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a regular feature for United Estonia and a player who has been in and out of many rosters but has never stayed a permanent fixture.Coming from Infused, Chris “dream” Choat and Roma “roma” Parramore had already joined forces with UE mix member Mick “MCK” McDonalds and Oscar “ozzy” Scott under the banner of Team Viral, who at the time also had former MnM member Elliot “Berty” Towse Bertram in the starting five. However for one reason or another, the roster took a sideways step into the CAZ eSports camp, leaving Berty behind and seeing Jake become their new frontman.
With such previous history, it would be assumed that the team are now more than comfortable with playing with each other. However, with this being the first event for the roster as a full five and with the added stresses that are endured with travelling to such international events, it will be a true test of their comradery to see how the roster fairs. As what appears to be the only full team heading over from the UK, most of the pressure could rest with this side. Judging by recent form for this side, including a current 8 and 0 record in the current season of ESEA main, they are getting on just fine, and their experience against international sides is mounting.
Team Endpoint (Immi, Esio, Keita, MiGHTYMAX, Velox)
Team Endpoint, whilst being a new name to the scene, is full of familiar faces. It sees Ian “Immi” Harding reunited with former team mates Ben “Esio” Doughty and Max “MiGHTYMAX” Heath after a short stint in a coaching role. In his return to playing, Immi has thus far helped his team into a qualification for the second season of the UK masters, with a win over upcoming side Odin eSports securing their position.
The team are also playing in the ESEA Premier division, one step up from their countrymen CAZ eSports, and are seemingly finding it to be a challenge. With their one win coming from a forfeit, it can safely be said that the new roster may be finding themselves out of their depths amongst some of Europes outsider teams. That is not to say the side are not capable, with the players involved being now some of the most experienced the country can offer, but with a line-up so fresh and seemingly in turmoil, playing amongst some of the best may be doing more harm than good.
As highlighted earlier, the roster attending the WCC differs from that last seen of the Endpoint side, with Jamie “keita” Hall standing in and Velox, previously of the Millwall Bushwackers, also stepping into the roster. Jamie in himself brings a wealth of experience to the fold, with countless years of experience behind him, he is sure to be put to use under this Endpoint side. Velox is more of an unknown quantity, though if the Endpoint roster has seen something in him, then they will be expecting him to deliver big in China.This self-taught, self-motivated and self-made developer went from homeless to at-home at the highest levels of video game development.
“Right there,” Ryan Zehm says, pointing to the ground next to a dumpster pushed against the exterior wall of Boise’s main library. “That’s where most of my first video game was built. The library had everything I needed: books on programming, free internet, and a place to warm up when I needed it.”
Today, Ryan is the award-winning founder of NurFACE Games, a video game development studio that designs and creates games for mobile and PC platforms.
But just a few years back, Ryan was a homeless former Hewlett-Packard employee who split his days between the The River of Life Men’s Shelter and the Boise Library. Often, he says, those days were spent leaning against the north-facing wall along River Street, next to a dumpster and within reach of an electrical outlet. There he could sit relatively undisturbed for hours at a time creating his first video game — Space Blast — on his one possession of any value, a used laptop he found on Craigslist for about $25.
It was a long fall for an intelligent, motivated guy who showed, even from an early age, an aptitude for technology.
“We [Ryan and his brother Brandon, co-founder of TSheets] were both homeschooled our whole life and our parents never let us watch television,” Ryan explains. “But when I was five or six, my dad brought home a 286 computer. He told us there were games on there and that we could play the games if we could get it to work.”
They got it to work. And by the time Ryan was just seven, he had already programmed his first game.
“It was just a text-based adventure game, but I was hooked,” Ryan grins. “Game development became my lifelong passion.”
Throughout his homeschooled childhood (he was only briefly enrolled in public school, an experience he describes as “a disaster”), Ryan found solace and stimulation in creating other-worldly characters and environments both in games and in writing fiction.
“I can play in somebody else’s world or I can come up with my own,” he says. “Just having a pen and paper was stimulating, but the computer was way more stimulating.”
After completing his homeschool studies and briefly enrolling in a college correspondence course, Ryan took a job with Hewlett Packard in Boise running servers and other IT tasks.
Life was pretty good. Ryan was making a decent living doing work he found interesting. He owned a house, a nice car and was generally living out the American Dream.
Eventually, Ryan got tapped by his superiors for an assignment in Costa Rica, where he would train Costa Rican employees to hold positions previously held by Americans. Ryan spent months living and working in Costa Rica. He found it fun and interesting.
Then one day, things changed.
“I flew into Boise and went to HP on Chinden and the whole place seemed like it had been cleared out,” he recalls. “I found my desk and it was empty. I asked someone about the pictures and other items I had left on my desk and they gave me a box. I had been laid off.”
Ryan was upset about becoming a victim of corporate downsizing. It felt dehumanizing. He briefly considered following some of his HP coworkers to positions they were accepting at Micron, but determined it was time to take his career into his own hands.
“I decided I needed to stop this stupid corporate life and go do something on my own.”
So Ryan started his own IT consulting company, helping companies set up computers and networks. But being a young, first-time entrepreneur in the middle of the greatest financial downturn in nearly a century was not a recipe for success.
Ryan struggled, and could no longer afford the rent for his comfortable, suburban home. Fiercely independent, he found himself homeless. First living in a car, then a tent along Bogus Basin Road, then at the River of Life shelter. Some family and friends helped how they could, but Ryan wanted to do things his way, even if that meant living in a shelter.
“It wasn’t a great place, but you got a meal and a place to sleep,” Ryan says. “I was homeless for over a year, but I never begged. I never asked anyone for money. That’s when I said I’m going to make video games until I get off the street.”
That’s what he did, borrowing library books and the library’s surprisingly strong wifi connection to learn the ins and outs of video game development. After about five months, Space Blast, built entirely at the Boise Library, was ready for release.
“Eventually I started making enough money off of the [in-game] ads to afford a $300 a month apartment in Emmett.”
The isolation of Emmett allowed Ryan additional focus.
“I didn’t really do anything but eat and make games.”
Ready to grow, Ryan established NurFACE (pronounced “in your face”) and developed additional games for the Google Play app store.
He entered a number of game development competitions and finished at the top — or very near — each time. Ryan’s reputation and workload was growing.
“In Boise nobody knows me, but thanks to these competitions, when I go to San Francisco I get to meet with the CEO of Unity [game development platform] and one of the founders of Electronic Arts,” he says.
But Ryan wanted to find more collaborators locally. He began reaching out through Facebook and Craigslist to find other local game developers, and when he didn’t find much success, he formed the Idaho Game Developer’s Meetup Group, which has since grown to nearly 150 members.
While Ryan continues to develop games for mobile and computers, the recent interest and growth in virtual reality applications and Ryan’s success at VR-development game contests have opened a host of new opportunities.
“VR is going into everything: medical, classrooms, conference calls,” Ryan says.
“The only people with the skills to create VR content are game developers and Hollywood. Right now, most of my projects are VR related.”
Ryan’s vision is clear: to build Idaho’s first 100+ employee independent game studio. What’s not so clear is where the employees will come from to achieve that.
Boise State’s GIMM program is a great start, he says, but not enough. His most recent hire is working remotely from Utah, meaning dollars that could be circulating locally end up 400 miles away.
No matter what the future brings, Ryan says he will continue to share his lifelong passion of games with the world.
“It’s a lot of fun making it, but it doesn’t compare to the huge gratification you get when you share it with people.”
Photography by Chris Ennis of NuVision00:59 Super Typhoon Wutip Continues Path Through Western Pacific Super Typhoon Wutip moved past Guam over the weekend and now continues its path across the western Pacific.
At a Glance Tropical Storm Bret formed on June 19 in the open Atlantic Ocean.
Bret brought very heavy rain to Trinidad and Tobago and northern Venezuela. Tropical Storm Bret was a short-lived, but historic tropical storm that caused damage in the southern Caribbean Sea.
(MORE: Hurricane Season Outlook | Hurricane Central )
A robust tropical wave crossed the southern Atlantic from the African coast to near South America during the second week in June. As the wave approached the southernmost Windward Islands, the wave gained enough organization to be called a Tropical Storm.
<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/bret_recap_track.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/bret_recap_track.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/bret_recap_track.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Track history for Tropical Storm Bret in June, 2017.
There were reports of damaged roofs on the islands of Trinidad, Tobago and Grenada on June 19 and some flooding occurred in southern Trinidad. Tropical storm conditions did not last long on these islands, but the flooding stuck around.
Flooding was reported across Trinidad well after Bret moved westward into the southern Caribbean Sea.
Bret attained maximum sustained winds of 45 mph after passing over Trinidad on June 20 before weakening.
As Bret moved westward into the southern Caribbean Sea, atmospheric conditions became unfavorable for thunderstorm activity near the tropical storm. Strong winds aloft pushed cloud tops north and eastward away from Bret's core.
Just a day after the formation of a well-defined center, Bret was unable to support robust thunderstorms and the system opened up into a tropical wave.
Historical Tidbits
Bret formed in a portion of the Atlantic Basin that is an unusual spot for tropical development for June, and at a very low latitude for any time of the season.
Bret was an outlier that is only joined by a few tropical systems that have formed in June in the open Atlantic. Tropical development in the open Atlantic only happens about once per decade in June.
<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/trop-origins-jun-with-bret2.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/trop-origins-jun-with-bret2.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/trop-origins-jun-with-bret2.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Each red dot shows the origin point of a storm in the Atlantic during June since 1950. Notice that Bret is far removed from the typical northwest Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico breeding ground.
Typically in June, tropical systems form in the western Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico where conditions are more suitable for tropical development.
(MORE: Strange Atlantic Tropics in 2017: Early Start and an Unusual Location for Formation )
Bret was also historical in that it was the first system to garner tropical storm warnings before becoming a tropical cyclone. The National Hurricane Center was given the ability to declare some tropical systems 'potential tropical cyclones' when they are forecast to bring tropical storm conditions to land.
Tropical storm watches and warnings were issued for parts of the Windward Islands, northern Venezuela and for Trinidad and Tobago before Bret became a tropical storm.
A cyclone is a general name for any low-pressure system in the world.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Life and Landfall of Hurricane Hermine: Africa to North AtlanticA top adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump plans to hold talks in Canada on Tuesday with members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's team, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, will travel to Calgary, Alberta, where Trudeau and his cabinet are holding a two-day retreat focused largely on the new U.S. administration.
The talks will make him the first member of the Trump administration to travel abroad and underlines the 35-year-old son-in-law of the president's importance in the White House.
It may also be in part due to the lack of cabinet members who can take part in such a mission, with Rex Tillerson not yet approved by the Senate as secretary of state. Neither is WIlbur Ross, his trade secretary pick.
The federal ethics watchdog ruled at the weekend that a 1967 nepotism law did not apply to the President himself, opening the way for Kushner to be sworn in as his senior advisor.
The son-in-law also rises: Jared Kushner sat behind his father-in-law as the new president met business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. He goes to Canada Tuesday
Talks: Jared Kushner will meet Justin Trudeau. The president has said he will meet both Canada and Mexico's leaders soon to discuss NAFTA
He and his wife Ivanka Trump are moving into a new home in Kalorama, the upscale D.C. section where they will become neighbors of the Obama.
And Kushner was directly behind his father-in-law on Monday as the president met business leaders to promise drastic cuts in regulation and reductions in the tax burden on business.
Trump was signing an executive order Monday opening the way for a renegotiation of NAFTA, the trade deal between the USA and both Canada and Mexico which was a focus of his criticism during the campaign.
Kushner's visit appears to be a step towards Trump himself meeting Trudeau.
One of Canada's key officials said he believed the NAFTA renegotiation was more about Mexico than the U.S.'s northern neighbor.
The Trump administration's main concerns about trade revolve around deficits with Mexico and China, Canada's ambassador to the United States told reporters on Sunday, saying his country was not the focus of U.S. efforts to renegotiate NAFTA.
David MacNaughton, a key Canadian player in the North American Free Trade Agreement issue, also said Trump and Trudeau had agreed to meet'very soon.'
Earlier on Sunday, Trump said he would meet Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to begin renegotiating NAFTA, under which both nations send most of their exports to the United States.
First family: Jared Kushner's wife Ivanka is moving to Washington D.C. with their children as he takes up his White House role
'I don't think Canada is the focus at all,' MacNaughton said. 'But we are part of NAFTA, and there are discussions that need to be had, and we'll be having them over the next few weeks.'
MacNaughton expressed optimism that Canada would make progress in the talks.
Senior Trudeau aides in recent weeks have tried to persuade their U.S. counterparts that given the tight links between the two nations' economies, protectionist moves would hurt both Canadians and Americans.
'What we've got to worry about is that we're collateral damage,' said MacNaughton.
The envoy also suggested Canada might at some point focus on bilateral relations with the United States rather than including Mexico in all the NAFTA talks.
That could upset Mexico, whose economy has suffered since Trump started expressing unhappiness with U.S. companies that have factories there.
'We will cooperate on trilateral matters when it's in our interests, and we'll be looking to do things that are in our interests bilaterally,' said MacNaughton, declining to give details.
Mexico said it president, Enrique Pena Nieto, has talked with Trudeau about NAFTA ahead of planned meetings with Trump.
Pena Nieto's office said that during Sunday's conversation, Trudeau and the Mexican president'spoke about the importance of the United States for both countries, and agreed to join forces to continue promoting the economic integration of North America.'
Mexico's manufacturing sector has benefited from NAFTA, but Trump claims it has displaced U.S. jobs.American duo Desert Dwellers recently released their newest full length album titled "The Great Mystery". In support of the album they are currently touring across the U.S so be sure to check out their tour page for a location near you.
If you have never heard of Desert Dwellers before then you should immediately check them out online as their music is some of the finest in the downtempo, psydub, global bass genres you are likely to hear. They can also pump out a rocking four-four dance track too which they are known to bust out when playing live.
I recently asked DD member Amani Friend a few questions about all things past, present and future from the DD duo. Read on for some interesting insight into one of the hottest acts on the circuit today.
PsyAmb : How does the new album differ to previous ones? I heard there might be some more uptempo tribal tech numbers on it? What was the overall vision in regard to creating this album?
DD : The Great Mystery is a special release in the vast Desert Dwellers music catalog. This album marks the first time that the two of us (Amani Friend and Treavor Moontribe) have collaborated on a full length album together from start to finish, even though we have been producing music together since 1999 in a wide range of styles. Up until now our productions have gone into the world as either singles, EPs, or on various artist compilations.
Desert Dwellers' new release - "The Great Mystery"
This release actually marks the 8th full length album of original music in the DD catalog, and it is definitely one of the most dynamic offerings. The vision behind the album was hatched several years ago between the two of us, and that was to create a journey through multiple genres of electronic music and world music into a fluid tapestry of psychedelic soundscapes. The range of this album goes from ambient, to full on tribal tech dance tracks, with a lot of psy-dub and mid tempo global bass tracks in between.
PsyAmb : Do you guys enjoy DJing you own music or do prefer a more live setup?
DD : Our set up when we play as a duo is to have one laptop running traktor to DJ the tracks, and the other laptop synced up through midi so that we can trigger additional vocals, instrumental passages, loops, and effects on top of the DJ set. This allows us to be spontaneous and in the moment, and we are able to do “live remixing” of our older and newer sounds. It is also an efficient operation and we travel lightly, which makes our lives easier.
We have collaborated many times with live vocalists and instrumentalist in our sets, and we really enjoy that a lot. We want to be doing that a lot more and more in the future with our collaborators Ixchel Prisma Meagan Chandler, and HANNAH. We also want to start exploring some visual projection aspect for our show as well. But keeping things simple and efficient the past few years has been the way to go, as we have been traveling all over the place.
PsyAmb : What has been the highlight of the past 12 months?
DD : It was exactly 12 months ago that we were driving around the country in a bus with Simon Posford (Shpongle). We had the honor of opening up for his Shpongletron show 42 times. We can honestly say that tour was a career highlight for us, as the music of Shpongle has been some of the most influential and inspiring music to both of us since the 90s.
Also in the past 3 months we have had the opportunity to travel extensively to Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and Bali!! Spreading the joy of music to all corners of the planet has always been a life long dream!
Desert Dwellers kicking back with Simon Posford of Shpongle
PsyAmb : American producers, especially those in the San Francisco bay area really helped to push the merging of bass and psytrance into a tribal bass downtempo hybrid. Were you guys influenced by anyone in your own bass evolution, so to speak?
DD : The roots of psychedelic tribal downtempo music originated long ago with artists like Shpongle, Eat Static, The Orb, OTT, Abakus, and other similar artists. We were heavily influenced in the 90s by this first wave of global electronic producers. During the past 5 years or so we have been inspired by many artists from down under, such as Grouch,
PsyAmb : You have done many remixes and been remixed by many artists. Are there any particular remixes that you are especially pleased with? : The roots of psychedelic tribal downtempo music originated long ago with artists like Shpongle, Eat Static, The Orb, OTT, Abakus, and other similar artists. We were heavily influenced in the 90s by this first wave of global electronic producers. During the past 5 years or so we have been inspired by many artists from down under, such as Grouch, Kalya Scintilla, Whitebear, and Temple Step Project. In North America, the producers we really enjoy are Bird of Prey, Birds of Paradise, and recently artists like Sixis and AtYya : You have done many remixes and been remixed by many artists. Are there any particular remixes that you are especially pleased with?
DD : The remix we did for : The remix we did for EarthRise SoundSystem called “Makyen Ghrir Allah” came out amazing, as did our (yet to be released) remix for Eat Static of “Dionysiac.” There has been so many remixes done of DD that would be impossible to pick a favorite, but a couple that really have always stood out are Kaminanda’s remix of Dragon’s Mist, and Kalya Scintilla’s remix of “Lotus Heart” and the entire set of remixes for “Seeing Things” on Twisted Records is exceptional as well.
One of the many great DD remix releases
PsyAmb : What have been your favorite festivals to play at and what makes them so special for you?
DD : The most amazing gathering and musical experience we have ever been a part of was playing in front of the Great Pyramids in Egypt on Dec 21st 2012 for “The Great Convergence", and then flying to Guatemala right afterwards for New Years Eve at the "Cosmic Convergence"!! Exceptionally epic way to bring in the new era.
Other music festivals we have enjoyed a lot are Symbiosis, Beloved, Sonic Bloom, Enchanted Forest, BOOM in Portugal, Rainbow Serpent and Earth Frequency in Australia, and of course Burning Man …. but we always say that Burning Man is in a category of it’s own!!!
PsyAmb : I am always excited about how many young producers approach new ways of exploring beats and bass. Who are some up and coming artists that have caught your attention of late?
DD : AtYya, Sixis, Mumukshu, Wu Wei, Goopsteppa, Supersyllius
PsyAmb : What were you guys like as teenagers? Did you have a rebellious phase? What music were you listening to back then?
DD : The two of us actually had completely different upbringings. Amani spent his early years traveling around the world with his hippie parents, listening to reggae, dub, jazz, and all forms of world music. Treavor spent his youth growing up in LA listening to classic rock and heavy metal, surrounded by the buzz of the concrete jungle. When electronic music kicked into the scene in the early 90s, both of us gravitated towards it immediately and devoted ourselves to it, bringing our own unique histories into the new electronic landscapes we were producing.
On the road again
PsyAmb : You have your own label DesertTrax through which you release music. You also have releases on : You have your own label DesertTrax through which you release music. You also have releases on Whiteswan and sister label Blackswan I believe as well as Twisted Records. What informs your decision to release through your own label as opposed to other labels?
DD : Generally speaking, when we want a certain release to have a Physical CD that goes along with it, we will collaborate with Black Swan and White Swan on the project and when a release is digital only we will release that under our own labels Desert Trax or Yogi Tunes.
We did release something on Twisted records called “Seeing Things” about a year ago, and we would love to create some new psychedelic EP for that label in the future as it is such an iconic label to work with.
PsyAmb : I'm a big fan of artist : I'm a big fan of artist Aumega ( Julian Graham ) who designed the cover art for the new album. How do you guys get hooked up? Did you give him any ideas of what you wanted for the cover? What other visual artists have you been involved with?
DD : We got turned onto Aumega’s art because of a T-Shirt Amani bought from : We got turned onto Aumega’s art because of a T-Shirt Amani bought from Nomad Wear. We just emailed him one day and he was so enthusiastic to work on the new album for us, as he said he was already a huge fan or our music. The feeling was mutual for sure. We gave him some minimal directions, wanting the cover to capture the essence of the “Great Mystery” that we find ourselves in during this enigma of an existence.
Aumega really did an exceptional job and we are very pleased with the result of the collaboration. We have also worked with many other talented artists on our covers in the past, including Justin Totemical, Olivia Curry, Vajra, Jesse Noemind, Michael Divine, and Amani has actually contributed his art and design to many of the covers for Desert Dwellers` and Desert Trax as well over the years.
PsyAmb : I grew up in Australia and was lucky to attend some great summer outdoor festivals in my youth. How was your recent Australian tour?
DD : We had a really exceptional time down under. The people are so friendly and the nature is breathtaking! You Australians really know how to party and have a good time!!
PsyAmb : Your tour for the new album kicks off real soon. How are preparations going? What can people expect from the show?
DD : Expect awesomeness to unfold perfectly!
PsyAmb : Outside of music and performing what do you guys enjoy doing when not in the studio or on the road?
DD : Outside of traveling and working in the studio? Is there such a thing?
Catch the guys at Bicycle Day along with Alex and Allyson Grey ( April 18th, The Warfield, San Francisco )
PsyAmb : Can you tell us about the meaning behind the name Desert Dwellers. Is it related to where you guys are living?
DD : We both grew up in desert climates, organizing electronic music gatherings deep in the desert landscapes, under the full moon and the stars. The name Desert Dwellers comes from our initial wanderings through the deserts of California, New Mexico, and Nevada.
PsyAmb : I love listening to ambient music and credit it for healing me at a time when my physical well-being was under attack some 10 years ago. How effective do think music is as a healing tool?
DD : Music is certainly one of the most powerful healing tools, as proven time and time again in the medical profession. We feel that one of the most important aspects of music that makes it healing is the intention behind the music when it was created. When you give your music the intention of it having a healing effect on the listener, it will have so much more power and effectiveness to obtain that result.
PsyAmb : How is your workload shared when creating music. Do you work on tracks in total unison each time or are each or you responsible for different structures, sounds, melodies, basslines etc?
DD : We like to work on our own and pass projects back and forth until the track is complete. We initially got into the habit of working that way versus working in unison because for most of the collaboration we lived in two different states, and passing projects back and forth was the only way we could get things done.
Now that we both live together in Santa Fe, we have a common studio that we share, but we are rarely there anyways!! We are both fully capable of all the aspects of the music production workflow. That being said, Amani generally works more on the effects and sound design, and Treavor generally works more on the arrangement - and then we both do the final mix of the track together.
PsyAmb : Touring as a festival act can be very draining both physically and mentally with many late nights and long distances between gigs. How do you maintain your health ( and sanity ) on the road?
DD : Well one thing that we both don’t do is drink alcohol all the time. It would be torture to have to do all this traveling while constantly being hung over!! Not sure how some of these artists drink the way they do without getting burnt out physically.
We also have our methods for staying healthy - catching up on sleep whenever possible, usually in the airplane. It is also important to stay on top of things and be proactive in eating a healthy diet, and taking super foods and supplements to aid the bodies own natural immune system.
We also like to tell ourselves that this crazy lifestyle we have is way better then having a desk job and any time we are feeling burnt out, this slight attitude adjustment enlivens our gratitude and overall happiness to keep doing what we worked our whole lives at!
PsyAmb : What are your thoughts on the coming wave of music in virtual reality systems? Could we imagine a non to distant future where Desert Dwellers ( or avatars thereof ) are playing "live" at a virtual Burning Man?
DD : Wow this sounds very trans-human, and a terrible “evolution” of technology. Who would want to replace the real experience of getting our feet in the dirt and dancing under the stars and moon, and watching the sun come up over the horizon with our best friends around us dancing up a dust storm together!!
No virtual avatar in a dimly lit room while we stare at the unhealthy glow of a computer screen will give us an experience like that! That being said, we did actually play on Turntable FM once and it was kinda fun. Great way to connect with people all over the world who otherwise couldn’t travel to one of the festivals we play at. But it certainly was no replacement for the real thing :)
> You might also like the following mixes featuring Desert Dwellers
- Tribal World Music Mix - PsyAmb 51
- Beats, Bass and Beyond - PsyAmb 73
Psybient Mix - - DeepMix - PsyAmb 70Enter Tesla Motors and PayPal (works of Elon Musk), the software will list Hyperloop and SpaceX as similar concepts. Cool! And you can do it with concepts in any topic!
Introduction
In my childhood I was amazed when I saw Excel completing simple lists: 1-2-3 with 4, or Monday-Tuesday with Wednesday. How many type of series could it extend? Probably not that much, as these had to be programmed one-by-one, or at least type-by-type.
I leave the completion of numeric lists to Excel or LibreOffice, but how about extending any other list with publicly knowledge? Would it be difficult to quickly list all the kings of a country? Or to get the name of the drummer of a band if you remember just the vocalist and guitarist? Or listing all bridges of a city, remembering only two of them? Probably most of you could gather it from the internet. However, if you search for similar type of historical figures from different countries, probably you won’t find lists for this.
I’ve written a program, which tries to list similar concepts to some entered by the user. The results are not ordered (like in Excel), but in much-much wider area. Cars, food, cities, wars, just like anything which is on Wikipedia. Yes, indirectly I’m using Wikipedia’s data for this, more exactly the database at DBpedia.
How it works? 1. Getting data from DBpedia
Working with these available world-representations is important, because they include a huge amount of knowledge, which is not possible to gather and format at home.
These huge datasets are not practical, however possible to download, but we can freely access the API (an open access point) of DBpedia, so an internet-connection is enough to reach allllll data.
Check a page at dbpedia: http://dbpedia.org/page/Matthias_Corvinus
The available data is highly similar to that of Wikipedia, the big difference is that dbpedia stores them in key-value pairs, while – as you know – Wikipedia displays mostly text in paragraphs, which is not easy to understand for the PC. To find all people born in Kaposvár, we just have to run a sparql-query on dbpedia:
select distinct?Concept where {?Concept dbpprop:birthPlace dbpedia:Kaposvár }
… yeah to see that they can’t handle letters outside of English alphabet. Anyway, with Eger it’s okay.
To get the same information from the text of Wikipedia is much harder, there’s no dedicated keyword/column for this. You can be lucky if it’s in the right-side box, and you don’t have to do natural language processing to get it from the text, which can be of any language 🙂
How it works? 2. Determining common categories
As you could see on the dbpedia page of Matthias, we have a ton of key-value pairs (I call these categories) for all pages. To find similar concepts, we need to find the common key-value pairs of the given concept (eg. Matthias and I. Stephen -> both have key ‘dcterms:subject’, value ‘category:Hungarian_monarchs’) and than query concepts with same categories (listing all Hungarian_monarchs: http://dbpedia.org/page/Category:Hungarian_monarchs).
As shown above, dbpedia returns the results as an answer to an sql-like query, so parsing is not difficult. Finding the common key-value pairs in two pages is programmatically easy, than running a query to list other concepts with these common key-value pairs is also quick – we already have similar concepts!
Two input concepts can have, and generally do have a lot of common categories. This makes possible to find really small categories: finding similar concepts to Shakespeare and Cervantes shows they are not only sharing the ‘dramatist’ category, but they died in the same year! Listing all dramatist of history wouldn’t help us, but with other matching properties we can find more similar results.
How it works? 3. Helping the user to find the record in database
The title of dbpedia pages are written differently from how the user enters it on the GUI. My program tries to locate the page the user wanted to target, it uses the following techniques:
1. Spaces are converted underscores: Los Angeles -> Los_Angeles
2. Disambiguate options are offered to the user to choose: the page Table contains links to 10 different pages. Read from property: dbpedia-owl:wikiPageDisambiguates
3. Redirections are automatically followed: Sour cherry -> Prunus_cerasus. Read from property: dbpedia-owl:wikiPageRedirects
4. More freedom was added by letting the user to enter the word in any language. If I enter ‘Körte’, for which I won’t have any results with the techniques above, the program will try to find any concept in the database which has a ‘sameAs’ link to the Hungarian ‘Körte’. If the English ‘Pear’ page has a note that it is ‘same’ with the Hungarian ‘Körte’ page, that the software will load the ‘Pear’ page, which is perfect for the user. The user can set his languageCode on GUI.
How it works? 4. Limiting common categories
Often we have so many common categories, that dbpedia’s sparql access point fails to answer the query. I had to choose somehow the categories to keep.
1. I query the total number of concepts in the database for which each category is set. I simply ignore categories occuring too often: eg. the category ‘Organism’ is a common category for any two historical figure, but absolutely useless.
2. I have an other list of categories which are always ignored: mostly values containing numerical data. The user won’t be happy to find similar cities based on the ‘April Low temperature’, rather historical or political properties. Also skipped parameters: precipitation data, two other temperature data, UTC offset, chemical data of fruits (categories ending with Mg).
3. If the |
ate arthropods also known as whip spiders and tailless whip scorpions (not to be confused with whip scorpions and vinegaroons that belong to the related order Thelyphonida). The name "amblypygid" means "blunt rump", a reference to a lack of the flagellum ("tail") that is otherwise seen in whip scorpions. They are harmless to humans.[2][3] Amblypygids possess no silk glands or venomous fangs. They rarely bite if threatened, but can grab fingers with their pedipalps, resulting in thorn-like puncture injuries.
As of 2016, 5 families, 17 genera and around 155 species had been discovered and described.[4] They are found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide; they are mainly found in warm and humid environments and like to stay protected and hidden within leaf litter, caves, or underneath bark. Some species are subterranean; all are nocturnal. Fossilized amblypygids have been found dating back to the Carboniferous period, such as Graeophonus.
Physical description [ edit ]
Detail of pedipalps
[5] Parts of an amblypygid, from Pocock (1900)
Amblypygids range from 5 to 70 centimetres (2.0 to 27.6 in) in legspan.[4][6] Their bodies are broad and highly flattened, with a solid carapace and a segmented abdomen. Most species have eight eyes; a pair of median eyes at the front of the carapace above the chelicerae and 2 smaller clusters of three eyes each further back on each side.
Amblypygids have raptorial pedipalps modified for grabbing and retaining prey, much like those of a mantis.[7] The first pair of legs act as sensory organs and are not used for walking. The sensory legs are very thin and elongate, have numerous sensory receptors, and can extend several times the length of body.[4]
Behaviour [ edit ]
Damon diadema mother carrying young mother carrying young
Amblypygids have eight legs, but use only six for walking, often in a crab-like, sideways fashion. The front pair of legs are modified for use as antennae-like feelers, with many fine segments giving the appearance of a "whip". When a suitable prey is located with the antenniform legs, the amblypygid seizes its victim with large spines on the grasping pedipalps, impaling and immobilizing the prey.[8] Pincer-like chelicerae then work to grind and chew the prey prior to ingestion.
Comparing the front and back legs of an Amblypygid
Courtship involves the male depositing stalked spermatophores, which have one or more sperm masses at the tip, onto the ground, and using his pedipalps to guide the female over them.[9] She gathers the sperm and lays fertilized eggs into a sac carried under the abdomen. When the young hatch, they climb up onto the mother's back; any which fall off before their first moult will not survive.
Some species of amblypygids, particularly Phrynus marginemaculatus and Damon diadema, may be among the few examples of arachnids that exhibit social behavior. Research conducted at Cornell University suggests that mother amblypygids communicate with their young with her antenniform front legs, and the offspring reciprocate both with their mother and siblings. The ultimate function of this social behavior remains unknown.[10] Amblypygids hold territories that they defend from other individuals.[11]
The amblypygid diet mostly consists of arthropod prey, but this opportunistic predator has also been observed feeding on vertebrates.[4] Amblypygids generally do not feed before, during, and after moulting. Like other arachnids, an amblypygid will moult several times during its life.[4]
Genera [ edit ]
The following genera are recognised:[12][13]
Palaeoamblypygi Weygoldt, 1996 Paracharontidae Weygoldt, 1996
† Graeophonus Scudder, 1890 (2-3 species, Carboniferous) [14]
(2-3 species, Carboniferous) Paracharon Hansen, 1921 (1 species)
(1 species) †Paracharonopsis Engel & Grimaldi, 2014 (1 species, Eocene)
Euamblypygi Weygoldt, 1996 Charinidae Weygoldt, 1996
Catageus Thorell, 1889 (1 species)
(1 species) Charinus Simon, 1892 (33 species)
(33 species) Sarax Simon, 1892 (10 species)
Neoamblypygi Weygoldt, 1996 Charontidae Simon, 1892
Charon Karsch, 1879 (5 species)
(5 species) Stygophrynus Kraepelin, 1895 (7 species)
Unidistitarsata Engel & Grimaldi, 2014
family unspecified
†Kronocharon Engel & Grimaldi, 2014 (1 species, Cretaceous)
Phrynoidea Blanchard, 1852 Phrynichidae Simon, 1900
Damon C. L. Koch, 1850 (10 species)
(10 species) Euphrynichus Weygoldt, 1995 (2 species)
(2 species) Musicodamon Fage, 1939 (1 species)
(1 species) Phrynichodamon Weygoldt, 1996 (1 species)
(1 species) Phrynichus Karsch, 1879 (16 species)
(16 species) Trichodamon Mello-Leitão, 1935 (2 species)
(2 species) Xerophrynus Weygoldt, 1996 (1 species)
Phrynidae Blanchard, 1852
Acanthophrynus Kraepelin, 1899 (1 species)
(1 species) † Britopygus Dunlop & Martill, 2002 (1 species; Cretaceous)
(1 species; Cretaceous) † Electrophrynus Petrunkevich, 1971 (1 species; Miocene)
(1 species; Miocene) Heterophrynus Pocock, 1894 (14 species)
(14 species) Paraphrynus Moreno, 1940 (18 species)
(18 species) Phrynus Lamarck, 1801 (28 species, Oligocene - Recent)
† Sorellophrynus Harvey, 2002 (1 species, Upper Carboniferous)
(1 species, Upper Carboniferous) † Thelyphrynus Petrunkevich, 1913 (1 species, Upper Carboniferous)NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian has declined to rule out introducing stamp duty or land tax surcharges for foreign buyers of residential property after her Victorian counterpart declared the measures had not devastated investment in that state.
On Friday, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas announced surcharges introduced last year on stamp duty and land tax payable by foreign buyers of residential property would be increased.
In December, Gladys Berejiklian warned there were signs the NSW property market was cooling and growth from residential stamp duty "is moderating". Credit:Daniel Munoz
Mr Pallas said his budget this week would increase the stamp duty surcharge from 3 per cent to 7 per cent and a land tax surcharge for "absentee owners" would rise from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
He said the introduction of the surcharges in 2015 had "no adverse" effect on the property market and foreign investment had continued to grow.Parenting done right
Run Forest, Run
Key Press "Left"
speed = 10; direction = 180;
Key Press "Right"
speed = -10; direction = 0;
Key Release "Left" and "Right" (1 Event for each)
speed = 0;
Intersect Boundary
speed = 0;
Preparing Violence
Somebody shoot him
var new_shot; if ( canShoot == 1 ) { // Disable shooting canShoot = 0; // The timer reenables the ability to shoot alarm[0] = floor(room_speed / 4); // Create new shot and send it into the direction of the mouse new_shot = instance_create( x, y, weapon); new_shot.speed = 20; new_shot.direction = direction; }
The first thing we gonna use is the parent system that is available in GameMaker.For that we gonna create a new object and call it "objPlayerParent".Parents are used to add the same events, attributes and even sprites to various object and/or to combine those. I am gonna show you how to do this.For objPlayerParent, do not add any sprite as image. Just leave it blank.Now, we gonna add movement to this object, so the player can move it around.For the sake of this tutorial, we gonna keep it simple. Add the following events and create a script in the event, adding the code provided:Now what this code does, is to simply allow the player to move left and right and stops him when he goes outside the room area.But this basic setup is enough for our example.Now, add a "Create Event" and add a new variable called "weapon", via the drop action.Leave it at 0.Add a second variable, called "canShoot".Change it to 1.We need those variables for 2 things."weapon" is gonna tell our parent class which weapon the player is using. So this way we can have different behaviour and images for the weapons particles.The "canShoot" variable is gonna be used to limit the players ability to shoot. Otherwise the player might just unleash thousands of shots each step.To reset it, create a new event for Alarm 0 and change "canShoot" in this Event back to 1.Do not restart or start the timer anywhere for now, we gonna code this section next.Create a new event for a key press of "space". Add a script.We are gonna add the following code:( As you notice, there is a 0 missing in the code above inside the brackets of alarm. This is not due to my bad coding, but Steam messing it up when displaying the code.)You should be able to understand this code. What it does is simply to look if shooting is enabled. If yes, it is blocking shooting and resetting the alarm to ~7 steps. This means, our player can shoot each 7 steps one bullet. It then creates and speeds up the projectile and sends it into the current direction of the player.Notice how we use the variable "weapon" here. So far this script would crash, because weapon is nil right now. There is no object behind it. But we are gonna change this in our next steps.HT28 – The JFK Files – Dec 8, 2017
Over the past few months over 500 previously unreleased and over 15,000 previously redacted documents on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy were released to the public. For years the public has debated if Lee Harvey Oswald could have acted alone. Do these new files shed any light on one of the most believed conspiracy theories in the world?
View the documents discussed in the show:
Memo From J. Edgar Hoover – Dallas PD Were Notified Twice by FBI About Threat Against Oswald
Oswald Spoke to KGB Agent Connected to Assassinations and Sabotage
Oswald Was Seen with Jack Ruby, Two Weeks Before Assassination
Jack Ruby’s Call to “Watch the Fireworks”
Strange Call to Cambridge News on Day of Assassination
Letter from Chinese Embassy in Stockholm Claiming Responsibility
Fidel Castro’s Comments on the Assassination
Reaction of Soviet Officials to Assassination
Secret Service Files on Threats Made Against Pres. Kennedy in 1963 (Oswald empty entry from day of assassination is on page 176)
CIA Propaganda Notes on the Warren ReportOr almost anywhere. Portland Trail Blazers star guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum had recruited Anthony all summer, but he remained resistant to the concept of a move all the way across the country to the Pacific Northwest. Instead, it gradually became clear, with input from those closest to Anthony, including Kiyan, that the Oklahoma City option was becoming the most appealing.
“My son has a basketball mind,” Anthony said. “So I will always throw little topics at him. He was like, ‘Dad, where you getting traded to?’ I told him, ‘I don’t know, where do you think I should go?’ He said: ‘You really want me to give you my opinion? I think you should go to OKC.’
“It worked out,” Anthony added.
The ultimate judgment on that will actually take a while, but there is no disputing that Anthony, at 33, looks and sounds content in his new surroundings after hearing for months that his ball-stopping ways were stunting Porzingis and the Knicks.
And for all the understandable uncertainty about how Westbrook, George and Anthony will mesh offensively, how could Oklahoma City resist the gamble? One year after losing Kevin Durant to Golden State, Thunder General Manager Sam Presti deftly acquired both George and Anthony without surrendering a single future first-round draft choice.
He was undeterred by the uncertain futures of both George and Anthony, who share the ability to become free agents in July, and in making the moves he did, he was able to shift center Steven Adams to a more befitting status as the club’s fourth-best player.
There will be questions about Oklahoma City’s defense and depth in comparison to the Warriors and Cavaliers, but it seems safe to suggest that the Thunder, as the team meshes, is bound to look more imposing next April than it will on Thursday night or even in Anthony’s Madison Square Garden return on Dec. 16. And after Westbrook uncorked a record-setting 42 triple-doubles last season to power undermanned Oklahoma City to 47 victories and emerge as the league’s most valuable player, it won’t be all on him this time — if he’s prepared to accept the assistance.
“We discuss that every day,” Anthony said. “Me, Russell, PG — we talk every day about not having to carry a team on a night-to-night basis.US dismisses IAEA report of “progress” over Iran’s nuclear programs
By Peter Symonds
17 November 2007
The Bush administration has rapidly rejected the findings of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report finalised on Thursday, which found that Iran had made “substantial progress” towards clarifying outstanding questions about its nuclear programs.
The US confirmed its intention to press ahead with another UN Security Council resolution demanding that Iran halt its uranium enrichment and other nuclear programs. The US ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, declared that Washington would like to see more “biting” sanctions against Tehran than those imposed under UN resolutions passed last December and in March.
The debate surrounding the latest IAEA report is not simply a rerun of previous arguments. Behind Washington’s demands for tougher UN sanctions is the barely concealed threat of a unilateral US military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. In response to a declaration last month by Russian President Vladimir Putin that there was “no objective evidence” that Iran was building nuclear weapons, US President Bush warned that Iran should be prevented from having the knowledge to make a bomb “if you’re interested in avoiding World War III”.
Russia and China have both opposed the imposition of a new round of UN sanctions. Beijing declared on Thursday that it supported Iran’s right to a peaceful nuclear-energy program and preferred to see Iran answer questions about its nuclear ambitions through negotiations with the IAEA. US ambassador Khalilzad responded by declaring: “I don’t think China would want to be in a position to cause a failure of diplomacy to deal with this issue.” In the lexicon of the Bush administration, “a failure of diplomacy” has only one meaning—a turn to military force.
From the outset, the White House has bitterly criticised the “work plan” agreed in August between the IAEA and Tehran to answer all remaining questions about Iran’s nuclear programs. The US registered a formal complaint against IAEA chairman Mohamed ElBaradei for allegedly exceeding his authority, but bided its time after Russia and China refused to immediately agree to a new UN resolution. The reason for the US opposition is obvious: if the outstanding issues were to be resolved, the formal case against Iran—that it has previously failed to fully disclose its nuclear activities—would collapse.
The lack of objective evidence of any Iranian nuclear weapons program has, however, not prevented the Bush administration from ramping up its propaganda campaign against Tehran. Bush officials routinely equate the “capacity” to make a nuclear weapon with Iran’s progress in uranium enrichment at its Natanz plant—an activity that it permitted under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) to which Iran is a signatory. Moreover, if one were to follow Bush’s declaration that Iran must be denied the “knowledge” to make an atomic bomb then all nuclear research and activity would have to be banned.
The superheated rhetoric from the White House finds its reflection in the international media with the London-based Times, for instance, responding to the IAEA report with a headline “Iran could build atom bomb within one year, says nuclear watchdog”. In fact, the IAEA made no such statement, but simply reported that Tehran had 3,000 gas centrifuges operating at its Natanz facility. This figure—the estimated number of centrifuges needed to produce enough highly-enriched uranium for one bomb—has increasingly been promoted by the US and Israel as the “red-line” for action against Iran.
In recent comments to Le Monde, IAEA director ElBaradei declared that Iran was three to eight years away from being able to produce a bomb and constituted no immediate threat. Even ElBaradei’s estimate assumes that Iran switched its Natanz plant to the production of highly-enriched uranium. Currently the facility is subject to IAEA monitoring which shows that Iran is only producing the low-enriched uranium required for power reactor fuel.
This week’s IAEA report will only be released publicly after a meeting of the IAEA board of governors due next week. The Bush administration has nevertheless seized on parts of the report to repeat its condemnations of Iran and demand a complete shutdown of its nuclear facilities. The US envoy to the IAEA, Greg Schulte, criticised Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA as “selective and incomplete”, adding: “Iran has not met the world’s expectation that it would disclose information on both its current and past programs.”
In its article entitled “UN losing grip on Iran nuke plan”, CNN, which received a leaked copy of the report, highlighted the IAEA’s remark that since early 2006 it “has not received the type of information that Iran had previously been providing” and that its “knowledge about Iran’s current nuclear program is diminishing.” It also cited the IAEA’s contention that Iran’s “cooperation has been reactive rather than proactive. As previously stated, Iran’s active cooperation and full transparency are indispensable for full and prompt implementation of the work plan.”
The reference to “diminishing” knowledge and the call for greater cooperation are hardly new. Similar comments have been inserted in every IAEA report over the past two years. It is during this period that the US has been pressing for UN sanctions to which Iran has responded by limiting IAEA access to its nuclear facilities. In February 2006, Tehran ended its voluntary implementation of the IAEA’s additional protocol for more intrusive inspections, after the IAEA Board referred Iran to the UN Security Council.
As other media agencies have pointed out, the latest IAEA report is “mixed” in its assessment of Iran’s nuclear programs—calling for greater cooperation on the one hand, but at the same time acknowledging that Iran has provided access to individuals and responded satisfactorily to IAEA questions. Large portions of the report are said to clarify details of Iran’s acquisition of centrifuges through the so-called black market network of Pakistan’s top nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan. The “work plan” is not due to be concluded until next month.
The Bush administration’s highly selective use of the IAEA report, as well as its belligerence towards ElBaradei, recalls the campaign of lies about Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction prior to the US-led invasion in 2003. As in the case of Iraq, the White House alleges that Iran has secret nuclear programs that are hidden from the IAEA. Each step by Tehran to answer the IAEA’s concerns is met with new questions and demands from Washington. The process is endless as it is impossible for the Iran to prove a negative: that nowhere in its large territory are there secret facilities.
An Associated Press article on Wednesday reported that the US, Britain and France had prepared their rebuttal of the IAEA report well in advance. Each country has been privately circulating a document setting out dozens of new questions that the IAEA had to investigate.
France wanted a full “chronology of contacts” between Iran and the Khan network and demanded to know why Iran was producing centrifuge components at military facilities. Britain impugned the IAEA, repeatedly questioning its conclusions by asking “what has Iran told the Agency that has given the Agency confidence that Iran’s declaration in this regard is now correct and complete?” The US demanded “access to all individuals... facilities, equipment [and] materials” that can shed light on the suggestions that early enrichment activities were more developed than Tehran admits to and were linked to the military.
In another move that smacks of the Bush administration’s dirty tricks, the New York Times published an article yesterday claiming that Iran had been prevented from buying “nuclear-related materials at least 75 times over the past nine years because of suspicions that the purchases could have been used for building bombs.” The confidential information from the Nuclear Suppliers Group had been conveniently leaked to the newspaper by “a diplomat from a country interested in exposing the extent of Iranian efforts to acquire dual-use items that can be converted to weapons production.”
Conveniently buried at the end of the article was the fact that “the nuclear-related materials” covered a range of items from nickel powder and electron microscopes to a mass spectrometer and lasers, all of which have a large number of varied applications. Again there is a parallel with Iraq. Prior to 2003, the US administration notoriously used UN bans on so-called dual-use items to cripple the Iraqi economy and infrastructure.
The rising temperature of US propaganda against Iran has nothing to do with its alleged nuclear weapons programs, or the other pretext for a new war that is being drummed up—Iranian “meddling” in Iraq. Rather, with a little more than a year left in office, the Bush administration is actively preparing for a military confrontation with Iran.
The aim of any US military attack against Iran is not simply to destroy its nuclear facilities but to further US ambitions to secure a dominant strategic and economic role throughout the resources rich-regions of the Middle East and Central Asia. The sharpening tensions with Russia and China are a warning that a new conflict has the potential to escalate into a far broader war involving the major powers.As more advocates emerge from shadows of organizations and wage own battles, some ponder how they’ll advance cause without an LGBT ally at the height of its power – and ensure laws protect them from discrimination
The vans went out early Thursday morning, bringing a handful of transgender rights activists to Albany for Governor Andrew Cuomo’s state of the state address. The Democrat had recently used his executive power to ban discrimination against transgender New Yorkers in housing, banking, employment, schooling and public services.
The activists, though, were not there to applaud Cuomo. They were there to protest for a bill to make those protections permanent.
It is an effort that the state’s most powerful LGBT organization had all but dropped. In late 2015, the 25-year-old Empire State Pride Agenda announced that it was preparing to cease its lobbying operations.
The move left the state’s trans rights activists feeling abandoned. Now, they face daunting questions of how to advance their cause without an LGBT ally at the height of its power.
Similar questions are dogging transgender rights activists across the country. Their fight for equality is enjoying unprecedented visibility. But many of the movement’s key advocates still belong to groups whose dominant mission, until last spring, was winning the right for same-sex couples to marry.
In the shadow of that milestone, many LGBT organizations have become diminished. And transgender advocates say they worry about their ability to leverage the gay rights community’s political connections, donors and institutional might for their own coming battles.
“LGB groups are a really important resource for the trans movement, and they’re fading in some states,” said Mara Keisling, the director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “The infrastructure is very unsteady. That should be a real cause of alarm for us.”
To New York’s trans communities, that infrastructure has already destabilized. A bill banning transgender discrimination had been the last major policy goal of Pride Agenda, which helped pass marriage equality and anti-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation. But that bill, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, had failed for several years to clear the Republican-held state senate. When Cuomo changed the law himself, Pride Agenda declared its last goal fulfilled, and at the end of 2015, announced that it was all but shutting down.
The fledgling network of trans rights groups accused Pride Agenda of recasting its goal in order to declare victory. Without the force of law, they pointed out, Cuomo’s successors could easily undo those protections. A local politician further fanned the flames when he declared Pride Agenda’s “mission accomplished”.
Juli Grey-Owens described Pride Agenda’s closure as leaving a hole trans activists like herself must scramble to patch. (Grey-Owens is a former Pride Agenda board member.) The group possessed a valuable email list and an extensive rolodex of power players. Its members were also active in training local activists around the state to get the attention of lawmakers. For years, transgender activists took their cues about how and when to agitate for GENDA from its leaders.
“Pride Agenda was always the leader,” Grey-Owens said. “We have a massive amount of work that has to be done, and we don’t have a strong bench. In fact, to heck with the bench. We don’t have a network of activists doing trans issues, period.”
As in other states, donor support is also in jeopardy. Many recent transgender rights victories were the handiwork of gay rights organizations – groups that expanded thanks to a record outpouring of financial support for gay marriage.
Now, those contributions are drying up. And transgender rights advocates say they don’t have a donor base that comes close to making up the difference. For one, the number of trans people is lower. Transgender individuals are more likely to be unemployed, and they are more likely to be poor. “A lot of the work in the LGB community has been financed by cocktail hours and elite hookups and making rich people feel important,” Keisling said. “Well, we’ve never supported our movement that way. We don’t have our own culture of philanthropy.”
The difficulties facing trans right activists highlight old fissures between the trans and LGBT rights movements. Although the two movements frequently find themselves allied, they share a fraught history. Trans rights advocates can point to many instances in which gay rights groups pushed for legal protections that excluded them. And the two have discrete missions: while LGBT rights are a matter of sexual orientation, trans rights are about gender identity and expression.
Some blame the troubles facing the fledgling trans right movement on a failure to acknowledge those different needs.
“We as advocates have done a terrible job of making the country and especially the donor community aware that the big sexy marriage issue is the beginning of the fight, not the end of the fight,” said Patrick Paschall, an LGBT rights advocate in Maryland. “We have done a bad job across America communicating our continuing need to donors. Hopefully we can reengage donors. Because they thought the job was done, and it’s not.”
In Maryland, Paschall is overseeing an effort to keep the state’s major LGBT group viable as activists like himself intensify their fight for trans rights.
Equality Maryland spearheaded the fight for a same-sex marriage law that passed the state legislature in 2012, and it led efforts to win over voters when that law was challenged by ballot initiative two years later. That same year, 2014, Equality Maryland made a successful push for legislation shielding trans people from discrimination. But once the right of same-sex marriage was secure, donations began to evaporate.
Maryland activists were facing the loss of an organization that had dominated LGBT rights in the state for nearly a quarter-century. So Equality Maryland merged this month with FreeState Legal, a local legal advocacy group run by Paschall that has been front and center in the fight for trans rights.
“We see folks like the Empire State Pride Agenda declare victory and shut their doors and we find that very concerning,” Paschall said. “Here in Maryland, in theory, we could do the same thing. We could have declared victory because the big, sexy marriage equality law and nondiscrimination laws have been passed.”
The merger may not solve the problem of flagging donations. But it has, for the time being, preserved Equality Maryland’s clout and connections for future battles. The new group, with an emphasis on serving transgender individuals, will shift its focus away from landmark legislation to plugging smaller gaps in Maryland law and ensuring that existing law is enforced. The goal is “lived equality”, Paschall explained, rather than just on-paper protections.
Keisling hopes events in Maryland will be a model for LGBT groups looking to take on more trans issues. More and more lawmakers are open to transgender protections, she acknowledged, “but there’s got to be some professional presence guiding that impulse.” In New York state, she said, “There are some great trans leaders up there who could fill the void. But they’re starting off with their arms tied behind their backs. With no money, no infrastructure, and a group that walked away from its political contacts.”
Others say the challenge facing trans groups is being misconstrued.
Rebecca Isaacs, director of the Equality Federation, the umbrella group for dozens of state-based LGBT organizations, noted that local LGBT groups have almost always been under-resourced. The flush years during the marriage equality fight were an exception. “We’re a movement used to being scrappy,” she said. While many local LGBT groups are once again struggling to make ends meet, she noted that very few have closed.
Melissa Sklarz, a board member with Pride Agenda who is also a trans woman, strongly objects to other trans rights activists’ characterization of the situation in New York. The group is maintaining its political action committee to influence elections, she noted, and would continue to support transgender activists in the state, although she did not give specifics as to how.
As for GENDA, Sklarz portrayed continuing to lobby the current Senate, held by Republicans, as a fool’s errand.
“I was one of three people in the room when GENDA was created,” she said. “I and others have been fighting for this legislation for the past 13 years. We have educated every opinion leader, public figure, and faith leader in the state. Our last barrier was the Senate. We lobbied and lobbied and lobbied, and not once has the bill come to the floor,” she said. “Everyone is moving on in New York state. I wish the transgender communities of New York would give more attention to what the governor has done.”
“As far as trans rights are concerned, we’re at a tipping point,” Sklarz continued. “To expect gay and lesbian people to carry the ball is not really realistic anymore. It’s time for transgender people to create our own organizations.”
Few of her fellow activists disagree. Trans activists in New York and nationally are pleased with Cuomo’s executive action. And Renate Hartman, one of Pride Agenda’s critics, together with Grey-Owens and about a dozen others are cobbling together a network of trans activists to pick up where Pride Agenda left off. But they are meeting hurdles.
“We want to speak for ourselves,” said Hartman, one of the Pride Agenda critics. “We’re just a very tiny community. It’s hard for us to make enough noise to make people pay attention, when we’re by ourselves.”DÁIL ÉIREANN HAS voted to postpone the sale of its stake in AIB this afternoon after government TDs forgot to vote.
The motion to prevent the sale of 25% of AIB was proposed by Labour, and gave rise to a polarising debate about what to do with the government’s 99% shares.
But, as campaigns for the Fine Gael leadership get underway today, it seems the government forgot all about it.
“Remarkable way for it to happen…” Labour leader Brendan Howlin said on Twitter.
“…with government TDs forgetting to take their own side, but the Labour motion delaying the sale of AIB shares has passed.”
“Dáil passes motion not to sell AIB until fiscal rules are renegotiated. Government forgets to call vote [as it was] distracted by the leadership race,” said Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty.
But a spokesman for the Department of Finance told Fora.ie the sale was still expected to go ahead when market conditions were suitable.
The government maintains the option of ignoring the vote and going ahead with the sale, as planned.
Finance minister Michael Noonan, who announced his retirement today amid a spate of Fine Gael announcements, said previously that the government should have the opportunity “to sell some of the State’s shareholding in AIB during 2017 or indeed early 2018″.
“Such a sale is provided for in the Programme for a Partnership Government and the ultimate decision will be subject to a range of factors including prevailing market conditions but the overriding consideration will be whether any transaction is likely to maximise the return for the State.”
But Labour wanted assurances sought to ensure that the money would be used to pay for new homes, schools and hospitals.
In an article over the weekend, Howlin said that the sale would “reduce our debt-GDP ratio by just 1%”.
He said that the estimated €3 billion that the government would get from the sale of the shares must be kept in AIB “until such time as we know we can use it”.
What is remarkable is that having lost the election on their plans for the economy, Fine Gael are now presiding over a single party government in the economic area.
“Ministers Noonan and Donohoe may be pleasant men, but at their core they are old school Fine Gael.”
Updated at 4.15pm to include a statement from a Department spokesperson.Disclosure: I serve as a consultant to various companies that compete with Google. But I write on my own -- not at the suggestion or request of any client, without approval or payment from any client.
Google gives its Finance and Health services top on-screen positions. Google gives its Finance and Health services top on-screen positions.
Searches for health-related keywords (example: acne) show a similar pattern: The top-of-listing title, inset image, and left-most details link all link to Google Health. Like Google Finance, Google Health also suffers low acceptance in its category. But Google nonetheless places Google Health links in the most prominent positions. And here too, three prominent links all feature Google's own service.
How do Google's less popular services come to receive such valuable placements? Does favorable pagerank (or other favorable reputation) of google.com spill over onto other Google services to guarantee top position under standard ranking algorithms? (Google has made a similar claim in defending why its house ads systematically enjoy prominent placements.) Or have Google staff manually adjusted ("hard-coded") search results to provide special treatment to other Google services? I believe the latter theory offers the more convincing explanation. The next three sections offer evidence supporting this view.
Diagnosing Hard-Coding: "The Comma Test"
Add a comma to the search (or make any other change, however tiny), and the prominent Google Health links completely disappear. Add a comma to the search (or make any other change, however tiny), and the prominent Google Health links completely disappear.
In general, adding a comma to the end of a search query does not yield predictable changes in algorithmic search results. Try it for yourself using my comma test search tool. Notice: core algorithmic results change little or none when a comma is added -- though ads and rich result boxes (such maps, products, and videos) often vary from search to search.
But for a subset of search terms, adding a trailing comma yields a large change in results. Add a comma to a finance term, for example requesting CSCO, rather than CSCO. Suddenly, the prominent Google Finance links disappear. Same for health keywords: Search for acne, rather than acne, and Google no longer features Google Health. See the screenshots at right.
Suppose the prominent links to Google Finance and Health were actually the result of a genuine algorithmic search -- the same process that yields Google's ordinary algorithmic search results. Then, as confirmed through my comma search tool and through collective experience with Google Search, a trailing comma should not change which results are listed.
But in fact a comma causes a large and systematic change: the addition of a single tiny comma causes the prominent Google Finance and Health links to disappear completely. What system design could explain that disappearance? My best assessment: If Google staff manually specified that a given result should appear at the top of results when users search for a specific search term, they might well forget to include search term variants with appended commas. Then a user searching for an unexpected variant, including by adding a comma, can see "true" Google algorithmic search, unaffected by the manual overrides.
Predetermining Hard-Coding Scope: Topics Lists and Index Pages
Which keywords are affected by Google's apparent hard-coding? As to health terms, Google's Health Topics index page offers an answer. A search for any of the 2,642 terms listed on the page, in exact match with no variation whatsoever, yields the prominent Google Health links presented above. Furthermore, for each and every such term, the Google Health links always occupy the three prominent positions described above. Indeed, in my testing, the Google Health links never appear in any position below the absolute top of the page.
While exact searches for the listed terms yield prominent links to Google Health, any tiny variant causes the Google Health results to disappear completely. Compare results for a sore throat (no Google Health results) to sore throat (prominent Google Health results), and compare my acne and stop acne (no Google Health results) to acne (prominent Google Health results).
The Google Health Topics page thus reveals a remarkable combination of characteristics: 1) complete, 100% success at achieving the top-most algorithmic search position for all terms where Health results appear at all, 2) complete, 100% success at achieving this top-most position for every single one of the 2,642 keywords Health elected to |
6 is close on a monthly basis, IPv4 had a big head start and is currently at 136,000 prefixes given out.
Once a network obtains address space, it's helpful if packets manage to find their way to the holder of the addresses. Prefixes must be "advertised" in the global routing system so routers around the world know where to send the packets for those addresses. The number of IPv6 prefixes in routing tables in the core of the Internet was 500 in 2004 and 19,000 now—a 37-fold increase. IPv4, on the other hand, went from 153,000 to 578,000 in the same time, an increase of a factor four. Network operators often break up their prefixes into smaller ones, so this number is higher than the number of prefixes given out by the RIRs. Note that this is purely the number of address blocks, regardless of their size.
With routing and addressing out of the way, we need to start thinking about the DNS. When a system wants to talk to a service known by a domain name, it can ask the DNS system for the IPv4 addresses that go with that domain and have an A (address) record query. If the system also wants to know the IPv6 addresses that go with the domain, it has to perform a separate AAAA record query. These queries can be performed over either IPv4 or IPv6.
The researchers also looked at the DNS queries received by the.com and.net top-level domain nameservers. These nameservers need to be consulted along the way for every address lookup for every.com and.net domain, so they get several billion queries per 24-hour period. It turns out that about a third of IPv4 nameservers perform AAAA queries and about three quarters of the IPv6 nameservers do so. However, these figures include a lot of "small" nameservers that aren't very active. Of the big, active IPv4 ones—such as those at an ISP serving many customers—more than 90 percent perform AAAA queries. Of the big, active IPv6 nameservers, it's 99 percent.
The researchers also looked in more detail at IPv4 and IPv6 routing and network topology, which showed that IPv6 is "largely deployed" in the core of the Internet (the big service providers). That's not so much the case at the edges, where the content and the consumers live. Out of the Alexa top 10,000 websites, currently about 3.5 percent are IPv6-enabled. This number was less than half a percent in early 2011 before World IPv6 Day. (The paper doesn't mention that this number is much higher, at 23.4 percent, for the Alexa top 500.) Google tracks the number of its users that have IPv6 enabled, a figure that has been going up by a factor 2.5 every year the past few years, and it's listed as 2.5 percent in the paper. The current numbers are actually just over four percent during the weekends and a little under during weekdays. The paper also looks at the performance difference between IPv4 and IPv6. The result: IPv6 is 95 percent as fast as IPv4.
With all of the above out of the way, let's have a look at some actual packets. The researchers scraped together traffic information from as many as 260 sources, estimating that they got to look at a third to half of the Internet's traffic at times. Rest assured that this is merely Netflow data that counts the various types of traffic flowing through a router.
Six years ago, we reported that IPv6 traffic was only 0.0026 percent, at 117Mbps of 4.5Tbps total traffic—although back then, the art and science of IPv6 traffic counting wasn't as developed as it is today, so this was probably an underestimate. In the fourth quarter of 2013, the total traffic was 58Tbps. By 2014, 0.6 percent of that was IPv6 traffic. In the grand scheme of things, that's not much. However, the fraction of IPv6 traffic grew by a factor of five in both 2012 and 2013.
The researchers stress that it's important to combine multiple metrics. Co-author Mark Allman of the International Computer Science Institute told Ars, "We believe this work shows that understanding IPv6 adoption requires multiple data sets showing myriad aspects of the process. Further, when using such an approach, we find that IPv6 is 'getting real' in terms of the growth rate in share of traffic using IPv6, as well as the protocols and content users are accessing over the new protocol."
As little as three or four years ago, a good fraction of IPv6 traffic was network housekeeping, such as DNS and ICMP traffic. As of 2013, the mix of traffic types for IPv4 and IPv6 is much the same. The paper ends with the following graph that combines the ratios between IPv6 vs IPv4 for most of the measurements:
So IPv6 is growing fast. But whether it's fast enough to make up for the imminent decline of IPv4—as addresses get scarcer and scarcer—is still an open question.It is hard to imagine what a big part of American life the passenger pigeon once was. By some estimates it made up 25 to 40 percent of all the birds on the continent. The Native American Seneca tribe viewed the bird as a gift from the gods because they were so abundant. There are 13 towns named after them in Illinois alone. When Charles Dickens traveled to the states, we fed him passenger pigeon.
But in just a few decades the bird vanished. On the 100th anniversary of its extinction, I wanted to understand how a bird could go from being the most plentiful bird in North America to non-existence. So I met naturalist Joel Greenberg at his house just outside Chicago.
Greenberg is perhaps this species’ biggest fan. A stuffed bird named Heinrich sits on Greenberg’s kitchen table and a bumper sticker on his car says “ask me about my passenger pigeon.” He authored the book, A Feathered River Across The Sky, The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction.
Greenberg must encounter a lot of misunderstandings, because he wants to make it absolutely clear that Heinrich is not the same kind of pigeon you see flying around the city, nor is he a carrier pigeon. Instead Heinrich has a shimmery pink breast, and bluish back. He is a pretty bird.
