve with time gives us important insights into the types and abundance of ices in comets, and how long comets can stay in the inner solar system before losing all their ice and becoming balls of dust," said El-Maarry. "This helps us better understand the conditions of the early solar system, and possibly even how life started."
A link to an ESA press release with more information on the El-Maarry paper in Science can be found here:
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Before_and_after_unique_changes_spotted_on_Rosetta_s_comet
In a second Rosetta study released Tuesday, this one published in Nature Astronomy, scientists make the first definitive link between an outburst of dust and gas from the nucleus of 67P and the collapse of one of its prominent cliffs, which also exposed the comet's pristine, icy interior.
A link to an ESA press release on the Nature Astronomy paper can be found here:
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Collapsing_cliff_reveals_comet_s_interior
Comets are time capsules containing primitive material left over from the epoch when the sun and its planets formed. Rosetta was the first spacecraft to witness at close proximity how a comet changes as it is subjected to the increasing intensity of the sun's radiation. Observations will help scientists learn more about the origin and evolution of our solar system and whether comets brought life-sustaining water and organic molecules to the Earth.
Rosetta is an ESA mission with contributions from its member states and NASA. Rosetta's Philae lander is provided by a consortium led by the German Aerospace Center, Cologne; Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Gottingen; French National Space Agency, Paris; and the Italian Space Agency, Rome. JPL, Pasadena, California, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the U.S. contribution of the Rosetta mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL also built the MIRO instrument and hosts its principal investigator, Mark Hofstadter. The Southwest Research Institute (San Antonio and Boulder, Colorado), developed the Rosetta orbiter's IES and Alice instruments and hosts their principal investigators, James Burch (IES) and Joel Parker (Alice).
For more information on the U.S. instruments aboard Rosetta, visit:
http://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov
More information about Rosetta is available at:
http://www.esa.int/rosetta
News Media Contact
DC AgleJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California818-393-9011agle@jpl.nasa.govDwayne Brown / Laurie CantilloNASA Headquarters, Washington202-358-1726 / 202-358-1077dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / laura.l.cantillo@nasa.govMarkus BauerEuropean Space Agency, Noordwijk, Netherlands011-31-71-565-6799markus.bauer@esa.int2017-080In times of uncertainty, the smart money is always keen to look at opportunities which could protect their downside risk. The term “hedge your risk” was coined pretty much based on this idea. Investors have been waiting for the massive pullback or correction in the current bull market which has been triggered since the financial crisis. Yet, there are no signs of this coming to an end. However, when the markets start to show some cracks, the smart money not only reads the cracks in the bull market well before anyone else, but also takes steps to protect their downside risk. In other words, when you see the ingredients of a recipe on the chef’s table, you know that he is going to cook that recipe. What you do is prepare yourself to have his food.
Bitcoin, despite its volatility, has taken a prominent place when it comes to a risk-off trade during the substantive volatility time in the market. North Korea has played more than a fair role in escalating the geopolitical tensions and we have seen the price of Bitcoin skyrocketing on the back of the heightened geopolitical tensions. The cryptocurrency market is a largely unregulated market (although a number of central banks are actively looking to regulate this market, which would not only reduce the volatility but also strengthen the demand equation). After the recent missile test by North Korea, the U.S. stepped up the efforts and pressured the United Nations to ranch up the criteria of sanctions on North Korea. As a result, the UN passed a resolution under which imports of refined petroleum products will be cut to 2 million barrels a year and a ban of textile exports will take place. The sanctions are designed to limit the country’s ability to get any hard currency.
However, these sanctions are not going to halt Kim Jong-un from his nuclear program and there are no hopes of him coming to the negotiation table. In fact, the country has stepped up the efforts in securing more bitcoins along with many other cryptocurrencies. North Korea has an army of hackers who are constantly targeting South Korea, the hectic trading hub for cryptocurrency. The strategy would aid the country in bypassing many trade restrictions which also include the new sanctions. Moreover, the massive popularity of the cryptocurrency gained Kim’s attention and for crypto traders, this represents an opportunity. A higher demand for cryptocurrency would only boost its price.
We do know that bitcoin is up nearly 358% YTD and I do think that the currency could touch the level of $5,500 by the end of this year. Given the volatility around cryptocurrency, it is now possible to simply hedge your risk. A number of brokers are providing options for Bitcoin CFD trading and are providing the leverage of 25:1. The simple strategy for Bitcoin holders to hedge their risk if they are concerned about a downward move could be to sell Bitcoin CFDs to protect their downside (any move to the downside would be profitable because one would have a short position).
Crazy as it sounds that you can now use Bitcoin CFDs to protect your investment risk, it could be the answer for those who are worried about the cryptocurrency market.
Disclosure: Currently, I am not holding any position in Bitcoin.This is my second set of original character portraits I did from descriptions posted by Redditors from their own stories.
The olive skin now almost white, did a poor job of hiding the dark rings under his eyes, the brand on his forehead appearing to float over the light skin. Saul had barely glimpsed the sun since entering the dungeon, and while his master occasionally let him out for other tasks, they always called for night and shadow.
The King was a tall, handsome man though he sat slumped in his throne. He had a high, proud nose, thin lips painted purple and black for the occasion, and dark eyes set deep into pale flesh. Framed by long black hair falling in layers to stiff shoulders, the King’s face was a tense mask of attention and concern. Below his right eye was a scar in the shape of the slanted V; the crest of Varz. His eyes were distinct, the eyes of a sorcerer, as they were much like the reverse of normal eyes; dark black orbs with white irises.
Thick fingers parted, and the golem peeked out with flat, onyx eyes. It put a stony palm to the gravel and pushed itself to its feet, as if it were a statue of a man thrusting into shape from the scattered rocks.
Cecil had seen Siltskins before—although always from the impersonal distance of the road on those occasions he’d driven past a pitchblende mine. The golem was intimidating in close quarters, and Cecil missed his rifle once again.
His eyes are sunken and his face is gaunt. He looks like he never sleeps, or is perpetually hungover. He also rarely smiles. His black hair is thinning, so he keeps it close cropped. He hasn’t cut it in a while. He’s clean shaven, usually, but he’ll often go a few days without shaving. He used to be a linguistics professor in the city, so he can’t shake the professional demeanor that still sets his stance and attire, but it’s started to fray a little in his retirement. With no university elite to hobnob, Bras is comfortable rolling his sleeves up, wearing his tunic unbelted, and swearing. Smudges of ink on his nose, brow, and fingers are very common from translating journals. He has a tattoo of a slave collar around his throat, a tradition from his hometown.
Male mid-forties. Tall, thin faced with sharp features. Slightly narrow tired dark eyes and thin eyebrows. A single deep scar running from below right eye to jaw line. Clean shaven with tidy short dark hair which is beginning to grey. Wears battered scale armour.
Severe looking but not lacking in compassion. Exhausted from decades of loss/hardship and the worry of immense responsibility but resilient and determined nonetheless.
I had short auburn hair, which bristled out in all directions, and pale blue eyes. The girls at my school used to tease that I looked like an old broom.
His black curly hair was the only messy part of him, everything else drawn in fine lines and sharp angles. His face, he knew, looked just a little alien from other people, his cheek bones set too high, his face a touch too long, but most people didn’t notice either of those things. They did notice his sharp blue eyes, staring out with burning curiosity, often mistaken for a sort of impishness.
A hulking, brozed beast of a man, raised by lions in the Wastes of Despair. He’s buff, scarred, and usually shirtless and sweaty. He has long blond hair and a large blond beard that come together to resemble a lion’s mane. He burned his face near his eyes to mimic a lion’s dark “eyeliner.” He has a thick, flat nose and a large brow. He’s a serious swashbuckler and a super-awesome murderer. He loves berries.Port Angeles, Washington (CNN) -- On Washington state's remote and wooded Olympic Peninsula, major commotion is usually limited to a log tumbling off an overloaded lumber truck.
But lately the peninsula has been roiled by a noisy debate over the expansion of a Border Patrol station in Port Angeles, a three-hour car and ferry ride away from the U.S.-Canadian land border.
The U.S. Border Patrol is spending nearly $6 million to renovate a Port Angeles building that could house up to 50 of its agents.
Prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001, four agents were stationed in Port Angeles, a city of about 20,000 people some 15 miles across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Canada.
"It's not needed, there's nothing for them to do up here," said Lois Danks, a local writer and organizer of Stop the Checkpoints, which last month staged a small protest near where the Border Patrol's new station is being built.
She says border agents "drive around and hassle people without any reasonable suspicion of anything except for possibly the color of their skin."
"They park across the street from Hispanic grocery stores and taco stands and watch who comes and goes," according to Danks.
Border Patrol officials deny they target any specific community and say that beyond enforcing immigration laws, they guard the peninsula from drug smuggling and terrorist threats.
Whistle-blower's accusations
In 1999, Ahmed Ressam was stopped by a customs officer at the Port Angeles ferry crossing trying to bring explosives into the country from Canada. Ressam was later convicted of terrorism charges.
Border Patrol officials say most people who live in Port Angeles and the small towns that dot the peninsula support their efforts.
But recent criticism that further ignited the debate came from an unexpected quarter: one of the station's own agents.
"There's nothing to do," Border Patrol agent Christian Sanchez said during a July event in Washington on government whistle-blowers. "There are no gangs or cross-border activity. I haven't seen it."
Sanchez told the Advisory Committee on Transparency, a forum funded by the not-for-profit Sunlight Foundation, he never intended to become a whistle-blower, but decided to speak out publicly after he felt his complaints about the Port Angeles station's "lack of mission" were being brushed aside by supervisors.
Sanchez told the panel he ran afoul of supervisors for refusing overtime he didn't feel he was entitled to since, he said, there was so little work to do.
"The taxpayers are paying us all this extra money to do nothing on this peninsula, where it's a water-based border," Sanchez said during the panel discussion. "It's a burden on the taxpayers right now especially with the economy, with Medicare being cut, with the foreclosures."
Through his attorney, Sanchez turned down CNN's requests for an interview.
His attorney, Tom Devine of the Government Accountability Project, which specializes in whistle-blower cases, said Sanchez still works at the Port Angeles station but has requested a transfer back to the U.S. border with Mexico, where he had previously patrolled.
Devine said Sanchez feared more reprisals like the kind that he said took place after he began criticizing the Port Angeles station.
"Retaliation has increased," Sanchez told the panel on whistle-blowers. "My family has been terrorized, vehicles have been driving by, my mail has been opened."
Henry Rolon, the deputy chief of the Border Patrol sector that oversees the Port Angles station, said he was unable to comment on Sanchez's case due to an ongoing investigation.
But Rolon rejected Sanchez's statements that Port Angeles agents are "bored" and "without a mission."
"Agents in Port Angeles have a very important mission and there's lots to do," Rolon said. "You have to go out there, you have to patrol within the community, on the border. Otherwise you are not going to be there when an incident occurs."
It's not clear how many incidents are handled specifically by Port Angeles agents, since the agency does not release statistics for individual stations, according to Border Patrol spokesman Rhett Bowlden.
But last year, the Blaine Sector -- which includes the Port Angeles station and four major land border crossings -- apprehended 673 people and confiscated 1,897 pounds of marijuana, 270 pounds of Ecstasy, 3 pounds of cocaine, and 1 ounce of heroin, Bowlden said. There are currently 327 agents stationed in the sector, including an estimated 40 at Port Angeles.
Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict said he sympathized with the Port Angeles border agents because they didn't have enough to do.
"I know (the Port Angeles section's) activity. I think they made less than 20 arrests last year," Benedict said during a May community meeting, the Peninsula Daily News newspaper reported.
"I feel a little sorry for the Border Patrol because it is a very lonely, boring job."
Michael Cox, head of the Border Patrol agents' union, rejected that |
10 feet 5.59 inches.[12]
Festivals [ edit ]
The city of Rockford, Illinois embraces the doll as part of its history. In 2005, Midway Village Museum in Rockford held its first "Sock Monkey Madness Festival", where sock monkey fans could view an exhibit highlighting the industrial, legal, and creative history of the Nelson red-heel sock and the sock monkey. In 2009, the annual Sock Monkey Madness Festival was awarded a national Leadership in History Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History for excellence in educational programming.
The Sock Monkey Madness Festival also includes the original sock monkey that helped the Nelson Knitting Company win the patent and obtain the title “Home of the Sock Monkey.” Additionally, there is a 7-foot-2-inch sock monkey named "Nelson" (he acquired his namesake after the founder of the factory, John Nelson). Nelson, the super-sized sock monkey mascot created by author/crafter Dee Lindner was sewn out of 44 Rockford red-heeled socks.[3] Furthermore, the festival is kid friendly and has unique attractions such as the “Sockford General Hospital”. The hospital is a “crafty clinic” that repairs sock monkeys if they require any care. Volunteers dress as nurses and fix any button eyes that fall off, torn mouths, or do any other sewing that is necessary.[13]
References [ edit ]
Media related to Sock monkeys at Wikimedia CommonsSince falling out of favour at Juventus the midfielder has claimed that he should have taken up offers from other clubs, but insisted that he will not make the same mistake again
Juventus midfielder Milos Krasic has revealed that he regrets not taking up offers from Tottenham and Zenit St Petersburg in January, but is adamant that he will make a move this summer.
The Serbia international thought that he would be given a chance to stake a claim in Antonio Conte's squad again but has failed to be handed the opportunity and will now look elsewhere in Europe for playing time.
The midfielder revealed that, although it was reported that numerous clubs were interested in him, the only clubs to make concrete bids were Spurs and the Russian outfit.
"At the end of the transfer window in January, there were offers from Tottenham and Zenit for a loan deal," Krasic told Vecernje Novosti.
"I decided to decline those options in the belief that I would be given chances at Juventus.
"That has proven to be a mistake and it would have been better if I had accepted one of those offers.
"There were many rumours about interest from Chelsea, but there was no contact with them and no offer. It was just paper talk."
Juventus are currently 9/4 with Paddy Power to win Serie A this season.
"I declined those options in the belief that I would be given chances... [but] it is obvious that I have no place here"
- Milos Krasic
Krasic has suffered a torrid time since impressing during his first campaign in Italy and claims that he has been "written off" by the management at the Turin side.
"It is obvious that there is no place for me here and that I have been written off," he added.
"I am sorry that I have to leave Juventus. No-one would be happy to leave such a big club, especially after enjoying such a good first season and then being written off by the coach.
"It is in my best interest to leave. At the moment I am trying to stay in good shape and preparing to find a new club in June."By George Friedman Successful revolutions have three phases. First, a strategically located single or limited segment of society begins vocally to express resentment, asserting itself in the streets of a major city, usually the capital. This segment is joined by other segments in the city and by segments elsewhere as the demonstration spreads to other cities and becomes more assertive, disruptive and potentially violent. As resistance to the regime spreads, the regime deploys its military and security forces. These forces, drawn from resisting social segments and isolated from the rest of society, turn on the regime, and stop following the regime's orders. This is what happened to the Shah of Iran in 1979; it is also what happened in Russia in 1917 or in Romania in 1989. Revolutions fail when no one joins the initial segment, meaning the initial demonstrators are the ones who find themselves socially isolated. When the demonstrations do not spread to other cities, the demonstrations either peter out or the regime brings in the security and military forces — who remain loyal to the regime and frequently personally hostile to the demonstrators — and use force to suppress the rising to the extent necessary. This is what happened in Tiananmen Square in China: The students who rose up were not joined by others. Military forces who were not only loyal to the regime but hostile to the students were brought in, and the students were crushed. A Question of Support This is also what happened in Iran this week. The global media, obsessively focused on the initial demonstrators — who were supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's opponents — failed to notice that while large, the demonstrations primarily consisted of the same type of people demonstrating. Amid the breathless reporting on the demonstrations, reporters failed to notice that the uprising was not spreading to other classes and to other areas. In constantly interviewing English-speaking demonstrators, they failed to note just how many of the demonstrators spoke English and had smartphones. The media thus did not recognize these as the signs of a failing revolution. Later, when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke Friday and called out the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, they failed to understand that the troops — definitely not drawn from what we might call the " Twittering classes," would remain loyal to the regime for ideological and social reasons. The troops had about as much sympathy for the demonstrators as a small-town boy from Alabama might have for a Harvard postdoc. Failing to understand the social tensions in Iran, the reporters deluded themselves into thinking they were witnessing a general uprising. But this was not St. Petersburg in 1917 or Bucharest in 1989 — it was Tiananmen Square. In the global discussion last week outside Iran, there was a great deal of confusion about basic facts. For example, it is said that the urban-rural distinction in Iran is not critical any longer because according to the United Nations, 68 percent of Iranians are urbanized. This is an important point because it implies Iran is homogeneous and the demonstrators representative of the country. The problem is the Iranian definition of urban — and this is quite common around the world — includes very small communities (some with only a few thousand people) as "urban." But the social difference between someone living in a town with 10,000 people and someone living in Tehran is the difference between someone living in Bastrop, Texas and someone living in New York. We can assure you that that difference is not only vast, but that most of the good people of Bastrop and the fine people of New York would probably not see the world the same way. The failure to understand the dramatic diversity of Iranian society led observers to assume that students at Iran's elite university somehow spoke for the rest of the country. Tehran proper has about 8 million inhabitants; its suburbs bring it to about 13 million people out of Iran's total population of 70.5 million. Tehran accounts for about 20 percent of Iran, but as we know, the cab driver and the construction worker are not socially linked to students at elite universities. There are six cities with populations between 1 million and 2.4 million people and 11 with populations of about 500,000. Including Tehran proper, 15.5 million people live in cities with more than 1 million and 19.7 million in cities greater than 500,000. Iran has 80 cities with more than 100,000. But given that Waco, Texas, has more than 100,000 people, inferences of social similarities between cities with 100,000 and 5 million are tenuous. And with metro Oklahoma City having more than a million people, it becomes plain that urbanization has many faces. Winning the Election With or Without Fraud We continue to believe two things: that vote fraud occurred, and that Ahmadinejad likely would have won without it. Very little direct evidence has emerged to establish vote fraud, but several things seem suspect. For example, the speed of the vote count has been taken as a sign of fraud, as it should have been impossible to count votes that fast. The polls originally were to have closed at 7 p.m. local time, but voting hours were extended until 10 p.m. because of the number of voters in line. By 11:45 p.m. about 20 percent of the vote had been counted. By 5:20 a.m. the next day, with almost all votes counted, the election commission declared Ahmadinejad the winner. The vote count thus took about seven hours. (Remember there were no senators, congressmen, city council members or school board members being counted — just the presidential race.) Intriguingly, this is about the same time it took in 2005, though reformists that claimed fraud back then did not stress the counting time in their allegations. The counting mechanism is simple: Iran has 47,000 voting stations, plus 14,000 roaming stations that travel from tiny village to tiny village, staying there for a short time before moving on. That creates 61,000 ballot boxes designed to receive roughly the same number of votes. That would mean that each station would have been counting about 500 ballots, or about 70 votes per hour. With counting beginning at 10 p.m., concluding seven hours later does not necessarily indicate fraud or anything else. The Iranian presidential election system is designed for simplicity: one race to count in one time zone, and all counting beginning at the same time in all regions, we would expect the numbers to come in a somewhat linear fashion as rural and urban voting patterns would balance each other out — explaining why voting percentages didn't change much during the night. It has been pointed out that some of the candidates didn't even carry their own provinces or districts. We remember that Al Gore didn't carry Tennessee in 2000. We also remember Ralph Nader, who also didn't carry his home precinct in part because people didn't want to spend their vote on someone unlikely to win — an effect probably felt by the two smaller candidates in the Iranian election. That Mousavi didn't carry his own province is more interesting. Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett writing in Politico make some interesting points on this. As an ethnic Azeri, it was assumed that Mousavi would carry his Azeri-named and -dominated home province. But they also point out that Ahmadinejad also speaks Azeri, and made multiple campaign appearances in the district. They also point out that Khamenei is Azeri. In sum, winning that district was by no means certain for Mousavi, so losing it does not automatically signal fraud. It raised suspicions, but by no means was a smoking gun. We do not doubt that fraud occurred during the Iranian election. For example, 99.4 percent of potential voters voted in Mazandaran province, a mostly secular area home to the shah's family. Ahmadinejad carried the province by a 2.2 to 1 ratio. That is one heck of a turnout and level of support for a province that lost everything when the mullahs took over 30 years ago. But even if you take all of the suspect cases and added them together, it would not have changed the outcome. The fact is that Ahmadinejad's vote in 2009 was extremely close to his victory percentage in 2005. And while the Western media portrayed Ahmadinejad's performance in the presidential debates ahead of the election as dismal, embarrassing and indicative of an imminent electoral defeat, many Iranians who viewed those debates — including some of the most hardcore Mousavi supporters — acknowledge that Ahmadinejad outperformed his opponents by a landslide. Mousavi persuasively detailed his fraud claims Sunday, and they have yet to be rebutted. But if his claims of the extent of fraud were true, the protests should have spread rapidly by social segment and geography to the millions of people who even the central government asserts voted for him. Certainly, Mousavi supporters believed they would win the election based in part on highly flawed polls, and when they didn't, they assumed they were robbed and took to the streets. But critically, the protesters were not joined by any of the millions whose votes the protesters alleged were stolen. In a complete hijacking of the election by some 13 million votes by an extremely unpopular candidate, we would have expected to see the core of Mousavi's supporters joined by others who had been disenfranchised. On last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, when the demonstrations were at their height, the millions of Mousavi voters should have made their appearance. They didn't. We might assume that the security apparatus intimidated some, but surely more than just the Tehran professional and student classes possess civic courage. While appearing large, the demonstrations actually comprised a small fraction of society. Tensions Among the Political Elite All of this is not to say there are not tremendous tensions within the Iranian political elite. That no revolution broke out does not mean there isn't a crisis in the political elite, particularly among the clerics. But that crisis does not cut the way Western common sense would have it. Many of Iran's religious leaders see Ahmadinejad as hostile to their interests, as threatening their financial prerogatives, and as taking international risks they don't want to take. Ahmadinejad's political popularity in fact rests on his populist hostility to what he sees as the corruption of the clerics and their families and his strong stand on Iranian national security issues. The clerics are divided among themselves, but many wanted to see Ahmadinejad lose to protect their own interests. Khamenei, the supreme leader, faced a difficult choice last Friday. He could demand a major recount or even new elections, or he could validate what happened. Khamenei speaks for a sizable chunk of the ruling elite, but also has had to rule by consensus among both clerical and non-clerical forces. Many powerful clerics like Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani wanted Khamenei to reverse the election, and we suspect Khamenei wished he could have found a way to do it. But as the defender of the regime, he was afraid to. Mousavi supporters' demonstrations would have been nothing compared to the firestorm among Ahmadinejad supporters — both voters and the security forces — had their candidate been denied. Khamenei wasn't going to flirt with disaster, so he endorsed the outcome. The Western media misunderstood this because they didn't understand that Ahmadinejad does not speak for the clerics but against them, that many of the clerics were working for his defeat, and that Ahmadinejad has enormous pull in the country's security apparatus. The reason Western media missed this is because they bought into the concept of the stolen election, therefore failing to see Ahmadinejad's support and the widespread dissatisfaction with the old clerical elite. The Western media simply didn't understand that the most traditional and pious segments of Iranian society support Ahmadinejad because he opposes the old ruling elite. Instead, they assumed this was like Prague or Budapest in 1989, with a broad-based uprising in favor of liberalism against an unpopular regime. Tehran in 2009, however, was a struggle between two main factions, both of which supported the Islamic republic as it was. There were the clerics, who have dominated the regime since 1979 and had grown wealthy in the process. And there was Ahmadinejad, who felt the ruling clerical elite had betrayed the revolution with their personal excesses. And there also was the small faction the BBC and CNN kept focusing on — the demonstrators in the streets who want to dramatically liberalize the Islamic republic. This faction never stood a chance of taking power, whether by election or revolution. The two main factions used the third smaller faction in various ways, however. Ahmadinejad used it to make his case that the clerics who supported them, like Rafsanjani, would risk the revolution and play into the hands of the Americans and British to protect their own wealth. Meanwhile, Rafsanjani argued behind the scenes that the unrest was the tip of the iceberg, and that Ahmadinejad had to be replaced. Khamenei, an astute politician, examined the data and supported Ahmadinejad. Now, as we saw after Tiananmen Square, we will see a reshuffling among the elite. Those who backed Mousavi will be on the defensive. By contrast, those who supported Ahmadinejad are in a powerful position. There is a massive crisis in the elite, but this crisis has nothing to do with liberalization: It has to do with power and prerogatives among the elite. Having been forced by the election and Khamenei to live with Ahmadinejad, some will make deals while some will fight — but Ahmadinejad is well-positioned to win this battle.“The first goal of trauma recovery should and must be to improve your quality of life on a daily basis” (Rothschild, 2010)
For an overview of the recovery process please view the video below:
Recovery is the primary goal for people who have experienced trauma, their families, and their care providers. Recovery does not necessarily mean complete freedom from post-traumatic affects. Recovery is an individual experience and will be and look different for everyone. In general recovery is the ability to live in the present without being overwhelmed by the thoughts and feelings of the past.
Central to the experience of trauma is helplessness, isolation and the loss of power and control. The guiding principles of trauma recovery are the restoration of safety and empowerment. Recovery does not necessarily mean complete freedom from post traumatic affects but generally it is the ability to live in the present without being overwhelmed by the thoughts and feelings of the past.
There is a vigorous debate in the field of traumatic stress as to whether revisiting traumatic memories is necessary for healing or whether it may in fact even be harmful. Obviously this is an individual matter; many may find it beneficial to tell and retell their experiences of trauma where others may find that destructive to their well being.
Trauma recovery is best to be looked upon as a process that is worked on over time and in intentional stages. The re-establishing of safety is the first and most central step in recovery separate and apart from whether the details of the trauma are ever spoken of or not.
Dr. Pierre Janet conceived of a phased framework of trauma recovery in the late 1800’s with Dr. Judith Herman making it more readily known in her seminal work, Trauma and Recovery (1992).With the return of The Walking Dead Season 4 less than three weeks away, get ready for a series of special features leading up to the episode nine premiere. To kick things off, we have the official season 4.5 description, the synopsis for episode nine, and a high resolution version of the first new photo:
“The Walking Dead” returns with the highly anticipated final eight episodes of season four beginning Sunday, February 9 at 9pm ET/PT. Following the devastating events of the mid-season finale, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the group are still reeling from the loss of their home, family and friends. With the destruction of the prison, the group of survivors is broken apart and sent on divergent paths, unsure of everyone else's fate. What was a challenging life behind fences and walls grows that much more perilous and precious as they are exposed to new dangers, new enemies and heartbreaking choices. They will have their faith thoroughly tested -- a faith that breaks some of them and redeems others."
For those of you on Twitter, we've been told that Norman Reedus will take part in a live Twitter Q&A in the hours leading up to the February 9th premiere of After. Our UK readers will be happy to learn that Season 4 will resume for them on Monday, February 10th, so there won't be as long of a wait as previous seasons.
Looking past Season 4, The Walking Dead Season 5 has been officially given the green light by AMC, so filming should start in Spring 2014. A spinoff series is also in the early planning stages and is expected to air in 2015. We expect to have more details on all of these projects in the coming months, but you can catch up on our recent coverage highlights by visiting the following links:
The Walking Dead Episode 409 – After: "As Rick deals with old wounds, members of the prison have to come to terms with their new environment and ask themselves if survival alone is enough."
Written By: Robert Kirkman
Directed By: Greg Nicotero
Season 4 Return Trailer:
Alternate International Embed [via SpoilerTV]:
Previously Released Trailer:
Season 4 Return Poster:Northern Ireland man Doole allowed to marry Japanese fiancee after U-turn over Irish passport BelfastTelegraph.co.uk The Government has done a U-turn over its decision to refuse a visa to a Japanese woman to fly to Belfast and marry her Northern Ireland fiance - because he holds an Irish passport. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/northern-ireland-man-doole-allowed-to-marry-japanese-fiancee-after-uturn-over-irish-passport-36212170.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article36208242.ece/93336/AUTOCROP/h342/fia2.jpg
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The Government has done a U-turn over its decision to refuse a visa to a Japanese woman to fly to Belfast and marry her Northern Ireland fiance - because he holds an Irish passport.
The Home Office yesterday announced it had reversed its ruling after the Belfast Telegraph reported on the plight of Ciaran Doole and Makiko Takeoka.
The couple were planning to mount a legal challenge to overturn the decision, so they could marry in 11 days' time. They have already spent over £7,000 on the wedding and were distraught that they would have to cancel it.
Mr Doole said last night: "The Home Office's change of heart is great news. We breathed a big sigh of relief when we found out. We are so delighted that our wedding can now go ahead. Otherwise, we would have lost everything.
"The lead-up to our wedding should have been enjoyable, but it turned into the most stressful time of our lives. The pressure of not knowing whether or not it would even happen was unbearable. Makiko now hopes to get her visa over the next few days and to fly out of Tokyo at the end of the week."
Mr Doole said that while he welcomed the U-turn, "the decision should never have been made in the first place".
He added: "I consider myself both Irish and British. I hold an Irish passport, as do many other people in Northern Ireland. We shouldn't be treated as immigrants in our own country because of it."
The couple's legal team had begun legal proceedings to challenge the decision in Belfast High Court before Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan yesterday.
They were lodging an application for leave to apply for a judicial review, arguing that the Home Office was in breach of the Good Friday Agreement.
Answering the application form question about her partner's nationality, Ms Takeoka had chosen "Ireland" from a list of countries. When asked his status within the UK, she had written "British citizen". Mr Doole's Irish passport was among the documents the couple forwarded.
Refusing her application, the Home Office stated last Wednesday "your sponsor is an Irish national who is working in the UK, however they have not established that they are settled in the UK".
Mr Doole, who was born and has lived in Northern Ireland all his life, said he was at a loss to know why he wasn't regarded "as present and settled in the country where generations of my family are from".
He said he was being discriminated against for holding an Irish passport and said that he didn't need to hold two passports to assert his right to British citizenship.
In a statement, a Home Office spokesman said the decision had been reversed. "Ms Takeoka has been invited to submit her passport to the same visa application centre where she made her application so that the visa can be printed and issued to her," the spokeswoman said.
She said that the refusal to grant Ms Takeoka a visa had been overturned last Thursday, but declined to comment on the Home Office's reasons for reversing its original decision.
The couple's solicitor, Barbara Muldoon, disputed the chain of events and claimed her client was informed last week only of her right to appeal.
"It is absolutely fantastic that the government has reversed its ruling. A solicitor for the Home Office advised me of that verbally yesterday afternoon but I have yet to receive any written confirmation," she said.
"It's brilliant that my clients' wedding can now go ahead, but the Home Office still must explain how this ridiculous situation arose in the first place.
"There are very few immigration lawyers in Belfast, so I'm concerned that this may have happened a good few times before but people have not had access to the correct legal advice to challenge it."
Mr Doole and Ms Takeoka met in 2013 at L'Arche charity in south Belfast, which helps adults with learning disabilities. He was a staff member and she was a volunteer with the organisation.
They began dating a few months later and got engaged last year.
Ms Takeoka is an artist who has worked in Northern Ireland for over three years, but returned to Tokyo to make the application for a family settlement visa to marry Mr Doole in Belfast and live here.
Belfast TelegraphPremiership player Clay Smith has signed a one-year contract extension to become the second player this week to re-commit to the Club.
Recovering from a third knee reconstruction, Smith played 13 consecutive in 2016, culminating in a premiership medallion.
Smith played an integral role in the Club’s final series, kicking 11 goals in four games, including a best-a-field display in the Preliminary Final (26 disposals, four goals).
“Clay is a heart and soul player, and has proven to be one of the most resilient young men we have seen in football,” List Manager Jason McCartney said.
“For him to get back, year after year, and then play the pivotal role he played in this finals series is just testament to him.”
“He is a great story, and we look forward to that continuing in the coming years.”
The midfielder turned forward said he couldn’t think of a better time to be playing football, and in particular in the red, white and blue.
“To be a premiership player with a great bunch of people, and then sign an extension, I can’t think of a more happier time in football,” Smith said.
“My challenges have been well-documented, but it makes it all worthwhile when get to experience what we have over the past few weeks. I’m just rapt.”
Smith was selected with pick 17 in the 2011 National Draft and has played 47 senior games.So now we have rapid-fire exchange via blogs and online working papers — and I think it’s all good. Work circulates even faster than it did then, there are quick exchanges that can advance understanding, and while it’s still hard to break in, connections aren’t as important as they once were and the system is much more open.
But, you say, doesn’t this allow a lot of really bad economics to circulate? Yes, but is it really any worse than it used to be? As I’ve tried to explain, the notion of journals as gatekeepers was largely fictional even 25 years ago. And I have a somewhat jaundiced view of how the whole refereeing/publication system has ever worked; all too often, it seems to act as a way for entrenched doctrines to blockade new ideas, or at least to keep people with new ideas from getting tenure at a good school.
The major problem I see now is the disconnect between promotion and the real nature of intellectual discourse in the Internet age. But the quality of the discussion, it seems to me, is if anything higher than it was in the good old days.
That’s Paul Krugman, in a post commenting on the trend toward open science, which the New York Times discussed earlier this week, and which my colleague Don Taylor blogged about yesterday.
No related content found.Chelsea Morgensen is heating things up faster than a plate of wings these days — the reigning 2017 Miss Hooters International is serving up the sizzling 2018 calendar as its new cover girl.
And it’s for a good cause. Since October, $1 from each calendar goes to Give A Hoot, a campaign supporting breast cancer research.
Fox News spoke with the Texas native living in Hollywood about appearing in the latest Hooters calendar, how she was hired by the restaurant and the one talent she loves to show off:
Fox News: Can you describe that moment when you saw yourself on the cover for the first time?
Chelsea Morgensen: My managers first told me I was going to be doing a TV appearance, but instead they were actually surprising me with my cover. The entire restaurant was chanting my name as I came downstairs. I had no idea what was going on. And then they finally showed me the cover… I loved it. I just really loved my picture! I was so excited, the whole restaurant was cheering for me… But it didn’t actually hit me until… I saw the physical, actual calendar. I just thought, ‘Wow, this actually happened.’
Fox News: When did you first became involved with Hooters?
Morgensen: I started working for Hooters in April 2015. I was actually just eating at Hooters because I love their wings and thought, ‘You know, I really need a job. I wonder if they’re hiring.’ I asked the Hooters girl there and she said, ‘Yeah! Stop in tomorrow and meet our manager.’ I went in… They pretty much hired me on the spot. It was pretty exciting. I was a bit overwhelmed, but I am glad that I pursued it. It’s been the best job I’ve ever had.
Fox News: How has working at Hooters helped you build self-confidence?
Morgensen: Just having to interact with people every day, especially working in Hollywood, people come from all over the country… I had to open up and talk to everybody. Being outgoing just in the workplace encouraged me to get out more in my regular life.
Fox News: What’s your relationship like with your customers?
Morgensen: In Hollywood, we actually have very few regulars… It’s always new customers. But recently — and I’m so excited about this — I actually created two regulars of my own that now frequent the restaurant, which is really cool!
My relationships with them are very friendly. We talk about work, travel, careers. I’m modeling and acting now, so they’re always really curious about what that’s like and see how I’m doing… If they’re ever having a down day, I try to turn it around for them. I really like having that familiar face come in. And I hope to create more of them.
Fox News: Have you interacted with any celebrities?
Morgensen: I personally have not that I know of, but there are some celebrities that come in. I know we had a football player one time who came in and ordered one of everything on the entire menu… We do have some celebrities who come in every now and then.
Fox News: Some people believe Hooters depicts women in a negative light. How do you respond to the criticism?
Morgensen: Honestly, I haven’t experienced any incidents of negativity. It has done nothing but empowered me. It has given me so much more confidence. And all the girls that work there are amazing. There are girls going to school to become nurses, become lawyers, to be doctors… I think it’s a great job… It gives you that ability to talk to anybody… I have had nothing, but positive experiences working with Hooters.
Fox News: Are there any misconceptions you feel people have that just aren’t true?
Morgensen: I think a lot of people need to visit Hooters and see it for themselves. Hooters is a great family-oriented restaurant. Families bring their kids all the time and they absolutely love it. They have a blast. So if someone has any misconceptions, they just need to come to Hooters and experience it for themselves.
Fox News: Before Hooters, you were a pageant girl in 2009. What was that like?
Morgensen: I was a tomboy my whole life… But I was tall and thin, so people would always tell me that I should model. A friend of my mom's told me there was a beauty pageant coming up and I should compete in it. It was part of the Miss Universe organization… It was in my hometown of Texas, so I competed there and ended up winning… I was so surprised, I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into… It actually led me to Hollywood and that’s where I wanted to end up.
Fox News: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever had to do for a good photo?
Morgensen: I was in New York and shooting a summer line for a purse collection. It was about five degrees outside. It was also raining. I was wearing a tank top with strappy heels and little capri pants. I was just wearing that while walking around the street as photos were being taken of the purses. It was so, so cold. I couldn’t feel my body or anything. But that’s how it is in this industry. It’s all over the place, but I love it.
Fox News: What are some other fun facts our readers should know about you?
Morgensen: I can sing and talk in a Chipmunk voice! I discovered this talent about five years ago. I’m also a world champion basketball player. I won a major tournament when I was in third grade. And I just love staying active. Whether it’s rock climbing, kickboxing – anything, I just love it.There is no agreed “hiatus” period in the scientific literature
We catalogued a corpus of peer-reviewed articles published between 2009 and 2014 that specifically addressed the presumed “hiatus” in global warming. Table 1 shows that the term “hiatus” was used more than 550 times in this corpus, and the word “pause” in excess of 70 times.
Table 1: Summary of literature on the “hiatus”. Full size table
Many articles assumed that the “hiatus” commenced around 1998, at which time temperature anomalies were considerably above the long-term trend. There is, however, considerable heterogeneity in published onset times, with the range spanning a decade (1993–2003). Similarly, there is considerable heterogeneity in the presumed duration of the “hiatus” across the same corpus of articles, with a range 10–20 (median 13 years,, ). For each article, we took the duration to be the number of years since the assumed onset of the “hiatus” to the end of the period being analyzed. This constitutes a lower bound on the presumed duration of the “hiatus” as some authors may have presumed that the “hiatus” was ongoing at the time they published an article. Figure 1 shows the modern global temperature data together with a histogram of the distribution of presumed onset times of the “hiatus” derived from the corpus.
Figure 1: Global mean surface temperature (GMST) anomalies estimated by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) data set (40 http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/, all analyses based on dataset downloaded on 17 January 2015). The histogram at the bottom represents the distribution of presumed start years for the presumed “hiatus” in the corpus of articles ( ; see Table 1) considered for this analysis. The vertical lines represent the 5th (1993) and 95th (2001) percentile, respectively, of presumed starting years for the “hiatus”. The small inset shows the overall historical temperature anomalies recorded since 1880. Full size image
The heterogeneity in onset and duration raises the possibility that the use of the term “hiatus” departs from normal scientific practice, which strives to define phenomena on the basis of clear and generally accepted criteria. The heterogeneity may be explained by the supposition that authors defined the “hiatus” retrospectively, via an ad hoc analysis of the recent trend leading up to the time of writing, rather than on the basis of a priori criteria. This apparent lack of clear and a priori criteria must be of concern in the statistical environment in which the “hiatus” has unfolded, which is known to be sensitive to the particular choice of start and end points that define short-term trends and the comparison baseline12.
The “hiatus” is an unexceptional fluctuation
If the definitions of the presumed hiatus are highly variable, with many different time periods proposed in the literature, how can we determine whether or not there is one? In order to answer this question, we compared the distribution of decadal warming trends during the “hiatus”—as defined by the articles in the corpus—against the distribution of all possible trends that have been observed during the period of modern global warming. The results are shown in Fig. 2, using three different onset dates for global warming.
Figure 2 (A) distribution of observed decadal temperature trends (GISS) within the “hiatus” windows defined by the corpus of articles considered for this analysis (blue), compared to the distribution of all possible temperature trends from 1950 till 2012, the reference period used by the IPCC to establish the long-term warming trend (pink). (B) same distribution of temperature trends within the “hiatus” windows (blue) compared to the distribution of all possible temperature trends from 1964 till 2012 (pink). The year 1964 is the lower bound for the 95% confidence interval of a recent change-point analysis that sought to identify the onset of modern global warming. (C) same distribution of temperature trends within the “hiatus” windows (blue) compared to the distribution of all possible temperature trends from 1976 till 2012 (pink). The year 1976 is the upper bound for the 95% confidence interval of a recent change-point analysis that sought to identify the onset of modern global warming. In all panels, the distribution of all possible trends is obtained by computing all trends of a given duration from all possible years within the time period considered. The duration of trends is weighted by the propensity of presumed “hiatus” durations in the corpus. Thus, each 10-year trend is replicated 8 times (as 8 articles in the corpus presumed the “hiatus” to extend over 10 years), each 11-year trend 5 times, and so on. See Table 1 for details of the distribution of presumed “hiatus” durations in the corpus. The vertical red lines in each panel represents the long-term trend (1951–2012) that was used by the IPCC in their Fifth Assessment Report as a benchmark for comparison with the “hiatus.” The solid line is |
make the leap and start startups too. To serve as role models they need to be visible, so we’re also focusing on showcasing YC’s female alumni through interviews like these and events like our Female Founders Conference.
I said at the first Female Founders Conference last March that I thought 2014 would be the tipping point for female founders. I still think I’m right, and our hope is that these interviews will be part of what makes things tip– that they will both inspire more women to start startups (and please apply to YC!) and also inspire some who already have started to keep going.
Startups are hard. They are not the right thing for everyone. But what makes them the right thing for you is whether you are driven enough, not what gender you are, and that’s one of the clearest patterns in these interviews.
Save the date: Y Combinator’s second annual Female Founders Conference will be held in San Francisco on February 21, 2015.Telephone and cable companies provided millions of dollars in campaign contributions in a successful bid to get lawmakers to reverse regulations that would have prevented internet providers from selling customers’ browsing histories, OpenSecrets data show.
The Federal Communications Commission regulation, which had not yet taken effect, would have required customer consent before sensitive information and web browsing histories could be sold. Federal Trade Commission privacy rules remain in place.
An analysis by MapLight indicates 25 Republican senators who sponsored the legislation received an average of $107,000 in campaign contributions since 2010 while their House counterparts received an average $144,404 each.
Read: CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Banned At Pennsylvania YMCA To Stem Arguments
AT&T spent nearly $16.4 million, Comcast, $14.3 million, and Verizon, 10.1 million last year in lobbying for a chance to grab a portion of the $72 billion digital advertising pie. Proponents of the bill say it will give internet providers the ability to compete with online giants like Facebook and Google when it comes to targeted advertising.
Those who opposed the legislation, which was approved under the Congressional Review Act, received considerably less in campaign funds — an average $74,285 for Senate opponents and $51,517 for those in the House.
Read: Credit Card Details Can Be Gathered Using Smartphone Sensors, Research Says
A HuffPost/YouGov poll released March 31 indicated Americans don’t want their browsing histories sold without their permission.
In a statement issued after congressional passage of the measure, Verizon issued a statement saying consumers will benefit if the same rules apply across the internet and pledged to protect customer privacy. Comcast also pledged to protect customer privacy while AT&T noted the congressional action did not eliminate consumer privacy protections.
MapLight noted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has received the most in contributions from the telecom and cable industries since 2010, some $285,325 while Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who was the main sponsor of the Senate bill, received $66,500, and House sponsor, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., received $191,250.
MapLight, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, examined campaign contributions from PACs as well as from employees of cable distributors, service providers and telephone companies from Nov. 29, 2010, to Nov. 28, 2016.While Labour ought to hold Copeland and Stoke, there was very little appetite for Labour’s current direction in either seat, writes Progress deputy editor Conor Pope
‘Well, now I’ve got that off my chest.’ With that, she smiled and closed the door.
This was Friday afternoon in the small Cumbrian town of Cleator Moor, where Labour’s campaign centre for the Copeland byelection is based, and was part one of the Progress byelection weekend.
The bright, cold morning had given way to endless rain, although the fact it was ‘hossing it down’ (as one voter put it) failed to deter some of the determinedly chatty residents from unloading their thoughts on the state of the Labour party. We were in a strong Labour area – white working class, mainly – and they had plenty to share.
One elderly lady began by telling me that she was, ‘of course’, voting Labour, before going into a lengthy explanation of the party’s troubles, which centred largely on the unsuitability of Jeremy Corbyn as leader. It was she who confessed to me that she was glad to get it all off her chest.
That is when it struck me: while the mood was less than enthusiastic, the returns were, not, on the whole, terrible. Many wanted to let us know that the party’s direction was not ideal – whether on Sellafield, the position in last year’s European Union referendum, or (often) the leadership in general – but, having had the opportunity to vent, would vote Labour, as Copeland has done for 80 years now.
It is not easy to see how much the Conservative campaign has kicked into gear. There are no garden signs or posters up anywhere, and the one Tory I saw was leafleting alone, in the rain, wearing a cowboy hat. Byelections can do strange things to people.
If Corbyn is the problem in Copeland, he is not the solution in Stoke-on-Trent Central, where I was out campaigning with another Progress team on Saturday.
The seat had the lowest turnout in 2015, with less than half of constituents casting a ballot. Judging by reactions on the doorstep, on 23 February we could be in for a police and crime commissioner election-type turnout. For an area that saw 65 per cent of people vote in the European Union referendum, that is not just disappointing, but a real problem for Labour.
The Tories have written off Stoke, and the United Kingdom Independence party still seems unable to run an effective byelection campaign. That should be more than enough to save us. It will, however, be despite Corbyn’s grandplan.
For while the level of disinterest should not be enough to cost Labour the seat, it represents a huge personal failure on the part of the Labour leader. Not only did he make clear that his vision for victory in 2020 depend on mobilising non-voters during his initial leadership campaign two years ago, but his recent new year relaunch as a leftwing Trumpian populist cemented his commitment to reaching out to mobilising the disenfranchised. Stoke-on-Trent Central is not just an example where the effects of this electoral strategy should be clear; it has the potential to be the strategy’s greatest success. There was, from what I could see, absolutely no evidence it has had any effect whatsoever. Corbyn’s new strategy is bold: populism without the popularity.
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Conor Pope is deputy editor at Progress. He tweets at @conorpope
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PhotoA violent rape epidemic is sweeping Europe and much of the Anglosphere — in part because modern, culturally non-violent children, youth, women, and men do not have effective, instinctive strategies for dealing with the growing threat.
Around 1,000 young men arrived in large groups, seemingly with the specific intention of carrying out attacks on women. Police in Hamburg are now reporting similar incidents on New Year’s Eve in the party area of St Pauli. One politician says this is just the tip of the iceberg. And there are real concerns about what will happen in February when the drunken street-parties of carnival season kick off. __ BBC
Europe’s women have a big problem, thanks to Merkel, Hollande, the Swedish government, and the other usual suspects. They are being raped, assaulted, and sometimes murdered by primitive and violent newcomers to the continent. They are beginning to experience what women in traditionally non-violent cultures inevitably suffer when forced to share the same space with primitive, hostile, unintelligent young men from violent cultures.
“Hit Girl” is a character from a comic book. But her story can be instructive to young girls who are being cast into the multicultural flames.
The pint-sized comic book heroine Hit Girl is shown in the video below, administering summary justice to thugs, drug-dealers, and their close associates. In the scene below, Hit Girl is still learning to be a wicked badass. She lets her “situational awareness” slip for a moment. For moments such as those, that is why children have parents.
But don’t be under the delusion that “girls who can take care of themselves” only exist in comic books and feature films. Dangerous Children — both boys and girls — begin to learn how to deal with such hostile, unintelligent, violent aggressors from their earliest hours on Earth, and even before.
Thousands of unconscious scans take place inside brain and body, from moment to moment, in the constant balancing act of survival. Dangerous Children learn and acquire additional survival reaction scans from an early age. Learning that begins as largely “conscious,” becomes automatic and unconscious with practise.
“Hanna,” shown in the scene above, is another young girl-child who was raised to survive in the face of significant threat.
We understand, of course, that Hit Girl and Hanna are only characters in books and films. Yet, childhood learning to instinctively avoid, evade, escape, and — if necessary — confront head-on the growing tsunami of violence, is possible. At the Al Fin Institutes for the Dangerous Child, we consider such training mandatory.
In the gentle past, young girls grew up with role models from “The Secret Garden,” “Little Women,” “Pippi Longstocking,” and the works of Jane Austen. In the more violent modern age, girls will have to take on role models who will help them learn to keep themselves and their loved ones safe from a looming threat.
A girl’s got to begin sometime:
But it’s better if boys and girls start on the road to Dangerousness at a much earlier age.
It is time to turn the tables on the primitive, violent, hostile invaders — in thousands of ways. Helping children learn to take care of themselves should be one of the earliest and more obvious steps taken.
The above posting is cross-posted from The Dangerous Child blogUsually it's the pirates who have to pay the copyright holders, but in a strange twist of fate, several copyright holders including Warner Bros, together with anti-piracy firm Rightscorp, have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought against them in the US, meaning that over 2,000 people accused of online piracy will receive a monetary settlement of $100 (£69) each.
Among other things, Rightscorp is behind intimidating automated "robo-calls" that bombard anyone suspected of pirating content, demanding that they pay the copyright holders the sum of $20 (£14) per file they infringed, or risk taken to court and sued for at least $150,000 (£104,000).
In November 2014, people who were fed up of receiving these calls decided to band together and form a class-action complaint against Rightscorp and its clients in the state of California, as the robo-calls violate US laws on debt collection, abuse of process and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, according to Torrent Freak.
Although the copyright holders and Rightscorp have not admitted to any wrongdoing, after many months they have reached a settlement with class action lawsuit defendants that has been sent to the California federal court for approval.
"The settlement provides for a substantial benefit to the Settlement Class Members and makes available $450,000, minus Settlement Costs, to the estimated 2,059 Settlement Class Members established through pre-mediation discovery, as well as a valuable release of alleged claims Defendants have of copyright infringement for each individual class member," the filing reads.
"Under the proposed settlement agreement, Defendants will contribute $450,000.00 to the Settlement Fund, and each Qualified Class Member who submits a claim and executes an Affidavit of Non-Infringement will receive approximately $100.00."
Although the sum of $100 in compensation for each of the 2,059 people who experienced the intimidating calls is not much, the filing points out that Rightscorp identified 126,409 separate acts of alleged infringement. Theoretically, if Rightscorp had sued for every single act, it believed it would have been entitled to between $94.8m (£65m) to $19bn (£13bn) in statutory damages.
Under the terms of the settlement, Rightscorp has also had to agree that it will not make any more calls of a similar nature without the express consent of the recipient, which means that it will have to come up with a new way to extract payments from potential pirates.The recent trip by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to Japan, with its strong affirmation of the U.S.-Japan alliance, has sparked a major, arguably grand, strategy debate in the Korean media. In the almost six years I have taught international relations in Korea, this is the most far-reaching debate I have yet seen. Koreans are increasingly aware that they are stuck between the U.S. and China, that Japan is increasingly openly aligning against China, and that the U.S. pivot to Asia is not a broad-based “cultural reorientation” of the U.S. as a “Pacific country,” but a straightforward military-diplomatic “let’s-not-call-it-containment” effort to prevent China from dominating Asia. (Variations and expansions of the following argument may be found in my recent essays at Newsweek Korea and Newsweek Japan.)
Non-Koreans, particularly Americans, tend to assume that Korea will simply line up with the United States, Japan, Australia, and other regional democracies. The American conversation about Asia, not surprisingly, is dominated by China. China has 1.3 billion people. It is the world’s second largest economy. Its rise is ending the period of U.S. sole superpowerdom, what international relations theory calls “unipolarity,” creating great angst that the U.S. is in decline. Worse, it is an authoritarian great power, frequently compared to Wilhelmine Germany. There is a broad fear that China is seeking to forge something like a Sinic “Monroe Doctrine” and push the U.S. in the Pacific back to Hawaii. Hagel’s visit to Japan made all this pretty clear, as he tacitly endorsed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Japanese nationalism and an expanded JSDF (Japanese Self-Defense Forces) role.
(For the record, I actually reject this critique of China and have written so for The Diplomat in the past. I think China faces much greater constraints than many in U.S. foreign policy circles believe. Nevertheless, this is the minority point of view.)
Koreans do not share this threat assessment of China. Specifically, they view Japan with greater hostility than they do China, according to a recent Asan Institute poll of South Korean opinion. And Chinese President Xi Jinping has approval ratings in South Korea more than triple those of Abe. The Chosun Daily, Korea’s largest newspaper, actually wrote of the Abe administration: “Japanese rightwing fanatics are only hungry for power and short-term gratification.” All this has gotten wide play in Japan and is fuelling a similarly harsh Japanese attitude toward Korea. In response to Hagel’s visit, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, in a pique of nationalist resentment, jetted off to Southeast Asia, cheered on by the reliably anti-Japanese Korean media, to forge a counter-Japanese regional diplomatic track.
The American response to all this tends to be an unhelpful, “enough is enough!” frustration, which after many years living and working here, I can guarantee Koreans will ignore (barring genuinely extreme U.S. threats of abandonment). Japanese-Korean tension is the single biggest hindrance to an “Asian NATO,” and American policymakers should learn its contours, rather than just suggesting to the Koreans, as Hagel did, “Isn’t it time to move on?” Because I can all-but guarantee Korean will not. So here is:
Why South Korea Likes China…
China is the primary backer of North Korea, which means a South Korean alignment against China only lengthens the division that has dominated Korean political life since the war. This reason alone is sufficient for the Koreans to reject the pivot-cum-containment.
China is also South Korea’s largest export market now.
China had strong cultural connections to Korea for a very long time in the classic Korean feudal period – the beloved Chosun Dynasty. Korea enjoyed pride of place in that Sinocentric tribute system, while Japan was badly behaved little brother. Americans, with their minimal knowledge of East Asian history, generally do not know this or care. But this is deeply important for Koreans, who have a strong (rather exaggerated actually) sense of their national distinctiveness and cultural age.
Finally, the Ming dynasty helped Korea defeat a Japanese invasion in the 1590s (the Imjin War). Again, this is the sort of long-past historical event Americans do not much care to hear about, but the Korean admiral of that conflict is one of the most celebrated figures in Korean history. His statue is all over Korea.
…and Dislikes Japan
Visits to the Yasukuni Shrine are an annual irritant (to the Chinese and Americans as well). It would help enormously if Japan could find a way to honor its war dead without the moral ambiguity of Yasukuni’s presentation of the war.
The Dokdo/Takeshima/Liancourt Rocks have become a symbol to Koreans all out of proportion to their actual value. The actual geographic focal point of Korean nationalism should be Mt. Paektu, near the Chinese border, the mythological birthplace of the Korean race. Unfortunately it is under North Korean control, and Southern opinion on the North is deeply divided. Hence, the Liancourt Rocks are a clearer, morally easier symbol of Korean nationalism: Japan was Korea’s colonialist, so controlling the Rocks is a way of showing Japan that Korea is sovereign, independent and proud. All Koreans can agree on that without a confused debate on which Korea is the “real” Korea.
The “comfort women” – Korean women forced into sexual service to the Japanese imperial army – is another deeply divisive issue. Korean public attitudes toward sexuality are still deeply conservative, so the comfort women are a national humiliation. My Japanese colleagues often ask me why this issue regularly comes up, despite the 1965 Japan-Korea treaty that legally ended reparation claims. Here Korea seeks not just financial compensation, but moral recognition. Ultimately in Korea, this is not a legal or financial issue, but a moral one. Koreans want an admission of guilt from Japan, along the lines of German attitudes toward the Holocaust, and they expect contrition from Japanese politicians on this point.
Finally, there is regular concern in Korea about the way in which history is taught in Japan. Again, the issue is likened to Germany’s post-WWII contrition about Nazism. Koreans expect that from Japan, and expect youth education in Japan to openly reject Japanese colonialism as aggressive imperialism.
These differences indefinitely inhibit a Korean-Japanese rapprochement and encourage Korean waffling on the Sino-U.S. competition. Indeed Koreans broadly feel that Abe is moving in the wrong direction on this. Korean elites have a rather zero-sum view of the U.S. alliance with Korea and Japan, and the current strategy debate in the Korean media flows from the perception that the U.S. is taking Japan’s side.
To join a U.S.-Japanese anti-Chinese coalition would not only antagonize China, it would align Korea with its “ancient foe.” Worse, the mutual U.S. alliances mean that nationalists and maximalists in Korea and Japan can make whatever outrageous claims they like about the other, yet face little geopolitical consequence. U.S. alliances are a form of “moral hazard” that ironically worsen the problem by reducing the incentives for rapprochement.
Given how long-standing this problem is and how deeply entrenched the hostility is, particularly on the Korea side, the only possible way I can see the U.S. to overcome this would be a genuine threat to exit the region. But U.S. policymakers would never level such an extreme threat.
Robert E. Kelly (@Robert_E_Kelly) is an associate professor of international relations in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Pusan National University. More of his work may be found at his website, AsianSecurityBlog.wordpress.com.Introduction
This article continues on from part one of this series, which looks at ‘CI as code’ using Docker to set up isolated and reproducible phoenix deployments of Jenkins deployments
Here I add dynamic Docker containers as on-demand Jenkins nodes in a Docker cloud.
Code
This is now baked into v2.0 of the git repo.
Video
Here’s a video of the stateless setup of the Docker cloud, and the job ‘docker-test’ which dynamically provisions a Docker container to run as a Jenkins slave.
What it does
Starts up Jenkins container with a server config config.xml preloaded ‘jenkinssetup’ container waits for Jenkins to be up and ready Sets up global credentials Updates Jenkins’ config.xml with the credentials id Restart Jenkins and wait for jenkins to be ready Kick off install of plugins Periodically restart Jenkins until plugins confirmed installed Upload job configurations
Details
The Docker plugins for Jenkins are generally poorly documented and fiddly to set up. And between them there’s quite a few, so the Docker options in a job available can get quite confusing. This took a little bit of trial and error before I could reliably get it to work.
To allow dynamic Docker provisioning, I used the standard docker plugin, mainly because it was the only one I ended up getting working with my Jenkins-in-docker-compose approach.
To get a dynamic on-demand Docker instance provisioned for every build, you have to set up a Docker cloud with the details of the Docker host to contact to spin up the container. This cloud is given a label, which you use in your job to specify that it should be run in a Docker container.
Currently co-authoring a book on Docker:
Note: If you want to recreate this you must have an opened-up Docker daemon.
See here for a great guide on this. Once that’s done you may need to change the
docker host address in the docker.xml field to point to your opened up Docker
daemon. Usually this is with the IP address outputted from ‘ip route’ in your
running containers. The default in the git repo is fine, assuming you have opened
it up on port 4243.England won the junior world cup in 2013 for the first time. The best players of their age group. How are they coping now they are not competing just against those their own age but against players from 15 or so age groups? Let’s see where they are now and how they are getting on.
1 Alec Hepburn
I thought that it would be quite easy to find out where these players where with a quick google search. That was immediately shattered when I searched for the first player. It appears that Alec is in Australia playing grade rugby after being at Wasps up to last season.
The only player not still with an English professional side, not looking promising but hopefully he makes it down under.
Update 16/1/15 – Hepburn was with Perth Spirit but has just signed a contract with Exeter Chiefs until 2017. Read the link to get a little bit about his journey but clearly things are looking good, even if he currently has a knee injury.
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
Still with Exeter Chiefs and seen as a future England international, his progress was slight disrupted by injury but made his first team breakthrough during the 2013-14 season making 10 appearances in the Premiership. His form combined with other players being absent meant that he got into the squad for England’s’ tour of NZ over the summer. Unfortunately he didn’t get to play as his tour was cut short by injury but both he and the England coaching staff will have learnt a lot about each other. Currently he is still coming back from injury.
On a long-term contract at Exeter Chiefs, things are looking promising.
3 Scott Wilson
Scott has been brought on well up north, getting good game time off the bench upon Falcones return to the Premiership. This season has seen his first Premiership try and also a run in the starting shirt. We’ll have to see how far he can go but a career as a club prop as a minimum looks on the cards.
On a long-term contract at Newcastle Falcons, things are looking promising.
4 Tom Price
Looks like he is still at that the Tigers academy and currently injured. What a shame as with Tigers injuries he could easily have got some very good experience. Unfortunately this is not his first injury either having come back a neck injury received during his senior début. With 3 LV= Cup appearances to his name so far, he has had some first team experience but not yet broken through for the top games.
Still in Tigers academy so it’s a case of good luck to the boy and wait and see.
5 Dominic Barrow
A product of the Leeds academy but now with Newcastle, Dominic has settled into life in the premiership well. With 11 appearances last season and ever-present in the match day squad this season, he is slightly a head of his club colleague Wilson on the development pathway. This shouldn’t be a surprise as front row and half backs tend to need more time to develop either physically or in their decision-making.
On a long-term contract at Newcastle Falcons, things are looking promising.
6 Ross Moriarty
Made his first senior appearances for Gloucester in the 2012-13 in both the LV= Cup and Premiership. During 2013-14 only had limited opportunities with a couple of appearances off the bench in the Premiership and some LV= Cup time. 2014-15 has really been his break through though, selected for every game so far even if it has been mainly on the bench.
Don’t know what his contract situation is but appears to be developing well at Gloucester.
7 Matt Hankin
A product of the Saracens academy has so far only managed one appearance off the bench in the Premiership for 13 mins last season. When you think of the resources that Saracens have in the back row it’s going to take something special to break into that unit.
Don’t know what his contract situation is and hasn’t broken into the senior squad but still has the opportunity to make it.
8 Jack Clifford (C)
Part of the Quins setup, was selected for the bench against Gloucester towards the end of the 2012-13 season but didn’t make it onto the pitch. Got a couple of games the following season but was then out of action with a knee injury. This season has had a couple of appearances off the bench so is being brought through at a club that is famous for developing players well through their academy.
Don’t know how long his contract is but appears to be developing well at Quins.
9 Alex Day
At Saints he clearly has some great role models to learn from. Made his Premiership début last season off the bench and has had some good performances in the LV= Cup. Scrum half being one of the decision-making and bossing others about kind of role, it’s one of those where you have to command respect and will be slower coming through. Saints seem to be bring Alex through well and when he’s ready.
Don’t know how long his contract is but appears to be developing well at Saints.
10 Henry Slade
Coming through in one of the pivotal roles his progress was always going to slightly slower than some of the players in other positions. Even so got a couple of appearances off the bench at the end of the 2012-13 season and really made a mark the following season with 20 appearances in the Premiership to go along with Heineken Cup outings opposite Jonny Wilkinson of all people. Capped the season by turning out for England in a non-cap game against the Barbarians where he received lots of plaudits for his fearless tackling. This season has started every game but at outside centre and has generated calls for his inclusion in the England setup for the autumn internationals.
On a long-term contract at Exeter Chiefs things are looking promising.
11 Ben Howard
A back three player for Worcester Warriors made his Premiership début against Tigers at Wellford Road in September 2012. Giving a player a début in that environment shows that Warriors believe they have player who can take the pressure. Even so he only got included in the match day squad 2 more times last season. This season has been starting at 15 for Warriors in the Championship. This is in part due to injury to Chris Pennell but clearly doing a job for the side in their captains absence.
Has a first team contract at Warriors and getting game time so things are looking promising.
12 Sam Hill
Another one whose progress was delayed by injury during the 2012-13 season. Made his breakthrough into Exeter Chiefs first team during the 2013-14 season starting 12 Premiership games with another 3 off the bench. His form this season has already got him being talked of as a possible England call up but with the world cup coming up a Saxons selection is more realistic.
On a long-term contract at Exeter Chiefs things are looking promising.
13 Harry Sloan
Another coming through the Quins setup, got his first start at Premiership level against Worcester last season and picked up his first try. That will be particularly pleasing having been injured earlier in the season. This season has had a couple of starts but injury forced him off after only 15 mins against Exeter. Hopefully he recovers soon as it looks like he is progressing well.
Don’t know how long his contract is but broken into the Quins first team and things are looking promising.
14 Anthony Watson
One of the better known names in this list having been called up to train with the England senior squad and getting to tour NZ over the summer. Also the one that has played the most senior club rugby, originally at London Irish where he got his first taste of Premiership action back in 2011-12 coming off the bench against Newcastle. The following season when most of the others on this list were lucky to make token appearances off the bench, Watson made 4 starts for Irish and further 3 appearances off the bench. 2013-14 saw him in the blue of Bath and really cemented himself as a Premiership player starting 19 games, coming off the bench for a couple more and only missing 1 game. Got to tour with England to NZ appearing in the midweek game against Canterbury and should be named in the EPS.
Don’t know how long his contract is but clearly part of Baths plans and things are looking promising.
15 Jack Nowell
The trailblazer for this squad with 5 England caps already, missed the NZ tour for knee surgery. Made his breakthrough during the 2012-13 season as the LV-Cup young player of the season and clocked up 11 starts in the Premiership. Interestingly enough in his second season he only got 6 premiership starts but also started all of England’s 6 Nations games. As long as he proves that he has come back from injury should make the EPS even if winger is a congested and up for grabs position.
On a long-term contract at Exeter Chiefs things are looking promising.
16 Scott Spurling (R)
Part of the setup at Saracens, Scott is being brought through their system. Has appeared in LV= Cup matches and made his premiership début last season coming off the bench twice. This season he has already doubled his appearances with another couple of appearances off the bench.
Don’t know how long his contract is but things are developing nicely.
17 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi (R)
Hobbs-Awoyemi is part of the Saints setup but so far has not made his Premiership début. Being a prop there is no hurry as it’s a position where you need to physically develop before playing against hardened veterans. I remember hearing Flatman say that you don’t want young props playing too much or it can shorten their career.
Don’t know what kind of contract he is on and only time will tell if he’ll make it at senior level.
18 Tom Smallbone
The only player not to make it onto the pitch in the final, Smallbone has come through the London Irish academy. Made his Premiership début at the end of last season with 2 appearances off the bench. Not featured so far this season.
Don’t know how long his contract is but things seem to be developing nicely.
19 Harry Wells (R)
Looks like he is part of the Tigers setup even though I couldn’t find him on the Tigers website. He is listed on the Aviva Premiership one and it looks like he is out on loan to Bedford for the season. Clearly hasn’t progressed at the pace of some of the others in this list but not everybody does progress at the same rate and he still has time on his side.
Don’t know what kind of contract he is on and only time will tell if he’ll make it at senior level.
20 David Sisi (R)
Another one to come through the ranks at London Irish but then move to Bath. Made his Premiership début at Irish in the 2011-12 season picking up 6 caps including 2 starts. For some reason didn’t get any appearances in 2012-13 before moving to Bath and another season of no Premiership action. This season has managed to break into the team with 2 substitute appearances including scoring his first try in the loss to Wasps.
Don’t know how long his contract is but has started to get game time so looking promising.
21 Callum Braley (R)
Came through the academy at Bristol and then this summer made the move to Gloucester but still in their academy not first team squad. Clearly behind players such as Laidlaw and Robson so it’s going to be a real fight for him to get into the first team squad.
It appears he is on an academy contract and only time will tell if he’ll make it at senior level.
22 Ollie Devoto (R)
Joined Bath academy for the 2012-13 and an injury crisis at Bath gave him his opportunity that he has not looked back from. 8 games that season followed by a further 14 last season, means he has more senior caps than nearly everybody else on this list. This season he has been restricted to appearances from the bench but he has still got kitted up 5 times.
Don’t know how long his contract is for but things are looking promising.
23 Henry Purdy (R)
Purdy moved from Tigers academy to Gloucester in the summer and it’s not his first move in his fledgling career. He was originally at Wasps but the money issues that have finally made Wasps move to Coventry, made Purdy move to the midlands a couple of years ago. The move to Gloucester has so far been a success with 4 starts already including a try against Welsh.
Don’t know how long his contract is for but things are looking promising.
Here are links to my other pieces on Junior World Cup winning teams:
The Class of 2011 – New Zealands’s Junior World Cup Winners
The Class of 2012 – South Africa’s Junior World Cup Winners
DrivingMaul Newsletter
Don’t miss a post or video by signing up for the new weekly DrivingMaul newsletter.Washington (CNN) -- The largest rocket ever launched from the West Coast went into space Thursday afternoon carrying a secret "national security" satellite, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California announced.
The 23-story tall Delta IV rocket blasted off on schedule at 1:10 p.m. PT (4:10 p.m. ET). With 2 million pounds of thrust -- 33 times the output of the Hoover Dam -- it delivered into orbit a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government agency that oversees the nation's satellites.
The NRO is staying mum about the satellite but noted this is the third in a series of six satellite launches happening over a seven- to eight-month period. The next launch is scheduled for February 5.
"We would like to keep our adversaries guessing on what our capabilities are," said Rick Oborn, a spokesman for the intelligence agency.
But some analysts say they believe the orbiter will be an imagery satellite capable of seeing images as small as a human fist from hundreds of miles away.
"It will be used to produce high-resolution imagery of military and terrorist facilities around the world," said Jeffrey Richelson, an expert on space reconnaissance with the National Security Archive.
According to experts, the satellite, known as a KH-11, is not capable of reading a license plate number or a newspaper headline, as seen in Hollywood movies. But due to its large size and bigger optics, the satellite has advanced resolution that can see much finer detail on the ground than anything similar.
"Being able to see things four inches across has tremendous value. If you're trying to assess what's the capability of a new missile on a launch pad in North Korea -- could it reach the U.S. for example -- if you could see that rocket with enough precision, enough detail to get accurate dimensions, you can then determine what its capabilities are," said Ted Molczan, an amateur astronomer who specializes in tracking satellites in secret orbits.
Molczan said there are currently 3 KH-11s in orbit and he believes the purpose of this launch is to replace one that has been in orbit since 2001.
While this is the first Delta IV rocket to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 150 miles up the coast from Los Angeles, it is the fifth launch in the program's history. The others have previously launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The Delta IV is some 91 feet taller than the Titan IV-B -- the old Vandenberg workhorse that was retired in 2005 -- and has a maximum low-earth-orbit payload capacity nearly 2,000 pounds greater than its predecessor, the Air Force said.
The launch follows three years of preparations at Vandenberg and a $100 million infrastructure upgrade at the base to handle the massive rocket launch.
"The excitement and buzz on base today is reminiscent of the 1950s space excitement. Children are excited to see 'the big rocket.' It is a fun day to be in space operations," Lt. Ann K. Blodzinski, an Air Force spokeswoman, said before the launch.
Blodzinski expected crowds to fill viewing sites on and off base to watch the launch.US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that Israel risks becoming "an apartheid state" if there is no two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Kerry's comments were published on Sunday by The Daily Beast news website, which obtained a recording of his remarks on Friday to the Trilateral Commission, a non-governmental organisation which includes senior officials and experts from the US, Western Europe, Russia and Japan.
"A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative. Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second class citizens - or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state," said Kerry.
"Once you put that frame in your mind, that reality, which is the bottom line, you understand how imperative it is to get to the two-state solution, which both leaders, even yesterday, said they remain deeply committed to."
The US-based The Daily Beast reported that senior US officials have rarely used the term in reference to Israel.
Jen Psaki, the spokesperson for the US State Department, said: "Secretary Kerry, like Justice Minister Livni, and previous Israeli Prime Ministers Olmert and Barak, was |
from the mind of a single man: Shigetaka Kurita, an employee at the Japanese telecom company NTT Docomo. Back in the late 1990s, the company was looking for a way to distinguish its pager service from its competitors in a very tight market. Kurita hit on the idea of adding simplistic cartoon images to its messaging functions as a way to appeal to teens. The first round of what came to be called emoji—a Japanese neologism that means, more or less, “picture word”—were designed by Kurita, using a pencil and paper, as drawings on a 12-by-12-pixel grid and were inspired by pictorial Japanese sources, like manga (Japanese comic books) and kanji (Japanese characters borrowed from written Chinese).
Kurita wound up with 176 crude symbols ranging from smiley faces to music notes. This feature proved so popular that the other Japanese telecoms adopted it. In 2007, Apple released the first iPhone—and the global smartphone market boomed. Apple and Google both realized that, in order to crack the Japanese market, they would need to provide emoji functions in their operating systems, if only for use in Japan. So Apple buried an emoji keyboard in the iPhone where North Americans weren’t intended to find it. But eventually tech-savvy users in the U.S., who were curious about the Japanese emoji phenomenon, figured out that you could force your phone to open this hidden keyboard by downloading a Japanese-language app, and voilà—suddenly you could bejangle your texts with a smiling Pile of Poo.
There are a handful of truly confusing emoji to the North American eye, nearly all of which can be traced to some Japanese custom or tradition. For example, in Japan, a pile of poo is considered good luck. Here’s an explanation from the Japan Times to a reader from Redmond, Washington, who wrote in after being befuddled by the abundance of golden poo charms available for sale at the Narita airport: “The product you saw is called Kin no Unko (The Golden Poo), a name that plays on the fact that the Japanese word for poop (unko) starts with the same ‘oon’ sound as a completely unrelated word that means ‘luck.’ Japanese enjoy this kind of pun—traditional storytelling is full of them—which may help explain why more than 2.5 million of the lucky little loads have sold in the last seven years.” (The article continues: “Furthermore, there is a long history of poo-related worship in Japan …”)
“But why is the pile of poo smiling?” would be the next logical question. Before we answer that, you may want to buckle yourself in, because we’re about to toboggan down the Smiling Pile of Poo Emoji Wormhole.
Every smartphone operating system—Apple, Android, etc.—has its own rendering of each emoji, including poo. Android’s pile of poo is surrounded by flies and wavy lines that suggest a poo-like stinkiness. Apple’s pile of poo has wide eyes and is smiling. Twitter’s pile of poo also has eyes but looks kind of surprised, perhaps because it’s only just realized that it’s a sentient pile of poo with eyes. So if your pile of poo is smiling, it’s likely because you have an iPhone, and someone at Apple thought it’d be fun to make the poo happy.
The programmers behind each operating system are free to design their emoji as they like. However, the emoji palette—the collection of 722 standardized emoji that are available for you to use—has been encoded by the Unicode Consortium, which was founded in 1990 and consists of a loose network of contributing members. The people who do work for Unicode tend to be computer-programming experts with a side interest in linguistics—a typical biography: “His hobbies include Maltese-language advocacy.” They are, in a way, the modern analog to the devout monks who sat and diligently created illuminated manuscripts so that great written works of theology could be widely shared.
how to speak emoji: intermediate level spoiler alert! nobody puts baby in the corner the plot of scandal the kardashian family
Emoji presented a new and unique dilemma to Unicode. “With most text, you don’t have things being invented left, right, and center,” says Peter Constable, the vice-president of Unicode. “The letters of English are the letters of English. We don’t have people inventing new letters of English every day.” With emoji, however, there are limitless possibilities for new symbols, and it’s literally impossible to meet the demand. And so, despite the fact that, as of 2011, you could text a cartoon pile of poo to any person in the world, people in the world were not happy. The world wanted an emoji hot dog! And an emoji avocado! And, understandably, representations of people of color! But in order to add new emoji, Unicode would have to invent them, then design them, then approve them, and then encode them. And Unicode is not in the business of inventing or designing new emoji, anymore than it would invent and design new English letters and add them to the alphabet.
Unicode did decide, however, to encode the 250 new emoji to be released this summer, which should show up on your phone as soon as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and other Unicode signatories add them to their operating systems. (Apple’s iOS 8, for example, does not have the latest emoji, and the company has declined to comment on when they might go live.) None of these “new” emoji are actually new—instead, the new emoji are all either translations of preexisting font sets known as Wingdings and Webdings, or they are fairly boring new symbols, like the ever-useful Increase Font Size Symbol.
Man In A Business Suit Levitating
There are, though, a few notable additions, such as that Man in Business Suit Levitating (also referred to as Jumping emoji or Hovering emoji), which is an excellent example of how the technologically convoluted path for new emoji leads to the existence of totally weird and random characters. The Wingdings font was originally developed way back in 1990 by Microsoft as a way of allowing computer users to incorporate symbols into their text, including such sexy icons as an open folder and a mailbox. A subsequent font, Webdings, was created in 1997 to allow a similar use of symbols online. In Webdings, an unusual symbol was included. It is, for lack of a better description, a man in a business suit levitating.
Internet sleuths, puzzled as to why Microsoft had decided to include this particular inexplicable symbol, tracked down one of the original Webdings designers, who explained that the symbol—which replaces the lowercase m—was intended as a tribute to the “rude boy” logo for 2 Tone Records, a ska record label founded by one of the guys from the Specials. Now, at least as far as your Unicode-reading smartphone is concerned, Man in Business Suit Levitating is as legitimate a character as the numeral 5, or the letter A, or the tilde, or poo. What that man will mean—well, that’s entirely up to you. This is the fun of emoji. The nail-painting emoji, in some circles, has come to mean “I’m not bothered” or “Haters gonna hate.” Man in Business Suit Levitating could mean “jumping for joy,” or it could mean “mystery.” (Online speculators have already nicknamed it “the Man in Black emoji.”) As Wortham explains about her favorite emoji, the Tempura Shrimp, what she loves about it is precisely the fact that it can have many different meanings. Sometimes she uses it to mean a foul or “salty” mood, when she wants to curl up like a shrimp. With some of her friends, the shrimp morphed into a joke that stands in for “Mariah Carey.” (“Something about her complexion and the way she’s always stuffed into a tube-ish dress,” Wortham writes in her shrimp essay.) Others use the shrimp as “quirky filler”—a nod, a wink, an acknowledgment that you’re simply thinking of someone. Tempura Shrimp emoji, she writes, has become “a way to be present when there’s nothing else to say at all.”
Consider the exclamation point. For much of its history, the exclamation point had a fairly simple usage: to straightforwardly and sincerely indicate excitement or, if included in a quotation, vehemence or volume. (“Get off my lawn!” as opposed to “Get off my lawn.”) Yet for a long time, circa the mid-1990s, it seemed linguistically and socially impossible to use an exclamation point unironically. I’ll anchor this observation to Peter Bagge’s landmark grunge-culture comic Hate!, which debuted in 1990, simply titled Hate, but which added the telltale exclamation point to its name at issue No. 16 in 1994. I’ll also add, from personal recollection, that if you included an exclamatory phrase such as “I’m so excited!” or “See you tonight!” in any written electronic correspondence up to, say, 1999, you could reliably assume it would be read as the punctuational equivalent of a smirk.
how to speak emoji: advanced (This article, as translated by Emoji Dick author Fred Benenson.) “Emoji are a small invasive cartoon army of 722 pictographs, trying to topple the 5000 year long reign of written words.” “Once you look at emoji you start to see a language that does a lot of things that are very awkward to using actual words, like say ‘I love you’” “Emoji is like someone invented a secret code language that everyone already intuitively understands.” “If the exclamation mark was the signature punctuational flourish of Generation X, emoji is the signature generational flourish of the Millenials.”
That was how my generation came to use the exclamation point, anyway. More recently, with the advent of new forms such as tweets and text messaging, the exclamation point has reverted to something closer to its original meaning. In fact, it’s more or less switched places with the period, so that “I’m excited to see you!” now conveys sincere excitement to see you, while “I’m excited to see you.” seems, on a screen at least, to imply the opposite. The exclamation point, once so sprightly and forceful, has come, according to Ben Yagoda in a piece in the New York Times, to signify “minimally acceptable enthusiasm.”
All this fluidity means that it’s very hard to keep up—it’s what the writer Emily Gould described to a friend as the “arms race of communication styling that led me to feel that sometimes only one exclamation point seems unenthusiastic or even downright sarcastic.” She was, in part, explaining her attraction to emoji—which, she wrote, “make it easier to talk about anything, I think!”
Her friend Phoebe Connelly had texted her about engagement rings—a fraught subject. Connelly often addressed her engagement using emoji: the Heart, the Diamond, the Diamond Ring, the Wedding Cake, the Party Starters. (Weirdly, though, not the Bride With Veil, the most obviously wedding-related emoji, which she avoided for reasons she can’t quite explain, even to herself.) “Emoji,” Connelly wrote in an article for the Womanzine special emoji issue, “allow me an ironic space within the dreaded cheery sincerity of being engaged. I can emoji diamond rings; therefore, it is ok that yes, I have a diamond ring. I default to emoji, a safe argot, as a means of discussing a marriage I’m emotionally ready for, but still lack the language to describe.”
When I first encountered emoji, I assumed they were used only ironically—perhaps because, as a member of Generation X, I am accustomed to irony as a default communicative mode. And it’s certainly true that emoji have proved popular, unsurprisingly, with early adopters and techno-fetishists and people with trend-sensitive antennae—the kinds of people who might, for example, download a Japanese app to “force” their iPhone to reveal a hidden emoji keyboard. But emoji have also proved to be popular with the least techno-literate and ironic among us, i.e., our parents. Many people I spoke to relayed that their moms were the most enthusiastic adopters of emoji they knew. One woman said that her near-daily text-message-based interaction with her mother consists almost entirely of strings of emoji hearts. Another woman, with a septuagenarian mother, revealed to me that her mom had recently sent a text relaying regret, followed by a crying-face emoji—and that this was possibly the most straightforwardly emotional sentiment her mother had ever expressed to her.
And now we’re getting to the heart of what emoji do well—what perhaps they do better even than language itself, at least in the rough-and-tumble world online. Aside from the widespread difficulty of expressing yourself in real time with your clumsy thumbs, while hunched over a lit screen, and probably distracted by 50 other things, there’s the fact that the internet is mean. The widespread anonymity of the web has marked its nascent years with a kind of insidious incivility that we all now accept with resignation. Comment sections are a write-off. “Troll” is a new and unwelcome subspecies of person. Twitter’s a hashtag-strewn battlefield.
But emoji are not, it turns out, well designed to convey meanness. They are cartoons, first of all. And the emoji that exist—while very useful for conveying excitement, happiness, bemusement, befuddlement, and even love—are not very good at conveying anger, derision, or hate. If we can take as a given that millennials, as a generation, were raised in a digital environment—navigating, for the first time, digital relationships as an equally legitimate and in some ways dominant form of interpersonal interaction—it stands to reason they might be drawn to a communicative tool that serves as an antidote to ambient incivility. They might be especially receptive to, and even excited about, a tool that counteracts the harshness of life in the online world. They might be taken with emoji.
The word that came up multiple times, in many conversations, with many people about emoji was soften.
“The thing it does is soften things,” says Tyler Schnoebelen, the linguistics expert.
“I use emoji in personal emails all the time, because I feel like I’m softening the email,” says Vulture’s Lindsey Weber, who co-curated the “Emoji” art show.
Alice Robb, who is in her 20s, wrote in The New Republic about saying good-bye to a friend who was moving across the country via text message. “I texted her an emoji of a crying face. She replied with an image of a chick with its arms outstretched. This exchange might have been heartfelt. It could have been ironic. I’m still not really sure. It’s possible that this friend and I are particularly emotionally stunted, but I put at least part of the blame on emoji: They allowed us to communicate without saying anything, saving us from spelling out any actual sentiments.” And yet what’s striking is that her whole story is full of actual sentiment—she is no doubt sad that her friend is leaving, and her friend is no doubt sad to be leaving. Adding an emoji to a message doesn’t undercut those sentiments (as irony would) but rather says, “I mean this, but it’s hard to say it, and I know it’s hard, but that makes it no less true.” Emoji’s default implication isn’t irony; its default is sincerity, but sincerity that’s self-aware. If the ironic exclamation point was the signature punctuational flourish of Generation X, the emoji—that attempt to bridge the difficult gap between what we feel and what we intend and what we say and what we text—is the signature punctuational flourish of the millennials.
“There really are no negative or mean emoji,” says Weber. “There’s no violent or aggressive emoji. Even the angry faces are hilarious or silly.” Sure, there’s a pistol emoji. But imagine sending a death threat using Pistol and Angry Face. If it’s possible to “soften” a death threat, emoji would do it.
It’s frankly pretty strange that, in an online climate that is constantly being called out for excessive aggression and maliciousness, emoji have no in-built linguistic capacity for meanness. There are angry faces and frowning faces and thumbs down and even the so-called Face With No Good Gesture, which, in the Apple set, is a woman with her arms crossed in an X. But, seriously, look at her:. The Face With No Good Gesture has never actually hurt someone’s feelings. One of the many new official emoji being added as part of Unicode 7 is a raised middle finger—like all the new emoji, it’s simply being added because it’s part of the Wingdings font. At first glance, it seems pretty surly, especially for an emoji. But as an expression of aggression, it’s harmless. If the worst that online trolls could do was send you an endless string of raised-middle-finger emoji, I think we’d all agree that we’d be living in a better world.
Consider the Smiling Face With Smiling Eyes. Right now, on Twitter, Smile is being used 157,439,872 times. Popularity-wise, that ranks it as No. 8. Here are a few other popular ones: Face Savoring Delicious Food. Disappointed but Relieved. Man and Woman Holding Hands. Baby. Face Throwing a Kiss. Person Raising Both Hands in Celebration. Okay Hand Sign. Thumbs Up.
In 1974, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation, designed a new system of symbols to be used in airports around the world in response to the increase in global travel. The 34 symbols it came up with include such undeniably resilient icons as Man Hailing Taxi, Diapered Baby, and the Suitcase symbol, which still direct people to taxi stands, changing tables, and luggage carousels around the world. But the design committee also made the following deduction: “We are convinced that the effectiveness of symbols is strictly limited.” Symbols, they found, could only augment language, not replace it.
It’s improbable that the Smiling Face With Smiling Eyes is a permanent addition to our language; a cartoon smiling face is just about the crudest method possible to convey to someone “I’m happy.” And yet here we are. As Mimi Ito, a cultural anthropologist at UC Irvine, explains, “when people are given the capacity to communicate in these ways, they’re picking them up and developing whole new forms of literacy.”
For now, emoji does the job. We are more connected than ever—what Ito terms a state of “ambient pervasive communication”—and we need to know that our connections are not being misunderstood. We need to let people know, even people very far away, staring at a screen, that we’re happy. Or confused. Or joking. Or missing them. Despite the popularity of the “joy” symbol, emoji are not solely being used to convey joy. My friend (the one with the crying-emoji-sending mother) sent me a combo she’s fond of: Grinning Face With Smiling Eyes with Pistol pointed to its head. (Taken together, they read as “stress,” which is particularly useful in New York.) One of my favorite emoji usages was when I asked online whether anyone could give me an emoji-only review of the VMAs on MTV and someone tweeted, simply, a Hammer emoji poised over a TV Set emoji. This was the most succinct and astute review of the show that I could find anywhere, which suggests that emoji are coming into their own as a useful linguistic tool.
Fred Benenson, who works at Kickstarter, is even more optimistic about the future of emoji. He should be: He’s the guy who, partly as an art project, partly to see if he could, spearheaded the translation of the whole of Moby-Dick into emoji. He also worked with Lawrence Lessig, the Harvard academic who’s written extensively on the ways in which apparently apolitical computer coding can influence our laws and even our human rights. So Benenson recognizes that emoji, for all their supposed transience, are an important addition to language, especially now that we do so much communicating online. “The fact that emoji is available in software legitimizes it as a form of human expression,” he says. “And especially now—we’re so intimate with these devices and we’re saying some of our most compelling things to each other in the form of text messages and social media.”
In other words, we’ve stumbled on whole new confusing ways to communicate with each other, so we’ve been given a whole new vocabulary to say “I’m laughing,” or “joy,” or “Well done.” This new way will not replace all the old ways, but it can augment them and help us muddle through. In lieu of being able to read each other’s faces when we say these things, we’ve developed these surrogate faces. They’re simple. They’re silly. They don’t yet have a taco. But they work, at least a little, at least right now. We blow each other kisses. We smile with hearts in our eyes. We cry tears of joy. We say “I love you,” but in a million different ways, each one freighted with the particular meaning we hope fervently to convey, then send them out hopefully, like a smiley face in a bottle, waiting to be received by the exact person it was intended for, and opened up, and understood completely.
*This article appears in the November 17, 2014 issue of New York Magazine.
Like Us Get more great stories from NYMag.com delivered to your Facebook feed.Fifty years ago, it was the Paratroopers Brigade that fought the pitched battle with Jordanian troops that led to Israel's conquest of the Old City of Jerusalem and the Western Wall. Perhaps the most famous photo of that war is photographer David Rubinger's picture of three paratroopers at the Wall, one holding his helmet, gazing in awe at the site.
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As the commander of the brigade, later IDF Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur, approached the Old City and announced to his company commanders: "We're sitting right now on the ridge and we're seeing the Old City. Shortly we're going to go in to the Old City of Jerusalem, which all generations have dreamed about. We will be the first to enter the Old City…"
Shortly afterwards, he broadcast from the commanding headquarter of his division his famous words: "The Temple Mount is in our hands! I repeat, the Temple Mount is in our hands!"
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson)
"It's a big honor to be part of the paratroopers," Guy Laron, a professor of international relations at Hebrew University told The Media Line. "They have a signature uniform with a red beret and reddish-brown boots. They were involved in all of the major infantry battles."
But the only time the paratroopers actually jumped during wartime was in 1956. Then almost 400 paratroopers jumped into the Sinai desert to fight the Egyptian army. But as the years have passed, some in Israel question whether Israel should still invest the money and effort to teach paratroopers to jump out of planes.
The classic photo of paratroopers (Photo: David Rubinger/GPO)
As part of their training, every paratrooper does a two-week jump school and jumps from a plane at least once. Some paratroopers jump three times—once without equipment during the day, once with equipment during the day, and once with equipment at night.
In an exclusive interview with The Media Line, the commander of the parachuting academy, Lt. Col. Lior Agasi, said that the ability to conquer one's fear and jump out of a plane has a profound effect on Israeli recruits.
"To listen to your commander and jump from an aircraft is the closest experience you can have to hand-to-hand combat," Agasi said. "The soldier needs to face the fear of jumping for a safe place into danger. He has to trust his equipment and his commander."
The soldiers build up to the actual jump gradually, he said. They start on the ground and gradually work their way up. The instructors at the parachuting academy, which is located at the Tel Nof airbase, are trained to encourage recruits who are nervous.
(Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Defense)
"To jump out of a plane is not natural," Agasi said. "Not everyone was born to do it. A very small percentage give up in advance or freeze at the last minute. In each case, it is the instructor's decision on how to handle it, because if he jumps in this situation he can hurt himself."
Agassi admits that some soldiers are injured while jumping, although almost all of them return to combat service. He said that during the first Gulf War in 1991, Israel considered sending paratroopers into Iraq by air.
"In the end we decided not to use them because there was another way to fight this war," Agasi said. "But we also understand that knowing that someone came from above does something to the spirt of the war and the options that the government has."
In the past two years, he said, Israel has replaced all of its parachutes with a new model, the T-11, known as the Stork in Israel. Its square canopy allows it to carry more weight, while offering a gentle landing.
Article written by Linda GradsteinHow do you have nice-looking icons on the Delphi / C++Builder IDE splash screen? As regular readers of my blog or users of my plugins know, I care about details and appearance a lot. This is visible in the visual style of my plugins, but also carries through to the source code or design. The visual appearance of a product is the main or often only way we can judge the internal quality, and certainly the way we form our first impressions, and that matters.
The Delphi splash screen is visible to users for perhaps half a minute, but images are limited to bitmaps with one solid transparent colour, which means making splash images that look good on any background can be difficult. They often end up looking like they were made in 1995 or 2000: few colours and pixelated. That’s for a good reason! With a single transparent colour, it’s hard to make an image that renders by 2016 standards against any background; edges will always be hard and aliased.
Compare the Parnassus images to the JCL’s in Seattle (left) and Berlin (right):
In XE8 and below, the splash screen background was black, so you could create a bitmap antialiased against a black background in a paint program, but in Seattle and Berlin the splash screens have changed colour with both each version, and with each SKU: Delphi’s screen is a different colour to C++Builder’s, which is different to RAD Studio’s, and each is different in Seattle compared to Berlin. So how do you make images that look good?
When Seattle was released I didn’t realise each SKU had a different splash screen and so I made a nice bitmap for each plugin, antialiased against orange, which was the splash screen background I saw (I had both Delphi and C++Builder installed.) This looked terrible for those who had only Delphi installed because they had a blue splashscreen, and images antialiased against orange looked even worse than if I’d just left it against black. Oops.
This is the approach I currently take for Parnassus plugins.
PNGs, icons, or bitmaps?
The obvious approach is to use a PNG image. You can have a pre-rendered, antialiased, semitransparent image. Perfect, right?
There are two problems:
First, I don’t know of a way to use a PNG image directly as the splash screen image. There is no ToolsAPI method to add a splash screen icon using a TPngImage, only a TBitmap. (It might be easier if it had been a TGraphic.) This is the IOTASplashScreenServices declaration:
{ Any IDE plugin may provide an image to be displayed on the splash screen as the product is initializing. If AddPluginBitmap is called, AddProductBitmap should *NOT* be called or a duplicate entry will be displayed. The bitmap should be 24x24 pixels with the lower-left pixel indicating the transparent color. If IsUnRegistered is true, the caption will be painted red. LicenseStatus will be shown in parentheses after the caption. SKUName will be appended to the caption } procedure AddPluginBitmap(const ACaption: string; ABitmap: HBITMAP; AIsUnRegistered: Boolean = False; const ALicenseStatus: string = ''; const ASKUName: string = ''); 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 { Any IDE plugin may provide an image to be displayed on the splash screen as the product is initializing. If AddPluginBitmap is called, AddProductBitmap should * NOT * be called or a duplicate entry will be displayed. The bitmap should be 24x24 pixels with the lower - left pixel indicating the transparent color. If IsUnRegistered is true, the caption will be painted red. LicenseStatus will be shown in parentheses after the caption. SKUName will be appended to the caption } procedure AddPluginBitmap ( const ACaption : string ; ABitmap : HBITMAP ; AIsUnRegistered : Boolean = False ; const ALicenseStatus : string = '' ; const ASKUName : string = '' ) ;
That seems both very clear (one corner with a transparent pixel) and very much not a PNG image.
Second, using PNG images in a plugin, including DLL plugin, can cause incompatibilities for users who use PngComponents, preventing the PngComponents PNG library from registering in (from memory) XE2 or XE3. Because of this, I don’t use any PNG images – all of mine are either icons, bitmaps, or drawn in code at runtime – and I’d have to ifdef in or out the PNG code to make sure it wasn’t built in by accident in the plugin build for an older IDE version. Too much hassle. Better to do something else.
Updated 2016-05-11: Let’s try bitmaps. Stefan Glienke pointed out that a 32-bit bitmap works fine. Windows bitmaps can have an alpha channel, although they can be hard to create – neither Paint.Net nor Pixelmator generate them, for example. You can build one easily in code using my TTransparentCanvas library.
There are some problems, however:
My tests show that while fully transparent pixels are transparent, semitransparent ones don’t seem to blend correctly. Not sure what’s happening there; perhaps the wrong BLENDFUNC. I created a bitmap with a red rounded rectangle with 128 alpha, and on the splash screen, the area around it was transparent but the red roundrect drew as red – not as red blended over the blue splash screen background.
You can’t use a 32-bit bitmap as a resource, using the Delphi resource compiler (BRCC32). You get an error message like, “[BRCC32 Error] Images.rc(11): Invalid bitmap format”. Baoquan Zuo kindly told me via chat that this works if you replace the Borland resource compiler with the Microsoft one – but doing this seems a bit of a hack and not reliable (ie you can no longer guarantee you can build on any Delphi machine.) You could also include it as a DATA resource, but then using TBitmap.LoadFromResourceName won’t find it, so you would have to load it into a stream and load from there. Lots of fuss, and this is assuming you have access to a bitmap editor that writes out 32-bit bitmaps you can use in the first place.
So let’s strike PNG and BMP32 images off the list, and go back to using a plain TBitmap with a transparent corner pixel.
If you are happy building your bitmap in code, instead of loading from resource, using a 32-bit bitmap is completely okay. You could perhaps combine this with some of the techniques used below, such as using an icon as a reliable alpha-aware bitmap format, or assembling an image with TTransparentCanvas or Graphics32.
Blending against the splash screen colour
Let’s revisit the problem: the whole problem is that the background colour of the splash screen can change version to version and SKU to SKU. Why don’t we create an image at runtime, which is the plugin’s icon blended against that background colour?
The colour is not in the registry. However, at the time your plugin is loaded and you call the AddPluginBitmap method, the splash screen window exists. In all versions of the IDE so far, the area of the splash screen listing plugins is a solid colour. What about finding this colour?
This is in fact rather easy.
Finding the splash screen
The approach is simple: find the splash screen window. Get its image (as it’s rendered onscreen.) Look up the colour of a pixel in an area that is known to be in the plugin list area.
The splash screen happens to be a form with the caption ‘SplashScreen’ (convenient.) Since the application exists, you don’t even need to do any WinAPI window enumeration work to find a window with a specific caption or class – you can just iterate Screen.Forms. That makes both finding it and rendering it to a bitmap very easy:
function FindSplashScreenAsImage(IntoBMP : TBitmap) : Boolean; var I : Integer; begin Result := false; for I := 0 to Pred(Screen.FormCount) do if Screen.Forms[i].Caption = 'SplashScreen' then begin IntoBMP.Width := Screen.Forms[i].ClientWidth; IntoBMP.Height := Screen.Forms[i].ClientHeight; Screen.Forms[i].PaintTo(IntoBMP.Canvas.Handle, 0, 0); Exit(true); end; end; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 function FindSplashScreenAsImage ( IntoBMP : TBitmap ) : Boolean ; var I : Integer ; begin Result : = false ; for I : = 0 to Pred ( Screen. FormCount ) do if Screen. Forms [ i ]. Caption = 'SplashScreen' then begin IntoBMP. Width : = Screen. Forms [ i ]. ClientWidth ; IntoBMP. Height : = Screen. Forms [ i ]. ClientHeight ; Screen. Forms [ i ]. PaintTo ( IntoBMP. Canvas. Handle, 0, 0 ) ; Exit ( true ) ; end ; end ;
Finding the background colour
The splash screen has several areas: the top area, which is where it says it’s Delphi / C++Builder, or RAD Studio; the bottom area, with the copyright and info about which package is currently being loaded; and in between, the area with the loaded product and plugin information.
The splash screen expands as more plugins are loaded, but the top and bottom areas stay the same size. That makes it quite easy to find a pixel that is in the plugin area, no matter how many plugins have currently been loaded. In this code, I use a percentage of the form height rather than a hardcoded pixel value to look up from the bottom of the form, in case the form is scaled (maybe because of high DPI.) At minimum, when the form is at its smallest size, the black area at the bottom takes up about 20% of the form height. So look above that plus a bit – this code looks 25% up from the bottom, and no matter how much the plugin area expands, that will always be in the plugin area. It also looks 4 pixels in from the left, the idea being that will be between the edge and any icons or text.
function GetSplashScreenBaseColor : TColor; var SplashBMP : TBitmap; begin Result := clBlack; // Reasonable default SplashBMP := TBitmap.Create; try // Find the colour a quarter of the way up - skips the black area (about 20%) // but is well into the area where icons are displayed if FindSplashScreenAsImage(SplashBMP) then Result := SplashBMP.Canvas.Pixels[4, SplashBMP.Height - (SplashBMP.Height div 4)]; finally SplashBMP.Free; end; end; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 function GetSplashScreenBaseColor : TColor ; var SplashBMP : TBitmap ; begin Result : = clBlack ; // Reasonable default SplashBMP : = TBitmap. Create ; try // Find the colour a quarter of the way up - skips the black area (about 20%) // but is well into the area where icons are displayed if FindSplashScreenAsImage ( SplashBMP ) then Result : = SplashBMP. Canvas. Pixels [ 4, SplashBMP. Height - ( SplashBMP. Height div 4 ) ] ; finally SplashBMP. Free ; end ; end ;
So, now we have the background colour of the splash screen, which gives us something to antialias or blend against. You can create a ‘blank’ splash screen image like so:
function CreateBlankSplashBitmap(const W, H : Integer) : TBitmap; var SplashColor, Fill, Edge : TColor; begin Result := TBitmap.Create; Result.PixelFormat := pf24bit; Result.Width := W; Result.Height := H; SplashColor := GetSplashScreenBaseColor; // Fill with the same colour as the splash screen - will be made transparent when // it's exactly this, and so anything antialiased to it will draw nicely Result.Canvas.Brush.Color := SplashColor; Result.Canvas.Brush.Style := bsSolid; Result.Canvas.FillRect(Rect(0, 0, Result.Width, Result.Height)); end; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 function CreateBlankSplashBitmap ( const W, H : Integer ) : TBitmap ; var SplashColor, Fill, Edge : TColor ; begin Result : = TBitmap. Create ; Result. PixelFormat : = pf24bit ; Result. Width : = W ; Result. Height : = H ; SplashColor : = GetSplashScreenBaseColor ; // Fill with the same colour as the splash screen - will be made transparent when // it's exactly this, and so anything antialiased to it will draw nicely Result. Canvas. Brush. Color : = SplashColor ; Result. Canvas. Brush. Style : = bsSolid ; Result. Canvas. FillRect ( Rect ( 0, 0, Result. Width, Result. Height ) ) ; end ;
Adding the logo
The final step is adding the plugin or product logo. If we could use PNG images – and you can certainly do this if you wish – just draw the PNG to the ‘blank’ |
General Michael Ferguson determined in 2015 that Zimmer, who retired in 2013, had inappropriately claimed $176,012 in expenses. The Senate internal economy committee met Thursday, and is still deciding whether to try to recoup more than half a million dollars from seven senators, including Zimmer. They were among a group of 30 senators found to be owing repayments, 23 of whom have already refunded the money.
Zimmer left an estate worth $296,000 and a million-dollar home in Ottawa's tony Rockliffe neighbourhood. But last month, Sensenberger sought to have the house declared the matrimonial home, which would have made her the co-owner. She later retracted the claim, allowing the estate to sell the house the next day.
It's not clear how much is left of Zimmer's estate, should the Senate committee decide to pursue the amount owing. Wayne Zimmer, the late senator's brother and the estate trustee, says the Senate hasn't even contacted him about collecting the outstanding repayment.
Zimmer and Sensenberger first made headlines over their May-December romance, which included engagement photos taken on Parliament Hill. In 2013, she received a suspended sentence for causing a disturbance on a plane after she and Zimmer had an argument during a flight from Ottawa to Saskatoon.
Last July, the Ottawa Citizen reported Sensenberger received another suspended sentence and 15 months probation for greeting police with two kitchen knives when they arrived at the Rockliffe house to arrest her on a warrant for skipping a previous court date. Sensenberger had been arrested in August, 2014 for causing a disturbance at a medical clinic, the newspaper reported. Sensenberger allegedly used a lit cigarette and a hand-held fan as weapons at the clinic. Last year, she pleaded guilty to mischief for kicking out a police car window following the arrest at the clinic.
The Citizen reported Sensenberger's lawyer noted she didn't admit to the details of the August arrest, although they were read into the record in court.
Police discovered the warrant for Sensenberger after paramedics were called to the Rockliffe home to treat Zimmer. She was allegedly belligerent, so the paramedics called for police backup. They left once she calmed down, the Citizen reported, but returned to arrest her after discovering the warrant.
The newspaper reported Sensenberger had completed rehab and was sober when she was sentenced in 2015.
- With files from Glen McGregorI have always tended to trust people. Don’t ask me why – it’s just part of my genetic makeup. But when you are in the middle of the abortion “wars,” as I was for many years, trusting people can get you into a lot of trouble.
Sometime in the early part of 1993, I was at my desk in the offices of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers when I got a call from one of our doctors in Nevada. “Hey Pat, what the hell is this Project Choice survey? Should I respond?”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but soon learned how most of our doctors had received a “confidential” survey from a group called “Project Choice.” The cover letter indicated that this group had been contacted by a foundation that was interested in helping protect abortion providers from violence and harassment, but before they would commit they wanted “evidence” that the violence and/or harassment was real. So, the folks at Project Choice compiled an extensive mailing list of clinics and mailed out 961 surveys. Ultimately, almost 285 were completed, a very high return rate of 30 percent.
After talking to the doctor, I called the phone number listed on the survey. I was immediately connected to a woman named Lisa Nelson. She was very personable, thrilled that a person from a pro-choice national organization had called because, as she put it, “some of the pro-choice groups we’ve talked to are very suspicious of who we are.” Ah, but I was different. I was thrilled that someone wanted to help our abortion doctors. Lisa told me about the foundation and I told her I would love to help her out by urging our doctors to participate.
The survey was impressive. It came in a package came with a self-addressed stamped envelope and when it was received, the participant received a call and a thank you note. The survey was divided into four parts: Doctor’s Profile, Motivation, Social Environment, and Harassment and Violence. Of course, we all focused on the “Harassment and Violence” section, anxious to provide them with a comprehensive picture of the terrorism that was taking place against abortion providers at the time. While I was promoting the project, staff people at the National Abortion Federation were more suspect and, indeed, encouraged their members to not participate in the survey. Always at loggerheads with NAF, I took the opposite course and told our members that I saw no problems with their filling out the survey. Indeed, I visualized Project Choice getting that big foundation grant to help stem the violence and my being part of that press conference.
Lisa and I kept in touch over the next few weeks. She was very personable, a spry young pro-choice lass who was anxious to help out her “heroes” in the field of abortion. We talked enthusiastically about the results she was getting that documented the violence and harassment against our doctors. Meanwhile, I never paid any attention to the “Social Environment” section of the survey.
One day, when Lisa and I were just chatting it up, I asked her where she was going to college and she mentioned some university in Denton, Texas. The name of the town sounded familiar and I asked my staff person if she had ever heard of it and she casually said “yeah, that’s where Life Dynamics is located.” Life Dynamics was a notorious, super aggressive anti-abortion group headed up by a wacko named Mark Crutcher. My stomach started to churn a bit.
I let it go for a few days, but ultimately picked up the phone and called the Life Dynamics office.
“Hello, Life Dynamics, can I help you?”
“Uh, yes, this is Pat Richards. Could I speak to Lisa Nelson please?”
I found myself begging that she would say “I’m sorry, there is no one here by that name.” Instead, she asked if she could put me on hold. My blood pressure started to creep up.
“Well, hello, Pat. So, you found me.”
I had to do everything to keep my lunch down. Instead of the perky college student voice I had become familiar with, the voice was now downright sinister. I had caught her to some extent (she could have ignored me but she took the call because the survey was already done). But we both knew that I had been a totally idiot and you could tell she relished the moment.
I was at a loss for words but lamely spit out “Well, Lisa, I hope you’re happy. You must be very proud of yourself.”
“Pat, this is a war and I’m a soldier of the Lord.”
I hung up, ran outside and, yes, lost my lunch. When I got back to the office, we sent out an emergency fax telling our members that we had “exposed” Project Choice, hoping folks would forget that we had originally encouraged them to participate in the survey. But, by that time, the surveys had been completed and mailed back. Still, we didn’t panic because we couldn’t imagine what they would do with “evidence” that our doctors were being terrorized.
Within a few weeks, Life Dynamics had a press conference, reveling in the fact that they had pulled off this scam and, more important to them, revealing the answers to the questions. They hardly said a work about harassment. Instead, they focused on the Social Environment section of the survey.
The cited how sixty-five percent of the doctors said they felt ostracized because of their work. Half of the doctors reported having problems keeping or recruiting staff because they did abortions. Almost 40% of the doctors said that certain aspects of the abortion procedure caused then “concern.” The strategy was to use the words of the abortion doctors themselves to prove how they were pariahs in the medical community. From this, they concluded that “the moral concerns abortion providers have about performing abortions is an internal phenomenon brought on by the nature of the act itself, and are not directly related to anti-abortion activity.”
In addition, however, the answers to the “Harassment and Violence” section gave groups like Operation Rescue encouragement. Even among providers who had not personally experienced harassment, over 20 percent said that such activity caused them to consider quitting. Many of them said that this type of activity has had a negative impact on their family. Then, they reported how the doctors reported feeling everything from anger to thoughts of suicide. Some even admitted to drug use. It was a green light for more terrorism and, indeed, the next few years were hell.
Cleverly, Life Dynamics used the “self-portrait” to paint an ugly picture of the world of abortion providers, to demonstrate that they were the “bottom feeders” of the medical world and that many of them did not feel good about their life and work. Meanwhile, they sent a signal to other anti-abortion zealots that the harassment was working.
In the long run, who knows what the survey and the subsequent pronouncements actually accomplished? Sure, it must have been a blast that day at the Life Dynamics office, the conversations and the high fives around the water cooler probably lasted for weeks. The terrorism increased, but it’s impossible to say if it was a result of this project.
What did change, however, was this ugly episode only made me more cynical, more suspicious.
That’s the saddest part of this whole story.
Related ArticlesA press conference has been scheduled for 12:30 PM, outside the County Administration Building.
There is no understating how critical this news is.
There was simply no way the City could have undertaken this effort on their own. Having the County on board serves two very important purposes.
First, and most importantly, the County is in much better financial shape than the City is, with estimated reserves in the billions of dollars. Having their participation makes any financial plan much more viable, simply because the money is there. Secondly, County participation allows the municipalities to share the cost, and thereby lower the burden/risk for their respective constituents. Third, it allows a larger variety of financing options, such as the formation of a Joint Powers Authority.
Secondly, it presents a unified local government which is committed to keeping the Chargers in San Diego. As we've all seen over the years, any possibility of a new stadium getting built has been defeated at the outset by competing factions of the City's power structure, as well as opportunistic politicians who spoke in favor of the Chargers when it benefitted them, then spoke ill 5 minutes later. Also, an added benefit of reducing the financial risk is a plan which is easier for elected officials to stand behind.
Initially, the agreement will allow the City and County to share costs on consultants and attorneys.
Speaking for the City, Mayor Kevin Faulconer had this to say:
"San Diego will endorse a good deal, and I'm convinced this joint effort with the county will give us the best chance. As for location, I'm less concerned about where it is; I'm more concerned with how we get it done. When we go to the ballot, you will see all sectors of the county come together and realize how important it is to keep the Chargers in San Diego."
Speaking for the County, Supervisor Ron Roberts had this to say:
"This is a legitimate opportunity. Look at all the dollars that will result in the Chargers staying here. And it's about a father sitting with his kids and mom watching the Chargers on TV. Not all fans go to games."
The City and County collaborated on the construction of (then) San Diego Stadium in the mid-1960s.
Bolts From the Blue will have more following this afternoon's press conference.US refuses to throw in towel on Syria ceasefire
Even as a new barrage of bombs and shells pummeled besieged Aleppo once again on Monday, the United States refused to abandon efforts to broker a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed annoyance that Russia had publicly declared a week-old ceasefire "pointless" without consulting Washington.
And he insisted that Moscow must work harder to rein in its Syrian ally, even as regime forces returned to the offensive around the northern city of Aleppo.
Syrian children look at the damage following an air strike in Aleppo's rebel-controlled neighbourhood of Karm al-Jabal on September 18, 2016 ©Karam Al-Masri (AFP/File)
A meeting of the 23-nation International Syrian Support Group was called for Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to build support for the truce.
But Kerry was forced to admit the week-old ceasefire -- which he protested was "holding but fragile" -- had not led to a significant delivery of humanitarian aid.
And that Russia has not upheld its end of a ceasefire deal which would have seen Moscow and the US set up a military coordination cell.
Kerry told reporters: "We have not had seven days of calm and of delivery of humanitarian goods."
Under the terms of their agreement, the US was supposed to rein in opposition forces and Moscow was to ensure its ally Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad halted attacks.
But the Syrian military announced Monday that after seven days it is ending its participation in the ceasefire, blaming the rebels for repeated breaches of the truce.
Apparently errant US-led air strikes at the weekend, which Moscow says killed 62 Syrian soldiers, likely didn't help.
Kerry reacted testily to the declaration, but implied there was time to save the deal.
"It would be good if they didn't talk first to the press but if they talked to the people who are actually negotiating this," he told reporters.
"And I think it's, as I said yesterday, time to end the grandstanding and time to do the real work of delivering on the humanitarian goods.
"So we just began today to see real movement of humanitarian goods, and let's see where we are.
"We're happy to have a good conversation with them and see how we proceed," he said, of the Russian side.
After Kerry went into more bilateral meetings, the State Department issued a statement to clarify the US position and insist on the need for more consultations.
- Continued attacks -
"Despite continued attacks by the regime on opposition positions, we have witnessed a measure of reduced violence over the last week," spokesman John Kirby said.
"But we have not seen a sustained flow of relief supplies. Indeed, deliveries only began today and only then in limited areas."
"We are prepared to extend the cessation of hostilities, while working to strengthen it and expand deliveries of assistance.
"We will be consulting with our Russian counterparts to continue to urge them to use their influence on Assad to these ends."
Kirby noted the Syrian declaration that the ceasefire is over.
But he added: "Our arrangement is with Russia, which is responsible for the Syrian regime's compliance, so we expect Russia to clarify their position."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault sounded pessimistic, but said the US-Russian dialogue was the only opportunity on offer to end the fighting.
"It must retain a glimmer of hope," he said. "It is the only basis the international community can draw on."
Under the deal, if the level of fighting had dropped for seven days and aid had gotten through, the US and Russian militaries were to have set up a joint targeting cell in Geneva.
That would enable them to carry out more accurate strikes on the Islamic State group and Fateh al-Sham Front, formerly the Al Nusra Front.
US and Russian officers met Monday in Geneva, but the defense ministry in Moscow said it would be "pointless" to continue the truce in the face of rebel violations.Student loan debt isn’t going away anytime soon according to the new numbers from the Department of Education and the Wall Street Journal.
Graduating seniors can expect to hold an average student loan balance of $39,910, perilously close to the $40k mark. This only takes into account those graduating in May/June of 2017, not to mention those choosing to continue their schooling in master’s or doctoral programs.
Looking back at historical student loan balances….the graph below speaks for itself:
In 2003, the average student loan balance for a graduating college senior was about $18,200. Over the same period of time, inflation rates would have normally caused that $18,200 to translate into about $24,900 in 2017 dollars. Suffice to say, seniors today would probably kill for that kind of balance, but students aren’t necessarily to blame for most of the rising balances.
The cost of attendance at four year universities has nearly doubled during the same time frame, primarily as a result of the ease of access to student loans. Administrators know that students are going to be able to get these loans relatively easily from the federal government, which leads to higher tuition, textbook and boarding rates.
A significant problem now is that schools are spending more mainly because they can, if the easy money goes away, many public universities are going to be in a severe pinch for funds within a few years.
This is just another example of why it pays to specifically plan out your college career both before and during your undergraduate years. Students who know they want to go into a field with relatively low unemployment and fairly high salaries can likely go full throttle and be alright. Students who have no idea what they want to do would probably save tens of thousands of dollars by going to a community college for a year or two in order to take general education classes.Mr Brown says the move is bound to hurt sales revenues, as the price will also halve, but it is the right thing to do to maintain consumer trust amid growing debate over the marketing of sugary treats to children.
"We sell 13.5 million Killer Pythons a year - when we halve the size we'd expect at least a 20 per cent volume loss as a result," he said. "People may buy more of the smaller products but not enough to make up for the loss in weight," he said.
"But companies that are trusted tend to be rewarded down the line - we want to be the leader in nutrition, health and wellness, so we need to have products that are right-sized to play a role in healthy diet," he said.
Nestle is the leader in the $1.5 billion Australian confectionery manufacturing industry, according to IBISWorld, with 23 per cent of the market for treats such as hard and soft candies and mints. In the chocolate market, which is worth another $1.5 billion, Nestle has about 15 per cent market share.
While confectionery volumes are rising, industry revenue has fallen 0.1 per cent a year over the past five years due to price deflation and a consumer shift away from sugary treats to healthier products such as nuts and dried fruit and low-sugar alternatives.Breakthrough Starshot: Mission to Alpha Centauri
Here on Centauri Dreams we often discuss interstellar flight in a long-term context. Will humans ever travel to another star? I’ve stated my view that if this happens, it will probably take several hundred years before we develop the necessary energy resources to make such a mission fit within the constraints of the world’s economy. This, of course, assumes the necessary technological development along the way — not only in propulsion but in closed-loop life support — to make such a mission scientifically plausible. I get a lot of pushback on that because nobody wants to wait that long. But overall, I’m an optimist. I think it will happen.
Let’s attack the question from another direction, though, and leave human passengers for a later date, as Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Initiatives, aided by Stephen Hawking, is doing today in a New York news conference. What if we talk about unmanned missions? What if, in fact, the question is: How soon can we put a scientific payload past another star? Let’s not worry about decelerating — this will be a flyby mission. Let’s build it as soon as possible using every breakthrough technology we have at our disposal. How long would it take for that mission to be developed and flown?
Milner, a philanthropist and investor who was an early backer of Facebook, Twitter, Spotify and numerous Chinese tech companies, tells me his goal is to ‘give back to physics’ in developing just such a mission. Part of that giving back is the $100 million he has already put forward to support SETI, a ten-year project that will produce more telescope time for SETI than any other. Milner is also the founder of the Breakthrough Prize, issuing awards in physics, life sciences and mathematics. But in many respects this third Breakthrough Initiative is the most daring of all.
Time for the Stars
Breakthrough Starshot is an instrumented flyby of Alpha Centauri with an exceedingly short time-frame, assuming research and development proceed apace. Milner is putting $100 million into the mission concept, an amount that dwarfs what any individual, corporation or government has ever put into interstellar research. A discipline that has largely been the domain of specialist conferences — and in the scheme of things, not many of those — now moves into a research enterprise with serious backing.
Could an Alpha Centauri flyby mission be developed and launched within a single generation? I think it’s quite a stretch, but it’s the best-case scenario Milner mentioned in a phone conversation over the weekend. He’s enough of a realist (with a first-rate physics background) to know that the challenges are immense. Even so, he sees no deal-breakers.
Let’s walk through the case and see why he finds reason for optimism. “There are major advances that we can now turn to as we develop this proof of concept,” Milner says. “Twenty years ago, none of these things would have been available to far-thinking scientists like Robert Forward. But now we can put them to use and test their possibilities.”
If you’re thinking of an interstellar mission in the near-term, there is really only one choice of propulsion: The beamed sail. Sails have the advantage of known physics, laboratory experiment and actual deployment in space. We could talk about fusion for some indefinite point in the future, but at present, we don’t know how to do fusion even in massive installations on Earth, much less in the tight confines of a spacecraft engine. Interstellar ramjets are a far-future unknown — they may act more effectively as braking devices than engines, according to recent research. Antimatter is nowhere near readiness for propulsion, either in production methods or storage. Chemical rockets fall victim to the mass/ratio problem and are useless for fast interstellar journeys.
That leaves us with sails carrying very small payloads. To cross the 4.37 light years to the Centauri A and B system, Breakthrough Starshot proposes small spacecraft, taking advantage of advances in nanotechnology to reduce payload size. Think Moore’s Law and the reductions in size and cost that have accompanied the vast increases in micro-chip power. “Moore’s Law,” says Milner, “tells us that now is the time.”
StarChip is the Breakthrough Initiatives’ name for a payload measured not in kilograms but grams, a wafer that carries everything you would expect in a fully functional probe. ‘What was once a 300 gram instrument is is now available at three grams,” Milner continues. “What was 100 grams is now 0.5 grams. This is the trend we are riding.”
The StarChip payload includes cameras, power supply, communications equipment, navigation capabilities and photon thrusters. And it would be thrown across the interstellar gulf at 20 percent of the speed of light by a sail that is itself a miniaturized version of the sails Robert Forward used to discuss. Forget the thousand-kilometer sail (much less the continent-sized sails of the science fiction dreamer Cordwainer Smith). Milner’s team believes we can now talk in terms of a laser-driven lightsail that is no more than 4 meters across. This is actually smaller than the first deployed sail craft, the Japanese IKAROS, which boasts a sail measuring 14 meters to the side.
Advances in metamaterials and additional research should be able to produce, Milner believes, a 4 meter sail whose own weight is tallied in grams, and whose materials allow fabrication at a thickness of a few hundred atoms. A sail that small makes its own statement: Clearly, it’s not going to be under the beam for long, which means we need to focus a great deal of light on it for a very brief time. Lasers are another technology that benefits from rising power and falling cost. The trick here will be to create ‘phased arrays’ of lasers that can scale up to the 100 gigawatt level. A phased array involves not one but a group of emitters whose effective radiation pattern is reinforced in the desired direction by adjusting the phase of the signals feeding the antennae.
This is classic Bob Forward thinking rotated according to the symmetries of our new era. Milner aims for a beamer technology that is modular and scalable. And it fits into a larger infrastructure. Breakthrough Initiatives talks about bringing a ‘Silicon Valley approach’ to the problem of interstellar flight. Build a StarChip that can eventually be mass-produced at no more than the cost of an iPhone. For the Alpha Centauri mission, whenever it flies, is itself a proof of concept that could lead to multiple destinations. And if the cost can be driven as low as Milner believes, then we can think in terms of redundancy, with StarChips sent in large numbers to return a full characterization of any destination system. Assemble the light beamer and, as the technology matures, the cost of each launch falls.
These are ideas that are at once familiar but also exotic, for while Forward talked about enormous power stations in close solar orbit to power up his banks of lasers (and a huge Fresnel lens in the outer system to focus the beam), Milner thinks we can build a ground-based beamer at kilometer scale right here on Earth. I was startled at the idea — surely efficiency favors a space-based installation — but Milner’s point is that he thinks we can begin to launch interstellar craft before we have the technology to build the kind of power station Forward envisioned. If you’re serious about a launch within a few decades (again, it’s a best case scenario, and a dramatic one), then you build an Earth-based beamer and use adaptive optics to cancel out atmospheric effects.
Image: A wide-field view obtained with an Hasselblad 2000 FC camera by Claus Madsen (ESO), of a region around the Southern Cross, seen in the right of the image (Kodak Ektachrome 200, 70 min exposure time). Alpha Centauri is the bright yellowish star seen at the middle left, one of the “Pointers” to the star at the top of the Southern Cross. Although it appears here as a single ‘star,’ it is actually comprised of the G-class Centauri A, K-class Centauri B, and the M-dwarf Proxima Centauri. Credit: ESO/Claus Madsen. Original here.
All this will be subject to tightly focused research, which is what the $100 million is for, but what Milner hopes to see are nano craft delivered to orbit and then boosted on their way with a 30 minute laser ‘burn’ that, reaching 60,000 g’s, drives the sail to 20 percent of the speed of light. That makes for roughly a twenty year crossing to Alpha Centauri. With a craft this small, data return is highly problematic, and in fact I think it’s one of the biggest unanswered questions Breakthrough Starshot will have to face (well, this and the challenge of interstellar dust, and key questions related to sail design and the sail’s ability to stay on thee beam during acceleration). The sail is itself the antenna on a craft of this design, and Jim Benford told me in conversation that it will have to be shaped to one-micron precision. Even so, powering up the system to send imagery and data to Earth is going to be tricky. It will be fascinating to see what kind of solutions emerge as this research gets underway, and what alternative methods may be suggested.
Even so, and granting the cost reductions digital technology makes possible, Breakthrough Starshot embarks upon a multi-year research and engineering phase that will focus on building a mission infrastructure. Creating the actual mission will demand a budget comparable to the largest scientific experiments of our time. These are no small aspirations, but what drives them is something that interstellar studies have never had at their disposal: A dedicated, enthusiastic, well-funded effort with the participation of major scientists.
“We have an advisory board of twenty, including Freeman Dyson and other top scientists,” Milner added. “$100 million will be spent in coming years as we look toward concept verification. Multiple grants should flow from this, research and experiments. We need to complete the initial study and see if building a prototype, perhaps at a scale of 1/100, is then the next step.”
At the very least, we can expect the research behind this project to spin off numerous useful technologies, all of which should be applicable not only to star missions but to in-system exploration, along with, potentially, a kilometer-scale beamer that can double as a large telescope for astronomical observations. And while I doubt we can look at interstellar missions within the next few decades (I am open to being convinced otherwise), I believe that the timing for a fast flyby of Alpha Centauri will be considerably advanced by this work.
There is much to be said about all aspects of the Breakthrough Starshot concept, and as you would imagine, I’ll be covering this closely, beginning with a trip later this week to the Breakthrough Initiatives meeting in California. That meeting will have a large SETI component growing out of Milner’s prior commitment of another $100 million, which is already being translated into active observations at the Green Bank observatory in West Virginia. But as you can imagine, the Alpha Centauri mission will be under discussion as well as the research effort begins to be assembled. What spins out of this will keep us talking for a long time to come.Joe Hockey's pre-budget spinning has veered into outright falsehoods as he attempts to claim Labor has boobytrapped the budget. Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer report.
We’ve now entered the traditional pre-budget softening-up period in which treasurers engage in expectations management ahead of the fiscal set-piece of the year in May. But even given that, Joe Hockey is treating us as complete idiots. The line Hockey has been pushing for some days now, and which he gave a big push to yesterday in a flurry of media appearances, is that not merely did Labor hide the level of deficits in the current budget cycle, but that it left a series of hidden spending commitments in the unpublished years beyond forward estimates. Hockey has been circulating a document to journalists portrayed in the media as a "Treasury analysis" that shows how "the Coalition inherited an unsustainable budget position" and Labor "hid [expenditure] from the public". Hockey would like us to see him as a budgetary innocent who has found himself in the middle of a fiscal minefield planted by Labor.STAY-AT-HOME mothers spend an extra two hours each week looking at their smartphones and even more time in front of the computer and the television than their working counterparts, a new study has revealed.