But what made this species really special—the thing I find almost incomprehensible—is the huge numbers of them that flew together.
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It must have been an incredible sight to see millions of birds fly across the sky together. The famous naturalist John James Audubon observed a group so big, it eclipsed the sun for 14 hours. Another naturalist, Alexander Wilson, was on a river trip. Greenberg says Wilson pulled ashore to buy milk from a farmer and “suddenly there was this huge roar, and the sky turned dark. He was terrified. He thought a tornado was coming and he looked at the farmer and said what do we do? And the farmer said, 'just the pigeons'.”
The birds did not just travel over forests and fields. They also flew over big cities like Chicago, turning buildings white with their poop.
Greenberg recounts a famous story from Columbus, Ohio in the 1850s.
“People reported being cold by the downdraft of the beating of hundreds of millions of wings," he said. "And people who had never seen it before dropped to their knees in prayer thinking the end time was near.”
The bird sounds like a nuisance. And it was. But it was also a source of food. Early settlers credit it with sustaining them until crops came. Like buffalo, the passenger pigeon was a symbol of America’s abundance, a resource so big, we thought it couldn’t run out. “Sometimes they were so abundant they were worth nothing,” Greenberg said. “They were fed to hogs. One eyewitness account says they were used to fill potholes in the road.”
So how does a species go from an estimated billions to non-existence?
The Killings
Humans hunted the passenger pigeon for many years and some of the methods were downright strange.
Greenberg says some people filled a clay pot with sulfur, set it on fire and placed it under nesting birds. The birds would topple out of the trees. Greenberg says one commenter observed this method was good for the ladies, because it didn’t involve too much exertion or guns.
Some farmers in Ontario kept it more simple: when the birds flew over their fields, they just threw potatoes at them.
“Now it’s good to know they lost more potatoes than they got pigeons, but every so often a pigeon would fall and you’d have most of a stew fall at your feet,” Greenberg said.
The pigeons were also used in shooting tournaments. One trap, called a plunge shooter, would catapult live birds into the air. According to Greenberg, sometimes people blinded the pigeon, or ripped out feathers and put cayenne on their skin to make the bird fly in circles.
Chicago was a major center for shoots and Captain Bogardus, one of the most famous shooters, was from Illinois. He was said to have shot 500 birds in a single practice session, just to stay sharp.
But Greenberg says the real tipping point for the birds was the growth of two new technologies: the telegraph and the train.
The birds often nested in huge groups. The telegraph made it easy to spread word of the nesting locations and attracted big crowds of hunters—some working full time to track the bird. With the growth of railroads the meat could be shipped to city markets, where newly industrialized communities were hungry for cheap meat.
The birds flew so closely together that a single shot could kill multiple birds. But even more efficient were net traps. Hunters would attract birds using a live decoy—blinded and tied to a stool—hence the term stool pigeon.
“With a single release of the net they could catch hundreds of birds, sometimes 1,200 or 1,300 at a time,” Greenberg explained.
One newspaper from the time reported 7.2 million bird carcasses were shipped from a single nesting site, which gives you an idea of how plentiful they were. But Greenberg believes the bird usually laid only about one egg a year, and now those nestings were regularly disrupted. The massive killings caught up with them. People started to notice that it was harder to find the bird in the wild and eventually impossible.
“People had so much trouble trying to wrap their minds around how it could disappear,” Greenberg said.
They came up with all kinds of theories to explain why it wasn’t human’s fault, like that the birds moved to South America and changed their appearance.
Greenberg says he worries he’s seeing a similar reaction now.
“There is a common human reaction that when confronted with an inconvenient truth to deny it," he said. "You can see it today [with] climate change. If I own coal mines and want to put carbon into the air... climate change, could be bad, what do I do? Let’s say there is no such thing.”
It feels insensitive to ask, but it’s hard not to wonder why the death of a species—no matter how fascinating—should matter to the general population.
Greenberg says other species have a right to exist, and it’s immoral to prioritize their worth on human’s needs alone. But he also says there completely selfish reasons to preserve a species.
He points to an analogy from Paul and Anne Ehrlich’s book, Extinction: The Causes and Consequences of the Disappearance of Species.
“They give an analogy of an airplane and a rivet pops and the plane’s fine," he said." But at some point enough rivets pop where the system starts to break down.”
Beyond the Passenger Pigeon
The day after I meet Greenberg planes criss-cross Chicago for the Air and Water Show.
Like flocks of pigeons they fill the sky with a roar. You can even hear it inside the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum where I meet ecologist Steve Sullivan.
“This being the anniversary of the passenger pigeon we talk a lot about the pigeon," Sullivan said. "But this story repeats itself again and again."
The museum has an exhibit called, “Nature's Struggle: Survival and Extinction.” The exhibit starts by showing what Illinois would have been like over a hundred years ago. Passenger pigeons fill the sky, but there are also more rattlesnakes, bears and beavers.
I ask Sullivan what animal is the passenger pigeon of today and he mentions monarch butterflies. Like the passenger pigeon, most of us think of it as common and plentiful. But because of a range of factors, including herbicides that kill their favorite food source of milkweed, the monarch’s numbers are plummeting.
In the museum’s butterfly conservation lab, Sullivan leaned over and pointed inside paper cups.
“Oh look you can see a couple of caterpillars that are crawling up towards the top of their little enclosures,” he said.
There are no monarchs today, instead they are raising silvery checkerspots. Eventually the museum will release these butterflies into the wild to help boost their population.
Sullivan says you can track conservation efforts like this one back to the passenger pigeon. Despite all the wild theories, many people ended up acknowledging that humans drove that extinction. It was a big moment in history, one of the first times the general public realized they could have a huge and permanent impact on nature. It launched a conservation movement and led to early environmental legislation.
That gives Sullivan hope. He says beavers, otters, and even white tailed deer were at one time extirpated (in other words, locally extinct). But once we realized the harm we could do, we used conservation efforts to bring such animals back.
Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon
One of the reasons the passenger pigeon story was so motivating is because we actually knew about the very last bird.
“It’s rare that we know with virtual certainty the hour and day that a species ceases to exist,” Greenberg said.
That last bird’s name was Martha. Unlike her ancestors, Martha didn’t spend her days migrating across the country. The only time she ever flew was first class on a plane.
She most likely came from a captive flock in Chicago’s Hyde Park. It was the only group ever studied by scientists. If you’ve seen a photo of a pigeon in captivity, it was probably one of them.
Martha was sent to the Cincinnati Zoo. As the species became more rare, huge prizes were offered to find the bird. But it was too late. Martha eventually became the last of her kind. As she grew older, she became slow and still. The zoo moved her perch lower, so she could reach it.
“There is a story on weekends that big crowds would throw sand on her to get her to move,” Greenberg said.
Martha died 100 years ago on September 1. The zoo froze her body in a 300-pound of block of ice and mailed her to the Smithsonian.
Martha lived her last years alone. Pigeons were famous for traveling in gigantic groups, but John James Audubon remembers seeing one flying through the forest by itself. It moved quickly, darting through trees.
Audubon says it passed like a thought.
Shannon Heffernan is a WBEZ reporter. Follow her @shannon_hAbout "Test lab"
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Demonstrating a high level of expertise, our specialists seek out vulnerabilities in the most secure online resources, demonstrate presentations at international forums, developing an unique penetration test laboratories, where take part experts from all over the world.If American voters weren’t so stupid, Obamacare never would have been able to pass the halls of Congress, the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court, says one of the key creators of the law.
Jonathan Gruber, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who served as a technical consultant to the White House during the design of Obamacare, confirmed in a recently released video that one of the key problems with Obamacare’s development was making sure its text was confusing enough so that the Congressional Budget Office wouldn’t automatically deem it a tax, The Daily Caller reported.
“This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure CBO did not score the mandate as taxes,” he said during a panel discussion at the Annual Health Economists’ Conference last year. “If CBO scored the mandate as taxes, the bill dies. OK, so it’s written to do that. In terms of risk rated subsidies, if you had a law which said that healthy people are going to pay in — you made explicit healthy people pay in and sick people get money — it would not have passed.”
The Supreme Court ultimately gave the thumbs-up to the law, but based on the argument that it was in fact a tax. And for that, Mr. Gruber credited the “stupidity” of the average American, as well as the “lack of transparency” of the whole Obamacare process.
“Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical for the thing to pass. … Look, I wish … we could make it all transparent, but I’d rather have this law than not.”
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Last week, after a wait of almost a decade, the world's most popular video game series - Super Mario Bros - finally came to the world's most popular video game machine: the iPhone. Nintendo's Super Mario Run went immediately to the top of the App Store charts, above mainstays like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. According to one estimate, the game was downloaded 37 million times in its first three days.
Unfortunately, despite Nintendo's history and reputation, Super Mario Run is not a family-friendly game - or at least not one my wife and I will be letting our six-year-old daughter play. The game is rife with stale, retrograde gender stereotypes - elements that were perhaps expected in 1985, when the first Super Mario Bros was released in the United States, but that today are just embarrassing.
Super Mario Run begins, as does almost every Super Mario title, with Princess Peach becoming a hostage who must be rescued by Mario. Just before her ritual kidnapping, Peach invites Mario to her castle and pledges to bake him a cake. Upon her rescue, she kisses Mario. The game also includes a second female character, Toadette, whose job is to wave a flag before and after a race, like a character from Grease.
By failing to update Super Mario for a contemporary audience, Nintendo is lagging far behind Walt Disney, one of its closest American analogues. Disney's film Frozen subverted and reinvigorated the fairy-tale princess movie; The Force Awakens gave us a female Jedi. Super Mario Run doesn't even try.
In isolation, there's nothing wrong with princesses or baking. My daughters love those things too. But Super Mario Run relegates its female characters to positions of near helplessness. Peach and Toadette become playable only after you complete certain tasks, which makes the women in the game feel like prizes. (To be fair, the same is true of a few male characters.) Worse, should you then use Peach to defeat her kidnapper, Bowser, you'll discover that neither Mario nor a kiss is waiting for her as a reward.
Mr Shigeru Miyamoto, the designer of Super Mario Bros - as well as Donkey Kong, The Legend Of Zelda and other landmark games - is frequently called the Walt Disney of video games.
Nintendo's Super Mario Run shot to the top of the Apple App Store charts when it launched as an iPhone app last week. But not everyone is a fan of the gender politics in the game's classic storyline, which involves the abduction and rescue of Princess Peach. PHOTO: REUTERS
He may have a little too much Uncle Walt in him and not enough Hayao Miyazaki, whose Studio Ghibli movies like My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away are filled with adventurous young heroines.
Mr Miyamoto told Wired this month that he was more involved with the design of Super Mario Run than that of any Mario game since 2007's Super Mario Galaxy. That means that the only two Super Mario games that include a playable female character from the start - 1988's Super Mario Bros 2 and 2013's spectacular Super Mario 3D World - were games in which Mr Miyamoto was not directly involved with the level design.
The world would be a worse place if video game creators were judged only by whether they balanced their games with male and female protagonists. Some of this year's best video games, including the interactive drama Firewatch and the disturbing Mario-inspired Inside, are largely about men and boys.
Mr Shigeru Miyamoto, the designer of Super Mario Bros, is frequently called the Walt Disney of video games. But he might be better off taking a leaf out of the playbook of animator Hayao Miyazaki, whose Studio Ghibli movies like My Neighbour Totoro (above) are filled with adventurous young heroines. PHOTO: STUDIO GHIBLI/ENCORE FILMS
Still, lots of girls and women play video games. There are more women over 30 who play video games than boys under 18 who play, according to the industry's lobbying arm, the Entertainment Software Association. A Pew Research Centre survey published last year found that almost 60 per cent of girls between the ages of 13 and 17 are gamers.
Seeing people like yourself depicted as heroic on TV and in movies and video games can have a powerful effect on viewers and players. The actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani, who was born in Pakistan, tweeted after watching Rogue One - the new Star Wars movie - that he "started tearing up" after a scene in which "people who looked like me and dressed like my people were good guys".
Representation in interactive media may be even more important than it is in linear entertainment. In video games, players describe ourselves as the digital avatars we control on a screen. We say "I died", not "he died".
This sense of identification gives video games an enormous capacity to create empathy for other people. There are video games in which you play as the parent of a dying child, as a transgender woman beginning hormone replacement therapy, as the son of an alcoholic.
But it also presents more conventional game designers with an opportunity to create games in which young girls, and not just young boys, actually become heroes themselves.
"Players describe the experience of being with one as less like talking with a person and more like inhabiting someone else's mind," social scientist Sherry Turkle wrote of video games in 1984 in The Second Self, one year before Super Mario Bros came to America. "In pinball, you act on the ball. In Pac-Man you are the mouth."
The knowledge that video games possess this power, that they allow us to adopt new identities and grant us new ways of seeing ourselves, is as old as Mario's quest for his princess. Which makes it all the sadder that Mr Miyamoto, with all his gifts, has yet to seize it.
NYTIMESThe human kidney is the body’s filter. It cleans 180 liters of liquid per day, retaining the good stuff and expelling the bad. Most fortuitously, humans are born with two kidneys. If one of them becomes damaged, the other one can pick up the slack. If both your kidneys fail, however, your body will fill with harmful toxins. Without medical intervention, you’ll die within weeks.
Almost nine hundred thousand Americans suffer from End State Renal Disease (ESRD), meaning that both their kidneys have failed. Thankfully, over the last half century, science has technically triumphed over kidney failure. If both your kidneys fail, you can receive a transplant from a donor and live a fairly normal, healthy life. The technology for kidney transplants has gotten so good that the donor and recipient just need to share the same blood type. Surgeons and anti-rejection drugs can handle the rest. Since almost everyone has a spare kidney, the supply of potential donors is plentiful.
And yet, over 5,000 people die in the US every year while waiting for a kidney transplant. This is puzzling because only 83 thousand people in the United States need a new kidney, compared to hundreds of millions of potential donors. And yet, the average person with failed kidneys remains on the transplant waitlist for 3-5 years. In the meantime, they’re hooked up to dialysis machines several times a week at an annual cost of approximately $75,000 per year. Kidney transplant surgeries typically pay for themselves within one to three years because the need for dialysis is eliminated by the new kidney.
So why do people die from ESRD while waiting for a kidney transplant? The answer is well known - not enough people volunteer to donate a kidney. This is true in the United States and every other country in the world (with the possible exception of Iran). People simply don’t volunteer to go into surgery and give up their organs. Even when they’re dead, most people (or their families) hold onto their kidneys instead of donating them.
Economists have long suggested that this kidney shortage is easily solvable. If you need more kidneys for transplants, just start paying people to provide kidneys. At the right price, kidney donors will be lining up. Opponents of this view argue that creating a free market for kidneys would be exploitative and immoral. Would we want to live in a world where the poor sell their organs to the rich?
But maybe this “efficient” versus “moral” debate about how to allocate kidneys is a false dichotomy. Solving the kidney shortage by paying people doesn’t have to mean creating a laissez-faire market for organs.
In order to save thousands of lives every year, we can keep the current kidney donation system entirely in place with one major exception - the US Government should get into the business of buying kidneys. Taxpayers will actually save money and thousands of lives will be saved every year.
Perhaps it’s time we start allowing the government to harvest our organs.
The Growing Shortage of Kidneys in America
In the United States, over 20 million people have some sort of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Approximately 871,000 Americans suffer from the most severe form of chronic kidney disease, End State Renal Disease. Roughly one half (398,000) of these patients are on dialysis each year. It costs approximately $75K a year to keep each of these patients alive.
Dialysis is a brutally difficult but completely necessary experience for people with failed kidneys. Most patients have to be plugged into a machine at a facility three times a week for three to five hours each time. The machine simulates kidney function, but it’s an imperfect substitute. While normal kidneys remove toxins from the blood continuously, the dialysis machine does so for a few hours every 48 hours. When the patient is not plugged into a machine, these toxins build up, causing the patients to feel tired and in a state of mental fog until the next dialysis session.
Being on dialysis is hopefully a stop gap measure to keep a patient alive till they can get a kidney transplant. Of the nearly four hundred thousand patients in the United States, only 83,000 of them were on the the waitlist for a kidney transplant. Many people on dialysis are too old or sick to qualify for a transplant.
Patients that live long enough to get off the waitlist can get kidney transplants and live fairly normal, healthy lives. It’s estimated that these patients will live 10-15 years longer than if they stayed on dialysis. The transplanted kidneys start working almost right away for the patient. Over time, they are far more likely to live because of the transplant.
As America gets older and sicker, however, the demand for kidney transplants is exploding.
The number of kidney donations is not keeping pace. Donations today from live donors (altruistic people) or cadavers (organ donors who passed away) have barely ticked up as demand for kidneys has steadily risen. The shortage of kidneys is not a uniquely American problem. Across almost every single country, there are too few kidneys available relative to the demand.
The result is that lots of people die every year waiting for a new kidney that would save their life.
Where do Kidneys come from Today?
Kidney transplants in America are managed by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). UNOS is a non-profit with a Congressional mandate to administer the entire waitlist of patients, inventory of organs, and algorithm by which patients and donors are matched. Because of this centralized process, there is incredibly accurate information about the supply and demand for kidneys.
In the US, most kidneys come from donors that have died, as opposed to living donors that voluntarily donated their kidneys.
Most efforts to solve the kidney shortage have so far focused on increasing the supply of donated kidneys. Campaigns to sign up more people as organ donors are the most common.
Some European countries like Spain and Austria make donating organs the default - people need to choose to opt out. These countries still have much lower overall organ donation rates than the United States.
Another avenue for increasing kidney donations is focusing on live donors. One recent innovation is the concept of a “paired exchange.” Someone on the waitlist may have a family member who is willing to donate a kidney but is the wrong blood type. A paired exchange looks among a pool of families in similar circumstances to find blood type matches. If each donor has the blood type the other patient needs, then they are paired and each donor gives a kidney to the patient in the other family. Initiating these pair exchanges improves liquidity in the market for kidneys and saves lives, but it hasn’t made much of a dent on the kidney shortage so far.
Almost every country has a scarcity of kidneys despite the existence of billions of potential suppliers who could easily meet the relatively modest demand for kidneys. Every system that depends on kidney donations has failed to get enough kidneys to the people that need them.
The current system of paired exchanges and campaigns for kidney donors has noble intentions, but it’s not working. People are needlessly dying as a result.
Who Foots the Bill?
The annual cost of kidney failure in the United States is approximately $42.5 billion as of 2009. The federal government, through its Medicare program, has a special exemption that helps pays for the care of people with End State Renal Disease, even if they are not yet 65 years old. (Medicare typically only covers costs for senior citizens.) The result is that the US government pays $29 BN (68% of total kidney spending) towards covering the cost of dialysis and kidney transplants. When it comes to End State Renal Disease, the US almost has a single payer healthcare system.
As mentioned earlier, it costs approximately $75,000 per year to keep someone alive on dialysis in the United States. The vast majority of this goes to private companies that run dialysis centers or sell dialysis related equipment and drugs. Two nationwide for-profit dialysis chains, Fresenius and DaVita, provide over 60% of dialysis treatments.
A kidney transplant surgery costs approximately $105,000 in the US and is a relatively safe procedure for the donor. In most countries, it’s estimated that the surgery pays for itself within 1-3 years.
What’s Wrong with Selling Kidneys?
The idea of buying and selling kidneys have been around for a long time, but moral uneasiness has kept it from being seriously considered or implemented.
Critics of a marketplace for kidneys typical raise the following objections:
1. Kidneys would be distributed based on ability to pay, so rich people would be able to get kidneys and poor people would not.
2. If the price of organs is high, that will incentivize stealing organs. It could also motivate unscrupulous people to force other people to sell their organs in order to profit from the sale.
3. The system would exploit poor people by promising quick money for their kidneys. If someone is destitute, can they really give informed consent? While donating a kidney is relatively safe, it has inherent risks like any form of surgery.
The current, donation-based system addresses all three of these concerns. The United Network for Organ Sharing distributes organs based on need, not income (Objection 1), and the price of kidneys is $0 (Objections 2 and 3). Currently, there is almost no risk of someone “selling their kidney to buy an ipad” in the United States.
If operating a free market for kidneys suddenly became legal, all of these objectionable practices might start happening. The results could be dangerous and inconsistent with mainstream American values. Wealthy people would get kidneys at the expense of poor people who might need them more. The destitute might be compelled to sell their organs for short term gain or against their will. And at a high enough price, organ theft could become prevalent.
Let’s assume we agree with all of these ethical objections. Could we devise an ethical system that pays kidney donors, saves lives, and saves money?
A Modest Proposal: Let The Government Buy Our Organs
In the United States, we already have a safe, well-organized way to get kidneys from donors to the patients that need them most. We also have one party (Medicare) that spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep people alive on dialysis for 3-5 years before they can get a kidney transplant. Why not let Medicare spend that money instead on buying kidneys?
If the US Government bought kidneys from healthy individuals, then the United Network for Organ Sharing could continue to allocate the kidneys on the basis of need instead of ability to pay. Instead of creating a “free market” for kidneys, the government could mandate that Medicare be the exclusive buyer of kidneys. It would create a tightly regulated system for buying up kidneys, which is better than no system at all.
What’s the advantage of letting Medicare buy kidneys instead of creating a free market? First, it would save Medicare and private insurers money since the current cost of dialysis for people on the waitlist is so high. These parties have a financial incentive to consider a plan like this.
Second, a government-regulated system can address concerns about equity. Rather than rich people privately contracting poor people to buy their kidneys, the government and the UNOS can continue to allocate purchased kidneys based on need (Objection 1). Moreover, the risk for organ thieves is eliminated in this scenario (Objection 2). Would an organ thief show up at the Medicare office with bag of kidneys? Instead, individuals would have to go through an approval process to ensure that they are not selling their organ under duress and understand the risks.
This proposal is weakest at overcoming Objection 3 - the concern that destitute people cannot give informed consent due to their financial duress. (Let’s ignore for now that we allow women to rent out their uteruses for childbirth - something more dangerous than donating a kidney that subjects the less well-off to the same risks of exploitation.)
If individuals were offered a “fair price” for their spare kidney, could you make the argument they were being taken advantage of? If the price were a million dollars? $100K? $50K? 10K? $1?
For every dangerous task, there is probably some price at which society would feel that people are being adequately compensated for the risk of performing that task. This is the case for security contractors in Iraq and surrogate mothers. Why should donating a kidney be any different?
There is some “price for a kidney” that would eliminate the waiting list, feel like a fair price, and also save Medicare lots of money. That price might be higher than what the “market price” of a kidney would be. Economists Gary Becker and Julio Elias estimate that the price of a kidney in a free market would be $15,000. It’s possible that would feel like an unfair price. Some onlinecommentators have suggested around $50,000 as a price that they consider fair.
At $50,000, we’d consider donating a kidney. What’s the price at which you’d consider selling your extra kidney?
Conclusion
Today, there are simply too few kidneys being donated to people with kidney failure. As a result, more than 5,000 patients a year needlessly die on the waitlist in the United States. The gap between the number of people that need a kidney and the supply of donated kidneys continues to grow. Campaigns to increase voluntary kidney donations simply haven’t worked. Even dead people don’t want to donate their kidneys.
It’s time to fix this problem once and for all. Instead of hoping that more people start becoming organ donors and doubling down on failed policies, it’s time to start buying and selling kidneys.
This post was written by Rohin Dhar. Follow him on Twitter here or Google. To get occasional notifications when we write blog posts, sign up for our email list.Facebook officials said they recently discovered that computers belonging to several of its engineers had been hacked using a zero-day Java attack that installed a collection of previously unseen malware. In an exclusive interview with Ars Technica, company officials said that the attack did not expose customer data, and it was contained to the laptops of a small number of Facebook engineers. But other companies who were affected by the same hacking campaign may not have been so lucky.
Facebook's internal security team worked with a |
ra Behn. However, scholars have pieced together enough information to be able to present a biography of sorts.
Aphra Behn is believed to have been born in 1640 somewhere in the vicinity of the city of Canterbury in south England. Her parents were a merchant couple by the name of Johnson. It is not known whether they were her biological parents or if they were her foster parents. In 1663, Mr. Johnson was sent to the colony of Suriname in South America, bringing his family with him. Mr. Johnson died on the journey across the Atlantic, leaving Mrs. Johnson, Aphra, and a nameless boy believed to have been Aphra’s brother to fend for themselves in the colony.
In 1664, Aphra was back in England where she associated herself with a Dutch merchant whose last name was Behn. It is believed that they married, although this has not been confirmed. They parted ways in 1665. Some sources say they divorced, others that Mr. Behn died. Considering Aphra’s freedom of action after their separation, it is likely that he did die. A widow had greater agency at this time in history than did a woman who was unmarried or divorced. Either way, it is from this point in time that Aphra adopted the public persona of Mrs. Behn, which in time became her byline.
One year after her separation from Mr. Behn, King Charles II appointed Aphra his personal spy in Antwerp. The king vouched to pay all her expenses, a promise he never honored. To be able to return to England, Aphra was forced to borrow money. In 1668, she was imprisoned when she was unable to repay her loan.
It is believed that Aphra became a writer so that she would never have to depend on anyone for money again. Her first play, The Forc’d Marriage, was produced in 1670.
Aphra Behn’s most famous novel is Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave, published in 1688, one year before she died. The novel is believed to be based on her experiences in Suriname and tells the story of Oroonoko, an African prince who is taken captive on a British ship and sold as a slave. Set to work on a plantation in Suriname, Oroonoko refuses to accept his fate and stages a rebellion together with the other slaves.
Oroonoko is an important novel for several reasons. As English literature has developed over the centuries, Oroonoko has emerged as one of the most important literary works in the development of the modern novel. Moreover, it is an early example of an anti-slavery story, written decades before an abolitionist debate can be said to have begun in earnest. Furthermore, the story is told by a woman, who decides to share Oroonoko’s story so that the world might know the atrocities that are being committed against fellow human beings. The first part of the novel is written from Oroonoko’s point of view so that the reader will get to know him. The second part is written from the point of view of the narrator, which enables her to reveal the treachery of the plantation owner. This way, the reader sympathizes and roots for Oroonoko, while the hypocrisy of people who call themselves civilized Christians is exposed.
For a long time Aphra Behn has been overlooked in the history of English literature. But as time goes by and more voices are included in the canon, Aphra’s contributions and talent have become recognized.
Virginia Woolf writes that flowers should fall on Aphra Behn’s tomb for what she achieved through her work. If you’re ever in London, pay Aphra a visit. She lies buried in Westminster Abbey, yet another sign of the esteem in which she was held during her lifetime.Google on Track for Another Record High: Lobbying Expenses
Google this week disclosed it spent $4.18 million on U.S. lobbying in the third quarter of 2012, bringing the company to $13.13 million spent this year — a record.
That makes Google the seventh-biggest lobbying spender out there, right after AT&T and the pharmaceutical industry.
Google’s previous largest year ever was 2011, when it spent $9.68 million. Its largest quarter ever was the first of this year, when it spent $5.03 million on efforts like defeating the SOPA anti-piracy legislation.
The big looming issue for Google now is an antitrust investigation being conducted by the Federal Trade Commission. Plus, there are lots of ongoing issues, like driverless-car testing and immigration reform.
As for some of its tech competitors, in the third quarter, Facebook spent $980,000 on lobbying, while Microsoft spent $1,860,000.
Meanwhile, Google his hired Austin Schlick, the formal general counsel for the Federal Communications Commission, to join its legal team, per Hillicon Valley.Occupied (Image: CHS)
Big media’s preoccupation with parental concerns about drug use near Seattle Central’s childcare center playground is a little peculiar if for no other reason than the TV people haven’t once mentioned the school is planning to cut the program and close the center at the end of the quarter. Here’s how school president Dr. Paul Killpatrick put it in his September announcement on the cut:
A decision has been made, in response to an emergency situation to close the campus childcare center at the end of fall quarter. We will institute a pilot project for winter and spring quarter to provide direct financial assistance (vouchers) to augment student’s childcare expenses. Parents have been notified and we are providing support through our Division of Student Life and Engagement.
The center’s childcare facility that currently serves 68 student parents has been reallocated as the college looks to move faculty and staff from its successful International Student program out of SCCC’s South Annex building which was deemed unsafe following an inspection this summer. We’ll have more on the construction underway on the campus and what SCCC is doing about the South Annex later. The bigger concern for SCCC parents is December 15th — the childcare center is currently slated to shut down mid-December with the end of the winter quarter.
For parents in the program, the Occupy Seattle drug issue is an unwanted distraction as they try to sway the school’s administration to maintain the center through the end of the school year. Student parents Joshua Rogers and Stephanie Safholm represent a group pushing for a better solution for SCCC parents. Here’s what they told CHS about the situation:
The program has operated for over 30 years, and like its North & South Seattle Community College counterparts, has sought to support students who are parents. Closing now means talented teachers become unemployed, both hired & volunteer aids will loose out on valuable hands-on work experience, and other students & families like mine will be forced to evaluate if educational goals are even possible anymore. The childcare center meets the mission and values of the college in a way that the program which will be displacing it does not (http://seattlecentral.edu/sccc/mission.php). This short-sighted decision will have a tremendous long-term impact on the Capitol Hill community and deserves a full review of available options.
Parents are asking the administration to delay closing the childcare center at least to the end of the year, and extend the temporary arrangements which were made this fall for the occupants of the south annex, while also allowing for a committee of effected parties to see if there are other possible solutions. It was promised in the Spring of 2011 that the childcare center would be open all year, and we’re just trying to get that promise upheld.
Seattle Central has not yet responded to CHS’s inquiries about the decision to cut the center.
Frequent CHS contributor Dotty DeCoster has a unique perspective on the situation. She was there in the center’s early days serving as co-chair of the SCCC Child Care Organizing Committee from 1969 to 1971.
For those of you who may be confused, this is not the cooperative preschool program at SCCC, which did remain, at least in part, in the budget for this year at SCCC despite efforts to cut it altogether. This is the student child care center, which opened in the late 1960s or early 1970s in the church across the street from the college in response to pressure by the SCCC Student Child Care Organizing Committee. It is specifically designed to provide child care services to the children of students attending the college, and is not an academic program as the cooperative preschool program has been since before the community colleges existed. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, SCCC had a large population of students who were supported either by federal assistance through the G.I. Bill or through the W.I.N. program – an astonishing number of us were either recent vets or welfare mothers. The average age of the student body was something like 27. It was a time when federal and state policy encouraged people to find training to enter or re-enter the job market. SCCC was renowned for its technical preparation programs at that time, heir to the Edison Technical School as well as providing college courses. A great many of us found we were in desperate need of child care services in order to go to school. I thought at first this was a women’s issue. This thought lasted about five minutes as I spoke with fellow students, many of whom were recent vets whose wives worked while they went to school and they needed child care to make this work. After much agitation, we obtained the support of then college President Moore and business manager Herb Zimmerman (whose portrait hangs in the Broadway Performance Hall). Enterprising folks from the Early Childhood Program, especially Frances Pringle, and equally enterprising students, worked with the church to find space and put together a remarkable program that was designed specifically to meet student parent needs. This program was only a part of the effort related to early childhood at the college then – it included training for child care teachers, a co-operative preschool hub, a facility for teaching these and the student child care center.
There’s a look at the past. The future of the program? SCCC’s student parents are working on a better plan in a sea of program reductions and budget cuts and with a tribe of Occupy Seattle protesters nearby. Maybe somehow it will all fit together and work out.Non-Jews have come to assume prominent roles in Conservative and Reform synagogues around America, in some cases accounting for a relatively large share of congregation membership, according to a prominent Israeli-born scholar who has been studying the changing face of American synagogues in recent years.
“Sometimes as many as half the people in a synagogue are either non-Jews or married to non-Jews, or have a close non-Jewish relative, said Yaakov Ariel, a professor of religious studies from the University of North Carolina at a recent two-day conference in Jerusalem on the growing appeal of Judaism worldwide.
Ariel, who has been focusing his fieldwork on synagogues in the southern United States, said the increased presence of non-Jews in these congregations had in many ways changed the discourse inside. “Until a generation ago, even less, synagogues were very much Jewish tribal, cultural territory, a place where you could tell Jewish jokes, including silly Jewish jokes about the goyim, how they drink and we don’t,” he said. “But those are the kinds of things that can’t be said anymore. You can’t even use Yiddish terms like zei gezunt [be healthy] and gut yontif [happy holiday] anymore because these people didn’t grow up with this. And rabbis also have to take in consideration this new audience when they deliver their sermons.”
Ariel, co-director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina, noted that many of the non-Jews attending services at Conservative and Reform synagogues were in romantic relationships with Jews, but not necessarily married to them. In other cases, they were “spiritual seekers,” as he termed the phenomenon, drawn to Judaism’s “relative openness on social, cultural and religious issues.”
Most of these non-Jews, he said, come from a similar socioeconomic background as the Jewish congregants. “They are mainly white, middle-class and upper-middle-class educated professionals,” he noted. “If you are a member of the working class, you probably will not end up in a synagogue.”
Blacks, Asians, Latinos
Still, he said, in recent years these synagogues had become even more ethnically diverse. “There’s a growing percentage you notice these days in the synagogue who are black, Asians and of Latino background.“ He attributed much of this new diversity to Jewish couples adopting black, Asian and Latino babies.
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In quite a few cases, Ariel observed, non-Jews served as presidents of their synagogue boards and were active on their various committees. “They are the Jews of the Jews,” said Ariel, suggesting that they are often even more engaged in congregational activities than their Jewish counterparts. “They are really interested in what Judaism has to offer spiritually and intellectually.”
While non-Jewish women were much more likely to convert to Judaism than non-Jewish men for their Jewish partners, non-Jewish men nonetheless, noted Ariel, tended to be active members of their synagogues. “What I’ve seen in many synagogues is these men coming and joining in for years, and sometimes after many years of raising Jewish families or families that are both Jewish and not Jewish, they decide that they officially want to become Jewish because they are actually Jewish, and it’s time to accept that and make it more affirmative.”
An even more recent phenomenon, he noted, was mixed couples affiliated with more than one religion. “They go on Saturday to synagogue and on Sunday to the Episcopal church or the Presbyterian church,” he said. “If you think there’s no such thing as being a member of both a Jewish community and a non-Jewish community, think again.”
The increased presence of non-Jews, said Ariel, had caused the “ethnic, cultural and tribal atmosphere” characteristic of the synagogue in the past to be replaced by a more “spiritual and religious” ambience.
Although the conventional wisdom is that Reform congregations are more accepting of non-Jews in their midst than are their Conservative counterparts, Ariel said that movement affiliation was not always a factor. “My studies show that actually the differences are more between congregations, and in some Reform congregations, the rabbi is actually more orthodox – not in the sense that he’s more observant, but that he goes by the book.”U.N.: President Trump will present a set of wide-ranging reforms for the United Nations this week that will actually force the dysfunctional organization to begin living up to its lofty ideals. This may be the corrupt, badly disorganized U.N.'s final chance at survival.
Trump had harsh things to say about the U.N. during last year's election. Sadly for the U.N., none of them was fake news or an exaggeration. The U.N. is corrupt. The U.N. is ineffective. The U.N. is wasting billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Trump — and his able ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley — have proposed a 10-point reform plan that could be the last chance for the U.N. to ditch its legacy of failure and actually become a responsible global organization.
Right now, the U.S. is footing the bill for the U.N.'s ongoing extravaganza of waste and corruption. American taxpayers fork out 22% of the U.N.'s operating budget, and an estimated 28% of its peacekeeping tab.
There are 193 members of the U.N., virtually all of the world's nations. The U.S. spends more than 176 of them combined on the regular budget, and more than 185 on the peacekeeping budget. The U.N.'s reliance on the U.S. must end.
The U.N. likes to say its budget is just $9 billion or so. In fact, it's vastly larger than that. As it admits in its own budget documents, in 2016 it spent nearly $49 billion, which represented a rise of $10 billion during the Obama years. The U.S. is putting up about $10 billion of the total.
And what do you get for your money? Let's just say that incompetence can be very expensive. There are over 22,000 U.N. workers, most of whom get tax-free money, lavish benefits and such perks as immunity from parking tickets in New York. U.N. employee crimes are almost never prosecuted. The perpetrators are usually just sent home.
The average U.N. employee makes about a third more than others doing the same job. These are cushy positions, with virtually no accountability. This theme shows up in how the U.N. does its own job.
As has been noted elsewhere, the U.N.'s poor performance as an organization is well-documented. An academic study that looked at the best and worst practices by aid organizations ranked the U.N. near the bottom.
OK, but how about the peacekeeping function, for which the U.N. often comes in for praise? To be polite, it's not exactly keeping the peace.
For instance, studies and audits have discovered rampant mismanagement, fraud and corruption in U.N. peacekeeping procurement.
And in a study conducted by the U.N. itself, eight of nine peacekeeping operations charged with protecting civilians didn't even respond to 406 of 570, or 80%, of incidents "where civilians were attacked."
As Heritage Foundation Fellow Brett Schaefer, who has documented these and other U.N. excesses in damning detail, noted back in 2015: "U.N. personnel have been accused of sexual exploitation and abuse in Bosnia, Burundi, Cambodia, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Kosovo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan. Recent news stories from the Central African Republic and Haiti indicate the problem is still far too common and the U.N. is more interested in concealing the issue than in confronting it."
Given all this, it's pretty clear this is not an aid organization. It more resembles a criminal enterprise.
It didn't start this way. It began its institutional life with the highest of ideals and the loftiest of ambitions in the aftermath of World War II.
But an organization is only as good as its members and its leadership. Given that many members of the U.N. are corrupt dictatorships, and that the body's own top leadership has included both former Nazi war criminals and far-left apologists for terrorists, it should be no surprise that the U.N. is as bad as it is.
In recent years, the U.N. has shown a bizarre fixation with condemning Israel, the only true democracy in the Mideast, as an impediment to peace. This shouldn't, and can't, go on.
That's where Donald Trump comes in. Along with greeting world leaders and delivering a much-anticipated speech to the U.N. on Tuesday, he's meeting behind the scenes with leaders on his 10-point reform plan.
Among other things, the plan seeks to end the needless duplication of various U.N. functions by others, while pushing more action away from the U.N. itself and into the field. It will also give U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres authority to reform and streamline the U.N.'s bureaucracy.
Meanwhile, the Trump White House also has let it be known that it would like the fiscal burden to be spread more evenly among members. The U.S. can't be the world's Sugar Daddy forever.
Maybe it's a positive sign that more than 100 of the U.N.'s 193 members have signed on to Trump's reforms. Maybe they too see this as a last chance. Maybe.
And if nothing happens? In the past, Trump has suggested that, absent action by the U.N. to reform, he might cut U.S. contributions sharply. Carrot and stick.
Whether this will work or not isn't clear. Anne Bayefsky, a longtime critic of the U.N., is skeptical.
At Fox News she wrote: "It's an old U.N. game trotted out whenever Americans get fed up with throwing money down the U.N. drain or paying for a global platform used to trash the USA's best interests and spew anti-Semitism. It goes by the name of 'U.N. reform.' And President Trump appears to have taken the bait — hook, line and sinker."
Perhaps so. But Trump says he wants to "make the U.N. great." He's giving the U.N. the chance to reform. If it refuses — or goes back to its anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-Western ways — don't be surprised to see Trump defunding the U.N. and asking it politely to leave.
RELATED:
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Trump Can Reverse Obama's Betrayal Of Israel By Defunding The U.N.
Don't Hand The Internet Over To The U.N.Despite the mainstream media insisting that suspicions over Hillary Clinton being sick are conspiracy theories, her own hacked emails prove that she identified with a poem that mentioned “coughing and gasping” which is literally called “Sick”.
The email, which was revealed as part of the Wikileaks data dump, was sent to Hillary by Margaret Williams, her 2008 presidential campaign manager, on December 30, 2012 during the time when Hillary was in hospital being treated for a blood clot as a result of her fall and concussion.
The Sick” poem includes the lines, “I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke, I’m sure that my left leg is broke,” and, “My neck is stiff, my voice is weak, I hardly whisper when I speak.”
“Here’s hoping you and Peggy Ann McKay (referenced below) do not share any of the same ailments,” wrote Williams.
Hillary’s response to the poem was “pls print,” indicating she almost certainly must have identified with the symptoms it describes.
As we previously reported, other Wikileaks emails show that Hillary and her aides communicated about her health problems.
Other emails show that Hillary Clinton looked into a drug used to treat sleepiness and Parkinson’s disease after she apparently began suffering from “decision fatigue” back in 2011.
The mainstream media has attempted to dismiss all questions about Hillary’s health as “conspiracy theories” despite intense media scrutiny of John McCain’s medical history back in 2008.
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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.* * * UPDATE: I have largely reversed my position on this due to new evidence. So consider this post an archive of my being wrong, or at least, insufficiently informed.
Apparently, some folks have decided to 1) purchase a Samsung Galaxy Note 5, 2) Stick the S Pen stylus in backward, getting it utterly stuck, and 3) Blame Samsung.
What?
It sucks, no doubt, to have your new phone suddenly broken due to something that seems so innocuous.
But come on. You have to wonder, why in the name of sweet flappy jeebus would you want to stick your S Pen in backwards? For one thing, this particular version of the S Pen features a clicky spring-loaded nub on the end of it, which is specifically constructed to eject the stylus from its compartment. This ejector would not function if inserted backward into the phone, so by doing so, you’ve already negated (nay, violated) the whole concept of the S Pen’s design. And there is literally no reason to stick the stylus in backwards. Even if you did so accidentally, when you go to push it in and your thumb or finger feels a point instead of a flat, springy surface, that ought to be a clue that you’re about to commit an error, and so reverse course.
So, fine, I’ll grant that accidents happen. A kid could get ahold of the device and mess with it, or a person who doesn’t know any better might just find the whole “what would happen if” concept irresistible. Sure, Samsung says in the instruction manual not to ever put the pen in backward, but whatever, nobody reads those. It would absolutely been better if Samsung had made sure this kind of thing couldn’t happen by accident, and would have added value to the product.
But do we hold the manufacturers of USB devices responsible if someone tries to jam a plug into a port upside-down, damaging the connectors? If I shoved a floppy disc into a drive backward, and screwed everything up, would that be the manufacturers’ fault? In either case, would we demand a recall of these products? Of course not.
Look, Samsung is a big, rich company, and they can certainly afford to replace some devices or rejigger their design, I don’t feel bad for them or worry about them. Puh-leez. But I have to give an even bigger “puh-leez” (maybe a few more e’s, like, “puh-leeeeeeeze”) to the idea that this is some unforgivable design flaw on Samsung’s part, that they somehow blew it because a few people couldn’t help but “see what happened” if they did something obviously wrong to their expensive, delicate hardware made of super-precise, miniaturized mechanical parts. It’s an $800 piece of technology, folks. Treat it like one.
And for full disclosure: I got a Note 5, it’s amazing, and I have not been tempted to stick the S Pen in backward. Ever.
Update: Andrew Martonik sees the real design flaw.Photo
WASHINGTON — His entire involvement in the presidential campaign has consisted of four words uttered to a reporter as elevator doors were closing: “I’m for Mitt Romney.” But former President George W. Bush gingerly enters the fray a little more this week with a new book outlining ways to rebuild the economy.
For the first time since leaving office three and a half years ago, Mr. Bush is advancing a variety of ideas about how to jump-start economic growth by restructuring taxes, expanding trade, encouraging innovation, fixing immigration and overhauling Social Security. He wrote the foreword for the book, a collection of essays from an array of economists, including five Nobel Prize winners, and he proposes a national goal of expanding the economy by 4 percent a year on a sustained basis.
“The 4% Solution: Unleashing the Economic Growth America Needs,” to be unveiled by the former president in Dallas on Tuesday and published by Crown Business, is neither campaign template nor partisan screed. It is a wonky paean to free enterprise.
It is also the next step in a gradual return to the public stage by a president who has largely remained out of the limelight since turning over the White House to President Obama. Mr. Bush has repeatedly said his successor deserves his silence and has largely avoided commenting on current affairs. He has not publicly appeared with Mr. Romney to endorse him, as his parents have done, or hosted a fund-raiser for Mr. Romney, as his vice president did last week.
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To the extent that Mr. Bush has been part of the dialogue this year, it has been as a whipping boy for Mr. Obama and other Democrats. They have warned voters not to support Mr. Romney because he would revive Bush policies that they say led to the 2008 financial crisis and the problems that linger today.As Ukrainian troops close in on the pro-Russian separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, civilians in those enclaves are under siege, with hospitals running out of medicine, widespread power outages leaving the majority of residents without electricity, and daily shelling forcing people to flee for other parts of Ukraine or to Russia.
Local news reports suggest that almost 50,000 households in Luhansk have no electricity, 5,000 households are without water, and more than 4,000 households have no gas.
According to the Associated Press:
The power grid was completely down Monday, the city government said, and fuel is running dry. Store shelves are emptying fast, and those who haven't managed to flee must drink untreated tap water. With little medicine left, doctors are sending patients home. In an impassioned statement released over the weekend, mayor Sergei Kravchenko described a situation that is becoming more unsustainable by the day. SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts
"As a result of the blockade and ceaseless rocket attacks, the city is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe," Kravchenko said. "Citizens are dying on the streets, in their courtyard and in their homes. Every new day brings only death and destruction."
The Ukranian military, operating out of Kiev, has allegedly called on insurgents in Donetsk, Luhansk and another frontline city of Gorlivka — where water is being rationed — to agree to “humanitarian corridors” for several hours each day to allow civilians to escape, Agence France-Presse reports.
“Civilians can identify themselves with a white flag for groups of people and a wide white armband on the sleeve of each person,” the military said in a statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry blames Ukrainian government forces for the civilian suffering: "The Kiev authorities instigated by their western sponsors are carrying out a punitive operation killing and wounding civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure," it said Monday. " A humanitarian situation in the region is getting worse." But both sides remain focused on what Reuters on Monday referred to as a quest for "propaganda points" — bickering over the fate and motivations of the 311 Ukrainian soldiers who crossed into Russia Sunday night, and trading accusations of cross-border firing over the weekend.
The UN estimates that more than 1,200 civilians have died since fighting began in April.The Abbott Government's inquiry into the tax-deductibility status of 600 environmental groups is being carried out for political and ideological reasons, writes University of Adelaide academic Peter Burdon (via The Conversation).
THE almost 600 environmental groups that hold tax-deductibility status in Australia are being scrutinised by a Federal Government inquiry, with reports that more than 100 of them face being struck off the list.
Some, like the state and territory Conservation Councils and Environmental Defenders Offices, are still reeling from cuts to their programs and core funding. Others – such as Greenpeace, The Wilderness Society and Friends of the Earth – could lose access to the tax-deductible donations that help sustain their work.
Encouraging donations
Deductible gift-recipient status allows eligible organisations, such as those on the environmental register, to receive tax-deductible gifts and contributions. Consistent with similar schemes in the United States and Europe, the environmental register was established as an incentive for citizens and corporations to fund organisations that are active in the public sphere, while also feeding into the logic of small government and shifting the burden of catering for social needs back onto the community.
In Australia, an environmental organisation is defined as a body or society whose primary purpose is to protect the environment or conduct education and research.
Importantly, however, in 2010 the High Court ruled that groups with tax-deductible status also have the right to engage in political debate and advocacy.
The judgement described the freedom to speak out on political issues as
'... indispensable... [for]... representative and responsible government.'
Moreover, the court pointed out that there is no general rule that excludes 'political objects' from charitable purposes. Instead, the key consideration is whether the organisation 'contributes to the public welfare'. The ruling has been used as a precedent both in Australia and overseas, such as when Greenpeace won a favourable decision from the New Zealand Supreme Court last year.
Why is Australia holding the inquiry?
The review’s chair, Liberal MP Alex Hawke, said the inquiry aims to:
…ensure that tax deductible donations, which are a generous concession from the taxpayer, are used for the purpose intended and expected by the community.
His colleagues' comments have given some more insight into what Hawke means by the adjectives “intended” and “expected”.
Nationals Senator Matthew Canavan said he is concerned by the development of environmental groups from “a niche village industry” into “serious professional organisation[s]”, while highlighting what he described as a “large minority” of “100 or 150” groups that are “clearly engaged primarily” in stopping fossil fuel and industrial development in Australia.
Liberal MP Andrew Nikolic sought to distinguish groups like the Bob Brown Foundation who "campaign against the government” from “real charities” like “St Vinnies and Salvos”. Ignoring the fact that the latter groups have been vocal critics of government cuts to welfare spending, Nikolic has also made unsubstantiated claims that green groups have been involved in “illegal activities”.
His Liberal National Party colleague George Christensen went even further, labelling certain groups as “terrorists” and accusing them of treason.
Their views are echoed by Gary Johns, a former Labor MP and now columnist for The Australian newspaper, who has criticised the entire rationale for tax-deductible status on the basis that it contradicts the 'voluntary nature of charity'.
While conceding that the Hawke review may be interpreted as an 'attack on [environmental organisations'] efforts to protect the environment', Johns also argued that governments'should be reticent' about supporting organisations that
'... promote viewpoints on issues where there is reasonable disagreement in the electorate.'
It is difficult to see what organisations would satisfy such a test. Certainly not the Institute of Public Affairs, the Chifley Research Centre or Menzies House, which also enjoy tax deductibility but seem unlikely to face the same scrutiny advocated by Hawke.
The political context
Clearly, we have strayed some way from Hawke’s official justification for the inquiry. His vague reference to the undisputed notion that tax-deductible donations should be subject to public scrutiny disguises deeper political and ideological goals.
To properly understand those goals, we must interpret the current inquiry in the appropriate political context. Parts of this have been described by Joan Staples in an earlier Conversation article, and by Mike Seccombe in the Saturday Paper.
In terms of the wider political context of this inquiry, we might also consider:
last year’s attempt by Liberal MP Richard Colbeck to ban environmental boycotts;
incidences of gag clauses being written into the contracts of community legal centres;
the defunding of voluntary environment, sustainability and heritage organisations and national environmental defenders' offices; and
the drafting of anti-protest laws in states such as Western Australia.
Against this backdrop, the inquiry can be seen as part of a trend towards quieting the environment movement. Even if it does not result in substantive changes to the law, the inquiry is forcing poorly funded groups to spend time and resources on making submissions to justify their status.
Another difficulty is the committee’s desire to frame the “public welfare” requirement in terms of ill-defined community “expectations”. These can be difficult to discern and for this reason we ought to strive for the broadest possible political debate, rather than attempting to narrow it. If that means that taxpayers subsidise perspectives with which they don’t necessarily agree, it is a small price to pay for a robust public sphere.
Finally, given the urgency of the environmental crisis, an increasing number of Australians recognise that we need environmental groups who do more than plant trees.
In the run to this year’s Paris climate talks and next year’s federal election, we need laws that encourage full-blooded political participation.
This article was originally published on The Conversation under the title 'Government inquiry takes aim at green charities that "get political"'. Read the original article.
Monthly Donation Frequency Monthly Annually Amount $ Single Donation Amount $
Tax-deductible status of green groups under spotlight. Alex Hawke concerns about activism include tax deductable IPA? http://t.co/BCXB2l9uh6 — sipawe (@sipawe) March 31, 2015
Subscribe to IA for just $5.VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A fire has gutted a Vancouver home and sent four people to the hospital.
The fire broke out early this morning at Broadway and Fraser Street.
“There were two people below the attic; they were trapped. They were able to, with the help of our crews, get over to the roof on the west side and our firefighters got them down,” describes Kearney.
Paul lives in the basement suite at the home; he says he was woken up early this morning by screaming neighbours who were yelling at him to get out of his home. “I went to open the door [and saw] a big fire. It was spread everywhere. So, we basically just went out the door. I felt kind of half-asleep and realized it’s everything we’ve got there.”
He says the building is old and he’s been concerned about the wiring for some time now, but there’s still no word as to what caused the fire. But McKearney says it appears the fire started in a carport area behind the home.
A firefighter has a dislocated shoulder, while the conditions of the other three people taken to hospital are unknown.Race remains the prime issue of leftists who use it daily as a club against their political enemies from Washington to Ferguson MO
But as psychological identifiers go, language is more important. A person of any race can be a loyal and enthusiastic American, but someone who doesn’t speak English cannot be, because non-English speakers remain immersed in another culture.
Language carries culture, which is why Americans should reject Mexicanizers who demand that Spanish become equal to English in the United States — immigrants claiming such a right are invaders looking to overturn the American nation. The Pew graph shows an interesting difference between Hispanics and Asians regarding their willingness to integrate to American culture via language.
And Spanish is only one problem of diversity: some of the tens of thousands of dumped illegal alien kids from Central America don’t even speak Spanish, but US schools are supposed to teach a first-world curriculum to youngsters speaking indigenous languages (known in one school district as “Preliterate English Language Learners”).
Language is also the best measure of assimilation (which citizens still expect out of immigrants). The new Census data is therefore bad news for the national community, analyzed in a CIS report: One in Five U.S. Residents Speaks Foreign Language at Home, Record 61.8 million.
The Washington Times crunched the facts and their implications:A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request by public school teachers in California asking the justices to rehear a major challenge to fees that unions collect from non-members on which the court split 4-4 in March.
The non-union teachers, represented by the Washington-based Center for Individual Rights conservative group, launched a long-shot effort to get the court to reconsider its decision. That request was denied without comment.
The decision in March was a victory for unions, preserving a vital source of cash for |
solid at a time of rising tensions over growing Chinese assertiveness and the North Korean nuclear threats.
He is also visiting Malaysia and the Philippines.In our history and civics classes, we're taught that the genius of the Constitution is the checks and balances it imposes on the three branches of government. The founders understood that each branch—the president, the Congress and the courts—would seek to expand its power. They then set up a system that not only acknowledges man's desire to accumulate power but also one that harnesses that desire and uses it to keep any one branch from becoming too influential.
That system has mostly served us well. But an important new book details how the delicate balance of power in the federal government has been unraveling for nearly a century now, and underscores how important it is that we elect a president this November who understands the constitutional boundaries of the office.
Unfortunately, that isn't likely to happen.
The Cult of the Presidency by the Cato Institute's Gene Healy (I should disclose that Healy is a friend and former colleague) provides a history of the office of the presidency. It's a fascinating narrative of how the office that was meant to be little more than an administrator of the nation's laws (George Washington referred to it as "chief magistrate") has grown into the equivalent of an elected monarch.
It's a curious thing in America that each July we celebrate how the founding fathers threw off the shackles of an oppressive monarchy, that we favorably compare our republican system of governance with the world's tyrants, dictatorships and monarchies (and rightly so)—and yet we then celebrate those American presidents who most behaved like tyrants, monarchs and dictators.
Presidents like Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman are regularly put at the top of lists of America's greatest presidents. This is true when both historians and the American public at large are polled. Yet these are presidents who did everything they could to expand the power of their offices, to extend the sphere of influence of the federal government and to bully through policies that met inconvenient hurdles otherwise known as checks and balances.
Woodrow Wilson ran for president on a peace platform, then dragged us through the bloody trench carnage of World War I. Oh, and he imprisoned thousands of critics and war protesters in the process. Teddy Roosevelt once lamented that he didn't have a war during his administration to make him great, and compared the stakes of his third-party run for the White House to the rapture and second coming of Jesus Christ.
Franklin Roosevelt broke the tradition set by George Washington of serving just two terms. When the Supreme Court rebuffed his attempts to pass unconstitutional legislation, he tried to expand the number of justices on the Court to ensure a friendly majority. Harry Truman was the first president to pull America into a protracted war without first consulting Congress. He then sought to nationalize private companies to ensure that war was properly outfitted.
These are odd men to call heroes.
Inexplicably, the presidents who knew and understood their constitutional limits, who respected those limits and who generally took a more laissez-faire approach to government get short shrift—even derision—from historians.
Men like Calvin Coolidge, Warren Harding, Rutherford B. Hayes and Grover Cleveland merely exhibited what Healy calls "stolid, boring competence." Historians loathe them, Healy writes, because they had the audacity to "content themselves simply with presiding over peace and prosperity" and not seek to remake the world in their own image. The nerve of them.
Today, the president oversees 1.8 million federal employees. The federal government is America's largest employer. Moreover, we today expect much more from the president than merely to enforce the nation's laws. We expect him to console us in times of tragedy or natural disaster, to inspire us in times of war. Some even look to the president for spiritual guidance. The enormity of the office grows more unsettling when you consider the set of skills and traits it takes to get elected. As Healy explains, the long, brutal, expensive primary and general election process selects people with massive egos, people willing to subject themselves to all sorts of abuse in the pursuit of power and people willing to accept favors from all sorts of interests as they ascend from office to office—favors from people who generally expect to be repaid.
George Washington set perhaps the most important precedent in the history of the idea of a constitutional republic when he declined to seek a third term. He could have been a king if he'd so chosen. Despite achieving myth-like reverence and adulation while still in office, Washington had the humility and the foresight to understand the importance of leaving power on the table. Doing so not only limited his own power but began the voluntary two-term tradition that lasted 140 years.
While both Barack Obama and John McCain have in some way acknowledged that the Bush administration has dangerously pushed the limits of executive power, neither has indicated exactly what powers, if elected, he would give back or what steps he'd take to make sure those powers aren't later invoked by a successor.
Perhaps it's too much to hope for another George Washington. Instead, this November, it looks as if our choices are a man who styles himself after John F. Kennedy and a man who idolizes Teddy Roosevelt.
That doesn't bode well for the next four years, or for the imperial presidency's continuing threat to American democracy.
Radley Balko is a senior editor for reason. A version of this article originally appeared at FoxNews.com.It was a Friday in June, a short workday before a public holiday weekend in Ukraine, and cybersecurity expert Victor Zhora had left the capital, Kyiv, and was in the western city of Lviv when he got the first in a torrent of phone calls from frantic clients.
His clients’ networks were being crippled by ransomware known as Petya, a malicious software that locks up infected computers and data. But this ransomware was a variant of an older one and wasn’t designed to extort money — the goal of the virus’ designers was massive disruption to Ukraine’s economy.
“I decided not to switch on my computer and just used my phone and iPad as a precaution,” he said. “I didn’t want my laptop to be contaminated by the virus and to lose my data,” he said.
Virus spread like wildfire
The Petya virus, targeting Microsoft Windows-based systems, spread like wildfire across Europe and, to a lesser extent, America, affecting hundreds of large and small firms in France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Britain.
While many Europeans saw the June cyberattack as just another wild disruption caused by anonymous hackers, it was identified quickly by experts, like the 37-year-old Zhora, as another targeted assault on Ukraine. Most likely launched by Russia, it was timed to infect the country’s networks on the eve of Ukraine’s Constitution Day.
The cyberattack started through a software update for an accounting program that businesses use when working with Ukrainian government agencies, according to the head of Ukraine’s cyberpolice, Sergey Demedyuk. In an interview with VOA in his office in the western suburbs of Kyiv, Demedyuk said, “every year cyberattacks are growing in number.”
“Sometimes when targeting a particular government agency or official, they mount complex attacks, first using some disguising action, like a denial-of-service attack, and only then launch their main attack aiming, for example, at capturing data,” he said.
Ukraine’s 360-member cyberpolice department was formed in 2015. The department is stretched, having not only to investigate cybercrime by nonstate actors but also, along with a counterpart unit in the state security agency, defend the country from cyberattacks by state actors. Demedyuk admits it is a cat-and-mouse game searching for viruses and Trojan horses that might have been planted months ago.
Cybersecurity summit
On Wednesday, the director of U.S. National Intelligence, Dan Coats, told a cybersecurity summit in Washington that digital threats are mounting against the West, and he singled out Russia as a major culprit, saying Moscow “has clearly assumed an ever more aggressive cyber posture.”
“We have not experienced — yet — a catastrophic attack. But I think everyone in this room is aware of the ever-growing threat to our national security,” Coats added.
And many of the digital weapons the West may face are being refined and developed by Russian-directed hackers in the cyberwar being waged against Ukraine, said Zhora and other cybersecurity experts.
“They are using Ukraine as a testing laboratory,” said Zhora, a director of InfoSafe, a cybersecurity company that advises private sector clients and Ukrainian government agencies.
Eye of the digital storm
Since the 2014 ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine has been in the eye of a sustained and systematic digital storm of big and small cyberattacks with practically every sector of the country impacted, including media, finance, transportation, military, politics and energy. Sometimes, the intrusions are highly tailored; other times, more indiscriminate attacks like Petya are launched at Ukraine.
Russian officials deny they are waging cyber warfare against Ukraine. Zhora, like many cybersecurity experts, acknowledges it is difficult, if not impossible most times, to trace cyberattacks back to their source.
“Attribution is the most difficult thing. When you are dealing with professional hackers it is hard to track and to find real evidence of where it has come from,” he said. “But we know only one country is the likely culprit. We only really have one enemy that wants to destroy Ukrainian democracy and independence,” he added.
Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, has been less restrained in pointing the finger of blame. Last December, he said there had been 6,500 cyberattacks on 36 Ukrainian targets in the previous two months alone. Investigations, he said, point to the “direct or indirect involvement of [the] secret services of Russia, which have unleashed a cyberwar against our country.”
Ukraine’s cyberpolice head agrees. Demedyuk says his officers have been able to track attacks, especially denial-of-service intrusions, back to “Russian special services, tracking them to their own facilities and their own IP addresses.” But the original source of more complex intrusions, he said, are much harder to identify, with the hackers disguising themselves by using servers around the world, including in Asia and China.
Digital weapons refined
Digital intrusions have seen data deleted and networks crippled with real life consequences. And digital weapons are being refined often with the knowledge gained from each intrusion.
Zhora cites as an example of this evolution the difference between two large cyberattacks on the country’s electricity grid, the first in December 2015 and the second at the end of last year, which cut off energy to hundreds of thousands of people for several hours.
With the first attack the hackers used malware to gain access to the networks and then shut the system down manually.
“They sent an email and when someone opened it, the payload was downloaded and later it spread across the network and they used the path created for the hackers to get to the administrator’s work station and then in a live session switched off the subsystems overseeing electricity distribution,” he said.
But with the 2016 attack no live session was necessary.
“They used a malware which opened the doors automatically by decoding specific protocols and there was no human interaction. I think they got a lot of information in the first attack about the utility companies’ networks and they used the knowledge to write the malware for the second intrusion,” he said.
Digital threats to US
In his speech midweek in Washington, Coats specifically cited possible digital threats to America’s critical infrastructure, including electrical grids and other utilities, saying it is of rising concern.
“It doesn’t take much effort to imagine the consequences of an attack that knocks out power in Boston in February or power in Phoenix in July,” he said.
After the second cyberattack on Ukraine’s electrical grid, a group of American government and private sector energy officials was dispatched to Kyiv, where they spent a month exploring what happened, according to Ukrainian officials.
One lesson the visitors drew was that it would be much harder in the U.S. to switch the grid back on after an intrusion. The Ukrainians were able to get the electricity moving again by visiting each substation and turning the system on again manually, an option apparently more challenging in the U.S., where grid systems are even more automated.
“Virtual attacks are every bit as dangerous as military ones — we are living on a battlefield,” Zhora said.This year’s Asian Le Mans Series has been reduced to a four-round season following news that next month’s event in Thailand has been canceled.
Series officials confirmed Sunday that the Three Hours of Buriram, which was scheduled to take place at the brand-new Buriram International Circuit on Nov. 21-23, will not go ahead as planned.
“After consultation with teams and stakeholders, organizers of the Asian Le Mans Series have made the decision to remove the Thailand race from 2014 calendar in order to focus on delivering a successful final race in Sepang as well as being well prepared for 2015 season,” a statement from the series read.
The news comes on the heels of last weekend’s race in Shanghai, which again saw a single-digit grid for the third consecutive event this year.
This year’s season will conclude in Sepang on Dec. 5-7, with plans to release the 2015 calendar shortly, which will see improvements in scheduling with the goal of increasing car counts.The White House struggled Thursday to respond to a new report claiming that two White House officials played a role in passing classified information to the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Press secretary Sean Spicer faced a barrage of questions from reporters about the story, which was published by The New York Times just before his press briefing began.
"I've read the report, and respectfully, your question assumes the reporting is correct," Spicer said at the top of the briefing.
"We are not going to start commenting on one-off anonymous sources that publications publish."
The story states that Ezra Cohen-Watnick of the National Security Council and Michael Ellis of the White House Counsel's office were the likely sources of information given to House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) about incidental surveillance of the Trump transition team.
Nunes personally briefed President Trump on that information after he received it. Earlier this week, it came to light that the congressman visited the White House grounds the day before that briefing with Trump.
The Times report appeared to contradict repeated assertions from Nunes that the White House was not the source of his information.
When journalists asked Spicer why he has not yet shared which official let Nunes onto the White House grounds to review the materials in a secure location — a question reporters have asked repeatedly this week — Spicer replied, “I never said that I would provide you answers, I said we would look into it.” Spicer tried to turn the focus to a recent invitation from the White House to the leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees to review materials related to their investigations into Russian interference in the election.
He wouldn’t confirm whether the new information was the same as what Nunes has already seen.
Spicer also said one of his previous comments — that suspicions the White House provided Nunes with the information didn’t “pass the smell test” — was based on Nunes's words at the time. Overall, he said reporters are too obsessed with the “process” over the “substance” of the surveillance matter and are refusing to give investigators the same leeway to use anonymous sources that journalists get when they write stories about the administration. “We have invited the chairman and the ranking members who are looking into this and reviewing the matter up here. That doesn’t mean we allow uncleared members from the media to come and look at this,” Spicer said. “I understand that you want all the process answers, what day did they come in, what they were wearing, what door they came in — the relevant questions are about the substance of this. And it’s interesting, I don’t get the same thing when I see these published stories with anonymous sources.”
The White House’s response is likely to fuel more questions about whether it is trying to meddle in an investigation into Trump associates’ ties to Russia, which is being carried out in part by the House Intelligence panel.
Nunes, a former Trump transition official, has come under criticism as being too close to the White House. Other members of the committee said he erred in taking the information about surveillance directly to Trump before sharing it with his colleagues.
The committee chief told reporters last week that he met with a source secretly on White House grounds, where he obtained information that showed information on Trump transition members was incidentally collected in routine surveillance.
At the time, Nunes said his source was an intelligence agent, not a White House staffer.
But the secrecy surrounding the meeting and the source has created a storm of controversy.
Democrats accuse Nunes of carrying water for the administration and seeking to give Trump cover for his claim that President Obama's administration surveilled him during the campaign.(Reuters) - Blunt-spoken Janet Reno, who served eight years as the first woman U.S. attorney general and authorized the deadly 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian cult compound in Texas just weeks into the job, died on Monday at age 78.
Reno died in Miami of Parkinson’s disease complications, according to her goddaughter, Gabrielle D’Alemberte. Reno was diagnosed with the progressive central nervous system disorder in 1995.
Reno served as the United States’ top law enforcement official during Democrat Bill Clinton’s presidency from 1993 to 2001, becoming the longest-tenured attorney general of the 20th century.
She authorized the seizure by federal agents in 2000 of 6-year-old Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez from relatives in Miami, as well as the government’s huge antitrust case against Microsoft Corp in 1998.
“Janet Reno was an American original, a public servant whose intellect, integrity and fierce commitment to justice helped shape our nation’s legal landscape,” President Barack Obama said in a statement.
Clinton said on Monday, “As attorney general for all eight years of my presidency, Janet worked tirelessly to make our communities safer, protect the vulnerable, and to strike the right balance between seeking justice and avoiding abuse of power.”
The former Miami prosecutor, picked by Clinton only after his first two choices for the job ran into trouble, exhibited an independent streak and a brusque manner that often upset the White House.
Reno weathered White House complaints that she was not a team player and that she sought too many special prosecutors to investigate cases, including the Whitewater affair involving the finances of the president and first lady Hillary Clinton.
WACO RAID
Reno was only 38 days into the attorney general’s job when she approved the April 19, 1993, FBI raid that led to the deaths of about 80 people, including many children, at the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas.
Federal agents had earlier tried to serve a warrant on the cult’s leader, David Koresh, who said he was the Messiah, for stockpiling weapons. Four agents and six cult members were killed in an ensuing shootout, leading to a 51-day standoff.
With negotiations at an impasse, Reno gave the go-ahead for the raid after hearing reports of child abuse in the compound. The raid on the heavily armed cultists ended in an inferno that engulfed the site.
“I made the decision. I’m accountable. The buck stops with me,” a grim-looking Reno told a news conference later.
Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno testifies before the 9-11 commission in the Hart Senate office building on Capitol Hill in Washington April 13, 2004. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst MR/JDP
Reno took a personal interest in the political tussle over Elian Gonzalez, the young shipwreck survivor whose mother drowned fleeing Cuba.
Reno met the boy and his Miami relatives, who battled to keep him from returning to communist Cuba, and his father and grandmothers, who wanted to raise Gonzalez in his homeland.
Reno argued that Elian belonged with his father and acted after the Miami relatives defied a U.S. government order to hand him over. She authorized armed agents to take the boy from his relatives’ home in a predawn raid in April 2000 and reunite him with his father, who took him back to Cuba.
The raid infuriated members of Miami’s Cuban exile community, who called her a “witch” and a lackey of Cuban President Fidel Castro.
MICROSOFT ANTITRUST CASE
In 1998, Reno’s Justice Department brought a huge antitrust case against Microsoft. Two years later, a federal judge ordered the breakup of the software giant because it had ignored his ruling that it had used unlawful monopolistic practices.
The case was settled in 2001 by the administration of President George W. Bush, Clinton’s Republican successor, in terms seen as favorable to Microsoft.
Reno appeared with Clinton after the 1995 truck bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building that killed 168 people, and vowed to seek the death penalty for the perpetrators.
Convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in 2001 become the first federal prisoner executed since 1963. McVeigh said he carried out the attack to punish the U.S. government for the Waco cult raid and another raid in Idaho.
Some comedians made fun of Reno during her time in office, lampooning her appearance and 6-foot-2 height (1.88-meter), among them Will Ferrell who impersonated her on “Saturday Night Live.”
Shortly after leaving office, she appeared on the show next to Ferrell, both wearing identical outfits, in a sketch called “Janet Reno’s Dance Party.”
Reno was in the job longer than anyone except William Wirt, who held it from November 1817 until March 1829.
Reno ran for governor in Florida in 2002, but lost in the Democratic primary.
Slideshow (4 Images)
Parkinson’s disease caused trembling in her arms. “All it does is shake, and you get used to it shaking after a while,” she told a TV interviewer.
Reno was born on July 21, 1938, in Miami to parents who were newspaper reporters. She attended public schools in Miami and earned a chemistry degree at Cornell University in 1960.
She received her law degree from Harvard three years later, and worked as a lawyer in Miami.In delivering her findings of the coronial inquest into the death of 22-year-old Ms Dhu during time spent in a Western Australian jail cell, state coroner Ros Fogliani was highly critical of some actions of police and medical staff.
She reportedly said Ms Dhu’s medical care in one instance was “deficient” and both police and hospital staff were influenced by preconceived notions about Aboriginal people.
Ms Dhu died on 4 August 2014 from staphylococcal septicaemia - a severe bacterial infection - and pneumonia, which were complicated by a previously obtained rib fracture. Released CCTV footage showed Ms Dhu moaning from pain, saying it was ten out of ten.
It was reported an emergency doctor considered her pain real but exaggerated for “behavioural gain”. Another doctor also noted Ms Dhu suffered from “behavioural issues” while a constable thought she was “faking” her suffering.
Ms Dhu’s case is not the first instance of mistreatment of an Aboriginal person in custody or a medical setting, nor is it likely the last. And while coroner Fogliani’s recommendations included mandatory, ongoing cultural competency training for police officers, to assist with health issues and other dealings with Aboriginal people, this isn’t enough.
For thirty years, Australian institutions have implemented cultural awareness programs. The thinking was if they taught staff about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, it would result in better lecturers, clinicians and policy-makers – and magically produce equity.
But this assumes Aboriginal culture is the problem. Like a deaf student in an all-hearing classroom, it is not the deaf student or their needs that are the problem, but a system that thinks an all-verbal and all-hearing teaching style is equal. The idea of equality itself entrenches systemic discrimination.
Unconscious bias
In April, Darwin Hospital staff were under fire for allegedly leaving Aboriginal singer Gurrumul Yunupingu to bleed internally for eight hours. Media reported hospital staff noted Gurrumul’s liver damage was self-inflicted (a result of repeated heavy alcohol use) rather than being due to his chronic hepatitis B infection he had since he was a child.
We don’t know whether these allegations are true, but we do know unconscious bias exists in Australia. It refers to the instant judgements we make about other people and situations based on our own values, experiences and cultural and gender beliefs.
These judgements impact significantly on hiring and promotion decisions, how medical students make decisions, and in public discourse.
Regardless of merit or facts, research shows black or Indigenous people are more likely to be seen as less trustworthy; women to be risky prospects, and overweight people as irresponsible. Those with power and privilege judge those with less power for their inability to compete on terms set by the powerful.
So how is unconscious bias different to racism? Like an iceberg, unconscious bias is said to represent the beliefs, values and experiences (below water) that give rise to overt expressions of discrimination (above water).
There are two problems with these definitions, however. They don’t reveal how beliefs, values and experiences got into the subconscious in the first place. They may also imply it is not the responsibility of those with unconscious bias to change their implicit beliefs and explicit actions.
In Australia, the inability to deal with unconscious bias and racism has serious health effects on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These include increased stress, mental ill-health and suicide, systemic racism in education, sports, justice and the public sector.
In a national survey of Aboriginal patients, 32.4% reported racial discrimination in medical settings most or all of the time. These people felt they had been treated unfairly (which included being treated rudely or with disrespect; being ignored, insulted, harassed, stereotyped or discriminated against) because they were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
Equality vs Equity
Public discussion about racism in Australia is often met with denial, discomfort and fragility. Some blame AFL player Adam Goodes for calling out racism – shooting the messenger is a common reaction.
Some stand with whistle blowers and defend their right to speak truth to power. Others completely deny racism’s existence, wishing it would go away because “we treat everyone the same”.
But the impulse to treat everyone the same confuses equality of inputs with equality of outcomes. As the below diagram shows, treating everyone with equal inputs (the same boxes) produces an inequality of outcomes (not everyone can access the game).
Alternatively, treating everyone differently, according to their needs and humanity is more likely to produce equality of outcomes where everyone can access the game. Equity deals not only with overt discrimination but the systemic factors that give rise to it.
Australian universities, medical schools and health systems grappling with how to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in their institutions as participants and staff – and how to produce equality of outcomes – need to deal with both overt and systemic factors of racism.
Cultural awareness isn’t enough
Teaching health professionals about Indigenous health will effectively require teaching about unconscious bias and racism; one’s own culture, values and motivations. It requires training in “unlearning” preconceptions, regular reflections on one’s own practices; as well as education about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
Most importantly, if the clinician cannot see themselves, their privilege and power as a potential problem, this will inadvertently re-establish racism and unconscious bias.
Educators have found patiently moving Australian medical students who were initially hostile to Aboriginal health curricula through their discomfort to reach the “a-ha” moment, is a key teaching strategy in producing better prepared doctors.
Further, cultural awareness training assumes that even if we could train every individual staff member in a hospital to be perfectly culturally competent, they would then go on to magically produce better health outcomes.
But the systemic factors – workplace culture, policies, power, funding and criteria on which decisions are made – are critical if we want a culturally equitable society.
Improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people includes moving from a goal of equality to equity; teaching about racism and unconscious bias, not just culture; and making explicit the deeper transformational work of institutional decolonisation. We need to ask: how can power be shared? On whose terms are decisions made? Who owns institutions and services? Whose criteria are used to judge effectiveness?
The answer is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander definitions and measurement tools of success are more likely to contribute to producing better outcomes than those where unconscious bias and racism is implicit. The work of admitting and addressing institutional racism remains.Good news everyone!I just thought I'd make a small report on a small (but nice) discovery.I've just tried to hook up a normal USB keyboard to my Galaxy Nexus running latest Jelly Bean build.Thisto work fine on ICS as well, but then I had to accept that Android only knew about en-US qwerty keyboards and if you had anything else, well too bad. ICS wasn't really built to have external non-onscreen keyboards attached.I guess most international Transformer with a keyboard dock users have witnessed how that plays out when the ROM author isn't spending most of his time trying to make Asus keyboard work on his build. It doesn't really work very well at all.Behold the following screenshots:Connect external keyboard via USB OTG adapter: Get this.Click on it. Notice "Physical keyboard" in list of configurable devices.Click on "Physical keyboard" and you get this:And if you choose a locale here (like Norwegian, which has ØÆÅ, which you most definitely don't have in en-US qwerty), pressing those keys works just fine.No hacking. Works out of the box. Out of the box of a AOSP Android build with no custom Asus APKs.This is promising very well for getting maximum Netbook out of our TF101s once the Jelly Bean builds starts rollingThe two beers on the left are produced by Walmart, the two on the right by Trader Joe’s. (Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post)
Many beer geeks spent the end of 2016 debating their list of the year’s best releases — Voodoo’s ManBearPig imperial stout? Tree House’s King JJJuliusss double IPA? Ocelot’s Talking Backwards triple IPA? — and looking back at the rising tides of sour beers and fruit-flavored IPAs. But one of the biggest beer developments of the past 12 months is this: Walmart now sells its own “craft” beer.
Go ahead and laugh. I’m assuming most beer lovers don’t spend much time thinking about the craft ales and lagers in the cooler at Walmart, especially if the selection is as mediocre as the one at my local D.C. store, where the few sixers and sampler 12-packs of Flying Dog, New Belgium and Dogfish Head are dwarfed by 30-packs of Natural Light and Tecate. But market research firm Placed Insights ranks Walmart as the most popular store in the country, with more than half of all American shoppers visiting one of the company’s 4,600 stores in a given month. That’s a lot of eyes falling on those products.
Teresa Budd, a senior buyer for Walmart’s adult beverage team, says the company began to notice its craft beer sales growing a few years ago, especially compared with sales of mainstream domestic beers. The company put out an offer to suppliers around the country, seeking to produce an IPA, a pale ale, an amber ale and a Belgian-style ale, Budd says, because “those were the top four best-selling craft styles at the time.” After samplings and tastings, “making sure it’s exactly what we want,” Walmart began producing beer in “collaboration” with a company called Trouble Brewing in Rochester, N.Y.
The beers launched in six-packs and a 12-can variety pack in early 2016, and they’re found in 3,000 stores across 45 states. Budd says the response from consumers has been enthusiastic, and the line may expand with new or seasonal beers in the future.
Unlike the house-brand beers of some of the company’s competitors, including Costco and Trader Joe’s, Trouble Brewing offers no clue on the label to tell you that Walmart was behind its creation. A shopper heading down the aisle to look for Samuel Adams or Miller High Life might see the ersatz-hipster labels of Cat’s Away IPA and After Party Pale Ale, or the distressed fonts and “torn”-look packaging of the Pack of Trouble variety 12-pack, and assume they were made by some new craft brewery that just hit the market. It’s also hard to ignore the price: $7.96 for a six-pack and $13.86 for the variety pack. That’s $3 to $5 cheaper than other craft beers on the same shelf.
Lower cost and perceived value are a competitive advantage for established store house brands: Most of Trader Joe’s “exclusive” brews, such as Mission St. IPA and JosephsBrau Bohemian Lager, cost $6.49 to $6.99 per six-pack, or $1.09 to $1.17 each for shoppers who mix and match. A 22-ounce bottle of Green Flash Fearless Fifty, an exclusive saison created by the San Diego brewery for Trader Joe’s 50th anniversary, is $5.99. At Costco, a whopping 48-pack of its Signature Light Beer costs $22. (Of course, you have to buy in bulk.)
Another thing these store brands have in common is a tendency to deliberately obscure — or flat-out conceal — where the beer is coming from. In the case of Walmart, no American brewery with the name Trouble Brewing actually exists. The applicant listed on filings for the four beers with the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is “Winery Exchange, Inc.,” now known as WX Brands, which “develops exclusive brands of wine, beer and spirits for retailers around the world,” according to its website. The brewery address given on the TTB documents is Genesee Brewing’s business office.
Genesee is not a craft brewery, which the national Brewers Association defines as small, independent and traditional; it’s owned by Costa Rica-based Florida Ice and Farm, which brews that country’s Imperial Lager and other industrial brands. Its flagship American beers, Genesee and Genesee Cream Ale, are cheap college-party staples, and it’s tough to convince people that your brand is hip and craft when those are the other products coming out of the tanks.
Walmart’s Budd says there’s no intention to deceive consumers, pointing out that Walmart doesn’t put the company name on its private label brands, whether camping gear or cat food. “We were intentional about designing a package that conveyed a look and feel you’d expect of craft beer,” she said.
Likewise, previous variety packs of Costco’s Kirkland Signature Handcrafted Beer, which will return to stores this spring, claimed that the IPAs and brown ales came from either New Yorker Brewer in Utica, N.Y., or Hopfen und Malz in San Jose, depending on where the beer was purchased. The TTB reveals they’re brewed at F.X. Matt (the home of Saranac) and Gordon Biersch, respectively.
Trader Joe’s sources its beers from several brewers. Most German-style beers purport to be from JosephsBrau Brewing while actually being contract-brewed by Gordon Biersch; the Mission Street IPA and Session Pale Ale beers are brewed by Salt Lake City’s Four + Brewing, a pseudonym for Uinta, after years of being produced under contract at the well-respected Firestone Walker. Fat Weasel’s label says it’s brewed by “River Trent Brewing Company, Ukiah, CA,” which is actually Mendocino Brewing. And so on.
Affordable beers made by breweries that most people have heard of? The only question left is “How does it taste?” I convened a team of Washington Post staffers for a blind tasting of beers purchased at Walmart and Trader Joe’s and asked them to write down their thoughts. The results were not that positive: Trouble Brewing’s Red Flag Amber Ale was described as “flabby,” “knock-you-over-the-head syrupy sweet” and “good for flip cup.” The JosephsBrau Bohemian Lager elicited “watery,” “tastes like college” and “channels a Heineken that’s been open for a little too long.” Trouble Brewing’s After Party Ale was “bland nothingness” and “lacking an identifiable taste.”
The standouts, according to the testers, included JosephBrau’s Hefeweizen, which had the bright mouth feel and bubble gum and banana notes you’d expect from a German wheat beer, even as one reviewer called it “drinkable, if not particularly memorable.” The Mission St. Session Pale Ale got mixed reviews — though still better than the IPA’s — for its bitterness and citrusy hops, although it was also called “thin” and “nothing to get excited about.” Trouble Brewing’s most popular brew was ’Round Midnight Belgian White, which didn’t strike anyone as an outstanding witbier but received complements on its spice and fruitiness, as well as easy drinkability.
None of those beers is going to light up online beer forums or find its way onto “Best Beer of the Year” lists, but that’s not the point. These are affordable brews that could be gateway beers for domestic beer drinkers looking to dip a toe into the world of craft beer. If they like Trouble Brewing’s version of a Belgian witbier, maybe they’ll be open to trying one from Allagash or Bell’s, or they’ll grab a six-pack of Flying Dog instead of Bud Light. Either way, Walmart just put craft-style beers in front of millions of new potential craft beer customers, which should be a positive for brewers of all sizes.Small, violent right-wing groups have appeared in the decades since Canada relaxed its immigration laws to embrace multiculturalism. But revulsion toward violence and hate speech has kept such groups on the margins. La Meute has created a more moderate setting where people can communicate their fears.
“La Meute is very different from what we have seen so far,” said Samuel Tanner, an associate professor at the International Center for Comparative Criminology at the University of Montreal who studies Canada’s far right.
He likened the group’s followers to the blue-collar Democrats in the United States who supported President Trump. “They are a new type of right, blending conservatism with some liberal values,” he said.
Some experts warn that groups like La Meute, however much they eschew violence, create an enabling environment in which hate can grow. “They are embedded in a broader cultural ethos that bestows ‘permission to hate,’” said Barbara Perry, a professor at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology who has written extensively on right-wing extremism in Canada.
The conversation within La Meute’s private Facebook page can border on hateful. In response to one person’s request about what could be done to prevent construction of a mosque in the neighborhood, another follower suggested pouring pig’s blood on the ground and letting Muslims know the land had been desecrated.
While primarily confined to French-speaking Canada, La Meute lies on a continuum of conservative thought that is propelling politicians like Kellie Leitch, a member |
D Store is located at 10310 S. Dolfield Road, Suite #3D, Owings Mills, Maryland 21117
Web: www.Bmore3D.com Phone: 443-963-9456 Email: info@bmore3D.com
A collaboration of:
Custom 3D Stuff at www.Custom3dStuff.com
Tinkerine Studios at www.Tinkerine.com
Direct Dimensions at www.DirectDimensions.com
ShapeShot at www.ShapeShot.com
********************************************US post-rockers Caspian will be gracing our shores for the first time this year, so we took the opportunity to slide some questions to ask everything from the surprise album of the year to discussing the style of their latest output and what the band plans to do for its 10th anniversary.
How is Caspian doing and are you guys ready to hit Australia and Asia with our searing weather?
Absolutely ready to escape this cold out here. Been a bitter winter, even more than usual. Wouldn't want to be going anywhere else on planet Earth to be completely honest.
Hymn for the Greatest Generation was released late last year but it still has quite a different feel to it compared to Waking Season. How would you explain the difference and evolution between the new material on the EP compared to the last LP?
It's interesting, because we recorded "Hymn For The Greatest Generation" during the Waking Season sessions, though I agree - it's very different stylistically than the rest of that record. Once we finished it we immediately put it aside to release separately. "The Heart That Fed" was written and recorded after Waking Season, and we wanted to write something heavier, more aggressive, and somewhat more complex to balance out the loftier, more ethereal elements of "Hymn...". I think we missed using more distortion and heavier riffs somewhat so a lot of "The Heart That Fed" was inspired by that.
How is the songwriting going, can we look forward to any more new material this year or is this year more focused on touring?
We haven't started really digging into the writing process yet, as we're trying to keep our heads down and make it through normal life in between all of these tours. This summer though we plan on using our time exclusively to write and hopefully record by the end of the year. We'll let the process develop as naturally as we can and hope for the best!
Across your whole discography, Caspian seems to really love setting warm analog and raw digital sounds against one another. What draws you guys to this clash of sounds?
Thanks for noticing that. I am very drawn to the combination of juxtaposing emotions, sounds and basically having whatever sounds there are mimic as much of the duality of life as possible. I don't view in things black and white terms as much as I used to. I think the older one gets the more you see the grey areas and different colors, but I can't escape that I'm always going to be coming from a place where it's light vs dark, sun vs. moon, night vs. day, good vs. evil, etc and I think contrasting those sounds against each other just comes natural I guess. It's something I can't shake from my upbringing, for better or for worse.
Hobbledehoy Records just released Waking Season on some very nice shiny vinyl in Australia, are you a believer in vinyl as a format yourself?
Oh, absolutely. I think it's the purest medium for "experiencing" a record, if only because of the focus and time it requires to put a record on the slip mat, unveil the (larger and more beautiful) artwork, and just the general ritual of listening to records. It's a time honored tradition and can be the most engulfing process for experiencing music in my opinion, though everyone has their own methods and approaches.
Now for a big one but why are you a musician?
I've always been a very shy, somewhat closed person. And I have always had a lot on my mind. Sometimes, it's felt like too much and not knowing what to do with it all can be very burdening and confusing. When I found music, it felt like a way for me to express all of the things I was feeling naturally, in a way that I felt immediately comfortable with. With Caspian, it's been refreshing to communicate those feelings and reflections without using any lyrics for the most part, as I've found that most of the things I am feeling can't be successfully put into words anyway. Music is the great communicator and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I feel like I have really found a place in this world and I'm unbelievably grateful to be a part of it on any level.
When you tour a country for the first time and the fans coming to see you haven't heard you live before, is it hard to make a setlist when you have so many years of back catalogue to choose from?
Yes. At the end of the day, we play whatever it is that gets us most excited to perform and that helps us pick the songs easier. It's a combination of many things - from what feels fresh, to what brings up old memories, to what we feel translates most successful in the atmosphere of a live show. Many elements in the mix. We also do try and play special requests for people if they're militant about it haha.
This year will mark the 10th anniversary of your very first demo and I believe first live show. Will we be seeing anything special for these?
We'll be doing a special show in our hometown of Beverly this August to mark the occasion, and probably throw a big party up here for fans, friends and family. Getting that original demo out in the pipeline is a great idea! Had not thought of that.
You've had some time to think about 2013's crop of music, what was your favourite album and why?
That's a tough question. I think the only way to decide that out of the thousands of amazing records I heard is to look at my iTunes and see what it tells me I listened to most. And iTunes tells me that I listened to James Blake's "Overgrown" more than anything else, so there you have it.
What's your most anticipated record of 2014?
I'm beyond excited to hear new records from Stars of the Lid and Tycho. Two of my favorite artists ever.
Apart from the gigs, what are you most looking forward to in Australia?
Experiencing the culture and being as far from home as possible. I love where I'm from but the idea of being on, quite literally, the opposite side of planet Earth is really exciting to me and appeals to the adventurous aspect of all this that attracted me to being in a band in the first place. Also want to see the Pacific and Indian Oceans as much as possible. Really, we are just too excited to express about making down under for the first time. Really hope everyone enjoys the shows.
Caspian is on tour around Australia during March, further details below:
Wed March 19 w/We Lost The Sea
The Bald Faced Stag
343 Parramatta Rd
Sydney NSW
Tickets $35+bf from www.oztix.com.au
Thu March 20 w/Hope Drone
Tempo Hotel
388 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley
Brisbane QLD
Tickets $35+bf from www.oztix.com.au
Fri March 21 w/Fourteen Nights At Sea
Evelyn Hotel
351 Brunswick St, Fitzoy VIC
Melbourne VIC
Tickets $35+bf from www.moshtix.com.au
Sat March 22 w/Runner
Mojo’s
237 Queen Victoria St, Fremantle
Perth WA
Tickets $35+bf from www.oztix.com.au
Sun March 23 w/Canidae
Crown and Anchor
196 Grenfell St
Adelaide SA
Tickets $35+bf from www.oztix.com.auMan Forced To Eat Pot By Cops Settles Lawsuit Against City
After finding a gram of pot in his car, Phoenix officers gave the 19-year-old man an ultimatum: eat the pot or go to jail.
A Phoenix man who was forced to eat weed during a traffic stop has settled a lawsuit against the city, according to High Times. The then-19-year-old motorist, Edgar Castro, had filed a formal complaint last year, stating that the police officers gave him an ultimatum of eating the marijuana or going to jail.
“Although the victim was vindicated, it’s a bizarre and sickening case from start to finish,” High Times noted. “Worse still, it’s just one piece of the horrifically widespread issue of police brutality in the United States.”
Still, Castro’s $100,000 settlement does little to right the situation which, as High Times suggests, is very likely just the tip of the iceberg. Pulled over for speeding in September 2016, Castro was found with about a gram of weed—some of which was contained in packaging from a medical marijuana dispensary. (Court documents are unclear as to whether Castro had a medical marijuana prescription.)
According to the lawsuit, upon discovering the marijuana, officer Jason McFadden then told the plaintiff (Castro) "to eat the marijuana or he would be going to jail. Plaintiff asked Defendant Pina [another officer on the scene] if he really had to eat the marijuana, to which Defendant Pina responded, 'yeah! You need to eat it.'"
Richard Pina, Jason McFadden and Michael Carnicle, the three first-year Phoenix police officers involved, resigned after Castro filed the complaint. “These actions are appalling, unacceptable and they are no longer members of our organization,” the police chief told KTAR News shortly after the incident. “The conduct alleged by [Castro] is contrary to everything we stand for as community servants.”
While all three of the police officers were wearing body cameras, none of the cameras were switched on or recording, KTAR reported. Castro initially hesitated at the ultimatum, asking to use his cell phone in order to record the situation.
According to the lawsuit, the unarmed Castro was told “that if he grabbed [the phone] he would be shot.” Castro complied and ate the marijuana, after which the police officers towed the vehicle and forced him to walk home, advising him, “Don’t get shot tonight.” (The lawsuit also notes that Castro later “became ill and vomited.”)
Castro’s complaint, however, quickly turned into a lawsuit against the city. The lawsuit itself stated that the police officers’ actions were “deliberate, reckless, wanton and/or involved callous indifference to [Castro’s] state and federally protected rights.” Interestingly, while the details of Castro’s case are as strange as they are maddening, it’s not even the first case of its kind in recent weeks.
For example, when police suspected one Pennsylvania couple of illegally growing marijuana plants on their property, the elderly couple was handcuffed at gunpoint. In the end, no weed was even found on their property—instead, police had confiscated hibiscus plants, having mistaken them for cannabis. Now, the couple has leveled their own lawsuit against the police—not only for their error in judgment but for the aggressive manner in which the situation was handled.
While Castro’s lawyers originally sought $3.5 million, he settled for $100,000 in damages. It’s more than the money, Castro told High Times, as he hopes that his situation will bring similar civil rights violations to light and give rise to much-needed law enforcement policy improvements. “The officers who violated me did it because they felt like they could,” Castro said. “They felt their uniforms made it OK for them to be racist… and treat me like a second-class citizen…”
He added that “dirty cops with records of assaulting people in the worst ways imaginable should never be hired by other departments. There should be systems in place to make sure these sick individuals never carry a gun or a badge again.”Scott has worked with Plug and Play, The world’s largest fintech accelerator headquartered in Silicon Valley, for the past three years managing a number of FinTech, Blockchain, and Bitcoin-related initiatives. Additionally, Scott is the founder of Plug and Play Bitcoin, the co-organizer of the world's oldest Bitcoin Meetup and founder of the first nationally syndicated Bitcoin Job Fair. Since the launch of the program in February 2015, Scott and his team have accelerated over 72 FinTech startups and has led numerous investments into the domain.
Through both the program and individually, he has invested in early stage startups including Factom, Draft, Float, Bitwage, Blockscore, ChangeTip, Blockseer, Purse.IO, SFOX and many more. His objective is to find, fund, optimize and expedite startups' growth while connecting the teams to top-tier investors and Fortune 500 companies.
Scott graduated from UCLA in 2008, where he received his B.A. in History.Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,
John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo,
Bob Heuman, David Critchley, Hernan Astudillo, Rick Heli, Barbara Saylor Rodgers,
David Emery, Richard Campbell, Richard C. Griffiths, and Ross W. Sargent for headses
upses this week (as always hoping I have left no one out).
================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Neanderthals were apparently making regular visits to a cave in Jersey over the course of 140 000 years or so:
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-coastal-cave-site-must-see-tourist.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161212133444.htm
http://www.archaeology.org/5138-161214-jersey-neanderthal-cave
On the evolution of human walking:
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-heels-toes.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-12/uoa-www121216.php
… and what we’ve learned from some 3 million+ years bp footprints from Tanzania:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/dec/14/stepping-back-36m-years-footprints-yield-new-clues-to-humans-ancestors
http://www.archaeology.org/5136-161214-tanzania-laetoli-footprints
… such as height of one guy:
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-ancient-human-ancestor-tall-dude.html
http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20161214/ancient-human-ancestor-was-one-tall-dude-his-footprints-say
Not sure if this is a new example of 1.2 million years bp toothpick use or whether we had it a while ago:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-12/s-dhc121516.php
… or if it is really a study of using dental plaque to determine early diet and cooking:
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-raw-foodies-europe-earliest-humans.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161214212012.htm
http://www.archaeology.org/5141-161215-spain-raw-food
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/12/2016/europes-earliest-humans-did-not-use-fire-for-cooking
Now we’re reading that Lucy may have been polygynous:
http://www.livescience.com/57203-lucy-early-human-species-was-polygynous.html
More on the possibility of a religious side to Neanderthals:
http://www.npr.org/2016/12/11/505187953/discoveries-give-new-clues-to-possible-neanderthal-religious-practices
http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.758960
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AFRICA
================================================================
Mali has declared an ‘archaeological emergency’:
https://www.ft.com/content/559aa998-c386-11e6-9bca-2b93a6856354
Interesting feature on Ethiopian Judaism:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4891062,00.html
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ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
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On Egypt’s strategy to prevent sales of Egyptian antiquities around the world:
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/egypt-antiquities-sale-world-auction.html
Security has been tightened at all of Egypt’s sites and museums:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/253170/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Security-measures-tightened-at-all-Egypts-archaeol.aspx
4000 years bp petroglyphs from Iran:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-archaeologist-uncovers-possibly-one-of-worlds-oldest-rock-etchings/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/world-oldest-rock-drawings-archaeologist-iran-khomeyn-mohammed-naserifard-a7470321.html
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/deciphering-irans-ancient-rock-art-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=107184&NewsCatID=375
Nice feature on that Jericho skull and the facial reconstruction thereof:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/the-jericho-skull-british-museum-facial-reconstruction-ct-scan-a7474516.html
http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-exhibit-gives-9500-year-old-skull-a-digital-makeover/
http://www.archaeology.org/5086-161212-jericho-skull-facial-reconstruction
A pair of 2600 years bp kitchens from the site of Dascylium:
http://www.dailysabah.com/history/2016/12/15/2600-year-old-kitchen-of-kingdom-of-lydia-unearthed-in-western-turkey
http://www.archaeology.org/news/5140-161215-turkey-anatolia-kitchens
A 2 100 years bp wine press from Ashkelon:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=38757
http://www.archaeology.org/5145-161216-ashkelon-wine-press
A ‘Jewish Revolt Coin’ from Jerusalem:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=38701
A trio of tomb raiders were caught at Horvat Maskana:
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/tomb-raiders-caught-red-handed-in-northern-israel/2016/12/14/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/three-looters-busted-plundering-ancient-tomb-in-galilee/
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/221715
Looking for evidence of Istanbul’s earthquakes at Bathonea:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/bathonea-excavations-aim-to-shed-light-on-historic-istanbul-quakes-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=107325&NewsCatID=375
http://www.archaeology.org/5144-161216-turkey-istanbul-earthquakes
… while stained glass from there suggests a high standard of living:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/stained-glass-evidence-of-high-living-standards-in-ancient-bathonea.aspx?pageID=238&nid=106990&NewsCatID=375
After renovations of the clock tower, the seal of Sultan Hamid Abdul II was returned to Jaffa:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/ottoman-sultans-john-hancock-gets-facelift-in-jaffa/
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Relic-from-Ottoman-sultan-returned-to-Jaffa-after-extensive-renovations-475228
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israel-conserves/2016/12/13/
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/132527-161213-original-ottoman-era-seal-restored-to-jaffa-s-famous-clock-tower
General feature on archaeology in Iraq:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/dec/16/despite-landmines-snakes-and-dodgy-gin-iraq-is-an-archaeological-paradise
Latest DSS publication:
http://newsok.com/ocu-teams-dead-sea-scrolls-research-is-published-student-faculty-group-partnered-with-museum-of-the-bibles-green-scholars-initiative-program/article/5531034?custom_click=rss
We had some version of this last week: a fund is set up to protect antiquities in conflict areas:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/251928/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/New-international-fund-for-protecting-heritage-in-.aspx
More on that Bar Kochba governor inscription:
http://www.livescience.com/57182-hebrew-tablet-reveals-biblical-ruler-of-judea.html
More on domestication of grain in Syria some 11 000 years bp:
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/12/2016/neolithic-syrians-were-first-to-domesticate-cereals
http://www.archaeology.org/news/5075-161207-neolithic-staple-crops
More on 7000 years bp pollution in a Jordanian river:
http://www.livescience.com/57168-earliest-polluted-river-found-jordan.html
More on Nefertari’s knees:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/1206/Have-Egyptologists-solved-the-mystery-of-Queen-Nefertari-s-knees
Sadly, after last week’s issue went out, ISIL apparently retook Palmyra:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/11/islamic-state-retakes-palmyra-syria
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/dec/12/syrias-ancient-city-palmyra-under-control-of-islamic-state-again-video
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/syrian-army-advances-in-aleppo-but-loses-palmyra-to-islamic-state/article33293799/?cmpid=rss1
https://www.ft.com/content/be2ede50-c054-11e6-9bca-2b93a6856354
http://www.reuters.com/video/2016/12/11/islamic-state-and-syrian-army-both-claim?videoId=370694620&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=LatestVideosUS&videoChannel=1
http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/antiquities-official-fears-for-palmyra-after-is-recaptures-city/
… which led to another general piece on Palmyra:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/a-look-at-palmyra-the-historic-syrian-city-retaken-by-is/2016/12/11/88d77174-bfda-11e6-a52b-a0a126eaf9f7_story.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/look-palmyra-historic-syrian-city-retaken-194325400.html
… and coincidentally a major show on Palmyra in Paris:
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-lost-treasures-syria-palmyra-3d.html
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/syria/2016/12/16/war-endangered-archaeological-treasures-showcased-in-paris_0b5d46ee-9c55-4fcf-bbf3-a355c6888978.html
There were features on the destruction in and ongoing concerns for Nimrud:
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/iraqis-mourn-destruction-ancient-city-nimrud-isis-tried-destroy-identity-n694636
http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-fears-further-looting-of-wrecked-ancient-iraqi-city/
http://artdaily.com/news/92463/UN-fears-further-looting-of-wrecked-ancient-Iraqi-city
… and on sites destroyed by ISIL in general:
http://www.livescience.com/57172-photos-isis-destroys-iraq-heritage.html
… and Aleppo:
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=92405
The US has adopted a ‘legal strategy’ to prevent the sale of ISIL-looted antiquities:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/221820
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-antiquities-idUSKBN14422I
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/us-steps-up-fight-to-cut-islamic-state-financing-and-trade-in-looted-antiquities/2016/12/15/77a7b40e-c2e1-11e6-9578-0054287507db_story.html
http://artdaily.com/news/92486/US-claims-antiquities-looted-by-IS-to-block-their-resale
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/12/16/US-files-case-against-ISIS-to-recover-ancient-ring.html
http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Lawsuit-details-Islamic-State-profits-from-10799719.php
… and studying where such items ‘end up’:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/310831-new-leads-on-looted-middle-eastern-antiquities
… and we’ve already mentioned them turning up in Geneva:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/swiss-seize-artefacts-looted-from-syrias-palmyra/
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ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
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Roman Caistor St Edmund was larger than previously thought:
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/roman_town_at_caistor_st_edmund_up_to_three_times_bigger_than_previously_thought_new_dig_reveals_1_4812665
A Swedish team has unearthed what the press was calling a previously unknown city near Athens:
http://www.thelocal.se/20161212/swedish-archaeologists-unearth-lost-ancient-city-in-greece
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161213074230.htm
… then they decided it was Swedish and Greek archaeologists:
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-swedish-greek-archaeologists-unknown-city.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-12/uog-sad121316.php
… but after much headline adjusting, it was credited to Swedish, Greek, and British archaeologists:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-team-unearth-ancient-greek-city-0tchx3pcj
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/greece-lost-city-vlochos-university-of-gothenburg-bournemouth-a7471246.html
http://www.livescience.com/57189-ancient-greek-village-was-large-metropolis.html
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/lost-city-dating-back-2500-years-discovered-by-archaeologists-35289817.html
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/12/13/archaeologists-discover-a-lost-greek-city-dating-back-2500-years/
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/1214/Ancient-Greek-backwater-actually-a-bustling-metropolis-research-shows
http://observer.com/2016/12/archaeologists-just-discovered-a-2500-year-old-lost-city-atop-a-greek-mountain-peak/
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/12/2016/archaeologists-examine-unexplored-greek-city
http://www.archaeology.org/news/5085-161212-greece-ancient-city-explored
… and then there were clarifications that the site was found years ago:
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/12/14/vlochos-lost-city-ruins-discovered-200-years-ago-archaeologists-clarify/
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1023590.shtml
Remains of a Roman villa complex near Bottisham:
http://www.archaeology.org/5133-161213-england-roman-settlement
A Roman hoard from Barlaston has been declared treasure:
http://www.staffordshirenewsletter.co.uk/barlaston-field-yields-more-than-2-000-pieces-of-roman-treasure/story-29978940-detail/story.html
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/haul-of-rare-roman-coins-uncovered-in-barlaston-field-ruled-as-treasure/story-29977294-detail/story.html
Funding for a study of the peoples in Ireland and Scotland in Roman times:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1m-study-of-lost-kingdoms-beyond-romans-reach-2hn63q36t
https://stv.tv/news/north/1375839-university-given-1million-to-uncover-europe-s-lost-kingdoms/
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14970308.Archaeologists_to_explore_Scotland_of_1_600_years_ago/
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/12/2016/five-year-project-to-investigate-the-lost-kingdoms-of-northwest-europe
Honours for Gordon Kelly:
http://www.lclark.edu/live/news/34950-classics-professor-wins-international-recognition
Another Trojan Horse recreation in progress:
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/the-trojan-horse-ii/article_49cf88e0-6318-56df-820a-fd45b3a73fc4.html
—–
Latest reviews from BMCR:
http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html
Visit our blog:
http://rogueclassicism.com/
================================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
================================================================
1500 years bp gold items from a Danish island:
http://www.archaeology.org/5084-161212-denmark-odin-amulet
A 17th century shipwreck find:
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14964012.Divers_rediscover_17th_century_shipwreck_in_bay_where_Poldark_scene_was_filmed/
http://www.cornwalllive.com/shipwreck-discovered-at-poldark-spot-in-gunwalloe/story-29980821-detail/story.html
http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2016-12-15/poldark-shipwreck-discovered-off-cornish-coast/
What they’re finding at Cambridge’s medieval burial ground:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/incoming/archaeologists-uncover-cambridges-final-resting-12337955
Not sure if this Neolithic snowshoe is a new discovery or not:
http://www.archaeology.org/issues/245-1701/artifact/5127-neolithic-snow-shoe
They’re digging at St Alban’s Cathedral:
http://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/archaeological_dig_at_st_albans_cathedral_before_construction_of_new_welcome_centre_1_4818015
A 17th century skeleton found in a Sligo cave:
http://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/cave-boys-life-revealed-by-sligo-cave-expert-35288252.html
Interesting graffiti/petroglyphs in a shepherd’s cave in Derbyshire:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/16/powerful-symbols-chiselled-shepherds-shelter-country-diary
Druids had nothing to do with the building of Stonehenge, apparently:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/14/stonehenge-there-before-druids-archaeology-1959
Latest from Tintagel:
http://www.thepost.uk.com/article.cfm?id=106911&headline=Discoveries%20made%20during%20Tintagel%20Castle%20archaeological%20dig§ionIs=news&searchyear=2016
…. And a feature on Arthur’s roots:
http://discovermagazine.com/2017/janfeb/91-in-search-of-king-arthur-roots
Feature on the Craggie Bloomery:
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/12/2016/craggie-bloomery-iron-working-in-late-medieval-sutherland
More on the reopening of the replica Lascaux:
http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2016/1213/France-opens-Lascaux-replica-cave-better-than-the-real-thing
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/dec/15/prehistoric-cave-art-lascaux-dordogne-france-grotto-replica
More on remains of a deadly virus found in some Celtic pottery:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/5080-161209-pottery-organs-virus
—–
Archaeology in Europe Blog:
http://archaeology-in-europe.blogspot.com/
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ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
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Remains of some 2000 year bp beef soup from Henan:
http://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/found-2000yearold-meat-soup/news-story/268ae0de1c82acacce293efe938dd0f0
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2016-12/16/content_27689915.htm
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/744236/bowl-of-beef-soup-2000-years-old-discovered-by-archaeologists
http://www.archaeology.org/5142-161215-china-beef-stew
Digging Cambodia’s ‘Dark Ages’:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/team-digs-cambodias-dark-ages
Remains of an Asuka period painting on a discarded wood panel:
http://www.archaeology.org/5143-161216-japan-tottori-painting
Remains of a ‘lost civilization’ from Mizoram:
http://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/archaeologists-could-have-uncovered-a-lost-civilisation-in-mizoram-267619.html
UNESCO is digging at some of Nepal’s earthquake-damaged sites:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/unesco-starts-excavations-at-nepal-s-quake-damaged-monument-sites/story-fdAM7HrlSwyYKxCwxY6zPL.html
Australian archaeologists are mapping the wreck of the James Mathew:
http://www.archaeology.org/5083-161212-australia-shipwreck-mapped
Feature on the Plain of Jars:
http://www.archaeology.org/exclusives/articles/5126-archive-plain-of-jars
What Charles Perreault is up to:
https://asunow.asu.edu/20161213-global-engagement-asu-archaeologist-goes-jeep-mongolia
More on remains of Imperial sacrifices from China:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/5073-161207-china-imperial-sacrifice
—–
Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog:
http://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/
New Zealand Archaeology eNews:
http://nzarchaeology.blogspot.co.nz/index.html
================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
A tooth of an extinct seal (mentioned by Columbus) turns up on a Lake Worth shore:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article120609578.html
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/14/archaeologists-discover-tooth-of-extinct-seal-in-l/
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/local/prehistoric-seal-tooth-found-along-intracoastal/DSy1yLGgJVw9TYDqutPaWI/
http://www.archaeology.org/5137-161214-caribbean-monk-seal
Searching for remains of the village of Cecomocomoco:
http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/1216/archaeologistsseekancientvillageinbeanfield.html
Marking the success of the NHPA:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/dec/12/lets-celebrate-us-archaeologys-best-kept-secret
Feature on Cahokia:
http://arstechnica.com/features/2016/12/theres-a-1000-year-old-lost-city-beneath-the-st-louis-suburbs/
More on Ezekiel’s wheel and the conversion to Christianity of African slaves:
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-archaeologist-explores-african-americans-christianity.html
More on zinc issues among the Franklin Expedition crew:
http://phys.org/news/2016-12-laser-yr-old-thumbnail-rewrites-history.html
http://www.livescience.com/57176-what-doomed-franklin-polar-expedition.html
More on the end of Montezuma Castle:
http |
% of the strength gains on an individual level, which is considerably higher than previous studies on untrained lifters looking only at between subject relationships.
This would seem to suggest that the relationship between hypertrophy and strength is likely stronger than the evidence in this article would suggest, but we’ll need more studies using within-subject models to know for sure.
Addendum, May 2017
A new study relevant to this topic was published in the past month by Balshaw and colleagues.
In a group of untrained lifters, changes increases in quadriceps muscle volume were moderately correlated (r=0.461) with increases in maximal voluntary knee extension torque over 12 weeks of training, meaning increases in muscle size explained about 21% of the variability in strength increases. In a multiple regression analysis, changes in muscle size only independently explained about 18.7% of the variability in strength gains (as changes in quad volume were loosely correlated with other factors included in the model).
My friend Adam Tzur also hooked me up with a 2007 study by Cribb and colleagues that I missed when gathering sources for this article. The participants were men with at least 6 months of training experience: the average 1rm squat at the start of the study was about 120kg (about 265lbs), so they clearly had a bit of experience squatting, but weren’t incredibly well-trained.
This study looked at the relationship between changes in squat strength and changes in muscle fiber cross-sectional area. Hypertrophy of all three primary fiber types correlated strongly with changes in 1rm squat strength (r=0.81-0.85), with fiber growth explaining 65-72% of the variability in strength increases.
These two studies support the basic conclusion of the rest of this article. There’s a relatively weak relationship between hypertrophy and strength gains in newer lifters, but once someone has a bit of training experience, hypertrophy becomes very important for strength gains and the relationship strengthens considerably.
Addendum, August 2017
A new study (reviewed in the September issue of MASS, by the way) provides an interesting look at this issue. The subjects were untrained, and their strength was assessed using the bench press. However, they didn’t actually train the bench press throughout the course of the study. In this way, the researchers (seemingly inadvertently) controlled for the potential of divergent neural/motor learning effects – the majority of the strength gains in the bench press were likely due to increases in muscle mass and general strength of the musculature involved instead of being influenced by simple improvements in technique, coordination, neural firing patterns, etc.
They found that gains in lean body mass correlated strongly (r=0.80-0.81) with increases in bench press 1RM.
This study provides even more evidence for two of the main contentions of this article:
Gaining muscle increases one’s potential to gain strength The low correlations between gains in muscle/LBM and gains in strength seen in previous studies on untrained people are likely due to the fact that non-muscular factors are the largest drivers of strength increases early on in the training process. In this study, where those neural effects likely played a much smaller role, there was a very strong relationship between gains in LBM and gains in strength, even in new lifters.
Addendum, May 2018
A recent paper on untrained subjects found that, in the first 10 weeks of training, changes in quad ACSA explain 13-18% of the variance in strength gains (changes in knee extension torque). Another recent paper found a moderate between-group difference in strength gains (biceps curl 1RM); however, when covarying for the change in biceps cross-sectional area, the effect size dropped to (effectively) zero, suggesting that differences in hypertrophy almost completely accounted for the differences in strength gains.
Addendum, July 2018
A recent paper by Vigotsky et al. helps further flesh out some of the more technical points in this article. In other research, there seemed to be virtually no relationship between hypertrophy and strength gains in untrained subjects using standard between-subjects Pearson correlations. However, such correlations can’t account for differences between subjects (muscle moment arms, normalized muscle force, rates of motor learning, etc.). Thus, there may still be strong correlations within subjects, even if those correlations aren’t apparent on a group level. This paper demonstrated that by comparing simple Pearson correlations to ANCOVAs (which look at within-subject correlations, allowing for random slopes but NOT random intercepts) and hierarchical linear models (HLMs; which look at within-subject correlations, allowing for random interceps and random slopes). Hierarchical linear models account for the most between-subject variation, making them the most appropriate statistical test.
The correlations between hypertrophy and strength gains were trivial to small (0-0.19) when using Pearson correlations (in line with prior research), but were small to moderate (0.27-0.49) with HLMs. Thus, even when accounting for individual variation, hypertrophy is far from being perfectly predictive of strength gains in untrained subjects, but accounting for individual variation reveals a much stronger relationship than had previously been reported.
Addendum, October 2018
I’d like to clarify one point in this article. Based on the fact that strength increases disproportionately more than muscle mass after strength training, some people have come away with the impression that hypertrophy isn’t all that important for strength gains. Sure, hypertrophy may help, but its benefits will be massively overshadowed by other adaptations.
I don’t think that’s the correct way to look at it.
Neural adaptations work by increasing the recruitment, force, and coordination of the muscle tissue. Increases in normalized muscle force due to connective tissue adaptations increase muscle force per unit of cross-sectional area. The non-hypertrophy-related adaptations increase strength because they make your muscles work better, but muscle itself – the actual contractile tissue – is ultimately the stuff producing the force.
So, here’s a useful conceptual model:
The blue line on the bottom represents the relationship between muscle mass and strength pre-training. As muscle mass increases, strength increases, but not by much. The red line on the top represents the relationship between muscle mass and strength after training – each unit of muscle mass generates twice as much strength output. The yellow line represents strength progress across a training career; it closes the space between the blue line (untrained, with each unit of muscle not generating much strength) and the red line (well-trained, with each unit of muscle generating substantially more strength) as non-hypertrophic strength adaptations accrue.
In this model, you could theoretically double your strength without any hypertrophy (jumping straight from the red line to the blue line without moving along the x-axis). At one-half of maximal hypertrophy, you could attain about 3/4 of your potential strength gains. But to maximize strength gains, you also need to maximize hypertrophy.
So, that’s the basic model I think we can draw from the information presented in this article. Ultimately, muscle tissue produces force, but the non-hypertrophic adaptations serve as force multipliers. It’s great to max out the force multiplier (and that force multiplier is larger for some people than others, and increases more in some people than others), but ultimately, strength will be constrained by the amount of contractile tissue you have. This is consistent with the observation that strength increases more than muscle mass (in the example above, strength increases 4-fold, while muscle mass only increases by 50%), but it should be clear that hypertrophy is still crucial for maximizing strength gains.
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PinterestA small comment from Head of Xbox Phil Spencer was the final bit of news necessary to convince me Microsoft’s Project Scorpio will be named Xbox 10 S, and it will serve as a Windows 10 gaming PC built for the living room. I know, that’s a big claim — and I don’t encourage anyone to gamble on it. But ahead of Microsoft’s E3 event on Sunday, I’d like to collect the evidence that Microsoft is eager to put a computer beneath your television.
First and foremost, Microsoft has been talking about the convergence of living room entertainment and Windows software since before the original Xbox existed. Its video game consoles have always been something of a Trojan horse. And with the company’s reveal for the Xbox One, that thinly concealed strategy went public. The notorious presentation largely overlooked games and favored lengthy explanations of HDMI-pass through, professional sports partnerships, and grand media plans.
Microsoft has wanted a PC in the living room for decades
Since then, the Xbox team has been on something of an apology tour, refocusing on games to win back the hearts of fans who felt betrayed. At the same time, Microsoft has slowly laid the foundation for Xbox One’s pseudo follow-up, Project Scorpio, building hype for the hardware over the past year by promising the most powerful console on the market. All of the messaging has been zeroed in on how Scorpio will play games better.
But I wonder if it will also do something else — because playing the same games at 4K isn’t enough. At least, it’s not enough for a company like Microsoft that stands to gain from the potential of a powerful PC being right next to your couch. As a powerful living room PC, the Xbox could become more than just a game machine or streaming device. For college students, it’s a steal: the perfect and necessary computer (that just so happens to play games). For adults, it might be the center of a SmartHome. For kids, it runs Minecraft and Word.
As a fully functional PC, Project Scorpio could be an Xbox, an Apple TV, and an Amazon Echo all rolled into one. Would Microsoft really pass up that opportunity?
When I profiled Microsoft in December of 2015, Spencer was already pushing the concept of a fluid ecosystem, in which games followed the player from one platform to the next: Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, a smartphone. Since then, Microsoft has launched Cross Play, allowing Xbox One owners to play new games on both console and Windows 10 PCs.
Spencer has been aggressively blurring the line between Xbox and Windows
Spencer sits on the board of Windows 10, and he’s aggressively pushed to further blur the lines between Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. A fall 2015 system update integrated Windows 10 into the Xbox One. And an Xbox app on Windows 10, released around the same time, has brought game streaming, messaging, and chat features to the PC.
For those two roads, Project Scorpio seems like the natural merging point.
So why Xbox 10 S and why does a long runtime matter? Let’s start with the latter. Explaining a living room PC will take time. If the device does more than play games, Microsoft will need to explain how — and why we should care. And unlike its last reveal, it will need to also nail its video game announcements. We’re really looking at two press events mashed into one.
And the name, well, I think Microsoft may have given it away. This is from my colleague Tom Warren’s piece on hidden details in Microsoft’s E3 teasers:
In another teaser posted yesterday, there’s a "X10S101-317” message displayed on a stage with a crowd of people. Microsoft typically uses this type of date format for its Windows and Xbox software builds, so if you separate out the X10S to refer to the console, then the remaining 101317 could mean October 13th.
The naming convention would fit in with Windows 10 S, the newly announced OS. Windows 10 S only runs programs downloaded from the Windows Store, which would allow Microsoft considerable control of what can and can’t be put onto the console. And the naming convention would explain why Microsoft went with Xbox One S for its lead up console last fall.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Microsoft has given up the dream of the living room PC. But that seems increasingly unlikely, the more you consider the evidence Microsoft itself has provided. Whatever the case, we’ll know for certain this Sunday during a press conference that will run extra long.The Harley model FCWC, or Softail Rocker, with its controversial “perched” seat made necessary because the rear fender was moving with the swingarm to which he was mounted, didn’t make it in the 2012 line up. Of course, plenty are around and are always a very good base for those looking for a nice riding custom Harley instead of a radical custom motorcycle.
As inspiration, one built by Thunderbike Germany, an official Harley-Dealer with a full independent custom department. No much to say about it, no heavy modification or fabrication being involved.
Particularity, “Rocking” takes its particular stance from the use of a 23″ front wheel with a 21″ rear. For the rest, mostly a bolt-on assembly of very nice parts.
Below the full tech sheet to help you prepare your custom parts shopping list.On this week’s episode of “Game of Thrones,” for the first time, we were faced with a battle in which it was possible to root for both sides. When Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) started to charge a distracted Daenerys Targaryen, we, too, were as torn as Tyrion. Don’t we want the Kingslayer to get a chance to save the day? Don’t we want Dany to turn her fortunes around and get a win?
The episode ended on a cliffhanger as Jaime was pushed clear of a burst of dragonfire into the dark, murky Blackwater Rush. Mr. Coster-Waldau, who was itching for a chance to shoot a big action sequence, spoke in a telephone interview on Monday about what it was like behind the scenes, and what questions Jaime will face if he survives. Following are edited excerpts from that conversation.
What’s it like doing a battle scene in which you’re charging at an imagined dragon — and then seeing the final result?
I just saw it this morning! I was pretty blown away by the realism of that insane beast. It’s so weird, because the technology’s so advanced and what they can do is so unbelievable, so when you watch it, you almost forget for a second that that’s not what we shot.AngstOfZant
(Edit: Whaaat, I got a DD?! Thank you so much for suggesting it, dear VelCake TommyGK )
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Fan Art:My half of a collab with(Go visit him and give his awesome story "The Hero's Dilemma" some love).He wrote the beautiful poem and I drew the piccy.First it was supposed to be a Valentine's Day collab, but that didn't work out, mainly because I was sick for a little while and after that I was having that stupid PC problem and wasn't able to post it.So, yeah... surprise, to everyone who doesn't know yet,and I have been a couple for some months now.Yes, a long-distance couple, but a very happy one.Anyway, this is Midna missing the Light World and her light dweller friends, mainly Link of course. Don't worry, guys, it's not the end of the world, I haven't become a MidnaxLink fan all of a sudden.MidnaxZant will always be my Twilight Princess OTP. However, I do support MidnaxLink friendship and stuff.And I admit I do like MidLink romance if it's somehow connected to my boyfriend (Edit: which means if he writes about it or if I make a gift/request for him etc.), but that's the only occasion.I know many people will be happy about this picture because it suspiciously looks like MidnaxLink...And that's ok, too. If they want to see MidnaxLink in this, then they can. :3 I'm not hostile towards any pairing, no matter what I think about it. I won't even say if this picture is MidnaxLink in my opinion or not, that's just how mean I am.I want people to interpret it the way they want and if they like them together they can say it's romance and if they hate them they can just say it's friendship, it's that easy.Just no hissy fits, please. To me it's not really about the pairing, to me it's something precious I did with/for my sweetheart.Either way,is the only person in the universe I would ever consider drawing MidnaxLink for. And that's saying something.Hmm, Wolf Link looks a tiny bit annoyed.Photoshop Elements 3.Artwork © 2009 Stella B.Cavan Scott has written… well… just about every type of story there is to write. Audio plays for Dr. Who, Blake 7, Iris Wildthyme and more… fiction for Dr. Who, Skylanders, WarHammer 40K, and more… paranormal YA like “The Hunted“, and non-fiction like sourcebooks for (not to be redundant, but) Dr. Who, Skylanders, Angry Birds, and yes… even more. His range of genre and format, story and character, is a rich nuanced storyteller’s tapestry so you KNOW we’re going to be laying out a feast of writerly goodness on this episode.
Joining me in the co-host’s chair is the sharp and savvy Terry Mixon – author of “Empire of Bones” and “Veil of Shadows” and co-host on the fabulous Dead Robots’ Society podcast – and together we burn through 20(ish) minutes of writerly discourse with Cavan, exploring the reasons why he writes, the distinctions between narrative formats, the key to mastering a character’s “voice” and more. This is classic RTP goodness fraught with fabulosity… hit that “PLAY” button, friends, and let’s get into it! (and you do NOT want to miss Cavan’s Workshop Episode).
PROMO: “Empire of Bones” by Terry Mixon
Showcase Episode: 20 Minutes with Cavan Scott
[caution: mature language – listener discretion is advised]
We have a NEW FORUM! Share your comments to this (or any) episode over at the RTP Forum!
Check out this and all our episodes on iTunes and on Stitcher Radio!
Cavan Scott in the wide, wide world…
You can start by checking out Cavan’s Website (which is constantly being updated with his latest projects and adventures)
Follow that with a stroll through all the wonders at Cavan’s Amazon Page!
Curious about The Beano? So was I! 😀
Even then, it’s tough to keep up with him, so lock on to his signal through Facebook, the Twitters, and his fabulous Tumblr feed
Terry Mixon’s empire just keeps growing…0 Active duty sergeant killed while trying to help homeless
ATLANTA - An active duty Army sergeant was killed early Sunday morning while trying to give away shoes to the homeless, according to his family.
Sgt. Atting Eminue and his family came to the United States from Nigeria 15 years ago for a better life, and now his family is forced to cope with the 24-year-old’s death.
“I didn't bring a son to America to come bury a son,” said Atabang Eminue, the victim’s father. “God is keeping us alive and He is the source of our strength."
Eminue was an Amy sergeant who served three tours in Afghanistan, according to his family, and he was a father to a 4-year-old boy.
“He loved his son,” said Angela Gbaka, whose son was best friends with Eminue. “He was a good father and I just don’t understand why."
Atlanta Police say Eminue was walking with a friend to his car early Sunday morning and was shot near the Peachtree Pine homeless shelter during an altercation.
His family says someone confronted him while he tried to give away shoes to the homeless and he was shot multiple times.
“He had shoes and stuff that he was giving because he always does that,” said Gbaka.
While his family grapples with his murder, they say they struggle to understand why they see so much violence in the U.S.
“We cannot be having people that are not mentally okay holding guns in the street,” said Bessy Atting, his aunt.
Police are hopeful witnesses can help identify a shooter and Eminue's father says the killer's fate is in God’s hands.
“There is a lot of opportunity in this country,” he said, “God should forgive him."Copyright by WOWK - All rights reserved
CABIN CREEK, W.Va. (AP) - Authorities in West Virginia say a father burned his 14-year-old son with a propane torch after the boy tried to protect his mother during an argument.
Citing a criminal complaint, news outlets report that 39-year-old Jason Anthony Smith, of Cabin Creek, is charged with child neglect creating risk of injury, a felony, in connection with the domestic incident Monday.
The teenage boy told police he grabbed Smith from behind because he believed Smith was going to hit his mother.
The two fell to the floor and authorities say Smith then burned his son's left forearm and left calf with a small propane torch.
Smith could face a fine of up to $3,000 and a prison term of one to five years. It is unclear whether he has an attorney.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.MUSIC LEGEND BEN E. KING – IN MEMORIAM Fans and fellow artists the world over are mourning the death of music legend Ben E. King, who passed away on April 30, 2015 at age 76, after a brief illness. A singer, songwriter, mentor and philanthropist, he personified artistic excellence, humility and warmth. In the words of the late Ahmet Ertegun, “Ben E. King is one of the greatest singers in the history of rock and roll and rhythm and blues. His style and the tempo of his voice have a magic all their own.”
As a solo artist and as the lead singer for The Drifters, Ben E. King created some of the most memorable recordings in popular music: “There Goes My Baby”, “Dance With Me,” “This Magic Moment”, “Save The Last Dance For Me,” “Spanish Harlem”, “Don’t Play That Song”, “I Who Have Nothing”, and the iconic, international anthem “Stand By Me” (which King co-wrote). “Stand By Me” has been covered by countless artists; in March of 2015, King’s recording was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.
He was a member of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the winner of a Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Award and The Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Towering Performance Award. He continued writing, recording, and performing to sold-out crowds, until shortly before his death.
Offstage, Ben E. King was a devoted family man who donated his time and energy to numerous charitable causes. He was universally known as a true gentleman; respected and beloved by all who knew or worked with him. He will be deeply missed by family, friends, and fans worldwide.
Heart & Soul From the first cut of his upcoming release, "Heart & Soul", to the very last track on this superlative disc, Ben E. King magnifies his presence as a monumental force in music. This master still has plenty of Heart & Soul.
From the first cut of his upcoming release, "Heart & Soul", to the very last track on this superlative disc, Ben E. King magnifies his presence as a monumental force in music. This master still has plenty of Heart & Soul.Water can be made to boil without any bubbling if a boiling surface is specifically treated so that the vapor cushion does not break down. This is linked to the Leidenfrost effect.
The scientists published their findings in the journal Nature. The surface needs to be very water-repellent and the effect might be used to carefully control how metals are cooled down and heated, or to reduce the drag on ships.
Superhydrophobic spheres were created by coating them with a commercially available product that made the surface rough and strongly water-repellent. They were heated to 400 °C. Over this temperature, the coating would deteriorate.
The hot spheres were dropped into water at room temperature. A layer of water vapor formed around it, and it was kept there as they cooled down, with no explosive boiling or bubbling.
The result in itself was dramatic and somewhat unexpected. This phenomenon could be used to reduce the drag on surfaces, such as the tiny channels in microfluidic devices.