Their extended technology use came even though working mothers were more likely to own new gadgets, from smartphones to smart televisions.
Research firm Nielsen made the findings in a study into media consumption among mothers, which concluded mothers were increasingly adopting new technology regardless of their working status.
But the Nielsen Total Audience Report identified a significant gap between mothers most likely to own technology, and those who make the greatest use of it.
Stay-at-home mothers spent an additional eight hours watching television each week on average, whether live or prerecorded, an extra three hours using a computer, and two hours more on a smartphone.
The group was also more social online, spending an extra hour on social networks like Facebook while using a PC, and 33 minutes more each week viewing social media on a smartphone.
The only exception was working mothers’ use of social media on tablet computers, where they logged in an extra hour socialising online.
The extra income in households with working mothers appeared to go towards technology, the study showed, with more homes with working mums connected to broadband internet, and boasting more PCs, smartphones, smart TVs, game consoles, and subscription TV services.If you care much about the status quo and find it logical enough to buy an accessory for your Apple iPad that exceeds its own value then you are at the right place. Brands like Prada, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, channel etc have designed some of the exclusive (and expensive) iPad cases that put you in a different category of iPad owners. While some of these cases are listed as “Most ridiculous iPad cases ” by some bloggers others are indeed genuine and deserve some extra dollars.
In this post we have collected 10 most expensive iPad cases made by designers that will intrigue with their style and perplex with price.
You might also want to check HD iPad wallpapers and best iPad stands.
Louis Vuitton
To begin with, Louis Vuitton is more of a slip-case and does not provide the level of protection that you would expect from a $366 case. Although, it almost equals the cost of your iPad it is still the cheapest or to be more accurate, “Less expensive” than iPad cases offered by other brands. It is available in classic monogram and Damier Graphite and has the designers initials all over it.
Price: $366 | Louis Vuitton Monogram Case
Burberry Stiched Rafia iPad Case
Although this case out costs iPad, it has a Polished metal plaque engraved Burberry Prorsum logo and Rafia ribbons that are individually plated and cross stitched wit soft leather to equip your iPad with safety and style.
Price: $595 | Burberry Stiched Rafia
Yves Saint Laurent CHYC
This iPad case is made from textured leather and aids competent protection with the help of its book inspired design. The case scintillates fashion and elegance which is substantiated with gold-toned “Y” buckle embellishment. The product is made in Italy and automatically intrigues people with its unique simplicity. Yves Saint Laurent also offer other iPad cases which are less expensive and versatile.
Price: $750 | Yves Saint Laurent
Dior Homme iPad case
Expected to be out at the rate of around $900 this Dior Homme iPad case has aesthetics and marvel typical of Dior Homme. The case comes in leather or classic coated canvas. Design idea has been primarily applied keeping in view the simplicity and compactness of a book.
Price: ~$900 | Dior Homme iPad case
Chanel iPad case
Chanel iPad Case, formally known as the Chanel “Mallette en cuir noir”, typical of its brand name is an exquisite looking case made from finest grade leather and its elegance is markedly increased with quilted stitches dragging a lot of attention and envy. Although, the product is substantially over rated but judging by the loyal customer base of Chanel the product may be of vivid interest to many people.
Price: $1,555 | Chanel iPad case
Alexander Amosu’s iPad Case
Alexander Amosu is a London based entrepreneur and primarily was motivated for designing elegant covers and cases by his keen interest in technology and mobile phones. The designer has provided customers with a platform where they can design an sophisticated Custom iPad case using their creative impulses. Users can select different patterns like crocodile, python and ostrich with different color options. If that wasn’t enough, users can also have their names or company logo’s on the iPad case.
Price: $2,620 | Alexander Amosu’s iPad Case
Celine’s iPad Case
This case is exclusively made from high quality leather crafted in Italy by France based luxury fashion house. The edges are smooth and the case overall provides an ulterior protection. They have also equipped the case with space for incorporating small documents and cards on the go.
Price: $3,100 | Celine’s iPad Case
Domenico Vacca’s iPad Case
This case is made from superior quality alligator skin just like the Tod’s iPad case coming up next in this post. It is designed by Domenico vacca an Italian fashion house. Domenico vacca allow you to choose from a range of 25 different colors at $3,900.
Price: $3,900 | Domenico Vacca’s iPad Case
Tods’s iPad cases
Tods’s aloow you to choose from an array of iPad cases with a variety of patterns handmade in Italy from the world’s finest grade alligator skin, and will be available in brown, blue and tan from Tod’s boutiques worldwide at an all time low price of $4900. Really? Even if the case can magically transform into a sofa-cum-bed I still wouldn’t even imagine buying such an overpriced case.
Price: $4900 | Tods’s iPad cases
David August’s iPad Case
David August’s is the same person who designs custom wardrobes foe celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr. and other well known billionaires. Keeping that in mind behold the David August’s hand cut and stitched in Italy iPad case. The case comes in variety of exuberant 20 different colors and shades.
Price: $6,900 | David August’s iPad Case
We hope you liked reading about these designer iPad cases as much as we loved writing about them. You might also like our list of 30 cheaper designer iPad cases. If you own an iPad and don’t mind following a DIY guide, perhaps you can build-yourself a DIY iPad stand. Let us know whick case you like (or hate) the most from this list.Hollywood hasn't been able to pull it off. So just as with last summer's amateur Green Lantern trailer, it was up to the fans to show the big guns how it was done.
We're talking about the movie adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's classic novel Rendezvous With Rama that looked for years as if it was actually going to happen—IMDB once had a posted release date of 2009—but now seems dead.
Actor Morgan Freeman hoped for years to produce the epic, and for a while it looked like David Fincher (Fight Club) was even going to direct. But back in 2008, Fincher admitted, "It looks like it's not going to happen. There's no script.... We've been trying to do it, but it's probably not going to happen."
Enter Vancouver Film School student Philip Mahoney and visual artist Aaron Ross, who together took Clarke's novel about humans sent to explore a massive alien spaceship and created their own trailer for a movie that may never be made.
We're still hoping that someday someone will turn Rama into a full-length movie, but in the meantime, we'll take what we can get.
Rendezvous with Rama - Vancouver Film School (VFS) from Vancouver Film School on Vimeo.
So what did you think? Did |
with us all night long. And there’s lots of hugging and storytelling and book reading. And it’s been great. They’re happy to see me home.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, John Kiriakou, I want to thank you for being with us, again, spent 14 years as a CIA analyst and case officer, exposed the Bush-era torture program, became the only official jailed in connection with it, in 2007 first publicly confirmed the use of waterboarding.With the release of the Nginx 1.9.0 Web server, Nginx has taken TCP load-balancing capabilities from its commercial Nginx Plus product and fitted it to the company's open source technology.
TCP load balancing improves failover consistency among worker processes, according to Nginx. The feature already has appeared in the commercial Nginx 5 and 6 products.
[ Get the latest practical info and news with Paul Venezia's Deep End blog. | Doing server virtualization right is not so simple. InfoWorld's expert contributors show you how to get it right in this 24-page "Server Virtualization Deep Dive" PDF guide. ]
Nginx acknowledges TCP load-balancing as a back-end plumbing feature but stresses its importance. "This plumbing allows the applications to scale to huge amounts of traffic," said Owen Garrett, Nginx head of product, in an interview "It gives visibility and control over those types of traffic so that you can manage the application more effectively." Reliability also is provided, with the application maintained without end users being interrupted.
TCP load-balancing assists with the mobile and Internet of things realms. "As we move to mobile and Internet of things and more of a disparate type of applications connecting with a plethora of devices, TCP load-balancing is becoming more and more important," said Peter Guagenti, Nginx vice president of marketing, also in an interview.
The open source Nginx product is used by 140 million Web sites worldwide. Nginx surpassed Apache as the most popular Web server among the top 1,000 Web sites in 2014 as ranked by Alexa.
"We added TCP [load balancing] to Nginx Plus last year and in this change, we ported some of the commercial functionality into the open source product. And our goal is to use commercial product to sustain and support and fund the ongoing development of the open source product," Garrett said. The commercial product has extra enterprise capabilities not featured in the open source version, such as deeper control of the product and more visibility. Nginx last week also released version 1.8, billed as a stable branch of the technology, while 1.9 is a new mainline branch for development of new features.Kimberly Morin writes that Democrats still refuse to condemn the violence, bigotry, and hatred of their minions in Antifa, no matter how many times they’re shown just how violent these fascist thugs have become.
Outside of President Trump’s rally last night, Antifa once again proved they are nothing but violent thugs, although maybe racism and hate crimes should be added to the list as well. From The Blaze:
Two separate videos shot by mainstream journalists showed a confrontation between anti-Trump protesters and a group of people making their way down a street in a pickup truck. The first video shows the driver of the pickup truck outside his vehicle arguing with protesters near a crosswalk. Then a man of color approaches the driver, grabs hold of him and walks them both back to the pickup truck, presumably to de-escalate the situation. After man of color hops into the bed of the pickup, the driver attempts to leave the scene when a white Antifa protester — wearing a bandana over his face and an orange cap — rushes at the pickup and punches the man of color in the head while he’s looking in another direction.
You can see the video that was tweeted from a New York Times journalist below:
Ugly scene in downtown Phoenix. Watch til the end pic.twitter.com/K516TbufIw — Simon Romero (@viaSimonRomero) August 23, 2017
And what does the Antifa thug’s sign say? “I love my Muslim neighbor.” You can see it in the photo below:
But this white, and clearly racist, Antifa thug isn’t the only scum to sucker punch a black Trump supporter. It happened at a rally in Laguna Beach as well. From Fox 11:
Laguna Beach police arrested a man for allegedly sucker punching a Trump supporter during competing rallies at Main Beach on Sunday. 20-year-old Richard Losey was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with battery and terroristic threats. Video captured Losey allegedly punching R.C. Maxwell while he wasn’t looking. Maxwell spoke to FOX 11 on Wednesday, saying that the attack was unprovoked. “If the optics were completely different and I was a black lives matter supporter and I was attacked on the Trump side of a protest I would be in the spotlight on CNN right now,” Maxwell said. “I went over to the left side to see if I could engage them with dialogue and I was instantly encircled by the so called anti fascists.” “I think the fact that I’m a black conservative causes a lot of problems for the left side because there’s no way they can really resolve that according to their narrative of what they think trump supporters are, so I think that was a bit triggering to the other side,” Maxwell said. “I was getting lots of specific comments like you’re a sellout, you’re an Uncle Tom.”
You can watch the news report below:
Not only are Antifa violent, bigoted haters, but it’s clear they are also racist and above all else, they are cowards.
There is literally zero justification for enacting violence against anyone simply because they disagree with their ideology. Yet that’s exactly what Antifa is doing and the left not only supports it, they encourage it.
Democrats and the media own these thugs. They built this, they refuse to condemn them, and they will reap what they sow.
Facebook has greatly reduced the distribution of our stories in our readers' newsfeeds and is instead promoting mainstream media sources. When you share to your friends, however, you greatly help distribute our content. Please take a moment and consider sharing this article with your friends and family. Thank you.NIAGARA FALLS, NY -- A 13-year-old girl is in guarded condition at Women and Children's Hospital after being shot three times Thursday night in Niagara Falls.
Police say the girl was home with a 39 year old woman and two boys, ages three and six, shortly before 9:30 p.m., when shots were fired into a Willow Avenue house.
The unidentified teen was struck in the head, arm and pelvis. Police say the last round hit her at an angle where the bullet penetrated the skin and rode along the skull stopping before, and above, the ear line.
"Certainly whenever you hear somebody is shot, let alone somebody shot in the head, and that really obviously peaks everybody's interest, but from my understanding...where she was struck, she was actually still able To communicate and actually able to walk to the ambulance yesterday, which is a great thing for everybody involved," said Lieutenant John Conti of the Niagara Falls Police Department.
Right now, Falls detectives do not think the shooting was random, but believe the girl was an innocent victim.
Conti said that third bullet was just inches away from this case being a murder. He said most officers have kids.
"It does strike a cord being a parent that you could have a 13-year-old shot three times for doing nothing," Conti said.
Police are asking anyone with information to call them immediately at 286-4553. They are also asking anyone who lives in the area and has a video security system to contact them as well.
"Extreme and reckless, to say the least, that you're firing into a house and you don't know whose in there," Conti said.Who should control your data? Most people would agree that you should be in charge of it. Would you like to take greater control of your grocery shopping by having more choice and better prices? We think you would.
And wouldn’t it be great if ethereum-based ICOs could make sure their projects are secure and reliable so creators, investors and consumers can fully trust them? We say yes!
And in this episode, we’ll feature three companies that intend to solve these problems via blockchain. Innovation is just around the corner in this Bad Crypto Podcast ICO Spotlight.
ICO SPOTLIGHT EXTRAVAGANZA!!
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ICO Spotlight (Sponsored content)
Datawallet provides users with a self-sovereign wallet that puts them in charge of their data, and allows them to monetize as well as utilize an asset that is rightfully theirs. It empowers developers to leverage a completely new data universe to build the most advanced applications ever. And it provides companies with insights that will boost their operations on a never before seen scale.
Read their white paper here: https://tokensale.datawallet.com/pdf/datawallet_whitepaper.pdf
First Global Decentralized Ecosystem Directly
Connecting Grocery Manufacturers and Consumers
INS creates the leading decentralized consumer market used by broad audiences by maintaining a thriving ecosystem of consumers willing to buy everyday products at lower prices and suppliers looking to sell directly and surpass intermediaries. The INS team develops an open source technology required for running the decentralized INS ecosystem and creates a model to incentivize all participants.
Read their white paper here: https://ins.world/INS-ICO-Whitepaper.pdf
Quantstamp is a specialized network that connects developers, investors and users around a transparent and scalable proof-of-audit.
The network acts as a critical piece of transparency by enabling automated checks on smart contract vulnerabilities and automatically rewarding verifiers who identify bugs.
Quantstamp tokens allow the platform to operate in a scalable and fully decentralized fashion, delivering computation fees to verifier nodes, and bounties for locating vulnerabilities.
Read their white paper here: https://docsend.com/view/shcsmhe
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Coinbase is one of the most popular and well-known brokers and trading platforms in the world. Their platform makes it easy to securely buy, use, store and trade digital currency. Users can purchase bitcoins, Ether and now Litecoin from Coinbase through a digital wallet available on Android & iPhone.
Do your own due diligence, some people have had some customer support issues. Neither Joel nor Travis can attest to that. If you do use Coinbase, once your coins clear, move it to an offline wallet or if you choose, move them over to another exchange.
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We only share with you what we are learning and what we are investing it. We will never “pump or dump” any cryptocurrencies. Take what we say with a grain of salt. You must research this stuff on your own! Just know that we will always strive for RADICAL TRANSPARENCY with any show associations.
Show Edited By: Aaron The Tech (http://aaronthe.tech)by ·
Tea has been enjoyed for millennia by cultures all around the world and used for medicinal purposes as well. Scientific research in recent decades has shown that drinking tea is actually very healthy. Most of the research has been on green tea, and many people are well aware of green tea’s antioxidant power. However, white tea has often been underreported and many people are not familiar with the health benefits of drinking white tea. The following paragraphs will outline more about this lesser known tea and how it can contribute to good health.
What is white tea?
White tea comes from the same plant as green tea, but is picked earlier in the season while the leaves are not fully opened and covered in fine white hair. The leaves receive very little processing and are steamed instead of air-dried. This helps the leaves remain in a nearly natural state, and most importantly, retain high amounts of antioxidants.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are touted for their ability to help the body eliminate free radicals, which over time cause cellular damage that can lead to a variety of health problems. Because white tea goes through so little processing antioxidants are three times as high as in green tea. To put this in another perspective, a cup of white tea contains 12 times the antioxidant content of a glass of orange juice. White tea contains three main antioxidants from the catechin family; epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epigallocatechin, or EGCG. EGCG is the most potent and makes up 50% of the antioxidant content. Studies have shown EGCG to be up to 100 times more active and potent that vitamins A and C.
Obesity, Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
Some of the health benefits of drinking white tea include protecting the body from obesity, blood pressure and choloesterol. White tea contains caffeine, less than green tea, but still enough to help elevate the metabolism. Caffeine works in tandem with EGCG to activate a process called thermogenesis. This process stimulates the nervous system to release fat into the blood stream to be used as fuel. Further, white tea may be able to prevent the growth of new fat cells. Other studies have shown that white tea help to improve artery function, leading to better circulation and lower blood pressure. In addition, the antioxidants in white tea can help to lower cholesterol and prevent arteries from hardening.
Cancer Prevention
The elimination of free radicals helps to prevent many forms of cancer. Drinking white tea regularly can help to reduce the risk of skin, lung, colon and other cancers. In addition to the catechins white tea contains flavonoids, another type of antioxidant, which help to prevent the development of new cancer cells.
Anti-bacterial
Researchers have found that white tea has the ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria, particularly those of Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and pneumonia. In addition to stimulating the immune system to fight disease, white tea can help to eliminate some of the bacteria that cause illness.
CommentsA petition to block President Trump from being able to launch nuclear weapons was presented to Congress on Wednesday after garnering nearly a half-million signatures.
The petition backs the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act, which would deny Trump the authority to launch a first strike with nuclear weapons without a declaration of war from Congress.
The bill, reintroduced by Sen. Ed Markey Edward (Ed) John MarkeySenate Dems seek to turn tables on GOP in climate change fight Ocasio-Cortez responds to Ivanka Trump: 'I actually worked for tips and hourly wages' Overnight Energy: McConnell plans Green New Deal vote before August recess | EPA official grilled over enforcement numbers | Green group challenges Trump over Utah pipelines MORE (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) in January, would not restrict Trump from responding to a nuclear attack by another nation.
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“While it is vital for the president to have clear authority to respond to nuclear attacks on the United States, our forces or our allies, no president should have the authority to launch a nuclear first strike without congressional approval,” Markey said at a press conference alongside 28 file boxes filled with petitions.
“Such a strike would be immoral, it would be disproportionate and it would expose the United States to the threat of devastating nuclear retaliation.”
Markey called the act “absolutely critical during the Trump administration,” pointing to his rhetoric toward North Korea and Russia. He added that the signatures on the petition “are a reflection of concern across our country of the use of nuclear weapons by the president.”
“As long as President Trump has a Twitter account, we need a nuclear no-first-use policy for the United States of America,” Markey said.
The two lawmakers were also joined at the press conference by the bill co-sponsors Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), newly elected Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and officials from the groups Women’s Action for New Directions and Global Zero.
Petition organizers handed out red buttons with the word “easy” on them at the press conference, suggesting that it is simple for Trump to order a nuclear strike.
Markey and Lieu have long opposed America's first-strike policy and first introduced a bill restricting the ability to launch a first strike in September, tying the issue to Trump’s comments during the presidential campaign.
Trump has tweeted that the U.S. should “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability” and did not take a first strike off the table during a September presidential debate.
Former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaChicago's next mayor will be a black woman Obama portraits brought more than 1 million visitors to National Portrait Gallery in first year With low birth rate, America needs future migrants MORE reportedly weighed changing the first strike policy before leaving office but ultimately did not after advisers argued against it.
The growing tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear program have prompted several new alarming statements from Trump, who said in April that a "major, major" conflict is possible between the U.S. and North Korea.Greater Rifts:
XP % from items are summed up (Cains+Borns+Ruby+Leoric+Hellfire.), and then multiplied with GR XP modifier.
+Experience from secondaries & Gem of Ease are NOT multiplied by GR XP modifier.
T6 Rifts:
XP % from items are summed up (Cains+Borns+Ruby+Leoric+Hellfire.) ADDITIVELY with T6 XP% modifier.
+Experience from secondaries & Gem of Ease ARE multiplied, by T6 XP% modifier.
Example GR#1:
Example GR#2:
Gem of Ease
Example T6#1:
Example T6#2:
Gem of Ease
Conclusion:
Gem of Ease
DO use XP% gear in GR, as much as you can get away with
Gem of Ease
So yesterday I read a reddit post proclaiming XP bonuses were reduced in 2.2 and decided to test it out to see if the Rubies, Leorics, and Gem of Ease were actually worth using when I run T6 or speed GRs. I went on PTR tonight to test. This isn't any new news or any recent changes, just wanted to test to see if Gem of Ease was worth using. Here are the results:+91% XP (20% Born + 30% Leorics Ring + 41% Ruby)If you killed a zombie worth 1,000,000 XP, you would instead get 1,910,000 XP.+2000 XP fromIf you killed a zombie worth 1,000,000 XP, you would instead get 1,002,000 XP.+91% XP (20% Born + 30% Leorics Ring + 41% Ruby)Since T6 base = 1600% +91% = 1691% = ~5.7%,more XPIf you killed a skeleton worth 100,000 XP, you would instead get 105,688 XP.+2000 XP fromT6 Base of +1600% XP = +34000 XP = ~34% more XPIf you killed a skeleton worth 100,000 XP, you would instead get 134,000 XP.1)usingin GRs. Completely not worth it. It adds < 0.1% to your XP gain in GR35+. The extra XP you receive from Gem of Ease and XP per Kill is exactly the same from GR1 to GR100.^_^2) XP% gear in T6 really isn't worth it. +% XP is additive into the base T6 +1600% and results in ~5% more XP for a lot of damage sacrificed. +XP secondaries is ok in T6, but if you want XP just do speed GRs3)IS actually somewhat decent in T6. ~18% more XP against standard mobs like zombies, ~3% on 'large' mobs.New music comes to us via obscure channels in the late internet era, and today via WNYC’s science podcast, Radiolab, we’ve got a new song from North Carolina dance-pop duo Sylvan Esso. The song they wrote was inspired by one of the stories on the podcast, the somewhat harrowing tale of a girl named Jamie who is living and struggling with bipolar disorder. She eventually discovers that Lithium offers her the emotional stability the disorder has robbed her of, but later has to go off the drug due to other health concerns. Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn listened to the entire podcast and then wrote the song about Jamie and her experience. Their debut self-titled album Sylvan Esso is out now, and this is the first new music we’ve heard from them in a while, aside from the news that Sanborn will be releasing a solo EP as Made Of Oak.
As for “Jamie’s Song,” it once again features Meath’s voice like a bright pinpoint, surrounded on all sides by Sanborn’s delicate framework of synth bleeps and slow, crisp beats. Later in the song, Meath’s harmonies appear as yet another layer of that framework, mimicking the whispered confusion of an ever-shifting world. If this is any indication of where the two piece are headed, their next album might just surpass the self-titled. Listen below, the song itself begins at 22:50, but the podcast segment before explains Jamie’s story, which inspired the track.
Sylvan Esso is out now via Partisan.Play ESPN Fantasy Football More people play on ESPN than anywhere else. Join or create a league in the No. 1 Fantasy Football game! Sign up for free!
Here's my current take on my top-200 and positional rankings for the 2016 fantasy football season, using ESPN 10-team league standard scoring (in other words, no PPR, two RBs, two WRs, a TE and one flex). As you check these ranks, always look for the "time stamp," which is the date and time the ranks were last updated.
As always, feel free to tell me who I am too high on, too low on and what else I completely botched on Twitter (@matthewberrytmr), Facebook (facebook.com/matthewberrytmr) and Instagram (instagram.com/matthewberrytmr).
Matthew Berry -- the Talented Mr. Roto - ranks you No. 1 in his heart. Berry is a paid spokesman for DraftKings.com and the creator of RotoPass.com, a website that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price.The Jews IronFalcon Sep 23rd, 2013 ( edited ) 22,555 Never 22,555Never
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rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint text 128.49 KB The Jews----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purpose of This Document This documents purpose is to provide clear and undeniable evidence of Jewish control and Jewish influence of almost every facet of life which is harmful to all of the non-Jews in the world for the benefit of all the Jews in the world and to Israel. Additionally, this document will have general information of the Jews and Israel that should be known. Feel free to distribute these facts to anyone you see fit. You may posts these lists on your website as long as you leave a link to this pastebin. Note: This document's previous title was "Jewish Control". --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 01) American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 02) Exploitation of the Holocaust 03) Holocaust Revisionism Articles 04) Holocaust Revisionism Books and Newsletters 05) Holocaust Revisionism Documentaries and Videos 06) Holocaust Revisionism Websites 07) Israel's Actions Against the United States of America 08) Israel and the National Security Agency 09) Israel and Iran 10) Israel's Nuclear Weapons 11) Israel's Use of Human Shields 12) Israel's Use of White Phosphorus 13) Jews are a Race 14) Jewish Control of the Media 15) Jewish Control of the United States Federal Reserve 16) Jewish Control of the United States Government 17) Jewish Control of the United States Presidency 18) Jewish Controlled Media's Promotion of Homosexuality 19) Jewish Hatred of the White Race 20) Jewish Implementation of Policy 21) Jewish Involvement in Slavery 22) Jewish Manipulation of Public Opinion 23) Jewish Promotion of Communism 24) Jewish Promotion of Cultural Marxism 25) Jewish Promotion of Feminism 26) Jewish Promotion of Gun Control 27) Jewish Promotion of Homosexuality 28) Jewish Promotion of Non-White Immigration into White Countries 29) Jewish Promotion of Pornography 30) Jewish Supremacism 31) Jewish Treatment of Christians 32) Jewish Treatment of Others in Israel 33) TheZog's Required Reading on the Jews 34) U.S.S. Liberty Incident 35) Other Relevant Pastebin(s) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01) American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) AIPAC http://jewwatch.com/jew-organizations-AIPAC.html AIPAC: The Most Powerful Lobby in America https://web.archive.org/web/20121108034543/http://thebilzerianreport.com/aipac-the-most-powerful-lobby-in-america http://thebilzerianreport.com/aipac-the-most-powerful-lobby-in-america/ AIPAC: This is What Treason Looks Like https://youtube.com/watch?v=KBpft6pQClY AIPAC to Go All-Out on Syria http://politico.com/story/2013/09/aipac-syria-96344.html American Israel Public Affairs Committee http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/American_Israel_Public_Affairs_Committee Barbara Boxer, AIPAC Seek to Codify Israel's Right to Discriminate Against Americans http://guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/13/barbara-boxer-aipac-israel-discrimination David Steiner (AIPAC) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Steiner_%28AIPAC%29 The Day AIPAC Went on the Record About How it Operates https://web.archive.org/web/20131026084431/http://mjayrosenberg.com/2012/05/16/aipacs-congress/ http://mjayrosenberg.com/2012/05/16/aipacs-congress/ Ex Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney Speaks Out About AIPAC https://youtube.com/watch?v=p-rbw_SLoeA Feds Probe a Top Democrat's Relationship with AIPAC http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1549069,00.html Jane Harman Denies CQ Report She was Heard on NSA Wiretap Lobbying for AIPAC Officials http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/04/jane-harman-denies-cq-report-she-was-caught-on-nsa-wiretap-lobbying-for-aipac-officials.html New York Times Cuts References to AIPAC in Syria Debate http://thenation.com/blog/176001/nyt-cuts-key-references-aipac-pressure-syria-debate Obama and Israel (and AIPAC), Together at Last http://bloombergview.com/articles/2013-09-03/obama-and-israel-and-aipac-together-at-last Rep Engel: AIPAC is Most Effective Lobby on Capitol Hill, Bar None http://mondoweiss.net/2009/05/rep-engel-aipac-is-most-effective-lobby-on-capitol-hill-bar-none.html Top Recipients of AIPAC Campaign Contributions http://dailykos.com/story/2010/06/01/872044/-Top-Recipients-of-AIPAC-Campaign-Contributions Total Control of the United States: The Israeli/Jewish Lobby https://youtube.com/watch?v=d7tUEqjmIWE The U.S.-Israel Special Relationship Timeline That AIPAC Doesn't Want You to See https://web.archive.org/web/20150627214106/http://thebilzerianreport.com/the-us-israel-special-relationship-timeline-that-aipac-doesnt-want-you-to-see/ http://thebilzerianreport.com/the-us-israel-special-relationship-timeline-that-aipac-doesnt-want-you-to-see/ All links in section are active as of: 08/04/16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02) Exploitation of the Holocaust As Many as 90% of Those Claiming to Be Holocaust Survivors May Be Frauds http://veteranstoday.com/2010/11/13/gordon-duff-who-speaks-up-for-holocaust-survivors/ Australian Man's Holocaust Story Labelled a 'Lie' http://thejc.com/news/world-news/83898/australian-mans-holocaust-story-labelled-a-lie%E2%80%99 Brighton Beach Holocaust Fund Scammer Jailed for Nearly Two Years http://sheepsheadbites.com/2013/06/dora-grande-brighton-beach-holocaust-scam/ CBS's Ben Stein Warns of Second Holocaust http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/154655 Children of Holocaust Survivors Inherit the Role of Witness http://news.yahoo.com/children-holocaust-survivors-inherit-role-witness-060206236.html Court Rules Fake Holocaust Survivor Must Return $22.5 Million from Book 'Misha' About Fabricated Tale http://algemeiner.com/2014/05/12/court-rules-fake-holocaust-survivor-must-return-22-5-million-from-book-misha-about-fabricated-tale/ Defamation: ADL Bullying Ukraine into Downplaying the Holodomor as Serious as the Holocaust https://youtube.com/watch?v=Fg1rL_kbO_w Foxman Addressing Holodomor in the Ukraine: Goyim Must Remain Silent http://dailystormer.com/foxman-addressing-holodomor-in-the-ukraine-goyim-must-remain-silent/ France to Pay $60 Million to Jewish Holocaust Deportees http://worldbulletin.net/world/150013/france-to-pay-60-million-to-jewish-holocaust-deportees Fraudster Gets Eight Years in $57 Million Holocaust Scheme http://nypost.com/2013/11/04/fraudster-gets-8-years-in-57m-holocaust-scheme/ Germany to Provide Funds to Nazis' Child Victims http://foxnews.com/world/2014/09/04/germany-agrees-to-one-time-payments-to-help-nazis-child-victims-in-their-old/ Har Nof Attack Scene 'Looked Like the Holocaust' http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/187603 Holocaust Trauma Affects Grandchildren of Survivors http://haaretz.com/news/study-holocaust-trauma-affects-grandchildren-of-survivors-1.230984 The Holocaust's Long Reach: Trauma is Passed On to Survivors' Children http://theglobeandmail.com/life/the-holocausts-long-reach-trauma-is-passed-on-to-survivors-children/article23793425/ In First, Poland to Pay Pensions to Shoah Survivors Abroad http://timesofisrael.com/for-first-time-poland-to-pay-pensions-to-survivors/ Is a Second Holocaust Possible? http://jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/is-a-second-holocaust-possible/2014/05/22/ Israeli Diplomat in Berlin: Maintaining German Guilt About Holocaust Helps Israel http://haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.662962 Mismanagement at Holocaust Fund? Accusations Fly After Claims Conference Fires Own Watchdog http://www.jta.org/2015/07/10/news-opinion/united-states/fraud-of-nazi-victims-fund-likely-more-than-reported-57m-says-fired-investigator Money Running Out for Needy Holocaust Survivors http://thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/money_running_out_needy_holocaust_survivors The Second Holocaust http://nysun.com/opinion/second-holocaust/47111/ U.S. Diplomat: Many Holocaust Survivors Live in Poverty http://ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4662451,00.html 'We Are Looking at the Beginnings of a Holocaust' http://jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/We-are-looking-at-the-beginnings-of-a-Holocaust-369165 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03) Holocaust Revisionism Articles Air Photo Evidence http://vho.org/GB/Books/dth/fndaerial.html Alois Brunner and the "I Would Do it All Again" Statement was a Lie, Says Researcher http://newobserveronline.com/alois-brunner-statement-lie-says-researcher/ An Introduction to Holocaust Revisionism http://bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_holocaust05.htm#Table%20of%20Contents The Anne Frank Diary Fraud http://thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=4297 Anne Frank's Diary - Some Honest Questions http://rense.com/general65/aan.htm Argument Boils About Numbers of Auschwitz Dead http://rense.com/general62/auch.htm Auschwitz for Dummies http://thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=4311 Buchenwald: Legend and Reality http://codoh.com/library/document/180/ Documents on the Allegation About Lampshades Made from Human Skin http://www.fpp.co.uk/Auschwitz/docs/controversies/humanskin/IlseKoch1.html Documentary Photographs Proving the National Socialist Persecution of the Jews? http://codoh.com/library/document/924 The Einsatzgruppen and the Holocaust http://whale.to/b/einsatzgruppen_h.html Examining the Einsatzgruppen Reports http://cwporter.com/einsatz.htm Forty-Six Important Unanswered Questions Regarding the Nazi Gas Chambers http://codoh.com/library/document/987/ The Gas Chambers: Truth or Lie? http://ihr.org/jhr/v02/v02p319_Faurisson.html The Germans "Bred Geese in Order to Drown Out the Shouts and Torments of 250,000 Jews Murdered Inside the Gas Chambers" http://exposing-the-holocaust-hoax-archive.blogspot.com/2014/09/sobibor-germans-bred-geese-in-order-to.html Himmler Never Mentioned Holocaust to Wife Despite Her Dislike of Jews http://rt.com/news/nazis-himmler-holocaust-letters-224/ The Holocaust http://holywar.org/jewishtr/hlct.htm The Holocaust and Genocide http://holywar.org/jewishtr/18holo1.htm http://holywar.org/jewishtr/18holo2.htm Holocaust or Holohoax? Twenty Amazing Facts http://thebritishresistance.co.uk/guest-writers/2601-holocaust-or-holohoax-20-amazing-facts Holocaust Propaganda Photographs http://whale.to/b/holocaust_prop_p.html Holocaust Revisionism Frequently Asked Questions http://cwporter.com/faq.htm Holocaust Revisionism in One Easy Lesson http://www.thebirdman.org/Index/Jews/Jews-HoloRev.html Holohoax http://prothink.org/holohoax/ How Britain Tortured Nazi PoW's http://dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223831/How-Britain-tortured-Nazi-PoWs-The-horrifying-interrogation-methods-belie-proud-boast-fought-clean-war.html How the British Obtained the Confessions of Rudolf Höss http://rense.com/general68/hoss.htm The Illustrated Auschwitz Lie http://cwporter.com/bild1.htm http://cwporter.com/bild2.htm Is the Holocaust a Hoax? http://biblebelievers.org.au/holohoax.htm Jewish Soap http://ihr.org/leaflets/soap.shtml The Liberation of the Camps: Facts vs. Lies http://ihr.org/leaflets/libcamps.shtml A Prominent False Witness: Elie Wiesel http://ihr.org/leaflets/wiesel.shtml Made in Russia: The Holocaust http://cwporter.com/partone.htm http://cwporter.com/parttwo.htm http://cwporter.com/partthre.htm http://cwporter.com/partfour.htm http://www.cwporter.com/pg368.htm http://www.cwporter.com/pg378.htm http://www.cwporter.com/pg381.htm http://www.cwporter.com/pg387.htm http://www.cwporter.com/pg402.htm The Missing Hitler Order http://codoh.com/library/document/885/ Moshe Peer's Astounding Holy Shoah Tale http:// |
don’t have the power to buy elections, most of us don’t get the majority of our income from capital gains, and most of us make well under the $350,000 salaries that the 1% do. Regardless of your position on government intervention in the economy and programs like Obamacare, they are designed to help the majority of Americans. Whereas take a look at the six principals of the Tea Party Express–widely considered the largest and most influential branch of the Tea Party. While a lot of these look good on paper (who doesn’t like lower taxes?) the beneficiaries will be disproportionately laughing from their yachts atop piles of money. Where Occupy Wall Street argues for policies that will hopefully help large majorities of the population, the Tea Party is busy pressuring representatives to cut off people’s unemployment and disaster relief for victims of a hurricane and an earthquake.
Age
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While the Tea Party movement and OWS actually have a lot of similarities in principle once you get past the shrillness, one of the biggest differences between the two is the yawning age gap between participants. Only 10% of Tea Partiers are under the age of 34, and most are over the age of 45. OWS on the other hand has a much younger profile, but 35% of them are still over the age of 34. This is a generational struggle, there’s no denying that, but OWS represents a much more even slice of the population, and doesn’t just seem to be older people holding up bafflingly offensive signs like this.
Popular Support
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Despite some people’s attempt to make OWS look like a bunch of entitled, unemployed hippies who hate capitalism, America and Grandma’s apple pie, apparently a lot of Americans aren’t buying it. Favorable opinions of the OWS keep creeping toward the majority, while favorable opinions of the tea party still struggle to stay above the percentage of people who think they’re mean and creepy. But looking past the movements themselves, policies that are generally supported by OWS—such as better regulation, a more progressive tax system, and no more bank bailouts—enjoy resounding support in the 60%-70% range. To put into perspective just how rare it is that 60% of Americans will agree on even anything, 73% of Americans agree the super rich should pay more in taxes while only 58% believe Obama wasn’t born in Kenya, by a margin of 15%. And that includes 66% of Republicans. It’s not 99% by a long shot, but in American politics it’s as rare as Rick Perry making sense.
OWS Actually Protests
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A quick primer on non-violent resistance. It’s spiritual fathers are widely considered to be historical characters such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau. All three of these people advocated civil disobedience, which basically involves breaking the law in a non-violent manner and peacefully going to jail for your crimes. In a word, the whole point is to break the law in a peaceful manner to draw attention to your cause—usually because of the disproportionately violent crackdown from the government. Otherwise, your protest is little more than a louder, more annoying bumper sticker.
Hundreds, if not thousands of protesters have been arrested during Occupy protests, often as the result of some pretty shady actions on the part of the Police. Not to mention the peaceful protesters who were pepper sprayed or seriously injured by overzealous police forces. It’s obviously important to note that breaking the law and fostering mayhem aren’t good in and of themselves, but when a system is so broken that people feel like they’re only way to get noticed is to block traffic on the Brooklyn bridge, that’s a real protest. That’s being mad as hell and not taking it anymore, despite the fact that you might get tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets without warning.
OWS Are Not Unemployed
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Anyone who has been to an OWS protest know that there are usually quite a lot of unemployed people in the crowd. There’s two ways to spin this, one is that they’re lazy, shiftless hippies demanding government handouts. The other is that they’ve been screwed over by a system designed to benefit the rich and bend the middle class over a chair. Or you could not bother spinning it at all because 70% of OWS protesters are employed. That’s in contrast to only 56% of Tea Partiers who have jobs. To be fair, those 44% of Tea Partiers that are unemployed are most likely retired. Though it’s hard to entertain calls for a smaller government and critiques of OWS being lazy, Unemployment-collecting ruffians from a group of people collecting gob-smacking amounts of money (close to $1 trillion a year) in Social Security and Medicare. Especially when the people paying for those programs are the 70% employed younger people at the OWS protests.
OWS is Better-Educated
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While it’s unfair to correlate intelligence with level of education, it’s certainly interesting to see the breakdown of education between OWS and the Tea Party. A staggering 92% of OWS protesters have college degrees, in contrast to 70% for the Tea Party. Again, like employment, this is likely the result of a generational gap rather than OWS attracting more college-educated people. When many in the Tea Party demographic were of college age, enrollment rates were anywhere from 10%-15% lower. But it does illustrate an interesting fact, namely that OWS isn’t the rambling hippie caravan it’s made out to be, and is likely made up of educated young professionals who feel absolutely robbed by the system. This is the demographic, by the way, that starts revolutions.
OWS Have Numbers to Back up Their Arguments
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While OWS hasn’t really published an over-arching manifesto stating what they believe, and the signs at rallies can range from Libertarian to Liberal to Anarchist and everything in between, a couple of salient points have emerged as the main arguments behind the movement, the big one being:
• Rising income inequality and the lack of growth in wages for 80% of the country over the past few decades reveals a fundamental inequality between the top 10% of wage earners and the rest of us.
Similarly, while the Tea Party is still somewhat loosely-organized, a couple of over-arching arguments have emerged, the big one being:
• LESS. TAXES. We are Taxed Enough Already.
Let’s start with the Tea Party, namely, do will lower tax rates make things better overall, and are the truly onerous right now? The answer to both: No. Tax rates are at their lowest point since the depression, and there’s little political will to raise them even slightly. While there are a few tax rates such as the corporate income tax, and arguably FICA taxes, that are too high right now, federal income taxes are so low, 47% of Americans pay no federal income tax at all. And while lowering taxes is one good way to stimulate the economy in a depression, they really don’t have much lower to go for the majority of the country, meaning that no one would end up spending more. Plus a rise in taxes will almost certainly be needed to balance the budget, and economists have shown that raising taxes leads to greater economic growth (or to be more precise, slightly less slower) than spending cuts.
Turning to OWS, is there systemic inequality emerging in America, not just in wages, but in people’s ability to increase their wages and advance? In a word: Yes. It’s a well-studied fact that the middle class has been shrinking, and wages for everyone who isn’t a millionaire have stagnated since Reagan. Essentially, the rich have been getting progressively richer, while the poor and middle class have been getting poorer. And they have been using this wealth to game the everloving shit out of the system to further increase their wealth, oh and to buy politicians left and right using a variety of shady methods.
Income
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When it comes to income, the Tea Party has the OWS protesters walloped. Only 13% of the Tea Party makes less than $50,000 a year, and 31% earn over $75,000 a year. OWS on the other hand, is 66% made up of people earning less than $50,000 a year. Again, this is probably the result of a generational gap, as one of the surest guarantees of finding higher earners is to go up in age. Unfortunately, this is not helping the Tea Partier’s arguments when they’ve enjoyed decades of a growing economy, accumulated some wealth, and now seem to barely care that the cost of college is hovering somewhere out by Pluto. Of course the vast, vast majority of Tea Partiers earnestly think that lowering taxes and shrinking government will be to the benefit of all. However, to the younger OWS protesters who are now forced to struggle in the bedlam left behind, “Taxed enough already” and “End Obamacare” sound like poorly-translated versions of “Fuck You. Got Mine.”
Redistribution and Hypocrisy
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Between 1984 and 2009, the average net worth of Americans under 35 declined by 68%. At the same time, net worth for those over the age of 65 increased by 42%. There are a variety of causes for this, not the least of which being that the younger you get, the more minority and single-parenty you get. Also the collapses of the early 90s, 2000s and in 2008 haven’t helped. But one of the biggest is the fact that all young employed Americans pay a payroll tax, which goes directly to the older generation in the form of medicare and social security benefits, to the tune of about $1 trillion a year, as mentioned earlier. Oh and in case anyone forgot, the Tea Party formed around outrage at Obamacare, also known as a program that would give the young and middle-aged the same benefits as Medicare.
To put it plainly, OWS is paying and the Tea Party is collecting, and then the Tea Party is complaining about the taxes while reaping the benefits and furiously denying them to others. Especially in this light, it’s no wonder that OWS has ballooned, one of its largest protests so far in Oakland has grown to well over 100,000 people.Chinese President visited Ahmedabad where Modi had unrolled a grand welcome for him. (Source: PTI)
Even as Chinese troops began withdrawing from the Chumar area in Ladakh, the official media here accused India of “instigating” incidents on the borders to divert attention during important visits of Chinese leaders.
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The Chinese think-tanks also said that India has taken an “offensive” strategy to get more leverage in talks, a day after visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Delhi.
Reporting for the first time on the border incident in Ladakh region, state-run Global Times in its report on Xi-Modi talks quoted Indian media reports of the row between Indian and Chinese troops in Chumar area.
Modi raised concerns over the ongoing incident to Xi in Gujarat on Wednesday and it was brought up again during their talks in Delhi on Thursday, said the report in the paper known for its nationalistic views.
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This is the first time sections of Chinese media reported the incident.
Commenting on the incident, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing here on Thursday that “with immediate and effective communication, this has been effectively controlled and managed”.
However the Global Times, a sister publication of the ruling Communist Party of China-run People’s Daily quoted an “anonymous Observer” accusing India of “ramping up” tensions near the borders to divert the attention over Chinese leaders visits to New Delhi.
The “anonymous observer”, who specialises in South Asian studies, said that prior to visits to India by Chinese leaders, tensions often ramp-up near the border.
“Last year, ahead of Premier Li Keqiang’s India visit, there was a three-week standoff in the western part of the border,” said the observer stated to be a woman analyst.
It may not be a coincidence, she said, alleging that “some forces in India might want to exert pressure on China over the meeting’s agenda. They don’t want the talks to only focus on trade and economic cooperation, and might want to use it as leverage to press for talks over the border issue.”
She is also skeptical about early resolution of boundary dispute as desired by Modi and Xi during their talks. Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow with the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the daily that Modi has taken a hard line on political and security policies, reinforcing infrastructure on the Indian side of the LAC and upgrading equipment.
“The ‘offensive’ strategy aims to gain more leverage in the talks,” Hu said.
There isn’t “much chance of a settlement of the border issue under Modi and Xi’s regimes,” the observer said. “Indians have long regarded themselves victims in the border dispute (following the brief war with China in 1962).
It remains in doubt whether Modi will make concessions,” she said.
“For China, while settling the dispute may alleviate concerns that India will side with Japan and the US, it still won’t be a strong enough incentive for concessions,” she said.
“It is not a border dispute alone, as it is intertwined with the Tibet question,” the observer said.
The Global Times also reported the Dalai Lama’s comments that “Tibet’s problem is India’s problem.”
It said Modi has reiterated India will not allow Tibetans to conduct anti-China political activities in the country. He also reaffirmed that Tibet is a part of China, it said.
Also an article by an official think-tank in the same paper said India’s stand on border issue is getting tougher.
“New Delhi keeps making efforts in solving the border issue through negotiations. But its stance is getting tougher, and it is brewing new strategic adjustments,” it said.
The border issue certainly does not represent the whole picture of the Sino-Indian relationship, but it is indeed an obstacle that restrains the deepening of bilateral ties, it said.
“Superficially, New Delhi is showing a tougher attitude. For instance, Modi himself once said ‘No power on Earth can take away even an inch from India.’ And more recently, India’s foreign minister made a public statement about ‘one India’. It seems a natural conclusion that the Modi administration intending to be tougher on border talks,” it said.
But in fact, such toughness should be understood within the context of India’s domestic political ecology of complexparty wrangles. This decides that such toughness, in many occasions, is more symbolic, it said.
“At the current stage, India and China actually have no alternative. They have to continue negotiations over the border issue, and jointly protect peace in the border regions before the issue is ultimately addressed in a peaceful manner,” it said.
“The most controversial zone between China and India contains an eastern part and a western part. The eastern part is Indian-controlled. China dominates the western part, where frequent confrontations between the two armies are witnessed,” it said.
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“Why did India only bring up the eastern part (Arunachal Pradesh) when talking about ‘one India’ and not mention the western part at all? Does this mean the Modi administration is now considering more strategic adjustments on this issue? This deserves our close attention,” it asked.NEW YORK—Saying that they’ll have to rely on nearly every trick they’ve learned, NFL camera operators told reporters Friday they are already preparing for a difficult year of avoiding fans who hold up derogatory signs directed at openly gay defensive end Michael Sam. “It’s safe to say that cutting to opposing fans after Sam makes a big play will always be out of the question,” said cameraman Joseph Heizer, adding that when they are obligated to pan the crowd, they’ll need to be ready to quickly jerk away from inflammatory signs and land on something safe like the referees, coaching staff, or turf. “We’re also going to stick with a lot of zoomed-out, low-focus shots of the stands so that the poster boards with homophobic slurs just look like colorful squares. And any time we do zoom in on screaming fans, we’ll just have to shake the camera a little bit so you can’t tell what they’re actually shouting.” The cameramen added that they are also proposing a 15-second delay for all games taking place in the South.
AdvertisementDemocratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Wednesday during the CNN town hall in Hew Hampshire that he wants Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to win the GOP nomination.
Sanders criticized Trump’s claim that climate change was a hoax created by the Chinese and mockingly called him a “well-known scientist.” Sanders also tore apart Trump’s proposed tax plan. But, he said he’d like to run against the real estate mogul.
“I want Trump to win the Republican nomination,” Sanders said. “And I would love the opportunity to run against him. I think we would win by a lot.”
Trump responded on Twitter:
Sanders says he wants to run against me because he doesn’t want to run against me. He would be so easy to beat! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2016
This post has been updated.Rate this short story Sending User Review 4.7 ( 20 votes)
And Lo, A Black Horse
written by: James Dean Collins
@CanSuchThingsBe
In my twenties I was a security guard. The job was nothing too strenuous. I was one of five patrol people during the graveyard shift at a major chemical laboratory. My job was primarily to walk around and spot any leaks I would find in office ceilings, report any strange behavior, and things like that.
One particular night in the middle of a cold February I drew patrol in section one. Section one was pretty big, with a couple of low-lit creepy areas. They let me use a pickup truck to check the exterior of the laboratory, and that truck came in handy in the chilly, mid-Atlantic weather.
To the left side of the grounds is an old mill by a river, and to the right are railroad tracks and a railroad museum converted from a former train station. The tracks were essentially abandoned due to the manufacturing jobs around my state moving away. The museum still leases a locomotive a couple of weekends a year along with some old train cars. They like to bring families out for picnics.
On this night, I took the truck around the grounds and checked out a few of the offices, always making sure to call in my position and status over the radio (code 10-8.) I left building 308 and looked to the right of where I was facing.
Everything seemed okay with the railroad museum, but just past it, down a set of tracks surrounded by trees, there was a green light coming from around the corner.
I grabbed my radio and called in an investigation (10-37), got in the truck and left the laboratory grounds for the museum. I parked outside of the small building and got on the platform to look around through the windows. The only light sources came from the exit sign and the illuminated security monitor. The monitor was a four-way split-screen with one camera in the building, one on the platform looking at me, one overseeing the parking lot, and one that was all static.
Static?
I checked the camera from the platform. It was the track camera, and it was pointing down the tracks in the direction of the light. The camera itself showed the light was on and it appeared fully operational from where I stood.
In the distance, I heard a train whistle.
That made me jump. It came from the direction of the light. There weren’t supposed to be any trains on this track anymore, at least not at this time of night.
I went to use my radio, but I was only greeted with more static. I thought about how strange that was for a moment but I tried to radio an investigation (10-37). Again, I was met with static.
I went back to the truck and grabbed a flashlight, and then I started walking down the track. The track eventually curved around a corner that wasn’t visible from the station. A few feet around the corner, and that’s when I saw it, I saw the source of light.
An old locomotive stood before me. There was steam billowing out from underneath of it. Its front light was an unholy shade of yellow-green.
I stood there in disbelief for a moment, and then I shined the light on it. I couldn’t see into the windows, but something wasn’t right. There should not have been a train here.
I moved down the tracks to look into the cars. It had old club-style cars like classic locomotives used to have. I shined the light into the windows again but couldn’t see anything. The windows of the cars were yellowed, aged, and covered in cobwebs. I listened and held my breath; I swear I heard people inside talking softly.
A few cars back I tried a door. With some resistance it budged open and I made my way inside. The car smelled terrible. It was a pungent odor that made me dry-heave.
There was mold all over the car. The carpet had mildewed. I composed myself and shined the flashlight around.
It was nothing but old benches that people had sat in during some other time. The car was crawling with spider webs and bugs that scurried away from my light. I took a second to wipe the sweat from my brow.
Sweat?
It was February.
That’s when I noticed I was light-headed. I stumbled forward down the aisle of the car. I doubled-over and began to hear conversation in my ear, from both males and females, but I couldn’t make out any of it. It was like they were talking backwards.
I composed myself and turned around.
The car was filled with people. No, they weren’t people. They were…things. Half-human, half-skeleton sort of awful looking things; and all of them were staring right at me. They had skin on maybe two-thirds of their bodies, but it looked like it was rotting and falling off. They were a combination of men and women. The men were dressed in suits, and the women were dressed in clothing from a period of time I couldn’t figure out offhand.
And there they were, staring right at me, smiling their ghoulish, half-skinned smiles at me in unison. They began to shamble toward me.
I turned and ran down the car. I tried the door ahead but it wouldn’t budge. They came closer, so out of desperation I kicked at the door, which jarred it loose.
I fell through the entranceway of the car. I looked up and they were still coming after me. I scrambled to my feet and ran down the track. I heard the train whistle, and then the engine roared to life. I heard the flanges moving.
Desperately I tried my radio, but I was still only greeted by static.
I ran to the museum. I fumbled for my keys and started the truck. The train was still coming. I didn’t bother to put on my seatbelt I just tore out of the parking lot towards the lab compound.
I lost control of the truck and went flying through the front gate. The last thing I remember was the airbag deploying when I hit the tree.
The Captain of the base came to visit me in the hospital. I told him what happened and he just nodded and told me to come see him and the Site Commander upon my release.
I showed up at the home office a few days later with a limp and my left arm in a cast. I was okay other than that and the concussion. I waited in the lobby until they called me into the main office. The Captain was there too, and they both gave each other looks as I recounted the events from that night.
“Well Mickey,” the Commander started. “I hope you understand that we can’t possibly corroborate this story, and we have to let you go.”
I started to speak up, but why bother? 12 bucks an hour wasn’t worth what I had to deal with. I nodded and shook each of their hands, grabbed my severance, and left. As I walked to the parking lot, I looked into the window of the main office.
He and the Captain were looking at camera footage on his computer. It was the viewpoint of the track camera from the railroad museum. In the frame, I was running for my life down the track, as a big, green light came up from behind me.
They both looked at it for five good minutes, said a few inaudible things to one another, and then the Commander deleted the footage.Iran is ramping up its military presence in Syria amid peace talks between the rebels and Syrian President Bashar Assad. Fearing that Russia may side with the U.S. and approve the removal of Assad from power, the Iranian government is now, more than ever, investing in propping up the regime's dwindling army and air force.
“They [the Iranians] saw it as an opportunity to move closer to the regime,” one U.S. official told the Financial Times.
Iran has for years had a military presence in Syria. Soldiers from Hezbollah, some stationed in Lebanon, others in Syria's capital of Damascus, have helped the Syrian army fight the rebels. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite military unit in Iran, has had an increased presence in Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011.
Those same contingents have also fought the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, in Iraq. But as peace talks resume once again, Russia seems to be more aligned with the U.S. strategy, which is based on the demand that Assad step aside in order for a political transition to move forward.
Russia pulled back a big portion of its military from Syria last month.
“I hope that this will considerably increase the level of trust between all parties of the Syrian settlement and will contribute to a peaceful resolution of the Syrian issue,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March, at a meeting with his top deputies that was broadcast on Russian state television.
The Russian military pullback announced last month threatens Tehran's position not only in Syria, but in the region. If Assad is ousted, Iranian military presence in the country will be diminished and Iran will no longer dominate the region as it does now.
That's why Iran is deploying more troops to Damascus. Those deployments, though, come at a cost. At least four Iranian soldiers have been killed in one week. Iranian media have reported that more than 150 Guards died in more than a year of fighting in Syria.
The United Nations is amid a new round of peace talks aimed at ending Syria's five-year civil war. The talks started and stalled multiple times in the last five years.
The latest session took place in Geneva on Friday. Syria's U.N. ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, said he had "constructive and fruitful" discussions with Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura. The Saudi-backed Higher Negotiations Committee, which represents many of the rebel groups in the country, and the Syrian government have submitted proposals to de Mistura on a political transition.
Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani flew to Moscow for talks with Russia's military and political leadership on the situation in Syria, Reuters reported Friday.
The main purpose of his visit was to discuss new delivery routes for shipments of Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems. Several sources, though, told Reuters that Soleimani wanted to talk about how Russia and Iran could help the Syrian government regain full control of the city of Aleppo.The vision for this web site is to provide a resource for the Church regarding its rich Hebraic heritage by promoting Jewish literacy among all those who claim Jesus Christ as their Lord. I believe this is important today for many reasons, but especially because many people in the church today are unaware of the inherent Jewishness of their heritage, and sadly this reflects in many misinterpretations regarding the Scriptures. Remember: Jesus was (and is) a Jew, and to be a follower of Him implies learning about the Jewish people -- their culture, their language, and their way of understanding the Scriptures. Moreover, in the olam habah, the world to come, we will all give homage to a Jewish Lord and Jewish Savior! Why not get a head start and begin learning the "language of the kingdom?"
Studying biblical Hebrew and Jewish heritage will give you the correct context for reading the B'rit Chadashah (New Testament) by equipping you to comprehend the implications of the Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim (the Tanakh or Old Testament). You will begin to better understand the Hebraic mindset that informs the New Testament and to avoid exegetical errors that distort the original intent of the authors of the Holy Scriptures.
Kindly note: The material on this site is my own personal work. You may print pages of interest but please do not republish them or post them on another web site without my permission. See my copyright page for more information. Pages on this site may contain the Name of G-d. If you print any of these pages, please treat them with appropriate respect.
May the Lord God of Israel, the Father of Yeshua the Messiah, bless you, keep you, and shine His love upon you: חֶסֶד וְשָׁלוֹם יִתֵּן לָכֶם אֱלהִים אָבִינוּ וְיֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ אֲדנֵינוּ (Eph. 1:2).The shape changing is no mere curiosity. Volvox embryos do it in two ways, and the one the Cambridge researchers studied is remarkably similar to something that occurs in the embryos of humans and other animals, when a ball of cells turns into a doughnut shape, with an inside and an outside. Although it’s not immediately obvious, grown up humans are still kind of messy doughnuts, with arms, head, legs and most of our internal organs all part of the doughnut itself. The hole, in terms of geometry, at least, is the digestive system, from beginning to end.
That process is called gastrulation, and it is enormously significant in the embryo’s growth, the beginning of a crucial distinction between what’s inside and what’s outside. The paper in Physical Review Letters describing the new research begins with a quote from the embryologist Lewis Wolpert: “It is not birth, marriage or death, but gastrulation which is truly the most important time in your life.”
Humans and other large, complicated animals are, however, very difficult to study. Even when they are embryos, their cells not only change shape during gastrulation but move around and turn into different kinds of tissues.
For Stephanie Höhn, Raymond E. Goldstein and their Cambridge colleagues who did the research, Volvox presented a process that is a little bit simpler. The spherical skin of a Volvox embryo is one cell deep. Each cell has a tail, and just before inversion they are all pointing inward. They need to point outward, so they can flutter and move the Volvox along, so the embryo turns inside out.
All the cells stay in place, maintaining their connections with other cells. But they change shape. Dr. Goldstein said, “If you were to take a basketball and you tried to turn the thing inside out,” that would be similar to what Volvox has to do.Adam Schefter breaks down why Sam Bradford is upset that the Eagles traded up to the second overall pick in the NFL draft and how the quarterback now wants out of Philadelphia. (1:54)
The Philadelphia Eagles have been informed that quarterback Sam Bradford wants to be traded and will not show up for their offseason program, his agent, Tom Condon, confirmed Monday night.
Editor's Picks Sam Bradford's reaction shouldn't surprise Eagles Sam Bradford's reaction may not have been part of the Eagles' careful plan for their quarterback situation. It probably should have been.
Bradford is upset at the Eagles' trade last week for the No. 2 overall pick to draft a quarterback.
"Sam's only been in the league for six years and he wants to go some place and be there and know that he's going to stay as long as he plays well, and his situation now in Philadelphia is different," Condon told SiriusXM NFL Radio.
"Sam's a competitor, and he wants to go someplace and know he's the man. He just doesn't want to be there holding the place card and then wondering where's he's going to go at the end of the year."
Bradford, who re-signed with the Eagles earlier this offseason, "is mad and wants to show everyone who's best," a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter last week.
Executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman told Comcast SportsNet on Monday that he wanted "to reiterate our support for Sam Bradford and go back to our statements last week -- that Sam is our starting quarterback.
"His agent and Sam know how we feel about him. These workouts are voluntary. We look forward to seeing Sam again in the near future."
The Eagles acquired the No. 2 overall pick from the Cleveland Browns on Thursday in a blockbuster trade, using draft picks acquired in two previous trades. Roseman said the Eagles had been trying to move up since January and acknowledged that the team intends to take a quarterback with the No. 2 pick.
Sam Bradford has requested a trade from the Eagles after the team's move last week to acquire the No. 2 overall pick. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
The Los Angeles Rams had already acquired the top overall pick from Tennessee for a slew of picks and have indicated they will take a quarterback. The Eagles will likely take either Cal's Jared Goff or North Dakota State's Carson Wentz, whichever is not taken by the Rams.
The Eagles made the trade despite signing Bradford and former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel this offseason, doling out $34 million in guaranteed money to the quarterbacks ($22 million to Bradford on a two-year deal and $12 million to Daniel on a three-year contract).
Bradford, 28, started 14 games last season after the Eagles acquired him in an offseason trade with the Rams. The Eagles went 7-7 in his starts. He completed 65 percent of his pass attempts, throwing for 3,725 yards with 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
"[Bradford] doesn't view himself as somebody that's a stopgap kind of quarterback, and he wants to go someplace and take a chance on [being] with a team with a long time," Condon said. "I can't blame him for that."It’s official! Warner Bros. just announced the cast of Suicide Squad, their next DC Comics movie after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Here’s the official cast/character list:
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Jared Leto – The Joker
Will Smith – Deadshot
Margot Robbie – Harley Quinn
Tom Hardy – Rick Flagg
Cara Delevingne – Enchantress
Jai Courtney – Boomerang
According to Variety, Jesse Eisenberg is still in talks to appear in a cameo as Lex Luthor, but his deal isn’t finalized yet. Director David Ayer is currently working on the script, and Zack Snyder will serve as an executive producer. Suicide Squad is scheduled for a release on August 5, 2016. Check out the full press release for more info.
BURBANK, Calif. — An all-star roster of actors has joined Warner Bros. Pictures’ new action adventure “Suicide Squad,” bringing DC Comics’ super villain team to the big screen under the direction of David Ayer (“Fury”). The announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures. The film will star two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (“The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Ali,” upcoming “Focus”) as Deadshot; Tom Hardy (“The Dark Knight Rises,” upcoming “Mad Max: Fury Road”) as Rick Flagg; Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” upcoming “Focus,” the “Tarzan” movie) as Harley Quinn; Oscar winner Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club,” “Alexander”) as the Joker; Jai Courtney (“Divergent,” upcoming “The Water Diviner”) as Boomerang; and Cara Delevingne (“Anna Karenina,” upcoming “Pan”) as Enchantress. In making the announcement, Silverman said, “The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one. David Ayer returns to the studio where he wrote ‘Training Day’ and brings his incredible ability to craft multidimensional villains to this iconic DC property with a cast of longtime Warner collaborators Will Smith and Tom Hardy, and other new and returning favorites: Margot, Jared, Jai and Cara. We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero.” Ayer is also writing the script for “Suicide Squad,” which is being produced by Charles Roven (“The Dark Knight” trilogy, upcoming “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”) and Richard Suckle (“American Hustle”). Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns are serving as executive producers. The film is slated for release on August 5, 2016.
What do you make of all these casting decisions? Let me know in the comments below!This only applies in the US, but similar principles apply elsewhere in North American and European legal systems.
I'm also not a lawyer, so take that for what it's worth.
Religious organizations are presumed to be voluntary associations. That means that they can'require' you do do almost anything if you want to remain a part of the organization and you have to comply if you want to remain a part of the organization.
However, once you sever ties with a religious organization they cannot hold you to any of those requirements.
Among religious organizations that I'm interested in, I've seen people required to attend long sessions, give all their money to their religious leader, and engage in sexual acts that they would otherwise not chose to.
If this is of serious concern to you, you should leave your religious organization. They can't actually'make' you as an adult do anything. They can only use the pressure of social groups and expectations.Abandoned Rocky Boxing Ring – Blue Horizon
Though many locations I photograph and share this year will remain anonymous due to numerous reasons – from the people who like to ruin them, as well as for the sake of keeping their stories and location as mysterious as most explorers love them to be, there will be the few throughout the year that do get a bit of the spot light. This location happens to be one of those. Not only is this a place known world-wide, but demolition has now begun, which will very soon leave this as nothing more than a memory, as sad as that is. It’s also sad that so many people find this desire to go out and ruin locations for other people. I wish we could all share a love for their beauty and history |
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...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
high 1366x768
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
ultra 1920x1080
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
med. 1366x768
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
high 1366x768
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
ultra 1920x1080
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
med. 1366x768
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
high 1366x768
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
ultra 1920x1080
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
med. 1366x768
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
high 1366x768
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
ultra 1920x1080
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
med. 1366x768
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
high 1366x768
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
ultra 1920x1080
...
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
...
0% 100%
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.
For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List
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2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8570M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8590M 2013 | AMD Radeon HD 8610G 2013 | AMD Radeon HD 8650G 2013 | AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics 2013 | AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8670M Dual Graphics 2013 | AMD Radeon HD 8650M 2013 | AMD Radeon HD 8670D 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8670M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8690M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8730M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8750M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8770M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8790M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8830M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8850M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8870M 2013 | AMD Radeon HD 8970M 2012 | AMD Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire 2016 | AMD Radeon Pro 450 2016 | AMD Radeon Pro 455 2016 | AMD Radeon Pro 460 2017 | AMD Radeon Pro 555 2017 | AMD Radeon Pro 555X 2017 | AMD Radeon Pro 560 2017 | AMD Radeon Pro 560X 2018 | AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 2018 | AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 2017 | AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 2017 | AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 Mobile 2017 | AMD Radeon Pro WX 4130 2017 | AMD Radeon Pro WX 4150 2017 | AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 2018 | AMD Radeon Pro WX 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Radeon R9 M395 2014 | AMD Radeon R9 M395X 2016 | AMD Radeon R9 M470 2016 | AMD Radeon R9 M470X 2016 | AMD Radeon R9 M485X 2015 | AMD Radeon R9 Nano 2016 | AMD Radeon RX 460 (Desktop) 2016 | AMD Radeon RX 460 (Laptop) 2016 | AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop) 2016 | AMD Radeon RX 470 (Laptop) 2016 | AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop) 2016 | AMD Radeon RX 480 (Laptop) 2016 | AMD Radeon RX 490M 2017 | AMD Radeon RX 540 2017 | AMD Radeon RX 550 (Laptop) 2019 | AMD Radeon RX 550X (Laptop) 2017 | AMD Radeon RX 560 (Laptop) 2017 | AMD Radeon RX 560X (Laptop) 2017 | AMD Radeon RX 570 (Laptop) 2019 | AMD Radeon RX 570X (Laptop) 2017 | AMD Radeon RX 580 (Desktop) 2017 | AMD Radeon RX 580 (Laptop) 2019 | AMD Radeon RX 580X (Laptop) 2018 | AMD Radeon RX 590 (Desktop) 2017 | AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 2017 | AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 2018 | AMD Radeon RX Vega 3 2018 | AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 2017 | AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 2017 | AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 2018 | AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH 2018 | AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870 2018 | 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Mali-T880 MP12 2015 | ARM Mali-T880 MP2 2015 | ARM Mali-T880 MP4 2010 | ATI FirePro M5800 2009 | ATI FirePro M7740 2010 | ATI FirePro M7820 2000 | ATI Mobility 128 M3 2005 | ATI Mobility FireGL 7800 2002 | ATI Mobility FireGL 9000 2003 | ATI Mobility FireGL T2 2004 | ATI Mobility FireGL T2e 2004 | ATI Mobility FireGL V3100 2004 | ATI Mobility FireGL V3200 2005 | ATI Mobility FireGL V5000 2006 | ATI Mobility FireGL V5200 2007 | ATI Mobility FireGL V5250 2008 | ATI Mobility FireGL V5700 2009 | ATI Mobility FireGL V5725 2003 | ATI Mobility Radeon 7000 IGP 2001 | ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 2002 | ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 2003 | ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP 2003 | ATI Mobility Radeon 9100 IGP 2003 | ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 2004 | ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 2004 | ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 2004 | ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 2004 | ATI Mobility Radeon 9800 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2300 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 XT 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2700 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 2008 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 2008 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3430 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 Hybrid X2 2008 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 2008 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3850 2008 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3850 X2 2008 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 2008 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4350 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4530 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4550 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4850 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 2009 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 X2 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5145 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5165 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 530v 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 540v 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 545v 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 550v 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 560v 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 565v 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5750 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5770 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 2010 | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire 2001 | ATI Mobility Radeon M6 2001 | ATI Mobility Radeon M7 2006 | ATI Mobility Radeon X1300 2006 | ATI Mobility Radeon X1350 2006 | ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 2006 | ATI Mobility Radeon X1450 2006 | ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 2006 | ATI Mobility Radeon X1700 2006 | ATI Mobility Radeon X1800 2006 | ATI Mobility Radeon X1800XT 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon X1900 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 2007 | ATI Mobility Radeon X2500 2005 | ATI Mobility Radeon X300 2004 | ATI Mobility Radeon X600 2005 | ATI Mobility Radeon X700 2005 | ATI Mobility Radeon X800 2005 | ATI Mobility Radeon X800XT 2008 | ATI Radeon HD 3100 2008 | ATI Radeon HD 3200 2009 | ATI Radeon HD 4100 2009 | ATI Radeon HD 4200 2010 | ATI Radeon HD 4225 2010 | ATI Radeon HD 4250 2010 | ATI Radeon HD 4270 2008 | ATI Radeon HD 4350 2008 | ATI Radeon HD 4850 2010 | ATI Radeon HD 5570 2010 | ATI Radeon HD 5670 2009 | ATI Radeon HD 5770 2009 | ATI Radeon HD 5850 2002 | ATI Radeon IGP 320M 2002 | ATI Radeon IGP 340M 2006 | ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 2006 | ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 2006 | ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 2005 | ATI Radeon Xpress 200M 2007 | ATI Radeon Xpress X1200 2007 | ATI Radeon Xpress X1250 2007 | ATI Radeon Xpress X1270 2010 | Broadcom VideoCore-IV 2003 | Intel Extreme Graphics 2 2010 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 3150 2011 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 3600 2011 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 3650 2008 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500M 2008 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD 2008 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4700MHD 2008 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500 2010 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 600 2005 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 2005 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 2010 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) HD Graphics 2007 | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 2013 | Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail) 2015 | Intel HD Graphics (Braswell) 2015 | Intel HD Graphics (Broadwell) 2015 | Intel HD Graphics (Cherry Trail) 2012 | Intel HD Graphics (Haswell) 2012 | Intel HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge) 2011 | Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) 2015 | Intel HD Graphics (Skylake) 2011 | Intel HD Graphics 2000 2012 | Intel HD Graphics 2500 2011 | Intel HD Graphics 3000 2016 | Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell) 2011 | Intel HD Graphics 4000 2016 | Intel HD Graphics 405 (Braswell) 2013 | Intel HD Graphics 4200 2013 | Intel HD Graphics 4400 2013 | Intel HD Graphics 4600 2016 | Intel HD Graphics 500 2013 | Intel HD Graphics 5000 2016 | Intel HD Graphics 505 2015 | Intel HD Graphics 510 2015 | Intel HD Graphics 515 2015 | Intel HD Graphics 520 2015 | Intel HD Graphics 530 2014 | Intel HD Graphics 5300 2015 | Intel HD Graphics 5500 2015 | Intel HD Graphics 5600 2015 | Intel HD Graphics 6000 2017 | Intel HD Graphics 610 2016 | Intel HD Graphics 615 2016 | Intel HD Graphics 620 2015 | Intel HD Graphics 630 2015 | Intel HD Graphics P530 2015 | Intel HD Graphics P630 2013 | Intel Iris Graphics 5100 2015 | Intel Iris Graphics 540 2015 | Intel Iris Graphics 550 2015 | Intel Iris Graphics 6100 2017 | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 2017 | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 2017 | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 2013 | Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 2016 | Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580 2015 | Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 2016 | Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 2017 | Intel UHD Graphics 600 2017 | Intel UHD Graphics 605 2018 | Intel UHD Graphics 615 2018 | Intel UHD Graphics 617 2017 | Intel UHD Graphics 620 2017 | Intel UHD Graphics 630 2001 | NVIDIA GeForce 2 Go (200 / 100) 2002 | NVIDIA GeForce 3 Go 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce 305M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce 310M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce 315M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce 320M 2002 | NVIDIA GeForce 4 420 Go 2002 | NVIDIA GeForce 4 440 Go 2002 | NVIDIA GeForce 4 460 Go 2002 | NVIDIA GeForce 4 488 Go 2012 | NVIDIA GeForce 405M 2011 | NVIDIA GeForce 410M 2011 | NVIDIA GeForce 610M 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce 7000M 2013 | NVIDIA GeForce 705M 2013 | NVIDIA GeForce 710M 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce 7150M 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce 7190M 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 8200M G 2014 | NVIDIA GeForce 820M 2014 | NVIDIA GeForce 825M 2014 | NVIDIA GeForce 830M 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT 2014 | NVIDIA GeForce 840M 2014 | NVIDIA GeForce 845M 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT SLI 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT SLI 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX 2007 | NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX SLI 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9100M G 2015 | NVIDIA GeForce 910M 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS 2015 | NVIDIA GeForce 920M 2015 | NVIDIA GeForce 920MX 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9300M G 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS 2015 | NVIDIA GeForce 930M 2016 | NVIDIA GeForce 930MX 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE) 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GeForceBoost 2015 | NVIDIA GeForce 940M 2016 | NVIDIA GeForce 940MX 2015 | NVIDIA GeForce 945M 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9500M G 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GE 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GS 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GT 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GTS 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT SLI 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS SLI 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX 2008 | NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX SLI 2003 | NVIDIA GeForce FX Go 5200 2003 | NVIDIA GeForce FX Go 5600 / 5650 2004 | NVIDIA GeForce FX Go 5700 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce G 102M 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce G 103M 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce G 105M 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce G 107M 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce G 110M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce G 205M 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce G210M 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6100 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6250 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6400 2005 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6600 2005 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800 2005 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800 Ultra 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7200 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 GT 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7700 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 2005 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 GTX 2005 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 GTX SLI 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS SLI 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX SLI 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX 2006 | NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX SLI 2017 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 (Desktop) 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 120M 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 220M 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 GDDR5 2009 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 320M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 325M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 415M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 2010 | NVIDIA GeForce GT 435 |
said Magistrate Prowse had became annoyed that the man was not in a position to appear before his court because of his arrest.
"The Magistrate's response was to insist that the first defendant be 'unarrested' despite the fact the prosecutor had no power to do so," Justice Wilson said.
The Magistrate had wrongly believed police had committed a contempt of court by arresting the accused man in the court's foyer. The prosecutor was accused of "immaterial interference with a court hearing" by the magistrate.
Do you know more about this story? Email investigations@abc.net.au.
When the prosecutor requested the magistrate step aside from hearing the case, Magistrate Prowse refused to do so, initially without hearing any argument.
Justice Wilson said Magistrate Prowse had exhibited "irritation with the police" which was "wholly misplaced".
"His intent seems to have been to punish the prosecution for what he regarded as contemptuous interference in the court's processes by the police who had arrested the first defendant," Justice Wilson said.
"The public interest includes the determination of criminal charges by the courts and the conviction of those found guilty of crime, to guarantee peace and order in society, as well as the maintenance of public confidence in the criminal justice system.
"The latter is not served by a judicial officer acting in a peremptory and injudicious manner, including to punish a party which had irritated him, as I am satisfied occurred here.
"Such an approach to the exceptional power of granting a permanent stay of a criminal prosecution bespeaks clear and fundamental error."
Justice Wilson said Magistrate Prowse's actions had "occasioned a serious injustice", that the magistrate "fell into error" and "undermined the proper administration of justice and diminished the court over which he presided."
She quashed Magistrate Prowse's orders and ruled the case be sent back to Liverpool Local Court and heard by a different magistrate.
Topics: courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, nsw, australia
First postedMy last night in Eugene was very special and very simple. My best friend Jacklyn, flew in from Florida to attend a wedding with me and co-pilot the first part of my journey with me. It was just a few months earlier that we had been celebrating her moving across the country and it is so special that she was able to be there to celebrate me moving across the country. My last night in Eugene was filled with emotions from every spectrum. I was technically moved out of my house at this point and needed a place to stay for the night, which turned into a sleepover with some of my best friends in Eugene. We stayed up watching movies, and in the morning I had the perfect send off.
My car was packed, my snacks were bought, my best friend was sitting shotgun, and we were blaring not only my favorite song at this very moment but one that really captured what this adventure was really about. It’s crazy how one song can encompass so much of how you feel. Not only was I “sick of that town, and sick of that boy, and sick of dreams never taking flight” as the song stated, I also happened to have a full tank of gas and was driving a hand–me-down Ford. The similarities were uncanny.
It is kind of crazy. Leading up to this point: I got a job 3,000 miles from home, found a place to live, found a part time job, and mapped out my road trip perfectly with free places to stay across the whole country. And, if my car hadn’t been stolen three months earlier I wouldn’t be driving my hand–me-down Ford. The irony in this is absolutely in insane. This song explained exactly how I felt leaving Eugene.
“She’s fighting back tears, she’s fighting back years
Of the only life she’s ever known
There’s a future that’s bright in the dead of this night,
And all she’s gotta do is go”
Lucky for me I had my best friend sitting next to me, my dog Mylo in the back seat, and we were on our way to Medford. Our three-hour drive consisted of rehashing our months apart and writing a poem for the card for our married friends. We laughed as we tried to rhyme everything. Our beginning attempts were awful, but I think our final product was quite good. Our friends were getting married on a river and literally were arriving on boat to the ceremony. It gave us somewhat of a theme to go off of. That and the pure love, happiness, and joy we had for these two made all but the rhyming easy to write about.
I’ve always loved weddings. If you think about the tradition of weddings they are very much like Christmas. You are surrounded by all of your closet family and friends, you get tons of presents, and there is lots of food and drink to go around. But instead of celebrating the gift of Christ, you are celebrating a good friend! She was beautiful, he was handsome, and the wedding was adorable. They even did a “first fish” together as they arrived for the reception. How freakin’ cool is that?
Though the wedding night came to an end, the party did not—which then continued at a bar near the wedding venue. None of us were good to drive at this point and making it to the camping site where we were going to camp at seemed like a very unlikely plan of action. So our slightly inebriated selves decided it would be a good idea to camp in the designated wedding parking area, which was located beside a river rafting store. Now this wasn’t a cemented parking lot or anything; it was a half–gravel, half-grass parking lot that seemed like a decent place to sleep. Now to remind you: My dog is with us as well and during the wedding slept comfortably in a friend’s parents’ hotel room, but joined us for a night in the parking lot. We all woke up to the store owner yelling at his dog who had decided to play with mine. As we woke up, we realized exactly where we had slept. The raft shop was called Rapid Pleasure Rafting and the owners had a little trailer that they lived in behind the store. They also happened to have an outhouse about 30 feet from where I slept. You would think it would be slightly unsettling to wake up to an outshouse, but instead I was relieved to have a place to use the in the morning.
We made our way back to our friend’s parents’ hotel room and cleaned up a bit and ate breakfast. Then Jacklyn, Mylo and I were on our way! The journey had begun, and we felt like we had all the time in the world. We decided to stop in Klamath Falls because it was our last chance to get Dutch Bros (for those of you who aren’t from Oregon, Dutch Bros is the Starbucks of Oregon, only better!) and because we needed gas. Our quick stop turned into a bit of an exploration as we frolicked around Klamath Lake taking pictures and enjoying our last little bit of time in Oregon.
From there, the 12-hour drive to Provo, Utah, that turned into a 17-hour drive, began. We really have no idea to this day why it took us so long. I mean we stopped, but not that much… or so we thought.
The drive was beautiful. It was peaceful and there were almost no cars in sight. We even passed the Goodbye Oregon sign and put the car in reverse on the highway in order to go back and take a picture. Oh yeah… that’s probably how it took us so long. Anyways, we blasted music and enjoyed God’s beauty around us. The terrain was simply beautiful.
We stopped in the funniest little town in Nevada called Denio. I’m not sure the town consisted of anything more than what was in these pictures. It was a motel, gas station, and bar all in one. Other than this one building, all you could see were Nevada mountains. What I think I loved most about this town were the little quirks. No where else along my journey would I see a sign to where I am going. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (my final destination) just happens to be fairly close to New York City. So seeing a sign of how much farther I had to go–although slightly frightening—was exciting at the same time.
Jacklyn and I went inside and decided to get some food, where we giggled a bit at the chosen decor and contributed to it ourselves. Writing your names on a dollar bill seemed to be a thing at this bar, so we put one amongst the silly signs and continued on our way.
Hours went by quickly and we stopped many times to enjoy the middle-of-no-where. We literally were sitting in the middle of the road to watch the sunset over the mountains in where I think at that point was Utah. I felt a peacefulness I don’t think I could begin to explain. We were on a road, not in a forest or somewhere else you know would be peaceful, but sitting in the middle of a highway that could have been buzzing with cars but wasn’t.
We stopped less after the sun went down. Sadly, there was less to look at. Then my bike came loose and we found ourselves on the side of a freeway at one in the morning trying to adjust my bike with just the light from my phone when a car pulled up behind us. I’m not going to lie, I was terrified. I thought this was the moment were we got kidnapped or robbed and I hadn’t even made it to my first stop. A lady walked up, who just happened to be a cop; I was immediately relieved and she helped us adjust my bike.
We both we getting really tired when we arrived at Provo at about 4am. But, we had made it to our first stop and only thing we were excited for at this moment was bedtime.
After a great night’s sleep, we grabbed a quick lunch with and old teammate. Her and her husband took us to an awesome burger joint that was similar to Subway, where you just go down the line and pick out your meat and toppings. Why hasn’t someone thought of this before? Or maybe I don’t get out enough, but brilliant concept none-the-less. As we sat there pondering what we would do with our day over a delicious lunch, we settled on floating the Provo River.
We rented float tubes from this awesome little place. His “office” was hilarious. He took credit cards and we rented our tubes and he bused us up to a drop off area while our car waited for us as we came down the river. As we chatted with this guy on the way to the drop off location, he was telling us how there were many Yeti sightings in this area and to keep a look out. Although we didn’t see any Yetis, we enjoyed our time relaxing and looking at the Utah Mountains.
It was time for me to take Jacklyn to the airport. Before I did, though, we attempted to go to a Crossfit workout, but we were late for it and ended up going on a run through Salt Lake City. We stumbled across stairs that seemed to be in the middle of the city and of course we had no choice but to follow them. They spiraled around the side of this big building, but were completely exposed. Later we realized that we had just run to the top of the Public Library and were six stories up looking out at the city. Of course, I didn’t have my camera on this run, but thankfully I found the cutest blog that captured this shot beautifully and the another picture from the library website itself that captured this moment. (brendajohnston.blogspot.com)
But the sun was setting, Jacklyn was leaving, and this chapter of my 3,000 mile road trip had ended. It left me with a smile on my face and eager to turn to the next page.Arkansas-based poultry processor George's, Inc. recently broke up a scam within its human resources department at one of its plants in Columbia Furnace, Va. Plant employees were using documents submitted by legal applicants to help illegal aliens get jobs at the plant.
Three employees from within the plant's human resources department copied documents from applicants who were told that there were no jobs at the plant. The employees then sold the documents to illegal workers who were required to forfeit up to $100 per pay period to the human resource employees.
The human resource employees were fired along with the illegal workers, but police were not involved. The break-up was handled by George's, Inc. The scheme likely violated federal labor laws, but without the company's cooperation, federal investigators are at a dead end.
For more information, see the Shenandoah Free-Press (pay site).MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT
As we approach the self-congratulatory celebration of America's liberty -- in a time of increased government surveillance and reining in of that liberty -- it is also a sobering note that America's college graduates, long a key to the US's economic innovation and strength, are saddled with an approximate $1.1 trillion debt.
This gargantuan financial liability, which according to a timely USA Today article, means an average balance for graduate debt of $27,547. This does not include the interest rate amount (which could possibly double for federal loans if congress doesn't act soon), which balloons to a much higher actual financial payout over years.
Due to the weakened economy, USA Today reports that there was a 31% increase in the number of student loan borrowers between 2007 and 2012. Now, an astounding 65% of college and university students graduate with debt, up from 46% in 1993.
The net result: America's economy potentially is weakened even further by graduates who can't afford to buy housing, start families, and invest in small businesses, for example. As Hadley Malcolm of USA today reports:
A report out last month from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests myriad ways in which student loan debt may be having a ripple effect on the economy. Based on more than 28,000 comments submitted by consumers and industry leaders, the report found that debt held by millions of Millennials may be forcing this generation to:
•Put off home ownership
•Divert money from retirement accounts
•Impede the ability to take small-business loans
•Forgo securing car loans
Though hard data linking student loan debt to a delay in these financial commitments are elusive, personal finance experts say that when one is saddled with any kind of debt, economic lives can grind to a halt. The consequences of massive student loan debt — a trillion dollars and counting — could threaten the standard of living for this generation and harm the country's economic competitiveness.
As the federal government and states jump on the austerity express and cut educational funding -- thus raising the personal cost and debt burden of attending college and graduate school -- this Fourth of July, amidst the "bombs bursting in air," we should talk a few moments to reflect on how those who advocate cutting our educational system are sticking a dagger in the future of America.
But the worst of the legacy of the Koch brothers, Pete Petersen, and ALEC may be yet to come, as noted in the USA Today article:
As loans become the go-to way to finance education in the USA, experts say, this generation could be the canary in the coal mine for what the nation might see going forward. Today, Millennials are paying the price, but the loan crisis, they say, has a much longer tail.
"If student debt is a roadblock to economic opportunity, that really undermines a philosophy of how America has moved forward and prospered," [Rohit] Chopra [student loan ombudsman for the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau] says. "So many Americans have taken risks to start small businesses, to buy a home, and that has been a traditional way in which our economy has moved forward and people have achieved economic milestones."
There's also the potential for a cascading effect for those who have so much debt that they're on 20-year repayment plans, rather than standard 10-year plans, Kantrowitz says.
"That means they will still be paying back their own student loans when their children enroll in college," he says, noting that the cycle will probably then repeat: They will be unable to save for their children's education, so those kids will be forced to take loans and graduate with even more debt.
So when you are dazzled by the fireworks on Thursday, remember there's a price to pay for saddling the future American college-educated workforce with increasing debt.
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As the USA Today report concludes:
The consequences of a rising debt load may not be immediately noticeable in the years just after students graduate, but the long-term impact could be crushing.
"It's not one of those things that matters a lot in any given year, but over a couple decades or generation or two, it matters a great deal," [Mark] Zandi, [chief economist at Moody's Analytics says]. "It means that they'll have less spending power. It means that they'll be less financially prepared to send their own kids to college or for their own retirement down the road. It just makes for a less healthy economy and a more vulnerable one."
That's a big price to pay for increasing the profit of the the super wealthy by, in part, increasing the personal debt for educating our future generations.
(Photo: Occupy*Posters)P.S
This tea was also bought directly from local farmer of YiWu.Their village is called GaoShanCun. GaoShan means high mountain.These tree are around 100 years. These are still not called GuShu or old tree.In my humble opinion, GuShu should be more than 300 years at least.From 100 years to 300 years, we call that DaShu which means Big Tree.From 70 years to 100 years, we call that ShengTai which means Organic Tree.Till 70 year, we call that XiaoShu which means small tree or shrub.This tea was definitely picked up in the spring of 2017. Now is November and near the end of 2017.Thanks to the good storage condition, it is very dry.The flavor is very near wood or dry wood and mixed with aroma like honey or flower.In Chinese, I can directly call this flavor HuaMi Xiang which means flower and honey flavor.Maybe the wood flavor is not because of storage condition or any other reason. Just because itwas stored dryly. So the stem has this smell.At the same time, I also bought some autumn tea from LaoBanZhang and NaKa.When I compare the two seasons' tea, I find even the LaoBanZhang is stronger in ChaQi,But this YiWu tea is more obvious in content of tea leaf because of the season.Definitely the best season in a year of puerh tea.Even the best autumn tea contains more rain water than spring tea. This is decided by the localclimate and also the cost will be very different from seasons'.Pure tea material, pure season, pure tea mountain is what I am after.That will let you know what the character of every tea mountain and every season.When you have experienced enough tea, you will have a whole image of puerh tea taste map.That is the my target.High fruity. It is like oil, I want to say. After 10 times' infusion, the density of the tea soup is likestill on the same level or near that. The density changes steep by steep, but it stays on a high levelafter so many steeps thanks to the quantity of the leaves.Bitterness withdraws very soon, and huigan comes fast and lasts long.I stopped in the middle of this tea session just wanted to let the tea content to tell me what theywill change in my mouth. And glad to find the tea flavor went into the deep of my throat.It is called houyun in Chinese mandarin. That feeling let your body feel joyful and completely enjoythat.But more than above words, the Chaqi is obvious. I remember the taste of pure spring tea ofLaoBanZhang Gushu which is not my tea because of the sky-high cost but once I had a chance totaste that at local farmer's store. That tea was made by herself and sold on a high price of 3000 RMB/357g.If I judge that tea from huigan and houyun or flavor, it can just get 3 stars which mean medium level.But the Chaqi is so high and goes through your whole body from the stomach to your upper sideof head. On Chaqi LaoBanZhang spring tea can get 5 stars without any doubt.Back to this tea, it can get more than 3 stars in Chaqi. That is the most important reason why I decided tobuy this maocha from this farmer.Let me admit that, cost is always an important factor when I consider to buy tea material like maocha.And directly buying from local farmer is a good method to keep the cost on a reasonable level.Below is the tea leaves after first steep. The dry storage condition makes tea leaves contain very littlemoisture. When the tea leaf accounted boiled water, it absorbed water and changes gradually but never couldback to jade green like fresh leaf. That is also an good evidence of high quality tea, isn't that?The location of GaoShan village also with some other famous villages of YiWu. (map source: 说茶网)A man charged with killing five people at a mall in Washington state last year was found dead in his jail cell in an apparent suicide, authorities said Monday.
Arcan Cetin, 20, was discovered hanging Sunday evening, said Rosemary Kaholokula, chief criminal deputy prosecutor for Skagit County.
He was being held in neighboring Snohomish County, where he was awaiting the results of a mental competency evaluation.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail, said in a news release Monday that a 20-year-old inmate had been found unresponsive, and that efforts to revive the prisoner failed. The death is under investigation, the statement said.
Investigators say Cetin shot a teenage girl, a man and three women in a department store at Cascade Mall in Burlington, 65 miles north of Seattle, on Sept. 23. Authorities captured him about 30 hours later near his apartment and said he confessed during police interviews but did not explain why he did it.
The family of victim Chuck Eagan said in a written statement they were shocked by the death.
"We pray that the man repented to God before his death," the statement said. "While this event puts to rest our fear of his release, we harbor no ill will towards Mr. Cetin or his family and pray for their comfort as we know all too well the pain of grief."
Cetin had been charged with aggravated murder, which can bring the death penalty, but he had not entered pleas pending mental evaluations. His attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The 20-year-old had a history of violent behavior toward his family and ex-girlfriend. Cetin's stepfather, David Marshall, said the family had been trying to get Cetin help for mental health issues.
According to police reports, Cetin had told his ex that his father was connected to "bad people in Turkey." Asked during interviews whether his Turkish relatives had ties to terrorist groups, Cetin said no. He also said he didn't have any contact with those relatives.
He said he had watched beheadings by the Islamic State group online but considered such terrorist actions wrong.
Asked if ISIS had inspired the mall killings, Cetin responded, "I can't answer that," police wrote.
The shootings were captured on surveillance video. The victims were Sarai Lara, 16, and Shayla Martin, 52, both of Mount Vernon; Eagan, 61, of Lake Stevens; Belinda Galde, 64, of Arlington; and Galde's mother, Beatrice Dotson, 95, of Kingsport, Tennessee.next Image 1 of 2
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Researchers have discovered a stunning new process that takes the energy from coal without burning it -- and removes virtually all of the pollution.
The clean coal technique was developed by scientists at The Ohio State University, with just $5 million in funding from the federal government, and took 15 years to achieve.
“We’ve been working on this for more than a decade,” Liang-Shih Fan, a chemical engineer and director of OSU’s Clean Coal Research Laboratory, told FoxNews.com, calling it a new energy conversion process. “We found a way to release the heat from coal without burning.”
The process removes 99 percent of the pollution from coal, which some scientists link to global warming. Coal-burning power plants produced about one-third of the nation’s carbon dioxide total in 2010, or about 2.3 billion metric tons, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
'We found a way to release the heat from coal without burning.' — Liang-Shih Fan, a chemical engineer and director of OSU’s Clean Coal Research Laboratory
Retrofitting them with the new process would be costly, but it would cut billions of tons of pollution.
“In the simplest sense, conventional combustion is a chemical reaction that consumes oxygen and produces heat,” Fan fold FoxNews.com. “Unfortunately, it also produces carbon dioxide, which is difficult to capture and bad for the environment.”
And simply put, the new process isn't.
Heating, Not Burning, Coal
Fan discovered a way to heat coal, using iron-oxide pellets for an oxygen source and containing the reaction in a small, heated chamber from which pollutants cannot escape. The only waste product is therefore water and coal ash -- no greenhouse gases. As an added benefit, the metal from the iron-oxide can be recycled.
“Oxidation” is the chemical combination of a substance with oxygen. Contrast this with old-fashioned, coal-fired plants, which use oxygen to burn the coal and generate heat. This in turn makes steam, which turns giant turbines and sends power down electric lines.
The main by-product of that old process — carbon dioxide, known chemically as CO2 — is released through smokestacks into the earth’s atmosphere.
Fan’s process, called “coal-direct chemical looping,” has been proven in a small scale lab at OSU. The next step is to take it to a larger test facility in Alabama, and Fan believes the technology can be commercialized and used to power an energy plant within five to 10 years, if all goes smoothly. The technology generated 25 kilowatts of thermal energy in current tests; the Alabama site will generate 250 kilowatts.
Can Coal Ever Be 'Clean'?
Some environmentalists are skeptical of the technology, and of the idea of clean coal in general.
“Claiming that coal is clean because it could be clean -- if a new technically unproven and economically dubious technology might be adopted -- is like someone claiming that belladonna is not poisonous because there is a new unproven safe pill under development,” wrote Donald Brown at liberal think tank Climate Progress.
Yet the federal Department of Energy believes that the process can create 20 megawatts to 50 megawatts by 2020, said Jared Ciferno, the agency’s director of coal and power-production research and development, in a statement.
The government plans to continue to support the project, as well as the concept of "clean coal" in general.
Meanwhile, Fan is exploring the possibility of establishing a start-up company and licensing the process to utilities, and has the potential to patent 35 different parts of the process.
Other scientists and experts are enthused about the prospects for this technology.
Yan Feng with Argonne National Laboratory's Environmental Science Division, Climate Research Section, called it “an advancement in chemical engineering. “It is very important that we act on CO2 capturing and sequestration as well as emission controls of other warming agents like tropospheric ozone and black carbon."
Adds a spokesman for Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman Chemical Company, a global Fortune 250 chemical manufacturer that works in clean energy, “researchers continue to uncover innovative ways to use coal efficiently/sustainably.”
Concludes Dawei Wang, a research associate at OSU, the technology's potential benefits even go beyond the environment and issues like sustainability.
"The plant could really promote our energy independence. Not only can we use America's natural resources such as Ohio coal, but we can keep our air clean and spur the economy with jobs,” he said.In the final hours prior to the healthcare debacle, the billionaire Koch Brothers sent a warning to the House Freedom Caucus that they’d better hold the line and kill the ObamaCare repeal or replacement bill, or else.
…”The advocacy groups helmed by Charles and David Koch have unveiled a new pool of money for advertisements, field programs and mailings that would exclude those who vote for the health care bill they oppose on Thursday. The effort, which they described as worth millions of dollars, is an explicit warning to on-the-fence Republicans from one of the most influential players in electoral politics not to cross them”… (more).
Weeks earlier the Billionaire authors (special interests) behind the ObamaCare repeal and replacement, Tom Donohue U.S. CoC et al., warned Speaker Ryan they expected the boundaries established years earlier to be retained.
Two sets of billionaire interests representing: ‘who-pays-the-insurance-premium‘ within the Healthcare issue.
It’s Paul Ryan’s fault, “remove him” some say. No, it’s the House Freedom Caucus. “Grab the tar and feathers”, others say….
Odd, no?
Odd, because in the aftermath of the fiasco all of the blame-centric attention is focused on Speaker Paul Ryan and/or the House Freedom Caucus – meanwhile the billionaires garner nary a critical side-eye?
Perhaps it’s just too disconcerting of a paradigm shift for the average voter to ask?
Why are two billionaires Charles and David Koch allowed to threaten standing members of congress who are collectively at least supposed to represent the interests of approximately 28 million voters?
Why is Tom Donohue (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, President) allowed to threaten the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and author legislation affecting 300+ million?
No-one seems to ask those questions.
Is it because it’s just easier to focus on Bad Ryan, or Bad Caucus?
Or, just maybe, is it because the billionaire BIG CLUB members are just smart and they know how to keep the “stupidity of the American voter” focused on Bad Ryan and Bad Caucus?
The billionaire BIG CLUB members most certainly didn’t become billionaire BIG CLUB members by being stupid.
Special, more influential, membership requires special, more influential, interests. The questions posed above constitute a larger risk. How do you control that risk – You control the narrative. How do you control the narrative – You control the PR. How do you control the PR – You control the media. How do you control the media – You own or create it.
Therein you recognize BIG CLUB membership requires a media to sell your special, more influential, interests.
You then use your media to keep people focused on factional fighting: Ryan Bad. No, Caucus Bad. Mentally, that’s much easier -more comfortable- to handle; and it keeps people from asking the ultimate questions which lay at the root of the issues.
Billionaire BIG CLUB – Influence and Control agents:
♦ Billionaire Carlos Slim – PR Firm: New York Times.
♦ Billionaire Robert Mercer – PR Firm: Breitbart Media
♦ Billionaire Jeff Bezos – PR Firm: Washington Post
♦ Billionaire Rupert Murdoch – PR Firm: Wall Street Journal, Fox News Corp.
♦ Billionaire Farris Wilks – PR Firm: The Daily Wire (Ben Shapiro)
♦ Billionaire Cary Katz – PR Firm: Conservative Review and CRTV (Mark Levin)
…and so it goes.
Yet, no-one seems to notice.
It is just much easier to argue about Paul Ryan and Mark Meadows, and ignore the bigger argument is really about Tom Donohue vs Koch Brothers.
Then again, if we were to start really drilling down the issue, we might have to recognize the entire framework of the 2010 Citizens United SCOTUS decision just, really did, inject steroids into an already bastardized process of political finance and special interests.
When CTH points out that without the Citizens United decision, the Freedom Caucus couldn’t exist, we are getting way too close to the inner circle discussion that lies at the heart of the matter. Consequently CTH draws attention from the eye of Sauron.
It is funny, not in a ha-ha way, how no-one ever notices the financial interests of each billionaire within the club are directly tied to the expressed and outlined special interests of the Media outlet who sell the narrative of their owner. EXAMPLE:
In 2010, when ObamaCare was signed into law, one of the lesser discussed aspects was the federal government abolished private-sector distribution of federal student loan monies. The entire business model of College Loan Corp, Cary Katz’s Lending Corporation, was destroyed by ObamaCare.
Ordinary banks are still able to lend their own money under traditional lending agreements with students; however, the business of brokering the lending of federally secured and underwritten education funds was ended.
Lending Corp., was one of those brokerage middlemen eliminated by ObamaCare. The feds now directly lend the funds to students. Cutting out the middleman was designed to save the government money.
ObamaCare taking over the student loan industry was a monumental loss to Cary Katz/Lending Corp. on a massive scale. In 2008 his company loaned out nearly $11 billion to students within their financial enterprise. ObamaCare stopped that practice cold.
During the ObamaCare construct Cary Katz spent millions funding any politician that was opposing ObamaCare, and since passage he has spent millions funding efforts toward its repeal.
The Conservative Review website was started by Billionaire Cary Katz in 2014 as “managing member” and sole officer. Mark Levin was hired as front-man for the enterprise. As CR evolved in 2015, the Conservative Review’s litmus-test was,… wait for it… yup, ObamaCare repeal. Go figure.
It’s a BIG CLUB….. And You Ain’t in It!
Each billionaire member in the BIG CLUB also has their own media propaganda machine.
Each billionaire media firm tells you, the reader/voter, who to be outraged against.
So think again, about who is to blame for the HealthCare reform bill’s collapse.
After you think about who is to blame, ask yourself where did you get the information that helped you to formulate your opinion on who is to blame.
Was your perspective on the failure of Healthcare repeal and replace legislation impacted by the targeted messaging from the Media PR firm selling the billionaire BIG CLUB members special interest in it?
If you find you have just swallowed a Red Pill, you might also ask yourself:
Was my original perspective on the Repeal and Replace construct also an outcome of advocacy I bought into as a result of unwittingly engaging with a PR Firm of the Billionaire Big Club members?
Only you can answer those questions.
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rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint text 9.02 KB After beating my way trough all those pesky Vetruvians, the players choice of most hated card in the game, Jax Truesight, and raging at an endless amount of Time Maelstroms this new version of the deck pushed me to rank 0 yet again with 10+ winstreaks all over the place. Disclaimer: Do not play this deck if you are A) Suicidal B) Unable to count cards C) Unable to plan ahead a couple of turns D) Dislike being at the mercy of RNG carddraws at times (%&$! RNG) Do play this deck if you are A) A fan of an ACTUAL control deck (not those wanabe control decks which merely defend, you actually control) B) Bored of decks that focus on the best play per turn due to the nature of the current draw system (aka 80%of existing decks) C) Interested in challenging yourself with a subpar deck (faction cards are unreasonably more valuable in almost any situation currently) D) Interested in highly flexible extensions (more below) The deck, like every of my decks, can be cut in 3 parts ~The Core~ -If you play the deck without those cards, do not play the deck- 3x Sundrop Elixier (120Spirit) 3x True Strike 3x Alcuin Loremaster (1050spirit) 3x Owlbeast Sage (300spirit) spirit req. for the core in total: 1470 spirit ~The Engine~ -Cards which work hand in hand with the core of the deck, heavily recommended to not change this too much. 2x Sun Bloom (80spirit) 3x Manaforger (300spirit) 2x Martyrdom 3x Sun Seer (120spirit) 3x Holy Immolation (1050spirit) 2x Circle of Life (700spirit) spirit req. for the engine in total: 2250 spirit ~The Extension~ -Chosen due to personal preference and experience in matchups, trying to cover up as many weaknesses as possible. This section is heavily customizable but you need to consider the following criteria: A) The card does in no way hinder your gameplan. B) The card is as flexible as posible in its usage. C) The card does NOT require any other card to fulfill its purpose. 2x Eclipse (1800spirit) (Hey, he is the theme of my deck :) ) 2x Aethermaster (700spirit) 2x Aegis Barrier (1800spirit) 2x Divine Bond 2x Lightbender (200spirit) 2x The High Hand (80spirit) spirit req. for the extension in total: 4580 spirit Deck in total: 8300 spirit The deck uses your general to get rid of early threats and even hit into monsters with stats like 10/2 because you will heal yourself back up with Sundrop/Circle of Life + Alcuin Loremaster. It is not labeled control for fun, you will spend your time nullifying the effect of any cards your opponent plays while slowly getting your game to start. The late, late, lategame is your game. If you enter that stage in a fairly healthy state you pretty much won the game, trust me. You will want to use the Owlbeast Sage in conjunction with other Arcanysts to gain an overwhelming board in terms of sustainability in 1-2turns once you collected the cards needed. That is why the engine exists, it helps you set it up. If all else fails the extensions can play on their own for a while. Sundrop Elixier and True Strike are chosen for a reason, you will rely on your general and as few spells as possible to keep any threat at bay, Manaforger therefore became a great engine card due to reducing the cost of your spells resulting in possible 7 |
daughter droplets, and so have a primitive metabolism in which factors that promote "cell integrity" survive, and those that do not become extinct. Many modern theories of the origin of life still take Oparin's ideas as a starting point.
Robert Shapiro has summarized the "primordial soup" theory of Oparin and J. B. S. Haldane in its "mature form" as follows:[96]
The early Earth had a chemically reducing atmosphere. This atmosphere, exposed to energy in various forms, produced simple organic compounds ("monomers"). These compounds accumulated in a "soup" that may have concentrated at various locations (shorelines, oceanic vents etc.). By further transformation, more complex organic polymers – and ultimately life – developed in the soup.
About this time, Haldane suggested that the Earth's prebiotic oceans (quite different from their modern counterparts) would have formed a "hot dilute soup" in which organic compounds could have formed. Bernal called this idea biopoiesis or biopoesis, the process of living matter evolving from self-replicating but non-living molecules,[84][97] and proposed that biopoiesis passes through a number of intermediate stages.
One of the most important pieces of experimental support for the "soup" theory came in 1952. Stanley L. Miller and Harold C. Urey performed an experiment that demonstrated how organic molecules could have spontaneously formed from inorganic precursors under conditions like those posited by the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis. The now-famous Miller–Urey experiment used a highly reducing mixture of gases—methane, ammonia, and hydrogen, as well as water vapour—to form simple organic monomers such as amino acids.[98] The mixture of gases was cycled through an apparatus that delivered electrical sparks to the mixture. After one week, it was found that about 10% to 15% of the carbon in the system was then in the form of a racemic mixture of organic compounds, including amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. This provided direct experimental support for the second point of the "soup" theory, and it is around the remaining two points of the theory that much of the debate now centres.
Bernal showed that based upon this and subsequent work there is no difficulty in principle in forming most of the molecules we recognize as the necessary molecules for life from their inorganic precursors. The underlying hypothesis held by Oparin, Haldane, Bernal, Miller and Urey, for instance, was that multiple conditions on the primeval Earth favoured chemical reactions that synthesized the same set of complex organic compounds from such simple precursors. A 2011 reanalysis of the saved vials containing the original extracts that resulted from the Miller and Urey experiments, using current and more advanced analytical equipment and technology, has uncovered more biochemicals than originally discovered in the 1950s. One of the more important findings was 23 amino acids, far more than the five originally found.[99] However, Bernal said that "it is not enough to explain the formation of such molecules, what is necessary, is a physical-chemical explanation of the origins of these molecules that suggests the presence of suitable sources and sinks for free energy."[100]
More recent studies, in October 2017, support the notion that life may have begun right after the Earth was formed as RNA molecules emerging from "warm little ponds".[46]
Proteinoid microspheres [ edit ]
In trying to uncover the intermediate stages of abiogenesis mentioned by Bernal, Sidney W. Fox in the 1950s and 1960s studied the spontaneous formation of peptide structures (small chains of amino acids) under conditions that might plausibly have existed early in Earth's history. In one of his experiments, he allowed amino acids to dry out as if puddled in a warm, dry spot in prebiotic conditions. He found that, as they dried, the amino acids formed long, often cross-linked, thread-like, submicroscopic polypeptide molecules now named "proteinoid microspheres".[101]
In another experiment to set suitable conditions for life to form, Fox collected volcanic material from a cinder cone in Hawaii. He discovered that the temperature was over 100 °C (212 °F) just 4 inches (100 mm) beneath the surface of the cinder cone, and suggested that this might have been the environment in which life was created—molecules could have formed and then been washed through the loose volcanic ash into the sea. He placed lumps of lava over amino acids derived from methane, ammonia and water, sterilized all materials, and baked the lava over the amino acids for a few hours in a glass oven. A brown, sticky substance formed over the surface, and when the lava was drenched in sterilized water, a thick, brown liquid leached out. The amino acids had combined to form proteinoids, and the proteinoids had combined to form small globules that Fox called "microspheres". His proteinoids were not cells, although they formed clumps and chains reminiscent of cyanobacteria, but they contained no functional nucleic acids or any encoded information. Based upon such experiments, Colin S. Pittendrigh stated in December 1967 that "laboratories will be creating a living cell within ten years," a remark that reflected the typical contemporary naivety about the complexity of cell structures.[102]
Current models [ edit ]
There is no single, generally accepted model for the origin of life. Scientists have proposed several plausible hypotheses, which share some common elements. While differing in the details, these hypotheses are based on the framework laid out by Alexander Oparin (in 1924) and by J. B. S. Haldane (in 1925), who postulated the molecular or chemical evolution theory of life.[103] According to them, the first molecules constituting the earliest cells "were synthesized under natural conditions by a slow process of molecular evolution, and these molecules then organized into the first molecular system with properties with biological order".[103] Oparin and Haldane suggested that the atmosphere of the early Earth may have been chemically reducing in nature, composed primarily of methane (CH 4 ), ammonia (NH 3 ), water (H 2 O), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) or carbon monoxide (CO), and phosphate (PO 4 3−), with molecular oxygen (O 2 ) and ozone (O 3 ) either rare or absent. According to later models, the atmosphere in the late Hadean period consisted largely of nitrogen (N 2 ) and carbon dioxide, with smaller amounts of carbon monoxide, hydrogen (H 2 ), and sulfur compounds;[104] while it did lack molecular oxygen and ozone,[105] it was not as chemically reducing as Oparin and Haldane supposed. In the atmosphere proposed by Oparin and Haldane, electrical activity can produce certain small molecules (monomers) of life, such as amino acids. The Miller–Urey experiment reported in 1953 demonstrated this.
Bernal coined the term biopoiesis in 1949 to refer to the origin of life.[106] In 1967, he suggested that it occurred in three "stages":
the origin of biological monomers the origin of biological polymers the evolution from molecules to cells
Bernal suggested that evolution commenced between stages 1 and 2. Bernal regarded the third stage—discovering methods by which biological reactions were incorporated behind a cell's boundary—as the most difficult. Modern work on the way that cell membranes self-assemble, and the work on micropores in various substrates may be a halfway house towards the development of independent free-living cells.[107][108][109]
The chemical processes that took place on the early Earth are called chemical evolution. Since the end of the nineteenth century, 'evolutive abiogenesis' means increasing complexity and evolution of matter from inert to living state.[110] Both Manfred Eigen and Sol Spiegelman demonstrated that evolution, including replication, variation, and natural selection, can occur in populations of molecules as well as in organisms.[49] Spiegelman took advantage of natural selection to synthesize the Spiegelman Monster, which had a genome with just 218 nucleotide bases, having deconstructively evolved from a 4500-base bacterial RNA. Eigen built on Spiegelman's work and produced a similar system further degraded to just 48 or 54 nucleotides—the minimum required for the binding of the replication enzyme.[111]
Following on from chemical evolution came the initiation of biological evolution, which led to the first cells.[49] No one has yet synthesized a "protocell" using simple components with the necessary properties of life (the so-called "bottom-up-approach"). Without such a proof-of-principle, explanations have tended to focus on chemosynthesis.[112] However, some researchers work in this field, notably Steen Rasmussen and Jack W. Szostak. Others have argued that a "top-down approach" is more feasible. One such approach, successfully attempted by Craig Venter and others at J. Craig Venter Institute, involves engineering existing prokaryotic cells with progressively fewer genes, attempting to discern at which point the most minimal requirements for life are reached.[113][114][115]
The NASA strategy on abiogenesis states that it is necessary to identify interactions, intermediary structures and functions, energy sources, and environmental factors that contributed to the diversity, selection, and replication of evolvable macromolecular systems.[116] Emphasis must continue to map the chemical landscape of potential primordial informational polymers. The advent of polymers that could replicate, store genetic information, and exhibit properties subject to selection likely was a critical step in the emergence of prebiotic chemical evolution.[116]
In October 2018, researchers at McMaster University announced the development of a new technology, called a Planet Simulator, to help study the origin of life on planet Earth and beyond.[117][118][119][120] It consists of a sophisticated climate chamber to study how the building blocks of life were assembled and how these prebiotic molecules transitioned into self-replicating RNA molecules.[117]
Chemical origin of organic molecules [ edit ]
The elements, except for hydrogen and helium, ultimately derive from stellar nucleosynthesis. On 12 October 2016, astronomers reported that the very basic chemical ingredients of life—the carbon-hydrogen molecule (CH, or methylidyne radical), the carbon-hydrogen positive ion (CH+) and the carbon ion (C+)—are largely the result of ultraviolet light from stars, rather than other forms of radiation from supernovae and young stars, as thought earlier.[121] Complex molecules, including organic molecules, form naturally both in space and on planets.[20] There are two possible sources of organic molecules on the early Earth:
Terrestrial origins – organic molecule synthesis driven by impact shocks or by other energy sources (such as UV light, redox coupling, or electrical discharges; e.g., Miller's experiments) Extraterrestrial origins – formation of organic molecules in interstellar dust clouds, which rain down on planets.[122][123] (See pseudo-panspermia)
Based on recent computer model studies, the complex organic molecules necessary for life may have formed in the protoplanetary disk of dust grains surrounding the Sun before the formation of the Earth.[124][125] According to the computer studies, this same process may also occur around other stars that acquire planets. (Also see Extraterrestrial organic molecules).
Estimates of the production of organics from these sources suggest that the Late Heavy Bombardment before 3.5 Ga within the early atmosphere made available quantities of organics comparable to those produced by terrestrial sources.[126][127]
It has been estimated that the Late Heavy Bombardment may also have effectively sterilized the Earth's surface to a depth of tens of metres. If life evolved deeper than this, it would have also been shielded from the early high levels of ultraviolet radiation from the T Tauri stage of the Sun's evolution. Simulations of geothermically heated oceanic crust yield far more organics than those found in the Miller-Urey experiments (see below). In the deep hydrothermal vents, Everett Shock has found "there is an enormous thermodynamic drive to form organic compounds, as seawater and hydrothermal fluids, which are far from equilibrium, mix and move towards a more stable state."[128] Shock has found that the available energy is maximized at around 100–150 degrees Celsius, precisely the temperatures at which the hyperthermophilic bacteria and thermoacidophilic archaea have been found, at the base of the phylogenetic tree of life closest to the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA).[129]
The accumulation and concentration of organic molecules on a planetary surface is also considered an essential early step for the origin of life.[116] Identifying and understanding the mechanisms that led to the production of prebiotic molecules in various environments is critical for establishing the inventory of ingredients from which life originated on Earth, assuming that the abiotic production of molecules ultimately influenced the selection of molecules from which life emerged.[116]
Chemical synthesis [ edit ]
While features of self-organization and self-replication are often considered the hallmark of living systems, there are many instances of abiotic molecules exhibiting such characteristics under proper conditions. Stan Palasek suggested based on a theoretical model that self-assembly of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules can occur spontaneously due to physical factors in hydrothermal vents.[130] Virus self-assembly within host cells has implications for the study of the origin of life,[131] as it lends further credence to the hypothesis that life could have started as self-assembling organic molecules.[132][133]
Multiple sources of energy were available for chemical reactions on the early Earth. For example, heat (such as from geothermal processes) is a standard energy source for chemistry. Other examples include sunlight and electrical discharges (lightning), among others.[49] Computer simulations also suggest that cavitation in primordial water reservoirs such as breaking sea waves, streams and oceans can potentially lead to the synthesis of biogenic compounds.[134] Unfavourable reactions can also be driven by highly favourable ones, as in the case of iron-sulfur chemistry. For example, this was probably important for carbon fixation (the conversion of carbon from its inorganic form to an organic one).[note 2] Carbon fixation via iron-sulfur chemistry is highly favourable, and occurs at neutral pH and 100 °C (212 °F). Iron-sulfur surfaces, which are abundant near hydrothermal vents, are also capable of producing small amounts of amino acids and other biological metabolites.[49]
As early as the 1860s, experiments have demonstrated that biologically relevant molecules can be produced from interaction of simple carbon sources with abundant inorganic catalysts. In particular, experiments by Butlerov (the formose reaction) showed that tetroses, pentoses, and hexoses are produced when formaldehyde is heated under basic conditions with divalent metal ions like calcium. The reaction was scrutinized and subsequently proposed to be autocatalytic by Breslow in 1959. Similar experiments (see below) demonstrate that nucleobases like guanine and adenine could be synthesized from simple carbon and nitrogen sources like hydrogen cyanide and ammonia.
Formamide produces all four ribonucleotides and other biological molecules when warmed in the presence of various terrestrial minerals. Formamide is ubiquitous in the Universe, produced by the reaction of water and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). It has several advantages as a biotic precursor, including the ability to easily become concentrated through the evaporation of water.[135][136] Although HCN is poisonous, it only affects aerobic organisms (eukaryotes and aerobic bacteria), which did not yet exist. It can play roles in other chemical processes as well, such as the synthesis of the amino acid glycine.[49]
In 1961, it was shown that the nucleic acid purine base adenine can be formed by heating aqueous ammonium cyanide solutions.[137] Other pathways for synthesizing bases from inorganic materials were also reported.[138] Leslie E. Orgel and colleagues have shown that freezing temperatures are advantageous for the synthesis of purines, due to the concentrating effect for key precursors such as hydrogen cyanide.[139] Research by Stanley L. Miller and colleagues suggested that while adenine and guanine require freezing conditions for synthesis, cytosine and uracil may require boiling temperatures.[140] Research by the Miller group notes the formation of seven different amino acids and 11 types of nucleobases in ice when ammonia and cyanide were left in a freezer from 1972 to 1997.[141][142] Other work demonstrated the formation of s-triazines (alternative nucleobases), pyrimidines (including cytosine and uracil), and adenine from urea solutions subjected to freeze-thaw cycles under a reductive atmosphere (with spark discharges as an energy source).[143] The explanation given for the unusual speed of these reactions at such a low temperature is eutectic freezing. As an ice crystal forms, it stays pure: only molecules of water join the growing crystal, while impurities like salt or cyanide are excluded. These impurities become crowded in microscopic pockets of liquid within the ice, and this crowding causes the molecules to collide more often. Mechanistic exploration using quantum chemical methods provide a more detailed understanding of some of the chemical processes involved in chemical evolution, and a partial answer to the fundamental question of molecular biogenesis.[144]
At the time of the Miller–Urey experiment, scientific consensus was that the early Earth had a reducing atmosphere with compounds relatively rich in hydrogen and poor in oxygen (e.g., CH 4 and NH 3 as opposed to CO 2 and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 )). However, current scientific consensus describes the primitive atmosphere as either weakly reducing or neutral[145][146] (see also Oxygen Catastrophe). Such an atmosphere would diminish both the amount and variety of amino acids that could be produced, although studies that include iron and carbonate minerals (thought present in early oceans) in the experimental conditions have again produced a diverse array of amino acids.[145] Other scientific research has focused on two other potential reducing environments: outer space and deep-sea thermal vents.[147][148][149]
The spontaneous formation of complex polymers from abiotically generated monomers under the conditions posited by the "soup" theory is not at all a straightforward process. Besides the necessary basic organic monomers, compounds that would have prohibited the formation of polymers were also formed in high concentration during the Miller–Urey and Joan Oró experiments.[150] The Miller–Urey experiment, for example, produces many substances that would react with the amino acids or terminate their coupling into peptide chains.[151]
A research project completed in March 2015 by John D. Sutherland and others found that a network of reactions beginning with hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen sulfide, in streams of water irradiated by UV light, could produce the chemical components of proteins and lipids, as well as those of RNA,[152][153] while not producing a wide range of other compounds.[154] The researchers used the term "cyanosulfidic" to describe this network of reactions.[153]
Autocatalysis [ edit ]
Autocatalysts are substances that catalyze the production of themselves and therefore are "molecular replicators." The simplest self-replicating chemical systems are autocatalytic, and typically contain three components: a product molecule and two precursor molecules. The product molecule joins together the precursor molecules, which in turn produce more product molecules from more precursor molecules. The product molecule catalyzes the reaction by providing a complementary template that binds to the precursors, thus bringing them together. Such systems have been demonstrated both in biological macromolecules and in small organic molecules.[155][156] Systems that do not proceed by template mechanisms, such as the self-reproduction of micelles and vesicles, have also been observed.[156]
It has been proposed that life initially arose as autocatalytic chemical networks.[157] British ethologist Richard Dawkins wrote about autocatalysis as a potential explanation for the origin of life in his 2004 book The Ancestor's Tale.[158] In his book, Dawkins cites experiments performed by Julius Rebek Jr. and his colleagues in which they combined amino adenosine and pentafluorophenyl esters with the autocatalyst amino adenosine triacid ester (AATE). One product was a variant of AATE, which catalyzed the synthesis of themselves. This experiment demonstrated the possibility that autocatalysts could exhibit competition within a population of entities with heredity, which could be interpreted as a rudimentary form of natural selection.[159][160]
In the early 1970s, Manfred Eigen and Peter Schuster examined the transient stages between the molecular chaos and a self-replicating hypercycle in a prebiotic soup.[161] In a hypercycle, the information storing system (possibly RNA) produces an enzyme, which catalyzes the formation of another information system, in sequence until the product of the last aids in the formation of the first information system. Mathematically treated, hypercycles could create quasispecies, which through natural selection entered into a form of Darwinian evolution. A boost to hypercycle theory was the discovery of ribozymes capable of catalyzing their own chemical reactions. The hypercycle theory requires the existence of complex biochemicals, such as nucleotides, which do not form under the conditions proposed by the Miller–Urey experiment.
Geoffrey W. Hoffmann has shown that an early error-prone translation machinery can be stable against an error catastrophe of the type that had been envisaged as problematical for the origin of life, and was known as "Orgel's paradox".[162][163][164]
Hoffmann has furthermore argued that a complex nucleation event as the origin of life involving both polypeptides and nucleic acid is compatible with the time and space available in the primitive oceans of Earth[165] Hoffmann suggests that volcanic ash may provide the many random shapes needed in the postulated complex nucleation event. This aspect of the theory can be tested experimentally.
Homochirality [ edit ]
Homochirality refers to a geometric uniformity of some materials composed of chiral units. Chiral refers to nonsuperimposable 3D forms that are mirror images of one another, as are left and right hands. Living organisms use molecules that have the same chirality ("handedness"): with almost no exceptions,[166] amino acids are left-handed while nucleotides and sugars are right-handed. Chiral molecules can be synthesized, but in the absence of a chiral source or a chiral catalyst, they are formed in a 50/50 mixture of both enantiomers (called a racemic mixture). Known mechanisms for the production of non-racemic mixtures from racemic starting materials include: asymmetric physical laws, such as the electroweak interaction; asymmetric environments, such as those caused by circularly polarized light, quartz crystals, or the Earth's rotation, statistical fluctuations during racemic synthesis,[167] and spontaneous symmetry breaking.[168][169][170]
Once established, chirality would be selected for.[171] A small bias (enantiomeric excess) in the population can be amplified into a large one by asymmetric autocatalysis, such as in the Soai reaction.[172] In asymmetric autocatalysis, the catalyst is a chiral molecule, which means that a chiral molecule is catalyzing its own production. An initial enantiomeric excess, such as can be produced by polarized light, then allows the more abundant enantiomer to outcompete the other.[173]
Clark has suggested that homochirality may have started in outer space, as the studies of the amino acids on the Murchison meteorite showed that L-alanine is more than twice as frequent as its D form, and L-glutamic acid was more than three times prevalent than its D counterpart. Various chiral crystal surfaces can also act as sites for possible concentration and assembly of chiral monomer units into macromolecules.[174][175] Compounds found on meteorites suggest that the chirality of life derives from abiogenic synthesis, since amino acids from meteorites show a left-handed bias, whereas sugars show a predominantly right-handed bias, the same as found in living organisms.[176]
Self-enclosement, reproduction, duplication and the RNA world [ edit ]
Protocells [ edit ]
The three main structures phospholipids form spontaneously in solution: the liposome (a closed bilayer), the micelle and the bilayer.
A protocell is a self-organized, self-ordered, spherical collection of lipids proposed as a stepping-stone to the origin of life.[177] A central question in evolution is how simple protocells first arose and differed in reproductive contribution to the following generation driving the evolution of life. Although a functional protocell has not yet been achieved in a laboratory setting, there are scientists who think the goal is well within reach.[178][179][180]
Self-assembled vesicles are essential components of primitive cells.[177] The second law of thermodynamics requires that the universe move in a direction in which entropy increases, yet life is distinguished by its great degree of organization. Therefore, a boundary is needed to separate life processes from non-living matter.[181] Researchers Irene A. Chen and Jack W. Szostak amongst others, suggest that simple physicochemical properties of elementary protocells can give rise to essential cellular behaviours, including primitive forms of differential reproduction competition and energy storage. Such cooperative interactions between the membrane and its encapsulated contents could greatly simplify the transition from simple replicating molecules to true cells.[179] Furthermore, competition for membrane molecules would favour stabilized membranes, suggesting a selective advantage for the evolution of cross-linked fatty acids and even the phospholipids of today.[179] Such micro-encapsulation would allow for metabolism within the membrane, the exchange of small molecules but the prevention of passage of large substances across it.[182] The main advantages of encapsulation include the increased solubility of the contained cargo within the capsule and the storage of energy in the form of a electrochemical gradient.
A 2012 study led by Armen Y. Mulkidjanian of Germany's University of Osnabrück, suggests that inland pools of condensed and cooled geothermal vapour have the ideal characteristics for the origin of life.[183] Scientists confirmed in 2002 that by adding a montmorillonite clay to a solution of fatty acid micelles (lipid spheres), the clay sped up the rate of vesicles formation 100-fold.[180]
Another protocell model is the Jeewanu. First synthesized in 1963 from simple minerals and basic organics while exposed to sunlight, it is still reported to have some metabolic capabilities, the presence of semipermeable membrane, amino acids, phospholipids, carbohydrates and RNA-like molecules.[184][185] However, the nature and properties of the Jeewanu remains to be clarified.