The next step involves creating vapor layers at much lower temperatures than the boiling point of water. A surface could be designed that would make this vapor state more stable. If this could be formed around a ship, it would discourage barnacles and algae from attaching themselves.
[via Nature]Come home Carroll! Pardew ups ante in pursuit of Andy but Toon see loan bid rejected by Reds
Newcastle have intensified their bid to land Andy Carroll after making an official enquiry to take the Liverpool striker on a season-long loan.
Liverpool, who bought Carroll from Newcastle in a record-breaking £35million deal 18 months ago, flatly rejected the offer but it is now clear they are ready to off-load their No 9.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew spoke of his admiration for Carroll last week and would like the Gateshead-born forward to support Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.
Hey Andy: Newcastle have made a bid to bring Andy Carroll back to the club
Carroll, though, wants to stay at Anfield and fight for his place. He has never given any indication he wants to move and Sportsmail reported on Saturday he would turn down any suitors.
He had been hoping to persuade new manager Brendan Rodgers that he can play a part in his plans but, reluctantly, Carroll is accepting he is fighting a losing battle.
Liverpool, who signed Italy forward Fabio Borini last Friday for £8m, would be prepared to off-load Carroll if they received either a suitable bid or loan deal that has a commitment to buy at the end of 12 months.
Rodgers refused to give any assurances about the England frontman’s prospects when asked last week and many have questioned whether his physical, powerful approach would fit into the intricate passing style favoured by the new boss.
Welcome: Newcastle fans were unhappy with Carroll when he left the club in 2011
Poll Should Newcastle re-sign Andy Carroll from Liverpool? Yes No Should Newcastle re-sign Andy Carroll from Liverpool? Yes 5037 votes
No 4220 votes Now share your opinion
‘He’s no different to any player we have here,’ Rodgers said. ‘They might have all the attributes but not the mentality to play.
‘It’s a bit unfair for Andy to get labelled any other way. He’s a good lad, so we will just see how the formation of the group shapes up over the next four or five weeks.’
Liverpool go to the United States for their pre-season tour but Carroll will not be in the travelling party, like other players who went to Euro 2012. He is now on holiday and is expected to link up with the squad in Boston next week.
West Ham were the first club to express an interest in Carroll and would be prepared to sign him initially on loan with a view to buying him for more than £15m should they retain their place in the Barclays Premier League.
Getting away from it: Carroll has been on holiday since England's Euro 2012 exit
Fulham are also interested and Aston Villa became the latest club to join the race when manager Paul Lambert confirmed on Saturday that the 23-year-old was one of his key summer targets.
But Newcastle would be hoping that the emotional pull of a return to his native North East would give them the trump card in this battle.
With Cisse and Ba potentially going to the Africa Cup of Nations next January and February, Pardew has been looking to bolster his attack all summer and he courted Luuk de Jong of FC Twente.Wilhelm Reich (; German: [ʁaɪç]; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian doctor of medicine and psychoanalyst, a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud.[1] The author of several influential books, most notably Character Analysis (1933), The Mass Psychology of Fascism (1933), and The Sexual Revolution (1936), Reich became known as one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry.[2][n 1]
Reich's work on character contributed to the development of Anna Freud's The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence (1936), and his idea of muscular armour—the expression of the personality in the way the body moves—shaped innovations such as body psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy, bioenergetic analysis and primal therapy.[6] His writing influenced generations of intellectuals; he coined the phrase "the sexual revolution" and according to one historian acted as its midwife.[7] During the 1968 student uprisings in Paris and Berlin, students scrawled his name on walls and threw copies of The Mass Psychology of Fascism at police.[8]
After graduating in medicine from the University of Vienna in 1922, Reich became deputy director of Freud's outpatient clinic, the Vienna Ambulatorium.[9] Described by Elizabeth Danto as a large man with a cantankerous style who managed to look scruffy and elegant at the same time, he tried to reconcile psychoanalysis with Marxism, arguing that neurosis is rooted in sexual and socio-economic conditions, and in particular in a lack of what he called "orgastic potency". He visited patients in their homes to see how they lived, and took to the streets in a mobile clinic, promoting adolescent sexuality and the availability of contraceptives, abortion and divorce, a provocative message in Catholic Austria.[10] He said he wanted to "attack the neurosis by its prevention rather than treatment".[11]
From the 1930s he became an increasingly controversial figure, and from 1932 until his death in 1957 all his work was self-published.[12] His message of sexual liberation disturbed the psychoanalytic community and his political associates, and his vegetotherapy, in which he massaged his disrobed patients to dissolve their "muscular armour", violated the key taboos of psychoanalysis.[13] He moved to New York in 1939, in part to escape the Nazis, and shortly after arriving coined the term "orgone"—from "orgasm" and "organism"—for a biological energy he said he had discovered, which he said others called God. In 1940 he started building orgone accumulators, devices that his patients sat inside to harness the reputed health benefits, leading to newspaper stories about sex boxes that cured cancer.[14]
Following two critical articles about him in The New Republic and Harper's in 1947, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration obtained an injunction against the interstate shipment of orgone accumulators and associated literature, believing they were dealing with a "fraud of the first magnitude".[15] Charged with contempt in 1956 for having violated the injunction, Reich was sentenced to two years imprisonment, and that summer over six tons of his publications were burned by order of the court.[n 2] He died in prison of heart failure just over a year later, days before he was due to apply for parole.[18]
Early life [ edit ]
Childhood [ edit ]
Reich in 1900
Reich was born the first of two sons to Leon Reich, a farmer, and his wife Cäcilie (née Roniger) in Dobzau, Galicia, then part of Austria-Hungary, now in Ukraine. There was a sister too, born one year after Reich, but she died in infancy. Shortly after his birth the family moved to Jujinetz, a village in Bukovina, where his father ran a cattle farm leased by his mother's uncle, Josef Blum.[19]
His father was by all accounts a cold and jealous man.[20] Both parents were Jewish, but decided against raising the boys as Jews. Reich and his brother, Robert, were brought up to speak only German, were punished for using Yiddish expressions and forbidden from playing with the local Yiddish-speaking children.[21]
As an adult Reich wrote extensively, in his diary, about his sexual precocity. He maintained that his first sexual experience was at the age of four when he tried to have sex with the family maid (with whom he shared a bed), that he would regularly watch the farm animals have sex, that he used a whip handle sexually on the horses while masturbating, and that he had almost daily sexual intercourse from the age of 11 with another of the servants. He wrote of regular visits to brothels, the first when he was 15, and said he was visiting them daily from the age of around 17. He also developed sexual fantasies about his mother, writing when he was 22 that he masturbated while thinking about her.[22]
It is impossible to judge the truth of these diary entries, but Reich's second daughter, the psychiatrist Lore Reich Rubin, told Christopher Turner that she believed Reich had been a victim of child sexual abuse, and that this explained his lifelong interest in sex and childhood sexuality.[23]
Death of parents [ edit ]
Reich was taught at home until he was 12, when his mother was discovered having an affair with his live-in tutor. Reich wrote about the affair in 1920 in his first published paper, "Über einen Fall von Durchbruch der Inzestschranke" ("About a Case of Breaching the Incest Taboo"), presented in the third person as though about a patient.[24] He wrote that he would follow his mother when she went to the tutor's bedroom at night, feeling ashamed and jealous, and wondering if they would kill him if they found out that he knew. He briefly thought of forcing her to have sex with him, on pain of threatening to tell his father. In the end, he did tell his father, and after a protracted period of beatings, his mother committed suicide in 1910, for which Reich blamed himself.[24]
With the tutor ordered out of the house, Reich was sent to an all-male gymnasium in Czernowitz. It was during this period that a skin condition appeared, diagnosed as psoriasis, that plagued him for the rest of his life, leading several commentators to remark on his ruddy complexion. He visited brothels every day and wrote in his diary of his disgust for the women.[25] His father died of tuberculosis in 1914, and because of rampant inflation the father's insurance was worthless, so no money was forthcoming for the brothers.[26] Reich managed the farm and continued with his studies, graduating in 1915 with Stimmeneinhelligkeit (unanimous approval). The Russians invaded Bukovina that summer and the Reich brothers fled, losing everything. Reich wrote in his diary: "I never saw either my homeland or my possessions again. Of a well-to-do past, nothing was left."[27]
1919–1930: Vienna [ edit ]
Undergraduate studies [ edit ]
Reich joined the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War, serving from 1915 to 1918, for the last two years as a lieutenant at the Italian front with 40 men under his command. When the war ended he headed for Vienna, enrolling in law at the University of Vienna, but found it dull and switched to medicine after the first semester. He arrived with nothing in a city with little to offer; the overthrow of the Austria-Hungarian empire a few weeks earlier had left the newly formed Republic of German-Austria in the grip of famine. Reich lived on soup, oats and dried fruit from the university canteen, and shared an unheated room with his brother and another undergraduate, wearing his coat and gloves indoors to stave off the cold. He fell in love with another medical student, Lia Laszky, with whom he was dissecting a corpse, but it was largely unrequited.[28]
Myron Sharaf, his biographer, wrote that Reich loved medicine but was caught between a reductionist/mechanistic and vitalist view of the world.[29] Reich wrote later of this period:
The question, "What is Life?" lay behind everything I learned.... It became clear that the mechanistic concept of life, which dominated our study of medicine at the time, was unsatisfactory... There was no denying the principle of creative power governing life; only it was not satisfactory as long as it was not tangible, as long as it could not be described or practically handled. For, rightly, this was considered the supreme goal of natural science.[29]
Introduction to Freud [ edit ]
Reich first met Sigmund Freud in 1919 when he asked Freud for a reading list for a seminar concerning sexology. It seems they left a strong impression on each other. Freud allowed him to start meeting with analytic patients in September that year, although Reich was just 22 years old and still an undergraduate, which gave him a small income. He was accepted as a guest member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Association, becoming a regular member in October 1920, and began his own analysis with Isidor Sadger. He lived and worked out of an apartment on Berggasse 7, the street on which Freud lived at no. 19, in the Alsergrund area of Vienna.[30]
One of Reich's first patients was Lore Kahn, a 19-year-old woman with whom he had an affair. Freud had warned analysts not to involve themselves with their patients, but in the early days of psychoanalysis the warnings went unheeded. According to Reich's diaries, Kahn became ill in November 1920 and died of sepsis after sleeping in a bitterly cold room she had rented as a place for her and Reich to meet (both his landlady and her parents had forbidden their meetings). Kahn's mother suspected that her daughter had died after a botched illegal abortion, possibly performed by Reich himself. According to Christopher Turner, she found some of her daughter's bloodied underwear in a cupboard.[31]
It was a serious allegation to make against a physician. Reich wrote in his diary that the mother had been attracted to him and had made the allegation to damage him. She later committed suicide and Reich blamed himself.[31] If Kahn did have an abortion, Turner wrote, she was the first of four of Reich's partners to do so: Annie, his first wife, had several, and his long-term partners Elsa Lindenberg and Ilse Ollendorf (his second wife) each had one (supposedly) at Reich's insistence.[32]
First marriage, graduation [ edit ]
Two months after Kahn's death, Reich accepted her friend, Annie Pink (1902–1971), as an analysand. Pink was Reich's fourth female patient, a medical student three months shy of her 19th birthday. He had an affair with her too, and married her in |
and by its nurses and factory workers and teachers and office workers, too; by each of us, day by day, encounter by encounter.
Tolstoy wasn’t totally right about history. Even the mountebanks, the leaders of no convictions, can shift the course of events. But the rest of us, impelled by the generosity that has made America a great country, may have more power than we think.
Read more from Fred Hiatt’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Latest on the debate in Kansas over expanding its Medicaid program (all times local):
6 p.m.
Kansas lawmakers have voted to expand the state’s Medicaid health care program to more low-income individuals.
The bill passed 25-13 in a first-round Senate vote Monday. It will see a final vote Tuesday. If approved, it would then go to conservative Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.
The House passed the measure last month after expansion supporters tried unsuccessfully for four years to get a floor debate and vote.
Opponents in the Statehouse have largely relied on cost and uncertainty over what Congress will do to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as reasons not to expand.
But supporters say congressional Republicans’ failure to vote on their health care bill last week is more reason to expand. They contend expansion would be an economic boon to the state.
Brownback has stopped short of saying that he would veto the bill.
___
4:45 p.m.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has stopped short of saying that he would veto a bill to expand the Medicaid program in Kansas.
But Brownback spokeswoman Melika Willoughby said Monday in an email that that it would be irresponsible to “expand ObamaCare when the program is in a death spiral.”
The 2010 overhaul of the U.S. health care system championed by former President Barack Obama encouraged states to expand their Medicaid programs by promising to pay most of the cost.
The Senate was debating a measure that would expand Medicaid to as many as 180,000 additional poor adults.
Brownback said in a letter with other GOP governors to congressional leaders last week that expanding Medicaid under Obama’s policies moved the program away from its “core mission” of helping the truly vulnerable.
___
3:50 p.m.
Legislators and advocates in Kansas pushing to expand the state’s health coverage for the poor and disabled to thousands of adults are buoyed by events in Washington.
They see it as a plus that Republicans in Congress have failed to repeal former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.
The GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature already was more receptive this year to expanding the state’s Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. The state Senate was debating a bill Monday and could send it to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback later this week.
Critics of expanding Medicaid in Kansas have pointed to uncertainty about how Congress might overhaul the U.S. health care system.
Other states pursuing Medicaid expansions under the 2010 U.S. law include Maine, North Carolina and Virginia.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC.After four years aging in barrels, the first batch of Wyoming Whiskey sold out to distributors in only four minutes today.
Three-thousand cases of Wyoming Whiskey went on sale to state liquor license holders at 3:00 p.m. on the Wyoming Department of Revenue’s E-Liquor website. At 3:04, the website crashed because it experienced such heavy traffic. Of the state’s 1,250 retailers, only about 75 were able to purchase the whiskey.
Bill McCleary of Northridge Discount Liquors in Laramie says his customers – some of whom were on a waiting list – are going to be disappointed that the store’s order didn’t go through.
“Honestly, I think they probably should have expected something like that,” McCleary says. “I mean, for Wyoming, this is bigger than Cyber Monday.”
Wyoming Whiskey is the only bourbon distilled in Wyoming. It’s made in Kirby from local ingredients by former Maker’s Mark master distiller Steve Nally. There is only a small reserve of the first batch remaining before next year.
Wyoming Whiskey Chief Operating Officer David DeFazio says he was “shocked” by the speed at which the whiskey sold out.
“We had anticipated that his might happen. We didn’t think it would happen in four minutes. But we will be releasing the rest of it, which is just a very small amount, probably within the very next day,” De Fazio says.
De Fazio says Wyoming Whiskey will slowly sell off 5,000 cases starting next year, before tapping into the next batch in November 2013.
The first batch of Wyoming Whiskey will be available in some Wyoming bars and package stores on Saturday.• Knee injury may keep Thierry Henry out of Chelsea clash • Barcelona already without central defensive pairing
Thierry Henry has emerged as a major doubt for Barcelona's Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea on Wednesday, after sustaining an injury at the weekend.
Henry received a blow to his knee during his side's 6–2 humbling of Real Madrid on Saturday and reports in Spain claim the striker will be out for between eight and 10 days.
However, the club have said that the 31-year-old will travel with the squad to London and they will monitor the player's progress as he attempts to make a dramatic recovery in time for the crucial last-four encounter at Stamford Bridge.
Should Henry miss out, his absence will come as a blow to the Spanish side, for whom the Frenchman has been in superb form over recent weeks, scoring twice at the Bernabéu on Saturday night.
Barcelona are already without the injured Rafael Márquez (knee) and the suspended Carles Puyol for Wednesday night's tie.A region in China's Xinjiang province has ordered GPS tracking to be installed
The new move was reported in Chinese state media on February 20
All drivers in Bayingol region have to pay 90 yuan (£10.50) a year for the system
It comes as authorities are cracking down on terrorist activities in the region
A region in China's troubled province of Xinjiang has ordered GPS tracking software to be installed in every car in a bid to curb terrorism.
All drivers in Bayingol Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture have been told to install a satellite navigation system, according to state mouth piece Global Times on February 20.
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It comes as authorities in the province have vowed to be tougher and crack down on terrorist activities in the region.
Vehicles run on the snow in Urumqi, capital of China's Xinjiang province
Bayingol Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture is located in China's Xinjiang province
Paramilitary police stand guard outside a mall in Hotan, in China's western Xinjiang region
Chinese authorities have come up with their own tracking system named Beidou which must be installed in vehicles by June 30.
The system will cost vehicle owners 90 yuan a year (£10.50) and those who do not have the system installed will not be served at petrol stations.
A police staff member told the Global Times: 'All vehicles must install the system so that they can be tracked wherever they go. It also helps car owners to find their cars quickly if it's been stolen or taken.'
XINJIANG FIGURES Muslims in China make up 1.8 percent of the country's population.
Xinjiang province is home to 10.37 million Uygurs.
The province has some 24,400 Muslim mosques Source: Statistic Bureau of Xinjiang
Bayingol Public Security Bureau released a statement on its social media account saying: 'Cars are the major means of transportation for terrorists and also a frequently chosen tool to conduct terrorist attacks.
'So it's necessary to use the Beidou system and electronic vehicle identification to enhance the management of vehicles.'
Uighur men gather for morning prayers at the Id Kah Mosque during Corban (File photo)
Motorists in Bayingol are being made to install a tracking device in their vehicles
In recent years there have been crackdowns by the Chinese government in the region in a bid to curb terrorism which it blames on Islamist militants.
On February 21, the Hotan prefecture in Xinjiang announced that it would be offering a reward of up to 5 million yuan (£583,000) to people who report terrorist activities.
Xinjiang is home to 10.37 million Uygurs who practice the Muslim faith. It is a four and a half hour flight from Beijing.
Many Muslims in the country say they feel victimised by the government who have tightened control on the region.
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On February 15, eight people including three assailants were killed in a knife attack on a crowd at a residential compound in Pishan City.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ed Balls: "Although losing was hard... I'm a symbol of the vibrancy of our democracy"
Were you up for that Ed Balls moment - the symbol of Labour's crushing electoral defeat, the trigger for wild Tory celebrations and Labour despair?
In his first interview since that moment two weeks ago, the man who thought he was about to be chancellor told me about his "sense of loss" after his party's failure and a personal defeat which he describes as "a symbol of the vibrancy of our democracy".
Ed Balls was in reflective mood when we spoke - looking back at what he'd achieved as much as forward to what might be next.
"I think one of the really important things in life is to think about what you've done rather than fixate on what you might not have done," he said.
"So in those 20 years, I helped keep us out of the euro, I helped Britain to have an independent Bank of England, to raise education leaving age to 18, Sure Start, the national minimum wage, changing the health service - these are all good things.
"We didn't get everything right. We did some good things and I'm proud of what I've done and the decisions I've made."
When he lost his seat he thought back to the day he was first elected and gave his rather startled Tory successor a word or two of advice on how she should handle her victory speech and the waiting media.
Balls told me that it was not until the early hours of Friday that he knew he'd lost.
I asked what his emotions were at that moment, if there were tears.
He replied: "I've been around for a long time so I've seen wrenching political change and I've seen people be surprised by outcomes... a year ago, two years ago it was a really hard thing for us to do to win this election.
"Five years ago coming out of government after the financial crisis, I think many people thought it was an impossibility.
"In the final weeks we fought a good campaign and we were neck and neck in the poll. I think we thought there was a chance. But I think over the course of that night, as the results came in, we knew that chance had alluded us and it wasn't anger or tears, more a dawning disappointment and sense of loss."
Balls is not yet ready to to step back into Westminster - we spoke overlooking the City of London - but is he ready to accept the blame for what went wrong for him and his party?
When I asked him whether "Ed Balls was one of the reasons Labour was unelectable?" he replied: "Of course. I mean Ed Miliband said straight after the election he took responsibility but all of us have to bear our share of responsibility.
"Ed was the leader I backed him as shadow chancellor 100%. In the end he didn't persuade people he could be the prime minister but I didn't persuade people I could be the chancellor either.
"I have to take that on the chin. People will analyse for weeks and months what happened and that's something that still feels too early for me.
"I'm not going to start giving you a verdict or a judgement. That's something I might do in future, might come back to. Not now. It's for others to go for the instant commentary and work out the next steps for Labour and the country.
"It is though pretty clear who he blames for one vital mistake made by his party - the failure to woo business.
"I think I wanted to be more pro-business but I also backed Ed Miliband 100 per cent. He was the leader, I was the shadow chancellor. We both worked very hard and in the end neither he or I persuaded people and we need to take our responsibility for that. It's not all on him it's on all of us."
It was Ed Balls though who was Gordon Brown's key economic adviser in the run up to the Great Crash and there's one question which has haunted him and his party - Did Labour spend too much in government? Why did Britain enter that crisis with a budget deficit and not a surplus?
"Before 2007 it is a matter of record that we had a low level of national debt because of the decisions we had made but also we had a small deficit.
"People will now say that that small deficit should have had a small surplus. The reality is that would have made a small difference, not a big difference, that couldn't have made a difference to the global financial crisis, which was a huge failure in our banking system and a failure of regulation which I have taken on the chin for the last ten years. In the end though we didn't convince people of that argument, but i am afraid those are the facts."
Just as he leave frontline politics his wife - Yvette Cooper - is stepping forward to take over as the next Labour leader.
He told me she is "brilliant and people will get a chance to see what she stands for" but he insisted that "I am not playing a role in her campaign" except "whilst she is busy I can do more to help family."
Asked whether whether he worries that she is applying for the toughest job in British politics he said: "You have to take your calling when it comes."
What though of his future - ever since he was a student Balls has had politics in his blood - is he really going to walk away from it now?
"I'm not going to be dashing back" to front-line politics, Balls says, before swiftly adding but "never say never".
He was, he told me, embarking on "a new chapter, outside of politics. No by-elections, not back in parliament, that is how it feels at the moment. Outside of politics is where I am going next."
What, though,of rumours that he fancies an appearance on Strictly Come Dancing - a prospect his wife has described as "truly terrifying"?
Despite running three marathons he told me "I'm not sure if I'm equipped for Strictly" - a non-denial denial if ever I heard one.
What he will talk about is his desire to spend more time "cooking, running, playing the piano" and using "real time to stand back and think", to write about economics.
I very much suspect we have not seen the last Ed Balls moment.
Here is the full transcript of the interview:
Ed Balls: Clearly I've got more time on my hands than I've had for the past 20 years, it's only been a couple of weeks, it's flown by. I've had hundred of letters and emails from Labour voters and Tory voters - I've been replying to them. I've been trying to get fit again, get back to piano practice, my oldest daughter is doing the GCSE now, with Yvette very busy at the moment there's a bit more time for me to spend with the family and also outside of the day to day there's a bit more space. I've been thinking about and writing about economics for 20 years and there's really big issues out there, what's happening to secular stagnation, is the financial system sound - the development challenge which is pushing migrants into Europe - these are things where for the first time there's real time to stand back and think and write a bit, that's what I'm doing.
Nick Robinson: That sounds like there's a book coming or a series of lectures, we've not heard the end of Ed Balls on economics?
EB: It's a new chapter for me, and it's a big change. I think.. you never know what's going to be happening in the future, I'm not going to be standing for a by-election …and while you never say never I think for me the reality is the next phase for me is going to be outside of politics, but there's ways in which you can make a difference in the world outside of Parliament and that's something I'd like to do - who knows if there'll be a chance to be in public service again in the future, but for me now.. out of politics is where it is.
NR: But politics has been in your blood since you left University, people will find it hard to imagine after those five years..maybe.. after a breather you won't be back.
EB: I came into politics to make a difference, and that's what I've tried to do in my life. And I think one of the really important things in life is to think about what you've done rather than fixate on what you might not have done. So in those 20 years I helped keep us out of the Euro, I helped Britain to have an independent Bank of England, to raise education leaving age to 18, Sure Start, the national minimum wage, changing the health service - these are all good things. We didn't get everything right, we did some good things and I'm proud of what I've done and the decisions I've made. But it is a different chapter for me now, and there's big issues out there in the world that I'd like to think about to write about to get involved in. I don't know where it's going to take me but it's new and a change and I'm still fairly young. I'm looking forward to it, it's exciting.
NR: So just to clarify no by-elections?
EB: No by-elections.
NR: No House of Lords?
EB: Out of politics is how I'm thinking of things at the moment.
NR: Not running a think tank?
EB: Look you never say never about anything 'cos who knows what's going to happen - it's only been a couple of weeks, but I think the reality for me now is that I want to make a difference to the world outside of politics - that's how I'm thinking about things - I'm not going to dashing back.
NR: The big question everybody says I have to ask you is Strictly. Are you going to take to the ballroom floor?
EB: Three marathons means I am fit but am I really fit enough for Strictly? When you look at it, the people who on Strictly, they tend to be half my age and to have played international sport or been to stage school or on the stage.
" am not sure if I am quite equipped for Strictly.
NR: Vince Cable, Ann Widdecombe did it, surely Ed Balls can do it?
EB: (sounding uncertain): Errrr.., OK, OK.
NR: Let me take you back two weeks ago - many people thought you were about to be chancellor of the exchequer, did you - even on Thursday night?
EB: We knew it was really close, and before that exit poll all the opinion polls said the election was on a knife edge....I'm not sure if it was more than 50% but I thought it was a real possibility. So to go from that through the exit poll, that swing to the conservatives through to losing my seat in seven hours. In 2010 I held on, I think in 2015 the Tories were as surprised as I was by what happened in my constituency and in seats across the country, so it was a big change...
NR: So within the space of a day, you went from thinking I might be standing outside No11 to being redundant?
EB: Politics is a brutal business and it is tough, as Robin Day famously said us politicians can be here today and gone today, and that's what happens. But in the end the reason is because we live a democracy and in a democracy the people decide. And however tough it is for us individual politicians - especially if you're fighting a marginal seat like mine - you can be here today and gone tomorrow and that is democracy. So in the end, although was hard for me, I am a symbol of the vibrancy of our democracy. And that's something I think people are proud of, and celebrate, and although hard for me... it shows the kind of country we live in.
NR: You were also a symbol too of Labour's defeat, some people said it was like the Portillo moment for the Tories. Does that hurt that there were people saying 'Yes! Ed Balls has gone?'
EB: The thing which hurts is the fact the millions of people who voted for us, and many thousands of people who worked to campaign for a Labour govt were disappointed because we didn't succeed, and we didn't convince people that we were the right people to be in govt. And as I said on the night, such big issues for our country - whether we stay in the European Union, whether we can hold our union together, the depth of public spending cuts George Osborne is planning and the risk to the national heath service and I can't now change that course and that direction. In that sense there are very many people who wanted us to succeed and we didn't and my disappointment is much much more about the result about what happened to the government than anything to do with my, that is really secondary. That is how I felt in those moments, when I found out my result, I already knew what was happening in the country - and that was a much bigger deal.
Repeat of last question due to plane noise.
EB: There are very many millions of people who voted for Labour, many thousands who worked hard for a Labour govt because they wanted us to win. And the disappointment is that we didn't convince enough people that we could be the next govt, that they could trust in us. And it means that on those big issues facing our country whether we can save our national health service, whether we can keep our union together, whether or not we can keep Britain in the European Union and reform Europe. We now can't chart that course. And for me that disappointment is much much bigger than anything personally that happened to me - I knew for hours that night what was happening in the country. And by the time it came to my speech, what happened in the country was a much much bigger sense of sorrow than anything personal, that wasn't the issue for me.
NR: You knew for hours that you might lose but not days, when did you first realise that you might lose?
EB: I didn't know that I was actually going to lose my seat until the returning officer gave us the result at 7.30 in the morning, so I had hours of uncertainty …I think the point where I knew that things were not turning out the way in which we hoped, when we knew.. was not the exit poll, it was probably results from Wrexham and Nuneaton and Swindon North about 1 in the morning which showed a swing from Labour to the Conservatives. My seat was a very marginal seat, in 2010 we just held on. I always knew if Tories had a majority I was probably a goner but the reason I travelled seven and a half thousand of miles and went to 45 seats because I was fighting to win but only when it dawned in those hours after 1 in the morning that … actually things had not gone the way anybody had expected and the conservatives might get to a majority it was that point where I started to think well maybe my seat might go as well. By then though, it was clear that Labour wasn't going to be the govt and that was a much bigger deal for me.
NR: And your emotion when you realised that - shock, anger, tears?
EB: I've been around for a long time so I've seen wrenching political change and I've seen people be surprised by outcomes... a year ago, two years ago it was a really hard thing for us to do to win this election. Five years ago coming out of government after the financial crisis I think many people thought it was an impossibility. In the final weeks we fought a good campaign and we were neck and neck in the polls I think we thought there was a chance. But I think over the course of that night as the results came in we knew that chance had eluded us and it wasn't anger or tears more a dawning disappointment and sense of loss.
NR: A loss for what might have been?
EB: Yeah of course because look we worked so hard for so long to try and win people's trust to convince people and there were so many people relying on us to do so and even now, since the election many more people come up to me to say we're really sorry or this is how we felt and you can feel that sense of disappointment and that's hard because I wanted to win.
NR: You must ask yourself again and again why and - this is hard question - do you ever look at yourself and think maybe Ed Balls was one of the reasons Labour was unelectable?
EB: Of course. I mean Ed Miliband said straight after the election he took responsibility but all of us have to bear our share of responsibility. Ed was the leader I backed him as shadow chancellor 100% in the end he didn't persuade people he could be the Prime Minister but I didn't persuade people I could be the Chancellor either. I have to take that on the chin. People will analyse for weeks and months what happened and that's something that still feels too early for me. I'm not going to start giving you a verdict or a judgement. That's something I might do in future, might come back to. Not now. It's for others to go for the instant commentary and work out the next steps for Labour and the country.
NR: You know what they say - were you just too associated with the past? In the end is the election that was still about the great crash? Ed Balls, Ed Miliband, Gordon Brown - they're all the lot that got us into the mess.
EB: There was a global financial crisis. I think Labour made important decision during that period to stop Britain & the world going into depression. But in the end we didn't convince people of that argument and we didn't convince people we were the right people to take the country forward and in the end that's why we lost. And you know the why, the analysis of that is something that will now happen and we can all contribute to that in the future, but for me it feels too early to start making judgements about that. But I know in the end we didn't win because we didn't convince enough people that we were the better alternative for the future and that's our failure.
NR: There was one question you know that was asked again and again about the past. Labour spending. Not did spending cause the crash. But did spending too much mean that you weren't prepared for the after effects of the crash?
EB: Before 2007 it is a matter of record that we had a low level of national debt because of the decisions we had made but also we had a small deficit. People will now say that that small deficit should have had a small surplus. The reality is that would have made a small difference, not a big difference, that couldn't have made a difference to the global financial crisis, which was a huge failure in our banking system and a failure of regulation which I have taken on the chin for the last ten years. In the end though we didn't convince people of that argument, but I am afraid those are the facts.
NR: So you may have to go back and say'more spending control might have been better.'?
EB: I think it would not have made a difference to the financial crisis at all.
NR: But to your credibility? To the sense that people thought you were capable of controlling the public finances?
EB: We were very, very disciplined in our approach to public spending after 2010. Unlike other parties we didn't make unfunded commitments.
NR: it was before though wasn't it?
EB: We had an absolutely disciplined approach in this parliament. before 2007, we had low national debt, we hadn't joined the euro, we'd made the bank independent, we had shed a number of jobs in the civil service through the Gershon Review, there was a small deficit, people will say there should have been a small surplus, i think that would have made a small difference, not a big difference.
NR: There might be some who look at you and say, 'even now, he's not willing to learn.'
EB: I think It is for me to think and reflect in the coming months and we can talk about these things, at the moment it is for the leadership candidates in the labour party to set out their positions and it is not really sensible for me to do a running commentary on the past. i always argued for what i thought was right, i have always been consistent, one of things that you learn in politics is that every day when you make a decision, a difficult decision in government or a decision in opposition about what you say, you have at the end of the day to go to bed thinking that was the right call, because you'll live with that for the rest of your life and i have always sought to do that in everything I've done.
NR: You say you backed Ed Miliband 100%. There were issues - there are in any government or shadow government where you had your disagreements - are there any you want to reflect now? You argued about Labour's attitude to business, You had your doubts about the energy price freeze. Are those lessons you want the party to learn?
EB: I think I wanted to be more pro business but I also backed Ed Miliband 100 per cent. He was the leader I was the shadow chancellor we both worked very hard and in the end neither he or I persuaded people and we need to take our responsibility for that. It's not all on him it's on all of us.
NR: But things like the energy price freeze spooked business didn't they?
EB: People are going to stand back and analyse all those things in the months and years to come. I'm not going to rush to judgements. What I'm going to say to you is I accept my responsibility with Ed and with the whole shadow cabinet for the decisions we took and in the end we didn't convince enough people,
NR: you were fighting a Northern seat against the Tories and against UKIP. you were always one of those who said take the issue of Europe and immigration seriously - some lessons for the future?
EB: I think those were big and important issues and I talked a great deal in my constituency about those matters. And as did Labour in the run up to the election, and they're going to be big defining issues of this Parliament as well. In my constituency what happened was a collapse in the Lib Dem vote and more of those voters went to the Conservatives than we were expecting. In the end Nick Clegg had spent five years in a coalition telling Lib Dems it was better to be with the Tories and in the end I think you reap what you sow.
NR: You'd mentioned the leadership contest - lots of candidates. Presumably you're struggling to think who to support?
EB: I'm going to be supporting and voting for Yvette of course. I think she's brilliant and people will have a chance to see more of what she is and what she stands for and what she can do in the coming weeks. I'm not going to play any part in her campaign, that's her campaign and her ideas and it's not for me. I've got the opportunity at a time what there's other stuff going on in our lives and for our children, to stand back while she's busy do more for rest of family and that's what I'm going to do but I'll be voting for her like many other Labour members in September.
NR: You'll be cooking?
EB: Bit of cooking of course. A bit of running. A bit of piano. And just making sure...politics is a tough world and families need support and I think one of the things I certainly learnt from my time in Government and when the children were younger you have to try harder to get the balance right. Since 2010 I always made sure I went to parents evening and we went to the school performances and were there to help kids with homework. I think it's important to get that balance in life.
In the end when people's careers... when something happens you don't expect. I think probably people look back, and too often regret they spent too much time away from things that were important to them and that's something I've been conscious not to let happen in our lives.
NR: Given that do you worry for Yvette- the woman you love? People say leader of opposition is the worst job in politics and it now lasts 5 years before you have a got at an election - does that worry you?
EB: In the end it's really important what happens in the next five years, I want Labour party to come out united and more determined. And I want that to happen. We've learnt some lessons but also we've shown a unity and a vision. We've got a number of great leadership candidates and a really talented shadow cabinet. Having people who can lead and set out a vision is so important, not just for Labour but for the country, and I think in politics you have to take your calling when it comes and that's what she's doing.
NR: This is the moment for her?
EB: Yep.
NR: She is not Mrs Ed Balls - she's always been Yvette Cooper and I'm sure that's important to you and her. Does that give her the freedom to say the last shadow chancellor didn't quite get that right?
EB: Of course and I think over many years she's never been shy of telling me when I got things wrong and me the same with her. She's her own person and has her own talents and her own backers and campaign and her own views and I'm sure she will set them out and she can do that in as forthright a way as she wants and that's fine as far as I'm concerned.
NR: When you reflect do you think people have had caricature view of Ed Balls and maybe you'll get the chance to show something a bit different?
EB: I think it's really hard in politics for people to see the real you because everything is mediated through the newspaper column and through the prism your opponents can often set up, and in the end you have to have confidence in yourself and who you are and what your values are and why you do what you do, and you need people to see that and over time I think they do. I've had lots of emails and letters from Conservatives following election night and after my speech to say they were sorry I had lost. In life I guess you always wish you could make those speeches earlier but that's not the way it is.
NR: Is there one lesson in this short fortnight you've already learnt that you think; that's something I now understand for the future?
EB: The lesson I've learned are you've always got to be proud of what you've done and enjoy what you're doing rather than fixate on what might be in the future. I've never had a grand plan for my career but nor have I ever felt disappointed that i haven't done something i wanted to do. I've learnt to enjoy what I'm doing and be proud of what I've done. I think you've also got to make sure in politics you are always thinking about those other sides to your life outside the day to day, and you've always got to know every day that when you make a decision you're doing so for the right reasons and you can that day feel comfortable that in the in months and years to come when people look back and say was that right, that you can be judged knowing with integrity you made the right call and I've always sought to do that.
NR: This interview isn't the mark of a return to politics but it isn't the mark of never again, no return to politics?
EB: I've been in politics in Whitehall and Westminster for 20 years because I wanted to try and make a difference to our country and the world. You never say never but for me it's a new chapter, outside of politics, but it doesn't mean you stop wanting to make a difference. I always wanted to be in public service that was always more important to me than wealth or the trappings of power so who knows? if there's the chance to do something good again that helps people I will take that. But no by-elections. Out of politics. Not back in parliament - that's how it feels at the moment.
NR: Not back in parliament ever or not till the next election?
EB: You never say never.
NR: Wait and see?
EB: Outside of politics is where I'm going next.Introduction.
My first impression, and whenever I have been asked this question I have been convinced of this, is that the Premier League is quicker and has bigger physical demands than the Spanish championship, and that La Liga is more technical and tactical.
I think that most football fans who are acquainted with both leagues will think the same thing, but, looking at the data we have received from companies such as Opta (who analyse more matches) and Amisco, and having read some published articles on the subject, we decided to do this analysis.
The first thing you have to take in to account is that according to the criteria used by these companies to define the parameters, the data can be different. For example, to count blocked shots as a shot or not completely changes the statistics. The same applies to the speed of the players; a sprint can be defined as over 21km/h or over 24km/h, which obviously changes the analysis.
To avoid the problem, having compared the data, we decided to use the most reliable data and present it in the clearest possible way; so the study will not have any scientific value but will give us a more objective idea of the 2010-11 season in both leagues.
From a Technical Point of View.
The first data we analysed showed only small differences in time of ball in play, 53 minutes in La Liga and 54 minutes in the Premier League last season.
Attacking:
La Liga Attack Premier League 2.74 Average goals per game 2.79 15 Average shots per game 18 45% Shooting accuracy 36% 17% % of headed goals 19% 35% % of Set Play goals 34%
La Liga Passing Premier League 819 Passes per game 801 23% % of long passes 26% 489 Passes in Opposition Half 494 258 Passes in Final Third 276 66% Accuracy of passes in Final Third 62% 27 Crosses per game 33
La Liga General Play Premier League 38 Dribbles per game 33 37% Successful dribbles 43% 42 Final Third entries per game 56
La Liga Discipline Premier League 19 Fouls per game 17 5 Number of Fouls between cards 7
La Liga Distance Covered Premier League Per Player |
ty Per Cent of Knife Muggers in the Capital Are Young Black Men”
(source)
“One of the few police forces to have begun recording the figures of reported gang rape is the Metropolitan Police. In 2008 alone, they received reports of 85 gang rapes. Using the Met’s definition of gang rape – those involving three or more perpetrators – we began to look at the number of convictions. We tracked down 29 cases, from January 2006 to March 2009, in which a total of 92 young people were convicted of involvement in gang rape. … One fact stood out. Of those convicted, 66 were black or mixed race, 13 were white and the remainder were from other countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.” (source)
“Young black men now account for nearly 40% of the population of youth jails in England and Wales, according to a report by the chief inspector of prisons.
The report, published jointly with the youth justice board, shows that the proportion of black and other minority ethnic young men in young offender institutions (YOIs) has risen from 23% in 2006 and 33% in 2009/10 to 39% last year. (source)
“Twelve per cent of London’s men are black. But 54 per cent of the street crimes committed by men in London, along with 46 per cent of the knife crimes and more than half of the gun crimes, are thought by the Metropolitan Police to have been committed by black men.” (source)
Police hold black men responsible for more than two-thirds of shootings and more than half of robberies and street crimes in London, according to figures released by Scotland Yard.
It found that 67 per cent of those caught by police for gun crimes were black.
Among those proceeded against for street crimes, including muggings, assault with intent to rob and snatching property, 54 per cent were black males.
On sex offences, black men made up 32 per cent of all male suspects, with 49 per cent of those apprehended by police being white men.
The statistics also suggest that police hold black women accountable for a disproportionate amount of violent crime. On knife crime, 45 per cent of suspected female perpetrators were black.
Among those women and girls police took action against for gun crime, 58 per cent were black and in robberies that figure was 52 per cent.
Unsolved crimes were not included. Just over 12 per cent of London’s 7.5million population is black, including those of mixed black and white parentage, while 69 per cent is white, according to the Office for National Statistics. (source)
======================
Canada
“In Toronto, Canada, unofficial figures suggest that recent Afro-Caribbean immigrants, while making up 2 to 5 percent of the population, are responsible for between 32 and 40 percent of the crime (The Globe and Mail, February 8, 1989). Immigrants from the Pacific Rim, however, are underrepresented in crime.” (from Rushton, 1995)
“the Star’s groundbreaking 2002 series on race, policing and crime in Toronto, which used police arrest and charge data… showed that blacks then were 3.3 times more likely to be charged with violent crimes… A repeat of the 2002 analysis looking at arrest and charge data from 2003 to 2008 shows those results have changed little.” (source)
Toronto (2002): “The data show that accused black people represent nearly 27 per cent of all violent charges; this, although the latest census figures show that only 8.1 per cent of the population list their skin colour as black.” (source)
Toronto Star: In 2009-2010, blacks make up 8.3% of Toronto’s population, but 30% of violent crime charges were laid against blacks.
“At the provincial level in 2009, those who self-identified as being black made up 10 per cent of the prison population in Nova Scotia’s five jails, which is again (more than) what you would expect, based on population, Clairmont said. The 2006 census showed that blacks made up just over two per cent of Nova Scotia’s population — 19,230 blacks in a total population of 913,462.” (source)
Nova Scotia: “They account for 22 per cent of all young offenders and 26 per cent of all repeat offenders, which is five to six times higher than their proportion in the general population. And in 2005, blacks accounted for 24 per cent of the young people sentenced to custody. That was a huge jump from 2000, when blacks made up 14 per cent of all young people sentenced to custody.” (source)
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Muslim Crime in Europe
=====================
They don’t exactly make much of an effort to collect or report this data, and some countries really have no data at all (in fact collecting ethnicity based data is banned in some) besides estimates of numbers of prisoners who are Muslim. But the glimpses we get are pretty revealing.
Actually, much of the data can’t be claimed to be only Muslim, but its clear that much of the immigrant crime is Muslim (ie. Moroccan, Somali, etc). But pay attention to where it is simply saying ‘foreign’ or ‘non-western’.
By country:
Norway
Denmark
Sweden
Finland
England
Belgium
Netherlands
France
Spain
====================
Norway
“The study is the first where the crime statistics have been analyzed according to ethnic origin. Of the 111 charged with rape in Oslo last year, 72 were of non-western ethnic origin, 25 are classified as Norwegian or western and 14 are listed as unknown.Rape charges in the capital are spiraling upwards, 40 percent higher from 1999 to 2000 and up 13 percent so far this year. Nine out of ten cases do not make it to prosecution, most of them because police do not believe the evidence is sufficient to reach a conviction.Police Inspector Gunnar Larsen of Oslo’s Vice, Robbery and Violent crime division says the statistics are surprising – the rising number of rape cases and the link to ethnic background are both clear trends. But Larsen does not want to speculate on the reasons behind the worrying developments.While 65 percent of those charged with rape are classed as coming from a non-western background, this segment makes up only 14.3 percent of Oslo’s population. Norwegian women were the victims in 80 percent of the cases, with 20 percent being women of foreign background.Larsen said that since this was the initial study examining ethnic make-up there were no existing figures to put the numbers into context. “Meanwhile, it is our general experience that this is an increasing tendency. We note this by the number of time we need to use interpreters in the course of an investigation,” Larsen said. (source)
In 2010 48.7% of perpetrators of any kind of rape in Oslo were European, 19.7% were African, 15.1% Middle Eastern, 14.1% Asian and 2% American. (source – pdf)
“Norway’s capital Oslo has seen a sharp increase in cases of outdoor rape, with the number of attacks in 2011 already double the total for the previous year, according to figures compiled by newspaper Aftenposten…. Police in Oslo registered 24 such cases in 2010 compared to 48 so far this year, Aftenposten said… “It can not be denied that many of the culprits have an ethnic background with a critical view of women,” Conservative party justice critic Andre Oktay Dahl told TV2. (source)
“Ethnics account for 70 percent of family violence in Oslo” (source)
“‘Immigrants behind most rapes in Stavanger’ – In all, 18 rape judgments were handed down from 2009 to 2011 in the south-western city, according to a review carried out by state broadcaster NRK. The cases involved 22 men, two of whom were cleared of rape charges. Of the 20 men found guilty of rape, half were of African origin, five had Asian backgrounds, one had Polish roots and three were ethnic Norwegians, said NRK, which did not disclose the ethnicity of one of the men. (source)
=======================
Denmark:
“Alarmed at last week’s police statistics, which revealed that in 68% of all rapes committed this year the perpetrator was from an ethnic minority, leading Muslim organisations have now formed an alliance to fight the ever-growing problem of young second and third-generation immigrants involved in rape cases against young Danish girls. ” (source)
Study found that more than half of those charged with ‘assault-rape’ (distinct from contact-rape and partner-rape) were not North-European (source – pdf)
======================
Sweden
A Swedish study (pdf), finds that immigrants commit crime at 2.5x the rate of native Swedes, while those with two foreign parents commit crime at 2x the average, and those with one foreign parent commit crime at 1.5x. When corrected for age/sex/education/income, the relative risk for the foreign born shrinks to 2.1x, while that with two foreign-born parents shrinks to 1.5x.
This is somewhat misleading, though, as the foreign born are a heterogeneous group – for example, those from the Anglo-American countries and East Asia commit crime at essentially the same rate as native Swedes (under average) – whereas the highest rates come from ‘Other’ Africa (5.3x average), North Africa (4.7x), Western Asia (3.8x), and East Africa (3.5x). Central and South American regions also have high rates – 3.25x. Intermediate regions are places like South East Asia (2.1x), and ‘New EU Countries’ (2.3x).
Further, some crimes are disproportionately common among immigrants – for example when it comes to lethal violence or robbery, the rate at which foreign-born commit them is 4.2x the average rate (2.6x for children with one-foreign born parent). As for rape/attempted rape, the rate of being suspected of the crime for the foreign-born in 5x the rate that of Swedes, while for those with least one foreign-born parent it is 1.8x.
===================
Finland
Between 2006 & 2009, foreigners were convicted of 34% of the rape, despite being only 3% of the population. Iraqi’s, for example, though making up only 0.1% of the population were responsible for 5% of the rapes in 2011. (source)
====================
England:
“The report, published jointly with the youth justice board, shows that the proportion of black and other minority ethnic young men in young offender institutions (YOIs) has risen from 23% in 2006 and 33% in 2009/10 to 39% last year… The changing demographic profile of the population inside youth jails in England and Wales also shows an increasing proportion of young Muslims, up from 13% last year to 16% this year. Foreign national young men account for a record 6% of the population.” (source)
“Official figures from police forces across England and Wales shows how immigrants make up a large proportion of those arrested for major crimes… In London, of the 547 people charged with rape in the past 12 months, 174 were non-UK citizens… The nations whose individuals were charged the most frequently with rape in the capital were Jamaica, 19 suspects, Nigeria, 11, Poland, ten, and Australia, nine.” (Source)
Jack Straw is not looking quite as lonely as he was last Friday when he made the controversial statement that there was a “specific problem” involving British men of Pakistani descent grooming young white girls for sex because they think they are “easy meat”… An initial burst of outrage, led by fellow Labour MP Keith Vaz, has been followed by more sympathetic statements from Muslim commentators and women’s rights campaigners… Martin Narey… said: “…My staff would say there is an over-representation of people from ethnic minority groups among perpetrators – Afghans, people from Arabic nations, Pakistanis. But it’s not just one nation.”…. Last week the Times published its own survey into the ethnicity of those convicted of on-street grooming. It found that over the past 13 years there had been 17 court prosecutions by northern and Midlands police forces involving such crimes… Of the 56 people found guilty, three were white and 53 were Asian. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards said: “To stop this type of crime you need to start talking about it, but everyone’s been too scared to address the ethnicity factor. (source)
“In Britain, 11 percent of prisoners are Muslim in contrast to about 3 percent of all inhabitants, according to the Justice Ministry.” (source)
“The number of women and girls in the UK suffering violence and intimidation at the hands of their families or communities is increasing rapidly, according to figures revealing the nationwide scale of “honour” abuse for the first time… Statistics obtained under the Freedom of Information Act about such violence – which can include threats, abduction, acid attacks, beatings, forced marriage, mutilation and murder – show that in the 12 police force areas for which comparable data was available, reports went up by 47% in just a year… But this is likely to be only the tip of the iceberg, campaigners say, as so many incidents go unreported because of victims’ fears of recriminations… Jasvinder Sanghera of victim support group Karma Nirvana said the real figure could be four times as high.” (source)
====================
Belgium
“The Belgian newspaper De Standaard claims that “foreigners” constitute 44 percent of the Belgian prison populations… Moroccan immigrants are among the most notorious hardline criminals in Belgium. ” (source)
“In Belgium, Muslims from Morocco and Turkey make up at least 16 percent of the prison population, compared with 2 percent of the general populace, the research found.” (source)
=========================
Netherlands
“Of the 212,000 suspects arrested in 2005 63 percent was native Dutch. (Non-Western immigrants account for 11 percent of the Dutch population.)” (source)
“THE HAGUE, 18/03/09 – Two out of three serious teenage criminals are children of parents born outside the Netherlands. In most cases, no prison sentence is imposed, it emerges from a study sent to parliament by Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin… In the research, 447 case files of youngsters aged from 12 to 17 were studied. All the files involved cases in which the perpetrator was convicted of a crime for which the maximum jail sentence is 8 years or more. These were murder, manslaughter, robbery with violence, extortion, arson, public acts of violence and sexual crimes… Only just over one-third (37 percent) of the convicted youngsters are white Dutch. Two-thirds are of immigrant origin, meaning that they themselves or their mothers were born abroad… The most prevalent group of youthful immigrants (among the perpetrators) are young Moroccans (14 percent),” according to the report. For another 14 percent, the parents’ country of birth could not be determined. A further 8 percent of the young criminals came from Turkey, 7 percent from Surinam and another 7 percent from the Netherlands Antilles, 9 percent from the category ‘other non-Westerners’ and 4 percent, ‘other Westerners.’ (source)
“Of the Moroccan-Dutch boys in Rotterdam aged 18 to 24, almost 55% have gotten in trouble with the police on suspicion of offenses. For Antilleans and Surinamese that’s 40%, for Turkish-Dutch men 36% and for ethnic Dutch Rotterdam residents 18.4%.” (source)
“Research by the Open Society Institute, an advocacy organization, shows that in the Netherlands 20 percent of adult prisoners and 26 percent of all juvenile offenders are Muslim; the country is about 5.5 percent Muslim” (source)
=======================
France
“This prison is majority Muslim — as is virtually every house of incarceration in France. About 60 to 70 percent of all inmates in the country’s prison system are Muslim, according to Muslim leaders, sociologists and researchers, though Muslims make up only about 12 percent of the country’s population…. Many of the Muslim inmates in this prison just west of Lille are the children and grandchildren of immigrants who were brought to the northern region decades ago to work in its coal mines.” (source)
“As the number of French prisoners is expected to break a new record this month, Muslims account for 70 percent of inmates despite making only 5-10 percent of the population, Press TV reports.” (source)
“Iranian-French researcher Farhad Khosrokhavar said in his recently published book Islam in Prisons that Muslims make up some 70 percent of a total of 60,775 prisoners in France… As ethnicity-based censuses are banned in France, he said complexion, names and religious traditions like prohibition of pork indicate that Muslims constitute an overwhelming majority in prisons.” (source)
“In ten years, the number of halal meals served in prison has increased dramatically, so that today they represent 70% of food served in our prisons.” (source)
==========================
Spain:
I found the following table here for the region of Catalonia (original source archived here). The table-maker at the first link notes that ‘African’ is mostly means Magreb, as you can see if you visit the second link (he also notes that black africans seem to have a lower rate than non-Spanish EU countries and Americans).
Spain Europe EU Europe Non-Eu Africa* America* Asia* Nationality if Criminal 54.5% 6.5% 2.6% 20.1% 15.3% 1.1% Criminal if Nationality 1.1 2.6 5.9 7.9 5.1 1
==========================
Other Minority Crime in Western Countries
==========================
But what about other poorer minorities, especially Indigenous, in Western countries?
– Canada: Natives make up 2% of the population but are 18% of those incarcerated
– New Zealand: Maoris make up 15% of pop. but are 49.5% of prisoners
– Australia: Aborignes are 2.3% of pop, but 27% of prisoners
– Apparently in the US, the black crime rate is 4 times higher than Amerindians
– In Japan, the Burakumin, once the ‘untouchables’ of Japan, though ethnically Japanese, were arrested at 3x the rate of other Japanese. Burakumin and Koreans, also marginalized in Japanese society, make up a disproportionate number of the yakuza (apparently making up about 75% of the largest underworld crime group, the Yamaguchi Gumi) (source).
AdvertisementsScientists have just unveiled the lightest human-made substance on Earth. How light are we talking? Let's put it this way: it's less dense than helium.
The battle for rights to the title of world's lightest material (technically world's lowest density material) has played out like a brutally rapid series of monarchal overthrows. For years, NASA's aerogel (density 1 milligram per cubic centimeter) held the title of lightest material on Earth. In November 2011, it was dethroned by a gorgeous, ultralight metallic microlattice (density 0.9 mg/cm3). Months later, a substance called "Aerographite" with a density of just 0.2 mg/cm3 blew both of these ultralight materials out of the water. Now, a new material has assumed the throne.
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In a Nature paper titled "Solid carbon, springy and light," scientists from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China have introduced a graphene aerogel that comes in at just 0.16 milligrams per cubic centimeter. As a point of reference, that's less than one-seventh the density of air. And while it's still twice as dense as hydrogen, it's the very first ultralight substance to achieve a mass-to-volume ratio less than helium's, 0.1786 mg/cm3. What's more, it's got some killer real-world applications.
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Via crave:
PhD candidate Sun Haiyan explained, "It's somewhat like large space structures such as big stadiums, with steel bars as supports and high strength film as walls to achieve both lightness and strength. Here, carbon nanotubes are supports and graphene is the wall." The new material is amazingly absorptive, able to suck in up to 900 times its own weight in oil at a rate of 68.8 grams per second — only oil, not water, which means it has massive potential as a cleaning material when it comes to events such as oil spills. Then, both the graphene aerogel and the oil could be recycled.
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Here's a brain-teaser for the MSE-inclined: the last several ultralight materials to hold the title of "world's lightest" have had densities less than air (1.2 mg/cm3) – so why don't any of them float? Let's hear your input in the comments!
Nature via crave via boingboingGreetings Friends and Colleagues of Greffex, Inc.
For the last four weeks we have been fielding questions regarding Ebola and the state of Ebola vaccines. Those who follow us know that we are advancing into the clinic with our H5N1 (Avian Flu) vaccine and that we have developed a MERS Co-V vaccine, both based on our proprietary technology, as well as vaccine candidates for a host of other potential threats.
In May, 2013, we released a report on our H7N9 Avian Flu vaccine candidate. In it we stated: “We believe the world needs a ‘plug-and-play'(TM) (universal interchangeable platform) method of creating vaccines.” Speed as well as flexibility is needed for vaccine design to combat emerged infectious threats. We had already shown with an Anthrax vaccine that we can create any vaccine within one month.” We created a H7N9 Avian Flu vaccine from a dead stop to prove it could be done if an emerging threat occurred.
In June, 2013, we released information regarding our MERS Co-V vaccine. “Greffex unrivalled production times resulted from its proprietary and patented GREVAX(TM) platform–a highly scalable process that also safeguards vaccine purity. Developed with the support of the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, GREVAX(TM) vaccines are designed as small synthetic nanoparticles of genes packaged in an adenoviral shell that can be modified to deliver their genetic payloads wherever most beneficial. They can be administered in different ways, including injection and nasal mist. Our vaccines target cells that kick start the immune system and do not need chemical adjuvants. We have a clean product that does not expose you to contaminations…”
Now Ebola is ravaging Africa, and has raised its ugly head in Europe, the United States and Canada. Health agencies are scrambling to find a vaccine solution. Millions of dollars have been thrown at systems to develop a vaccine candidate; some will prove moderately successful as short-term solutions. We believe these solutions will prove inadequate to stem the tide AND to create a platform from which other vaccine candidates can be made should a new strain of Ebola or other threats appear. Buried in the messages from health agencies is the fact that there is a great need for a trivalent vaccine that carries sequences for both Ebola strains plus the Marburg virus. All vaccines presented as solutions only address a single Ebola strain (sequence) while some include Marburg. Further, no mention of time of production and more importantly cost of production has been made. Developers offering a limited vaccine candidate for Ebola within a period of time without them addressing their clinical trial problems (at this writing the WHO and other health agencies have not addressed the social, ethical and systemic problems of human clinical trials, particularly Phase III human trials) and the burdensome costs and extraordinary length of time associated with their production is simply irresponsible. It is also important to understand that scientists differ on many issues with some vaccines being developed. In our White Paper we note that one current VSV Ebola vaccine being developed has two significant issues. The first is that because it is a “replication efficient” VSV, that is an infectious virus, it may cause serious side effects. There may be a better VSV Ebola virus vaccine candidate but it has not been tested. With regard to the current VSV Ebola vaccine candidate, Greffex believes there is potential for deleterious effects if given to undeveloped world populations that have shaky immune systems due to food deprivation and pre existing diseases such AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The second problem is that the above-mentioned vaccine is based on an old Ebola sequence, not the sequence of the current Ebola infection. Greffex believes that this is significant because these changes (mutations) lie in a crucial area of the vaccine antigen. Some scientists incorrectly believe that they are not important because they are “only” between 2% and 7%. We believe that the VSV Ebola vaccine being presented does not address the “mutation actuality” that the immune system sees. Basically, the antibodies made against the old Ebola antigen may not be fully protective against the new one. In our White Paper we address these issues in specificity. I touch on them here to remind us all that science and solutions change rapidly.
WE INVITE YOU TO READ OUR WHITE PAPER. IT COMPARES THE MAJOR PRESENTED VACCINE SOLUTIONS. IT GENERALLY DESCRIBES OUR PROPRIETARY SYSTEM.
We invite comments, challenges and questions.
In non-scientific terms we at Greffex state:
Greffex is the only company that can make a trivalent Ebola-Marburg vaccine in a single vector based on its fully deleted Ad platform, The Greffex vector will be packaged into capsids of the Adenovirus serotype 2, as well as 5, (this scientific statement tells readers that Greffex builds a vaccine on multiple serotypes-blood types). The Greffex Ebola vaccine will be administered intranasally, The Greffex Ebola vaccine by design allows prime boost immunization regimens with the same vaccine construct, if required, The Greffex vaccine can be delivered to ANY AGENCY within 4 weeks from start date, Greffex production scheme allows the company to make 10,000 (ten thousand) doses of its Ebola candidate in house under GMP conditions for testing within a month, Upon completion of all testing, Greffex believes it can deliver the required number of trivalent Ebola vaccine doses within the requested time period.
CONCLUSION:
A vaccine solution for Ebola that delivers exactly what is needed quickly IS available. Greffex offered two additional components to its vaccine solution.
Greffex can deliver a testable Ebola vaccine candidate in one month from start date. Greffex will forgo all profits from the sale and distribution of a Greffex Ebola Vaccine to African countries in need.
Why would a small, often struggling Biotechnology Company give away its vaccine solution to Africa? It is because those of us lucky enough to get up in the morning thinking that we probably won’t get Ebola need to be part of the world health solution for those that are not that fortunate. Dr. Paul Farmer, cofounder of Partners in Health writes that the “growing inequality in global healthcare is at the root of the Ebola Crisis.” Dr. Farmer cannot do what we, a commercial company can: challenge itself and others to reverse the challenges of “poverty diseases.” It is the right thing to do for Africa. Greffex faces many nonscientific hurdles in its journey to make its Ebola vaccine. Developing an Ebola vaccine by Greffex is inexpensive. Later testing is costly. But Greffex can, right now, start the conversation amongst pharmaceutical manufacturers and vaccine developers to forgo profits from Ebola vaccines for use in Africa!
Finally, one thing has remained constant. Since the Swine Flu epidemic of the 1970’s, the United States has not developed an interchangeable vaccine platform to address these ever changing and mutating diseases: one that is nimble and cost effective. Greffex has that solution. And Greffex believes that nature is presenting us with challenges we must be equipped to overcome, because every wild spreading disease is simply a test bed for the next one.
On a personal note, I am extremely grateful to our board of directors, my business partner, Dr. Uwe Staerz, my Executive Vice President Bill Connolly and all the dedicated scientists and administrators at Greffex for developing great science and for supporting the decision to give away all profits from Ebola vaccines for use in Africa. Everything I learned can be summed up in this simple verse to which all at Greffex adhere: “unto him to whom much is given, much is required.”
Contact us at either: john.price@greffex.com or uwe.staerz@greffex.com.
In the coming weeks we will post questions we receive and our responses here on our website.
John R. Price
President and Chief Executive Officer
October 2014
White Paper »
NIAID TESTS GREFFEX’S EBOLA VACCINE
February 1, 2015
A 1967 outbreak of the “Marburg” virus (MARV) first brought to light the dangers of viral hemorrhagic fevers caused by viruses of the filoviridae family. After an outbreak in 2012 a death from a MARV infection was recently noted in Uganda. Other members of the filovirus family, namely the Ebola viruses (EBOV), are even more lethal. The members of this genus are named after the location of their major outbreaks, Zaire (ZEBOV), Sudan (SEBOV), Reston, VA (RESTOV) and Cote d’Ivoire (CIEBOV). Numerous outbreaks of viruses have been observed in the last 40 years (WHO). The most devastating outbreak so far was caused by a mutated version of ZEBOV. It first appeared in December 2013 and has spread through several countries in Western Africa, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. It has been spreading in an uncontrolled fashion and has led to several thousand infections and deaths (WHO). Travelers infected with the disease have reached Europe and the US leading to secondary transfers of the disease to nurses in Spain and the US (WHO). Neither therapeutic drugs nor vaccines are presently available to combat any of these infections.
In November 2014, Greffex initiated discussions with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) about the construction of a GreVAX-based Ebola vaccine. Due to the earlier success with GreMERSfl and GreFluVie, Greffex was invited by NIAID to deliver an Ebola vaccine candidate to be tested in nonhuman primates. Greffex initiated the construction of its GreZEBm vaccine candidate. It was completed within one month. In parallel, the Company’s scientists developed a stringent testing protocol that took into consideration the medical realities found in Western Africa. Their goal was closely to approximate future clinical trials. In early February 2015, Greffex delivered its GreVAX-based GreZEBm vaccine to NIAID for these protective studies in NHPs.Here’s a very odd thing about Zen practice – a lot of the time, especially the first ten years or so, most of us most of the time are stuck.
What kind of a hinky path is that? It’s supposed to be a path, after all, something that goes from here to there.
And there’s the rub.
In Keep Me in Your Heart a While (described by one reader as “… the best, least read Zen book of the decade” – ah, stop the flattery already!), I describe the stuck! phase as the third of six stages of the Zen path:
1. Idealization (“Zen seems so cool, we love everybody in the community and the Zen teacher seems to possess something special, expressing what is in our hearts before we even know it ourselves”);
2. Covert clinging to hopes for magical gain (“We begin to get more sophisticated and cover our original childlike and obvious hopes that somehow Zen is going to resolve our relationship issues, relieve our dysthymia without Prozac, and brighten our teeth”);
3. Very crabby (“Zen utterly sucks, the community is a bunch of nut cases and the teacher is at best an ordinary person whose fault it is that our precious idealization has worn off—or that our stinky self-clinging has been exposed….. At this stage, most people quit and go on to something else, imagining that the high of infatuation can be recaptured with another teacher, another tradition, or a softer or harder practice”);
4. Steadily walking without getting anywhere (“The practice at this stage is simply done for the sake of the practice itself. Searching for a motive at this stage is adding a head on top of a head. If we just stay with it,we might even start to get over our self a bit and direct our life to actualizing a purpose greater than ourself”).