Electrostatic interactions induced by short, positively charged, hydrophobic peptides containing 7 amino acids in length or fewer, can attach RNA to a vesicle membrane, the basic cell membrane.[186][187]
RNA world [ edit ]
The RNA world hypothesis describes an early Earth with self-replicating and catalytic RNA but no DNA or proteins.[189] It is widely accepted that current life on Earth descends from an RNA world,[16][190] although RNA-based life may not have been the first life to exist.[17][18] This conclusion is drawn from many independent lines of evidence, such as the observations that RNA is central to the translation process and that small RNAs can catalyze all of the chemical groups and information transfers required for life.[18][191] The structure of the ribosome has been called the "smoking gun," as it showed that the ribosome is a ribozyme, with a central core of RNA and no amino acid side chains within 18 angstroms of the active site where peptide bond formation is catalyzed.[17] The concept of the RNA world was first proposed in 1962 by Alexander Rich,[192] and the term was coined by Walter Gilbert in 1986.[18][193]
Possible precursors for the evolution of protein synthesis include a mechanism to synthesize short peptide cofactors or form a mechanism for the duplication of RNA. It is likely that the ancestral ribosome was composed entirely of RNA, although some roles have since been taken over by proteins. Major remaining questions on this topic include identifying the selective force for the evolution of the ribosome and determining how the genetic code arose.[194]
Eugene Koonin said, "Despite considerable experimental and theoretical effort, no compelling scenarios currently exist for the origin of replication and translation, the key processes that together comprise the core of biological systems and the apparent pre-requisite of biological evolution. The RNA World concept might offer the best chance for the resolution of this conundrum but so far cannot adequately account for the emergence of an efficient RNA replicase or the translation system. The MWO ["many worlds in one"] version of the cosmological model of eternal inflation could suggest a way out of this conundrum because, in an infinite multiverse with a finite number of distinct macroscopic histories (each repeated an infinite number of times), emergence of even highly complex systems by chance is not just possible but inevitable."[195]
Viral origins [ edit ]
Recent evidence for a "virus first" hypothesis, which may support theories of the RNA world, has been suggested.[196][197] One of the difficulties for the study of the origins of viruses is their high rate of mutation; this is particularly the case in RNA retroviruses like HIV.[198] A 2015 study compared protein fold structures across different branches of the tree of life, where researchers can reconstruct the evolutionary histories of the folds and of the organisms whose genomes code for those folds. They argue that protein folds are better markers of ancient events as their three-dimensional structures can be maintained even as the sequences that code for those begin to change.[196] Thus, the viral protein repertoire retain traces of ancient evolutionary history that can be recovered using advanced bioinformatics approaches. Those researchers think that "the prolonged pressure of genome and particle size reduction eventually reduced virocells into modern viruses (identified by the complete loss of cellular makeup), meanwhile other coexisting cellular lineages diversified into modern cells.[199] The data suggest that viruses originated from ancient cells that co-existed with the ancestors of modern cells. These ancient cells likely contained segmented RNA genomes.[196][200] Although the virus-first hypothesis is highly controversial today, some astrobiologists have suggested looking for viruses on other celestial bodies such as Mars if they do emerge before cells.[197]
RNA synthesis and replication [ edit ]
A number of hypotheses of formation of RNA have been put forward. As of 1994, there were difficulties in the explanation of the abiotic synthesis of the nucleotides cytosine and uracil.[201] Subsequent research has shown possible routes of synthesis; for example, formamide produces all four ribonucleotides and other biological molecules when warmed in the presence of various terrestrial minerals.[135][136] Early cell membranes could have formed spontaneously from proteinoids, which are protein-like molecules produced when amino acid solutions are heated while in the correct concentration of aqueous solution. These are seen to form micro-spheres which are observed to behave similarly to membrane-enclosed compartments. Other possible means of producing more complicated organic molecules include chemical reactions that take place on clay substrates or on the surface of the mineral pyrite.
Factors supporting an important role for RNA in early life include its ability to act both to store information and to catalyze chemical reactions (as a ribozyme); its many important roles as an intermediate in the expression of and maintenance of the genetic information (in the form of DNA) in modern organisms; and the ease of chemical synthesis of at least the components of the RNA molecule under the conditions that approximated the early Earth. Relatively short RNA molecules have been synthesized, capable of replication.[202] Such replicase RNA, which functions as both code and catalyst provides its own template upon which copying can occur. Jack W. Szostak has shown that certain catalytic RNAs can join smaller RNA sequences together, creating the potential for self-replication. If these conditions were present, Darwinian natural selection would favour the proliferation of such autocatalytic sets, to which further functionalities could be added.[203] Such autocatalytic systems of RNA capable of self-sustained replication have been identified.[204] The RNA replication systems, which include two ribozymes that catalyze each other's synthesis, showed a doubling time of the product of about one hour, and were subject to natural selection under the conditions that existed in the experiment.[205] In evolutionary competition experiments, this led to the emergence of new systems which replicated more efficiently.[17] This was the first demonstration of evolutionary adaptation occurring in a molecular genetic system.[205]
Depending on the definition, life started when RNA chains began to self-replicate, initiating the three mechanisms of Darwinian selection: heritability, variation of type, and differential reproductive output. The fitness of an RNA replicator (its per capita rate of increase) would likely be a function of its intrinsic adaptive capacities, determined by its nucleotide sequence, and the availability of resources.[206][207] The three primary adaptive capacities may have been: (1) replication with moderate fidelity, giving rise to both heritability while allowing variation of type, (2) resistance to decay, and (3) acquisition of process resources.[206][207] These capacities would have functioned by means of the folded configurations of the RNA replicators resulting from their nucleotide sequences.
Carl Zimmer has speculated that the chemical conditions, including the presence of boron, molybdenum and oxygen needed for the initial production of RNA, may have been better on early Mars than on early Earth.[208][209][210] If so, life-suitable molecules originating on Mars may have later migrated to Earth via meteor ejections.
Pre-RNA world [ edit ]
It is possible that a different type of nucleic acid, such as PNA, TNA or GNA, was the first to emerge as a self-reproducing molecule, only later replaced by RNA.[211][212] Larralde et al., say that "the generally accepted prebiotic synthesis of ribose, the formose reaction, yields numerous sugars without any selectivity."[213] and they conclude that their "results suggest that the backbone of the first genetic material could not have contained ribose or other sugars because of their instability." The ester linkage of ribose and phosphoric acid in RNA is known to be prone to hydrolysis.[214]
Pyrimidine ribonucleosides and their respective nucleotides have been prebiotically synthesized by a sequence of reactions which by-pass the free sugars, and are assembled in a stepwise fashion by using nitrogenous or oxygenous chemistries. Sutherland has demonstrated high yielding routes to cytidine and uridine ribonucleotides built from small 2 and 3 carbon fragments such as glycolaldehyde, glyceraldehyde or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, cyanamide and cyanoacetylene. One of the steps in this sequence allows the isolation of enantiopure ribose aminooxazoline if the enantiomeric excess of glyceraldehyde is 60% or greater.[215] This can be viewed as a prebiotic purification step, where the said compound spontaneously crystallized out from a mixture of the other pentose aminooxazolines. Ribose aminooxazoline can then react with cyanoacetylene in a mild and highly efficient manner to give the alpha cytidine ribonucleotide. Photoanomerization with UV light allows for inversion about the 1' anomeric centre to give the correct beta stereochemistry.[216] In 2009 they showed that the same simple building blocks allow access, via phosphate controlled nucleobase elaboration, to 2',3'-cyclic pyrimidine nucleotides directly, which are known to be able to polymerize into RNA. This paper also highlights the possibility for the photo-sanitization of the pyrimidine-2',3'-cyclic phosphates.[217].
A new origin-of-life theory based on self-replicating beta-sheet structures was recently put forward[218][219]. The theory suggest that self-replicating and self-assembling catalytic amyloids were the first informational polymers in a primitive pre-RNA world. The main arguments for the amyloid hypothesis is based on the structural stability, autocatalytic and catalytic properties,and evolvability of beta-sheet based informational systems. Such systems are also error correcting[220] and chiroselective[221].
Origin of biological metabolism [ edit ]
Metabolism-like reactions could have occurred naturally in early oceans, before the first organisms evolved.[19][222] Metabolism may predate the origin of life, which may have evolved from the chemical conditions in the earliest oceans. Reconstructions in laboratories show that some of these reactions can produce RNA, and some others resemble two essential reaction cascades of metabolism: glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway, that provide essential precursors for nucleic acids, amino acids and lipids.[222] A study at the University of Düsseldorf created phylogenic trees based upon 6 million genes from bacteria and archaea, and identified 355 protein families that were probably present in the LUCA. They were based upon an anaerobic metabolism fixing carbon dioxide and nitrogen. It suggests that the LUCA evolved in an environment rich in hydrogen, carbon dioxide and iron.[223] Following are some observed discoveries and related hypotheses.
Iron–sulfur world [ edit ]
In the 1980s, Günter Wächtershäuser, encouraged and supported by Karl R. Popper,[224][225][226] postulated his iron–sulfur world, a theory of the evolution of pre-biotic chemical pathways as the starting point in the evolution of life. It systematically traces today's biochemistry to primordial reactions which provide alternative pathways to the synthesis of organic building blocks from simple gaseous compounds.
In contrast to the classical Miller experiments, which depend on external sources of energy (simulated lightning, ultraviolet irradiation), "Wächtershäuser systems" come with a built-in source of energy: sulfides of iron (iron pyrite) and other minerals. The energy released from redox reactions of these metal sulfides is available for the synthesis of organic molecules, and such systems may have evolved into autocatalytic sets constituting self-replicating, metabolically active entities predating the life forms known today.[19][222] Experiments with such sulfides in an aqueous environment at 100 °C produced a relatively small yield of dipeptides (0.4% to 12.4%) and a smaller yield of tripeptides (0.10%) although under the same conditions, dipeptides were quickly broken down.[227]
Several models reject the self-replication of a "naked-gene |
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BMW will be providing the pace vehicle and elite athlete transportation during the race, although Croley was not sure if the male and female winners will receive a car as part of their prize package. “That would be up to BMW,” she said.
The race drew more than 20,000 runners last year. The official partnership kicks off on May 19 when registration for the race opens. The organization has also changed its website to bmwdallasmarathon.com.The NFL: Big Business With Big Tax Breaks
The NFL: Big Business With Big Tax Breaks Listen · 9:10 9:10
Enlarge this image toggle caption Julio Cortez/AP Julio Cortez/AP
If you're a football fan, Sunday is kind of like Christmas.
Two conference championship games will determine the teams that advance to the Super Bowl, and the matchups couldn't be more exciting: Denver vs. New England (Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady). And some would say the other game, pitting San Francisco against Seattle, might just feature the two best teams in the league.
America shows its love for the sport in many ways beyond breathless anticipation of big games. It also gives back to the National Football League with tax breaks and publicly funded stadiums.
But does the multibillion-dollar business really need the help, or is the NFL getting a free ride?
Not For Profit
If you walk into NFL headquarters on Park Avenue in Manhattan, "you think you're in the headquarters of Goldman Sachs," says Gregg Easterbrook, author of King of Sports: Football's Impact on America.
The NFL is registered as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization — even with a commissioner who makes nearly $30 million a year. From the tax code to big stadium deals, critics say the NFL is getting millions of public dollars that would be better spent elsewhere.
The NFL league office is organized as a 501(c)(6), a part of the tax code that exempts thing like business leagues, chambers of commerce and trade associations.
But that's just the league office, not the 32 individual franchises. "There is no tax break at the NFL for revenue earned from things like ticket sales or jersey sales or corporate sponsorships or television money," says Jeremy Spector, outside tax counsel for the NFL and a partner at Covington and Burling LLP.
Spector tells NPR's Arun Rath that the NFL, including its teams, brings in around $10 billion of annual taxable income.
"None of those revenues are escaping tax. It's the league office — that organizational or administrative arm — that's exempt," Spector says.
The administrative arm handles things like writing the rulebook, hiring referees, running the college draft and negotiating stadium deals.
Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma says it's absurd to call the NFL a "trade association." He's proposed changing the tax code to end the exemption and start collecting taxes from pro sports organizations.
"In a time when we have a $640 billion deficit — and that's the best we've had in five years — shouldn't very wealthy... sports leagues pay their share?" he asks.
Spector, lawyer for the NFL, says sports organizations are being unfairly singled out.
"I think it's very dangerous if Congress starts picking and choosing which industry or which industry trade associations are eligible for the tax exemption," he says.
If You Build It...
Besides the tax exemption, the NFL can also get a break through big stadium deals. Take, for example, the Dallas Cowboys.
In the late 1990s, the Dallas Cowboys and the team's owner, Jerry Jones, began plans to expand their stadium or build a new one. Jones shopped in and around Dallas for years, asking for public assistance to fund the stadium.
He found an audience in Arlington, a city just outside of Dallas. The price tag for the public was $325 million. (Jones was responsible for the balance of the money for the $1.2 billion stadium. Dallas News says Jones' contribution "was paid with commercial loans, league funding and proceeds from a ticket and parking tax.")
Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck saw an opportunity for the city, and a tough sell to voters.
toggle caption Tony Gutierrez/AP
"It was difficult, it certainly was," he says. "We explained to them how it was going to work, where it was going to be located, the amenities it would contain. So after we explained it thoroughly, it really was not very difficult."
To pay for that, voters in Arlington agreed to raise taxes: a higher sales tax, plus hikes on rental cars and hotel rooms.
Cowboys Stadium opened to the public in May 2009.
Cluck says the economic benefits are tangible: Groups use the stadium throughout the year, not just on game days. Plus, he says, building the stadium has increased property values in the surrounding area. All in all, he says, the stadium was worth it.
"I'm sure you can find somebody who is against it. I have not seen that person since it was completed. I think people are very, very happy with it," Cluck says.
Dan O'Connell, who manages a sports grill about a mile away from the stadium, says he originally voted against the tax increase. "But in retrospect, I think it was probably a good thing for the city," he says. "It seems to draw a lot of people in on the weekends and during games."
Resident Jordan Fitzgerald doesn't agree — and doesn't like the tax bill. "It was not worth it, whatsoever. Why? Because my tax money went to a... stadium instead of my own benefit," she says.
But resident Robert Henning thinks the stadium put Arlington on the map.
"It's a worldwide icon for football, which I think is the greatest sport on the planet, and it's bringing a lot of income to our city," he says. "And it's bringing more people here. They see the promise, and that's what we want."
A Local Boost?
Easterbrook says he's heard this argument before — that stadiums boost local economies. But he says it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. He says investment in infrastructure like roads and bridges "has a multiplier effect every day of the year." Spending on stadiums, on the other hand, "has a multiplier effect 10 or 12 days of the year."
toggle caption Jim Mone/AP
"In terms of civic investment, football makes no sense at all — not only its lack of multiplier effect on the local economy, but far more importantly, all the owners are billionaires," he says. "It can pay for its own stadiums."
Compared to similar businesses, NFL stadiums pay little or no property taxes.
"Research shows that about 70 percent of the cost of building and operating the NFL stadiums has been paid for by the public," Easterbrook says. "I estimate if you roll it all together — subsidies, tax favors etc. — it's roughly a billion dollars a year."
Take the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which will host this year's Super Bowl. Easterbrook says comparable businesses pay about $20 million a year in local property taxes.
"It pays $6 million a year through a political agreement that exempted the billionaire ownership families of the Jets and Giants that jointly own that stadium from the kind of taxes that are paid by mere average people," he says.
But not giving in to subsidy requests could also be a bad political move.
Easterbrook points to Minnesota, where the family that owns the Vikings threatened to leave a year ago and convinced the state Legislature to spend millions on a new facility. Easterbrook doubts the team actually would have left, but he says the governor had essentially two options: "One, he can say, 'I'm the man who kept the Vikings in Minnesota;' or maybe if they left... then he would have been blamed for losing the Vikings."
For The Love Of Football
Even if the public loses money in the end, there's a powerful variable in the equation: the intense love fans have for their teams.
"People like to have an NFL team at home, they like going to the stadium, and they don't want to lose that," says Spector, the NFL tax counsel. "And if the public... decides that they want to spend some public dollars to keep the team there, to help build a new stadium, that's their decision to make. I don't deny that these are tough decisions for a community. There are limited dollars."
The people who want to roll back the favors to the NFL are having a hard time finding allies. After four months, Sen. Coburn has only one co-sponsor for his bill, and he can't even say who it is.
Just this week, this lone voice in Congress against public help for pro football announced he's retiring at the end of this congressional session.Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, who was himself widely tipped as a possible successor to Pope Benedict, said he had personally had two “strong signs” that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was “the chosen one” in the run up to vote.
He said only divine intervention could explain the speed with which the Argentine Cardinal - who did not feature on any of the main lists of likely candidates compiled by Vatican experts - was elected.
Speaking to an Anglican conference in London, he also said the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, had a “strange similarity” to the new Pope.
He said that the two elections were a “little miracle” and a “sign from the Lord” that the two churches should work towards closer unity.
Addressing an audience of 5,000 people in the Royal Albert Hall, at a conference organised by the prominent Holy Trinity Brompton church in west London, he said that he was certain that on the evening of March 12, as the papal Conclave began, none of the Cardinals had known who would be chosen.
“It was a tremendous experience of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
“We were driven by the Holy Spirit to this man – he was sitting in the last corner of the Sistine Chapel: This man he is the chosen one.”
He added: “I received at least two strong signs: one I can tell, the other was in the Conclave I can’t speak about – but real signs of the Lord giving me indication ‘he is the one’.”
The Cardinal said that just after a special mass before the Conclave began he came across a couple from Latin America who are friends of his.
He said: “I met them outside the Basilica and I asked: ‘You have the Holy Spirit, can you give me advice for the Conclave that will start in a few hours?’
“And the woman whispered in my ear ‘Bergoglio’, and it hit me really: if these people say Bergoglio, that’s an indication of the Holy Spirit.
“And I’m sure many of us have received similar signs during the Conclave, it wouldn’t have been possible to have this election so soon and so rapidly.”
To applause, the Cardinal went on: “You know there is a strange similarity with your Archbishop Justin, I hope so much that they will meet soon.”
Laughing, he added: “I don’t know the secrets of the ‘conclave’ at Lambeth Palace.
“But it looks like a little miracle that he became the Archbishop, so I think the Lord as given us a great sign through these two elections and other signs and what I have deeply in my heart … it is as if he would say to the world ‘come home, I wait for you’.”Early this morning — well, late this morning in the U.K., but very early for us in the U.S. — Sony Pictures, MGM Studios, and Eon Productions teamed up to reveal some long-awaited details on the 24th James Bond movie. From the Bond stage at Pinewood (“where budgets go to die,” joked director Sam Mendes) the first details of the film were revealed.
The Bond 24 title will be Spectre. More about the new title and cast after the jump.
The official James Bond Twitter account live-tweeted the big announcement this morning. Here’s a great title treatment:
The 24th James Bond 007 film is called… #SPECTRE https://t.co/g8CCxtk5ga — James Bond (@007) December 4, 2014
Spectre is the fictional terrorist organization introduced in the novel Thunderball, and represented on screen beginning in Dr. No.
The name stands for SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. The organization’s leader is Ernst Stavro Blofeld — the guy with the white cat who has been played by a few different actors over the years. A messy rights battle kept Blofeld and Spectre out of Bond films for many years. That issue was set right last year, clearing a path for their return to Bond films produced by EON Productions.
(The group called Quantum was introduced prior to that rights resolution, intended as a Spectre replacement. No doubt this new film will address that topic in some fashion.)
Also confirmed was the cast.
Christoph Waltz was brought out on stage at Pinewood, though not identified as Blofeld despite persistent speculation that he’ll play the Spectre leader. But come on — the movie is called Spectre. Waltz’s character is called Oberhauser by the official Twitter account:
But not even Roger Moore is buying that:
So Blofeld is back! — Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) December 4, 2014
Andrew Scott was confirmed to join as Denbigh, David Bautista will be Mr. Hinx, Monica Bellucci plays Lucia Sciarra, and Lea Seydoux is Madeleine Swann. In other words, the casting rumor mill had a far better track record with Spectre than with many past Bond films.
Here are tweeted shots of the new cast:
And welcoming… Andrew Scott as Denbigh pic.twitter.com/UNBlMoBmXz — James Bond (@007) December 4, 2014
…David Bautista as Mr Hinx pic.twitter.com/tJxGnt5tct — James Bond (@007) December 4, 2014
…Monica Bellucci as Lucia Sciarra pic.twitter.com/41klBClFzN — James Bond (@007) December 4, 2014
They will join returning stars Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Rory Kinneear, and Ben Whishaw.
Oh, and there’s the new Aston Martin DB10:
Returning to direct Spectre is Sam Mendes, whose Skyfall was the highest-grossing entry in the history of the Bond franchise — not to mention one of the best reviewed. Spectre also marks Craig’s fourth outing as the iconic character.
Also back are screenwriter John Logan, who penned Skyfall, and screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who’ve been with the series since 1999’s The World Is Not Enough. And as usual, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are producing.
Principal photography for Spectre begins Monday. The shoot is expected to hit London, Italy, Morocco, Mexico, and Austria. Spectre opens November 6, 2015.
Finally, here’s the Spectre teaser poster. Obsess over the details of that strange bullet hole if you like. There’s a clear resemblance to the old Spectre logo, seen in various versions on film and in video games, as on Blofeld’s ring in From Russia With Love.Baruco 2014 is over. I was lucky to be there and soak in all that it offered. Let me share some of my thoughts.
Tapas
I arrived to Barcelona early enough to take part in one of the workshops prepared by organizers as a kind of a side dish to the main event. “Test drive a browser game with angular” held by Test Double crew – Zach Briggs and Todd Kaufman – was my choice. I figured this would come useful for my day-to-day work, as angular is our first front end choice here at Lunar. Although in technical terms I did not learn anything new about the framework – the code written during workshop didn’t go past simple controller, few ng-models and some ng-repeat here and there – there was a great deal of added value in what Zach and Todd shared between the lines. They took a stand in the ongoing debate on vitality of TDD, and their approach seems to be moderate yet reasonable – test drive your business logic, test drive complex parts but don’t be dogmatic about it. There are uses and misuses. And it’s crucial to remember that TDD is not only about feeling safe and having your back covered but more importantly is about design emerging from your code driven by tests. Having this in mind Zach led the workshop during which we wrote a pure JavaScript app entirely separated from angular, test driven with jasmine. Tasty!
First course
The main event started with a blow – dry ice, gig-like atmosphere, and all the conference heroes presented in a stunning animated intro. To be honest – I had mixed feelings about Baruco’s marketing theme. Superheroes? Seriously? You can hardly find a more exploited topic in programming world. But the Codegram crew had really pulled this one off. It was the perfect delivery with all the little details that made it work. And you could easily tell how it boosted everyone’s morale – the speakers’ and the audience. Being part of this made me feel great. But this is ruby community – that’s probably the right way to feel, isn’t it?
On the first day we had a pleasure to hear Yukihiro Matsumoto speaking about his current undertaking – mRuby – the smaller version of ruby interpreter dedicated for embedded systems. He made a nice run through various ruby implementations, dismissing each one of them as not good enough for embedded systems. CRuby* for instance is too much POSIX based. It was interesting to hear that with mRuby it may be possible to write software for vending machines, home automation or even some simplistic versions of satellites. Being a language designer as Matz called himself (as opposed to a programmer) seems like a cool job.
If you launch rockets I hope you don’t use ruby
Next came Piotr Szotkowski, whom I remembered for a great talk about Bogus he gave at this year’s wroc_love.rb conference. I was expecting yet another tasty technical presentation and I was not disappointed. Piotr talked about powerful, but somewhat hidden features of ruby stdlib. He showed good code examples and gave sound pieces of advice.
MIL**: Study enumerable module. Then study it again.
Don’t return nil from your methods.
Warmed up by @chastell, we were ready for heavy artillery. Pat Shaugnessy entered the stage digging deep into ActiveRecord, Arel and Postgres internals. He went through stuff like AST, visitor pattern, yak parser, btree algorithm, db indexes implementations and alike. Demanding topics, yet Pat managed to keep audience interested. Be sure to check out his newest book Ruby under microscope.
MIL: Learn the stuff down there, know the internals of the tools you use at least to some level – it will make you a better engineer.
The only lady among the Avengers – Emily Stolfo – had a much less technical talk on responsible release process.
Emily cleverly laid out her ideas dividing them into 3 main areas: maintaining simple API, clear communication and semantic versioning.
Check out my notes to see more details or watch Emily’s talk if your are responsible for any gems or libraries. I will definitely come back to it when the time comes for me.
MIL: Think of your API as a user interface and provide good user experience to establish and maintain what’s most important – trust.
Speaking of responsibility, enter Jose Albornoz with his talk about … irresponsibility. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
The youngest of the speakers took us on a trip through his personal experience of, what he called, a conference driven development.
In an entertaining way he described how he created the first ruby Gameboy emulator from scratch just to find out that it was… not the first.
Technical details were a bit dry but the main point was clear – find time to write irresponsible code just for the sake of it, learn and embrace the fun of coding.
MIL: You don’t have to know the difference between bits and bytes to write code.
So we are sitting there, half way through the day one and then comes this guy – Leon Gersing – starting with this quote from Las Vegas Parano. Yeah. This is going to be good. It’s impossible to sum it up – just watch it when it comes out, it’s worth your time.
MIL: Thought can’t be replaced by a process. You can’t adopt the culture without understanding it – this goes especially for Agile philosophy.
Also: The Perfect High
Main course
The last talk of the first day by energetic Rayn Levick, corresponded well with the first talk of the second day delivered by Brian Shirai. Both gentlemen talked about a recently hot topic – static typing and type safety, and whether we need it in ruby. Interestingly enough Rayn and Brain found themselves on the opposite sides (mark, not ends) of the problem’s spectrum, former pointing lack of types as a ruby’s weakness, the latter explaining how they can do more harm than good. If I was to judge – Brian presented a much stronger case. His talk was thorough, contained many cross references and left me with a huge material for further study. Having it difficult to grasp all on the spot, I will be definitely coming back to it.
MIL: Types don’t fit where there is much interoperability (objects). Programming is a behavioural science. Proposition as types = logic as types and it is not a good idea because we can’t really use logic well.
Having such a good start into the second day, we were about to see even better stuff. Erik Michaels-Ober enchanted us with beautifully illustrated and content heavy story of how optimizing ruby code for performance can be fun and not code obscuring. It turns out you can write fast and pretty code at the same time. Lots of good tips, simple code examples, each one backed by benchmark analysis. Watch the slides or check my notes for details. Fully professional talk from every standpoint. 10/10. If I had to choose only one of the talks to watch – this would be the one.
MIL: Performance optimizatoin can be fun and even have a therapeutic effect.
@sferik on misusing String#gsub where Sting#sub would suffice: "You're done, you've replaced it, move on with your life." sub is faster btw — Tomek Rusiłko (@rusilko) September 13, 2014
Next up was Jason Clark on various debugging practices and tools. Well prepared talk, spanning across the entire scope of debugging options out there. I will be definitely reaching to this presentation in times of need.
There couldn’t be a ruby event without at least one talk about services. Evan Phoenix filled this spot nicely balancing out pros and cons of services, leaning towards conclusion: use services, when the problem becomes too complex to grasp. Definitely worth watching if you never used SOA or felt like you used it wrong. What I liked most is that Evan pinpointed some easy to follow good practices, e.g.: never share AR model between services, start with services that map to boxes drawn on the white board, do a fire drill once a month, have one convention of how services should talk to each other – set it and don’t discuss it too much, just like you don’t discuss method calls.
MIL: Every sufficiently complex problem domain will require an app larger than human cognition mass threshold, and team’s threshold is smaller than a single developer’s.
If an app is never deployed, was it written?
Did you hear about the Monad tutorial fallacy? In short it states that once you understand what a monad is you are unable to explain it to others. Seems like this no longer applies thanks to Tom Stuart (@tomstuart), whose presentation on Monads implementation in ruby left me in awe. Unfortunately I can’t explain it to you. Watch this talk when available, I dare you.
Book tip: Understanding Computation.
At this point my brain was swollen and we had still 3 more talks to go. I didn’t take much notes from them so let me just really quickly summarize: Matt Amonetti told a colorful story about pitfalls of cookie based authentication. Well prepared speech, definitely worth watching.
Tom Stuart (@rentalcustard) gave a somewhat vague talk about simplistic, 3-legged construction of lisps interesting features of Smalltalk, Lisp and Bash, that surprisingly make them impractical. As to why that is – he left us with an open question. Or I might have gotten it completely wrong. Last but not least we had some fun with blinking arduinos and drons flying over the stage in the rhythm of psycho gangam style. All of that controlled by ruby programmed PS dancing mat with Julian Cheal jumping on it. Not everything worked as Julian had planned, but nevertheless the audience was in sheer joy for good couple of minutes. Perfect ending.
Dessert
Conference organisers have done a tremendous work making attendees (around 500?) feel taken care of. The auditorium was comfortable, lunch spots offered great Catalan food and evening parties were fun. Conference announcer Jeremy Walker also didn’t stay behind, even managing to do some live coding on stage.
My thanks go to all the heroes and Baruco team amongst them. Great job. See you next year!
Oh. And Barcelona, you too.
* Matz argumented that we should probably stop using MRI name for his first interpreter and switch to CRuby.
** Most Important LessonsRon Jeremy, aka The Hedgehog, is not much to look at.
Measuring in at 5-foot-6 and 250 pounds, with a bushy mustache and shoulder-length, greasy black hair, the rumored narcoleptic—who’s often dressed in tattered sweatpants and a weathered T-shirt—has been porn’s resident dirty old man for years. He holds the Guinness World Record for most adult film appearances, and has appeared in mainstream films like The Boondock Saints and Detroit Rock City, as well as the reality TV show The Surreal Life. As the world’s most recognizable male porn star, the 64-year-old has become a sort of cultural curiosity—or a celebrity D-lister, as one young model describes her initial awareness of him.
“I didn’t really know him from adult films or anything like that but he had cameos in movies and music videos I grew up watching. He was never really an adult film star to my generation. I feel like we never viewed him in that fashion. He was on TV and in movies… a celebrity,” says Kristin Brodie, 22.
Last year, Brodie won a modeling competition to become one of the 2017 KISW Rock Girls, representing an award-winning Seattle, Washington, radio station dubbed “The Rock of Seattle.” A Washington native and KISW fan, Brodie idolized the Rock Girls and vividly recalls sitting in the front seat of her mom’s car as a little girl, staring at their pictures plastered on the sides of buses.
“I grew up wanting to be one of them. In Seattle that was the peak of beauty and music and interest. They embodied what I wanted to be. They were beautiful and stayed true to their music,” says Brodie.
As a first-year Rock Girl, Brodie eagerly attended as many gigs as she could, which is no easy feat for a college student juggling two jobs. When she received the gig invite for a Castle Megastore event this past September, she says it was only after she accepted it that she realized it was an adult store—not that it mattered since her job description remained the same: show up to the event, set up a booth with music, and represent the radio station with two of her fellow models.
“ The first time I met him on set he put his fingers in my pussy unexpectedly. I was brand new, outside smoking a cigarette and he comes out just being Ron Jeremy. All of a sudden he’s fingering me, and I’m like whoa. ” — Ron Jeremy accuser, who wishes to remain anonymous
Porn stars Ron Jeremy, Lily LaBeau, and Allie Haze were signing at the Castle Megastore that day. As Brodie describes it, she and her fellow Rock Girls entered the store to meet Ron Jeremy and the other adult film stars. “I’m a Rock Girl so I’m supposed to take photos and look excited and happy to be there. Ron Jeremy asked if we wanted a signed picture then asks [a fellow Rock Girl] if he can sign her boob. She seemed hesitant but said yes,” recalls Brodie, at which point she describes Jeremy staring at her and, not wanting to be the odd one out, says she felt pressure to go along with it.
“Our Rock Girl uniforms are just torn up T-shirts. There’s not a lot of coverage so you can see the top part of your chest. There’s no need to move the collar but that’s what he did to all three of us. He pulled our shirts open and reached inside our bras, all the way to the bottom and squeezed hard almost pulling [our breasts] out of our bra, and for me it felt like he was squeezing an udder or appraising something. It was very unpleasant,” Brodie tells The Daily Beast. “I was nervous… but I was a Rock Girl and knew I was being watched, so with that knowledge I tried to look unbothered and unfazed even though I was not.”
After the unsettling experience of being groped, Brodie was already outside with her coworkers when she realized she didn’t get any photos of herself with the infamous Jeremy. Determined to get a photo for her social media feed, Brodie says she went back inside for a selfie with Jeremy.
“I was just trying to open my Snapchat and immediately his hand was on my bum. I was frazzled all over again and realized my mistake in going back to this person. I felt like my skin dropped two or three degrees, and then he moved his hand forward and started tapping and rubbing on the outside part of my shorts and underwear, pushing up through the cloth. I finished taking the picture and my hands were shaking. Then he asked if he could show me something,” Brodie recalls.
She continues: “He turned me around and started sucking on the back of my neck while still groping me and tapping his fingers and trying to push them through the cloth. At this point I start looking around for anyone to do something because its pretty clear on my face that I’m in distress. I was looking for anybody that could register on their face what I was feeling, and all I was met with were faces looking on like a car accident was happening, and there wasn’t going to be any help. His bodyguard started making a couple of moves towards me—he could tell I was distressed—and then Ron Jeremy says, ‘I’ll back off in a sec, I’ll back off in a sec,’ and his bodyguard made no more moves towards us. And I realized nothing would be done until he was done doing what he wanted.”
According to a source who was there that day, Jeremy did not have a bodyguard—though it may have appeared that way. The source, who wishes to remain anonymous, says it was a friend of Jeremy’s who was referred to as his “handler,” there to keep him on track.
Brodie describes feeling numb from the experience, saying, “When he asked, ‘Did that give you goosebumps?’ I offered up my arm, which clearly didn’t have goosebumps, and I was like, ‘Yeah, sure,’ and I again made an excuse to go back outside to my other Rock Girls. He motions towards me, to the top half of my body, and says, ‘May I say goodbye?’ And I didn’t really know what he meant at the time. I was in shock, and didn’t know what else this man could mean or do. We were in public. I grabbed at my own collar, a feeble attempt at mediating how much he could pull it away from me but it did nothing. He pulled my shirt and my bra completely open away from my body and pulled it down, then lowered his face down [into them]. He ran his tongue over my nipple. He pulled the tip of it into his mouth and flicked the tip of his tongue over and over the tip of my nipple. It hurt at first because I’m pierced and I was scared.”
Ron Jeremy could not be reached for comment regarding the alleged incident with Brodie, but described performing similar techniques while signing autographs at conventions in an interview late last month with The Daily Beast.
When commenting on the groping allegations webcam model Ginger Banks previously brought forth against him, Jeremy said, “It’s an absolute fact that a lot of women want me to sign their boob, kiss a boob but I don’t put anything in her… What I’ve done often is what I call ‘tapping.’ Once in a rare while I’ll kiss their neck, they get goosebumps. I’ll tap but don’t actually put anything in—just tap the outside of their underwear and they jump a mile. It’s, like, a goosebumps thing but only when I know a girl or she’s agreeing to do that but I don’t do that very much.”
He added, “If I ever grabbed a girl against her will I’d have a face like a panda bear. If I did something against someone’s will I’d have been punched in the face by now.”
A well-known adult actress who prefers to remain anonymous “in order to keep making films and money,” says Ron has a reputation for this type of predatory behavior: “The first time I met him on set he put his fingers in my pussy unexpectedly. I was brand new, outside smoking a cigarette and he comes out just being Ron Jeremy. All of a sudden he’s fingering me, and I’m like whoa. He was just there as an extra on set, he wasn’t even there performing,” says the female porn star. “We joke about it—there’s Ron stay five feet away from him because he does that. We don’t think anything of it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t even register. It’s like, oh great, another girl got groped by Ron Jeremy, join the club.”
When Brodie told her fellow Rock Girls what happened, she says they labeled him a creepy old man and then went on like normal, sharing their own stories about the creeps they’d met on the job. “Just like that it was downsized, not intentionally which was not what they meant to do, it’s just what happens when someone has gone through tragedy,” says Brodie. “The danger of that is it brings about some normalcy to the job no matter who you are, even if you are in adult entertainment—which is not at all what a KISW Rock Girl is.”
According to Brodie, the incident stayed with her, never fading far enough away. “Ghost sensations” is how she referred to them. “I’d be driving and wouldn’t even be thinking about it necessarily, and I’d be able to feel his tongue,” says Brodie. “No matter what I do with my life at this point this is now a part of my history and I cannot do anything to replace it or get rid of it.
“I realized this was not going to be something I could get over by throwing myself into my normal routine and pretending like it didn’t happen,” she adds. “You know how you’re aware of your body but you’re unaware of it like breathing or blinking—you don’t notice each time that you do it, but because of this, I had a hypersensitivity of my own genitals. It felt like they didn’t belong to me anymore. I called my mom, I felt broken, and I shared it with the one person I thought would understand and she helped.”
Since the incident, which she reported to local police, Brodie has sought legal representation with high-profile Seattle attorney Anne Bremner. “I was the next girl. I don’t want that to happen anymore. I want the cycle to break,” says Brodie. “I can’t prevent everyone from being put in this position but maybe I can prevent them from being put in this position by him, if that’s the only power I have.”On Wednesday evening, one of the nation’s leading anti-cannabis groups issued a press release announcing the “elimination” of a crucial federal protection for state-legal medical cannabis programs. Within hours, however, the group’s announcement had drawn fire from legalization advocates as well as from the so-called Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment’s two lead co-sponsors, US Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).
“Marijuana Industry Loses Key Protection from Federal Enforcement in Proposed Spending Bill,” trumpeted Wednesday’s release from the group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), which in April submitted testimony to a House subcommittee asking lawmakers to lift the protection.
The group’s leader, Kevin Sabet, then took to Twitter, speculating that “pot investors have to be freaking out” over the apparent development. “It is indeed a new day,” he wrote.
This is of course far from over, but pot investors have to be freaking out. It is indeed a new day. — Kevin Sabet (@KevinSabet) June 28, 2017
At that point, however, legalization advocates raised a collective eyebrow. Tom Angell, founder of the group Marijuana Majority, responded on Twitter, writing that Sabet and SAM “show extreme ignorance of how Congress works.”
.@kevinsabet @learnaboutsam show extreme ignorance of how Congress works. This amendment is never in base bill; always added with amendment. pic.twitter.com/yMcpxPhvQy
— Tom Angell 🌳📰 (@tomangell) June 28, 2017
Angell argued that the language in the so-called Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment, a federal spending provision that prevents the US Department of Justice from using resources to prosecute state-legal cannabis, “is never in [the] base [budget] bill” but is instead added as an amendment. Sabet, he suggested, had made a mountain out of a molehill.
Sabet replied that Angell was “wrong,” noting that the provision seemed to be in the base bill for last year, Fiscal 2017. Angell replied by calling SAM and Sabet “inept.”
From there the Twitter war escalated. Like-minded commenters weighed in.
The Drug Policy Alliance’s Office of National Affairs tweeted that “If only [SAM] had hired an experienced Hill staffer, they wouldn’t make mistakes like this anymore.” Scott M. G |
for power, Bo just may have upset the delicate détente between powerful families and constituencies that keeps élite politics in check. Shawn Shieh, a Beijing-based analyst who has studied corruption, said today:
The problem with corruption campaigns is that they take on a life of their own and can touch people in high places. It’s like trying to clean out a small part of a spider web. You can’t without the spider at the web’s center knowing about it. That’s when you want support and involvement at the highest levels. Apparently Bo felt he had that support to go ahead with his house cleaning, but apparently, it wasn’t enough.
No word yet on what will happen to Bo. He could end up in jail or with a ceremonial new job. But usually those consolation gigs are announced at the time of a firing, so it doesn’t bode well for him. I’m reminded of a line by China hand Jim McGregor about investing in Chinese stocks: “Do you enjoy juggling live hand grenades and roaring chainsaws?” Turns out the same can be said about running for office.
Photograph by Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images.Because of this Adamson refused to print, for the local Gay and Lesbian Services Organization, T-shirts that promoted the fifth annual Lexington Gay Pride Festival. (The GLSO wanted T-shirts to bear the words "Lexington Pride Festival 2012," the number "5" and a series of rainbow-colored circles around the "5.") The Lexington Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission ruled that this violated the Lexington County law banning sexual orientation discrimination in places of public accommodation.
In Friday's Lexington Fayette Urban County Human Rights Comm'n v. Hands On Originals, Inc. (Ky. Ct. App. May 12, 2017), a three-judge panel ruled, on a 2-1 vote, that Adamson's actions didn't violate the ordinance (and thus avoided having to decide whether he had a First Amendment right, under the "compelled speech" doctrine, not to be forced to print messages of which he disapproved).
1. First, the panel split on whether the refusal to print a gay pride message was sexual orientation discrimination against particular individuals. (All three judges agreed that the T-shirt store was, under the ordinance and under Kentucky law, a place of public accommodation.) The majority said no:
For example, a shopkeeper's refusal to serve a Jewish man, not because the man is Jewish, but because the shopkeeper disapproves of the fact that the man is wearing a yarmulke, would be the legal equivalent of religious discrimination. A shopkeeper's refusal to serve a homosexual, not because the person is homosexual, but because the shopkeeper disapproves of homosexual intercourse or same-sex marriage, would be the legal equivalent of sexual orientation discrimination. By contrast, however, it is not the aim of public accommodation laws, nor the First Amendment, to treat speech as this type of activity or conduct. This is so for two reasons. First, speech cannot be considered an activity or conduct that is engaged in exclusively or predominantly by a particular class of people. … Second, the right of free speech does not guarantee to any person the right to use someone else's property, even property owned by the government and dedicated to other purposes, as a stage to express ideas. … Nothing of record demonstrates HOO, through Adamson, refused any individual the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations it offered to everyone else because the individual in question had a specific sexual orientation or gender identity. … Don Lowe, the only representative of GLSO with whom [Adamson] spoke regarding the t-shirts[,] … testified he never told Adamson anything regarding his sexual orientation or gender identity. The GLSO itself also has no sexual orientation or gender identity: it is a gender-neutral organization that functions as a support network and advocate for individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered…. [GLSO's] membership and its Pride Festival welcome people of all sexual orientations. It functions as a support network and advocate for others (i.e., gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered individuals). And, the t-shirts the GLSO sought to order from HOO are an example of its support and advocacy of others…. [T]he symbolism of [the proposed t-shirt] design, the festival the design promoted, and the GLSO's desire to sell these shirts to everyone clearly imparted a message: Some people are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered; and people of their sexual orientations have as much claim to unqualified social acceptance as heterosexuals. The act of wearing a yarmulke is conduct engaged in exclusively or predominantly by persons who practice Judaism. The acts of homosexual intercourse and same-sex marriage are conduct engaged in exclusively or predominantly by persons who are homosexual. [The court had earlier given these as examples of activities that "may be such an irrational object of disfavor that, if they are targeted, and if they also happen to be engaged in exclusively or predominantly by a particular class of people, an intent to disfavor that class can readily be presumed." -EV] But anyone — regardless of religion, sexual orientation, race, gender, age, or corporate status — may espouse the belief that people of varying sexual orientations have as much claim to unqualified social acceptance as heterosexuals. Indeed, the posture of the case before us underscores that very point: this case was initiated and promoted by Aaron Baker, a non-transgendered man in a married, heterosexual relationship who nevertheless functioned at all relevant times as the President of the GLSO. For this reason, conveying a message in support of a cause or belief (by, for example, producing or wearing a t-shirt bearing a message supporting equality) cannot be deemed conduct that is so closely correlated with a protected status that it is engaged in exclusively or predominantly by persons who have that particular protected status. It is a point of view and form of speech that could belong to any person, regardless of classification. … Nothing in the fairness ordinance prohibits HOO, a private business, from engaging in viewpoint or message censorship. Thus, although the menu of services HOO provides to the public is accordingly limited, and censors certain points of view, it is the same limited menu HOO offers to every customer and is not, therefore, prohibited by the fairness ordinance.
The dissenting judge, Judge Jeff S. Taylor, disagreed:
HOO's conduct was discriminatory against GLSO and its members based upon sexual orientation or gender identity…. GLSO serves gays and lesbians and promotes an "alternative lifestyle" that is contrary to some religious beliefs. That lifestyle is based upon sexual orientation and gender identity that the United States Supreme Court has recently recognized. In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court held that the fundamental right to marry [including in a same-sex marriage] is guaranteed to same sex couples under the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. … Regardless of personal or religious beliefs, this is the law that courts are duty bound to follow. The majority takes the position that the conduct of HOO in censoring the publication of the desired speech sought by GLSO does not violate the Fairness Ordinance. Effectively, that would mean that the ordinance protects gays or lesbians only to the extent they do not publicly display their same gender sexual orientation. This result would be totally contrary to legislative intent and undermine the legislative policy of LFUCG since the ordinance logically must protect against discriminatory conduct that is inextricably tied to sexual orientation or gender identity. Otherwise, the ordinance would have limited or no force or effect. The facts in this case clearly establish that HOO's conduct, the refusal to print the t-shirts, was based upon gays and lesbians promoting a gay pride festival in Lexington, which violated the Fairness Ordinance. Finally, it is important to note that the speech that HOO sought to censor was not obscene or defamatory. There was nothing obnoxious, inflammatory, false, or even pornographic that GLSO wanted to place on their t-shirts which would justify restricting their speech under the First Amendment. … Likewise, there is nothing in the message that illustrates or establishes that HOO either promotes or endorses the Festival. … While free speech is not without its limitations, nothing in the promotion of the Festival by GLSO came close to being outside the protections of the First Amendment. The Fairness Ordinance in this case is simply an extension of civil rights protections afforded to all citizens under federal, state and local laws. These civil rights protections serve the societal purpose of eradicating barriers to the equal treatment of all citizens in the commercial marketplace.
2. Judge James H. Lambert appears to have joined the majority opinion on the question whether HOO's conduct was discriminatory (since he labeled that opinion "the majority opinion," which it could be only with his vote). But he also reasoned that the ordinance was preempted by the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Statute, which is modeled on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act applied in Hobby Lobby and other recent cases. He concluded that the ordinance, as interpreted by the commission, burdened the HOO owners' religious practice, and thus the owners were entitled to an exemption unless denying the exemption was the least restrictive means of serving a compelling interests — a showing the government could not make:
There is little doubt LFUCG has a compelling interest in preventing local businesses from discriminating against individuals based on their sexual orientation. LFUCG must be able to market itself as a place where all people can acquire the goods and services they need. Accordingly, by the plain text of [the state RFRA], the central issue here is whether the fairness ordinance is the least-restrictive way for LFUCG to prevent local business from discriminating against members of the gay community without imposing a substantial burden on the exercise of religion. … [I]nstead of providing an owner of a closely-held business, or the like, with an alternative means of accommodating a patron who wishes to promote a cause contrary to the owner's faith [footnote: Here, the owners of HOO offered to find a printer who would do the work at the same price quoted initially to accommodate the needs of the customer], the fairness ordinance forces the owner to either join in the requested violation of a sincerely held religious belief, or face a penalty, i.e., support the furtherance of the offending cause or take a class on how to support it. Such coercion violates [the state RFRA]. …
Taylor disagreed:
[As to the religious exemption claim,] the holding in Hobby Lobby was limited solely to the issue of whether a closely held corporation could raise a religious liberty defense to the insurance contraceptive coverage mandate of the Affordable Care Act. And, I do not believe [the Kentucky RFRA] is implicated in this case, as the statute does not prohibit a governmental entity from enforcing laws or ordinances that prohibit discrimination and protect a citizen's fundamental rights. Moreover, the United States Supreme Court has held that religious beliefs or conduct may be burdened or limited where the compelling government interest is to eradicate discrimination. See Bob Jones Univ. v. U.S. (1983) (holding that the government has an overriding interest in eradicating racial discrimination in education).
3. Here's my view, which was expressed in this amicus brief that my student Ashley Phillips and I filed on behalf of the Cato Institute: Whether or not the ordinance bars discrimination against messages supporting pro-gay-rights events, a printer has a First Amendment right to refuse to print messages of which he disapproves. As the amicus brief argued,
The government may not require Americans to help distribute speech of which they disapprove. The Supreme Court so held in Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U.S. 705 (1977), when it upheld drivers' First Amendment right not to display on their license plates a message with which they disagree. The logic of Wooley applies equally to printers' right not to print such messages. The government's interest in preventing discrimination cannot justify restricting Hands On Originals' First Amendment rights. Hands On Originals is not discriminating based on the sexual orientation of any customer. Rather, its owners are choosing which messages they print. In this respect, the owners' actions are similar to the actions of the parade organizers in Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Group of Boston, 515 U.S. 557 (1995), who also chose not to spread a particular message through their parade. In Hurley, the Supreme Court noted that the state, in trying to force the organizers to include a gay pride group in a parade, was applying its antidiscrimination law "in a peculiar way": to mandate the inclusion of a message, not equal treatment for individuals. And the Court held that this application of antidiscrimination law violated the First Amendment. The Commission's attempt to apply such law to Hands On Originals' choice about which materials to print likewise violates the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has held that large organizations, such as cable operators or universities, might be required to convey messages on behalf of other organizations with which they disagree. But Hands On Originals is a small owner-operated company, in which the owners are necessarily closely connected to the speech that Hands On Originals produces. In this respect, the owners of Hands On Originals are much closer to the Maynards in Wooley v. Maynard, whose "individual freedom of mind," secured the right not to help distribute speech of which they disapproved.
Moreover, the dissenting judge's argument about the free speech protections offered to the Lexington Pride Festival strikes me as entirely beside the point: The T-shirt would certainly have been constitutionally protected against government suppression, just as the motto "Live Free or Die" would be so protected. But people also have a First Amendment right not to display the message (as in Wooley) or to print the message.
Likewise, the dissenting judge's argument that requiring HOO to print the T-shirt wouldn't suggest "that HOO … endorses the Festival" is also beside the point. That was precisely the argument the dissenting justices made in Wooley (quoting the New Hampshire Supreme Court): "The defendants' … [having] to display plates bearing the State motto carries no implication … that they endorse that motto or profess to adopt it as matter of belief." But the Wooley majority was unswayed by that: The Maynards, the court held, had a First Amendment right to "refuse to foster … an idea they find morally objectionable," and thus could not be forced to display the motto even in a context where no one would think that they were endorsing the motto. The same is true of people who don't want to foster an idea by participating in the creation (rather than display) of messages expressing that idea.
You can read the whole brief here, but let me close with these hypotheticals:
Say members of the Westboro Baptist Church come to a printer — a printer who supports gay rights or who is gay himself or who just thinks the Westboro belief system is appalling — and demand that he print a "Westboro Baptist Church Pride" T-shirt.
Or say that an anti-illegal-immigrant group comes to a printer in Seattle and demands that he print a "Build a Wall / Deport Them All" T-shirt. (Seattle bans public accommodation discrimination based not just on race, religion, sexual orientation and the like but also "political ideology," defined as "any idea or belief … relating to the purpose, conduct, organization, function or basis of government and related institutions and activities, whether or not characteristic of any political party or group.")
Should the government be able to punish the printer for refusing, on the theory that this constituted impermissible religious or political ideology discrimination in public accommodations?
Eugene Volokh teaches free speech law, religious freedom law, church-state relations law, a First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic, and an intensive editing workshop at UCLA School of Law, where he has also often taught copyright law, criminal law, tort law, and a seminar on firearms regulation policy.
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Educational book suppliers face being “wiped out” by nationalised tendering which is set to take €28million out of the industry.
A contract to supply academic libraries in schools and colleges, worth €14million over four years, was awarded to US firm ProQuest in 2015.
A second tender for public libraries, worth €6million for a potential four years, is being disputed after a UK firm was given €1.6million and the remaining €1.4million was shared between two Irish companies.
SMEs, or small and medium enterprises, yesterday insisted they are not looking for favouritism but claim nationalising the tendering process has left them unable to compete.
And they warned up to half a dozen companies are facing closure, which could cost upwards of 50 jobs.
An industry source said: “Really what we’re against is the general principle of putting the €6million together.
“For instance, if I won €6million from that tender I’d have to say no because in four years time my whole business would be up for option again.
“It just doesn’t suit small companies, it suits big companies. In terms of small companies, we only have to lose once.
“So if I won nothing in the last two tenders, I’m gone, I’m closed. Whereas with big companies, they only have to win once and we’re all gone.
“This will definitely wipe out all the dedicated library suppliers.
“We campaigned before the tender was out, we asked them to regionalise it, break it down, just give us a chance.
“If they broke it down provincially, between Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Ulster, it would give booksellers in those areas a chance and it would give local Irish library suppliers a chance.
“But they said no and went with the national tender.”
The SMEs claimed they have been treated unfairly in the process, being asked to provide e-invoicing software not yet available in Ireland – meaning they cannot possibly score full marks.
Fianna Fail’s Frank O’Rourke urged the Government to reconsider the process but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
The Kildare TD said he approached Housing Minister Simon Coveney, Education Minister Richard Bruton and Minister of State for Public Procurement Eoin Murphy about the issue, but no one took action.
He told the Irish Mirror: “None of them took ownership of the situation. This isn’t something that has taken us by surprise. I have been canvassing this issue for months. That was ignored. I went to great lengths to try and get someone to take ownership of the issue.
“It’s important to say nobody is looking for favouritism for Irish companies.
“The tendering process is transparent and we have to work within European rules and no one is disputing that. But because in this instance the process is nationalised, the SMEs simply aren’t able to provide for tenders of that size.
“They have no chance of winning these contracts whatsoever. And that is something that has to be looked at.
“If the tenders went out at regional level, they could reasonably compete with the larger foreign companies.”
(Image: Gareth Chaney/Collins)
Mr O’Rourke said the lack of action on the issue was disappointing given the importance placed on SMEs in job creation and economic recovery by the Government.
He added: “It’s inevitably going to lead to company closures and job losses.
“I spoke to one man who employs 11 people and he said all of those jobs would go.
“This is the most disappointing part of the whole thing.
“Everyone is trumpeting the SME sector and how important it is to the economy and the recovery.
“Then these tenders are done in such a way that make it very difficult, if not impossible, for the SMEs to attain.”Story highlights "(Trump) gave that particular woman a second chance," Conway says about Alicia Machado
Conway also defended Trump's comments and past behavior toward women
Washington (CNN) Donald Trump's campaign manager acknowledged Thursday that she reprimanded the Republican presidential nominee over his past comments on women.
Kellyanne Conway was responding to a question on ABC's "The View" about Trump's criticism of former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.
"Did you reprimand him for that? Did you say, 'Hey listen, why are you saying women are fat? Why are you calling women fat pigs?'" host Joy Behar asked.
"Yes, but I think it's beside the point," Conway responded, declining to provide further details. "He gave that particular woman a second chance. The company involved wanted her terminated... because she was in breach of contract and the company wanted her terminated. But he gave her a second chance."
Conway was referencing accusations that Machado, who is from Venezuela and supports Hillary Clinton for president, has made about Trump, including a claim that after she gained weight in 1996, Trump called her "Miss Piggy" and "Miss Housekeeping."
Read MoreYou can’t run a democracy with everyone censoring themselves out of fear, the author says. | REUTERS The false rush to cry 'balance'
When Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot and six other people — including a federal judge who was coming out of Mass — were killed at a shopping center in Tucson, Ariz., I was staying at a resort a few miles away. Among the guests, there were three immediate reactions: outrage, sadness and, if you’re headed to the airport, make sure to turn right at Tangerine instead of staying on Oracle to Ina, because traffic’s going to be a mess down there.
Life goes on incredibly quickly. No one is to blame for that — it’s inevitable. If you didn’t know the congresswoman or the federal judge personally, you still have a plane to catch. But it does seem that we absorb recurring episodes of political violence a bit more quickly than we used to because they’ve become more common. Indeed, they’re so common that everybody knows the script. First, we deplore the event and say we’re praying — and, in most cases, actually do pray — for the victims. Then we deplore the corrosive politics that may have contributed to the tragedy. Next, someone on the left will say that right wingers are more to blame, because they vilify people more than the other side. Then voices on the right will recoil in horror that someone is trying to politicize a national tragedy.
Story Continued Below
Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation, wrote on his website in time for Sunday’s papers: “While we need to take a moment to extend our sympathies to the families of those who died” — there; was that about a moment? Good. Where was I? Oh yes — “we cannot allow the hard left to do what it tried to do in 1995 after the Oklahoma City bombing. Within the entire political spectrum, there are extremists, both on the left and the right. Violence of this nature should be decried by everyone and not used for political gain.”
The “extremists of the right and left” formula generally appeals to newspaper editorialists and the media because it is balanced. And maybe I’m too ideologically blinkered to see the situation clearly. But it seems — in fact, it seems obvious — that the situation is not balanced. Extremists on the right are more responsible for the poisonous ideological atmosphere than extremists on the left, whoever they may be. And extremists on the left have a lot less influence on nonextremists on the left than extremists on the right have on right-wing moderates. Sure, NPR, despite denials, tilts to the left. But not the way Fox News tilts toward the right. Rachel Maddow is no Glenn Beck.
Here is how “balance” works. A front-page piece in The New York Times on Sunday is headlined: “Bloodshed Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics.” The piece says, “Democrats have... pointed out cases where Republican candidates seemed to raise the prospect of armed revolt if Washington did not change its ways. But many Republicans have noted that they too are subject to regular threats and abuse from the public, and, during the health care fight, some suggested Democrats were trying to cut off responsible political opposition and paint themselves as victims.”Gillard hits back over foreign worker backlash
Updated
Sorry, this video has expired Video: Gillard says Australians will not miss out on work amid foreign worker deal (7pm TV News NSW)
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has promised to put Australian jobs first despite Friday's decision to bring in more than 1,700 foreigners to work on a mine project in Western Australia.
It was revealed earlier that Ms Gillard, who had been in the United States, was not informed of the decision until she returned to Australia on Wednesday.
The workers have been granted visas under the first enterprise migration agreement (EMA) to work at mining magnate Gina Rinehart's $9 billion Roy Hill iron ore project in the Pilbara.
But at a press conference this afternoon, Ms Gillard refused to be drawn on the issue of "internal government processes" and instead moved to assure Australians that Labor will put local jobs first.
"My concern here and concern of the Labor Government is always to put Australian jobs first," she told reporters in Melbourne.
"The sheer size and scale of what's happening means we will need some foreign labour but we're working to make sure Aussies get jobs first."
And Ms Gillard says she has implemented several initiatives which will ensure that happens.
"We'll have a jobs board which will be a way of Aussies to know what's happening in the resources sector and what the jobs are. Companies won't be able to bring in foreign workers if there's an Australian ready and able to do the work on the jobs board," she said.
"And secondly I'm strengthening oversight of enterprise migration agreements."
Earlier, Labor MP Nick Champion told ABC News 24 the EMA was discussed by cabinet and caucus last year.
"This process went through cabinet, it went through cabinet and caucus last year in actual fact," he said.
"It's fair to say most of the caucus want Australians to be trained up and skilled first, but we have to accept that with these massive projects we just simply won't undertake them without both foreign capital and foreign labour."
He says despite 1,700 foreign workers coming to Australia under the agreement, 6,000 Australian jobs will be created because of the move.
Skills Minister Chris Evans says the deal is a necessary step to manage the workforce, telling AM the move is a sensible economic solution.
"Tens of thousands of Australians will get job opportunities in construction of these projects in the next few years," he said.
But Opposition leader Tony Abbott says the fact Ms Gillard was not informed of the decision until her return from the United States on Wednesday shows just how dysfunctional the Government is.
"This is an almost $10 billion project and it's being used as a political football in the struggle between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd," he said.
"It's just another symptom of a government that is at war with itself, that is divided and dysfunction and of a prime minister who doesn't know what's happening inside her own government."
'Gobsmacked'
The Government is also facing an angry backlash from unions and within its own ranks over the move.
Labor backbencher Doug Cameron says he is gobsmacked and bemused by the decision, and does not believe Labor's caucus will be comfortable with it either.
"I'm gobsmacked. In the week where Australian workers are being marched off the job in Kurri Kurri and Tullamarine that we're marching Chinese workers onto Roy Hill. It just defies logic to me," he said.
Independent MP Tony Windsor says the cabinet should have been involved in the decision.
"There are enormous ramifications potentially in terms of this decision," Mr Windsor said.
"If we're worried about fly in fly out circumstances and the impact it can have on regional towns, we should be very concerned about fly in fly out from international destinations.
"This has ramifications that should be discussed by the representatives of the Parliament, it shouldn't be just taken off one Minister's desk."
Outspoken MP Bob Katter has also faulted the Government's move, branding it a ludicrous decision which erodes confidence in the national economy.
"These people are so lacking in patriotism and so committed to looking after the interests of corporations that invariably are foreign owned or foreign financed, that they have agreed to fly in people from overseas," Mr Katter said.
"They will undermine our awards and they will take your jobs, and I don't just mean in mining - it'll spread beyond that.
"The Australian people will not stand for this."
When the only backers of Bowen's foreign workers decision are Clive & Gina it's clear it's a bad call - even Twiggy is opposed. Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Howes, via Twitter
The AMWU says the move sets a dangerous precedent and is a slap in the face for the domestic workforce.
"The respect we believe all employees should have for Australian workers I think is going out the window," union secretary Andrew Dettmer said.
"What we will be seeing is employers like Gina Rinehart and others, Clive Palmer, BHP, trying to import more compliant and complacent work forces, ones who don't have a commitment to the local economy, who don't have a commitment to the local community, and of course are only coming here for the dollar.
The CMFEU's national secretary Dave Noonan says the announcement has been mired in "spin and nonsense", and claims there are plenty of avenues for Ms Rinehart to hire overseas workers in specific roles without offering local workers the jobs first.
He says his union has been flooded with calls, emails and texts from concerned members, and it represents a "sell-out" of Australian jobs.
"The project would create many more jobs for Australian workers if Australians were given the opportunity to apply for them first.
"Australia's migration policy has been handed over holus-bolus to Gina Rinehart."
Topics: immigration, mining-industry, industry, business-economics-and-finance, federal-government, unions, wa, australia
First postedOfficial communiqués on the BRICS summit in Durban are promising new initiatives on trade, economic development and technical co-operation.
But Russia wants more from its partners than just trade. With concern rising in Europe over the worst crackdown on Russian democracy since the Soviet Union collapsed more than 20 years ago, Vladimir Putin is coming to Africa to find supporters of its world view.
Under Putin’s leadership, Russia is looking to foster an alternative community of states, bound not by a common humanity and international obligations that supersede national borders but by a belief that outsiders who raise human rights concerns are threatening to the state.
The old Soviet Union may have supported the African National Congress in exile, but the new Russia does not like global coalitions that support human rights. Indeed, Moscow has worked strenuously to keep the United Nations Security Council from addressing human rights crises such as in Syria.
Small wonder, when Putin himself has presided over a human rights crackdown inside Russia. After massive, peaceful street demonstrations in Moscow and other cities more than a year ago, protesting against alleged electoral fraud and widespread official corruption, the Kremlin and other officials blamed Western agents and "foreign influence" for the challenge to their authority. And after Putin took back the presidency in May–returning to the pinnacle of power after six years of biding his time as prime minister–the authorities took swift action to marginalise their critics.
In the past several months, the parliament rubber-stamped a raft of draconian new laws: curtailing free expression on the internet; making it riskier to organise and participate in unsanctioned public demonstrations; criminalising libel; expanding the definition of treason in such a way that it could apply to advocacy by nongovernmental organisations; and providing for the suspension of advocacy groups whose work might "threaten Russia’s interests".
Even more ominous legislation adopted in July requires advocacy groups that accept foreign funding to register and identify themselves publicly as "foreign agents". This provision reeks of Soviet-style demonisation and is clearly intended to delegitimise activists in the public eye. Russia still has a vibrant civil society, but it’s under real threat.
Perhaps the most widely known example of the Kremlin’s intolerance for dissent involves the feminist punk band Pussy Riot. In August, three young band members were sentenced to two years in prison for a 40-second political stunt in a Moscow cathedral that criticised Putin, and the Russian Orthodox Church’s close relationship with the Kremlin. The warning to Russian activists was clear.
Putin seems to believe that his domestic critics would wither without international support. On the international stage, his return to the presidency has been marked by an increasingly aggressive tone towards the West. On Syria, the Russian government has steadfastly refused to acknowledge that the civil war began as a peaceful protest movement against the government of Bashir al-Assad, Moscow’s last friend in the Middle East. For more than two years, the Kremlin has blocked any meaningful UN Security Council action to stop the violence or even to allow humanitarian aid to flow across Syria’s borders, directly to the millions of civilians who so desperately need it.
The Syrian government has appealed to the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — for support, while a broad range of civil society groups are appealing to the BRICS summit for a clearer condemnation of Syrian government brutality against civilians. Pretoria will have to navigate the competing demands of Putin and its own calls to conscience.
But more broadly, South Africa must decide how it wishes to see Russia. The South African government has its own reasons to feel disappointed with the West.
At the same time, Pretoria should not support the notion that human rights are not the concern of the broader international community. It should not buy into the idea, broadly hinted at by Putin and others, that for outsiders to promote human rights inside another country is an intolerable infringement on sovereignty.
If it supports democratic values and civil society, Pretoria must make clear to its Russian guest that the crackdown at home will win Russia no friends here. The ANC fought for freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and the dignity of the individual. Vladimir Putin is not their champion.
Hicks is global advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.Are there rules in a knife fight?
I wouldn't know, and I hope you don't, either, but we must have some good, reasonable rules for the Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton cage match Monday night.
Some 100 million people could be watching — meaning at least 50 million deplorable people will have access to TV.
And the fate of the world as we know it will be in the balance as Hillary and Donald entertain us with theatrics and bizarre facial expressions.
But what are the rules? Don't worry. I've crafted a few for candidates, journalists, and any vulgarians in the audience who insist on shouting, "Woooo!"
The first rule: "Candidates may not sigh and roll their eyes as if they're in seventh grade, except during commercial breaks."
If you don't stop candidates from sighing, they'll just keep on doing it and ruin the country.
But we will let them call each other names. They've been doing that for months anyway.
And what happens to those who willfully disobey our rules? That's why cattle prods were invented. Just a touch and you become compliant, like a visit from the IRS to your house of worship.
Since journalists are in such low esteem these days, my next rule must govern my brother and sister colleagues:
"Henceforth, any journalist (and that includes TV types who do cute animal stories), shall not promote any so-called debate drinking games features for broadcast or print.
"Any journalist crafting a 'debate drinking game' story shall be touched a few times with a cattle prod on the leg, so that they'll really feel the tingle."
Or maybe on the behind or wrists. Perhaps a few good jabs on the back of the neck will do because I just cannot abide public drinking game stories. Especially drinking games with anyone who drinks Malort and thinks you should too.
Yes, I am a journalist and support the First Amendment and all, but Americans should not be encouraged to join "drinking games." This inevitably leads to fistfights, bawdy behavior, hooliganism, unforgivable tweets and unwanted pregnancies.
And the last thing we need is 100 million drunks analyzing the debate and fighting about which candidate had the better hair and which had the worst Aleppo moment and which candidate didn't really stare off into space for 30 seconds as if locked in a trance.
To anyone who has watched three minutes of TV news lately, it should be obvious that Americans can't be trusted to know what they've just seen with their own eyes. That's why journalists are needed. So please, let journalists do their jobs! We have bills too.
If you must drink, at least pick something decent, like 18-year-old single malt scotch, neat. But please do so in the privacy of your own home, or out on your deck while live streaming the rhetorical carnage. That way you can enjoy a fine Nicaraguan cigar, get buzzed, scream loud epithets at the moderators and frighten the heck out of your dog.
That's what I plan on doing.
Another thing about bad presidential debate behavior is the rowdy audience that always tries to influence public opinion with their stupid cheerleading. Don't you hate that? Me too.
The TV anchor/moderator is never stern enough and just mouths the words of admonition quickly, like those warnings on pharmaceutical commercials telling you the medicine will cure your rash, but it might also persuade you to go postal at work. Nobody in the debate crowd listens, and they jeer and jabber and clap in tribal fashion.
The best solution is to not have an audience. But TV is all about money and buzz, so they'll pack them in, and the audience will invariably violate the rules.
What really gets me is that some audience members will do that screechy, high pitched "woooo!" thing that I really, really hate.
So I've got a rule for this too. Beginning Monday, as per my decree, the presidential debate audience will sit virtually naked — wearing only swim suits for modesty — in a large Plexiglas bowl like the kind once reserved for killer whales.
Several fire hydrants will be attached to the audience bowl. The near-naked audience will then be strapped, and locked, into their chairs with a timer that won't release them until after the debate. And if anyone says anything, anything at all, or makes the slightest sound, the water level in their audience bowl will instantly rise a foot. One "wooo," and it's 2 feet.
If one side blames the other side for making the "wooo!" sound, the water will rise another 2 feet. Eventually it would become extremely quiet. It's hard to "wooo!" with your lungs full of water.
Now, back to the Golden Rule for the candidates. What gets me is the sighing thing made infamous by Vice President Al Gore in his debate against the Supreme Court's favorite, George Bush, who won the Supreme Court election.
The history of the Gore-Bush election is quite complicated, involving that "Electoral College" business Democrats wanted to abolish, though now they like it just fine. But what's simple is that Gore's sighing might just have cost him critical votes in his home state of Tennessee, which he lost. He should have known better, rolling his eyes and all, like a despairing child told by mom that he can't go to the mall.
Americans don |
issions taxiing by 2020, but Nissan reckons it can get there far sooner. Next year, it’ll start to trial all-electric NV200’s in the capital, which could go on sale as soon as 2014.
Nissan says converting London to all-electric taxis would remove 38,000 tonnes of CO2 from the capital’s smoggy atmosphere, as well as saving the average cabbie over £1000 in fuel bills each year.
Gallery: All the pictures of Nissan’s proposed black cab
Worried that a fast-depleting, slow-charging battery wouldn’t be suitable for the ceaseless grind of the sturdy black cab? Nissan says you’re wrong. The average London taxi covers around 120 miles a day, which an NV200 could manage on two charges: one overnight, and a second 30-minute quick charge at lunchtime.
And if you’re the sort of Union Jack-waving zealot who’s concerned a Japanese minivan would represent a vile desecration of a truly British institution, Nissan says you’re wrong again. The UK’s biggest producer of cars is no stranger to the world of London taxis: it supplied the 2.7-litre diesel engine to the iconic 1989 FX4 Fairway, a favourite of the capital’s cabbies.
So where, TopGear.commers, does the NV200 cab rank on Britain’s newly minted list of All Things Olympically Good? A glorious Mo Farah gold medal, or a first-round handball knock-out?This is an "advanced" slow cooker recipe. I wouldn't suggest attempting it unless you have used your crockpot quite a bit and are comfortable playing around with it.
Oh they're just so pretty! I've got a meatball recipe for you today that will become a new family favorite.
I'm not going to lie -- you're going to have to dirty up your hands a bit, but you won't have to wash a frying pan.
Those beautiful meatballs pictured up above? They held their form and browned beautifully all on their own in the crockpot --- no pre-browning required.
score!
The Ingredients.
makes 24 golfball-sized meatballs
1/4 cup chopped Italian Parsley
1.5 pounds lean ground beef
4 slices smoked bacon, diced (raw; don't cook it)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Panko-style breadcrumbs (I used Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Bread Crumbs)
2 eggs (the eggs pictured are duck eggs! thanks, Grandpa John!)
2 tablespoons dried minced onion flakes
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
additional ingredients:
1 cup flour (I used rice flour)
2 cups chicken broth (can use beef)
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Spray the inside of your cooker with cooking spray, or rub it down with a bit of olive oil (don't go crazy, just a little glisten) and set aside.
In a good-sized mixing bowl, combine the chopped parsley, ground beef, and diced bacon.
Add in Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs, and the dried spices.
Combine well--- I'd use your hands (remove rings, wash appropriately, and all that good stuff that if I had a legal team they'd tell me to include).
After the meat is mixed, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or non-stick foil.
Pour 1 cup of flour (I used rice flour) into a shallow dish (pie pan works great).
Roll meat into golfball-sized balls and then lightly dust each meat ball with flour before placing onto the lined cookie sheet.
When all the meat is gone, put the whole cookie sheet into the freezer for 1 hour, or until completely frozen.
It's okay to freeze overnight, if you'd like to break this into two days (put in sealed dish/tupperware if freezing for longer).
Once your meatballs are frozen, place them one-by-one (this means don't dump!) into your lightly greased slow cooker.
It's okay to stagger-stack them. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the broth and tomato paste to create a gravy.
Pour this evenly over the meatballs. Cover, and cook on low for 5 hours, or until the meatballs have browned and are fully cooked.
I cooked the meatballs pictured above on low for 5 hours, then let them sit on warm for another 3 1/2 hours before dinner was served.
Serve alongside pasta or rice, or all on their own. These are filling!
The Verdict.
You will love these. I couldn't stop taste-testing these throughout the afternoon and kept texting Adam to come home quick because dinner was going to rock.
and it did.
I shared the leftovers with my dad who is somewhat of a meatball connoisseur and he *really* liked them.
I learned about the flour-and-freezing trick from Pinterest--- it worked great, and is such a fantastic technique to keep the meat together.
I already knew meatballs didn't need to be browned in the slow cooker beforehand but dredging them in flour first gives a bit more of a "crusty" texture and thickens the tomato gravy beautifully.
The internet is so much fun!
more meatballs in the crockpot:
two little smokie appetizer recipes (but you can use meatballs!)It's been two years since Martellus Bennett played for the Chicago Bears, but when he saw that a Chicago high school basketball team needed some help, he didn't hesitate to get involved.
Morgan Park High School won the Illinois Class 3A boys' basketball state championship in March, but the school didn't have the money to buy the rings commemorating its title and Chicago Public Schools wasn't able to help.
Morgan Park's athletic director, Michael Berger, took to Twitter to ask for donations to help the team afford its rings.
Fenwick High School, which Morgan Park defeated in the state championship, chipped in, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The Sun-Times reports that comedian Hannibal Buress, a Chicago native, was the first celebrity to donate. Bennett was next.
Bennett, who still lives in Chicago's northern suburbs, according to the Sun-Times, foot the bill for the rings and designed them himself.
Basketball coach Nick Irvin let the Green Bay Packers tight end deliver the news to his players via FaceTime.
"I put him up on the big screen and let him tell the kids," Irvin told the Sun-Times. "They knew who he was right away and got really excited. They were so happy, it was great to see their reaction. That is a blessing right there."
On Saturday, Bennett posted an image of the rings on Instagram, congratulating Morgan Park and thanking everyone who gave to the team.
Morgan Park's rings were the first piece of jewelry Bennett has designed. However, he's already shown his creative prowess through his multimedia production company, The Imagination Agency.
-- Alex TekipGet 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
Manchester United keeper Sam Johnstone is keeping an open mind about his Old Trafford future.
The 22-year-old is wanted by his hometown club Preston North End after his successful second half of the season loan at Deepdale that culminated with him keeping a clean sheet at Wembley against Swindon to help North End win the League One play off and return to the Championship.
Deepdale boss Simon Grayson is awaiting the outcome of the goalkeeper situation at Old Trafford with David de Gea’s future still in the balance and Victor Valdes set to be sold after his fall out with Louis van Gaal. But Grayson wants Johnstone back.
Johnstone looked nailed on for a move to Preston but the Valdes shock saw him promoted to duty on United’s USA tour and he has played 45 minutes against Club America and the full 90 against San Jose Earthquakes. Now a switch to Deepdale is not a foregone conclusion.
“I am contracted to Man United for two maybe three years so they are the biggest club in the world and I have had two chances out here now in America and we can only see what happens in the future,” says Sam
“I saw what Simon Grayson said and that was good. I enjoyed my time there but I never expected to be going to Preston permanently. There was talk about it. That is between the two clubs to decide. If I go back out I would like it to be a loan. I have to see what happens here first.
“If they tell me it is time to move on then it is time to move on but I will keep working hard here and impressing the manager.”
More from the San Jose gameLife has just changed for new parent Milos Kocic. Three times.
At 9 p.m. ET Sunday, the Toronto FC goalkeeper went from husband to parent of three in one fell swoop as wife Evelyn delivered triplets.
Kocic skipped practice Monday to spend time with his newly expanded family. But he was back in training Tuesday with a beaming smile.
Mother and babies are still in hospital but doing well.
"She's doing great. She's started walking now," a bubbling Kocic said after practice. "She's a fighter, she's a great woman. The gift she gave me, it's unbelievable."
The oldest is a girl named Soleil. Then there are two boys: Leo [or Lionel as in Barcelona star Lionel Messi] and another Milos.
The babies, who weighed five, four and three pounds, will remain in hospital for two weeks. His wife is expected to be released Wednesday.
"For me it's still kind of the same," Kocic said. "Not much change except I'm busier than usual. I guess when they come home, it's going to be a different story. I'll have to deal with a lot of crying and stuff, but it's all good."
Kocic was prepared. "Strollers are here!!!," the 27-year-old from Serbia tweeted, along with a photo of a three-seater.
There is no history of triplets on either parent's side.
"Total surprise," said Kocic. "All natural."
They learned the news during an ultrasound when the doctor told them there were three heartbeats.
"We were like 'OK, is it a baby with three hearts?"' he recalled with a giggle.
No, just three babies.
"So we were in shock for a while," Kocic added. "But you get used to it, I guess, to the idea of expecting triplets. Now they're here, so it's life-changing for sure."
The delivery date was supposed to be Sept. 20 or 24 but the trio came early. Kocic was slated to go fishing Sunday but the conditions didn't look good so he was headed home when he got the call.
Support group
He was in his fishing gear as he headed to hospital.
The Kocics have a good support group in Toronto. Evelyn's mother and sister live nearby and Kocic's mother will be arriving soon from Serbia.
The rest of the relatives overseas may still be celebrating.
"A lot of drinking [Monday]," Kocic said happily of his family back home.
Kocic is slated to start Wednesday against the visiting Chicago Fire (13-8-5) although manager Paul Mariner said that may change depending on his family situation.
"There's a lot to go through," Mariner said. "Twenty-four hours is a long long time with three brand spanking new children. We'll wait and see but at the present moment he's playing."
"It's a massive change in his lifestyle though that's a certainty," he added.
A tie or loss Wednesday will officially eliminate Toronto FC, the league's worst team at 5-16-6, from playoff contention.
Toronto has not won in the league since July 18 when it beat Colorado 2-1. The team is 0-5-2 in MLS play since.
"We haven't won for a couple of months and it's killing us," said Mariner. "We want to win."
Toronto is missing midfielder Terry Dunfield and fullback Ashtone Morgan (Canada), defender Dicoy Williams and forward Ryan Johnson (Jamaica) and midfielder Oscar Cordon (Canada under-20). All are on international duty.
But Irish defender Darren O'Dea and Bermudian goalkeeper Freddy Hall and attacking midfielder Reggie Lambe are back in the fold after playing for their country.
Mariner was less than happy with the Football Association of Ireland after O'Dea spent "15 hours in economy" returning from a World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan.
To make matter worse, O'Dea had a middle seat.
"I don't want to sound elitist but he didn't come back in the greatest shape on Sunday night," said Mariner. "So that's a worry."
Hall played the last four games for Toronto in goal as Mariner looked to evaluate talent on his roster.
The Fire have already defeated Toronto twice this season, 3-2 at BMO Field on April 21 and 2-1 at home on Aug. 4.
Chicago hosts the Montreal Impact on Saturday.Italy's economic and political elite oldest in Europe Average age in powerful positions 59
(ANSA) - Rome, May 17 - Italy's managerial and political class is the oldest in Europe, a report by farmers' association Coldiretti said on Thursday.The overall average age of those in positions of power in Italy is 59, according to the report.Among the oldest managers are those in the banking world with an average age of 67, followed by politicians with the average age of 64, while top managers in listed companies tend to be slightly younger, averaging 57.In the academic world, a professor's average age is 63. In the world of politics, Italy's Premier Mario Monti is 69 years old, while the youngest ministers, Renato Balduzzi and Filippo Patroni Griffi, are both 57.In comparison, David Cameron took office in Britain when he was 43, Tony Blair at 44, John Major was 47 and Gordon Brown just over 50.Coldiretti President Sergio Marini commented that the government's "ideas for tackling the economic crisis are (also) old and too few".Italian politicians are "trying to reproduce development models based on financial and economic policies that have already failed," said Marini.At the same time, Italy's youth unemployment continues to soar, reaching 35.9% in March, up 2% since February, according to a report from the national statistics agency ISTAT earlier this month.Monti and his emergency government have vowed to promote labour market changes to make it easier for women and young people to find jobs.photo: Coldiretti President Sergio MariniIt was just another typical weekday morning in a normal Finnish family home. It was only 8am, and parents and children were going through their usual routine. Then there was a knock at the door: it was the police, come to seize the Winnie the Pooh laptop of the resident 9-year-old pirate.
Torrent Freak reports that Finnish police raided the home after local anti-piracy group CIAPC determined copyrighted files had been downloaded illegally at the residence. After the girl's father refused to pay a 600 euro fine, the authorities raided the home and seized evidence—including the Winnie the Pooh laptop of the girl.
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Turns out that she'd been trying to download a number of song by Finnish pop star Chisu using The Pirate Bay. The father claims that the downloads didn't work—they instead purchased a CD from a local store—but that doesn't seem to have bothered Finnish ISPs, the CIAPC or the police. The girls's father has explained:
"We have not done anything wrong with my daughter. If adults do not always know how to use a computer and the web, how can you assume that children or the elderly – or a 9-year-old girl – knows what they are doing at any given time online?"
Rules are rules, of course, but taking away a child's laptop over a couple of failed torrents seems a little draconian. So far nobody's apologized to the family—do you think they should? [Torrent Freak via BGR]
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Image by Andrew Stawarz under Creative Commons licenseWikileaks' Podesta Files shed light on US billionaire George Soros' deep concerns about the lack of "freedom" and "constitutional democracy" in Malaysia under Najib Razak. Soros' concerns may serve as a prelude for a series of "color revolutions" in Southeast Asia, Mathew Maavak of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia assumed in an interview with Sputnik.
The latest set of documents released by Wikileaks indicates that George Soros and his Open Society Foundation are very concerned about the situation in Malaysia, one of the US' longstanding allies in Southeast Asia.
A memo, sent by Michael Vachon, US billionaire George Soros' "right hand," on March 6, 2016, to Chairman of Clinton's presidential campaign John Podesta shed light on the Malaysian "corruption crisis" and blamed the country's Prime Minister Najib Razak for "damaging the US' credibility in the region."
"Malaysia could one day be a good ally of the United States in countering Islamic State [Daesh in Arabic] extremism, but not before it has achieved the freedom and constitutional democracy that its people have been denied," the memo read.
However, it seems that the US financial and political elite have yet another reason to be dissatisfied with the Malaysian prime minister, besides his alleged involvement in corruption scandal.
"Malaysian Prime Minster Najib Razak heads to China next week to build closer ties and seek investment, which may further dent US aims in Southeast Asia after a push by President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines to bolster China ties," Reuters reported Thursday.
Both Malaysia and the Philippines have long been in dispute with China over the South China Sea. However, Kuala Lumpur may follow in the footsteps of Manila, seeking to ease tensions with Beijing in exchange for economic benefits, the media outlet assumed.
© REUTERS / Ng Han Guan/Pool Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shake hands after a signing ceremony held in Beijing, China, October 20, 2016
So, what did Soros mean by highlighting the need for democratic change in Malaysia?
'There is no Business like the Revolutions Business'
"First and foremost, one needs to understand Soros and his business model," Mathew Maavak, a doctoral researcher in Risk Foresight at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and regular contributor to CCTV told Sputnik.
"There is no business like the'revolutions business.' It is more lucrative than the show business which can flop due to an unforeseen shortcoming. Revolutions, on the other hand, only need to tap into the evergreen market of public discontent. NGOs and the West-friendly media constitute a major subsidiary of the global social revolutions enterprise. Together, they seek out, identify and amplify public discontent in nations not aligned to the United States. Such US-engineered activisms have never led to more equitable societies; rather they have engendered endless bloodshed and global terrorism," the researcher emphasized.
Maavak dubbed these human rights entities and philanthropists "agitprop entrepreneurs."
"To the agitprop entrepreneur, the returns on revolutionary investments are immense," he underscored.
"A wealthy hedge fund manager can short a targeted market before executing a pre-planned'revolution.' The resultant stock market and currency meltdown would provide self-evidentiary 'proof' to an anxious public, exerting more pressure on the government of the day to either capitulate or concede to 'popular demands' that are actually drafted abroad, likely by the IMF!"
"Therefore, even if a revolution fails, the subsequent economic fallout would render local assets cheap for foreign acquisition," the researcher remarked.
© AP Photo / Joshua Paul Malaysian men watch the trading board at a private stock market gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Soros' Alleged Role in Asian Financial Crisis of 1997
Maavak referred the Asian financial crisis in 1997, which started in Thailand with the financial collapse of the Thai baht, the country's national currency.
"That seemed like Soros business plan for Malaysia and the ASEAN region during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis," he noted.
Indeed, some observers blame George Soros for the slump. South China Morning Post's columnist Zhou Xin went even further, stressing that Soros, "whose aggressive currency trades were blamed for destroying the Thai and Malaysian economies" in 1997 made yet another attempt to destabilize Asia's economies by targeting Hong Kong markets in 1998.
"The entire region was in turmoil, and the name of George Soros featured prominently in this sordid saga. The 'Reformasi' [protest] movement led by sacked [Malaysian] Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim — who had close to ties to Washington hawks — failed to topple the government of the day," Maavak recalled.
The Reformasi, kicked off in September 1998, consisted of civil disobedience, demonstrations, sit-ins, rioting, occupations and online activism, involving thousands across Malaysia protesting against the government.
However, despite execrating Soros for his role in shorting the Malaysian currency, the ringgit, and for supporting the Reformasi movement, former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad did little to stem the vast NGO and alternative media networks that were being built by the Open Society Foundation and its affiliates, backed by the US State Department, Maavak pointed out.
"There was a good reason for Mahathir's lack of decisiveness, apart from the occasional arrests and police raids," Maavak suggested, "Upon stepping down from power, he used these same networks to oust his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and is now using the same Fifth Column to attempt the ouster of current Prime Minister Najib Razak."
© AP Photo / Vincent Thian Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak speaks at the opening ceremony of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A Series of Domino 'Color Revolutions' in Southeast Asia
"Without chaos in ASEAN, Soros and the transnational capitalist class may stand to lose a lot of money," the researcher suggested.
"They need Najib ousted as a prelude to a series of domino 'color revolutions' in the region. In Malaysia, the color chosen was yellow and it is used by the Bersih (Clean) coalition that probably sees [Democratic presidential nominee] Hillary Clinton as the paragon of virtue and transparent governance," he assumed.
© Flickr / Naval Surface Warriors Waning Influence: Washington Losing Its Grip and Its Allies in Asia Pacific
Maavak's prognosis is by no means groundless, given the fact that ASEAN countries have signaled their willingness to strengthen their ties with China, drifting away from Washington.
"Washington has suffered geopolitical setbacks in virtually every nation in Asia Pacific," Tony Cartalucci, a Bangkok-based geopolitical analyst, noted in his recent article for New Eastern Outlook, stressing that the US' influence is rapidly waning across the Asia Pacific region.
Bidding for hegemony in Asia Pacific US financial and political elite will do whatever it takes to curtail China's influence and pressure ASEAN economies into obeying Washington, according to Maavak.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.Just as the squeaky wheel gets the grease, the disgruntled little boy shouting "Me!" at the top of his lungs gets the foul ball.
Granted, the latter isn't as catchy, but it is what happened as the Los Angeles Dodgers took on Team Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.
The Big Lead's Ryan Glasspiegel spotted this video that proves once and for all that life's tiny disappointments can be corrected with shouting and nearby ladies in Dodgers hats coming to your aid. Go ahead and use that wisdom appropriately.
As you see, a Dodgers player smacks a lazy foul ball off to the left side of the field, which is corralled by an Australian player. He then spots a kid in the stands and flips the ball in his direction.
Sometimes, the simplest gestures can go awry, and the baseball hits the wall and falls to the ground. The security guard now has the moment for which he has trained his entire life. Sadly, he fails, giving the baseball to another young fan who wasn't initially targeted.
Ah, that's just how these things go. Right?
Wrong, because the adorable kid in yellow turns into a tiny Hulk and lets his frustration get the better of him. A nearby Dodgers fan alerts the other kid that this poor fellow was supposed to get the ball.
That's when we pause this breakdown to applaud the other kid who decides there are more important things in life than free foul balls: The simple tranquility of a baseball game devoid of screaming kids comes to mind.
He gives the ball to the kid and the game, as well as all of our lives, can continue as previously scheduled.
I rather enjoyed the announcers' takes as one chimes in with, "And that's the right decision," giving way to his colleague announcing, "Look at all the autographs on the jersey. That's what baseball is all about."
Well, it really depends on your loyalties. Chicago Cubs fans would rather the child not get the ball, because such disappointments make up the entirety of the baseball experience.
But this young fan got exactly what he wanted, proving that a day at the ballpark can indeed be everything that you want it to be.
You just need to be a cute kid with a strong voice who may or may not have a striking resemblance to a young Anakin Skywalker.
Now, if this is how the rest of the weekend goes, they are going to have an extremely successful trip Down Under.
Hit me up on Twitter:
Follow @gabezalWhen Whispers interviewed Jesse Ventura in June, the former non-partisan Minnesota governor made an "out-there" suggestion about how to hold today's politicians more accountable.
"I think that all congressmen, senators, when they campaign should wear NASCAR racing suits," Ventura said. "They [could] have their sponsors, or donors, on big patches. Then we can learn as citizens who owns [which] candidate."
A month later, the Internet has gifted us Speaker of the House John Boehner in a—drum roll please—NASCAR racing suit.
The image, which appears to have been created by "crandyj1220" on Pinterest, lists Boehner's biggest contributor as AT&T, which gave the Speaker $77,300, followed by First Energy Corp., which donated $47,800. Also featured on Boehner's racing suit is a Micky Mouse patch, to represent the Walt Disney Co., as well as big GE and Citigroup logos.
Source: upworthy.com via Upworthy on Pinterest
A full list of the Speaker's contributors can be found at Open Secrets.
Elizabeth Flock is a staff writer for U.S. News & World Report. You can contact her at eflock@usnews.com or follow her on Twitter and Facebook.Another 490 commits landed in WebKit’s repository last week, together with a massive 938 commits to Chromium’s, totaling up to 1,428 changesets. This week’s highlights include the ability to completely disable cache in Web Inspector, per-user proxies and quite some changes to Chromium.
Whereas using proxies on Chromium OS used to be system-wide, thus shared among all users and networks, Kuan Tan has added support for more flexible per-user and per-network proxies. Especially for those using corporate networks, as well as personal ones, this is a very welcome enhancement.
Another notable addition is that active audio streams will now be displayed on the chrome://media-internals/ page. So if you’re one of these people with hundreds of tabs open when one of them starts making noise, now you know where to find which tab to close.
Web Inspector won’t pause anymore for caught exceptions in the console, can now import and export data in the Timeline Panel (also with some keyboard short-cuts), support for disabling cache altogether was implemented and a sidebar’s width can now be restored correctly.
As for specification related updates, using the “none” value when using multiple backgrounds will no longer break other images. Calculating the height of replaced elements has been fixed according to CSS 2.1 content height rules, support for HyBi WebSocket Frames has been added and the microphone icon for right-to-left input elements will now be positioned correctly, just like numeric input types have also been fixed for rtl.
v8’s implementation of serializing script values has been brought up to speed with the specification, a Ping-From header will now be included for cross-origin, non-secured connections when clicking <a ping> anchors, three new SVG elements won’t collapse anymore when paginating content.
Other changes which occurred last week:
And that’ll be all for this week again. Things to watch out for this week will be work on CSS Flexbox and Regions, as well as more media related commits.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption In 2013, the government did shut down in a row over healthcare
Congress has struck a budget deal to avert a government shutdown, but it allocates no cash for President Donald Trump's proposed US-Mexico border wall.
The $1tr (£770bn) agreement to keep the US government running until 30 September was reached on Sunday night.
While there was no money for a wall, Republicans managed to secure $1.5bn in spending on border security.
Lawmakers are expected to vote on the package in the coming days. Full details are yet to be made public.
The deal comes after Congress approved a temporary spending bill that averted a government shutdown at the weekend.
That gave Congress one more week to work out federal spending for the last five months of the fiscal year.
The failure to act would have closed national parks and monuments and left hundreds of thousands of government employees without pay.
The last shutdown, in 2013, lasted for 17 days.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The divided newlyweds split over Trump's performance
What about Trump's wall?
White House demands for the spending bill to include a down payment on a barrier along the southern border have come to naught.
The $1.5bn for border security in the new budget comes with key caveats.
The Trump administration can only spend the money on repairs to existing fencing, infrastructure and technology, according to US media.
Nor has the administration succeeded in its plan to eliminate funding for so-called US sanctuary cities, which shelter undocumented immigrants.
However, Mr Trump insists he will still get money for his key campaign promise in a new spending bill this autumn.
The Republican president told a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday night: "We'll build the wall, people, don't even worry about it."
What are the wins for Democrats?
Democrats say they torpedoed from the spending bill 160 policy measures, known as riders, that they labelled "poison pills".
According to reports, none of Mr Trump's calls for $18bn in non-defence cuts are included.
Democrats also fended off potential cuts to Planned Parenthood, a family-planning group abhorred by social conservatives because it provides abortions.
The 1,600-page spending bill reportedly gives retired coal miners $1.3bn in health benefits, a priority of two Democratic senators.
Democrats have also secured $295m to help Puerto Rico continue making payments to the Medicaid health insurance programme for the poor, and $100m to combat opioid addiction.
And New York Democrats secured $61m of funding to reimburse law enforcement agencies for the cost of protecting Mr Trump when he travels to his residences in Florida and New York.
Furthermore, the deal increases funding for the National Institutes of Health, despite the Trump administration's calls to reduce the medical research agency's budget.
Last week, Democrats also wrung from the White House a concession that the bill would not target subsidies paid to insurers to keep Obamacare costs down for low-income patients.
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "The bill ensures taxpayer dollars aren't used to fund an ineffective border wall, excludes poison-pill riders, and increases investments in programs that the middle-class relies on."
What are the wins for Trump?
President Trump has won $12.5bn in extra funding for defence spending.
However, that falls short of the $30bn sought by his budget blueprint.
The spending package would save him and congressional Republicans the embarrassment of presiding over a government shutdown.
"We couldn't be more pleased," US Vice-President Mike Pence said in an interview on CBS This Morning.
But Jim Jordan, chairman of the House of Representatives Freedom Caucus, said he and fellow hardline conservatives were "disappointed".
Republicans control the Congress, Senate and White House, but Democratic votes are still needed to pass the bill.On New Year’s Day, outside the central railway station in Cologne, Germany, dozens of women were sexually assaulted by a pressing crowd of men, groping them, slipping their hands under their clothes, trying to kiss them, trying to rape them; the mass crime, fuelled by alcohol, could have arisen in any number of places in the Western world. It’s why many women, myself included, will fear the hooting and hollering of groups of men after dark, whether it’s on St. Patrick’s Day or after a sporting event (win or lose, it never matters, the men find it an excuse to revenge themselves upon civic order).
What made the attacks in Cologne different was that the shellshocked police force claimed the attack was perpetrated by men of “Middle Eastern and North African origin.”
Thus began a feeding frenzy on the whole of the far right, Thus began a feeding frenzy on the whole of the far right, clamouring with renewed vitriol against the million Syrian refugees Germany took in this past year, asylum seekers and immigrants in general, and Muslims (even though the Cologne Police never ascribed a religion to the drink-besotted mob). Amidst the online outrage is the claim that feminists and leftists are hypocrites, caring about women’s rights only when white men can be blamed as oppressors, and the false claim that we have been silent about the New Year’s sex attacks.
Yet, as one might expect, such people project a fantasy onto us, ignoring the fact that this crime has sparked ample condemnation from feminists around the world. Local German feminists took to the streets of Cologne to highlight not only the police’s lackadaisical protection of women that night, but the larger plague of sexual violence (committed by white German men as well as non-white) throughout the country, refusing to scapegoat refugees and immigrants for a wider social problem. It was, after all, the city police (hardly in the thrall of poor refugees) who suggested a “code of conduct” for women who wished to avoid being raped.
As two German feminists, Stefanie Lohaus and Anne Wizroek As two German feminists, Stefanie Lohaus and Anne Wizroek wrote in Vice recently :
“Sexual assaults and even rape happen every year at big events like Oktoberfest. ‘The way to the toilet alone is like running the gauntlet: within 50 feet, you can be sure to tally three hugs from drunken strangers, two pats on the ass, someone looking up your dirndl and some beer purposely splashed right down your cleavage,’ wrote Karoline Beisel and Beate Wild in 2011, in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. An average of 10 reported rapes take place each year at Oktoberfest. The estimated number of unreported cases is 200.”
Where were the newfound defenders of “women’s rights” back then? Perhaps they were upholding Germany’s troublingly archaic laws around rape, which require the victim to prove that they fought back against their attacker. Meanwhile, as this open letter from a multi-ethnic group of German feminists points out, sexual harassment isn’t even a criminal offence in Germany. The anti-immigrant “culture warriors” would be hard pressed to argue this is the result of ‘medievalist Muslim dominion’ over Germany’s legal system.
The women who suffered the attacks in Cologne–and in other German cities on that fateful morning– are now being used as mute props by nationalists and xenophobes who never gave a damn about rape before. According to both the BBC and Deutsche Welle, actual victims of the attacks do not want the crimes inflicted upon them to be used against all refugees in the nation. “It would be wrong to blame refugees,” a young woman named Michelle told BBC correspondent Jenny Hill. “They need our help.”
***
This is not the first time that women have been used by reactionary forces as a wedge upon a progressive consensus, and it’s hardly a coincidence that the white woman raped and violated by a foreigner or a non-white man is a figure of ecstatic worship amongst white nationalists and xenophobes. Women cannot speak, in their world; we are metaphors and ciphers for the nation as a whole, clad in its colours, and nothing so much as the symbol of its violation by the impure Other. Our own thoughts and understanding of sexual violence never count in this dark vision of the world, especially not when that sexual violation is visited upon us by white men or men of rank and station.
Slightly less callow people, like philosopher and men’s rights activist Christina Hoff-Sommers, argue that it is indeed morally wrong to blame all refugees or Muslims for the sex crimes in Germany, but only because it “is to be like gender warriors who blame all men.”
This language is mirrored by those who seek to deflect feminist criticism of male entitlement, even if they ignore Sommers’ warning against xenophobia. When, for example, I debated members of the GamerGate harassment campaign, arguing that even their less toxic members bore responsibility for creating an environment where bigotry and abuse flourished, I was This language is mirrored by those who seek to deflect feminist criticism of male entitlement, even if they ignore Sommers’ warning against xenophobia. When, for example, I debated members of the GamerGate harassment campaign, arguing that even their less toxic members bore responsibility for creating an environment where bigotry and abuse flourished, I was accused of treating them the way Islamophobes treat Muslims after a terrorist attack. This line of un-reasoning rests on a false equivalence but it’s not enough to simply say that one situation is different from the other.
How most feminists respond (or should respond, at any rate–we have an Islamophobia problem of our own) to these distinct cases says a lot about differing philosophical approaches to seemingly intractable structural problems like terrorism.
First and foremost, I and First and foremost, I and many other feminists do indeed blame toxic masculinity for widespread social terror, from gang rapes to mass shootings, or point to the role of misogyny in cases of extreme white supremacist violence like that of the Charleston Massacre (Dylan Roof accused black men of “raping our women,” for instance) or the terror in Norway committed by Anders Bering Breivik who believed, among other things, that “feminising” of Scandinavia left white women, and the whole Norwegian nation, ripe for rape at the hands of |
donated $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation that year.
Epstein was also a regular visitor to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, and the two were friends. According to the Daily Mail, Trump was a frequent dinner guest at Epstein’s home, which was often full of barely dressed models. In 2003, New York magazine reported that Trump also attended a dinner party at Epstein’s honoring Bill Clinton.
Last year, The Guardian reported that Epstein’s “little black book” contained contact numbers for A-listers including Tony Blair, Naomi Campbell, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Bloomberg and Richard Branson.
In a 2006 court filing, Palm Beach police noted that a search of Epstein’s home uncovered two hidden cameras. The Mirror reported that in 2015, a 6-year-old civil lawsuit filed by “Jane Doe No. 3,” believed to be the now-married Giuffre, alleged that Epstein wired his mansion with hidden cameras, secretly recording orgies involving his prominent friends and underage girls. The ultimate purpose: blackmail, according to court papers.
“Jane Doe No. 3” also alleged that she had been forced to have sex with “numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, a well-known prime minister, and other world leaders.”
“We uncovered a lot of details about the police investigation and a lot about the girls, what happened to them, the effect on their lives,” Patterson says.
“The reader has to ask: Was justice done here or not?”
Epstein, now 63, has always been something of an international man of mystery. Born in Brooklyn, he had a middle-class upbringing: His father worked for the Parks Department, and his parents stressed hard work and education.
‘We uncovered a lot of details about the police investigation and a lot about the girls, what happened to them, the effect on their lives.’ - James Patterson
Epstein was brilliant, skipping two grades and graduating Lafayette High School in 1969. He attended Cooper Union but dropped out in 1971 and by 1973 was teaching calculus and physics at Dalton, where he tutored the son of a Bear Stearns exec. Soon, Epstein applied his facility with numbers on Wall Street but left Bear Stearns under a cloud in 1981. He formed his own business, J. Epstein & Co.
The bar for entry at the new firm was high. According to a 2002 profile in New York magazine, Epstein only took on clients who turned over $1 billion, at minimum, for him to manage. Clients also had to pay a flat fee and sign power of attorney over to Epstein, allowing him to do whatever he saw fit with their money.
Still, no one knew exactly what Epstein did, or how he was able to amass a personal billion-dollar-plus fortune. In addition to a block-long, nine-story mansion on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Epstein owns the $6.8 million mansion in Palm Beach, an $18 million property in New Mexico, the 70-acre private Caribbean island, a helicopter, a Gulfstream IV and a Boeing 727.
“My belief is that Jeff maintains some sort of money-management firm, though you won’t get a straight answer from him,” one high-level investor told New York magazine. “He once told me he had 300 people working for him, and I’ve also heard that he manages Rockefeller money. But one never knows. It’s like looking at the Wizard of Oz — there may be less there than meets the eye.”
“He’s very enigmatic,” Rosa Monckton told Vanity Fair in 2003. Monckton was the former British CEO of Tiffany & Co. and confidante to the late Princess Diana. She was also a close friend of Epstein’s since the 1980s. “He never reveals his hand... He’s a classic iceberg. What you see is not what you get.”
Both profiles intimated that Epstein had a predilection for young women but never went further. In the New York magazine piece, Trump said Epstein’s self-professed image as a loner, an egghead and a teetotaler was not wholly accurate.
“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years,” Trump said. “Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
Three years after that profile ran, Palm Beach Police Officer Michele Pagan got a disturbing message. A woman reported that her 14-year-old stepdaughter confided to a friend that she’d had sex with an older man for money. The man’s name was Jeff, and he lived in a mansion on a cul-de-sac.
Pagan persuaded the woman to bring her stepdaughter down to be interviewed. In his book, Patterson calls the girl Mary. And Mary, like so many of the other girls who eventually talked, came from the little-known working-class areas surrounding Palm Beach.
A friend of a friend, Mary said, told her she could make hundreds of dollars in one hour, just for massaging some middle-aged guy’s feet. Lots of other girls had been doing it, some three times a week.
Mary claimed she had been driven to the mansion on El Brillo Way, where a female staffer escorted her up a pink-carpeted staircase, then into a room with a massage table, an armoire topped with sex toys and a photo of a little girl pulling her underwear off.
Epstein entered the room, wearing only a towel, Mary said.
“He took off the towel,” Mary told Pagan. “He was a really built guy. But his wee-wee was very tiny.”
Mary said Epstein got on the table and barked orders at her. She told police she was alone in the room with him, terrified.
Pagan wrote the following in her incident report:
“She removed her pants, leaving her thong panties on. She straddled his back, whereby her exposed buttocks were touching Epstein’s exposed buttocks. Epstein then turned to his side and started to rub his penis in an up-and-down motion. Epstein pulled out a purple vibrator and began to massage Mary’s vaginal area.”
Palm Beach assigned six more detectives to the investigation. They conducted a “trash pull” of Epstein’s garbage, sifting through paper with phone numbers, used condoms, toothbrushes, worn underwear. In one pull, police found a piece of paper with Mary’s phone number on it, along with the number of the person who recruited her.
On Sept. 11, 2005, detectives got another break. Alison, as she’s called in the book, told Detective Joe Recarey that she had been going to Epstein’s house since she was 16. Alison had been working at the Wellington Green Mall, saving up for a trip to Maine, when a friend told her, “You can get a plane ticket in two hours... We can go give this guy a massage and he’ll pay $200,” according to her statement to the police.
Alison told Recarey that she visited Epstein hundreds of times. She said he had bought her a new 2005 Dodge Neon, plane tickets, and gave her spending money. Alison said he even asked her to emancipate from her parents so she could live with him full-time as his “sex slave.”
She said Epstein slowly escalated his sexual requests, and despite Alison’s insistence that they never have intercourse, alleged, “This one time... he bent me over the table and put himself in me. Without my permission.”
Alison then asked if what Epstein had done to her was rape and spoke of her abject fear of him.
An abridged version of her witness statement, as recounted in the book:
Alison: Before I say anything else... um, is there a possibility that I’m gonna have to go to court or anything?
Recarey: I mean, what he did to you is a crime. I’m not gonna lie to you.
Alison: Would you consider it rape, what he did?
Recarey: If he put himself inside you without permission... That, that is a crime. That is a crime.
Alison: I don’t want my family to find out about this... ’Cause Jeffrey’s gonna get me. You guys realize that, right?... I’m not safe now. I’m not safe.
Recarey: Why do you say you’re not safe? Has he said he’s hurt people before?
Alison: Well, I’ve heard him make threats to people on the telephone, yeah. Of course.
Recarey: You’re gonna die? You’re gonna break your legs? Or —
Alison: All of the above!
Alison also told Recarey that Epstein got so violent with her that he ripped out her hair and threw her around. “I mean,” she said, “there’s been nights that I walked out of there barely able to walk, um, from him being so rough.”
Two months later, Recarey interviewed Epstein’s former house manager of 11 years, documented in his probable-cause affidavit as Mr. Alessi. “Alessi stated Epstein receives three massages a day... towards the end of his employment, the masseuses... appeared to be 16 or 17 years of age at the most... [Alessi] would have to wash off a massager/vibrator and a long rubber penis, which were in the sink after the massage.”
Another house manager, Alfredo Rodriguez, told Recarey that very young girls were giving Epstein massages at least twice a day, and in one instance, Epstein had Rodriguez deliver one dozen roses to Mary, at her high school.
In May 2006, the Palm Beach Police Department filed a probable-cause affidavit, asking prosecutors to charge Epstein with four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor — a second-degree felony — and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a 14-year-old minor, also a second-degree felony.
Today, Jeffrey Epstein is a free man, albeit one who routinely settles civil lawsuits against him, brought by young women, out of court.
Palm Beach prosecutors said the evidence was weak, and after presenting the case to a grand jury, Epstein was charged with only one count of felony solicitation of prostitution. In 2008, he pleaded guilty and nominally served 13 months of an 18-month sentence in a county jail: Epstein spent one day a week there, the other six out on “work release.”
Today, Jeffrey Epstein is a free man, albeit one who routinely settles civil lawsuits against him, brought by young women, out of court. As of 2015, Epstein had settled multiple such cases.
Giuffre has sued Ghislaine Maxwell in Manhattan federal court, charging defamation — saying Maxwell stated Giuffre lied about Maxwell’s recruitment of her and other underage girls. Epstein has been called upon to testify in court this month, on Oct. 20.
The true number of Epstein’s victims may never be known.
He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life, not that it fazes him.
“I’m not a sexual predator, I’m an ‘offender,’ ” Epstein told The Post in 2011. “It’s the difference between a murderer and a person who steals a bagel.”The story of millions of Lego pieces washing up on beaches attracted huge interest when first told by the Magazine. The list of places where the toys have been spotted is still growing.
Beachcomber Tracey Williams has been picking up Lego along the Cornish coastline ever since a container spill dumped millions of the toy pieces into the sea in 1997.
Since the curious tale was reported by the Magazine, dozens of people have contacted Williams to say they, too, have found parts of the much-loved toy scattered on shores.
They mostly got in touch via the Facebook page she set up about the drifting toy pieces from various Lego sets, many of which were nautical-themed.
Most of the people who've contacted her found Lego around Cornwall, she says. "From what I've been told, Perranporth is a hotspot for brooms, and the Lizard seems to be a hotspot for octopuses."
Brighton, East Sussex, some 300 miles away, is the furthest confirmed report she has received to the east along England's southern coastline. But some of the sightings have come from much further afield.
Nearly 4.8 million Lego toy parts fell overboard from the Tokio Express container ship in a storm off Land's End on 13 February 1997.
Williams says the pieces which now drift up on an "almost daily basis" in numerous locations are flippers, spear guns, seagrass, scuba tanks and life preservers.
Image copyright Robin Markland Image caption River Markland, age four, found this octopus at Castle Beach in Falmouth
Image copyright Ella Robinson Image caption This Lego dragon was found on a beach in Brighton by artist Ella Robinson
Image copyright Michelle Costello Image caption Laura Ferris, 11, found these assorted Lego items at Penhale near Perranporth, Cornwall
Image copyright Patricia Denis Image caption Patricia Denis found a Lego flipper, similar to those from the Tokio Express, in Melbourne, Australia
Elsewhere there have been sightings of the lost Lego in the Gower Peninsula, Wales, and seagrass, spear guns, life preservers and scuba tanks have been found recently at Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire during beach cleans.
Finds have been made abroad too, at Waterville beach in Kerry, Ireland, where an octopus matching those lost from the Tokio Express was found around 2007. Also, another octopus was taken recently to a beachcomber's fair in Florida, which had been found earlier this year at the western end of Galveston Island in Texas.
Williams was also told that someone took Lego to a beachcombers' fair in the United States and claimed it had been found in Texel, in the Netherlands.
And a blue Lego diver's flipper was found "some time in the last five years" on a beach at Port Phillip in Melbourne, Australia, which theoretically could be from the Tokio Express.
Williams has also been told of a fisherman in Cornwall who often brings up Lego when trawling in his boat 25 miles offshore, south of Newlyn.
The items caught in his nets, which are still coming up today, include toy roof tiles, door frames, car chassis, octopuses, seaweed and a lot of bricks.
Lost Lego Pieces
Cargo included:
Toy kits - Divers, Aquazone, Aquanauts, Police, FrightKnights, WildWest, RoboForce TimeCruisers, Outback, Pirates
Spear guns (red and yellow) - 13,000 items
Black octopus - 4,200
Yellow life preserver - 26,600
Diver flippers (in pairs: black, blue, red) - 418,000
Dragons (black and green) - 33,941
Brown ship rigging net - 26,400
Daisy flowers (in fours - white, red, yellow) - 353,264
Scuba and breathing apparatus (grey) - 97,500
Total of 4,756,940 Lego pieces lost overboard in a single container
Estimated 3,178,807 may be light enough to have floated
Source: Beachcombers' Alert, vol 2. No 2 1997
Other people to contact Williams include a teacher in - aptly enough - Cornwall, Connecticut, in the United States, who plans to teach pupils about the spillage, and university students in the UK who want to use the Lego to study microplastic in the oceans.
"Some people have suggested that divers should go down and try to locate the lost container," Williams says.
"One man contacted me to say he could put a team together to attempt this. Another wants to create a theatre piece based on the whole story.
"It's great that all this interest raises awareness of the whole issue of marine debris and ocean pollution, especially when it's among children."
Lego has said the Tokio Express incident was "very unfortunate" but ultimately had nothing to do with the Lego Group.
The company did express an "overall concern for the environment" and said it was focused on eliminating waste at its production sites which could potentially become marine litter.
Image copyright Ally Atkinson Image caption These pieces were found by Ally Atkinson in the Lizard, Gunwalloe and Poldhu in southern Cornwall
Image copyright Ruth Pickard Image caption Members of the Pickard family hold some of the dragons found by their relative Margaret, when in her 80s
Image copyright Rosy Semmens Image caption These items were caught in a fisherman's net 25 miles out to sea off the Cornish coast
Image copyright Sarah Matthews Image caption This piece of plastic appears to be part of a Lego crate, which may have contained some of the lost toys
Other parts of the lost cargo seem to have come to light also. Sarah Matthews, 58, of Fowey, Cornwall, says she found a piece of a broken Lego crate after the container spill occurred.
"It's part of a lid and was washed ashore after a storm, mixed up with seaweed. I think it was on Poldridmouth beach and I found it in 1999 or 2000.
"It's lived in my garden ever since, but I'm going to give it to Tracey."
According to a report in the Times in March 1997, car parts, including cartridges which explode to inflate air bags, were also believed to be carried within some of the other lost containers. The Lloyd's List maritime journal reported a few days after the spillage that the cargo also contained wheelbarrow wheels and thousands of lighters.
Only three containers from the lost load were recovered intact - the rest were assumed to have sunk and were not considered a hazard for shipping, the journal added.
US oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, who has tracked the story of the Lego since it was spilled, says the Gulf Stream ocean current comes over from the United States and then "impinges on the UK, like hitting a knife edge" around Land's End.
"Looking at the map, it seems like the current is pushing drifters - the pieces of Lego - up the English Channel and they're probably now entering the North Sea.
"And they also seem to be getting pushed up the west coast of the UK also, judging by the finds that have been made there."
Ebbesmeyer believes the claim of a Lego item from the Tokio Express being found in the Netherlands is "probably true" but says he is less sure about some of the other international finds.
"Lego is a popular toy and kids leave them on beaches all around the world," he said. "It's difficult to know whether they're from this container spill.
"But the octopus found in Texas could be from the Tokio Express. It matches the drift pattern across the Atlantic. Hard to know for sure, but it is possible."
Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.PROCESS Crystal Princess Cadence Custom Plush for
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nazegorengcraftsTumblr: www.nazegoreng.tumblr.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/Nazegoreng----------------------- - See page & journal for details------------------------Cadence is made from blush, hot pink, lilac and yellow minky.
Her eyes, regalia and cutiemark were embroidered with a Brother Innovis 750D embroidery machine, Madiera Rayon embroidery thread, and Bernina V6 embroidery software. The eyes were designed and digitised by me. Her pattern was also designed by me. Her hooves contain poly pellets so she can stand well on her own. She is 20 inches to the top of her head. She has flat hooves and 3d sculpted ears. Her entire body, hair and regalia have been extensively airbrushed to create the crystal effect, and she is still very soft.
Please do not ask for the pattern, under no circumstance will I be giving it out.
COMMENTS
Itty bitty alicorn!! Well not really, but in comparison to my 25" Luna she is XD. I had to keep myself entertained while I'm waiting for commission fabric to arrive so I decided that husbandhorse needed his wifehorse. And since I haven't made a crystal pony in AGES I figured it was time to give it another shot. I decided to make her with her regular hair and eyes rather than her crystal look, since I didn't really like her crystal hairdo XD. She was a breeze to make compared to my large alicorns. I love her so much!
PLEASE zoom in to check out her details!
Itty bitty alicorn!! Well not really, but in comparison to my 25" Luna she is XD. I had to keep myself entertained while I'm waiting for commission fabric to arrive so I decided that husbandhorse needed his wifehorse. And since I haven't made a crystal pony in AGES I figured it was time to give it another shot. I decided to make her with her regular hair and eyes rather than her crystal look, since I didn't really like her crystal hairdo XD. She was a breeze to make compared to my large alicorns. I love her so much!PLEASE zoom in to check out her details!There is no right time or right way to talk about my mental illness, but I must talk about it. For my own sake, for the sake of any man who is interested in me and the friends and family who spend time with me, and for the sake of all the other people out there who can’t talk about their own mental illness. I am a privileged sufferer of mental illness and I must use my status to erase the stigma for those who aren’t so privileged.
I come from a white, middle class, loving home in a first-world country. My dad’s health insurance covers my psychiatrist fees and my family’s warmth covers my open wounds. I was born strong-willed and unashamed to be different and I was born averagely intelligent. I’ve grown to become averagely well-read, well-spoken, and attractive. I am a privileged sufferer.
Getting treatment, while not at all easy, is much simpler for me than for those of us who have the added barrier of being uninsured, or part of a lower economic class, or have a different skin color, or live in a different location, or have a less loving support system. Having the will to even face the challenge of treatment is much easier for me than my less hard-headed counterparts. Feeling confident in sharing my struggles with people is far easier for me than my counterparts who fear being different, are not as well-spoken, and don’t have a pretty face — because every time I tell a romantic interest of mine that I have BPD, I see his eyes clicking through the math to determine if I am otherwise successful enough, intelligent enough, and attractive enough for him to put up with my crazy. What if I were ugly, dumb, or unsuccessful? He probably wouldn’t deem me worthy of his effort — as disgusting as that is.
So, for all of those deemed not worth the effort by romantic interests, loved ones, friends, the healthcare system, your school, your job, or society: I see you. I hear you. I will be your voice and I will fight for you.
You deserve to know that you are loved and appreciated. You are unique in the most positive sense. Your struggles are real, they’re challenging, and they deserve to be addressed. You are not alone. Even when you feel like you have nobody else, remember that you have me. I am holding your hand as we trudge through this desolate landscape together. I am hugging you tightly when you feel there is no love in this world for you. I am grabbing your wrists before you slice them, before you stick your hand down your throat, and before you throw a punch at the partner who loves you.
I see you curled into a ball, hunched over a toilet, standing on a bridge. I hear you sobbing, screaming, pleading. I feel you hurting, your heart tearing, your soul crushing.
You are not alone. I am here. And I am not going anywhere.These are external links and will open in a new window
These are external links and will open in a new window
These are external links and will open in a new window
Image copyright 4Chan
It's still unclear who hacked incoming French President Emmanuel Macron's emails. But what does the way they then spread across the internet tell us about the way hackers and political movements work in tandem?
It was a huge story that broke in the very final hours of coverage of France's presidential election campaign. But whoever dumped the leaked Macron emails online, did not by themselves turn them into a global topic of discussion. That job was left to a network of political activists, aided by bots and automated accounts, and then ultimately signal boosted by the Twitter account of WikiLeaks.
BBC Trending has spoken to the main activist who took the data dump from a fringe message board to the mainstream - and we've pieced together the story of how the hack came to light.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Emmanuel Macron promised his cheering supporters he would fight to heal France's divisions as he was elected France's youngest president
Just before 19:00 BST on Friday 5 May, a huge trove of files appeared on the anonymous document sharing site Pastebin, under the title "EMLEAKS".
They had first been posted on various threads on an online library site called archive.org. However, as these threads have since been deleted, it's not possible to gauge what time this first happened.
The timing is crucial. It was just hours before the start of the pre-election news blackout within France, and so media outlets acted with extreme caution. However, a network of online actors moved quickly to spread the leaks.
Those who monitor internet politics know all about "/pol/". It's the anarchic political discussion forum on the anonymous messaging board 4chan, and although frequented by video gamers and internet culture obsessives, it's also a favoured hangout for a number of political activists associated with extreme right-wing groups.
By 19:35 on 5 May, a link to the Pastebin files appeared on /pol/. The only detail about the identity of posters on the forum is a flag signifying the country of their computer's registered IP address. However, these are easy to fake.
A Latvian connection?
The /pol/ forum is crucial to the story, because rumours of a data dump seem to have been circulating there for several days previously. On Wednesday 3 May, two days before the email leaks, a user on separate thread on the board posted a different set of documents - ones which suggested Macron had a secret bank account in the Cayman Islands.
There was vigorous debate on the board about whether the documents had been doctored. Macron's political movement, En Marche!, said they were fake and filed a lawsuit over the online rumours.
Those first documents were posted from a user who had a Latvian IP address. But it's likely they were faking their location.
"This user is probably not from Latvia, and used a proxy to hide their identity from 4chan," says Jules Darmanin, a reporter at BuzzFeed News France.
That account is backed up by a later post by the user themselves, who said "I am not in Latvia". The poster boasted of using proxy servers - a mechanism by which users can mask or fake their location online. "Seven proxies" is also a reference to an old 4chan joke about the ease of hiding online:
Image copyright Twitter
The user who dumped the Macron emails on Friday had a US flag included in their post on 4chan. But of course, they too could have been using a proxy.
The leak goes mainstream
The man who popularised the data dump says he was expecting it and was poised to spread it. Fourteen minutes after the Friday leaks on 4chan, at 19:49 BST, Jack Posobiec, a journalist who writes for far-right Canadian outlet Rebel Media, posted a link to the thread to Twitter using the hashtag #MacronLeaks.
He told BBC Trending that the user with the Latvian IP address, responsible for the first anti-Macron leak, had alerted him to the upcoming dump.
"The same poster of the financial documents said to stay tuned tomorrow for a bigger story - so I pretty much spent the next 24 hours hitting refresh on the site," he told us.
Image copyright Twitter
How did Posobiec's tweet go viral so fast? It was reportedly retweeted 87 times in the first five minutes, suggesting, says Ben Nimmo at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, that the message was being boosted with the help of bots.
"A bot is a Twitter profile which does not have a single human operator behind it," Nimmo tells BBC Trending, "For its profile picture it will have an image of someone else or a random picture like a mountain or a bird. it will be run by a computer programme, by an algorithm, which will essentially retweet everything from listed accounts or to retweet any tweets that mention certain words. So it is fully automated."
outside of France. Initially those sharing these messages were mostly English speakers, rather than French speakers. There were some fully automated accounts spreading the tag - but it wasn't just bots. Thousands of real people shared the tweet too. Several accounts that specialise in political messaging, in this case linked to the US " alt-right " movement, shared Posobiec's tweet. It's notable that this happened mostlyof France. Initially those sharing these messages were mostly English speakers, rather than French speakers.
Wikileaks
The biggest initial boost, however, came not with bots or alt-right activists, but in the form of the official WikiLeaks Twitter account, which shared the 4chan link in a cautiously worded post.
Image copyright Twitter
The leaks then began being shared by well-known National Front accounts, this time in French. Around 47,000 tweets were posted in three hours and the hashtag #MacronLeaks began to trend in France. By Saturday morning, it had reached the worldwide trend list. Crucially, this meant the story was spreading, despite reporting restrictions in force in France.
Discord
By this time, an informal and global network of political activists was working hard to spread the story. Conversations in private, English-speaking, pro-Le Pen groups on the messaging app Discord were discussing how to amplify Posobiec's hashtag and use internet-friendly memes to further discredit Macron.
Image copyright Discord
Image copyright Discord
The political response
As the reporting restrictions approached and the hashtag reached full volume, politicians from both camps scrambled to respond. Florian Philippot, the vice president of Marine Le Pen's National Front, responded to the story at 22:40 BST (23:40 French time) by tweeting "Will #MacronLeaks teach us something that investigative journalism has deliberately killed?"
Sylvain Fort, a campaign spokesman for Emmanuel Macron, responded by calling Philippot's tweet "vile".
Image copyright Twitter Image caption "Vile"
Five minutes before the restrictions were due to start, Macron's team released a press release condemning the leak, saying that they had been subject to a "massive and coordinated piracy action".
4chan's owner Hiroyuki Nisimura tweeted, attempting to distance his site from the leaks.
Image copyright Twitter
Who's behind it all?
It still remains unclear who is behind the leaks. But the Macron campaign said that some of the sites spreading the leaks were "linked to Russian interests."
Similar allegations have been made in the past. In March 2017, David Grout, from cybersecurity firm FireEye, told BBC Trending that there appeared to be "interest from Russian hacking group APT 28, also known as Fancy Bear, in influencing the French election." After the latest leak, a number of cybersecurity firms have also attributed it to the APT 28 group.
The group has previously been accused of attacks on the Democratic National Committee during the US election.
More from BBC Trending: Conversations with hacker Guccifer 2.0
The Russian government has not commented on these allegations. In the past it's denied political meddling of this sort, saying they have "never interfered" with a foreign election.
The leak, and similar online activity, will continue to have political ramifications. So far, however, it seems not to have swayed most voters. On Sunday, France chose Macron as their next president, with 66% of the vote.
Image copyright Twitter
Blog by Megha Mohan
Additional reporting by Mike Wendling
You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.Donald Trump’s odds of being impeached in his first term as US president have been slashed in the past few days.
However, in something of a twist, bookmakers still make him the favourite to win the 2020 presidential election.
The odds of Mr Trump being impeached from the Oval Office tumbled after his sacking last week of former FBI director James Comey.
MORE: Jeremy Corbyn promises there’ll be ‘no more hand-holding with Donald Trump’ if he becomes PM
MORE: Five reasons why Donald Trump’s most fanatical supporters are turning on him
Mr Comey had been heading up an investigation into alleged interference by Russia in last year’s presidential election when he was fired.
Before the sacking, Irish bookmaker Paddy Power had Mr Trump of odds of 2/1 of being impeached, but since then it’s become more of a sure thing at 4/6.
A spokesman said: ‘We can attribute this to the news of Comey’s sacking. It is the shortest we’ve been for Trump to be impeached in his first term.’
Paddy Power said Mr Trump now has a 60% chance of being impeached during his first term of office.
Fellow bookmakers Bet365 and Betfair are slightly more optimistic about Mr Trump’s chances, offering odds of impeachment of 11/10.
Donald Trump’s is still favourite to win in 2020 (Picture: AP) More
And yet Mr Trump remains the favourite to win the US presidential election outright with all the bookmakers, according to bookies comparison site Odds Checker, with odds varying from 2/1 up to 11/4.
However, Bet365 is offering odds of 5/4 that Mr Trump will resign the presidency in his first term.
BetFred is offering odds of 8/13 that Mr Trump will last his entire first term in office.(Reuters) - Japan’s disgraced Olympus Corp (7733.T) may sell assets to help pay down $3.4 billion in debt under a plan aimed at keeping the support of lenders in its battle to survive an accounting scandal, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.
Men walk past a sign of Olympus Corp outside the company's showroom in Tokyo November 10, 2011. Tokyo's stock exchange warned scandal-hit Olympus Corp on Thursday it will be delisted after 62 years as a publicly traded company if it fails to report earnings by December 14, deepening concerns about the Japanese camera-maker's future. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Olympus’s bank creditors are crucial to its prospects of coming through the scandal, given the company is relatively highly geared and is expected to have to make some hefty writedowns once its accounts are put straight.
The once-proud maker of cameras and medical equipment put forward the proposal at a meeting with creditors on Wednesday, offering to cut its debt by about 260 billion yen ($3.38 billion) over the next three years, the Nikkei said.
“It appears to be considering selling assets as a means of repaying debts, in addition to tapping cash reserves and cash flow,” the newspaper said in an unsourced report, although it quoted a senior banker as saying Olympus did not face any imminent cash crunch.
The company has lost about 70 percent of its market value, and is under investigation by police and regulators, after admitting this month to hiding investment losses from investors for decades and using payments linked to mergers and acquisitions to aid the cover-up.
The M&A payments included a huge $687 million fee paid to obscure financial advisers for Olympus’s $2.2 billion purchase of UK medical equipment firm Gyrus in 2008. The fee is the world’s biggest, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Olympus has told its creditors that its acquisition costs for Gyrus were overstated by 33.4 billion yen ($434 million) at the end of fiscal 2010, the Nikkei said, though an independent panel commissioned by Olympus was still probing the matter.
The Asahi Shimbun newspaper said Olympus would have to write off this amount from its books, though it added that its equity would still exceed its net debt after this restatement.
At Wednesday’s meeting, which involved about 100 bankers, two major creditors, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) said they would continue to support the firm, multiple sources told Reuters.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp is the core banking unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T), and BTMU is the main unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T).
Olympus’ interest-bearing debts stood at about 650 billion yen ($8.45 billion) on a consolidated basis as of end-March. SMFG and BTMU have total loans of over 400 billion yen to the firm, which also borrowed about 100 billion yen in syndicated loans, according to banking sources.
Olympus’s battered shares have staged a comeback this week, on hopes the company can avoid a delisting from the Tokyo stock exchange and that the brunt of any punishment will fall instead on executives found responsible for the scandal.
Delisting would effectively cut the company off from equity capital markets and make it tougher for it to survive.
But some experts say it may be difficult to prevent delisting, given past precedents, the Tokyo exchange’s own rules and a sense in some quarters in Japan that the company deserves to be brought low for its failings.
Exchange rules state that a firm will be delisted if it has made “false statements” in its annual or half-year reports and those falsehoods would have a material impact on the shares.
($1 = 76.950 Japanese Yen)Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
A businessman from Carmarthen was left fuming after a boy posted a photo of himself jumping on the bonnet of his £250,000 McLaren sports car.
Three hours after getting the three-month old car back from repairs in Birmingham the owner had taken it for a spin in Port Talbot, before stopping for some dinner.
Despite getting a seat near the window so he could keep an eye on his pride and joy he said the first he knew of the idiot on the bonnet was when he spotted pictures "Kane Reynolds" had posted on Facebook.
In them the boy is seen standing |
Quin Snyder has in Utah. So is it simply a matter of Kidd's superior management skills, or a dash of veteran leadership that has made the difference?
Injuries
A few months after signing a $41 million extension, Alex Burks saw his season ended by a shoulder injury in December. First round pick Rodney Hood is also out after reaggravating a foot injury earlier this week.
No big news for the Bucks: Jabari Parker and Kendall Marshall are done for the season with ACL tears, though it was nice to see Jabari smiling in a suit behind the Bucks' bench on Monday. Damien Inglis (foot surgery) is in a similar spot, while Larry Sanders is out for at least the next few weeks as he serves his drug suspension.
Four Factors
The Jazz aren't slouches offensively -- they rank 16th in offensive efficiency thanks in no small part to their work on the offensive glass (2nd in offensive rebound rate). That's bad news for the Bucks, who looked positively hopeless on the defensive boards against the Raptors on Monday and have generally struggled to prevent second chances all season.
Still, the Jazz can't win consistently because of their defense, which ranks 27th overall, 24th in eFG% and 27th in turnover rate. They don't concede many threes (5th in fewest attempts allowed), but opponents make them when they do (28th in percentage allowed). Stylistically, they're in the top half of the league in both fewest fast break and paint points (13th) per game, areas where the Bucks have generally been quite good.
Key Matchup: Jazz Bigs vs. Bucks...Not-So-Bigs
Will the Bucks be burned by another big team?
Though Milwaukee ranks sixth in opponent paint points (39.3) and an impressive fourth in overall defensive efficiency, they've been prone to struggling against teams that can substantially outmuscle them down low, and the Jazz's trio of big men would certainly seem capable of doing so tonight. Favors had some big games against Larry Sanders the past two seasons, and Ersan Ilyasova's return to the starting five won't do anything to aid the Bucks' lack of bulk and rim protection up front.
As a result, you'd expect the Bucks to throw their usual dose of double teams and swarming defense at Utah down low, a strategy that could pay off given the Jazz a) turn it over plenty (25th in turnover rate) and b) struggle to make opponents pay from deep (bottom third in three point makes, attempts and efficiency).
Required Reading
Grantland: Sanders situations the talk of the league
Zach Lowe writes that the Larry Sanders Saga has inspired plenty of talk around the league...and it's not exactly encouraging.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo reported over the weekend that the Bucks had not yet discussed a potential buyout with Sanders, but most league sources expect the discussion to eventually go that direction. It's tempting to suggest the Bucks ride this out for a bit. Sanders is one of the league's best rim protectors. His development on offense has stalled out, but he has some potential on that end as a Tyson Chandler Lite - a guy who screens, dives to the rim, and sucks help defenders in from the perimeter. He needs time (and possibly a hand transplant) to approach even 60 percent of Chandler's value on offense, but his contract is fair in basketball terms. Milwaukee has a clean cap sheet going forward and no plans to rush its rebuild with a mega-free agency signing. Is the savings it might net in a buyout, plus lifting the Sanders pall from the locker room, worth the risk he might eventually thrive on another team? Maybe it is. The situation may well be worse than we realize.
Bucks.com: Hakeem Olajuwon on Giannis Antetokounmpo
He has what it takes, from what I see. Now is the attitude and confidence and the belief to not be satisfied being average. Meaning scoring 10 points, 20 points, feeling he is able to average that. And on defense to be a guy that size to block more shots, rebound – he's a complete player. Fantastic. From what I see, I think he will have a wonderful, successful career, that his name will be remembered to have made a huge contribution to the league because he has a special talent – it's unusual to see someone of that size and with that skill. So he can have a huge impact, IF he has the attitude to want to be a great player.
#SEEGIANNISDUNK
One more reason to care about All-Star weekend.
Joe Alexander speaks!
Joe Alexander criticized the Bucks. Here are some of his quotes. Read the full article here: http://t.co/K6YgtJ0bOj pic.twitter.com/Fh6y80EmCI — Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) January 21, 2015
On the Jazz: SLC Dunk | Salt City Hoops | Salt Lake Tribune | The Taxi SquadCommunity in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Business Bay (Arabic: الخليج التجاري: Al-Khaleej Al-Tijari) is a central business district under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The project features numerous skyscrapers located in an area where Dubai Creek has been dredged and extended. Business Bay will have upwards of 240 buildings, comprising commercial and residential developments. The infrastructure of Business Bay has been completed in 2008, and the entire development is expected to be completed between 2012-2015.[2] Business Bay is part of the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Ruler of Dubai. Business Bay will be a new 'city' within the city of Dubai and is being built as a commercial, residential and business cluster along a new extension of Dubai Creek extending from Ras Al Khor to Sheikh Zayed Road. Covering an area of 64,000,000 square feet (5,900,000 m2), once completed it will be composed of office and residential towers set in landscaped gardens with a network of roads, pathways and canals. It will become the region's business capital as well as a freehold city.[2]
Development [ edit ]
Business Bay, Dubai
The entire development covers an area of 46,900,000 sq ft (4,360,000 m2), and the gross leasable area is 78,500,000 sq ft (7,290,000 m2). The projected population of the entire development is more than 191,000, and the estimated population of employers and others is 110,000, making the total population more than 300,000.[1] Commercial development will comprise 2,653,244 sq ft (246,494.4 m2), which is 18.5 percent of the entire development; mixed use development will comprise 8,520,368 sq ft (59.4 percent); and residential development will cover 3,163,628 sq ft (22.1 percent).[1] Business Bay will cost AED 110 billion (USD 30 billion).[2]
Bay Square [ edit ]
Bay Square is a mixed-use community within Business Bay. The entire development will be a pedestrian-only zone, and will include walkways over canals. It will cover over 2,400,000 square feet (220,000 m2) and will be located 1 km away from Sheikh Zayed Road within Business Bay. When completed it will comprise canals, sidewalks, restaurants, cafes and retail stores. It will have 1,600,000 sq ft (150,000 m2) of office space; Bay Square will host numerous small and medium-sized enterprises. When Bay Square completes there will be approximately 575 offices with an average size of 2,000 sq ft (190 m2). Bay Square is expected to be completed in 2010. It will comprise the following buildings:[3]
Bay Square Commercial Building
Bay Square Hotel
Bay Square Office Building (10 Office Buildings in total)
Bay Square Residential Building
The Executive Towers [ edit ]
The Executive Towers at Business Bay consist of 12 towers, which includes residential, commercial and office towers. These are the first buildings to be completed in Business Bay and are located near its entrance. A three-storey podium connects all the towers in addition to the nearby Vision Tower, which is going to be connected by a special passage.[4]
Bay Avenue [ edit ]
Bay Avenue is an arena of two levels of indoor and outdoor retail space. It will have cafes, restaurants, boutiques, showrooms, plazas, children’s play areas,and sporting facilities. However, nearly two years after completion, the first couple of shops are only nearing completion.[citation needed]
Dubai Creek Extension [ edit ]
Dubai Creek Extension is a part of the Business Bay development. The plan involves the expansion of the current 14 km long Dubai Creek to 26.2 km. Dubai Creek will be extended from its original place to Business Bay to the Persian Gulf through Safa Park and Jumeirah. The project will be carried out in three phases. Completion was scheduled for 2007, but is now expected by the end of 2010. Some 10 kilometres of the total 12.2 kilometres of the Dubai Creek extension work has already been completed in Business Bay.
Transportation [ edit ]
Dubai Metro Station of Business Bay
Business bay is connected to Red Line of Dubai Metro with Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall station and Business Bay Station, which opened on 25 April 2010, together with most of the remaining stations of Dubai Metro's Red Line.[5]
Planned Buildings [ edit ]
There will be over 230 towers in the Business Bay district. This list has 32 projects, covering 44 individual towers.[6]
List of Completed Buildings [ edit ]
JW MarriottMarquis Dubai are the tallest building in Business bay, and tallest hotel in the world
Executive Towers under construction
* indicates building is still under construction, but has been topped out
Other low-rise buildings [ edit ]
Images [ edit ]
Conceptual Image of Business Bay
Business Bay plot area before construction
Construction in Business Bay
Executive Towers under construction in June, 2007
Business Bay crossing bridge
See also [ edit ]Ninety-five false killer whales were stranded off the coast of Hog Key in Florida's Everglades National Park over the weekend.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wrote in a Facebook post this morning that 82 animals are now confirmed dead and 13 are unaccounted for. Earlier reports put the death toll at 81.
Officials told the Miami Herald that this is the largest recorded stranding of such species in Florida.
False killer whales belong to the dolphin family and get their name due to their resemblance to orcas. Females reach lengths of 15 feet and males are almost 20 feet. Adult false killer whales can weigh approximately 1,500 pounds.
The U.S Coast Guard first spotted the stranding on Saturday near Hog Key, which is located in a dense network of islands off south west Florida.
According to the Palm Beach Post, a rescue team reached the false killer whales—which included adults, juveniles and calves—by Sunday but could not save the vast majority of them.
"Once on the scene, the response team attempted to herd the whales into deeper water, however, they were ultimately unsuccessful in that effort," NOAA's mammal stranding network Blair Mase explained to the publication.
Mase said that the false killer whales were beached and scattered along the shoreline in poor condition and "deeply embedded in the mangroves," making the effort to rescue them nearly impossible. Rescuers had to humanely euthanize nine of the animals. Seventy-two of the dolphins died on their own on Sunday.
NOAA said that response teams are now working to assess the scene, but its remote location makes it challenging to gain access. The National Park Service is conducting aerial flyovers to help make it easier for the response teams to enter the area by boat.
It is currently unclear why the massive stranding occurred. In the coming months, biologists will conduct necropsies to determine what exactly happened, NOAA said.
Local marine biologist Stefanie Wolf told FOX 4 Now that one theory behind the stranding could be due to the pod getting lost and entangled in the area's thick maze of mangroves.
"Down in that area of Everglades National Park it's very shallow—very easily for even a human to get lost navigating through those waters," Wolf said, adding that the pod might not have been able to use their echolocation to find their way around.
As the FOX 4 reporter noted, while strandings are rare, when they do happen they usually happen in large groups because the dolphins are social animals."Mr. Speaker, there is a huge gulf between Washington, DC and the American people. They are dealing with tough times. They’re struggling to pay their bills. And they look to Washington, they see politicians who can’t stop spending money -- their money.
Listen, we’re broke. We need to stop the out-of-control spending spree that’s going on in Washington, DC.
The House has acted. We passed a bill that raised the debt limit, cuts spending, puts in place real reforms in place, and requires Congress send to the states a Balanced Budget Amendment. It’s called ‘cut, cap, and balance.’
We’ve done our job. The Democrats who run Washington have done nothing. They can’t stop spending the American people’s money. They won’t and they refuse.
The Senate Majority Leader says they still won’t offer a plan to cut spending. Or a plan to raise the debt limit. Frankly, that’s irresponsible.
Mr. Speaker, where is their plan?
President Obama talks about being ‘the adult in the room.’ But where is his plan to cut spending and raise the debt limit?
We’re in the fourth quarter -- and we’re fighting for jobs, we’re fighting for the future, we’re fighting for the American people."Sinn Fein yesterday blamed an error for what appeared to be another extraordinary flip-flop on whether it supports a full public inquiry in the RHI scandal.
Last night the party said that a “typo” had been responsible for party chairman Declan Kearney yesterday stating – both in an article for Sinn Fein newspaper An Phoblacht and a press release issued by the party – that he supported a “comprehensive, independent public inquiry”.
The South Antrim MLA’s statement was withdrawn less than two hours after being issued and a replacement statement then put out which did not contain the words “public inquiry”.
Then, with no explanation, late last night Mr Kearney re-released the original statement calling for a public inquiry.
Emailing it to the News Letter (and seemingly others) from his personal email address rather than via the Sinn Fein press office at 11.40pm, the South Antrim MLA added the words: “Please share this important information widely”.
The form which the investigation into the Renewable Heat Incentive debacle will take has now become the key political debate, with the two Executive parties – the DUP and Sinn Fein – opposing a public inquiry, while the Opposition parties and former DUP minister Jonathan Bell say that anything less will not be able to get to the truth.
A full public inquiry would be the most rigorous investigation into the affair, with the power to compel witnesses and documents.
Because it would be so thorough, it would be more expensive than a more cursory process and would involve a longer timeframe, arguments which at the weekend Sinn Fein used to justify its opposition to such a process.
Sinn Fein is instead calling for an ‘independent investigation’ – which presumably would sit behind closed doors and would not be able to force any of those abusing the RHI scheme to come before investigators – overseen by a foreign judicial figure.
Sinn Fein’s position on an inquiry has gone through numerous iterations over the last fortnight, with senior figures right up to deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald calling for a public inquiry, while others – most notably, Martin McGuinness – have wanted a much less rigorous process to be put in place.
*** December 15 : Sinn Fein MLA Michelle Gildernew said that the “ongoing revelations” about the RHI scandal “have to be fully investigated”
*** December 16: deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald called for a “public inquiry as a matter of urgency”
*** December 16: MP and Sinn Fein’s putative next deputy first minister Conor Murphy told Stephen Nolan that Sinn Fein supported an investigation up to and including a public inquiry
*** December 19: Conor Murphy told Good Morning Ulster that the inquiry must have powers to compel both witnesses and documents
*** December 30: In a statement, Gerry Adams called for a “robust and thorough investigation”, carefully avoiding any mention of a public inquiry”
*** December 31 (morning): A Sinn Fein spokesman tells the Irish News that it does not support a public inquiry because it could “drag on for years at a significant cost to the tax payers and adding to the cost of this scandal”
*** December 31 (afternoon): Belfast Sinn Fein councillor JJ Magee tweeted: “I’m all for public inquiry I’m all for the truth we need to get truth out that’s most important thing”
*** January 2, 11.16am: Sinn Fein chairman Declan Kearney called for an “independent public inquiry”
*** January 2, 1.33pm: Declan Kearney’s statement is withdrawn by the Sinn Fein press office
*** January 2, 11.40pm: Declan Kearney released his initial statement, calling for a public inquiry, via his own email.
Sinn Fein’s stance is particularly unusual as it has been more enthusiastic than any other local party in calling for public inquiries into all sorts of other matters, including plans for a gold mine in Co Tyrone, a former detective who gathered intelligence on environmental groups and a repeat of its longstanding call for a public inquiry into the murder of solicitor Pat Finucane.
In what had the appearance of a tough statement yesterday, Mr Kearney said that the “growing political crisis brought about by the RHI scandal” meant that “the DUP leader should step aside from the first minister’s office to allow a time-framed, comprehensive, independent public inquiry, led by an international jurist”.
However, two hours later a statement was issued by the Sinn Fein press office saying that the previous statement had been withdrawn.
The new choice of words was identical to the initial 436-word statement, with the exception of one change – “public inquiry” had been deleted and “investigation” inserted in its place.
When asked about the change, Sinn Fein told the Press Association that it had been made due to a “typo”.
SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone said that Sinn Fein was “in complete disarray” about how to respond to “the biggest financial scandal in the history of devolution”.
He added: “They rolled over on their threat of ‘grave consequences’ should the first minister not resign her position.
“They are in the middle of rolling over on the need for an independent inquiry into this shambles.
“Today we saw their party chairperson attempt a U-turn in the space of a couple of hours with a revised statement. Mary Lou McDonald has yet to correct her call for a full independent inquiry to align herself with Northern Sinn Féin’s latest media strategy.
“The public are wise to the Sinn Féin two-step. They know the difference between a transparent, independent inquiry and an internal probe carried out behind closed doors and vulnerable to interference from interested parties.”
Tonight Sinn Fein will face a public test of its position on an inquiry into the RHI debacle when a motion calling for a full public inquiry under the Inquiries Act comes before Belfast City Council.
One Sinn Fein councillor who will have the chance to vote on the motion – JJ Magee – said just two days ago that he does support a public inquiry.
The motion – which calls for the council to “write to the secretary of state asking for him to initiate a full public inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, pursuant to his powers of discretion under Section 1 of the Inquires Act 2005” – has been brought by independent unionist councillor Ruth Patterson.
She said: “It is clear to me that there is a great unwillingness on the part of the DUP to go down the road of a full public inquiry.
“One way of subverting this stalling by the DUP, is to appeal directly to the secretary of state to use his powers of discretion to order a full public inquiry.”
However, on Sunday the Sinn Fein group leader on the council, Jim McVeigh, said that the party would be seeking to amend the motion, seemingly to remove the call for a public inquiry and instead call for “an independent, time-framed, robust and transparent investigation” which would take no more than three months.Making hardware is easy. Making sex toys and selling them on Kickstarter is, sadly, hard. Though sex toy makers have long been lumped in with pornographers and and other businesses of ill repute, there is a new crop of sex toy makers looking to get real and hit the mainstream. And we must remember that the sex toy industry isn’t some furtive little market. The industry is worth over $15 billion per year and, whether Kickstarter likes it or not, millions of toys are sold per year to millions of happy customers.
It’s time for Kickstarter to experience a sexual awakening. Here’s why.
These toys are far more interesting than some secret massager hidden deep in your dresser. Modern sex toy makers are enabling cloud features, adding powerful silent motors, and expanding their selection from the traditional to the downright exotic. But Kickstarter as a company still can’t figure out its relationship with these devices, despite the fact that many of them clearly fall within the stated guidelines of the crowdfunding platform.
A Brief History
In the past, Kickstarter has ejected a number of projects that went on to blow way past their funding goals on other crowdfunding sites. Yet other products, most notably this MUA sex toy storage box, are accepted on the platform.
For example, Kickstarter rejected Crave Innovations, a company started by serial entrepreneur Michael Topolovac who had previously raised over $35 million for his software startup. In September, some six months after Kickstarter rejected Crave, the company raised $2.4 million from more than 60 prominent angels and entrepreneurs. For the record, that was $400,000 more than Topolovac had asked for to fund his first batch of toys.
In fact, after launching the Duet (Crave’s first pleasure product) on an alternative crowdfunding site CKIE, Crave blew past its $15,000 goal in the first two days, landing $100,000 in six weeks.
Meanwhile, Kickstarter also rejected LovePalz, a Wifi-powered set of devices that mimic sexual behavior remotely AKA teledildonics. In other words, one partner could feel the movements of their partner with a boy version (Zeus) and a girl version (Hera). The company claims to have sold 10,000 pieces since February, when the product officially launched. Each sells for $189, which accounts for a little under $2 million in sales.
Vibease, a company that created app-controlled vibrators in 2012, first tried to go the Kickstarter route before being rejected and instead used Indiegogo. With a goal of $30,000, Vibease went on to raise $130k during the summer campaign with shipments heading out in January.
Vibease is currently raising a seed round.
It would be OK if Kickstarter were consistent with its no-sex stance. But even though sex toys are out, misogynistic pick-up artist guides are fine.
This summer, for example, Kickstarter allowed a seduction guide with ethically questionable advice for men. Kickstarter grappled with removing the book before letting it live on, deciding that the 2 hours left on the campaign wasn’t enough time to investigate.
It all started after a comedian named Casey Malone wrote a blog post about the seduction guide, posting offensive excerpts from it. The author, Ken Hoinsky, argues that these quotes were taken out of context and were meant to inspire confidence, not violence.
Kickstarter later apologized for letting that kind of content live on the site and banned seduction guides.
But it seems the cold winter of sexual squeamishness is thawing. A designer named Lidia Bonilla launched the MUA box. That product lived on Kickstarter and eventually reached its funding goal. In Bonilla’s defense, however, she paid careful attention to Kickstarter’s guidelines to ensure that the project would be accepted on the end-all, be-all crowdfunding platform.
So with all this back and forth and outright banning, what exactly do Kickstarter’s guidelines say about sex-related products?
Well, nothing actually.
Confused?
Privately, the company has told rejected parties that they don’t accept vibrators at all, but this isn’t stated anywhere in the guidelines. I spoke to Kickstarter representatives repeatedly about this and they refused to go on the record but suggested that they haven’t figured out the rules internally.
Kickstarter starts out by giving two overarching guidelines: First, everything must be a project, which means that it has a clear end, a completion date of some sort, and that something will be produced as a result of the project’s completion. The second is that every project must fit into one of the following categories: Art, Comics, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film, Food, Games, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theater.
Like any other hardware project on Kickstarter, the above sex toys would definitely be considered “projects”. They would also clearly pass muster of being either a technology or design project. Even both in some cases, as they evolve the original design of sex toys and include features never-before-seen in sex toys thanks to Wifi, various sensors, Bluetooth, and other improvements.
“We don’t curate projects based on taste. Instead, we do a quick check to make sure they meet these guidelines,” reads the website.
Then, the company moves beyond these main guidelines into more specific rules. None of them relate to sex toys at all, except for one:
No offensive material (hate speech, etc.); pornographic material; or projects endorsing or opposing a political candidate.
The pornographic material bit is unclear. One can assume that any Kickstarter video that shows sex or feigns sex of any kind is considered pornographic, but is a sex toy (independent from people or a sexual scenario) considered pornographic? And more importantly, should it be?
The MUA box, for example, shows various sex toys within the promotional video. They aren’t being used, but rather are stored in a pleasure product organizer. So what is the difference between the MUA video and, say, this video, submitted by Crave?
Both are informational, focused on the product, its design, and its viability as a business.
The LovePalz video is admittedly more racy than the other two, but does that mean that two people, fully dressed, in a bed together is pornographic?
Am I splitting hairs? Perhaps. But is Kickstarter’s policy on sex toys important? Absolutely.
Sex Toy Makers Are Makers, Too
It’s 2014, people.
There was a time when a woman’s sexuality was seen as a disruption to man’s harmonious relationship with God or the State. As recently as the fifties, Freud argued that women should only achieve vaginal orgasms. If they couldn’t, they were a failure. If they could achieve clitoral orgasm, on the other hand, they were considered masculine or immature. That is wrong.
Before vibrators were a key function of our smartphones or our sex toys, they were first invented to help male doctors treat female hysteria. Instead of wearing out their wrists masturbating women (yes, this happened), they just built a steam-powered vibrator.
And yet look how far we’ve come. In the U.S., we’re more sexually liberated than we’ve ever been. Sex toys are fun, flashy, and no longer objects of derision. Sex has driven almost every major breakthrough in technology in the past few decades. The internet speaks for itself — sex is everywhere. The invention of chat gave us cyber sex. The ubiquity of video on the internet started with the desire to digitize porn. Even new technology like Vine and Instagram and Snapchat left us with Vineporn and Nastygrams and Snap Spam.
So why should participants in the hardware revolution miss out?
Despite multiple requests to discuss the line between pornographic and not, Kickstarter offered no clarification. But that’s their right.
If they worry that a teenager might see a sex toy on the site, the company has every right to avoid that scenario, no matter how ridiculous the concern might be. (Most sex toy sites don’t have an 18+ gate. If a teenager wants to find sex on the internet, Kickstarter is the last place they’d go.) Still, if Kickstarter is concerned about sexual or adult content, the crowdfunding site can simply exclude sex toy makers from the service.
What’s not so cool is the fact that Kickstarter can’t give more insight into the line between too sexy and suitable. Why does a box that stores sex toys make it on the site but a discreet vibrator gets rejected?
Entrepreneurs for hardware companies have to be as frugal as possible because they’re building something physical that costs money to make and to distribute. Kickstarter has made that journey easier for many of them, who can afford to make a few prototypes, a nice video, and send in an application. But not for those who make sex toys. They are forced to go to other crowdfunding sites (and still succeed wildly) after wasting time and resources on Kickstarter.
Maybe Kickstarter isn’t the home for makers?
What Next?
The sex toy industry is worth $15 billion annually. Breakthrough technologies like the smartphone, various sensors, and the ubiquity of connectivity have paved the way for a true era of disruption in the sex toy industry, transforming what has long been a store full of awkward, dick-shaped vibrators into shelves full of connected, intuitive, design-centric pleasure products.
Kickstarter has the opportunity to be a part of this just as much as it has the right to avoid this sexually charged hardware revolution. That decision is entirely up to the company. Where Kickstarter shouldn’t have a choice is in the guidelines regarding what is accepted and what isn’t.
The Kickstarter business is entirely dependent on entrepreneurs. By alienating certain entrepreneurs, or being unclear about the guidelines of the platform, Kickstarter is ultimately damaging the key to its own success, as well as the success of these sex toy makers.
People want to get off. Why won’t Kickstarter let them?We don't know a lot about what the effects might be. But while the research is in progress, most experts, including the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), advise pregnant women not to use marijuana.
Why? Mostly because the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana (tetrahydrocannabinol or THC) – that is, the ingredient that makes you "high" – passes through you into your baby's bloodstream.
This is true whether you're smoking weed or consuming marijuana edibles. During pregnancy, 10 to 30 percent of the THC in your system can reach your baby. And babies are much more vulnerable to chemicals and toxins than adults.
Most parents wouldn't dream of feeding marijuana to their baby after birth. Even though we don't know exactly what the effect would be, common sense tells us it's not a good idea. The same caution applies while you're pregnant and the marijuana you use crosses the placenta and enters your baby's system.
What's more, weed may be contaminated with other drugs or herbicides that could harm your baby – even if you bought it legally. Some dispensaries claim their products have been approved or certified, but dispensaries are not closely regulated. And marijuana is not less risky than other drugs (such as anti-depressants) because it is "natural."
It's difficult to study the specific effects of using pot during pregnancy, for a couple of reasons: Women in studies may also be using tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs. And marijuana may be contaminated, as mentioned above.
Here's what we know for sure:
The chemicals in marijuana pass from your system to your baby's.
Smoking marijuana (or tobacco) raises carbon monoxide levels in your blood. This can reduce the amount of oxygen that your developing baby receives, which can affect growth.
Studies have also found these possible effects of marijuana on a baby in utero:
Some researchers have linked prenatal marijuana exposure to increased irritability in newborns.
Prenatal marijuana exposure may also have a persistent negative effect throughout childhood on what researchers call higher-order thinking, which includes problem solving, memory, planning, attention, and controlling impulsivity. Some studies show lower academic scores in these children.
Finally, there are legal risks: In at least 14 states, using drugs during pregnancy is considered child abuse.
Women risk losing custody of their children, and several states require women who use drugs during pregnancy to undergo mandatory drug treatment. At least one state threatens criminal charges.
After your baby's born, it's not a good idea to use marijuana while you're breastfeeding, either. THC and other chemicals in weed pass through your milk to your baby.Actor Leonardo DiCaprio says history will judge President Trump harshly for his inaction on climate change.
Speaking Tuesday at a Yale University climate conference, DiCaprio lashed out at Trump for pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord.
"We are going to look back at this point in history, and frankly this administration, and certain people are going to be vilified for not taking action,” he said, according to the Hartford Courant.
"We should not have people in office who do not believe in facts and truths and modern science that are able to manipulate and risk the entire future of this entire generation," he told former Secretary of State John Kerry John Forbes KerryOvernight Defense: White House eyes budget maneuver to boost defense spending | Trump heads to Hanoi for second summit with Kim | Former national security officials rebuke Trump on emergency declaration 58 ex-national security officials rebuke Trump over emergency declaration Ex-national security officials to issue statement slamming Trump's emergency declaration: WaPo MORE.
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DiCaprio revealed details of his December meeting with Trump, in which he urged the then-president-elect to take action on climate change.
"We presented him with a comprehensive plan to tackle climate change, while also simultaneously harnessing the economic potential of green jobs," DiCaprio said.
"We talked about how the United States has the potential to lead the world in clean energy manufacturing and research and development."
Trump in June announced he was pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate deal, an international agreement between nearly 200 countries negotiated by President Obama.
Nicaragua’s government announced this week that the country is preparing to join the Paris deal, leaving the U.S. and Syria the only two countries not committed.
DiCaprio and Kerry discussed the role of climate change in the series of destructive hurricanes that have torn across the Gulf of Mexico over the past few weeks.
“It’s making them more extreme and more destructive,” DiCaprio said of the storms.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt Edward (Scott) Scott PruittWheeler and Bernhardt are double trouble for national parks EPA knows this pesticide is dangerous, so why did it reverse the ban? Archives investigation finds no ‘secret' Pruitt calendars existed MORE said earlier this month that it was “insensitive” to link climate change to the damaging hurricanes so soon after they hit.
“To have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the storm versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm, is misplaced,” Pruitt told CNN. "To use time and effort to address it at this point is very, very insensitive to this people in Florida.”
DiCaprio recently produced “Before the Flood,” a National Geographic-distributed documentary that explored the global impact of climate change. The actor also raised the topic in his acceptance speech at the 2016 Academy Awards, where he won Best Actor for his role in “The Revenant.”WASHINGTON (CNN) -- How does the American public feel about the war in Afghanistan? In a word, wary.
U.S. forces have been engaged in fierce fighting to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan.
President Obama on Friday announced his strategy to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a plan that includes more troops, new legislation, improved troop training and added civilian expertise.
"The United States of American did not choose to fight a war in Afghanistan. Nearly 3,000 of our people were killed on September 11, 2001," Obama said Friday.
"We have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan," he said.
Stressing that "the safety of people around the world is at stake," Obama said the "situation is increasingly perilous" in the region in and around Afghanistan, where the United States has been fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban for more than 7½ years after attacks in New York and at the Pentagon.
Nevertheless, the American public has been wary about the war in Afghanistan, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted in February. Watch CNN's Bill Schneider break down the numbers »
Last month, Americans were almost evenly divided between those who support the war and those who oppose it, the poll showed, with 47 percent in favor and 51 percent opposed.
Opposition to the war in Afghanistan is more muted than opposition to the war in Iraq, but it's not so muted among Democrats. Two-thirds of Americans overall oppose the war in Iraq, but 64 percent of Democrats oppose the war in Afghanistan.
The anti-war movements in Vietnam and Iraq helped define what the Democratic Party stands for. Watch: Is Afghanistan Obama's Vietnam? »
"If we don't learn from our Iraq experience, we are doomed to repeat it," Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-California, said on the House floor Thursday.
Why are Americans wary about Afghanistan? The recession. Iraq War fatigue. And frustration.
Only 31 percent of Americans believe the United States is winning the war in Afghanistan. Fifty percent believe the United States is winning in Iraq -- the highest number in at least five years. But Americans still want to get out of Iraq.
Last month, when President Obama said he would send 17,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, the public was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Democrats were willing to go along with the president, but they were less enthusiastic than Republicans
A solid majority of Americans believe the United States can win a military victory in Afghanistan, but Afghanistan has become a political war. Winning depends, not just on what the United States can do, but also what Afghanistan and Pakistan can do.
Americans have far less confidence in them.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll surveyed 1,046 adult Americans by telephone on February 18-19, 2009. The sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.
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Machine Learning Libraries
Machine Learning Algorithms in pure Ruby or written in other programming languages with appropriate bindings for Ruby.
For more up-to-date list please look at the Awesome ML with Ruby list.
rb-libsvm - Support Vector Machines with Ruby.
weka-jruby - JRuby bindings for Weka, different ML algorithms implemented through Weka.
decisiontree - Decision Tree ID3 Algorithm in pure Ruby [post].
. rtimbl - Memory based learners from the Timbl framework.
classifier-reborn - General classifier module to allow Bayesian and other types of classifications.
lda-ruby - Ruby implementation of the LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) for automatic Topic Modelling and Document Clustering.
liblinear-ruby-swig - Ruby interface to LIBLINEAR (much more efficient than LIBSVM for text classification).
linnaeus - Redis-backed Bayesian classifier.
maxent_string_classifier - JRuby maximum entropy classifier for string data, based on the OpenNLP Maxent framework.
naive_bayes - Simple Naive Bayes classifier.
nbayes - Full-featured, Ruby implementation of Naive Bayes.
omnicat - Generalized rack framework for text classifications.
omnicat-bayes - Naive Bayes text classification implementation as an OmniCat classifier strategy.
ruby-fann - Ruby bindings to the Fast Artificial Neural Network Library (FANN).
Data Visualization
Please refer to the Data Visualization section on the Data Science with Ruby list.
Optical Character Recognition
tesseract-ocr - FFI based wrapper over the Tesseract OCR Engine.
Text Extraction
yomu - library for extracting text and metadata from files and documents using the Apache Tika content analysis toolkit.
Full Text Search, Information Retrieval, Indexing
Language Aware String Manipulation
Libraries for language aware string manipulation, i.e. search, pattern matching, case conversion, transcoding, regular expressions which need information about the underlying language.
fuzzy_match - Fuzzy string comparison with Distance measures and Regular Expression.
fuzzy-string-match - Fuzzy string matching library for Ruby.
active_support - RoR ActiveSupport gem has various string extensions that can handle case.
gem has various string extensions that can handle case. fuzzy_tools - Toolset for fuzzy searches in Ruby tuned for accuracy.
u - U extends Ruby’s Unicode support.
unicode - Unicode normalization library.
CommonRegexRuby - Find a lot of kinds of common information in a string.
regexp-examples - Generate strings that match a given regular expression.
verbal_expressions - Make difficult regular expressions easy.
Articles, Posts, Talks, and Presentations
Projects and Code Examples
Books
Miller, Rob. Text Processing with Ruby: Extract Value from the Data That Surrounds You. Pragmatic Programmers, 2015. [link]
Watson, Mark. Scripting Intelligence: Web 3.0 Information Gathering and Processing. APRESS, 2010. [link]
Watson, Mark. Practical Semantic Web and Linked Data Applications. Lulu, 2010. [link]
Community
Needs your Help!
All projects in this section are really important for the community but need more attention. Please if you have spare time and dedication spend some hours on the code here.
ferret - Information Retrieval in C and Ruby.
summarize - Ruby native wrapper for Open Text Summarizer.
Related Resources
Contributing
We are very glad to see you in this section and highly appreciate any help!
But we also take care about the quality of this list. If you want to contribute please:
agree that your work will be published under the terms of the CC0 license;
license; carefully read the Contribution Guidelines.
Some of the open tasks for contributors are listed in the todo file. You may want to start there.
License
Awesome NLP with Ruby by Andrei Beliankou and Contributors.
To the extent possible under law, the person who associated CC0 with Awesome NLP with Ruby has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to Awesome NLP with Ruby.
You should have received a copy of the CC0 legalcode along with this work. If not, see https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/.(For the Week of July 21-27, Southside Showdown will be celebrating Hall of Famer Frank Thomas with “Big Hurt Week” as we’ll take a look at Thomas’ career each day of the week, concluding with his Hall of Fame induction on Sunday, July 27. Help us celebrate the career of The Big Hurt by telling us your favorite memory of Thomas.)
Two of the best years to ever be a fan of “The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas were his back-to-back Most Valuable Player seasons of 1993 and 1994.
Those two seasons (’94 was shortened due to the MLB players’ strike), Thomas combined for 229 RBIs and 314 hits. Of those 300-plus hits, 79 were home runs and 70 were doubles in what amounted to 266 games.
When Thomas won the MVP in ’93, he became just the third White Sox player to win the award, joining Nellie Fox in ’59 and Dick Allen in ’72. No White Sox player has won the MVP award since Thomas in ’94.
In the ’93 season, Thomas hit his 100th career home run on Aug. 31 vs. the New York Yankees. Also in August ’93, Thomas was the Player of the Month.
In both of those MVP seasons, Thomas won the Silver Slugger award and was an All-Star for the AL. He was also the MLB Player of the Year in ’93.
At the time, Thomas was just the second first baseman to win back-to-back MVP awards. The first was Jimmie Foxx in 1932-33, and since then, Albert Pujols joined the club with MVPs in 2008-09.
But in 1993, nobody was stopping “The Big Hurt.” Just look at these numbers from 1993, his first MVP season:
– 153 games
– 106 runs
– 174 hits (36 doubles, 41 home runs)
– 128 RBIs
– 112 walks
–.317 batting average (54 strikeouts)
–.426 on-base percentage
–.607 slugging percentage
Those numbers are incredible, especially with a power hitter like Thomas having just 54 strikeouts and a batting average of.317 in 152 games played in.
Absolutely amazing.
If those numbers don’t impress you, here is what he did in a strike-shortened season of ’94, where only one can wonder even how much better these Hall of Fame numbers would have been:
– 113 games
– 106 runs (MLB leading)
– 141 hits (34 doubles, one triple, 38 home runs)
– 101 RBIs
– 2 steals
– 109 walks, 61 strikeouts
–.353 batting average
– MLB-leading.487 on-base percentage,.729 slugging percentage
Those MVP numbers are even more impressive because there is no doubt Thomas would have most likely surpassed his numbers from ’93, which were quite impressive.
In those two seasons (both All-Star seasons for Thomas), the White Sox were 94-68 in ’93, winning the AL West, and 67-46 in 113 games in ’94.
So in 275 games in those two seasons, the White Sox won 161 times, winning nearly 60 percent of their games.
Those two seasons not only made Thomas a household name in baseball circles, but in the sports world in general. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about the “Big Hurt.”
Seeing the White Sox on national TV on WGN is a memory I’ll always have of Thomas, because he was the first baseball player I ever idolized as a kid, and to this day, he is still my all-time favorite baseball player.
Those years went a long way in my gaining a love for the game of baseball, and Thomas used those two seasons to build a resumé that qualified him to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Tell us your favorite memory of Thomas from those two seasons.Aviation has become increasingly automated, but experts say hacking into an aircraft's controls — as a U.S. security consultant recently mused about on Twitter — is still a very difficult thing to do.
If it were possible, "Transport Canada and the [U.S. Federal Aviation Administration] wouldn't be certifying these aircraft for use," says Lynne McMullen, chair of the aviation school at Seneca College in Toronto.
McMullen says there are safeguards in place that enable a pilot to override any outside attempt to commandeer a plane.
Stephen Cobb, a senior security researcher at cybersecurity firm ESET North America, says that "serious hacking of flight critical systems is a low probability right now, and personally I don't hesitate to take commercial flights for business or leisure."
Even so, he says it is important to be vigilant and not simply trust "the assurances that airlines make."
"Continued scrutiny is required and the challenge of securing complex systems should not be downplayed."
A contentious tweet
On Saturday, U.S. cybersecurity researcher Chris Roberts, who specializes in airline safety, was barred from boarding a United Airlines flight from Colorado to San Francisco.
The network that provides Wi-Fi access to passengers on planes is separate from the network responsible for flight control, say experts. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)
Three days earlier, he had been removed from a United flight and questioned by airport authorities for four hours.
It was all because of a tweet he posted on Wednesday in which he mused about using his laptop to manipulate the plane's engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) in order to get the oxygen masks to drop.
After explaining that Roberts' Twitter statement had prompted the company to act, a United Airlines spokesman told The Associated Press "we are confident our flight control systems could not be accessed through techniques he described."
Roberts isn't the only one who has been thinking along these lines lately. His public speculation followed on the heels of a chilling report on airline safety by the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) last week.
The report, which surveyed a number of security experts, found that because modern aircraft "are increasingly connected to the Internet," they could "potentially provide unauthorized remote access to aircraft avionics systems."
In an interview with Forbes magazine, Phil Polstra, professor of digital forensics at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, said that the GAO report was erroneous and "irresponsible."
"Just because the cabin has wireless and ground communication is also wireless doesn't mean the systems are 'connected,'" Polstra said, questioning whether the writers of the GAO report even know how modern aircraft work.
Separate networks
While modern aviation increasingly relies on wireless networks, aircraft control systems are separate from the in-flight entertainment system or passenger Wi-Fi network, says Mike Rioux, chief operating officer at JDA Aviation Technology Solutions in Bethesda, Md.
Communication between the pilot and air traffic controllers is done through VHF radio frequencies, while the auto-pilot and auto-land systems are part of the aircraft's onboard computer and can't be manipulated from outside the cockpit, says Seneca's McMullen.
McMullen says a plane's environmental system — which monitors cabin pressure, for example — is separate from the passenger Wi-Fi system and is controlled from the cockpit using on-board computers.
So even if an outsider were able to penetrate it, as Roberts proposed, McMullen says "the pilots are able to override it just as they would be if the system was to malfunction."
Meanwhile, the flight control system, which transmits and receives signals from navigational aids such as satellites, is separated from passenger Wi-Fi through "air gapping," says ESET's Cobb.
Air gapping is a process in which a critical computer network — in this case, flight control — is separated from a non-critical one — passenger Wi-Fi — either physically or through an extra firewall.
Cobb says that in general, networks on planes come with very robust security features.
"Travellers should be aware that networks on aircraft are engineered to much higher security and reliability standards than other locations you encounter on the road, like hotel rooms and coffee shops," he says.
Is 'air-gapping' enough?
That said, there is some confusion as to the extent to which the systems are air-gapped, says Cobb.
Aviation experts say that in this era of widespread automation, the best safeguard in air travel is an alert and competent pilot. (Luke MacGregor)
In 2008, the FAA warned Boeing that the Wi-Fi network on its Dreamliner planes could be vulnerable to attack, and Cobb says the recent GAO report "has raised questions as to the extent to which current solutions provide an acceptable level of security."
In response to the GAO report, Boeing said that its pilots have the ability to manually override any electronic attempt to take over an aircraft.
McMullen confirms that even in a hypothetical breach of a plane's flight control system, there are numerous safeguards in place. For example, a plane's auto-landing feature has two to three backups in place in case of malfunction or a breach.
In this age of widespread automation, McMullen maintains the best safeguard remains an alert and competent pilot.
"The interesting thing that comes out of all of this is the reminder that the pilots are so absolutely necessary because they're the most flexible part of the system, because they're able to monitor and analyze and react quickly."You may believe that only children play video games are just for kids. This could not the truth. There are plenty of games available that kids and adults can enjoy, from exercise video games to army games. This article will help guide you through the wonderful world of hot video game tips and advice.
Are you having a hard time hearing dialogue over all of the action and background music? Many games have an options menu to adjust the audio settings. You can find your subtitles on and off.
Video games are often times very expensive.You can save as much as 50% by purchasing used games at a 25 to 50 percent discount from the retail price.
If you're buying a game for a child, make sure you solicit multiple opinions. You will use a lot of variables in making a decision on whether or not to purchase a game for kids of a certain age, so it's better to start with a longer list that you can narrow down.
Take cover before reloading a reload of your weapon in shooter games. It's a lot easier to get pwned because they failed to take adequate cover before reloading.You do not want this to occur to you!
Download demos to get a demo game before you desire to purchase. Previewing a game this way can help you see whether you wish to buy the full version or not. Make sure you exercise safety precautions when doing this. Only allow downloads from verified or trustworthy sites.
The page will determine whether or not your computer is setup to run a certain game. If you don't want to use the extra space on your hard drive to store the program, remember that you can just delete it after you get the information that you need.
Make sure the screen brighter. Games set in dark interiors may be entertaining, but your game play can severely suffer. It makes things easier to see so your enemies won't see you before they spot you.
Be mindful when it comes to playing online gaming. There can be an annual or monthly fee for accessing online gaming. Always check out any monthly video game site that children are playing there.
Make sure that you implement parental control settings on video games. You might want to check to see if you can use this game online. If it does have this capability, limit your children's Internet access. You may also verify their friend requests and make sure they play.
You should carefully consider which is the better option. They could make your game-playing experience better. But they may also save you some time.
Consider having your kids play games on a console rather than computers. Consoles have more privacy controls, as many kids can easily breeze through parental controls on the computer.They may have a far more protected experience on a console.
If your child's behavior has changed since they have begun playing video games, he needs to take a time out.
A video connection serves a lot of benefits when you are playing. A majority of the gaming systems are packaged with various cables to enable connection to various displays. What would you to use if your monitor or TV can take different types of cables? If those are not an option, there are several options available including S-Video, Composite and RCA connections. Coaxial connections are used often, but they're the lowest quality. Use coax only as a connector in cases where you have no other options.
Setting a timer will remind you to pause the game and take frequent breaks.
You can draw up some interest online to sell your old games. Avoid using places like eBay; only do so if you have no other choice. You can post an ad on sites like Facebook and Craigslist.
Check out your game console after you bring it home to ensure all the parts work correctly.Even if you don't plan to play online or use a headset, such as headsets, etc., check the ports and connections to ensure they function properly. You would hate to want to discover that something doesn't work.
Always familiarize yourself on rookie level on sports games.After a bit of game play, you can increase the level and make the Clash of Kings hack more challenging.
If you are not having a good run, try switching to another game to avoid frustration.
The biggest decision that modern gamers have is choosing between console gaming is: computer or console?
More and more adults are finding joy in video games that are no longer aimed towards just kids. If you desire to get your feet wet in the realm of video games, you should apply what you read above. These tips will allow you to get more from video games, no matter what kind they are.Of course he was pious, maybe even disconcertingly so, his wife reasoned at first. He was a pastor. But over the years, certain behaviors became more extreme, and thus harder to explain away. For one, the 60-year-old North Carolina man refused to tolerate questions about certain passages that contradicted his own interpretations; meanwhile, his congregation shrank, no doubt as a result of his increasingly odd behavior.
This turned out to be a strange case of pathological piety, and the man’s medical team recently published his case study in the journal The Clinical Neuropsychologist. As science writer Agata Blaszczak Boxe at Brain Decoder notes, what began as an apparent case of “hyperreligiosity” in the end turned out to be an unusual symptom of an atrophying brain.
The Problem: At first it just seemed like his memory was getting a little worse, as he started forgetting more names than usual. And then came the “excessive piety,” as the authors phrase it in their paper:
The patient’s wife reported he had become more ‘obsessive’ in some of his thinking and more adamant about some of his beliefs, particularly with regard to religion. For example, whereas he was previously open to some discussion about certain biblical passages that are commonly viewed as ambiguous within the Christian community, he was now insistent on his interpretation.
This behavior got worse over time, and as a consequence his congregation grew smaller and smaller:
More specifically, the patient was moved to Pastor progressively smaller congregations over a period of 10 years, in part secondary to having interpersonal difficulty with managing a church body as well as the noteworthy increase in piety.
Beyond the unusual behavior regarding religion, his wife noticed other changes in personality, too, describing his behavior as “overly disinhibited”: He’d approach total strangers and spill personal, intimate details regarding the health and finances of their family, including the grandchildren. The patient himself, however, refused to admit to any changes in his behavior or cognitive function.
The Diagnosis: A series of examinations revealed that the pastor’s increasingly odd behavior was likely a sign of frontotemporal dementia, which is associated with atrophy — that is, a wasting-away — of the brain’s right temporal lobe. This type of brain atrophy is often accompanied by changes in personality, such as “behavioral rigidity, obsessive-compulsiveness (in regards to daily routine),” and social disinhibition, his physicians write in their paper.
Unfortunately, there are limited treatment options for this condition, and the paper ends without a clear explanation of what happened to the pastor and his wife. But they do note that unusual cases like these help find more clues, to possibly help more patients in the future.NOTE: In this essay, commenters have noted that Dr. Tim Ball used a rhetorical device in this sentence:
“The following is a possible email from John Holdren, Obama’s Science Czar, to bureaucrat Karl, or at least to his boss, at NOAA.”
Had I seen the word “possible”, I would not have allowed the subsequent paragraph where Dr. Ball outlined a “possible” email. While I understand what he was trying to do, this is just wrong, and I apologize to readers that this rhetorical device even exists in this essay, because it opens the possibility that somebody may interpret this as a real email.
UPDATE: This article has been revised and updated, and Dr. Tim Ball writes: Here is an extensive revision of my article to replace the one that caused so much grief.
The current article as of 7PM PDT 6/16/15 has been fully updated.- Anthony Watts
UPDATE2: 6/17/15 9:20AM PDT Dr. Ball adds via email with request it be posted here:
I wish to thank Anthony for the opportunity to rewrite the original article. It is no excuse, but I let my views color my judgment. It was triggered by the claim on the White House web site that “The weather is getting more extreme.” Evidence does not support this claim, as I believe the President’s Science Advisor should know. The [rhetorical] device used to draw attention to this was inappropriate. I have always said that if I am wrong about the global warming/ climate change issue as presented by the IPCC then I must be the first to publicly say so. It is important that I maintain a credible voice to continue to confront misuse of climatology and climate science.
Guest Opinion by Dr. Tim Ball
One dictionary defines Modus Operandi (MO) as
…a particular way or method of doing something, especially one that is characteristic or well-established: the volunteers were instructed to buy specific systems using our usual modus operandi—anonymously and with cash.
Use of a nefarious example illustrates the predominant use of the term by criminal investigators. The recent publication of an article by Karl et al. (2015) Possible artifacts of data biases in the recent global surface warming hiatus (paywalled) appears to fit the modus operandi of official climate science, at least since the 1995 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Several analyses and comments outline the serious problems and contrived nature of the article. Bob Tisdale addressed his comments to the lead author, Thomas Karl, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center. Tisdale concluded,
“The results of the statistical methods used on the earlier version of the NOAA sea surface temperature data (ERSST.v3b) did not provide the results NOAA was looking for now, so NOAA/NCEI, under your direction, mixed and matched methods until they found the results you wanted (ERSST.v4).”
He cited Judith Curry’s conclusion.
“This new paper is especially interesting in context of the Karl et al paper that ‘disappears’ the hiatus. I suspect that the main take home message for the public (those paying attention, anyways) is that the data is really uncertain and there is plenty of opportunity for scientists to ‘cherry pick’ methods to get desired results.”
I disagree with Curry’s conclusion, even for “those paying attention”. Very few know about the problems with leather bucket, metal bucket, and ship water intake temperature measures. Most don’t know how cherry picking the start and end of a graph is central to official climate science. The point Tisdale and Curry miss is that Karl et al., don’t care. All they want is a headline that removes the hiatus from the debate. They know the media and public don’t understand. They also know it’s easy to counter by calling challengers deniers. The article and its timing are in the sequence or modus operandi of the IPCC and the proponents of anthropogenic warming (AGW), at least since 1995.
The first example of the MO of finding the science or scientists to provide support for the global political agenda started with selection of James Hansen to appear before a 1988 Senate Hearing. As former US Senator Timothy Wirth said in PBS Frontline interview.
We knew there was this scientist at NASA, you know, who had really identified the human impact before anybody else had done so and was very certain about it. So we called him up and asked him if he would testify. Now, this is a tough thing for a scientist to do when you’re going to make such an outspoken statement as this and you’re part of the federal bureaucracy. Jim Hansen has always been a very brave and outspoken individual.
The transition from the 1990 Report to the 1995 Report marked a shift from reasonable science to directed science. Both Reports worked from the UNFCCC definition of climate change that restricted them to only human causes. However, the decision to restrict the definition caught up with the scientific method. Because they chose to prove the hypothesis rather than disprove it, they ran into contradictory data and evidence. The situation caused Richard Lindzen, an atmospheric physicist and former Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to comment that the consensus was reached before the research had even begun. It also eliminated the possibility of the null hypothesis that something other than human activity was the cause of global warming.
The AGW hypothesis developed around the idea that the highest temperatures in the record occurred in the latter part of the 20th century. The deception is in the focus on the modern instrumental record. A few scientists pointed to warmer temperatures during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) a thousand years before the instrumental record and approximately 800 years before the Industrial Revolution. They also identified the lack of a discernible human signal in the record. Both problems appeared in the 1990 Report, the MWP as part of Figure 7c (Figure 1), and the latter in commentary.
Figure 1
The IPCC essentially had two options, acknowledge the evidence and adjust their science or refute it. They chose the latter and took the first steps in the modus operandi that led to the Karl et al., article.
No technique existed to eliminate the MWP when the 1995 Report appeared. They focused on the lack of a discernable human influence issue. They achieved this through the amendments made to Chapter 8. The IPCC committee under Chapter 8 Lead Author Benjamin Santer, a graduate of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU), wrote,
· “None of the studies cited above has shown clear evidence that we can attribute the observed [climate] changes to the specific cause of increases in greenhouse gases.” · “While some of the pattern-base discussed here have claimed detection of a significant climate change, no study to date has positively attributed all or part of climate change observed to man-made causes.” · “Any claims of positive detection and attribution of significant climate change are likely to remain controversial until uncertainties in the total natural variability of the climate system are reduced.” · “While none of these studies has specifically considered the attribution issue, they often draw some attribution conclusions, for which there is little justification.”
The sentences Santer placed in the Report said,
· “There is evidence of an emerging pattern of climate response to forcing by greenhouse gases and sulfate aerosols … from the geographical, seasonal and vertical patterns of temperature change … These results point toward a human influence on global climate.” · “The body of statistical evidence in chapter 8, when examined in the context of our physical understanding of the climate system, now points to a discernible human influence on the global climate.”
In 2006 Avery and Singer wrote,
“Santer single-handedly reversed the ‘climate science’ of the whole IPCC report and with it the global warming political process! The ‘discernible human influence’ supposedly revealed by the IPCC has been cited thousands of times since in media around the world, and has been the ‘stopper’ in millions of debates among nonscientists.”
The situation required a peer-reviewed article to establish Santer’s credibility. It appeared rapidly (July, 1996) in the journal Nature with the title “A Search for Human Influences On the Thermal Structure of the Atmosphere” authored by Santer, Wigley, Jones, Mitchell, Oort and Stouffer.
Research designed to confront the MWP did not appear until the 2001 IPCC Report. David Deming revealed they were working on the problem. In a letter to Science he wrote,
“With the publication of the article in Science [in 1995], I gained significant credibility in the community of scientists working on climate change. They thought I was one of them, someone who would pervert science in the service of social and political causes. So one of them let his guard down. A major person working in the area of climate change and global warming sent me an astonishing email that said “We have to get rid of the Medieval Warm Period.”
Most of the story about creation of the “hockey stick” that eliminated the MWP is extensively documented. The hockey stick actually promoted three misperceptions for the public. It eliminated the MWP and the Little Ice Age (LIA) in the handle of the stick, which accentuated the upturn in temperature of the 20th century temperature record. All three were false, but necessary to the objective of showing that current climate conditions were exceptional.
Ironically, the hockey stick eliminated a bump in the temperature graph but the next problem was no bump. Temperatures leveled starting after 1998, but CO2 levels continued to rise. The response by AGW people followed the MO by changing names from global warming to climate change instead of correcting the science.
The President is promoting climate change as the greatest threat to the world. A major challenge to his agenda is the hiatus or pause in temperature increase for the last 18 years. It is as big a hindrance to this agenda as the MWP was to the IPCC agenda. Attacks on the MWP included production of the hockey stick but also personal attacks on Willie Soon and Sallie Baliunas. They produced an article “Proxy climatic and environmental changes of the past 1,000 years” with extensive proof of the existence of the MWP. John Holdren, Obama’s Science Czar, helped in the attack.
In an email on October 16, 2003 to Michael Mann and Tom Wigley he wrote:
“I’m forwarding for your entertainment an exchange that followed from my being quoted in the Harvard Crimson to the effect that you and your colleagues are right and my “Harvard” colleagues Soon and Baliunas are wrong about what the evidence shows concerning surface temperatures over the past millennium. The cover note to faculty and postdocs in a regular Wednesday breakfast discussion group on environmental science and public policy in Harvard’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is more or less self-explanatory.”
Here is what he, Holdren wrote to the Harvard Wednesday Breakfast group:
“I append here an e-mail correspondence I have engaged in over the past few days trying to educate a Soon/Baliunas supporter who originally wrote to me asking how I could think that Soon and Baliunas are wrong and Mann et al. are right (a view attributed to me, correctly, in the Harvard Crimson). This individual apparently runs a web site on which he had been touting the Soon/Baliunas position.”
Holdren would understand the need for peer-reviewed research to show there is no hiatus and temperatures continue to rise. As he wrote to the person questioning his views on the Soon and Baliunas article,
“But, in practice, burden of proof is an evolving thing—it evolves as the amount of evidence relevant to a particular proposition grows.”
The evidence is evolving but it is showing the hypothesis is wrong. The solution all along was to counter with inaccurate information. The President exemplified the problems on the White House web page with the false statement that, “The weather is getting more extreme.”
Thomas Karl’s article is another example of the MO of the IPCC and its adherent’s willingness to produce science to fit the political need. Curry’s claim that the public takeaway is that the data is uncertain with a high cherry picking potential misses the point. The real point is that the data chosen and how it was handled are so inappropriate they would fail a first-year climate class paper. How it ever got through peer review is a disturbing mystery, except it is climate science and peer review was never a roadblock. It is so wrong that there is only one conclusion based on the MO it was created to eliminate problematic evidence, namely the hiatus. Ironically, the hiatus is giving AGW proponents a hernia.
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RedditHey everyone! **EDIT: We have everything we need for now and have opted for an early shutoff. Thank you for your cooperation; new champ select is off, and other modes are back on.** --- ~~We're turning on new champ select on PBE now through Friday (Dec 11th) and need your help again. **We'd like to compile everything related to crashes in the new champ select in one place,** so if you encounter said crashes please post here!~~ ~~Here's what we're looking for (_Please try to be specific as possible_):~~ 1) ~~Which phase did you crash in? (Lobby, Pick Intent, Bans, Picks, etc)~~ 2) ~~What were you doing right before the crash? ~~ 3) ~~If possible, send us your dxdiag to lyte@riotgames.com~~ ~~Thanks again!~~
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SaveNo Agenda Show for Sunday June 16th 2013
Hookers on Sale
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Executive Producers: Hyperware Technologies, Sir Jeremy Ross, Sir Dwayne Earl of Oregon, Wade Deming, Jason Doolen, Andrew Largeman, Sir Frank Ajzensztat
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NEW! BitTorrent SyncEvery month we update the Leafly List in an effort to answer a question we hear all the time: “Can you recommend a great dispensary near me?” The list is a snapshot of the most talked-about medical cannabis dispensaries and retail locations in 10 major cannabis markets across North America. The top locations are determined using an indexing system that ranks locations across a variety of customer engagement metrics like reviews of each location’s quality, service, and atmosphere.
Click on your state or territory below to find the most relevant Leafly List for you. Remember, if you don’t see your favorite dispensary on the list, make sure you follow, rate, and review your favorite cannabis locations to let the world know where you find your favorite cannabis.
More on the Leafly List
The Leafly List index score is a proprietary statistic created by Leafly to measure the performance of medical cannabis dispensaries and retail cannabis locations across Leafly’s digital platform. It is designed to be a comparative metric that offers context as to which locations are generating the most positive buzz and pushing the cannabis industry forward through exceptional service and digital engagement. Check out the Leafly List FAQ for more information on how dispensaries are ranked.
The Leafly List is based on 100% objective customer feedback and data collected by Leafly. Businesses CANNOT pay for a spot on the list.
The Leafly List is by no means a comprehensive list of your options when it comes to cannabis access points. You can use Leafly’s Find Nearby tool to see the complete list of dispensaries or recreational stores in your area. The Leafly List is designed to let you know which locations are being reviewed, followed, and have their Leafly menus visited the most, and it also provides other web-based engagement factors. Simply put, these are the places that the Leafly community is talking about, so if you don’t see your favorite location listed, make sure you follow, rate, and review your local dispensary to let others know it’s the best.
Want to see your business on the Leafly List?1993 studio album by Tool
Undertow is the debut studio album by American rock band Tool, released on April 6, 1993 by Zoo Entertainment. Produced by the band and Sylvia Massy, it was recorded from October to December 1992 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys and Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood. The album includes some tracks the band decided to not release on their debut EP Opiate.[1]
As of 2010, Undertow has sold over 2.9 million copies in the United States, and is certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[2]
Background [ edit ]
Undertow was Tool's only full album release with original bassist Paul D'Amour.
Comedian Bill Hicks is noted as "inspiration" in the liner notes, and Undertow is the only Tool album released while he was still alive. His presence would feature again on Tool's next album, Ænima.
Chris Haskett, then with the Rollins Band, is credited in the liner notes with "sledge hammer", probably relating to the "three pianos and shotguns smashed with sledgehammers" on "Disgustipated".[3] Adam Jones recalls a story in which the band purchased two second-hand pianos with the intention of blasting them with shotguns in the indoor parking lot of Grand Master Studio and putting the resulting sounds to tape. Apparently the woman running the studio was happy as long as they cleaned up the mess afterwards. Since the incident, Tool has been approached by other bands claiming to have seen the shotgun holes left by them in the carpark wall.[4]
Artwork [ edit ]
The note from Tool that accompanied some censored versions.
The album art was designed by Adam Jones.[1] Photos in the liner notes of a nude obese woman, a nude man of normal weight, and the band members with pins in the sides of their heads generated controversy, resulting in the album being removed from stores such as Kmart and Wal-Mart.[5][6] The band reacted by releasing another version, which depicted a giant barcode on a white background.[5] This version of the album included a note from the band:
“ It came to our attention recently that many stores across our fine and open minded nation would not stock Undert |
production to China, where he is currently building dozens of ships. One of his boats, built in Cebu, has been operating in Orkney for the past five years and is regarded as the most efficient ferry in Scotland.
This tells us there are Scots who are expert at designing and building commercial ships – but not in Scotland. Why not? This relates largely to the policies (or rather the policy vacuum) of successive Westminster governments. Ask the expats what the problem here in Scotland was and they start by saying that, “anyone with get up and go, got up and left”.
The failure of shipbuilding in Scotland is well recorded. For a start there were no covered shipyards to keep out the adverse weather and neither yard owners nor government were willing to rectify that. Many yards were located miles from the open sea, inland on the Clyde, so ship size was limited.
The UK government was not keen on providing loan guarantees for ships, which meant there was no effective state support for the industry.
Westminster governments have never delivered an effective solution and never will. The reason? Shipbuilding is not of strategic importance to Westminster. Westminster drip feeds the odd defence contract, but these overpriced deals usually involve much if not most of the money being intercepted by yard owners and other suppliers via high margins, with the taxpayer none the wiser.
Defence shipbuilding is a profitable business. But building defence ships is not necessarily about maintaining jobs in shipbuilding, as many unionist politicians suggest. The aircraft carriers are costing around £3bn each – an insane amount to pay for a single ship. For that kind of money it would be possible to build 200 ferries, and that would generate around ten times the number of shipyard jobs.
Scotland needs almost 100 ferries to replace our ageing domestic fleet and to meet new EU clean fuel regulations. So we could and should be building ferries in Scotland. In an independent Scotland that is what we would be doing because for us shipbuilding would be strategic.
Scotland needs a strategy to diversify into commercial shipbuilding. Building ferries for Europe and other markets is considered feasible given the right approach and support, based on well-designed, low cost solutions. Expats like Stuart Ballantyne agree this can be done, and he and others are willing to help and invest.
Ballantyne offers a simple solution to resurrect Scottish shipbuilding. First build the basic ship hulls in a low-cost nation and then transport them (to Scotland in this instance) for final assembly and fitting. Most of the high value elements of a ship – the propulsion system, bridge navigation system, internal accommodation, and marine evacuation system – tend to be manufactured in Europe so can easily be sourced here. This requires a yard, or yards, to be in the right location, with covered facilities, plus a trained workforce ready to assemble ships at a rapid pace. But crucially this also requires state support in the form of help for infrastructure investment, as well as ship loan guarantees and export credit guarantees.
Large-scale commercial shipbuilding in Scotland requires an independent Scottish government to help deliver the necessary conditions to enable business to produce and sell ships profitably. The potential and skills exist.
Nothing can be taken for granted. But the only real certainty is that Westminster is a proven and long-standing failure as far as Scotland’s commercial shipbuilding industry is concerned. The reintroduction of commercial shipbuilding in Scotland will only be achieved through Independence.
• Alf Baird is professor of maritime business at Edinburgh Napier University and a member of Academics for YesWe Want Certified Humane® Dairy Products
by: Humane Farm Animal Care
recipient: Foster Farms Dairy, Dairygold, Plains Dairy Products, Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., Cabot Creamery
Too many of the cows that provide milk for the dairy products we consume live in unnecessarily poor and often cruel conditions. Cows and calves often spend a majority of their lives unable to perform the natural and instinctive behaviors necessary to their health and well-being.
Inhumane conditions aren't necessary to produce dairy products. It's going to take all our voices to get dairy farms to hear that we take the welfare of their animals into account when purchasing milk, cheese and other dairy products. Dairy farmers aren't going to make any changes unless they hear from you.
There are farms that comply with Certified Humane® standards -- a comprehensive set of guidelines that ensure that farm animals live in humane conditions and do not suffer or live in cruel conditions. More farms need to hear that the welfare of dairy cows matter to customers.
Sign the petition urging dairy farmers to become Certified Humane®.
read petition letter ▾
I am writing today to urge your farm to improve the welfare of your dairy cows and become Certified Humane®.
[Your comments will be added here.]
Products with the Certified Humane® label come from farms where animals get a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, are raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors.
Animal welfare matters to me and effects which dairy products I buy for my family. Please take the necessary steps to become Certified Humane®. Dear [Decision Maker],I am writing today to urge your farm to improve the welfare of your dairy cows and become Certified Humane®.[Your comments will be added here.]Products with the Certified Humane® label come from farms where animals get a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, are raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors.Animal welfare matters to me and effects which dairy products I buy for my family. Please take the necessary steps to become Certified Humane®.Andrew Williams
Dolby Vision is one or the highest image quality standards in cinemas. It’s so demanding there are just a handful of Dolby Vision screens across the world. They’re not cheap to make—each screen uses two 4K laser-light projectors, rather than bog standard DLP—but with high brightness and 12-bit HDR colour they look superb.
At MWC 2017 LG and Dolby announced that the new LG G6 supports Dolby Vision, once again raising the question of how Dolby has diluted one of its audiovisual cinema techs this time. After all, Dolby Vision is a standard that ostensibly supports brightness levels up to 10,000 nits, where the brightest phones top out at 600-700.
In much the same way that Dolby Atmos, originally a multi-speaker cinema technology, is now available on mobile devices, Dolby is risking the credibility of Dolby Vision by bringing it to the LG G6, and presumably other phones and laptops soon. Thankfully, I can report that it's more than a branding exercise—though only just.
Dolby’s vice president of interactive imaging Taeho Oh explained to us how it works. “All Dolby Vision devices look as close as possible to the reference monitor,” he says, the "reference monitor" being, for example, the display a Hollywood colourist would use when grading not-best-movie-Oscar-winner La La Land.
He explained the process. “Manufacturers work with LCD manufacturers, and they then select an LCD panel. We work based on that. We tune the device to that LCD, to what works best with our reference.”
Dolby Vision in a phone doesn’t mean a device has reached a certain minimum standard for colour gamut coverage, brightness, or contrast, but that Dolby has tweaked the screen to appear as good as is possible. “Our colourist actually tunes [the screen] so it maps with the displays used by content creators.”
We should note that this Dolby Vision colour profile isn’t used 24/7: it's only enabled when the LG G6 is fed Dolby Vision-encoded content. Netflix and Amazon Video have announced they will provide mobile video content with Dolby Vision, although right now we’re not sure if the library will match that of Dolby Vision-certified TVs.
There are limits to how far clever calibration can get you, though. Dolby Vision content uses the Rec 2020 colour gamut, an incredibly wide standard that encompasses 67 percent of the colours our eyes and brains can perceive (the CIE standard). For some context, the traditional display standard, sRGB, only covers 34 percent, and most cheaper phones today struggle to cover all of sRGB.
We haven’t tested the LG G6 with a colorimeter, but we’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it can cover 100 percent of sRGB. But it probably can’t cover 100 percent of Adobe RGB or DCI P3, both of which are far narrower than Rec 2020.
We saw a little of the effect of this in the Dolby Vision demo Dolby showed us, where the colour contrast in a bright red flower began to bottom out in its most reddy bits. Crucially, though, it didn’t simply blow out the red colour channel, the colour version of overexposure, leaving the LG G6 with a flat plane of red. It’s here we see the benefits of an expert’s touch.
As Taeho Oh says, “we make a lower-performing screen closer to reference.” The colour began to plateau at, we assume, the native abilities of the panel, but without making the LG G6’s screen limitations glaringly obvious.The inaugural USA Half Marathon, which was open only to time qualifiers, traced the streets of San Diego on Saturday. While the race didn’t attract many elite runners, its overall fast field helped some entrants achieve speedy times on a tough course.
Race organizer Ken Nwadike Jr. wanted to start a race that would be the “Boston of half marathons,” with qualifying times as a barrier to entry. He said after the race that runners had been enthusiastic about the idea.
“It almost seems like there’s been an unspoken need for this concept,” he said.
Part of the idea was to get away from themed events such as color runs and mud runs that take away from the competitiveness of the sport, Nwadike said. Entry times ranged from 1:45 for men ages 15 to 29 to 2:30 for women 75 and over. The goal, Nwadike said, is to bring those times down in the future, as the race grows more competitive.
While this year’s race was capped at 5,000 entrants, only about 3,000 registered and 2,400 finished, he said. Nwadike might toughen the qualifying standards next year if more than 5,000 people register. Then, he would set up a system like the one used for the Boston Marathon, where faster runners (relative to their qualifying standards) get priority.
Robyn Roybal, 55, won her division with a time of 1:33:55. Roybal said she thought she’d be competitive in her age group, but wasn’t sure she’d win. She said the qualifying times meant a faster overall field, which pushed her.
“I knew it’d be competitive, and running with fast people always makes you faster,” she said.
Many runners posted on the event’s Facebook page that they ran fast times, and Katja Goldring, 25, who won the women’s overall field, also notched a PR (1:14:14).
But the men’s overall winner, Sean Gildea, 24, said he was hoping for a faster lead pack.
“They hung with me for the first five miles, but after the hill at mile six I broke away and was alone the rest of the time,” he said.
Gildea was hoping to run an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier (1:05), but instead ran 1:07:35, which wasn’t a PR for him.
“It was a really tough course with big hills at the beginning,” he said. “I thought after the descent that it would be completely flat but there were small hills so I really had to keep working.”
The course has a 6 percent gain in the second mile through San Diego’s Balboa Park, then a sharp downhill at just about halfway through the race.
“The combination of the course and the competition didn’t make it the fastest race,” Gildea said.
Nwadike said this year was a trial run for the race, and he will reach out to more elites next year.
The course did draw one superstar: Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi stood on the sidelines at around the 10K mark, which was near his home in San Diego, took photos with runners, and gave high fives.
His brother, Merhawi Keflezighi, helped organize the race, which had the Meb Foundation as its official charity.
“Totally the highlight of the race,” wrote runner Tim Christoni on Facebook about his Meb greeting. “No cameras. No entourage. Nothing but love and encouragement. A true class act.”
Nwadike said registration for next year’s race will open on the same day as the Boston Marathon, and that he’ll likely offer pre-registration for Boston runners to secure their spots before general registration opens.Current format precludes an open and inclusive debate
Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan said today: “A trustee for the Green Party, Mr Tom Kivlehan, is today applying to the High court for a judicial review next week to challenge the rules RTÉ are applying regarding who can be included in the upcoming party leaders debates.
“The current rules preclude the Green Party and the likes of the Independence Alliance from taking part, despite the fact that we have similar support to other parties who are being included.
“RTÉ is narrowing the options that are being presented to the people when it is clear that voters want to consider a variety of alternatives in this election. The leaders’ debates are always key moments in any campaign. By excluding parties such as our own, RTÉ can affect the outcome in a way that is not fair.
“This is a one in five year chance for the Irish people to decide their future. The people deserve to hear from all the options, all the voices. Exclusion is anti-democratic, it stifles true debate, and it weakens the national discourse.
“There is no legal reason why RTÉ should only include parties with three deputies in the last Dáil. A number of the parties that are being invited to take part on the 15th of February debate were not even in existence when the last election took place.
“RTÉ already apply wider criteria, such as how parties are doing in the polls, the number of candidates they are running and the results of the recent local and European elections as criteria when they are measuring overall election coverage. If such criteria were applied to the leaders’ debate, it is clear that the Green Party would be included.”In simple terms, the system allows a petrol engine to match and even surpass the efficiency of a diesel engine. It also eliminates harmful NOx emissions.
Kunz concedes there are problems to overcome, specifically HCCI's ability to work only under low loads at present. Mazda has so far got the technology to work on loads of up to around 50 per cent.
For this reason, the engine retains spark plugs for spark ignition under heavier loads, at which point a richer fuel-air mixture is used for combustion.
Kunz says Mazda is investigating the likes of cylinder deactivation in the engine and the firm is aiming “for the driver to not be able to tell the difference between different driving modes”.
Further ahead, Mazda is working on SkyActiv-G Generation 3 engines. These will adopt adiabatic combustion, which means that no heat is lost in combustion and the engine will be significantly more efficient again, with well-to-wheel CO2 emissions of around 60g/km for an 'average' model, an improvement of around 30 per cent again on SkyActiv-G Generation 2-powered models.
“This is the theoretical maximum and our target area,” says Kunz. He added that the combustion chamber and cylinder head would be insulated so “heat can be kept inside and used to drive the car and not be wasted".
Models equipped with SkyActiv-G Generation 3 engines would be much more efficient over a much wider band of revs and loads, eliminating the need for eight-speed-plus automatic gearboxes and long gear ratios.
These will be so efficent that Mazda believes it can add mild hybrid systems that draw no power from the engine and are powered purely by energy recouped under braking.
The hybrid system, likely based on Mazda’s current i-Eloop system which uses capacitors to store electricity and to power vehicle ancillaries, would only be used on low loads and low speeds when the car is at its least efficient, and should result in a model with well-to-wheel CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km with no heavy hybrid battery pack or systems.
That figure is equivalent to the well-to-wheel CO2 emissions of a pure-electric model, according to Mazda’s calculations.
“We think this is a fair comparison on the environmental impact of cars and we hope public opinion and legislation will consider our way of reducing emissions and not just focus on the tailpipe,” said Kunz.
“I’m not sure on the timescale of this, except that it will be on our next-generation of vehicles.”
With the first of the current generation of new Mazdas, the CX-5, introduced in 2012, it’s likely the SkyActiv-G Generation 2 technology could arrive in production before the decade is out.
“This is early launch information and development is ongoing,” Kunz added. “It’s not as far off as 2020, but we’re already at the stage where engines are running and prototypes are being developed. It’s not in the very far future.”Prominent Illustrator's Work Now in Permanent Collection
To call it unlikely would be an understatement.
A work of art that challenges the official account of 9/11 has been accepted into the permanent collection of the 9/11 Museum in New York City. And surprisingly, the piece was created by an artist who is best known for his illustrations in the mainstream media.
Anthony Freda — who has contributed provocative political art to publications like The New York Times, Time, Rolling Stone, Esquire, The New Yorker, and Playboy — says he has no idea why the museum would accept his painting, titled "9-11 Questions."
The original "9-11 Questions" by artist Anthony Freda is now owned by the 9/11 Museum, though it is not clear whether its curators intend to ever display it in public.
"I still can't figure out what is in the museum's mind letting me in there, because literally every part of my being is fighting against the official narrative that they are trying to promote," he said in an interview. "The thing that fascinates me, and they admitted this, is that this is the only piece in the entire collection that questions the official narrative in any way."
Freda met with museum staff for 90 minutes to donate the art and to answer questions about the images it contains. The entire exchange was filmed for a documentary called Behind Truth Art, which is planned for release in 2015. (This 30-minute preview shows highlights of the meeting.)
Museum officials told Freda that "9-11 Questions" will rotate with other works on display and that it may also be included in traveling 9/11 art shows organized by the museum. But he concedes that museum officials, now that they own it, can do whatever they want with the piece — including locking it in a vault forever.
Freda created the work eight years ago, when The Village Voice commissioned him to illustrate its article "Fakes on a Plane," which was intended to "gently make fun" of online 9/11 documentaries like Loose Change and the people who believe them.
"The script is literally out of 1984. It's life imitating art." ~ Anthony Freda
The assignment led Freda to research the subject of 9/11, and he reached an unexpected conclusion — that those who were challenging the official story are actually intelligent, serious about their research, and willing to make personal sacrifices to stand up for the truth.
"Oh my God, these guys aren't crazy like I thought," he recalls saying to himself. "Why would they put their careers on the line to get this information out when they have everything to lose and nothing to gain?"
Thus began Freda's personal journey of discovery. The more he explored, the more convinced he became that the evidence put forward by the 9/11 Truth Movement is scientific, factual, and undeniable.
"I didn't go into this willingly or easily, but when you're presented with all the evidence, you can only stick your head in the sand so long. The more I look into it, the more the evidence becomes reinforced. It just gets stronger and stronger, and you can't tear it apart."
Freda says he also came to understand how much of a price the world has paid as a result of the 9/11 deception: wars, millions dead, a police state, and a pervasive feeling of fear, hysteria, and paranoia.
"The script is literally out of 1984. It's life imitating art."
Freda admits to biting the hand that feeds him. "A lot of the publications I've worked for are the same people who promoted the lies that took us to Iraq and reinforced the official narrative [of 9/11]. I have a foot in both worlds. When I get some assignments from mainstream media, I try to use those assignments to get some truth messages in there. They have the right to say what they want to say, and we have a right to say they are lying."
The documentary
Behind Truth Art director John Massaria will be using the work of Freda as the focal point of his film, which he hopes will be upbeat, not heavy or preachy. "Through this, we're trying to say to people, 'What do you think about using art to wake up people?' Art transcends words and language, and it kind of takes all those barriers down."
Freda agrees: "The movie's not just about me, it's about activists and artists and people who are trying to come up with creative ways to get these messages out there."
Interviewees for the film include William Binney, Gerald Celente, Richard Grove, Adam Kokesh, Peter Kuper, Lee Camp, and a number of other thinkers and activists.
Massaria says that once Freda's 9/11 piece was accepted, the museum gave him permission to bring in a film crew to document the artist donating his work. But after the film had been shot, museum officials had a change of heart. "What's curious is they really didn't want us releasing that footage at all; they tried to backpedal."
At that point, Massaria turned for legal advice to Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth founder and CEO Richard Gage, who referred him to a team of lawyers. They confirmed that a film documenting the museum staff accepting Freda's donation would not be cause for a lawsuit. If it came to that, though, it would "look pretty bad for the public relations department [of the museum]," Massaria observes.
"It just brings up another side of the story. And if you can't have both sides shown, then the museum's a fraud." ~ John Massaria
The director couldn't have scripted things any better: Filming Freda being questioned about his work of art for an hour and a half ended up being much more interesting and revealing than if the staff had said a simple "thank you" for the gift.
Massaria says he was told that the museum has also had several 9/11 Truth films donated by their directors, but that these films will remain in the museum's internal archives. He says he hopes the public will demand that Freda's "9-11 Questions" be exhibited.
"It just brings up another side of the story. And if you can't have both sides shown, then the museum's a fraud."
A major obstacle to the film being finished is funding. A Kickstarter campaign brought in $3,500, but more money is needed to complete it. Anyone interested in contributing to the effort can email the filmmaker [here].
Craig McKee is a journalist and the creator of the blog Truth and Shadows.Published online 11 April 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.751
News
Brain activity predicts decisions before they are consciously made.
Think it over: your brain might pre-empt your consciousness when deciding what to do. Punchstock
Your brain makes up its mind up to ten seconds before you realize it, according to researchers. By looking at brain activity while making a decision, the researchers could predict what choice people would make before they themselves were even aware of having made a decision.
The work calls into question the ‘consciousness’ of our decisions and may even challenge ideas about how ‘free’ we are to make a choice at a particular point in time.
“We think our decisions are conscious, but these data show that consciousness is just the tip of the iceberg,” says John-Dylan Haynes, a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, who led the study.
“The results are quite dramatic,” says Frank Tong, a neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Ten seconds is "a lifetime” in terms of brain activity, he adds.
On the button
Haynes and his colleagues imaged the brains of 14 volunteers while they performed a decision-making task. The volunteers were asked to press one of two buttons when they felt the urge to. Each button was operated by a different hand. At the same time, a stream of letters were presented on a screen at half-second intervals, and the volunteers had to remember which letter was showing when they decided to press their button.
When the researchers analysed the data, the earliest signal the team could pick up started seven seconds before the volunteers reported having made their decision. Because of there is a delay of a few seconds in the imaging, this means that the brain activity could have begun as much as ten seconds before the conscious decision. The signal came from a region called the frontopolar cortex, at the front of the brain, immediately behind the forehead.
This area may well be the brain region where decisions are initiated, says Haynes, who reports the results online in Nature Neuroscience1.
The next step is to speed up the data analysis to allow the team to predict people's choices as their brains are making them.
Mind over matter
The results build on some well-known work on free will done in the 1980s by the late neurophysiologist Benjamin Libet, then at the University of California, San Francisco. Libet used a similar experimental set-up to Haynes, but with just one button and measuring electrical activity in his subjects' brains. He found that the regions responsible for movement reacted a few hundred milliseconds before a conscious decision was made.
But Libet's study has been criticized in the intervening decades for its method of measuring time, and because the brain response might merely have been a general preparation for movement, rather than activity relating to a specific decision.
Haynes and his team improved the method by asking people to choose between two alternatives — left and right. Because moving the left and right hands generates distinct brain signals, the researchers could show that activity genuinely reflected one of the two decisions.
But the experiment could limit how ‘free’ people’s choices really are, says Chris Frith, who studies consciousness and higher brain function at University College London. Although subjects are free to choose when and which button to press, the experimental set-up restricts them to only these actions and nothing more, he says. “The subjects hand over their freedom to the experimenter when they agree to enter the scanner," he says.
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What might this mean, then, for the nebulous concept of free will? If choices really are being made several seconds ahead of awareness, “there’s not much space for free will to operate”, Haynes says.
But results aren't enough to convince Frith that free will is an illusion. “We already know our decisions can be unconsciously primed,” he says. The brain activity could be part of this priming, as opposed to the decision process, he adds.
Part of the problem is defining what we mean by ‘free will’. But results such as these might help us settle on a definition. It is likely that “neuroscience will alter what we mean by free will”, says Tong.Describing himself as a man of his word, embattled Conservative Senator Mike Duffy says he has repaid more than $90,000 in Senate housing expenses.
Duffy issued a statement late Friday saying the expenses were repaid in March.
Shortly afterward, a terse statement from the Senate Committee on Internal Economy confirmed Duffy had reimbursed some $90,172.24 in living allowance expenses, although it didn't make clear when the payment was made.
Confusion reigned for much of the day after Duffy — who pledged in February to repay the funds — hinted in a Global TV report that he would only do so if a Senate audit committee required it.
Duffy is a long-time Ottawa resident with a full-time home in the capital, making him ineligible for a subsidy paid to senators whose jobs required them to maintain a secondary residence.
Under the Constitution, senators must reside in the provinces they are appointed to represent. Duffy represents P.E.I., where he claims a cottage as his primary residence, although neighbours and provincial records suggest he spends little time there.
"I have always said that I am a man of my word," Duffy, a former broadcaster, said in Friday's statement.
"In keeping with the commitment I made to Canadians, I can confirm that I repaid these expenses in March 2013."
The statement from the Senate was even more economical.
"Senator Duffy has reimbursed the Receiver General $90,172.24 for living allowance expenses," it said. "There will be no further comment."
Duffy promised to repay funds in February
Duffy issued a statement in February, in the midst of a Senate expense scandal, that said he would repay the funds.
"Rather than let this issue drag on, my wife and I have decided that the allowance associated with my house in Ottawa will be repaid," Duffy said in the February statement.
He also asked to go on CBC Television in Prince Edward Island to discuss the issue, which he said had become a "major distraction."
"My wife and I discussed it and we decided that in order to turn the page, to put all this behind us, we are going to voluntarily pay back my living expensives related to the house we have in Ottawa," he told CBC News Compass anchor Bruce Rainnie.
When asked if he meant the approximately $42,000 he has received over two years, Duffy said, "Whatever it is — the accountants...."
"And until the rules are clear — and they are not clear now, the forms are not clear, and I hope the Senate will re-do the forms to make them clear — I will not claim a housing allowance," Duffy said in Feb. 22 interview.
In the Global interview, Duffy said he'd not yet repaid the money, and was waiting for the results of the Senate's own expenses audit before doing so.
"If I was wrong and made a mistake, I'll repay it," he said.
"And if I wasn't wrong, I assume that will be reported as well."
In January, the Senate's internal economy committee asked senators who were claiming the secondary residence allowance to prove their primary home was not within 100 kilometres of the capital, as the rules require.
Duffy requested an expedited P.E.I. health card, but he was turned down by the provincial government. Provincial tax records show Duffy and his wife are identified as non-resident owners of their island cottage.
Even Peter Van Loan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's parliamentary House leader, seemed to have trouble keeping the facts straight Friday.
Under questioning from NDP MP Charlie Angus, Van Loan seemed to deny that Duffy had ever undertaken to repay the money.
"I do not believe he made those comments," Van Loan said.
"We will wait for the findings of the (auditor's) report, of course, but our government has been clear. We have committed to ensuring that all expenses are appropriate at the Senate, that the rules governing expenses are appropriate and that the Senate does follow through on that."
A spokesman in Van Loan's office later said the minister was not disputing Duffy's promise to repay the money, but rather the comments to Global that he had not yet done so.
Under the Constitution, senators must reside in the provinces they are appointed to represent. Duffy represents P.E.I., where he claims a cottage as his primary residence, although neighbours and provincial records suggest he spends little time there.About This Game
The 2 Party System has been improved for better combat!
Each floor has been revamped and improved with new mechanisms!
Yokai with new powers and behaviors!
Battles with Boss Yokai have been revamped!
Choose from 3 control settings!
New Tutorial floor added!
You no longer fill your stomach when leveling up or using a save point.
New CG events when moving between floors!
Parts of the UI and display have been updated!
When a floor is fully explored, you can obtain hidden items!
New save points!
Extra Dungeon revamp!
When you divide your party into 2, the group you aren't controlling turns to stone and has greatly increased defense. Some Yokai cannot be attacked from the front so use your stone companions as shields and strike your foes from behind.Enjoy thrilling battles never before seen in Hyakki Castle!Every floor has been reimagined with new and improved traps, mechanisms, and Yokai placement. New mechanisms and floor layouts have been replaced to improve the play experience!From teleporting Gaikotsu Yujo, to Gyuki suddenly striking from the ceiling, certain Yokai have gained powerful new abilities!Most boss Yokai battles are completely different this time around. One change for example: the 2nd boss, Haragao no Mure, advances through 3 rooms. In the final room, a Shokandama and multiple fakes will appear. Make sure to attack the real one!You can choose from 3 different control settings for your gamepad.When you start the game, there will be a tutorial introducing the 2 Party System and how to utilize it.In the castle, you must eat the food you find to recover HG and sleep to recover HP and MP. Food acquisition and management are now key mechanics in this dungeon RPG.When you move from one floor to another, enjoy 17 new CG events.Certain portions of the user interface, along with HP, MP, and other displays have been updated. Selectable character portraits have been added.If you reveal the entire Floor Map, you can unlock and warp to a room with hidden items.Added save points to floors.Experience the new and improved, High-difficulty Extra Dungeon, available after clearing the game."* You can play Hyakki Castle by selecting [Switch to old version] on the title screen of Haunted Dungeons.* Haunted Dungeons does not support achievements. You can unlock achievements by playing Hyakki Castle.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
July 29, 2013, 4:02 AM GMT By Linda Carroll
As a single working mom with no college education, Jessica Aragon was once so desperate for diapers she considered stealing them. Back then, she remembers, she barely had enough money to cover childcare and rent at the end of the month, let alone pay for baby wipes and diapers for her 1-year-old.
“For other needs, like food, you could go to a food bank,” Aragon, now 33, says. “But there was no help for things like diapers. I had to borrow money and sell everything I had -- the DVD player, the TV – to get money for diapers.”
Sometimes she’d just have to skip a change and leave her baby wet so she’d have enough diapers to make it through the week. "It made me feel ashamed, like I was less of a mother,” the Columbus, Ohio, mom says.
As it turns out, Aragon is far from alone. Thirty percent of the women interviewed for a new study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics said they'd experienced a time when they could not afford to buy the diapers their kids needed. And a full 8 percent reported that they would “stretch” the diapers they had when their supply was running short by leaving a wet diaper on their child or partially cleaning the diaper and reusing it.
In fact, worry over how to pay for diapers is now among the top stressors for low-income parents, next to concerns about food and housing, researchers say.
The concerns come as Americans continue to grapple with the effects of the deep recession and weak recovery, which has left many families scrambling to keep up with rising bills. The nation’s median household income declined to $50,054 in 2011. After adjusting for inflation, that’s nearly 9 percent lower than the peak in 1999.
The problem is especially acute for single moms, who tend to already be among the most economically vulnerable. The overall poverty rate was 15 percent in 2011, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. But nearly 41 percent of female-headed households with children under age 18 were living below the poverty line, according to the Census Bureau. That compares to a little less than 9 percent of married-couple families with kids under 18.
The high percentage of moms who worry about affording diapers came as a surprise to the study’s lead author, Megan Smith, an assistant professor of psychiatry, child study and public health at the Yale School of Medicine.
Smith started out looking into stressors that impact the mental health of moms and especially the factors that affected their ability to bond with their kids. The more moms she talked to the more she realized that a big stressor for some of them was the inability to pay for diapers.
“Some were taking off their kids’ diapers and scraping off the contents and then putting them back on the child,” Smith says. “While that has an incredible impact on the health of the child in terms of urinary tract infections and rashes, it also impacts the self-esteem of the mom.”
Another big surprise to Smith: there are few federal dollars to pay for diapers. Neither WIC nor SNAP provide for diaper purchases.
For the study, Smith and her colleagues interviewed 877 pregnant and parenting women of various income levels in New Haven, Conn. The researchers located the women through health care providers and also by conducting outreach in various spots around the city, including schools, beauty shops, bus stops, playgrounds and grocery stores.
The women were asked questions about their basic demographics, mental health, substance use, trauma histories, health care and social service use, and basic needs -- such as food, housing, and diapers.
While the new study focused on mothers in New Haven, Conn., experts note that many families across the country struggle to afford diapers. "The results of the study support the reports I hear every day from diaper bank leaders across the country," says Joanne Goldblum, a study co-author and executive director of the National Diaper Bank Network, which helps provide diapers to low-income families.
A 2010 study commissioned by diaper-maker Huggies found that one in three of the 1,513 U.S. mothers surveyed had cut back on essentials such as food, child care or utilities to afford diapers for their children. Of those surveyed, 26 percent were living below the poverty |
; traumas are incredibly hard to reach and figure out, despite what Steve wants from Bucky and what Tony wants from his own abilities, and a snap of the fingers or a new suit or a fleet of Ultrons can’t fix what these men have been through.
The main point of that storyline at its logical conclusion in Civil War is that Steve cannot rescue Bucky, and Pepper can’t rescue Tony. It’s frightening to assume that everyone can just be “loved out of” a traumatic response, no matter how much one would want to do so. The most Bucky and Steve and Tony can do, at least in the information we get from these movies, is attempt to navigate their traumatic responses, figure out a way to make them less of a presence in their daily lives, and try to go on living as fully as they can in their present circumstances. They cannot forget their traumas, but they can learn how to live with them. It’s only then that their relationships with each other, the Avengers, their employers, and ultimately themselves will heal. And that is a message from which we can all benefit: even if you’ve been hurt, or you’re in pain, life can go on.
Alysa Auriemma is a teacher, writer, activist, geek, cosplayer, and her friend group’s feminist killjoy. Her blog, The Curious Ally Cat, has seen notice by newspapers such as the Hartford Courant and the New York Times. She is in the process of writing a series of fantasy novels for self-publication. In her spare time, she enjoys participating in community theater, solo trips to the city to see Broadway shows, really good Mexican food, and arguing with friends about which Mighty Ducks movie is the best (D2).
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
Follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google+.Five studies supported the proposed guilt-driven account of defensive moral outrage whereby self-focused guilt over personal or collective harm-doing motivates expressions of moral outrage at a third-party. Study 1 showed that guilt in response to salient personal harm-doing predicted an increased desire to punish a third-party through increased moral outrage at that target. Building on Study 1, Study 2 manipulated responsibility for harm-doing to show that salient ingroup (vs. outgroup) harm-doing elicited outrage at a third-party through increased feelings of personal guilt. Studies 2 and 3 directly tested the defensive function of moral outrage, finding that the opportunity to express third-party-directed outrage effectively attenuated guilt (Study 2) and bolstered personal moral identity (Study 3) following the threat of ingroup immorality. Study 4 showed that exposure to a third-party’s immoral action was insufficient to bolster evaluations of one’s own moral character in the absence of an opportunity to express moral outrage. Finally, Study 5 showed that guilt-induced moral outrage was attenuated when participants were provided with an alternative means of bolstering their moral identity, even in an unrelated context.
We took steps to rule out a number potential alternative explanations for these results. Most notably, Study 4 was designed to disentangle the effects of expressing third-party-directed moral outrage from the ability to make a downward social comparison between oneself and a comparably more egregious third-party. We also attempted to test alternative explanations by assessing and statistically controlling for an array of extraneous variables. For example, Study 1 showed that the association between guilt for personal harm-doing and outrage at third-party harm-doing was not reducible to variability in participants’ general negative affect. Similarly, we took steps to test the possibility that our obtained effects may have reflected variations in common “nonmoral” forms of anger (i.e., personal anger and empathic anger; Batson 2011) rather than moral outrage. In Study 2 we attempted to exclude the potential influence of personal anger by assessing and controlling for the extent to which participants’ believed that they were, or might become, victims of climate change. In Study 5, we attempted to exclude the influence of empathic anger by assessing and controlling for participants’ tendency to empathize with the workers undeservedly harmed by corporations’ sweatshop labor practices. Even though the contexts in these studies are highly charged political topics, we found that controlling for ideology did not explain the observed results throughout.
These findings are consistent with recent research showing that outgroup-directed moral outrage can be elicited in response to perceived threats to the ingroup’s moral status (Rothschild et al. 2013; Täuber and van Zomeren 2013). However, by assessing mediating and moderating variables along with downstream consequences the present studies go beyond previous literature. We found consistent evidence that outrage driven by moral identity concerns serves to compensate for the threat of personal or collective immorality. This research also contributes more generally to the moral emotions literature by illuminating a link between guilt and self-serving expressions of outrage that reflect a kind of “moral hypocrisy” (Batson et al. 1999), or at least a nonmoral form of anger with a moral façade. In particular, the attenuation of elevated outrage in Studies 5 highlights the disingenuous nature of these expressions and exposes one’s own moral identity, rather than justice, as the central motivating concern in these cases.
However, it should be clear that we do not propose that all expressions of moral outrage are the result of deep-seated guilt or defensive attempts to maintain a moral image. Surely there exist forms of moral outrage genuinely motivated by a desire to promote social justice or to combat oppression. Our central claim is simply that outrage can be defensive and can be motivated by underlying feelings of guilt in order to bolster a moral self-concept when people’s moral identity is threatened. Distinguishing the motives behind moral outrage presents opportunities for research exploring the forms and functions of this phenomenon. For example, we might expect that more genuine (i.e., justice-oriented) forms of moral outrage are likely to motivate more high-investment behaviors over a longer period of time to combat injustice. In contrast, defensive outrage is likely to elicit only as much action as is necessary to make the outraged party feel moral once more. In the context of online activism, one wonders how much short-lived movements like “#StopKONY” (Bellantoni and Polantz 2013), “#GamerGate” (Hathaway 2014) and others communities owe their existence and perpetuation to moral identity maintenance.
Limitations and future directions While our results consistently support the proposed defensive function of moral outrage, they do not speak to how outrage serves this function. However, past research offers some possibilities. For example, recent research suggests an unaffected observer’s tendency to harshly punish a third-party may serve as a signal of one’s own selflessness, honesty, and trustworthiness to others (Jordan et al. 2016). In support of this claim, Jordan and colleagues found that punishing third-party perpetrators was viewed by others as a sign of trustworthiness and the desire to punish was attenuated when participants were provided with other means of communicating their moral worth. Other research has suggested that harsh views of moral transgressors may be used to distance oneself from ethical misconduct (Barkan et al. 2012). This suggests that participants in the present studies may have used expressions of third-party-directed outrage as a means of signaling a moral identity to others or distancing themselves from salient personal or collective transgressions that might otherwise threaten their moral reputation. However, such explanations, grounded in the communication and management of one’s public self-image, fail to offer a compelling reason why private feelings of guilt should predict moral outrage and more importantly, why the expression of such outrage should alleviate felt guilt, even in the context of an anonymous online study. As such, future research is needed not only to confirm the replicability of the observed process and identify its potential boundary conditions, but also to illuminate how it operates. The current studies provide strong evidence that subjective feelings of guilt can spur expressions of third-party-directed outrage to restore a moral identity. However, the current research paradigm is limited insofar as it focuses on emotional responses to past or ongoing acts of harm-doing. Research finds that in some cases the mere anticipation that one might experience guilt over future harm-doing can motivate guilt avoidance strategies, such as the intention to perform prosocial actions or avoid bad behavior (e.g., Sandberg and Connor 2008; Wang and McClung 2012). This raises the possibility that the mere anticipation of guilt over one’s potential future harm-doing may be sufficient to elicit third-party-directed outrage as a preemptive guilt evasion strategy. If true, this would suggest that whereas subjective feelings of guilt can drive defensive displays of moral outrage (as shown in the present research), the actual experience of guilt in the present may not be necessary. Future research is needed to further clarify the precise role played by guilt (experienced and anticipated) in the production of defensive outrage. Importantly, the current studies’ emphasis on moral identity concerns does not preclude the potential that guilt may serve other functional capacities. For example, research suggests that guilt can play an important function in facilitating and maintain social relationships (e.g., Baumeister et al. 1994). This work views guilt as an evolved mechanism which signals that one has caused harm or distress to a relationship partner and motivates efforts to repair the damaged relationship (Keltner et al. 2006). Combining this insight with the current project raises the possibility that guilt-induced expressions of moral outrage may also serve a relationship maintenance function: Expressions of outrage may serve to mend a relationship by signaling one’s concern for, and commitment to fighting on behalf of an injured party. Other researchers have theorized that moral outrage at a third-party may foster a sense of social cohesion and promote a shared identity between advantaged and disadvantaged groups against that transgressor (Thomas et al. 2009). Future research is needed to explore conditions in which moral outrage may be employed for social benefit. The scope of the present research is also limited by its exclusive focus on the relationship between guilt and outrage. One important direction for future research will be to shed light on the potential role of other emotions in motivating moral outrage. Shame for example is another core “moral emotion” which is similar to guilt insofar as it is caused by personal or collective immorality (Tangney et al. 2007). However, unlike guilt, shame is purely self-evaluative, rather than reflecting an evaluation of some particular moral wrong (e.g., feeling that one is worthless rather than that one did something improper; Tangney 1992). Would shame contribute to moral outrage in the same way as guilt? At first blush this seems unlikely: Because guilt evaluates an action as wrong, it is desirable to hold others accountable for this action. In contrast, shame about one’s own moral status is not easily attributed to international corporations, immigrants, or other outside sources. However, recent research has questioned the conceptual boundaries between guilt and shame (Gausel and Brown 2012), and shown that shame can predict self-defensive motivations (Gausel et al. 2012), particularly when people perceive a risk to their social-image and fear condemnation from others (Gausel et al. 2016). This suggests that shame might be more likely to predict defensive outrage when social image concerns are salient. We also provided a fixed target (e.g., corporations) for participants’ outrage in the present studies in order to assess the specific consequences of moral outrage while reducing “real-world” noise by isolating the phenomenon. However, it seems reasonable that people might actively seek or spontaneously generate targets of outrage as desired. Factors influencing the spontaneous section of targets of outrage may include salience (e.g., from media exposure), prior exposure (as frequent targets of outrage), and the motivation to maintain a consistent worldview. Glick (2005) argues that people turn to shared ideologies when motivated to identify outgroups that can be blamed and punished for negative outcomes. Furthermore, recent research suggests that the inflated perceptions of third-party harm-doing can be motivated by the need to justify feelings of outrage (Thomas et al. 2016). This raises the possibility that people may be able find and or “create” outrage-worthy targets when motivated to defend their moral status. Additionally, while we believe that our decision to investigate the complex real world issues of consumer and corporate harm-doing is a strength of the present research, it does make it difficult for us to definitively rule out the possibility that some participants might have viewed themselves as contributing to corporate harm-doing. Insofar as participants saw themselves as complicit in a larger system of harm-doing which encompasses both the self and the corporations, participants’ outrage at corporate harm-doing may have reflected ingroup-directed or self-focused anger, which has been shown to have a strong to moderate association with guilt (e.g., Iyer et al. 2007). For instance, if participants in Study 5 felt implicated in Apple Inc.’s sweatshop labor practices through their use of Apple products, their expressions of outrage at Apple Inc. might have reflected some degree of self-focused anger as opposed to outgroup-directed outrage. However, if participants’ were exhibiting self or ingroup-focused anger in the present studies it is unclear why these expressions would reduce subsequent feelings of guilt as was observed in Study 2. Ultimately, while our context has practical implications, it does so at some cost in its ability to tease apart the roles of self vs. corporate responsibility. Regardless of whether participants’ outrage at corporate harm-doing was self- or other-focused in the present studies, our findings offer compelling evidence of a defensive process and a novel account of an emotion previously assumed to reflect a motive for justice restoration (Harth et al. 2011, 2013; Thomas et al. 2009). However, future research might overcome this limitation by focusing on a third-party whose harm-doing is more clearly disconnected from participants’ own behavior, or by directly assessing the perceived overlap between the participants and a third-party harm-doer. Finally, on a more practical note, our studies were limited by an online MTurk sampling method that yielded a number of low-quality respondents, marked by inattention and evidence of low conscientiousness. Although series of a priori plans were implemented to account for, identify, and exclude these participants (e.g., use of attention check items, timed responses, probing questions), we cannot be certain that all such cases were excluded or that these exclusions might have narrowed our sample along other dimensions. As such, we advise that extensions of this work employ alternative methods of sampling in order to draw firmer conclusions about the strength and generalizability of the obtained effects.When UnitedHealthcare exited the Affordable Care Act exchange in Louisiana last year, Kim Spencer was one of around 29,000 people forced to find a new insurance plan under the federal health care law. She chose Humana, then found a new primary care physician at Tulane University Medical Center, based on recommendations from friends.
Her new doctor did not disappoint. She was caring, engaged, and in no rush to see the next patient, Spencer said. A month later, when an $88 bill arrived from Tulane, Spencer paid it the same day, assuming it was the co-pay for the visit.
Then another bill showed up. It claimed Spencer, 61, owed an additional $323 for the routine blood work the doctor ordered. Spencer immediately emailed her doctor, who connected her to Tulane's billing department. Two months of emails and phone calls followed, none of which answered Spencer's question: Why was she charged so much for a few simple blood tests?
Story by
Jed Lipinski
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Lee Zurik
WVUE Fox 8 News
What Spencer didn't know is that the same blood tests could be had for a fraction of the cost at nearby clinics. Records show her insurer determined she owed $284 for a comprehensive metabolic panel, a common blood test that assesses kidney and liver function, among other things. Quest Diagnostics in Gretna charges $34 in cash for the same test, according to a database of cash prices compiled by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and WVUE Fox 8 News. Ochsner Medical Center charges $40, and Clinical Pathology Labs charges just $19 - a fifteenth of what Tulane asked Spencer to pay for the same service.
Find and share New Orleans area health care prices with our PriceCheck tool By collecting information from you and others, we can help unmask health care prices in metro New Orleans and beyond.
In a statement, Tulane Medical Center said the cash price for a metabolic panel was "comparable to the cost of the test at other area facilities." They added: "If a patient's insurance requires them to pay more out of pocket than that amount, they should review their plan and its deductible with their insurance provider."
Tulane did not respond to a request by the news organizations to provide the cash price for a metabolic panel.
"The hospital pricing experts have adopted the methods of the used car salesman," said Dr. Brobson Lutz, a private practice physician who was New Orleans' health director under three successive mayoral administrations. "Whatever price they feel like charging, they'll charge it. If the insurance company pays it, so much the better. If it hits the patient, well, so be it."
Reports of overpriced blood tests were routinely submitted to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and WVUE Fox 8 News over the past few months as part of their joint project "Cracking the Code: The Real Cost of Health Care." Conducted in partnership with Clear Health Costs, a New York-based journalism start-up, the project aims to unmask the real prices of health care in our region.
Many readers and viewers have submitted prices through the online PriceCheck tool at NOLA.com/health and fox8live.com/health. The tool lists hundreds of prices from our region, and lets users upload their own prices from medical bills and explanation of benefits forms.
For Spencer, a cheerful freelance gardener who lives in Lakeview, the $323 bill for blood work caused her to renew her search for an in-network doctor at another hospital. It's unfortunate, she said, because she liked her new physician at Tulane and didn't blame her for the outsized cost.
"In the emails we had back and forth, it became apparent that she had no power to step in and alter the outcome," Spencer said. "She sympathized. But in the end, she told me, 'All I can do is tell our clinic manager.' And then I never heard from the manager."
She went to a clinic for shoulder pain. Why did Tulane charge her a 'facility fee'? Federal law allows hospitals to charge facility fees at affiliated clinics, but experts say those fees have skyrocketed in the last decade.
Experts say physicians, much like the patients they treat, often remain in the dark about the cost of medical services and procedures until patients call to complain. Ultimately what the patient pays is determined by the size of the deductible, co-pay or co-insurance, and other stipulations of the patient's insurance plan, and by the insurance company's contract with the provider on how much the insurer will pay for that specific procedure or item.
Medical coders, who take records of a medical procedure and apply codes that allow the billing and payment systems to communicate with each other, play a role, too. Dr. Michael Ellis, a professor of otolaryngology and a former president of the Louisiana Medical Society, said coders have the authority to override physicians' suggestions on how a procedure should be coded. In some cases, he said, those overrides take place without the physician's knowledge.
"You don't hear about it until the patient shows you his or her explanation of benefits, or asks, 'Why is my bill twice as much as I thought it would be?'" Ellis said.
Spencer said it wasn't clear whether her doctor knew the cost of the blood tests she scheduled at her own hospital. Either way, Spencer said, she was not told the cost beforehand.
"It felt like the price was hidden from me," Spencer said.
Another person who submitted pricing information to our database shared a similar story. "I'm so upset about this," the woman wrote in an email, before describing the $600 blood work charge that she received from Ochsner Medical Center in Kenner.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss her medical records, said her insurance company, Cigna, was "shocked" by the charge. A Cigna representative informed her that Quest Diagnostics would have charged her $59 for the same five tests under her insurance plan, her medical records show. The representative even took her through the charges line by line, showing her how much more Ochsner charged for each test.
This man went to an in-network ER in New Orleans. Why did he get a $1,360 doctor's bill? "I think it's the worst consumer abuse in the insurance arena nationwide," Louisiana State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said of "balance billing."
"They overcharge and abuse the system," the woman said of the hospital. "Furthermore, they are not up front and honest with patients about this."
In a statement, Ochsner Health System said that, based on the patient's request for anonymity and without additional details, they could not comment on her specific case.
"At Ochsner, we are focused on providing the appropriate tools and resources, inclusive of customer service representatives, payment plans, financial support and quality outcomes information, to both assist patients with their healthcare decisions and so they can obtain the care they need," the statement said.
To justify charging higher rates than clinics and laboratories, hospitals have traditionally cited the higher overhead that comes with running large buildings with 24-hour emergency rooms. Some hospitals have also argued they need to charge more because they treat uninsured people for emergencies for free.
"But now, a large amount of the money hospitals make from overcharging people goes to highly paid middle managers and higher echelon administrators," Lutz said. "You have these non-profit institutions that are very profitable for the top employees."
Patients are left to wonder if such considerations factor into the high cost of care at certain New Orleans area hopitals. Last year, a state employee, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss his medical records, paid $27 at Quest Diagnostics for routine blood work through his LSU Health insurance plan, his medical bills showed. This year, he got the same battery of tests at East Jefferson General Hospital, and the price shot up to $284, the documents showed.
The price of a simple blood test can also differ drastically between non-profit hospitals in our region, according to data the news organizations collected. At Ochsner Medical Center in Slidell, the cash price of a metabolic panel is $185. Two miles away, at Slidell Memorial Hospital, the cash price of the same test is just $36.
Months after receiving her bill for blood work at Tulane, Spencer said the unfairness of the charge, plus the lack of answers from the hospital, have kept her from paying it. She has a good credit rating, she said, and worries what effect a collection's agency might have. The thought wakes her up at 4 a.m. some nights, she said.
"I just can't bring myself to give them that money," she said.
Jeanne Pinder of Clear Health Costs contributed to this report.Nestle India on Friday said all samples of Maggi have cleared tests conducted by three laboratories, as mandated by Bombay High Court, paving the way for the instant noodles brand to be back in the market after it was banned over the presence of excess lead.
The company said it will now commence manufacturing and will sell "only after the newly manufactured products are also cleared by the designated three laboratories". "We have received test results from all three laboratories mandated by the Hon'ble Bombay High Court to test Maggi Noodles samples. All the 90 samples, covering six variants, tested by these laboratories are clear with lead much below the permissible limits," Nestle India said in a statement.
The company, which had earlier said it was planning to bring back the Maggi noodles in the market by this year end, further said that it is committed to reintroducing Maggi noodles "at the earliest". "In compliance with the orders of the Hon ble Bombay High Court, we will now commence manufacture and will start selling only after the newly manufactured products are also cleared by the designated three laboratories," the company added.
Stressing that Maggi noodles are safe, Nestle India said it has "conducted over 3,500 tests representing over 200 million packs in both national as well as international accredited laboratories and all reports are clear".In addition to these, various countries including USA, UK, Singapore, Australia and others have found Maggi Noodles manufactured in India safe for consumption, it added.
Nestle will continue to collaborate with the FSSAI, the apex food regulator and other stakeholders, the company said. In June, the FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles saying it was "unsafe and hazardous" for consumption after finding lead levels beyond permissible limits. The company had withdrawn the instant noodles from the market.
Nestle India had challenged the ban by FSSAI in the Bombay High Court. In August, the court lifted the nation-wide ban imposed by the Indian food regulators on Maggi noodles but ordered a fresh test of samples of the product in three independent labs across India.
A division bench comprising Justices V M Kanade and B P Colabawalla also set aside the June 5 order of the Central government's Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). It also quashed the order of Maharashtra's Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) banning production and sale of Maggi noodles in India and the state.
The judges ordered Nestle India to send five samples of each variant to three accredited labs in Punjab, Hyderabad and Jaipur and asked the labs to give their reports within six weeks. The samples would be drawn from 750 crates of samples lying with the company. Nestle India, which took a hit of Rs 450 crore, including destroying over 30,000 tonnes of the instant noodles since June when it was banned because of alleged excessive lead content, had stated that it would continue with the existing formula of the product and not change the ingredients.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry had also filed a class action suit against Nestle India seeking about Rs 640 crore in damages for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements. It was for the first time that the ministry had dragged a company to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) using a provision in the nearly three-decade-old Consumer Protection Act.Wayne-based Toys ‘R’ Us announced Wednesday it has cut 500 jobs as part of its strategic plan to bolster the struggling company.Roughly 100 of those jobs have been cut from the Wayne headquarters. The rest came from Toys ‘R’ Us locations around the world.
“We are going through the painful exercise of right-sizing the business,” Chief Executive Antonio Urcelay said during a media event. “”We are introducing cuts in everything from maintenance to technology, streamlining our supply chain to require less inventory and concentrating our efforts on fewer vendors.”
The company did not provide details about which jobs had been eliminated.
Urcelay said “there are no plans” to close a large number of stores because most of the company’s portfolio is “very profitable.”
“We will develop from here strategies in our stores,” he said. “We cannot be grouped with what other retailers are doing.”
Currently, the company owns more than 1,700 stores in 36 countries.
Going forward, e-commerce will be a larger focus for Toys ‘R’ Us, Urcelay said. The company operates e-commerce websites in 13 countries, and more are soon to come.
“Even our fiercest competitors still have retail stores as well as Internet because you need to have both to have strong sales,” Urcelay said.
The company also reported Wednesday that net sales for 2013 hit $12.5 billion, a decrease of $1 billion from the previous year.
“We cannot be proud of our results recently,” Urcelay said. “We have seen that the trends are not good; 2013 was certainly disappointing.”
After refinancing in the U.S. and U.K., Urcelay stated “we have a couple of years to get this business right” in order not to default on future debts.
Urcelay, who was named CEO last October, was No. 72 on the NJBIZ Power 100 in January.John Joseph
University of Edinburgh
“The most celebrated opponent of the sound symbolic hypothesis,” writes Magnus (2013: 201), “was, of course, Ferdinand de Saussure”. Of course. One of Saussure’s key contributions to modern linguistics is the principle of the arbitrariness of the link between sound and meaning, or more precisely between signifier and signified within the linguistic sign, his most detailed discussion of which took place in his third course in general linguistics in 1910-11. It was carried over into the posthumous Cours de linguistique générale (1916), where it has long been the target of attacks by linguists convinced of the explanatory power of sound symbolism.
But how is it then that in the last paper he published during his lifetime, Saussure (1912) argued that a group of Latin adjectives had developed in a particular way because the shape of the diphthong in their stressed syllable is mimetic of the shape of the idea common to the words containing the diphthong?
Few investigators of iconicity have read the 1912 paper (one of the rare later studies to discuss it is Gmür 1990: 47-49). Like Magnus, they generally understand sound symbolism to be the direct opposite of the arbitrariness which Saussure professed. Since he wrote this paper just after, or even while, giving the lectures on arbitrariness, it may look like a deathbed conversion. But given that it was for a Festschrift presented to Vilhelm Thomsen on his 70th birthday, 25 January 1912, chances are that Saussure was writing the paper no later than the semester in which the lectures on arbitrariness took place. If we go back 35 years to his second published paper (Saussure 1877), it too proposed a form-meaning link, more conventional but still of the sort that typically gets classified as iconic (see Joseph 2012: 200-202). In between, we have his testimony from 1892 concerning his own synaesthetic associations of vowels with colours, textures and smells (Joseph 2012: 392-397).
This is starting to look like quite a different man from the one of whose limited vision Magnus & Co. despair. In this post I shall explain why I think their despair is misplaced.
The 1877 paper concerns the diachronic development of the Indo-European languages, and does not directly address the question of speakers’ awareness. The same may be said of the 1912 paper, which opens:
The diphthongs ai and au occupy only an ill defined place within Indo-European morphology or vocabulary. Among other facts which contribute to their obscurity, they have figured only in a group of words extremely weak since the origin […]. Taken individually, these words in turn very often have an isolated position in the language, being attached neither to a strong verb nor to any etymological family whatever. It is clear that this latter feature, to the degree that it would confer upon these words a certain sort of regularity, does so only in a wholly exterior and negative way. Saussure (1912: 202 [1922: 595])[1]
The ‘group of words’ in question are adjectives linked phonetically by having a diphthong that starts with /a/, and semantically by referring to some infirmity or deviation from the ‘right’ or ‘straight’. The diphthong could be /ai/ (as in Latin caecus ‘blind’) or /au/, but also /ar/, /al/, /an/ or /am/, all of which are analyzed by Saussure, starting in his Mémoire (1879), as /a/ + sonant, hence as diphthongs in the same way that /a/ + /i/ or /u/ form a diphthong.
The sound symbolism inheres in how the ‘straight’ vowel /a/ ‘deviates’ off into the sonant. Saussure points out that words such as Latin blaesus ‘stammering’, claudus ‘limping’, calvus ‘bald’, mancus ‘maimed’, are very few in number and are isolated within the language, being attached neither to any strong verb nor to an etymological family. Normally, this would be a reason for not studying them at all. But he maintains that their isolation and the rarity of the /a/ diphthongs they contain give them ‘a certain kind of regularity, though it does so only in a completely exterior and negative way’. The semantic link, on the other hand, is a positive bond.
Coming so late in Saussure’s career, subsequent to the full working out of his idea of the axis of association (now generally known as the paradigmatic axis, following Hjelmslev), it is strange to find him contemplating the possibility that a group of words have a kind of regularity that derives from their lack of regularity, their isolation, lack of attachment to a family. Negative value is perfectly Saussurean, yet the hint here that certain forms might be related associatively/paradigmatically, not by virtue of any link in sound or meaning but simply on account of being isolated within the system, is unique.
The /a/ diphthongs would be marked for rarity and isolation; and being so marked they would correlate with meanings that likewise involve marginality or abnormality. It is through the regularity of this correlation that these apparently marginal elements are incorporated into the system where everything connects. But how does this happen? Saussure’s explanation relies on another aspect of his general linguistic system, the relationship of synchrony to diachrony. He imagines
a time when there existed perhaps only four or five adjectives of ‘infirmity’ with the diphthongs ai, au, an, etc. Around this nucleus furnished by chance, ever more numerous formations will have come to fix themselves, where a certain community of ideas favoured diphthongs with a. It would thus involve a fact of lexical analogy […]. Saussure (1912: 206 [1922: 599]).
Note that he attributes the origin of this ‘nucleus’ not to sound symbolism, but to chance. Once established, however, diphthongs with /a/ were ‘favoured’ for words sharing this general idea of infirmity. The favouring would presumably take place in the competition amongst innovative forms that occurs within parole. For Saussure, the key question in language change is not ‘Why are new forms introduced?’. In parole speakers are constantly introducing new forms, of which only a tiny proportion will find the social sanction that will make them part of the langue (in a new état de langue). Rather, the key question is, ‘Why are certain forms sanctioned and not others?’ (see Saussure 1997: 47; Joseph 2012: 503). This is where the sort of analogy-driven favouring he refers to could make a difference.
The associative relations that are central to Saussure’s conception of langue make it plausible that the analogy he proposes was synchronically real for speakers — some speakers, enough for it to have left a recoverable diachronic trace, but perhaps not enough for the set of /a/ diphthongs to form a morpheme, a meaningful unit in the langue that all speakers share. Saussure had taught his students that a linguist’s work consists almost entirely of limiting what is arbitrary in language (1922 [1916]: 182). His last published paper provided an example of how to do it, in a diachronic context, by locating hidden form–meaning correlations (what Whorf would later term ‘cryptotypes’) that crystallize within parole as speakers make analogical links in their minds.
If the /a/ diphthongs had enough sound-symbolic force to leave a recoverable trace diachronically, without however forming a proper morpheme within the langue, then we are dealing with something that is both sound-symbolic and arbitrary, without there being any conflict between the two. Latin caecus had the same meaning, or signified, ‘blind’, for those speakers to whom the iconicity was ‘audible’ as for those to whom it was not. Synchronically, whether or not a speaker is aware of the correlations, the signifier signifies. That is the point of arbitrariness. It does not negate the potential force of sound symbolism in diachrony. Sound symbolism might well be part of what it is that leads a speech community to accept particular innovations rather than others. And yet, the sign still functions perfectly well as part of the language for a speaker who does not interpret it sound-symbolically. Sound-meaning iconicity does not impact upon the fundamental arbitrariness of the linguistic sign.
Note
[1] My translations; for originals, follow hyperlinks.
References
Gmür, Remo. 1990. ‘Saussures “Mémoire”-Prinzipien in seinen späteren indogermanistischen Arbeiten’, in Présence de Saussure: Actes du Colloque internationale de Genève (21-23 mars 1988), edited by René Amacker & Rudolf Engler, 39-51. Genève: Droz.
Joseph, John E. 2012. Saussure. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Magnus, Margaret. 2013. ‘A history of sound symbolism’, in The Oxford Handbook of the History of Linguistics, edited by Keith Allan, 191-208. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Saussure, Ferdinand de. 1877. ‘Sur une classe de verbes latins en –eo’. Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique de Paris 3.279-293. (Reprinted in Saussure 1922: 353-369.)
———-. 1879. Mémoire sur le système primitif des voyelles dans les langues indo-européennes. Leipzig: printed by B. G. Teubner. (Reprinted in Saussure 1922: 1-268.)
———-. 1912. ‘Adjectifs indo-européens du type caecus “aveugle”‘, in Festschrift Vilhelm Thomsen zur Vollendung des siebzigsten Lebensjahres am 25. Januar 1912, dargebracht von Freunden und Schülern, 202-206. Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1912). (Reprinted in Saussure 1922: 595-599.)
———-. 1916. Cours |
pick you up and drop you on your head, or worse, haul you off somewhere.
Better to bend your knees and lower your center of gravity so you're harder to lift. You're then free to punch your aggressor's testicles, claw the skin on his back, kick out his knee, stomp his foot, even bite his neck—unappetizing options, but effective against even the biggest thug.
The difference between the typical and optimal response could save your life. But making such a reaction swift and automatic takes practice. It's the reason martial arts students drill their movements over and over. Frequent rehearsal prepares them for that one decisive moment, ensuring that their response in an actual life-or-death situation is the one they practiced.
Dreams may do the same thing. A dream researcher at the University of Turku, in Finland, Revonsuo believes that dreams are a sort of nighttime theater in which our brains screen realistic scenarios. This virtual reality simulates emergency situations and provides an arena for safe training. As Revonsuo puts it, "The primary function of negative dreams is rehearsal for similar real events, so that threat recognition and avoidance happens faster and more automatically in comparable real situations."
Faced with actual life-or-death situations—traffic accidents, terrorist attacks, street assaults—some people report entering a mode of calm, rapid response, reacting automatically, almost without thinking. Afterward, they often say the episode felt unreal, as if it were all a dream. Threat simulation, Revonsuo believes, is why.
A Season in Hell
As a grad student in psychology in the early 1990s, Revonsuo often had bad dreams. What struck him the most was how lifelike they were. "I would say to myself, in my dream, 'Oh shit! I've dreamt of this before, but now this is really happening!' " he recalls.
"Credible world analogs" are what cognitive psychologist David Foulkes calls dreams. Although we tend to dwell on the bizarreness of dreams, most dreams are quite mundane, Foulkes notes. You move around, talk, run, interact with others, experience emotions, and feel the passage of time, just as in everyday life.