5.(“a trouble-maker”); and
6. Falling into a well (“We’re back at the first stage, albeit with a different vista, idealizing our life and not cleaning under the hedge, assuring the full employment of Buddha”).
Phew! What a gas bag.
Anyway, the point is that the path of Zen goes from here to here and what we learn to do is be what we are – stay put, in other words.
Does that mean that the practice suggestion is to sink, soak, slobber, and slump into a melancholy stuckness?
No way! Sit up in it earnestly.
Does that mean that the practice suggestion is to fight, figure, fidget and find just the right spiritual technique that will free us from stuckness?
No way! Sit down in it earnestly.
Now maybe you’d like a poem to put a little make-up on the drab point I’m making and I just happen to have one here from Leonard Cohen’s “The Letters:”
Your story was so long,
The plot was so intense,
It took you years to cross
The lines of self-defense.
The wounded forms appear:
The loss, the full extent;
And simple kindness here,
The solitude of strength.
And maybe you’d even like a koan to put a little Zen on the point I’m making and, well, I’m happy to oblige:
As Fayan was excavating a well, the spring’s eye was blocked by sand. He asked a monk, “The spring’s eye doesn’t penetrate the sand blocking it. When the eye of the Way is blocked, what is it blocked by?”
The monk had no reply.
Fayan answered for himself, “It is blocked by the eye.”Conan: Michael Moore is depicted in this film, along with a lot of other celebrities... I talked about it with one of our producers after we saw the movie cause you guys sort of go after Michael Moore... And I thought, that's surprising, because Michael Moore was in Bowling for Columbine. You know, it's his movie. He interviewed you on Bowling for Columbine. And I remember thinking, "I thought those guys were friends with Michael Moore. Did they have a falling out?" What happened there?
MS: Well I wasn't so much that we had a falling out. It was that he asked me to do the interview for Bowling for Columbine because I grew up in Littleton, Colorado.
Conan: Right
MS: So I was like "okay I'll talk about growing up in Littleton, Colorado." What he did that made us a little angry is that he put an animation that is right after my piece in Bowling for Columbine that's very South Parkesque in it's look. And I think 99% of the people who saw Bowling for Columbine think Trey and I did that animation.
Conan: I thought it was yours until my producer told me that he talked to you guys.
TP: He asked us if we would do an animated thing for him and we were like "you know, we grew up in Colorado, our parents have guns...you know... whatever."
Conan: I'm wearing a gun now.
TP: Exactly. We strongly believe in guns. And so he kind of did it anyway. So later when he did Farenheit 9/11 people were like, "well Michael Moore kind of lies and manipulates to make people think certain things." We're like personal victims of that. So we basically decided to make him into a puppet and blow him up.
MS: I mean He didn't explicitly say "Matt and Trey did this animation," but he made it look like it. And that's what he does in his movies. He uses two images put together and he creates meaning where there is none.
TP: And he's fat.
[crowd cheers]
Click to expand...US Senator John McCain walked through the halls of the Capitol last week.
In his first nine months as president, Donald Trump has fought with everyone from Democrats to his own Cabinet, to the NFL, to a military widow, to Republican Congressional leaders.
But the fight he might most regret picking? The one against Arizona Senator John McCain.
The feud began in 2015 just weeks into his presidential bid, at a forum in Iowa when he took a swipe at McCain, saying: “He is not a war hero. He was war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
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Trump never apologized. In the two years since, the fight has only escalated with the two taking swipes at each other a regular basis.
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Since McCain’s diagnosis of brain cancer this summer, nearly everyone in American politics has suspended any attacks on him. Even when took to the Senate floor to vote against the health care bill, the criticism was muted.
With Trump though, the insults continued, particularly on Twitter, his favorite mode of attack. Just two weeks ago, Trump warned McCain not to attack him further or “it wouldn’t be pretty.”
But McCain, for his part, has hardly been cowed by the swipes. The senator has used his sympathetic position to hit back even harder at Trump. On Sunday, the 50th anniversary of his capture as a prisoner of war, McCain participated in a C-SPAN interview about the Vietnam War, using the occasion to take a shot at Trump — who received deferments to Vietnam war draft for a bone spur.
“One aspect of the conflict, by the way, that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America, and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur,” McCain said. “That is wrong. That is wrong |
."[41]
The Armed Forces Chorus (LTC John Clanton, Conductor) then sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Catholic Archbishop of Washington, delivered a Bible reading from the Gospel of Matthew.[41] The celebrant, former Missouri Senator the Reverend John Danforth, delivered the homily[43] and Irish tenor Ronan Tynan sang songs such as "Ave Maria" and "Amazing Grace" at the request of Nancy Reagan.[32] The Reverend Ted Eastman, former Bishop of Maryland, delivered the benediction, flanked by Reverend Danforth and Reverend Chane.
Interment at the Reagan Library [ edit ]
The memorial service at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Nancy Reagan leaving the gravesite
Reagan's tomb
Return to California [ edit ]
After the service, the casket was driven to Andrews Air Force Base, passing crowds along its route.[44] The family and close friends boarded the VC 25-A Presidential Aircraft,[45] and as she had done previously, Nancy Reagan waved farewell to the crowds just before boarding the plane.
About five hours after the aircraft departed Andrews, it touched down at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, California. The public, including sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan, was there to witness the plane's arrival.[46] Reagan's body was driven in a large motorcade though the streets of southern California.
Burial service [ edit ]
The service drew 700 invited guests, including former Reagan administration officials such as George P. Shultz, and noted dignitaries; Margaret Thatcher, who traveled on the plane from Washington, sat next to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger[47] and his wife, Maria Shriver; former California Governor Pete Wilson was in attendance, as well as former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.[45] Hollywood actors and other celebrities also attended, including Mr. Reagan's first wife, actress Jane Wyman, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, Mickey Rooney, Dolores Hope (widow of Bob Hope), Merv Griffin, Tommy Lasorda, Wayne Gretzky, Scott Baio, Bo Derek, Tom Selleck, Pat Sajak, Wayne Newton, and the Sinatra family.[47][48] The three surviving Reagan children, Michael, Patti, and Ron, gave final eulogies at the interment ceremony.[49]
Eulogies finished, and the service over, the Air Force Band of the Golden West played four "ruffles and flourishes", and the U.S. Army Chorus sang "The Star-Spangled Banner". Bagpiper Eric Rigler played "Amazing Grace" as the casket was moved to its grave site and placed on a plinth.[45] There, burial rites were given, followed by a last 21-gun salute;[47] members of the armed services fired three volleys and a bugler played "Taps".[47] At that time, four Navy F/A-18 fighter jets flew over in missing man formation,[45][47] and the flag that flew over the Capitol during President Reagan's 1981 inauguration was folded by the honor guard and was presented to Nancy Reagan by Captain James Symonds, the commanding officer of the USS Ronald Reagan.[46]
After Nancy Reagan accepted the flag, she approached the casket and spent several minutes patting and stroking it.[45] She laid her head down on the casket, before breaking down and crying; The Washington Post described Nancy as having been "stoic through nearly a week of somber rituals" but she "surrendered to her grief after being handed the flag that had covered her husband's coffin."[44] While she cried, she kissed the casket and said "I love you".[47] Her children surrounded her, and attempted to console her.[47] Nancy then walked away with her military escort, clutching the folded flag. The military band began to play the Victorian hymn "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" as the Reagan children said their goodbyes. Funeral attendees had an opportunity to file past the coffin.
The casket was lowered into the vault and closed at 3:00 am PDT the next day. The exterior of the horseshoe-shaped monument is inscribed with a quote Ronald Reagan delivered in 1991:[47]
I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.[50]
Music [ edit ]
Music played during the week-long events included four ruffles and flourishes, "Hail to the Chief", "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", "Amazing Grace", "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" (also known as "The Navy Hymn"), "God of Our Fathers", "Mansions of the Lord", "God Bless America", "America the Beautiful", "Going Home", and "On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss" by David Holsinger.[42][45][47] The US Marine Orchestra was conducted by COL Timothy Foley and the Armed Forces Chorus was conducted by LTC John Clanton.
Security measures [ edit ]
The state funeral marked the first time that Washington had hosted a major event since the September 11 attacks.[51] As a result, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated the state funeral a National Special Security Event (NSSE).[52] Special precautions were taken because many of the events were open to the public and there were multiple protectees.[52]
The majority of those commemorating Reagan were supporters of his, although not all held the 40th president in high regard. In one noted example, Paul Mays, a retired engineer who never thought much of Reagan's politics, witnessed the motorcade leave the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base; he commented "This is history".[53] Frank Dubois, an American University professor, also was there for the motorcade, though of the laudatory praise he remarked, "[Reagan] hurt the environment; there was double-digit inflation. I just don't get it."[53]
The majority of media coverage of the event was deferential. Most major news organizations broadcast the various events live multiple times; during the week, the cable channel C-SPAN broadcast uninterrupted coverage of the funeral ceremonies. A few complained, however, that the television coverage was excessive and preempted coverage of other events. CBS News anchor Dan Rather was quoted as saying: "Even though everybody is respectful and wants to pay homage to the president, life does go on. There is other news, like the reality of Iraq. It got very short shrift this weekend."[54] Throughout the week, media experts reported that the national mourning, televised nearly non-stop on many television networks, provided Americans welcome respite from unhappy reports that American troops were being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, giving them a sense of good news they had been desperate for since the September 11 attacks.[55][56]
Reagan's obituaries also included a few criticisms. Richard Goldstein of The Village Voice criticized the funeral for its careful orchestration, writing, "Because the networks had so long to plan for this production... this was the most precisely mounted news event in modern times. Each gesture was minutely choreographed, every tear strategically placed."[57]
Additionally, some media outlets were criticized for lionizing Reagan without paying equal attention to more controversial decisions made during his administration. Thomas Kunkel, dean of the University of Maryland, College Park's journalism college, wrote in A magazine that the coverage "would have you believe that Reagan was a cross between Abe Lincoln and Mother Teresa, with an overlay of Mister Rogers."[58] Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post's media columnist, said Reagan was "a far more controversial figure in his time than the largely gushing obits on television would suggest."[59] The Nation ran a series of articles about the many controversies of his presidency.[citation needed]
Gallery [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Video coverage of the funeral
Newspaper and media coverage
Additional coverage and photos
Eyewitness accountsEdgar Wright has signed on to direct an animated film for DreamWorks Animation. The film, which he'll co-write with David Walliams, is centered on the concept of shadows.
"Edgar will spearhead a new approach to this fascinating concept and we’re ecstatic to have him on board as director along with David as co-writer,” said a statement from DreamWorks Animation’s co-presidents of feature animation Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria. “We’ve always been intrigued by a film concept involving shadows, and now with Edgar’s signature comedic style and abilities as a natural storyteller, audiences will be treated to a truly captivating and energetic tale.”
The project is a new take on a previously developed concept about shadows. DreamWorks Animation had previously been working on a film called Me and My Shadow, that had Bill Hader and Josh Gad attached as voice cast. But it was taken off the calendar in 2013. Wright's new film will replace Me and My Shadow.
DreamWorks Animation’s head of development Gregg Taylor and development executive Damon Ross are overseeing the project for the studio.
Wright, known for The World’s End and Shaun of the Dead, will next helm Baby Driver with Ansel Elgort and Lily James. He's also attached to a project with Johnny Depp based on Fortunately, the Milk, a Neil Gaiman story. The DreamWorks Animation project will be his first animated film. He’s repped by CAA, Anonymous Content, Independent Talent Group in the U.K. and Nelson Davis.
Walliams is known for working with Matt Lucas on the BBC One sketch show Little Britain, and also is a children’s author, with more 10 million copies sold to date.LOS ANGELES – A federal judge on Thursday overturned guilty verdicts against Lori Drew, issuing a directed acquittal on three misdemeanor charges.
Drew, 50, was accused of participating in a cyberbullying scheme against 13-year-old Megan Meier who later committed suicide. The case against Drew hinged on the government’s novel argument that violating MySpace’s terms of service was the legal equivalent of computer hacking. But U.S. District Judge George Wu found the premise troubling.
"It basically leaves it up to a website owner to determine what is a crime," said Wu on Thursday, echoing what critics of the case have been saying for months. "And therefore it criminalizes what would be a breach of contract."
Tina Meier, the mother of Megan Meier, walked out of the courtroom while Wu was still delivering his ruling. She later told reporters that she was "extremely upset with the decision" and that she left because she "was done listening to" the judge. She indicated that the family is still considering whether to bring a civil case against Drew.
Ron Meier, Megan Meier's father, whose marriage fell apart after his daughter's death, wore a large lapel button bearing his daughter's smiling face as he spoke to reporters with tears in his eyes. He said despite Drew's acquittal, "a jury of her peers did convict her, so that itself is a victory."
Drew's attorney, H. Dean Steward, praised Wu's decision and said that "those of us that are concerned about being prosecuted" for violating a terms of service agreement "should feel a bit better now."
Drew had been charged with four potential felony counts of unauthorized computer access under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The jury convicted her last year of three misdemeanor charges instead and deadlocked on the fourth charge.
Wu told Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause that if Drew had been convicted of the felonies, he would have let the convictions stand, and would have already sentenced her. But the misdemeanor convictions troubled him, because of the vague wording of the statute.
The judge sparred with Krause for nearly 45 minutes over the government's interpretation of the computer crime law, before granting the long-pending defense motion to overturn the jury verdict in the case.
The ruling is not official until Wu releases a written decision, which could come as early as next week. Prosecutors then have the option of appealing. They've already filed to have the deadlocked fourth conspiracy charge dismissed without prejudice, but indicated they could continue to pursue that charge as well.
U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said afterward that he had no regrets.
"I'm proud of this case.... and this team [of prosecutors]," he said, even though using the CFAA to prosecute Drew "was a risk." He added that his office "will always take risks on behalf of children."
The case had its roots in a tragedy that began unfolding in September 2006 when, prosecutors said, Drew conspired to create a fake MySpace account for "Josh Evans" with her then 13-year-old daughter, Sarah, and a then-18-year-old employee and family friend named Ashley Grills.
Prosecutors alleged that Drew and the two others used the profile to lure Megan Meier into an online relationship with “Josh” to find out what Megan was saying about Drew’s daughter online. But in October, one of the group, writing as Josh, turned against Megan, and told her that the world would be a better place without her. Shortly afterward, Megan hanged herself in her bedroom.
Neighbors in O’Fallon, Missouri, the small town where the Drews and Meiers lived four houses away from each other, turned on Drew when her supposed complicity in the hoax emerged.
Missouri prosecutors sought to charge Drew with a crime, but were stymied by the fact that there was no federal statute against cyber bullying. O'Brien said on Thursday that Megan's death "cried out for someone to do something." And that's when he and other prosecutors in California devised the novel idea to charge her under the anti-hacking statute, filing the case in Los Angeles because this is where MySpace's servers are based.
MySpace’s user agreement requires registrants, among other things, to provide factual information about themselves, and to refrain from soliciting personal information from minors and using information obtained from MySpace services to harass or harm other people. By allegedly violating that click-to-agree contract, Drew committed the same crime as any hacker, prosecutors claimed.
But testimony in the case offered by prosecution witness Ashley Grills under a grant of immunity showed that nobody involved in the hoax actually read the terms of service. Grills also said that the hoax was her idea, not Drew’s, and that it was Grills who created the Josh Evans profile, and later sent the cruel message that tipped the emotionally vulnerable 13-year-old girl into her final, tragic act.
Wu's problem with the case, he said, lay in the lesser burden required for a misdemeanor conviction.
To convict Drew of the felonies, prosecutors would have needed to prove two things: that Drew accessed MySpace "without authorization," and did it for the purpose of committing a tortious act – in this case, to intentionally cause harm to Megan Meier.
But for the misdemeanors, the jury just had to find that Drew obtained the unauthorized access. Wu said that language, standing on its own, was too vague to pass constitutional muster in this case.
"I don't see how the misdemeanor aspect would be constitutional," he said. "That is the issue I'm wrestling with at this time."
Wu also doubted that MySpace provided sufficient notice to members to hold them responsible. If a user didn't read the terms of service, the judge asked prosecutor Krause, could they still be charged with violating them?
Krause struggled to respond to Wu's questions, emphasizing that not every terms-of-service violation would be prosecuted as a crime. In Drew's case, he said, there was sufficient evidence to suggest that she knew what she was doing was wrong.
But Wu disputed this, pointing out that the government's star witness – Ashley Grills – had testified that she never read the terms of service before clicking on a button agreeing to them.
Wu and Krause circled around each other for several more minutes before Wu finally announced that he was granting the defense's motion to acquit.
Drew had faced a maximum sentence of three years and a $300,000 fine. Although prosecutors sought the maximum, probation authorities, in a pre-sentencing report sent to the court, had recommended probation and a $5,000 fine.
Drew's father, Jerry Shreeves, told Threat Level after the hearing, "I think this is what needed to happen."
Drew's attorney, Steward, said that the federal prosecutors in Los Angeles should be ashamed for having brought the case to trial.
"Missouri prosecutors got it right" by not filing charges, he said. "How is it that Tom O'Brien's people are that much smarter?"
Steward wouldn't say how much the case had cost his client, only noting that her parents had taken care of his fee, which was "significantly lower" than what he normally charged.
He said that Drew and her family have since moved out of Missouri, due to the harassment they received, noting that she's been "an internet punching bag for almost three years" having been "tried, convicted and lynched by bloggers" and others who didn't know all the facts of the case.
He said Drew has already been in touch with a lawyer to discuss a possible civil case that she might still face, but felt fairly certain that her criminal troubles were done.
"Hopefully, [prosecutors] will just let this case end now," he said.
(Last updated: 6:30 p.m. Eastern)
Photo: AP
See also:style="width: 548px; height: 308.5959595959596px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="548"/>
You ask and they respond, here is a question for the Call of Duty:® Black Ops 2 developers that we received on our @CallofDuty Twitter!
tayyib_chaos: @CallofDuty Can you change the storyline by the choices you make in #BlackOps2?
Treyarch: Yes, there will be choice events in the campaign that will effect the story. One way we are doing this is through Strike Force levels, which are new to Call of Duty and introduce, non-linear/sandbox-style gameplay to the single-player storyline for the first time. This is how they work – at several points, the head of special forces will address you and let you know that a conflict has arisen (a "proxy war," happening parallel to the main storyline) and that you need to handle it. You'll choose your mission and be inserted into the action. Once you're in, you'll be in a sandbox map and be required to achieve several objectives. While playing, players will be able to take control of the battle like never before, being able to assume control of any member or robot/drone from their squad – even zooming out and playing in an Overwatch mode. You can play with all the toys — you can play however you like – whatever you feel you need to do to advance the action. Whichever point of view you assume, you are able to set waypoints, issue commands – do whatever you need to do — to succeed at the level. And there lies the implication to the level: you will either succeed or fail a mission (a first for Call of Duty). Either way, the game and the story will continue on and the cumulative impact of your Strike Force accomplishments will ultimately shape the geo-political story arc of your single-player experience.
Have a question for the Call of Duty: ® Black Ops 2 developers? Stay updated with question-and-answer features in the future by following us on Facebook and Twitter (@CallofDuty and @Treyarch).Every company in Toronto seems to think it’s a start-up. Offices are outfitted with foosball tables, bosses are hell-bent on disrupting their industries, and R&D managers aren’t employees—they’re Chief Vision Gurus. Less than a decade ago, ambitious entrepreneurs who wanted to bat in the big leagues moved to Silicon Valley. Then, suddenly, the exodus stopped. Our brightest students stayed put after graduation, while megafirms like Google, Uber and Amazon chose Toronto for their newest outposts. There are good reasons for the phenomenon: Canadian schools are pumping out digital whiz kids, the continent’s richest venture capitalists are flooding local companies with cash, and, crucially, our country isn’t run by a bombastic oaf. Here, the brilliant innovators, deep-pocketed investors and amazing inventions that are turning Toronto into the world’s next great tech superpower.A Chechen fugitive who left the Russian republic to escape the “gay purge” currently underway, has shared a harrowing account of his escape with liberal Russian magazine Snob.
The man, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, shared the disturbing story of a 17-year-old boy who was pushed off of a 9th floor balcony by his uncle, after being outed.
The fugitive said he was forced to leave his country after revealing his sexuality to his mullah (local religious scholar).
The mullah responded, saying, “As a Chechen and as a man I do not want to see you here. Neither in the mosque, nor in this district. I want you to leave now, because everything you said is the most disgusting thing you can find out. I hope your relatives have the dignity to wash away your shame. Go away.”
That’s when the mullah told him about the 17-year-old’s death.
Last week, survivors reported that families of gay and bisexual men are invited to prison sites to take part in killing their relatives.
‘Kill your loved ones or we will anyway,’ is the message authorities have reportedly sent.
“They tell the parents to kill their child,” said one man who managed to escape. “They say, ‘Either you do it or we will.’ They call it, ‘Cleaning your honor with blood.’”
Some have apparently committed the act.
“They tortured a man for two weeks,” he said. “They summoned his parents and his brothers who all came. They said to them, ‘Your son is a homosexual. Sort it out or we’ll do it ourselves.’ They replied, ‘It’s our family, we’ll do it.’ The family took him and killed him in the forest. They buried him there. They didn’t even give him a funeral.”
Alvi Karimov, a spokesperson for the Chechen government, denied the existence of LGBT people while giving a blanket denial of the existent of any ‘gay’ concentration camps. “You can’t detain and repress people who simply don’t exist in the republic,” he said.
Vladimir Putin has dismissed reports of gay torture and arrests as “rumors”, saying, “Of course, I will have a talk with the general prosecutor and interior minister so they support you on the topic that you have raised on information or rumors, we might say, about what is happening to sexual minorities in the North Caucasus.”Wednesday, December 31st, 2014
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The official groundbreaking for the California High Speed Rail project is just one week away. The event in Fresno's historic Chinatown district will mark the symbolic start to the nation's largest construction project. California Governor Jerry Brown and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will be among the dignitaries to launch the nearly $70 billion project.
Preparations, including demolition work and land acquisition for the High Speed Rail project have been underway for more than a year. Despite vocal opposition and lawsuits, many of the major legal challenges to the system have been overcome. Diana Gomez is the Central Valley Regional Director for the agency and says the ceremony will be an important step.
"It's another major milestone to show that our project is moving forward and we will be building High Speed Rail in the state of California," said Gomez. "This is a symbolic event for the public."
Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea sees the event as a key move for the project.
"Big game changer and I think Tuesday is going to be a historic day not just for the state but definitely for Fresno," explained Perea.
Lee Ann Eager is the CEO of the Fresno Economic Development Corporation. She says an official groundbreaking sends a message that the project is real.
"For us this is an exciting event. It's a long time coming," said Eager. "We've been working on this project for 5 and a half years. We knew it was coming we knew it was going to start in Fresno but I think this is finally the culmination of all that work."
Eager notes nearly 50 local companies already have contracts with the rail authority, and hundreds of jobs have already been created. She says thousands more are on the way, meaning billions of dollars for the local economy.
In addition to the initial construction Perea believes Fresno is on track to be selected as the site of the heavy maintenance facility for the project, and potentially the manufacturing center of a nationwide high speed rail system.
"There is no doubt in my mind that it is ours to lose in terms of the maintenance facility," said Perea. "We've done all the right things in the past five years to be awarded that contract. In 2015 we are very, very optimistic the authority will award it to Fresno County. We will transform the economy of this Valley."
Some immediate obstacles remain. Hundreds of building must still be purchased and demolished. The owner of an old furniture warehouse near Kern and G streets is allowing graffiti artists to paint what they like. Fresno Artist Creighton Geigles says his work symbolizes the coming demise of the structure.
Geigles explained, "It's an interpretation of death because this building is dying, It's a disfigured form that's dying with the wall basically."
But the death of the old will make way for a new and some believe brighter future for Fresno.
Eager added, "This is dream come true for a lot of people in Fresno County."
nullAfter seven consecutive years on the WorldTour, the past four with Team Sky, American Danny Pate will return to home soil next year to ride for the Continental team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies. Related Articles Pate misses out on chance to claim first win with Team Sky
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Danny Pate on life and racing after Team Sky
Optum finalises 2016 men's roster
"Danny sent me a message from Europe and we followed up on the phone," Optum performance director Jonas Carney told Cyclingnews via email. "We've been friends since our first year on Prime Alliance in 2001 and we stay in touch, so it was pretty easy to connect. We both needed a little convincing, but after a couple of phone conversations it seemed like a really good fit."
Pate, 36, has been a consummate domestique for Sky since joining the team in 2012, riding the Vuelta a Espana that year, the Giro d'Italia in 2013 and Tour de France last season. His last race with Sky was at the World Championships team trial in Richmond, where Sky finished ninth after several riders, including Pate, were injured in a heavy crash in a practice run the day before the race.
Pate is one of six riders who did not renew with Team Sky for next year. The others were Nathan Earle, Bernhard Eisel, Richie Porte, Kanstantsin Siutsou and Chris Sutton.
He will help fill the void in Optum's roster created when Mike Woods signed for Cannondale-Garmin next year. Carney also confirmed that Phil Gaimon did not renew with the team, although he could not comment on where Gaimon will be racing next year.
Carney said that after so many years of racing in Europe as a domestique, Pate seemed ready for a change "to spend more time in North America and to participate in the end of the races again.
"We would love to see Danny win some races," Carney said. "He is very capable and it would be cool to see him seize some opportunities after so many years of working for others. He will definitely have those opportunities. However, we would also like him to take a leadership role. Danny comes to us with a wealth of experience and we have other riders who can win a lot more with Danny's help."
Pate's program will focus on the big North American races, Carney said, including the Amgen Tour of California, US pro road race and time trial championships, the Philly Cycling Classic, the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, the USA Pro Challenge and the Tour of Alberta.
"The rest of the program will be built around preparing for those events," Carney said. "There will be a trip to Europe in the early season and we’ll fill in with smaller UCI and [National Racing Calendar] stuff as needed."
Signing a rider who has spent so many years at cycling's top level can sometimes be a risky proposition for a third-division team, but Carney indicated Optum was confident Pate will come in motivated and ready to perform.
"There is always a little hesitation when bringing guys back from the WorldTour," he said. "However, in Danny's case we felt very comfortable.
"The culture inside our program is very important to us. One of the reasons we were so keen to recruit Danny was because there is no doubt he will fit right in."
Pate raced with Carney when they both competed on the US Prime Alliance team in 2001 and 2002. The 2002 team also included Chris Horner, Svein Tuft, Michael Creed and Alex Candelario, among others.
"Some of my fondest memories of racing were from my time on Prime Alliance," Carney said. "It's very cool to think about working with Danny again. Alex Candelario actually texted me saying that he wants to make a comeback if we sign Danny."
Carney said the team will announce the rest of the 2016 signings at a later date.Enlarge By Julia Schmalz, USA TODAY and Lucas Jackson, Reuters A walk in Miami, left, in third happiest state Florida, vs. New York, ranked least happy by the CDC. Researchers speculate sunshine hours are a factor in people's satisfaction with life. HAPPIEST RANKINGS HAPPIEST RANKINGS The state-by-state list (including Washington, D.C.), from happiest to least cheery: 1. Louisiana
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Arizona
6. South Carolina
7. Mississippi
8. Montana
9. Alabama
10. Maine
11. Wyoming
12. Alaska
13. North Carolina
14. South Dakota
15. Texas
16. Idaho
17. Vermont
18. Arkansas
19. Georgia
20. Utah
21. Oklahoma
22. Delaware
23. Colorado
24. New Mexico
25. North Dakota
26. Minnesota
27. Virginia
28. New Hampshire
29. Wisconsin
30. Oregon
31. Iowa
32. Kansas
33. Nebraska
34. West Virginia
35. Kentucky
36. Washington
37. District of Columbia
38. Missouri
39. Nevada
40. Maryland
41. Pennsylvania
42. Rhode Island
43. Ohio
44. Massachusetts
45. Illinois
46. California
47. New Jersey
48. Indiana
49. Michigan
50. Connecticut
51. New York HEALTH UPDATES ON TWITTER HEALTH UPDATES ON TWITTER WASHINGTON (AP) People in sunny, outdoorsy states — Louisiana Hawaii, Florida — say they're the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why. A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine. The places where people are most likely to report happiness also tend to rate high on studies comparing things like climate, crime rates, air quality and schools. FAITH & REASON: Does religion make you happy? STUDY: Like happiness, loneliness is contagious HAPPINESS: Staying positive in negative territory The happiness ratings were based on a survey of 1.3 million people across the country by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It used data collected over four years that included a question asking people how satisfied they are with their lives. Economists Andrew J. Oswald of the University of Warwick in England and Stephen Wu of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., compared the happiness ranking with studies that rated states on a variety of criteria ranging from availability of public land to commuting time to local taxes. Probably not surprisingly, their report in Friday's edition of the journal Science found the happiest people tend to live in the states that do well in quality-of-life studies. Yet Oswald says "this is the first objective validation of 'happiness' data," which is something he says economists have been reluctant to use in the past. "Very loosely, you could say that we prove that happiness data are 'true,' — such data have genuine objective informational content," he said. "Moreover," Oswald added, "it is interesting to uncover the pattern of life-satisfaction across one of the world's important nations." Ranking No. 1 in happiness was Louisiana, home of Dixieland music and Cajun/Creole cooking. Oswald urged a bit of caution in that ranking, however, noting that part of the happiness survey occurred before Hurricane Katrina struck the state, and part of it took place later. Nevertheless, he said, "We have no explicit reason to think there is a problem" with the ranking. Rounding out the happy five were Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona. At the other end of the scale, last in happiness — is New York state. As if to illustrate the problem, residents attending a meeting Wednesday in rural Queensbury unleashed their anger and cynicism at a state government they described as corrupt, self-dealing and too quick to increase taxes. It was a tirade that had one lifelong resident saying he was ready to flee "this stinkin' state." Oswald suggested the long commutes, congestion and high prices around New York City account for some of the unhappiness. He said he has been asked if the researchers expected that states like New York and California, which ranked 46th, would do so badly in the happiness ranking. "I am only a little surprised," he said. "Many people think these states would be marvelous places to live in. The problem is that if too many individuals think that way, they move into those states, and the resulting congestion and house prices make it a non-fulfilling prophecy." Besides being interesting, the state-by-state pattern has scientific value, Oswald explained. "We wanted to study whether people's feelings of satisfaction with their own lives are reliable, that is, whether they match up to reality — of sunshine hours, congestion, air quality, etceteras — in their own state. And they do match." Oswald and Wu used data from CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System collected from 2005 to 2008. The survey, launched in 1984, collects information on a variety of health measures. The research was supported by Britain's Economic and Social Research Council. READERS: Do you think the state you call home affects YOUR happiness? Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read moreAUDIO CLIPS
Coach Al Golden
Quarterback Brad Kaaya
Tight end Clive Walford
Linebackers Denzel Perryman, Raphael Kirby
Running back Duke Johnson, receiver Phillip Dorsett
AL GOLDEN TRANSCRIPT POST-GAME
On the effort of his team...
“I’m real proud of the effort. I think there’s no question they prepared and entered the game believing and knowing that they were going to win. Obviously we were just a couple of plays short at the end of the day. They made a couple more plays than we did. That was the difference in the game.”
On an incompletion call in the fourth quarter...
“I was communicating and there were about three or four different views of it. The guy that I was talking to was pretty sure he never had possession of it.”
On the performance of Florida State in the second half...
“They made more plays than we did. It was a hard-fought game. That’s what this game should be like. This game should be like this every year. I’m proud of our guys for fighting. They fought their tails off. They just made a couple more plays than we did. It was as physical as anything we’ve been involved with. Hats off to [Florida State]. They made a couple of plays when they needed to."
On his team’s final offensive drive...
“We were in good shape. We had three timeouts and 1:30 [left on the clock]. After the made first, Brad [Kaaya] took a little too much time on the ball there. I think he got a little confused with the look and we had to use a timeout after an incompletion, I believe it was. That was disappointing. But it didn’t have any bearing on whether it was 3rd & 9 and 4th & 9. We didn’t make a play. We got hit on 3rd & 9, and intercepted on fourth [down].”
On the injuries to Anthony Chickillo and Deon Bush...
“It’s too early to tell. That was a big loss. Both of those guys were playing really well. Not having [running back] Gus [Edwards], as much as we wanted to run the ball, I think that hurt. Gus was kind of a game-time decision. He just didn’t look like he was where he needed to be.”
On if there is any solace after an impressive performance by his team...
“Not in that locker room right now. Nope. We have to make a couple more plays, it’s as simple as that. We turned it over a couple of times. They made a couple more plays than we did. And that’s it.”
On the performance of quarterback Brad Kaaya...
“He’s doing a good job. We’re asking him to do a lot. That’s a big stage and a big moment. I think we certainly can take from this that it’s not too big for him. He grew up a lot this season and obviously we just needed to finish it better. We stayed aggressive with our play-calling, we left too many X plays on the field on offense. We really did. A couple of overthrows, a couple that we did not connect on. It came back to hurt us.”
On miscues, missed field goals, turnovers...
“You can’t make those mistakes in a game like this. We held them to a pretty close field goal. Stan [Dobard] catches a slant and he looked like he got |
not able to write a pitch or even conceive the problem.”
And that, of course, is the point of SingularityNET’s approach. By bringing AI collaboration to the fore, every system will be able to learn from every other, and there will be a coordinated approach to data sharing. That’s a core problem in AI right now. While many vendors have amazing AI applications, it could be claimed that only a few have access to the data that makes them useful.
The AGI token that powers the SingularityNET platform will provide the economy for AGI applications. This token solves the “assignment of credit” problem and allows it to quantify the value an AI agent brings to the market. It allows for global, uncensored payments and provides the basis for an AI to AI microservices industry, where organizations will be able to buy processing on demand.
While a significant portion of the token sale (32 percent) will be used to fund business development (which includes 5 percent for benefit and social good projects), 26 percent will be used for network infrastructure, and the balance will support AI and IoT development.
“The internet of things is important for SingularityNET for two major reasons,” Mari said. “SingularityNET’s AI platform will be a place for IoT devices to gain their intelligence. It is much more efficient and cheaper to use internet-based intelligence. Further, the blockchain will allow AI developers to market their services so smart-device consumers won’t have to be tied to one vendor’s limited AI.”
That’s important and opens up the second reason for AI and IoT to interact.
“Real human-level intelligence will enable the IoT to span the range from smart devices to smart helpers, who will be humanoid and able to assist us in the physical world,” Mari said. “The greater the intelligence of these robotic assistants, the more the domains in which they will be able to assist us. So we see a very practical use for IoT in making world-class AI available to smaller companies, as well as by allowing AI developers all over the world to offer products that can be used by IoT developers to increase the intelligence of their devices.”
In other words, everything we interact with in the real world will help both AI and robotic assistants communicate with us in better ways.
“Via pulling data from home robots, thermostats, vacuum cleaners, cars, phones, medical monitoring systems, TVs, smart speakers, and thousands of other kinds of embedded devices, SingularityNET will form an understanding of the everyday human world and the way people interact with it,” Dr. Ben Goertzel, CEO and chief scientist at SingularityNET, told VentureBeat. “Homomorphic encryption integrated into the network infrastructure will enable sharing of the generically valuable aspects of data gathered from a device, without violating the privacy of the device’s users.”
SingularityNET plans to release a public beta, fully operating with AGI tokens, at the time of the token generation event.Three games into the season, I think it’s become obvious why the Atlanta Falcons didn’t re-sign middle linebacker Curtis Lofton to a big-money contract.
There was no sense paying him a high salary if they weren’t going to use him in the new defensive scheme of coordinator Mike Nolan. I just went back through play-time counts for the first three games and it’s quite obvious the Falcons aren’t using a middle linebacker much at all.
Second-year pro Akeem Dent is in Lofton’s old position in the middle, but the Falcons are barely using him. Instead, they’re keeping outside linebackers Sean Weatherspoon and Stephen Nicholas on the field all the time and using three cornerbacks almost all the time.
Let’s take a run through each game. In the season opener at Kansas City, Dent was on the field for 16 of Atlanta’s 69 defensive plays (11 percent). Weatherspoon and Nicholas participated in every play. Cornerback Asante Samuel also took part in every play. Cornerback Dunta Robinson was on the field 84 percent of the time and cornerback Brent Grimes was in for 75 percent of the plays before suffering a season-ending injury.
In Week 2 against Denver, Dent played only one of Atlanta’s 73 defensive plays (1 percent). Nicholas, Weatherspoon and Robinson each played every play. Samuel, who briefly was banged up) was on the field for 97 percent of the plays. In that game, Chris Owens took over as the nickel back, but suffered a concussion early in the game. Dominique Franks took his place and participated in 82 percent of the plays.
In Week 3 at San Diego, Dent got his most extensive playing time, but it still wasn’t a lot. Dent was on the field for 20 of Atlanta’s 56 defensive plays (36 percent). Nicholas, Weatherspoon, Samuel and Robinson took part in every defensive play. Franks was on the field for 64 percent of the defensive plays.
In fairness to Lofton, I just looked at New Orleans’ play counts for the first three games of the season. Lofton has participated in every defensive play.
That’s proof that Lofton can be a three-down linebacker -- in the right system. The Saints are paying him an average of $5.5 million a season. He wasn’t going to be an every-down linebacker in Atlanta anymore, so there was no sense in the Falcons paying him big money to be a part-time player.The families of five students shot by a classmate at Marysville-Pilchuck High School have filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the school district and the shooter’s father.
MARYSVILLE — The families of teenagers shot by a classmate at Marysville-Pilchuck High School have filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the school district and the shooter’s father.
The (Everett) Herald reports that the lawsuit was filed against Marysville School District and Raymond Lee Fryberg Jr. this week and claims that school officials could have prevented the shooting.
School officials say the lawsuit is misplacing blame.
Gia Soriano, Zoe Galasso and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, all 14, and 15-year-old Andrew Fryberg were killed in October 2014 after Jaylen Fryberg invited them to sit with him at lunch. Wounded in the gunfire was 15-year-old Nate Hatch.
Jaylen Fryberg fatally shot himself after shooting the others.
Raymond Fryberg Jr. was convicted in September of six counts of unlawful possession of six firearms, including one used in the school shooting. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was expected after the school district denied a $110 million damage claim filed in January.Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul on Monday called on his supporters to use their passion to help him win big at the Ames straw poll in August.
Small groups of highly motivated people have long influenced society despite their numbers, Paul told about 200 potential voters at the Embassy Suites in downtown Des Moines. A successful revolution depends more on the passion of its supporters than depth of its membership, he said.
“It’s always been said to change a country … you don’t have to have an absolute majority,” he said. “What you have to have is an energized group of people.”
The statement earned rousing applause from the crowd gathered to hear the 12-term congressman speak. Although Paul garnered just 7 percent of the vote in The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll, released Sunday, no other candidate comes close to matching the grass-roots intensity of Paul’s proponents, said Drew Ivers, chairman of the candidate’s Iowa campaign.
Mandie DeVries – a self-described 100 percent supporter of Paul – said the key to his success in the state will depend on the successful distribution of his message. The 32-year-old mother of five initially supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She changed her mind to reflect Paul’s view – that aggressive wars have made the U.S. more vulnerable – after reading about his positions and listening to him speak.
“Liberty is the key to everything he has to say,” DeVries said. “He wants to make us a better nation by letting the people make their own decisions. Once people hear him, I think they get it.”
On Monday, and throughout this spring and summer, Paul’s fans have often arrived earlier than staff members at Iowa campaign events. They hold their smartphones in the air to film his speeches and design their own “Ron Paul 2012″ signs. When face-to-face with the congressman, many ask Paul about the books and philosophers that have inspired his libertarian brand of Republicanism.
“I’ve seen absolutely no negative reactions; everything’s been positive,” said Steve Bierfeldt, executive director of Paul’s Iowa campaign. “People are telling us that he’s on the ball, he’s right, he’s exactly what we need.”
Supporters nodded along as Paul laid out his plans Monday to limit the federal government, stabilize the U.S. economy and withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The revolution could begin this summer in Ames, he told those assembled.
Paul has already run a much more vigorous Iowa campaign than he did in 2008. During that caucus cycle, he made a total of nine trips to the Hawkeye State, according to campaign chairman Ivers.
Things are different this time around.
Paul became the first candidate to open an Iowa headquarters in May, and has already stopped by the state 10 times over the past 12 months. In addition, the campaign paid $31,000 last week to snag the prime location at Ames Straw Poll. On Monday, staffers sold tickets to the event.
“We’re in Iowa for a very precise reason, because it’s a bellwether, it can send signals, and that’s what we’re really looking at,” Paul said. “We’re looking for a signal.”
Recommended PhotosImagine that you have been shot. Nothing vital has been damaged, but a major artery was nicked. Without quick repair, you’ll die of blood loss. You only have 15 minutes, and the drive to the ER is 20. Like 35 percent of all trauma patients, you die from blood loss en route to the hospital. That’s when, as part of an experimental procedure, the medics replace your blood with a cold electrolyte solution. Now surgeons will have an hour to fix the artery, return blood, and revive you.
“It sounds Star Trek-y,” said David King, a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His lab did much of the animal work preparing the technique for testing in humans. Now the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will be the first to test it in humans.
Blood loss is a pressing concern among trauma surgeons, King said. Many patients who die have fixable wounds—their deaths are from hemorrhage. Death from blood loss accounts for 40 percent of deaths within 24 hours of a traumatic injury, according to the National Trauma Institute, an advocacy group.
The cooling technique is one of several approaches funded by the Department of Defense in early-stage work. Arsenal Medical Inc., based in Watertown, Massachusetts, is also testing another science-fiction-esque treatment, using foam to prevent patients with abdominal wounds from bleeding to death.
In war, methods to prevent deaths from blood loss are crucial, since about 85 percent of deaths on the battlefield are from bleeds medics can’t compress, according to articles in the Annals of Surgery and Journal of Trauma. Many soldiers die from blood loss before they can get to a hospital, which are an average of an hour away.
“It’s frustrating to know that patients could be saved if only they hadn’t bled to death,” said Sam Tischerman, who’s leading the UPMC cooling study. Right now, if patients have lost about half their blood, they almost never survive, he said. His study has military funding as well from the U.S. Army, though it’s a long way from battlefield use, Tischerman said.
The trial in humans will locate patients whose hearts have stopped after a gunshot wound or other injury. If the patients don’t respond to attempts to restart their hearts, the super-cooled saline solution will be pumped throughout the body beginning with the heart and brain, the two most important organs to preserve. The body temperature will drop to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius), from 98.6 F (37 C). The surgeon then fixes the injury, replaces the blood, and re-starts the heart, according to the trial protocol. The patients will be not quite dead, but not exactly alive, either, exhibiting no brain activity or pulse.
“This is for a patient whose injuries are fixable if you can stop the clock, buy time, and get the person to the surgeon,” Tischerman said. “Our hope is that we can save some people we can’t right now.”
The idea behind the cooling solution is to drop the body’s temperature rapidly, King said. Doing so slows the cells’ internal machinery, causing them to go into a hibernation-like state. This decreases the need for oxygen and prevents waste from building up from within the cell. The slower metabolism at the cooled state prevents a patient’s body from decaying while the surgeons repair injuries—like your nicked artery, for example. Studies in pigs and dogs have shown that after an hour of cold suspension, 90 percent of the animals can be revived. The pigs showed no signs of cognitive impairments, according to a 2002 study in the journal Surgery.
Numbers likely won’t be so high in humans, King said. The animals’ lives were exquisitely controlled before the experiments, and none of them had any pre-existing conditions, like diabetes or heart disease, that might complicate a potential rescue.
As with many trauma trials, the patients will be unable to give informed consent, due to their life-threatening wounds. Because their conditions are severe and there is no alternative treatment, informed consent is waived. Instead, the group is informing the community that the trial will happen, so anyone who objects can opt out.
Ten people will be tested this way, and then compared with another 10, who met trial criteria but didn’t undergo the experimental procedure. Then another group of 10 experimental treatments will be observed, followed by controls, until the researchers gather enough data to tell if the treatment is helpful.
“Suspended animation isn’t quite right, but people really like to think of it that way,” King said.
Arsenal’s foam targets patients earlier—someone who might die from blood loss but isn’t yet dead. These types of patients, who might be saved if their bleeding is stopped, are sometimes difficult to treat because of the site of the wound. Injuries within the chest cavity may not be readily visible to medics, and are difficult to compress, King said.
“It’s the same category of injury, but earlier in the timeline,” King said. “It’s a slippery slope down.”
The foam, designed to be injected into the navel, is composed of two liquid precursors. The force of the two reacting spreads the foam through the chest cavity, hardening to apply pressure to any bleed sites. Tests in pigs suggest that the foam could buy patients as much as three hours. That’s enough time to get a soldier to a hospital, or a rural civilian to the nearest trauma center.
Both projects were funded by a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. Over the past 25 years, the military has mostly failed to find solutions to blood loss. Previous attempts at preventing death from blood loss by creating blood substitutes have raised safety concerns. These blood substitutes are aimed at getting more oxygen to deprived tissues. In an April 2008 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a meta-analysis of 16 blood substitute studies showed that they led to a 30 percent increase in the risk of dying, and almost tripled the odds of heart attacks.
Both the resuscitation trial and the foam are “way, way out there,” King said. “The scientist in me would be very careful promising anything for a salvage therapy for the most desperate of all situations. You can’t expect miracles.”It sounds like the plot of a novel. A Jewish tour guide who survived a Palestinian terror attack that left her Christian friend dead helped shelter an Arab teen who got death threats after voicing support for Israel’s summer operation in Gaza.
British-born Kay Wilson said that she helped hide Mohammad Zoabi throughout the summer war in Gaza, before he was able to flee to the United States in fear of his life.
Seventeen-year-old Zoabi, an Israeli Arab from Nazareth, was forced to leave the country after receiving death threats for posting a YouTube video harshly condemning the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers by a Hamas-affiliated terror cell in June.
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In the YouTube video, Zoabi, wrapped in an Israeli flag, called for the release of the three teens and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop negotiating with Palestinian terrorists.
Zoabi, who is a distant relative of controversial Balad MK Hanin Zoabi, describes himself as an Israeli Zionist Arab Muslim.
He continued to make YouTube videos declaring his support for the Jewish state and encouraging Arab citizens to join the Israeli army, leading his lawmaker relative to publicly distance herself from him. He also faced threats from his own relatives.
At the height of the July-August Gaza war, it became evident that Zoabi had to leave his hometown. He ended up staying with Wilson over the summer while an Orthodox Jewish organization that asked not to be named arranged his passage to the US.
Wilson, who was living in Modiin at the time, said she was touched by the teenager’s courage and initially contacted him after finding out they had a mutual friend. “I helped him because I know from the machete scars on my own back that death threats should always be taken seriously,” she wrote in a Facebook post Saturday. “I helped him because, like me, he is a human being.”
Fearing he would be recognized in public during his month-long stay at Wilson’s home, Zoabi wore a kippa (Jewish skullcap), and was introduced to friends and neighbors as her nephew “Charlie” visiting from the UK. The two were undeterred by the high tensions that surrounded the Gaza conflict and the missile-defense sirens that became routine during the conflict, and managed to take trips around the country and even participated in archaeological digs in the Galilee.
On a day trip to Tel Aviv, the two drove by a left-wing “Peace Now” demonstration. Zoabi promptly pulled out an Israel flag and confronted the protesters, shouting at them, “You don’t understand what’s really happening!”
Wilson said she did not consider Zoabi a guest, but a friend. He was there for her while she attended an emotional Supreme Court appeal by the terrorist who stabbed her and murdered her friend, she said. He was also there for her sixth appeal at the National Insurance Institute, where she is fighting to have a psychological disability recognized in the wake of the terror attack.
In December 2010, Wilson and Kristine Luken, a Christian tourist visiting from the US, were attacked by Palestinian terrorists while hiking outside of Jerusalem. After he attackers noticed Wilson’s Star of David necklace, the two women were bound, gagged and stabbed dozens of times with a serrated knife. Wilson was stabbed 13 times, but had the wherewithal to pretend to be dead and then, wounded and still gagged and bound, walked for over a kilometer until she found help. Luken died immediately of her wounds.Constitutional Amendment Sponsors Renew Push to Undo Citizens United
WASHINGTON, March 12 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today introduced a constitutional amendment to overturn a Supreme Court ruling that allowed unrestricted, secret campaign spending by corporations and billionaires. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) filed the “Democracy is for People” amendment in the House.
The 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission undermined democracy by opening the campaign spending floodgates. Already 11 states including Vermont and more than 300 cities and towns have passed resolutions calling for the ruling to be overturned.
As a result of the controversial decision, a record $7 billion was spent in the 2012 election cycle. The secretive billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch reportedly steered at least $400 million into campaigns.
Said Sanders, “What the Supreme Court did in Citizens United is to tell billionaires like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson, ‘You own and control Wall Street. You own and control coal companies. You own and control oil companies. Now, for a very small percentage of your wealth, we're going to give you the opportunity to own and control the United States government.’ That is the essence of what Citizens United is all about. That is why this disastrous decision must be reversed.”
“The Democracy is for People Amendment will stop corporations and their front groups from using their profits and dark money donations to influence our elections while reaffirming the right of the American people to elections that are fair and representatives that are accountable,” Deutch said.
The amendment would make it clear that the right to vote and the ability to make campaign contributions and expenditures belong only to real people. The amendment would effectively prevent corporations from bankrolling election campaigns. Congress and states would have specific authority to regulate campaign finances by, for example, limiting donations, requiring disclosure of donors or creating public-financing systems for campaigns.
A similar constitutional amendment introduced by Sanders and Deutch in the last session of Congress would have addressed spending by for-profit corporations in elections. Much of the “dark money” funneled through nonprofit organizations in 2012 would not have been restricted, but would be covered by the new version of the amendment.
An amendment originating in Congress must be approved by a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate in order to be submitted for consideration by the states. Ratification by three-fourths of the states is required to amend the Constitution.
To read the amendment, click here.
For a fact sheet on the amendment, click here.Two weeks ago, the Houston Rockets' relationship with rookie Royce White hit very hard times. White, who suffers from anxiety disorder, lashed out at the franchise on Twitter for not supporting his efforts to deal with his condition. However, those methods included what the team calls unexcused absences from games and practices, as well as an ongoing failure to accept his assignment to the team's D-League affiliate.
The situation has gotten no better. White continues to claim improper treatment from the Rockets in regular tweets, and he's also criticized various media reports and commentaries, including one from Yahoo!'s own Adrian Wojnarowski.
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The Rockets have been relatively quiet during that same period. On Monday, as part of an interview with Slate.com's Hang Up and Listen podcast, general manager Daryl Morey spoke about the current state of the team's relationship with White. Here's the transcription (via PBT):
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We think Royce is an elite talent — top five talent in this last draft, which was very deep. Obviously if we're getting him at 16 in the draft, there's going to be something wrong, or something that's a gamble with the player, and really you're just choosing the gamble. Maybe they've got an injury history. Maybe they've got a particular part of their game that could be an Achilles' heel that would make them fail. Maybe they've never gone against that level of competition. So there's going to be something wrong, so you're really just picking among things that are potentially going to derail that player and which ones you're most comfortable with. Royce was someone who played every game at Iowa State, played it well. So even with his issues, he showed that he is very functional. We knew going in that potentially there could be issues and right now obviously things are bumpy at this point, I'd say, but you know it takes a little time for him to get going at the various stops he's had in his career to this point. We're trying to work things through with Royce, and hopeful that we can. That's sort of the current state.
In short, the Rockets still believe in White's talent and hope that he can return to the team and start working on becoming an important part of their long-term plans. They haven't given up on him, because they realize his career might progress at a different rate than those of other players. It's a sensible approach to a very complicated situation. In their cost-benefit analysis, White's talent still outweighs all else.
Of course, Morey's comments also give the sense that the Rockets aren't going to make any more concessions to accomodate White. They're willing to help him as best they can, but they also need to see movement from White that shows he's willing to fulfill a few common expectations for NBA players. Both sides have to engage in the give and take for the relationship to work.
However, the longer this situation fails to change, the more likely it becomes that the Rockets will consider White's talent less important than the fact that they're seeing no production from one of 15 players they're allowed to have on the roster. White's leverage will decrease with every passing day that the Rockets don't get results. And while he has the right to desire a positive work environment, he also chose to enter a business that needs certain things from its employees. The paying party typically holds the power in these situations. If he can't do the job, he might not have it much longer.But weak characters don’t become film icons. Indiana Jones is actually more complex than he seems: he takes a proactive role in his stories, has a really perverse dark side, and presents an arc in both each of his adventures individually and in the overarching narrative of the entire saga.
The rolling boulder, the flying wing, the truck chase and the Well of the Souls. They’re all there, and then some. The Indiana Jones films are fascinating from a narrative standpoint, because they put such a huge emphasis on their main character (he’s in the title!), yet are prime examples of plot-driven storytelling. They begin as a bunch of exciting set-pieces, followed by a background legend that provides some artifact to be discovered, which in turn justifies the main character’s involvement in all the excitement. This is so commonly accepted that even The Big Bang Theory made fun of it, but also leads people to believe that Indiana Jones is nothing but a flat archetype with no arc or significant layers. A simple excuse to move the plot forward, a weak character.
The writing process of the Indiana Jones series has been covered in pretty good detail over the past three decades. In addition to tons of interviews, books and videos, and it’s possible to find plenty of old drafts from every movie.
I swear you can learn more by studying the movies of Indiana Jones than by attending ten years of film school. Yes, even the fourth one, although maybe not for the same reasons as the main three.
I think most of us have done this at some point in our lives. We first think stories are their plot, a succession of events that are supposed to be interesting on their own. But they’re not. Stories are their characters. They happen to people and people make them happen. Still, sometimes the background information can be so overwhelming that it misguides you into thinking it’s what propels the story instead of the characters. That’s why I thought it would be interesting to look at a well-developed character in that context. And not just any character, but one iconic enough to put Jesus Christ himself to shame:
I once attended the screening of a story reel where one of the characters felt completely off and people noticed it. That character had been going through dialogue rewrites for a while, and his scenes had been re-boarded many times, hoping to define his personality. But the problem was that the character had never really existed, he was just a drawing from a concept artist expected to fill a role based on what other characters thought of him. The writers had not written a person, they’d written an excuse for things to happen.
All this is pretty easy to read if you pay attention to the movies, which combined with Indy’s enormous popularity, makes him a nice example to talk character building.
Essentially, characters need to be relatable, compelling and variable. These are just three words I made up to help myself, you may hear them by other names, but the point is that they summarize the basic elements a fictional person needs in order to look like something other than a cardboard cutout.
In the case of larger-than-life figures like Indy, the compelling part is the easiest one to get out of the way. He’s an archeology professor that lives a second life as a treasure hunter, both brainy scholar and daring adventurer. This is the superficial side of the character, what makes him interesting for the audience, the profile that sets him apart from others. I like to think of it as a newspaper headline: it summarizes in one line what makes the character unique and makes you want to know more about him, piquing your interest about what his role might be in the story.
The relatable aspect is what makes him human. Again, characters must feel like real people. Even if they’re something as bizarre as a trash-compactor robot from the year 2805, they have to feel human. With Indy, the truth is that a lot of this came from Harrison Ford’s acting. Be it the way he looks at Marion when he finds her alive in Belloq’s tent, or the childlike confusion with which he reacts to the eyelid message of that horny student, the dude makes Indy feel totally like a real person. However, there was also plenty of stuff about the character laid out on the page, especially his weaknesses and shortcomings.
Despite being an action hero, Indy fucks up a lot. It’s not just that he’s afraid of snakes; he actually messes up constantly throughout all his movies. He’s seconds away from getting killed by up to three different native tribes only to be saved by other characters, he is beaten up by Nazis, fails to remember he lost his gun, miscalculates jumps, gets carried away by arrogance, and exhibits some pretty remarkable double standards. He is so damn far away from being perfect that Raiders of the Lost Ark even implies he seduced Marion while she was still a teenager only to eventually dump her without giving a second thought. Seriously, think about it. She says ‘I was a child! I was in love!’. We know from an earlier scene that Indy met her through his college mentor, Abner Ravenwood, who was also her father. That takes us a good ten years back in time at the very least, when Indy was a college student. And considering the age difference between Harrison Ford and Karen Allen, that means the affair happened when she was about… you know, it’s better not to think about it.
Anyhow, ugly stuff like this was probably explored to set up Indy’s sexual bravado and attitude towards women, which Marion confronts him about. Faults make him more tridimensional, more layered and human, and therefore more prone to react in believable ways to the changes he will experience in potential character arcs.
Now, earlier I said lots of people think Indy doesn’t have an arc. Actually, if he hadn’t, he would’ve remained a very questionable character for most of the series. Thankfully, he was written with all those defects, which on top of making him more tangible, also gave him some ground floor to work up from.
Arcs are not mandatory for everyone in a story, and in some cases not even protagonists have one. But they are there to support the narrative and help the character reach some meaningful, satisfactory end. In Indy’s case, he evolves noticeably throughout the course of his adventures. This is what I call the character’s variable nature, what makes him susceptible to change.
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy turns from skeptic to believer. He goes as far as to mock Marcus for mentioning that the Ark of the Covenant may be dangerous, and later faces that same possibility when Sallah suggests it as well. By the end of the story, he has accepted the idea that there might be something otherworldly about the Ark, and it’s this acceptance what prompts him to close his eyes when the Nazis open it, exposing themselves to the wrath of God.
At this point, Indy chooses to believe in the Ark without any further proof. Belloq and the Germans, however, are performing a ceremony to confirm whether they have the true Ark or not. They don’t respect it, and get rightly punished as a consequence. This also mirrors Indy’s character journey with Marion, who he had once taken for granted, to eventually recognize her as a soul mate.
In Temple of Doom, set one year before Raiders, yet another of Indy’s flaws is brought into the limelight: his materialism. As the first in the series in chronological terms, Temple is also the most fun movie to analyze, because it introduces a version of Indiana Jones that can be directly called evil. Remember, this is him before Marion and the Ark; he still treats women like shit and doesn’t have too much concern for the artifacts he discovers. In fact, we first see him selling the remains of a Manchu emperor to the Chinese mafia. Later on, after being asked to retrieve the sacred Sankara Stone for some helpless villagers, he accepts with the sole goal of achieving ‘fortune and glory’. And he does that despite knowing that the same goons who took the stone also kidnapped the villagers’ children!
Indy’s twisted priorities can be traced back to his childhood in the opening of The Last Crusade. There, we meet him as a good-hearted Boy Scout who learns the hard way that, often times in life, only the bad guys win. He is defeated by a tomb raider whose psychical appearance will come to be Indy’s very own signature look, starting with the hat. This suggests that Indy not only took this guy as some sort of fashion inspiration, he literally became a ruthless tomb raider himself as a means to be successful. A mistake that, many years later, he corrects during the events of Temple of Doom.
Past the prologue, Last Crusade brings us back to a somewhat reformed Indy that collects relics to keep them off the black market. Of all the movies, this is the closest one to being a character piece, a conscious effort by the filmmakers to keep the series creatively relevant. In fact, we learn more about Indiana Jones this time around than in any previous adventure, once again through the father and son relationship that almost plays like a refrain in Spielberg movies.
The Last Crusade was meant to offer a sense of finality for Indy’s life chronicles by introducing his ultimate quest. Very much like the Ark symbolized Marion in Raiders, Henry Jones is Indy’s Holy Grail in Crusade, something that has eluded him all his life and needs back to be complete. The film’s structure goes to great lengths to underline this, even by breaking the tradition of revealing the artifact halfway through the story, a spot taken by Henry’s rescue instead. This happens because Henry is what Indy is really looking for, as he admits himself. At the end of the film, Indy is even willing to sacrifice the actual Grail to be reunited with his father, putting a definitive end to his life as a treasure hunter and riding into the sunset like the redeemed hero he is.
Of course, around a hundred years later, Spielberg and Lucas decided to make Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which clashed directly with Crusade’s perfect ending. It did try to delve into Indy’s later years to question his place in the world, which is not a terrible approach for another sequel, but the execution was so clunky that I prefer to regard it as some weird, misprinted appendix than a proper chapter in Indy’s greater lore.
Either way, the bottom line is that, aside from the ancient curses, mine cart chases and exotic destinations, the Indiana Jones movies also contain beautiful character stories supporting the heavy dose of escapism. They work because Indy feels human, because he was written and interpreted like a real, ordinary person who does extraordinary things. Someone who, on top of sharing unique stories with each movie entry, also enjoys a coherent life picture woven throughout the larger chronology of his adventures.
Raiders of the Lost Ark could’ve probably been a big hit with a flat character as the lead, because the Ark of the Covenant mythos, the occultist edge and the matinee serial tone are such an awesome mix that they’d almost make up for it. But making just a big hit wasn’t the way of doing things back then, and instead the world was gifted with a character story and a protagonist that grew along with us over the years.
If you get to know Indy, you will begin to know character in the most fun and effortless way, because experiencing his life is also experiencing adventure. And that’s what writing characters should really be about:
The joy of becoming someone else through the page.AFP/Getty Images US Senator Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was supposed to scare the banks. But the Democrat is also making the banks’ regulators squirm.
In her latest missive, the senior senator from the Bay State points out that the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, with a fraction of the resources of major regulators, has brought a number of criminal charges and secured convictions.
In 2012 for instance, the SIGTARP had 164 enforcement staff and a $40 million budget, compared with 4,071 staff and $1.1 billion for the Federal Reserve, 1,219 staff and $417 million for the Securities and Exchange Commission and 3,823 staff and $1.2 billion for the Office for the Comptroller of the Currency. With its modest budget, SIGTARP has obtained 107 criminal convictions, secured 51 prison sentences and received orders of restitution and civil judgements totaling $4.3 billion.
So she’s asking these regulators to stack themselves up against SIGTARP by reporting the number of individuals charged criminally, the number of criminal convictions, the number of prison sentences secured, the number of individuals and senior officers charged civilly, the number of individuals suspended or permanently barred and the total restitution received between 2009 and 2012.
While “there have been some landmark settlements in recent weeks” for which the agencies deserve “substantial credit,” Warren said “a great deal of work” remains to be done to hold individuals and institutions to account. She’s given the agencies a Nov. 22 deadline.
— Steve Goldstein
Follow Steve on Twitter @mktwgoldstein
Follow Capitol Report @capitolreportIn seven out of 10 monitoring stations of the Central Pollution Control Board across Delhi, PM 2.5 was found to be the major pollutant.
The current air pollution levels in the national capital have reached "alarming" proportions and living here is like "living in a gas chamber", the Delhi High Court said today.The court directed the Centre and the Delhi government to submit time bound action plans on tackling pollution by the next hearing on December 21. The bench of Justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva dismissed the action plans filed by the environment ministry and the Delhi government as "not comprehensive" because they did not contain specific responsibilities of each authority and the timeline for carrying them out, news agency Press Trust of India reported.The court "expressed displeasure over unchecked rising pollution in Delhi" during today's hearing. "The level of PM 2.5 has crossed level of 60, then why hasn't the government done anything to curb it?," the court asked. PM 2.5 |
his mother. She told the station that one of the students was suspended, and the other was being investigated.
Alex said he didn’t know either of the students, but would like to speak with them.
”I just want to talk to them; I don’t want to fight them,” he told the television station. “I want to talk it out. And talk to their parents about them so they can tell them they need to teach them the right thing to do.”
Alex’s mother is planning to file a police report over the incident, KMTV reported on Tuesday.
“It’s not fair that the bullies think they can continue with this behavior,” she said. “They need to be reminded that there are consequences to stealing and bullying.”
In a statement released to KMTV, Omaha Public Schools acknowledged the incident at Burke High School.
“We take these kind of situations very seriously,” the statement read. “Due to student privacy laws, we are unable to provide specific details regarding the situation, but we do want to assure you that we are working with all parties involved. The situation was an isolated incident. OPS strives to provide a safe learning environment for all students.”
Students and the community have rallied around Hernandez, starting a GoFundMe page to raise money to pay for new school supplies for the teen. The page reached its stated fundraising goal of $800 within four days.GOP Doesn’t Support Legalization of Medical Marijuana
The Big Story
As you’re probably already aware, this week the GOP had their Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Along with naming the party’s presidential candidate (it’s officially Trump if you somehow haven’t heard the news yet), Republican delegates and leaders also took time to figure out just what will make it onto the Republican platform and what won’t. Medical marijuana didn’t make the cut. And while that may not be the most surprising news ever, wait until you see some of the reasons GOP delegates gave for why they didn’t want to support the legalization of medical marijuana.
Why GOP Leaders Won’t Support Medical Cannabis
Some of the reasons Republican leaders gave for not supporting medical cannabis reveal a deep level of confusion and ignorance. And others were just flat out weird. Here’s a run down of what they said:
A delegate from Utah insisted that scientists still have a “long way to go with research” before we can safely or effectively use medical cannabis. However, there’s actually been a decent amount of research into medical cannabis. And while researchers still face a lot of challenges, there’s certainly enough evidence to safely say that cannabis has a number of important health and medical properties.
Some delegates said that marijuana triggers all sorts of mental health issues such as schizophrenia.
Others said that the entire movement to legalize medical cannabis was funded by wealthy Democrat George Soros.
A delegate compared medical cannabis to the heroin epidemic currently sweeping the U.S. They also said that using medical cannabis is similar to getting addicted to prescription pills like Percocet, OxyContin, and prescription opioids.
And by far the craziest thing was when one delegate made the case that people who commit mass murders are “young boys from divorced families, and they’re all smoking pot.”
GOP Leaders Who Supported Medical Cannabis
To be fair, there were a decent number of Republican leaders and delegates who were open to the idea of medical cannabis. Eric Barkey, a lawmaker from Maine, introduced the measure to put medical marijuana on the official GOP platform. Here’s what Barkey and the other pro-medical cannabis Republicans said:
Some pointed out that medical cannabis has helped many families and has improved the lives of many patients around the country.
Others focused specifically on children, highlighting that many “are being saved” by using cannabis extracts.
One delegate said that some children have health conditions that can only be treated with cannabis products.
And many pro-cannabis delegates said that the Republicans who were opposed to medical cannabis didn’t really understand what medical marijuana is all about. “It’s not like we’re talking about Cheech and Chong here, folks,” said Ben Marchi, a delegate from Maryland. “We’re talking about allowing people with debilitating conditions to ease their suffering.”
The Final Hit
The first vote on the issue was too close to call by a voice vote. So they had to do a second vote. And that time the outcome was clear. The Republican Party will officially remain opposed to legalizing cannabis for medical purposes.Authorities have finished searching a pond in Ben Hill County without finding the remains of an Ocilla teacher missing for a decade.
Tara Grinstead vanished on Oct. 22, 2005, after leaving a beauty pageant. Officials have worked the case for nearly a decade without a clue to what happened to the Ocilla High School teacher.
"We have conducted an extensive investigation, trying to determine her whereabouts and what might have happened to her, and at this point we still don't know," said Gary Rothwell, the now retired special agent in charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigaton's Perry office.
Officials were contacted two days after Grinstead was last seen when she didn't show up at the high school for work.
Police found her car in the car port of her home and her cell phone on the nightstand in her bedroom.
"We didn't have any signs of forced entry," Rothwell said. "There was no sign of a struggle, but that's not to say that something could have happened. We can't rule that out but there were no obvious signs of violence in the residence."
Officials said Grinstead went to a barbecue after attending a beauty pageant in Fitzgerald. That's the last time she was seen.
Investigators say 10 years later, they received a credible tip that led them to the pond near Fitzgerald.
"About a week and a half ago, out agent got some credible information," said J.T. Ricketson, GBI special agent in charge. "We had to start vetting out the information and try to work with it to see how credible it was."
That led law enforcement agents to the pond, where they used a sonar device and a submarine to find items at the bottom of the pond. A dive team from the Georgia State Patrol confirmed there were items on the bottom.
The GBI then obtained a warrant to allow them to drain the pond to look for further evidence.
"We needed to physicallyt get in there and not have the water as a deterrent and an obstacle for us," Ricketson said.
Law enforcement agents wouldn't say what items were recovered from the pond, but indicated they are related to Grinstead.
"This lead is like any lead we get on any case," said Robbie McLemore of the Ben Hill County Sheriff's office. "We follow it out and... we have to stay there until the end to make sure that it's either credible or it's not."
Officials are asking that anyone who may have information about Grinstead to call 229-468-7494.Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Scammers are trying to get money out of Ebola victims by offering to cure them using black magic.
The Nigerian con artists are targeting frightened families by inserting messages into websites, including Irish ones, carrying information on the virus.
The epidemic has so far killed more than 700 people in West Africa, including western aid workers trying to tackle the deadly disease.
Scammers are targeting websites based here where articles associated with Ebola have been bombarded with messages promising a quick fix for victims.
Dr Ray Genoe, of University College Dublin’s Centre for Cybercrime and
Security Investigation, said the fraudsters had form for targeting the vulnerable. He added: “We’ve seen cases like this coming out for years now.
“Usually it happens with disasters. There was one years ago with the tsunami crisis. They were looking for money to try and help their so-called aid effort.”
For €262 a man named Omokhagbon Osemuahu, from Benin City in Nigeria, said he could enlist the services of a witch doctor to cast the sickness out. He
promised all it would take was any of the following items:
The heart of a Cobra
A red piece of clothing
The eyeball of a porcupine
The wings of a bat
A 14-year-old tortoise
Seven hairs from a lion’s private parts.
When contacted by the Irish Mirror, Mr Osemuahu said the disease had been sent by the devil and the only way to cast it out was through the witch doctor’s “spiritual cure”. And he claimed to have already cured five victims of the fatal virus.
Mr Osemuahu, who dubs himself Dr Zack Balo, also promised if payment was not made people would watch their brother “die in front of you”.
Dr Genoe added: “This is just what these people do.”
Plan Ireland’s international head of disaster preparedness and response, Dr Unni Krishnan, said scams like this could undermine efforts to stop Ebola’s spread.
He added: “Raising awareness of risk factors of infection and measures people can take is the only way to stop the disease.
“Simple measures such as hand washing can contribute to stopping the infection and its spread.”A married Louisiana congressman acknowledged Monday that he's "fallen short," after a local newspaper posted video purportedly showing him kissing a staffer.
The Ouachita Citizen earlier Monday posted surveillance footage that it claimed showed Republican Rep. Vance McAllister kissing an aide two days before Christmas, inside his congressional office in Monroe, La.
McAllister released a written statement Monday afternoon in response to the video and allegations.
"There's no doubt I've fallen short and I'm asking for forgiveness. I'm asking for forgiveness from God, my wife, my kids, my staff, and my constituents who elected me to serve," he said. "Trust is something I know has to be earned whether your a husband, a father, or a congressman. I promise to do everything I can to earn back the trust of everyone I've disappointed."
He continued: "I don't want to make a political statement on this, I would just simply like to say that I'm very sorry for what I've done. While I realize I serve the public, I would appreciate the privacy given to my children as we get through this."
McAllister is a freshman congressman who won in an upset last November to succeed former Rep. Rodney Alexander. McAllister, who's been married for 16 years, ran as a Christian conservative.
The surveillance footage posted by The Ouachita Citizen showed two people appearing to embrace and kiss in an office.
The newspaper reported that the video, obtained from "an anonymous source," showed the 40-year-old congressman kissing a 33-year-old aide.32c3 Writeup: https://hackaday.io/project/5077/log/36232-the-wired
Chaos Communication Congress is Europe's largest and longest running annual hacker conference that covers topics such as art, science, computer security, cryptography, hardware, artificial intelligence, mixed reality, transhumanism, surveillance and ethics. Hackers from all around the world can bring anything they'd like and transform the large halls with eye fulls of art/tech projects, robots, and blinking gizmos that makes the journey of getting another club mate seem like a gallery walk. Read more about CCC here:
http://hackaday.com/2016/12/26/33c3-starts-tomorrow-we-wont-be-sleeping-for-four-days/
http://hackaday.com/2016/12/30/33c3-works-for-me/
Blessed with a window of opportunity, I've equipped myself with the new Project Tango phone and made the pilgrimage to Hamburg to create another mixed reality art gallery. After more than a year of practice honing new techniques I was prepared to make it 10x better.
It's been months since I've last updated so I think it's time to share some details on how I am building this years CCC VR gallery.
Photography of any kind at the congress is very difficult as you must be sure to ask everybody in the picture if they agree to be photographed. For this reason, I first scraped the public web for digital assets I can use then limited meat space asset collection gathering to early hours in the morning between 4-7am when the traffic is lowest. In order to have better control and directional aim I covered one half the camera with my sleeves and in post-processing enhanced the contrast to create digital droplets of imagery inside a black equirectangular canvas which I then made transparent. This photography technique made it easier to avoid faces and create the drop in space.
This is what each photograph looks like before wrapping it around an object. I used the ipfs-imgur translator script and modified it slightly with a photosphere template instead of a plane. I now had a pallet of these blots that I can drag and drop into my world to play with.
I then began to spin some ideas around for the CCC art gallery's visual aesthetic:
I started recording a ghost while creating a FireBoxRoom so that I can easily replay and load the assets into other rooms to set the table more quickly. This video is sped up 4x. After dropping the blots into the space I added some rotation to all the objects and the results became a trippy swirl of memories.
I had a surprise guest drop in while I was building the world out, he didn't know what to make of it.
Take a look into the crystal ball and you will see many very interesting things.
Here's a return to the equi view of one of the worlds created with this method of stirring 360 fragments. After building a world of swirling media I recorded 360 clips to use for the sky. Check out some of my screenshots here: http://imgur.com/a/VtDoS
In November 2016, the first Project Tango consumer device was released after a year of practice with the dev kit and a month of practice before the congress I was ready to scan anything. The device did not come with a 3D scanning application by default but that might soon change after I publish this log. I used the Matterport Scenes app for Project Tango to capture point clouds that averaged 2 million vertices or about a maximum file size of 44mb per ply file.
Update** The latest version of JanusVR and JanusWeb (2/6/17) now supports ply files, meaning you can download the files straight into your WebVR scenes!
Here are the steps in order to convert verts (ply) to faces (obj). I used the free software meshlab for poisson surface reconstruction and blender for optimizing. (special thanks /u/FireFoxG for organizing).
Open meshlab and import ascii file (such as the ply) Open Layer view (next to little img symbol) SUBSAMPLING: Filters > Sampling > Poisson-disk Sampling: Enter Number of Samples as the resulting vertex number / number of points. Good to start with about the same number as your vertex to maintain resolution. (10k to 1mil) COMPUTE NORMALS: Filters > Normals/Curvatures and Orientation > compute Normals for Point Set [neighbours = 20] TRIANGULATION : Filters > Point set > surface reconstruction: Poisson Set octree to 9 Export obj mesh (I usually name as out.obj) then import into blender. The old areas which were open become bigger triangles and the parts to keep are all small triangles of equal size. Select a face slighter larger then the average and select > select similar. On left, greater than functions to select all the areas which should be holes (make sure you are in face select mode) Delete the larger triangles and keep all those that are same sized. There may be some manual work. UV unwrap in blender (hit U, then'smart uv unwrap'), save image texture with 4096x4096 sized texture, then export this obj file back to meshlab with original pointcloud file. Vertex Attributes to texture (between 2 meshes) can be found under Filter->Texture (set to 4096) (source is original point cloud, Target is UV unwrapped mesh from blender).
That's it, the resulting object files may still be large and require decimating to be optimized for web. This is one of the most labor intensive steps but once you have a flow it takes about 10 minutes to process each scan. In the future there have been discussions to ply support in Janus using the particle system. Such a system would drastically streamline the process from scan to VR site in less than a minute! I made about 3 times as many scans during 33c3 and organized them in a way that I can more efficiently identify and prototype with.
I made it easy to use any of these scans by creating a pastebin of snippets to include between the <Assets> part of the FireBoxRoom. This gallery was starting to come together after I combined the models with the skies made earlier.
This is a preview of one of the crystal balls I created for the CCC VR gallery and currently works on cardboard, GearVR, Oculus Rift, and Vive and very soon Daydream. Here's a screenshot from the official chrome build on Android:
Here's the WebVR poly-fill mode when you hit the Enter VR button, ready to slide onto a cardboard headset!
Enjoy some pictures and screenshots showing the building of the galleries between physical and virtual.
Here's a video preview of a technique I made by scraping instragram photos of the event and processing them into a glitchy algorithm that outputs seamless tiled textures that I can generate crossfading textures with. The entire process is a combination of gmic and ffmpeg and creates a surreal cyberdelic sky but can be useful to fractal in digital memories.
Old and New
Much of my work has been inaccessible from stale or forgotten IPFS hashes because WebVR was still in its infancy. That was before, now it's starting to become more widely adopted with a community growing in the thousands and major browser support that one can keep track of @ webvr.rocks. I've since been optimizing my projects including the 2015 art gallery for 32c3 and created a variety of worlds from 33c3, easily navigable from an image gallery I converted to be a world select screen..
Here's a preview of what it looks like on AVALON:
Clicking one of the portals will turn the browser into a magic window for an explorable, social, 3D world with an touch screen joystick for easy mobility.
Another great feature to be aware of with JanusWeb is that pressing F1 will open up an in-browser editor and F6 will show the Janus markup code.
I'm in the process of creating a custom avatar for every portal and a player count for the 2D frontend. Thanks for looking, enjoy the art.As I noted this morning, anyone who cares about the future of the Democratic Party needs to ask whether the party’s elders and wise men are thinking hard enough about how to regain ground on the state level. That would make it more likely that the next round of redistricting battles, in 2020, could help Democrats win back the House in the face of population shifts and GOP redistricting successes that have gamed the national map in favor of GOP control. This process needs to start now.
If you look a bit more deeply into the problem, though, it appears even more daunting than you might have expected.
Today I chatted with David Wasserman, who closely tracks House districts for the Cook Political Report. Wasserman recently wrote that due to population shifts and redistricting that have resulted in huge concentrations of Democratic votes in Dem districts — wasting a lot of those votes — Democrats can now expect that the percentage of seats they win will consistently trail their victory in the overall popular vote by about four percentage points.
Can regaining ground on the state level help change this? At my request, Wasserman went a bit deeper into the numbers.
The starting point for changing it, Wasserman notes, would be in the big swing states that President Obama carried in 2012. Even though Obama won them, Dems still hold far fewer legislative and Congressional seats than Republicans do. In Ohio, the breakdown of seats in the next Congress will be 12 Republican, four Democratic. In Pennsylvania the breakdown will be 13 Republican, five Democratic. Those two states, Wasserman notes, are particularly lopsided because Democratic districts are “heavily urbanized,” with huge numbers of Dem voters concentrated in them around Columbus, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, in Michigan the breakdown will be nine Republican, five Dem. In Wisconsin the breakdown will be five Republican, three Democratic. In North Carolina it will be 10 Republican, three Democratic.
In all of those states, Republicans control the state legislatures. In all but one of them — Pennsylvania — Republicans also control the governor’s mansions.
To be sure, the problem goes beyond these big swing states: In several southern states, Wasserman notes, Republicans have successfully jammed African Americans into single districts, helping to dramatically minimize the number of Dem-controlled districts in them. In states like Kansas and Utah, Democrats have no seats where they should probably have one.
But winning back the governor’s mansions or state legislatures in these states seems harder than regaining state-level ground in the big swing states Obama carried. That’s why those seem like the best hope for Dems.
Yet even in those big swing states, Republicans have large majorities in the state legislatures — a holdover from 2010 redistricting on the state level, too. “I don’t think there’s a realistic chance for Democrats to win back these legislatures by 2020,” Wasserman says. That means the most likely way Democrats can make a difference is to win governors’ races, which, Wasserman notes, would result in split rule that could force redistricting battles into the courts, where a more neutral outcome might result.
But even if Democrats were to get something approaching neutral maps in these big states, Wasserman estimates, it could result in just a couple more seats in each state — adding up to a total of maybe 10 additional House seats for Democrats. That would obviously help, but it would still be short of the 30-seat edge Republicans currently hold. Democrats would still have to post pretty big victories in the next few cycles to get close to the majority. In short, beyond the problem of redistricting is the even more serious problem (for Democrats) of population distribution.
“If Democrats were to get neutral maps drawn by God in all 50 states, they would still fall well short of winning back the House,” Wasserman concludes. “What Democrats really need is a massive resettlement program.”
Of course, Democrats can hold power in Washington by winning the White House next time, or winning back the Senate, or both. But even if they do win those, the Dem agenda will continue to be frustrated by GOP control of the House. And if they don’t win those, we’re looking at total GOP control. Ironically, the Democrats’ best near-term hope for winning back the House may be a Republican president who is unpopular enough to trigger big Dem wave elections, like those in 2006 and 2008.John Steinbeck’s epic novel “The Grapes of Wrath” will be brought to life on an intimate new stage by students in the Department of Performing Arts in Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. The production, which marks the inauguration of the new Black Box Theater in the URBN Center Annex (3401 Filbert St.), opens on Friday, May 10 and will run through Saturday, May 25.
Under the direction of Nick Anselmo, director of the Westphal College’s theater program, the students will perform writer/director Frank Galati’s critically acclaimed stage adaptation, which features music by Chicago-based singer-songwriter Michael Smith. This version, known as the “Steppenwolf Production,” won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1990. All music will be performed live by the student actors and actresses on instruments which include accordions and mandolins and other stringed instruments.
“The message of Steinbeck’s novel endures nearly 75 years after its initial publication,” said Anselmo. “The economic conflict between the big and little farms in the novel is very much like the conflicts we’re seeing in contemporary politics. The Woody Guthrie-esque folk storytelling is part of the emotional, educational experience of the play.”
Tickets are $5 for Drexel students, faculty and staff with ID; $10 for non-Drexel students; and $15 for general admission. To purchase tickets and for performance times, visit: http://cooptheater.westphal.drexel.edu.
“The intimate nature of the Black Box stage gives ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ a lot more impact and provides an opportunity for the audience to become engaged in the storytelling,” said Dana Marcus, a senior in the Entertainment & Arts Management program, who is producing the show as her senior thesis. “We were able to adapt the space into something that really works for this production.”
In addition to the play, the theater program will hold two symposiums on the social and political impact of Steinbeck’s novel on contemporary and modern history. “John Steinbeck vs. Ayn Rand,” an exploration of the two authors’ works on culture, will take place May 22 at 8p.m in the Black Box Theater. The panel will include Drexel faculty from the history, English, engineering and theater departments. A second panel focusing on the music of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, entitled “Woody Guthrie: An Expert Discussion of Guthrie's Music and Politics,” will take place May 15 at 8 p.m. in the Black Box Theater. Both discussions are free and open to the public.According to a recent press release from Moscow, two climate action companies have begun working together on a project that utilizes Blockchain technology - the technology that runs cryptocurrency giants such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. These two companies are DAO IPCI and Chooose.
Climate action projects
Chooose is a company which was created in order to buy and sell emission quotas as a means to “steal” them from polluting industries.
DAO IPCI (Decentralized Autonomous Organization operating sustaining, and developing the Integral Platform for Climate Initiatives), on the other hand, is an initiative by the Russian Carbon Fund for the purpose of climate change mitigation. The DAO IPCI is a nonprofit and non-government project for climate change.
Transparency the key
They aim to apply the revolutionary and innovative Blockchain technology to climate change actions and revolutionize the CO2 market which is still very conservative.
Together, they plan to tackle climate action more effectively in comparison to past initiatives. Along with the help of Airalab, DAO IPCI’s Blockchain technology expects to make project activities related to climate action more transparent and secure. This would prevent fraud in the future as well as manipulation.
The impact of these two startups may lead to faster and smoother actions against climate change with the presence of the new technology.
Blockchain invasion
This is just the start of the invasion of Blockchain technology in various industries. The reach of Blockchain technology will extend even further than this.
The music streaming, real estate and supply chain management industry will soon also adopt Blockchain technology into their systems.
The integration of Blockchain technology into systems is to ensure the maximum security of data in order to avoid any information breach or network attacks that can be detrimental to business operations.
Beginning with banks and government agencies, Blockchain technology is slowly gaining the favor of many businesses as it is seen as the new technology that can make businesses safer and secure.
However, these are not the only industries that will benefit from this technology.Hi there pythonistas. I hope you are all fine. In this post I am going to teach you how we can make a Reddit + Twitter bot. What this bot will do is that it will copy post titles and url from any subreddit that you want and then it will post them to twitter keeping the 140 characters length in mind. Firstly let me tell you what Reddit is. Reddit is a social link sharing site where good links are upvoted and bad links are down voted. So lets start.
Required External Libraries
Praw - (Reddidt API wrapper in python) pip install praw
Requests - (HTTP library) pip install requests
Tweepy - (Twitter python API) pip install tweepy
First step - Register Yourself
So first of all you will have to register an app on http://dev.twitter.com/apps and after registering copy the
access token access token secret consumer key consumer secret
You will have to edit the permissions for your app under the settings tab and grant your application read and write permission. So now we are ready to move on.
Start by importing
So now lets start writing our script. First of all we will have to import the required libraries and set up some basic variables:
import praw import json import requests import tweepy import time access_token = 'YOUR ACCESS TOKEN HERE' access_token_secret = 'YOUR ACCESS TOKEN SECRET HERE' consumer_key = 'YOUR CONSUMER KEY HERE' consumer_secret = 'YOUR CONSUMER SECRET HERE'
Initiate connection with Reddit
Now we have to initiate connection with Reddit. Lets define a function to do just that.
def setup_connection_reddit ( subreddit ): print "[bot] setting up connection with Reddit" r = praw. Reddit ( 'yasoob_python reddit twitter bot''monitoring %s'% ( subreddit )) subreddit = r. get_subreddit ( subreddit ) return subreddit
This method connects with Reddit and gets the subreddit of our choice and then returns that subreddit for us to work further with.
Get posts and links from Reddit
So now we have to define a function that gets the list of posts and there urls from Reddit for us. So lets just do that as well.
def tweet_creator ( subreddit_info ): post_dict = {} post_ids = [] print "[bot] Getting posts from Reddit" for submission in subreddit_info. get_hot ( limit = 20 ): # strip_title function is defined later post_dict [ strip_title ( submission. title )] = submission. url post_ids. append ( submission. id ) print "[bot] Generating short link using goo.gl" mini_post_dict = {} for post in post_dict : post_title = post post_link = post_dict [ post ] # the shorten function is defined later short_link = shorten ( post_link ) mini_post_dict [ post_title ] = short_link return mini_post_dict, post_ids
First of all we are declaring a dictionary to hold the post title and link and after that we are making a list to hold the unique ids of every post that we grab. This is used to track which posts we have already grabbed. After that we are looping over the posts and appending values to the dictionary and the list. If you use twitter very frequently then you know that how disgusting long links look like so in order to tackle that we are using goo.gl to generate short links for us. That's the next thing we have done in the above function. We loop over the post dict and make a short link for every link and append it to a new dictionary which is mini_post_dict.
No one likes long links
Now lets define a function which will actually shorten the links for us. So here it is:
def shorten ( url ): headers = { 'content-type' : 'application/json' } payload = { "longUrl" : url } url = "https://www.googleapis.com/urlshortener/v1/url" r = requests. post ( url, data = json. dumps ( payload ), headers = headers ) link = json. loads ( r. text )[ 'id' ] return link
The above function contains a header and a payload which we are going to send to google and after that google will return the short link in the form of json.
Twitter hates more than 140 characters: If you use twitter regularly then I am sure that you know that twitter does not like tweets that are more than 140 characters. So in order to tackle that lets define a function that will truncate long tweets to short ones.
def strip_title ( title ): if len ( title ) < 94 : return title else : return title [: 93 ] + "..."
In the above method we will pass a title and the above method will check that whether the title is 93 characters or more. If it is more than 93 characters then it will truncate it and append three dots at its end.
Dealing with duplicate posts
So now we have started to shape our final script. There is one thing that we have to keep in mind. No one likes duplicate posts so we have to make sure that we do not post same tweets over and over again. In order to tackle this issue we are going to make a file with the name of posted_posts.txt. When ever we grab a post from Reddit we will add it's ID to this file and when posting to twitter we will check whether the post with this ID has already been posted or not. Lets define two more functions. The first one will write the IDs to file and the second one will check whether the post is already posted or not.
def add_id_to_file ( id ): with open ( 'posted_posts.txt', 'a' ) as file : file. write ( str ( id ) + "
" ) def duplicate_check ( id ): found = 0 with open ( 'posted_posts.txt', 'r' ) as file : for line in file : if id in line : found = 1 return found
Make a function for twitter will ya
So now lets make our one of the main function. This function is actually going to post to twitter.
def tweeter ( post_dict, post_ids ): auth = tweepy. OAuthHandler ( consumer_key, consumer_secret ) auth. set_access_token ( access_token, access_token_secret ) api = tweepy. API ( auth ) for post, post_id in zip ( post_dict, post_ids ): found = duplicate_check ( post_id ) if found == 0 : print "[bot] Posting this link on twitter" print post + " " + post_dict [ post ] + " #Python #reddit #bot" api. update_status ( post + " " + post_dict [ post ] + " #Python #reddit #bot" ) add_id_to_file ( post_id ) time. sleep ( 30 ) else : print "[bot] Already posted"
Firstly we setup connection with twitter by using the credentials we defined in the beginning. After that we loop over the post_dict and post_ids. Then we check for duplicate posting. If it is not previously posted then we post it and add the id of the post in the posted_posts.txt file. After posting we wait for 30 seconds so that we do not spam twitter with tweets.
Wheres the main function bud
So lets define our last function. This function will co ordinate with all other functions. Here is the code for that last function:
def main (): subreddit = setup_connection_reddit ( 'python' ) post_dict, post_ids = tweet_creator ( subreddit ) tweeter ( post_dict, post_ids )
So now we are ready just add this little line at the end as well:
if __name__ == '__main__' : main ()
This checks whether the script is directly executed or is it imported. If it is directly executed only then the main() function is executed.
Complete code
Here is the complete script:
import praw import json import requests import tweepy import time access_token = 'YOUR ACCESS TOKEN HERE' access_token_secret = 'YOUR ACCESS TOKEN SECRET HERE' consumer_key = 'YOUR CONSUMER KEY HERE' consumer_secret = 'YOUR CONSUMER SECRET HERE' def strip_title ( title ): if len ( title ) < 94 : return title else : return title [: 93 ] + "..." def tweet_creator ( subreddit_info ): post_dict = {} post_ids = [] print "[bot] Getting posts from Reddit" for submission in subreddit_info. get_hot ( limit = 20 ): post_dict [ strip_title ( submission. title )] = submission. url post_ids. append ( submission. id ) print "[bot] Generating short link using goo.gl" mini_post_dict = {} for post in post_dict : post_title = post post_link = post_dict [ post ] short_link = shorten ( post_link ) mini_post_dict [ post_title ] = short_link return mini_post_dict, post_ids def setup_connection_reddit ( subreddit ): print "[bot] setting up connection with Reddit" r = praw. Reddit ( 'yasoob_python reddit twitter bot''monitoring %s'% ( subreddit )) subreddit = r. get_subreddit ( subreddit ) return subreddit def shorten ( url ): headers = { 'content-type' : 'application/json' } payload = { "longUrl" : url } url = "https://www.googleapis.com/urlshortener/v1/url" r = requests. post ( url, data = json. dumps ( payload ), headers = headers ) link = json. loads ( r. text )[ 'id' ] return link def duplicate_check ( id ): found = 0 with open ( 'posted_posts.txt', 'r' ) as file : for line in file : if id in line : found = 1 return found def add_id_to_file ( id ): with open ( 'posted_posts.txt', 'a' ) as file : file. write ( str ( id ) + "
" ) def main (): subreddit = setup_connection_reddit ( 'python' ) post_dict, post_ids = tweet_creator ( subreddit ) tweeter ( post_dict, post_ids ) def tweeter ( post_dict, post_ids ): auth = tweepy. OAuthHandler ( consumer_key, consumer_secret ) auth. set_access_token ( access_token, access_token_secret ) api = tweepy. API ( auth ) for post, post_id in zip ( post_dict, post_ids ): found = duplicate_check ( post_id ) if found == 0 : print "[bot] Posting this link on twitter" print post + " " + post_dict [ post ] + " #Python #reddit #bot" api. update_status ( post + " " + post_dict [ post ] + " #Python #reddit #bot" ) add_id_to_file ( post_id ) time. sleep ( 30 ) else : print "[bot] Already posted" if __name__ == '__main__' : main ()
Save this file with the name of reddit_bot.py and make a file with the name of posted_posts.txt and then execute the python script from the terminal. Your output will look something like this:
yasoob@yasoob:~/Desktop $ python reddit_bot.py [ bot ] setting up connection with Reddit [ bot ] Getting posts from Reddit [ bot ] Generating short link using goo.gl [ bot ] Posting this link on twitter Miloslav Trmač, -1 for Structured Logging http://goo.gl/sF8Xgm #Python #reddit #bot
And after some time your posted_posts.txt file will look something like this:
1 mb4y4 1 mb867 1 mb4hl 1 mbh3t 1 mbni0 1 m9bod 1 mbhpt 1 mbhnc 1 mbcp2 1 m9d2t 1 maeio 1 m9bi5 1 m8tgr 1 m86e4 1 ma5r5 1 m8fud 1 mdh1t 1 mbst4
Goodbye
I hope you enjoyed today's post as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to see you in future with some more tutorials. Do follow my blog to give me some support and get regular updates. |
he goes to work for a company he thinks is on the up and up. Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons and John Lithgow also star.
Stand-up comedy pic Kevin Hart: What Now? is likewise enjoying a solid launch. The movie earned an estimated $4.8 million Friday from 2,567 theaters for a projected $12.4 million weekend, putting it in a potentially close race with fellow Universal title The Girl on the Train for the No. 2 spot.
Hart's latest outing grossed $4.8 million Friday, while Girl on the Train took in $3.9 million. However, Girl on the Train should pick up steam on Saturday.
What Now?, nabbing an A- CinemaScore, follows the final performance of Hart's wildly successful stand-up comedy tour at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field in August 2015, along with a dress rehearsal. Hart’s previous stand-up film, 2013’s Let Me Explain, opened to $10 million on its way to earning $32.3 million domestically, the third-best showing of all time for a stand-up comedy movie.
Leslie Small and Tim Story directed What Now, which blends some fictional storylines, like Hart playing a Bond-like spy accompanied by sidekick Halle Berry, with Hart's stand-up performance.
Also opening wide this weekend is Max Steel, based on Mattel's toy action figures. The movie, from Dolphin Films and Mattel, is bombing in its debut. For the weekend, the film is expected to gross roughly $2 million from 2,043 theaters.
The sci-fi adventure film follows teen Max McGrath and his alien companion, Steel, who combine their new powers to evolve into the turbo-charged Max Steel. The unlikely friends struggle to accept their oddly connected fates as they battle evil forces threatening mankind.
Stewart Hendler directed based on a script by Christopher Yost. It stars Ben Winchell, Ana Villafane, Andy Garcia, Maria Bello and Billy Slaughter.
Now in its second weekend, embattled filmmaker Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation is also struggling badly. The slave-rebellion drama is projected to tumble more than 60 percent to an estimated $2.7 million from 2,105 theaters for a 10-day domestic total of $12 million for Fox Searchlight.
Back in the top 10, Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Deepwater Horizon round out the top five after The Accountant, Girl on the Train and What Now.Before the absurd reality shows took the airwaves by storm, director Peter Weir and writer Andrew Niccol imagined the world of Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey). Adopted and placed in a soundstage build to resemble a small American town Seahaven, Truman discovers that his life is nothing more than a TV show full of product placement. Truman discovers his friends, family and the world he lives in is nothing more than a construct. The first clue occurs when a flood light used to illuminate the massive soundstage where Truman lives falls into the middle of the street. When Truman wants to leave the small town he lives in and go to Fiji the TV show that is when his life begins to fall apart. Although Weir didn't write the film it deals with a subject common to his films; an individual who literally is an outsider in his own world. It's also about deception. Truman like most of Weir's protagonist discovers a web of deceit that corrupts his own world.
A brilliant film that finds Weir ("Witness", "The Year of Living Dangerously", "Picnic At Hanging Rock") in top form, it's amazing that this Oscar nominated film didn't pick up Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Writer and Best Director it was that good. Instead, the Academy rewarded "The Truman Show" like it does any film made by a Hollywood outsider-with a few awards recognizing the brilliance of the film and then settling into sublime mediocrity for the rest of the awards. There are clever visual references to Patrick MacGoohan's "The Prisoner" TV series woven into the visual motif of the film.
Featuring a stunning anamorphic transfer, "The Truman Show" looks nearly perfect. Paramount has done a terrific job with this new edition. Colors are vibrant and bright and the image quality is amazingly sharp and crystal clear. The 5.1 sound mix makes nice use of the format with imaging placed around the speakers.
We get a two part documentary that can either be played separately or as one. Weir, Carrey, Lara Linney and Noah Emmerich appear in interviews in the documentary. Curiously, the only person missing is writer Andrew Niccol. I'm not sure why Niccol doesn't appear in the film (perhaps he wasn't happy with some of the changes that Weir did but they work brilliantly). The fact that it closely resembles elements from Philip K. Dick's "Time Out of Joint" is also not addressed as well. The two part documentary runs about 40 minutes. The first part of the documentary focuses on the genesis of the film and some of the changes that occurred before the film was shot. The second part of the film focuses on pre-production through critical reception. This includes information on the wealthy beach community Seaside, Florida that DIDN'T want them to shoot there.
We also get four deleted/extended scenes that provide additional information and background on the story. While they aren't essential, they are pretty fascinating to watch. There's also original theatrical trailers, TV spots and previews for other Paramount releases.
A terrific film that was overlooked at Oscar time for far lesser films, "The Truman Show" catches Weir and his collaborators in top form. It's ironic that 10 years later the "reality show" world that was predicted came true (although not on this scale). The transfer looks terrific and the extras are certainly superior to the previous release on DVD. Definitely worth purchasing if you are a fan of Weir's work or just this movie!Advertisement James Boyd case: K-9 handler admits lying to camper Both sides rest Share Shares Copy Link Copy
Closing arguments will be read in the James Boyd case Tuesday, after six days of testimony.Officer Dominique Perez and now-retired Officer Keith Sandy shot and killed Boyd after a tense, three-hour standoff in March 2014. Both could face second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter or aggravated assault charges.Legal analyst on probable cause in the Boyd caseOn Monday, the defense showed how three less-lethal tactics failed, and made the case that officers opened fire to protect the K-9 handler. They began the day by calling on people directly involved with the standoff.Albuquerque police Sgt. Jim Fox said he was worried that Boyd had already threatened open space officers with knives and was telling more cops who arrived on scene he would kill them. That’s when Fox called members of the SWAT team, including Perez.“I found him to be very calm under fire, under critical incidents, he made great decisions,” Fox said.Fox said the more they tried to negotiate with Boyd, the more agitated he began.As night began falling, officers were in place with a plan to use less lethal tactics, Fox said, adding less lethal sometimes fails."Subject has changed clothing," a law enforcement official said on a radio call recording. "He's now wearing a gray sweatshirt. It's pretty thick clothing. It looks like it could hamper any kind of Taser."Perez and Sandy were assigned lethal cover.The state argued it was never a full SWAT callout. It also argued Boyd was outmanned, and there was a third lethal cover officer that didn’t fire even when Boyd pulled his knives."At this situation, SWAT was never formally called out to the scene or activated to the scene,” said prosecutor Randi McGinn.Also on Monday, K-9 handler Scott Weimerskirch said he lied to Boyd, getting him to pick up his bags and walk down the mountain.“I had been trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender, at this point I’m implementing an arrest plan and tactics to try and take him into custody,” he said.Weimerskirch believes Boyd had no intentions of surrendering. He was the closest to him when officers tried to take him into custody, releasing the dog as another officer threw a flashbang grenade.But the K-9 didn’t immediately go after Boyd, and Weimerskirch got close to Boyd in trying to correct the dog. That’s when Boyd and Sandy fired. McGinn asked him why he didn't aim at or shoot Boyd with his pistol, and Weimerskirch said his dog was coming back to him at the time.Boyd case: Legal analyst on K-9 handlerWeimerskirch believes Perez and Sandy saved his life.When Sgt. Rick Ingram took the stand, he offered an explanation for his missing lapel video. He said he’d had previous issues with the cameras not working and even brought a backup recording device.“Through experience, I knew the Scorpion camera had issues, so I was taking two different devices to make sure the whole thing was being recorded,” he said.Ingram told investigators at the scene he thought his camera never recorded anything, but that his backup audio recorder did work. Investigators collected the audio recorder then, but didn’t pick up his lapel camera until days later.The defense played several audio snippets from dispatchers where they discussed Boyd’s previous criminal history, his current threats to kill officers and how they needed to take him into custody before nightfall.MOBILE USERS: Tap here for videoThe preliminary hearing resumed Monday after a week-long break.By Admin | 04 June 2008
Every significant Internet provider around the world is currently in talks with access and content providers to transform the internet into a television-like medium: no more freedom, you pay for a small commercial package of sites you can visit and you’ll have to pay for separate subscriptions for every site that’s not in the package.
This is not a rumor; this is just clear fact for violation the principles of net neutrality and freedom of any internet user.
If “they” (ISP’s companies) succeed with their plans every smaller websites/services/blogs will disappear and multinationals with big budgets will finally success with their secret plans.
Debate for net neutrality has several years history. There have been many lawsuits in cases where an ISP’s blocked access to a certain competitor’s site (small or big). Other example is that ISP’s in several occasion crippled download speeds on services that they felt were using up too much of their bandwidth. Insider contacts of some major ISP’s confirmed that informations. All of this happened because Internet users are very active and focused: they only go to the sites and services they want, users simply switch to something else if one service becomes too commercialized with annoying advertisements. With that users go around classical mayor medium industries which offer psychological chew informations and advertisement. With this users freedom, it’s no surprise that the past 6 years the industries have secretly been planning a ‘take-over’ to secure the Internet as a purely commercial playground.
Major Internet providers are currently making agreements and planning to switch simultaneously, somewhere in the year 2012. This is currently all going on under very strict Non-Disclosure Agreements because the last thing they want is the masses speaking out against it. The guys from the video are well-known net neutrality activists, and they have contacts with many big internet industry insiders. They a part of I Power website which is platform for joining forces, sharing ideas and spreading awareness (http://ipower.ning.com).
What we can do about this conspiracy?
The answer is simple: Spread the word and use any political or media contacts you may know. Together let’s make sure that by 2012, ISP’s will not dare to think about anything that goes against the principles of net neutrality.
People are becoming aware of the conspiracy of those internet industries. Free people can pressure those ISP’s. People must keep pushing for net neutrality laws and must start spreading awareness on a massive scale to make sure that ISP’s think twice before signing anything that’ll go against the freedom of Internet as open medium like it is today.
And, on the end: ask yourself a questions: Why ISP’s constantly growing their bandwidths for internet mass users? Is that just for reading emails or writing blogs for those masses? Or, there is something else behind that?
Tags | Business, Internet, Networking, Technology NewsWe are eighty-four days until the election and we have reached a historic milestone. If the election were held today, based on polling outside the margin of error, Hillary Clinton would get 270 Electoral College votes, capture all the swing states, and become President. She would do this because the Republican nominee is Donald Trump.
At this point, a vote for Donald Trump is a vote for Hillary Clinton. As long as the GOP sticks with Trump, it is helping Hillary Clinton get elected. Donald Trump’s continued existence in the race is nothing more than a shield for Hillary Clinton.
It is time for the GOP to realize that it is going to lose 2016 because Donald Trump is the nominee. It is not the #NeverTrump forces that are losing the race. It is Donald Trump himself. No amount of certain talk heads trying to bully everyone into supporting Trump will get Trump across the finish line. The sad thing is that every sane person has long realized this and all the histrionics now are for show.
But continuing to be loyal to Donald Trump is really just loyalty to Hillary Clinton. Every day a Republican continues to champion Donald Trump is a day Hillary Clinton marches ever closer to the presidency.
The best way for Republicans to save themselves is to abandon ship and focus on down ballot races. Give up on Trump and redirect energy to saving the House and Senate. The longer you pour your energies into Trump, the more likely you are helping the Democrats take back the Senate and possibly the House.
Now is the time to put distance between yourselves and Trump. Those of you who do not will own not just Hillary Clinton’s election, but the Republicans’ loss of the Senate in 2016.
This is on you as much as you may huff, puff, and declare it immoral not to support Trump.
And again, it is worth noting that the now daily histrionics have everything to do with a few people seeing their careers flash before their eyes knowing what’s coming and what they’ve done. They chose ratings over the White House and now will lose both.
Don’t feel bad for the GOP, folks. Reince and company blocked every effort to allow delegates to vote their conscience. They own electing Hillary. They played the role of Trump lackey and, like all the others who’ve coddled him, come away with their integrity in tatters.The 3D camera that is being built by the Facial Morphology Research Group at the University of Pretoria to detect Down Syndrome in newborns, has been fully funded.
Back in January the research group started a crowd funding campaign to fund the development of a 3D camera which would be able to scan an infant’s face and detect genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome.
Early detection of genetic disorders is vital as a child with Down Syndrome may have heart problems that are only detected much later on when an operation can be extremely risky.
By mapping the faces of healthy and unhealthy newborns, the Facial Morphology Research Group hopes that the 3D camera can be used to save countless lives.
At time of writing, with one day of funding left, the research group has surpassed its target of £2,750 by £3, but it looks like the team won’t need to buy its own cameras for the build.
Canon will be giving the team ten EOS 1200D cameras to use as part of the project. These cameras will take the images that will then be strung together to form the scans. The machine will then use as a reference point to scan newborns for birth defects or genetic disorders.
Speaking of the project to htxt.africa, Dr. Vinet Coetzee, who heads up the research team, said, “We are extremely thankful for Canon’s generous contribution. Their contribution made a big impact on our crowdfunding campaign, which I am happy to say, was recently 100% funded.”
Now that the camera’s are taken care of, the group needs to purchase the software that will be used in conjunction with the camera and begin training doctors, nurses, midwives and other medical professionals. This should be spurred on by the fact that the team no longer needs to buy the cameras it needs.
Congratulations to Dr. Coetzee and the team at the Facial Morphology Research Group.
[Image – CC BY/2.0 Mehmet PinarciHuman systems—like energy production, agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing—are interdependent with the ecosystems and habitats that support life, including the oceans.
Just as human systems affect the oceans, the oceans affect life on land.
Perhaps the most serious stress on the oceans today comes from society’s use of fossil fuel for energy, which releases rampant levels of carbon dioxide. This gas builds up in the atmosphere, trapping in excess heat around the globe, and is absorbed by the oceans, changing the chemistry of the water that surrounds and supports marine life. Rampant carbon dioxide is disrupting ecosystems and weakening food webs, changing the oceans at a global scale.
The New England Aquarium knows that we all have a responsibility to protect the oceans and work vigilantly to address the threats to aquatic stability and health. Through a series of projects since 2007, we have been working to find more effective ways to engage the public in climate science and to support constructive dialogue about global change.
Our science education team has partnered with social scientists, oceanographers, climate scientists, and other aquariums to develop and teach strategies for having more productive conversations about climate change—interactions that are engaging, grounded in science, and oriented to solutions and hope. These strategies have been adopted by science educators from hundreds of zoos and aquariums across the nation.
We are proud of this contribution to engaging the public, so that citizens can use the best available science to guide the critical decision-making that lies ahead for our communities and the nation. Currently, thanks to major federal grants, we are leading two national collaborative projects. Follow the links below to learn more.Okay, before you reach for the Kleenex because of the thought of that adorable baby seal being abandoned by all those other seals in the background, here is the good news: he has been adopted and is being cared for by a very nice person. There is no bad news, except for the mean seals, who are mean. Now that you have this information, it’s okay to imagine the Hulk theme music while viewing the picture above. (More pics and the whole story after the jump.)
Unlike the rest of the pod, this seal was born with reddish-brown fur and blue eyes and is practically blind. But that kind of coloring caused his mother to abandon him, taking his normal-colored siblings with her and leaving the seal pup to fend for himself. He was found by photographer Anatoly Strakhov on Tyuleniy Island in Russia, who just happened to be hanging out with the staff of a dolphinarium when he spotted the seal hiding under a bunch of logs. That staff took the seal under their wing (fin?) and saved the eye-catching little guy from certain danger in the wild.
So, there you have it. Your feel-good story of the day. We need thing kind of thing once in a while, and let’s be honest — if there is a baby animal who has a great story to tell, we’re going to write about it. Come on, look at this guy.
(Daily Mail via BuzzFeed)AUGUSTA, Ga. – Texas' sophomore punter Michael Dickson has been named a semifinalist for the 2016 Ray Guy Award, the Augusta Sports Council announced on Friday morning. The award annually recognizes the best punter in college football.
Dickson, a native of Sydney, Australia, is averaging 48.2 yards per punt on 45 attempts, the second-best average in the country and best in the Big 12 Conference. The school record for best punting average in a season is 46.6 yards per attempts set by Russell Erxleben in 1976.
He has registered 20 punts of more than 50 yards this season, which is second-most in the nation (leader has 21). Additionally, Dickson's four punts of more than 60 yards in tied for the third-most in the country.
In just his sophomore campaign, Dickson has not just shown off a huge leg but incredible precision. He has had 19 of 45 punts downed inside the 20, including nine that have been downed inside the 10-yard line. He has just eight touchbacks and is allowing only 7.8 yards per return on just 13 attempts, as the Longhorns rank ninth nationally in net punting average as a team.
Three times in nine games, Dickson has recorded a single-game average that stands as one of the eight best games in school history by a punter. In the season opener, Dickson averaged 55.0 yards per punt on six attempts in a win over Notre Dame, which set a new school record. In each of the last two weeks, Dickson has averaged more than 50 yards. Against Baylor, his 52.7 yards per punt average was the fourth-best in school history, while against Texas Tech his 51.0 yards per punt average was eighth-best.
The three finalists for the 2016 Ray Guy Award will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 22. The winner will be announced as part of the College Football Awards Show in Atlanta on Dec. 8.
The Ray Guy Award winner is determined by a national voting body of sports writers, college coaches, sports information directors and past Ray Guy Award winners. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punts not returned. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline, and have a positive impact on the team's success.Told by those who were there, the story of a momentous day during Jeff Buckley's first solo tour of the UK, 18 March 1994.
Since his desperately early death in May 1997, there's been an inevitable mythologizing about the life and music of Jeff Buckley. Perhaps it's not surprising that in the posthumous rush to acknowledge his genius, memories have been clouded or, retrospectively, given a silver lining.
The quiet, uncertain foundations of his reputation were laid on a solo tour of Europe three years earlier, in March 1994 - and, in particular, during one day. On the 18th March, Buckley was scheduled for a photo shoot (with Kevin Westenberg), an appearance on BBC GLR and his first proper London concert, at a folk club called Bunjies.
In 'The Grace of Jeff Buckley', those who were there speak for the first time about the man and his music: Buckley's American manager Dave Lory, record company owner Steve Abbott, booking agent Emma Banks and photographer Kevin Westenberg share intimate memories that have so far not featured in the Buckley biography.
And the programme also includes rare archive: the GLR radio session that has not been heard since that live broadcast in 1994 - including an astonishing version of 'Grace' - and, exclusively, a private interview that Buckley recorded on the eve of this tour but decided not to release.
Together, these glimpses offer a portrait of a young man whose voice and musicianship, as well as his irresistible charisma and the trauma of his early death, touched millions.
Produced by Alan Hall.
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.IV. NUMERICAL RESULTS
In this section, we present the numerical results obtained from the simulation using the exact diagonalization method. The mutual effect of a uniformand the DMon the spacing distribution, the NPC of theand the expectation value of the magnetization of the defect are investigated. In the calculations, all energy scaled with coupling J, and we set it as the unit of energy. It has been reported, in contrast to perovskite multiferroic material with∼ 0.001–0.1,that optical lattices can be tuned to exhibit either weak or strong DM∼ 0.001–1.
In Fig., we plot the level spacing distribution), the NPC distribution, and the magnetization on the defect site,, for chain with length= 15 and for different values of the DM(namely, left column= 0.01 and right column= 0.5). P(s) on the top panels shows that when the DMis small (= 0.01
First, we analyze the effect of the DM interaction on the Ising chain, so J = 0, in the presence of an external magnetic field, the z direction, and in the presence of a defect on site d = [ L /2]. When D = 0, the system is integrable and the spacing distribution is Poisson, as previously reported. The main question we are interested in is, how the DM interaction may affect the system from the quantum chaos point of view.
B. XX model with the DM interaction
We now investigate the effects of the DM interaction on the chain in the absence of the Ising interaction, J Z = 0, with only XX coupling and a defect in the middle chain.
2 P(s), NPC as a function of energy for all eigenstates, and ⟨ S d z ⟩ for chain with length L = 15 and for two values of the DM interaction (namely, left column D = 0.5 and right column D = 1.0). The top panels show the level spacing distribution P(s). For both selected DM interaction strengths, the level spacing distribution is Poissonian. We have also explored other DM interaction strengths, ranging from D = 0.01 · · · 1.0, but we have not found any transition point from the integrable to the chaotic regime. In the middle panels, we plot the corresponding NPC distribution over the energy range using the site-basis. As it can be seen, in both cases, a large spread over the energy domain happens, which could be a feature of a regular regime. The larger the DM interaction strength is, the more the spreading in energy becomes. In Fig., we display the level spacing distribution), NPC as a function of energy for allandfor chain with length= 15 and for two values of the DM(namely, left column= 0.5 and right column= 1.0). The top panels show the level spacing distribution). For both selected DMstrengths, the level spacing distribution is Poissonian. We have also explored other DMstrengths, ranging from, but we have not found any transition point from the integrable to the chaotic regime. In the middle panels, we plot the corresponding NPC distribution over the energy range using the site-basis. As it can be seen, in both cases, a large spread over the energy domain happens, which could be a feature of a regular regime. The larger the DMstrength is, the more the spreading in energy becomes.
eigenstates with close energies are very similar. This is referred to as the uniformization of the eigenstates 51 6, L229 (1973). 51. I. Percival, J. Phys. B, L229 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3700/6/9/002 eigenstates that become so delocalized that they look alike and are similar random vectors.). However, by varying the value of the DM strength, the uniformization of the eigenstates did not happen. Large fluctuations are what we expect from systems with Poisson distributions. Analogously to systems in the many-body localized phase, this system shows non-ergodic features and many-body eigenstates that are not thermal. Hence, initial states evolving under this Hamiltonian cannot relax to thermal equilibrium. In the chaotic regime, one expects less fluctuation in the values of NPC, indicating that the structures of thewith close energies are very similar. This is referred to as the uniformization of the(note: the term uniformization refers tothat become so delocalized that they look alike and are similar random vectors.). However, by varying the value of the DM strength, the uniformization of thedid not happen. Large fluctuations are what we expect fromwithdistributions. Analogously toin the many-body localized phase, thisshows non-ergodic features and many-bodythat are not thermal. Hence, initial states evolving under this Hamiltonian cannot relax to thermal equilibrium.Technology
Clean Technology Chris Jordan Takes Shots at the Trash Patch
, whose past photographic compositions create dizzying perspectives on the cumulative effects of consumer culture, now has a new muse:
To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.
Chris Jordan, whose past photographic compositions create dizzying perspectives on the cumulative effects of consumer culture, now has a new muse: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Jordan visited the Midway Atoll, right in the heart of the Patch to get these sobering pictures of albatrosses stuffed with plastic detritus. The amount of junk in the birds' decomposing bodies seems incomprehensibly large, both because the birds are not too big and because the island is so remote. But preempts these suspicions, remarking: Images via Chris Jordan Photography Like the images you see here? Check out all of Chris Jordan's amazing photos from his journey to the Pacific gyre in Planet Green's slideshow: An Ocean of Plastic...In Birds' Guts (Slideshow)
Chris Jordan Takes Shots at the Trash Patch
Chris Jordan, whose past photographic compositions create dizzying perspectives on the cumulative effects of consumer culture, now has a new muse: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Jordan visited the Midway Atoll, right in the heart of the Patch to getJust like their counterparts from Midland-Odessa FC, New Haven, Connecticut’s Elm City Express are into the NPSL National Championship in their debut season in the 96 team league.
While Midland-Odessa were in the midst of a dramatic penalty shootout with Detroit City FC, Elm City Express were taking care of their own business with a 2-0 victory over Oakland, California’s CD Aguiluchos at Reese Stadium, the nostalgic setting on the campus of Yale University, the same ground that will play host to the final.
I caught up with Elm City Express Head Coach Teddy Haley, discussing what this final means and what the road to the NPSL National Championship has been like for his diverse and energetic side.
Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): Coach, Elm City Express are into the final in the club’s first season in the NPSL. What does this mean for you and the team?
Teddy Haley (Elm City Express): It’s phenomenal. The guys have been doing great things for months, going all the way back to the late winter and early spring. We’ve had this thing planned out accordingly. Our goals were set from the day we put the finishing touches on the squad. We were intent on making the playoffs and making a serious run at winning a national championship. We’ve taken it one step at a time, and things have worked out. When we knew we had a chance to host the semi-final, we were real confident. We’re hosting again in the final. We’re really looking forward to this Saturday night.
Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): You guys took down a talented CD Aguiluchos team in that semi-final. It ended with a 2-0 result in your favor, but it was far from easy. In your view, why did your side come out on top?
Teddy Haley (Elm City Express): It definitely wasn’t easy. We weren’t great in the initial stages of the match, and we didn’t get into any kind of rhythm until a good ways in. We just couldn’t get comfortable, and they deserve a lot of credit for the way they went at us. Our goalie Matt Jones made a couple huge saves early on. They could’ve been ahead, but Jones kept us in it. Then we made things click and created a bunch of chances and ended up getting a couple of goals. The key one came late in the first half, in the 45th minute in fact. That was huge to be able to take a lead back into the dressing room. Then we just rode it out. We played much better in the 2nd half, and really felt like we controlled from the restart. It was a total team effort.
Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): In talking with the management and ownership and learning about Elm City Express, it seems as if it’s been a total team effort off the pitch as well.
Teddy Haley (Elm City Express): You hit the nail on the head. Zack Henry is the owner and the original visionary of this whole thing. We met for lunch about 10 months ago, along with my longtime friend Brian Neumeyer who is now the club’s General Manager. Zack asked what I thought about this project. He asked if I’d be interested in doing this, in being the Head Coach. I told Zack and Brian that if we were gonna do this, we were gonna do it right. They were in full agreement. We knew this wasn’t gonna be some trial run or testing of the waters.
From that day on, we put together the best group possible, from the players in the squad, to the off-field management, the coaching staff, etc. We built out from there, and we’ve been fortunate to have surrounded the whole project with good people.
We started this thing with the goal of winning a national championship. It all started with Zack and the original small group of individuals who believed in this vision. Now here we are, ready for this final.
Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): Coach, tell us about the community involvement with Elm City Express. How have the people of New Haven taken to this club and the vision of which you speak?
Teddy Haley (Elm City Express): We had over 2,000 people at the semi-final. It was beautiful to see, that crowd the type of thing that reminds you of the fact that you’re doing things the right way. And to have it all at Reese Stadium at Yale, it just adds to the buzz. The place is loaded with history and you can feel those historic vibes.
The New Haven community has been brilliant. A bunch of local pubs, bars, and restaurants have been on board since day one, and people have been more and more enthusiastic as we’ve progressed through the season, the way it would be anywhere else in the world. Our supporters have been awesome. They deserve a national final.
Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): Teddy, who are some of the players on the Elm City Express side to look out for in this final?
Teddy Haley (Elm City Express): We wouldn’t be where we’re at without Matt Jones, our goalkeeper. He’s an English lad who played in Portugal for six years, a longtime professional who also spent some time in MLS.
We’ve got some quality veteran leadership on this team, those guys who are experienced but not too old to contribute. We’ve got some youthful exuberance as well. Shaquille Saunchez is definitely someone who a lot of people have enjoyed watching. He’s possibly the fastest guy in the league, like lightning fast.
Cris Hernandez is another guy to keep an eye on. He’s a young guy who should be playing in MLS. He’s certainly one of the best players in this league. He’s so technically gifted with an incredible left foot. He was a MLS homegrown player who signed and played with Philadelphia Union when he was 17. He still has aspirations to be at the top levels of the game, and I feel like he will be back there very soon. He’s done so well with us, and we’ve been grateful to have him as part of our squad.
Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): Coach, New Haven, Connecticut is a city with a uniquely diverse cultural makeup. In our conversation last week, your good friend Brian Neumeyer spoke all about what diversity means to Elm City Express. What does the diversity of your squad mean to you?
Teddy Haley (Elm City Express): It’s massive. It’s part of who we are. I feel like there’s an incredible amount of positivity that comes from bringing in different groups and different cultures, bringing it all together for a common goal. But first and foremost, it’s about bringing in the right guys with the right mentality. It doesn’t matter whether we’re bringing in a guy from New Zealand, Jamaica, Ireland, Gambia, or Wisconson. Wherever they come from, they’re gonna come to us because they’re the right person for our team.
When you’re building a squad, you’ve got to find commitment. We’ve been able to get a group that from the beginning has been about unity, shaking hands after every practice, putting in blue-collar shifts. Local guys who played at nearby high schools and colleges and guys from halfway around the world are all in for the same goal. It’s all about loyalty to the group and a respect for the badge.
Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): Coach, how have you and your team handled the Midland-Odessa FC situation this week? There were rumors of a forfeit over the last few days due to most of their almost entirely NCAA based roster being ineligible for the final. They have managed to field a squad and we will, thankfully, have a national championship match. Has that story been a distraction at all for you?
Teddy Haley (Elm City Express): When I saw the date come up for the final, and knew they were making a serious run, I knew there could be some issues. We didn’t know what the league or the club had in mind, so we just continued focusing on us. As far as the NCAA stuff, I mean, I’m a NCAA Division 2 coach myself (at Post University here in Connecticut). I know the rules. They are what they are. That’s all I can say on that. And again, we’ve stayed strict to our schedule. There’s a match Saturday. Nothing else matters.
I will admit, it has been a little distracting at times, guys just wanting to know what’s up. My job is to keep everyone in tune with what the real goal is. That’s what we’re doing. We’re here to win a final.
Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): Last question, Teddy. If the players, coaches, and management of Elm City Express are lifting the NPSL National Championship trophy at Yale on Saturday, why will they be doing so?
Teddy Haley (Elm City Express): Because we are a group. From the beginning, I’ve held players accountable to do things the right way, to grow together. We’ve talked about unity from the start of this whole thing. We have talent, lots of it. We didn’t always have camarader |
like the VA, is one of the last no money down home loans.
What does the USDA loan offer?
• No money down
• 100% financing
• No monthly mortgage insurance
• Usually lower mortgage payments than an FHA loan, making it a preferred choice among today’s buyers.
How do I get a USDA Loan?
• Be within the eligible rural area.
• Good income and credit scores.
What might not be a benefit of the USDA Loan?
• Restricted to certain rural areas—you could not purchase a house in the city.
• There are household income limits.
All-in-All
All three programs have great benefits and can potentially help you and your family obtain that dream home. Just be sure to decide which loan will be the most affordable and beneficial option for you. As with any major financial decision do your own research and feel comfortable with your choices before signing up for anything.Overnight I was sent some valuable information concerning character meet and greets and treats for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party which begins tonight.
Here’s the list of characters that are appearingfor the 2016 parties. Princess Elena of Avalor is indeed meeting at the parties.
Character Meet and Greets:
7 Dwarfs
Abu
Aladdin
ArielAurora and Prince Phillip
Belle (Blue smock)
Captain Jack Sparrow
Cinderella and Prince Charming
Country Bears
Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger and Pooh
Genie
Jack Skellington as Sandy Claws
Jasmine
Mary Poppins, Bert
Mickey Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps
Peter Pan
Princess Elena of Avalor
Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen
Rapunzel and Flynn Rider
Santa Claus
Santa Goofy
Scrooge McDuck, Donald and Daisy
Snow White and her Prince
Tinker Bell
Club Tinsel – Reindeer, Polar Bears and Elves
Full details on locations, a complete map, schedules and touring plans are available on Character Locator!
Complimentary Holiday Treats
Adventureland Tortuga Tavern: Hot Cocoa and Snickerdoodle Cookies
Liberty Square Heritage House: Eggnog and Ginger-Molasses Cookies
Fantasyland The Friar’s Nook: Snow Cone and Sugar Cookies
Pete’s Silly Sideshow: Apple Cider and Sugar Cookies0
Tomorrowland The Lunching Pad: Hot Cocoa and Peppermint Bark Cookies
Alternative healthy options are available upon requestToday sees the release of "Dante's Inferno," which is to say a comic book
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based on a video game based on the first part of the 14th century epic religious poem by Dante Alighieri, which is kind of insane. Here at ComicsAlliance, we wondered might happen if other classic texts of literature and poetry were adapted into popular video games -- and those were adapted again into comics. Chris Murphy and Alice Parker examine the "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" as a Mario title, "Crime and Punishment" as "Grand Theft Auto," and "Titus Andronicus" as "Cooking Mama," with Photoshops by Caleb Goellner!
The Source Material - The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
The Video Game - At the young age of 22 T. S. Eliot published the modern masterpiece as precursor for his epic poem "The Waste Land." Prufrock is rich in its imagery, but seems a like a main character who delivers a stream of consciousness dramatic monologue about his failures in love. A how-to manual for the modern hipster, the poem is picked up by Nintendo after third-wave sexuality hits Japan. As Mario, you wonder around a seemingly endless Bowser-Castle Level while a hauntingly pale Princess Peach remains just out of reach, muttering, "No, that's not what I meant. That's not what I meant at all." After thousands of suicides in Tokyo, the game is banned from release in America.
The Comic Adaptation - Peter David and Jae Lee return after their successful run on Steven King's Dark Tower series, in which Prufrock kills his father, the source of his insecurity, and impregnates a silent, but grateful Peach who is always drawn with a halo of sunshine behind her billowing dress.
-A.P
The Source Material - Titus Andronicus
The Video Game - Shakespeare's tragedy of war and revenge is translated into a hybrid game with two distinct play styles. In the first, a stealth action game in the tradition of Metal Gear Solid or Assassin's Creed, players take control of the titular character as he hunts down those who wronged his family and then enacts brutal revenge. After each victim is claimed, Titus Andronicus changes to a puzzle game in the style of Nintendo's Cooking Mama series. Titus must prepare each corpse to suit the tastes of the victim's unsuspecting family. The difficulty gradually raises from infirm old men whose families enjoy basic soups to soldiers in their prime whose relations are accustomed to finely grilled meats prepared in elaborate sauces with multiple side dishes. It's exclusive to the Wii, with full motion controls. And as a result of the game's violent content combined with puzzle gameplay no one buys it despite glowing reviews.
The Comic Adaptation - Avatar decides to jump on the rights to this one, handing it over to writer Garth Ennis and artist Juan Jose Ryp. Ennis and Ryp go well beyond their previous personal best achievements in violence and gore, as with each passing issue less time is spent on plot and more is spent on multiple page long scenes with gruesome close ups of bodies being carved and eaten. Although editors draw the line when Ennis suggests the inclusion of actual recipes starting in issue four. The horrific violence and gore, in combination with Ryp's artwork accidentally depicting modern Goths instead of the ancient Roman variety, results in the comic outselling the video game by a tremendous margin.
-C.M.
The Source Material - Lysistrata
The Video Game - The classic Greek comedy by Aristophanes is a story of women organizing a campaign to withhold sex from their men in order to bring about a peaceful resolution to the Peloponnesian War. The video game adaptation reimagines it as a real time strategy war game built around a resource management system. But unlike other games which require the acquisition of currency or building materials in order to create a massive army, Lysistrata requires players to worry about only one thing: sex. Each new unit created or aggressive order given results in the female population of your city state becoming a little bit more upset at the war effort. Remain peaceful for a little while and they'll start to forgive and forget, but do too much at once and they start to withhold sex from your troops, resulting in desertions and eventually full-on rebellion. The game's good, but not good enough that anyone plays it for days-long gaming sessions that end in death by dehydration.
The Comic Adaptation - Wildstorm takes the video game to comic adaptation once again, with DC bringing writer Gail Simone and artist Amanda Conner on board to give the book a creative team of two of the most noted women in mainstream comics. The comic is told from the point of view of one woman who, upset with her boyfriend's performance in bed, attempts to start a war between Athens and Sparta with the hope that it will start a sex strike rather than risk hurting his feelings by telling him the truth. Following its success, Dave Sim decides to write and draw his own comic based on the original play, wherein the men learn having sex with women isn't really that great and that they get a much greater sense of self-worth from killing and military conquest.