When Revonsuo began studying dreams, he asked his students to start keeping logs of their own nocturnal escapades. He noticed something striking. The dreams were filled with dangerous events, negative emotions, monsters, chases, escapes, fights, and near-death experiences. The dream world was a hellscape of danger, teeming with threatening events far more sinister than in waking life.
These weren't the misfirings of diseased brains. Threat dreams were the norm, accounting for a staggering two-thirds of all dreams. Revonsuo discovered that we grossly underestimate the number of nightmares we have. As it turns out, we have 300 to 1,000 threat dreams per year—one to four per night. Just under half are aggressive encounters: physical such as fistfights, and nonphysical aggression such as verbal arguments. The rest are about car crashes, falling and drowning, missing a meeting or a test, being lost or trapped, and being naked in public. The whole dream world seemed to have a negative : more negative emotions than positive ones, more misfortune than good fortune, more nightmares than fantasy.
A Theory Is Born
In the ancestral, Revonsuo reasoned, our dreams served to protect us, teaching us how to respond when a wild animal was chasing us or when we got lost in the forest. That was why the dream world was so filled with peril: to simulate the potential threats and prepare us to react quickly. But how could dreams help us select the optimal response, given that dream recall is so fragile? After all, we remember only a few of our dreams, and even those fade fast in the tumult of the day.
Revonsuo believes that by providing rehearsal, dreaming helps us recognize dangers more quickly and respond more efficiently. We don't need to be aware of this rehearsal, just as you don't have to recall exactly where you practiced your tennis serve in order to reap the rewards.
The idea that dreams are a dojo for perfecting waking activities fits well with what is already known about practice. Mental rehearsal through improves skills, enhances, and changes the brain, polishing performance in almost any domain, from to piano playing.
The single most pervasive theme in dreaming is that of being chased or attacked. Just as athletes in training repeat parts of their performance, we may, in our nightmares, be attacked and chased over and over again, not to solve a particular problem but to actually practice efficient escape behavior.
Saber-toothed tigers no longer stalk our villages, but Stone Age themes still rule our dreams. "Nowadays, the evolutionary footprint is clearest in the dreams of children, who often dream about being chased by monsters, much the same way we were once chased by predators," says Revonsuo. As life has evolved, so have the threats we rehearse. "You insert a modern danger into that ancestral key and get a bizarre combination," says Revonsuo. "We dream of being chased, shot, or robbed, getting into traffic accidents, a burglar in our house, or perhaps smaller mishaps such as losing our wallets—and that prepares us for our waking life."
The dreaming brain, explains Revonsuo, scans emotional. When it detects a memory trace with a strong negative emotion, it constructs a nightmare around that theme. The more the event, the more intense the nightmare. The brain's system for detecting threats is sensitive and flexible: Anything the brain tags with a strong negative charge gets thrown into the threat bin and dredged up at night.
Sometimes this system works well: Dreaming about a boy running in front of our car better prepares us should that danger crop up in real life. But sometimes the modern world throws the threat-detection mechanism out of whack: Watching horror movies can trigger nightmares about vampires, ghosts, aliens, or zombies. Such "nonsense nightmares" don't rehearse any useful threats; they're like an allergic reaction, says Revonsuo. Just as our immune system can mistake pollen for a pathogen and mount a defensive campaign, the threat-detection system misperceives horror movies and deploys its defenses by generating a nightmare.
Heroes of Our Own Dreams
In the jungles of the Amazon lives a tribe called the Mehinaku. The Mehinaku lead the traditional life of hunter-gatherers. They spend their days fishing and gathering roots. Since they believe that dreams predict the future, they are scrupulous about remembering them and sharing them with others. That makes them perfect for an ethnographic study of dreams. In 1981, anthropologist Thomas Gregor surveyed their dreams and analyzed the content.
As it turns out, the Mehinaku dream profusely about the dangers in their everyday lives: being attacked by wild pigs; chased by jaguars; bitten by snakes; stung by wasps, ants, or bees—all potentially lethal. "Their dreams simulate over and over again what to do and how to do it quickly when they spot these animals in the wild," reports Revonsuo. Across a tribesman's lifespan, a single failure to react efficiently could be fatal. If threat simulation even marginally increases the likelihood that such fatal failures won't occur, it would prove adaptive.
If the threat-simulation theory is correct, dreams should focus on the self, and when confronted with a threat, the dream self should react realistically to ensure its own survival and that of its loved ones. And so it is. We are the heroes of our own dreams. We don't dream about other people's adventures or about fictional superheroes battling monsters. We dream about ourselves.
If dreams evolved to simulate the threats in our environment, then being exposed to more dangers in real life should activate the nightmare function, overstuffing our dreams with threats. This is precisely what happens. Even a single exposure to a life-threatening situation can plunge a person into an inferno of post-traumatic nightmares, dreams in which the threatening event—the attack, the rape, the war—is repeated over and over in every possible variation.
Studies of traumatized Iraqi and Palestinian children who grew up in extremely violent environments, some of whom witnessed their'deaths, show that their dreams are phantasmagoric carnivals of threatening events. People who watched more television on September 11, 2001, and saw threatening images were more likely to dream about the events of that day; people who merely talked about it with others were less likely to dream about it.
Traumatic dreams do seem to rehearse relevant threats. Just four weeks into the first Gulf War, as Scud missiles were raining down on Tel Aviv and Haifa, the war was already encroaching on the dreams of Israeli college students, according to a study. The most prominent topic: gas masks.
But not all our dreams contain threats. That's not surprising, says Revonuso. There's no reason a biological system has to express its function at all times. Many bodily systems spring into action only in critical situations. Take sperm cells. The average man ejaculates over 100 million sperm at a time, yet over the course of his life, only a few will ever accomplish their biological mission of fertilizing an egg. Every day, millions of sperm are wasted—and while this may, as Monty Python sings, make God quite irate, it doesn't mean that sperm cells have some function other than fertilizing eggs and competing with other sperm.
The Nighttime Edge
Intriguing as Revonsuo's theory is, not everyone is sold on the idea that dreams are primarily a theater of threat rehearsal. Dream researchers have known for centuries that dreaming helps problem solving, for example—but they still do not know why.
Some researchers argue that dreams are designed specifically to help us come up with creative solutions. But if that's the case, it's infuriatingly inconsistent—and complicated by the fact that we rarely remember our dreams.
Those who awake with brilliant solutions to scientific or artistic problems are the exception. German chemist Friedrich August Kekule struggled to find the molecular structure of benzene until he dreamed about a snake devouring its own tail and realized benzene was a closed circle—a ring. The self-taught Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan came up with every one of his proofs in dreams. Paul McCartney dreamed "Yesterday," woke up, and wrote it down.
Problem solving may be a side effect of the simulation system. The mere fact of running scenarios over and over may inevitably generate new solutions. That's why when we have an important decision to make, we like to "sleep on it" first, why, according to a study by University of Maryland psychologist Clara Hill, couples who dream about their relationship are more likely to resolve their conflicts than couples who don't.
It's also known that we get better at tasks just by dreaming about them. Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher at Harvard Medical School, found that if you time people as they tap out the sequence 4-1-3-2-4 with their fingers, then ask them to do it again later that day, they are no better.
But let them sleep in between and their performance improves—literally overnight. The implication seems obvious: Sleep provides practice. People given brainteasers before bed dream about the answers. Math students are all too familiar with dreams about algebra problems. Anyone who's ever played too much Tetris knows you can start having Tetris dreams.
Stickgold holds that dreaming is much more complex than rehearsal. He points, for example, to the ability of sleep to allow us to integrate and consolidate knowledge. During sleep, our brains are making sense of the world, discovering new associations among existing memories, looking for patterns, formulating rules. "That's how we create meaning," says Stickgold. "Our brain puts things together."
Dreams do have a certain edge over conscious thought. Neuroimaging work has shown a distinct pattern of activation and inhibition in the dreaming brain. Visual and emotional centers are abnormally activated, while censoring mechanisms are deactivated. When we try to visualize during the day, imagery is thin and insubstantial, less real than the real world. But studies suggest that vivid hallucinations during dreaming rival the clarity and detail of vision itself.
"Dreaming is a sensitive system that tries to pay much to the threatening cues in our environment," Revonsuo concludes. "Their function is to protect and prepare us."
"Yes," says Harvard's Barrett, "dreams are worrying about disasters. But they're also planning for nice things and they're fantasizing and they're problem solving."
She contends that the purpose of dreaming is "as broad as all waking thought. That's why I say dreams are really just thinking in a different biochemical state."Resume is that feature of Mac OS X Lion that causes apps windows to reappear after you have quit and then relaunched the app. It’s a great feature but not one that we want all applications to use, so here is how to disable Resume on a per app basis.
How to Disable Resume for Specific Applications in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
This is easy and actually pretty similar to deleting application saved states, just follow along:
From the Mac OS X desktop, hit Command+Shift+G and enter the Saved Application States folder located within your personal Library at:
~/Library/Saved Application State/ Find the application you want to disable Resume for, for this walkthrough we’ll use Safari as an example, so the folder we are looking for is “com.apple.Safari.savedState”
Note: You will probably want to delete the contents of the apps folder prior to the next step, otherwise the existing Saved State will become the default state that the app is resumed repeatedly to. That could be helpful if you always want the same tabs or windows to open, but the goal of this walkthrough is for no windows to open and for Resume to be disabled for the chosen app, thus you will want to empty the folders contents
You will probably want to delete the contents of the apps folder prior to the next step, otherwise the existing Saved State will become the default state that the app is resumed repeatedly to. That could be helpful if you always want the same tabs or windows to open, but the goal of this walkthrough is for no windows to open and for Resume to be disabled for the chosen app, thus you will want to empty the folders contents Select ‘com.apple.Safari.savedState’ and either right-click and select Get Info from the menu or hit Command+i to get info on the folder
Under “General” check the box next to ‘Locked’
Close out the Get Info window and relaunch the application for locked state to take effect
That’s all there is to it, Resume will no longer save Safaris state because the folder is now locked, preventing the app from accessing it.
For more advanced users, if you’d rather do this through the Terminal, you could do so with the chmod command and a -w flag to prevent write access:
chmod -w ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.apple.Safari.savedState/
You can do that with as many app folders that you want, or you can set the entire directory to locked and that would be another way to disable the feature completely.
This round outs the manipulation of Lion’s Resume feature, and we’ve covered how to delete specific saved Resume states, disabling Resume completely, and even how to discard current session windows on quit from appearing again via Resume. Now you should have full control over Resume and what is reappearing on relaunch, but if you have any more questions about the feature, let us know in the comments.
Update: You can also disable Resume on a per application basis with defaults write commands, here is what you’d want to use to disable Safari:
defaults write com.apple.Safari NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false
Essentially you replace the app name in that string and you can do this for any other applications too.FLICKR, NPS / JACOB W. FRANKScientists searching for undiscovered microbial species have historically had a choice of two DNA-based techniques. The first is shotgun metagenomics, where researchers extract and sequence the DNA from an environmental sample that contains many community members. This technique can yield information about the species present in a community and their relative abundance, but works best for samples without too much diversity and doesn’t always reveal rare microbes.
The second option is single-cell sequencing, which has the advantage of providing full microbial genomes, but it can be labor-intensive and expensive.
Now, researchers have combined aspects of both strategies to develop a microfluidics-based mini-metagenomic method, which allows single-cell sequencing of many small groups of cells at once. The scientists described their work last week (July 7) in eLife.
The project arose from the desire to do large-scale, single-cell genome experiments, says Stephen Quake, a bioengineer at Stanford University. The resulting microfluidics-based method “brings the best of both worlds from what have been the two predominant techniques and allows us to explore complex ecosystems with a precision that’s never before been possible,” he adds.
Quake, postdoctoral fellow Brian Yu, and colleagues first added a mixture of cells from an environmental sample to a commercially available microfluidic chip, where the cells were separated into 96 sub-samples of five to 10 cells each. They then lysed the cells and amplified their genomic DNA. Keeping these first three steps on the same microfluidic circuit has been shown in previous work to reduce contamination. Plus, using the small volumes that microfluidics allows is associated with less amplification bias.
Next, the researchers collected the DNA from the chip, generated libraries, and sequenced them. They assembled and sorted contiguous reads into groups based on the sub-samples in which they occurred, and used statistical methods to sort the reads into clusters likely to belong to the same genomes.
The authors tested the method first on a mock community with known members, which demonstrated that mini-metagenomics covered the known genomes at least as well as microfluidic single-cell techniques, with the added benefit of lower sequencing costs. Then, they used mini-metagenomics to analyze samples from two hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. Their method was more sensitive than shotgun metagenomics to low abundance microbes, and using it, the researchers identified 29 new genomes.
F.B. YU ET AL., ELIFE, 2017
“This method really gives us two knobs that we can tune to adapt to environments of different complexity,” says Yu. “The two knobs are the number of cells that we can put in each chamber on average and the number of chambers... Based on the perceived complexity of the sample, we can increase or decrease that average number of cells per chamber and sequence more chambers or fewer chambers, depending upon how comprehensively we want to look at the environmental sample.”
One possible disadvantage of the method is the need to treat the samples harshly, Natalia Ivanova, a computational biologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California who did not participate in the work. She explains that freezing and thawing, ethanol treatment, and vortexing could all disrupt associations that microbes have with each other, which could mean that aspects of community dynamics may be missed. Nevertheless, “it is a great technique for studying precious samples where you have very little biomass,” Ivanova says.
“As you move into more complex environments, where the diversity of the bacteria is much higher than Yellowstone’s hot springs, you might have several species that are really similar,” says Adina Howe, an engineer at Iowa State University who was not involved in the study. She explains that resolving species in the environment that may appear to be the same, but play different roles, is a challenge that is not specific to the applications of this technique, but one that must be considered when investigating more complicated samples in general.
Quake’s group is already at work on using the method on more complex samples, such as microbial communities from soil and from deep sea sediments, as well as more samples from Yellowstone hot springs. Microfluidics-based mini-metagenomics “provides a way to understand true diversity by really rigorously looking at the co-occurrence patterns between the replicate samples,” Quake says. “It’s very revealing about the structure of the communities.”
F.B. Yu et al., “Microfluidic-based mini-metagenomics enables discovery of novel microbial lineages from complex environmental samples,” eLife, doi:10.7554/eLife.26580, 2017.Kids today with their selfies and their Snapchats and their love of literature.
Millennials, like each generation that was young before them, tend to attract all kinds of ire from their elders for being superficial, self-obsessed, anti-intellectuals. But a study out today from the Pew Research Center offers some vindication for the younger set. Millennials are reading more books than the over-30 crowd, Pew found in a survey of more than 6,000 Americans.
Some 88 percent of Americans younger than 30 said they read a book in the past year compared with 79 percent of those older than 30. At the same time, American readers' relationship with public libraries is changing—with younger readers less likely to see public libraries as essential in their communities.
Overall, Americans are buying more books than they borrow, the study found. Among those who read at least one book in the past year, more than half said they tend to purchase books rather than borrow them. Fewer Americans are visiting libraries than in recent years, but more Americans are using library websites.
This is significant given what people say they value most about libraries—it's the place, not the books available there, that young people cite as most important.Hi folks, Alternative Projects + Aalt presents: ARG Test Cast #T02 – Sitting down with Degica.
This week, it is my great pleasure to welcome Jason and Mitch from Degica in our #2 Podcast!
KimiNozo Guy contacted them a few weeks ago and they were extremely enthusiastic about joining us in our cast to share some good news about what we can expect in the localisation.
In this cast, we will cover several questions about Degica’s background and achievements, how they got to start the Muv-Luv kickstarter project with Ixtl, and also, Mitch and Jason will answer some of the questions going around the community regarding the localization itself, providing what information they can. This podcast has been vetted by Ixtl as well, thus the delay in the release.
I’m also pleased to include the winners of the Giveway Degica ran at their site in this podcast, and there’s a new contest being launched as well, so keep listening to the very end!
The song at the end is Arranged version of Storm Vanguard.
Thanks for listening to us! Below are some rules for the trivia at the end of the cast:
Rules for the trivia competition; Tweet your answer to @muvluvseries on Twitter in order to enter the contest. The duration of the competition is one week. Good luck to all the contestants!
Do check out the post at KNG’s blog as well for more information on this podcast.
See you all next time then!
~Gabgrave
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Chapter 256 The Prologue to a new life
After the basket landed on the ground, a woman who seemed to be around thirty years of age who had red hair that came to her waist climbed out of the basket and greeted them, “Hello everyone. Welcome to Border Town. My name is Wendy.” She then looked to Ashes and showed a charming smile. “You also came.”
Is she the witch Ashes mentioned before? Taking a closer look at the two, Sylvie came to the conclusion that they were already familiar with each other.
“Welcome, you can call me Anna.” A witch with bright eyes appeared in front of Sylvie. Her two blue eyes were as pure as water and also very eye-catching. However, what was even more mind blowing was her magical power – it was tremendous, gave off a profound and resounding feeling and seemed to hardly contain any flaws. It looked like slowly turning cube that was composed of three colors, black, white, and gray, which gathered all of the surrounding magic and twisted it into its orbit.
How astonishing is her power? It was the first-time Sylvie saw magical power that could release such a sense of oppression.
“Hey, my name is Lightning!” the little girl who had been flying beside the basket said. Maggie was sitting on her shoulder.
“Googoo!”
When all the witches of Sleeping Island had been introduced by Ashes, Wendy smilingly invited everyone to climb aboard the basket.
“This huge air sac above our head is called a hot air balloon, as long as it is provided with hot air, it will be able to take us across the mountains, and towards our destination.” She paused, turned towards Ashes before she asked, “Do you really not want to come along and take a look at Border Town? I think His Highness would also want to see you again.”
“He would not welcome a person who intended to lure away his witches,” she laughed, “I will trouble you to take care of these children.”
“Alright…” Wendy pursed her lips, looking as if she felt regretful. “Rest assured, I will treat them with care.”
“In that case, everyone pay attention” Anna reminded, “Cloud Gazer is about to rise into the sky.”
Sylvie only felt a slight tremble at her feet before the basket had already left the ground. Sticking her head over the edge, she saw Ashes and Molly waving at them. As the hot air balloon rose, the scene on the ground became smaller and smaller, soon turning the two into fingernail-sized spots – no matter what, their new life would soon begin.
It seemed that Wendy had the ability to control the wind and thus the hot air balloon which was under her control flew towards Graycastle and the mainland.
It was Sylvie’s first-time overlooking the earth from up in the sky. Even though the earth and rocks couldn’t stop her exploration, having such a large field of view available to her was nevertheless a new and odd experience. So when she tried to evoking her magic eye, she never expected the chaotic flood of scenes which came pouring into her mind – the cliffs and mountains hidden in the ocean depths, the underground rivers connected to the sea, the animals bones buried in the earth, as well as the ever-changing subterranean rock strata… Trying to arrange this flood of images Sylvie felt the onset of a splitting headache just as her magical power rapidly dropped. Hurriedly interrupting her magic eye, Sylvie sat on the ground and leaned against the basket wall, slowly trying to catch her breath.
“Are you alright?” Someone asked. Opening her eyes, she discovered that it was Wendy who was asking.
“Well, I’m merely a little… dizzy.”
“After taking a few deep breaths it will soon feel a little better,” Wendy smiled. “Many people feel uncomfortable when they leave the ground for the first time.”
“Thank you, I’m already better,” Sylvie nodded.
Along the way, the atmosphere was much more harmonious than she had initially expected, and it was exactly like Ashes had said, Wendy was full of concern for everyone and she didn’t treat them any differently because of them being newcomers. Anna, although she didn’t speak much on her own accord, would still answer in all seriousness whenever someone asked her a question. Lightning who was seemingly a very good friend of Maggie’s had a vivacious personality, and together with the fat pigeon would come into the basket from time to time to chat with everyone, not treating them as if they were strangers at all.
With Maggie being the confidant of both sides, the other four witches were gradually able to relax, one after another asking Lightning about the situation in Border Town. Later, the little girl simply hovered beside the basket, and told them stories about the fights against the demonic beasts and invaders, as well as about all of His Highness the Prince’s inconceivable invention, giving them one surprise after another.
After a little while, the hot air balloon arrived in the sky over the castle.
Just by looking at its size from high up, the town was really worthy of its name. It was both a small and remote place, with a size that was less than 1/3 of Sleeping Island’s. However contrary to what one might expect, it had a large number of townsfolk within. No matter if it was the center square, or the walls or on the river shore, everywhere she looked she could see people gathering together in crowds and groups. Traveling to and fro, they turned into a surging stream.
The hot air balloon directly landed in the castle courtyard and the moment they jumped out of the basket, an unexpected round of explosion spread through the air. Feeling caught off-guard, Sylvie became shocked and froze on the spot. The other four didn’t fare any better, Honey even jumped back into the basket, and asked while only revealing her head halfway: “What happened?”
Wendy couldn’t keep herself from laughing, “Do not worry, this is His Highness’s gun salute, it is his way to welcome you all to Border Town.”
Passing through the shadowy corridor, they stepped into the castle hall. And that was when Sylvie finally met with Tilly’s brother – he was sitting at the end of the hall at the lord’s seat, he had an external appearance that was somewhat similar to Her Highness the 5th Princess’. They had the same gray hair, weren’t wearing any superfluous pendants on their body and showed a relaxed and natural expression. His facial features still fell short when compared to Tilly’s, who’s appearance was something that warmed the heart and delighted the eyes. But they shared the same kind of calm temperament which would attract everyone’s eye even when they were merely sitting there.
“Welcome to Border Town. I am the Lord of the Western Territory, Roland Wimbledon. I presume that everyone already knows my name.” He stood up and smiled, “Tilly Wimbledon is my younger sister. So, you don’t need to feel awkward when living in Border Town, consider it your home the same as you would with Sleeping Island.”
Unable to suppress her curiosity, Sylvie opened her magic eye, only to stare blankly at what she saw.
The expected darkness did not appear, which indicated that the other side wasn’t wearing a God’s Stone of Retaliation. Moreover, there also wasn’t any trace of magic on his body – how he looked now was the same he looked to her in her normal vision. Neither was there any kind of camouflage on him nor was he being controlled, this could only mean that the man in front of her was indeed Roland himself.
Tilly’s countermeasure for the “no clue detectable” situation was merely one sentence: Sending the news back to Sleeping Island.
…
The words Roland said afterward, Sylvie didn’t listen to at all, her head had become a complete mess. In order to accomplish the task given by Lady Tilly, she had thought about the words and expression she should use when negotiating, she had even come up with plans in the case of their imprisonment, never expecting that it would become completely useless. With no better option, let’s wait until the end of the month so that Maggie can bring this information back to Sleeping Island and complete the task.
But how is this possible? There is a true aristocrat determined to shelter witches? Even going so far as to become the leader of the Witch Union?
The psychological shock caused Sylvie to fall in a kind of trance, only when His Highness started arranging their rooms for the night did her soul finally return.
“The current situation is roughly like this, by now the witch house is still not completed, so you will have to temporarily live within the castle and share a room with the other witches. Of course, this should also help you to quickly blend into life here in Border Town.” Then Roland announced, “Tonight, there will be a lavish dinner waiting for you. It will be the official welcoming ceremony to celebrate your arrival in Border Town, I hope everyone will enjoy it”.
Seeing the result of their room arrangements Sylvie breathed out in relieve. In the end, it was arranged that she would live together with Wendy. Looking back at their short contact, Wendy was indeed a good senior who would be easy for her to get along with. However, in addition to Wendy there seemed to be another witch that was living in the room who was called Nightingale.”
Sylvie couldn’t help but think, I hope that the other person is also easy to get along with.
[Previous Chapter] [Table of Contents] [Next Chapter]China has become the bête noire of U.S. security policy, the new universal enemy to replace the Soviet Union.
Its economic power and rapid military build-up, after all, make it a much more credible long-term threat than Putin’s Russia or the Islamic State. When policy pundits and military men want to spread alarm about the decline of America and beat the drum for increased defense spending, their scary enemy of choice is China.
Take James Jay Carafano, a retired military man and a policy pundit at the right-wing Heritage Foundation who raises the possibility of “a U.S.-China Nuclear War.” He argues at The National Interest that keeping the peace between China and the United States “requires significantly recapitalizing the U.S. armed forces.” This is necessary, he says, to assuage the doubts and insecurities of America’s allies. He argues that Washington “has to close any gap in military power that the Chinese might think could be exploited.”
That’s a lot of gap-closing.
Carafano identifies America’s “key objectives” in the region as “maintaining freedom of the commons (air, sea, space, and cyberspace) and limiting the potential for large-scale regional conflict.”
These certainly are U.S. interests. But are they U.S. responsibilities? And what exactly do these two general principles mean in practice when applied to the Asia-Pacific region?
It turns out that that a large-scale conflict in the region is much more difficult to imagine than China hawks like Carafano like to pretend.
Staying Open for Business
The devil is in the details.
Take, for example, China’s possible future capacity to dominate its adjacent waters: the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and South China Sea. An often-cited figure is that 40 percent of world trade (reportedly worth $5.3 trillion) passes through the South China Sea. Throw in the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait and the total must be more than 50 percent.
Could a more capable Chinese army choke off that trade? Of course it could. Any country can shut down sea lanes with patrols and anti-ship mines. But nearly all of the civilian navigation in question represents trade to and from China. It’s hard to imagine any circumstance under which the Chinese government would want to shut it down.
Ditto the airspace over China’s near seas. Nearly all of the civilian aviation through it consists of flights to and from China.
Space and cyberspace are more difficult commons to control. But the effective militarization of space has long been a Star Wars fantasy, and China’s cyberspace is essentially a walled garden. Anarchist hackers pose as much of a threat to the Internet as the Chinese military does. While all forms of Internet security need improvement, they don’t particularly need improvement on account of a specific threat from China.
Trouble in the Neighborhood?
What about regional conflict? China’s growing military certainly sounds like a regional menace. But a menace to whom? Here again the details get in the way of the China threat story.
To the east, Japan’s government is responding to Chinese expansion by boosting its own defense spending to record levels, proposing to change its pacifist constitution to allow greater military flexibility, and making a renewed push to resolve the long-standing Kuril Islands dispute with Russia. If Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally succeeds in making peace with Russia, that would leave China and its ally North Korea as the sole focus for Japan’s entire military capacity. Japan is a rich, technologically advanced country of 127 million people. It can look after itself.
For very different reasons, China poses little threat to South Korea. China increasingly views North Korea more as a burden than as an advance column for an attack on the South. And China has recently been courting South Korean technology investment in order to reduce its dependence on Japan.
Political relations across the Taiwan Strait are inevitably dominated by questions over the status of Taiwan. Every election in Taiwan sparks talk about and fears of Chinese invasion. But no country in the world has staged a large-scale amphibious assault since the U.S. landings at Incheon, South Korea in 1950. For more than half a century, even American adventures abroad have been small-scale (Grenada) or launched from land bases (Iraq).
The Chinese military will never have the capacity to invade Taiwan against armed resistance — not now, not later, not ever. It just can’t be done in the contemporary military context in which a single cruise missile can sink a transport ship carrying thousands of troops. It makes no sense to worry about something that is not technically possible.
The Philippines? Why would China want to invade the Philippines? Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar? Ditto, ditto, ditto. China is involved in a plethora of minor border disputes with its neighbors, but none of these involve core territorial interests or serious legal claims that China (or most of its neighbors, for that matter) have historically been interested in pushing. They’re all frozen conflicts that are unlikely ever to thaw.
Some pundits worry about the increasing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean. India may not rival China as a great power, but even India should be able to contain China’s ability to project power as far away as the Indian Ocean — and India has every reason to do so.
In short, it’s difficult to imagine concrete scenarios for major regional conflict sparked by China.
Resource Conflicts
It’s true that there are many flashpoints for minor conflict: the Senkaku Islands, various shoals and reefs in the South China Sea, China’s expanded air defence identification zone, and most notoriously China’s building of a whole new island in the middle of the ocean, presumably intended to form the basis for reinforcing its maritime claims.
The outcome of these disputes may determine who gets to drill for deep offshore oil decades in the future. But they don’t involve major national interests for any of the countries concerned, least of all the United States.
So while it’s possible that China will become involved in a minor air or sea incident with one or more of its maritime neighbors, it’s entirely unlikely that China will become involved in a major regional conflict with any of them. No one is going to go to war because two warplanes collide in mid-air. Historically countries have not even gone to war over the intentional shooting down of civilian airliners, never mind military accidents.
One China war scenario is credible, but it doesn’t threaten U.S. interests: the possibility of war between China and Russia.
Contemporary Russia is a deceptively unstable country that could suddenly descend into anarchy at any moment — in an unsuccessful military coup, on the unexpected death of Vladimir Putin, in a future “color” revolution, etc. As Russian academic Artyom Lukin explains, the Russian far east has massive natural resources needed by China and a population of just 6 million. In a chaotic situation it could be a tempting target, but China’s |
repairs to the roof and balconies had been made using railway track beams and concrete was adduced to assert that they had sufficient modern traces to be accidental to the area's history. Yasser Arafat's mother was of al-Sa'ud stock, and it appears that Arafat had lived in the house during his childhood, in the years 1933 to 1936.
On 12 June, at a Ministerial Meeting on the Status of Jerusalem, when the issue of demolitions in the Old City was broached, the Justice Minister Ya'akov Shapira judged that:"They are illegal demolitions but it's good that they are being done." Lieutenant Colonel Yaakov Salman, the deputy military governor in charge of the operation, aware of possible legal trouble on account of the Fourth Geneva Convention forearmed himself with documents from the East Jerusalem municipality testifying to the poor sanitary conditions in the neighborhood and Jordanian plans to eventually evacuate it. By the 14th, some 200,000 Israelis had come to visit the site.
Aftermath [ edit ]
On 18 April 1968, the Israeli government expropriated the land for public use and paid from 100 to 200 Jordanian dinars to each family that had been displaced. 41 heads of families who had been evicted from the area wrote to Kollek to thank him for his assistance in resettling them in better housing conditions.[q] The rest of the families have refused compensation on the grounds that it would lend legitimacy to what Israel did to them.
In the post-1967 period, many of the evicted refugees managed to emigrate to Morocco via Amman due to the intervention of King Hassan II. Other refugee families resettled in the Shu'afat refugee camp and other parts of Jerusalem. The prayer site was extended southwards to double its length from 28 to 60 meters, and the original plaza of four meters to 40 meters: the small 120 square meter area in front of the wall became the Western Wall Plaza, now in use as an open-air synagogue covering 20,000 square meters.
In a letter to the United Nations, the Israeli government stated nine months later that the buildings were demolished after the Jordanian government had allowed the neighborhood to become a slum area.
The expelled community continues to elect an administrator or mukhtar for the no-longer existing Moroccan Quarter.
Interpretations [ edit ]
According to Gershom Gorenberg,
The action fit the pre-state strategy of the Zionist left, which believed in speaking softly and "creating facts"; using faits accomplis to determine the political future of disputed land.'
Notes [ edit ]
^ "one of the best documented endowments, one that embraced the entire quarter of Western muslims or Maghrebis." ^ "every document of foundation dedicating property as waqf lays down provisions that it is unalienable, that the benefits from its yield are permanent, and that the document of foundation is irrevocable." ^ The source, Tibawi, specifies the year as 1352, which is one year after the date usually given for the death of the Marinid king of that time. ^ "Special relations – on the whole, tense ones – developed between the Jews and the Mughrabis because of the proximity of the latter's homes to the Wailing Wall. The Mughrabis, like the rest of the Muslims, regarded the Jews as Infidels and harassed them. The Jews had to pay the Mughrabis in order to keep them from disturbing prayer services." ^ "In the afternoon of the same day, I went with Mr. Lanneau to the place where the Jews are permitted to purchase the right of approaching the site of their temple, and of praying and wailing over its ruins and the downfall of their nation.... It is the nearest point in which they can venture to approach their ancient temple; and fortunately for them, it is sheltered from observation by the narrowness of the lane and the dead walls around." ^ "Muslim hostility regarding Jewish prayer at the Western Wall really only be came manifest with the advent of Zionism.. prior to then, it had never really been an issue. Now, however, there was a growing belief that Zionist claims regarding Jewish rights of prayer at the Wall were only a first step towards laying claim to the Temple Mount in its entirety." ^ (Rothschild) was appalled at the situation. He decided to buy the whole Moghrabi section and demolish the houses in order to clear a gigantic plaza where Jews could easily and comfortably gather at the holy place. The Moghrabi section was occupied by low-class Arabs from North Africa whose houses were of the cheapest quality in the Old City. The results of this discussion with the Moslem authorities were positive. They conditioned the sale on building better housing for Moghrabi's residents at another location. He immediately agreed. Though the price was high, he wished to do so as a "merit and honor to the Jewish People" ^ "The relationship between the Jewish intelligentsia and nationalist circles had already been colored by the 1929 Wailing Wall incident in Jerusalem in which Jewish Moroccan pilgrims who were praying at the Wall were killed and injured. The matter became a popular topic in the Moroccan Jewish press, but also in the Moroccan Muslim press because Muslim Moroccan pilgrims were concurrently housed in the nearby Dar al-Magharibah, a hospice that had belonged to the Palestinian Muslim waqf." ^ 30,000 is given for the number of Palestinians expelled from the western part of Jerusalem by Rashid Khalidi ^ "Intense fighting took place in the vicinity of this quarter between Zionist forces sent to wrest this area from the Jordanian forces. The former were eventually defeated in the summer of 1948. They and the 1,500 Jewish civilians living in this part of the Old City were expelled (the non-combatants were sent across the frontier that divided the city between Israeli and Jordanian held sectors, while the Jewish soldiers were held and then released as few months later). The flight of these 1,500 Jews coincided with the forced removal of 700,000 Arabs from areas of historic Palestine conquered by Israel in 1948, including 70,000 from Jerusalem." ^ "Moshe Dayan have immediate orders for the clearing of Arab houses adjacent to the Western Wall... Dayan announced that he would like to go further and bulldoze a road through the hills, wide enough to allow 'every Jew in the world to reach the Western Wall'." ^ "The demolition was decided on by General Narkiss, the regional commander, and Major Kollek, without sanction from defense Minister Dayan and Prime Minister Eshkol." ^ "One reason for multiple versions of what happened is that participants sought to avoid creating a paper trail. Ironically, that allowed key figures to make conflicting claims to what they regarded as credit for the operation." ^ Jerusalem: A City Without Walls According to Uzi Benziman's Schocken Books, Tel Aviv (1973) ^ Yannai states that:"the person who can take credit for expanding the area of the Wall is Ben-Gurion as opposed to those who claim it for themselves. That's because if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have done it and the others wouldn't have either." ^ The interview was printed in the Jerusalem daily newspaper Yerushalayim, 26 November 1999. ^ The letter dated 8 January 1973 reads:"Mr. Kollek: We, the undersigned, who constitute part of the residents of the Jewish Quarter and of the Moroccan Quarter in the Old City, who were evacuated from our homes there as a result of the six-day-war, wish to thank His Honor, as well as Mr. Meron Benvenisti, in charge of East Jerusalem, and Mr. Faris Ayub, head of the public relations bureau in the eastern part of the city, for the financial aid and human care which was extended and is still being extended to us, which impressed us profoundly and which afforded us and our families more decent alternative accommodations. We pray God will grant you long life and a continuance of your good deeds."
Citations [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ]
Coordinates:The Reserve bank of India (RBI) has no plans to come up with a regulatory framework for Bitcoins, the so-called virtual currency that the monetary authority does not recognise, RBI deputy governor KC Chakrabarty said. On the other hand, RBI had, on 24 December, issued an advisory cautioning the general public against using them due to potential money laundering and cyber security risks, he noted. The proponents of Bitcoins, meanwhile, said the value of Bitcoins has risen sharply over the past few months. "Regulation comes only when people are doing certain business and we come to understand that something wrong is happening. First of all we don't understand this subject," Chakrabarty said. "But, at present, what we are saying is neither we regulate them nor we support them," he said on the sidelines of an interaction session with entrepreneurs organised by the Indian Overseas Bank in Coimbatore on Saturday. Chakrabarty said regulations on Bitcoins have not been imposed anywhere in the world and those who understand it and take a risk are free to do so with their money. "Whether it is... legal or illegal, we don't know. If it crosses the limit of legality then people may face a problem. So people should be cautious, should understand," he said. Following RBI warning, a number of entities offering Bitcoin services have suspended operations temporarily or indefinitely. On the potential of cyber fraud involving Bitcoins, the RBI official said it was an issue that has to be tackled by the security agencies of the government. The RBI had warned users, holders and traders of virtual currencies, including Bitcoins, about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security-related risks that they are exposing themselves to. RBI said it has been looking at the developments relating to certain electronic records claimed to be ''Decentralised Digital Currency'' or ''Virtual Currency'' (VCs), such as, Bitcoins, Litecoins, Bbqcoins, Dogecoins, etc, their usage or trading in the country and the various media reports in this regard. The creation, trading or usage of virtual currencies, including Bitcoins, as a medium for payment are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority, RBI said, adding that no regulatory approvals, registration or authorisation is stated to have been obtained by the entities concerned for carrying on such activities. As such, they may pose several risks to their users, including the following: Virtual currencies being stored in digital/electronic media are prone to losses arising out of hacking, loss of password, compromise of access credentials, malware attack and since they are not created by or traded through any authorised central registry or agency, the loss of the e-wallet could result in the permanent loss of the virtual currencies held by them;
Payments by virtual currencies such as Bitcoins take place on a peer-to-peer basis without an authorised central agency to regulate such payments. As such, there is no established framework for recourse to customer problems / disputes / charge backs etc;
There is no underlying or backing of any asset for virtual currencies and their intrinsic value seems to be a matter of speculation.
Since Bitcoins and other virtual currencies are being traded on exchange platforms set up in various jurisdictions whose legal status is also unclear, traders on such platforms are exposed to legal as well as financial risks. There have already been several reports of the misuse of virtual currencies, including Bitcoins, for illicit and illegal activities and the system could subject users to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism laws. The RBI said it is presently examining the issues associated with the usage, holding and trading of virtual currencies under the extant legal and regulatory framework of the country, including Foreign Exchange and Payment Systems laws and regulations.HBO just unveiled its Comic-Con plans, and once again Game of Thrones is going to have a major presence.
Below is the premium network’s line up for the July fan convention, with participating shows including Silicon Valley, Vice Principals, and Cinemax’s Outcast. There’s one surprise omission, however: The buzzy sci-fi drama Westworld, which premieres in October, is not among the HBO shows paneling at the event. The series seems like an obvious brand fit for the convention (see our interview with the producers and the show’s latest trailer). Here’s the lineup:
— Silicon Valley: Thursday, July 21, The Hilton Bayfront, Indigo Ballroom at 4:00 p.m. will be moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s own Dan Snierson. Panelists include: co-creator/executive producer Mike Judge, executive producer Alec Berg and cast members Thomas Middleditch (Richard), Kumail Nanjiani (Dinesh), Zach Woods (Jared), Martin Starr (Gilfoyle) and Amanda Crew (Monica). Autograph signing is Thursday, July 21 at 5:30 p.m.
— Game of Thrones: Friday, 22, Convention Center Hall H at 2:15 p.m. Panel will be moderated by Rob McElhenney. Panelists include: executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, director Michael Sapochnik and cast members John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Liam Cunningham (Ser Davos Seaworth), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Isaac Hemptstead Wright (Bran Stark), Conleth Hill (Varys), Faye Marsay (The Waif), Kristian Nairn (Hodor), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton), and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark). Autograph signing is at 4:15 p.m. The lineup represents the return of showrunners Benioff and Weiss, who were absent last year while the show was coming off the Jon Snow “Is he really dead?” cliffhanger. Series author George R.R. Martin, however, is once again not returning to the panel. He hasn’t been on the show’s Comic-Con panel since season 4 (after which he pledged to start focusing more on writing his next novel, The Winds of Winter).
— Vice Principals: Saturday, July 23, The Horton Grand Theater at 2:30 p.m. and will be moderated by the Nerdist Podcast’s Matt Mira. Panelists include: creators and executive producers Danny McBride and Jody Hill, and cast member Walton Goggins (Lee Russell), who co-stars with McBride (Neal Gamby.) Autograph signing is at 6:00 p.m.
— Outcast: Saturday, July 23, The Robert Kirkman series based on the Skybound/Image comic produced for Cinemax by Fox International Studios (FIS), will be in Room 6BCF at 5:15 p.m. and will be moderated by Scott Aukerman. Panelists include: creator and executive producer Robert Kirkman, showrunner and executive producer Chris Black and cast members Patrick Fugit (Kyle Barnes), Philip Glenister (Reverend Anderson), Wrenn Schmidt (Megan Holter), Reg E. Cathey (Chief Giles), and Brent Spiner (Sidney). Autograph signing is at 4:15 p.m.
Previous: Game of Thrones season 7 directors revealed
READ ON: “Winds of Winter” finale coverage: Here’s star Natalie Dormer revealing her feelings about her character’s tragic end. Here’s star Lena Headey with her thoughts on those huge game-changing twists (she doesn’t think she’ll last long!). And star Emilia Clarke making her bold season 7 predictions (she agrees with Headey). Plus there’s our ultra deep-dive recap with our opinions on the finale. Our breakdown of that Tower of Joy reveal. Maisie Williams reveals who Arya should kill next. And our Game of Thrones Weekly podcast (new episode posted below):In polite but unmistakeable language, the Departments of Justice and Commerce yesterday told Congress that the new Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008 (EIPRA) was a monstrosity so horrifying that only a stake through the heart of several key provisions could make it palatable. This is the bill, remember, that would give Justice the power to bring civil (not just criminal) lawsuits on behalf of groups like the RIAA, seek "restitution" damages, and then turn the money over to the private groups.
In other words, the DoJ could become a pro bono lawyer for the RIAA, freeing the trade group from all that bad PR and the millions of dollars it has spent filing tens of thousand of lawsuits in the last few years. Plus, the RIAA would still get all the money. Shockingly, the DoJ didn't think this a really good use of taxpayer-funded resources.
The letter (PDF) was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which approved EIPRA several weeks ago. It starts out nicely enough, saying that both the Justice and Commerce departments "truly appreciate the bill's intention to enhance the tools available for protecting intellectual property rights." And then the gloves come off.
"Civil copyright has always been the responsibility and prerogative of private copyright holders," says the letter, "and US law already provides them with effective legal tools to protect their rights."
EIPRA could essentially nationalize this function, turning the government into "pro bono lawyers for private copyright holders regardless of their resources. In effect, taxpayer-supported Department lawyers would pursue lawsuits for copyright holders, with monetary recovery going to industry."
Because the department has "limited resources," such a shift in priorities would only occur "at the expense of criminal actions, which only the Department of Justice may bring." Then the authors hint obliquely at the current financial crisis and the existing US debt, saying that "in an era of fiscal responsibility, the resources of the Department of Justice should be used for the public benefit, not on behalf of particular industries that can avail themselves of the existing civil enforcement provisions."
Public Knowledge, one of the DC groups that has been calling for (and managed to secure) some changes to the bill, was pleased by the letter, with President Gigi Sohn saying, "Let's hope Senators get the message."
The Computer & Communications Industry Association, funded by many of Silicon Valley's leading lights, also supported the letter.
"At a time when U.S. taxpayers are on hook to rescue the financial industry, why should they also foot the bill for the content industry’s financial fees?" said CCIA President Ed Black. "We appreciate Justice and Commerce alerting Congress to this flaw and support the administration’s efforts to fix this bill. This content protection legislation isn't ready for prime time."Manchester United's executive co-chairmen Avie (left) and Joel Glazer. In total, six members of the Glazer family are directors of the club.
A fans' group has criticised Manchester United's decision to pay majority shareholders the Glazers £16m a year.
Shareholders will receive 0.045 cents (£0.03) per share each quarter, the first dividend since United floated on the US Stock Exchange in 2012.
The Glazer family, which owns 83% of United shares, will receive $24.5m (£15.79m) annually.
"This is rubbing salt into the wound," said Manchester United Supporters' Trust vice-chairman Sean Bones.
"Profits from the club should go back into it."
A United spokesman said the Glazers were committed to investing in the team and that the dividend underlined the club's strong financial position.
United estimate they will save $10m annually in interest payments following a refinancing of their debts this year.
The announcement came on the same day United said they were considering selling a further 24 million "Class A" shares.
'The Glazers have cost us £1bn'
In total, there are about 164 million shares in United. Around 83% are Class B shares, which are owned by the Glazer family, while the remainder are Class A shares.
"The Glazer family have already cost us £1bn in interest payments," said Bones. "They are sitting on an asset worth £2bn, which still has debts of over £400m, yet are now milking it for even more. How greedy can you get?"
United spent £113.7m on six new players this summer, recouping £74m, including £44.3m from Paris St-Germain for Angel Di Maria.
What price failing to reach the Champions League?
United released their financial figures on Thursday, in which they recorded a £38m fall in total revenue in the year to 30 June 2015.
It is estimated they lost £35m through their failure to qualify for last season's Champions League.
They qualified for the 2015-16 competition, but lost their opening group game to PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
Asked about financial projections, head of corporate finance Hemen Tseayo said: "We have not changed our assumptions."Past coverage:
• Off-duty officer arrested in assault, weapon discharge
An off-duty Detroit Police officer arrested in Canton Township Tuesday was arraigned on seven charges, including torture and assault with intent to murder.
Gary Allen Steele, 42, is charged with hitting his 37-year-old girlfriend in the legs with a baseball bat during an argument, then firing three shots.
Police were called to the couple's home in the area of Pinehurst and Glengarry at about 12:30 p.m., and Steele surrendered. The couple had been living together about three months.
The torture and attempted murder charges carry possible sentences of life in prison. Steele also was charged Thursday with assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, a 10-year felony; two counts of felonious assault and discharging a weapon in a building, four-year felonies; and using a firearm during a felony, which carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence upon conviction.
Steele was held on 10 percent of a $5 million bond and ordered to appear for a preliminary examination March 17. The seven-year police veteran has been suspended with pay, Detroit officials said.Home The Module How To Get Your Closet Organized: The Essential Closet Makeover PART 2
How To Get Your Closet Organized: The Essential Closet Makeover PART 2
How to Measure Your Closet Space To Get The Perfect Modular Closet Organizer
Measuring a closet is actually super easy. We took the time to write down a detailed How To Measure guide to help you. It includes some important and often overlooked tips from professionals.
There is a handy measuring grid diagram available to download here. On the grid, each square represents a 6” by 6” space.
What Type Of Closet Do You Have?
There are two basic closet types: Reach-in closets and walk-in closets. We usually classify anything that has a depth narrower than 42’’ as a reach-in closet. This is because all our Modular Closet organizer pieces are 14’’ deep and we always recommend leaving a minimum of 10’’ of space in front of the unit for accessibility. That’s 24’’. If you wanted to then put either closet drawers, closet shelves, or hanging space in front of that, on the side wall, you would need an additional 18’’ of space (10+14+18=42). The way to measure both reach-in and walk-in closets is ultimately the same, with the walk-in closet usually having just a few more things to mark off.
Measuring Your Closet
For clarity, we always like to label the walls. Starting with the front of the closet, whether it has wall space in addition to the doors or just an opening, we will call that “Wall A”. Moving clockwise, we continue. Next sidewall is “wall B”, back wall is “wall C” and last sidewall is “wall D”. If you have additional walls, you do the same, remembering to go clockwise and in order.
#ModularSuperTip: Always measure at three different heights as many walls tend to be slightly uneven.
Now measure each wall from corner to corner and jot it down. When measuring wall A, in the inside of your closet, also measure from the edge of the door frame molding to the wall. We recommend using our handy grid to draw a sketch with measurements.
It is important to mark down if there are any obstructions on the wall and where they are. You can include that in your sketch. Here are some common, and some not so common ones: Light switch, electric outlet, air conditioner and heating vent, window, thermostat, alarm keypad, safe, electric fuse box, water meter, pipes, sprinklers, smoke alarms, picture of your spouse’s great -grandma…
...the point is to look around your closet for anything that will not be removed.
Closet Doors
When measuring and designing closets, walk-in or reach-in, it is important to take note of the closet doors. The type of closet door that you have or plan on having can make a difference in your Modular Closet design. There are many types of closet doors; we created a small list of the most common used closet doors and how they affect your closet space. (photos from trustile.com)
Swinging Single Closet Door:
This probably is the most common closet door type and the only thing to take note of, besides the actual width of the door and its’ frame moldings, is which way the door swings. An outward swinging door won’t affect your closet space. The only reason people wouldn’t have it opening into the room is if the space in front of the closet is needed. If your door opens into your closet, it is important to note two things: Which side of the door the hinges are on (to know which way the door swings). And how far the closet door opens into the closet. That can easily be determined by measuring the door itself.
Swinging Closet Double Doors:
Swinging double doors almost never will open into the closet and won’t have any effect on your closet design.
Bypass Closet Doors:
Bypass closet doors are sliding doors that are suspended from a track, and may have a floor track as well, and overlap to bypass each other. The only thing to make sure to consider, is the middle point where the doors meet when closed, because will be the hardest part of the closet to access, and you probably would not want to put closet drawers there.
Pocket Closet Doors:
Pocket doors are sliding doors that slide into a pocket in the wall. With pocket closet doors, there is an often-overlooked issue. You cannot use the return walls to install any closet organizer units because the pockets are hollow and have no studs to support them.
Bi-fold Closet Doors:
Bi-fold doors are either two panel or four panel doors with each panel connected to a different panel with hinges. You should make sure to measure how far into the closet your doors extend when open. Also, remember that with accordion doors you will not have full use of the opening of the closet.
Barn Door:
An extremely popular closet door, the barn door is a sliding door that has the doors suspended on a wheeled track. If this is on the outside of your closet as most prefer, congratulations! You maximized your closet space. If it slides inside the closet you will not be able to use the wall that the door slides along.
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Compiled at the end of my first ever Glastonbury festival in 2004, this is the Ultimate Glasto List!
Due to popular demand (and repeatedly trashing my house to look for it each year), I am sharing my list publicly for you all to use.
When I wrote the Ultimate Glasto List, I was sat in a beaten up and muddy Renault Cleo with my big brother, waiting to leave Worthy Farm after my first Glastonbury Festival. We both knew we had several hours to kill before the traffic cleared and began discussing all the things we wish we had brought to Glastonbury, and all the things we wish we had left behind.
We decided it would be sensible to capture it for future festivals and it has gone on to become legendary amongst family, friends, and now strangers.
I am sharing this with the world in hope that you find it useful. I encourage you to add your own items / tips to this page and keep it useful forever.
Please note: Some of the items on my list are outdated! (Mini Disk player!!) I am leaving them on there as a legacy of old Glastonbury festivals.
Whatever you take to Glastonbury, always remember; Love The Farm, Leave No Trace! (Please take your shit with you).
Enjoy,
Love Niki xxCan the cloud be cuddly? Nextbit thinks so. The start-up's new phone, called Robin, comes in a lovely matte pale blue, with the trick of potentially unlimited storage. I got some time with the executive team and prototype phones last month, and I'm convinced they're real, which is more than I can say for some phone start-ups.
The creators' pedigree has a lot to do with that. Nextbit's team includes former Google and Cyanogen executives, HTC's former design director, and a well-respected guy who has been a journalist and a PR person. The company has venture capital, and it will be building its phones at Foxconn. So far, so good.
"We went out to make the phone we would want to buy," said CEO Tom Moss, a former Google exec. And out came the phone.
Forecast: Cloudy
Nextbit's matte, sharp-edged phone looks and feels a bit like a Microsoft Lumia. It really stands out from the current crowd of phones, which all "look exactly like the HTC One," Moss said. On the back, there's a little cloud logo and four LEDs, which show "that things are backed up in the cloud," Croyle said. Soft-touch paint gives the whole device a pleasant, slightly rubbery feel.
The phone itself bucks the trend of larger devices. It's about 2.8 inches wide, with a 5.2-inch, 1080p screen like last year's Moto X. So far, so good in my view. Robin runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, with 32GB of onboard storage, 100GB of cloud storage, and 3GB of RAM. It has 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel cameras, a fingerprint sensor on the side, dual front-facing speakers, and a reversible USB-C 3.0 connector.
When Nextbit came to my office, they didn't have a fully functional Robin. Instead, they had some physical device models not running the specialized software, and a Nexus running the Robin software, so I couldn't test how it all comes together.
Robin runs a clean-looking, hackable Android 5.1.1, with an unlocked bootloader. But it has some very proprietary software on it, which dumps apps and data into Nextbit's cloud storage if you haven't used them in a while. For apps, that means the icons gray out; if you try to launch the app, it re-fetches. Data only gets sent to the cloud when you're on Wi-Fi and charging, to save battery life and your data plan, but of course it can be re-summoned at any time.
"If you haven't traveled in six months, we can take all of your travel apps off of your phone," Nextbit's design director Scott Croyle said. "They'll look like they're there in the form of a shadow icon."
Offloading your files to the cloud isn't exactly new—it's Dropbox's whole business—but Nextbit is trying some new tricks. While Android lets you store photos and videos on memory cards and in cloud services, apps must always live in the phone's main memory. If you delete an app, you lose all of your settings and game progress. Robin is the first Android phone that can push lesser-used apps off into the cloud, keeping their data, logins, and statuses intact, and re-fetch them when needed. Amazon's Fire Phone does this to some extent, but veers far away from a standard Android experience.
Offloading data is only the beginning, Moss said. Nextbit is looking at ways to use the cloud to improve battery life and camera functionality, although he didn't explain quite how. Still, the company will make sure not to break compatibility with the main branch of Android.
"We've done some enhancements to Android, but they're actually pretty lightweight," said CTO Mike Chan, another ex-Googler. "We want to enhance it, not change or derail it."
Why No Carriers?
Robin will not be sold by any U.S. carrier, and the unlocked phone space in the U.S. is getting pretty crowded. While carriers sold 92 percent of phones in the U.S. as of the beginning of 2015, recently Motorola, Huawei, ZTE, Alcatel, and OnePlus have all decided to go it alone with non-carrier devices. Unlike the Moto X Style, though, the Robin will initially be restricted to T-Mobile's and AT&T's networks only, further limiting its potential user base. Moss said Nextbit is just hitting the beginning of an accelerating curve.
"We do believe that the direct-to-consumer market is growing, and will actually accelerate its growth pretty dramatically over the next couple of years," he said.
In that time, Moss says, Verizon will permit LTE-only devices, making more unlocked phones available on its network; technologies like software SIMs will make it easier to change carriers; and device financing and subscription models will move beyond carriers to manufacturers, letting makers like Nextbit advertise the same "zero down, $20/month" deals you currently see from carriers.
"We're not here to fight over a small pie. We're here to make it bigger," he said. If the company can sell 3 million phones next year, he said he'd be happy.
Kickstarter is not a store, but Nextbit is using it as one. Initial sales are exclusively through the crowdfunding site, and the price is tiered. The first 1,000 buyers will pay $299. Other Kickstarter buyers will pay $349, and everyone else will pay $399 early next year. That puts the 32GB Robin at roughly the same price point as the $389, 64GB OnePlus 2 and the $399, 16GB Moto X Style.
"Components have to be ordered quite a while ahead of time," so Nextbit will use Kickstarter to forecast demand, Moss said.
The phone is on pre-sale now, for early 2016 delivery.The starting point for improving environmental quality is monitoring, but traditional methods focus on the simple display of real-time data and usually only at a few locations, according to the head of an Australian environmental consulting services company.
"Often, the information displayed lacks context, and it is in a difficult for decision makers to use when managing environmental quality," Robin Ormerod, managing director of EnviroSuite, told iTWire.
Ormerod said, “While much of the smart city focus tends to be on features such as high-speed networks, intelligent control systems and efficient transportation options, there are opportunities to go even further.
"Increasingly, smart city projects are also including objectives to improve the health of its citizens, based on systems that monitor and manage environmental factors such as air and water quality.”
Ormerod spoke at length about how to leverage the huge amounts of sensor data being generated. EnviroSuite also supplies environmental monitoring software by the same name.
Environmental focus
"The starting point for improving environmental quality is monitoring. However, traditional methods focus on the simple display of real-time data and usually only at a few locations. Often, the information displayed lacks context, and it is in a difficult for decision makers to use when managing environmental quality," he said.
"One alternative approach being explored is the deployment of large sensor networks across a city. Designed to be low cost, low maintenance and unobtrusive, they can collect data 24 hours a day and feed it via a city-wide wireless network into a central store for analysis.
"Collected data can range from the air quality on city streets to the water quality and levels in streams and rivers. Other sensors can measure wind conditions, temperatures and ambient noise levels. Most importantly, when combined in a clever way, these different sources can be used to predict problem areas, or provide early warnings of potential environmental problems, so that these issues can be avoided with efficient action.
"For example, if air quality is poor (or predicted to be poor), traffic levels could be dynamically managed to improve air quality. This is much more efficient than the strict bans on vehicles that have been imposed in some cities. Citizens could also be sent automated notifications advising them of the best course of action to improve air quality, with targeted messages to different types of vehicles that contribute most to the issue.
"Central systems could also be configured to alert factory operators and other businesses of the changing atmospheric conditions and issue requests that they modify operations for a set period. As these alerts can be issued proactively, operators can make temporary changes without causing significant disruption to their facilities. In areas of poor air quality, businesses can avoid permanent, strict environmental licence conditions that would restrict operations all year round.
"Meanwhile, data collected by water quality sensors (or predicted by high-accuracy rainfall forecast) can alert the city to changing conditions. For example, runoff after heavy rain might cause localised flooding, issues for swimmers or water treatment plants. Alerts could be issued to citizens or treatment plant operators, with follow-up notices as soon as the sensors determine that conditions have improved."
Long-term monitoring
"As well as providing real-time insights and alerts, environmental monitoring systems in a smart city can also provide longer-term perspectives on how conditions are changing. High-resolution maps of heat, air quality and water quality could be used by city planners to optimise the quality of life of citizens as the city grows and develops. Armed with detailed, longer-term data, city planners will be able to make decisions for future developments with a clear understanding of the likely implications for the environment."
Cost-effective deployment
"Implementation of a city-wide environmental monitoring system does not have to be a complex or particularly expensive undertaking. The systems required for analysis can be housed in the cloud-based data centres and run on standard, low-cost hardware, which is orders of magnitude lower in price than the hardware of similar accuracy of 5-10 years ago.
"The sensors themselves can be located on existing infrastructure such as light poles, bus shelters, building exteriors and water pipes. Once in place, they require little or no maintenance and most can be powered by solar cells. The data they produce can be fed back for analysis via an existing network or 3G/4G networks.
"Forecasts that integrate real-time monitoring with high-resolution models of air quality have become much easier to deploy for cities as the costs of cloud-based data storage and processing power needed for fine scale, high-resolution forecasts have decreased exponentially over the last few years."
Generating value from environmental solutions
"With recent developments in hardware, cloud computing and intelligent software to manage and interpret the outputs, the technology is now available to drive the improvements desired. However, up until now, many pilot studies in this area focus on monitoring data and real-time display of sensor information only.
"The most value will be created when monitoring, modelling and forecasting of environmental information is integrated, interpreted and communicated in real-time in a form that decision makers can use. When that happens, smart city solutions will be able to efficiently drive significant improvements in the quality of life for the cities that they manage."First revealed way back in |
HT, Rogue Wave, Langhorne Slim, Tuxedo, Ivan & Alyosha, The LeeVees & Matisyahu, A Silent Film and more, singing newly-written or recorded holiday songs exclusively streaming on Prime Music. The most popular holiday song streamed on Prime Music on Christmas was “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)” by Nat King Cole.
Worldwide on December 24, AutoRip added more than one million digital copies of The Beatles albums into customers’ Music Libraries for free, providing digital AutoRip copies of physical albums purchased from Amazon since 1998.
Amazon Underground customers spent enough time playing apps and games throughout the holiday season to watch the entirety of Christmas classic movies, Home Alone, It’s a Wonderful Life and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation more than a million times.
, and more than a million times. The top book purchased on Kindle in 2015 was The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins.
by Paula Hawkins. The most gifted Kindle book during the holiday season was Rath’s Deception by Piers Platt.
by Piers Platt. The top book borrowed on Kindle through Kindle Unlimited in 2015 was No Ordinary Billionaire by J.S. Scott.
by J.S. Scott. The most popular Kindle book purchased on Christmas day was The Snow Child: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize in Letters: Fiction Finalists) by Eowyn Ivey.
Customer Purchases:
Nearly 70 percent of Amazon.com customers shopped using a mobile device this holiday.
On Cyber Monday, Amazon customers worldwide ordered more than 33 electronics per second from a mobile device.
Amazon.com customers shopping on the mobile app more than doubled this holiday.
The total number of hours customers spent reading The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir in 2015 on Kindle is equivalent to more than 1,000 trips to Mars on the Curiosity rover.
by Andy Weir in 2015 on Kindle is equivalent to more than 1,000 trips to Mars on the Curiosity rover. Handmade at Amazon sold enough rings this holiday season to give 13 to every contestant who has been on ABC’s The Bachelor.
. The heaviest item purchased on Amazon Business this holiday season, a BendPak Super-Duty automotive lift, weighs as much as the average beluga whale.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough Rope King Twine this holiday season to tie a string from Seattle to Los Angeles.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough Rubbermaid 42-Piece Storage Containers this holiday season to pack leftovers for the entire Los Angeles County area.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough GREENIES pet treats this holiday season to give each of Santa’s reindeer 20 per second on Christmas Day.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough Cat Dancer 301 Cat Charmer Interactive Cat Toys this holiday season to give 92 to each of the participants from all 21 seasons of Dancing with the Stars.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough flashlights this holiday season to satisfactorily light eight collegiate football fields in accordance with NCAA standards.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough Command Hooks this holiday season to hang a stocking for every person in Orlando, Florida.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough LEGOs this holiday season to build life-sized replicas of every person attending a sold-out Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough Anki OVERDRIVE Starter Kits this holiday season to wrap around the Daytona International Speedway more than 10 times.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough Jenga sets this holiday season to reach the top of the Empire State Building more than 70 times.
Amazon.com sold enough HotHands Hand Warmers this holiday season for more than eight million hours of hand warming.
If every Just Dance 2016 video game purchased by Amazon.com customers this holiday season was played to completion by one person, he or she would be dancing until 2081.
video game purchased by Amazon.com customers this holiday season was played to completion by one person, he or she would be dancing until 2081. Customers across 10 countries took advantage of Amazon’s first global Black Friday Deal of the Day, and purchased enough Sennheiser headphones to give a pair to every person at a sold-out Rolling Stones concert in 2015.
This holiday season, Amazon.com customers purchased more than enough 50-inch TVs to span the average width of the Grand Canyon.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough storage drives this holiday season to download and watch the first two seasons of Transparent more than eight million times.
more than eight million times. Amazon.com customers purchased enough Jurassic World DVDs this holiday season to equal the height of more than 2,700 Tyrannosaurus Rex.
DVDs this holiday season to equal the height of more than 2,700 Tyrannosaurus Rex. On Cyber Monday alone, Amazon.com customers purchased one Adele CD every three seconds.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough women’s boots this holiday season that, if stacked on top of each other, they would be high enough to reach the orbit of the International Space Station.
Amazon.com customers purchased enough running shoes this holiday season to give every participant of the New York, Chicago, and Boston marathon three pairs of shoes – one for each race.
Amazon.com customers purchased a watch every three seconds this holiday season.
Laid out end-to-end, the number of jeans Amazon.com customers purchased this holiday season would cover the driving distance between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Customers shopping at smile.amazon.com have generated tens of millions of dollars for their favorite charities since the program was launched.
So far, over 100,000 organizations have received donations from AmazonSmile. One of those charities, Pencils of Promise, used AmazonSmile donations to build a school in Ghana for preschool and primary aged students.
Holiday Best Sellers (Amazon.com only):Arsène Wenger faced the media ahead of the Premier League clash with Fulhamy. Here are some extra quotes from the boss. For the headlines, visit our Digest page:
on being close to a deal for Draxler…No.on the rumour he had a look around the training ground…That's like a non-identified flying object. Some see them everywhere. on new contracts for Mertesacker and Sagna…We are making good progress and hopefully we can announce something soon. on being linked with Berbatov…You should ask the question, do I rate Berbatov as player? Highly. Have we made any approach to sign Berbatov? No. on whether he will sign Berbatov…I don't think so because we have Bendtner who is coming back, we have Yaya Sanogo who is making very good progress in training. Of course we have lost Theo Walcott and that for us was a big blow but hopefully we can compensate. We have not made any approach. on Mertesacker being curious about the transfer window…I am curious as well, of course I'm curious, it's my nature. But the transfer period lasts until the 31st of January. Are we close to signing anybody? At the moment I would say no. on whether he would scrap the transfer window...Yes, you have my signature straight away. on keeping the same squad for the entire season...[Yes] and then you go to the end of it, that looks to me normal. It is like running a relay, then in the middle of the relay you change your runners.If you have played a team twice before the transfer window, you can have an advantage compared to other teams. on the reason for the January window...It gives teams a chance who are already convicted, it gives some teams hope. But when I arrived in England, the window was open until April, the whole season and it was not a problem.on why the window was changed...To create that high intense activity, and suddenly in January everybody becomes nervous. Before it was the whole season and it did not create any problem. Either you scrap it completely, or you leave it open until as long as possible to the last four games.
on the transfer market…It will not be very busy. The transfer market in January is a low-key transfer market. There is very reduced activity. There will be some of course, but in the last three days as always.on the leadership qualities of Mertesacker...I believe we see that, yes. It comes out, and certainly it was in him. He is more confident in his own game, he knows better his team-mates and he has developed himself as a player.He has changed as a player. You compare the Mertesacker who arrived here and the stature he has today, he is a completely improved player because he puts total focus and commitment into every training session.He is one of the players who maintains the level of urgency and focus inside the team and these are the leaders.
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I plan to talk about the new paper by Gavyn Davies, Martin Brookes, Ziad Daoud and Juan Antolin-Diaz, but first a brief digression.
Suppose you were a long-time advocate of a stable monetary base, and called for the policy to be enacted in 1929. Most likely policymakers would have rejected your advice—why change policy when the economy’s doing fine? Then in October 1930 they notice that the US base has fallen 7% over 12 months, plunging us into a deep slump. Now they enact the policy and it’s a complete disaster. The actual monetary base rose sharply after October 1930, and yet the economy plunged ever deeper into depression. A stable base policy at that time would have been even more contractionary. The problem was that base demand rose sharply after October 1930 as bank failures increased. So the policy would have been discredited. Bad timing.
Now suppose you propose M2 targeting in 1964, as a way of controlling inflation. The Fed says we already have inflation under control; it’s only averaging a bit over 1% a year. Then in 1979 they come back and take a second look, as inflation has risen to double digits. But soon after M2 targeting is adopted, velocity falls and you go into deep recession. And that’s just what you’d expect when inflation slows sharply. After 3 years monetary targeting is abandoned. Bad timing. M2 targeting would work better if implemented when it was not needed!
Argentina had struggled with hyperinflation for decades, and finally adopts the currency board in the 1990s. Then in the late 1990s the dollar soars in value due to the developing country economic crisis and the US tech boom, and the Argentine currency gets pulled up with the dollar, plunging them into deflation when all their competitors are devaluing. Bad timing.
The lesson is that you need to propose a robust policy, something that will work even if implemented at the worse possible time. That’s why QE alone is not enough (unless done in politically unrealistic quantities.) QE is likely to be adopted precisely when the demand for base money is soaring, indeed precisely because the demand for base money is soaring. Davies, et al, make a very good observation regarding Woodford’s NGDPLT proposal:
An inherent practical problem with NGDP targeting is precisely that it ignores that there might be, from time to time, slowdowns in potential growth. Assume that CBO’s estimate of potential output is correct, and that the Fed adopts NGDP targeting using Woodford’s proposed linear trend. If the announcement of the new policy is successful, an increase in inflation expectations would lower real interest rates, and stimulate the economy immediately. The real output gap would gradually close but, critically, inflation would initially remain below or around 2%, since according to economic theory no additional inflation is generated before the economy operates at full capacity. At the point where real GDP reaches potential, however, there would still be a large shortfall in NGDP on Woodford’s estimate of the gap. Under his NGDP rule, the Fed would then need to keep to its promise and maintain interest rates fixed at zero, pushing real GDP above its potential level and spurring high inflation. But this higher inflation would not close any pre-existing price level gap because, as we pointed out before, there is no such gap. It would instead mean that the Fed would be producing a permanently higher price level. Inflation would continue rising for as long as output remained above its potential level.
The wording here is slightly confusing, but they make an important point. If NGDP targeting aimed to close the large estimated NGDP gap from the pre-2008 trend line, then it’s quite possible it would push the economy above capacity, triggering high inflation. Davies, et al, correctly point out that Woodford probably overestimated the trend line for real GDP. But this would not be all that serious of a problem if the new policy were maintained forever. You’d have a period of above trend inflation, and then inflation would settle down to 5% minus the actual trend growth rate in RGDP. Even if it was 3% instead of 2% inflation, that would certainly not be a disaster. But here’s what might be a disaster:
There is another, even longer term, problem with this approach. Faced with rising inflation and output above trend, the Fed would eventually decide it needs to choke off the rise in inflation through raising interest rates and tightening monetary policy. This would mean pushing the economy into recession””or, at least, growth below its trend rate for a period””to generate disinflationary pressure and lower inflation expectations.
So if Woodford’s proposal to make up the entire 14% undershoot in NGDP led to much higher inflation in a few years, the policy would be politically discredited and the Fed would tighten sharply, leading to another boom and bust cycle—just what NGDP targeting was supposed to avoid. George Selgin and Larry White could correctly say; “I told you so.” It would do no good to cry and moan that NGDP targeting would have worked if only allowed to operate for 50 years. That’s not how politics works.
This is why I no longer favor returning to the old trend line, but instead favor only modestly higher NGDP growth for a few years, and then form a new trend line at what ever rate the Fed decides on. It doesn’t have to be 5%, but to play it safe I would only change the trend line very gradually. I’m a pragmatist, so I favor introducing my policy in such a way that it will do as little damage as possible, even if abandoned in 3 years. No one can assume that their pet idea will be adopted forever. That was the Achilles heel of the gold standard, a system that works far better if expected to last forever, then if faced with periodic episodes of panicky gold hoarding associated with fear of devaluation and/or abandonment of the system. The gold standard doesn’t work well if people don’t expect it to last.
PS. I have one major objection to Davies, et al. They suggest that the price level is currently right on the trend line, and that a policy of level targeting would not call for any make-up right now. I disagree. I believe that they underestimated the inflation trend up to 2008, and overestimated it since. Drawing trend lines is extremely tricky, and it’s hard to distinguish between a stable trend and one that’s changing in subtle ways. Oil prices were much higher in 2008 than a few years earlier (and then crashed in 2009); that’s why consumer prices seemed to form a “bubble” in 2008. But unemployment was close to the Fed’s estimate of the natural rate of 5.6% at the peak of the bubble, and hence their own model suggests we should have been right on trend at that time. And oil prices are still very high today! I stand by my claim that the 1.2% inflation since mid-2008 shows were have undershot on the price level over the past 4 years, and that a price level targeting regime would call for higher inflation today.
HT: Saturos
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This entry was posted on October 05th, 2012 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.NFL Films spoke to many of Sean Taylor's friends and family about the life and death of the late Washington safety for the upcoming documentary "Sean Taylor: A Football Life." Teammate and friend Santana Moss was on that list, and when talking about Taylor's murder during a home invasion in 2007, Moss broke down on camera.
"It wasn't something nice to relive," Moss told me this week. "A lot of people looked at his death and tried to make a mockery of it, saying that how he lived his life, his death was something that was supposed to happen. And I didn't like the way that went down. I was happy to be a part of [the documentary], just to know that I was able to give my input of who he was and some of the things that people don't know about Sean."
Moss gets asked about Taylor frequently. He gets emotional every time, often to the point of tears, and he admitted that he doesn't think it will ever stop being so raw.
Santana Moss / Photo: Getty Images Santana Moss / Photo: Getty Images
"I've lost family members that I was able to get over. I don't think I'll ever get over this," he said. "It makes me emotional all of the time. I'm one of those guys, I don't take stuff for granted most of the time. And it really hit me more after his death that this life that we go about every day like it's nothing, it's really not something to play with."
Moss and Taylor both grew up in the same area in Miami, but it wasn't until they became teammates in Washington that they formed a bond that was more family than friend. And while Taylor was known to be guarded with the media, behind the scenes he wasn't afraid to show emotion.
"Sean would tell you he loved you regardless," said Moss. "He meant a lot to me for the time that he was here, and I feel like I didn't tell him enough what he meant to me."
Those kinds of regrets stay with Moss, and he hopes that being a part of this documentary will help with the closure that has eluded him thus far. He also hopes that the viewers get something positive out of Friday's airing.
"I want [viewers] to see the good and not think about what happened," he said. "Don't think about what ifs, because the what ifs aren't going to do nothing for us. Just know that his life was cut short for a reason. Let's not sit and dwell on the fact of why, but dwell on the fact that he's up there looking down on his family and his friends.
"I want people to look at it and see that this man, for the time he was on this earth, did a lot of good for a lot of people."
"Sean Taylor: A Football Life" airs Friday, September 26 at 9 p.m. ET on NFL Network.Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Sunday said he thinks the rollout of the intelligence community's report on Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential race appears to be a political move.
"The Democrats are blowing this up because they're trying to change the narrative of what happened in this election. I am not happy that this report — which we were briefed on, just the Gang of Eight, briefed on Friday morning — yet many news media outlets already had the information that was briefed to the Gang of Eight," Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday," referring to top representatives and senators.
"So this looks like a political rollout of a narrative just a couple weeks before Trump's inauguration, and it bothers me."
When asked if he thought it was a political rollout done by the intelligence community or the Democrats who were briefed on the report, Nunes pointed to the Obama administration.
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"How else do you define it?" he asked.
"How does the news media have this information before it's briefed to the Gang of Eight?"
The intelligence community said in a declassified report released Friday afternoon that Putin ordered a widespread influence campaign intended to help elect President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE to the White House.
It said Russia's goals were to "undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary [Hillary] Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency."Dedicated storage in a mobile device is becoming extremely slim as files are getting bigger and bigger. The sizes of applications, games, photographs, and videos today would never fit on a device released two or more years ago. That explains why consumers clamor for flagship devices to have microSD card slots. Fortunately, Samsung has announced the mass production of its 128GB memory that uses Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.0 technology.
Here is a quote from Samsung’s Jee-ho Baek, Senior Vice President of Memory Marketing:
“With our mass production of ultra-fast UFS memory of the industry’s highest capacity, we are making a significant contribution to enable a more advanced mobile experience for consumers. In the future, we will increase the proportion of high-capacity memory solutions, in leading the continued growth of the premium memory market.”
Samsung claims that its UFS memory can outperform the speed of reading found in current high-end smartphones by 2.7 times.
Worried about the price of this, especially when the amount of storage is 128GB? Don’t worry, Samsung also has 32GB and 64GB variants.
There is a possibility that we see this form of storage debut on Sunday when the Galaxy S 6 is announced for the world to see at MWC 2015.
Source: Samsung TomorrowPolice: Bar fight leads to fatal stabbing at River Oaks apartment
A Houston man was fatally stabbed early Sunday morning on the fourth floor of a luxury high-rise in the River Oaks area after getting into a fight with another tenant there.
The victim was identified as 25-year-old Shannon James Gallagher, who died at the scene, said Houston Police spokesman Victor Senties.
Another unidentified man alleged to be involved in the altercation has been detained for questioning, but as of Sunday night police said no charges had been filed.
Police said the incident occurred at 2800 Kirby, a high-end Gable West Avenue complex at the intersection of Kirby and Westheimer.
Apartment security there declined to comment and the complex's manager's could not be reached for comment.
Investigators told KPRC and KHOU that Gallagher and the unidentified male had earlier gotten into a heated fight at a bar on Kirby about 2 a.m. Sunday. Both then left for home but discovered that they were living in the same apartment building where the altercation broke out again, according to KPRC and KTRH news reports.
At one point during the brawl, the unidentified suspect pulled a knife and stabbed Gallagher in chest, the reports said.
Police said the case remains "active" and under investigation. They reported being busy taking statements from numerous witnesses to the stabbing.
Records show Gallagher has a previous convictions for drug possession and drunk driving for which he received probated sentences.NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi stepped up his drive against corruption ahead of assembly elections to five states, pledging BJP will be proactive in disclosing funds received by it and urged other parties to follow suit.“People have a right to know where our funds are coming from,” the PM told the BJP national executive on Saturday, indicating the move is in sync with the government’s demonetisation move.Coming against the backdrop of the PM’s earlier statements arguing that campaign finance reforms have become an absolute necessity and that it was time the political class shed its resistance to growing insistence for transparency in political funding, Modi’s remarks on Saturday further enhances the likelihood of the government bringing in a bill during the budget session of Parliament beginning January 31.Modi had indicated that he would call a meeting of political parties to discuss the issue before or during the session. Senior government sources told TOI on Saturday that the Prime Minister was keen on going ahead on the issue even if all the parties don’t come on board.BJP and most other national parties get the bulk of their funds from opaque sources.They are helped by a provision in the law exempting them from the requirement of disclosing the source of contributions not exceeding Rs 20,000. Rivals and critics have highlighted this to say that BJP’s funding pattern does not jell well with the opaque manner in which the party sources its funds.Marking reform of political funding — an area he has flagged with increasing urgency — a priority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told BJP’s national executive on Saturday, “A culture of transparency is emerging in the country and politicians should use their wisdom to bring in transparency in running their respective parties.”Modi’s initiative to bring in transparency can help rebut the criticism about opaque funding. Besides, it carries the promise of projecting him as the agenda-setter on an issue which riles the public.In his address to the national executive, Modi also set out a “pro-poor” focus and struck an emotional note saying he has a first hand experience of poverty having grown in a family of modest means.“I was born in poverty, have lived poverty,” he said, adding that working for the poor was not “help” but “service”.The BJP economic resolution also noted: “Prime Minister’s appeal to all political parties about election expenditure is a revolutionary step as political parties’ freedom from black money and corruption is essential for the making of the India of our future.”Briefing the media, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad quoted the PM to say, “BJP will be proactive in disclosing the source of its poll financing as there must be transparency in funds and people have every right to know about the source of money a political party receives.”Modi recalled President Pranab Mukherjee’s observations as also the Supreme Court and Election Commission taking up cudgels for poll reforms, Prasad said. He added the PM reiterated the need for holding Lok Sabha and state assemblies elections simultaneously.Modi laid out the post-demonetisation political line underlining “service for the poor” as the motto for BJP at the closing of the national executive. With demonetisation as the party’s main campaign theme, the message was summed up by BJP’s key campaigner as demonetisation being a major step to curb corruption and reward the honest.UPDATE (Aug. 19 8:51a): The Castillo family will be boarding a plane at 3:45p.m. Saturday and will be flying back into LAX. 23ABC will catch up with the family once they return to Bakersfield.
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UPDATE (8/18 3:58 p.m.): The Castillo family's travel insurance company told 23ABC that the family will be able to return home to Bakersfield.
The company's statement:
Upon receipt of required documentation, we approved airline tickets for the Castillo family today. The assistance company has relayed this information to the family and is making final arrangements.
We are also providing up to $800 ($200 per person) for additional meal and local transportation expenses while the family is delayed, which is a covered Travel Delay benefit under the travel protection plan they purchased.
We look forward to hearing that the family has returned home safely.
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A Bakersfield family is stuck in Barcelona in wake of deadly terrorist attacks.
On Friday morning, 23ABC spoke exclusively with Shannon Castillo, who along with her husband, two children and her son's girlfriend, are in Barcelona visiting.
Shannon said the family went to visit and ended up in the midst of the chaos on Thursday.
While caught up, the family lost money and clothes.
Now, she says they're being told they have to pay $9,000 to get a return flight to the United States.
The family has created a GoFundMe account to try to raise money to get back to the States.Is Nene Leakes getting another friend to help fight off her RHOA haters for the next season of the hit Bravo reality show? According to rumors, ‘Married To Medicine’ star Mariah Huq could be joining the cast…
Via LA Late:
Is Mariah Huq joining Real Housewives of Atlanta? Last year, LALATE exclusively reported that a secret person was a possible front runner to RHOA 8. At the time, LALATE reported that BravoTV fans would celebrate the addition, if it ever happens, because the frontrunner was a highly beloved Bravo reality TV personality. In recent days, fans have been tweeting to LALATE questions if Mariah Huq should be joining RHOA. Those tweets are now catching the attention of BravoTV. And on Friday, Andy Cohen told news that fan reaction to cast decisions have dramatically gauged casting, hirings, and firings in recent months. And now, LALATE can report that hte there is major fan movement underway urging BravoTV to cast Mariah Huq as the newest Real Housewife of Altanta.
While LALATE is not free to reveal behind the scenes details, LALATE can report that Mariah Huq fans are launching a major social media drive this week urging BravoTV to hire Huq to join TeamNeNe on RHOA 8. Huq’s allegiance with Leakes is firm. And since 2014, LALATE has been reporting that BravoTV’s newest RHOA housewife would be a Leakes ally for next season. Huq embodies everything that RHOA needs. She is beloved, she is articulate, she is an entrepreneur, housewife, and she gives testimonials better than anyone.
Over the weekend, Andy Cohen told Anderson Cooper that BravoTV does take into consideration fan reaction to casting decisions. And when asked if the network would ever consider a fan-only casting decision for a future housewife, Cohen applauded the idea.Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence or terror motivated by Palestinian nationalism.[1] These political objectives include self-determination in and sovereignty over Palestine,[2][3] the "liberation of Palestine" and recognition of a Palestinian state, either in place of both Israel and the Palestinian territories, or solely in the Palestinian territories.[4][5][6] Periodically directed toward more limited goals such as the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, another key aim is to advance the Palestinian right of return.[7]
Palestinian groups that have been involved in politically motivated violence include the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Nidal Organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hamas.[8] The PLO officially renounced terrorism in 1988, and Fatah says it no longer engages in terrorism, although the Authority continues to incentivize terrorism by awarding large stipends to the families of Palestinians killed or arrested while committing acts of terrorism via the Palestinian Authority Martyr's Fund, payouts that absorb 7% of the Authority's national budget.[9] The PFLP-GC has been internationally inactive.[10] The Abu Nidal organization all but dissolved on his death and exists only in name.[11][12][13]
Tactics have included hostage taking, plane hijackings, stone throwing, stabbing, shootings, and bombings.[14] Several of these groups are considered terrorist organizations by the United States government,[15] Canada[16] and the European Union.[17]
Palestinian political violence has targeted Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese, Jordanians,[18] Egyptians,[19] Americans[20] and citizens of other countries.[21] The attacks have taken place within and outside Israel and have been directed at both military and civilian targets. Israeli statistics state that 3,500 Israelis[21][22] have been killed and 25,000 have been wounded as a result of Palestinian violence since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. These figures include soldiers as well as civilians, including those killed in exchanges of gunfire.[23][24] Israeli statistics listing 'hostile terrorist attacks' also include incidents in which stones are thrown. Suicide bombings constituted just 0.5% of Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the first two years of the Al Aqsa Intifada, though this percentage accounted for half of the Israelis killed in that period.[25]
Personal grievances, trauma, or revenge against Israel are widely maintained to form an important element in motivating attacks against Israelis.[26][27][28]
History
Overview and context
A Jewish bus equipped with wire screens to protect against rock, glass, and grenade throwing, late 1930s
A demolished farmhouse in Tel Mond, Israel, after a fedayun attack.
In protest against the Balfour Declaration, which proposed Palestine as a homeland for the Jewish people, and its implementation under a League of Nations Mandate for Great Britain, Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, from November 1918 onwards, began to organize in opposition to Zionism. By the end of Ottoman rule, the Jewish population of Palestine was 56,000[29] or one-sixth of the population.[30] Hostility to Jewish immigration led to incidents, such as the riots of April 1920, the Jaffa riots of 1921, the 1929 Palestine riots, until a general Arab revolt broke out for three years, in 1936–1939, which was crushed, with the loss of 5,000 lives, by the British army. After the passing of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947 which called for the establishment of independent Arab and Jewish States, a Palestinian Civil War broke out. On the declaration of the state of Israel, 15 May 1948, a full-scale war, involving also the intervention of neighbouring Arab states, took place, with casualties of 6,000 Israelis and, according to the 1958 survey by Arif al-Arif, 13,000 Palestinians[31] and the exodus, through expulsion, or panicked flight, of approximately 700,000 Arab Palestinians who subsequently became refugees.[32] In the Six-Day War, a further 280,000–360,000 Palestinians became refugees, and the remaining Palestinian territories were also occupied from Jordan and from Egypt, and later began to be settled by Jewish and Israeli settlers, while the Palestinians were placed under military administration. While historically, Palestinian militancy was fragmented into several groups, the PLO led, and eventually united, most factions, while conducting military campaigns that varied from airplane hijackings, militant operations and civil protest. In 1987, a mass revolt, of predominantly civil resistance, called the First Intifada, exploded, leading to the Madrid Conference of 1991, and subsequently to the Oslo I Accord, which produced an interim understanding allowing a new Palestinian authority, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to exercise limited autonomy in 3% (later 17%) of the West Bank, and parts of the Gaza Strip not used or earmarked for Israeli settlement. Frustration over the perceived failure of the peace talks to yield a Palestinian state[citation needed] led to the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Intifada in September 2000, which ended in 2005, coincident with the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The rise of Hamas, the use of Palestinian rocketry and Israel's control of Gaza's borders, has led to further chronic violence, culminating in a further two conflicts, the Gaza War of 2008–09 and Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012. It is estimated that since 1920, when the first riots against Jews broke out, 90,785 Arabs including Palestinians have died, and some 67,602 been wounded in all wars and conflicts between Israel and its neighbors. On the other hand, 24,841 Jews and Israelis have died and 35,356 have been wounded during the same period.[33] Since 1967, some reports estimate that some 40% of the male population of the West Bank and Gaza have been arrested or detained in Israeli prisons for political or military reasons.[34]
UN Partition Plan to establishment of PLO (1947–1964)
Around 400 Palestinian 'infiltrators' were killed by Israeli Security Forces each year in 1951, 1952 and 1953; a similar number and probably far more were killed in 1950. 1,000 or more were killed in 1949. At least 100 were killed during 1954–1956. In total upward of 2,700 and possibly as many as 5,000 'infiltrators' were killed by the IDF, police, and civilians along Israel's borders between 1949 and 1956. Most of the people in question were refugees attempting to return to their homes, take back possessions that had been left behind during the war and to gather crops from their former fields and orchards inside the new Israeli state.[35] Meron Benivasti states that the fact that the "infiltrators" were for the most part former inhabitants of the land returning for personal, economic and sentimental reasons was suppressed in Israel as it was feared that this may lead to an understanding of their motives and to the justification of their actions.[35]
Throughout the period 1949–56 the Egyptian government opposed the movement of refugees from the Gaza strip into Israel, but following the IDF's Gaza Raid on February 28, 1955, the Egyptian authorities facilitated militant infiltration but still continued to oppose civilian infiltration.[36] At first, Palestinians were trying to go back to their houses or to retrieve property[citation needed] but after 1950 these acts became much more violent and included killings of civilians in nearby cities.[citation needed]
After Israel's Operation Black Arrow in 1955 which came as a result of a series of massacres in the city of Rehovot, the Palestinian fedayeen were incorporated into an Egyptian unit.[37] John Bagot Glubb, a high-ranking British army general who worked with the Arab Legion, explained in his autobiographical history of the period how he convinced the Legion to arm and train the fedayeen for free.[38] The Israeli government cites dozens of these attacks as "Major Arab Terrorist Attacks against Israelis prior to the 1967 Six-Day War".[39][40] Between 1951 and 1956, 400 Israelis were killed and 900 wounded by fedayeen attacks.;[41][42] according to the Anti-Defamation League "[i]n 1955 alone, 260 Israeli citizens were killed or wounded by fedayeen".[43]
Six-Day War and aftermath
“ Our basic aim is to liberate the land from the Mediterranean Seas to the Jordan River. We are not concerned with what took place in June 1967 or in eliminating the consequences of the June war. The Palestinian revolution's basic concern is the uprooting of the Zionist entity from our land and liberating it. ” — Yasser Arafat, 1970[44]
The Palestine Liberation Organization was founded in 1964. At its first convention in Cairo, hundreds of Palestinians met to, "call for the right of self-determination and the upholding of the rights of |
to up his season total to three. He’d been hurt in the playoffs, was two years removed from his best season, and was 30 years old with a long history of injuries.
But Clowe’s the sort of big body who can bang and crash and (occasionally) score, and NHL GMs seem to love him. So the Devils stepped up and gave him nearly $25 million.
Devils fans didn’t especially love the deal at the time, and they loved it even less when he missed almost the entire first half of the season with another concussion. It’s one thing for a player to suffer an unpredictable injury that torpedoes his value. That happens, and there’s not all that much you can do about it. But Clowe’s health was a known risk, and the Devils got burned. When he did return to the lineup, he didn’t produce much, and is sitting on just three goals in 27 games.
Would now be a good time to point out how many of these deals came via unrestricted free agency? The next time somebody complains that their team spent the first day of free agency on the sideline, send them a link to this piece and tell them that their GM deserves a raise.
3. Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks: $5.33 million x 9 years
Given how often Luongo’s deal is criticized — “My contract sucks,” Luongo himself once said — you may have been expecting to see it holding down the top spot on this list.
But while the length of Luongo’s deal is ridiculous, his current cap hit actually offers the Canucks some solid value. He’s one of the better goalies in the league, and he has been just about the only bright spot in Vancouver all season. And right now, he’s not even in the top 10 for cap hits among goalies. Other than the length, this contract looks pretty good.
But saying that Luongo’s deal is OK except for the length is like a Leafs fan saying Game 7 of last year’s first-round playoff series against Boston went fine except for the last 12 minutes. Luongo will be 43 by the time his deal expires, and he plays a position that typically sees a steep performance decline around a player’s mid- to late thirties.
The Canucks front-loaded Luongo’s deal, obviously expecting him to retire early and wipe off the remaining cap hit. That was how the rule worked at the time, when the contract was signed (and, it is worth remembering, approved by the league). But the NHL changed the rules, and Luongo’s deal will now invoke a cap penalty when he retires — some of which would stay with Vancouver even if he’s with another team. You can make a strong case that it’s not fair to the Canucks, but it’s reality.
The Canucks tried to get clever with CBA loopholes when they signed Luongo’s deal, and they got burned. It’s already cost them Cory Schneider. They’d better hope they luck out and Luongo can buck the historical aging trends, because otherwise it’s going to get a whole lot worse.
2. Ville Leino, Buffalo Sabres: $4.5 million x 4 years
Leino was one of the beneficiaries of the Sabres’ bizarre 2011 spending spree under new owner Terry Pegula. He’d just finished his third NHL season and posted 53 points (42 more than his previous career high) when Buffalo decided to hand him $27 million.
They’ve yet to see any value for their money. Leino managed just 25 points in his first year in Buffalo and played just eight games in the second. This year, he’s played 38 games and has yet to score a goal. Several times during the season, he’s been a healthy scratch.
The only good news for the Sabres is that, with four years left, this is one of the shorter deals on the list. That should at least make the inevitable buyout easier to swallow.
1. David Clarkson, Toronto Maple Leafs: $5.25 million x 7 years
Lots of bad contracts seem like a good idea at the time, only to turn sour as the years go by. Clarkson’s deal, signed on the first day of free agency last summer, was almost universally panned from the very moment it was announced. I hated it. Sports Illustrated said “the money is unnerving, but the term is absolutely frightening.” Yahoo said it “has regret written all over it.” Sporting News used the deal to call the Maple Leafs free agency’s “biggest losers — by a lot.”
That was seven months ago. Since then, things have gotten much, much worse.
Taking a $5.25 million cap hit on a player who had just one 40-point season in his career always seemed like a stretch. To do it for a max-length seven-year deal on a power forward who was already almost 30 was madness. It was a virtual certainty that Clarkson’s best years were already behind him, and the odds were good that a steep drop in production was looming. Oh, and the deal was even structured in a way that would make it especially painful to buy out.
All of which leads to the question: What the hell could the Maple Leafs have been thinking? Maybe they were still traumatized by their season-ending collapse against the Bruins, and felt like Clarkson’s intangibles were somehow worth big money. Maybe coach Randy Carlyle’s fighting fetish ruled the day. Or maybe they just figured that when all the fancy stats pointed in one direction, they’d go and do the opposite, since that strategy tends to work out OK for them.
In any case, even GM Dave Nonis didn’t try to defend the length of the deal. “I’m not worried about six or seven [years] right now,” Nonis said at the time. “I’m worried about one. And in Year 1, I know we’re going to have a very good player.”
That’s the sort of quote that should horrify any fan of the team that offers it, because Nonis was essentially acknowledging that the deal would be a disaster eventually. But the Leafs were willing to accept future pain to get a short-term boost.
But three-quarters into that Year 1, Clarkson is having the worst season of his career. He has just four goals and 10 points. He’s missed a third of the season to injuries and suspensions. When he does play, he shoots far less, and his shooting percentage has cratered. He rarely gets power-play time. He was supposed to be the prototypical Randy Carlyle player, but Carlyle can’t figure out how to use him.
As a Leafs fan, the whole thing has been painful to watch. I’ve always felt like we overuse the whole “he’s trying to do too much” school of sports narrative, but Clarkson fits it perfectly. The poor guy clearly wants so badly to be one of those beloved heart-and-soul Maple Leafs, in the Wendel Clark mold. He got himself suspended for jumping into a preseason brawl to help a teammate who didn’t actually need any help. He keeps trying to come back from injuries too quickly, then doesn’t play well. He anointed himself the team’s water bottle guardian. And through it all, whenever he’s on the ice, he always has this wild-eyed look of desperation, as if his internal monologue is constantly screaming at him to do something, anything.
There’s still hope. Even the biggest Maple Leafs homers have come to hate his contract, but most haven’t yet turned on him as a player. He seems like a good guy who was genuinely excited to play for his hometown team. Give him one good playoff series, and the short-term redemption story practically writes itself.
But at this point that’s the best-case scenario for Year 1, and even if it happens, this contract will still have six long years to go. You can still like the player, but there’s just no defending the deal. In a league full of awful contracts, Clarkson’s is the worst of them all, and it’s not even close.
Previously in this series: Baseball’s worst contractsThat wasn't all. Searches for Planned Parenthood, IUDs, Roe v. Wade and "Pence Birth control" all saw searches spike several thousand-fold, according to Google Trends data. Algorithms on Facebook and Twitter also surfaced trending posts about users pondering their options.
Among many other initiatives, the Affordable Care Act required plans in the marketplace to cover doctor-prescribed contraceptive methods and counseling for all women, without copays or coinsurance (except for some religious exceptions.) It also provided health insurance to 16.4 million uninsured people.
If it is repealed, the cost of birth control could go up for women who would be required to meet deductibles, pay copays, or who lose coverage for their preferred birth control method — making cost-saving apps like Nurx more important than ever, said Gangeskar.
Trump has campaigned to repeal Obamacare, though he later said that he would consider leaving some parts intact. His running mate, Mike Pence, has been vocal about women's' health issues, once inspiring a campaign called "Periods for Pence." And because it performs a small number of abortion services, Planned Parenthood has been opposed by congressional Republicans, who now control the legislative branch.
It's unclear whether women's' health will ultimately be affected by the election — Trump has said he doesn't think birth control should require a prescription. But it all comes weeks after Nurx raised another $5.3 million to expand nationwide.
'We've had patients where their [previous] doctor rolls their eyes, will judge them, tell they 'You're stupid if you don't use a condom. You shouldn't be having sex, you need to change your lifestyle,'" Gangeskar said. "The problem that's happening in this election, the rhetoric to attack minorities, Muslims, African Americans, women, legitimizes that kind of judgment. Changing the mood of the national debate can have national consequences."
Infographic courtesy of Nurx
Gangeskar said that while a funding cut to Planned Parenthood or a repeal of the ACA would be emotionally devastating to Nurx, it might help their business. In addition to letting users get birth control and HIV prevention via text-based app and messaging, it also provides out-of-pocket options for as little as $15 per month.
"My prediction is that a lot of users will switch over to cash," Gangeskar said. "For us as a business, demand for our service could increase. Our competitive price difference will be much larger if the ACA is repealed. For those people who no longer have access from Planned Parenthood, our services will be a natural choice. [But] everyone who works here is incredibly upset. There are more scary things that we could go back to if it was repealed. Insurance could refuse cover labor if they didn't want pregnant women working in the company, or things like that, for example."The 2017 Arctic Man is going full speed in their annual race.
I traveled down to Summit yesterday to witness the event first hand.
It was a beautiful, clear, spring day in Summit for the start of the 2017 Arctic Man. The weather was actually a concern for many as the Race was actually postponed from it's normal start on Thursday until one day later on Friday to help the conditions settle a bit and make it safer for the racers. The racers seemed to appreciate the delayed start, because according to them, the trails were perfectly fine.
"The temperatures are cold so the snow felt really hard and fast and we're starting to see that soften up. It's really tricky riding for the drivers, the skiers conditions were really clean," said Eric Heil.
"The course wasn't too bad. The temperatures kind of killed the snow," said Troy Conlon. "But, the overall course, they did a good job setting it up and grooming it. Keeping us off an extra day really let it set up better than it was. I think they made the best of what they had."
"The snowmachining really was technical this year," said Eric Quan. "I didn't mind it. It just adds a little challenge out there. There was some ice we had to deal with. But it was very very doable. It makes it a little more different and a little more fun I think."
The race is truly one of a kind as it combines skiing or snowboarding with snowmachine races. The Skier or Boarder starts at a 5,800 foot elevation, they then ski or board down to 1,700 feet in less than two miles, where they then meet up with their partner on snowmachine. The snowmachiner then pulls the skier or boarder 2 and a half miles uphill, reaching speeds up to 85 mph. The skier then separates, where they proceed to go over the second side of the mountain and drop another 1,200 feet to the finish line. Skier Errol Kerr makes it easier to understand what the race is like.
"Just imagine going out on your snowmobile, go as fast as you can, then go find your best skiing partner, and get about a 15 foot rope, then put them behind the snowmobile and go as fast as you can," said Kerr. "And just remember it's a five mile race. The first guy to complete the race the fastest wins. There's nothing else like it. It's a very unique race. It's a point–to–point race. So we start and it's one point to the following point. We don't go around in circles. It's a really unique fun and cool event."
However, it isn't just the uniqueness of the race that makes the Arctic Man special. It's the community made up of the racers, their family, friends, and the thousands of spectators who came to support them.
"It's a great community out here, tons of stuff to see and tons of stuff to do. Nice people everywhere, you can walk from camp to camp," said Kerr. "There's great people out there. It's really a good fun community. And it's really a family event now."
"It's like the Daytona beach of Alaska. It's spring break. This is where, if you own a snowmachine and you're not here, you're just missing out on the winter wonderland of the Gulkana ice fields. It's an amazing place. This is the day that spring always breaks out, and it's a really neat event that combines the skiers' and the snowmachiners' world. And everybody embraces the comradery the whole race. And that's the most dynamic part of this race. Been coming here for 28 years and I've met a lot of great friends. Honestly, the most important thing for us when we get back here is that it's like we're brothers and everyone is back together, including the girls. It's great stuff," Kerr said.
And now that the main race is in the books, it's time to celebrate the event, and look ahead to next year.
"It's a spring experience that you've never had in your life, come out and try it," said race founder Howard Theis. "Because you'll never forget it and you'll keep coming back and coming back. Same time, same place next year. We're gonna change up some stuff, but same place, same time."Italy has taken in some 320,000 Mediterranean boat people since the start of 2014. (File photo)
Plans by Italy's government to scrap a measure making illegal immigrants subject to a hefty fine was at the heart of a fierce debate Saturday in a nation that has seen a huge influx of migrants.The existing rule, which introduced fines of up 10,000-euros ($11,000), was part of a series of efforts cracking down on illegal immigration that became law in 2009.A top prosecutor in Sicily, which has seen tens of thousands of migrants come ashore, on Saturday said the legislation was gumming up the Italian legal system."The immigration law is worthless, except to clutter the offices of the court system," Renato Di Natale, the prosecutor in Agrigente, said in the daily La Stampa.His office, which includes the migrant hotspot island of Lampedusa, had 26,000 illegal immigration cases in 2015 with no fines collected.Italy's mafia and terrorism prosecutor Franco Roberti called the law an "obstacle to investigations."He said Friday that making illegal immigrants subject to prosecution causes them to be less cooperative in cases targeting human traffickers.However, after Interior Minister Angelino Alfano opposed the decree to abolish the fine, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Friday pushed back a hearing on the issue to January 15.Some voices on the left have called for caution in making any changes and the right unleashed its furore over the moves to scrap the law.The rule is a "symbol and symbols count... Abolishing it means opening our doors to anyone," said Roberto Maroni, who was interior minister under former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi when the measure was adopted."Do they understand what is happening in this world? They are crazy," Matteo Salvini, who heads Italy's anti-immigrant Northern League party, said Friday on Facebook."The League will put up barricades in Parliament and then in the streets with a referendum against this shame," he added.Italy has taken in some 320,000 Mediterranean boat people since the start of 2014. In 2015 however the main focus of the migrant crisis shifted to Greece with refugees from the Middle East arriving there via Turkey in much larger numbers.Over a million migrants reached Europe in 2015, most of them refugees fleeing war and violence in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, according to the United Nations refugee agency.At least 3,692 have died attempting to make the crossing, according to a count by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).Pemmican is the ultimate survival food. With a few ingredients, you can make a food that has a long shelf life & provides all the proper nutrients you need.
You aren’t always going to have the luxury of a stocked refrigerator in a survival situation. Besides stockpiling canned goods and other food items that can last an extended amount of time, how about making some pemmican?
Pemmican was originally made by Native Americans and consists of a mixture of concentrated fat and protein from dried meat. If made correctly, it has a nearly infinite shelf life.
Besides the long shelf life, pemmican is lightweight and easy to store and transport. Additionally, you can sustain yourself off pemmican alone for an extended amount of time.
Also, while having electricity is helpful in process of making pemmican, it isn’t required, allowing you to make it under nearly any situation.
Not the best in the kitchen? Don’t worry, the process is simpler than it may seem at first. Plus, it might just save your life.
What Exactly Is Pemmican?
While you might prefer your Spaghetti-Os, people have been relying on pemmican for centuries. European adventurers first discovered the amazing qualities of the food from Native Americans while exploring the New World.
The food traditionally used bison, moose, deer or even elk for meat, but nearly any other meat can work. While at first, it may seem like a variant of jerky, it really isn’t.
Jerky usually consist of only the lean muscle types of meat, such as venison, and is dried in strips. Ultimately, if made correctly, jerky does not contain a lot of fat.
Because of this, you cannot adequately depend on jerky alone to provide you with enough nutrients. However, pemmican contains fat which adds to its nutritional value.
With its unique nature, adventures from centuries past would primarily rely on pemmican as their main source of food. Today, the food makes a great option for a survivalist enthusiast.
Living without power, cars, electronics or running water may seem like a nightmare scenario but to pioneers it was just the way life was. Having the skills to survive without modern conveniences is not only smart in case SHTF, it’s also great for the environment. Keep in mind that the key to a successful homestead does not only lie on being able to grow your own food but on other skills as well. LEARNING THESE SKILLS WILL take time, patience and perseverance, and not all of these skills are applicable to certain situations. Hopefully, though, you managed to pick up some great ideas that will inspire you and get you started! Just like our forefathers used to do, The Lost Ways Book teaches you how you can survive in the worst-case scenario with the minimum resources available.It comes as a STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE ACCOMPANIED BY PICTURES AND TEACHES YOU HOW TO USE BASIC INGREDIENTS TO MAKE SUPER-FOOD FOR YOUR LOVED ONES.
Additional Benefits
Besides the extremely long shelf life and its ability to provide an entire meal, pemmican holds a few other beneficial qualities.
Since it uses both the lean meat and the fat from the animal, pemmican ultimately creates very little waste, which is important. In a survival situation, you want to be maximizing your resources without wasting anything that could be useful
Because the food does not hold a lot of moisture, pemmican does not need to be refrigerated. Additionally, this makes it incredibly light and easy to carry.
Finally, since making pemmican is a rather simple process that does not require a lot of tools, the food can be made in nearly any survival or wilderness situation without special cooking equipment. Due to this, even if you do not have electricity, the food can still be easily made.
Also read:
How to Make Pemmican At Home: A Survival Superfood That Can Last Anywhere From A Few Years (Decades) Up To A Lifetime
How To Make Pemmican
The kitchen can be a scary place, but not as scary as a survival situation with no food.
Pemmican is easier to make than it may first seem, by following these steps you can create the ultimate food that could save your life. Additionally, the ingredients required can be acquired at nearly any grocery store or butcher shop.
Ingredients
There are mainly only four basic ingredients you need to be able to successfully make pemmican.
1. Lean meat – beef, buffalo, or venison make good choices
2. Animal fat – you can use beef suet or you can buy rendered tallow or make it yourself
3. Desired selection of fruit or berries – depending on your choices, this could reduce its shelf life
4. Salt
Step One
Take your meat of choice and trim off any remaining fat, the meat should be as lean as possible. Next, grind the meat with a meat grinder. If you do not have a manual meat grinder or electricity for an electric meat grinder, simply cut the fresh meat into thin slices.
Since you will be drying the meat, keep in mind that it takes between one to two pounds of fresh meat to make a single cup of dried meat.
Step Two
To dry the meat, spread it evenly over aluminum foil on a cookie tray and heat at 180 degrees for 6 to 8 hours or until the meat is crisp and chewy.
If an oven is not available to you, sun drying the meat works just as well too or smoking it over a fire. Be aware that depending on your method of drying, it may take longer for the meat to properly dry.
Step Three
Once the meat has been sufficiently dried, grind the dried meat into a powdery form. An electric blender works well or, if you do not have that option, you can simply pound the dried meat using a pestle and mortar.
Step Four
Take your desired fruit or berries and dry it in the same way you dried the meat. Once dried, cut it into thin slices or chunks and grind it into a powder similar to how you ground the meat.
It is suggested not to grind it completely into a powder, but leave some chunks to provide additional texture and tasted to the pemmican.
Combine the fruit or nut powder to the meat powder maintaining a 1:1 ratio.
Add salt to the mixture to add to the taste. Additionally, keep in mind that the more salt you add, the better the shelf life of the pemmican.
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Step Five
With the desired animal fat, it is important to render (or melt) the fat down as soon as possible to avoid it going bad.
Cut the fat into inch long cubes and melt it over medium heat in a small amount of water. If you do not have a stove, this can be done over a small fire. Additionally, if the water supply is limited, rainwater makes a good substitute.
Be careful not to let the fat start to smoke, if this happens it means it is now burning.
Step Six
Once the fat has been properly melted you can then pour it over the fruit and meat powder mixture. As you are gradually pouring it over the mixture, stir until everything is evenly combined.
As you are pouring the fat, keep the same 1:1 ratio.
Once everything has been combined, spread the pemmican out in a thin layer and let it completely cool. After it has been cooled, you can cut the pemmican in any size easiest to store as.
You can store pemmican in plastic wrap, Ziploc bags, plastic storage containers or anything with a fitting lid. Try and store it in a dark, cool place and keep it within room temperature. If it suffers a drastic change in temperature, or cannot be stored in a well-sealed container, the shelf life may be shortened.
Also read:
How To Make Pemmican: A Survival Superfood That Can Last 50 Years
Final Thoughts
Although pemmican can be made under nearly any condition, due to its longevity, it is recommended to make some ahead of the disaster. Plus, the more you make the more comfortable you will become with the recipe, which will help you if you need to make pemmican under less-than-desirable conditions. Additionally, given the flexibility with the directions, you can experiment with different kinds of meats, nuts, or fruits to find a combination that works best for you.
There is a reason why pemmican has been valued as one of the best survivalist foods for centuries. When preparing for the possibility of a crisis, don’t be too quick to overlook the simplicity of the food, because who knows – it might just save your life.
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In bonobos, attractive females are more likely to win conflicts against males
Female social dominance over males is rare among mammal species. Bonobos, one of our closest living relatives, are known for females holding relatively high social statuses when compared to males; though this is puzzling as the males are often bigger and stronger than the females. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have now analyzed the dominance relations between male and female wild bonobos and took particular interest in the high social status ranking of some females. The result: It is not female alliances that help females win conflicts. The context of the conflict does not seem to be relevant for its outcome either. Instead, the attractiveness of females plays an important role. If females display sexually attractive attributes, including sexual swellings, they win conflicts with males more easily, with the males behaving in a less aggressive way.
Bonobo man Jack grooms female Susi in Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Caroline Deimel, LuiKotale Bonobo Project Bonobo man Jack grooms female Susi in Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Caroline Deimel, LuiKotale Bonobo Project
While intersexual dominance relations in bonobos never have been thoroughly studied in the wild, several ideas exist of how females attain their dominance status. Some researchers suggest that bonobo female dominance is facilitated by females forming coalitions which suppress male aggression. Others think of an evolutionary scenario in which females prefer non-aggressive males which renders male aggressiveness to a non-adaptive trait.
A recent study by researchers of the LuiKotale bonobo project from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology reports on the outcomes of intersexual conflicts in a bonobo community near the Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Based on the analysis of outcomes of conflicts between the sexes, they found a sex-independent dominance hierarchy with several females occupying top ranks.
Furthermore they discovered that only two factors have a significant influence on the outcome of intersexual conflicts: female motivation to help offspring and attractiveness. That is, whenever females defend their offspring against male aggression, often alone but sometimes in groups, males defer to females. But even more interestingly, females are more likely to win conflicts against males during times when they exhibit sexual swellings indicating elevated fecundity.
Martin Surbeck, first author of the publication, says: “In those situations, males also aggress females less often, which is different from chimpanzees, our other closest living relatives.” The results indicate that in bonobos both female sexuality and male mating strategies are involved in the shifting dominance relationships between the sexes.
MS/MA/HRWith an additional $4.4M worldwide this weekend, Disney’s Zootopia has become the studio’s second $1B grosser of the year at the global box office. Judy Hopps & Co have an offshore cume of $662.8M and a domestic take of $337.22M for a total $1,000.020M. This is the 11th Disney film (out of an industry total 26) to ever hit the milestone.
Zootopia, from directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore, is the No. 1 animated film of the year and the No. 2 movie of 2016. It falls in line behind the Mouse (& Marvel’s) Captain America: Civil War which recently hit the mark and is currently at $1,131.54M global. The numbers also make it only the 4th animated film ever to to cross $1B. Frozen, Minions and Toy Story 3 are ahead of it.
The top market cumes on the charmer are: China $235.6M, Japan $56.2M, Germany $33.4M, the UK $33.4M and Russia $32.2M.
This weekend, its 17th in overseas release, added an estimated $3.6M. Japan continues to be the major driver with another $3.2M this session for a dip of just 18%.
While Alice Through The Looking Glass won’t follow in its predecessors’ footsteps to the $1B global mark, Disney has lots to smile about. It boasts the Top 3 movies of 2016 worldwide, with The Jungle Book at No. 3 since last weekend. That film has a little over $100M to go to score a hat trick for the Mouse in the 2016 $1B club. It’s currently at an $895.07M global cume with both Korea (next week) and Japan (August 11) on deck.7 Steps To A Winning Phone Interview
Many interviews are preceded by a phone screen, which seems friendly, but don’t be lulled into complacency. A phone interview is not a friendly chat; it’s a process to eliminate you. You need to prepare for it just like you would an onsite interview.
If the company is conducting a phone interview with you, it could mean one of several things. If you’re an out-of-town candidate this is standard procedure. It’s a safeguard step in the interview process to further qualify you prior to spending the money to bring you for an onsite visit.
If you’re a local candidate, the meaning is usually a little more concerning. It typically means they aren’t convinced from your resume and cover letter that you’re worth their time. Sorry to be blunt, but it’s true. That means you have work cut out for you, and you have to convince them to bring you in.
Phone Interview Preparation
Make a list of these few points so you can have everything ready when they call. These are common-sense items that everyone should know, but it’s amazing how many people disregard them.
• Prepare a quiet space, away from disturbances.
• Have a good phone connection. A land line is best.
• Have water, or something to drink at hand.
• Note pad and pen/pencil.
• Have your questions prepared and with you.
• Turn off call waiting.
• Tell your family/friends you’ll be on an important call so they don’t pick up the line or otherwise disturb you.
Let’s Go Through These One At A Time.
Prepare a quiet space, away from disturbances.
If you have animals, go somewhere they won’t bother you or distract you while you’re talking. Trust me, “Murphy’s Law” always comes into play. You might have a dog who hasn’t barked in two months, but something will happen to set the dog off while you’re talking to the prospective employer.
Have a good phone connection. A land line is best.
It’s important that you conduct the interview on a land line. There are few cell phone connections as clear or crisp as land lines, and you don’t want the person on the other end struggling to understand what you say. If you have a headset, and you know the sound is clear on both ends—use it. A good headset frees up your hands and allows for a more comfortable conversation. If you like to walk around while you talk, that’s fine. It makes some people more animated and that comes through as enthusiasm in their voice. Just make sure you’re not making noise while you walk.
Have water, or something to drink at hand.
You’ll be doing a lot of talking, and talking makes your mouth dry, so make sure you have water.
Note pad and pen/pencil.
This is a no brainer, but you’d be amazed how many people forget. I have often been interrupted with, “Hold on a minute while I get something to write with.” (In case you’re wondering—yes, that pisses me off.)
Have your questions prepared and with you.
Another no brainer. You have gone to the trouble of preparing questions to ask so make sure they’re with you. The questions should be prepared long before the call. Don’t wait until ten minutes before the interview. It would also be great to practice the questions you anticipate from them. Remember, the questions you get on a phone interview will probably be different than ones they throw at you in a face-to-face session. If the position you’re considering requires relocation, they will, or at least should, press you on whether you have discussed a move with your family and if relocation presents any problems.
Turn off call waiting.
There isn’t much that is more irritating than to be conducting a phone interview and have it interrupted numerous times by incoming calls. If you don’t know how to turn off call waiting, it’s usually fairly simple. If you check with your service provider it’s normally a simple process that takes a couple of minutes or less.
Tell your family/friends you’ll be on an important call.
This one speaks for itself.
Before We Continue Let’s Cover A Few Key Points About Phone Interviewing Etiquette.
Don’t interrupt. It’s never wise to interrupt any conversation, but it’s even more important during a phone interview because it’s often difficult to get back on track. If the person says something that sparks a thought…that’s what the notepad is for. Jot it down and discuss that thought later. You’ll get a chance to talk.
Don’t ever discuss things like salary or benefits or relocation. This is not the time or place to discuss it. This call is for them to determine if they’re interested in bringing you in for an interview. Don’t do anything to get off that line of thinking.
Don’t Forget To Be Excited
I have conducted more phone interviews (by far) than I have personal interviews. The number is certainly in the thousands. When you’ve done as many interviews on the phone as I have, you get good at picking up on subtle clues and fluctuations in a person’s voice. Things like hesitation, excitement, disappointment, enthusiasm, anger, frustration, and just about any other emotion you can imagine. If I can pick up on those emotions, others can too, so make sure the message you’re sending is a positive one. Be as excited as Adalina is in the picture to the left.
The Bottom Line?
Maintain a positive attitude. Show enthusiasm and interest in the company and the position. Be excited! It will go a long way to helping your cause.
You can turn a phone interview into a win for you if you stay focused on what matters. Always remember what the company’s primary need is. Focus on being the solution to that.
(If you don’t yet have a clear picture of what the company is looking for, this is a good time to discuss it. Ask the manager or human resources representative for more detail on what is expected from the person in this position and what the key requirements are. It’s critical that you have a clear understanding of what the company wants prior to going for an onsite interview.)
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Existing law requires the owner of a vessel, as described, to register the vessel in accordance with prescribed requirements governing the registration and transfer of vessels. Existing law establishes a registration fee for vessels, and imposes an additional fee, known as the quagga and zebra mussel infestation prevention fee, in specified amounts, as |
"stepping stone" to bigger things.
"We've got the All Blacks in two weeks and then we head on a five week European tour so this hopefully is a stepping stone for things to come," he said.John McCain is enjoying high levels of approval from many voters — just not those in his own party.
McCain's vote, along with fellow Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, helped kill the Republican push to overhaul the US healthcare system last week. And it appears Democrats now appreciate the Arizona senator much more than Republicans.
A new Quinnipiac poll showed 39% of Republican voters held a positive view of McCain and 49% held a negative view. By contrast, Democratic voters hold a 74% positive view of McCain compared to 18% negative, for a plus-56 net rating.
Overall, the poll showed McCain has a net plus-25 favorability rating from all people surveyed — 57% positive to 32% negative.
McCain's return to Washington just a week after announcing a brain cancer diagnosis helped Republicans bring their various Obamacare repeal plans to the floor of the Senate for a vote. McCain voted for a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare called the Better Care Reconciliation Act, but against both a repeal-only and "skinny" repeal bill.
The vote against the "skinny" repeal bill sank the Republican hopes of getting any sort of legislation passed.
McCain argued the bill would not bring down costs or improve care for Americans. He also criticized the party-line approach the GOP used to try to pass the bill.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the skinny repeal bill would have resulted in 16 million more uninsured Americans by 2026 than under the current baseline.
Collins and Murkowski have also gotten approval following their votes. Collins was applauded in the airport upon her return to Maine, while more than 200 people showed up for a "Thank You Lisa" rally in Alaska for Murkowski.
Lawmakers have begun considering bipartisan approaches to shoring up Obamacare marketplaces instead of trying to overhaul the law.
NOW WATCH: Watch the most bizarre moments from Trump’s speech to the Boy Scouts of America
More From Business InsiderI have recently come to the opinion that AGI alignment is probably extremely hard. But it’s not clear exactly what AGI or AGI alignment are. And there are some forms of aligment of “AI” systems that are easy. Here I operationalize “AGI” and “AGI alignment” in some different ways and evaluate their difficulties. Autopoietic cognitive systems From Wikipedia: The term “autopoiesis” refers to a system capable of reproducing and maintaining itself. This isn’t entirely technically crisp. I’ll elaborate on my usage of the term: An autopoietic system expands, perhaps indefinitely. It will feed on other resources and through its activity gain the ability to feed on more things. It can generate complexity that was not present in the original system through e.g. mutation and selection. In some sense, an autopoietic system is like an independent self-sustaining economy.
An autopoietic system, in principle, doesn’t need an external source of autopoesis. It can maintain itself and expand regardless of whether the world contains other autopoietic systems.
An autopoietic cognitive system contains intelligent thinking. Some examples: A group of people on an island that can survive for a long time and develop technology is an autopoietic cognitive system.
Evolution is an autopoietic cognitive system (cognitive because it contains animals).
An economy made of robots that can repair themselves, create new robots, gather resources, develop new technology, etc is an autopoietic cognitive system.
A moon base that necessarily depends on Earth for resources is not autopoietic.
A car is not autopoietic.
A computer with limited memory not connected to the external world can’t be autopoietic. Fully automated autopoietic cognitive systems A fully automated autopoietic cognitive system is an autopoietic cognitive system that began from a particular computer program running on a computing substrate such as a bunch of silicon computers. It may require humans as actuators, but doesn’t need humans for cognitive work, and could in principle use robots as actuators. Some might use the term “recursively self-improving AGI” to mean something similar to “fully automated autopoietic cognitive system”. The concept seems pretty similar to “strong AI”, though not identical. Difficulty of aligning a fully automated autopoietic cognitive system Creating a good and extremely-useful fully automated autopoietic cognitive system requires solving extremely difficult philosophical and mathematical problems. In some sense, it requires answering the question of “what is good” with a particular computer program. The system can’t rely on humans for its cognitive work, so in an important sense it has to figure out the world and what is good by itself. This requires “wrapping up” large parts of philosophy. For some intuitions about this, it might help to imagine a particular autopoietic system: an alien civilization. Imagine an artificial planet running evolution at an extremely fast speed, eventually producing intelligent aliens that form a civilization. The result of this process would be extremely unpredictable, and there is not much reason to think it would be particularly good to humans (other than the decision-theoretic argument of “perhaps smart agents cooperate with less-smart agents that spawned them because they want this cooperation to happen in general”, which is poorly understood and only somewhat decision-relevant). Almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive systems An almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive system is an autopoietic cognitive system that receives some input from humans, but a quite-limited amount (say, less than 1,000,000 total hours from humans). After receiving this much data, it is autopoietic in the sense that it doesn’t require humans for doing its cognitive work. It does a very large amount of expansion and cognition after receiving this data. Some examples: Any “raise the AGI like you would raise a child” proposal falls in this category.
An AGI that thinks on its own but sometimes gives queries to humans would fall in this category.
ALBA doesn’t use the ontology of “autopoietic systems”, but if Paul Christiano’s research agenda succeeded, it would eventually produce an aligned almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive system (in order to be competitive with an unaligned almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive system) Difficulty of aligning an almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive system My sense is that creating a good and extremely-useful almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive system also requires solving extremely difficult philosophical and mathematical problems. Although getting data from humans will help in guiding the system, there is only a limited amount of guidance available (the system does a bunch of cognitive work on its own). One can imagine an artificial planet running at an extremely fast speed that occasionally pauses to ask you a question. This does not require “wrapping up” large parts of philosophy immediately, but it does require “wrapping up” large parts of philosophy in the course of the execution of the system. (Of course artifical planets running evolution aren’t the only autopoietic cognitive systems, but it seems useful to imagine life-based autopoietic cognitive systems in the absence of a clear alternative) Like with unaligned fully automated autopoietic cognitive systems, unaligned almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive systems would be extremely dangerous to humanity: the future of the universe would be outside of humanity’s hands. My impression is that the main “MIRI plan” is to create an almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive system that expands to a high level, stops, and then assists humans in accomplishing some task. (See: executable philosophy; task-directed AGI). Non-autopoietic cognitive systems that extend human autopoiesis An important category of cognitive systems are ones that extend human autopoiesis without being autopoietic themselves. The Internet is one example of such a system: it can’t produce or maintain itself, but it extends human activity and automates parts of it. This is similar to but more expansive than the concept of “narrow AI”, since they in principle they could be domain-general (e.g. a neural net policy trained to generalize across different types of tasks). The concept of “weak AI” is similar. Non-autopoietic automated cognitive systems can present existential risks, for the same reason other technologies and social organizations (nuclear weapons, surveillance technology, global dictatorship) present existential risk. But in an important sense, non-autopoietic cognitive systems are “just another technology” contiguous with other automation technology, and managing them doesn’t require doing anything like wrapping up large parts of philosophy. Where does Paul’s agenda fit in? [edit: see this comment thread] As far as I can tell, Paul’s proposal is to create an almost-fully-automated autopoietic system that is “seeded with” human autopoiesis in such a way that, though afterwards it grows without human oversight, it eventually does things that humans would find to be good. In an important sense, it extends human autopoiesis, though without many humans in the system to ensure stability over time. It avoids value drift over time through some “basin of attraction” as in Paul’s post on corrigibility. (Paul can correct me if I got any of this wrong) In this comment, Paul says he is not convinced that lack of philosophical understanding is a main driver of risk, with the implication that humans can perhaps create aligned AI systems without understanding philosophy; this makes sense to the extent that AI systems are extending human autopoiesis and avoiding value drift rather than having their own original autopoiesis. I wrote up some thoughts on Paul Christiano’s agenda already. Roughly, my take is that is that getting corrigibility right (i.e. getting an autopoietic system to extend human autopoiesis without much human oversight and without having value drift) requires solving very difficult philosophical problems, and it’s not clear whether these are easier or harder than those required for the “MIRI plan” of creating an almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive system that does not extend human autopioesis but does assist humans in some task. Of course, I don’t have all of Paul’s intuitions on how to do corrigibility. I would agree with Paul that, conditioned on the AGI alignment problem not being very hard, it’s probably because of corrigibility. My position I would summarize my position on AGI alignment as: Aligning a fully automated autopoietic cognitive system, or an almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive system, both seem extremely difficult. My snap judgment is to assign about 1% probability to humanity solving this problem in the next 20 years. (My impression is that “the MIRI position” thinks the probability of this working is pretty low, too, but doesn’t see a a good alternative)
Consistent with this expectation, I hope that humans do not develop almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive systems in the near term. I hope that they instead continue to develop and use non-autopoietic cognitive systems that extend human autopoiesis. I also hope that, if necessary, humans can coordinate to prevent the creation of unaligned fully-automated or almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive systems, possibly using non-autopoietic cognitive systems to help them coordinate.
I expect that thinking about how to align almost-fully-automated autopoietic cognitive systems with human values has some direct usefulness and some indirect usefulness (for increasing some forms of philosophical/mathematical competence), though actually solving the problem is very difficult.
I expect that non-autopoietic cognitive systems will continue to get better over time, and that their use will substantally change society in important ways.Last weekend, I took the major arguments of Kalashnikov conspiracy theorists head on, and one of those – which I hear rather frequently – is why he did not design any other weapons besides the AK-47.
The reason is… He did. Kalashnikov was a skilled and fairly prolific designer who by the mid-1960s had a near-monopoly on the designs of platoon-level small arms (excluding the Makarov handgun and short-lived Stetchkin machine pistol). This was of course partly due to the universality of his AK assault rifle design, but also because of his excellent PK machine gun – a weapon that borrowed many of the AK’s mechanical features but married them to an extremely well-designed and reliable belt-feed mechanism.
Kalashnikov’s career as a designer spanned several decades, beginning in 1942 as he was recovering from a shoulder wound he received the previous year when the T-34 tank he was commanding was hit. His first firearm design was the submachine gun chambered for the 7.62x25mm Tokarev round, shown below:
Kalashnikov’s submachine gun did not get far; it was not judged competitive with Sudaev’s already-adopted PPS-43 submachine gun. However, the design brought Kalashnikov recognition as an extremely creative and dedicated designer. In 1944, Kalashnikov was given samples of the new 7.62x41mm round, and set to designing a selfloading rifle for it, resulting in the rifle below:
By late 1944, the focus had shifted from selfloading rifles, to assault rifles – avtomats – and Kalashnikov accordingly began work on his first prototypes in this class. The rifles below are often collectively called “AK-46”, although they are properly two different designs. Both use the same rotating bolt design as his selfloading rifle above, something he adapted from John Garand’s M1, and which – along with his robust and reliable magazine design, also present in these early prototypes – would form the heart of his world-famous AK-47:
These weapons, however, were short-stroke, and sported left-hand charging handles as well as left-side switch-type controls. In trials, Kalashnikov’s initial prototypes suffer problems, and so he went back to the drawing board, creating the substantially simpler and more robust AK-47, the first version of which is shown below:
Mechanically, AK-47 No. 1 is 100% Kalashnikov as we recognize it today; only secondary features would change on the road to adoption.
Once Mikhail’s AK-47 was accepted by the Russian military, he set out to design a new submachine gun, once again, this time in the brand-new 9x18mm Makarov caliber. This rifle was an open-bolt, select-fire weapon sporting a collapsible stock. It also featured an invention that many probably believe came much later with Marc Krebs: A bolt-hold open notch on the Kalashnikov-style safety.
On modern closed-bolt AK-47 rifles, this notch is a convenience, but on this open-bolt submachine gun, it’s a major safety feature. Its inclusion means that this weapon could be cocked, and then the safety engaged to absolutely prevent any possibility of the bolt slipping the sear and firing a round unintentionally. This mechanism was typical of the simplicity and effectiveness of Kalashnikov’s inventions.lol i'm actually watching the ep of kath & kim that kylie is in rn omg <333333 my queen Reply
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Those vocals tho... Reply
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she and britney must have the same vocal coach! Reply
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Aw, I love how consistently supportive Madonna has been towards Queen Kylie over the years Reply
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OP did you read this?
http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/guest-diary/2016/liz-smith-sorry-haters
She needs to be Madonna's PR manager, Guy Oseary is still vacationing, I mean at this point he can stay on vacay permanently.
that Mardi Gras tribute is really cuteOP did you read this?She needs to be Madonna's PR manager, Guy Oseary is still vacationing, I mean at this point he can stay on vacay permanently. Reply
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yup, love me some Liz. Reply
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Liz is the best Reply
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Was Liz ever Madonna's PR manager at some point?? Because for some reason I feel like I remember reading that she was, or that she at least did something for Madonna at some point... Reply
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YAS QUEEN LIZ! Reply
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omg liz SCALPED guy lmao i love her so much, i wish she'd go back and work with madonna Reply
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Pontiac Queen! <3 Reply
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At first I thought this was about Kylie Jenner, oop. Reply
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So true... Reply
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Christ she sounds awful! Reply
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So bummed I'm not at there this year! Especially considering it's my first year out completely!
Edited at 2016-03-16 07:23 pm (UTC) Reply
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that is the very definition of struggle vocals. sounds like me when I try to sing. Reply
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Their friendship is so cute! I remember when Madonna wore a Kylie shirt to the 2000 Grammys Reply
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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ Reply
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I hope Kylie wouldn't hire Guy O as her new manager
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Kylie is the Goddess of pop Madonna is just the Queen TBQMFH this was a nice tribute i guess Reply
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i cant believe the tour has been on for seven months and there are only 3 shows left Reply
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LinkThis is a story about how the VPS provider Digital Ocean required me to either delete a blog post or make it anonymous by removing any reference to the person I was writing about. If I refused to do it, Digital Ocean said they would terminate my account. The person I wrote about (Googler Travis Collins) in the blog post happened to be a friend of a Digital Ocean executive, but Digital Ocean said the only reason the blog post needed to be removed was due to a terms of service violation. Here’s the blog post in its original form. I describe below how this whole incident came to pass and provide screenshots of Digital Ocean’s communications. Digital Ocean promotes itself as a great place to setup a blog, and they provide instructions to make it easy for you, but you might want to learn how Digital Ocean applies its terms of service before investing a lot of time in writing blog posts.
A couple weeks ago I decided to set up a WordPress blog on a VPS provided by Digital Ocean. I didn’t have specific plans to write about anything in particular but since I’m trying to retrain as a developer there would probably be a tech angle to most of what I published. One potential story idea arose when I was hanging out on another site hosted on and sponsored by Digital Ocean, chat meatspace. Chat Meatspace is one of Digital Ocean’s so-called #TopDrops It’s a site where a lot of “alpha geeks” hang out (as Tech Crunch describes them), including several high profile members of the JavaScript community, the Chief Technology Evangelist for Digital Ocean, and at least two Googlers that I knew of, one being a guy named Travis Collins. It’s a very small community and the people are all chummy with each other.
One day, as I was lurking on Meatspace, I saw the Googler Travis Collins turn up and decided to ask his opinion about a story that Gawker had published about how Google treats its contract employees. I gave him the link to the story and he provided some very candid responses, which I took screenshots of and used to write up this blog post. Travis had no idea that I intended to write up a blog post, and, indeed, I had no real plans to write a blog post until Travis gave me his response, which I thought was somewhat newsworthy since he works for the company that was the subject of the other story. After he gave me his responses, he decided to mute me on the site, so it was impossible to communicate with him and let him know that a blog post was going to be published. My act of taking his statements and publishing them is the same as everyone does when they quote something someone says on Twitter. It’s fair game to republish something in the public domain.
Several days later, after TechCrunch published its story about Meatspace, the Meatspace community discovered my blog post via a comment on TechCrunch and were really angry about it. I happened to be lurking on Meatspace as they were discussing it and took screenshots of things they said about it and me. One member of the community half-seriously (I assumed) threatened to harm me, proposing to “Godwins law this fucker.” Screenshot, a reference to the practice of accusing someone of being a Nazi sympathizer in internet discussions. See Wikipedia entry here. Another member of the community, who was present and very suspicious as I asked Travis Collins the questions about the Gawker story, had taken note of my browser “fingerprint” and was now offering to share it with everyone. fingerprint screenshot
Interestingly, when the Meatspace community asked Travis Collins about the blog post, he said he didn’t care. “Meh, whatever,” were his words. Here’s a screenshot of the question being asked and here’s a screenshot of Travis Collins’ response
The next day, however, I received notification from Digital Ocean about an abuse complaint, which purportedly came from Travis Collins. The complaint claimed that I had been harassing Travis Collins online and the blog post was part of that larger pattern of harassment. Here’s the complaint.
The most outrageous part of this abuse complaint is that it claimed that I had been harassing and following Travis Collins around online. This is easily proven false because Travis Collins admitted that he had no idea who I was as I spoke to him on Meatspace. Here’s a screenshot of Travis Collins admitting that he had no idea who I was as I spoke to him on Meatspace.
I pointed this fact out to Digital Ocean but they just ignored it, even when I also showed them that other members of the Meatspace community expressed an interest in harming my reputation (i.e. Godwins law this fucker).
Anyways, when signing up for Digital Ocean, my assumption that if a person has a complaint about content, the VPS provider would ask them to contact the publisher (me) rather than the VPS provider trying to mediate between the person with the complaint and the publisher. I asked Digital Ocean to have Travis Collins contact me and they just ignored it.
When I asked Digital Ocean how my blog post violated the terms of service, they quoted one clause from the ToS but didn’t explain how my content violated it.
In reply, I pointed out to Digital Ocean that Travis Collins didn’t actually care about the blog post and I provided the screenshot of Travis Collins’ response to prove it.
Second, I also pointed out how the complaint contained a lie. How was it possible that I had been harassing and following Travis Collins around online if it was also true, as Travis admitted, that he had no idea who I was?
I therefore suggested to Digital Ocean that Travis Collins wasn’t telling the truth about being embarrassed, or that the person who made the complaint wasn’t actually Travis Collins but one of the other Meatspacers who expressed an interest in harming me. I gave them the screenshots of the Meatspace users talking about defaming me with Godwins law.
Digital Ocean didn’t listen to anything I said. They required me to either remove the blog post entirely or to make it “anonymous.” They said that my story was “targeting” Travis Collins and that I could easily remove any reference to Travis Collins and still make the same point. In fact they said that my unwillingness to make the blogpost anonymous lends credibility to Travis’ complaint, which ignored the fact that it likely wasn’t even Travis who made the complaint. Digital Ocean required me to provide legal documentation to show that I could publish the blog post. They said they would gladly respond to an injunction from a New York court! This was obviously very difficult for me to do since I’m not even in the United States!
Digital Ocean promotes itself as a great place to setup a WordPress or Ghost blog, and they provide very clear instructions how to do it, but you should carefully consider their terms of service and the content you plan on publishing, or you might end up wasting a lot of your time and their time.
By the way, I sent an email to Travis Collins and asked him if he made the complaint and he never replied!
If you’re really interested, here’s the whole series of communications.
First. The complaint
My initial response with their reply quoting the terms of service
I object that they haven’t explained how I violated the terms of service, and also point out that Travis didn’t even care about the post
their response
I initially refuse and point out how the Meatspace community said it was going to harm me
I provide them more info on Godwins law
I pointed out how the person claiming to be Travis lied about me harassing him
they respond by saying it was clearly a ToS violation and provide me two options, to make the post anonymous or remove it
I offer to remove the words “obnoxious” and “bratty” from my post and re-iterate several points they didn’t respond to
I show them why it’s likely that Travis didn’t even make the complaint
They tell me I must comply
After I pointed out again that it likely wasn’t even Travis who made the complaint, they respond by claiming the complaint had merit and they’d take action on my account if I didn’t comply with their demands
I ask them to clarify what action on my account means, and they tell me my droplet would be powered down and my account locked down
They explain that locked down means ‘terminated’Space may not be the final frontier for Anna-Lisa Paul and Robert Ferl; they want to grow plants there. Because, who knows, we may one day try to live on Mars, and to survive, we'll have to grow our own food.
Thus far, experiments by the two pioneering scientists have proven so successful that, earlier this month, NASA recognized their research with one of its three awards in the category of the Most Compelling Results. Paul and Ferl have been conducting plants-in-space research for 20 years.
"It was indeed nice to receive the recognition from NASA," said Paul, a research professor in the UF/IFAS Department of Horticultural Sciences. "The award recognizes our research approaches of using transgenic plants to serve as biological sensors of the space flight environment. This research is another step in moving our science forward in our exploration of how plants respond to this novel environment."
Paul explained how all this research helps us on planet Earth.
"First, the more we can understand how plants respond to novel and extreme environments, the more prepared we are for understanding how plants will respond to the changing environments we are experiencing on Earth," she said.
"Second, it gives the scientific community new insight into how plants sense and respond to external stimuli at a fundamental, molecular level. And last, what we learn helps inform our collective efforts to take our biology off the planet. When we leave Earth's orbit, we will take plants with us." added Ferl, who is the director of the UF Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research.
NASA recognized Paul and Ferl for their work on three recent experiments.
During the experiments, NASA scientists sent plants to the International Space Station to test Paul and Ferl's ideas about how plants sense changes in their environment, and then how they respond to those changes.
"One of the first things we found was that certain types of root-growth strategies that plants use on Earth that were always thought to require gravity for guidance actually do not require gravity at all, as we saw plants use those same strategies on the space station," Paul said.
That result led to new hypotheses: In the absence of gravity, light plays a bigger role in guiding plant roots, and two, that researchers could get a clue as to what underlies those strategies by looking at the genes of the plants grown without gravity.
Their next experiment gave them some answers. They found that not only do plants grow in space by adjusting their basic metabolism, they saw a big difference in how various plant parts respond to space flight.
"This also gave us a clue about how roots may use light as a tool to guide growth when gravity is not available, and that is as an indication of which direction is 'away' from the leaves," Paul said.
Then, she and Ferl wondered how the changes in gene expression in the different parts of the plant guided the proteins plants use to run the basic machinery important to growth and development. Was that different in space as well?
"We found that it was, and again, that each part of the plant had its own metabolic strategy for adjusting to an environment without gravity," Ferl said.
The two scientists launched another experiment in January. "One of the most versatile tools we use in almost all of our space flight experiments are arabidopsis plants, engineered with glowing fluorescent proteins that can'report' how they are responding to their environment," he said. "We can follow how the plant is using those fluorescent proteins in adjusting to their new environment by using specialized cameras and microscopes."
In the latest one, they used the Light Microscopy Module on the space station to see how these fluorescent reporters change in real time in microgravity.
"We have not fully analyzed our latest experiment, but we are learning new things about the specialized cells of the root that sense gravity on Earth," Paul said.Editor’s note: The following story contains nudity and profanity.
A naked activist unleashed a 5-minute tirade in a mostly empty City Council chamber in Berkeley on Tuesday night.
The woman, Berkeley resident Gypsy Taub, was upset after officials tabled a proposal to allow women to bare their breasts in public as part of a national campaign to “free the nipple.” The proposal is not currently slated to return to the agenda.
As the council meeting adjourned at 11:15 p.m., Taub disrobed, saying, “Let’s get arrested.… Let’s fucking get native.”
Taub called council members hypocrites, oppressors and “a joke,” adding: “I don’t care who you are, my body belongs to me.” Officials quickly filed out of the room while Taub continued speaking. One man took off his shirt in solidarity with the nipple liberation campaign.
“Your sex life is a joke because you never liberated yourself from body shame,” Taub shouted.
After making an expletive-laden speech on a wooden table for several minutes, Taub stepped onto the city manager’s desk and hopped over to the dais where she squatted down and banged the gavel repeatedly. She continued to excoriate the Berkeley City Council, in absentia, as fascists who are against “body freedom.”
After her speech, Taub returned to her seat as one audience member observed: “Holy shit, they didn’t arrest you.”
City manager Dee Williams-Ridley told Taub and others gently: “Guys, we’re closing down.”
A Berkeley police officer in disposable purple gloves — standard issue to avoid exposure to bodily fluids — gestured for Taub to leave the room.
Read more about Taub’s history as an activist for nudity on KQED
The item originally came onto the agenda through Councilman Kriss Worthington’s office as an effort to decriminalize “the Display of Female Nipples.” The law sought to remove one line of the Berkeley Municipal Code “which specifically targets women by criminalizing only the display of female breasts or ‘any portion of the breast at or below the areola thereof of any female person’ in any place open to the public or any place visible from a place open to the public, while placing no such restriction upon males.”
A high school intern in Worthington’s office wrote the agenda item over the summer and told Berkeleyside on Wednesday that the issue of gender equality in this area has been gaining traction with youth. Celebrities, including Miley Cyrus, have also taken up the cause.
The student, Simone Stevens, said she was disappointed by lengthy remarks about the issue made by Councilwoman Sophie Hahn, who said supporters of the campaign were misguided and should focus on more important causes, such as sex trafficking and domestic violence. (Hahn did not reference female genital mutilation, as initially reported by Berkeleyside.)
Hahn spoke for 10 minutes Tuesday night after admitting she was breaking her own new rule for herself about avoiding lengthy comments. She said she had reviewed numerous feminist websites about their key issues and been unable to find toplessness among them.
“We have a lot of fake news,” she said. “I really question whether this might be a fake women’s movement.”
Hahn also equated penises with breasts, which speakers during public comment had said are not inherently sexual because they are used for breastfeeding.
“Penises are also very useful,” Hahn said, because they are used for urination. “They are very utilitarian and they are not here being liberated. And I mean it. I think this is a double standard.”
Hahn also took the proposal to task because none of the female council members were consulted about it and it was not sent to the city’s Commission on the Status of Women for review. She said the item could, perhaps, be sent to the commission to be ranked “among the many important women’s issues that they have in front of them,” though she added: “I think that it would not be ranked very highly.”
Hahn did not mention Tuesday night the fact that the item was developed by a young woman. Simone said it was ironic to hear Hahn argue about the importance of women in government, and then support the tabling of a proposal written by a woman who is trying to do just that. Simone, who does not live in Berkeley, said she spends a lot of her time in the city and is active in the Berkeley YMCA’s Youth & Government Program. She did a summer internship with Worthington and has continued in his office in that capacity.
Simone also said she found Hahn’s comments out of touch with some of the priorities of the younger generation.
“‘Free the Nipple’ is a movement that’s celebrated by lots of young women,” Simone said. “She seemed to think they couldn’t possibly be feminists themselves.”
Simone said Wednesday that serious issues confronting women, such as female genital mutilation, are not the type of problem Berkeley can readily solve — while allowing women to go topless without fear of reprisal is actually doable.
“Even if she disagrees with this, her comments were acerbic to the point where she wasn’t really trying to create good policy. She was trying to almost humiliate any supporters of this bill and tell them their opinions didn’t matter,” said the young woman, who is a senior at the Head-Royce School in Oakland.
“There’s always going to be another issue that’s going to come up,” Simone said. “For her, there’s probably never going to be a right time.”
Taub said, after publication Wednesday, that she too had been dismayed by Hahn’s remarks, which she described as “nonsensical.”
“She was pretty much talking to herself,” Taub said. “Hahn completely disregarded what most of the public comment was about as if she wasn’t even present in the chambers.… In the end she suggested that we should make men cover up their nipples to make it fair.”
Gypsy Taub posted several videos of her remarks at council. One of them appears below. It contains nudity and extensive profanity.
This story was updated after publication to correct an erroneous remark attributed to Councilwoman Sophie Hahn, and to add additional comments from Hahn into the record. Additional comments from Simone Stevens were also added to the story.When the Obama administration CIA Director John Brennan testified before congressional committees over the last few months he informed them that he presided over a vast web of telecommunication networks that monitored Americans doing business in Russia.
Some of these business people were inadvertently communicating with suspected Russian intelligence agents.
At some point Brennan would feel a “disturbance in the force” and notify the FBI to investigate the American citizens who created the disturbance.
A short list of companies doing business in Russia includes Boeing, Ford, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, McDonald's, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, Cargill, Alcoa, General Electric and Morgan Stanley.
Evidently, no one from any of these organizations communicated with any Russian ambassadors, politicians, bankers, entrepreneurs, oligarchs, or other assorted Russian hangers on who even knew who Vladimir Putin was.
On the other hand, any associate of Donald Trump who ever dialed “Information” seeking the number of the Russian Chamber of Commerce finds themselves under investigation.
No less a journalist than Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh appears to be on Trump’s side on this issue, claiming that Trump is a victim of “disinformation” at the hands of a “Brennan operation.” Hersh goes on to claim the press has served as a shameful stenographer for Brennan to smear Trump.
Brennan apparently was auditioning for the CIA director job in a Clinton administration.
The investigation into the hack of Democratic National Committee’s system is also drawing some belated questions. A wide-ranging article in “The Nation” by Patrick Lawrence claims “there was no hack of the Democratic National Committee’s system on July 5 last year — not by the Russians, not by anyone else.”
Lawrence quotes an organization called Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). This group is made up of forensic investigators with technical, national security and geopolitical experience. Lawrence’s lengthy article covers all aspects of the so called hack, but two things he finds are telling.
First, a forensics investigator wrote, “that metadata was deliberately altered and documents were deliberately pasted into a Russianified Word document with Russian language settings and style headings.” And secondly, “On the evening of July 5, 2016, 1,976 megabytes of data were downloaded from the DNC’s server. The operation took 87 seconds.”
This transfer rate of 22.7 megabytes per second could not have been accomplished without the use of a thumb drive and had to be downloaded at the computer.
It was a leak, not a hack.
Rube Render is the Curry County Republican chairman. Contact him at:
[email protected]MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s lower house of parliament confirmed former president Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister on Tuesday, completing a job swap with Vladimir Putin that has sparked protests against the two leaders’ grip on power.
Russia's former President and prime ministerial candidate Dmitry Medvedev (L) speaks, while |
to Hall's attorney, Tyesha Elam, stems from someone changing the amount of Hall's mandatory child support payments without telling him.
Deadbeat? Clifford Hall was sentenced to jail even though he owes no money on his child support payments
Jail: Hall is preparing to turn himself in to begin serving a six-month jail sentence
'I discovered for some reason his employer was withholding a large amount some weeks a small amount some weeks a zero amount some weeks,' Elam tells MyFoxHouston.
Hall, saying that he 'didn't want to go to jail, basically,' paid the $3,000 balance on his child support bill prior to a November hearing in front of Judge Lisa Millard in November.
At the time of the hearing, Hall owed nothing.
'Opposing counsel testified twice that he's all paid up,' says Elam.
However, the attorney for Hall's ex-wife argued that he should be required to pay an additional $3,000 for his ex's attorneys fees.
Judge Millard agreed.
Disrespected: Judge Lisa Millard says Hall walked out of the courtroom when she found him in contempt of court
'The Judge ended up sentencing him to 6 months in jail.' Elam says.
Hall was stunned.
'When she said I remand you to the Harris County Jail for 180 days my mouth just dropped,' Hall told the station.
In addition to the attorney fees, Hall apparently wasn't following the court's scheduled times to pick up his son for visits - a change to his visitation stipulations he claims he knew nothing about.
Houston community activist Quanell X says he's never seen such a blatant miscarriage of justice.
'This entire situation is shocking to me,' X says. 'I've never seen one like this.'
'The court failed the child," he continues. 'The court failed Mr. Hall the system broke down.'
Hall says that sending him to jail is not going to help him or his son.
'I can't be there for my son in jail,' Hall says. 'I can't pay child support in jail. This is not in the best interest of the child.'
Activist: Community activist Quanell X says the court has failed both the child and Hall's son
Judge Millard, however, says that when she found Hall in contempt of court, he got up and walked out of the courtroom - which is enough to anger any judge.
Millard says Hall's attorneys can file a motion for reconsideration, which would allow her the opportunity to hear from both parties and reassess her decision.
Hall's attorney currently is working on an appeal.
Hall, meanwhile, is preparing to turn himself in to begin his sentence in a few days.Editor's note: Darryl Dawkins, a former star with the Sixers and Nets, died on Aug. 27, 2015, at the age of 58. In honor of the legacy he leaves behind, SI Vault takes a look back at his career, starting with his entry into the NBA as an 19-year-old manchild. This story originally ran in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED on April 11, 1988. To subscribe, click here.
Close your eyes. Imagine you are 18 years old again and back in high school. But now you are 6'10" and weigh 240 pounds. Everyone in school knows your name. No one insults you when you walk through the halls. You are a terrific athlete. You have muscles layered on muscles, sculpted on a body that can move with the speed and reactions of players who are a foot shorter. And you can play basketball. Really play. You have the height and power for the inside game, and you also have 20-foot jumpers and no-look passes and behind-the-back dribbles down pat. You can rebound and you can block shots so hard and so far they look as if they were fired from a cannon. A basketball is half hidden by your monstrous hands. Your team wins the state championship because of you. The colleges are all kicking down your mother's front door to get you to sign with them and come to their campuses and chase coeds, pledge fraternities and decipher the complexities of English 101. Your house is mobbed with recruiters who smile all the time, displaying ear-to-ear teeth. But over in the corner is a small man in a dark trench coat who crooks his finger and beckons you. He opens a suitcase. It is filled with a million dollars.
"It's yours, "he says with a smile.
"What college are you from?" you ask him, unable to take your eyes away from the money.
He pauses before lie answers: "The college of hard knocks, Baby. The pros. And we want you. YOU got potential!"
Suddenly the alarm clock goes off and you wake up and realize you haven't grown an inch since the night before. Judging from how long it takes you to get from the bed to the bathroom, your reactions haven't improved, either. You realize it was only a dream.
• MORE NBA: Sixers, Nets legend Dawkins dies | Players remember Dawkins
Darryl Dawkins, who bypassed college and strode into the NBA directly from high school, had the same dream—but he never woke up. His dream merged into reality with such swiftness that at times it was hard for him to tell the two apart. Was he an 18-year-old high school kid playing in the pros, or was he a pro with the adolescent cares of a high school kid?
"Darryl has always thought life was a big lark." says Pat Williams, the Philadelphia 76ers former general manager. "He never realized how serious this business is to most of us who make a living at it."
"What is your church preference, Darryl?"
"Redbrick, "Sir Slam replied.
It seems hard to believe that he has played 13 seasons in the NBA. Wasn't it only yesterday that he was plucked out of Maynard Evans High School in Orlando, Fla., taken as a hardship case in the first round of the 1975 draft by the 76ers and given a seven-year contract worth one million dollars? Don Nelson, the former Milwaukee Bucks coach, thought at the time. "In a few years we [are] all going to be treated to seeing one of the greatest centers in the game."
Instead, Dawkins's career is foundering. To most NBA coaches and fans and to the media, Dawkins is one of the greatest disappointments of all time.
But why?
Dawkins averaged almost 13 points a game through 712 regular-season games and more than 100 playoff games. He has played in the NBA championship finals three times and in the conference playoff finals three other times. Only once has a team he was on not made the playoffs: in 1986-87, with New Jersey, when he missed all but six regular-season games because of a back injury, which required surgery. He has played with some of the best in the league during the last decade: Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Buck Williams, Bobby Jones, Doug Collins. And he is the third-leading field goal percentage shooter in NBA history.
Even though he has achieved some dubious records as well, including most fouls committed in a season (386), his is still a career that should satisfy many players and critics. Dawkins himself seems pleased with his accomplishments. "I've had some good days and some bad days, but overall I'm happy with it," he says. Others aren't. For there were times he so completely dominated games that people wondered why he couldn't do it every night.
One word, potential, has manacled Dawkins as securely as any ball and chain. When it finally died, of frustration, on the lips of one coach, it was quickly taken up by the next—and the next and the next.
Ask Dawkins about that word, and he shakes his head. "It made me mad. Damn mad, really," he says. "Because everyone wanted to compare me to Chamberlain. I ain't got nothing to do with him. I'm just Darryl Dawkins, and that was never good enough."
"What is your favorite color, Darryl?"
"Plaid, "Chocolate Thunder replied.
Perhaps nothing in his career defines Darryl Dawkins better than the time he destroyed a backboard in Kansas City. It happened on the night of Nov. 13, 1979. There were 9,180 in the Municipal Auditorium to see the 76ers play the Kings. When it happened, 38 seconds into the third period, it was so terrifying in its ferocity and so unexpected that anyone in the audience who blinked at that precise moment missed it.
Dawkins, swooping in from the right side, had risen far above the rim, and the ball looked tiny and helpless in his huge hands as he readied to slam it. He had done this a thousand times before and had delighted the fans by gracing each of his dunks with imaginative names. There were the Rim Wrecker, the Go-Rilla, the Look Out Below, the In-Your-Face Disgrace, the Cover Your Head and the frightening Spine Chiller Supreme. But this one was different.
From his toes to the top of his head, 82 inches away, Dawkins said he was overcome by a force he later called Chocolate Thunder. He claimed he could not control its desire to "escape out of my body."
A moment later the backboard exploded with a crackling pop that sprayed thousands of shards of glass onto the floor. Players in the vicinity of the basket were momentarily stunned, then scrambled to get out of the way. There was a second or two of hushed disbelief, and then the arena broke into pandemonium.
It took one hour and eight minutes to replace the basket. For not only had Dawkins shattered the glass board, he also had bent the basket support pole with the force of his dunk. As both teams temporarily left the floor, the crowd began to mill around the court, picking up pieces of glass as souvenirs. Then Larry Staverman, the Kings' vice-president of operations, suggested the team should sweep up the pieces and sell them.
Of course, Dawkins had to name the Kansas City dunk, but this one required something special. He kept the world in the dark for a week before finally immortalizing Kansas City's Bill Robinzine (who had the misfortune of being under the backboard as it disintegrated) by calling it the Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump-Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam, Glass-Breaker-I-Am Jam. That seemed to say it all.
But, as always, the sensational dunk didn't mean much. His team lost, and everyone wanted to know why a guy that big and that strong and that fast, one who could break backboards in a single bound, couldn't manage to get more than six rebounds a night.
"When did you start naming dunks, Darryl?"
"It started against Buffalo. I threw one down against this guy. BOOM! He ducked and looked back at me and said, shocked, 'What was that?' I thought about it for a second and I said, 'Yo-Mama!' "
The speculation on his potential began early for Dawkins and reached a crescendo in his last year of high school. As a senior at Maynard Evans, where he averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds a game, Dawkins had already grown to 6'10", his height while in the NBA. Jack McMahon, who was then an assistant coach and scout for the 76ers, remembers the first time that he saw Dawkins play. "Pat Williams had gotten a tip from an old friend of his, former major league pitcher Jim Kaat, that there was a high school player we should come down and look at," McMahon says.
So McMahon was dispatched to Florida with orders to phone Kaat on his arrival, and Kaat would make arrangements for McMahon to attend the game. McMahon arrived in Orlando, called Kaat and got a housekeeper who spoke only Spanish. Unable to contact Kaat, he was momentarily at a loss. "I didn't even know Dawkins's name or where he played, because Kaat was supposed to be arranging all of this," he says. McMahon finally called a local paper and asked where he could see the best big man in the city play that night. He got to the gym early and watched the JV game. Then the small gym began to fill rapidly. "I started talking to people around me about Darryl and everyone loves him and then they come out of the locker room," McMahon says, chuckling as he recounts the story. "Out come a few little guys. Like normal high school kids. Then out comes Darryl. He had his head shaved back then. But, hey, no way can this kid be in high school! He's got to be 25 years old. Same body as he has now. Got 44 points with four guys sagging back on him every time."
McMahon was impressed enough to give Williams an ecstatic report, and then they waited for Sixers coach Gene Shue to get a chance to scout Dawkins. Both were concerned because, says Williams, "Gene was usually not overly impressed with young players."
Shue finally saw Dawkins in the state tournament in Jacksonville. That night, Williams, who was at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in North Carolina, remembered being so anxious to hear Shue's reaction that he pulled off the road and called the coach's motel room from a pay phone. Shue, as the others before him, couldn't believe the size of Dawkins. "He was a giant playing with little kids. He did unbelievable things on the court for someone that size," Shue recalls. However, Shue noticed something else, an omen of things to come. "Even then he was inconsistent. He did the good things only every so often," he says.
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Williams had thought about scouting a high school player after the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association drafted Moses Malone out of Petersburg. Va., in 1974. "I wondered if there was another Moses out there." Williams says. So he put together a list of high school players who had the potential to be in the NBA.
There were but three names: Bill Cartwright, Bill Willoughby and Dawkins. After seeing each of those players, and also weighing the merits of Marvin Webster, Joe Meriweather and Rich Kelley, the top senior centers coming out that year, the Sixers staff decided that Dawkins was worth the gamble.
When he heard the news, Al Domenico, the 76ers trainer, thought, "Are we nuts? What can you possibly do with a kid coming out of high school?" Steve Mix, one of the team's veterans, remembers wondering "why we wasted a good draft pick."
Others had few doubts. McMahon, one of the league's most astute judges of talent, thought Dawkins "was probably still going to grow. He could possibly get to seven foot three in a few years. No other center at that time had that potential."
"When is your birthday, Darryl?"
"January 11th."
"What year?"
"Every year," Chocolate Thunder retorted.
Being 18 is a time for many things in a young man's life. It is a time to rejoice in that feeling of invincibility that youth brings. There are cars, girls, parties, hanging out with the guys, sports. And in the privacy of his room an 18-year-old stares at the posters of his favorite professional stars, and dreams. But what do you do when the next time you walk out your door the dream is reality?
"Everyone always thinks because you are big for your age that you can handle things better or you are more mature when in reality nothing is further from the truth," says Bob Lanier, the former Milwaukee Bucks center. Julius Erving puts it even more simply: "When they see a seven-footer, everyone thinks—the Franchise. How many players could handle that at 18?"
It was at this point in his young life that Dawkins made a decision that will be debated whenever his name comes up. He chose not to go to college. The chance to help his family made the Sixers' offer one he couldn't refuse.
He had originally planned to attend college, and had narrowed his choices to Florida State and Kentucky. But financial considerations left him little choice. As he says today, the decision was a relatively easy one: "I knew when I saw my grandmother working two jobs just to barely make ends meet, and she gave me her last 10 dollars just so I could buy some sneakers, that I had to do it."
Though his mother and father were separated at the time, they both left the decision to him. "My mother always told me that I should learn to make my own decisions," says Dawkins, "because then if they didn't work out I would have to live with them."
A sense of family burns strongly in Dawkins. He grew up the second-oldest child in a family of four brothers and two sisters. And though he describes his childhood as "poor but happy," the fact that the Dawkins children sometimes had to live with relatives because money was scarce left an indelible impression on him.
Dawkins was raised by his late grandmother, Amanda Celestine Jones, and she had a profound influence on his early life. By the time Darryl was nine, she had taught him to clean, cook, iron and sew. "She said I might never get married so I'd better learn to do these things for myself," he says. In addition, there were always odd jobs to do. "If you didn't work, you didn't eat," he says. So Darryl and his brothers picked fruit, raised chickens, chopped wood and painted houses. His brothers and sisters were his best friends, and he rarely developed close friendships with other kids. "Our nearest neighbor was probably a mile away," Dawkins recalls. He didn't change when he joined the 76ers. He didn't develop many close friendships outside his family and a few trusted advisers—such as Rev. William Judge—who had counseled him during his high school days. He had many acquaintances but few saw beyond the laughing, wisecracking mask he wore most of the time. When a conversation or interview struck a raw nerve, he reacted like a comedian—deflecting questions, going into his Chocolate Thunder/Lovetron patter—to lead the talk to safer ground.
The feeling is almost unanimous among those who have coached or played with Dawkins that college would have been an enormous stimulant to his early development.
Billy Cunningham, who coached Dawkins for five years in Philadelphia, believes "the extra time you can spend with a player [in college] and the daily structure would have been beneficial."
Similar sentiments are echoed by many of Dawkins's former teammates. Erving, who completed only three years at the University of Massachusetts before joining the ABA in 1971, says Darryl would have benefited from "just the repetitive drills you do in college. If you do something a thousand times more, it instinctively becomes part of your game. What he also missed was just the fun you have during those college years. It's a great time for self-discovery and laughter without a lot of pressure on you to be great. A lot of the time that coaches thought Darryl should be working harder on basketball he was out having fun like any other 18-or 19-year-old kid. Life was still just fun to him; it wasn't a business."
There are dissenters who claim that college wouldn't have helped Dawkins all that much. McMahon says, "Darryl was meant to be a ballplayer. The problem was not the lack of college, but that the group of players he broke in with could lend him no direction."
There were times when the fast track of pro ball threatened to derail Dawkins. He was young, single and had money to spend and a willingness to enjoy the pleasures that await any new sports celebrity in town, especially one with his size and penchant for the flamboyant. There were women and cars and parties and an ever-increasing number of glib quotes.
When he showed little improvement in his basketball skills, his off-court diversions became a source of irritation to 76er management. "The more the coaches could see how little he was using his skills, the more they felt they could teach him," Erving says.
"If he had one thing that held him back from greatness, it was that he was easily bored. He had a very short attention span," says Doug Collins, now the coach of the Chicago Bulls.
Dawkins, surprisingly, agrees with Collins. "If I learned how to do a move, why did I have to spend another hour doing it 500 more times?" he says. "I already showed you I could do it." Dawkins complained that former Nets coach Larry Brown kept him after practice 20 minutes every day for extra work. Did it help? "I'll admit it helped a little," Dawkins says. "But I could do most of that stuff in five minutes. Why did I have to stay for 20?"
His limited attention span was never more evident than during a practice, recalled by Cunningham, that Dawkins cruised through without breaking a sweat. "Darryl wasn't pushing himself, so I stopped practice," Cunningham says. "I went over to him and really read him the riot act. Really yelled at him. He had his head down and promised me he would do better." An incredulous smile forms on Cunningham's face as he finishes the story. "And then as I walked away—he tripped me! I couldn't believe it. What can you do? I finally cracked up laughing like everyone else."
Shue, his first coach in the pros and one whom Dawkins claims to like, says, "Darryl was always just a fun-loving giant. He enjoyed the good times more than the job. He should have been a better player, but he could never motivate himself to work at it."
McMahon agrees: "He loved the money, the action, the limelight; loved the whole scene. He just never loved basketball."
Dawkins disputes that. "I used to take losing hard in the beginning. I'd be really upset," he says. "The veterans would tell me that it would drive you crazy if you let every loss bother you. There was always a game the next night to get even. So after that I didn't let each loss bother me as much.
"Coaches only thought you worked hard if you had your tongue hanging out and were grunting and grimacing. But I go around with a smile on my face, and everyone thinks I'm not working hard."
The Philadelphia team that Dawkins played on his first year in the NBA hardly supplied the tranquil, stable atmosphere that a player directly out of high school needed. Back then, the 76ers were often described as a Wild West show. The players were talented, individualistic, spectacular, controversial and flamboyant. They swaggered into arenas and dared people to beat them. Cunningham, who was in the last year of his playing career, says one of the problems was that "everyone wanted to be a star." There were stars galore throughout the lineup: established stars like George McGinnis and, the next season, Julius Erving; rising stars like Collins and Mix; and, of course, the impatient young trio of rookies, Joe Bryant, Lloyd—now World B.—Free and Dawkins. Says Cunningham, "Everyone was concerned with projecting a certain image; fighting for recognition on a very talented team."
Dawkins remembers how impressionable he was that first year: "I'd come into the locker room at halftime and one guy would be smoking a cigarette and another would be drinking a beer. I just did the same thing."
The team was a great draw on the road, fueled as much by the controversial statements that appeared in the press as by the display of talent on the floor. No one was readier with a quote, a quip, an impersonation or an observation on life than Dawkins. Neil Funk, the team's broadcaster at the time, says, "Darryl got lost in the shuffle early with that team. He wasn't playing much at first, and he tried to get attention with his personality. He tried more than anyone to say the most outrageous or controversial thing."
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Dawkins's imagination was wondrous. He could entertain with tales of interplanetary space travel or, on a moment's notice, deliver a lecture on the definition of funk—not Neil. He had a larger-than-life personality and the timing of a stand-up comic. One moment he would be talking seriously with Collins about his wish to get married and start a family, and a moment later he would walk outside the locker room and announce to the waiting throng that he was throwing a party and every woman in the city of Philadelphia was invited.
Funk believes Dawkins utilized this kind of behavior as a shield. "Darryl was scared that he wasn't going to be everything that people projected him to be," Funk says. "To relieve some of that pressure he hid behind his outrageous personality. What 20-year-old wouldn't be scared in that situation?" Though reluctant to admit it, when pressed, Dawkins will confess to the fear. "Yeah, sometimes it scared me a little." he says. "I didn't know what else I could do to satisfy everyone. Everyone always expected more."
Especially the 76ers. They reached the NBA finals three times during Dawkins's years in Philadelphia, but gradually management's patience faded, and he was traded, in 1982 at age 25, to the New Jersey Nets.
"Darryl, do you know where they signed the Declaration of Independence?"
"Of course. At the bottom," responded Double D.
The trade to New Jersey left Dawkins with the feeling that his career was bottoming out. He had parted on bitter terms with 76ers owner Harold Katz, who made no secret of his belief that Darryl just did not consistently work hard enough for the money he was being paid. Dawkins, who had come back after breaking a leg during the season to participate in the playoffs, thought the gesture was proof enough of his heart.
In New Jersey he went through four coaches in five years, including myself in his last two seasons. He had both his best and his worst seasons with the Nets.
He either played well or was recovering from injuries; as always there seemed to be no happy middle ground for him. In 1984-85, after what Don Nelson thought would be the turning point in Dawkins's career, he suffered a back injury and missed 43 games.
The year after that, my first as a head coach, Dawkins got off to a great start and then had a back injury necessitating the first of two operations to repair disk problems. A measure of Dawkins's value to that team: With him in the lineup our record was 29-22; without him we were 10-21.
Having played against Dawkins during my last three years as a player with Houston and New Jersey and now having coached him, I have seen him come full circle. In writing this story I have listened to all the opinions, excuses and reasons for why his career has turned out the way it has. And many times I agreed with what was being told me because I had gone through similar experiences with Dawkins.
Yet, trying to define Darryl Dawkins is difficult indeed. There are so many different Darryl Dawkinses, and each seems inconsistent with the others.
There is the man who shows enormous love and care for his family. He has bought homes for both his mother and grandmother. He supports other family members.
There are the hours during the Christmas holidays when he gladly tours the children's and veterans' wards of local hospitals, looking as if being there gives him more pleasure than it does those he visits.
Kids flock to him at games, at summer clinics or just in the street. He never turns them away. He is a master at drawing them out, telling them they must owe him some money, don't they? He gives them nicknames that make them giggle.
When Free was lying on the floor after being injured in a playoff game in 1977, Dawkins was so concerned about his friend that he picked him up in his arms and carried him all the way to the dressing room, as though Free were his little brother. Yet when Dawkins thought his teammates did not back him up sufficiently during a fight with Maurice Lucas in the second game of the '76-77 NBA finals against the Portland Trail Blazers, he was so enraged that he tore lockers from the walls, caved in a toilet stall and barricaded the door so that the team could not get back into the dressing room in the Spectrum.
There were other sides to his personality. He says he had problems with his first two business agents, which left him bitter. Eventually he wound up owing the IRS a great deal of money and had a lien slapped on his salary, and the bank that held the mortgage on the house he bought for his mother threatened foreclosure. He sometimes refuses to pay small debts. Lewis Schaffel, the former Nets chief operating officer, recalls, "I could call him up at the last minute to do a clinic, and he would always come. But if he owed you five dollars, you could never find him."
He was equally hard to figure on the court. I congratulated him once when he got 10 rebounds. He looked up and said, "Thanks, but don't expect that tomorrow night." He was afraid that if he kept performing at a high level, everyone would expect it and sooner or later he would disappoint them.
The list of stories about Dawkins—funny or sad or compassionate or interplanetary—is endless, but the stories are camouflage. They obscure the big question: Why wasn't Dawkins great? Erving says, "Darryl wasn't driven to be the greatest basketball player ever. Knowing him, that was probably for the best. His personality might not have let him deal well with that level of success." Erving recalls his own days at the top of the ABA: "There were many times I wanted to run for cover. There were definitely times it became overwhelming."
Were the expectations for Dawkins impossibly high? Mike Schuler, who worked as an assistant under Larry Brown in New Jersey and who now coaches the Portland Trail Blazers, thinks so. "Sometimes we coaches are our own worst enemies. We see every single wart and are so critical of our own players," he says. "Few players will ever live up to our expectations. We just expect too much."
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That has not stopped coaches on other teams from being intrigued at the thought of coaching Dawkins at some point in his career. Nelson says there was a period of four or five years when probably every NBA coach "felt he could be the guy to really reach him, the guy who could tap into his potential and make him a perennial All-Star. But those expectations are gone now."
Not quite, but they are fainter. Pistons coach Chuck Daly believes Dawkins may play again—not necessarily with Detroit. A few other coaches say they have not written off the possibility of obtaining Dawkins—if he is in shape, if he wants to play, if his head is on straight. If, if, if, if.
Go back to last November: Dawkins weighs close to 300 pounds but is telling anyone who will listen that this season he is going to be like "Agent 0014—twice as bad as 007!"
He has not played much for almost two years. In that time he has had back surgery twice and his wife of one year has committed suicide. His father has been diagnosed as having stomach cancer. There are rumors of financial trouble. He rarely answers his phone or his doorbell. There are no more names for his dunks, because there have been no more dunks. He was traded twice within two months, first on Oct. 8 to Utah and then on Thanksgiving Day from Utah to Detroit, where after only two games he was placed at his own request on the suspended list because of his personal problems.
He wishes he could stop en route to Lovetron, his imaginary planet, and sort out all of these puzzling and upsetting developments. He has not heard the word potential for almost two years.
Dawkins and I are sitting in a Mexican restaurant in the North Jersey suburbs. He is eating a tortilla after having unscrewed the top of the pepper shaker and poured half its contents onto his food. I laugh when I see him do it because it reminds me of the first time I ate with him after becoming the coach of the Nets. He had produced his own bottle of Tabasco sauce that day to add a little spice to the meal.
He says the events of the past three seasons—the operations, the death of his wife, the trades—are finally fading from his thoughts. He has started to work out. He wants to play again. "If not here, maybe in Europe." He's not concerned about finding a new team. "Someone always needs a big body," he says.
Would he change anything if he could do it all over again? Dawkins doesn't even pause to reflect on the question. He has answered it to himself many times. "No," he says, shaking his head. "I wouldn't change a damn thing. I always liked being Darryl Dawkins."
I'm tempted to say that this is tragic. I think of the words of the philosopher Santayana, who once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Yet I realize that I am still subjecting Dawkins to the parameters of my own standards. I want him to live up to my expectations regardless of his own hopes. Perhaps I am the one who has not learned from the past. After all, whose expectations should we live up to? Our own or everyone else's?
Dawkins is 31 and believes he can play four or five more years. He says he has nothing to prove to anyone. And don't expect him to change Just because he plays in a new location. He will play as he always has, smiling and joking and conserving energy as the veterans told him to a long time ago.
Though he has never reached his potential, he has, curiously, outlasted it. He has evolved from the next coming of Chamberlain into simply another big body that somebody, somewhere, will need. He has wrestled with the monster called Potential, and he has won because he has not let it destroy him.
Most of us will judge him solely on what he could have been in the beginning or what he was when his career ended. Too many will be blinded by the flashes of brilliance that never materialized into consistent greatness. They will overlook much of Dawkins's career. No, it was not great. But it was solid. Perhaps he could have been more if he had had the inclination. There were times when he teased us with a hint of how he could dominate a game. And we went home in awe and yet sad because we knew of no spell to make it happen more frequently. But few players could make us feel that way even once.
Darryl Dawkins is content with his career and with himself. He has endured the burdens heaped on him when he was 18 years old. He has carried the weight of others' dreams and desires and expectations and is still able to get up in the morning and smile at the reflection in the mirror.
We should all be so lucky.Embryologist Ric Ross places human embryos onto a petri dish at the La Jolla IVF Lab in La Jolla, California, U.S., on Tuesday, March 24, 200 |
the same author, with a rating of 4.5. Would you like to hear about it?", negative: "Although this book might be disappointing, you might enjoy \"The House at Pooh Corner\", by A.A. Milne, with a rating of 4.3. Would you like to hear about it?" } }... ];
Notice how each term has multiple responses, differentiated by detected sentiment. While the responses in this example are hard-coded for specific books, it’s easy to see how we could dynamically query against an API and incorporate those results into the sentiment-specific responses.
The main respond() method is nearly identical as the first version, but includes a measurement of sentiment.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 function respond ( input ) { var result = "Sorry, I don't understand." ; input = input.toLowerCase().replace( /[.,\/#!$%\^&\*;:{}=\-_`~()]/g, '' ); for ( var i in brain) { var response = brain[i]; if (input.indexOf(response.key.toLowerCase())!= -1 ) { var sentiment = getSentiment(input); result = response.value[sentiment]; break ; } } return result; }
The above method, while similar to the original version, now includes a line to determine the sentiment. It uses the resulting emotional value to retrieve the associated response with the matching keyword. In this way, multiple potential responses can be found for any single topic.
The code for calculating the sentiment, is simply a hard-coded keyword list of emotionally charged terms (not too unlike the AFINN model for measuring sentiment, as discussed earlier). This is to keep the demonstration simple. However, a more accurate sentiment calculation can be done by using an artificial intelligence machine learning model, as we’ve shown earlier.
You can find the full code and a demo for this chatbot at https://jsfiddle.net/z0rkyq4L/2/
Conclusion
It’s clear that there is more to recognize in a conversational UI than simple keyword and phrase matching. After all, we’ve just seen how powerful the effects of sentiment can be, when considering the emotional disposition of a user conversing with the software.
While traditional conversational UI ignores contextual properties, such as sentiment, and tends to issue plain responses to user queries with a simple utterance match, sentiment can bring a chatbot conversation to a whole new level.
Through the addition of sentiment detection, we were able to enhance a conversational UI and integrate more closely with the user, empathizing with their emotional state, and responding accordingly. Through the use of emotionally recognized responses, the conversational UI was able to tap into potentially missed opportunities, by recommending products, as inferred from the user’s emotion regarding the topic.
When positive emotion was detected, the chatbot selected a specific response type and product recommendation. Likewise, negative emotion helped steer the chatbot conversation in alternative directions, offering other product recommendations and help to the user.
Considering the effects of sentiment analysis in a conversational UI, perhaps we could take into account even further traditionally hidden attributes. By recognizing the importance and opportunities of additional speech characteristics, including emotion, sentiment, intonation, loudness, gender, and a variety of other metrics, we can hope to bring a closer connection between computer and human interaction.
Download @ GitHub
The source code for this project is available on GitHub.
About the Author
This article was written by Kory Becker, software developer and architect, skilled in a range of technologies, including web application development, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science.The Nats aren't happy when the ag industry is treated like any other
Posted
The influence of the Nationals has long given the agricultural sector immunity from the Coalition's tough love, free market, open-for-business policies. That's what makes the Shenhua mine decision so striking, writes Simon Cowan.
"Agriculture is at the heart of the Australian identity", or so the Federal Government's Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper assures us.
Certainly agriculture is at the heart of the identity of the National Party. Scanning their news feed shows that stories regarding agriculture and regional infrastructure dominate all other stories by a factor of two to one.
These areas also form a key plank of the Coalition between the Nationals and the Liberals. In exchange for the votes of the National Party's 15 Lower House members and six senators, the Liberals basically adopt wholesale the Nationals policies on the agriculture sector - with their distinctly protectionist bent - and dole out cash for regional infrastructure.
The influence of the Nationals has turned agriculture into the exception to many Liberal policies.
For instance, agriculture is exempt from the Government's tough love for industry. In any other industry facing poor returns, the Government rhetoric would be about the conditions in the enterprise bargaining agreement, or about reducing costs. But the agricultural industry is seen as somehow different.
In no other sector would the first priority of a "competitiveness" review be helping an industry receive a "fairer go". Just in case we missed the blatant protectionist overtones, the White Paper makes it clear the government wants "a fair return at the farm gate for farmers".
By definition, a fair return is what consumers in a free market will pay. What the Government's White Paper wants is not a fairer return but a higher return. They would prefer this to be paid for by the major supermarket chains, but if this proves impossible, the unspoken codicil is that it will be paid for by consumers in the form of higher prices.
Agriculture is also exempt from the Government's "open for business" mantra. When the Government blocked the takeover of GrainCorp by US company Archer Daniels Midland, it was the only such application they had rejected since taking office.
The foreign investment rules are also different for investment in agriculture, with much lower thresholds and much more government intervention. This resistance by some to accepting foreign sources of capital is particularly puzzling, given one of the Government's major initiatives to assist farmers is to extend access to cheap loans to combat drought.
The Government is even persisting with the mirage of a grand agricultural development of northern Australia, after decades of more sober analysis suggesting that the money would be better off spent elsewhere.
Indeed, while they are not the only party due credit (or more accurately blame), the efforts of some in the National Party to exempt their constituency from the small government broom have ensured that primary production received government support (budgetary assistance and tariff protection) of more than $1.5 billion in 2013-14, up from just under $1.3 billion in 2012-13.
This is a worrying trend. Australian agriculture's continued expansion into Asia will not succeed if we shrink behind protectionist walls. The free marketeers in the Liberal party, and those farmers already pursuing increased efficiency and competition, must stand up to the protectionist leanings of some in the National Party.
It is in this context that the decision to green light the Shenhua Watermark Mine is so striking. It is a rare decision of the Abbott Government, and by extension the Liberal Party, that goes against the wishes of the Nationals in the agricultural sector.
There is little doubt it at least goes against the wishes of the Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, leading to calls for him to resign from Cabinet over the matter.
For the Nationals, the political threat of not being seen to deliver on farmers' concerns is very real. The recent NSW election saw massive swings away from the Nationals in formerly safe seats like Ballina, Clarence and Lismore on the back of farmer-led fears over coal seam gas.
However, regardless of what you think of the merits of the proposed mine, it has gone through years of review by the state and federal governments, including public consultations and independent groundwater analysis. The fact that the Government has finally made a decision rather than continue to consign projects to death by a thousand cuts is definitely a good thing.
If a company complies with the onerous approvals process and succeeds, then it is wrong to retrospectively change the rules because you don't like the outcome. If the purpose of all this oversight by state, federal and local government is simply to give a power of veto over some projects to protected interests, then we should just make that clear up front and save everyone some time and money.
A good government is a broad church that listens to all the evidence and decides, not one that abdicates responsibility at the first sign of disharmony in the pews.
Simon Cowan is the acting research manager at the Centre for Independent Studies.
Topics: agricultural-policy, joyce-barnaby, federal-government, nationalsAtlanta brings an overwhelming offense, an improving defense, and a four-game winning streak into this divisional playoff game. Seattle brings a more balanced team, and the confidence earned from their most complete game of the season this past week. Vegas has made the Falcons 4.5 point favorites due to home field advantage and the belief that the Falcons offense is the most dominant of the six units (offense, defense, special teams for each) that will take the field Saturday. While logical, Pete Carroll and the Seahawks may have them exactly where they want them. In the six games when the Seahawks have been underdogs by more than three points since Russell Wilson joined the team, the Seahawks have covered the spread in each game and won the game five of six times. That includes winning a game in New England this year where they were 7.5 point underdogs. The truth is this is a pick’em matchup. Both teams have advantages they can exploit this weekend. Let’s examine each of them. The way this works: Each offense will be pitted against the opposing defense and compared on an array of key statistical attributes based on their respective rank in the NFL. The tables that follow show the rank of each unit for each of these categories.
Seahawks Offense vs Falcons Defense
The Falcons offense is legitimately spectacular. They are so good that it begs the question how a team with a strength like that can finish with just an 11-5 record. The answer is in their defense. How bad has the Falcons defense been this year? Atlanta has scored 30 points or less six times this year. They are 1-5 in those games. This defense has needed the offense to be dominant to win. That formula has changed a bit in the past six weeks as the Falcons have held four of their final six opponents below 20 points. They have recorded a takeaway in eight straight games. What is more difficult to ascertain is how much level of competition contributed to that run as games against the Rams, 49ers, and downtrodden Panthers were mixed in.
Falcons fans will tell you this is a different defense than the one Seattle faced in week six. Carroll agreed with that assessment in his press conference on Tuesday. Some of those same fans will try to convince you the Falcons were missing guys like linebackers Deion Jones, De’Vondre Campbell, and Keanu Neal in that first game. They would be wrong. Those players all were on the field for that game, but guys like cornerback Jalen Collins and linebacker Paul Worrilow were not. Collins is a 6’2″ corner who figures to be a factor, but his addition is somewhat neutralized by the absence of Desmond Trufant who was there in the first game and will not be there this weekend due to injury. Worrilow is a terrific tackler, but he plays just 18% of the defensive snaps.
This is one of those situations where the season numbers tell a different story than the most recent numbers. On the year, this has been one of the five worst defenses in the league. They were 26th in yards per drive, 27th in points per drive, and 27th in overall DVOA, per FootballOutsiders.com. They were 29th in defending the run, and 24th in pass rush. And yet, they have been better in some ways as of late, and will be facing a Seahawks offense still needing to prove itself.
Seattle must come out with a killer instinct that was missing in games in Tampa and Green Bay. They have everything they need to be a prolific offense against this defense. It starts with the running game.
Falcons key advantages on defense
Vic Beasley Jr. led the NFL in sacks with 15.5. That is enough to make every Seahawks fan pull the blanket over their faces knowing the kind of struggles the Seahawks tackles have had this year. Beasley should have been trouble for Seattle the first time they played, but he was shut out by Garry Gilliam, who has been playing his best football of the year the past three weeks. You might think the change of venue would give Beasley and other pass rushers for the Falcons an advantage, but Seattle gave up more sacks at home this year (22) than on the road (20), and Beasley recorded more sacks on the road (9.5) than at home (6.0).
Don’t be surprised if the Falcons try to match Beasley up on George Fant instead. Fant has struggled with speed rushers like Beasley. It is unclear how comfortable Beasley is rushing from the right side of the line. That may force the Falcons to keep him on the left versus Gilliam.
It is also worth noting that 12 of Beasley’s 15.5 sacks came in the first half of games. He is a smaller player, who appears to wear down as the game wears on.
The Falcons defense would appear to have an advantage in rushing yards by the chart above. That largely depends on whether the Seahawks running game from the season shows up or the one we saw last week against the Lions. Anything resembling the line that plowed the way to 177 yards against the Lions would give the Falcons defense trouble. A big part of why the Falcons rank relatively well in rushing yards allowed is because teams are so often trailing their offense that they abandon the run.
A truer defensive advantage for the Falcons may be their ability to keep pass plays in front of them. That #11 ranking in opponent yards per attempt jumps out. Seattle is without Tyler Lockett, their primary deep threat. What is confounding is how the Falcons could be 11th in yards per attempt and still rank 30th in the amount of explosive passes surrendered. That paints the picture of an all-or-nothing pass defense.
Neal is their version of Kam Chancellor. He is a thumper, who hits with reckless abandon in the run game. Given the fragility of Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise, that is a hidden factor Seattle has to hope will not surface.
Seahawks key advantages on offense
Even though the Falcons defense has looked a lot better the past few weeks in points allowed, they have allowed over 100 yards rushing in six of their past seven games, including 208 yards rushing to the Eagles. They have also continued to give up explosive passes (30th) and rushes (27th) during that span.
Seattle exploited the Falcons linebackers repeatedly in the first matchup. They struggled in coverage against both Jimmy Graham and the Seahawks running backs. C.J. Spiller and Christine Michael found plenty of space on underneath routes. Seahawks fans know Carroll’s defense tends to struggle at times with underneath routes to running backs and tight ends. Dan Quinn’s defense is no different. The Falcons rank 26th in defending passes to running backs, per FootballOutsiders.
Should Prosise make a healthy return, he could be a huge factor in this game. The Falcons have never faced him and he has been a difference maker in every game he has managed to play. Graham was a big problem for the Falcons in the first game, and should be again.
Seattle could also put significantly greater pressure on the Falcons run defense than they did in the first game when Wilson was just three weeks removed from spraining his MCL and was still wearing the bulkiest of the knee braces. There was no read-option in that game. There was also no Rawls and no Marcel Reece. Seattle ran off the right side of their line in that game most effectively, apparently targeting Beasley, who is undersized. The Falcons ranked dead last in defending runs to that side of the field. They were 27th in defending runs up the middle. That is where Justin Britt and the strength of the Seahawks line resides.
Despite having the NFL’s leader in sacks, the Falcons pass rush is pretty awful. They are near the bottom of the league in sack rate. Teams that are unable to exploit the Seahawks pass protection have a heck of a time beating the Seahawks.
The Seahawks must protect the football. They are 7-0-1 when committing zero turnovers. One of those games was the first matchup between these two teams.
Seattle struggled in the red zone late in the year, but had a great 3-4 showing against the Lions. The Falcons defense ranks dead last in red zone defense. Touchdowns instead of field goals for the Seahawks will be a major deciding factor in the outcome.
The last thing worth knowing is that two of the best game Wilson has ever played came in Atlanta. He has a passer rating of 119 in the Georgia Dome.
Falcons Offense vs Seahawks Defense It is not often that the Seahawks defense appears outgunned. This is one of those times. Appearances can be deceiving. The Falcons offense struggled mightily in the first game against Seattle. They had one explosive quarter, but scored just three points and gained just over 100 yards in the other three. Matt Ryan was hit repeatedly, and the Falcons offensive line was far worse than the Seahawks offensive line in that game. Seattle will be missing Earl Thomas, who was a huge part of the win, but they will be gaining Kam Chancellor, Frank Clark, Michael Morgan, and Michael Bennett, who left halfway through the third quarter with a knee injury. The Seahawks defense played as clean and consistent of a game as we have witnessed all year against the Lions. They can play that well this week and still give up 25 points to this dynamic Falcons offense. Atlanta has played seven games against Top 15 scoring defenses this year. They are 3-4 in those games, but they still scored 27.9 points per contest. They played three games against Top 15 yardage defenses, and still averaged 25 points per game and 349 yards. Seahawks fans need to understand that holding this team under 30 points is the goal and a damn good accomplishment. It is highly unlikely the Seahawks can win this game if they cannot score at least 27 points themselves, and more likely in the 30s.
Falcons key advantages on offense
No offense is more explosive than the Falcons. They are tops in the league in explosive passes and 8th in explosive rushes. They make all those big plays without turning the ball over (1st in turnovers). They make those plays without turning the ball over and by being highly efficient (3rd in completion percentage). They do not have anything that could be called a weakness on this side of the ball, just degrees of strength.
Julio Jones rightfully gets most of the publicity, but Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel are more likely to be keys to the game for Atlanta. They will face DeShawn Shead and Jeremy Lane. Ryan frequently targeted Shead in the first game, winning a decent share. He will look to exploit the absence of Thomas as Steven Terrell has been fooled on deep throws since stepping in. The combination of that weakness with the Falcons strength in deep passes is where the Falcons hold their greatest advantage. It would be a surprise if the Seahawks are able to limit Atlanta’s big plays via coverage.
Playing at home should put Ryan in better position to make adjustments at the line than when he was fighting the noise in Seattle. That could also help the offensive line, who struggled against the pass rush.
Seahawks key advantages on defense
The Seahawks are on an absolute tear defending third downs. Opponents are converting less than 19% of their third downs over the last four games. The Falcons only converted 27% (3-11) of their third downs in the first matchup.
It starts with the Seahawks top-ranked run defense (by yards per carry). Atlanta finished the year ranked 5th in yards per run, but were overwhelmed in Seattle where they finished with just 52 yards rushing and 2.9 yards per carry.
The Falcons offense was held under 3.5 yards per carry three times this year. They were 1-2 in those games. Their only win came against the Rams who had five turnovers. Seattle held the Falcons to 2.9 yards per run in the first game between these teams this year.
Seattle also took control of the game with their pass rush. Cliff Avril outclassed the Falcons right tackle, and Bennett gave left tackle Jake Matthews fits. Jarran Reed bullied guard Andy Levitre. Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright blitzed on 50% of the Falcons throws and hit Ryan repeatedly. That all happened without Clark. Seattle has a great chance to win this game if they are able to generate similar pressure this weekend. That is one place where the Falcons struggled a bit, ranking 24th in the NFL in sack rate.
Special Teams
Seahawks kicking vs Falcons returning
Falcons kicking vs Seahawks returning
Devin Hester returns to Atlanta, where he played for a few seasons. He was a non-factor in his first game with Seattle, which was all the Seahawks needed. Better to be a non-factor than to be a negative factor. Atlanta has a good punt coverage team, but are vulnerable in the kick return game. On the flip side, the Falcons punt returns are quite good, and Jon Ryan has not been great most of the year. He had a solid game last week.
Seattle missed an extra point and a 29-yard field goal in the first game. Points will be precious for Seattle against this Falcons offense. Seahawks fans have to hope the kicking game can reemerge as a reliable aspect of team play.Updated Saturday, July 8, 2017, 11:49 p.m. EDT: A new interview sheds light on the Mamou, La., death of DeJuan Guillory. The interview is with Joe Long, the attorney for DeQuince Brown, who witnessed an Evangeline Parish sheriff’s deputy shoot Guillory in the back on July 6, killing him.
Pen Point News investigative reporter Daniel Banguell’s interview with Long confirms many of the details reported earlier. Brown has been unable to tell her side of the story because she has been in jail with charges of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer since the incident.
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In the recording, Long affirms that Guillory was on the ground with his hands behind his back, begging for his life, pleading, “Please don’t shoot me; I have three kids,” when Paul LaFleur first shot Guillory. Long states:
They were both on the ground. Guillory was on the ground, on his belly, his hands behind his back, and the officer had a gun trained at Guillory’s back, maybe a foot or two from Guillory’s body. They were still arguing back and forth but Guillory was on the ground as directed. His hands were behind his back. He was not resisting. All of a sudden, a shot rang out.
According to Long, Brown then jumped on the officer’s back to prevent him from killing her boyfriend and bit LaFleur (hence the reported injuries to the officer). LaFleur then fired three more shots at Guillory.
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Long also states that two ambulances came to the scene, but “one ambulance loaded the deputy in and took him to the hospital. The other one left empty. When she left in a police car, Guillory’s body was still on the gravel road.” When asked if anyone treated Guillory, the attorney added, “As far as she knows, she never witnessed anybody attempt CPR for Guillory. It may have happened, but she didn’t see it.”
Listen to Pen Point News’ full recording below:
Earlier:
DeJuan Guillory was 27 years old. Everyone who knows him calls him sweet, hardworking and charming. Everyone who ever laid eyes on him objectively says that he was good-looking. He loved his children. He had a troubled past that he had put behind him, and he had a promising future as a concrete contractor.
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So when a sheriff’s deputy stood over Guillory in an isolated road in the backwoods of Louisiana, fired multiple shots into his back and left him there to die, he didn’t kill Guillory, he transformed him. Before Guillory took his last breath on a dusty, Southern road just outside the tiny town of Mamou, La., he was a man with a future moving away from his past. He was a loving father, a smile and promise.
Now DeJuan Guillory is just dead.
As soon as he was served death through the barrel of an infallible police officer’s gun, Guillory was changed. First he became a “suspect.” Then they made him into a thug. Soon he will be a villain. Then a martyr. Then a hashtag. Then attorneys and a judge in a courtroom somewhere will refer to him as “the deceased” before he eventually disappears into the ether like the bullet-riddled dark-skinned bodies before him—just another dead, black thing.
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But on the morning of July 6, DeJuan Guillory was alive. According to his family members, Guillory had just been paid for two concrete jobs and wanted to do something with his new girlfriend, DeQuince Erin Brown. Guillory decided that they would hop on his all-terrain vehicle and go recreational frog hunting, called “frogging” in Southwest Louisiana.
Brown says through the Guillory family’s attorney, Pride Doran, in an exclusive interview with The Root, that the couple were on the ATV on Chad Lane when they happened upon a parked vehicle. The car flashed its lights, stopping the couple, and out stepped Paul Holden LaFleur, a deputy with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Department.
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There are several questions as to why LaFleur was parked in the middle of nowhere at 4 a.m. The Police Department says that he was answering a burglary call. It is unclear whether LaFleur was on duty, in police uniform or even in a marked car, but both Guillory and his girlfriend recognized LaFleur as an officer. The officer allegedly asked both parties for identification, and when they objected, LaFleur ordered them off the four-wheeler. Doran says that Guillory and the officer got into a heated argument, and after a brief altercation, LaFleur told Brown and Guillory to get on the ground.
According to Doran, who represents Guillory’s family, both Brown and Guillory complied, but when Guillory was prostrate on the ground, LaFleur reportedly fired his weapon multiple times at Guillory, shooting Guillory three or four times.
In.
His.
Back.
But of course, LaFleur did as he was trained and immediately called for backup and medical care, right?
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Nope.
Doran told The Root that the deputy went back to his car and stayed there for an extended period of time. However, during their altercation, LaFleur happened to drop his police radio, and it was Brown who called for help, using LaFleur’s radio.
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Then, like so many unarmed black men before him did during police encounters, DeJuan Guillory lay down and died.
Thus began the transformation of DeJuan Guillory.
It started immediately. LaFleur said he was attacked, so DeQuince Brown was arrested on attempted first-degree attempted murder of a police officer. Then the police announced that LaFleur (who was parked on a dirt road at 4:10 a.m. with his lights off) was in the area answering a burglary call (even though no one in the area knew of such a burglary).
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You could see it happening. The Acadiana Advocate kicked it off by calling it an “officer-involved shooting.” DeQuince Brown was no longer a girlifrend out frogging with her boyfriend; she was now an attempted murderer. But that wasn’t enough, so the Daily Advertiser dug into Guillory’s past and reported it this way:
It’s unclear why Guillory wasn’t in jail since he was sentenced in December by 13th Judicial District Court Judge Gary Ortego to 10 years in jail, with all but five years suspended, according to documents with the Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court Office. Guillory was arrested in August 2015 after he allegedly stole an ATM from Citizen’s Bank using a backhoe, according to news reports at the time.
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See how it works? Guillory was supposed to be in jail, according to them. But even now that they had successfully turned the corpse into a criminal, they were not yet done. They then made him into a suspect. Here is a sample of the headlines:
Burglary suspect killed, deputy wounded in Mamou shooting An Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s deputy was wounded and a burglary was suspected was killed in a… Read more Read
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To be clear, DeJuan Guillory was never questioned about a burglary. DeQuince Brown’s charges do not include burglary charges. She has been in jail for 48 hours, and no law-enforcement official has asked her about a burglary.
Apparently they believe Brown hopped on an ATV before dawn and drove down a country road with the “specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon a fireman, peace officer, or civilian employee of the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory or any other forensic laboratory engaged in the performance of his lawful duties, or when the specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm is directly related to the victim’s status as a fireman, peace officer, or civilian employee.”
Brown and Guillory have now been mysteriously transformed before our eyes. This is the prestidigitation that magically metamorphosizes black boys into thugs, black women into miscreants and black bodies into cadavers.
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That is what DeJuan Guillory has become: a lifeless afterthought in a small-town newspaper. A mythical, scoundrel supercriminal who can overpower armed cops while lying on the ground.
Or, as Paul LaFleur intended—just a dead, black thing.President Obama has never taken ISIS seriously, but this has been an especially insightful week to witness his lackadaisical approach to that little nuisance he likes to call the "JV team."
So far this week, as Brussels burned under an ISIS suicide bombing, the president has taken in a baseball game and danced the tango. The cartoon above is probably the most succinct commentary on the matter at hand, but liberal outlets have also joined in on questioning if this was the best time to appear to be on vacation.
MSNBC's Morning Joe panel announced, "Baseball games and tangos, that's inconsistent with the seriousness of the day."
President Barack Obama dances the tango in Argentina. The #morningjoe panel reacts.Watch more: http://on.msnbc.com/1Zw3Z4X Posted by Morning Joe on Thursday, March 24, 2016
Even Obama himself couldn't offer a strong defense on how he is handling the situation when he answered questions about taking the terror attack seriously in Buenos Aires, Argentina:
Groups like ISIL can't defeat us. They don't produce anything. They're not an existential threat to us. Their primary power, in addition to killing innocent lives, is to strike fear in our societies. And that is how we are going to defeat these terrorist groups. In part because we are going after them, taking strikes against them, and arresting them, and getting intelligence on them, and cooperating with other countries. But a lot of it is also going to be to say, "You do not have power over us."
Lukewarm, tepid, dismissive, uncaring… these are some adjectives that come to mind hearing the leader of the most powerful military in the world speak about a group that will go to any lengths to bring Europe, and any other country they can infiltrate, under Islamic law and slaughter anyone who disagrees. It's a little more than just spreading a little "fear," Mr. President.
There are only 10 months left in his presidency, so he had better hurry back before all the good tee times are taken.
But until then, Obama's tango debacle is going to gain as much traction as possible by his detractors. Another good mocking of Obama dancing came in the form of a mock ad about him and Hillary Clinton practicing her transition into office, announcing it as, "Hillary Clinton: Obama's third term." The super-PAC led by former UN Ambassador John Bolton offers this gem:This election season has been very boring in Harris County. So much so that I was concerned that Republican turnout would be lower than it should be. But thanks to Houston Mayor Annise Parker, conservative Republicans are fired up and it just so happens that early voting starts next week! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
By now you know the problem. Parker and her right hand man, City Attorney Dave Feldman, stepped deep in it when they decided to subpoena the sermons and notes of five pastors. The subpoenas are supposedly related to the lawsuit filed by former Harris County Republican Party Chair Jared Woodfill and others in an attempt to repeal the Houston UNequal Rights Ordinance (HURO). Parker tried backpedaling when even her own supporters were outraged but Kevin Whited over at blogHOUSTON shows us that she isn’t telling the whole story about her knowledge and support of the subpoenas.
Public servants should tell the truth The vigor with which Mayor Parker AND City Attorney Feldman were defending the city’s legal action just hours before makes it difficult to take their later statements seriously. It requires one to believe Mayor Parker was incompetent enough to defend a policy she clearly didn’t understand, only to “see the light” a few hours later (okay, when it comes to the mayor, that degree of incompetence actually IS plausible). It further requires one to believe that one of the most highly paid public officials in Texas, the city’s top legal official and one who CLEARLY relishes his power and position, somehow had an utterly incompetent moment in which he was completely absent on important Parker Administration legal policymaking. That is FAR LESS plausible. We understand that politicians often feel the need to say anything to get past a bad media cycle, but we would really prefer they tell the truth. Click here to read the entire post at blogHOUSTON.com.
If you click over and read the entire post, Whited lays out the timeline in detail. Too bad “professional” journalists refused to to the work that he did and allowed her to try and change the story without challenge. Terrible job by the “journalists” at the professional media outlets on this one.
Anyway, back to the “Thank you”. The pushback was so strong that even new Harris County Republican Party Chair Paul Simpson weighed in. Now that is news. Simpson has been mostly missing in action on the front lines in Harris County, focusing on building the professional organization that he promised voters. I give him many kudos for that – I have been very impressed with his new organization, from the new offices, to the youth movement in phone banking, to the weekly coordinated block walks, to the walk lists given to precinct chairs, and certainly to the fundraising. The latest HCRP state finance report continues the trend of judges funding the bulk of the party (which Simpson roundly criticized) but also has another $60,000 from Dick Weekly and a few other contributions from business interests. There can be no question that Simpson has kept his campaign promises about the organization and finances of the party.
But overall, the activities in Harris County have not been of the type that makes people want to get out and vote. Professionalism comes with a price and that is boredom. Plus “social conservatives” have felt excluded from the new party structure as most of the focus has been on limiting their message and focusing on “liberty” and “efficiency”. I mean, yeah, Harris County Works, but using that as a get out the vote measure? I don’t think so. Have you ever been to a county office and waited an hour or me to finish your business? Same thing with Republican Judges Work. Sure they do, except when they don’t. And the messaging is different between the two. Harris County Works urges you to consider voting for down ballot Republicans but the spearhead of that effort, County Judge Ed Emmett, refuses to advocate straight ticket voting. Republican Judges Work urges voters to vote straight ticket so that down ballot judges will keep their seats, regardless of their competence.
So when Annise Parker and team decided to bully a few pastors, it was a welcome relief to those of us hoping that Republicans turn out in droves and reject the majority of Democratic candidates. Believe me, this issue has fired up social conservatives enough that I think they will overlook the party’s slighting them and at least vote for top ticket Republicans like Greg Abbott. Hopefully they will either not vote straight ticket or vote straight ticket and crossover where necessary because as Judge Emmett told me, voting straight ticket without considering the individual candidates leads to incompetent people getting elected, whether it be in the Obama wave of 2008 or the tea party wave of 2010. And quite frankly, the Republicans do not have a great candidate in all races on your ballot this year. But if the price of having the majority of Republicans get elected is to have a few that shouldn’t be in office, I think most Texans will be willing to pay that price.
Hopefully Simpson will see the opportunity that Parker has provided for the HCRP and take full advantage of it. He can be professional and still help promote the bullying tactics of Democrats like Annise Parker, especially since his friend Sen. Ted Cruz was smart enough to see the opportunity and used it to promote his fledgling presidential campaign. My bet is that Simpson takes advantage of the opening and floods the base with emails about it, urging them to turnout and block this nonsense.
So thanks again Mayor Parker! You rock.rlagksquf Profile Joined May 2010 New Zealand 153 Posts Last Edited: 2010-08-23 10:58:38 #1
oGssSKS a.k.a. tester and oGsCool a.k.a. fruitseller recently quit oGs clan and the reason for leaving the clan is to enjoy sc2 as freely as possible. however they are playing for the upcoming GSL tournament so stay tuned if you are interested to see them in action
source :
its an interview conducted in korean. btw you can ignore the harmful website message that appears when you click the link not sure if this has been already posted here..but I've got a news for those of you interested in korean sc2 sceneoGssSKS a.k.a. tester and oGsCool a.k.a. fruitseller recently quit oGs clan and the reason for leaving the clan is to enjoy sc2 as freely as possible. however they are playing for the upcoming GSL tournament so stay tuned if you are interested to see them in actionsource : http://www.fomos.kr/board/board.php?mode=read&keyno=110131&db=interview its an interview conducted in korean. btw you can ignore the harmful website message that appears when you click the link |
some years ago in Montreal. If the journalist had ascertained his views on gold, I am confident Matthew would acknowledge, like Harry, that gold has value as a diversification.
“One reason may be that investors have so many more options nowadays. Humble citizens who distrust their own currencies can buy assets ranging from shares to bitcoins.”
Is the Economist attempting to steer “humble citizens” into bitcoin and shares? It certainly looks that way.
Despite the fact that stocks look overvalued and have all the hallmarks of another bubble and bitcoin remains untested as a store of value in a major financial crisis.
Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins have their place in a diversified portfolio but ultimately, like paper currency, they have no intrinsic value.
Gold is firmly rooted in the psyche of all peoples throughout the world and especially in Asia and countries that have experienced hyperinflation such as Germany.
It is argued that gold cannot be eaten. This is true — but neither can property, paper or digital currency. Gold is finite whereas today paper currency is infinite in practical terms and digital currency is by its nature infinite.
If and when faith is lost in fiat currencies, people will not be engaging in philosophical debate over the logic or otherwise of owning gold as money. In a panic situation they will rush to own the one asset that has been regarded as money for all of recorded history — gold.
“Laurence Fink, the chairman of BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset-management firm, said in March that gold had ‘lost its lustre’, thanks to the wider availability of property and even contemporary art. ’it’s become much more accessible for global families worldwide to store wealth outside their country.’ ”
We would dispute that gold has lost its lustre. It has suffered a temporary setback. The notion that art or property are viable substitutes is spurious.
Carefully selected works of art and property have their place in a diversified portfolio but both have been selling at record high prices and are clearly in bubble territory. Property in particular is vulnerable to the interest rate cycle.
“The Kremlin’s growing stockpile does not so much reflect a belief in gold’s prospects, however, as a distaste for the American dollar. Whatever Vladimir Putin’s other qualities, most investors would hesitate to take him on as a financial adviser.”
More than distaste for the dollar is Moscow’s ambition to supplant the dollar as global reserve currency — with a gold-backed Chinese yuan or pan-Asian currency bloc possibly backed by gold.
As for Putin’s economic credentials we would point out that under his stewardship living standards in Russia of consistently improved whereas in the same period living standards for the bulk of people in the West have been in decline.
Conclusion
The completely one-sided, ill-informed and anonymous article – “Gold prices – Buried” – is a case study in selective information and disinformation about gold. In the annals of shoddy and unbalanced articles on gold this is one of the best yet.
It is a crude, tabloid style attempt to portray gold and those who invest in gold as unethical. This is clearly seen in the peculiar decision to use a photograph of a desperately poor African scrambling in the dirt — as we know a picture paints a thousand words – and the tabloid style headline.
It would be unfortunate if an article about gold — one of a very few in recent years — in the Economist led to people not diversifying into and having an allocation to gold, especially if gold again outperforms other assets in the coming years, which is very likely.
Whatever the Economists’ other qualities, investors should be cautious of using it as a financial adviser.
Breaking News and Research Here
MARKET UPDATE
Today’s AM LBMA Gold Price was USD 1,185.25, EUR 1,054.26 and GBP 767.46 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM LBMA Gold Price was USD 1,183.00, EUR 1,039.84 and GBP 776.94 per ounce.
Gold in USD – 1 Week
Gold and silver saw small price drops yesterday of 0.74 and 1.15% per cent, closing at $1,185.90 and $16.31 respectively.
In Asia overnight, Singapore gold prices ticked marginally higher and were flat in London trading this morning.
Gold jumped to session high just above $1,190 per ounce, furthering gains for the week, after the jobs number was flat and largely as expected but not a great report overall.
In the light of recent poor data, participants may be concerned that the U.S. economy is weakening.
Gold in GBP – 1 Week
World bond and stock markets rose on today after a week of falls. Sterling surged to a two-month high against the dollar after the business-friendly Conservative party won Britain’s parliamentary election.
Sterling jumped 1.3 percent against the dollar but was flat against gold after gold recovered from initial losses.
London’s FTSE led equity markets with a 1.9 percent move higher to help European shares rebound from two-month lows and wipe out what had looked like being a second week of losses.
Gold in EUR – 1 Week
German imports climbed more sharply than exports in March and industrial output dipped, suggesting that Europe’s largest economy might have grown less than economists expected in the first quarter. The figures contrasted with with news yesterday that demand for goods made in Germany had climbed by nearly 1 percent in March.
The Greek debt saga is supporting gold in euro terms and gold is higher in euro terms this week.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras again forecast a happy end soon to difficult negotiations with creditors on a cash-for-reform deal, and the chairman of euro zone finance ministers said talks were making progress, though not enough for a deal next Monday.
However, with Greece fast running out money, sources close to the talks with the IMF, the European Commission and the ECB said there was still no breakthrough on important sticking points over pension and labour market reforms and budget targets.
Download: 7 KEY GOLD MUST HAVESImage caption Michelle Bachelet (right) won more than 60% of the vote
Winning Chile's presidential election was pretty easy for Michelle Bachelet.
She led the contest from the start and never faced much of a challenge from her bickering centre-right opponents.
The hard part will start in March when she takes office.
Ms Bachelet will inherit a country with an economy that grew by 5.6% last year. Unemployment is low and inflation is under control.
But things are likely to get worse. The growth rate is expected to ease to 4.2% this year and the central bank warns it might drop below 4% in 2014.
The price of copper, Chile's main export commodity, is seen extending its recent decline and the bank expects the country's trade surplus to shrink to $600m (£368m) in 2014 from $2.5bn in 2013.
Image caption Copper is Chile's main export commodity, but its price has been falling
None of this is good news for an incoming president who is promising sweeping and expensive social reforms.
Education first
Ms Bachelet has placed education at the top of her priorities.
Image caption Students in Chile have been demanding free public education
At the moment, Chile's schools and universities rely heavily on household funding to supplement the meagre contributions they get from the state.
She wants to change that, turning the entire apparatus into a state-funded system within six years.
By the end of her four-year term she has promised that the state will pay the tuition fees of the poorest 70% of Chile's higher education students.
"Her proposals reset the clock for the education system, and she'll probably have the support in parliament she needs to get them passed," says Kirsten Sehnbruch, professor of public policy at the University of Chile.
"But the big problem with this strategy, aside from it being a significant investment, is that is doesn't address the issue of quality."
Costly promises
Even Ms Bachelet's closest aides acknowledge her education reforms will be costly, eating up an extra 1.5% to 2% of gross domestic product each year.
She says that money will come from taxes, particularly on big business.
Ms Bachelet plans to raise Chile's basic corporate tax rate from 20% to 25% over four years and to abolish a mechanism that allows companies to defer indefinitely the payment of tax on their re-invested profits.
"I expect the tax reform to be approved within the first year because it only requires a simple majority in parliament," says Claudio Fuentes, a political scientist at the Diego Portales University in Santiago.
"That will pave the way for education reform between 2015 and 2018. Some of the changes she wants to make in education require a fourth-sevenths majority in parliament while others require a three-fifths majority. So, on certain issues she's going to have to negotiate with the right."
New constitution
The other big pledge of Ms Bachelet's campaign is constitutional change.
Image caption Ms Bachelet promised to reform the Pinochet-era constitution if she was elected
She says Chile needs a new constitution to replace the one drawn up under Gen Augusto Pinochet in 1980, as well as a new electoral system.
The current one ensures that the two big coalitions get almost all the seats in Congress, split fairly evenly between them. Small parties and independent candidates do not get much of a look-in.
"There's a consensus on the fact that the electoral system needs to go," Ms Sehnbruch says.
"The question is: what do you replace it with? Constitutional reform is more complex and will need more negotiation."
Deep inequality
Many Chileans want Ms Bachelet to address the country's deep economic inequalities.
Of the 34 countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Chile has the biggest gap between rich and poor.
Image caption Activists have been demanding a change to Chile's strict abortion laws
She will also come under pressure from some quarters on ethical issues such as abortion and gay marriage.
At present, Chile has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world. The practice is illegal in all circumstances, even in cases of rape or when the mother's life is in danger.
Ms Bachelet, a paediatrician by training, wants to change that and has also come out in favour of gay marriage, although the majority of Chileans oppose it.
"I imagine that therapeutic abortion will be legalised but gay marriage at this stage is unlikely to be passed," Ms Sehnbruch says.
Ms Bachelet will have to work hard to keep her broad centre-left coalition united.
Image caption While Ms Bachelet has broad support, she will have to keep her coalition on board
The last time she was in power, she governed at the head of a four-party bloc, the Concertacion, but his time around she has seven parties in her rebranded New Majority coalition.
"There are sure to be some problems," Mr Fuentes warns. "Managing seven parties is always going to be trickier than managing two or three."
That said, Ms Bachelet will at least enjoy a healthy parliamentary majority, something she lacked during her first term from 2006 to 2010.
Her coalition will have 68 seats in the 120-seat lower house and 21 of the 38 seats in the Senate.
This should allow her to push through basic legislation quickly and easily.
High hopes
On foreign policy, Ms Bachelet will seek to improve ties with Chile's northern neighbours Peru and Bolivia, both of which have taken Chile to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague over border disputes.
The ICJ is due to rule on Peru's claim in January, before Ms Bachelet takes office. The Bolivian verdict is not expected for some years.
But perhaps the biggest challenge facing Ms Bachelet is the weight of expectation.
After four years of centre-right rule, marked by huge street protests organised by students, workers and environmentalists, Chileans are clamouring for change.
"Expectations are very high, and not just among ordinary people but among the centre-left political elite," Ms Sehnbruch explains.
"The opportunity to make significant changes has now come and yet the presidential term is only four years long.
"To reconcile those two things - the massive agenda of what people want with the reality of what you can do in four years - is going to be very challenging."In light of the recent controversy surrounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), the last thing Republican officials want right now is a racially charged incident involving a Republican National Committee member.
But as National Journal reported, that’s exactly what the party has ended up with – just in time for the RNC’s winter meeting.
There’s an elephant in the room as the Republican National Committee prepares for its annual winter meeting in San Diego this week – one that could undercut the group’s minority outreach message and instead saddle the GOP with another racially-charged crisis. Dave Agema, Michigan’s RNC Committeeman, has a well-documented history of making inflammatory statements…. In a recent Facebook post, Agema re-published an essay from American Renaissance, a white-supremacist newsletter. The article, which Agema said he found “very enlightening,” argued that “blacks are different by almost any measure to all other people. They cannot reason as well. They cannot communicate as well. They cannot control their impulses as well. They are a threat to all who cross their paths, black and non-black alike.”
Yes, just two weeks after the public learned that a House Republican leader spoke at a white-supremacist gathering, the new story is about an RNC member who expressed support for a piece from a white-supremacist newsletter.
Agema ended up deleting the offending Facebook post, but he has not apologized, and he still reportedly intends to attend the RNC’s winter meeting in San Diego this week, the controversy notwithstanding.
If Dave Agema’s name sounds familiar, there’s a good reason. As we’ve discussed before, the right-wing activist has an unfortunate tendency to promote ugly and scurrilous ideas against groups he disapproves of. Republican strategist Dennis Lennox, who’s helped lead the charge for Agema’s ouster, emailed MaddowBlog last year to highlight some of the RNC member’s most notorious comments: Agema accused President Obama of being a practicing Muslim who secretly sired a bastard ; he’s insisted Muslims have never made positive contributions to the fabric of American life and society; he’s endorsed Vladimir Putin’s most autocratic policies; and he’s said gays and lesbians are responsible for the majority of murders in the United States.
And really, that’s just the tip of an offensive iceberg.
In fairness to the Republican officials, it’s important to emphasize that while Scalise faced no pushback whatsoever from his colleagues, Agema is generally persona not grata within his party – RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, the Michigan Republican Party chairman, and Republican members of Michigan’s congressional delegation have all called for his resignation. Agema has refused.
Michigan’s newly re-elected Republican governor, Rick Snyder, recently called Agema’s antics “ absolutely inappropriate,” but the governor stopped short of calling for the RNC member’s ouster.
For more background and a local perspective, be sure to check out the coverage of the Agema controversy from the fine folks at Eclectablog.Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Guardians Of The Galaxy took the top film honors tonight at the Art Directors Guild’s 19th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Birdman took the Contemporary Film prize, The Grand Budapest Hotel won for Period Film and Guardians Of The Galaxy took the Fantasy Film trophy.
Christopher Nolan paid tribute to the artists he’s worked with, in particular his longtime art director Nathan Crowley, in accepting the guild’s prestigious Cinematic Imagery Award. “Whatever I’ve contributed to cinematic imagery is due to my collaborations with my designers,” Nolan said, listing the numerous examples of Crowley’s, and other artists’ contributions to his films. “I think the art department stands for everything wonderful about movies, everything exciting about movies. They stand for how wonderful movies could be if we’d just stand back and let them work.
On the TV side, HBO was the big winner, with Game Of Thrones winning the One-Hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Television Series award, True Detective taking the Contemporary prize, and Silicon Valley getting the nod for Half-Hour Single Camera Television Series. Here’s the complete list:
Fantasy Film
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Production Designer: CHARLES WOOD
Period Film
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Production Designer: ADAM STOCKHAUSEN
Contemporary Film
BIRDMAN
Production Designer: KEVIN THOMPSON
One-Hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Television Series
GAME OF THRONES: “The Laws of Gods and Men,” “The Mountain and the Viper”
Production Designer: DEBORAH RILEY
One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Television Series
TRUE DETECTIVE: “The Locked Room,” “Form and Void”
Production Designer: ALEX DiGERLANDO
Television Movie or Mini-Series
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAK SHOW: “Massacres and Matinees”
Production Designer: MARK WORTHINGTON
Half Hour Single-Camera Television Series
SILICON VALLEY: “Articles of Incorporation,” “Signaling Risk,” “Optimal Tip-To-Tip Efficiency”
Production Designer: RICHARD TOYON
Awards or Event Special
86th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS
Production Designer: DEREK McLANE
Multi-Camera Television Series
THE BIG BANG THEORY: “The Locomotive Manipulation,” “The Convention Conundrum,” “The Status Quo Combustion”
Production Designer: JOHN SHAFFNER:
Variety, Competition, Reality, or Game Show Series
PORTLANDIA: “Celery”
Production Designer: TYLER B. ROBINSON
Short Format: WebSeries, Music Video or Commercial
APPLE: “Perspective”
Production Designer: SEAN HARGREAVES
Cinematic Imagery Award
Christopher Nolan
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Jim Bissell
Camille Abbott
John P. Bruce
Will Ferrell
Hall of Fame Inductees
John Gabriel Beckman
Charles Lisanby
Walter Tyler.It would be tremendously understated to claim Charlie Strong and the Texas Longhorns are in dire need of some recruiting luck over the next few weeks before National Signing Day. As it currently stands, Texas' 13-man recruiting class ranks No. 35 nationally and No. 4 in the Big 12 -- all of which would be the poorest result the Longhorns have seen since the services started tracking recruiting rankings in 1999. That's a fairly concerning number considering 2016 could not only be a make-or-break year for Strong's future in Austin, but determine whether Texas finally emerges out of its current six-year slump.
This makes the impression Strong and Texas leave on the small army of recruits -- 18, to be specific -- over the next 24-48 hours so vital for the Horns' with National Signing Day looming. Here's a look at who will be on the 40 Acres in what's quite arguably the most critical recruiting weekend Strong has seen at Texas.
Texas Commits
Jean Delance: 4-star OT | 6-5, 291 | Mesquite, TX
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps: 4-star WR | 6-1, 172 | Manvel, TX
Andrew Fitzgerald: 3-star SDE | 6-5, 250 | Flower Mound, TX
Denzel Okafor: 3-star OG | 6-4, 295 | Lewisville, TX
Malcolm Roach: 3-star SDE | 6-3, 255 | Baton Rouge, LA
Gerald Wilbon: 3-star DT | 6-3, 311 | Destrehan, LA
Davion Curtis: 3-star WR | 5-11, 180 | Temple, TX
Tope Imade: 3-star OG | 6-4.5, 327 | Arlington, TX
Until each of the aforementioned commits signs their National Letter of Intent (NLI), it would be in Strong and his staff's best interest to assure the few commits Texas has don't wander astray. With Texas' notable needs being in the trenches on both sides of the ball and finding and keeping playmaking receivers, it's crucial for this weekend's visits to assure Texas' commits that they're right where they need to be.
Jean Delance, an Under Armor All-American and the Longhorns' prized recruit will headline the commits on campus this weekend. Delance is the latest Texas commit, as he pledged January 2 at the 2016 Under Armour All-America game.
Each of the other commits have been on board for at least two months, thanks to a November spur of pledges from Roach, Okafor, Curtis, and Fitzgerald. As of now, none of Texas' commits set to visit this weekend have any other official visits scheduled, so it's unlikely that anything changes in the coming weeks.
But there is cause for concern for one Longhorns' commit, who was originally expected to join the hoards of Horns' and potential Horns' on campus.
Texas' three-star cornerback commit, Obi Eboh, was initially scheduled to be on campus with the masses this weekend, but a late Stanford offer has led to Eboh visiting the Cardinal instead of the Longhorns. Eboh will still take his official visit to Texas, which is now scheduled for the weekend of the 22nd. With Texas having a surplus of youth in in its secondary, while Stanford has only one cornerback commit in 2016, this could be a potential flip that doesn't end favorably for Strong and the Longhorns.
Recruits Committed Elsewhere
Erick Fowler: 4-star OLB | 6-1, 226 | Manor, TX | LSU commit
Devwah Whaley: 4-star RB | 6-0, 209 | Beaumont, TX | Arkansas commit
Chris Daniels: 4-star DT | 6-3.5, 299 | Euless, TX | Oklahoma commit
Mark Jackson Jr.: 4-star WDE | 6-2.25, 221 | Cibolo, TX | Texas A&M commit
Zach Shackelford: 3-star OG | 6-3, 290 | Belton, TX | Kansas State commit
Last-minute flips have become quite common in today's recruiting age, and Texas 2016 class could certainly benefit from a few potential changes of heart this weekend. To that end, the key names to watch among this handful of collective potential flips are Erick Fowler, Devwah Whaley, and Zach Shackelford.
As noted by Wescott Eberts, Fowler's family wants the LSU commit to stay much, much closer to home and play for Strong at Texas, which would allow his family to see him play in virtually every game. Fowler, the nation's No. 5 outside linebacker and No. 80 overall recruit, has been committed to LSU since last June, but is hoping to see if Texas "can offer more than LSU" this weekend. It's now or never in hopes of landing Fowler, as LSU will host its commit next weekend.
Whaley, the Texas native and Arkansas commit, is another potential flip to keep an eye on. The Longhorns appeared to be the convincing favorites in his recruitment before he pledged to the Razorbacks January 2. To date, Texas is Whaley's final scheduled OV, and after receiving visits from both, Texas and Arkansas coaches Thursday, Whaley's trip to the 40 Acres could be the final deciding factor before signing his name on the dotted line.
However, a Thursday evening update from Whaley indicates that he's changed his plans and will not visit Texas this weekend. There have been some twists and turns in Whaley's recruitment, but it may have finally reached a dead end for the Longhorns.
While Fowler and Whaley are potential flips, the buzz now seems to indicate Kansas State commit, Shackelford, is an expected Texas flip.
Since committing to K-State, Shackelford has unofficially visited Austin multiple times and appears to have his final OV set with Texas this weekend, which means the Horns’ may get the final say in hopes of keeping Shackelford in state.
Texas A&M commit Mark Jackson Jr., and Oklahoma commit Chris Daniels could both provide some much-needed depth and talent on Texas’ defensive line, but it would take a considerable impression to pull them away from their respective pledges. Following their visits to Texas, Jackson will take official visits to Texas A&M and Oklahoma, while Daniels will visit Tennessee and Ohio State.
Uncommitted
Brandon Jones: 5-star S | 5-11.5, 193 | Nacogdoches, TX
Deontay Anderson: 4-star S | 6-1, 192 | Manvel, TX
Jeffrey McCulloch: 4-star OLB | 6-2.5, 230 | Houston, TX
Stephon Taylor: 4-star DT | 6-4, 292 | New Orleans, LA
Lil'Jordan Humphrey: 3-star ATH | 6-5, 199 | Southlake, TX
First stop this morning will be to visit wth the best safety in the country. Just happens to live in bEASTexas!! Hook'Em!! — Jeff Traylor (@CoachTraylor) January 14, 2016
If there were one uncommitted target Strong and his staff would love to keep close to home, it’s five-star Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones. Although Texas has decent options at safety at the moment, adding Jones, the nation’s top safety, would mean adding a game-changing piece to a young secondary that ranked 73rd nationally in passing yards allowed per game (233.4).
In hopes of landing who would eventually replace Delance as the prized recruit of the class, Texas will be competing with Texas A&M, Baylor, and Oregon. Texas appears to be Jones’ final scheduled official visit. The last six Crystal Ball projections favor the Longhorns.
Deontay Anderson is another Texas native and prized safety still considering the Longhorns, but all the buzz in his recruitment has pointed towards Ole Miss, which will host his final official visit just days before NSD. But it’s worth noting that his current Manvel teammate and longtime Longhorn commit, Reggie Hemphill-Mapps, will be on campus with Anderson this weekend, which could play a role in Texas stealing some of the glory from the Rebels.
The latest in four-star Houston outside linebacker, Jeffrey McCulloch’s recruitment suggests the longtime projected Longhorn will ultimately find a home in Austin.
Texas has been heavily pursuing McCulloch dating back to 2014, and this weekend’s visit to the 40 Acres could seal the deal for the Longhorns over the likes of Alabama, whom McCulloch will visit next weekend.
I'm committing on January 30th on NBC 5 sports # # — Lil'Jordan Humphrey (@LJ_Humphrey23) January 2, 2016
It’s down to California and Texas for three-star Southlake athlete, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and both will receive official visits before Humphrey announces his decision at the end of the month. Two key factors to keep on eye on over the coming weeks before Humphrey commits -- he’s high school teammates with Texas commit, Obi Eboh, whose visit to Stanford could ultimately play a role in whether they continue together in Austin or not, and he will visit Cal on January 29, which will give the Golden Bears the final impression before his decision less than 24 hours later. This means the next 24 hours for Texas are critical in hopes of landing Humphrey, as expected.
Texas will have no shortage of stiff competition in trying to lure McDonogh 35 defensive tackle Stephon Taylor away from Louisiana. The Horns have now received the last three Crystal Ball projections for Taylor, but will be battling Oklahoma, LSU, and Florida State, among others, for a commitment.
It could go without saying that this is a tremendously vital 48-hour period for the Longhorns, which could prove to be the difference between the worst recruiting class Texas has seen in a decade and a half, or an eventual top-15 class with some last-minute additions at key positions. Luckily for Strong and Texas, there’s reason to believe the Longhorns add a few pieces not currently pledged to Texas.The mat contains a total of 70 pieces of ball, island and forest moss measuring 2.4in (6cm) each in diameter.
It feels soft underfoot and does not smell when it gets damp.
Each piece of moss is cut into a foam frame, which prevents the moss from spreading or growing out of control.
Its designer, Nguyen La Chanh, from Switzerland, says the mat is very relaxing and needs little care.
She said: "The idea was to find a new way of having your plants inside.
"Not only plants in pots quietly standing in the corner of a living room but alive plants, evolving in the house.
"I think this mat would appeal people who miss a corner of nature in their appartment - perhaps if they live in an urban environment, far from parks and nature areas.
"It's relaxing, feels lovely and soft under the feet and doesn't need much care."
Miss Nguyen is looking for financial backing so she can mass produce the mat for less than the £220 it cost her to make.Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders overtook former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an Iowa poll Tuesday.
According to a survey of likely caucus-goers by Quinnipiac University, 49% back Sanders, 44% are in favor of Clinton and 4% back former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. This is the end of a months-long lead for Clinton in Iowa, the first state in the nominating process for the presidency. Clinton led Sanders by 11 percentage points in the last Quinnipiac poll, which was released in mid-December.
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“After three months of Secretary Hillary Clinton holding an average 10-point lead among Iowa Democrats, the playing field has changed,” said Peter A. Brown assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll in a statement. “The Democratic race is different than the GOP contest because it lacks a divisive tone. Iowa Democrats like both major candidates personally; they just like Senator Sanders more.”
A divide among Iowa voters highlights a growing gender gap between the candidates: Men back Sanders 61% to Clinton’s 30%, while women back Clinton 55% to Sander’s 39%. But there was some good news for Clinton, who has made electability a key part of her campaign argument.
Read More: Clinton Makes Risky Bet on Electability in New Hampshire
Some 85% of likely caucus-goers believe that Clinton can win the November general election, while only 68% think the same of Sanders.
The survey was conducted Jan. 5-10 by polling 492 likely Iowa caucus participants with a margin of error of +/- 4.4%.
Contact us at editors@time.com.The mayor of one of Virginia's largest cities said Wednesday that he would delay assistance to Syrian refugees, citing Japanese internment during World War II as partial inspiration.
In a statement on Wednesday, Roanoke Mayor David Bowers (D) praised Roosevelt's decision to forcefully quarantine more than 100,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans living in the US to internment camps for more than three years, in the name of national defense.
In the wake of the Paris terror attacks that left at least 129 dead last week, he said the US should treat the Syrian refugee crisis with the same seriousness.
"I'm reminded that President Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled to sequester Japanese foreign nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it appears that threat of harm to America from ISIS now is just as real and serious as that from enemies then," Bowers said in the statement.
Bowers' office declined to immediately comment when reached by Business Insider.
In a statement on Thursday, Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), a Japanese-American who was interned during World War II, released a joint statement condemning Bowers.
“Mayor Bowers' comments about Japanese internment do not represent the values of the Democratic Party, and his rhetoric has no place in our party," Wasserman Schultz and Honda said.
"The cruel and baseless Japanese internment policies enacted during World War II are an ugly stain on our democracy, and should not be used to justify future exclusionary policies. Mayor Bowers should reflect on dark moments like these in our history when the dual crises of war abroad and the perceived threat of terror at home have emboldened dangerous xenophobia in America."
Though the mayor appears to be making a distinction between Japanese-Americans and Japanese "foreign nationals," many families were comprised of immigrant Japanese citizens and their Japanese-American children.
Japanese internment is widely regarded as one of the largest civil-liberties violations ever perpetrated by the US government.
Roosevelt's decision, which displaced the vast majority of Japanese-Americans and Japanese immigrants, resulted in the loss of assets, businesses, and homes. It helped fuel widespread discrimination of Japanese-Americans that lasted for years after the end of the war.
Conditions at the hastily assembled camps have been described as brutal. Many Japanese-Americans slept in overcrowded converted barracks and horse stalls — where families were divided by small, makeshift partitions.
In 1991, President George H. W. Bush issued a formal apology accompanying the federal government's reparations payments to Japanese-Americans, saying the US should "recognize that serious injustices were done."
"A monetary sum and words alone cannot restore lost years or erase painful memories; neither can they fully convey our nation's resolve to rectify injustice and to uphold the rights of individuals," Bush said. "We can never fully right the wrongs of the past, but we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during WW II."
In the wake of the Paris attacks, more than two-dozen state governors have suggested they will refuse to admit Syrian refugees within their borders, as part of President Barack Obama's plan to resettle up to 10,000 refugees over the next fiscal year.
Legal experts contend that though states often assist the federal government in resettling refugees, there's very little they can do if someone who is already admitted as a refugee decides to move to a state.
"States have absolutely no legal authority to bar someone who is granted refugee status from entering their state, since it's federal law that determines whether someone is a refugee," Greg Chen, director of advocacy at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told Business Insider on Monday.
In a press call on Tuesday, senior Obama administration officials also worked to calm fears that terrorists could attempt to pose as refugees. They described in detail the rigorous US refugee vetting process.
This story was updated on Thursday with a statement from the DNC.Keeping your receipts may make good financial sense, but it can seriously harm your health.
If you are like me, you hesitate at the checkout counter whenever the cashier asks you “would you like your receipt”? If your inner accountant is alive and well, you will find yourself wanting to keep it, which means touch it. But on the other hand, if you are already aware of the information in this article, the idea of handling a bisphenol A saturated thermal printer receipt without gloves makes as much sense as handling gasoline or paint thinner without protection.
And if you are really “neurotic” like me, you may find yourself thinking about the health of the cashier, who undoubtedly has been handling receipts all shift long, and will continue to be exposed — often unwittingly — to a significant dose of bisphenol A throughout the course of their employment. This is why I cringe doubly when I refuse a receipt, because I realize that the cashier has no idea why I would do so, nor that they have suffered a harmful chemical exposure in the very act of offering the receipt to me.
All this might sound overly cautious if it had not already been proven that exposure to is one of the primary routes through which our bodies become contaminated with the toxic synthetic chemical known as bisphenol A (BPA), a potent endocrine disruptor, carcinogen, and neurotoxic and cardiotoxic chemical, linked to over 50 adverse health effects. BPA is also found in airline tickets, gas and ATM receipts, and paper currency absorbs the BPA contained within these receipts, making daily exposure even more likely.
There are other important variables that play into how much of this chemical we absorb. For instance, bisphenol absorption is exponentially enhanced with the use of mass market skin care products, which are themselves mainly comprised of petrochemically-derived ingredients whose toxicities are also a major concern. For instance, back in 2014, a highly concerning study published in PLoS titled, “Holding thermal receipt paper and eating food after using hand sanitizer results in high serum bioactive and urine total levels of bisphenol A (BPA),” found that hand sanitizers, as well as other skin care products, contain mixtures of chemicals that can increase the absorption of fat-soluble compounds such as BPA by as much as 100 fold.
There is also the disturbing fact that 93% of healthy infants aged 3-15 months were found to be contaminated with BPA without any known cause of environmental exposure, revealing how truly widespread contamination is, regardless of direct exposure to thermal printer receipts.1
Now a new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives titled, “Bisphenol A, Bisphenol S, and 4-Hydroxyphenyl 4-Isoprooxyphenylsulfone (BPSIP) in Urine and Blood of Cashiers“, reveals that the problem of chemical exposure through paper receipts is not simply associated with bisphenol A exposure, but with other bisphenol analogs as well. As we have seen with the recent increase in products explicitly labeled as “bisphenol A free“, the industries that have become reliant on the chemical are now substituting bisphenol S (and perhaps other bisphenols) in these products, despite the fact that it possesses similar toxicity. This is all the more disturbing considering recent research revealing that bisphenol S may be 100x more potent an endocrine disruptor than bisphenol A.
The chemical class known as bisphenols actually includes over a dozen different forms, including bisphenols A, B, C, F, P. The new study found that the printer receipts contained between 1-2% BPA, BPS, or BPSIP (a bisphenol S variation), by weight. The blood and urine samples of cashiers were evaluated for bisphenol levels in post-shift samples compared with pre-shift samples, finding that the receipts contained between 1-2% BPA, PBS, or BPSIP, by weight, and that their levels of BPS were significantly higher than non-cashiers. Based on the cashier’s |
versus 1.50 ± 0.14 μM, P < 0.0001) (Supplementary Fig. 6). Notably, modeling of the PDE4D-UCR2 and PDE4B-UCR2 structures with catalytic domain structures containing 5′AMP35 suggests that Tyr274 in PDE4B could hydrogen bond to the 2′OH of AMP or cAMP (Supplementary Fig. 7). To test whether this interaction was the source of the kinetic difference, we introduced the Phe196Tyr mutation into PDE4D. The apparent K M value for this point mutant (7.6 μM) was equivalent to PDE4B (7.7 μM), demonstrating that, even in the absence of inhibitors, the UCR2 domain can affect the catalytic properties of PDE4D (Supplementary Fig. 6).
Design of PDE4 allosteric modulators
The RS25344 and PMNPQ co-crystal structures revealed a previously unknown binding mode for PDE4 inhibitors involving UCR2. Even though they are not traditional active site–directed inhibitors, both compounds are highly emetic in ferrets and other pre-clinical models20,36. Nonetheless, we explored the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of compounds interacting with UCR2 to understand the potential pharmacology of this binding mode. Early in our SAR studies, we discovered compounds that did not fully inhibit PDE activity (Fig. 3 and Supplementary Fig. 8), offering the possibility that such partial inhibitors might have a natural'safety valve' that could translate into improved tolerability, particularly with regard to emesis. Thus, we focused our SAR studies on understanding the chemical requirements for the design of partial versus full inhibitors of PDE4.
Figure 3: A common pharmacophore for PDE4 inhibitors accessing the UCR2 binding pose. (a) Literature compounds shown in our studies to bind UCR2 or the C-terminal helix (PFE39; PMNPQ and RS25344 (ref. 27); 33 (ref. 53); NVP54. (b) Superposition of literature compounds (green) based on our co-crystal structures of rolipram (PDB ID: 3G4K), PMNPQ (PDB ID: 3G58) or RS25344 (PDB ID: 3G4I) bound to the catalytic domain of PDE4D illustrate a common pharmacophore with two aromatic arms clamping Phe196 of UCR2 (cyan) and the compound forming a hydrogen bond (dashed red line) with Gln535 (cyan). (c) Chemical structures of a PDE4 full inhibitor (D157140) and a PDE4 allosteric modulator (D158681); also illustrated is the schematic interaction of D158681with PDE4D showing a hydrogen bond acceptor interaction with Gln535, and Ar 1 (4-F phenyl) working in cooperation with Ar 2 (3-NO2 phenyl) and the fluoro phenyl core to clamp onto Phe196 (UCR2). (d) In vitro inhibition of PDE4D7 by D15740 and (R)-rolipram demonstrating full inhibition of cAMP hydrolysis. D158681 displays partial inhibition kinetic behavior. Error bars are shown but typically are smaller than the size of the symbol (mean ± s.d., n = 3). Full size image
Compounds able to bind UCR2 share a common pharmacophore and binding pose (Fig. 3a,b). The pharmacophore consists of four elements: a planar scaffold providing a hydrogen bond to Gln535, a linker and two aromatic substituents which create a clamp that holds UCR2 in the closed conformation (Fig. 4). Based on this common pharmacophore, we explored various heteroaromatic and aromatic cores featuring H-bond acceptors such as the pyridine- or quinoline-based scaffolds reported in the literature (Fig. 4a). Potent compounds were obtained, but all were full inhibitors of the enzyme. However, synthetic chemistry studies centered on benzothiazole, catechol and biaryl chemotypes (Fig. 4a) afforded compounds with both full and partial kinetic behavior (Fig. 3c,d). We hypothesized that the partial kinetic behavior might be due to weakening the interaction with the Q switch and P clamp elements of the binding pocket37. For example, a central methoxyphenyl core features an sp3 oxygen instead of a heterocyclic sp2 nitrogen as the hydrogen bond acceptor to Gln535 and therefore has both reduced directionality and greater flexibility. In addition, the monocyclic methoxyphenyl core decreases hydrophobicity and π-π stacking with Phe538 and Ile502 compared with RS25344 or PMNPQ. Allosteric modulators with partial inhibition behavior fully displaced 3H-rolipram from the high-affinity binding site on UCR2 and were >10,000-fold less potent against the truncated PDE4D catalytic domain lacking UCR2 (Supplementary Fig. 9).
Figure 4: Critical pharmacophore elements that determine partial kinetic behavior of PDE4 allosteric modulators. Key elements of the pharmacophore include a planar scaffold providing a hydrogen bond acceptor, a linker and two aromatic substituents that create a clamp to hold UCR2 in the closed conformation across the active site. F and P signify compounds with “full” or “partial” inhibition kinetic behavior. (a) Scaffolds providing a hydrogen-bond acceptor to Gln535. (b) Aromatic Ar 1 substituents providing a part of the UCR2 clamp. (c) Aromatic Ar 2 substituents providing a part of the UCR2 clamp. (d) Co-crystal structure of a representative methoxyphenyl allosteric modulator (D159153) bound to PDE4D showing the UCR2 helix in the closed conformation. The regulatory helix is shown as a ribbon (green), the Fo-Fc omit map for the ligand is highlighted in magenta, and the active site surface is rendered in gray with key residues colored cyan. (e) Binding mode of D159153 to PDE4D indicating critical interactions. Full size image
In the next series of experiments, we investigated the effect of Ar 1 and Ar 2 substituents on full versus partial inhibition. We focused our SAR studies on elaboration of the biaryl derivatives and discovered that subtle changes to the Ar 1 functionality affected full versus partial kinetic behavior. For example, D159382, featuring a benzylurea substituent for Ar 1, was found to be a full inhibitor (Fig. 4b), whereas in striking contrast, the respective phenylurea derivative D159153 lacking the CH 2 link displayed partial inhibition behavior. A variety of substituents were tolerated at Ar 2 (Fig. 4c). The most active compounds contained relatively small meta-substituents, which improved potency but did not affect full versus partial kinetic behavior. A meta-chloro substituent was preferred to limit potential for genotoxicity. Over the course of the medicinal chemistry effort, we synthesized 805 compounds, of which 140 were allosteric modulators with partial inhibition kinetics. The SAR studies were supported by an extensive structural biology effort. We obtained 21 co-crystal structures of compounds bound to forms of PDE4D or PDE4B containing UCR2 (Fig. 4d,e). Full and partial inhibitors close UCR2 across the PDE4 active site in the same spatial orientation (r.m.s. deviation = 0.34 Å), so differences in the positioning of UCR2 do not explain the differences in kinetic behavior (data not shown).
To optimize PDE4D selectivity, we explored fluoro-substituted derivatives that could provide favorable electrostatic interactions with the partially positively charged edge of Phe196 in PDE4D. We found that this substitution pattern enhances selectivity for PDE4D because the same fluoro group introduces electrostatic and steric repulsion with Tyr274 of PDE4B (Fig. 3c). This allowed us to design compounds that were 60–100 times more selective for PDE4D than for PDE4B (Supplementary Table 2). PDE4A and C also contain a tyrosine at the key position in UCR2, with the consequence that they behave similarly to PDE4B in terms of selectivity (Supplementary Table 3). As UCR2 is unique to PDE4, optimized PDE4D allosteric modulators such as D159687 were >1,000 time more selective against PDE4 compared with other PDEs (Supplementary Table 3).
Our kinetic and biophysical data suggest that PDE4 behaves as a dimer with negative cooperativity between two binding sites (Supplementary Fig. 10). In the absence of modulator, both active sites are equivalent and the enzyme obeys simple Michaelis-Menten kinetics with respect to cAMP substrate. To explain partial inhibition of PDE4 in the presence of modulator, we propose that only one UCR2 domain can be placed in the closed conformation, resulting in the formation of an asymmetric PDE4 dimer. It was previously found that the stoichiometry of 3H-(R)-rolipram equilibrium binding to PDE4B2 is ∼0.5 (ref. 5), which is consistent with our model of an asymmetric PDE4 dimer in the closed conformation. Modulator binding at one site decreases the turnover rate at the second active site, and this explains why the maximum inhibition of the enzyme is >50%.
Activity of PDE4 allosteric modulators in cellular assays
The effect of PDE4 allosteric modulators on cAMP hydrolysis was examined in human HEK293 cells38,39. PDE4D allosteric modulators are about 15× less active in the HEK293 cAMP assay than expected based on their biochemical median inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) (Supplementary Table 2). We therefore wondered whether allosteric modulators and full inhibitors would behave differently in a biological context. Multiple compounds were profiled in a Sephadex-stimulated human whole blood assay of leukotriene E4 (LTE4) production by eosinophils39,40 (Supplementary Fig. 11). PDE4D allosteric modulators were more potent in the human whole blood LTE4 assay than in the HEK293 cAMP assay and equally effective as roflumilast (Supplementary Table 2). This result demonstrates that allosteric modulators of PDE4 can provide complete inhibition of a biological response, even though they have partial enzyme inhibition kinetics in vitro. We hypothesize that the concentration of cAMP within cells is likely maintained within a narrow window such that a maximal effect on signaling does not require complete inhibition of PDE4.
Efficacy of PDE4 allosteric modulators in tests of cognition
We next profiled two PDE4D full inhibitors (D157140 & D159382) and four PDE4D allosteric modulators (D158681, D159153, D159404 and D159687) against rolipram as a reference compound in rodent cognition assays (Supplementary Table 2). Rolipram has been shown to have benefit in numerous rodent models of cognition including models of cholinergic deficit and memory consolidation13. The selected compounds all distribute into mouse brain after intravenous dosing (Supplementary Table 2 and Supplementary Fig. 12).
Cholinergic deficit was modeled in the mouse using the scopolamine-impaired Y-maze test (Fig. 5a). Scopolamine induces a cholinergic deficit resulting in an 'amnesic' state owing to reduced cholinergic signaling through muscarinic receptors that are positively coupled to adenylate cyclase. The 8-min test measures the performance of immediate spatial working memory by monitoring the spontaneous preference of rodents to novelty. Alternating exploration of the three arms of a Y-maze by animals is assessed (continuous spontaneous alteration)41. An unimpaired score for alternation behavior is usually ∼70%, and a minimum dose of scopolamine was used to reduce the impaired score to chance (∼50%) levels. All compounds showed a dose response by intravenous administration and a maximum cognitive benefit similar to rolipram. In fact, the allosteric modulators were reproducibly slightly more potent (Supplementary Table 4). D159404 and D159687 were also evaluated by oral dosing (Supplementary Fig. 13); the minimum effective dose (MED) was 10 μg/kg for both compounds, consistent with their bioavailability in mouse (F = 28% for D159404 and 32% for D159687).
Figure 5: Effects of compounds on mouse models of cognition and a behavioral correlate of emesis. Effects on ddY strain mice of selective PDE4D allosteric modulators in the scopolamine-impaired Y-maze test (Y-maze, a), the novel object recognition test (NOR, b) with dosing 3 h after T1, and the ketamine/xylazine anesthesia duration test (Ket/xyl, c). (a) PDE4D allosteric modulators (D159404 and D159687) reversed the cholinergic deficit in the scopolamine-impaired Y-maze test to the same extent as rolipram. Each column represents mean ± s.e.m. (n = 9–10); **P < 0.01 (Wilcoxon rank sum test); #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 versus scopolamine-treated group (Dunnett's multiple comparison test). (b) PDE4D allosteric modulators improve object discrimination in the NOR test to a similar extent as rolipram. Columns represent mean ± s.e.m. (n = 10–13) for the discrimination index (DI) at the 24 h retention test (T2); **P < 0.01 (Student's t-test); #P < 0.05; ##P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated group (Dunnett's multiple comparison test). (c) PDE4D allosteric modulators do not reduce the duration of ketamine/xylazine-induced anesthesia at doses 1,000× greater than their MED for pro-cognitive benefit in the NOR test (the least-sensitive cognitive test). Each column represents mean ± s.e.m. (n = 12–20); **P < 0.01 (Student's t-test). Full size image
The effect of PDE4 allosteric modulators on long-term memory formation was assessed using the novel object recognition (NOR) test (Fig. 5b). This model uses the spontaneous preference of rodents to novelty in an environment and measures their ability to recognize an object previously seen (episodic memory). The level of discrimination between the novel and the familiar object progressively decreases with increasing time. By delaying administration of the PDE4 modulator, we assessed the effect of the compounds on memory processes dependent upon CREB phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent PKA42. Under this paradigm of delayed administration, rolipram provides cognitive benefit as shown by an improvement in the discrimination index measured at an inter-trial interval of 24 h, but there was no cognitive benefit with delayed administration of an anti-cholinesterase such as donepezil (data not shown). As with the Y-maze test, all compounds showed a dose response with intravenous administration and the maximum cognitive benefit was similar to rolipram (Supplementary Table 4). The allosteric modulators D159404 and D159687 consistently showed slightly greater potency, and provided cognitive benefit when administered orally with MED consistent with bioavailability (Supplementary Fig. 13). D159404 and D159687 also provided cognitive benefit in rat in the NOR test with dosing before the first training session with MED ≤ 10 μg/kg (Supplementary Fig. 14).
Emetic potential of PDE4 allosteric modulators
We next profiled our compounds in the ketamine/xylazine test, which has been proposed as a behavioral correlate of emesis in the mouse (Fig. 5c)43. As rodents are unable to vomit, reduction of the duration of ketamine/xylazine-induced anesthesia has been introduced as a behavioral correlate that is sensitive to PDE4D gene deletion19,43. Consistent with the 30–40× selectivity for mouse PDE4D over PDE4B (Supplementary Table 2), PDE4D full inhibitors potently reduce anesthesia in this model at doses similar to their MED for cognitive benefit (Supplementary Table 4). In contrast, and even at 1,000× the MED for cognitive benefit, PDE4D allosteric modulators had little or no effect on anesthesia duration (Supplementary Table 4).
To further investigate the topic of emesis, we profiled D159687 for emetic activity in Suncus murinus (Asian house shrew), the beagle dog and the cynomolgus monkey (Fig. 6). S. murinus have an emetic response to motion, ethanol overdose and many classes of drug that are emetic in human44,45. The PDE4D-selective allosteric modulator was 100× less emetic than rolipram in S. murinus, 3,000× less emetic than rolipram in the beagle dog and 500× less emetic in monkey. The emetic potential of PDE4 inhibitors can be reduced by reducing their distribution to brain21. To our knowledge, there has been no previous demonstration of reduced emetic potential for a PDE4D selective compound that preferentially distributes to brain. Thus, the mechanism of action of PDE4D allosteric modulators reduces potential for emesis while maintaining pro-cognitive efficacy.Mississippi State’s defensive woes this season were well known and it drew the ire of many fans all year. However, rumors began floating around recently that Peter Sirmon might potentially be on his way out for a new job, possibly the job up at Colordado.
And now it looks like there might be some weight to at least part of the rumors. Mike Bonner of the Clarion Ledger is reporting that sources have told him that Mississippi State and “Dan Mullen will make changes on the defensive side of the ball.”
Sources tell me that Dan Mullen will make changes on the defensive side of the ball. There's been rumors revolving around Sirmon's departure — Michael Bonner (@MikeBBonner) January 10, 2017
And we have our first of the beat writers (sort of) confirming the rumors. https://t.co/VeYNt8UtCT — Justin Strawn (@JStrawnFWtCT) January 10, 2017
Rumors will continue to fly around regarding the position. It’s not a secret that the job has seen plenty of turnover the past few years, and it’s possible that a change at the defensive coordinator position will equal more changes among assistant coaches.
I mean, if Sirmon's defense had forced more turnovers maybe there's no coaching turnover https://t.co/EkEdXGUvhr — Ethan Lee (@leeethanj) January 10, 2017
Coaching changes are always tough. It impacts not only the coaches but also their spouses and children. However, it is often a necessary move. If Mississippi State has someone lined up that can help the Bulldogs get more wins then they should absolutely pursue a coaching change here.
Hopefully this will be a smooth transition and any coaches that are replaced can land on their feet and have success in the future.An editorial yesterday in the LA Times called “Fidel Castro, Internet Junkie” says the 84-year-old Cuban reads 200 to 300 online articles a day, and “is fascinated by WikiLeaks”.
The LA Times article is based on an lengthy interview Castro did with the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, where he reportedly said that the Internet, “has put an end to secrets…. We are seeing a high level of investigative journalism, as the New York Times calls it, that is within reach of the whole world.” He also said that the Internet is, “the most powerful weapon that has existed.”
Castro, however, isn’t just an Internet consumer – he’s also apparently a prolific blogger (one of about only 300 in Cuba according to the LA Times). So now you know.
(Note: Isolated Cuba does not have a fiber-optic connection to the rest of the world, and must rely on old underwater telephone lines and for satellite-based broadband to connect to the Internet. The LA Times editorial says that estimates put Cuba’s Internet penetration of between 2.6% -13% of the population depending on whether its based on international (the 2.6%) or Cuban government statistics (the 13%). Either way, Cuba has by far the lowest percentage of Internet users of any nation in the Western Hemisphere. Those that do have access face censorship and restriction as well.)
Read next: Question: What are 5 things we'd like to see Quora offer?NEW YORK -- As commissioner David Stern's deadline passed, the NBA and its players continued negotiating Wednesday in an attempt to end the lockout.
The two sides met for more than 11 hours to try to hash out a deal to save the season. The meeting got under way at 1 p.m. ET in New York, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard.
Stern had issued an ultimatum to players: Accept the league's latest proposal by 5 p.m. ET Wednesday or it will be replaced with a much harsher one that would drive the sides even farther apart.
Players said Tuesday they wouldn't accept the current one as configured and suggested another negotiation session.
The current offer calls for players to receive between 49 percent and 51 percent of basketball-related income, though union officials said it would be impossible to get above 50.2 percent. Players were guaranteed 57 percent of BRI under the previous collective bargaining agreement.
The next proposal would call for a 53-47 revenue split in the owners' favor, essentially a hard salary cap and salary rollbacks, which the league originally sought but had taken off the table. Both proposals were sent to union executive director Billy Hunter on Sunday.
The meeting featuring small groups from both sides was arranged Wednesday morning.