-C.M.
The Source Material - The Time Machine
The Video Game - H.G. Wells' seminal work of science fiction becomes an action packed first person shooter. The novel's time-traveling hero, carrying an arsenal of weapons gathered from across various historical eras, travels from 1895 to the far future of 2010. There he must combat elite soldiers, robots, ghost ninjas and cyborg mole-men, all of whom stand in the way of his ultimate goal: preventing a video game company from adapting H.G. Wells' classic novel The Time Machine into an entirely inappropriate first person shooter. Because really, how ridiculous is it that some video game makers are so creatively bankrupt that they turn classic pieces of literature into thematically unrelated action games out of the hope that the name recognition will someone mean more people buy their terrible game?
The Comic Adaptation - And then the comic adaptation is offered to Grant Morrison, who surprises pretty much everyone by accepting the job. Paired with artist Dave McKean, Morrison takes the storyline of the game and adds another layer. As the time traveler reaches the future, he's met by comics writer Grant Morrison, who feeds him the inside information he needs to carry out his mission thanks to Morrison's work as the writer of the comic adaptation of the game. If read for more than a page at a time, the book causes severe headaches followed by nosebleeds followed by blackouts. Unfortunately, the series is so good that comic book shop owners are forced to hire EMTs every Wednesday a new issue is released, effectively canceling out any profit it makes them.
-C.M.
The Source Material - The Upanishads
The Video Game - A collection of core teachings from the Hindu Vendanta that spans nearly two thousands years is decidedly too complicated for EA, who decides to whittle the sacred text down to a hip Indian version of "Ninja Gaiden," complete with a techno-infused Bollywood soundtrack. In order to enter "Nirvana", you must take on an Indian mob boss, who (surprise!), is in cahoots with a cornucopia of demons. Most of your adversaries have the exact same attacks as the game continues, but inflict exponentially more damage each level. Due to the laziness on the part of the game developers, Indian gods both benevolent and malevolent are portrayed as villains. Gods from China and Japan show up too, for no reason. Besides attacks and level layout, the third constant is the fact that every boss has multiple arms and the ability to wield a fiery sword.
The Comic Adaptation - While rumors spread of someone, somewhere beating the game, no one seems to see another human being accomplish the task. EA refuses to acknowledge the game's existence after an avalanche of lawsuits, but this doesn't stop Dynamite from picking up the license. Garth Ennis agrees to pen the hyper-violent series in which the main character kills every last Asian god before entering "Nirvana", which turns out to be a dingy bar run by an old white man who speaks Gaelic. Although critics consider the graphic novel to be the worst thing since Frank Miller's "DK2," Zack Synder agrees to direct an upcoming film adaptation starring Tom Cruise.
-A.P.
The Source Material - Kubla Khan
The Video Game - Samuel Coleridge wrote, and finished (or didn't, depending on your literature orientation) "Kubla Khan: or, A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment" in 1797, based on a kick-ass dysentery-induced opium hallucination that was interrupted part way through, causing Coleridge to forget the rest of his vision. Anyway, the poem is a grand metaphor about the self-destructive process during the creation of art, the art itself imploding, and the all too often end result of futility. Either way, it makes a for a super fun game in the style of Myst, where you travel around a beautiful landscape for a great deal of time only to find that there is an unknown force, probably involving dark-deity forces and/or unrequited love, that is threatening your world. The second you gear up for battle your XBox 360 red-rings and you're forced to take it back to Best Buy, only to have the Geek Squad claim your version is "past the in-store date quick fix" and refers you to a 1-800 number.
The Comic Adaptation - Due to the inevitable crash of the game, the final version of the comic by Camilla D'Errico is never colored. An indie publisher picks it up eventually, but it remains an obscure hit only among post-intellectual manga fans and college girls who wear cat ears.
-A.P.
The Source Material - Crime and Punishment
The Video Game - Dostoyevsky's timeless story of crime, justification for wrongdoing, and struggling with guilt is translated into a a Grand Theft Auto-like open world action game. Players take on the role of intellectual-turned-vigilante-crime-fighter Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov as he embarks on a self-imposed one man campaign to find the truly evil and rid the world of their influence. Gritty 19th century St. Petersburg is recreated in exquisite detail as Raskolnikov scales rooftops and engages in moderate speed hay cart chases. Eventually he learns to build his own steampunk inspired crime fighting gear including a black-powder netgun and a steam-driven pneumatic power axe. Like most open-world games, the player is presented with a series of choices between good and evil actions that end up having no impact whatsoever on the game's main plot.
The Comic Adaptation - The go-to gritty pulp crime comic team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips gets the call for this one. Extensive research is done into the popular slang of mid 19th century urban Russia in order to get the dialogue just right. Their miniseries see Raskolnikov getting brought in by the security forces of Czar Alexander II to infiltrate and assassinate the leader of an secret cult conspiring to bring down the government. Told his sister is as good as dead if he fails, Raskolnikov befriends a reformed prostitute in order to get close to her boyfriend, the cult's leader, the father of Mad Monk Grigori Rasputin. It all ends with a final showdown in the midst of a winter thunderstorm on top of the onion domes of Saint Basil's Cathedral.
-C.M.
Elsewhere On The Web:
The Saturday Morning Watchmen cartoon! (Gorilla Mask)
100 MPH Lawnmower (Neatorama)
Zombie Hooker XXX-Mas (Adult Swim)Ever since the Washington Post on Friday published bombshell audio of Donald Trump bragging about groping women to Access Hollywood's then-host Billy Bush, speculation has centered on other potential videos that could show the Republican presidential candidate in a highly unflattering light. Thanks to an Associated Press report about Trump's sexually demeaning behavior on The Apprentice and a producer's tweet about the existence of "far worse" tapes than the explosive Access Hollywood footage that has rocked Trump's campaign, Apprentice outtakes have perhaps replaced Donald Trump's taxes as the top object of lust among many reporters.
But what is the cost to procure these videos? Hundreds of millions of dollars? Nothing at all? From a legal standpoint, this one isn't an easy question.
When it came to Access Hollywood outtakes, the legal analysis, at least for NBC (which owned the tapes), centered on the network's potential liability if Trump were to sue for wiretapping. There's good reason to believe that Trump couldn't have any expectation of privacy while wearing a microphone preparing to do an on-camera interview. NBC ultimately decided to allow footage to be shown — albeit too late to avoid being scooped by the Post.
The legal analysis over Apprentice outtakes raises entirely different questions — and potentially more serious and costly ones for those looking to encourage leakers. The issues are contractual.
MGM, which owns the tapes via its acquisition of Mark Burnett Productions, likely has a deal with Trump that allows him as an executive producer and the show's top star the right to approve any video or audio that is released publicly. The company has acknowledged that "various contractual and legal requirements... restrict MGM's ability to release [Apprentice] material," without much explanation.
in turn, Apprentice staffers have employment contracts that promise not to divulge nonpublic information about the show.
Speculation on the cost for an Apprentice insider leaking anyway has been pegged at $5 million, emanating perhaps from a since-deleted tweet from producer Chris Nee ("I don't have the tapes. I've signed a Burnett contract & know leak fee is 5 mill"). At that amount, some on social media have suggested a billionaire like George Soros or Mark Cuban could shoulder the burden. David Brock, a Clinton ally, has said he would be willing to back the leaker financially.
But that ignores the potential liability for inducing the leaker to breach a contract. There are laws against tortious interference with contractual relations, and the penalties can include economic damages and punitive damages. If a lawsuit were to come, it might be argued that the one encouraging the leaking has harmed not only Trump but also Burnett's ability as a producer to honor obligations with stars. And punitive damages, if malice can be shown, would take into account the defendant's financial wherewithal and be awarded with an eye on sending a message and deterring future bad acts.
Thus, it's easy to imagine that if a billionaire-backed enterprise or even a financially comfortable media organization attempts to interfere with Apprentice secrecy, the cost could be quite high. That was something that CBS strongly considered when running a 60 Minutes report based on what was procured from a tobacco industry insider in the 1990s as portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film The Insider. (In one memorable scene, a shocked Mike Wallace is told by a CBS lawyer that the tobacco company "could own CBS" as a result of his segment.) At least one court has also ruled recently that news organizations aren't immune from a lawsuit for tortious interference under the First Amendment.
Then again, there wouldn't be interference if Apprentice crewmembers aren't really prohibited from leaking material. It's impossible to say definitively without reviewing the Apprentice contracts, but at least one attorney believes that the anti-leak provisions are just meant to deter surprises before they air. In other words, spoilers like Apprentice winners and losers, not outtakes some years later. If a judge deemed the contract to be ambiguous, there would be testimony surrounding what the parties intended with their nondisclosure agreement.
Would broad prohibitions be deemed enforceable and overcome arguments of contravening public policy and the broader social interest in weighing a candidate's fitness for public office? And if a leak occurs, would a judge force reporters to disclose their source?
Burnett's company has denied that it has threatened anyone with litigation. At least yet.
The real problem as media organizations look into these issues is they will be making this analysis in the context of Donald Trump, an individual who is not only litigious, but could emerge from election day with a major grudge against news outlets. Trump has already signaled that he's unlikely to accept a loss with grace, and if he sees Apprentice outtakes as factoring into his defeat and has the opportunity to lean on Burnett to take vengeance and collect monetary damages, he very well could move forward with a lawsuit. Thus, regardless of confidence about ultimately prevailing, the mere possibility of a court fight with substantial damages at hand could be enough to dissuade media outlets with weak knees from overpursuing what was said off-air on Apprentice.Police say an armed man who briefly evaded officers Wednesday morning died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Officers responded to the Highland Park Apartments shortly before 9 a.m. to investigate reports of an armed man who allegedly threatened his sister's boyfriend with a gun, police said.
Police learned the suspect, only described as an 18-year-old Hispanic man, had outstanding warrants.
At about 9:10 am, officers spotted the suspect in a drainage arroyo near the 2300 block of Don Roser Drive east of I-25. The man ran away and jumped a chain link fence before a shot was fired.
Officers found the man with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, though it is not clear whether it was intentional or accidental.
Officers rushed the suspect to Mountainview Regional Medical Center because Memorial Medical Center, which is a block away, was on lockdown due to the incident.
No police officers were injured during the pursuit. Investigators later determined that the gun used had been reported stolen in Las Cruces.ABC News on Friday evening corrected an explosive special report that aired in the morning saying that Donald Trump, as a candidate for president, had asked Michael Flynn to make contact with Russians.
During "World News Tonight," ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross said the source who had provided the initial information for his story later told him that it was as president-elect, not as a candidate, that Trump asked Flynn to contact the Russians.
The initial report, based on one anonymous source, prompted a dramatic reaction in the financial markets, and the Dow fell more than 350 points.
Stocks largely recovered later in the day.
The sharp slide in the stock market came within minutes of an ABC News report that Flynn is prepared to testify that Trump directed him to make contact with Russians. https://t.co/0Muyz3cZfZ pic.twitter.com/PtBgdLY3CC — CNNMoney (@CNNMoney) December 1, 2017
CNN had reached out to ABC News in the early afternoon to ask why Ross' initial reporting was not included in the network's online story about Flynn pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.
Several hours later, a spokesperson for the network told CNN that Ross would be issuing a "clarification" on "World News Tonight," which airs at 6:30 p.m. ET.
"[A] clarification tonight on something one of Flynn's confidants told us and we reported earlier today," Ross said on the program. "He said the president had asked Flynn to contact Russia during the campaign. He's now clarifying that saying, according to Flynn, candidate Trump asked him during the campaign to find ways to repair relations with Russia and other world hot spots. And then after the election, the president-elect asked him to contact Russia on issues including working together to fight ISIS."
A tweet published by ABC News containing Ross' initial report had been retweeted more than 25,000 times and embedded in various news stories online before it was deleted. ABC posted a "clarification" on Twitter around 8 p.m.
An ABC spokesperson said the network learned its initial reporting was incorrect at about 6 p.m. The network spokesperson declined to say if any disciplinary action would occur.
ABC's decision to call its correction a "clarification" prompted immediate criticism.
"If we want to regain trust in the media, we need to admit our mistakes, especially when as consequential as this. Retract. Correct. Don't use weasel words to describe it," Jonathan Swan of Axios tweeted.
If we want to regain trust in the media we need to admit our mistakes, especially when as consequential as this. Retract. Correct. Don't use weasel words to describe it. https://t.co/jFIavaQ4yv — Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) December 2, 2017
Greta Van Susteren blasted ABC for trying to "sugar coat" its mistake by characterizing it as a "clarification."
Shortly before 11 p.m., after a barrage of criticism, ABC posted a new tweet with the header "Correction" instead of "Clarification" followed by the same text as the prior tweet. The original tweet was deleted.
CORRECTION of ABC News Special Report: Flynn prepared to testify that President-elect Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians *during the transition* -- initially as a way to work together to fight ISIS in Syria, confidant now says. https://t.co/ewrkVZTu2K pic.twitter.com/URLiHf3uSm — ABC News (@ABC) December 2, 2017
This is not the first high-profile mistake by Ross. In a 2012 piece for which he apologized, he suggested that the Aurora shooter may have had a connection to the Tea Party.People who complain that Barack Obama lacks experience must be unaware of his legislative achievements. One reason these accomplishments are unfamiliar is that the media have not devoted enough attention to Obama's bills and the effort required to pass them, ignoring impressive, hard evidence of his character and ability.
Since most of Obama's legislation was enacted in Illinois, most of the evidence is found there -- and it has been largely ignored by the media in a kind of Washington snobbery that assumes state legislatures are not to be taken seriously. (Another factor is reporters' fascination with the horse race at the expense of substance that they assume is boring, a fascination that despite being ridiculed for years continues to dominate political journalism.)
I am a rarity among Washington journalists in that I have served in a state legislature. I know from my time in the West Virginia legislature that the challenges faced by reform-minded state representatives are no less, if indeed not more, formidable than those encountered in Congress. For me, at least, trying to deal with those challenges involved as much drama as any election. And the "heart and soul" bill, the one for which a legislator gives everything he or she has to get passed, has long told me more than anything else about a person's character and ability.
Consider a bill into which Obama clearly put his heart and soul. The problem he wanted to address was that too many confessions, rather than being voluntary, were coerced -- by beating the daylights out of the accused.
Obama proposed requiring that interrogations and confessions be videotaped.
This seemed likely to stop the beatings, but the bill itself aroused immediate opposition. There were Republicans who were automatically tough on crime and Democrats who feared being thought soft on crime. There were death penalty abolitionists, some of whom worried that Obama's bill, by preventing the execution of innocents, would deprive them of their best argument. Vigorous opposition came from the police, too many of whom had become accustomed to using muscle to "solve" crimes. And the incoming governor, Rod Blagojevich, announced that he was against it.
Obama had his work cut out for him.
He responded with an all-out campaign of cajolery. It had not been easy for a Harvard man to become a regular guy to his colleagues. Obama had managed to do so by playing basketball and poker with them and, most of all, by listening to their concerns. Even Republicans came to respect him. One Republican state senator, Kirk Dillard, has said that "Barack had a way both intellectually and in demeanor that defused skeptics."
The police proved to be Obama's toughest opponent. Legislators tend to quail when cops say things like, "This means we won't be able to protect your children." The police tried to limit the videotaping to confessions, but Obama, knowing that the beatings were most likely to occur during questioning, fought -- successfully -- to keep interrogations included in the required videotaping.
By showing officers that he shared many of their concerns, even going so far as to help pass other legislation they wanted, he was able to quiet the fears of many.
Obama proved persuasive enough that the bill passed both houses of the legislature, the Senate by an incredible 35 to 0. Then he talked Blagojevich into signing the bill, making Illinois the first state to require such videotaping.
Obama didn't stop there. He played a major role in passing many other bills, including the state's first earned-income tax credit to help the working poor and the first ethics and campaign finance law in 25 years (a law a Post story said made Illinois "one of the best in the nation on campaign finance disclosure"). Obama's commitment to ethics continued in the U.S. Senate, where he co-authored the new lobbying reform law that, among its hard-to-sell provisions, requires lawmakers to disclose the names of lobbyists who "bundle" contributions for them.
Taken together, these accomplishments demonstrate that Obama has what Dillard, the Republican state senator, calls a "unique" ability "to deal with extremely complex issues, to reach across the aisle and to deal with diverse people." In other words, Obama's campaign claim that he can persuade us to rise above what divides us is not just rhetoric.
I do not think that a candidate's legislative record is the only measure of presidential potential, simply that Obama's is revealing enough to merit far more attention than it has received. Indeed, the media have been equally delinquent in reporting the legislative achievements of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, both of whom spent years in the U.S. Senate. The media should compare their legislative records to Obama's, devoting special attention to their heart-and-soul bills and how effective each was in actually making law.
Charles Peters, the founding editor of the Washington Monthly, is president of Understanding Government, a foundation devoted to better government through better reporting.Microsoft has chosen a name for its new unified enterprise technology conference that kicks off next May, and opened registration for it on October 16.
The new conference, Ignite, will be held May 4 through 8 in Chicago. Ignite replaces and brings under a single umbrella a number of Microsoft conferences including TechEd, the Microsoft Management Summit, the Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and Project conferences.
The Microsoft speaker line-up for the show includes CEO Satya Nadella, Corporate Vice President Brad Anderson, UX chief Joe Belfiore, Chief Technology Officer Dave Campbell, Executive Vice President of Global Business Development Peggy Johnson, OS services chief Chris Jones, Executive Vice President Julie Larson-Green (who is working on redesigning the Office UI), Skype/Lync Corporate Vice President Gurdeep Singh Pall and many others.
Microsoft also went public on October 16 with its dates for its next Build conference. The next Build show will be held in San Francisco April 29 to May 1.
Here's how Microsoft officials are positioning Ignite:
"If you are on the hook to help your company make the right tech moves in the new world of mobile and cloud, Ignite is the show for you. For the first time ever, we’re putting under one roof the education, vision and guidance for the full spectrum of our enterprise solutions....
"We’re going to cover it all, across cloud infrastructure and management, big data and analytics, productivity, unified communications, operating systems, mobile devices and more. You’ll get the practical guidance and the insight you need to build a game plan for that big project....
"In addition to hundreds of sessions, technical training, hands-on labs and opportunities for certification, we’re making it a priority to give attendees direct access to hundreds of Microsoft engineers and executives. Our top gearheads and thought leaders will be there in force, ready to step down from the podium and get into the weeds with you."
Interestingly, Ignite was not on the initial list of conference names Microsoft floated with some of its insiders earlier this year. To me, this name is better than any of those previous ideas.
In addition to Ignite and Build 2015, other shows already on Microsoft's 2015 conference calendar include Convergence 2015 (its Dynamics CRM/ERP show) which will be in Atlanta March 16-19; and the Worldwide Partner Conference 2015, which will be in Orlando July 12-16.Dr. Kelli Ward is speaking out about her opponent Senator John McCain and Secretary Hillary Clinton’s support and defense over the years for Huma Abedin.
For years it has been speculated that Abedin’s family has very direct ties to the Muslim Brotherhood as well as other organizations that support terror. In spite of these ties, Senator John McCain has defended Abedin. He most famously did this from the floor of the Senate in 2012.
However, since the revelations this week of not only Abedin’s ties to radicalism, but her mother and her father’s as well, Dr. Kelli Ward—who is in a razor thin battle going into Arizona’s primary Tuesday—thinks it’s time for McCain and Clinton to come clean about Huma Abedin. Ward said:
Hillary’s favorite Republican John McCain defended Huma Abedin on the Senate floor, but he also needs to come clean about supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which resulted in the severe persecution of Christians. In addition to religious slaughter and church burnings, Egyptian President Morsi, whom McCain vocally supported, called Jews “apes and pigs.” How can we trust John McCain’s judgment on foreign policy? He literally said that terrorists shouting ‘Allahu Ahkbar’ is the equivalent of Christians saying ‘Thank God.’ The world is indeed on fire as he says, but he and Hillary deserve full credit for lighting the match.
Abedin announced Monday morning that she was leaving her husband, former disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner, after he was once again caught sending obscene sexting photos to women, with one even featuring their young son in the photo sleeping beside Weiner.
In addition to all the drama with Weiner, in the past couple of days more and more has come to light about Huma Abedin’s past, as well as her parents’ pasts. Earlier this week it was revealed that Huma for twelve years worked for a radical Muslim journal that blamed 9/11 on Americans and American foreign policy and also blamed women for violence.
In addition to her work at the radical Muslim journal and thanks to Wiki-leaks we now know that Huma was the “fixer” for Hillary Clinton when it came to setting up meetings and connecting potential Clinton Global Initiative donors with favors from the Clinton State Department.
Also this week it was reported that Abedin’s mother, Saleha Mahmood Abedin, wrote an anti-women book. The New York Post reported, “Clinton not only spoke at a Saudi girls school run by her top aide Huma Abedin’s anti-feminist mother, but Clinton invited the elder Abedin to participate in a State Department event for ‘leading thinkers’ on women’s issues.”A century ago, an Oxford scholar named T.E. Lawrence (though commissioned in the British Army, he refused to refer to himself as a soldier) orchestrated and led the Arab Revolt against the Turks in the Arabian Peninsula, which drove the Ottoman Empire out of the First World War, helping to secure victory for the Triple Entente. In doing so, he ushered in a new era in conflict. While Europe was busy fighting in the Napoleonic style, with large, conscript armies, Lawrence devised a way to utilize a smaller force to his advantage, by constantly moving, and carrying out a series of swift attacks, before disappearing back into the population. This strategy drains the resources of a large army, which is forced to defend against attack from all directions, and in so doing, dramatically raises the cost of fighting for the more powerful state. “War upon rebellion”, as Lawrence put it, “was messy and slow, like eating soup with a knife.” In the past century, numerous political movements have taken up the strategy of T.E. Lawrence, most notably Mao’s communist forces in China and Ho Chi Minh’s in Vietnam. In this piece, I intend to analyze the principles Lawrence used in leading the Arab Revolt, and compare them with those used in modern asymmetric conflicts in the Middle East.
The first principle Lawrence adopted was to take the Clausewitzian view that political goals should drive strategy. I refer to this as the Bechdel Test of conflict, because while it seems like a fairly easy standard to meet, a surprisingly high number of cases fail. Lawrence knew that the goal of the Arabs was to drive the Turks from all Arabic-speaking lands, and he chose a strategy which could achieve this goal based on the resources he had compared with those of the enemy he faced.
The second principle was to focus on fighting the enemy, rather than fighting the map. Terrain, valued as it was, was only a means to an end. The defeat of the enemy’s army was the only way to achieve the Arab’s strategic goals. And yet, so many military commanders in the age of Napoleonic-style warfare have focused their resources on taking a city, hill, or rail line. In the American Civil War, the Army of the Potomac repeatedly lost battles (sometimes magnificently) because of the fixation of its commander on taking Richmond, the rebel capital. Meanwhile, Robert E. Lee maneuvered upon the hapless enemies and defeated them easily. Only when Ulysses S. Grant was given command of the Union Armies did fortunes change. Grant knew, as Lawrence would 50 years later, that the enemy’s army is the true objective.
Knowing his goal (removing the Turks) and knowing his means of achieving that goal (defeating the Turkish army), Lawrence crafted a strategy which could best utilize the resources he had available. He lacked a force which could compete with the Turks on the open field (at least initially), so there was no point in attempting to do so. The greatest asset of the Arabs, Lawrence reasoned, was the sympathy of the population. Because the people of Arabia wanted the Turks out as well, they would aid Lawrence and Feisel by supplying their forces. Without need of a large logistical footprint, the Arabs were able to carry out a ghost war, attacking Turkish troop trains and logistics lines without engaging in direct combat. Lawrence stressed the military principle of Economy of Force, saying “of two men together, one is being wasted”. Without giving the Turks anything “material to the killing”, the Arab forces became “an idea”, which could not be attacked, but which required a great deal of resources to defend against. This made the occupation of the Arabian Peninsula much more costly to the Turks, and helped to bring about the conditions for their eventual defeat.
It is fair to note here that Lawrence did not always live by the idea of small, guerrilla style attacks. In taking Aqaba and Damascus, he engaged in larger, more conventional military maneuvers. However, this was done because the situation had changed. Having secured the commitment of British conventional forces for these attacks, including artillery and infantry support, Lawrence had the flexibility to change tactics. This should not be seen as a change in strategy, however, as the defeat of the Turkish military was still the main strategic goal for achieving their aims. Additionally, taking Damascus was important to the Arab cause, not because of its own value, but because it followed the defeat of the Turkish army garrisoned there.
In the Middle East today, a number of political/religious/tribal movements are fighting asymmetric conflicts against states. Here I wish to examine three of those movements to determine how their strategies align with the example set by Lawrence.
Al-Qaeda/the Taliban in Afghanistan
For fear of taking too much liberty, I don’t wish to pretend that the aims of al-Qaeda and the Taliban are completely congruent. However, we can say that they both have a common interest in expelling western forces from their lands, so as to lead to the implementation of conservative Islamic law. These are their political goals, and, much like Lawrence and Clausewitz, their strategy is driven by them.
The Taliban, it should be said, have stayed true to the enemy-centric approach to warfare promoted by Lawrence. They do not “waste” assets attempting to take cities, hills, or other terrain features. All of their strength is |
Moore had started to give some identity to the leader, and you may have not even know that at that point?
A: I think at that point I didn’t know.
Q: So you came up with the idea of the angel, is that correct?
A: Yup.
Q: And you wrote in your script whatever information was included at least at that time in her story, correct?
A: There was -- yes. There was also the solicitation in which that was, if memory serves, that would have been where I named her, which was done before.
Q: And you understood from the outset and throughout the process that Todd was going to be the artist who drew the visual image of the character of Angela, correct?
A: Yes.
Q: And I understand that you sent some thumbnail sketches along with your script to sort of give an idea of how it visually might layout as the story progressed, is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: But did you hear Todd testify the other day that he drew the actual character of Angela who appeared on the cover as part of the solicitation that he submitted prior to receiving your script?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you agree with that or is that how you recall it?
A: Yes.
Q: Let me ask you then about the -- another question about Angela. Then it’s my understanding, we will talk a little bit more about this in a few minutes, that the Angela character sort of took on a life of her own, at least to the extent that she ended up getting her own three-issue mini-series about two years later, is that right?
A: Yes.
Q: And you were the author of all three issues of the Angela mini-series, correct?
A: Yes.
Q: Two other characters that are central to this lawsuit that you have alleged were your creations in issue 9, one is Cogliostro and one is Medieval Spawn, is that right?
A: Yes.
Q: I would like to ask you about Cogliostro.
A: Go for it.
Q: Tell me how you got the idea for this character.
A: Spawn was kind of dumb, and he was sitting, living in this alley with these burns. And Todd had this gadget, this sort of device of his power counter going down.
And I had to have something for him to do in the alley while he was waiting for Angela to turn up and beat him up, which means that he has to have a conversation with somebody, which means that I wanted a -- it needed to be somebody who knew a little bit more than he did, the idea being that I wanted a character who just was there in order to basically say aha, you don’t know what’s going on and there is all sorts of mysterious stuff and furthermore, there is cool things to learn.
Q: Sort of give a little exposition at that point about things that may come up in the future or maybe things that happened in the past?
A: Exactly. And in the first draft of the script I called him old man. And then I thought well, let’s give him a name. And I called him Count Nicholas Cogliostro. I named him after the assumed name of Joseph Balsamo, who was an eighteenth century fraudulent magician, because I thought, I liked the idea of naming him after a fraud. He is an old fraud, but he is also a fraud that knows the truth.
Q: Is that character you mentioned, the assumed name of the eighteenth century fake magician, fraud magician, you are probably more familiar with this than I am, I have seen that name in some other literary works. It popped up in last year’s movie The Affair of the Necklace, which is the old story of --
A: That’s--
Q: Is that the same character?
A: Same guy.
Q: So that’s where you had the name and decided to be -- it made some sense to draw in a name of somebody that had a fraudulent background. Were you meaning to imply that this guy was a fraud as well?
A: Well, fraudulent and magical and, no, my idea for that character, and to be honest, I have no idea how much of this Todd has or hasn’t used because it’s been many, many years since I have looked at a Spawn, my idea for the character that I told Todd when he asked me about him was that this guy was one of the hell Spawn from the dawn of time who had survived the –the idea was, Todd had this whole thing set up whereby the Spawns come in with a power counter and when your power counter hit zero, the devil gets you.
And I thought well, wouldn’t it be cool if there was just one of these old guys, you know, I don’t ever have to run my power counter down, I don’t have to run around fighting crime, I can work other ways and he would come in sort of as Spawn’s mentor wherever he needed him, just somebody.
Todd didn’t have anybody in the series that could come in and say anything like aha, you shouldn’t have done that, a little bit of wisdom over here for you, which gives you a plot. If you are writing a monthly comic, you need a character that will do that. You need something that will do that.
So while I had Spawn stuck in this alley with a bunch of bums and --
Q: Let me just stop you right there. Just so I understand, do you visualize Cogliostro not so much as a character about whom the story was, as much as the plot device, to help the story move along, to help direct or lead Spawn through the path as he went forward, is that right?
A: As an author, you can’t divide characters into characters and plot devices. Characters have a function, which can be a plot device, but they are also characters.
His basic function was I wanted Spawn to have somebody to talk to. And I wanted Spawn to be – I wanted Spawn to be distracted by something, by the conversation at the point where Angela comes up behind him and goes whomp, which meant that -- I had never written a fight scene. I quite liked the idea of writing a comic with shouting, hitting and running around, which is not something I had written before, but I thought okay, if I’m going to do this, it has to have shape and purpose, it has to be surprising and interesting and I need a conversation.
So was he created as a plot device, well, Angela was created as a plot device. Everybody is created as a plot device, they are part of the story, but yes, he had a function and I assumed that it was a function that would just be the action, again, the action of leaving behind more than I was -- more than I could deal with at that point, but it would give Todd stuff that he could do stuff with.
Q: You said that all characters are characters, some have plot device type of functions at certain times, I don’t want to mischaracterize you, but is that --
A: Well, all characters have plot device characters. The hero is the hero. He has a function in the plot. If he meets a mysterious old man who knows something gnomic, that’s a character too. He also has a function in the plot.
Q: Would you agree with me that there are characters who are more involved in a particular issue or in the ongoing story than other characters? In other words, are there major characters and minor characters?
A: In what story?
Q: In any story, just as a general matter, or are all characters equal in their value to the story?
A: You are talking to somebody who made not only a living, but got huge critical recognition out of the fact that one of the things that I would do continually in sandman was introduce somebody as a minor character and then bring them back several years later as a major character. Characters who came on for two panels would come back six years later.
So if you are talking about an ongoing storyline, there is no such thing as a character who will always be a minor character, because you have a story every month to fill and you are going to want to go back and use them.
Q: In fact, wouldn’t it be fair to say that only until you got to the end of the story would you be able to look back and say well, that character turned out only to be minor after all and never did come back?
A: Yes, but the end of the story would not be the end of the issue.
Q: Correct.
A: The end of the story would be 10 years down the line.
Q: I mean 75 issues as you had in Sandman. You were at Todd’s deposition the other day.
Again, you Did you hear his description of how he ultimately, in his mind, changed the Cogliostro character in future issues from the character that appeared in your script?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you agree that that was an accurate description as far as you know of how Todd treated the Cogliostro character or do you take exception to something he said there?
A: His description of me asking him what I wanted putting in and him saying he needed the Cogliostro character was a lie, this anti-Moses thing. As I recall at the end of the issue, once he had drawn it, he phoned me up and he said “Hey, this Cogliostro guy, who is he?”
And I said “Well, I have got this idea, you know, an old Spawn,” and so forth. He said “Oh, I thought he was Moses.” So I drew him holding this box as if he was Moses going down, with wine, as if he was Moses going down from the mountain.
I heard Todd say he had expanded on the character and made him, he kept saying more of a Harvard man, you know. He said my guy was a lush, his guy went to Harvard, but characters do change.
The most significant change, at least according to the response to our lawsuit, was that Todd had changed the character’s name, which Todd admitted during his deposition had occurred during a letterer’s error, which changed Cagliostro to Cogliostro, and because he couldn’t remember what the character’s first name was, at some point later down the line when he had to give him a first name and didn’t bother going back and checking. So that was what Mr McFarlane testified to at his deposition as to the character’s name.
Q: In any event, you would agree in subsequent issues of Spawn, the character does have a slightly different name than the one you gave it, is that correct?
A: Due to a lettering error, absolutely.
Q: Would you agree that the character in subsequent issues has a personality that has developed in ways that were not necessarily included in your first script?
A: All characters do that.
Q: And so that over time, as you have described in the Sandman circumstances, a character who has a relatively minor role perhaps that might be defined in terms of numbers of panels or pages in which that character appears, at a later point in time, maybe years later, takes on a much more substantial role, is that correct?
A: I don’t understand your question.
Q: Well, I’m just trying to understand the change process you described. You talked about Sandman. And I believe it was your testimony that there are times when you introduce a character who is minor -- and let me ask you a question right there.
When you used the term a minor character who later becomes a major character, do you recall that testimony?
A: As I recall it was you that used the phrase minor character from the beginning, but yes.
Q: Let me ask you. Is that a word we can use just so we understand what we are talking about? And use a different one if I’m using the wrong one.
What I’m referring to, I believe you testified that there were characters that you introduce all the time and they may not have a significant role at the time you introduce them, but that at some point in the future they come back and have a much larger role in the story, is that -- am I mischaracterizing your testimony?
A: An example of that for me might be the angel whose name I remember possibly incorrectly as Gabrielle in issue 9. She is a minor character. In terms of issue 9, there are four major characters in it, given the body of what I wrote. I wouldn’t classify any of them as minor characters.
I would classify the major characters in what I wrote, just by allocating speaking parts, as Angela, Medieval Spawn,. Spawn and Cogliostro. The minor characters would be Gabrielle and the burns in the alley. And I think that’s it for characters in my issue.
In terms of whether any of them would become important, if Gabrielle, the angel to whom Angela goes and-reports at the beginning, had then gone off to get her own series or then turned up in important ways, as she did in -- I put her in my scene in 26, I used her in the Angela mini-series. That’s more taking a minor character and giving them a major role.
Q: Can you give me an example of a character in the Sandman series that was introduced in an early issue perhaps and came back to have a larger role in a later issue?
A: Sure. I created a character called Barbie in sandman 11 or 12.
Q: Barbie?
A: Barbie.
Q: Bobby?
A: B-a-r-b-i-e, like the toy. And she was a ditsy blonde who had a boyfriend named Ken. And they just thought that was so cute. And you got to see nothing of her except that she was one of a dozen people or half a dozen people living in a big old rooming house.
She had this boyfriend named Ken. They thought that was cute. And in one panel, maybe two panels, you saw that she had this strange dream life where she was on this odd quest with a giant dog. And then in Sandman 32 I think it was, it may have been later, it may have been 34, but, you know, several years later I came back and made Barbie this character who had been in a handful of panels and nothing important. She was scenery as far as anyone was concerned.
She got her own storyline, which was called A Game of You. And she was the protagonist. And that, for me, would be taking a minor character and putting them on stage.
Q: When the Barbie character got her own storyline, and she’s in 32 or 34, whatever it was, issue, A Game of You, did she have character traits in that issue that were not apparent in the first issue?
A: Of course. Characters evolve. And if they are going to bear more weight, you are going to change them.
By that point she had started, she had left her husband and had started painting chessboard designs on the side of her face and went off on this strange and wonderful dream quest which was the subject of the story, but all characters change. All characters evolve over time.
Q: Let me ask you about Medieval Spawn, that character.
When you submitted your script for issue 9, did you give that character a name?
A: No. I just said he was -- what had happened on him is I had phoned Todd and said -- and I thought, because Todd had this whole thing with this guy in the Army of Hell. And I thought oh, okay, if you have got the Army of Hell, you don’t just want one captain. This is something that the devil could have been doing for a long time. And that would give you, that would give -- and my main thing was that will give Todd a lot to play with if you get bored.
It’s a wonderful thing not to be stuck in 1992 and having to do all your stories in 1992. You could have some past. You could have some cool stuff. So I phoned Todd up. I said “I have got an idea. Tell me, have there ever been any other Spawn characters in the past.” And he said I don’t know. And I said “Well, could there have been?” And he said “Sure, if you want it.” And I said great.
And so that was my -- so I took that, I went okay, Spawn is in the past, what would be romantic and what would be sort of cool if I was a 12-year-old boy, because that was my sort of, you know -- a lot of what I was trying to do with Spawn number 9 was okay, so I’m 12 or 13, what would be cool to see. And I thought well, a knight in armor.
So let’s do a Spawn who is a knight in armor, and that would be fun. And she can kill him, and it will be 800 years ago and then now she is coming back to kill our guy. So he was the Spawn then.
Q: And he just had the name -- does he have a name?
A: I just referred to him as the Spawn.
Q: And his costume is pretty similar to the modern day Spawn’s, other than it’s a suit of armor appropriate for a knight? I mean, he didn’t have --
A: Other than it’s a suit of armor appropriate for a knight, and not a dark, one piece with chains, it’s the same thing.
The idea that Alan Moore had come up with that I remember Alan telling me on the phone, I don’t think I had seen Alan’s issue before I got to write mine just because of the way -- the speed with which these things were being done, but I spoke to Alan and I remember Alan phoning up and saying I have got a great idea, the Spawn costume is alive.
Todd had asked him if he could come up with an explanation for why Todd kept forgetting and drawing different numbers of spikes and chains and things on the Spawn from panel to panel. So Alan’s idea was well, the costume is alive, which I just thought was a lovely idea.
So I gave him -- I thought okay, we will take something like what the Spawn costume is and then reconceive it as you are a medieval knight in armor, you know. He has a different -- I gave him a little back story in the thing, not much because I didn’t have -- I only had 22 pages to play with, and I had, you know, he had to be dead by page 8, but I gave him a little bit of back story. You got the feeling that he had a similar kind of story to Spawn’s but not the same.
In this case it was his sister who was somebody who -- the person who was still living who was important to him and not his wife and so forth.
Q: Other than the description you gave of him in the script, did you write anything else down or draw any pictures of --
A: Yes, I gave Todd my thumbnails. Sorry I interrupted.
Q: That’s okay. Other than the thumbnails and your description of the character, the medieval, the 800-year-old Spawn character in the script, did you write -- did you draw any other pictures independent of the thumbnails of the Spawn character?
A: I could conceivably have doodled them, but nobody would have seen them but me other than the thumbnails.
Q: So your entire submission for issue 9 was made up of the script and the thumbnails you attached with it, is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the Medieval Spawn character appear in issue 26?
A: Not that I recall.
Q: Did he appear in the Angela mini-series?
A: I think I put his helmet in there on her trophy room. The only other use that I know of that’s been made of Medieval Spawn was he was a number of toys, and rather to my surprise, Image put out a series with him in which I was never sent, so I never read.
Q: So you never brought him back in a later issue of Spawn that you worked on, is that correct?
A: He was dead. I killed him. The first thing I did was kill him.
Q: What about Cogliostro, did you ever bring him back as a character in either issue 26 or the Angela mini-series that you worked on for Spawn?
A: No, there was no need for him.
Q: So the only characters that you brought back a second time from issue 9 were Angela and Gabrielle, is that right, as far as you know?
A: Yes.
Q: And of course Spawn appears?
A: And Spawn.
Q: But Spawn was obviously created prior to issue 9, is that correct?
A: Exactly.
Q: Would you agree that the character that we have been calling Medieval Spawn was a derivative work of the Spawn character, the original Spawn character?
A: Absolutely.
Q: But Angela and Cogliostro were not derivative characters, is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: There is no earlier incarnation of either of those characters in Spawn issues 1 through 8, is that right?
A: Not at all.
MR ARNTSEN: When you hit a chapter break, let’s stop for lunch.
MR SALSICH: Yeah, I’m thinking this is actually a good time. Let’s do that.
(A noon recess is taken)
(11:40 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.)
Q: Mr Gaiman, before we took a break, we were talking at some length about what we had agreed to call the 1992 agreement. Do you recall that testimony?
A: I do.
Q: And I suppose we just, since we have all taken a break and gotten back into our conversational mode, we should remind ourselves that, for the record this afternoon, and I’m going to try to move things along more quickly this afternoon with specific questions and show you some documents and so forth, if we can try to pay attention to those formalities, it will make things go faster and make a cleaner record. Is that okay?
A: Absolutely.
Q: And I just want to clarify a couple things that you stated. You testified, did you not, that the first time you had a conversation with Todd McFarlane about specific financial terms related to the 1992 agreement was either in 1995 or 1996, is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: So at the time you were entering into the 1992 agreement with Mr McFarlane, you never discussed any particular percentage royalty rates that might apply, did you?
A: No.
Q: And you never discussed what would be done in the case of reprints, did you?
A: No.
Q: And you never discussed even the possibility of toys or action figures being created based on any of the work you were doing, did you?
A: I remember at one point in those early days, Mr McFar1ane said that he would have to trademark the characters in his name because of the toys and I didn’t have -- but that I shouldn’t worry about that and I said fine.
Q: When was that conversation, do you know?
A: That was sometime in early ‘93. I don’t remember when he got the toy company actually together. I remember it as being early ‘93.
Q: Was this before or after issue 9 was completed?
A: I don’t know.
Q: Do you recall anything else about that conversation?
A: Just that it was in there with a lot of other stuff, but I do remember, that was the only recollection specific I have to toys of those days.
Q: You didn’t talk anything specific as to if a toy is created based on one of these characters, that you would get some percentage of the sales of that toy, did you?
A: I remember him again saying “Hey, I’m going to look after,” you know, he said I’m going to do toys and saying that he would look after me, but there was no specific figures mentioned and I assumed his good faith.
Q: I understand. Sometimes lawyers, we’ve got to get to the specifics. Certainly if an generally helps us get to those specifics, please let me know.
The 1992 agreement that we have been talking about, was that, as far as you know, was that limited to your work on issue 9?
A: Limited to my work on issue 9 and any use that Mr McFarlane made of it.
Q: Of issue 9?
A: Yes.
Q: What about issue 26, did you not submit some work for issue 26?
A: Yes, and I assumed that we were in the same, having heard nothing to the contrary, I assumed we were still in the same ballpark.
Q: Would that be true also of the Angela mini-series, the work you did on that?
A: Absolutely.
Q: When you were doing issue 26, was that around 1994, do you know?
A: Around then.
Q: And the Angela mini-series came around that same time, did it not?
A: I wrote that stuff together. In fact, I may have even written the bit for 26 after I wrote the Angela series, just going, I really wanted -- there was a little piece of bridge information that I really wanted in the storyline, which I hadn’t been able to put into the Angela series because it hadn’t started there and I just wanted to set things up.
Q: And so the Angela mini-series and the work you did on issue 26, those would have been 1994?
A: Yes.
Q: Does that sound right? So in any event, prior to the financial discussions you had with Todd McFarlane in 1995 or 1996, correct?
A: Yes.
Q: And so the work you did on the Angela mini-series and the work you did on issue 26 I as far as you knew, was done on the same terms as you had agreed in 1992 with Todd regarding issue 9?
A: Yes.
Q: When you started having the conversations with Todd in 1995 or 1996 -- and let me ask you specifically. Have you had a chance, since we had this conversation earlier this morning, to determine whether your meeting with Todd in Phoenix was in 1995 or 1996?
A: The meeting was in 1996. There may have been conversations that led to the meeting because otherwise I can’t imagine, it’s much more me going, you know, I wouldn’t have just flown out to Phoenix, to sort it out face-to-face if we haven’t had phone conversations or I was obviously not satisfied with the way things were going on the phone.
Q: When you had your meeting with Todd in 1996 in Phoenix, is it fair to say that’s the first time you and Todd discussed specific financial terms that in your mind should have applied to the 1992 agreement?
A: Yes.
Q: At that time did you -- well, tell me at that time what you told Todd, if you can remember, that the terms should have been?
A: Well, what was happening -- let me just preface this by what was going on at that point.
Q: Please do.
A: In the meantime Todd did a Medieval Spawn toy. It was one of his first rollouts of the toys. He credited me, unasked, which I thought was very nice of him as the co-creator of the character on a comic that came out with the toy and later sent me a check for $20,000, which although it didn’t come with any breakdown of how it was derived, and in fact, I think just came with a helpful note “This is for Todd because we love you,” or something like that, I was told on the phone was my royalty share of the Medieval Spawn toy, which I thought was really cool.
And then Todd -- then I wrote the medieval, the Angela series
Q: Let me stop you there if I can. It’s your recollection that the Medieval Spawn toy came out and that you received the $20,000 check --
A: It was 20,000 six, there was a bunch of figures.
Q: Okay. I realize that it may have a different, 20,800 and something dollars and something cents, we are referring to the same the payment you received for the Medieval Spawn toys, right?
A: Yes.
Q: I want to get a timing here. If I understood you correctly, your testimony is that those events occurred, the toy being produced and you receiving payment for it, Medieval Spawn, was prior to your writing the Angela mini-series, is that correct?
A: That would be my recollection. It may have occurred about the same time.
It would be easy enough to check. I mean, it will be in the documents.
Q: So in any event, so go on, you were saying you got this money for the toy and lead me up to of you getting to Phoenix.
A: So I have been paid money for the toy, don’t know how it’s been arrived at, but it’s $20,000 and that seems a fair amount to me and Todd seems to be living up to his hey, you can trust me and I’m looking after you side of the deal.
Then 1995, late 1994, early 1995, the Angela toys are out. I remember being incredibly proud when they made the cover of USA Today as the most inappropriate toy of the year, according to the American Family Association. And I would hear from Todd that they were selling incredibly well and that they were incredibly popular, cool, the Angela toys.
And I thought great, I will get a royalty on these. Nothing ever happened, no payment ever came in. I would ring Todd’s people and say “Is there a payment,” and they would go “Oh, yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it, we are not businessmen here.” Todd would say that a lot, that he wasn’t a businessman, he was a creator and you just had to bear with a certain amount of disorganization and his funny way of doing things. So I waited. Never saw any royalty.
I had written the Angela mini-series. And the main reason I had actually written the Angela mini-series was my son, Mike, at that point was 13, going on 14, if memory serves, and he had found a copy of Spawn or he had found one of these Medieval Spawn toys and said this is really cool. And he started asking me, you know, “Dad, why didn’t you write something I could read. I love this Spawn stuff.”
So I found Todd and said “Okay, I think I’m – it looks like I’m going to be writing another series for you. Let’s do Angela. And let’s do it as a three issue mini-series. “ And Todd said great.
And really it was just written for Mike. The last issue, in the letter column we put a photo of his hockey team, which he loved, so --
Q: Tell me again, so moving forward again and --
A: Sir, I really was on the way.
Q: I apologize for interrupting you. I don’t want to -- like I said, I do want to get through some things by five today.
A: I’m sorry.
Q: That’s all right. Because it’s all important. It’s all part of the story. But you have got the Angela things coming out?
A: Anyway, Angela comes out. I hear from them. Todd didn’t like trade paperbacks. Todd had said to me several times just in conversation there were things he didn’t like and he didn’t like trade paperbacks because they weren’t proper comics and he didn’t trust them.
And meanwhile, I was making a huge part of my income from trade paperbacks and saw that there was an enormous demand for them. So at one point in there they said we are going to be bringing out Angela in trade paperback. And I said great, we should work out a royalty deal on this. I said -- I was feeling less comfortable by that point with the idea --
Q: Let me stop you right there. You just said that you found out that they were going to do an Angela trade paperback of the three issues that you had done, is that right?
A: Yes.
Q: And you said “Great, let’s work on a royalty deal,” is that what you just said?
A: Well, I said to them what is the -- do we have a royalty deal on this. Up until that point the only the way that things seemed to work was one would get these checks and they would say here is a check for $800 because Todd thinks you are a good guy. And I actually saw in the press at one point an interview with Todd where he was saying no, we don’t do royalties, we just send people love checks and they are better than any royalties could ever be.
So I didn’t trust the love checks and I went out to Phoenix. I talked to Todd. I do remember talking to him. I have no recollection of what the substance of the conversations were in ‘95.
Toward the end of ‘95 about I think I was getting a little bit testy here, I felt like there were no checks coming in, he had these things and he was not paying and there seemed to be no real effort to pay.
And I was concerned that, as I said earlier, that Todd could either sell the toy business to Mattel or he could get hit by a truck and there would be no paper records of any kind of deal and I thought we needed to memorialize it.
Q: So you thought in 1995. you have now seen the Medieval Spawn toy you got a check for, but now later there is a Angela toy that apparently is very popular, but you have not seen a check for that, is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: And the Angela trade paperbacks coming out and it occurs to you that now it’s time to figure out what your royalty arrangement is with Todd because the actions that Todd has taken in the last three years don’t tell you what your royalty deal is, is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: So then you have your meeting in 1996 --
A: Yes.
Q: with Todd and that meeting is in Phoenix?
A: It is.
Q: Do you recall what time of year?
A: I think it would have been late spring, very early summer because I had just come back from England where I had made a TV show and I remember I had a tape of one of the episodes with me.
Q: I was going to ask you if it was hot, but that really wouldn’t help you in Phoenix.
A: It was very, very hot.
Q: Well, that tells me it was spring as opposed to hot in January. Okay.
Now, you are up to this meeting in late Spring of ‘96 and this is when you and Todd sit down and start hashing out --
A: We sit -- we are not at this point in any way -- it is not in any way adversarial at this point. It’s me going in and saying look, you said when we started this whole deal, you would take better care of me than DC did, we have to put something down on paper. You could sell to Mattel tomorrow, you could get hit by a car tomorrow, I don’t trust your wife to send me love checks or to know what they are for, I have created characters for you, you are using them, if you go on to do TV or movies and put them in, there is a whole other world out here that we have yet not gone into. Let’s get this down on paper.
Q: So is it correct to say that at the time you meet with Todd in Phoenix, you two do not have a deal regarding future movie rights, you do not have a deal regarding future TV rights based on the use of these characters, would that be correct?
MR ARNTSEN: I’m going to just object as vague. He said in terms of the DC Comics I have a deal in terms of general terms as opposed to say five percent of this or for this.
Q: That’s fair. Let’s do it this way. Let me ask you another question or two, then maybe I will hand you some documents and we can start focusing in.
A: Okay. Shall I finish about the Phoenix meeting?
Q: Please do.
A: Okay. And Todd kept saying “But you can trust me and I will send you, I will send you bigger checks than you will get if you have a contract.” And I said “Todd, call me silly, but I would much rather have a written contract and $500 in royalties than $1,500 that is going to turn up on a whim and could end the moment that you decide it’s not convenient.”
And he said that he thought that was crazy and I said that that was how, you know, just assume that was how I was billed. And we then wound up – then everything ended very badly in terms of Todd had to wrap up rather quickly. Larry Marder had come out for that meeting because they just learned that Marc Silvestri had left the Image partnership that day, so they had to sort of get on the phone and try to sort that out.
The way it was left, ended was Todd saying “Do you trust me?” I said “I trust you completely.” He said “Good. Then I will work this out in a way that is going to be fine.” He said “I’m really pleased you came down here. You have been completely reasonable and we will sort this out.”
And he also said that, he mentioned to me he just bought Miracleman. And he said “What are you going to do with Miracleman? What are you thinking about.” And I said “I don’t know at this point.”
And he said “Well, I have had lawyers look over the agreement that you made with Alan Moore and we think we could break it, but obviously we are going to honor it. So you have -- you know, we are going to respect your third of Miracleman, but we need to figure out what it is and it may be a bargaining chip.” And I said “Well, that’s fine.”
Q: Let me get this straight a[FOM] Simple Turing machines, Universality, Encodings, etc.
Not wanting to push my luck I'll settle for one question. How did an argument containing such an elementary fallacy get through the filter? Smith gives a series of what I'll call finitary systems each of which runs the computation for a specified number of steps, each simulating its predecessor, then gives a non-finitary system (PDF page 21, Table of Contents page 19) that concatenates the initial conditions of progressively longer computations and runs one of the finitary systems on that concatenation. The non-finitary system is evidently universal, and the program performing the concatenation is equally evidently non-universal. Smith infers from this that the machine checking each of the concatenated initial conditions in turn must be universal. The analogous argument for numbers in place of machines and "infinite" in place of "universal" would be, if x+y is infinite and y is finite then x must be infinite. This line of reasoning |
source of doubt would not so perpetually recur. It has often been stated that domestic races do not differ from each other in characters of generic value. It can be shown that this statement is not correct; but naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value; all such valuations being at present empirical. When it is explained how genera originate under nature, it will be seen that we have no right to expect often to find a generic amount of difference in our domesticated races.
In attempting to estimate the amount of structural difference between allied domestic races, we are soon involved in doubt, from not knowing whether they are descended from one or several parent species. This point, if it could be cleared up, would be interesting; if, for instance, it could be shown that the greyhound, bloodhound, terrier, spaniel and bull-dog, which we all know propagate their kind truly, were the offspring of any single species, then such facts would have great weight in making us doubt about the immutability of the many closely allied natural species—for instance, of the many foxes—inhabiting the different quarters of the world. I do not believe, as we shall presently see, that the whole amount of difference between the several breeds of the dog has been produced under domestication; I believe that a small part of the difference is due to their being descended from distinct species. In the case of strongly marked races of some other domesticated species, there is presumptive or even strong evidence that all are descended from a single wild stock.
It has often been assumed that man has chosen for domestication animals and plants having an extraordinary inherent tendency to vary, and likewise to withstand diverse climates. I do not dispute that these capacities have added largely to the value of most of our domesticated productions; but how could a savage possibly know, when he first tamed an animal, whether it would vary in succeeding generations, and whether it would endure other climates? Has the little variability of the ass and goose, or the small power of endurance of warmth by the reindeer, or of cold by the common camel, prevented their domestication? I cannot doubt that if other animals and plants, equal in number to our domesticated productions, and belonging to equally diverse classes and countries, were taken from a state of nature, and could be made to breed for an equal number of generations under domestication, they would on an average vary as largely as the parent species of our existing domesticated productions have varied.
In the case of most of our anciently domesticated animals and plants, it is not possible to come to any definite conclusion, whether they are descended from one or several wild species. The argument mainly relied on by those who believe in the multiple origin of our domestic animals is, that we find in the most ancient times, on the monuments of Egypt, and in the lake-habitations of Switzerland, much diversity in the breeds; and that some of these ancient breeds closely resemble, or are even identical with, those still existing. But this only throws far backward the history of civilisation, and shows that animals were domesticated at a much earlier period than has hitherto been supposed. The lake-inhabitants of Switzerland cultivated several kinds of wheat and barley, the pea, the poppy for oil and flax; and they possessed several domesticated animals. They also carried on commerce with other nations. All this clearly shows, as Heer has remarked, that they had at this early age progressed considerably in civilisation; and this again implies a long continued previous period of less advanced civilisation, during which the domesticated animals, kept by different tribes in different districts, might have varied and given rise to distinct races. Since the discovery of flint tools in the superficial formations of many parts of the world, all geologists believe that barbarian men existed at an enormously remote period; and we know that at the present day there is hardly a tribe so barbarous as not to have domesticated at least the dog.
The origin of most of our domestic animals will probably forever remain vague. But I may here state that, looking to the domestic dogs of the whole world, I have, after a laborious collection of all known facts, come to the conclusion that several wild species of Canidae have been tamed, and that their blood, in some cases mingled together, flows in the veins of our domestic breeds. In regard to sheep and goats I can form no decided opinion. From facts communicated to me by Mr. Blyth, on the habits, voice, constitution and structure of the humped Indian cattle, it is almost certain that they are descended from a different aboriginal stock from our European cattle; and some competent judges believe that these latter have had two or three wild progenitors, whether or not these deserve to be called species. This conclusion, as well as that of the specific distinction between the humped and common cattle, may, indeed, be looked upon as established by the admirable researches of Professor Rutimeyer. With respect to horses, from reasons which I cannot here give, I am doubtfully inclined to believe, in opposition to several authors, that all the races belong to the same species. Having kept nearly all the English breeds of the fowl alive, having bred and crossed them, and examined their skeletons, it appears to me almost certain that all are the descendants of the wild Indian fowl, Gallus bankiva; and this is the conclusion of Mr. Blyth, and of others who have studied this bird in India. In regard to ducks and rabbits, some breeds of which differ much from each other, the evidence is clear that they are all descended from the common duck and wild rabbit.
The doctrine of the origin of our several domestic races from several aboriginal stocks, has been carried to an absurd extreme by some authors. They believe that every race which breeds true, let the distinctive characters be ever so slight, has had its wild prototype. At this rate there must have existed at least a score of species of wild cattle, as many sheep, and several goats, in Europe alone, and several even within Great Britain. One author believes that there formerly existed eleven wild species of sheep peculiar to Great Britain! When we bear in mind that Britain has now not one peculiar mammal, and France but few distinct from those of Germany, and so with Hungary, Spain, etc., but that each of these kingdoms possesses several peculiar breeds of cattle, sheep, etc., we must admit that many domestic breeds must have originated in Europe; for whence otherwise could they have been derived? So it is in India. Even in the case of the breeds of the domestic dog throughout the world, which I admit are descended from several wild species, it cannot be doubted that there has been an immense amount of inherited variation; for who will believe that animals closely resembling the Italian greyhound, the bloodhound, the bull-dog, pug-dog, or Blenheim spaniel, etc.—so unlike all wild Canidae—ever existed in a state of nature? It has often been loosely said that all our races of dogs have been produced by the crossing of a few aboriginal species; but by crossing we can only get forms in some degree intermediate between their parents; and if we account for our several domestic races by this process, we must admit the former existence of the most extreme forms, as the Italian greyhound, bloodhound, bull-dog, etc., in the wild state. Moreover, the possibility of making distinct races by crossing has been greatly exaggerated. Many cases are on record showing that a race may be modified by occasional crosses if aided by the careful selection of the individuals which present the desired character; but to obtain a race intermediate between two quite distinct races would be very difficult. Sir J. Sebright expressly experimented with this object and failed. The offspring from the first cross between two pure breeds is tolerably and sometimes (as I have found with pigeons) quite uniform in character, and every thing seems simple enough; but when these mongrels are crossed one with another for several generations, hardly two of them are alike, and then the difficulty of the task becomes manifest.
BREEDS OF THE DOMESTIC PIGEON, THEIR DIFFERENCES AND ORIGIN.
Believing that it is always best to study some special group, I have, after deliberation, taken up domestic pigeons. I have kept every breed which I could purchase or obtain, and have been most kindly favoured with skins from several quarters of the world, more especially by the Hon. W. Elliot from India, and by the Hon. C. Murray from Persia. Many treatises in different languages have been published on pigeons, and some of them are very important, as being of considerable antiquity. I have associated with several eminent fanciers, and have been permitted to join two of the London Pigeon Clubs. The diversity of the breeds is something astonishing. Compare the English carrier and the short-faced tumbler, and see the wonderful difference in their beaks, entailing corresponding differences in their skulls. The carrier, more especially the male bird, is also remarkable from the wonderful development of the carunculated skin about the head, and this is accompanied by greatly elongated eyelids, very large external orifices to the nostrils, and a wide gape of mouth. The short-faced tumbler has a beak in outline almost like that of a finch; and the common tumbler has the singular inherited habit of flying at a great height in a compact flock, and tumbling in the air head over heels. The runt is a bird of great size, with long, massive beak and large feet; some of the sub-breeds of runts have very long necks, others very long wings and tails, others singularly short tails. The barb is allied to the carrier, but, instead of a long beak, has a very short and broad one. The pouter has a much elongated body, wings, and legs; and its enormously developed crop, which it glories in inflating, may well excite astonishment and even laughter. The turbit has a short and conical beak, with a line of reversed feathers down the breast; and it has the habit of continually expanding, slightly, the upper part of the oesophagus. The Jacobin has the feathers so much reversed along the back of the neck that they form a hood, and it has, proportionally to its size, elongated wing and tail feathers. The trumpeter and laugher, as their names express, utter a very different coo from the other breeds. The fantail has thirty or even forty tail-feathers, instead of twelve or fourteen, the normal number in all the members of the great pigeon family: these feathers are kept expanded and are carried so erect that in good birds the head and tail touch: the oil-gland is quite aborted. Several other less distinct breeds might be specified.
In the skeletons of the several breeds, the development of the bones of the face, in length and breadth and curvature, differs enormously. The shape, as well as the breadth and length of the ramus of the lower jaw, varies in a highly remarkable manner. The caudal and sacral vertebrae vary in number; as does the number of the ribs, together with their relative breadth and the presence of processes. The size and shape of the apertures in the sternum are highly variable; so is the degree of divergence and relative size of the two arms of the furcula. The proportional width of the gape of mouth, the proportional length of the eyelids, of the orifice of the nostrils, of the tongue (not always in strict correlation with the length of beak), the size of the crop and of the upper part of the oesophagus; the development and abortion of the oil-gland; the number of the primary wing and caudal feathers; the relative length of the wing and tail to each other and to the body; the relative length of the leg and foot; the number of scutellae on the toes, the development of skin between the toes, are all points of structure which are variable. The period at which the perfect plumage is acquired varies, as does the state of the down with which the nestling birds are clothed when hatched. The shape and size of the eggs vary. The manner of flight, and in some breeds the voice and disposition, differ remarkably. Lastly, in certain breeds, the males and females have come to differ in a slight degree from each other.
Altogether at least a score of pigeons might be chosen, which, if shown to an ornithologist, and he were told that they were wild birds, would certainly be ranked by him as well-defined species. Moreover, I do not believe that any ornithologist would in this case place the English carrier, the short-faced tumbler, the runt, the barb, pouter, and fantail in the same genus; more especially as in each of these breeds several truly-inherited sub-breeds, or species, as he would call them, could be shown him.
Great as are the differences between the breeds of the pigeon, I am fully convinced that the common opinion of naturalists is correct, namely, that all are descended from the rock-pigeon (Columba livia), including under this term several geographical races or sub-species, which differ from each other in the most trifling respects. As several of the reasons which have led me to this belief are in some degree applicable in other cases, I will here briefly give them. If the several breeds are not varieties, and have not proceeded from the rock-pigeon, they must have descended from at least seven or eight aboriginal stocks; for it is impossible to make the present domestic breeds by the crossing of any lesser number: how, for instance, could a pouter be produced by crossing two breeds unless one of the parent-stocks possessed the characteristic enormous crop? The supposed aboriginal stocks must all have been rock-pigeons, that is, they did not breed or willingly perch on trees. But besides C. livia, with its geographical sub-species, only two or three other species of rock-pigeons are known; and these have not any of the characters of the domestic breeds. Hence the supposed aboriginal stocks must either still exist in the countries where they were originally domesticated, and yet be unknown to ornithologists; and this, considering their size, habits and remarkable characters, seems improbable; or they must have become extinct in the wild state. But birds breeding on precipices, and good flyers, are unlikely to be exterminated; and the common rock-pigeon, which has the same habits with the domestic breeds, has not been exterminated even on several of the smaller British islets, or on the shores of the Mediterranean. Hence the supposed extermination of so many species having similar habits with the rock-pigeon seems a very rash assumption. Moreover, the several above-named domesticated breeds have been transported to all parts of the world, and, therefore, some of them must have been carried back again into their native country; but not one has become wild or feral, though the dovecot-pigeon, which is the rock-pigeon in a very slightly altered state, has become feral in several places. Again, all recent experience shows that it is difficult to get wild animals to breed freely under domestication; yet on the hypothesis of the multiple origin of our pigeons, it must be assumed that at least seven or eight species were so thoroughly domesticated in ancient times by half-civilized man, as to be quite prolific under confinement.
An argument of great weight, and applicable in several other cases, is, that the above-specified breeds, though agreeing generally with the wild rock-pigeon in constitution, habits, voice, colouring, and in most parts of their structure, yet are certainly highly abnormal in other parts; we may look in vain through the whole great family of Columbidae for a beak like that of the English carrier, or that of the short-faced tumbler, or barb; for reversed feathers like those of the Jacobin; for a crop like that of the pouter; for tail-feathers like those of the fantail. Hence it must be assumed, not only that half-civilized man succeeded in thoroughly domesticating several species, but that he intentionally or by chance picked out extraordinarily abnormal species; and further, that these very species have since all become extinct or unknown. So many strange contingencies are improbable in the highest degree.