Failure to make a deal likely would increase the calls for the union to decertify so the players can file a lawsuit against the league in court, a risky and lengthy tactic that likely would doom the 2011-12 season. Union officials have downplayed the idea, but players might have no other leverage once the more severe proposal is put into play.
Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver were joined Wednesday by Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the labor relations committee, and lawyers Rick Buchanan and Dan Rube. Besides union executive director Billy Hunter and president Derek Fisher, vice presidents Roger Mason Jr. and Maurice Evans, economist Kevin Murphy and attorney Jeffrey Kessler represented the union.
Kessler took part just hours after saying he regretted telling the Washington Post that owners are treating players like "plantation workers" during the ongoing lockout. He said he planned to call Stern and apologize.
Flanked by the player representatives from 29 teams and roughly 15 more players who showed up for Tuesday's union meeting in New York, Hunter and Fisher announced that the player reps backed their recommendation to reject the NBA's offer made last weekend.
Sources said that the union did not conduct a formal vote of the players assembled in the room Tuesday, opting instead for an informal "everyone agrees" consensus that authorizes Hunter and Fisher to accept a 50/50 split of basketball-related income in future negotiations as long as the league makes some concessions on some of the remaining system issues. But sources briefed on the owners' thinking insisted to ESPN.com that there will be no further budging from the owners, no matter how close a deal might appear on paper.
The league's offer last weekend calls for players to receive between 49 percent and 51 percent of annual BRI. Union officials argue that it would be nearly impossible for the league to generate sufficient revenue in any given season to earn the players more than 50.2 percent, but Hunter and Fisher now have the go-ahead for the first time all summer to go that low on BRI if the owners will agree to relax some of the various limits they want to impose on teams that stray into luxury-tax territory.
The tax penalties and other rules for tax-paying teams, one source told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher, are where the two sides remain at complete odds.
Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has been one of the faces of the so-called "hardline" owners during the protracted talks. He's long been one of the certified "hawks" -- the aggressive and hungry faction that was known to be seeking radical change.
However, multiple sources have confirmed to ESPN.com that Gilbert has adjusted his position in recent days and moved into a more moderate mode, voting with fellow owners who are willing to accept a 50/50 share of BRI.
Players indicated after their meeting Tuesday that they would be open to reducing their BRI take if owners made some changes on the system issues. Players offered to go to about 51 percent Saturday, with 1 percent going into a fund for retired player benefits.
But the league has placed as much importance on the system as the split, making it difficult to find compromise on the handful of items that remain unsettled. Owners believe there won't be the competitive balance they desire until payrolls are more equally balanced.
A month of games already has been canceled. Hunter said Tuesday he had heard Stern also planned to cancel games through Christmas without a deal Wednesday, though Stern later told NBA TV that "we have made no such plans, and we have had no such discussions."
Information from ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard, ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein, ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher, ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst and The Associated Press contributed to this report.Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
One of Britain’s most infamous internet trolls has broken cover after being tracked down by the Sunday ECHO.
Old Holborn – as he is known on Twitter – has previously sparked fury by joking about the Hillsborough tragedy, James Bulger’s murder and reportedly made homophobic remarks about a Liverpool councillor.
He spoke exclusively to this newspaper about his controversial online activities, saying “demented trolls” are the “price we pay” for free speech.
Old Holborn, unmasked as former Essex recruitment consultant Robert Ambridge, is currently being investigated by detectives for online messages sent to Wavertree’s Cllr Jake Morrison.
The troll told the Sunday ECHO: “Naturally, those who don’t share my views or choose to take offence can find ample succour in the simple retort of ‘vile troll’ – water off a duck’s back to me, I’m thick-skinned enough to know that it’s only Twitter.
“I’m passionate about free speech. There are demented trolls out there, happily breaking the law by targeting individuals and we already have laws to deal with them.
“Twitter is possibly the greatest tool that free speech has ever possessed and is quite literally capable of bringing down tyrants and despots.
“Governments are desperate to control it, censor it, silence it – and if a few unwelcome trolls are the price we pay for every voice on the planet being free, it’s a price worth paying.
“Censoring words is one step away from burning books and we all know where that leads. [If you] don’t like it, don’t read it – yes, [it’s] that simple.”
But Cllr Morrison hit back at the troll’s claims.
He said: “This troll has been commenting on my sexuality since February and has tried to discredit me by calling me a paedophile.
“It’s a mockery to say we are trying to limit free speech.
“Old Holborn has quite clearly crossed a line – you can’t just make any accusation about anyone and say that’s free speech.”
Cllr Morrison plans to request a meeting with a Government minister to lobby for tougher action against trolls.
An Essex police spokesman said: “We are investigating the circumstances surrounding an allegation made by a man from Liverpool who had been offended by a series of homophobic tweets, purportedly made by a man last known to be living in Braintree.”
Old Holborn has been booted off Twitter many times, but gets round the bans with new accounts.
More Merseyside news:
Four women held in drugs probe after teenager falls from city centre apartment
ECHO investigation: child arrested every 104 minutes on Merseyside
“We’re just like we are on telly” say Mersey stars of Gogglebox
River gas plan ‘ will not harm dolphins ’ spotted in Liverpool BayLast year, Gizmodo declared Android TV an exciting, beautiful mess. "You should probably steer clear till Google gets its shit together," we said. Today at I/O, Google's telling us about an updated Android TV that may indicate that its shit is actually being gathered.
One of the biggest problems with Android TV was how it integrated with the Google Play store: Its selection of apps was tiny and overly-curated. According to Google, that's changing. Today the system is getting a major aesthetic overhaul, which will allow you to browse any app in the Play store, not just the small selection of featured apps. Before you could only search for things you knew you wanted to see or play, or browse through a small number of categories — now, Google says you'll be able to discover things on your own.
Another big criticism of the system? That it felt like "like it's designed to sell movie and TV rentals." Another new feature added today could go along way to making it feel more interesting: Android TV Channels, which let anyone create a custom channel within the ecology. There are a couple Google is launching today as examples, like Vevo, Huffington Post, TED, and Bloomberg — but in theory, you'll also be able to curate your own channel, which could be a powerful thing for independent producers.
If you've got the right Android TV box, you could also be watching live channels too: the Nvidia Shield Android TV, which launched today for $US200, will finally let you access that long-rumoured Live Channels app if you plug in a HDHomeRun TV tuner. You can see a picture of it at the top of this post.
Android TV wasn't finished when it launched last year. This second pass could go a long way towards making it feel complete.Football Federation Australia has attracted the ire of A-League club owners by moving to impose a $250,000 sanction fee on any international friendly matches the clubs organise against famous overseas teams.
Clubs were recently informed of the change, which could put in jeopardy future tour matches such as the clash between Melbourne Victory and English Premier League giants Liverpool last year that attracted 95,000 spectators to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
FFA also organises its own matches against overseas opposition through the A-League All Stars team, which played Manchester United last year and will meet Italian club Juventus in Sydney in August.
Previously it charged the club 5 per cent of gate takings to sanction other matches.
The Juventus match is the next high-profile event on the football calendar after the Socceroos play South Africa on May 26 and Sunday’s A-League grand final, in which Brisbane Roar beat Western Sydney Wanderers 2-1.
It is understood the FFA is in negotiations with a top English side for the 2015 off-season and has approached European clubs to tour in 2016. It is hoped an announcement on the 2015 match will come by the end of this year.America's bad reputation for obesity is not getting any better.
The CDC just released the latest obesity data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey — the 2011-2012 year. The survey examines about 5,000 people each year and asks a series of socio-economic and health-related questions and includes a physical exam, giving us a frightening look at just how fat Americans really are.
The CDC defined obesity as individuals having a body mass index greater than or equal to 30. Body mass index is calculated by weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
Here are five most worrying facts:
1. Almost 35% of adults in the U.S. are obese.
2. Obesity rates were higher among middle-aged adults (40 to 59-years-old) than younger adults (20 to 39-year-olds) or older adults (60-years-old and over).
3. There was no real difference in obesity rates between men and women — everyone is getting fatter.
You can see the breakdown of obesity rates by age and gender in the chart below:
CDC obesity study More
CDC
4. Black Americans had the highest obesity rates (about 48%), while Asian Americans had the lowest (about 11%).
You can see the obesity rates among different races in the chart below:
cdc3 More
CDC
5. Obesity rates are not getting any better.
The CDC found there was no decrease in obesity rate from the 2009-2010 survey to the 2011-2012 survey.
The chart below shows that rates have been steadily getting worse since the 1980s:
overweight More
CDC
Wondering how you fit into these trends? The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has a tool that can calculate your body mass index.
More From Business InsiderThe Hacker group Anonymous claimed responsibility Wednesday for what Treasury Board President Tony Clement says was a cyber attack on the Government of Canada’s computer servers. Some federal emails and several department websites crashed early Wednesday afternoon.
Federal cabinet ministers were being briefed about the matter, with sites for Justice, Public Works and Government Services, the main Canada.ca page, Shared Services Canada (the government’s super-IT department) and even the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) among some of those that were down.
“Confirmed today that Govt of Canada GC servers have been cyberattacked. Until full service is restored please use 1-800-OCanada,” Clement tweeted.
Government email access for some department and ministerial staff was also down, with political staffers handing out their personal email addresses to media.
A number of sites have since come back online as federal officials look to identify the source of the attack.
Internet hacker group Anonymous posted a YouTube video and statement Wednesday claiming responsibility for the attack. The video said it’s in response to the government’s anti-terrorism Bill C-51, which was recently passed in Parliament.
“Greetings citizens of Canada, we are Anonymous. Today, this 17th of June 2015 we launched an attack against the Canadian senate and government of Canada websites in protest against the recent passing of bill C-51,” the group says.
Employees of the House of Commons were warned last Friday to be on the lookout for suspicious emails from hackers looking for personal information.
Two memos sent from Commons IT staff at that time said its employees, along with private sector workers, were “currently being targeted by several cyberattacks.”
The first alert, sent Friday morning, said hackers had stolen large volumes of personal data in the attacks.
A second alert, just after noon, said there was no evidence personal data had been stolen from Commons accounts, but did say they had been targeted.
It appears from the memos that hackers were sending phishing emails that look like they come from official accounts, but instead were a technological ruse to trick recipients into giving up personal information.
Commons IT officials, in the most recent memo, warned workers not to hand out their passwords to anyone and to delete any suspicious-looking messages.
Last year, a phishing scam that had the hallmarks of a state-sponsored attack allowed hackers into the systems of the National Research Council.
The government blamed China for the attack that forced the NRC to shut down its computer system last July and use a temporary network while a new $32.5-million system was built to better withstand further attacks.
The NRC’s systems were also isolated from other federal systems. The NRC was one of several agencies in Shared Services Canada’s national security and science portfolios – groups that include Health Canada, the RCMP, Department of National Defence, Transport Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency – that have among the most complex and sensitive IT infrastructure in the country.
The intrusion came from “a highly sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored actor,” said the Treasury Board.
In January 2011, “spear-phishing” attacks are believed to have been perpetrated using servers in China. Hackers gained access to the Finance and Treasury Board networks by sending malicious emails to high-ranking department officials that contained a link to a webpage infected with a sophisticated virus.
It then opened a pathway deep into the government networks and installed spy mapware. Hackers also sent infected Adobe Systems Inc. PDF files that, when opened, unleashed more malicious code to target and download government secrets.Update: I’m still using this setup a year later - you can read on at iPad+Linode: 1 Year Later
On September 19th, I said goodbye to my trusty MacBook Pro and started developing exclusively on an iPad + Linode 512. This is the surprising story of a month spent working in the cloud.
It all started when I bought my first MacBook a couple of years ago. Frustrated by the inconsistent usage of ctrl/alt/option/arrow keys to jump words and screens and lines, I searched for a new IDE. Instead, I found Vim and fell in love. This isn’t another gushing post about Vim-oh-how-I-love-you-my-sweet-darling, but it’s important to the story - as we’ll see in a moment.
Although I like to use Python and GAE for my own projects, at work we write heavyweight C++/Qt code that runs on clusters such as the 200,000 processor Jaguar machine, so most of my time is spent in Linux and a lot of it on remote systems. Typically I’d develop in MacVim locally and run my code in VMWare Fusion or remotely.
One fateful day, VMWare and OS/X conspired to trash my shared filesystem, losing several days of uncommitted code in the process. I was angry.
While dd was recovering as much as it could, I started toying with the idea of giving up on local filesystems altogether. To my surprise, it seemed possible - even plausible.
I just had to try.
The Setup
It turns out you need a little more than just an iPad and a dream, but not too much more:
Total cost: around $800 + $20 per month
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I typically start my day by catching up on the bug tracker chatter, mercurial diffs and other emails with the iPad |
as “Bubbles” from the hit Nova Scotia mockumentary series called Trailerpark Boys. The character known as Bubbles, played by Mike Smith, sports excruciatingly massive Coke-bottle lenses, drives around the trailer park on a go-cart, has a predilection for “kitty cats”, lives in a tool shed and repairs abandoned shopping carts for cash. The choice of Bubbles, while wildly supported by the young airmen and women of 14 Wing Greenwood, was seen by the religious right and evangelical Christians as delivering the wrong message to Nova Scotia youth. The Trailerpark Boys series focuses on a group of ex-convict layabouts living in fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park, bent on growing weed, getting rich without effort, stealing cars, swearing and drinking – which, as everyone knows, is practically the definition of Nova Scotia Youth. Photo: Sgt Pete Nicholson, 14 Wing Greenwood
Bubbles has long been a strong supporter of Canada's armed forces and as such, he is much loved by our men and women in uniform, especially the Royal Canadian Air Force. Bubbles made the trip to Cold Lake, Alberta to experience the thrill and stresses of flight in a Hornet. The footage was part of a comedy piece on the CBC comedy show called “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” and was broadcast to our troops in Afghanistan. Video Capture from CBC
Cheech & Chong were a Grammy Award–winning comedy duo consisting of Richard “Cheech” Marin and Canadian Tommy Chong, who found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their films and stand-up routines, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug and counterculture movements, most notably their love for cannabis. The Tommy Chong CC-130J Hercules (130612) has met with some degree of controversy from the Military Police, who have questioned the sense of honouring a Canadian who championed laziness, marijuana and portrayed himself as a stoned dimwit. At air shows, crews have been referring to the Herc as a “Jay” Model, and use the Call Sign “Dave”. One humorous exchange between the tower at 8 Wing Trenton and the Chong Herc reportedly went like this: “Dave 612, Tower Control. You are cleared for takeoff.” This was followed by, “Tower,...Dave's not here.” True story. Photo credit: Cpl Darcy Lefebvre, DND
Long may she run. The highest time E-Model CC-130 Hercules known as Crazy Horse to its crews, wears the youthful face of legendary Canadian rock star Neil Young. Like Young, the Hercules transport type is a legendary veteran which is still in production nearly 60 years after its production line commenced in 1956. Photo by Reinhard Zinabold
When people look upon the friendly face of the C-130 Hercules heavy lift transport, they cannot but smile at the soft, non-threatening and chubby lines of this classic from the 1950s, so what better man to dedicate one to than The Friendly Giant, an iconic children's TV character from the 1950s to the 1980s. The Friendly Giant aired on CBC Television from September 1958 through to March 1985. It featured three main characters: a giant named Friendly (played by Bob Homme), who lived in a huge castle, along with his puppet animal friends Rusty (a rooster who played a harp and lived in a book bag hung by the castle window) and Jerome (a giraffe). Trust me, I am not making this up! As you enter the short flight of stairs to the cockpit of the Friendly Herc, there is a small sign which reads: “One little chair for one of you, and a bigger chair for two more to curl up in, and for someone who likes to rock, a rocking chair in the middle.” DND Photo
According to Wikipedia, the lifting and storing capacity of the Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King is 159 “Squares” of Molson Canadian beer (a square being Hoser parlance for a case of 24 beer bottles.) This particular Sea King carries the only Celebritail design to be of more than one person – the famous McKenzie Brothers, Bob (Rick Moranis) and Doug (Dave Thomas), of SCTV. In addition, the sides of the fuselage of the helo were used as the tail boom did not offer a good place to display the design. There is a link between the McKenzie Brothers Sea King and the Geddy Lee Hornet. Bob and Doug the crest of a fad, peaking in 1982–83, that produced one comedy album, The Great White North and a movie, Strange Brew. The album, released by Anthem Records in Canada and Mercury Records in the US, went platinum in sales, won a Grammy nomination and broke the top ten on Billboard's Top LPs and Tapes list in March 1982. It is noted for the song “Take Off” which featured fellow Canadian Geddy Lee of the rock group Rush chorusing between the McKenzies' banter. DND Photo
The honouree for the Sea King ship borne ASW helicopter attached to HMCS Fredericton (FFH337) was chosen by her Captain's mother, a big fan of the 1950s to 60s East Coast musical show called Don Messer's Jubilee, which featured the homely, boozy-looking duo of Marg Osborne and Charlie Chamberlain. Photo credit: DND Photo, MCpl Randy Burnside
At Vintage Wings of Canada, we applaud the choice of a REAL spaceman to grace another CC-150 Polaris tail. RCAF Colonel Chris Hadfield is the present commander of the International Space Station, a Vintage Wings board member, one of our pilots and the sole RCAF member past or present to grace the tail of an RCAF aircraft. Photo: Corporal Pierre Habib, 3 Wing Bagotville. © 2011 DND-MDN Canada
A close-up of the Canadian Forces Chris Hadfield Airbus CC-150 Polaris showing it gassing up the Geddy Lee CF-18. Hadfield, a rock star of space travel and an accomplished musician himself is no doubt pleased to see his airplane giving sustenance to the Rush star's fighter. Photo: Corporal Pierre Habib, 3 Wing Bagotville. DND Photo
The spy who came in from the cold. Canadian Heritage felt that politics were a key component of Canadian culture and so proposed two remarkable Celebritail ideas that have had people talking about the sanity of the entire program. The first, a bizarre portrait of defected Russian spy Igor Gouzenko, appeared in the tail of a CC-130 Hercules (130335) and was thought by most Canadians who did not know their history to be the portrait of a member of the Ku Klux Klan. It's strange indeed, for most Canadians who remember Gouzenko, that the face of the cold war had no face at all. Igor Gouzenko would always wear a white hood over his face during appearances in order to maintain anonymity for his new identity and life in Toronto. Igor Sergeyevich Gouzenko (13 January 1919 – 28 June 1982) was a cipher clerk for the Soviet Embassy to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. He defected on 5 September 1945 with 109 documents on Soviet espionage activities in the West. This forced Prime Minister Mackenzie King to call a Royal Commission to investigate espionage in Canada. Gouzenko exposed Joseph Stalin's efforts to steal nuclear secrets and the technique of planting sleeper agents. The “Gouzenko Affair” is often credited as a triggering event of the Cold War, with historian Jack Granatstein stating: “Gouzenko was the beginning of the Cold War for Public Opinion.” The New York Times described Gouzenko's actions as having “awakened the people of North America to the magnitude and the danger of Soviet espionage.” CF Photo by Master Corporal Kevin Paul
The only known photograph of the 412 Squadron CC-144 Challenger with the Celebritail image of Gerda Munsinger, whose autobiography, My Life Under the Tories was a Canadian non-fiction best seller in the 1960s. Gerda Munsinger (10 September 1929 – 24 November 1998) was an East German prostitute and alleged Soviet spy (ultimately unproven) who was the centre of the Munsinger Affair political scandal in Canada. Born in Germany and married for a short period to American soldier Michael Munsinger, she emigrated to Canada in 1955. Gerda Munsinger lived in Montréal where she worked as a maid, a waitress and as a hostess at the “Chez Parée” nightclub. While in Canada, she became involved in relationships with a number of high government officials, most notably cabinet ministers George Hees and Pierre Sévigny. She was deported to East Germany in 1961 as the matter was dealt with privately. Sévigny resigned quietly from the cabinet of John Diefenbaker in 1963. Some believe that it was approved by the Prime Minister's Office and placed on the airplane to remind Cabinet Ministers of the tremendous height a fall from grace might bring. Regardless, the artwork was removed after only two weeks. DND Photo
When 442 Squadron of 19 Wing, Comox, British Columbia, the last operator of the venerable CC-115 de Havilland Buffalo in Canada, was given the chance to select an honouree for their Celebritail Buffalo, the pilots wanted to chose a person who represented what they did for a living. Since the squadron is a long-time Search and Rescue unit, they selected a man who also made “saves” for a living – the legendary Ukrainian-born, Canadian raised professional hockey goalie – Terry Sawchuk. They chose for the portrait a copy of the famous photograph of the Detroit Red Wing net minder which showed a shirtless Sawchuk sporting scars and stitches applied by a make-up artist and depicting the many horrendous injuries he suffered after years as an NHL goal tender BEFORE the use of goalie masks. Like so many of the tail designs, this too brought the ire of certain community groups. Meddling Parents of the Comox Valley (MPCV) petitioned to have the portrait removed on the grounds that it scared children at air shows. The RCAF, recognizing that Sawchuk was a true Canadian hero, would not back down. DND Photo by 9 Wing Imaging, Corporal Miranda Langguth
To see more of the Celebritail design to come and to suggest recipients,
click hereUPDATES:
: Since maintenance is now resolve and the Auction House are back online, I'm going to go ahead and close this thread. To read more about what happened and how we approached this issue, click here. If you experience any issues using the Auction House, please create a new thread (and be sure to detail exactly what the problem is, including screenshots if possible). Thank you so much for your patience!: Maintenance has concluded, and both the gold and real-money Auction Houses are now live. Gold trades have also been reactivated. Please note that we have temporarily reverted the stack size for gold on the real-money Auction House from 10,000,000 to 1,000,000. (At the moment, there's an active bug preventing gold stack sizes from displaying correctly in the Auction House at values higher than 1,000,000, so we've temporarily reversed this change the until we can fix the display issue.)To help reduce load and improve the overall stability of the auction house system, the game may temporarily limit traffic to the auction house, especially following maintenance. This is done automatically, and players may occasionally see a grayed-out auction house button (or receive an "Error 31075") as a result. If the auction house button is grayed-out, please wait a few minutes and then try again.: Lylirra here, checking back in (apologies for the delay!). Our teams are still performing their audit, and the auction houses remain under maintenance. Some players may notice that PayPal payments are now processing; this is intended, as we've completed our audit of real-money transactions. No additional news to share at this time (or ETAs, for those of you wondering). We'll be checking back in with you every so often to keep you as updated as possible. Next scheduled update: 11:00 p.m. PDT.: We've made substantial progress with our audit, but the process is not yet complete. We don't yet have a specific ETA as to when the Auction Houses will be available, but we wanted to at least touch base with the community and let you all know that we're still working hard to address the effects of the gold dupe. We'll be providing another status update by 7:00 p.m. PDT, as well, so be sure to stay tuned to this thread. Thank you!: As we mentioned earlier, we're currently auditing transactions that were performed on the both the gold and real-money Auction House following the discovery of a gold exploit after patch 1.0.8 released. For those just tuning in, we decided to perform a complete audit and focus on the few players that exploited this bug rather than performing a full rollback and taking everyone offline for a day (or more) – losing all the progress they made.This audit is a time-intensive process, and to make sure that we can do a thorough job, we’re going to keep the Auction Houses in maintenance until that work is complete. Unfortunately, our previous estimate was incorrect, and for that I personally apologize. We don’t have a new ETA, but we anticipate that the service will be unavailable for at least another 24 hours. We’ll continue to provide updates in this thread regarding the status of our Auction House maintenance as they become available.: We are still in the process of reviewing all of Tuesday's transactions and need to keep the Auction House offline for a while longer to complete our audit. At this time, we will not be able to bring the Auction House online by 10:00 a.m. PDT. We're re-evaluating required downtime, and will provide another update by 12:00 p.m. PDT.: In order to allow auctions posted yesterday to expire naturally, we've decided to keep the gold and real-money Auction House in maintenance mode until tomorrow morning. We're currently targeting 10:00 a.m. PDT, but will provide an update for everyone at 9:00 a.m. PDT. At that point, we'll be able to give a much more solid ETA as to when the service will be up and running (or, conversely, let you know if additional downtime is needed).Gold trades are still disabled for the time being. Once we have an ETA for those being re-activated, we'll provide another update in this thread, as well.: We're still in the process of auditing Auction House and gold trade transactions. We realize this is an inconvenience for many of our players, and we sincerely apologize for the interruption of the service. We hope to have everything back up as soon as possible. We don't currently have an ETA for when the Auction House will be brought out of maintenance or gold trades will be reactivated, but we'll continue to provide updates in this thread as they become available.: We've confirmed that we've fixed the bug which allowed players to duplicate gold; however, we will be keeping the gold and real-money Auction Houses offline in the Americas until further notice (gold trades will also remain suspended). We'll be using this downtime to perform audits on all transactions conducted through the Auction House as well as trades in which gold was exchanged since 1.0.8 launched. We anticipate this process will take multiple hours to complete and will provide another update by 12:00 p.m. PDT.: At this time (and after careful consideration), we've decided to not move forward with rolling back the servers. We feel that this is the best course of action given the nature of the dupe, how relatively few players used it, and the fact that its effects were fairly limited within the region. We've been able to successfully identify players who duplicated gold by using this specific bug, and are focusing on these accounts to make corrections. While this is a time-consuming and very detailed process, we believe it's the most appropriate choice given the circumstances. We know that some of you may disagree, but we feel that performing a full roll back would impact the community in an even greater way, as it would require significant downtime as well as revert the progress legitimate players have made since patch 1.0.8 was released this morning.: Maintenance has concluded, and the fix has been implemented. Once we’ve been able to test this fix and verify that it works correctly, we'll then mark the gold and real-money auction house live.: To assist our teams with their review process, we have disabled all gold trades in the Americas region until further notice. Players can still trade items, but trades that involve any sum of gold currency cannot be completed.: We believe we’ve found a fix for the gold duplication bug and will be deploying it shortly to all regions. In order to implement this fix, we'll be bringing Diablo III into maintenance. We anticipate this maintenance will last for approximately 1 hour, lasting until approximately 11:30 p.m. PDT.Hey everyone,As you may have already seen in the Breaking News window (or discovered while trying to load up the Auction House once logged in), we've brought both the gold and real-money Auction Houses offline for maintenance. After the release of Patch 1.0.8 this morning, we found that some players were exploiting a bug that enabled them to duplicate gold through the Auction House. We're working on fixing the bug right now, and bringing the Auction Houses offline helps us troubleshoot in a more stable environment while preventing further exploiting.We don’t have an ETA just yet. Our priority at the moment is (of course) to fix the bug and make sure it can’t happen again. We know this is an inconvenience for some of our players, so we’ll be providing updates in this thread as soon as we have any details to share.Our priority is to fix any issues with the game client first—that's what we're working on right now. After we've addressed the situation, we'll need to determine whether or not a rollback is appropriate. We know this is an important issue for all of our players, so we’ll be sure keep you informed of what's happening and will provide any updates in this thread, as well.We're currently in the process of reviewing the accounts involved and taking appropriate actions, including temporary locks, suspensions, and/or bans. Our exploitation policy for Diablo III can be found here, which should give you an overview of the kinds of activities that are and aren’t cool within the game.This will not affect the patch maintenance schedules for Europe or Asia. As we believe we've been able to fix the dupe, patch 1.0.8 will still be released in both of these regions as normal. However, please note that we have temporarily reverted the stack size for gold on the real-money Auction House from 10,000,000 to 1,000,000. There's an active bug that's preventing gold stack sizes from displaying correctly, so we've reversed that one change until we can fix it. (This will also be the case for the Americas once the Auction House is marked live.)Thank you for all of your reports, and for your patience. In the meantime, to help streamline communication, we're going to be locking and redirecting posts to this location.Pop superstar and style icon Madonna has fired back at critics of her risqué Met Ball gala outfit, explaining in a social media post that her butt- and breast-exposing getup was meant as a political statement about women’s rights.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the 57-year-old “Vogue” singer took her “ageist” and “sexist” critics to task for failing to look beyond the simples aesthetics of the dress to see its deeper political meaning.
“[W]e are still in the dark ages,” Madonna wrote. “My dress at the Met Ball was a political statement as well as a fashion statement. The fact that people actually believe a woman is not allowed to express her sexuality and be adventurous past a certain age is proof that we still live in an age-ist and sexist society.”
“I have never thought in a limited way and I’m not going to start,” she added. “We cannot effect change unless we are willing to take risks By being fearless and By taking the road leas traveled by [sic]. Thats how we change history.”
At an event known for its attendees’ daring style statements, Madonna turned heads in a sheer black Givenchy lace dress that exposed plenty of skin. Of course, this is hardly the first time the pop star has shown off her behind: she rocked a similarly risqué ensemble for the 2013 Met Ball’s “Punk: Chaos to Couture” event, and again at the 2015 Grammy Awards.
In her Instagram post, Madonna warned detractors that criticism of the way she dresses is “simply a reflection of your prejudice.”
“I’m not afraid to pave the way for all the girls behind me!!” she wrote. “As Nina Simone once said, the definition of freedom is being fearless. I remain Unapologetic and a Rebel in this life and all the others. Join my fight for Gender Equality!”
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaumGet our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks.
THE speed with which popular protest swept aside long-lasting authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and then Egypt was enough to unnerve autocrats everywhere. In Asia they have watched the tide of heightened democratic aspiration wash across the Middle East and wondered how far it would go. Even in China, the government, ostensibly so confident of the correctness of the path it has chosen, has been wary of the memories events in Cairo might evoke, and of the hopes it might rekindle.
The most complete Asian despotisms—Myanmar and North Korea—may feel immune to people power. They can rely on their isolation, and on the sheer ruthlessness of their repression. In Central Asian dictatorships, closer in geography, culture and religion to the Middle East, the resonance of the recent revolutions may yet be louder. But it is in China that domestic parallels with recent events, above all in Cairo, are on most people's minds.
They are also of the greatest global consequence, not just because of China's own growing importance, but because its rise has led to talk of a “Beijing consensus” in which rapid economic growth matters more than freedom. In 1989, after the Beijing massacre, as communist dominoes began to topple in eastern Europe, China seemed the outlier, bucking an historical trend that would catch up with it one day. Its subsequent success has made that trend—towards greater freedom and democracy—seem less inevitable, and, for some, less desirable. Even Western commentators have conceded that China's system delivers the goods. Chinese officials talk of the unsuitability for their country of “Western-style” democracy. This ignores the Western, Leninist origins of the Communist Party's organisation, and glosses over the crucial “Western” element missing in China—the ability to get rid of unpopular governments without a revolution. That is why revolutions elsewhere are bound to be of compelling interest.
Recollections of the Tiananmen protests were one reason China's censors at first worked so assiduously to curtail discussion of the unrest in Egypt. The script was so familiar to those who had been in Beijing in 1989: the huge demonstrations; the mood of elated mass solidarity and rediscovered patriotism; the camping-out in the capital's main square; the slogans against corruption and arbitrary rule; the belief that the army had sided with the people against their rulers; even the appearance of plain-clothes thugs in support of the regime. This time, however, the story had a happy ending, or at least a climactic, optimistic victory.
The Chinese press has indeed covered Hosni Mubarak's downfall prominently, while noting, in the words of one newspaper, that “Egypt has won a battle, but not the war”. “Any political changes will be meaningless”, argued China Daily, “if the country falls prey to chaos in the end.” Others, however, have drawn a different conclusion from the events that led to a revolution. An editorial on the website of Caixin, a media group, began: “Autocracy manufactures turbulence; democracy brews peace.”
China's own autocrats may feel, however, that for at least three reasons they can shrug off comparisons with Egypt and Tunisia. First is China's record of three decades of stunning economic growth. A survey by the Pew Research Centre last year suggested 87% of Chinese were satisfied with “the way things were going” in their country. Second, even if they were not, no obvious hate figure exists to blame: China's is a dictatorship of a party, not an individual. No long-serving despot is clinging tenaciously to power. In 2002 the Communist Party had its first-ever orderly leadership transition, and has promised another for 2012.
Third is the efficiency of its extensive internal-security apparatus and armed forces, which are subordinate to the Communist Party. But who knows how the security forces would respond if asked to suppress another mass uprising? They were ready to shoot protesters to quell unrest among ethnic Uighurs in Urumqi in Xinjiang in 2009. But even in 1989 the army did not prove wholly reliable—at least one general disobeyed orders to join the advance into Beijing.
A truly confident Communist Party would not have devoted so much effort to patrolling the internet to prevent surfers drawing parallels at home with events overseas. Always twitchy at any hint of instability, it has plenty of reasons to fret. Inflation, which raged in the late 1980s before the Tiananmen protests, is picking up again. The middle classes, often the locomotive of political change, are growing fast. Widespread graduate unemployment among their young is gnawing away at the hopes of those who should be the most optimistic about China's future. And every year sees tens of thousands of protests, many over high-handed land grabs by local authorities.
The latest people-power revolts pose two particular difficulties for China's ideologues. First, they cannot be blamed on the usual suspects, external “black hands”—typically American. Rather, they have been in part anti-American rebellions. As in the Philippines in 1986, South Korea in 1987 and Indonesia in 1998, dictators once cosseted by America have been toppled.
Second, the revolts have lacked both clear ideological aims and coherent organising parties. China's secret police are good at nipping political movements in the bud. But they missed the rise of the Falun Gong sect as a nationwide anti-government force. And despite their firewalls and armies of “harmonising” censors they might struggle to contain a microblog, text-message or social-network revolution. Their efforts to filter news from the Middle East were only partially successful. That may be why they find the news is so unsettling—because the Chinese people might see it not as a recollection of a nightmarish past, but as a vision of a hopeful future.The Hague (AFP) – A revolutionary floating dam that traps plastic bags, bottles and other waste choking the world’s oceans will be tested at sea for the first time in 2016, the Ocean Cleanup foundation said.
“It will be the first time our barrier design will be put to the test in open waters,” the foundation said of the 100 metre-long (62 miles) barrier segment that will be deployed 23 kilometres off the coast of The Netherlands in the second quarter of the year.
Most ocean waste collection programmes use boats to scour the surf for the plastic flotsam and jetsam in which dolphins, seals and other sea creatures become entangled.
Ocean Cleanup’s barrier uses currents to passively ensnare waves of garbage — while allowing fish and other sea creatures through.
The foundation said the goal of the North Sea test, which comes after earlier tests in controlled environments on Dutch lakes, was “to monitor the effects of real-life sea conditions, with a focus on waves and currents”.
Apart from spinning a deadly web for marine life, plastic waste is also ingested by some creatures, with sea turtles, for example, mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish.
The contaminants then enter the food chain, where they are suspected of links to cancer, infertility and other health risks.
By 2020, the Ocean Clean project hopes to have installed a 100-kilometre-long V-shaped floating barrier in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a vortex in the North Pacific where trash collects.
Each arm of the V would consist of a screen three metres deep that blocks waste and directs it to a central point where it can be collected for recycling.Thanks to a series of discoveries made over the past year by the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers, planetary scientists are more confident than ever that the Martian surface probably had abundant water more than three billion years ago. And where there was water, there may also have been life.
But a new study published in the June 15 issue of the journal Icarus argues that liquid water was present on Mars as recently as 210 million years ago, in the form of huge lakes nestled inside glaciers on the flanks of the volcano Arsia Mons.
Such lakes "have been mentioned as a possibility before," said the study's lead author, Kathleen Scanlon, a graduate student at Brown University. "But nobody had looked into it in detail."
Arsia Mons, almost twice the height of Mount Everest, is Mars's third highest mountain. When Scanlon started her studies of the massive, extinct volcano, she wasn't looking for lakes. She was trying to characterize fan-shaped deposits on the mountain's flanks.
The deposits, scientists concluded a decade or so ago, come from long-vanished glaciers grinding against the mountainsides. The glaciers had flourished when the planet's axis tilted more acutely toward the sun, allowing ice to form in what's now an equatorial region, and then vanished about half a million years ago.
Scanlon was examining images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite when she noticed a couple of strange-looking mounds atop the deposits. "They're like thin, flat pancakes," she said, "maybe 150 or 200 meters high, with steep sides." These pancakes would be an important clue.
Lakes and Lava
Scanlon didn't know what might create the odd formations on Arsia Mons, but she did know that the mountain had been volcanically active at the same time that glaciers had covered its slopes. "So I read papers about volcano-ice interactions on Earth," she said.
Similar pancake-like landforms can be created on Earth when a volcano erupts beneath a glacier. Since the erupting material is hot, the ice naturally melts. If the glacier is thick enough, the top of the glacier stays frozen. Lava spreads underneath, forming a thin layer surrounded by water. That water is known as an englacial lake.
When the glacier melts, a solid lava pancake is left behind. Scientists can calculate the size of the lake the hot lava would have created from the size of that pancake: "A wad of lava this big has this much heat," Scanlon said. "You put this much ice around it, you get this much water."
One of the Martian englacial lakes, she calculated, would have been about a third the volume of Lake Tahoe; the other would have been about half that size. Both lakes would have eventually refrozen, in anywhere from a few hundred to about 8,000 years.
Water Does Not Equal Life
Hundreds or even thousands of years probably wouldn't be enough time for life to have arisen from nonliving organic molecules. But any life that may have lived in those lakes need not have gotten its start there, Scanlon noted.
During the period being probed by the Mars rovers, the entire planet was much warmer and wetter than it is now. Life could have originated in that time, and then microbes could have retreated below the surface when the planet dried out starting about three billion years ago. It's possible that those microbes could have colonized the englacial lakes.
"The lakes could have been an oasis," said Scanlon.
The lakes would have had to contain more than just water if they were to have served as such, though. "Water alone won't drive metabolism," said John Priscu, a Montana State University astrobiologist who led the team that found bacteria in a subglacial lake in Antarctica last year. "Where do they get their carbon and energy?" he said. Those are also necessary for life.
Even if these lakes persisted for hundreds or thousands of years, there's absolutely no evidence that bacteria inhabited them. And there's still no evidence yet that life ever existed anywhere on Mars.
But the fact that liquid water was present on the Martian surface billions of years after the planet had mostly dried out is a reminder that this life-sustaining substance can exist in places where nobody would have imagined it a few decades ago—on Jupiter's ice-covered moon Europa, for example, and on Saturn's moon Enceladus. This latest discovery is more good news in the continuing search for extraterrestrial life.For the second consecutive season North Melbourne has achieved an amazing milestone by ticking over 40,000 members.
In 2014 the club set a new record as it reached 40,000 members for the first time in its history. Currently almost 2,000 members ahead of this time last year, a new record looks imminent.
Managing Director and CEO, Carl Dilena said it was a fantastic achievement and something all North Melbourne people should be incredibly proud of.
“It is a real credit to our members and a fantastic reflection of the continued growth of this football club on and off the field,” Dilena said.
“Our loyal members and supporters play a huge part in helping us work towards our ultimate goal, bringing home the fifth premiership for the North Melbourne Football Club.”
Around half of the membership base has committed to being a Roo For Life – a category in which a members’ membership automatically rolls over each year, while the club’s presence in Tasmania continues to go from strength to strength with over 5,000 members signing up from the Apple Isle alone.
"We see Tasmania as an extremely important part of the North Melbourne family, so for our membership to significantly increase again is a fantastic result. This year we’ve again gone a long way towards creating a real home away from home in Hobart,” Dilena added.
Despite being well ahead of this time last year, there are still over 6,000 members from 2014 who are yet to renew. With five home games remaining, plus two additional replacement matches, the club is encouraging fans to jump on board and #getREAL for 2015.
Following this weekend’s match at home against the Sydney Swans, North Melbourne will return to Etihad Stadium in Round 15 as it hosts Geelong on July 11.RayKo Photo Center, one of a kind, could be none of a...
Developing extra-large prints of tree rings at RayKo Photo Center, artist Klea McKenna is racing a late January deadline for an art fair in San Francisco. She also has a March deadline for a museum show in Carmel.
But the biggest deadline she is facing comes in April when RayKo, a one-of-a-kind art gallery, rental studio, bookstore and museum of the camera, may become none of a kind.
RayKo proprietor Stuart Kogod has put the business up for sale after 26 years. If a minimum bid of $200,000 does not appear, he plans an April 30 closing of the facility that is claimed to be the largest public photographic community center in the West and maybe the country. This would shut out any number of working documentary and fine art photographers.
“If RayKo closes it will be devastating for my art practice,” says McKenna, who pays an hourly fee for access to both the private color darkroom and the black-and-white mural room for making prints 6 feet tall.
“I’ve considered leaving San Francisco, and one of the reasons I haven’t is because I have access to this,” says McKenna, 36. “In the last decade, the West Coast has come to be known for material experimentation. I believe that is largely because RayKo is here.”
In an email sent to RayKo’s mailing list of 12,000 photography enthusiasts, Kogod announced: “The operation simply isn’t generating enough income.” He is seeking another benefactor to take his place, and has suggested that it may be better off as a nonprofit.
He is also considering turning RayKo into a cooperative to be owned by some combination of employees and the photo community at large.
“I can’t keep propping it up myself, rather it should stand on its own,” Kogod said in a separate email sent to The Chronicle after a request for comment.
Unlike most arts upheaval in San Francisco, RayKo’s jeopardy is not due to eviction or a rent spike because Kogod also owns the building, a 12,000-square-foot, century-old brick shoe box on Third Street.
The building could be for sale or rent with the business, which includes workshops, classes, digital printing services, both group and private darkrooms, and most prominently the hallway gallery, which is 1,600 square feet.
Gallery Director Ann Jastrab rotates work monthly in what is considered one of the most clever and original exhibition schedules in the Bay Area. This is made evident by the show that may close the place, the 10th Annual International Juried Plastic Camera Show.
“We do a lot of shows to keep film- and darkroom-based processes alive,” says Jastrab.
RayKo hosted the final show of Kodachrome, before the last processing lab closed, in 2010. RayKo has had pinhole photography shows, and shows of quirky documentary projects like Wisconsin Country Tavern League interiors.
Most recently, it hosted an exhibition of 30 vintage Cibachrome prints shot at night by the late Steve Harper, along with members of the San Francisco Nocturnes.
The gallery is open until 10 most nights with couches in front where photographers and viewers are welcome to hang out until the cold gets to them, as the building is unheated.
With its brick exterior painted white with black trim and lettering to evoke an old picture, RayKo is a gritty counterweight to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, just two blocks away. Sandy Phillips, who built the photography program at SFMOMA before retiring as senior curator last year, is among RayKo’s biggest fans.
“It has consistently supported the community of photography in the Bay Area with a fine and ambitious exhibition program and a wonderfully catholic program to support the teaching and making of photographs, including old technologies,” says Phillips. “We would miss it deeply in this community.”
RayKo opened in 1991 as a for-profit business named for Man Ray, and Kogod, a trust funder, arts benefactor, philanthropist and camera tinkerer.
The first location on Polk Street was a small storefront gallery with darkroom for rent |
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This article initially incorrectly stated that Oberlin College had completely severed ties with Adidas. The mistake was corrected and clarified on October 12. Ad Policy
For the first time in Adidas’s history, the German sportswear giant recently lost a contract to produce university apparel over labor rights abuse. Within the last three weeks, Cornell University has decided to sever ties with Adidas for its refusal to pay $1.8 million in stolen severance pay from 2,800 workers who sewed its products at an Indonesian factory called PT Kizone while Oberlin College has removed Adidas from its list of approved manufacturers and will not renew its current contract unless and until Adidas is compliant with Oberlin’s Apparel Purchasing Code of Conduct. Moreover, Wisconsin’s attorney general and Adidas are entangled in a lawsuit after the University of Wisconsin threatened similar action.
Meanwhile, this week, PT Kizone workers rallied in Jakarta to demand Adidas pay the $1.8 million in severance, just hours before three million Indonesian factory workers went on strike to protest sweatshop conditions. Adidas deserves the lion’s share of the blame—the company contracts with 80 factories to produce its apparel and footwear in the country, nearly double Nike’s 44 factories. And back in our hemisphere, Adidas’s two largest suppliers have been the targets of unprecedented worker protest amid death threats, illegal firings to repress union activists, and ever-increasing production quotas for poverty wages.
Take one look at the press around Adidas’s $156 million deal to plaster its logo across the London Olympics, and you’ll see exposé after exposé on sweatshop abuse.
So, what went wrong with Adidas?
In its reckless quest to overtake Nike in the sportswear market, Adidas built a footloose global supply chain to force its factories into cut-throat competition. Adidas has 1,232 contract factories worldwide, producing $17 billion-worth of products annually, while Nike’s 904 factories produce $39 billion in products. Adidas could easily make all its products in far fewer factories; the surplus factories are simply leverage the brand uses to demand lower prices, lower wages, and higher profits.
While Adidas engineers these sweatshop conditions, the brand invests millions of dollars a year to whitewash its image through sophisticated “corporate social responsibility” schemes.
But this time, students and workers are gearing up for their biggest fight yet to force Adidas to accept responsibility for its subcontracted workers. The campaign is spearheaded by United Students Against Sweatshops, the same organization that, in 2009, forced Nike to pay $1.5 million in severance to 1,800 of its formerly subcontracted Honduran workers.
When The Fox Guards the Henhouse
Ever since the mid-1990s, when police found seventy-two Thai garment workers locked inside a factory in El Monte making apparel for department stores, and activists exposed child labor in factories producing Kathie Lee Gifford garments, apparel brands have been scrambling to hide the shameful truth of their business model.
Their response was twofold. First, they created front groups like the Fair Labor Association (FLA), an organization funded by Adidas and other brands to “monitor” apparel production. Second, brands amassed vast CSR departments staffed by hundreds of jargon-peddling communications staffers who crafted elaborate corporate codes of conduct enshrining, in principle, their commitment to workers rights.
But if there’s one thing the global economic crisis has taught us, it’s that corporations cannot be trusted to regulate their own practices. Despite Adidas’ claim that conditions have improved due to its internal audits and “supplier education,” sweatshop conditions have continued unabated throughout its supply chain. In China, the FLA described Apple Foxconn factories as “improving,” shortly before massive worker riots broke out last week, causing the closure of an entire factory. In Pakistan, Social Accountability International, another corporate-funded monitor, gave a clean bill of health to the Ali Enterprises factory just weeks before a tragic factory fire killed nearly 300 workers—one of the largest industrial disasters in the history of capitalism, doubling the death toll of the infamous 1886 triangle shirtwaist fire in New York City.
Who’s Really In Charge?
In response to the failure of corporate self-monitoring to produce any meaningful changes in the apparel industry, students have waged strategic struggles alongside garment worker unions in the global South to directly target apparel brands (i.e. the real bosses of the global apparel industry).
In 2008, Russell Athletic, a Fruit of the Loom subsidiary, shut down a factory called Jerzees de Honduras after workers formed a union and attempted to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement. Upon receiving reports of the closure, students demanded their universities sever ties with the company for blatant union busting. The campaign culminated in over 100 universities dropping Russell—the largest boycott of a single corporation ever.
The campaign forced Russell to the table to negotiate a historic agreement with the CGT Honduran union. The agreement included a commitment to reopen the unionized factory as Jerzees Nuevo Dia, and to allow workers efforts to form unions at all other Russell factories in Honduras, where the company is the largest private employer. This was the biggest victory the anti-sweatshop movement had seen since its inception.
Since the signing of the agreement, Russell and the CGT Hondruan union have continued to make unparalleled strides in protecting the rights of workers who sew collegiate apparel.
Could Adidas be the next Russell?
The timing of Cornell and Oberlin in kicking out Adidas couldn’t be better. Students are waging campaigns against Adidas across the country, including at the University of Wisconsin, where, for more than a year, students have pressured the university to drop its $11 million contract with the company.
But Adidas won’t go down easy. The company knows that paying subcontracted workers the severance they’re owed could set a precedent that gives garment workers an opening to demand respect and dignity from the brand itself. To shirk this responsibility, Adidas has attempted to offer the PT Kizone workers food vouchers, which they have rejected as an insulting substitute for legally-owed severance pay.
Adidas Is All In Sweatshops
The brand’s slogan is “Adidas is all in,” but it’s fairer to say that Adidas is produced all in sweatshops.
Beyond the factory walls of PT Kizone, Adidas has failed to pay severance in at least three more cases in Indonesia, totaling $13.7 million to nearly 12,000 workers. This summer at PT Panarub, Adidas’s main global supplier of soccer cleats, excessive quotas and anti-union repression led to a bloody police crackdown on 2,000 striking workers.
Adidas’s flagrant irresponsibility goes far beyond the borders of Indonesia. In July, Adidas’s biggest supplier in the Western hemisphere, Gildan Activewear, was the subject of simultaneous worker action across four countries. The workers demanded to meet together with Gildan in response to death threats against Honduran union leaders, miscarriages on the factory floor in Haiti, and Gildan propping up fake unions to attack workers’ democratic unions in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. To date, Gildan still refuses to meet jointly with workers’ representatives.
The crisis of compliance in Adidas’ supply chain is systemic, and it’s clear that Adidas’ army of CSR representatives will obstruct accountability every step of the way. That’s why USAS has spent the last 16 years building a movement of students and workers to force Adidas and other brands to accept responsibility for their subcontracted workers across the globe. The only question is: Does Adidas really understand how much is at stake?At the streetcar stop at on the south side of Dundas Street West at Lisgar Street Wednesday morning around 9 a.m., a clump of commuters stood in the blizzard, looking none too hopeful.
A gentleman said, “They’re saying it will be nine minutes. And it will be packed, of course. I am thinking of walking.”
I joined him. As we trudged eastward through the snow, he revealed his destination: the courthouse at 361 University, for jury duty. He is in a jury pool with none other than Councillor Doug Ford. These tales passed the time.
Fifteen blocks later we arrived to Bathurst Street. No streetcar had passed. At each stop we passed, the crowds waiting got larger, and the faces more glum.
Imagine our shock when we saw, sliding down Bathurst Street southbound, a huge, new, fat shiny red streetcar, taunting us with a sign on its door and on its digital display: “Not in service.”
Walking 15 more blocks, I arrived at city hall (streetcars finally caught up with us at McCaul, and passed us at University). I called Brad Ross, the TTC spokesman, about the shiny streetcar sighting.
“We want to see how it functions in the snow,” he says, explaining that we saw a “test vehicle.” “This is real-world conditions.
“The testing is going really well. We are going to have our first production vehicle in March.”
I decided not to whine about my own particular commute. The poor man has enough on his plate.
“We are closing the SRT [Scarborough Rapid Transit] line to clear the tracks, switches and power rail in anticipation of evening rush hour,” he said. “The SRT has never liked the snow.”
On the subways, the TTC is running “storm trains” which spray a de-icing agent on the third rail. “It gets covered with snow and ice,” Mr. Ross explained.
Meanwhile in these conditions the TTC also deploys six “storm streetcars,” which don’t pick up passengers, but carry a special shoe on the trolley pole, “which acts as a cutter or slider,” he explains, to clear the wires of ice and snow. The storm streetcars also clear snow and ice from the switches on the streetcar tracks.
“The buses are a challenge on certain hills,” he adds. “We don’t put snow tires on buses.”
“It’s slow,” sums up Mr. Ross. “We are limited by road conditions. Leave yourself lots of extra time.”
Truer words were never spoken.
National Post
• Email: pkuitenbrouwer@nationalpost.com
| Twitter: @pkuitenbrouwerCult hit Blade Runner has been named the greatest sci-fi film of all time by movie buffs - beating the ever-popular Star Wars.
Ridley Scott's futuristic tale, starring Harrison Ford as android hunter Rick Deckard, triumphed in a poll for Total Film magazine.
The film, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, initially struggled at the box office but went on to be viewed as a classic.
Star Wars finished fifth in the list, while the second film to be made in the series - The Empire Strikes Back - was the most popular in George Lucas's saga, ranked second in the poll.
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey was third, while director Scott had another entry in the top 10 with his chilling Alien placed fourth. The sequel Aliens - made by James Cameron - was seventh.
Just one film from the 21st century - Inception - made the top 10, half of which was made up of movies from the 1980s.
Avatar - the most successful film of all time at the box office - missed out on the top 10, and was placed 11th.
"Once seen and heard, so many scenes from Blade Runner burn into your brain forever. It's sci-fi at its bleakest and most brilliant," said Jamie Graham, deputy editor of Total Film.
The top 10 are as follows:
1 Blade Runner (1982)
2 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
4 Alien (1979)
5 Star Wars (1977)
6 ET: The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
7 Aliens (1986)
8 Inception (2010)
9 The Matrix (1999)
10 The Terminator (1984)
PAIf you’re reading this, chances are your firm has survived the depressing recession of 2008-09. Perhaps your management team was forced to cut shifts or staff or institute work furloughs to weather the storm. Maybe your company was one of many that merged, as when Carlstadt, N.J.-based Unimac Graphics acquired bankrupt TanaSeybert of Manhattan last October. Around that same time, Printing News Editor Toni McQuilken asked if I’d like to write a bimonthly column on offset printing. The first thing I did was check my 2010 commitments via my Microsoft Outlook eCalendar. Not so very long ago, I would have cross-checked a printed Franklin Planner (remember those?), pen in hand.
Print is, in a strange way, like my grandmother-in-law, God rest her soul, but the lady talked about dying for at least 20 years before the inevitable eventually happened, when Gram was in her ripe-old late 80s. Similarly, the pending death of print has been forecasted for at least the past 60 years or so. I heard stories when I worked for R.R. Donnelley about how, as television technology emerged in the 1950s, naysayers said people would not read anymore. Ironically, TV Guide became the largest circulation magazine of its era. In the ’80s, computers changed our world forever and, again, the print medium was doomed by many pundits.
Within Donnelley, a new business unit profited handsomely from the printing of computer documentation. Then, in the 1990s, the Internet blossomed, and it was déjà vu all over again. After about a decade of paranoia, printers realized it didn’t need to be an either/or scenario—they can coexist with the online world.
On Christmas Day, for the first time in history, mega online retailer Amazon.com sold more electronic books than their paper counterparts. (Priced at just under $500, the Kindle eReader was its most-shipped gift item.) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who admits hardly ever reading books in print anymore, believes these single-day tallies may herald the end of printed versions. “No technology, not even one as elegant as the book, lasts forever,” he commented.
Mr. Bezos, Puleez...
Please, with all due respect, Mr. Bezos, save the drama. We’ve heard these claims before, and I haven’t even mentioned the “paperless office” of the future that was due to arrive in Corporate America twenty-something years ago. It must have slipped Bezos’ mind that Amazon-owned online shoe store Zappos.com had 750,000 48-page fashion catalogs printed and mailed just in time for the holidays. Why? Because Web sites supported by catalogs yield 163 percent more revenue than those not supported by catalogs. That’s what a U.S. Postal Service comScore survey revealed. Furthermore, almost every respondent to a study by Key Catalog/Multichannel Issues said that a printed catalog generated online sales. Sixty percent felt catalogs influenced at least half of all online sales, and Web site sales rise 20 to 50 percent after a catalog mail drop.
It’s not news that time and technology are altering print as we knew it, contributing to downward slides in both press run sizes and frequencies. “Today, other content distribution alternatives are shrinking the demand for printed pages,” noted former quick printer turned marketing consultant Mike Stevens. “That’s not good for printers who can’t comprehend the change. But, it creates mind-boggling opportunities … for visionary printers who understand the change and can adapt to it.” Stevens adds, “Print executives must envision themselves as ‘content distributors.’”
Savvy marketers know that using only one medium is far too limiting these days. “Different people respond to different media,” Aaron Magness, director for brand marketing and business development at Zappos, told The New York Times last December. In fact, integrated multimedia in print and online is the way most businesses market effectively today. Direct mail and e-mail/PURL combination campaigns are becoming the norm. Now there’s the added twist of Web 2.0 and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter as well as mobile smart phones powered by 3G and 4G networks.
Newspaper Bailout?
For printed free-standing inserts, the recession’s more value-conscious consumers have driven heavier coupon usage, says Nielsen’s Homescan service. That positive tidbit aside, most news was not good for print in 2009. I won’t waste valuable space on this page redocumenting the myriad newspaper and magazine closings. Consumer magazine ad pages tumbled 25.6 percent last year, according to MPA. We also witnessed the sharpest percentage decline in U.S. ad spending since the Great Depression, reported AdAge.com. Magazines’ share of money spent on advertising is expected to decline faster than any other medium, except for newspapers, over the next 15 months. More open-minded magazine publishers are bending the rules of editorial ethics and selling ad space on their print properties’ front covers, including mainstream titles such as Entertainment Weekly, ESPN the Magazine, Esquire and Us Weekly.
On the flip side, Internet display advertising rose 7 percent in 2009. But Big Brother, in the form of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, may soon start clamping privacy regulations on the Internet frontier, changing the online ad game. As magazines and newspapers grapple with the issue of paid online content, the FTC held a two-day workshop in early December, discussing the latter’s challenges and exploring ways that the government might be able to help preserve the democratic hallmark of a free press. “News is a public good,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. “We should be willing to take action if necessary to preserve the news that is vital to democracy.”
"In the digital printing arena, toner-based and inkjet output has steadily improved over the past 10 years, coupled with ever more sophisticated variable data and variable imaging. Yet, as we usher in the next decade of the new millennium, conventional sheetfed and web-offset presses are churning more efficiently than ever. Progressive companies boast about their new media strategies, but where does that leave good, old-fashioned ink on paper? 'What are we, ‘used media?’” asked one industry source. “I prefer to call it classic media.”
But a magazine column on offset printing? I must be crazy—like a fox!—and look forward to sharing more of my thoughts and hearing yours over the coming months.
See some of the latest equipment and software later this month, Feb. 25-27, at the Graphics of the Americas show in sunny Miami, www.GOA2010.com.
Based near Chicago, Mark Vruno is a business writer who has reported on the commercial print industry for more than 20 years. Most recently, he was executive editor of Graphic Arts Monthly magazine. E-mail him at markvmail@comcast.net. Readers can follow Vruno on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MarkV_Chicago.Pearse Doherty has been elected in the South West Donegal by-election to fill the Dáil seat vacated by MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher
Main Points:
* Pearse Doherty was elected after the fourth count without reaching the quota - with a total number of 13,719 first-preference votes
* Quota of 17,213 was not exceeded
* Labour Party vote lower than expected
19.51 Fine Gael's Barry O'Neill said the people of Donegal South West had sent a strong message to the Government.
19.21 Pearse Doherty has said 'Today's result is a vote for change. It is an endorsement of Sinn Féin's argument that there is a better way.'
18.40 Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty has been elected as TD in the South West Donegal by election
The results of the final count are Pearse Doherty ELECTED (+1,709) 16,897, Brian Ó’Domhall (+433) 8,069, Barry O'Neill (+869) 8,182
18.22 It is being reported the results of the fourth count in the Donegal by-election are due within the next few minutes and that Pearse Doherty is likely to be elected without reaching the quota
18.10 Pearse Doherty has said the success of his campaign is based on people’s support for Sinn Féin’s policies and their opposition to the Government's four-year plan
17.20 The results of the third count are Pearse Doherty (+1452) 15,188, Brian Ó'Domhall (+278) 7,636, Barry O'Neill (+871) 7,313, Thomas Pringle (+272) 3,763
17.15 Pearse Doherty's vote is now 15,188, after the results of the third count. Thomas Pringle’s vote is now being redistributed
15.55 After the second count no candidate has exceeded the quota and next lowest candidate Frank McBrearty’s vote is now being redistributed
The results of the second count are Pearse Doherty (+17) 13,736, Frank McBrearty (+9) 3,375, Brian Ó'Domhall (+4) 7,358, Barry O'Neill (+18) 6,442, Thomas Pringle (+53) 3,491
14.49 Labour’s Frank McBrearty has said he will stand in the next General Election and that the party can elect a TD for the constituency. He said he is disappointed but was happy the party had trebled its vote.
15.20 Results of the first count: The total valid poll = 34,424. The quota = 17,213
Pearse Doherty (13,719), Frank McBrearty (3,366), Brian Ó Domhnaill (7,344), Barry O'Neill (6424), Thomas Pringle (3,488), Ann Sweeney (133).
No one has reached the quota and Ann Sweeney has been excluded. Her votes are being re-distributed
15.03 Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher has admitted that on the basis of the figures today, one Fianna Fáil seat was the most likely prospect in Donegal in next year's General Election
14.44 Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has said Fianna Fáil had put in a good fight and would now begin to get ready for a general election. She said the dynamics of a by-election were different and Sinn Féin had the momentum of the High Court challenge behind it.
14.42 Watch a News Special live now
13.29 Fine Gael's Barry O'Neill said he was not disappointed with his showing but was proud he stood and proud of his performance. He also said he would put himself forward as a candidate in next year’s General Election
13.26 Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty has said he would wait for the official declaration before assuming that he elected as TD for Donegal South West, but it was clear already that the platform and policies put forward by Fianna Fáil have now been rejected
Mr Doherty said the message for An Taoiseach Brian Cowen from the people of Donegal South West was ‘get out of office’
13.23 Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has conceded defeat but said it is still possible for Fianna Fáil to win two seats in the constituency in the General Election next year
13.19 Labour's Joe Costello has denied that the failure of Frank McBrearty to make a serious challenge in Donegal represents the failure of a Labour 'big name' candidate policy
12.33 Should Pearse Doherty win this by-election, the Government's already slim Dáil majority will be reduced to just two.
And that majority is dependent on Independents Jackie Healy-Rae and Michael Lowry continuing their support for the coalition.
12.26 Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has said he is very satisfied with the performance of his candidate in Donegal South West.
Mr Gilmore said Frank McBrearty had trebled the Labour vote, and the party would now build on this and hope to win a seat in the General Election.
12.07 Tallymen estimate that turnout was 56.1%.
12.05 Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has said candidate Pearse Doherty performed so well in the Donegal South West by-election because he was ‘head and shoulders’ above other candidates.
He said the party would not presume the outcome of the ballot until it is officially declared.
Mr Adams said the message appears to be that the Government has to go.
Commenting on the vote Fianna Fáil received, he said regardless of how people voted in Donegal South West the current Government is not capable of leading Ireland out of its current problems.
Mr Adams said the people who voted have taken a stand with Pearse Doherty against the Government.
12.00 Final Tally (which excludes four boxes): Pearse Doherty (SF) 39.7%, Frank McBrearty (Lab) 10.1%, Brian Ó Domhnaill (FF) 21.2%, Barry O'Neill (FG) 18.4%, Thomas Pringle (Ind) 10.1%.
11.50 Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has arrived at the count centre.
The Labour Party says it is happy with the result but there is disappointment within the party that Frank McBrearty did not perform better.
11.38 North-West Correspondent Eileen Magnier says Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been conceding all morning that Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty will take the seat.
Independent Thomas Pringle is expected to be eliminated after the first count.
Fine Gael's Barry O'Neill is likely to take second place in the poll with the help of transfers.
11.29 With 81% of the boxes tallied: Pearse Doherty (SF) 40.1%, Frank McBrearty (Lab) 9.5%, Brian Ó Domhnaill (FF) 21.9%, Barry O'Neill (FG) 18.3%, Thomas Pringle (Ind) 9.9%.
11.16 Tallies: with 100 boxes opened (72% of the votes) Pearse Doherty (SF) 39.5%, Frank McBrearty (Lab) 9.8%, Brian Ó Domhnaill (FF) 21.5%, Barry O'Neill (FG) 18.8%, Thomas Pringle (Ind) 10.1%.
11.00 All the boxes have now been opened and the count staffs are continuing their work. A first count result is not expected until after lunchtime today.
Initial tallies indicate Sinn Féin Senator Pearse Doherty will take the seat.
The Labour Party vote is much lower than expected with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, so far according to tallies, neck and neck.
10.46 Note: Information on the count so far is from tallies, which are indicative and not definitive.
10.37 Tallies: with 63 boxes opened (45% of the votes) Pearse Doherty (SF) 39.4%, Frank McBrearty (Lab) 10.8%, Brian Ó Domhnaill (FF) 20.6%, Barry O'Neill (FG) 20.6%, Thomas Pringle (Ind) 9.7%.
10.27 With 38% of the boxes tallied: Pearse Doherty (SF) 39%, Frank McBrearty (Lab) 10.5%, Brian Ó Domhnaill (FF) 20.3%, Barry O'Neill (FG) 21.3%, Thomas Pringle (Ind) 10.1%.
10.12 With 31 boxes tallied (22.63% of the votes) Pearse Doherty (SF) 37%, Frank McBrearty (Lab) 12.9%, Brian Ó Domhnaill (FF)17.6%, Barry O'Neill (FG) 23%, Thomas Pringle (Ind) 11.3%.
09.48 With just under 10% of ballots tallied: Pearse Doherty (SF) 30.8%, Brian Ó Domhnaill (FF) 19.2%, Barry O'Neill (FG) 25%, Thomas Pringle (Ind) 9%.
A joint tally between parties is being conducted, by lunchtime it will paint a clear picture of how this election is likely to go.
09.00 68 counters have begun opening ballot boxes at the Finn Valley Centre in Stranolar.Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI)
One way Republicans have found of dealing with the bad press and hostility they've faced in public meetings over their highly unpopular budget plan has been what's actually a pretty typical Republican response: censorship. They've clamped down on reporters and citizen journalists, barring them from recording the events.
In Michigan, they've taken it up a notch, courtesy of Tea Party control freaks who not only banned a group of senior citizens and reporters, but called security on them at an event with Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI).
Rep. Justin Amash held a townhall meeting sponsored by a Tea Party group on Saturday sponsored by a Tea Party group, but a group of senior citizens and two reporters — including this one — were denied entry to the event. The traditional purpose of a townhall meeting is for an elected official to meet with his constituents in public, giving the people a chance to ask questions and engage in dialogue with their representatives. But neither the organizers nor Amash apparently wanted to hear from or speak to a group of concerned senior citizens — even at a time when the fate of Medicare is being debated in Congress. About eight senior citizens arrived at the Prince Conference Center on the Calvin College campus for a chance to question Amash concerning his voting record in regards to eliminating Medicare. Once barred from attending the event, the seniors stood out in the parking lot where they were taking questions from this reporter and Tanya Somanader of Think Progress, the two members of the media who were denied access. Eventually, six security guards arrived on the scene and said that both the seniors and the reporters had to leave.
The seniors involved said that they had received telephoned invitations to the meeting, and were under the impression that it was a public town hall. Once turned away, a handful of them stood on the sidewalk outside the venue discussing the event, Amash, and the questions they wanted to ask him. At this point, someone inside sicced security on them. That security team was obviously less than convinced of the threat from these seniors and reporters.
According to security, the people who called them said the seniors had thrown things at the Tea Party organizers.... According to multiple members inside, no objects were ever thrown. When asked, the conference center staff said they did not call security — indicating that the Tea Party asked security to move the constituents away from the building.... Attendees at the event, however, told ThinkProgress they were surprised reporters were not allowed in. One attendee went back inside to inform Amash that reporters were waiting in the lobby. However, according to Tea Party member Paul Meyer, the organization appointed him to keep reporters out, even after the event was over as we were considered a “security issue.” After further questioning, security was summoned for a second time. According to the guards, the call again came from Tea Party organizers. When leaving the event, one attendee stopped to tell ThinkProgress how Amash was a politician of principle. In singing his praises, she told ThinkProgress that “he is a big proponent of transparency.”
ThinkProgress's Tanya Somanader has more
A big proponent of transparency, maybe, but not of opposition or tough questions. Which, again, is the Republican way.Two small jihadist groups based in the Syrian capital of Damascus – Ansar al Sharia and Al Muntasir Billah – have sworn allegiance to Abu Muhammad al Julani, the head of Al Nusrah Front.
A spokesman for the two factions announced their fealty in a short video posted yesterday on one of Al Nusrah’s official Twitter feeds. The fighters appear to be located in the neighborhood of Qabun in northeastern Damascus, where a truce has reportedly kept the rebels from clashing with Bashar al Assad’s forces.
The spokesman (seen above) says the fighters from these two brigades have been fully incorporated into Al Nusrah’s ranks and will fight the Russians, the Rafidhi (or rejectionists, a derogatory term used for Shiites) and the Nusayris (a pejorative used to describe the Alawites in Assad’s regime). Similar to the allegiance videos produced by Al Nusrah’s jihadist rivals in the Islamic State, the fighters swear their loyalty to Julani as they stand in a circle, stacking their hands in a show of unity.
Julani has repeatedly denounced the rebels’ truces with Assad’s government in and around Damascus. In an interview that aired in December, for example, he said the truces are the “first step toward surrender,” because they only serve “the regime at a time when people still have the ability to fight.” Julani claimed the rebels were “still achieving victories and making significant gains,” so they should not compromise with Assad and his allies. He specifically rejected a truce that had been agreed to in the Al Ghouta region on the outskirts of Damascus.
One of the journalists who attended Julani’s small press conference asked him why Al Nusrah was willing to abide by ceasefires elsewhere, including in the predominately Shiite town of Al Fua in the northwestern Idlib province. Julani answered by saying he wouldn’t engage in a discussion of when such truces are religiously acceptable, but he claimed there is a difference between locations far away from Damascus and territory near the capital. He specifically referred to Zabadani in southwestern Syria, near the border with Lebanon. Sunnis, including extremists, have been under siege in Zabadani. And Al Nusrah’s ally, Ahrar al Sham, helped negotiate temporary ceasefires in Zabadani that were linked to the fighting in Al Fua and elsewhere.
In Oct. 2015, Al Nusrah, Ahrar al Sham and a third group, Ajnad al Sham, created a joint operations room named Jund al Malahim (“Soldiers of the Epics”) to combine their military efforts in the countryside of Damascus.
Al Nusrah has earned the loyalty of a number of groups since late last year. In Sept. and Oct. 2015, the following organizations all officially joined Al Nusrah: Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar (JMWA, or “the Army of the Emigrants and Helpers”), Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad (a predominately Uzbek organization), and Crimean Jamaat (comprised mainly of Crimean Tartars and other Russian-speaking militants).
Earlier this month, one dozen religious and military officials in Jund al Aqsa, another al Qaeda-linked group, also decided to join Al Nusrah.
The allegiances offered by Ansar al Sharia and Al Muntasir Billah are the latest garnered by Al Nusrah. And they may signal that the al Qaeda branch plans on launching a new wave of operations in Damascus. Such attacks would be consistent with Julani’s rejection of any truces in or near the capital.
Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.
Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.NEW DELHI: A directive issued by the Delhi Police top brass asking all personnel including SHOs to get on WhatsApp has not only ensured better coordination but is also helping them solve murder cases.The latest breakthrough came on early Tuesday when the Connaught Place police cracked the murder of a Sashastra Seema Bal soldier within 30 minutes by circulating CCTV grabs and videos amongst themselves on the mobile app.Selvaraj, who was posted at Kashmir border and hailed from Kerala, had gone home on a 30-day annual leave and was returning to his unit, 48th battalion. He got off a train at New Delhi railway station and took an auto to board a connecting train to Kashmir which was to depart from Old Delhi railway station, joint commissioner of police (New Delhi) Mukesh Meena said.When his auto reached Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg in Connaught Place, Selvaraj stopped to buy a bottle of beer. It was around midnight. An inebriated man asked him to buy alcohol for him as well and this irked Selvaraj. He got into an argument which soon turned into a scuffle. The man whipped out an ice pick and stabbed Selvaraj. One of his strikes punctured Selvaraj’s heart.A passerby informed police and SHO (CP) Mukesh Walia rushed to the spot with his team. Acting swiftly, Walia began to analyse CCTV footage from nearby shops. Eyewitnesses identified the killer from the footage.Police circulated the video and images of the suspect to all beat officers in the area. A WhatsApp group was also formed wherein they began to share physical details of the suspect. Messages were flashed on wireless and patrol officers began to scan the entire area. Within half an hour, two of the beat officers detained three of the suspects and interrogated them at length. One of them turned out to be the killer. Police found the murder weapon. An FIR for murder was registered.Special commissioner of police (law and order) Deepak Mishra has appreciated the team’s efforts. It was Mishra who had issued the directive last August giving all SHOs and policemen two week’s time to use WhatsApp for investigation and communication purposes. “Using technology has always borne fruit. We have asked all |
can forget this massive, egg-scrambling hit on Henrik Sedin during the opening round of the playoffs:
Sitting eight overall in total points with 567, difference-making hitting and having the singular distinction of being the first Kings player to lift a Stanley Cup elevates Brown to 10th on the list of greatest Kings players.
#9: Butch Goring
Goring’s career with the Kings is largely forgotten because it was with a generally-unsuccessful franchise and ended over thirty years ago, later overshadowed by four Cups with the Islanders. However, the unassuming forward had had 275 goals and 659 points in 736 games for Los Angeles, earning the little-known nickname “seed” when he played with the team. Why? “It was short for seedy,” said Rogie Vachon, the team’s general manager back in 1985. Goring was almost obsessively utilitarian, one time spilling spaghetti sauce on his sweater and the showing up the next night wearing the same sweater — turned backwards, so that the stain was in the back — for dinner. During his Kings career, he won the Bill Masterson and Lady Byng trophies, and with the Islanders, the Conn Smythe trophy in 1980-81.
Fifth in goals, sixth in total points, games played and assists, Goring definitely earned his place on the Kings’ all-time greatest players list.
#8: Bernie Nicholls
Nicholls amassed 328 goals and 758 points in 602 games with Los Angeles, including an incredible 1988-89 campaign where he tallied 70 goals and 150 points, finishing second and fourth in the league in those categories, respectively. He earned two All Star trips while with the Kings and, like Goring, played at his best in big games and during the postseason. A good interview with him can be read here.
With his prolific statistics and flamboyant “Pumper-Nicholl” windmill celebration after a goal, Nicholls was truly one of the greatest Kings players to ever don the sweater.
#7: Anze Kopitar
Only his relatively-brief Kings’ career keeps him from moving higher on this list. Still just 25 years of age, Kopitar was the highest-drafted player ever from Slovenia, likely slipping to 11th in the 2005 draft solely due to the unknowns of being from that country. Kopitar has 163 goals and 434 points in 475 games, all with Los Angeles. He has played in two NHL All-Star games (2008, 2011) and seems destined to participate in quite a few more. Like Brown, Kopitar is elevated on this list because he was able to lift that big, shiny trophy high overhead.
Who can forget this fantastic OT goal to beat the Devils in game one of the Stanley Cup finals?
Size, strength and reach are just three of the qualities Kopitar possesses that make him one of the brightest young stars in the NHL today.
#6: Rogation Vachon
Jonathan Quick is fast moving up the ladder, but the king of Kings’ goaltenders is Rogie Vachon, who played in a vastly different era of the NHL and yet still managed a 2.24 G.A.A. in 1974-75. He had 171 wins while in Los Angeles, 40 more than the hard-charging Quick. He later became the team’s General Manager.
Rogie was the first star goaltender to play in Los Angeles and has a legacy that has yet to be fully eclipsed.
#5: Rob Blake
Booooooo! For years, Kings fans lustily booed Blake, pinning the villain tag on him for his tearing the ‘C’ off his sweater and subsequent forced trade to Colorado in 2001 following a contract dispute. However, everyone over the age of ten knows the impact Blake had on the game, and all Kings fans are well aware of his prolific statistics while in L.A.: 161 goals, 494 points in 805 games, ranking seventh in total points while playing for the Kings. He was also fourth in PIMs. Love him or hate him, his talent and record while with Los Angeles cannot be denied.
If you like bone-crunching hits, the following is a compilation of some of Blake’s best:
Drew Doughty may yet get there eventually, but the best defenseman ever to play in Los Angeles was Rob Blake, who earned a solid ranking on this top-ten list.
#4: Dave Taylor
It’s always refreshing to see a player start and finish their career with one team. Such is the case with Dave Taylor, one-third of the prolific “Triple Crown Line” that skated together from 1979-1984. Taylor played the most games in team history (1,111) and was third in goals (431), third in points (1,069) and second in PIMs (1,589). Like Vachon, he also became General Manager for L.A. and laid the groundwork for their eventual Cup run.
You can debate the position, but certainly not the inclusion of Taylor on this list.
#3: Wayne Gretzky
Frankly, I wrestled with whether or not Taylor belonged ahead of Gretzky, but the sheer magnitude of the shock wave it sent through the NHL — and subsequent Finals run five years later — earns The Great One the slight nod. Statistically, of course, nobody really compared to Gretzky, who registered 918 points in 539 games in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the Kings never repeated the relative success of the 1992-93 campaign, finishing out of the playoffs the following four years even with Gretzky still in tow for three of them.
Gretzky put the Kings on the map, and his record was certainly good enough for a top-three ranking on this list.
#2: Luc Robitaille
First in team goals with 557 and second in points (1,154), Luc is amongst the most popular all-time Kings’ players, and remains with the organization today. A garbage goal opportunist extraordinaire, Robitaille retired as the top-scoring left winger in NHL history. He topped 30 goals a remarkable twelve times, reaching 63 in 1992-93. As a long-time Kings fan, nothing thrilled me more than seeing Robitaille’s name etched on the Cup this year as a member of the Kings.
There isn’t a person alive who knows hockey that wouldn’t put Robitaille near the very top of any all-time Kings list.
#1: Marcel Dionne
Sure, the Kings have had more than their share of bad trades, but man, this one practically balances the scales all by itself in one fell swoop. The Kings traded Terry Harper, Dan Maloney and a second round pick for Dionne, who went on to play nearly twelve full seasons in L.A., amassing 550 goals and 1,307 points in 921 games. Just 5’8″ and 185″ during his playing days, he nevertheless triggered the Triple Crown Line and routinely finished with 40+ goals and 100+ points, leading the league with 137 points in 1979-80. Dionne got to play in preciously-few playoff games, but managed 21 goals and 45 points in 49 of them, all but six with the Kings.
Dionne richly deserves a #1 ranking on any all-time Kings list.
Honorable mention (in no particular order): Jim Fox, Jonathan Quick, Charlie Simmer, Bob Berry, Charlie Simmer, Lubomir Visnovsky, Alexander Frolov, Ziggy Palffy, Marty McSorley, Mike Murphy.
* written by Walter McLaughlin“So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy.” - ACLU Founder Roger Baldwin
In a recent blog post, Sandra Fulton of the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) Washington Legislative Office, described the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) as the "biggest threat to free speech and intellectual property that you’ve never heard of." In her post, she reminds readers that the USTR is not only pushing for TPP and its proposed changes to intellectual property law, it is doing its best to avoid Congressional oversight. For instance, the USTR has recently rebuffed a request from the staff director on the Senate Finance Committee's International Trade Subcommittee to review documents pertaining to the negotiations. Senator Ron Wyden, Chairman of the Subcommittee, wrote:
[M]y office is responsible for conducting oversight over the USTR and trade negotiations. To do that, I asked that my staff obtain the proper security credentials to view the information that USTR keeps confidential and secret. This is material that fully describes what the USTR is seeking in the TPP talks on behalf of the American people and on behalf of Congress. More than two months after receiving the proper security credentials, my staff is still barred from viewing the details of the proposals that USTR is advancing.
We decided to speak to Sandra Fulton and Gabe Rottman of the ACLU to learn more about the role the ACLU is playing in the fight for an open and transparent TPP negotiation process.
EFF: How does TPP relate to the ACLU's agenda on digital freedoms?
ACLU: The TPP relates to the ACLU’s agenda of protecting free speech and privacy online, open government principles and ultimately protecting the Internet as the most open and innovative platform the world has seen. While strong regulations are necessary to protect IP and promote innovation online, these must be crafted carefully and in a fully transparent fashion. We are concerned that an overly broad policy to crackdown on copyright infringement would allow for the takedown of non-infringing content as well, in violation of the First Amendment, which was the same concern presented by SOPA and PIPA. We also have strong concerns over any provision that would create legal incentives for ISPs to step up surveillance of Internet communications in search of suspected copyright infringement, which would potentially endanger the privacy of users. We also believe that whole site takedowns pose serious due process concerns.
EFF: No one in the public has had access to the official TPP text. So what do you expect from the US government in regard to the TPP negotiation process moving forward?
ACLU: First of all, we do not believe domestic IP law can or should be changed through international agreements. While the administration insists TPP will not change substantive US law, we are concerned that this will not be the case. Signing the agreement could make it unnecessarily more difficult for Congress to update copyright laws while staying compliant with new international obligations.
If negotiations of an international treaty that could affect domestic enforcement of IP law are to continue they must proceed in an open and fully transparent fashion. All negotiations must take place in a way where all interested parties, including those representing civil society, are able to participate.
EFF: International treaties do impact citizens’ freedoms. How can citizens engage in the process? How can ACLU help?
ACLU: Citizens can contact their members of Congress directly to demand Congressional oversight of the TPP, and can lobby the Office of the US Trade Representative. The ACLU will be following the issue to keep our membership up to date and we will also be attending the meeting in Virginia to discuss our concerns with negotiators and other stakeholders.
EFF: Any final thoughts on TPP?
ACLU: We are very concerned with the President circumventing constitutional checks and balances by wrongly asserting fast track authority in order to negotiate the agreement without Congressional oversight.
---
We applaud the ACLU for joining EFF and other civil society organizations in this battle against the lack of transparency in TPP negotiations and the agreement's restrictive IP provisions.
~
Join EFF and more than 25,000 people in sending a message to Congress members to demand an end to these secret backdoor negotiations:The latest Rob da Bank and friends show gives us the 40 “best” dubstep tunes. Kinda like a beginners guide to dubstep. The show is hosted by Rob himself and the mighty Rusko. Tons of wicked tunes that make you realize how great dubstep really is. And they play my all time fave dubstep song “Digital Mystikz – ‘Anti War Dub’ (Dmz)”
Check out other Rob da Bank shows here and dubstep mixes here. Subscribe to the feed to get good music in the future. Hotfile download up for now, let me know if Rapidshare is needed.
Rob da Bank and friends 2009-06-22 with Rusko – 40 best dubstep tunes [Hotfile download]
Tracklist:
Horsepower Productions – ‘Classic Deluxe’ (Tempa)
Oris Jay/Darqwan – ‘Said The Spider’ (Texture)
El-B –‘Amazon’ (Tempa)
Search And Destroy – ‘Candyfloss’ (Hotflush)
Scuba – ‘Braille Diving’ (Hotflush)
Toasty – ‘The Knowledge (Vexd Remix)’ (Hotflush)
Kode 9 – ‘9 Samurai’ (Hyperdub)
Burial – ‘Archangel’ (Hyperdub) (Guardian And Smoking)
Rusko –‘Woo Boost’ (Mad Decent)
Lwiz – ‘Girl From Codiene City’ (Dub Police)
Skream – ‘Midnight Request Line’ (Tempa)
Digital Mystikz – ‘Anti War Dub’ (Dmz)
Pinch – ‘Qwaali’ (Planet Mu)
Trg – ‘Broken Heart (Martyn Mix)’ (Hessle Audio)
Martyn – ‘Vancouver’ (3024)
The Bug And Warrior Queen – ‘Poison Dart’ (Ninja Tune)
Tc – ‘Wheres My Money (Caspa Remix)’ (Dstyle)
D1 – ‘Im Lovin’ (Ammunition)
Tes La Rock Ft Uncle Sam – ‘Round The World Girls’ (Argon)
Ramadanman – ‘Every Next Day’ (Box Of Dub)
Plastician – ‘Japan’ (Terrorhythm)
Shackleton – ‘The Rope Tightners’ (Skull Disco)
Cotti And Cluekid- ‘Under Mi Sensi Dub’ (Drugs Ref)
Benga And Coki – ‘Night’ (Tempa)
Loefah – ‘Mud’ (Dmz)
The Others – ‘Africa’ (Dub Police
Joker – ‘Hollybrook Park’ (Kapsise)
Vex’d – ‘Pop Pop’ (Planet Mu)
Headhunter – ‘Sushi Brain’ (Tempa)
Zomby – ‘One Spliff A Day’ (Hyperdub)
2562 – ‘Kameleon’ (Hyperdub)
Jakes – ‘3kout’ (Hench)
Matty G – ‘50, 000 Watts’ (Argon)
Reso – ‘Metal Slug’
Distance – ‘Fallen’ (Boka)
Boxcutter – ‘Brood’ (Planet Mu)
Dz – ‘Down’ (True Tiger)
24 – ‘Kromestar’ (Kalawanji)
Movado – ‘Gangsta 4 Life (Coki Remix)’ (White Label)
25 – Quest – Forever (Dub Police)Though still in its infancy, his career as a stealth ambassador for brands across the consumer spectrum owes a lot to the broad appeal he projects as a hooked-up and yet wholesome cool kid, said John Jannuzzi, the United States deputy editor of Twitter Moments: “He represents a life a lot of people want, and that’s important to advertisers. I wish I was that kid.”
To Patrick Finnegan, a 20-year-old consultant who specializes in linking luxury brands with Generation Z, the relative modesty of Mr. Sabbat’s online metrics is far outweighed by the fervid attention his followers pay to his every move. “He might not have 30 million on social, or whatever,” Mr. Finnegan said. “But the influence he carries is enormous because, if you look at every post, there are thousands of ‘likes.’”
What’s more, Mr. Finnegan said: “He’s young, he’s biracial, he’s straight but hangs out with gay and trans people, and he’s friends with designers and rappers. A young generation that looks up to his lifestyle wants to know everything about him, from what he buys to what he wears to what he eats.”
On a chilly, damp afternoon, Mr. Sabbat is ordering but not eating. Slouched in a chair in the lobby of the Mercer hotel, he seems cozy and at ease. “This is, like, one of my favorite places,” he said. “I’m here at least four times a week.”
Although it is just 1 o’clock, he has already had several business meetings and, with each, the sort of nourishment — a plate of madeleines, a slab of chocolate cake — you might favor if you were a lanky 18-year-old.
A sushi roll and bowl of fried calamari sit untouched on a side table. When a server offers to take a drinks order, the young man — who smokes a pack a day (“I’m totally against it,’’ his father said); often ends his evenings at the Up & Down club on West 14th Street; refers to the owner of Cipriani as his “homie”; and counts Kanye West, Jaden Smith and Ian Connor among his friends — replies, “I’ll have some ice water, please.”In an official statement issued today, the IRS announced that it has shut down an online service to obtain tax records after determining that "unusual activity had taken place on the application, which indicates that unauthorized third parties had access to some accounts on the transcript application." An initial review of that activity revealed "access was gained to more than 100,000 accounts through the Get Transcript application," according to the IRS statement.
After the IRS disclosed more information, it became clear the user data was not obtained because of a direct hack of government systems. Rather, weak authentication used by the IRS to protect access to taxpayer data is likely at fault. The attackers were able to acquire taxpayer records using stolen personal identifying information, possibly pulled from online financial fraud marketplaces.
The Get Transcript application, a feature of the IRS' site that allows taxpayers to download tax return and tax payment transaction data, was apparently targeted by financial fraudsters between February and mid-May. The service was shut down last week as the IRS investigated the activity, which may have been linked to the fraudulent filing of tax returns and transfer of tax refunds. Attempts were made to access over 200,000 accounts; roughly half failed because of incorrect information inputted during the IRS' authentication process.
The Get Transcript Online feature of IRS.gov allows taxpayers to get "tax account transactions, line-by-line tax return information, or wage and income reported to us for a specific tax year." To obtain a transcript online, all that was needed to start the process was a Social Security number and an active e-mail address. Once the e-mail address was confirmed as legitimate, the system would then ask a number of questions about personal, financial, and tax information—including date of birth, tax filing status, and address—before providing the transcript for download.
This sort of authentication, called knowledge-based authentication, is highly vulnerable to fraud. It's based on information that never changes, and such data is widely available to anyone willing to pay for it from stolen financial information marketplaces. The transcripts that were fraudulently downloaded were likely made accessible due to leaked Social Security numbers and other personal data from any one of the many recent data breaches, including those at health insurers Anthem and CareFirst. In fact, security reporter Brian Krebs reported on the risks inherent in the IRS' transcript request system way back in March. He warned taxpayers to sign up for accounts on IRS.gov if only to prevent someone from creating a fraudulent account for their records first.
Krebs reported on a specific case involving a man who had tried to file taxes online, only to find out that someone had filed using his personal information before him. The attacker then used the victim's information to get a refund direct deposit. "When he tried to get a transcript of the fraudulent return using the 'Get Transcript' function on IRS.gov, he learned that someone had already registered through the IRS’s site using his Social Security number and an unknown e-mail address," Krebs reported. The fraudulent return had been filed through the IRS's own free tax filing site.
In the case outlined by Krebs, the false return was sent to the bank account of a college student who had "answered a Craigslist ad for moneymaking opportunities." She sent much of the money via Western Union to addresses in Nigeria while retaining some for her services. The student claimed she was unaware of anything illegal.
Today's disclosed data breach did not involve the circumvention of any of the IRS' core security systems, an IRS spokesperson noted in the agency's statement.. "The IRS notes this issue does not involve its main computer system that handles tax filing submission; that system remains secure."
However, that information may be of little comfort to the approximately 100,000 taxpayers whose data is now in the hands of the financial fraud marketplace. The same goes for the other 100,000 or so individuals whose SSNs were used in an attempt to access their tax records. The IRS will be "sending a letter to all of the approximately 200,000 taxpayers whose accounts had attempted unauthorized accesses, notifying them that third parties appear to have had access to taxpayer Social Security numbers and additional personal financial information from a non-IRS source before attempting to access the IRS transcript application," the agency said in its statement.
Those whose records were accessed will be offered free credit monitoring "to ensure this information isn’t being used through other financial avenues," the IRS statement noted. Additionally, the affected taxpayers' records will be monitored for fraud for the current and 2016 tax reporting periods. The IRS "is marking the underlying taxpayer accounts on our core processing system to flag for potential identity theft to protect taxpayers going forward—both right now and in 2016," according to the official statement.How can we cast aside the security of correctness, the logic of a proof, and adopt a new way of thinking, where answers are good enough but not certain, and where many processors work together in parallel without quite knowing the states that the others are in? We may need some amount of synchronization, but how much? Or better yet, how little? What mental tools and linguistic devices can we give programmers to help them adapt to this challenge?
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the first workshop on Relaxing Synchronization for Multicore and Manycore Scalability (also known as “RACES'12” ), which drew concurrency researchers from across academia and industry. The topic was somewhat controversial, quoting from the call for participation The workshop's presenters expressed a number of views on this matter.One group of talks covered applications using approximate methods, where the approximations might be due to inaccuracies in the input data, convergence criteria in iterative algorithms, use of discrete rather than continuous time intervals, and so on. The key point was that all of these applications maintained an error budget, and that this budget could just as well include a component for errors due to weak synchronization—or even due to entirely omitted synchronization. Applications included the Barnes-Hutt gravitational multi-body solver (Martin Rinard); kmeans clustering and breadth-first search of large graphs (Ravi Nair et al.), and web-based analytics (Michael Carbin et al.). Of course, synchronization-free numerical algorithms have been around for some decades for dense arrays, but these talks used more complex data structures. The talks were quite interesting, though I would have liked to see more consistent comparisons against unsynchronized single-threaded implementation. After all, eliminating synchronization does not necessarily eliminate synchronization overhead in the form of communications cache misses. It nevertheless felt quite good to see people taking even more aggressive approaches to parallelism than I normally take. ;-)There was considerable discussion as to when inaccuracy do to relaxed synchronization could be tolerated. Martin Rinard pointed out that the relaxed Barnes-Hutt program actually provided greater accuracy than did some of the more heavily synchronized variants, but the fact that the unsynchronized version could omit objects completely caused some consternation. Of course, Barnes-Hutt's use of centroids to represent large groups of bodies is inherently approximate in any case: Reasonable accuracy is achieved only when the ratio of the distances to the nearest object in the group and to the centroid of that group is reasonably close to 1.0. Doug Lea eventually closed this discussion by suggesting that: (1) Any algorithm willing to tolerate the approximations inherent in floating-point arithmetic should also be willing to tolerate the approximations inherent in relaxed or omitted synchronization, but that (2) algorithms using exact computations might wish to think twice before omitting quite so much synchronization. I suspect that important future work will include classifying what sorts of errors and non-determinism are acceptable in a given situation.Hans-J. Boehm's talk on the evils of data races exposed a sharp difference in the definition of “data race”. A common definition is “at least two concurrent unsynchronized accesses, at least one of which is a write,” but it turned out that there was little agreement on what constitutes “unsynchronized.” Martin Rinard argued that a synchronized access should involve locking, atomic instructions, or at the very least a memory barrier, while Hans asserted that as long as the developer informed the compiler that the memory location in question was subject to concurrent conflicting accesses, the corresponding accesses were in fact synchronized. Hans's version of the definition has the interesting property that exactly the same assembly code might be omitted for a data-race-free program as for the analogous program having data races, but on the other hand, Hans's definition allows Martin to write his racy algorithms in C++11 without having to drop into assembly language. I doubt that these two groups will come to agreement on this point any time soon, but such is life in computing. Therefore, if someone talks to you about data races, you would be wise to ask them exactly what definition they are using.The next presentation examined the meaning of “FIFO” in concurrent systems. Andreas Haas et al. noted that the usual definitions of “perfect FIFO queues” used ``linearization points'' that are not visible to the caller, who can really only observe when the enqueue and dequeue operation begin and end. The authors therefore measured the deviation of the order in the queue from the order in which the enqueue operations began. They found that even strict FIFO-ordered queues suffered significant misordering. Interestingly enough, queues designed to emphasize performance over ordering actually produced more strongly ordered results than did the “perfect FIFO” queues, mainly because the shorter durations of the enqueue and dequeue operation exposed less opportunity for misordering. I found this to be the most interesting talk, as it gave yet another reason why it is a bad idea to push your parallel application's entire data set through a single queue.Philip Howard presented a talk on relativistic programming, which sparked a debate as to whether such techniques were actually usable in practice. I eventually squelched the debate by pointing out that this technique is heavily used in the Linux kernel. Trey Cain discussed hardware techniques for gaining more performance and scalability from weakly ordered hardware, David Ungar raised the question of whether increased scalability and throughput always implied degraded latency, and Max Orhai presented on parallel sort on a spatial computer, that is a computer whose computing elements are arranged in a linear array or a two-dimensional grid. Finally, Sasa Misailovic discussed a system that automatically removed synchronization from a program and the tested the degree of inaccuracy that this removal introduced. I am not so sure I would want to bet my life on a program produced by Sasa's system, but random removal of synchronization does sound like a good way to evaluate the effectiveness of test/validation suites for parallel programs.My presentation made the claim that parallel programming could in fact be learned by large groups of people ( paper presentation ). In keeping with most of the other presentations, this claim proved to be somewhat controversial.All in all, this was an interesting and worthwhile workshop, and I look forward to similar gatherings in the future.Barcelona striker Lionel Messi admits he is still agonising over the penalty he missed in the Champions League semi-final, second leg against Chelsea.
The 25-year-old's miss from the spot was a crucial moment as Chelsea sealed a final place at Barca's expense.
The Spanish side were also pipped to the La Liga title by Real Madrid.
"I am still hurting from losing the semi-final against Chelsea with the penalty I missed, and La Liga with the defeat to Madrid at Nou Camp," he said.
"They are both thorns in our side. But last season is now history.
"It's a fresh start for us all. We have to prepare ourselves as best we can for what will be a tough season.
"I hope we can get back to winning everything again."
Chelsea won the Champions League semi-final 3-2 over two legs with Fernando Torres' last-minute strike making it 2-2 at the Nou Camp, after Messi had struck the bar from the spot with the scores level on aggregate.
Barca finished nine points behind Real Madrid in the Spanish top division, having lost to them 2-1 (only the third defeat of their league campaign) late in the season.
Messi scored an unprecedented 73 times in all competitions but the Argentine now plans to priorities trophies ahead of goals, insisting he is not interested in bettering his scoring record, only improving his team play.
LIONEL MESSI FACTFILE Born in Rosaria, Argentina on 24 June 1987
Messi has scored 250 goals in just 320 games for Barcelona
He scored 73 goals for his club last year, a world record
Made his international debut on 17 August 2005 against Hungary and has scored 26 times for Argentina since
Has won five La Ligas and the Champions League three times with Barcelona
Has growth hormone deficiency and agreed to sign for Barcelona as a 13-year-old after they promised to pay his medical bills
"I'm not looking to beat my tally of goals, that is not my objective," he claimed.
"I want to try and develop as a player and to give more to the team.
"I hope I still have margin to continue improving. My objective is to win more titles."
Messi has won the and hopes that if he does not claim it again in January, it is given to one of his Barcelona team-mates instead.
"There's a long time to go before they announce a winner," he added.
"We don't even know who's nominated yet. What I do hope is that it stays in the Barca squad. And the more Barca nominees, the better.
"Xavi and Iniesta deserve the award because of all they achieved at the Euros."If students can be made to feel comfortable with uncertainty -- if they’re learning in an environment where ambiguity is welcome and they are encouraged to question facts -- then they are more apt to be curious and innovative in their thinking.
Approaching knowledge this way is difficult for students and teachers, however, because ambiguity spurs unpleasant feelings. Indeed, studies show that the typical response to uncertainty is a rush for resolution, often prematurely, and heightened emotions.
“Our minds crave closure, but when we latch onto it prematurely we miss beautiful and important moments along the way,” Holmes said, including the opportunity to explore new ideas or consider novel interpretations. And teachers have additional challenges in presenting facts as fluid: appearing less than certain about their field of expertise can feel risky in a classroom of merciless teenagers.
But teachers who hope to inspire curiosity in their students, and to encourage tolerance for ambiguity, can take steps to introduce uncertainty into the classroom. Holmes offers several recommendations.
Address the emotional impact of uncertainty. “The emotions of learning are surprise, awe, interest and confusion,” Holmes said. But because confusion provokes discomfort, it should be discussed by teachers to help students handle the inevitable disquiet. “Students have to grow comfortable not just with the idea that failure is a part of innovation, but with the idea that confusion is, too,” Holmes writes. Teachers can help students cope with these feelings by acknowledging their emotional response and encouraging them to view ambiguity as a learning opportunity.
Assign projects that provoke uncertainty. One way to help students grow more comfortable with confusion is to assign projects that are likely to flummox them. Holmes identifies three techniques for doing so: inviting students to find mistakes; asking them to present arguments for alien viewpoints; and providing assignments that students will fail. “The best assignments should make students make mistakes, be confused and feel uncertain," he said.
Adopt a non-authoritarian teaching style to encourage exploration, challenge and revision. Teachers who instruct with a sense of humanity, curiosity and an appreciation for mystery are more apt to engage students in learning, Holmes explained. “Those with an outlook of authority and certainty don’t invite students in,” he said. Also, when teachers present themselves as experts imparting wisdom, students get the mistaken idea that subjects are closed. “Teachers should help students find ways to think and learn,” he said. “The best teachers are in awe of their subjects."
Emphasize the current topics of debate in a field. To give students a clearer sense of the mutability of facts, discuss the ongoing debates among academics and others on some “settled” subjects. Sharing what researchers, historians and theorists are arguing about now makes clear that questioning and challenging facts are what drive discovery.
Invite guest speakers to share the mysteries they’re exploring. In his class on ignorance, Columbia professor Firestein welcomes scientists across a spectrum of fields to talk about the unknowns they’re investigating. Chemists, statisticians, zoologists and others share with students the ambiguities that excite them, opening students’ minds to the vast unknowns waiting to be examined.
Show how the process of discovery is often messy and non-linear. Rather than present breakthroughs as the logical result of a long trek toward understanding, teachers can share with students how discoveries are often made: through trial and error, missteps, happy accidents and chance. Firestein describes scientific discovery as “groping and probing and poking, and some bumbling and bungling, and then a switch is discovered, often by accident, and the light is lit.” All the poking around in the unknown, he adds, is what makes science exhilarating.
How Could This Look At Home?
When Mollie Cueva-Dabkoski was growing up, her mother took her to the library every week to read stories together. When the storytelling ended, her mother asked questions that challenged the narrative and pressed Mollie to reconsider the protagonist’s motives, or to rethink the gender norms.
“She pushed me to question the world around me,” Cueva-Dabkoski said.
Cueva-Dabkoski, however, was troubled by all that she didn’t know. Raised by a single mother in San Francisco, and educated at an underfunded public school nearby, she worried that her ignorance about all manner of subjects would interfere with her ability to perform at college. Cueva-Dabkoski had always been curious and driven, but she doubted whether she possessed sufficient intellectual tools.
Awareness of the gaps in her knowledge spurs Cueva-Dabkoski to learn. So, she decided, “I taught myself how to be a critical thinker.” Today, she’s a junior at Johns Hopkins University, majoring in sociology and public health.Lansdowne Street, which sits in the shadow of Fenway Park and fills with fans and sausage vendors as the first pitch approaches, will be closed to vehicle traffic during Red Sox games, under a plan designed by the Boston Police to deter the kind of truck attacks that have rocked European cities over the last year.
Beginning with Monday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, police said they plan to use concrete Jersey barriers to block off the street, calling the steps a precaution and not a response to a specific threat against the iconic ballpark. With Yawkey Way and Van Ness Street already closed during games, police will have sealed off much of the traffic from the roadways that surround the park, save for small sections of Brookline Avenue and Ipswich Street. The closure would likely begin two hours before the game and end when the crowds have dissipated.
“We’re doing what we can and taking simple measures to ensure the safety of the neighborhood on game day,” said Officer Rachel McGuire, a Boston police spokeswoman. “Hopefully, it will act as a deterrent.”
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Several business owners expressed confidence that the closure would not crimp commerce on the street, which they said relies more on foot traffic from fans who walk or use public transit. Even now, they said, few cars attempt to drive down the congested street during games.
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But as with all changes involving traffic in Boston, the shift touched off some grumbling.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Eileen Duggan, a Duxbury resident who was walking on Lansdowne on Thursday, on her way to a doctor’s appointment. “I can see closing the street to parking, but not to cars trying to get through. It’s already hard enough to get around.”
Duggan’s husband, Paul, agreed that closing the street to traffic seemed heavy-handed.
“You can’t live your life in fear,” he said.
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The move comes after multiple attacks across Europe revealed how vulnerable large crowds are to low-tech assaults by terrorists driving trucks.
In July, a man driving a cargo truck down a waterfront promenade in Nice, France, killed more than 80 people who had gathered to watch Bastille Day fireworks. In December, a truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin killed 12. In March, an attacker drove into pedestrians and stabbed a police officer near Parliament in London. And earlier this month, a man plowed a truck into pedestrians on a busy Stockholm street, killing four.
Given that history, closing Lansdowne when it is jammed with pedestrians makes sense, said Ryan Jones, a manager at Game On, which sits on the corner of Lansdowne and Brookline Avenue, and the Bleacher Bar, located on the street.
“With a lot of what’s going on in the world today, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to have cars driving down a street with thousands of people on it,” he said. “It’s a precaution and it needs to be done.”
David Littlefield, also known as the Sausage Guy, said closing the street to traffic could actually help him sling more links from his food cart on Lansdowne. Many people, he said, already assume the street |
organizing coordinating and directing active support for the Los Angeles Football Club.”
– The 3252Contracts for Oct. 19, 2017
CONTRACTS
NAVY
Sodexo Management Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, is being awarded $120,078,063 for fixed-price modification P00092 under previously awarded firm-fixed price, incentive and award fee provisions contract M00027-11-C-0003 in support of the Marine Corps Regional Garrison Food Services Program. This modification increases the cumulative value of the contract to $882,089,075. Work will be performed in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (48.91 percent); Parris Island, South Carolina (35 percent); Quantico, Virginia (6 percent); Cherry Point, North Carolina (6 percent); Beaufort, South Carolina (2.5 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (0.97 percent); Norfolk, Virginia (0.46 percent); and Bogue, North Carolina (0.16 percent). Work is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2018. Fiscal 2018 1105 subsistence-in-kind funds in the amount of $120,078,063 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Installation Command, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Sodexo Management Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, is being awarded $117,025,170 for fixed-price modification P00087 under a previously awarded firm-fixed price, incentive and award fee provisions contract M00027-11-C-0001 in support of the Marine Corps Regional Garrison Food Services Program. This modification increases the basic value of the contract to $805,479,197. Work will be performed in Camp Pendleton, California (49.76 percent); San Diego, California (22.25 percent); Twentynine Palms, California (15.48 percent); Miramar, California (6.49 percent); Yuma, Arizona (4.56 percent); and Bridgeport, California (1.46 percent). Work is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2018. Fiscal 2018 1105 subsistence-in-kind funds in the amount of $117,025,170 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Marine Corps Installation Command, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Resource Management Concepts Inc.,* Lexington Park, Maryland, is being awarded a $40,027,914 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide laboratory operation and maintenance services in support of the Naval Air Warfare Aircraft Division’s Simulation Division. Services to be provided include facilities operation and maintenance services, and information technology support for the AIR-5.4.3 Simulation Division. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (97 percent); and various locations throughout U.S. (3 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2021. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals as a small business set-aside; three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-18-D-0008).
Logistics Management Institute, Tysons, Virginia, is being awarded $12,308,251 for modification P00001 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract M95494-18-F-0033 for facility planning and geospatial information and services data management support for the implementation of the Marine Corps Infrastructure Reset Strategy. This contract includes four one-year option periods, which, if exercised, could bring the cumulative value of this contract to $46,052,619. Work will be performed at Marine Corps Installations worldwide, including: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (17 percent); Camp Pendleton, California (17 percent); Camp Butler, Japan (17 percent); Quantico, Virginia (8 percent); Arlington, Virginia (5 percent); Cherry Point, North Carolina (5 percent); Beaufort, South Carolina (5 percent); Iwakuni, Japan (5 percent); Twentynine Palms, California (4 percent); Yuma, Arizona (4 percent); Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Hawaii (4 percent); Miramar, California (3 percent); and various places below one percent (6 percent). Work is expected to be completed Oct. 22, 2018. If all options are exercised, work will continue through Oct. 22, 2022. Fiscal 2018 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $12,308,251 will be obligated at the time of award, and will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively solicited with proposals via General Services Administration One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services, with three offers received. The Marine Corps Installations Command, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY
Torch Technologies Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, is being awarded an $86,239,493 competitive cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. Under this new contract, the contractor will provide digital representation of adversary missiles and flight test targets common across all Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) programs to support BMDS development efforts, testing events, and assessment activities; assistance for test analysis and reporting of the BMDS; quantitative assessment of risk at the functional, program, and integrated system level; and assistance to the Corporate Lethality Program's mission to assure the effectiveness of the BMDS to negate a ballistic missile threat. The work will be performed in the National Capital Region; Dahlgren, Virginia; Huntsville, Alabama; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and, other continental U.S. and outside the continental U.S. sites with an estimated completion date of September 2022. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities website with two proposals received. Fiscal 2017 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $815,641 are being obligated at time of award. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0147-18-C-0001).
AIR FORCE
TechTrans International Inc., Houston, Texas, has been awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide for Multi-Country Cessna 208 aircraft maintenance training in support of Air Force Security Assistance Training Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. Work will be performed in Houston, Texas; and at various locations outside the continental U.S., and is expected to be complete by Oct. 18, 2021. This contract involves foreign military sales for various international country customers. This award is the result of a full and open competitive acquisition with four offers received. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $2,500 will be obligated at the time of award. The 338th Specialized Contracting Squadron, JB San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3002-18-D-0001).
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, California, has been awarded a $40,766,512 modification (P00007) for the development of the Raptor rocket propulsion system prototype for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. Work will be performed at NASA Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Hawthorne, California; McGregor, Texas; and Los Angeles Air Force Base, California; and is expected to be complete by April 30, 2018. Fiscal 2017 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $40,766,512 are being obligated at the time of award. The Launch Systems Enterprise Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, California, is the contracting activity (FA8811-16-9-0001).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Oakes Farms Distribution and Food Services LLC,* Naples, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $40,000,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruits and vegetables. This is a 60-month contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. Location of performance is Florida, with an Oct. 18, 2022, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and U.S. Department of Agriculture schools. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 through fiscal 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-18-D-P316).
Contitech USA Inc., Fairlawn, Ohio, has been awarded a $13,447,681 firm-fixed-price contract for M88 track assemblies. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1). This is a one-year base contract with a one-year option period, which was exercised at time of award. Location of performance is Ohio, with a Jan. 16, 2019, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-18-C-0016).
UNICOR/Federal Prison Industries, Washington, District of Columbia, has been awarded a maximum $12,564,000 modification (P00007) exercising the second one-year option of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-16-D-1008) with two one-year option periods for Army physical fitness jackets. The modification brings the maximum dollar value of the contract to $36,854,000 from $24,390,000. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Locations of performance are Virginia, Florida, Arizona, and Washington, District of Columbia, with an Oct. 29, 2018, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 through fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Excel Manufacturing Corp.,** El Paso, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $8,790,860 modification (P00121) exercising the fourth one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPM1C1-14-D-1006) with four one-year option periods for various types of coats and trousers. The modification brings the maximum dollar value of the contract to $34,111,503 from $25,320,643. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Texas, with an April 22, 2019, estimated performance completion date. Using customers are the Air Force and the Afghanistan government. Types of appropriation are fiscal 2018 through 2019 defense working capital and foreign military sales funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
ARMY
LS Black Constructors Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota, has been awarded a $13,454,400 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of an annual training and mobilization dining facility at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Bids were solicited via the Internet with three received. Work will be performed in Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2018. Fiscal 2014 and 2017 military construction funds in the amount of $13,454,400 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-18-C-0002).
Birdon America Inc.,* Denver, Colorado, has been awarded an $11,773,238 modification (P00040) to contract W56HZV-14-C-0015 for 18 bridge erection boats and crew protections kits. Work will be performed in Denver, Colorado; and Wichita, Kansas, with an estimated completion date of March 11, 2019. Fiscal 2016 and 2017 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $11,773,238 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity.
*Small business
**Small disadvantaged, woman-owned business in a historically underutilized business zoneMiscellaneous ''The Project'' - The Islamic plan of conquest nobody paid attention to Loading... Loading...
Of course, in 2005, FrontPage Magazine was not widely known and had no Facebook page, and mainstream media was not interested at all.
So here it is, what the West should have been aware of, but wasn't:
One might be led to think that if international law enforcement authorities and Western intelligence agencies had discovered a twenty-year old document revealing a top-secret plan developed by the oldest Islamist organization with one of the most extensive terror networks in the world to launch a program of “cultural invasion” and eventual conquest of the West that virtually mirrors the tactics used by Islamists for more than two decades, that such news would scream from headlines published on the front pages and above the fold of the New York Times, Washington Post, London Times, Le Monde, Bild, and La Repubblica.
If that’s what you might think, you would be wrong.
In fact, such a document was recovered in a raid by Swiss authorities in November 2001, two months after the horror of 9/11. Since that time information about this document, known in counterterrorism circles as “The Project”, and discussion regarding its content has been limited to the top-secret world of Western intelligence communities.
Only through the work of an intrepid Swiss journalist, Sylvain Besson of Le Temps, and his book published in October 2005 in France, La conquête de l'Occident: Le projet secret des Islamistes (The Conquest of the West: The Islamists' Secret Project), has information regarding The Project finally been made public. One Western official cited by Besson has described The Project as “a totalitarian ideology of infiltration which represents, in the end, the greatest danger for European societies.”
What Western intelligence authorities know about The Project begins with the raid of a luxurious villa in Campione, Switzerland on November 7, 2001. The target of the raid was Youssef Nada, director of the Al-Taqwa Bank of Lugano, who has had active association with the Muslim Brotherhood for more than 50 years and who admitted to being one of the organization’s international leaders. The Muslim Brotherhood, regarded as the oldest and one of the most important Islamist movements in the world, was founded by Hasan al-Banna in 1928 and dedicated to the credo, “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”
The raid was conducted by Swiss law enforcement at the request of the White House in the initial crackdown on terrorist finances in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. US and Swiss investigators had been looking at Al-Taqwa’s involvement in money laundering and funding a wide range of Islamic terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, HAMAS (the Palestinian affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood), the Algerian GIA, and the Tunisian Ennahdah.
Included in the documents seized during the raid of Nada’s Swiss villa was a 14-page plan written in Arabic and dated December 1, 1982, which outlines a 12-point strategy to “establish an Islamic government on earth” – identified as The Project. According to testimony given to Swiss authorities by Nada, the unsigned document was prepared by “Islamic researchers” associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
What makes The Project so different from the standard “Death of America! Death to Israel!” and “Establish the global caliphate!” Islamist rhetoric is that it represents a flexible, multi-phased, long-term approach to the “cultural invasion” of the West. Calling for the utilization of various tactics, ranging from immigration, infiltration, surveillance, propaganda, protest, deception, political legitimacy and terrorism, The Project has served for more than two decades as the Muslim Brotherhood “master plan”. As can be seen in a number of examples throughout Europe – including the political recognition of parallel Islamist government organizations in Sweden, the recent “cartoon” jihad in Denmark, the Parisian car-burning intifada last November, and the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London – the plan outlined in The Project has been overwhelmingly successful.
Rather than focusing on terrorism as the sole method of group action, as is the case with Al-Qaeda, in perfect postmodern fashion the use of terror falls into a multiplicity of options available to progressively infiltrate, confront, and eventually establish Islamic domination over the West.
The following tactics and techniques are among the many recommendations made in The Project:
- Networking and coordinating actions between likeminded Islamist organizations;
- Avoiding open alliances with known terrorist organizations and individuals to maintain the appearance of “moderation”;
- Infiltrating and taking over existing Muslim organizations to realign them towards the Muslim Brotherhood’s collective goals;
- Using deception to mask the intended goals of Islamist actions, as long as it doesn’t conflict with shari’a law;
- Avoiding social conflicts with Westerners locally, nationally or globally, that might damage the long-term ability to expand the Islamist powerbase in the West or provoke a lash back against Muslims;
- Establishing financial networks to fund the work of conversion of the West, including the support of full-time administrators and workers;
- Conducting surveillance, obtaining data, and establishing collection and data storage capabilities;
- Putting into place a watchdog system for monitoring Western media to warn Muslims of “international plots fomented against them”;
- Cultivating an Islamist intellectual community, including the establishment of think-tanks and advocacy groups, and publishing “academic” studies, to legitimize Islamist positions and to chronicle the history of Islamist movements;
- Developing a comprehensive 100-year plan to advance Islamist ideology throughout the world;
- Balancing international objectives with local flexibility;
- Building extensive social networks of schools, hospitals and charitable organizations dedicated to Islamist ideals so that contact with the movement for Muslims in the West is constant;
- Involving ideologically committed Muslims in democratically-elected institutions on all levels in the West, including government, NGOs, private organizations and labor unions;
- Instrumentally using existing Western institutions until they can be converted and put into service of Islam;
- Drafting Islamic constitutions, laws and policies for eventual implementation;
- Avoiding conflict within the Islamist movements on all levels, including the development of processes for conflict resolution;
- Instituting alliances with Western “progressive” organizations that share similar goals;
- Creating autonomous “security forces” to protect Muslims in the West;
- Inflaming violence and keeping Muslims living in the West “in a jihad frame of mind”;
- Supporting jihad movements across the Muslim world through preaching, propaganda, personnel, funding, and technical and operational support;
- Making the Palestinian cause a global wedge issue for Muslims;
- Adopting the total liberation of Palestine from Israel and the creation of an Islamic state as a keystone in the plan for global Islamic domination;
- Instigating a constant campaign to incite hatred by Muslims against Jews and rejecting any discussions of conciliation or coexistence with them;
- Actively creating jihad terror cells within Palestine;
- Linking the terrorist activities in Palestine with the global terror movement;
Collecting sufficient funds to indefinitely perpetuate and support jihad around the world;
In reading The Project, it should be kept in mind that it was drafted in 1982 when current tensions and terrorist activities in the Middle East were still very nascent. In many respects, The Project is extremely prescient for outlining the bulk of Islamist action, whether by “moderate” Islamist organizations or outright terror groups, over the past two decades.
At present, most of what is publicly known about The Project is the result of Sylvain Besson’s investigative work, including his book and a related article published last October in the Swiss daily, Le Temps, L'islamisme à la conquête du monde (Islamism and the Conquest of the World), profiling his book, which is only available in a French-language edition. At least one Egyptian newspaper, Al-Mussawar, published the entire Arabic text of The Project last November.
In the English-language press, the attention paid to Besson’s revelation of The Project has been almost non-existent. The only mention found in a mainstream media publication in the US has been as a secondary item in an article in the Weekly Standard (February 20, 2006) by Olivier Guitta, The Cartoon Jihad. The most extensive commentary on The Project has been by an American researcher and journalist living in London, Scott Burgess, who has posted his analysis of the document on his blog, The Daily Ablution. Along with his commentary, an English translation of the French text of The Project was serialized in December (Parts I, II, III, IV, V, Conclusion). The complete English translation prepared by Mr. Burgess is presented in its entirety here with his permission.
The lack of public discussion about The Project notwithstanding, the document and the plan it outlines has been the subject of considerable discussion amongst the Western intelligence agencies. One US counterterrorism official who spoke with Besson about The Project, and who is cited in Guitta’s Weekly Standard article, is current White House terrorism czar, Juan Zarate. Calling The Project a Muslim Brotherhood master plan for “spreading their political ideology,” Zarate expressed concerns to Besson because “the Muslim Brotherhood is a group that worries us not because it deals with philosophical or ideological ideas but because it defends the use of violence against civilians.”
One renowned international scholar of Islamist movements who also spoke with Besson, Reuven Paz, talked about The Project in its historical context:
The Project was part of the charter of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was official established on July 29, 1982. It reflects a vast plan which was revived in the 1960s, with the immigration of Brotherhood intellectuals, principally Syrian and Egyptians, into Europe.
As Paz notes, The Project was drafted by the Muslim Brotherhood as part of its rechartering process in 1982, a time that marks an upswing in its organizational expansion internationally, as well as a turning point in the alternating periods of repression and toleration by the Egyptian government. In 1952, the organization played a critical support role to the Free Officers Movement led by Gamal Abdul Nasser, which overthrew King Faruq, but quickly fell out of favor with the new revolutionary regime because of Nasser’s refusal to follow the Muslim Brotherhood’s call to institute an ideologically committed Islamic state. At various times since the July Revolution in 1952, the Brotherhood has regularly been banned and its leaders killed and imprisoned by Egyptian authorities.
Since it was rechartered in 1982, the Muslim Brotherhood has spread its network across the Middle East, Europe, and even America. At home in Egypt, parliamentary elections in 2005 saw the Muslim Brotherhood winning 20 percent of the available legislative seats, comprising the largest opposition party block. Its Palestinian affiliate, known to the world as HAMAS, recently gained control of the Palestinian Authority after elections secured for them 74 of 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Its Syrian branch has historically been the largest organized group opposing the Assad regime, and the organization also has affiliates in Jordan, Sudan, and Iraq. In the US, the Muslim Brotherhood is primarily represented by the Muslim American Society (MAS).
Since its formation, the Muslim Brotherhood has advocated the use of terrorism as a means of advancing its agenda of global Islamic domination. But as the largest popular radical movement in the Islamic world, it has attracted many leading Islamist intellectuals. Included among this group of Muslim Brotherhood intellectuals is Youssef Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born, Qatar-based Islamist cleric.
As one of the leading Muslim Brotherhood spiritual figures and radical Islamic preachers (who has his own weekly program on Al-Jazeera), Qaradawi has been one of the leading apologists of suicide bombings in Israel and terrorism against Western interests in the Middle East. Both Sylvain Besson and Scott Burgess provide extensive comparisons between Qaradawi’s publication, Priorities of the Islamic Movement in the Coming Phase, published in 1990, and The Project, which predates Qaradawi’s Priorities by eight years. They note the striking similarities in the language used and the plans and methods both documents advocate. It is speculated that The Project was either used by Qaradawi as a template for his own work, or that he had a hand in its drafting in 1982. Perhaps coincidentally, Qaradawi was the fourth largest shareholder in the Al-Taqwa Bank of Lugano, the director of which, Youssef Nada, was the individual in whose possession The Project was found. Since 1999, Qaradawi has been banned from entering the US as a result of his connections to terrorist organizations and his outspoken advocacy of terrorism.
For those who have read The Project, what is most troubling is not that Islamists have developed a plan for global dominance; it has been assumed by experts that Islamist organizations and terrorist groups have been operating off an agreed-upon set of general principles, networks and methodology. What is startling is how effectively the Islamist plan for conquest outlined in The Project has been implemented by Muslims in the West for more than two decades. Equally troubling is the ideology that lies behind the plan: inciting hatred and violence against Jewish populations around the world; the deliberate co-opting and subversion of Western public and private institutions; its recommendation of a policy of deliberate escalating confrontation by Muslims living in the West against their neighbors and fellow-citizens; the acceptance of terrorism as a legitimate option for achieving their ends and the inevitable reality of jihad against non-Muslims; and its ultimate goal of forcibly instituting the Islamic rule of the caliphate by shari’a in the West, and eventually the whole world.
If the experience over the past quarter of a century seen in Europe and the US is any indication, the “Islamic researchers” who drafted The Project more than two decades ago must be pleased to see their long-term plan to conquer the West and to see the Green flag of Islam raised over its citizens realized so rapidly, efficiently and completely. If Islamists are equally successful in the years to come, Westerners ought to enjoy their personal and political freedoms while they last.
To read the English translation of The Project,
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More Articles We were warned about the current situation way back in 2005, when FrontPage Magazine wrote about "The project," an Islamic plot to take over the world.Of course, in 2005, FrontPage Magazine was not widely known and had no Facebook page, and mainstream media was not interested at all.So here it is, what the West should have been aware of, but wasn't:One might be led to think that if international law enforcement authorities and Western intelligence agencies had discovered a twenty-year old document revealing a top-secret plan developed by the oldest Islamist organization with one of the most extensive terror networks in the world to launch a program of “cultural invasion” and eventual conquest of the West that virtually mirrors the tactics used by Islamists for more than two decades, that such news would scream from headlines published on the front pages and above the fold of the New York Times, Washington Post, London Times, Le Monde, Bild, and La Repubblica.If that’s what you might think, you would be wrong.In fact, such a document was recovered in a raid by Swiss authorities in November 2001, two months after the horror of 9/11. Since that time information about this document, known in counterterrorism circles as “The Project”, and discussion regarding its content has been limited to the top-secret world of Western intelligence communities.Only through the work of an intrepid Swiss journalist, Sylvain Besson of Le Temps, and his book published in October 2005 in France, La conquête de l'Occident: Le projet secret des Islamistes (The Conquest of the West: The Islamists' Secret Project), has information regarding The Project finally been made public. One Western official cited by Besson has described The Project as “a totalitarian ideology of infiltration which represents, in the end, the greatest danger for European societies.”What Western intelligence authorities know about The Project begins with the raid of a luxurious villa in Campione, Switzerland on November 7, 2001. The target of the raid was Youssef Nada, director of the Al-Taqwa Bank of Lugano, who has had active association with the Muslim Brotherhood for more than 50 years and who admitted to being one of the organization’s international leaders. The Muslim Brotherhood, regarded as the oldest and one of the most important Islamist movements in the world, was founded by Hasan al-Banna in 1928 and dedicated to the credo, “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”The raid was conducted by Swiss law enforcement at the request of the White House in the initial crackdown on terrorist finances in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. US and Swiss investigators had been looking at Al-Taqwa’s involvement in money laundering and funding a wide range of Islamic terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, HAMAS (the Palestinian affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood), the Algerian GIA, and the Tunisian Ennahdah.Included in the documents seized during the raid of Nada’s Swiss villa was a 14-page plan written in Arabic and dated December 1, 1982, which outlines a 12-point strategy to “establish an Islamic government on earth” – identified as The Project. According to testimony given to Swiss authorities by Nada, the unsigned document was prepared by “Islamic researchers” associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.What makes The Project so different from the standard “Death of America! Death to Israel!” and “Establish the global caliphate!” Islamist rhetoric is that it represents a flexible, multi-phased, long-term approach to the “cultural invasion” of the West. Calling for the utilization of various tactics, ranging from immigration, infiltration, surveillance, propaganda, protest, deception, political legitimacy and terrorism, The Project has served for more than two decades as the Muslim Brotherhood “master plan”. As can be seen in a number of examples throughout Europe – including the political recognition of parallel Islamist government organizations in Sweden, the recent “cartoon” jihad in Denmark, the Parisian car-burning intifada last November, and the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London – the plan outlined in The Project has been overwhelmingly successful.Rather than focusing on terrorism as the sole method of group action, as is the case with Al-Qaeda, in perfect postmodern fashion the use of terror falls into a multiplicity of options available to progressively infiltrate, confront, and eventually establish Islamic domination over the West.The following tactics and techniques are among the many recommendations made in The Project:In reading The Project, it should be kept in mind that it was drafted in 1982 when current tensions and terrorist activities in the Middle East were still very nascent. In many respects, The Project is extremely prescient for outlining the bulk of Islamist action, whether by “moderate” Islamist organizations or outright terror groups, over the past two decades.At present, most of what is publicly known about The Project is the result of Sylvain Besson’s investigative work, including his book and a related article published last October in the Swiss daily, Le Temps, L'islamisme à la conquête du monde (Islamism and the Conquest of the World), profiling his book, which is only available in a French-language edition. At least one Egyptian newspaper, Al-Mussawar, published the entire Arabic text of The Project last November.In the English-language press, the attention paid to Besson’s revelation of The Project has been almost non-existent. The only mention found in a mainstream media publication in the US has been as a secondary item in an article in the Weekly Standard (February 20, 2006) by Olivier Guitta, The Cartoon Jihad. The most extensive commentary on The Project has been by an American researcher and journalist living in London, Scott Burgess, who has posted his analysis of the document on his blog, The Daily Ablution. Along with his commentary, an English translation of the French text of The Project was serialized in December (Parts I, II, III, IV, V, Conclusion). The complete English translation prepared by Mr. Burgess is presented in its entirety here with his permission.The lack of public discussion about The Project notwithstanding, the document and the plan it outlines has been the subject of considerable discussion amongst the Western intelligence agencies. One US counterterrorism official who spoke with Besson about The Project, and who is cited in Guitta’s Weekly Standard article, is current White House terrorism czar, Juan Zarate. Calling The Project a Muslim Brotherhood master plan for “spreading their political ideology,” Zarate expressed concerns to Besson because “the Muslim Brotherhood is a group that worries us not because it deals with philosophical or ideological ideas but because it defends the use of violence against civilians.”One renowned international scholar of Islamist movements who also spoke with Besson, Reuven Paz, talked about The Project in its historical context:The Project was part of the charter of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was official established on July 29, 1982. It reflects a vast plan which was revived in the 1960s, with the immigration of Brotherhood intellectuals, principally Syrian and Egyptians, into Europe.As Paz notes, The Project was drafted by the Muslim Brotherhood as part of its rechartering process in 1982, a time that marks an upswing in its organizational expansion internationally, as well as a turning point in the alternating periods of repression and toleration by the Egyptian government. In 1952, the organization played a critical support role to the Free Officers Movement led by Gamal Abdul Nasser, which overthrew King Faruq, but quickly fell out of favor with the new revolutionary regime because of Nasser’s refusal to follow the Muslim Brotherhood’s call to institute an ideologically committed Islamic state. At various times since the July Revolution in 1952, the Brotherhood has regularly been banned and its leaders killed and imprisoned by Egyptian authorities.Since it was rechartered in 1982, the Muslim Brotherhood has spread its network across the Middle East, Europe, and even America. At home in Egypt, parliamentary elections in 2005 saw the Muslim Brotherhood winning 20 percent of the available legislative seats, comprising the largest opposition party block. Its Palestinian affiliate, known to the world as HAMAS, recently gained control of the Palestinian Authority after elections secured for them 74 of 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Its Syrian branch has historically been the largest organized group opposing the Assad regime, and the organization also has affiliates in Jordan, Sudan, and Iraq. In the US, the Muslim Brotherhood is primarily represented by the Muslim American Society (MAS).Since its formation, the Muslim Brotherhood has advocated the use of terrorism as a means of advancing its agenda of global Islamic domination. But as the largest popular radical movement in the Islamic world, it has attracted many leading Islamist intellectuals. Included among this group of Muslim Brotherhood intellectuals is Youssef Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born, Qatar-based Islamist cleric.As one of the leading Muslim Brotherhood spiritual figures and radical Islamic preachers (who has his own weekly program on Al-Jazeera), Qaradawi has been one of the leading apologists of suicide bombings in Israel and terrorism against Western interests in the Middle East. Both Sylvain Besson and Scott Burgess provide extensive comparisons between Qaradawi’s publication, Priorities of the Islamic Movement in the Coming Phase, published in 1990, and The Project, which predates Qaradawi’s Priorities by eight years. They note the striking similarities in the language used and the plans and methods both documents advocate. It is speculated that The Project was either used by Qaradawi as a template for his own work, or that he had a hand in its drafting in 1982. Perhaps coincidentally, Qaradawi was the fourth largest shareholder in the Al-Taqwa Bank of Lugano, the director of which, Youssef Nada, was the individual in whose possession The Project was found. Since 1999, Qaradawi has been banned from entering the US as a result of his connections to terrorist organizations and his outspoken advocacy of terrorism.For those who have read The Project, what is most troubling is not that Islamists have developed a plan for global dominance; it has been assumed by experts that Islamist organizations and terrorist groups have been operating off an agreed-upon set of general principles, networks and methodology. What is startling is how effectively the Islamist plan for conquest outlined in The Project has been implemented by Muslims in the West for more than two decades. Equally troubling is the ideology that lies behind the plan: inciting hatred and violence against Jewish populations around the world; the deliberate co-opting and subversion of Western public and private institutions; its recommendation of a policy of deliberate escalating confrontation by Muslims living in the West against their neighbors and fellow-citizens; the acceptance of terrorism as a legitimate option for achieving their ends and the inevitable reality of jihad against non-Muslims; and its ultimate goal of forcibly instituting the Islamic rule of the caliphate by shari’a in the West, and eventually the whole world.If the experience over the past quarter of a century seen in Europe and the US is any indication, the “Islamic researchers” who drafted The Project more than two decades ago must be pleased to see their long-term plan to conquer the West and to see the Green flag of Islam raised over its citizens realized so rapidly, efficiently and completely. If Islamists are equally successful in the years to come, Westerners ought to enjoy their personal and political freedoms while they last.To read the English translation of The Project, click here Comment below. Items by the same author Austrian newspaper: It's time to discuss whether Islam should be banned in Europe The pistol disguised as a cell phone
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Is the EU prepared for Erdogan opening the gates?
After halt in negotiations with the |
However, as we argue below, both directions of bi-variate causation would in fact be theoretically plausible, thus making it valuable for future studies to test for direct causal relationships (e.g., by providing interventions for social anxiety and observing any effects on face recognition performance; or by training face recognition and observing any effects on social anxiety). First, we consider the hypothesis that poor face recognition leads to social anxiety. The plausibility of this idea comes primarily from the self-reports of individuals with prosopagnosia. Many of these reports make it clear that not only do many suffer social stress, but that they attribute this directly to their inability to identify other people, particularly in large group settings, or where a person is met out of context (e.g. [14]). In fact, it has been proposed [14] that developmental prosopagnosia is a risk factor for the development of certain aspects of social anxiety disorder (those pertaining to anxiety about social interaction rather than performance). As noted in [14], the risk of social anxiety disorder is likely to be mediated by personality and social circumstances. It is also of interest to note that a tendency to withdraw from social situations appears to precede the development of anxiety disorders [39]. Difficulty recognising faces may be one reason to avoid social situations. Second, regarding the hypothesis that higher social anxiety leads to poorer face recognition, a plausible chain of causality in this direction can also be constructed. This is that (a) high social anxiety causes less exposure to faces (because individuals choose to interact with fewer others) and/or lack of appropriate attention to faces (because individuals concentrating on their own anxiety in the social setting may pay less attention to the faces of others, even when others are present, e.g., see [4]) and/or the appropriate parts of a face, such as the eyes (e.g., [40] for data with social phobics); and then (b) this lack of exposure/attention, especially over a prolonged period or in the course of childhood, leads to poor development of perceptual face processing skills needed to distinguish individuals. The idea that lack of attention to faces could lead to face recognition difficulties has been proposed in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) [41]–[43]. Finally, causality may be present that is bi-directional across development. Given that it seems equally plausible that poor face recognition could lead to social anxiety, and that social anxiety could lead to poor face recognition, it is possible that both of these factors operate across the course of childhood. For example, a young child with initially poor face recognition might find social interaction more difficult than other children, leading to the beginnings of social anxiety, which in turn leads to avoidance of social situations and/or lack of attention to faces, which leads to failure to show normal developmental improvement in face recognition, which leads back to increased social anxiety, and so on (see [44] for a discussion of causal modeling in developmental disorders). Conclusion Despite the traditional focus on face expression in psychosocial research, it is more recently becoming clear that face identity recognition is also important. Previous individual differences studies have shown that identity recognition is associated with extraversion-intraversion [45], [46], and with empathy [47], and our present study has extended the relationship with social factors to social anxiety. Researchers and clinicians treating social anxiety have not traditionally considered that a basic perceptual skill like face recognition could be a contributing factor for social difficulties in some individuals. Our results suggest that it may be valuable to do so.
Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: JMD EM RP. Performed the experiments: JMD KBO HD. Analyzed the data: JMD EM HD ROK RP. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: EM RP. Wrote the paper: JMD EM HD KBO ROK RP.A few days ago I had the idea to set up two factor authentication on my OpenVPN remote user VPN implementation. I did some research and found that the code that Google used to build Google Authenticator (which provides two factor auth for Google accounts) is open source and available on a SVN repository.
Google provides a Google Authenticator app for many mobile platforms including:
Android, iOS and Blackberry
The application looks like this:
So are you interested so far? Good! Lets get started with setting up the application on our CentOS servers (I’m using 5.5 by the way).
Unfortunately we need to install a newer mercurial version than what is available by default on the CentOS yum repository. This means that we will need to download and compile it ourselves instead of using yum.
You can see the Mercurial Version requirements here:
http://code.google.com/p/google-authenticator/wiki/MercurialVersion
Before we compile mercurial we need to install several packages that we will need during this adventure. During this tutorial I assume that you are using centOS with a i386 architecture, if you aren’t make sure you edit the package names accordingly.
We will need the following packages for mercurial:
Docutils
Subversion
We will also need the following packages to compile google-authenticator:
Gcc
Python-devel
Pam.i386
Pam-devel.i386
So lets start having fun!
First we need to download and compile docutils ourselves because it’s not available on the default centOS yum repository: wget http://softlayer.dl.sourceforge.net/project/docutils/docutils/0.8.1/docutils-0.8.1.tar.gz tar -xvf docutils-0.8.1.tar.gz cd docutils-0.8.1 python setup.py install After we installed docutils lets go ahead and install all other dependencies before proceeding: yum install gcc python-devel subversion pam.i386 pam-devel.i386 So far so good! Now we need to download and compile mercurial: cd /tmp/ wget http://mercurial.selenic.com/release/mercurial-2.1.1.tar.gz tar xvzf mercurial-2.1.1.tar.gz cd mercurial-2.1.1 make install Now that we have successfully installed mercurial lets clone the google-authenticator SVN repository and compile the code: cd /tmp/ hg clone https://google-authenticator.googlecode.com/hg/ authenticator cd authenticator/libpam make && make install Now that we have google-authenticator installed we need modify our openvpn configuration to point to the new pam module we will use for two-factor authentication.
We do this by adding the following line to your OpenVPN server configuration: plugin /usr/lib/openvpn/openvpn-auth-pam.so openvpn Now we need to create the pam module that OpenVPN is expecting to use for authentication: touch /etc/pam.d/openvpn Use vi (or something similar) to edit the file and copy and paste the following configuration:
auth [user_unknown=ignore success=ok ignore=ignore default=bad] pam_securetty.so auth required pam_google_authenticator.so forward_pass auth include system-auth account include system-auth password include system-auth After making the changes on the server edit your client configuration file to include the following directive:
auth-user-pass
Now lets restart openvpn so the changes take effect: service openvpn restart After restarting openvpn we must generate the tokens we need for google-authenticator. We do this by logging into whatever user will be using the VPN and issuing the following command: google-authenticator At this point you will be asked several questions, the first one is: Do you want authentication tokens to be time-based (y/n) Google will now generate a URL, your secret key, verification code and some emergency OTPs: https://www.google.com/chart?chs=200x200&chld=M|0&cht=qr&chl=otpauth://totp/fran@localhost.localdomain%3Fsecret%3DUFMT4L562NPOXQY3
Your new secret key is: UFMT4L562NPOXQY3
Your verification code is 185633
Your emergency scratch codes are:
64291965
41844754
22921469
17413098
64795694
Make sure to answer yes to the following question: Do you want me to update your "/home/$USER/.google_authenticator" file (y/n) Below are three more questions you will be asked regarding how you want your tokens to function:
Do you want to disallow multiple uses of the same authentication
token? This restricts you to one login about every 30s, but it increases
your chances to notice or even prevent man-in-the-middle attacks (y/n)
By default, tokens are good for 30 seconds and in order to compensate for
possible time-skew between the client and the server, we allow an extra
token before and after the current time. If you experience problems with poor
time synchronization, you can increase the window from its default
size of 1:30min to about 4min. Do you want to do so (y/n)
If the computer that you are logging into isn't hardened against brute-force
login attempts, you can enable rate-limiting for the authentication module.
By default, this limits attackers to no more than 3 login attempts every 30s.
Do you want to enable rate-limiting (y/n)
Now you are ready to use your new two-factor authentication for openvpn! When connecting use the following format in the password field:
password+[six digit google authenticator code]
This means if your password is skittles32! And your token is 135353 you would use the following password:
“skittles32!135353”
If you have any questions or feedback be sure to leave a comment!
AdvertisementsE-books accounted for 22% of all book spending in the second quarter of 2012, only a one percentage point gain from the first quarter of the year, but up from 14% in the comparable period in 2011, according to new figures from Bowker Market Research. In the year-to-year comparison, the hardcover and trade paperback segments both lost two percentage points each to e-books, while mass market paperbacks’ share fell from 15% in the second quarter of 2011 to 12% in this year’s second period. (See our chart.)
With the fall of Borders and the growth of e-books, Amazon increased its market share of consumer book spending between the second quarter of 2011 and 2012, although its growth slowed between the first quarter of 2012 and the second period. Still, the e-tailer was easily the largest single channel for book purchases in the second quarter, with an 11 percentage-point lead over Barnes & Noble. B&N’s share of unit purchases fell by two percentage points between June 2011 and June 2012, most likely due to sluggish sales of print content through BN.com. Independent booksellers managed to hold their own in the period, maintaining a 6% share of units.
Aside from Amazon’s increase in market share in the June 2011–June 2012 period, the biggest channel shifts came in the “all other” and dedicated e-book and downloadable audio sites. (See our chart.) The 21% share of other units in June 2011 reflects sales of Borders, which had about an 8% share of the market in its last year of existence. One of the many reasons for the failure of Borders was the growth of e-books (and its lack of participation in that segment), and dedicated digital sites’ share of units rose from 1% in June 2011 to 6% in June 2012. After a huge increase in share in the first quarter of 2012 as consumers loaded up on digital content after the holidays, dedicated digital sites’ share of units remained flat between the first and second quarter. E-tailers that are part of this channel include Audible, as well as the Apple iBookstore and what is known now as Google Play. One sales channel that had been losing share at a rapid pace, book clubs, may have bottomed out. Its share of units held even in the June to June span.Story highlights Penn Jillette met Carrie Fisher at a porn awards ceremony where she won his heart with a racy question
She was smart, funny, sophisticated, brave and honest enough to live outside the law, he says
Penn Jillette, a writer, television host and frequent guest on a wide range of shows, is half of the Emmy Award-winning magic act duo Penn & Teller. His most recent book is "Presto." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) "I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra."
--from "Wishful Drinking," by Carrie Fisher
--------------------------
I met Carrie Fisher in 1990. The crazy freedom fighter and pornographer, Al Goldstein, had invited me as his date to the Adult Video Awards -- the porn awards. They were held in Santa Monica in a circus tent. Al and I were led to a table with Buck Henry and Buck's date, Carrie Fisher. I was star struck.
Penn Jillette
I never gave two space figs about "Star Wars" but I am nuts for funny writers and Buck and Carrie are two of the funniest. There was no place on Earth I would have rather been that night than at Buck and Carrie's table at the porn awards.
Read MoreOp-ed: Is Mississippi the Final Frontier?
Mississippi has for a long time been known as a state full of worsts: illiteracy, obesity, teen pregnancy rates, immense racism, attacks on women's rights, and extreme inequalities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. I read stories daily about instances of hate and new acts of ignorance from our state government. As a native Mississippian, I've got to say, it's quite embarrassing. When I tell people I am from Mississipp,i I often feel that I am instantly being judged.
The reality is there are many folks here who hold views that are the polar opposite of those for which Mississippi has become known. Over the last few weeks, I have been proud to be a gay man in the state of Mississippi.
In September, members of GetEqual, Omega MS, and Walk Fellowship came together to organize a rally of love and acceptance as a counteraction against a three-day conference promoting “ex-gay therapy” hosted by Lakeside Baptist Church in Hattiesburg. While our first day was seamless, the second day was a little more dramatic.
After being told by the local sheriff's department that we did not need a permit for our location, a yet-to-be-identified person called state park rangers with a slur-laden message about our meeting. To make a long story short, we were forced to relocate. We understood the rangers were just doing their jobs, but it was unfortunate that an anonymous person's complaint trumped our right to remain in this place.
While I know the state had to remain neutral in situations like this, I still had to ask myself, How is the state remaining neutral if they are kicking us off of state property? Despite our less-than-desirable location, the third night of the rally was by far the most moving. LGBT and allied Mississippians came together to deliver messages of hope to the folks attending the conference, and the messages were coming from all over the United States and Canada.
Later the same week, Walk Fellowship hosted a candlelight vigil to remember and honor those who are no longer with us due to various forms of homophobia. During this tearful, yet reverent vigil, everyone participating called out a name of someone they were there to remember. Names like Matthew Shepard, Asher Brown, Tyler Clementi, and several others.
Dustin Wactor, a native Mississippian who attended the vigil, said he was moved by the event.
"I was going through a very tumultuous time in my life, and stopping to remember those who were taken from us so early in life in an environment surrounded by people that I consider to be family was such a blessing. In a way, being part of the vigil helped me to realize that whatever I may be going through, I am surrounded by people who love me just the way I am."
The following day, Walk Fellowship hosted a question-and-answer session titled "What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality," where the most common Bible verses used to condemn LGBT people were examined in context.
Just when I thought we were going to get a little time to rest, events unfolded at the University of Mississippi (commonly referred to as “Ole Miss”) that caused another stir. During a performance of The Laramie Project — a play describing the events surrounding the death of Matthew Shepard — audience members began booing, calling out slurs, and otherwise harassing the actors.
Those onstage were devastated by the display of antigay sentiment in the audience, and we immediately reached out to the only openly gay actor in the cast to see whether we could help, and how. GetEqual launched an online petition calling on Ole Miss chancellor Daniel Jones and dean of students Thomas Reardon to personally review all university policies and to ensure that students, staff, and faculty are fully protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This was an attempt to take a really horrible experience and create very clear policy progress that will impact thousands of people at Ole Miss. A contact at the university told us the administration is meeting this week and throughout the month to review and revise the current policies to accommodate this request. More than 97,000 people have signed the petition, and GetEqual will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the policies do indeed change to meet the needs of LGBT students, faculty, and staff of the university.
As a teen, I experienced discrimination even before I knew I was gay. It wasn’t from a peer, but from the parent of a friend. My best friend’s father told my friend that he and I could no longer be friends because he, the father, suspected I might be gay. I was 15. That night, I attempted suicide. Luckily, I did not succeed. At 17, I became a homeless teenager because I was gay. The exact words of my parents were, “You can live here until you are 50 as long as you are straight, but if you’re gay, you have to go.”
My passion in life is to be a resource to the LGBT community, especially teens, because I know from experience how hard life can be. Thankfully, I have been able to use the negative circumstances I faced as a teen and young adult as fuel to fight for what I believe is right: equality for all.
These last few weeks have been so uplifting and have given me great hope in a state in which hope is hard for LGBT people to come by. Mississippi is such an important state to focus on, because if we can make change happen here, I have no doubt the rest of the country will follow suit. Like I said, Mississippi has a reputation of being known for a lot of negative things, and I don’t believe any state wants to be passed up by us on the equality spectrum. I have news for the rest of the country: Mississippi, for the LGBT population that lives here, is our state too. We will continue to build a coalition that is unstoppable. In the words of Miley Cyrus, "We can't stop. We won't stop." It is our obligation to keep fighting to make Mississippi, and the United States, a better place for all people. To everyone reading this, get ready, because until we reach the goal of full equality, we will continue to get out, get active, and GetEqual!
ZACH MAGEE is the Mississippi State Lead for GetEqual, a national grassroots social justice organization fighting for full federal equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. Zach is a graduate of William Carey University and is currently pursuing a master's degree in social work at the University of Southern Mississippi.Yes, a little morbid. Quote is from Into the Woods I'm hoping I don't have to point out the subject of this painting to anyone.I have to thank first off! Nathie's tutorial [link] helped me majorly with this painting. I think I can count the number of times I've painted a forest scene on one hand and I think this is the first one I'm actually happy with. I know I'll only improve from here's brushes helped with some of the foliage, as did some of Marta Dahlig's from [link] Forgot to say I also used some of my own custom-made brushes for this (haven't published them to DA yet except for the grass brush)I'm gonna enter this in [link] DO NOT steal this artwork or use it without permissionDavid Cameron has cautioned Vladimir Putin against ripping up the international rulebook by destabilising Ukraine and promised to warn the Russian president of the long-term economic consequences if he pursued this course when the two leaders meet at the G20 summit this weekend in Australia.
It will be the first meeting between the two leaders since the Ukraine crisis erupted. It is also expected that Barack Obama will hold a bilateral with Putin at the summit. Putin was debarred from a meeting of G8 leaders in Wales earlier this year in protest at the Russian invasion of Crimea
In his set-piece foreign policy speech at the Lord Mayor of banquet in the City of London, he warned his business audience that Britain’s economic security depended on its national security, adding: “Russia’s illegal actions are destabilising a sovereign state and violating its territorial integrity.”
He said Russia was “ripping up the international rulebook and disregarding the democratic will of the Ukrainian people to determine their own future. This weekend has seen further shelling, and reports of more heavy weapons moving from Russia into south-east Ukraine.”
He added: “There will be those who say that this isn’t our business and that we shouldn’t interfere. And some will argue that we can’t – that we have no influence to bear. But I believe both views are wrong.”
He acknowledged that no military solution was available, but said “economic sanctions on Russia are having an impact. Capital has flown out of Russia, banks are short of finance, and the Russian stock market and Rouble have fallen significantly.”
He said that Russia’s actions posed a grave danger to the rest of Europe, adding that Britain should not need to be reminded of the consequences of turning a blind eye when big countries in Europe bully smaller countries.
Although the former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev has said that the world is on the brink of a new cold war, Cameron said this was not the outcome he sought and nor was it inevitable.
But he promised he would tell Putin at the Brisbane summit that if “Russia continues on its current path, then we will keep upping the pressure and Russia’s relationship with the rest of the world will be radically different in the future. Of course there will be those who will argue that we should just draw a line under what has happened and that our own economy will suffer if we don’t. But they are wrong.
“If we allow such a fundamental breach of our rules-based system to go unchecked then in the long run we will suffer more instability and ultimately be worse off as a result. So once again Britain’s engagement is not just morally right, but also in our national and economic interest.”Did college students tilt the outcome of Denton’s vote to ban hydraulic fracturing?
That question has stirred debate since the city – home to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University – became the first in Texas to ban the oilfield technique that sparked a drilling boom and spawned tension in some urban areas.
Overall, the vote wasn’t close. Nearly 59 percent of voters supported the ban, even though its opponents – buoyed by contributions from energy companies – spent far more money. That margin, the ban’s supporters say, amounted to a mandate.
But ban opponents (meaning supporters of fracking) argue that college students disproportionately affected the vote, effectively drowning out Denton’s permanent residents – particularly those living alongside natural gas wells.
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“The election returns clearly show the permanent residents of Denton favor property owner rights, economic benefits from responsible drilling and American energy independence while our city’s college students did not," Bobby Jones, treasurer of anti-ban group Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy, said three days after the election.
The ban's supporters reject that narrative.
"They're treating a whole group of people as if their votes don't count as much as other people," said Adam Briggle, a board member of Frack Free Denton, a group pushing the ban. "My second reaction is, it's wildly inaccurate."
The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, according to precinct-by-precinct voting results and demographic information about Denton’s voters and college students. The student vote appears to have helped the anti-fracking effort, but it's far from clear that Denton would have rejected the ban without it.
College students were probably more likely than other voters to support the ban, precinct-level data shows.
For instance, voters in precincts closer to the campuses overwhelmingly supported the ban – and Wendy Davis over Greg Abbott in the race for governor. And in seven precincts, Mark Boler, a Libertarian, defeated U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, even though Burgess – a UNT alumnus – won his re-election bid with 83 percent of the total vote.
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Neither Davis nor Boler won any precinct that rejected the fracking ban.
“That tells you right away that this group of voters is voting different,” said Bryan Eppstein, a high-profile political consultant hired by Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy to examine the voting numbers. “Regardless of who they are, they’re voting way different.”
Still, both Abbott and the ban won in 11 of the 33 precincts where more than two people weighed in on the fracking ban.
But would Denton have passed the ban without students’ input? That’s impossible to know for sure, because no one tracks data on how many students vote. But demographic information yields a rough idea.
Here are some key numbers:
25,473: Votes cast on the fracking question
15,151: Total number of students enrolled at TWU for the fall 2013 semester, the most recent demographic available. About 47 percent of all students were 24 years old or younger, while close to 77 percent were 34 or younger.
36,168: Total number of students enrolled at UNT for the fall 2013 semester, the most recent demographic breakdown available. The average age of all students was 24.1 years. About 75 percent of all students were 25 or younger.
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52: The average age of Denton residents who voted in the general election.
4,391: Votes by which the ban prevailed
2,984: Votes cast in the general election by Dentonites born in 1989 or later (at most 25 years old)
6,672: Votes cast in the general election by Dentonites born in 1979 or later (at most 35 years old)
Clearly, Denton’s younger college students did not singlehandedly tilt the vote. Remove all voters 25 years old or younger (and assume all voted for the ban, which is unlikely), and the ban would still pass by 1,407 votes. But, of course, Denton has plenty of older students. Remove all voters 35 years or younger (again, assuming all voted for the ban) and Denton would reject the ban by 2,281 votes. Cut out all voters 30 years or younger, and the margin would be far closer: just 412 votes.
Of course, these scenarios would remove an unknown number of non-student votes and would not account for an unknown number of older students.
But ultimately, students have the right to vote, so their opinions counted. Now, the more important question is this: What do Texas judges have to say about the ban, which has prompted lawsuits?
Extra points
Not all students in Denton make their permanent homes elsewhere. In fall of 2013, nearly 3,000 enrolled at TWU came from Denton County. Nearly 6,700 who enrolled at UNT came from inside the county.
Precinct 4003 opposed the ban by a whopping 30-point margin. That precinct includes the Meadows of Hickory Creek, where drilling next to homes prompted much of the backlash against fracking. Opponents of the ban say those results support their narrative that Denton homeowners support fracking. Cathy McMullen, president of Frack Free Denton, said she believes other factors led the large precinct to vote that way. For instance, she said, that precinct also includes a retirement community built by Ed Robson, an Arizona developer who owns millions in mineral interests in Denton.Providing guidance in five different issue areas, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today offers its free market policy reform agenda for the incoming Trump Administration. Aimed at strengthening the economy and removing barriers to economic freedom, the series of memos provide recommendations and guidelines for actions federal agencies should take in the near future. Ranging from replacing key agency heads to overturning burdensome regulations, CEI’s recommendations promote innovation, job creation, and financial freedom for Americans.
CEI President Kent Lassman said, “Too much power in the executive branch is the path to tyranny, and too little oversight has brought regulatory burdens on many Americans. The time is ripe for reining in federal agencies to encourage the economic freedom that leads to wealth generation that benefits all Americans.”
See each of the memos that cover the top policy issues for CEI:
First Steps for the Trump Administration: Unleash America’s Labor Force
Free-market reforms to get Americans back to work
First Steps for the Trump Administration: Rein in the Regulatory State
Free-market reforms to revive the U.S. economy’s wealth-creating potential
First Steps for the Trump Administration: Restore Financial Freedom
Free-market reforms to improve financial opportunities for all Americans
First Steps for the Trump Administration: Support Technology, Innovation
Free-market reforms to foster frontier technologies
First Steps for the Trump Administration: Champion Affordable Energy
Free-market reforms to protect the environment and promote plentiful, reliable energy
Find the complete set of recommendations here."BASMACHI": TURKISTAN NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT 1916-1930s H.B. Paksoy
The following paper is published in the MODERN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIONS IN RUSSIA AND THE SOVIET UNION (FL: Academic International Press) 1991, Vol. 4, Pp. 5-20.
Central Asia had been occupied by the tsarist armies in a long process that began with the conquest of Kazan in 1552. Its latest manifestation was the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The largest territories were taken in the second half of the 19th century when the conquest of Tashkent took place in 1865 and the Goktepe massacre of the Turkmen in 1881. Millions of Central Asians were added to the empire's population (just under 20% of the population by the 1897 Census. This is similar to the current demographic profile, due to Stalinist liquidations during which millions of Central Asians perished). It is likely that the memory of the occupation and resentment of the occupiers' repressive policies were fresh in the minds of the Central Asians in 1916. The resentment was enhanced by earlier historical memories -- the historical roots and traditions of the Central Asians include numerous large empires of their own (though in decline by the 16th century), some of which antedate the first mention of the word Rus in the chronicles. Some of those empires counted the Russians among their subjects.
Zeki Velidi Togan (1890-1970) was for over half a century a professor of history (and shared similar objectives with his contemporary colleagues Czech Thomas Masaryk and Ukrainian Michael Hrushevsky). A Central Asian himself and a principal leader of the Turkistan National Liberation Movement, Togan described the sources of the movement as follows:
"Basmachi is derived from "baskinji," meaning attacker, which was first applied to bands of brigands. During tsarist times, these bands existed when independence was lost and Russian domination began in Turkmenistan, Bashkurdistan and the Crimea. Bashkurts [in Russian language sources: "Bashkir"] called them "ayyar," by the Khorasan term. In Crimea and, borrowed from there, in Ukraine, "haydamak" was used. Among Bashkurts such heroes as Buranbay became famous; in Crimea, there was [a leader named] Halim; and in Samarkand, Namaz. These did not bother the local native population but sacked the Russians and the Russian flour- mills, distributing their booty to the population. In Ferghana, these elements were not extinct at the beginning of 1916..... after the proliferation of cotton planting in Ferghana [imposed by the tsarist state at the expense of cereal cultivation] the economic conditions deteriorated further. This increased brigandage. Among earlier Basmachi, as was the case in Turkey, the spiritual leader of the Uzbek and Turkmen bands was Koroglu. Basmachi of Bukhara, Samarkand, Jizzakh and Turkmen gathered at nights to read KOROGLU and other dastans [ornate oral histories]. What has the external appearance of brigandage is actuality a reflection and representation of the thoughts and spirit of a wide segment of the populace. Akchuraoglu Yusuf Bey reminds us that during the independence movements of the Serbians, the "hoduk;" the "kleft;" and "palikarya" of the Greeks comprised half nationalist revolutionaries and half brigands. The majority and the most influential of the Basmachi groups founded after 1918 did not at all follow the Koroglu tradition, but were composed of serious village leadership and sometimes the educated. Despite that, all were labelled Basmachi. Consequently, in Turkistan, these groups were regarded as partisans; more especially representing the guerilla groups fighting against the colonial power. Nowadays, in the Uzbek and Kazakh press, one reads about Chinese, Algerian and Indian Basmachi [the references are to the respective anti-colonial movements]."
By the middle of August, the resistance spread to Ashkhabad and Merv, under the leadership of Juneyd Khan; to Akmola and Turgay under Abdulgaffar Bek; to Yedisu and Karakul under Shabdan Batirogullari Muhiddin and Husameddin; to the Chu basin under Ayuke oglu Kanaat Bek. Karakul was declared the center of an independent Khanate, while Yedisu was the governmental center. Their first targets were the Russian police headquarters, to acquire weapons -- their only source of supply.
Russian officialdom declared martial law in Turkistan (and the Caucasus as well), and announced a lower quota of laborers to be drafted under the 25 June decree. The new Russian statements did not change the conditions. Russian Generals Kuropotkin and Kalbovo armed the Russian settlers in Central Asia to act as additional military units to reinforce their existing and well armed regular forces. Even prisoners of war, who were being held in Russian POW camps in Central Asia, were recruited by the Russian generals as mercenaries with regular pay. Generals Ivanov and Rynov moved all their forces against Jizzakh. Fully equipped Russian regiments under General Madridov attacked the civilians of Khiva region, and according to eyewitnesses, massacred even babies in the cradle. Those who were not killed were stripped of their all possessions as retribution. After the Bolshevik revolution, it was discovered that during that short period "General Madridov had pilfered and stashed Turkmen silver jewelry in excess of 17 puds." More Russian settlers were brought in to occupy confiscated Central Asian land and homes. Contemporary reports estimated that between 25 June 1916 and October of 1917, some one and one half million Central Asians were killed by the Russian forces and settlers, with the Russian casualties numbering around three thousand. At least half of the Central Asian livestock was destroyed and an inestimable amount of personal property was looted by the Russian military forces and settlers.
The Turkistan Extraordinary Conference of December 1917 announced the formation of Autonomous Turkistan, with Kokand as its Capital. Bashkurdistan had declared territorial autonomy in January of 1918; the Tatars also took matters into hand in forming their autonomous region. Also in spring 1918, the Azerbaijan Republic and others came into being in the empire's former colonies. It seemed as if the Russian yoke was ended and freedom reigned. However, with the onset of the Bolshevik revolution, local soviets were established, again by the Russian settlers, some of whom were railroad workers. These were often headed by professional revolutionaries arriving from Moscow. Generous promises were made to the Central Asians, including indemnities for all property expropriated earlier. It proved to be a time-buying ploy. As Togan demonstrated, the soviets had no intention of allowing the much-touted "self-rule" in Central Asia, despite the rhetoric. This became clear when the Bolshevik forces burned Kokand on March 1918, and again massacred the population. The struggle not only had to continue, but also became harsher. After a final series of conferences with Lenin, Stalin and the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, Togan realized that the aims of the Bolsheviks were not different than those of their predecessors. Organizing a secret committee, Togan set about forming the basis of the united resistance, the leadership of which moved south to Samarkand and environs. A new, large-scale, coordinated stage of organizing the Turkistan National Liberation Movement commenced.
The struggle was to continue, under various methods, well into the 1930s, despite Stalin's measures and liquidations. During that period, perhaps another several million Central Asians perished in the artificially created famine, as documented in Ukrainian case. Only the relaxation of repressive measures by Moscow at the onset of the Second World War precipitated a hiatus in the movement. Moscow was once again in need of Central Asians, this time as troops to fight in yet another war. It should be noted that, almost half a million of those Central Asians thus incorporated into the Red Army defected to the Germans, solely to fight the Russians.
HISTORICAL PRELUDE TO THE TURKISTAN NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT
The Turkistan National Liberation Movement was shaped directly by the attempt of the Bolsheviks to reconquer Turkistan. It must also be seen, however, as a culmination of a long process of Russian intrusion into Central Asia as reflected in the "Eastern Question" and what Kipling dubbed the "Great Game in Asia."
The long standing "Eastern Question" entailed attempts by European powers and the Russian Empire to control, or prevent another Power from controlling, the lands of the Ottoman Empire. The "Great Game," on the other hand, was played in two adjacent arenas -- in Turkistan- Afghanistan arena, as Russian armies moved south and the British tried to keep them north of Afghanistan; and in Iran (also |
December 31, 2013
Will Chad actually follow through with his claim and pick up the tickets? Who knows, but if anyone would do it, it would be Ochocinco.
So, in the coming days continue to monitor Chad’s twitter account because if he buys all these tickets he is going to have to give them away somehow.
Come on Chad, Bengals fans everywhere (or at least the ones needing to watch on TV) are counting on you!Russell Boyd, Alan Caso and Stephen Lighthill also will receive awards from the American Society of Cinematographers.
Russell Carpenter, who won an Oscar for lensing James Cameron's epic Titanic, will receive the American Society of Cinematographers' Lifetime Achievement Award on Feb. 17 at the 32nd ASC Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles.
Also during the event, Russell Boyd will be presented with the organization's International Award, Alan Caso will be given the Career Achievement in Television Award and Stephen Lighthill will bestowed the Presidents Award.
In addition to 1997's Titanic, the second-highest-grossing film of all time with $2.2 billion worldwide, Carpenter's credits including XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, Ant-Man, True Lies and Cameron's T2 3-D: Battle Across Time.
The Australian Boyd received an Oscar for Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and his additional credits include Weir's The Year of Living Dangerously and Picnic at Hanging Rock.
The television credits of Caso, a four-time Emmy and three-time ASC nominee, include Six Feet Under, Into the West and George Wallace.
Cinematographer Lighthill served many years on the ASC Board of Governors, as president from 2012–2013, and the national executive board of the International Cinematographers Guild. He currently is the senior filmmaker in residence: cinematography at the AFI Conservatory.Jaekyung and Heechul transformed into Elsa and Anna from Disney's 'Frozen' for MBC's 'Tell Me the Wish,' which is a good-will program that grants the wishes of others.
On the recording for the first episode, the main guest was Choi Seo Yeon, a seven-year-old girl who suffers from a rare disease that started causing internal hemorrhages here and there starting from when she was only six months old. �As a result, she had to get 28 surgeries thus far. �
Her wish was to become the queen in 'Frozen' and to sprinkle snow on people; hence, the production crew prepared a large scale event at Kyunghee University on August 27, which included Jaekyung dressing up as Elsa and Heechul as Anna.
Jaekyung uploaded a picture of the two of them, and you can check out that first episode in September.BUFFALO, NY-- Legendary Sabres' play-by-play broadcaster Rick Jeanneret feels great and will know his schedule shortly after the NHL releases the schedule in the next month or so.
Jeanneret told 2 On Your Side's Stu Boyar Friday, "I feel awesome. Got my fingers crossed here, you might not be able to see them but they are crossed and I have felt good since I came out of the cancer treatment. They did a wonderful job."
"I've got the best job in hockey," Jeanneret said. "They just hand me a schedule and say pick your games, so I'll probably do about what I did last year, about half the schedule maybe a little bit more than that, but somewhere in that range. And until the schedule comes out I won't know. It will be out sometime next month."
It was ten years ago Friday that Jeanneret made one of his most famous calls. Jason Pominville scored in overtime in game 5 in Ottawa to win the series for the Sabres.
While Jeanneret has had many famous calls, this one stands out in the minds of many because it won the series plus Jeanneret said: 'Oh now do you believe? Now do you believe? These guys are good, scary good.'
It's a call that every Sabres' fan remembers when they discuss Rick's greatest calls. "To be honest, I don't remember that call of the goal at all," recalls Jeanneret. "I've heard it since, then of course, but I don't recall it myself, no."
Where does Jeanneret get the inspiration for his calls? "Mostly they just pop out of me and I'm thankful over the years the wrong thing hasn't popped out. There's not too many of them that I've thought about ahead of time. Somebody against me about scary good, and the only thing I can say about scary good is that I might have done a little is that I might have done a little copying there, taken a little poetic license because I think around that time there was a product on the market and being advertised as being scary good. I don't remember what it was, could have been a cereal, could have been a motor oil could have been whatever but it seems to me that there was a product on the market at that time. The call just popped out I didn't go into it at that moment thinking this is what I'm going to say."
Jeanneret said in terms of history of the franchise, the Pominville goal would be up there with 'no goal', but the one he compares it to, is the Brad May goal to complete a sweep of the Boston Bruins.
"Brad May scored a big goal against a Hall of Famer (Ray Bourque) and Pominville beats another Hall of Famer in Daniel Alfredsson, granted his playing out of position, but still I tend to compare the two of them."
Jeanneret is "enormously optimistic" about the Sabres' future. "I think last year was a huge step in the right direction. It was a lot more fun watching the games, it was a lot more fun broadcasting the games and when I look at some of the youngsters and I know how aggressive Tim Murray can be and I'm sure that he is going to be aggressive this year and with the draft in Buffalo he might want to make a little bit of a splash as well. I think there's an enormous upside for this team."
Jeanneret also told us that he remains in good health after beating cancer two years ago. The 73-year-old was diagnosed with stage three throat cancer, which caused him to miss part of the 2014-15 Sabres season.
He told us on Friday that his recovery is so far, so good.About The Author Mariya is the Head of Design & Engagement at TOPBOTS, a leading branding & marketing firm specializing in bots, chatbots, and conversational artificial … More about Mariya…
Chatbot UX – Does Conversation Hurt Or Help?
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Chatbot fever has infected Silicon Valley. The leaders of virtually every tech giant — including Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple — proclaim chatbots as the new websites, and messaging platforms as the new browsers. “You should message a business just the way you would message a friend,” declared Mark Zuckerberg when he launched the Facebook Messenger Platform for bots. He and the rest of the tech world are convinced that conversation is the future of business.
Chatbot fever has infected Silicon Valley. The leaders of virtually every tech giant — including Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple — proclaim chatbots as the new websites, and messaging platforms as the new browsers. “You should message a business just the way you would message a friend,” declared Mark Zuckerberg when he launched the Facebook Messenger Platform for bots. He and the rest of the tech world are convinced that conversation is the future of business.
But is chatting actually good for bots? Early user reviews of chatbots suggest not. Gizmodo writer Darren Orf describes Facebook’s chatbot user experiences as “frustrating and useless” and compares using them to “trying to talk politics with a toddler.” His criticisms are not unfair.
Further Reading on SmashingMag:
Here’s an example of a “conversation” I had with the 1–800-Flowers Messenger bot after I became stuck in a nested menu and was unable to return to the main menu. Not exactly a pleasant or productive user experience.
Meet Smashing Book 6 — our brand new book focused on real challenges and real front-end solutions in the real world: from design systems and accessible single-page apps to CSS Custom Properties, CSS Grid, Service Workers, performance, AR/VR and responsive art direction. With Marcy Sutton, Yoav Weiss, Lyza D. Gardner, Laura Elizabeth and many others. Table of Contents →
The 1-800-Flowers bot user experience can be frustrating. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
To Chat Or Not To Chat?
Designers who are new to conversational interfaces often have the misconception that chatbots must “chat.” At the same time, they underestimate the extraordinary writing skill, technical investment and continual iteration required to implement an excellent conversational user experience (UX).
This article explores when conversation benefits and when conversation hurts the chatbot ux (user experience). We’ll walk through case studies for both sides of the argument and compare divergent opinions from Ted Livingston, CEO of Kik, who advises bot makers to deprioritize open-ended chat, and Steve Worswick, the creator of “the most human chatbot,” who encourages developers to invest in truly conversational experiences.
As you’ll see from the examples below, both strategies can lead to successful chatbot experiences. The key is to choose the right level of conversational ability for your bot given your business goals, team capabilities and user needs.
The Case For Chat
Steve Worswick is the developer behind Mitsuku, one of the world’s most popular chatbots. Mitsuku has twice won the Loebner Prize, an artificial intelligence award given to the “most human-like chatbot.” The popular chatbot has conversed with more than 5 million users and processed over 150 million total interactions. 80% of Mitsuku’s users come back for more chats.
Mitsuku converses better than some humans. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
The longest a user has chatted with Mitsuku is nine hours in a single day — a testament to the bot’s extraordinary conversational abilities. Mitsuku does not help you find makeup products, buy flowers or perform any functional utility. The chatbot’s sole purpose is to provide entertainment and companionship. You won’t be surprised to find out that Worswick thinks “chatbots should be about the chat.”
Building a conversational chatbot that isn’t awful is extremely hard. Worswick nearly gave up many times when Mitsuku repeatedly gave unsatisfactory answers and users called her “stupid.” One major breakthrough occurred when Worswick programmed in a massive database with thousands of common objects such as “chair,” “tree” and “cinema,” along with their relationships and attributes.
Suddenly, Mitsuku could give sensible answers to strange user questions, such as, “Is a snail slower than a train?” or “Can you eat a tree?” According to Worswick, “Let’s say a user asks Mitsuku if a banana is larger than X, but she doesn’t recognize what X is. She knows that a banana is a relatively small object so can deduce that X is probably larger.”
Even if a chatbot is utilitarian, providing spontaneous answers in a conversation — especially if unexpected — can delight and engage users. Poncho is a Messenger bot that gives you basic weather reports, but the creators gave the bot the personality of a Brooklyn cat. Poncho can conduct small talk and even recognizes other cats. “Weather is boring,” admits Poncho founder Kuan Huang. “We make it awesome.”
Poncho's personality differentiates the bot from boring weather apps. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
When You Should Add Conversation To Delight Users
Making a bot conversational takes tremendous effort, but if you are up to the challenge, here are the top situations in which conversation could distinguish your chatbot from competitors’ and truly delight users.
If You Need to Differentiate From Competition
As seen earlier, Poncho’s conversational personality distinguishes the chatty weather cat from boring, routine weather apps. Bots launch at a more rapid pace than mobile apps due to the lower technical barriers to entry. Dozens of bots already exist to service identical use cases, so winners need to stand out with a superior conversational UX.
Just like weather apps, public transit apps are soulless and boring. We use them out of necessity and not delight. Enter Bus Uncle, a bot that can tell you anything you want to know about the Singaporean bus system in his quirky, broken English and suggest funny things to do while you wait.
Bus Uncle's quirky humor makes public transit bearable. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
Comprehensive, detailed guides and maps for the bus system exist on the Internet to help expats and locals find their way home, but Bus Uncle’s conversational interface both simplifies and adds joy to a routine task.
Beware that the bot is not all fun and games. Like any proper Asian uncle, Bus Uncle stays in character by occasionally forcing you to solve math problems.
If You Need to Handle Edge Conditions
E-commerce is a challenging space for bots due to product diversity and language variability. Many conversational shopping bots malfunction when users use unrecognized vocabulary or suddenly switch contexts. Such failures are usually technical in nature, where a bot simply doesn’t have the requisite data set or intelligence to handle the edge input.
ShopBot from eBay avoids common e-commerce bot UX failures by combining limited option menus with the ability to handle unexpected user input. While many shopping bots hem users into a narrow series of menus, ShopBot was able to quickly adapt when I switched from shopping for jeans to shopping for blouses.
eBay's ShopBot handles unexpected user input better than other e-commerce bots. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
Shopping is a difficult use case for chatbots to master. Superior conversational experiences in e-commerce bots are a function not just of great copy, but of powerful technologies that process natural language, keep track of shoppers’ contexts and preferences, and anticipate diverse needs accurately.
RJ Pittman, chief product officer at eBay, explains, “Shoppers have complex needs, which are often not fully met by traditional search engines. The science of AI provides contextual understanding, predictive modeling, and machine learning abilities. Combining AI with eBay’s breadth of inventory and unique selection will enable us to create a radically better and more personal shopping experience.”
If You Can Humanize a Brand
Chatting is an intimate act we do with close friends and family, which is why chatting with a “brand” is often an awkward and strange experience. Strong conversational skills in a chatbot can overcome this barrier and establish an authentic connection.
Maintaining a consistent and compelling brand voice in chatbots is not easy. PullString, a conversational AI platform founded by ex-Pixar CTO Oren Jacob, employs an entire department of expert Hollywood screenwriters to bring brands like Mattel’s Barbie and Activision’s Call of Duty to life.
Its demo chatbot, Jessie Humani, is powered by over 3,500 lines of carefully selected dialog to create the impression that she’s your messed-up millennial friend who can’t get her life together without your help.
Jessie's dialog is carefully written to inspire an emotional connection. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
The Case Against Chat
Many bot industry experts believe the word “chatbot” sets the wrong expectation among users that bots should have human-level conversational abilities. The hard reality is that natural-language processing and artificial intelligence still have much progress to make before bots will impress you with their gift of gab.
Ted Livingston, CEO of Kik, a popular messaging platform with a thriving bot store, is squarely on the side of no chatting. “The biggest misconception is that bots need to be about ‘chat.’ What we discovered is that bots that don’t have suggested responses simply don’t work. Users don’t know what to do with an empty input field and a blinking cursor,” he shared at a recent bot conference.
Kik started building a conversational platform two years ago, long before bots suddenly became cool. In the beginning, its bots allowed freeform responses the same way Facebook Messenger bots do now. What resulted was user confusion and error, as well as complaints from developers about having to deal with the unnecessary complexity of processing open-ended conversation. Kik now restricts user responses to a limited set of predefined options and intentionally makes typing freeform text difficult.
For example, when Sephora’s Kik bot asks what type of beauty products a user would like to see, the bot follows the question with a menu of suggested responses to choose from. A user has to go out of their way to tap “Tap a message” in order to type normally.
Kik's Sephora bot offers users suggested responses. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
When You Should Restrict Chat For A Better Chatbot UX
There are many cases in which designers of chatbots should restrict conversation to provide a superior experience. Below are a few common situations in which letting users type freeform conversational text complicates development and decreases your bot’s usability.
If User Error Would Lead to a Failed Transaction
1–800-Flower’s bot for Facebook Messenger originally gave users three options for flower delivery dates: “Today,” “Tomorrow” or “Choose another date.” The third option allowed users to type in dates freeform, which often resulted in error, confusion and an abandoned or failed transaction.
By removing the third option for users to type in a date manually, 1–800-Flowers actually increased the number of transactions and overall customer satisfaction. Restricting conversation helped it focus on its most important users, the ones who want to send flowers urgently.
1-800-Flowers increased the number of successful transactions by limiting date options. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
If Your Competitive Advantage Is Simplicity
Chatbots should give users the key advantage of completing tasks with fewer taps and context switches than regular mobile apps. Enabling open-ended chat can undermine this simplicity and add development complexity related to handling variable input.
An example is the simple meditation bot Peaceful Habit for Amazon Echo and Facebook Messenger. The bot is designed to help regular meditators build a daily practice and should be quicker to use than meditation apps.
On the Amazon Echo, a user can start a 5-, 10- or 20-minute meditation completely hands-free, with voice alone. On Facebook Messenger, the bot sends a daily reminder with limited user options, so only a single tap is required to start a meditation practice.
If You Cannot Easily Handle Unbounded Input
Many user requests appear simple on the surface but are extremely complex to handle in an open-ended conversational interface due to variability of vocabulary, grammatical structures and cultural norms. For example, a user can ask to schedule a meeting by asking any of the following questions:
When’s Bob’s next open time slot? Let me know the next three times Bob can chat. Is Bob available at 4 PM PST today?
Turns out the complexity of handling seemingly simple meeting requests requires powerful artificial intelligence capabilities. Several well-funded companies have emerged just to solve narrow scheduling challenges with specialized technology.
When you consider more complex requests, such as asking for restaurant recommendations, limiting conversations often means less confusion for both your bot and your user. Sure, a bot that offers local restaurant recommendations, asks users to type in what they are craving, but it often can’t understand the responses.
Sure promises to recommend local restaurants but gets confused as soon as you request unexpected dishes. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
By contrast, a similar bot named OrderNow finds local restaurants that deliver and offers a limited menu of cuisines to choose from.
OrderNew presents users with fixed cuisine options. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)
These examples demonstrate that complex artificial intelligence, machine learning or natural-language processing is not required to create a great user experience using a chatbot. As Ted Livingston, CEO of Kik, warns, “AI is not the killer app for bots. In fact, AI holds most bots back. Bots are just a better way to deliver a software experience. They should do one thing really well.”
How Much Should Your Chatbot Chat?
How “chatty” your chatbot should be will depend on your users’ mental models of chatbots and the goals and needs your chatbot fulfills for them. Bots on Kik that only offer limited responses can be just as successful and engaging as Mitsuku and Jessie Humani.
Problems occur when designers do not decide up front who their audience is, how the chatbot fits into their business or brand strategy, what domains the chatbot will and will not cover, and what a successful experience should look like.
When you are deciding how much “conversation” to design into your chatbot experience and are defining the right level of engagement, answer the following questions:
How are you setting user expectations? If you brand your chatbot as a character or a human replacement, users will expect a minimum level of conversational ability. If your bot’s functionality is utilitarian or limited, then guide conversations towards specific outcomes.
If you brand your chatbot as a character or a human replacement, users will expect a minimum level of conversational ability. If your bot’s functionality is utilitarian or limited, then guide conversations towards specific outcomes. Is your chatbot utilitarian or entertainment-driven? Mitsuku is an artificial-intelligence companion, so she’s required to master the art of conversation. On the other hand, a Slackbot that performs SQL queries or pulls CRM data has no need to support chat.
Mitsuku is an artificial-intelligence companion, so she’s required to master the art of conversation. On the other hand, a Slackbot that performs SQL queries or pulls CRM data has no need to support chat. Does your chatbot reflect your brand’s voice? Major brands such as Disney and Universal Studios use chatbots to engage audiences beyond simple ad clicks and video views. A chatbot working as a brand ambassador needs to authentically reflect the domain and voice of the company it represents.
Major brands such as Disney and Universal Studios use chatbots to engage audiences beyond simple ad clicks and video views. A chatbot working as a brand ambassador needs to authentically reflect the domain and voice of the company it represents. Is your chatbot a familiar service or product? Businesses such as 1–800-Flowers and Domino’s Pizza already have millions of buyers who use their websites, mobile apps and phone numbers to order products. Users who already know what you offer and what they like won’t require as much explanation and hand-holding.
Businesses such as 1–800-Flowers and Domino’s Pizza already have millions of buyers who use their websites, mobile apps and phone numbers to order products. Users who already know what you offer and what they like won’t require as much explanation and hand-holding. Does your chatbot need to differentiate itself in a competitive market? Weather apps are a dime a dozen. Poncho the Weather Cat differentiates itself by having a distinct personality and delightful reactions, making the bot stand out against other weather services.
Weather apps are a dime a dozen. Poncho the Weather Cat differentiates itself by having a distinct personality and delightful reactions, making the bot stand out against other weather services. How strong is your technical team and AI platform? Building an adaptable and user-friendly conversational AI is incredibly challenging. Worswick invested over a decade to make Mitsuku the award-winning chatbot she is today. Each conversational AI platform has strengths and weaknesses that will affect your chatbot’s UX.
Building an adaptable and user-friendly conversational AI is incredibly challenging. Worswick invested over a decade to make Mitsuku the award-winning chatbot she is today. Each conversational AI platform has strengths and weaknesses that will affect your chatbot’s UX. How strong is your writing team? In the world of bots, writers are the new designers. Do your writers understand how to write engaging, emotional copy that draws users in? Bots reflect the communication skills of their makers.
As natural-language understanding, machine learning and artificial intelligence improve, chatbots will inevitably become smarter and more capable in interactions with humans.
For now, just be sure that your bot either sticks with utilitarian offerings or stays within a comfortable zone of conversational topics. Take a cue from how Mitsuku gracefully avoids confrontation by excusing herself from a potentially awkward political conversation.
Mitsuku avoids topics outside of the bot's domain of expertise. (Image: Mariya Yao, TOPBOTS) (View large version)The Arizona Wildcats are now slated to host North Dakota State in 2022. The Bison are far from an easy win, however.
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NDSU AthleticsIf Arizona isn't careful, it could succumb to the same fate as the last five FBS teams to host the Bison. Andy Coffaro @andycoffaro
It was announced today by North Dakota State University that the squad will travel to FBS foe Arizona for a one-game showdown on Saturday, September 17.
This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools and will mark the third Pac-12 road opponent for the Bison in coming years as it also faces Oregon in 2020 and Colorado in 2024.
Mark your calendars for NDSU at Arizona in 2022, one of three Pac-12 games for the Bison. (Oregon 2020, Colorado 2024) #FCS #NDSUBison pic.twitter.com/7x27PDuzhL — NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) April 10, 2017
The real question that needs to be asked here is not why the Wildcats scheduled a squad from the Missouri Valley Conference, but rather why it would choose the Bison of all the FCS teams out there?
RELATED: Tony Romo Retires: Who are the Best FCS Quarterbacks to Play in the NFL?
Need a quick refresher on why playing North Dakota State at home early in the season is anything but an easy W?
Here are three of them.
1. The Bison Take Your Money, Beat You, And Go Home
NDSU has walked out of opposing FBS stadiums with $2.175 million in its back pocket over the past decade. And no, it wasn't playing in the typical body bag games you see on ESPNU in early September.
Since 2007, the Bison have knocked off Minnesota (twice), Kansas, Colorado State, Kansas State and Iowa State.
The biggest stunner of all may have been last year's road win over then #13 Iowa, 23-21.
ESPN2
2. All The Bison Do Is Win
North Dakota State is like the FCS version of the NFL's New England Patriots. It had won an unprecedented five straight FCS titles before losing last year to eventual champions James Madison.
Leader-Telegram
3. They Have A Recent History Of Producing NFL Talent
This is Carson Wentz. Ever heard of him?
NDSU AthleticsA conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus came under fire from a hostile liberal crowd at a town hall meeting in the typically Republican-friendly Eastern Shore of Maryland on Friday.
At the same time, U.S. Rep. Andy Harris distanced himself from the top two Republicans in his party: dismissing President Trump’s proposed federal budget and backing the congressional investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia, while suggesting possible displeasure at Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.).
Fielding a question about whether there was an effort to replace Ryan, Harris responded, “Not at this time.” (His spokeswoman said he’s very supportive of the speaker).
A woman in the crowd retorted, “What about replacing Andy Harris?”
The packed 900-person auditorium at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Md., burst into applause and cheers, according to a live stream of the event. Many held up signs with their Zip codes as reminders they live in his district.
People attend a town hall with Maryland's Rep. Andy Harris on Friday at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland. Constituents were asked to submit written questions to be answered by the Congressman. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
The town hall came a week after House leadership pulled legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare that lacked support from a bloc of moderates and conservative hard-liners, including Harris, ending Trump’s first major legislative fight in defeat.
Trump threatened this week to try to knock off members of the Freedom Caucus as retaliation.
[Trump escalates Republican civil war]
Harris’s town hall provided little insight into how his conservative constituents who reelected him with 68 percent of the vote in November reacted to his standoff with the president. Instead, he was jeered by hundreds of people organized by the Maryland Democratic Party, its local affiliates and grass-roots Indivisible groups.
The night’s turbulence started early, when a local high school ROTC’s presentation of colors and Pledge of Allegiance to kick off the event ended in audience members repeatedly reiterating the closing phrase of the pledge, “Justice for all.”
Harris, a physician first elected in the 2010 tea party wave, agreed to take questions submitted on notecards and read by a moderator, a measure to prevent the angry tongue-lashings his Republican colleagues in other parts of the country have received over the last several months. But first, he wanted to present a 10-slide PowerPoint explaining the nation’s finances and his case for deeper cuts to the federal health law than proposed by the House leadership.
Three minutes and three slides later, a frustrated crowd erupted into shouts.
“If you take time for this, it’s less time for questions,” Harris warned, later leaning over onto the lectern as the audience members refused to relent.
“That’s exactly the point!” someone shouted back.
The moderator, of the bipartisan No Labels group, pleaded with the crowd to let the congressman finish his presentation. But each successive slide, on the rising costs of Medicaid and health insurance premiums, were interrupted by boos and cries of “single payer,” support for universal government-funded health coverage.
Attendees said they wanted to send a message to Harris that he faced hometown opposition to his efforts to repeal the federal health law, even if he played a role in derailing the last attempt.
“Is it great the repeal failed? Yes. But from our point of view, the reasons they didn’t vote were because it wasn’t bad enough for the American people and it wasn’t enough of a tax break to the top 2 percent,” said Michael Feldman, a 31-year-old sales consultant who leads a recently formed Wicomico County progressive group. “This kind of grass-roots activism and organization is unprecedented, at least in recent history.”
Almost every question posed to Harris demanded explanations for his conservative votes and whether he’d support scrutiny of the president.
Harris said he wanted Trump to release his tax returns, but that the American people indicated they didn’t mind by electing him president.
He also declined to support an independent investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, saying the House Intelligence Committee should conclude its review first. He also said he didn’t have enough information to call on Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) to step down as head of the intelligence panel amid accusations he is too close to the White House to lead an independent probe.
“They are going to have hearings on this whole issue, and they are going to find out whether or not Chairman Nunes said something or did something that would disqualify him from being chair,” said Harris. “I don’t have the clearance to get that information.”
“It was on the news!” an incredulous audience member responded.
Harris did offer a cooler reception to Trump on his proposed federal budget.
On the proposed elimination of a $73 million annual program to clean up the polluted Chesapeake Bay, he said, “I support that program, and I said it publicly,” one of his few applause lines.
Later, he offered a dismissive view of the president’s call for deep cuts to the National Institutes of Health, NASA and other federal agencies with employees in Maryland.
“The president really has no say what the appropriations are. The House and Senate do.”
Harris faced some of his harshest reception when he defended calls to defund Planned Parenthood and expressed doubt on whether human activity and carbon dioxide emissions are the leading cause of climate change.
At one point, Harris became so frustrated by the crowd that he stopped answering a question about his support for legislation allowing Internet providers to collect and sell users browsing histories.
“In a free marketplace, you have a choice of going to an Internet service provider that shares your information or one that —” Harris said, before he was cut off by boos.
“No you don’t!” someone snapped.
He asked the moderator for the next question, to even greater boos.As Agence France-Presse reports, a short entry on the website WhoIsMcAfee, set up by John McAfee himself states that he may have been captured.
To wit: “We have received an unconfirmed report that John McAfee has been captured at the border of Belize and Mexico.”
Interestingly, McAfee has enough content written for his blog for a full year, and has put up a reward regarding the finding of the individual that did kill the man in question; McAfee has maintained his innocence.
McAfee, wanted for questioning following a murder, claims that he is the victim of a witch-hunt after failing to donate to a certain political entity. His erratic behavior, recent time on the lam, and spate of media appearances have only added to the somewhat farcical situation of a former technologist reduced to the level of day time television melodrama.
At the moment, no fresh information has been posted to McAfee’s official website. All media reports that TNW riffed through are sourced on the very same short entry that we quoted above. Until there is new, confirmed information, this very much remains a rumor.
It only carries weight as it was published on the website that McAfee set up, and I quote AFP, “to counter what he sees as erroneous claims by the media or authorities about him.”
More as it happens.
Top Image Credit: Casey Serin
Read next: 5 unconventional places to shop for your holiday giftsAfter a nip-and-tuck fight all season, the New York Red Bulls have claimed the 2015 MLS Supporters’ Shield for compiling the best record during the MLS regular season following their #DecisionDay victory on Sunday at Toyota Park against the Chicago Fire.
It’s the second time the Red Bulls have won the Shield in the past three seasons, including a stellar 2013 season that resulted in the first trophy in the club’s history (17-9-8, 59pts). They finished 2015 with an 18-10-6 record and 60 points.
The Red Bulls needed every bit of their strong finish to the season, having won four of their last five matches to edge FC Dallas. The Red Bulls now head into the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs with the No. 1 overall seed, giving them a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout, including hosting honors for the title game should they advance that far.
Past MLS Supporters’ Shield winners:
2014: Seattle Sounders – 64 points
2013: New York Red Bulls – 59 points
2012: San Jose Earthquakes – 66 points
2011: LA Galaxy – 67 points
2010: LA Galaxy – 59 points
2009: Columbus Crew – 49 points
2008: Columbus Crew – 57 points
2007: D.C. United – 55 points
2006: D.C. United – 55 points
2005: San Jose Earthquakes – 64 points
2004: Columbus Crew – 49 points
2003: Chicago Fire – 53 points
2002: LA Galaxy – 51 points
2001: Miami Fusion – 53 points
2000: Kansas City Wizards – 57 points
1999: D.C. United – 57 points
1998: LA Galaxy – 68 points
1997: D.C. United – 55 points
1996: Tampa Bay Mutiny – 58 points
Red Bulls Conference Positioning by WeekFor those Metro customers with ExpressLane FasTrack transponders: Metro has become aware of an email phishing scam that appears to be an attempt to collect toll lane revenue. Please take a moment to examine the email pictured above, and be advised that this is not an authorized communication from Metro ExpressLanes, E-ZPass, or the Toll Agencies associated with E-ZPass.
The CyberCrimes Division of the FBI is aware of the issue. We advise that those who receive the scam message do not open or respond to it. Anyone who has received or fallen victim to the email may file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center by clicking here.
If you have any doubts about the validity of a message regarding your FasTrak account, please contact FasTrack customer service.
Like this: Like Loading...US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put forth Internet freedom as a main tenet of the United States' foreign policy agenda in 2010 [Getty]
In the summer of 2009, the word on everyone's lips was "Iran." As the youthful Green Movement rose up against what they perceived to be a tampered election, the world banded together in solidarity. The hashtag #iranelection trended on Twitter for weeks, while media outlets spoke of a "Twitter revolution."
In the end, Iranians didn't tweet the Mullahs out of power, but the events of summer 2009 turned the world's - and specifically, the West's - attention to Iran, and as a result, to digital activism and what it can accomplish. And while Twitter may not have been used to coordinate protests, it certainly allowed Iranians and their supporters to share news with the rest of the world.
Now, as Tunisians take to the streets (and to the Internet) to protest unemployment and the oppressive and longstanding Ben Ali regime, the world's attention seems to be elsewhere. More specifically (and perhaps more importantly), the US government--which intervened heavily in Iran, approving circumvention technology for export and famously asking Twitter to halt updates during a critical time period—has not made any public overtures toward Tunisia at this time.
Pervasive Internet filtering in Tunisia
Although Iran and China tend to dominate media coverage vis-à-vis Internet filtering, Tunisia's censorship regime is comprehensive. Like Iran, Tunisia filters political content and social networking sites and like China, its methods are complex and multilayered; a recent report indicated that the country uses DNS tampering, IP address filtering and selective blocking by URL to accomplish its filtering goals.
Furthermore, as the OpenNet Initiative found in 2006, Tunisia utilizes American-made software SmartFilter (founded by Secure Computing and acquired by McAfee in 2008) to implement its filtering regime and block sites across several categories, including human rights sites, social networking and video-sharing sites |
in weight, were driven slowly from South Queensferry to the middle of the north cantilever, stopping frequently to measure the deflection of the bridge. This represented more than twice the design load of the bridge: the deflection under load was as expected.[22] A few days previously there had been a violent storm, producing the highest wind pressure recorded to date at Inchgarvie, and the deflection of the cantilevers had been less than 25 mm (1 in). The first complete crossing took place on 24 February, when a train consisting of two carriages carrying the chairmen of the various railway companies involved made several crossings. The bridge was opened on 4 March 1890 by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, who drove home the last rivet, which was gold plated and suitably inscribed.[21] The key for the official opening was made by Edinburgh silversmith John Finlayson Bain, commemorated in a plaque on the bridge. When it opened it had the longest single cantilever bridge span in the world,[62] until 1919 when the Quebec Bridge in Canada was completed.[63] It continues to be the world's second-longest single cantilever span, with a span of 1,709 feet (521 m).[64]
To make the fullest use of the bridge, several new railway connections were built, bringing main line routes to the bridge. The construction of some of these lines was only completed on 2 June 1890, delaying the implementation of a full express train service over the bridge until that date. Even then, there was considerable congestion at Edinburgh Waverley station with remarshalling of the portions of the new, more intensive train service.[65]
Accidents and deaths [ edit ]
At its peak, approximately 4,600 workers were employed in the bridge's construction. Wilhelm Westhofen recorded in 1890 that 57 lives were lost. In 2005 the Forth Bridge Memorial Committee was set up to erect a monument to those lost, and a team of local historians set out to name all those who died.[66] As of 2009, 73 deaths have been connected with the construction of the bridge and its immediate aftermath.[67] It is thought that the figure of 57 deaths excluded those who died working on the approaches to the bridge, as those parts were completed by a subcontractor, as well as those who died after the Sick and Accident Club stopped.[67] Of the 73 recorded deaths, 38 were as a result of falling, 9 of being crushed, 9 drowned, 8 struck by a falling object, 3 died in a fire in a bothy, 1 of caisson disease, and the cause of five deaths is unknown.[68]
The Sick and Accident Club was founded in the summer of 1883, and membership was compulsory for all contractors' employees.[69] It would provide medical treatment to men and sometimes their families, and pay them if they were unable to work.[69] The Club also paid for funerals within certain limits, and would provide grants to the widows of men killed or the wives of those permanently disabled.[69] Eight men were saved from drowning by rowing boats positioned in the river under the working areas.[46]
Later history [ edit ]
Race to the North [ edit ]
Before the opening of the Forth Bridge, the railway journey from London to Aberdeen had taken about 13 hours running from Euston and using the London and North Western Railway and Caledonian Railway on a west coast route. With competition opened up along the east coast route from the Great Northern, North Eastern and North British railways and starting from King's Cross, unofficial racing took place between the two consortia, reducing the journey time to about 8½ hours on the overnight runs. This reached a climax in 1895 with sensational daily press reports about the "Race to the North". When race fever subsided the journey times became around 10½ hours.[70]
World wars [ edit ]
In the First World War British sailors would time their departures or returns to the base at Rosyth by asking when they would pass under the bridge.[71]
A German photograph allegedly taken during the raid
The first German air attack on Britain in the Second World War took place over the Forth Bridge, six weeks into the war, on 16 October 1939. Although known as the "Forth Bridge Raid", the bridge was not the target and not damaged. In all, 12 German Junkers Ju 88 bombers led by two reconnaissance Heinkel He 111s from Westerland on the island of Sylt, 460 miles (400 nmi; 740 km) away, reached the Scottish coast in four waves of three.[72] The target of the attack was shipping from the Rosyth naval base in the Forth, close to the bridge. The Germans were hoping to find HMS Hood, the largest capital ship in the Royal Navy. At this time, the Luftwaffe's rules of engagement restricted action to targets on water and not in the dockyard. Although HMS Repulse was in Rosyth, the attack was concentrated on the cruisers HMS Edinburgh and HMS Southampton, the carrier HMS Furious and the destroyer HMS Jervis.[73] Three ships were damaged in the raid: the destroyer HMS Mohawk and two cruisers, HMS Southampton and HMS Edinburgh. Sixteen Royal Navy crew died and a further 44 were wounded, although this information was not made public at the time.[74]
Spitfires from RAF "City of Edinburgh" Squadron intercepted the raiders and during the attack shot down the first German aircraft downed over Britain in the war.[74] One bomber came down in the water off Port Seton on the East Lothian coast, and another off Crail on the coast of Fife. After the War it was learned that a third bomber had come down in the Netherlands as a result of damage inflicted during the raid. Later in the month, a reconnaissance Heinkel 111 crashed near Humbie in East Lothian and photographs of this crashed plane were, and still are, used erroneously to illustrate the raid of 16 October, thus sowing confusion as to whether a third aircraft had been brought down.[75] Members of the bomber crew at Port Seton were rescued and made prisoners-of-war. Two bodies were recovered from the Crail wreckage and, after a full military funeral with firing party, were interred in Portobello cemetery, Edinburgh. The body of the gunner was never found.[76] A wartime propaganda film, Squadron 992, made by the GPO Film Unit after the raid, recreated it and conveyed the false impression that the main target was the bridge.[77]
Ownership [ edit ]
Before the opening of the bridge, the North British Railway (NBR) had lines on both sides of the Firth of Forth between which trains could not pass except by running at least as far west as Alloa and using the lines of a rival company. The only alternative route between Edinburgh and Fife involved the ferry at Queensferry, which was purchased by the NBR in 1867. Accordingly, the NBR sponsored the Forth Bridge project which would give them a direct link independent of the Caledonian Railway.[78] A conference at York in 1881 set up the Forth Bridge Railway Committee, to which the NBR contributed 35% of the cost. The remaining money came from three English railways, which ran trains from London over NBR tracks. The Midland Railway, which connected to the NBR at Carlisle and which owned the route to London (St Pancras), contributed 30% and the remainder came equally from the North Eastern Railway and the Great Northern Railway, which between them owned the route between Berwick-upon-Tweed and London (King's Cross), via Doncaster. This body undertook to construct and maintain the bridge.[79]
In 1882 the NBR were given powers to purchase the bridge, which it never exercised.[78] At the time of the 1923 Grouping, the bridge was still jointly owned by the same four railways,[80][81] and so it became jointly owned by these companies' successors, the London Midland and Scottish Railway (30%) and the London and North Eastern Railway (70%).[82] The Forth Bridge Railway Company was named in the Transport Act 1947 as one of the bodies to be nationalised and so became part of British Railways on 1 January 1948.[83] Under the Act, Forth Bridge shareholders would receive £109 of British Transport stock for each £100 of Forth Bridge Debenture stock; and £104-17-6d (£104.87½) of British Transport stock for each £100 of Forth Bridge Ordinary stock.[84][85]
As of April 2017, the bridge and its associated railway infrastructure are owned by Network Rail Infrastructure Limited.[86]
Operation [ edit ]
class 158 Inside the Forth Bridge as seen from a ScotRail
Traffic [ edit ]
The bridge has a speed limit of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) for high-speed trains and diesel multiple units, 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) for ordinary passenger trains and 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) for freight trains.[87][88] The route availability code is RA8, but freight trains above a certain size must not pass each other on the bridge.[89] Up to 190–200 trains per day crossed the bridge in 2006.[90]
Maintenance [ edit ]
"Painting the Forth Bridge" is a colloquial expression for a never-ending task, coined on the erroneous belief that at one time in the history of the bridge repainting was required and commenced immediately upon completion of the previous repaint.[91] Such a practice never existed, as weathered areas were given more attention, but there was a permanent maintenance crew.[92] In 2011, the bridge was covered in a new coating designed to last for 25 years, bringing an end to having painters as a regular part of the maintenance crew. Colin Hardie, of Balfour Beatty Construction, was reported as saying,[93][94]
For the first time in the bridge's history there will be no painters required on the bridge. Job done... — Colin Hardie, BBC News article, 5 September 2011
Restoration [ edit ]
Floodlighting was installed in 1991, and the track was renewed between 1992 and 1995.[92] The bridge was costing British Rail £1 million a year to maintain, and they announced that the schedule of painting would be interrupted to save money, and the following year, upon privatisation, Railtrack took over.[92] A £40 million package of works commenced in 1998, and in 2002 the responsibility of the bridge was passed to Network Rail.[92]
Work started in 2002 to repaint the bridge fully for the first time in its history, in a £130 million contract awarded to Balfour Beatty.[95][96] Up to 4,000 tonnes (3,900 long tons; 4,400 short tons) of scaffolding was on the bridge at any time, and computer modelling was used to analyse the additional wind load on the structure.[97] The bridge was encapsulated in a climate controlled membrane to give the proper conditions for the application of the paint.[98] All previous layers of paint were removed using copper slag fired at up to 200 miles per hour (320 km/h), exposing the steel and allowing repairs to be made.[98][99] The paint, developed specifically for the bridge by Leigh Paints, consisted of a system of three coats derived from that used in the North Sea oil industry.[98] 240,000 litres (53,000 imp gal; 63,000 US gal) of paint was applied to 255,000 square metres (2,740,000 sq ft) of the structure, and it is not expected to need repainting for at least 20 years.[96][98] The top coat can be reapplied indefinitely, minimising future maintenance work.[100]
Panoramic view of the Forth Bridge undergoing maintenance work in 2007
In a report produced by JE Jacobs, Grant Thornton and Faber Maunsell in 2007 which reviewed the alternative options for a second road crossing, it was stated that "Network Rail has estimated the life of the bridge to be in excess of 100 years. However, this is dependant [sic] upon NR's inspection and refurbishment works programme for the bridge being carried out year on year".[101]
In culture [ edit ]
Original rivet from the Forth Bridge
In the media [ edit ]
The Forth Bridge has been featured in television programmes and films, including Carry On Regardless, Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film The 39 Steps, and its 1959 remake.[102] A.G. Barr used the bridge in posters advertising its soft drink Irn-Bru, with the slogan: "Made in Scotland, from girders".[103] In 2005, the BBC lit the Bridge in red for Comic Relief.[104] Also in 2005, Channel 4 documentary Jump Britain showed Sébastien Foucan, a French freerunner, crawling along one of the highest points of the bridge without a harness.[105] The first episode of the UK television series Britain's Greatest Bridges featured the Forth Bridge and was aired on Spike UK on 12 January 2017.[106]
In general culture [ edit ]
The location of the Forth Bridge has seen it featured in other cultural forms. In the build up to the Millennium celebrations a countdown clock sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland was attached to the top of the Bridge in 1998.[107][108] Iain Banks wrote the novel The Bridge, which is mainly set on a fictionalised version of the bridge, which links "The City" (Edinburgh) and "The Kingdom" (Fife).[109] In Alan Turing's most famous paper about artificial intelligence, one of the challenges put to the subject of an imagined Turing test is "Please write me a sonnet on the subject of the Forth Bridge." The test subject in Turing's paper answers, "Count me out on this one. I never could write poetry."[110] The bridge is included in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas by Edinburgh-based developer Rockstar North. Renamed the Kincaid Bridge, it serves as the main railway bridge of the fictional city of San Fierro, and appears alongside a virtual Forth Road Bridge.[111]
In his 1917 book On Growth and Form, the mathematical biologist D'Arcy Thompson compares the structural form of the Forth Bridge with the cantilevered skeleton of an ox, the piers corresponding to legs, the cantilevers to the vertebral column:[112]
In a typical cantilever bridge, such as the Forth Bridge, a certain simplification is introduced. For each pier carries, in this case, its own double-armed cantilever, linked by a short connecting girder to the next, but so jointed to it that no weight is transmitted from one cantilever to another. The bridge in short is cut into separate sections, practically independent of one another... In the horse or the ox, it is obvious that the two piers of the bridge, that is to say the fore-legs and the hind-legs, do not bear (as they do in the Forth Bridge) separate and independent loads, but the whole system forms a continuous structure.[112]
As heritage [ edit ]
Network Rail plans to add a visitor centre to the bridge, which would include a viewing platform on top of the North Queensferry side, or a bridge climbing experience to the South Queensferry side.[113] In December 2014 it was announced Arup had been awarded the design contract for the project.[114] UNESCO inscribed the bridge as a World Heritage Site on 5 July 2015, recognising it as "an extraordinary and impressive milestone in bridge design and construction during the period when railways came to dominate long-distance land travel". It is the sixth World Heritage Site to be inscribed in Scotland.[115][62] In 2016, a VisitScotland survey voted the Forth Bridge "Scotland's greatest man-made wonder", beating off competition from Stirling Castle, the Caledonian Canal, the Scott Monument, Bell Rock Lighthouse, and Melrose Abbey.[116]
The Forth Bridge has appeared in representation on a 2004 one pound coin, issued by the Royal Mint.[117] The Bridge has also featured on various banknotes including the 2007 series issued by the Bank of Scotland, which depicts different bridges in Scotland as examples of Scottish engineering, and the £20 note features the Forth Bridge.[118] In 2014 Clydesdale Bank announced the introduction of Britain's second polymer banknote, a £5 note featuring Sir William Arrol and the Forth Bridge (the first polymer banknote was issued by Northern Bank in 2000). It was introduced in 2015 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the opening of the bridge, and its nomination to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[119]
See also [ edit ]
Banknotes of Scotland (featured on design)
References [ edit ]
Citations [ edit ]
Bibliography [ edit ]Amanda Wood / CC BY-ND 2.0
Deana Garland, a resident of Brea, Calif., tried to vote at the Living Hope Community Church in Brea on Election Day at 7 a.m. When she got there, there were long lines waiting to vote. Of 16 polling booths, only eight were working, and of those eight, four were occupied for about an hour.
Here is what Garland told me:
There were four men in “Make America Great Again” T-shirts, obvious Trump supporters, who had gone into four of the eight booths that were operational. They went in at 7 a.m., and did not come out until almost 8 o’clock. People [in line] started getting angry that they were in there wasting time on purpose to stop people from getting in to vote, and people were actually leaving the line because it was taking too long. And then people started raising their voices saying, “C’mon you have to get out of there, we have to be allowed to get in to vote,” and the guys were just laughing.
Garland said, “It appeared that they were deliberately standing there and wasting time.”
All four were white men, according to Garland, and they all left together at about 8 a.m.Jump to our pronunciation guide to Northern towns with counterintuitive pronunciations (below).
As a child my parents often took me on camping trips around the north of England. Getting lost is one of my abiding memories. With no sat nav to hand in those days, we would often resort to pulling over and asking someone for directions. As is often the case this didn’t always go smoothly…
Travelling up the East coast, we were heading for a coastal town called Staithes. We had been in the car for quite some time when we started to wonder if we’d missed the town altogether. My Dad pulled the car over and asked a passing gentleman “excuse me, do you know where Staithes is?”, “never heard of it” was his response.
After much confusion and more than a hint of pedantism from the passer by, my Dad resorted to writing the town name on a piece of paper. “Oh, you mean Steers” he said, in a sudden light bulb moment. It turns out we were 10 minutes away.
Now, I don’t for a second think that this man really couldn’t understand what my Dad meant. What is more likely, is he had been asked the same question by many tourists and simply enjoyed the opportunity to be awkward. There is no way that – without some local knowledge – you could possibly deduce that Staithes is pronounced Steers.
My point is, there are a lot of places out there, a lot of which have odd pronunciations and in these towns live pedants who love to “not understand” what you’re saying.
Below is our pronunciation guide to Northern towns with counterintuitive pronunciations. Please feel free to comment with your suggestions or corrections.
@NorthernLifeMag This could be the most important list the North has ever known 😉 — TodmordenTweets (@TodmordenTweets) January 7, 2016
If viewing on a mobile click the + to view the pronunciation.With the contracts of the four riders in Honda's and Yamaha's factory teams expiring at the end of 2014, real fireworks were expected when contract negotiations began for the 2015 season and beyond. But as the season progressed, those fireworks have turned into something of a damp squib, with it looking increasingly likely that the factory line ups will see little or no change for 2015.
The first contract has already been signed. Today, HRC announced that they have reached agreement with Marc Marquez for another two years, meaning that the 2013 world champion will stay with the Repsol Honda team for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Given Marc Marquez' perfect start to 2014 - four wins from four pole positions in the first four races - this comes as no surprise at all. Clearly, retaining the services of the reigning world champion and the man leading the championship was Honda's highest priority.
With Marquez signed, where does that leave the rest of the top four? At the moment, the signs are that the rider line up of the Repsol Honda and Movistar Yamaha teams will remain completely unchanged for 2015. Valentino Rossi's results have shown the improvement he had himself demanded, a combination of a better Yamaha M1 and renewed motivation from his gamble of swapping crew chiefs, replacing Jeremy Burgess with Silvano Galbusera. Rossi has already spoken of his desire to stay on for another two years, and getting a contract extension with the Movistar Yamaha teams looks to be a given. Rossi is fast enough to be competitive, and his selling power is a powerful marketing tool for Yamaha and their sponsors.
With Marquez under contract, Honda's need for a rider that can win championships is already filled. That means that Dani Pedrosa's seat looks safe in the Repsol Honda team, the Spaniard having proven that he can pick up the baton whenever Marquez falters, and is capable of pushing for a championship himself. Pedrosa is 8th on the list of all-time winners in the premier class, and has shown that he can win races and, more importantly, finish ahead of the Yamahas consistently. Team principal Livio Suppo has repeatedly expressed his support for Pedrosa, which makes his spot at Repsol Honda look secure. Marquez and Pedrosa are clearly a winning combination, so why change?
The biggest question mark at the moment is over Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo has, of course, expressed his desire to stay with Yamaha, but he is hotly sought after. Before the 2014 season began, HRC vice president Shuhei Nakamoto expressed a keen interest in Lorenzo, saying that he could be a strong addition to the Repsol Honda team. Since Lorenzo's disastrous start to the season, Nakamoto has gone quiet, the balance shifting in favor of sitting rider Pedrosa.
That leaves Ducati. There are strong rumors from several sources that Ducati Corse chief Gigi Dall'Igna is keen to sign Lorenzo in the Ducati factory team, having worked with the Spaniard in the 250cc class with Aprilia. Dall'Igna is rumored to be willing to pay Lorenzo a very large fee to make the switch to Ducati. Whether Lorenzo will make the jump remains to be seen, however. The Yamaha is a proven entity, and despite the initial trouble the M1 is having with edge grip on the 2014 Bridgestone tires, and with less acceleration and fueling with the reduced 20 liter fuel allowance, Yamaha is still Lorenzo's best chance of becoming world champion. The choice for Lorenzo will boil down to ambition over financial rewards, unless Ducati can conjour up some significant improvements over the next few races. Lorenzo's decision is not likely to come until after the summer break.
Below is the press release from Honda, announcing Marquez' contract extension:
Honda Racing Corporation renew with Marc Marquez until end of 2016
Honda Racing Corporation is pleased to announce the renewal of the contract with 2013 World Champion, Marc Marquez, for a further two years.
The young Spaniard took the MotoGP World by storm winning the Championship in his rookie season last year. It was a priority for HRC to re-sign the young sensation who has won every race so far this season – all from pole position. Since joining the Factory outfit – the Repsol Honda Team – Marc has finished on the podium in all but two of his twenty-two MotoGP races. He’s taken ten victories, six second’s and four third’s. He’s also accumulated thirteen pole positions in the premier class.
He arrives at this weekend’s French GP leading the Rider’s Championship by 28 points after just four rounds.
Shuhei Nakamoto – HRC Executive Vice President:
“We are very satisfied to have reached an agreement to keep Marc in the team for a further two seasons. Of course as Honda we wanted to keep Marc in our family and he also wanted to stay with us so… it was natural to renew the contract even if it is very early in the season! He is enjoying a fantastic start to 2014 and even though he is still learning, his ability to absorb information and adapt to the machine is remarkable”
Marc Marquez:
“I am very happy to announce my renewal with HRC. I had always dreamt about being part of the Repsol Honda Team, and thanks to Honda the dream came true a year and a half ago. Everything happened very quickly last season, and I would have never imagined that I could achieve what we did. Becoming World Champion during my first season was another dream turned into reality. It is a great honour to be a part of the Honda family and I’m glad to remain with this special group of people for another two seasons”
Marc Marquez World Championship Statistics:
MotoGP:
Starts: 22
Podiums: 20 (10 x 1st, 6 x 2nd 4 x 3rd)
Poles: 13
Fastest Race Laps: 13
World Champion: 2013
Moto2:
Starts: 32
Podiums: 25 (16 x 1st, 6 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
Poles: 14
Fastest Race Laps: 7
World Champion: 2012
125cc:
Starts: 46
Podiums: 14 (10 x 1st, 4 x 3rd)
Poles: 14
Fastest Race Laps: 9
World Champion: 2010Damien Duff sparked a lot of rumours when he appeared at Richmond Park on Friday for St Patrick's Athletic's 3-0 win over Longford Town.
Damien Duff sparked a lot of rumours when he appeared at Richmond Park on Friday for St Patrick's Athletic's 3-0 win over Longford Town.
'My ma was upset... she thought I was signing for Pats and I hadn't told her' - Damien Duff
The 36-year-old was analysing the game as part of his UEFA 'B' Coaching Badge course with the FAI rather than checking out his new team mates.
His mother was among those that was left confused by his presence in Inchicore.
"My ma was upset... she thought I was signing for Pats and I hadn't told her," he said.
"We were obviously there analysing the game, we then had to put a session on today relating to the game.
"Longford got pumped 3-nil, probably outclassed from start to finish. Unfortunately I got Longford attacking so I had to work on that this morning."
The former Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea star is hoping to join a team in the SSE Airtricity League and admitted that he has no affiliation with any club.
"I just wanna play football and hopefully, touch wood, get fit and get back on the pitch," he added.
The FAI course is proving difficult for the Ballyboden man who left school early to pursue a career as a professional footballer.
"Very tough, to be brutally honest. It's possibly the hardest thing I've ever done in my life," he said
"I've played against Messi at the Nou Camp, Ronaldo... it was easy playing against them compared to what we have been through this week.
"If you saw me coaching seven days ago and today, it's night and day.
"I have zero qualifications in life except for football, so I guess I'm not really interested in any other things but football. It was the next step really."
Online EditorsUpdated: 4:00 p.m. EDT.
RALEIGH, N.C. — A bill restricting teenagers’ access to medical and mental health care initially scheduled to be voted on in the North Carolina House of Representatives on Wednesday was taken off the calendar and sent back to the Judiciary Committee.
The bill would prohibit youth under the age of 18 from receiving prevention, diagnosis and treatment for pregnancy and abortion, sexually-transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, mental health and substance abuse without the express written and notarized consent of their parent or guardian. The legislation would also restrict minors’ access to contraception.
The bill (H693) could be the most restrictive in the nation and advocates serving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people say they are concerned about the bill’s possible affect on their services.
“My biggest fear is for youth who have estranged relationships with their parents,” said James Miller, executive director of the LGBT Center of Raleigh. “I’m concerned with the youth who come to us and who say, ‘I cannot talk to my parents, I cannot talk to a trusted adult, I don’t have a trusted adult in my life.’ This bill really does put a hinderance on youth who need to access mental health or sexual health services.”
Rodney Tucker, executive director of the Charlotte-based Time Out Youth, said his organization’s services will definitely be affected. One of his staff currently has a provisional license for professional counseling and will be required to follow the proposed legislation’s restrictions once the organization is able to offer therapeutic services this fall. At that time, he said, youth under the age of 18 will need parental consent for Time Out Youth’s counseling.
“We have big concerns on delaying of treatment, increase risk of spreading disease, how this could impact depression/suicide,” Tucker said in a statement via email. “Our youth have very few safe places, this law would change the patient client relationship with their medical provider.”
Proponents of the bill include two organizations known for their anti-LGBT advocacy.
Tami Fitzgerald of the N.C. Values Coalition, the leading proponent of last year’s anti-LGBT state constitutional amendment on marriage, called the teen medical ban “a commonsense bill that puts control back in the hands of the parents, where it belongs,” according to WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie.
“There is something insanely wrong about physicians’ associations coming into this building and asserting that their judgment should be substituted for the judgment of a child’s parents,” Fitzgerald told a House committee on Tuesday.
Jere Royall with the North Carolina Family Policy Council also supported the bill during its committee hearing: “Sexually transmitted diseases, abuse of controlled substances or alcohol, mental illness or pregnancy are critical, sensitive and necessary areas for parents to be aware of and involved in.”
Miller’s LGBT Center of Raleigh provides weekly safe space and social activities for LGBT youth, some under the age of 18. His group’s weekly “Youth Coffee House” doesn’t offer clinical or medical services, but the bill, Miller said, could have a chilling effect on his youths’ ability to access referrals.
“Ultimately, it hurts the child,” Miller said of the bill. “I’m concerned about youth not utilizing competent health care and not having to rely on WebMD searches or questioning whether they have HIV.”
Rates of new HIV infections among young gay and bisexual men have been growing, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 2008 to 2010, the rate of new infections among young men who have sex with men aged 13-24 increased by 22 percent.
“We know that anyone who knows their status is multiple times less risky in their sexual health,” Miller said. “[The bill] is going to discourage youth from finding out their status. It’s a public health nightmare.”
The North Carolina AIDS Action Network is encouraging citizens to contact their legislators on the bill. The North Carolina chapter of the National Association of Social Workers is also distributing an action alert today.
QNotes. North Carolina's statewide LGBT news source. An LGBTQ Nation media partner.
This Story Filed UnderIdentifying unknown radio transmitters by their signals is called radio fingerprinting. It is usually based on rise-time signatures, i.e. characteristic differences in how the transmitter frequency fluctuates at carrier power-up. Here, instead, I investigate the fingerprintability of another feature in hand-held FM transceivers, known as CTCSS or Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System.
Motivation & data
I came across a long, losslessly compressed recording of some walkie-talkie chatter and wanted to know more about it, things like the number of participants and who's talking with who. I started writing a transcript – a fun pastime – but some voices sounded so similar I wondered if there was a way to tell them apart automatically.
The file comprises several thousand short transmissions as FM demodulated audio lowpass filtered at 4500 Hz. Signal quality is variable; most transmissions are crisp and clear but some are buried under noise. Passages with no signal are squelched to zero.
I considered several potentially fingerprintable features, many of them unrealistic:
Carrier power-up; but many transmissions were missing the very beginning because of squelch
Voice identification; but it would probably require pretty sophisticated algorithms (too difficult!) and longer samples
Mean audio power; but it's not consistent enough, as it depends on text, tone of voice, etc.
Maximum audio power; but it's too sensitive to peaks in FM noise
I then noticed all transmissions had a very low tone at 88.5 Hz. It turned out to be CTCSS, an inaudible signal that enables handsets to silence unwanted transmissions on the same channel. This gave me an idea inspired by mains frequency analysis: Could this tone be measured to reveal minute differences in crystal frequencies and modulation depths? Also, knowing that these were recorded using a cheap DVB-T USB stick – would it have a stable enough oscillator to produce consistent measurements?
Measurements
I used the liquid-dsp library for signal processing. It has several methods for measuring frequencies. I decided to use a phase-locked loop, or PLL; I could have also used FFT with peak interpolation.
In my fingerprinting tool, the recording is first split into single transmissions. The CTCSS tone is bandpass filtered and a PLL starts tracking it. When the PLL frequency stops fluctuating, i.e. the standard deviation is small enough, it's considered locked and its frequency is averaged over this time. The average RMS power is measured similarly.
Here's one such transmission:
Results
At least three clusters are clearly distinguishable by eye. Zooming in to one of the clusters reveals it's made up of several smaller clusters. Perhaps the larger clusters correspond to three different models of radios in use, and these smaller ones are the individual transmitters?
A heat map reveals even more structure:
It seems at least 12 clusters, i.e. potential individual transmitters, can be distinguished.
Even though most transmissions are part of some cluster, there are many outliers as well. These appear to correspond to a very noisy or very short transmission. (Could the FFT have produced better results with these?)
Use as transcription aid
My goal was to make these fingerprints useful as labels aiding transcription. This way, a human operator could easily distinguish parties of a conversation and add names or call signs accordingly.
I experimented with automated k-means clustering, but that didn't immediately produce appealing results. Then I manually assigned 12 anchor points at apparent cluster centers and had a script calculate the nearest anchor point for all transmissions. Prior to distance calculations the axes were scaled so that the data seemed uniformly distributed around these points.
This automatic labeling proved quite sensitive to errors. It could be useful when listing possible transmitters for an unknown transmission with no context; distances to previous transmissions positively mentioning call signs could be used. Instead I ended up printing the raw coordinates and colouring them with a continuous RGB scale:
Here the colours make it obvious which party is talking. Call signs written in a darker shade are deduced from the context. One sentence, most probably by "Cobra 1", gets lost in noise and the RMS power measurement becomes inaccurate (463e-6). The PLL frequency is still consistent with the conversation flow, though.
Countermeasures
If CTCSS is not absolutely required in your network, i.e. there are no unwanted conversations on the frequency, then it can be disabled to prevent this type of fingerprinting. In Motorola radios this is done by setting the CTCSS code to 0. (In the menus it may also be called a PT code or Interference Eliminator code.) In many other consumer radios it's doesn't seem to be that easy.
Conclusions
CTCSS is a suitable signal for fingerprinting transmitters, reflecting minute differences in crystal frequencies and, possibly, FM modulation indices. Even a cheap receiver can recover these differences. It can be used when the signal is already FM demodulated or otherwise not suitable for more traditional rise-time fingerprinting.The joke typically goes that if you want to know what British foreign policy is, ask the US state department. The "special relationship" between both countries has long been viewed through this lens, regardless of what shade of politics, left or right, has been in power.
Coined by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the special relationship is a close alliance spanning defence and diplomacy. The US, to be clear - as is apparently now the trend - has been polyamorous, in the sense that it has "special relationships" with other countries, too (hello, Israel). But from the British side of the Atlantic, the alliance was set in stone by Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US President Ronald Reagan, who were ideological BFFs.
Talk to Al Jazeera - Jeremy Corbyn: You can't defeat ISIL just with bombs
The extent of this was summed up by Thatcher when she told the president: "Your problems will be our problems, and when you look for friends, we shall be there."
The dynamic turned even closer with Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W Bush during the post-9/11 years. Blair took Britain into the illegal, catastrophic Iraq war of 2003, essentially making this US-led, UN-bypassing invasion possible.
Enters Corbyn
For many on the British left, this relationship seems one-sided and obsequious - corroding the UK's standing in the world. Perhaps the only redeeming thing about the |
the party’s presidential nomination should be a registered Democrat, and if he or she has run for office in the past, they should have run as a Democrat in their last election. Second, we need to eliminate all caucuses. These are the least open and least democratic part of our current process. And lastly, primaries should be open to registered Democrats and independents. To win general elections we need to win people who are in the middle, so let’s bring them into our process as early as we can.
Superdelegates is a trickier issue. Many of these people have devoted considerable time to the party to keep it strong, so there is an argument that they should have a say in the choosing the party’s nominee. Whether roughly 15 percent of all delegates being superdelegates, the current proportion, is the right number or could be adjusted is an open question. If forced to choose to keep them or eliminate them, I would probably eliminate them because I have confidence in voters. But I’m not sure it is necessary.
***
‘Rotate starting primary states’
Mark Penn is a former senior adviser and pollster to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Democrats need to abolish superdelegates and all caucuses, and rotate starting-primary states. These simple and fair changes will open up the party to better candidates and ensure that every primary voter counts. These are no-brainer reforms!
***
‘Include everyone’
Jason Kander is former secretary of state of Missouri.
As a party, we have an opportunity grow our ranks, but we have to make sure we include everyone in our plans. We can’t tell the newly active Democrats they have to wait their turn, just like we can’t tell the folks who have worked for our party for decades that they’re no longer needed. I hope the Unity Reform Commission does what it can to make sure that everyone interested in having a voice in our party has the opportunity and a seat at the table.
***
‘Drain the swamp’
Celinda Lake is a Democratic political strategist and pollster.
Democrats must establish a credible position on reform. And the Democratic Party can help lead in that. Right now, Trump and the Republicans have an over-20 point advantage on ‘drain the swamp’ over Democrats. Also, our economic messages are stronger when they are combined with political reform. We should and need to take strong positions on reform to also unite the different groups in our base. We should be for fair redistricting, campaign finance reform and ending Citizens United, curbing the influence of lobbyists, stopping the revolving door, a full and fair census, accountability and transparency. Our candidates and our party should lead on this.
***
‘Superdelegates are required to keep their super mouths shut’
Debra Kozikowski is vice chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party.
There are three things I’m hoping to see recommended by the commission. First, partially open primaries so that unenrolled voters can participate, as is the norm here in Massachusetts. Secondly, that superdelegates are required to keep their super mouths shut until every state has completed their process, or risk their vote to a challenge. And third, a more open primary debate scheduling process that doesn't force any candidate who participates in an unsanctioned debate to lose their place in a party-sanctioned debate.
***
‘Open the doors to grass-roots leaders’
Nina Turner is a former Ohio state senator and the president of Our Revolution.
If the Democratic Party hopes to recapture not only its electoral majorities in Congress and state capitals, but its connection to the heart and soul of the people, it must commit itself to work rigorously to achieve unity through reforms. Part of this involves opening the doors to grass-oots leaders to be engaged not just to win elections, but to reshape party operations. A great place to start would be adopting transparency in its operations, not allowing the donor class to have more influence than the working class, abolishing superdelegates and committing to diversity beyond just turning out the votes of African-Americans and other communities of color. The plurality of voters in America identify as independents. This should send a piercing message to Democrats and Republicans alike—business as usual is over.
***
‘This is an opportunity for the DNC’
Donna Brazile is former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee.
This is an opportunity for the DNC to demonstrate its commitment to meaningful reform and ensuring a fair election process in 2020. And that’s the best way to assure a victory in 2020.
Here’s hoping the Unity Reform Commission follows through.
***
‘Some of the demanded reforms are out of the direct control of the DNC’
Josh Putnam is a political scientist and host of the nonpartisan blog Frontloading HQ.
Parties are adaptive; they change as their constituencies and the demands of those constituencies change. However, the rules of the presidential nomination process since the system was reformed for the 1972 cycle by the McGovern-Fraser Commission have been mainly stable. That is not to suggest that those rules are the same now as they were in 1972, but rather that the alterations have been more subtle, addressing the shortcomings in the process from the prior cycle or cycles.
The difference this time around is that the demands, primarily from the Sanders faction of the party both on and off the Unity Reform Commission, while targeting perceived problems with the 2016 nomination process, are in some respects out of the direct control of the Democratic National Committee. Opening participation in primaries to unaffiliated voters, for example, overlaps with state laws that would be difficult to change as such a change would entail convincing Republican state legislators to go along with the idea. Additionally, making the caucus process more accessible has been a goal of the party for cycles now. Opening them up does not require as much interaction with Republicans but does face financing issues that may not be able to be easily addressed by a state party even with the help of the DNC. In other areas, the progress is potentially less steep. Curbing the role of superdelegates is within the control of the party though it would mean superdelegates—members of the DNC—voting to strip themselves of some of that influence. The area that is the most open-ended and may see the largest change is in the area of internal party structural reform, mainly on budgetary matters.
***
‘The presidential primary process must be re-envisioned’
Richard Eskow is host of The Zero Hour radio program and a writer for the Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign.
It’s time for Democrats to face facts. Voter approval of the party is at a 25-year low. In a recent Harvard-Harris poll, a majority of Democrats said they supported movements to “take it even further to the left and oppose the current Democratic leaders.” That sentiment was strongest among the voters the party needs most: young people, people of color and women. Some of these voters haven't joined a party, or don’t vote. To reach them, Democrats must embrace bold and clear policies that matter to these groups, including: Medicare For All, a renewed labor movement, debt-free college for all generations, equal pay for equal work, an end to mass incarceration, a $15 minimum wage, expanding Social Security and guaranteed family leave.
These policies, if properly presented, will appeal to working Americans of all kinds and colors. But embracing them means challenging the political establishment that has been funding and guiding the party for decades. Democrats must seek many small-dollar donors, rather than a few large contributors. It means becoming more democratic in governance, with full transparency; an end to superdelegates; and plentiful debates, with no gamesmanship in scheduling or content. The presidential primary process must be re-envisioned as a tool for recruitment and organizing, so reforms like same-day enrollment should be encouraged. Democrats can still win by looking beyond the obsolete and divisive paradigms of the 90s—the Mark Penn, slice-and-dice view of the electorate—and drawing moral inspiration from the 50th anniversary of the Poor People’s Campaign, which sought to challenge the rich and powerful by uniting the struggle for individual civil rights with the fight for collective economic rights.
***
‘Voters first’
Larry Cohen is vice chair of the Unity Reform Commission and chair of Our Revolution
The Democratic Party must be a champion for voting rights and democracy. We can’t just rail against the Republican attacks on voting rights unless we clearly encourage independents and new voters to join us and help lead. I am confident that the Unity Reform Commission will point the way as we meet and adopt proposals for change this weekend. “Voters first” must be our call.
This article tagged under: DNC
PoliticsMany trend-watchers have declared coconut 2016’s flavor of the year. Firmenich, a Swiss company in the perfume and flavor business, credits coconut’s trendiness to the emergence of coconut water at yoga studios. Personally, I’ve observed an emergence of coconut beers at breweries. Here are seven beers brewed with the flavor of the year.
Oskar Blues Brewery Death By Coconut
This Irish porter is brewed with dark chocolate and extra dark caramel malts, coconut, and pure liquid cacao from Cholaca in Boulder, Colorado. This beer, which won a 2014 Great American Beer Festival award in the Chocolate Beer category, comes out once a year in 12-ounce cans.
NoDa Brewing Company Coco Loco Porter
Here’s another chocolate and coconut porter that comes in a 16-ounce can. It’s a year-round offering from NoDa Brewing Company (Charlotte, North Carolina) that’s brewed with cacao nibs and coconut that’s toasted at the brewery.
Creature Comforts Brewing Co. KoKo Buni
It’s not every day you find a milk porter. The Koko Buni is brewed and aged on toasted coconut, cocoa nibs from a local Athens, Georgia, chocolatier Condor Chocolates, and coffee from nearby roaster 1000 Faces. “The name actually comes from the raw ingredients we use in the beer,” says the brewery website. “Koko means coconut in Papiamento, a common language in parts of the Carribean, while Buni means coffee in Swahili, a common language in southeastern Africa.” Look for this beer, Creature Comforts’ first seasonal, in autumn months.
Maui Brewing CoCoNuT PorTeR
This Hawaiian craft brewery has made a name for itself with this coconut porter. Perhaps one of the first widely known coconut craft beers and one of the hoppier coconut beers to boot, CoCoNuT PorTeR is a robust porter brewed with six varieties of malted barley, hops, and hand-toasted coconut.
Funky Buddha Brewing Last Snow Porter
Funky Buddha (Oakland Park, Florida) Founder Ryan Sentz says that his brewery has always focused on “culinary-style beers” brewed with a huge variety of fruit, vegetable, herb, spice, and other flavorful additions beyond barley and hops. The Last Snow Porter is no exception—it’s a rich, creamy porter brewed with coconut and coffee. This beer is an “ode to that special time in Florida where the needle dips just south of 75 degrees.”
The Bruery Mash & Coconut
Here’s an unexpected, but perfect, beer style for a coconut addition: barleywine. This one is aged in whiskey barrels. The base beer for this creation is The Bruery’s English-style barleywine. Added coconut gives this beer a tropical flavor and aroma, which plays well with its existing burnt caramel and vanilla notes.
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Schnebly Brewery Big Rod Coconut Ale
A lighter style of beer brewed with coconut is the Big Rod Coconut blonde ale from Schnebly Brewery in Homestead, Florida. This crisp, effervescent beer is balanced with caramel notes from its malt bill.
Keep up with the latest trends in brewing and craft beer with a subscription to Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®. Subscribe today!JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia will use data from miniature satellites around the globe to pinpoint the location of illegal fishing vessels trawling its vast waters, under an agreement announced on Wednesday (April 27) with a Silicon Valley tech firm.
The deal upgrades Jakarta's arsenal against illegal fishing by allowing it to more accurately monitor its remote territory, including in the South China Sea where Indonesian and Chinese vessels clashed last month.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti and Spire Global, the satellite-powered data company confirmed. Spire runs a fleet of "nanosatellites" that can detect and track ships as they pass through Indonesian waters.
Ships on the high seas are required by international law to carry a transponder that "pings" information via radio frequency about their identity and location to other vessels in order to avoid collisions.
Spire's miniature satellites - each no bigger than a wine bottle - collect this publicly available information to quickly and accurately construct a global map of shipping movements, and transmit this data to authorities on the ground.
Indonesia can then respond to any "red flags" - like a vessel switching off its transponder - that might suggest a suspicious ship is passing through their territory, Spire's business development executive Mark Dembitz told AFP.
"This provides them an additional arrow in the quiver to fight the good fight," said Mr Dembitz. "They are looking to use as much technology as they possibly can to solve their illegal fishing problem."
It will also give Indonesia a technological edge to closely monitor its vast exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the remote Natuna Islands in the South China Sea, the scene of a tense standoff between Jakarta and Beijing last month.
Indonesia was towing a Chinese vessel it claimed was trawling without a permit near the fish-rich Natunas when Chinese coastguards appeared and rammed the captured boat.
Indonesia does not have overlapping territorial claims with Beijing in the hotly disputed waters, but it does object to a segmented line China uses to define its claims since this overlaps Indonesia's EEZ north of the Natunas.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,000 islands, has taken a tough stance on illegal fishing, impounding around 200 foreign vessels caught trawling without permits.
Many of those vessels have later been blown up in spectacular public displays that have stoked tensions with Indonesia's neighbours and trading partners.
Jakarta remains unapologetic and has vowed to defend its maritime borders from the illicit trade it claims costs billions every year in lost revenue.Harpreet Bajwa By
CHANDIGARH: The Congress took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday saying he not maintaining the dignity of the high office he held and was instead behaving like a “Sadak Chaap” (roadside) leader.
Referring to Modi’s election speeches in Haryana and on the repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Congress General Secretary and Haryana affairs in-charge, Dr Shakeel Ahmed said, that the PM’s statements these days are like those of a “Sadak Chaap” leader.
“I feel sorry while saying that the kind of statements our PM gives these days are just like any roadside leader,” Ahmed said. He also called the PM a habitual liar.
“By the kind of statements he has been giving, he has lowered the dignity of the high post he is occupying,” he added. Ahmed said that irrespective of if the arena was an international forum or state election campaign, Modi must always remember that he is the PM of the world’s largest democracy.
He pointed out that two days back the Prime Minister claimed that Pakistan was given a stern warning and would not repeat the ceasefire violations, but within 24 hours of Modi having said this Pakistan again engaged in firing. “Just think the kind of message it sends across at international level, what would other nations think about our PM.”
Ahmed claimed that the people of Haryana would elect the Congress to power for the third time in a row, considering the development work the party has carried out in the state. He also hit out at the INLD supremo, saying “it is strange that a man (Om Prakash Chautala), who is out on medical grounds has actively campaigned and held a number of political meetings in the past three weeks.”
In reply to Ahmed’s comments BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said, “the road to the globe starts from New Delhi and goes via Washington and Japan. Our leaders do not live in palaces and loot people they work on the ground.”
She pointed out that Pakistan incursions were more when the Congress was at the Centre. “It was already known that for the last 10 years there had been no government or governance in Haryana, now the court had made it clear that the Congress Government was illegal and hence untenable,” she said. Referring to the recent disqualification by Punjab and Haryana High Court of five HJC MLAs, who merged into the Congress in 2009 after the polls, she said, “the Government was cobbled together by engineering defection of 5 HJC MLAs.”A further one in ten said they were considering reducing their meat intake or cutting meat out completely, the findings revealed.
The report, produced by Britain's leading independent social research institute, NatCen, also states that nearly half (44 per cent) of people either do not eat meat, have reduced the amount of meat they eat or are considering reducing the amount of meat they eat.
The analysis found that over a third of women (34 per cent) and nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of men had reduced their meat intake in the last year. Older people (65 to 79 year olds) were twice as likely to have reduced their meat consumption as 18 to 24 year olds (39 per cent compared to 19 per cent).
Health reasons was by far the most common reason given for consuming less meat, cited by over half (58 per cent) of people. Other reasons included saving money (21 per cent); concerns over animal welfare (20 per cent) and concerns around food safety (19 per cent). Around one in ten (11 per cent) people in this group mentioned environmental concerns.
Restaurants go meat-free
The trend towards eating less meat has already seen the rise in vegetarian options on menus. Vegetarian dishes now account for 30 per cent of new menu items and leading pub chains now have 19 per cent of their menu targeted at meat-free consumers, M&C Allegra has revealed.
Vegetarian restaurant group 1847 is rolling out sites with plans to have 10 by the end of this year. The chain is appealing to both vegetarians but meat eaters form a big chunk of its customer base.
Lynne Elliot, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society, said: "This report very much reflects what we see every day in our work: that there is an increasing awareness of the issues relating to our food choices, and that has resulted in a large number of people reducing the amount of meat they eat or cutting it out altogether.”The UFC welterweight title will be on the line in New York on Nov. 12 between champion Tyron Woodley and rising star Stephen Thompson. Now that the fight is official, welterweight contender Demian Maia can make plans for the future.
Maia was hoping to get the next shot after making quick work of Carlos Condit at UFC on FOX 21 in August, but knew that "Wonderboy" was more than likely to be ahead of him in the title running. And even though Woodley-Thompson is now official for UFC 205, Maia will continue to train just in case something happens to the challenger.
"A title shot is a unique opportunity you don’t turn down," Maia’s manager Eduardo Alonso told MMA Fighting. "But if any injury happens to ‘Wonderboy’ and we get a call, unless Demian is injured, we will take the opportunity because you never know what tomorrow will bring. We see what happened to ‘Jacare’ [Souza], for an example, who unfortunately got injured and couldn’t get his chance. [Michael] Bisping got the chance and became champion, and ‘Jacare’ is still going after his opportunity. You never know what will happen tomorrow. An opportunity like this, you say yes and do your best."
Maia’s team is confident that no one deserves the next shot more than him, but deserving something is not actually a guarantee that you will get it in the UFC.
"The idea now is to face the winner of this fight," Alonso said. "Demian deserved a title shot already, and it’s pretty obvious after this fight that he’s the next in line. I don’t see anyone deserving it more than him. We know that deserving is something relative in the sport today, but we have to find a balance between spectacle and sport. You have to aim for long term credibility as any other sports league, and you need to use meritocracy as one of your criteria.
"You don’t change the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals or the Champions League final simply because one team is more popular or less popular. You set objective criteria. After ‘Wonderboy’ vs. Tyron Woodley, Demian is the next in line no matter what happens in future fights. I believe he will have this opportunity. He deserves it."
With Woodley vs. Thompson scheduled for Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden, Maia expects to fight for the UFC belt early next year.
"In a perfect world, this title fight could be in January, February, any time works for us," Alonso said. "Demian is in fight rhythm. The most important now is to get the title shot. After the fight is set, we don’t have any problem waiting until March or April, too."
Maia and Thompson have done an impressive job in the welterweight division. The Brazilian currently rides a six-fight winning streak with three submissions, while "Wonderboy" stopped four opponents in his last seven bouts.
"You can’t ignore what ‘Wonderboy’ did to deserve it, especially his last couple of wins over [Johnny] Hendricks and Rory MacDonald," Alonso said. "When ‘Wonderboy’ beat Rory, that motivated us to take the fight against Condit because we already imagined he would be close to a title shot.
"We also think Demian deserves it, especially because ‘Wonderboy’s’ seven-fight winning streak was impressive because of his last two wins. In Demian’s winning streak, he beat five top 15 opponents in impressive fashion. Maybe he didn’t have someone as popular as Hendricks and Rory aside from Condit, but he has a pretty consistent run against high-level opponents."
The jiu-jitsu ace already ruled out the idea of facing Georges St-Pierre before getting his chance at the UFC belt, and his manager explains why it wouldn’t make sense for them to take the fight right now.
"Everybody knows that Demian’s dream is to become UFC champion. Not everything in life is about money, and Demian wants this title fight over anything," Alonso said. "Right now we don’t think about anything besides that. That’s out plan A and plan B.
"Fighting someone like GSP would obviously be an important episode in his career. We have the utmost admiration for him as an athlete, it would be an historic fight, but it would be more interesting with Demian as the champion. Fighting an athlete like GSP, who retired without losing his belt, and you don’t have the opportunity to become the champion with a win over him, I don’t think it’d be the best. Right now we don’t think about it, but we would have to sit down and take a look if a real offer is made to evaluate it, but it would be more fair and interesting to get this fight as champion."R&Beef is alive and well, ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday (May 10) singer Kevin McCall urged Chris Brown to use his power on social media for positivity instead of negativity, but it only lead to barbs getting thrown back and forth.
"Please tell your fans Idgaf about you? Please last time I asked nicely your "gang" came up...that was hella gAy. Just end it bro," McCall said. "My fans don't go on your page cuz they listen to stuff that makes sense...do your fans worship you? Or respeck you bro? Control your fans but you won't never control my mouth unless you personally do it....u got my number and everyone u know does. Holla."
McCall went on to say that Breezy would get beat up in L.A. if he kept talking crazy and even accused the "Loyal" singer of stealing.
Naturally Chris wasn't gonna stand around and watch all this go down, so he hopped on Instagram to make fun of McCall and his show sales. McCall eventually responded in a long IG post: "u think u get a pass for trying to bang on a nigga who don't bang but literally has Cuzzns and relatives from everywhere lol you don't know WHO the Fucc I know dummy I'm born here dumb ass. Now run a proper head up fade and stop making memes I'm omw to vegas I will post every location I Am at and I'll text all your people who actually text me back when I try to talk some fucking sense into your rehabilitation center ass...punk! finish it hoe lol it ain't about money I have other deals dumb fuck lol I actually made the music you tour to and that brought u back after you chose to use her face for punching bag practice (my baby mamas have no scars or Tmz hospital photos WOW big difference lol)."
This isn't the first time they've thrown shots at each other. See the entire exchange below.I often make compound butters and store them in my freezer. There are literally limitless flavorings you can blend into butter for serving on grilled meats and vegetables. They’re quick to make and ever so when you want an exotic taste FAST! My Maple-Bacon-Bourbon Butter is one of my favorites. I occasionally put it to work in creamy sauces like the one pictured above. This sauce was divine on my pork chops and it is a quick meal for weeknights! This sauce would also be wonderful on baked or grilled chicken, steaks, lamb or wild game. This recipe is not suitable until you reach Atkins Phase 2 (OWL) due to the bourbon. I would likely kick Keto dieters out of ketosis unless the alcohol was eliminated. It is not suitable for Primal-Paleo on several levels.
Many more unbelievably easy, tasty low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own copy of international author Jennifer Eloff’s latest cookbooks Low Carbing Among Friends. Open the link to see a sampling of the type of recipes in these 5 volumes, created by Jennifer and a number of other talented low-carb cooks. You can order at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php
DISCLAIMER: I do not receive remuneration for this promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes in these books. I do so just because the cooks contributing their kitchen-tested recipes are so very talented you are going to want to add these wonderful “tools” to your low-carb tool box.
INGREDIENTS:
2 slices thick-slice bacon, chopped (3 oz,)
4 large mushrooms, sliced
3 T. Bacon-Bourbon Butter
1 tsp. sugar-free maple syrup
¼ c. cream
1/3 c. water
2 T. bourbon
Dash of your favorite thickener (optional)
Dash sea salt and black pepper
1 tsp. parsley, chopped (for garnish)
DIRECTIONS: Fry the chopped bacon in a skillet. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel. If planning to serve with skillet-seared meat, sear the meat over high heat to nearly done stage right in the same skillet in that delicious bacon grease. Or have your spouse grill the meat outside over charcoal to the desired stage. When skillet chops are browned and done, remove them to a plate while you put the sauce together. Add the 3 T. Bacon-Bourbon butter to the pan juices, melt and add the mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms are done. Lower to medium heat and add water, cream, bourbon, salt, pepper, and maple syrup. Stir well and lay pork chops on top of the mushroom sauce. If doing grilled meat, you won’t do this step. Simmer sauce on low heat 5-10 minutes to reduce/thicken the cream. If not thick enough for you, you can slightly thicken with a dash of your preferred thickener. Gently pour mushroom sauce onto serving platter and set the meat on top. Garnish with chopped parsley.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains: (does not include meat)
496 calories
48.2 g fat
5.35 g carbs,.95 g fiber, 4.40 g NET CARBS
7.65 g protein
475 mg sodiumPresident Barack Obama has vowed to keep pushing for new gun control measures and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the failed gun vote in the Senate was “just the beginning.” However, the latest Reason-Rupe national poll finds just 33 percent of Americans feel the “Senate should debate and vote on gun control legislation again,” while 62 percent want the Senate to “move on to other issues.”
This data is surprising given earlier polls finding what appeared to be overwhelming support for expanding background check for firearm purchases. For instance, Gallup found that 83 percent of Americans favored a law requiring background checks for all gun purchases. The Washington Post/ABC poll found that 86 percent of Americans support a law requiring background checks on people buying guns at gun shows or online.
Understandably the media punditry expected public outrage when the Senate voted down gun control legislation. However, a Pew Research Center poll found that 39 percent of Americans were relieved/very happy the “Senate vot[ed] down new gun control legislation that included background checks on gun purchases” while 47 percent were disappointed/angry. But then again, Gallup found that 65 percent thought the Senate “should have passed the measure to expand background checks for gun purchases.”
Subsequent to these polls Reason-Rupe asked Americans what they wanted the Senate to do next, finding that nearly two –thirds of Americans prefer the Senate to move on to other issues rather than continue to debate gun control.
Eighty-three percent of Republicans want the Senate to move on, as well as 66 percent of Independents; however, a majority (51 percent) of Democrats want the Senate to debate and vote again.
Women are far more likely than men to want the Senate to debate and vote again on gun control. While 72 percent of men want the Senate to move onto other issues, 54 percent of women agree, while 40 percent want the senate to vote on gun control again. This gender gap is not strongly correlated with marital status, age, or race, meaning that there is likely a true gender gap on this issue.
Support for the Senate voting on gun control again increases with educational attainment, particularly among those with post-graduate degrees. The Northeast is narrowly divided 46 to 52 while nearly three-fourths of Americans in the West want the Senate to move on to other issues.
Nationwide telephone poll conducted May 9-13 2013 interviewed 1003 adults on both mobile (503) and landline (500) phones, with a margin of error +/- 3.7%. Princeton Survey Research Associates International executed the nationwide Reason-Rupe survey. Columns may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Full poll results found here. Full methodology can be found here. Demographics and detailed tables are available here.
Correction: An earlier version of the table in the article had the numbers for Independents and Democrats reversed.Washington (CNN) -- If criminal suspects fail to invoke their right to remain silent, they have waived that right, a divided Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
The high court upheld the murder conviction of a man who did not verbally assert his right to remain silent during his police interrogation. In a 5-4 ruling, the court said a suspect must explicitly tell officers he or she is asserting that right, known as Miranda rights.
The famous constitutional "right to remain silent" and the "right to talk to a lawyer before answering any questions" are among the well-known warnings all criminal suspects must be given upon arrest. The conservative court has generally been supportive in recent years, when police challenges to Miranda rights have been raised.
"A suspect who has received and understood the Miranda warnings, and has not invoked his Miranda rights, waives the right to remain silent by making an uncoerced statement to police," said Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court.
Van Chester Thompkins was convicted of a January 10, 2000, murder outside a shopping mall in Southfield, Michigan. He fled the scene, but was as arrested about a year later in Ohio.
Local police began what turned out to be a three-hour interrogation, with Thompkins at first forced to read aloud part of a copy of "constitutional rights" derived from the original Miranda case that went before the Supreme Court in 1966. The five rights included the warning "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," and "the right to decide at any time before or during questioning to use your right to remain silent."
Thompkins refused to sign the form and there was strong disagreement over whether he verbally confirmed he understood them. He remained mostly silent during questioning, but later implicated himself in the shooting. He was later convicted of first-degree murder and other offenses.
The court majority sided with the police's version of the events.
"Thompkins did not say that he wanted to remain silent or that he did not want to talk to police," Kennedy concluded. "Had he made either of these simple, unambiguous statements, he would have invoked his 'right to cut off questioning.' Here he did neither, so he did not invoke his right to remain silent."
Kennedy's views were supported by Chief Justice John Roberts, along with Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
A federal appeals court in Cincinnati agreed with Thompkins his confession should be thrown out, but the high court reversed that decision.
In a sharp dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the court's ruling a "major retreat" from protections against self-incrimination guaranteed by the original Miranda ruling.
"Criminal suspects must now unambiguously invoke their right to remain silent -- which counterintuitively requires them to speak," she said. "At the same time, suspects will be legally presumed to have waived their rights even if they have given no clear expression of their intent to do so. Those results, in my view, find no basis in Miranda or our subsequent cases and are inconsistent with the fair-trial principles on which those precedents are grounded."
Sotomayor said the Thompkins ruling "turns Miranda upside down." Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer backed her conclusions.
Thompkins had implicated himself after police asked if he believed in God. After replying yes, officers then asked, "Do you pray to God to forgive you for shooting that boy down?" asking about victim Samuel Morris. The court transcript said Thompkins replied "Yes," and turned away, but later refused to make a written confession.
The case is Berghuis v. Thompkins (08-1470).Two years ago, IBM researcher Craig Gentry revealed that he'd cracked a 30-year old theoretical problem in cryptography: How to perform complex computations on encrypted data without decrypting it. That seemingly magical trick would allow a computer to manipulate a user's scrambled information without ever violating its secrecy, a potential privacy breakthrough that's particularly enticing in an era of outsourcing and cloud computing.
Turning Gentry's innovative but impractical crypto scheme into a workable product, on the other hand, will take years'--or even decades'--more work. But to the defense and intelligence research agencies DARPA and IARPA, that sounds like just the sort of ambitious challenge worth tackling.
On Tuesday, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced that it's awarded around $5 million to the Portland-based research contractor Galois to work on that cryptographic problem. Sally Browning, the principal investigator for Galois' DARPA work, tells me that's just a part of the $20 million DARPA plans to dish out over five years to contractors and academic research teams as part of a program called Programming Computation on Encrypted Data. (In DARPA's strange acryonym language, the program is abbreviated PROCEED.) IARPA, DARPA's intelligence counterpart, in December issued a call for proposals for a similarly-focused project called SPAR, or Security And Privacy Assurance Research.
Both SPAR and PROCEED aim to work out a way to both encrypt data and let it be used and manipulated. SPAR's program announcement offers the example of building a database in which a user can make a query that the database accurately answers without ever learning the content of that request. Other examples might be a search engine that finds results on the Web without ever seeing a readable search term, or a voting system that can tally ballots without ever looking at them in an unencrypted form.
Those cryptographic sleights of hand may sound logically impossible. In fact, this sort of computable encryption, what cryptographers call "full homomorphic encryption," was proposed three decades ago by cryptographers Ron Rivest, Leonard Adleman, and Michael Dertouzos but remained a long-unsolved problem. That is, until IBM researcher Craig Gentry published an elegant solution in June of 2009.
I wrote about Gentry's paper at the time in this article for the magazine. Gentry is quoted comparing fully homomorphic encryption to "one of those boxes with the gloves that are used to handle toxic chemicals."
"All the manipulation happens inside the box," he says, "and the chemicals are never exposed to the outside world."
On Wednesday, Gentry's work earned him the Association for Computing Machinery's Grace Murray Hopper Award, one that's formerly been given to luminaries like Ray Kurzweil, Steve Wozniak and Bob Metcalfe.
But there's still a major hurdle for Gentry's method: It takes immense computational power. A single Google search, for instance, would take about one trillion times as long with fully homomorphic encryption as it would in its unencrypted form.
DARPA and IARPA's contractors will seek to find new, more efficient ways to implement schemes like Gentry's. According to DARPA's guidelines, its goal is to reduce the computing time for fully homomorphic encryption by a factor of 10 million compared to its current state, or alternatively to reduce it to 100,000 times the computation required for unencrypted computing.
When I spoke with Gentry, he said he already has some tricks up his sleeve. He's recently discovered a new version of the fully homomorphic scheme that's still very inefficient, but may be more open to computational shortcuts. (He declined to share more details before the paper can be published.) "It’s a very different approach," says Gentry. "It adds more flexibility that might let it be better exploited."
What are the odds that Gentry's new method will unlock fully homomorphic encryption for practical use? "When I have an idea, its probability of working is usually about one percent," says Gentry with a chuckle.
Judging by that success rate from the inventor of fully homomorphic encryption himself, DARPA, IARPA, and their contractors will have plenty of work ahead. |
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