Some facts in regard to the colouring of pigeons well deserve consideration. The rock-pigeon is of a slaty-blue, with white loins; but the Indian sub-species, C. intermedia of Strickland, has this part bluish. The tail has a terminal dark bar, with the outer feathers externally edged at the base with white. The wings have two black bars. Some semi-domestic breeds, and some truly wild breeds, have, besides the two black bars, the wings chequered with black. These several marks do not occur together in any other species of the whole family. Now, in every one of the domestic breeds, taking thoroughly well-bred birds, all the above marks, even to the white edging of the outer tail-feathers, sometimes concur perfectly developed. Moreover, when birds belonging to two or more distinct breeds are crossed, none of which are blue or have any of the above-specified marks, the mongrel offspring are very apt suddenly to acquire these characters. To give one instance out of several which I have observed: I crossed some white fantails, which breed very true, with some black barbs—and it so happens that blue varieties of barbs are so rare that I never heard of an instance in England; and the mongrels were black, brown and mottled. I also crossed a barb with a spot, which is a white bird with a red tail and red spot on the forehead, and which notoriously breeds very true; the mongrels were dusky and mottled. I then crossed one of the mongrel barb-fantails with a mongrel barb-spot, and they produced a bird of as beautiful a blue colour, with the white loins, double black wing-bar, and barred and white-edged tail-feathers, as any wild rock-pigeon! We can understand these facts, on the well-known principle of reversion to ancestral characters, if all the domestic breeds are descended from the rock-pigeon. But if we deny this, we must make one of the two following highly improbable suppositions. Either, first, that all the several imagined aboriginal stocks were coloured and marked like the rock-pigeon, although no other existing species is thus coloured and marked, so that in each separate breed there might be a tendency to revert to the very same colours and markings. Or, secondly, that each breed, even the purest, has within a dozen, or at most within a score, of generations, been crossed by the rock-pigeon: I say within a dozen or twenty generations, for no instance is known of crossed descendants reverting to an ancestor of foreign blood, removed by a greater number of generations. In a breed which has been crossed only once the tendency to revert to any character derived from such a cross will naturally become less and less, as in each succeeding generation there will be less of the foreign blood; but when there has been no cross, and there is a tendency in the breed to revert to a character which was lost during some former generation, this tendency, for all that we can see to the contrary, may be transmitted undiminished for an indefinite number of generations. These two distinct cases of reversion are often confounded together by those who have written on inheritance.
Lastly, the hybrids or mongrels from between all the breeds of the pigeon are perfectly fertile, as I can state from my own observations, purposely made, on the most distinct breeds. Now, hardly any cases have been ascertained with certainty of hybrids from two quite distinct species of animals being perfectly fertile. Some authors believe that long-continued domestication eliminates this strong tendency to sterility in species. From the history of the dog, and of some other domestic animals, this conclusion is probably quite correct, if applied to species closely related to each other. But to extend it so far as to suppose that species, aboriginally as distinct as carriers, tumblers, pouters, and fantails now are, should yield offspring perfectly fertile, inter se, seems to me rash in the extreme.
From these several reasons, namely, the improbability of man having formerly made seven or eight supposed species of pigeons to breed freely under domestication—these supposed species being quite unknown in a wild state, and their not having become anywhere feral—these species presenting certain very abnormal characters, as compared with all other Columbidae, though so like the rock-pigeon in most other respects—the occasional reappearance of the blue colour and various black marks in all the breeds, both when kept pure and when crossed—and lastly, the mongrel offspring being perfectly fertile—from these several reasons, taken together, we may safely conclude that all our domestic breeds are descended from the rock-pigeon or Columba livia with its geographical sub-species.
In favour of this view, I may add, firstly, that the wild C. livia has been found capable of domestication in Europe and in India; and that it agrees in habits and in a great number of points of structure with all the domestic breeds. Secondly, that although an English carrier or a short-faced tumbler differs immensely in certain characters from the rock-pigeon, yet that by comparing the several sub-breeds of these two races, more especially those brought from distant countries, we can make, between them and the rock-pigeon, an almost perfect series; so we can in some other cases, but not with all the breeds. Thirdly, those characters which are mainly distinctive of each breed are in each eminently variable, for instance, the wattle and length of beak of the carrier, the shortness of that of the tumbler, and the number of tail-feathers in the fantail; and the explanation of this fact will be obvious when we treat of selection. Fourthly, pigeons have been watched and tended with the utmost care, and loved by many people. They have been domesticated for thousands of years in several quarters of the world; the earliest known record of pigeons is in the fifth Aegyptian dynasty, about 3000 B.C., as was pointed out to me by Professor Lepsius; but Mr. Birch informs me that pigeons are given in a bill of fare in the previous dynasty. In the time of the Romans, as we hear from Pliny, immense prices were given for pigeons; "nay, they are come to this pass, that they can reckon up their pedigree and race." Pigeons were much valued by Akber Khan in India, about the year 1600; never less than 20,000 pigeons were taken with the court. "The monarchs of Iran and Turan sent him some very rare birds;" and, continues the courtly historian, "His Majesty, by crossing the breeds, which method was never practised before, has improved them astonishingly." About this same period the Dutch were as eager about pigeons as were the old Romans. The paramount importance of these considerations in explaining the immense amount of variation which pigeons have undergone, will likewise be obvious when we treat of selection. We shall then, also, see how it is that the several breeds so often have a somewhat monstrous character. It is also a most favourable circumstance for the production of distinct breeds, that male and female pigeons can be easily mated for life; and thus different breeds can be kept together in the same aviary.
I have discussed the probable origin of domestic pigeons at some, yet quite insufficient, length; because when I first kept pigeons and watched the several kinds, well knowing how truly they breed, I felt fully as much difficulty in believing that since they had been domesticated they had all proceeded from a common parent, as any naturalist could in coming to a similar conclusion in regard to the many species of finches, or other groups of birds, in nature. One circumstance has struck me much; namely, that nearly all the breeders of the various domestic animals and the cultivators of plants, with whom I have conversed, or whose treatises I have read, are firmly convinced that the several breeds to which each has attended, are descended from so many aboriginally distinct species. Ask, as I have asked, a celebrated raiser of Hereford cattle, whether his cattle might not have descended from Long-horns, or both from a common parent-stock, and he will laugh you to scorn. I have never met a pigeon, or poultry, or duck, or rabbit fancier, who was not fully convinced that each main breed was descended from a distinct species. Van Mons, in his treatise on pears and apples, shows how utterly he disbelieves that the several sorts, for instance a Ribston-pippin or Codlin-apple, could ever have proceeded from the seeds of the same tree. Innumerable other examples could be given. The explanation, I think, is simple: from long-continued study they are strongly impressed with the differences between the several races; and though they well know that each race varies slightly, for they win their prizes by selecting such slight differences, yet they ignore all general arguments, and refuse to sum up in their minds slight differences accumulated during many successive generations. May not those naturalists who, knowing far less of the laws of inheritance than does the breeder, and knowing no more than he does of the intermediate links in the long lines of descent, yet admit that many of our domestic races are descended from the same parents—may they not learn a lesson of caution, when they deride the idea of species in a state of nature being lineal descendants of other species?
PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION ANCIENTLY FOLLOWED, AND THEIR EFFECTS.
Let us now briefly consider the steps by which domestic races have been produced, either from one or from several allied species. Some effect may be attributed to the direct and definite action of the external conditions of life, and some to habit; but he would be a bold man who would account by such agencies for the differences between a dray and race-horse, a greyhound and bloodhound, a carrier and tumbler pigeon. One of the most remarkable features in our domesticated races is that we see in them adaptation, not indeed to the animal's or plant's own good, but to man's use or fancy. Some variations useful to him have probably arisen suddenly, or by one step; many botanists, for instance, believe that the fuller's teasel, with its hooks, which can not be rivalled by any mechanical contrivance, is only a variety of the wild Dipsacus; and this amount of change may have suddenly arisen in a seedling. So it has probably been with the turnspit dog; and this is known to have been the case with the ancon sheep. But when we compare the dray-horse and race-horse, the dromedary and camel, the various breeds of sheep fitted either for cultivated land or mountain pasture, with the wool of one breed good for one purpose, and that of another breed for another purpose; when we compare the many breeds of dogs, each good for man in different ways; when we compare the game-cock, so pertinacious in battle, with other breeds so little quarrelsome, with "everlasting layers" which never desire to sit, and with the bantam so small and elegant; when we compare the host of agricultural, culinary, orchard, and flower-garden races of plants, most useful to man at different seasons and for different purposes, or so beautiful in his eyes, we must, I think, look further than to mere variability. We can not suppose that all the breeds were suddenly produced as perfect and as useful as we now see them; indeed, in many cases, we know that this has not been their history. The key is man's power of accumulative selection: nature gives successive variations; man adds them up in certain directions useful to him. In this sense he may be said to have made for himself useful breeds.
The great power of this principle of selection is not hypothetical. It is certain that several of our eminent breeders have, even within a single lifetime, modified to a large extent their breeds of cattle and sheep. In order fully to realise what they have done it is almost necessary to read several of the many treatises devoted to this subject, and to inspect the animals. Breeders habitually speak of an animal's organisation as something plastic, which they can model almost as they please. If I had space I could quote numerous passages to this effect from highly competent authorities. Youatt, who was probably better acquainted with the works of agriculturalists than almost any other individual, and who was himself a very good judge of animals, speaks of the principle of selection as "that which enables the agriculturist, not only to modify the character of his flock, but to change it altogether. It is the magician's wand, by means of which he may summon into life whatever form and mould he pleases." Lord Somerville, speaking of what breeders have done for sheep, says: "It would seem as if they had chalked out upon a wall a form perfect in itself, and then had given it existence." In Saxony the importance of the principle of selection in regard to merino sheep is so fully recognised, that men follow it as a trade: the sheep are placed on a table and are studied, like a picture by a connoisseur; this is done three times at intervals of months, and the sheep are each time marked and classed, so that the very best may ultimately be selected for breeding.
What English breeders have actually effected is proved by the enormous prices given for animals with a good pedigree; and these have been exported to almost every quarter of the world. The improvement is by no means generally due to crossing different breeds; all the best breeders are strongly opposed to this practice, except sometimes among closely allied sub-breeds. And when a cross has been made, the closest selection is far more indispensable even than in ordinary cases. If selection consisted merely in separating some very distinct variety and breeding from it, the principle would be so obvious as hardly to be worth notice; but its importance consists in the great effect produced by the accumulation in one direction, during successive generations, of differences absolutely inappreciable by an uneducated eye—differences which I for one have vainly attempted to appreciate. Not one man in a thousand has accuracy of eye and judgment sufficient to become an eminent breeder. If gifted with these qualities, and he studies his subject for years, and devotes his lifetime to it with indomitable perseverance, he will succeed, and may make great improvements; if he wants any of these qualities, he will assuredly fail. Few would readily believe in the natural capacity and years of practice requisite to become even a skilful pigeon-fancier.
The same principles are followed by horticulturists; but the variations are here often more abrupt. No one supposes that our choicest productions have been produced by a single variation from the aboriginal stock. We have proofs that this is not so in several cases in which exact records have been kept; thus, to give a very trifling instance, the steadily increasing size of the common gooseberry may be quoted. We see an astonishing improvement in many florists' flowers, when the flowers of the present day are compared with drawings made only twenty or thirty years ago. When a race of plants is once pretty well established, the seed-raisers do not pick out the best plants, but merely go over their seed-beds, and pull up the "rogues," as they call the plants that deviate from the proper standard. With animals this kind of selection is, in fact, likewise followed; for hardly any one is so careless as to breed from his worst animals.
In regard to plants, there is another means of observing the accumulated effects of selection—namely, by comparing the diversity of flowers in the different varieties of the same species in the flower-garden; the diversity of leaves, pods, or tubers, or whatever part is valued, in the kitchen-garden, in comparison with the flowers of the same varieties; and the diversity of fruit of the same species in the orchard, in comparison with the leaves and flowers of the same set of varieties. See how different the leaves of the cabbage are, and how extremely alike the flowers; how unlike the flowers of the heartsease are, and how alike the leaves; how much the fruit of the different kinds of gooseberries differ in size, colour, shape, and hairiness, and yet the flowers present very slight differences. It is not that the varieties which differ largely in some one point do not differ at all in other points; this is hardly ever—I speak after careful observation—perhaps never, the case. The law of correlated variation, the importance of which should never be overlooked, will ensure some differences; but, as a general rule, it cannot be doubted that the continued selection of slight variations, either in the leaves, the flowers, or the fruit, will produce races differing from each other chiefly in these characters.
It may be objected that the principle of selection has been reduced to methodical practice for scarcely more than three-quarters of a century; it has certainly been more attended to of late years, and many treatises have been published on the subject; and the result has been, in a corresponding degree, rapid and important. But it is very far from true that the principle is a modern discovery. I could give several references to works of high antiquity, in which the full importance of the principle is acknowledged. In rude and barbarous periods of English history choice animals were often imported, and laws were passed to prevent their exportation: the destruction of horses under a certain size was ordered, and this may be compared to the "roguing" of plants by nurserymen. The principle of selection I find distinctly given in an ancient Chinese encyclopaedia. Explicit rules are laid down by some of the Roman classical writers. From passages in Genesis, it is clear that the colour of domestic animals was at that early period attended to. Savages now sometimes cross their dogs with wild canine animals, to improve the breed, and they formerly did so, as is attested by passages in Pliny. The savages in South Africa match their draught cattle by colour, as do some of the Esquimaux their teams of dogs. Livingstone states that good domestic breeds are highly valued by the negroes in the interior of Africa who have not associated with Europeans. Some of these facts do not show actual selection, but they show that the breeding of domestic animals was carefully attended to in ancient times, and is now attended to by the lowest savages. It would, indeed, have been a strange fact, had attention not been paid to breeding, for the inheritance of good and bad qualities is so obvious.
UNCONSCIOUS SELECTION.
At the present time, eminent breeders try by methodical selection, with a distinct object in view, to make a new strain or sub-breed, superior to anything of the kind in the country. But, for our purpose, a form of selection, which may be called unconscious, and which results from every one trying to possess and breed from the best individual animals, is more important. Thus, a man who intends keeping pointers naturally tries to get as good dogs as he can, and afterwards breeds from his own best dogs, but he has no wish or expectation of permanently altering the breed. Nevertheless we may infer that this process, continued during centuries, would improve and modify any breed, inTaipei, June 7 (CNA) Scores of members of the indigenous Truku tribe blocked vehicles on a scenic road in the eastern county of Hualien Saturday in a protest against an influx of tourists that they say is destroying the local culture and scenery.
The protesters gathered in front of a memorial plaque to set off smoke signal and fire guns into the air to show their commitment to defending their homeland near the popular Mukumugi Ecological Trail in the eastern county's Xiulin Township.
Tongmen Village tribal council head Chung Te-kuang said that since Mukumugi was opened to tourists in 2006, more than 100 buses have brought in 3,000 visitors to the area daily.
The local population has to deal with heaps of trash and a constant stream of vehicles, not to mention the air and noise pollution they bring, Chung said.
A youth representative, known by Lagao Didi, the Chinese translation of his tribal name, led the protesters as they shouted slogans and called against letting outsiders "trample" on the land of their ancestral spirits.
He said that a tribal meeting on May 25 reached a resolution to suspend tourist activities and stop issuing entry permits to allow the ecologically sensitive area to recuperate from the onslaught of visitors.
He blasted authorities for what he called over-issuing entry permits for buses and other vehicles, saying that tourists will have to walk if they want to enter the Mukumugi area.
The locals have asked authorities to respect their resolution, threatening continued protests if it is ignored.
(By Lee Shien-feng and Lilian Wu)
Enditem/WHThree more patients have succumbed to the influenza virus in the city, taking the death toll to 10 this year, a senior civic official on Saturday.
The three deaths caused by the air-borne disease occurred last week, the official said.
The virus has now killed 10 people in since January 1.
With the monsoon beginning, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is concentrating on preventing spread of the disease, he said.
According to a BMC statement, there were 285 confirmed cases of swine flue this year in the metropolis.
"Fluctuation in temperature and high moisture content in the air are conducive for the spread of virus and therefore, people are advised to take preventive measures," said the statement.
is a respiratory disease with symptoms that include fever, coughing, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body ache and fatigue.
The financial capital has also reported scores of cases related to monsoon-related diseases.
Between June 16 and 22, recorded 95 malaria cases, 201 of gastroenteritis, two of leptospirosis and one of dengue, said the statement issued by the Public Health Department of the civic body.
Civic health officers have advised people not to panic and seek medical help if they experience symptoms related to different ailments.
"People should contact the doctor or nearest medical health centre or hospital in case of persistent symptoms like cough, cold and fever for more than four days," Dr Padmaja Keskar, executive health officer of the BMC, said.With more cases of swine flu being reported from Aligarh Muslim University in the last 24 hours, the varsity authorities today suspended all classes till February 25.
The decision was taken today as a precautionary measure to prevent further spread of this disease at an emergency meeting of top university officials presided over by the Acting Vice-Chancellor Brig S Ahmad Ali.
However, university offices will continue to function.
On February 13, |
17. Proper punishment for bloodthirsty tyrants
18. Sold her soul to the devil for a glass of lemonade
19. Saving squirrels since 1912
20. Fictional character that doesn’t want to be one
21. Goes from 0 to flirtatious in two seconds flat, according to our reader Yappy Dog
23. Benjamin is very afraid of women that carry one of theseA LEGO-loving couple spent two months building an 8ft Victorian house using 450,000 bricks as part of their Christmas tradition.
Mike Addis, 59, and Catherine Weightman, 54, previously built Daleks, polar bears and a cathedral, in all costing £45,000.
SWNS:South West News Service 9 Mike Addis and Catherine Weightman have been making the sculptures for the last 25 years
SWNS:South West News Service 9 The pair say their latest model is the biggest they've made
SWNS:South West News Service 9 The model house comes complete with servants' quarters, library, scullery and paintings
The husband and wife have continued their annual Christmas tradition after their three now grown-up children became "too embarrassed" to join in.
Their doll-house comes complete with servants' quarters, library, scullery, paintings, wreathes, took them two months to build.
This year they spent around £600 on new pieces - including specialist pieces to attach wall paintings in their dollhouse.
Ecologist Catherine, of Huntingdon, Cambs, said: “We treat it like a Christmas decoration.”
SWNS:South West News Service 9 This year they decided to raise money for charities through Lego competitions
SWNS:South West News Service 9 This year's production cost £600
SWNS:South West News Service 9 The house has special walls for hanging the paintings
"Lego is dominating the living room at the moment. We've been doing it for probably three hours just in the evenings me and Mike but he's semi retired so he spends a bit more time on it.
She added: "We like Lego but we have other hobbies too.
Mike, an economist teacher, said they were beginning to "run out of ideas" for new creations so this year's model was based on their "far more modest" five-bed end-of-terrace Victorian home.
SWNS:South West News Service 9 They even have special maid oufits
SWNS:South West News Service 9 The pair may have outdone themselves this year but unfortunately haven't received recognition from Lego
SWNS:South West News Service 9 The Lego Christmas party is complete with guards and a maid
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Mike and Catherine decided to start building models 25 years ago when a family friend brought their child round and the only age- appropriate toys was the couple's Lego from their own childhood.
Despite their stunning 25 sculptures, the Danish company Lego has never reached out to the enthusiastic Lego fanatics.
"They sent us a standard reply letter and a key ring back in 2006 when I sent in some pictures of our models," Mike said.Two and a half years ago, the LEGO Corporation made a move that set into motion a chain of events that has led, circuitously but unambiguously, to the following exciting announcement, released yesterday via YouTube: In late summer or early fall of 2014, the company will release to the public an official set of female scientist minifigures – a paleontologist, an astronomer and a chemist. Watch the announcement at the video below:
If the news sounds humdrum, believe me when I say it is not! In fact, one wonders what discussions must have sounded like behind closed doors in Billund, Denmark between the 2012 release of the immediately controversial LEGO Friends line, the ensuing decision to release the first female lab scientist minifigure last September, and now this most recent development: an extremely rare all-female set made with regular LEGO minifigures, depicting scientists doing what scientists do (hopefully without too much pink).
When Friends went public on January 1, 2012, the company line seemed to be: We've done our research and product testing, thank you, so leave us be because we know what we're doing. Of course, to the extent that Friends has been a financial success, they had a point. But they clearly hadn't counted on many thousands of people taking to blogs and social media to present their concern that LEGO's marketing of a new stereotype-laden girls' line would do little to change the fact that the bulk of their products severely underrepresent females in sets depicting cerebral careers like those in the STEM fields, fantastical adventures and everyday life. For a company that outwardly promotes inclusivity and equality, it sure felt like it was going out of its way to do the exact opposite with its products, both within the Friends line and elsewhere.
In the months and years since then, legions of LEGO fans have spoken out, and it is clear that our messages have been heard. I'm proud to have made early calls suggesting LEGO-sanctioned females in STEM like those in my minifigure set of real-life scientists. I loved watching Anita Sarkeesian grill LEGO in her two-part video series on the company's history of gender-based marketing. I and others compiled minifigure gender data and circulated colorful infographics. Two years ago, Dutch geochemist Alatariel Elensar (a.k.a. Ellen Kooijman) challenged LEGO to produce a set of 13 empowering female minifigures via the CUUSOO fan-based design incubator site. If a design on this site gets enough upvotes from the community, LEGO will consider it for a limited edition set for public release. Meanwhile, rumors began to fly that a female scientist might appear in a future Collectible Minifigures set.
“Numerous sources suggest you will be releasing a scientist in Series 11 (gender as yet unspecified)," I wrote in an open letter to the company around this time last year. "For the love of the FSM, please do the right thing.”
They did, and on September 1, 2013, the company released the first-ever female lab scientist, a clear nod to calls for more female minifigures in regular LEGO offerings outside of the Friends world.
The pressure didn't stop there. In February, a 7-year-old wrote an adorable message noting LEGO's gender issues and asking the company to "make more lego girl people and let them go on adventures and have fun ok!?!" After this year's popular The LEGO Movie drew criticism for including a very small minority of female characters, the director acknowledged the issue and seemed committed to addressing it in the sequel. And just recently, a clever elementary school photo project took LEGO to task for moving away from their earlier gender-neutral sets and suggested the company create more minifigures that better represent the true diversity of gender and culture.
Topping everything off, we now find that Elensar's female scientist minifigure set will actually get made, after it received a flood of support from around the Internet. I'll be honest here: I had been skeptical that the set would be chosen for production. So the fact that LEGO is giving boys and girls alike a positive new image of what women can do and be in the STEM fields—and beyond—speaks wonders to the company's willingness to consider that they might have missed something critical in all of that pre-Friends product testing.
I've written before that media and toy companies have an enormous power to shape what children are socialized to accept as "normal," especially when it comes to gender roles. And to be sure, LEGO still has a way to go: It's a reality that their sets almost always contain more males than females, and they could definitely use more minifigs of color! But in taking this important step, I'm confident that everyone's favorite brick company is beginning to address these issues head on. I can't wait to see what the final scientist minifigure set will look like – and to buy one for every kid I know!As you have no doubt read, there is a lot of controversy over the revelation that Rachel Dolezal, president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, has been pretending to be black for years. And it should surprise no one that conservatives who refuse to acknowledge transgender individuals’ identities used the opportunity to draw comparisons between the two.
This is ridiculous.
We know for a fact that transgender people are, for lack of a better word, real. MRIs have shown that a male-to-female transgender person has a brain that is like a woman’s, and that female-to-male transgender people have brains that are like men’s. Biological sex is hardcoded into the human genome and, on occasion, the body doesn’t match the brain. When trans people say they feel trapped in the body of the opposite sex, it’s more than a euphemism: On a biological level, that’s exactly what’s happened.
This isn’t true for race, for which biological influences aren’t much more than skin deep. There is no difference between the structure of a white person’s brain and that of a black person’s brain in the way that there is between a male brain and a female brain. Rachel Dolezal isn’t a black woman trapped in a white woman’s body; she’s a white woman who has chosen to identify as black.
I’m not going to speculate as to why she has made that choice. Although, for a really solid critique of her behavior and its consequences, read this.
What I will say is that it remains a science fact that it is impossible for her to be transracial in the way that Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner are transgender. Race and sexual identity are differently different, with biology making the latter run far deeper than the former. To equate Rachel Dolezal’s performance of another race with the trans community’s deeply-rooted and unchosen identities is to trivialize both race and gender. Don’t do it.So, FFG just posted a preview of the Gozanti-class Imperial Assault Carrier.
You have no idea how happy this makes me.
Seriously, though. This is awesome. The Assault Carrier is bringing a TON of amazing new cards for Huge ships that are going to shake up Epic play. I’ve never been in the camp that claims Huge ships are too weak to be worth using, but this is definitely a shot in the arm for all three of the currently released captial ships, even aside from what the Gozanti itself is going to be like on the table.
So, I’m going to take a break from my work-in-progress on the Epic Essentials guide here and do an “interlude”. Below, you’ll find my reaction to and analysis of each of the new upgrade cards found in this article. This is not intended be a detailed review or analysis of the Gozanti itself, but I will be including it in my consideration of which ships and combos each card goes well with.
For each of the upgrades, I’ll give a bullet-point list of the key info and my “tl;dr;” reaction, followed by more detailed analysis.
First up – the Gozanti’s ship card itself and Agent Kallus, from the original reveal article (found here).
Gozanti-Class Cruiser
This new Imperial Huge ship is going to be their parallel to the Rebel Transport, to a degree. Like the Transport, it’s a low-cost support-oriented Huge ship with no primary weapon. Cargo and Crew slots will let it take a variety of useful upgrades to support allies and mess with enemies.
The big differences, of course, besides the price tag (10 squad points more than the Transport) are that the Gozanti can optionally carry a secondary weapon and up to four TIEs into battle. This gives it alternate roles as a sort of fat turret ship (parallels to the Decimator here) and as a fighter carrier. The whole docking-and-deploying set of mechanics is totally new to X-Wing (with the exception of the Hound’s Tooth title, but that doesn’t quite work the same way), so it’s hard to say how useful or effective they’ll be. The main purpose of this seems to be keeping a set of small ships safe and protected by the Gozanti’s bulk until they can be deployed closer to the actual battle or even behind enemy lines. This could be quite useful in protecting a fragile ace pilot like Soontir Fel from the extra-long-range guns of an enemy Corvette.
Agent Kallus
Type: Crew
Crew Cost: 2
2 Restrictions: Imperial Only
Imperial Only Ship(s) it’s best suited for: Slave 1, TIE Phantom
Slave 1, TIE Phantom Combos nicely with: Predator, Lone Wolf, Fire-Control System
Predator, Lone Wolf, Fire-Control System My first reaction: Huh. That’s cool.
Agent Kallus is, thematically speaking, an awesome card. He allows a ship to hunt down a single enemy with relentless focus, just like his character in the Rebels tv show. I love it when a card’s mechanics match the card’s lore so perfectly.
On the purely mechanical side, though, he presents an interesting conundrum – how do you determine the real value of an upgrade that only helps you against one enemy ship? This is a card that will be massively better or worse depending on the meta you expect to play against. If your opponent is fielding a two or three ship list (e.g Fat Han, Deci/Phantom, Brobots), especially one with an obvious ace threat, then Kallus will pay for himself over and over. Put him up against a swarm of generics, on the other hand, and he’ll be nearly worthless. The only way I can see to make him useful against a pure swarm is to pick as his target the enemy you plan to kill last. At least that way, he’ll be providing a consistent defensive bonus which can help you ignore that ship until the endgame.
As far as pilots and upgrades to pair him with, I like the idea of Kallus on a ship with good agility to take advantage of his defensive boost and good action economy. That points me to Whisper, Echo, any of the Imperial Slave 1 pilots, and cards like Predator, Lone Wolf, and Fire-Control System. When you’ve got enough action-independant dice modifiers stacked up on one ship, you’re much more free to take actions like barrel roll, boost, and evade, and you’re less afraid of bumps and stress.
Next up, we’ll take a look at the cards that are specific to the Gozanti.
Broadcast Array
Type: Cargo
Cargo Cost: 2
2 Restrictions: Gozanti-Class Cruiser Only
Gozanti-Class Cruiser Only Ship(s) it’s best suited for: Definitely the Gozanti
Definitely the Gozanti Combos nicely with: Slicer Tools, Frequency Jammer, Automated Protocols
Slicer Tools, Frequency Jammer, Automated Protocols My first reaction: Sure, I guess that could work
There’s really not a lot to say about this one. For two points, you get the Jam action on your Gozanti. I get why they didn’t want this built in, since no ship ever has more than four actions on its action bar at once, but it still is sort of annoying that it both costs points and takes up a valuable Cargo upgrade slot. I can see the potential to do an interference/control build using this and other related cards. However, I feel like the Rebel Transport will probably still do the same sorts of builds better, since most of the cards that directly combo with Jam are available to both factions.
Dual Laser Turret
Type: Hardpoint
Hardpoint Cost: 5
5 Restrictions: Gozanti-Class Cruiser Only
Gozanti-Class Cruiser Only Ship(s) it’s best suited for: Um…. maybe the Gozanti?
Um…. maybe the Gozanti? Combos nicely with: nothing in particular comes to mind
nothing in particular comes to mind My first reaction: Yawn
To be clear, this is not a bad card. It’s just not that interesting to me. Only one ship can take it. Three attack dice and range 1 to 3 is not bad at all. The range is better than Quad Laser Cannon, but the lack of any built-in modifiers or the ability to spend energy for a Gunner effect is clearly the reason for the low point cost here. There’s also no secondary effect or any special combo that I can think of.
It is worth noting, however, that this turret may mean the Gozanti can be the only Huge ship without a blind spot at its rear. I’m not clear on how this will be ruled, but if a Gozanti with Dual Laser Turret can choose to fire from either the fore or aft section freely, then it will threaten a pretty massive area of the battlefield. Arc dodgers beware! A Gozanti with just this plus Automated Protocols could be worth trying – for 50 points, it’s strikingly similar to a Decimator, except trading maneuverability for enhanced defenses and the ability to run over smaller ships.
Docking Clamps
Type: Cargo
Cargo Cost: 0
0 Restrictions: Gozanti-Class Cruiser Only
Gozanti-Class Cruiser Only Ship(s) it’s best suited for: The only one that can take it, duh
The only one that can take it, duh Combos nicely with: ace pilots such as Darth Vader and Soontir Fel
ace pilots such as Darth Vader and Soontir Fel My first reaction: aha, so that’s the answer we’ve all been waiting for.
Since I’ve already talked a little bit about the Gozanit’s ability to carry small ships into battle above, I’ll just focus on the card here. First off, notice that it’s zero points but takes up a cargo slot. Apparently, without this card the Gozanti can’t carry docked ships. The zero cost is great, but I’m wondering about the choice to have it take up a cargo slot. I guess it makes sense, though – if you’re carrying the weight of four extra ships and keeping room for extra pilots on board, you wouldn’t have as much cargo space.
Secondly, we’ve finally got an answer about what ships will be able to dock – TIE Fighters, Interceptors, Bombers, and Advanced. Disallowing Defenders and Phantoms make a certain amount of sense, partly for balance reasons and partly because of their strange wing configurations that would make it physically difficult to keep the models in place. It’s also worth noting that TIE/fo and TIE Advanced Prototype (a.k.a. the Inquisitor’s TIE or TAP) have been left off the list. The TIE/fo makes sense, since it’s from a different era entirely, but the TAP is from the same show as the Gozanti, so I’m confused as to why it isn’t listed (unless FFG decides to pull shenanigans with “if the name includes blah blah blah” like they’re doing with titles).
Third, the four ships you choose must all be the same type, which is interesting. I expect it’s intended to cut down on people trying to pack four different aces in there. Mostly, I think we’re going to see people loading up either a full compliment of TIE Fighters or Bombers, or just one or two Interceptors or Advanceds. Docking too many valuable ships just makes the Gozanti too fat of a target, while leaving a good chunk of your squads firepower unusable until deployed.
Now on to the more general Huge ship cards, starting with the Modifications
These next three are probably the most exciting part of this preview. It’s worth noting that they’re all Modifications (meaning they’re mutally exclusive) and they all have the same point cost (five). These three cards are so strong that I would not be suprised to see them treated as essentially mandatory for most Huge ship builds. What makes them realy interesting is that each one encourages a very different playstyle and really shakes up how you build and use your Huge ships, so the choice of which one to use could be quite difficult to make.
Automated Protocols
Type: Modification
Modification Cost: 5
5 Restrictions: Huge Ship Only
Huge Ship Only Ship(s) it’s best suited for: Rebel Trasport, Gozanti
Rebel Trasport, Gozanti Combos nicely with: Broadcast Array, Slicer Tools, Bright Hope, Fleet Officer, Instigator, Shield Technician
Broadcast Array, Slicer Tools, Bright Hope, Fleet Officer, Instigator, Shield Technician My first reaction: Action economy for Huge ships? Do. Want.
Recover and Reinforce are absolutely essential actions in Epic play. Without agility dice, they’re the only real defensive options your Huge ships have. This is not too much of a problem for the Raider and the Corvette, because they get two actions (one from each ship card), and one of those two actions is almost certainly going to be Recover or Reinforce. The Rebel Transport and the Gozanti, on the other hand, face a dilemma – there are some very powerful actions they could take (Jam, Coordinate, several action-based upgrade cards), but every time they do, they’re left vulnerable to concentrated enemy fire.
Automated Protocols is THE answer to that dilemma. For a measley 1 Energy, you get a free Recover or Reinforce action. This means your Transport or Gozanti can freely Jam, Coordinate, use Slicer Tools, etc. round after round as long as your energy holds out, without getting blown up as soon as it leaves itself unguarded. This is going to make any upgrade that relies on taking actions much more viable on Huge ships. It’s also going to combo nicely with cards that make the Recover and Reinforce actions stronger. I’ve listed a good number of examples in the block above.
It’s also worth noting that on the Raider and Corvette, this card can allow you to take a total of three actions per round. That includes the option to both Recover and Reinforce in the same round (e.g. Raider Fore section does Recover, Aft section does Target Lock, then Autmated Protocols triggers to grant Reinforce).
Yes, there is technically a rules issue with Automated Protocols – Huge ships are not allowed to take free actions, and this card grants a free action. However, I cannot possibly bring myself to believe that FFG would publish a card that is literally worthless on its face. Expect an FAQ or Huge Ship Rules update with a week or two of the Gozanti’s release that will either fix this card or change how Huge ships interact with free actions. In the meantime, just play it as written and ignore the technicallity.
Optimized Generators
Type: Modification
Modification Cost: 5
5 Restrictions: Huge Ship Only
Huge Ship Only Ship(s) it’s best suited for: Rebel Corvette, Imperial Raider
Rebel Corvette, Imperial Raider Combos nicely with: Lots of Hardpoints, any other upgrade that costs Energy to use
Lots of Hardpoints, any other upgrade that costs Energy to use My first reaction: Holy shit that’s good.
If you asked any experienced Epic player to compain about Huge ships and their weaknesses, you can darn well bet they’re going to have “running out of energy” near the top of the list. FFG tried to address this by changing the Epic tournament rules to allow starting with both your ship card and your secondary weapons fully energized, but that really only addresses the problem for the first few rounds of combat. Optimized Generators, on the other hand, will give you all the enregy you could hope for.
On any Huge ship that is using Hardpoint secondary weapons, this card practically guarantees two free additional energy per round. Compare that to Tibanna Gas Supplies (three free energy, once) and Engineering Team (1 free energy per round, conditional on flying straight ahead), and you’ll see that this card will more than pay for itself after just two rounds. You can blaze away with all your secondary weapons and potentially still have some energy left over for the occasional Recover action or energy-based upgrade usage. It also technically works with powering up Ionization Reactor.
Of course, this is not the same as having unlimited energy. You still have to have at least one energy available to transfer in order to trigger the effect, so enough ion tokens or energy mis-management could shut you down for a turn or two. It’s also possible to waste one of the free energy tokens by hitting your ship’s energy limit. Still, this card is going to enable much more aggressive builds for both the Raider and the Corvette, which should be fun to see.
Ordnance Tubes
Type: Modification
Modification Cost: 5
5 Restrictions: Huge Ship Only
Huge Ship Only Ship(s) it’s best suited for: Imperial Raider
Imperial Raider Combos nicely with: Ordnance Experts, Weapons Engineer
Ordnance Experts, Weapons Engineer My first reaction: OMG WTF BBQ
This… this is a game changer. Suddenly, the number of different weapons you can equip on a Huge ship has exploded (pun very much intended). There’s just so many options – Assault Missiles and Ion Torpedoes for anti-swarm tech, Ion Pulse Missiles for controlling enemy Large ships and denying energy to Huge ships, Plasma Torpedoes for cheap anti-shield tech, Homing Missiles to hit pesky turtles, the list just goes on and on. And with Ordnance Tubes, you never run out of shots!
It’s absolutely worth pointing out as well that Missiles and Torpedoes don’t have any energy cost to fire. This means Ordnance Tubes addresses the same problems as Optimized Generators, but in a different fashion. Instead of giving you more energy, this approach means you just need to spend less. The flip side is that Missiles and Torpedoes tend to require Target Locks to fire, which means you’re unlikely to want to fill all three hardpoints on a Raider or Corvette with them. You just won’t ever have three target locks to spend in the same round, barring some shenanigans with Weapons Engineer and/or the Impetuous title for the Raider.
Beyond that, Missiles and Torpedoes also generally cost less than Hardpoint upgrades. This is offset by the cost of Ordnance Tubes itelf, of course. Still, Ordnance Tubes + Plasma Torpedoes + Ion Pulse Missles, to give an example, is only 11 points, compared to 14 for a Single Turbolaser plus a Quad Laser Cannon. Given the secondary benefit of not needing to spend energy on Missiles or Torpedoes, I think this ends up being a pretty good deal, points-wise.
The only other drawback to choosing Ordnance Tubes, as far as I can tell, is that Missiles and Torpedoes tend to only work at either Range 1 to 2, or Range 2 to 3, which leaves you with a lot less long-range firing capacity and area coverage than most Hardpoints can offer you. It may require some more careful maneuver planning or herding the enemy with the rest of your ships to make sure the enemy is in the right place at the right time for you to launch a missile barrage at them.
Of course, I’ve saved the best AND worst for last – here they are!
Ordnance Experts
Type: Team
Team Cost: 5
5 Restrictions: Limited
Limited Ship(s) it’s best suited for:
Combos nicely with: Ordnance Tubes, ordnance-carrying allied ships
Ordnance Tubes, ordnance-carrying allied ships My first reaction: Hmm… I’m not so sure about this one
The good news: there’s finally another Team upgrade to fill that last slot on the Tantive IV!
The bad news: there’s almost no reason to actually use all four teams.
Seriously, though, Ordnance Experts is a mediocre upgrade. It could definitely come in handy for an Ordnance Tubes build or supporting allies who use Missiles and Torpedoes. However, it suffers from a high cost and a once-per-round limit. Compared to Gunnery Team, this card trades out the energy cost for a limitation to only affecting Missiles and Torpedoes, plus the ability to be used on allied ships, and I’m not convinced Ordnance Experts comes out ahead on that trade.
On the other hand, you could potentially use Ordnance Experts AND Gunnery Team on the same ships along with Ordnance Tubes and the Missile or Torpedo of your choice. Converting two blanks to hits on the same shot could be a great way to turn failure into success. This might be too expensive of a combo to really be worth running, though.
Rear Admiral Chiraneau
Type: Crew
Crew Cost: 3
3 Restrictions: Huge Ship Only, Imperial Only
Huge Ship Only, Imperial Only Ship(s) it’s best suited for: Raider and Gozanti both like this guy about equally
Raider and Gozanti both like this guy about equally Combos nicely with: Automated Protocols, Engine Booster, anything that dishes out ion tokens
Automated Protocols, Engine Booster, anything that dishes out ion tokens My first reaction: Simple. Effective. Deadly. I like it.
The Decimator is such a big ship itself that it’s no surprise its best pilot, Admiral Cheerios, has found a place for himself on board Imperial Huge ships. The special ability he brings to table, executing a 1-straight maneuver as an action, is incredibly simple, yet it has a variety of powerful applications.
The first and most obvious use is to just go faster in a straight line. This lets you get into combat range sooner, which can be especially important if you’re using shorter range weapons than the enemy’s Huge ship(s). The flip side of this is an energy management trick – you can choose a slower initial maneuver to gain more energy, then use RAC to move up that extra bit of distance anyway.
The reason this card is truly scary, however, is that it lacks Engine Booster’s restriction against overlapping enemy ships. Captain Oicunn may be the master of ramming with a Decimator, but RAC has him beat once he steps foot on the bridge of a Gozanti or Raider. Combined with herding and/or ion tokens from your other ships, you can wipe out significant chunks of your opponent’s fleet without needing to even roll a red die. Yes, you can damage your own Huge ship doing so, but that’s a relatively small price to pay.
Then there’s the more subtle usage of this card – position and range management. Especially on a Raider, having control over the distance and angle to enemy ships can be incredibly important. RAC allows you to slide that extra bit forward, even after a 1-bank or 2-bank maneuver, which can be perfect for lining up a foe in the Raider’s narrow cone of overlapping fire from the front and aft sections. Since Huge ships move after all other ships, this is akin to boosting on a smaller ship, but with much bigger consequences.
All these applications get even better when you bring an Engine Booster along for the ride. This combo is going to enable moving your Huge ship up to six base-lengths forward in a single round. I expect the distance covered will take many opponents by surprise. Additionally, since one of the upgrades works before your maneuver, and the other works after, you have a variety of options for subtly controlling your final position, especially when performing bank maneuvers. Instead of only having a 1-bank and 2-bank on the Raider, you can pick from up to eight different final positions on a turn you choose to bank, and make a good chunk of that choice after you know where the enemy ships have moved to.
Welp, that’s it for this article. Thanks for reading! As usual, feedback, comments, and suggestions are all welcome. Fly casual, and be epic!Thor Harris — former Swans member and great musician in his own right — has a reliably awesome Twitter account, and he recently posted a video that served as a tutorial on the best way to punch a Nazi in the face. It is a very polite video on the best way to sock a white nationalist in the face (“Hold your wrist straight like this, otherwise you can hurt your wrist” — good advice), but must have gotten around to the wrong type of people (Nazis) because Twitter has suspended his account (@thorharris666) over it. Xiu Xiu, thankfully, has preserved the original video along with relaying the news that Harris was suspended for it. Watch below, and if you’re in the mood to punch some virtual Nazis right this very second, you can do so here.
dear friend Thor Harris was suspended from Twitter for posting this how punch nazis in the face video. here you go! pic.twitter.com/1tJcKiWi7c — Xiu Xiu (@XiuXiuforLife) February 8, 2017
Bring @thorharris666 back!
UPDATE: @thorharris666 is back! His account has been reinstated, although the tweet in question appears to have been deleted.These are always fun. If the 2016 NFL Draft were to occur again, after the front offices could see how the season played out, where would Goff be? Or Wentz? Or Prescott?
Let’s see how much better your team could have looked in hindsight.
Rams: QB Dak Prescott (was QB Jared Goff)
Of course there is a significant difference in productivity between the offensive lines of the Cowboys and the Rams, but having Prescott in Los Angeles would have produced at least 3000 passing yards. Prescott performed well enough to keep Romo sidelined, whereas Goff failed to outplay Case Keenum. Prescott was never even considered a first round pick, but he obviously should have been.
Eagles: QB Carson Wentz (was Wentz)
Wentz is the man the Eagles will begin to build their offense around. He showed great signs of excellence, and now a top priority for the Eagles should be to give him targets better than Nelson Agholor and Dorial Green-Beckham, which isn’t all that difficult.
Chargers: DE Joey Bosa (was Bosa)
Bosa recorded 10.5 sacks in what will likely be a Defensive Rookie of the Year Award-winning first year for the Ohio State alumnus. If the Chargers can lock down Melvin Ingram, this San Diego front-seven could begin to wreak havoc in the AFC West as players like Denzel Perryman and Joshua Perry continue to develop.
Cowboys: RB Ezekiel Elliott (was Elliott)
It’s incredible to think that the general assumption was that the Cowboys would improve their secondary by selecting Jalen Ramsey with the fourth pick in the draft. Elliott could have been snatched up by the Ravens or the Giants, both who could have become division winners because of the selection. For now, Dallas has their workhorse.
Jaguars: CB Jalen Ramsey (was Ramsey)
With the exception of a few weak outings toward the beginning of the season, Ramsey was a
shutdown corner for the Jaguars. He finished with the sixth-best completion percentage allowed in the NFL among corners (53 percent) and he showed signs of a franchise player after just 16 professional games. Also by drafting corner in the first round in 2016, it allows the Jaguars front office to target the trenches this time around as they hope Alabama’s Jonathan Allen slides outside the top-three.
Ravens: OT Jack Conklin (was OT Ronnie Stanley)
This pick might have been rushed by Ozzie Newsome once the infamous Laremy Tunsil video was discovered. Stanley was by no means a bad draft pick — the 2016 NFL Draft consisted of myriad productive blockers — and he should continue to make holes for Kenneth Dixon in the coming seasons, but Conklin had the best showings among rookie tackles this season.
49ers: QB Jared Goff (was DL DeForest Buckner)
Chip Kelly may still have his job if the 49ers could have acquired their quarterback of the future in the 2016 NFL Draft. Goff is a passer that San Francisco could successfully build around.
Titans: OT Ronnie Stanley (was OT Jack Conklin)
Conklin was impressive in his first year and will continue to hold down the right tackle spot, but with the Ravens snagging him in the re-draft, the Titans will have to settle for Stanley instead.
Bears: DE Yannick Ngakoue (was LB Leonard Floyd)
The phenomenal play coming from Akiem Hicks this season helped cover up the often terrible play from Floyd. He does have a high ceiling and recorded seven sacks, but Floyd easily was one of the most inconsistent pass rushers this season and at times was more of a liability than an outside linebacker. High ceiling, low floor, too much inconsistency for a team that was in desperate need of pass rush. Ngakoue finished with eight sacks and was much more dependable.
Giants: LB Deion Jones (was CB Eli Apple)
The Giants defense alone earned them a wildcard spot and their 11 wins, even with poor linebacker play. Jonathan Casillas is a hardworking special teamer but not a man whose play deserves a starting role, and while B.J. Goodson was a good find in the fourth round, he does not stick out as the answer at the mike-backer position. Insert Jones, leading rookie tackler (108 tackles) and rookie of the year finalist.
Buccaneers: CB Vernon Hargreaves (was Hargreaves)
The Brent Grimes-Hargreaves tandem was a dangerous one, and Hargreaves is the player the Buccaneers correctly chose to build their secondary around. Hargreaves is a player with great energy too and is a tremendous teammate. The safety position could use some work, but it’s safe to say that Tampa Bay has the best corner duo in the division.
Saints: DL Sheldon Rankins (was Rankins)
Keanu Neal would be a great replacement for the underwhelming Jairus Byrd, but Vonn Bell’s play showed enough potential to force the Saints to go with Rankins in a re-draft. In a division featuring a couple of mobile quarterbacks as well as Devonta Freeman and potentially Leonard Fournette as a Panther places heavy focus on run defense.
Dolphins: OG Laremy Tunsil (was Tunsil)
This was the perfect pick for the Dolphins. The versatility from Tunsil is what’s so valuable, especially since Branden Albert’s time in Miami |
Wrap your expression in a lambda and pass it as f."""
self.f = f
def __call__(self):
"""Call the instance to get the value of the promise.
This is memoized so that it doesn't have to compute the value
more than once since promises shouldn't do that.
"""
if not hasattr(self,'result'):
self.result = self.f()
return self.result
promise = Promise(lambda: 1 / 0)
print repr(promise)
print "No error yet."
print "Now, we'll force the promise, causing the error."
promise()
def generator(start=0):
while True:
yield start
start += 1
for i in generator():
print i
def generator(start=0):
scope = locals()
def top():
while True:
return scope['start'], bottom
def bottom():
scope['start'] += 1
return top()
return top
next = generator()
while True:
(i, next) = next()
print i
I just finished the lecture on streams in SICP. Python has generators, which are quite lovely. However, it's fun to imagine reimplementing generators in various ways from scratch using some of the approaches in SICP.First of all, there are promises. A promise says that you'll do something later. In Scheme, you create a promise with "delay" and you invoke that promise with "force":Here's one way to translate that to Python:Easy :)Now, let's take a look at a generator. Here's a simple counter:Clearly, you can do this with an iterator class. However, let's instead use a closure and continuation passing style. The syntax isn't the most beautiful in the world, but it definitely does the trick ;)Contemporary woes and how Castlevania: Mirror of Fate can aid the franchise
A storied franchise like Castlevania needs no introduction. Since 1986 and over the course of 30 different games, we’ve literally been whipping Dracula and his aberrations to death. Rehabilitating as this practice obviously is, the impending release of Castlevania: Mirror of Fate dictates that this obsessive practice won’t slow anytime soon. It’s great to see a franchise as classic as Castlevania continue moving forward in strong suit, but it’s no secret that the series has been mired by its shift to the third-dimension. Mirror of Fate sends Castlevania back to its two-dimensional roots, but the question still remains – can it help break Castlevania’s contemporary curse?
Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness, Lords of Shadow and the upcoming Lords of Shadow 2 are all Castlevania games that have forsaken the realm of the second-dimension. They’re also all games that aren’t even close to being considered near the top echelon of the towering Castlevania ladder. So why then, is Konami so set on bringing Castlevania to the third-dimensional route? One word – modernization. As previously stated, Castlevania’s been around a long time and if there’s anything a company like Konami wants, it’s a successful triple-A dose of a tried-and-true formula on a modern day console. It, unfortunately, has not been working favorably but if Mirror of Fate is any indication, Konami hasn’t forgotten about where Castlevania has excelled.
I’ve been a Castlevania player all my life and while I’m not crazy and tout having played every single game to 100% completion, I’ve played extensively and know a fair share of information that would be lost on the uninitiated. With that out of the way, know that I’m terribly pessimistic about the direction Castlevania has taken. Although, Mirror of Fate’s sudden appearance at last year’s E3 rejuvenated my despondent attitude while simultaneously alleviating some of my fears for Lords of Shadow 2. Now that the dust has settled on the situation and the demo is out on the eShop, there’s a real chance that Mirror of Fate is what the series needed to get back on track.
What’s Mirror of Fate bringing to the table? How does it have anything to do with the three-dimensional games? Does the handheld market hold any weight when compared to full-fledged home console releases? These are all fair questions and the answer to all of them is strikingly positive. Mirror of Fate is focusing on the old-school gamestyle approach of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. The much loved RPG style of Symphony of the Night and Dawn of Sorrow will be taking a back seat, and for once, I think rewinding time is an audacious move.
Konami knows everyone loves the RPG elements of past titles, but by implementing a more simplistic approach, the very essence of the original Castlevania becomes most potent. I’m excited to see how they handle backtracking in this way and I think, if done right, Mirror of Fate can be the reminder of how simpler styles with cutting-edge focus can still be great games. Do you always need to level up and be systematically in control of your statistics? No, but getting the combat feel right and still emphasizing exploration are keys that cannot be ignored.
If Mirror of Fate’s old-style translates well, Lords of Shadow 2 will have an easier time being accepted by fans. After all, this is the first time a Castlevania game will be released in the same year and be a direct tie-in with a home console release. This means by showcasing a more classic style and, hopefully, a better overall narrative, Mirror of Fate can directly influence the way gamers feel about Lords of Shadow 2.
The first Lords of Shadow game wasn’t a great title. Besides the stunning scenery, the only thing that game had in common with the Castlevania name was a whip (bastardized as it might have been), familiar holy weapons, a fanatical religious order and some vampires. It felt so loosely tied to Castlevania that if Konami removed the Castlevania name from the box and replaced it with something completely different, it could easily have passed for a new intellectual property. This is not how Castlevania should be delivered.
Mirror of Fate brings with it tell-tale signs of promise and nostalgia with a mix of what we can expect for the future. Since Lords of Shadow 2 wraps up this specific series, here’s to hoping Mirror of Fate can teach some lessons about how the original formula is the greatest one; arguably.
What do you think? Does Mirror of Fate stand a chance to turn around the fortunes of Lords of Shadow 2? Let us know below!
0 SharesFacial recognition technology boom
Writing and appearing on video in the Wall Street Journal, Josh Chin and Liza Lin report (paywall) that China has 170 million surveillance cameras and is likely to install an additional 450 million cameras by 2020. The government has a huge database of photographs and identities from the national ID card records and numerous other info banks from police and other state organs. And as two leading lights of the artificial intelligence world — Kai-Fu Lee and Andrew Ng — separately told the Sinica Podcast, the key to teaching machines to make decisions is to give them huge sets of data. So it’s no surprise that China is leaping ahead in facial recognition technology:
The Journal article says that “unfettered by privacy concerns or public debate, Beijing’s authoritarian leaders are installing iris scanners at security checkpoints in troubled regions and using sophisticated software to monitor ramblings on social media.”
in troubled regions and using sophisticated software to monitor ramblings on social media.” Government demand is a boon for private sector tech companies, which are “scooping up unprecedented data on people’s lives through their mobile phones and competing to develop and market surveillance systems for government use.”
and competing to develop and market surveillance systems for government use.” In May, MIT Technology Review reported that Beijing-based facial recognition startup Face++ was valued at roughly a billion dollars. Technology from Face++ is being used in several apps such as Alipay, a mobile payments app used by more than 120 million people in China, and Didi, China’s dominant ride-hailing company.
app used by more than 120 million people in China, and Didi, China’s dominant company. Some tourist sites in Beijing are using facial recognition to limit the amount of toilet paper that each person can take.
One of China’s top universities installed scanners with facial recognition technology in a female dormitory.
In a different university, a lecturer is using the technology on his students to check on the boredom levels in class.
China’s ‘number one drug village’
Xinhua News Agency has a follow-up report on Boshe, a coastal village in Lufeng County, Guangdong Province, which became known as “Number One Drugs Village” (第一毒村 dìyī dú cūn) in 2013 when “more than 3,000 armed police with helicopters and speedboats stormed the village,” arrested 183 people, and seized three tonnes of methamphetamine.
Police say that before the 2013 raid, one in five villagers was directly involved in the drug business, and that the entire village was a no-go zone for police.
Trump sours on China, suddenly cares about human rights
Mike Allen at Axios says: “White House sources tell us to look for increasing signs that the afterglow of China President Xi Jinping’s visit to Mar-a-Lago in April has long faded, and say the administration is going to be tougher on the world’s second largest economy.”
Allen notes that Trump hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi of China’s strategic rival India during a visit at the White House on June 26, and that “Steve Bannon and his allies in key trade and policy positions have been agitating for a high-profile economic fight with China.”
of China’s strategic rival India during a visit at the White House on June 26, and that “Steve Bannon and his allies in key trade and policy positions have been agitating for a high-profile economic fight with China.” In news that is no doubt related, the Associated Press says that “the Trump administration is poised to declare China among the world’s worst offenders on human trafficking…putting the world’s most populous country in the same category as North Korea, Zimbabwe and Syria.”
Do you like our GIFs?
You may have noticed that we have started using animated GIFs to illustrate our email newsletter and some of the articles on our website — see above. From today, we’ll also upload a mini video pronunciation lesson to accompany the GIF if it contains Chinese language elements: here’s the first one.
Do you like the GIFs and the pronunciation video? I’d love your feedback — you can write to me at [email protected], or write to [email protected] to get our whole team.On the eve of the busy Labor Day holiday weekend, convenience store operators and other gasoline retailers say there’s a strong chance they'll run out of fuel at some locations this weekend.
While multiple refineries shut down along the Gulf Coast due to Hurricane Harvey, one Texas commissioner said the fuel problem is actually due to people rushing gas stations. He called it a problem of demand and logistics rather than one of an actual shortage in the state.
"There's plenty of gasoline," Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton said. "This will subside."
RELATED: Railroad commissioner: There's no fuel crisis in Texas
Sitton said as word spread of a potential gasoline shortage, drivers rushed to stations to refuel, creating a larger-than-usual demand.
“I called my family members and told them to fill up their tanks,” said John Benda, who owns three Fuel City stores in Haltom City and Dallas and is building a fourth location in Saginaw. “I have never seen it this tight, since 1980, even when we were rationing.”
Meanwhile, the high demand of gas has led to an increase in prices and stations running out of gas across the area.
LINK: Find available gas near you
At a QuikTrip near Eagle Drive and U.S. 377 in Denton, about two-thirds of the gas pumps were shut down late Tuesday. Customers were told the fuel tanks were running low.
QuikTrip, which operates 135 stores in North Texas, plans to stop selling gasoline at roughly half its stores this weekend, spokesman Mike Thornbrugh said.
Go here to continue reading this story from the Star-Telegram.
Copyright 2016 WFAAIron melt network helped grow Earth's core, Stanford study suggests
Stanford scientists recreated the intense pressures and temperatures found deep within the Earth, resulting in a discovery that complicates theories of how the planet and its core were formed.
Crystal Shi In a rock and metal sample created by Stanford scientists to mimic the make up of the early Earth mantle, drops of molten iron merge to form a network. In this X-ray tomography image of the sample, the channels labeled in blue are interconnected.
The same process that allows water to trickle through coffee grinds to create your morning espresso may have played a key role in the formation of the early Earth and influenced its internal organization, according to a new study by scientists at Stanford's School of Earth Sciences.
The finding, published in the current issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, lends credence to a theory first proposed nearly half a century ago suggesting that Earth’s iron-rich core and layered internal structure might have formed in a series of steps that took place over millions of years under varying temperature and pressure conditions.
"We know that Earth today has a core and a mantle that are differentiated. With improving technology, we can look at different mechanisms of how this came to be in a new light," said study leader Wendy Mao, an assistant professor of geological and environmental sciences at Stanford, and of photon sciences at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, which is operated by the university.
Earth's innards are presently divided into layers, with the rocky mantle composed mostly of silicates overlying an iron-rich metallic core. How the planet came to have this orderly arrangement is a major mystery, especially since scientists think its beginnings were messy and chaotic, the result of small bodies made up of rock and metals crashing and clumping together shortly after the formation of the sun and the birth of the solar system some 4.5 billion years ago.
How did Earth evolve from this conglomerated mass of rocks and metals into its current layered state?
Separating metal from rock
One idea is that the heat generated by the collisions and by the radioactive decay of certain isotopes warmed the Earth. The planet could have gotten so hot that its rocks and metals melted. The molten rocks and metals in this "magma ocean" would then have separated into distinct layers as a result of their different densities. Iron would have drifted downward towards the planet's center, while silicates remained on top.
Other scientists have proposed that even if the early Earth’s temperature was not hot enough to melt silicates, the molten iron might still have separated out by percolating through the solid silicate layer.
The thought was that pockets of molten iron trapped in the mantle layer could tunnel through the surrounding rock to create channels, or capillaries. This network of tunnels could have helped funnel molten iron towards the planet's center to join the spherical metallic heart that was slowly amassing there.
However, this "percolation” theory was dealt a major blow when scientists discovered that, in the upper mantle layer at least, the molten iron tended to form isolated spheres that didn't interact with one another, similar to the way water beads up on a waxed surface.
For this reason, scientists had previously thought that percolation couldn’t be possible, Mao said.
Recreating ancient Earth
But a new experiment conducted by Mao and her team uncovered fresh evidence that percolation might still be a viable mechanism for explaining the formation of Earth's core.
Working with researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC facility, Mao and her team recreated a speck of the molten silicate and iron material that scientists believe existed deep inside the early Earth.
To do this, Mao’s team placed minute amounts of iron and silicate rock into a metal chamber that they then inserted between the tips of two small diamonds. Squeezing these "diamond anvils" together recreated the immense pressures present in the Earth's interior, and a laser beam was used to heat the sample to a high enough temperature to melt the iron.
After the sample cooled, the scientists examined it using X-ray-computed tomography. Tomography creates a three-dimensional image of an object by combining a series of two-dimensional slices. A computer program then helps flesh out the re-creation of the object.
A state-of-the-art X-ray microscope at SLAC allowed Mao’s team to resolve nanometer-scale details in their sample of heated silicates and iron. The higher resolution allowed the scientists to observe never-before-seen changes in the texture and shape of the molten iron and silicates as they responded to the same intense pressures and temperatures that were present deep in the early Earth.
Which happened first?
The experiment confirmed the findings from previous studies that molten iron in the upper mantle tended to form isolated blobs, which would have prevented percolation from happening. "In order for percolation to be efficient, the molten iron needs to be able to form continuous channels through the solid," Mao explained.
However, the scientists found that at the higher pressures and temperatures that would have been present in the early Earth's lower mantle, the structure of the silicates changed in a way that permitted connections to form between pockets of molten iron, making percolation possible.
“Scientists had said this theory wasn’t possible, but now we’re saying, under certain conditions that we know exist in the planet, it could happen,” Mao said. “So this brings back another possibility for how the core might have formed.”
The team’s new findings do not rule out the possibility that differentiation began when Earth was in a magma ocean state. In fact, both mechanisms could have occurred, said study first author Crystal Shi, a graduate student in Mao’s lab.
“We don’t know which mechanism happened first, or if the two happened together,” Shi said. “At the very beginning, Earth would have still been very hot, and the magma ocean mechanism could have been important. But later as the planet cooled, percolation may have become the dominant mechanism.”
Scientists from China's Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington also contributed to this research.
Ker Than is associate director of communications for the School of Earth Sciences.
Media Contact
Wendy Mao, Department of Geological & Environmental Sciences: office (650) 723-3718, wmao@stanford.edu
Ker Than, School of Earth Sciences: (650) 723-9820, kerthan@stanford.edu
Dan Stober, Stanford News Service: (650) 721-6965, dstober@stanford.eduWest Point, New York (CNN) -- President Obama said Tuesday that the deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan is part of a strategy to reverse the Taliban's momentum and stabilize the country's government.
"There is no imminent threat of the government being overthrown, but the Taliban has gained momentum," Obama said at the U.S. Military Academy. "Al Qaeda has not re-emerged in Afghanistan in the same numbers as before 9/11, but they retain their safe-havens along the border.
"And our forces lack the full support they need to effectively train and partner with Afghan security forces and better secure the population.... In short, the status quo is not sustainable."
Obama said he'd begin sending the additional troops "at the fastest pace possible" starting in early 2010 "with a goal of starting to withdraw forces from the country in July 2011."
The president said additional U.S. forces bolstered by NATO troops "will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces."
Senior administration officials said Tuesday that Obama has a goal of withdrawing most U.S. forces by the end of his current term, which ends in January 2013.
Watch what the new troops will do in Afghanistan
It will be the second increase of U.S. forces in the war-torn Islamic country ordered by Obama since he took office in January.
In his speech Tuesday, Obama said his strategy had three objectives:
• Deny al Qaeda a safe haven
• Reverse the Taliban's momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow Afghanistan's government
• Strengthen Afghanistan's security forces and government
The additional troops was one way to achieve these, he said. Other strategies will include holding Afghan government leaders accountable for corruption, focus assistance on areas that could help the lives of Afghans, and securing the country's border with Pakistan.
"We are in Afghanistan to prevent a cancer from once again spreading through that country. But this same cancer has also taken root in the border region of Pakistan. That is why we need a strategy that works on both sides of the border," Obama said.
The president said he rejected the option of committing more forces for an undefined mission of nation-building without any deadlines.
"I reject this course because it sets goals that are beyond what we can achieve at a reasonable cost, and what we need to achieve to secure our interests," Obama said. "Furthermore, the absence of a timeframe for transition would deny us any sense of urgency in working with the Afghan government. It must be clear that Afghans will have to take responsibility for their security, and that America has no interest in fighting an endless war in Afghanistan."
Obama rejected analogies with the war in Vietnam that divided America in the 1960s and 1970s.
"Unlike Vietnam, we are joined by a broad coalition of 43 nations that recognizes the legitimacy of our action," Obama said. "Unlike Vietnam, we are not facing a broad-based popular insurgency. And most importantly, unlike Vietnam, the American people were viciously attacked from Afghanistan, and remain a target for those same extremists who are plotting along its border."
Obama said the U.S. has no interest in occupying Afghanistan.
"We will support efforts by the Afghan government to open the door to those Taliban who abandon violence and respect the human rights of their fellow citizens," Obama said. "And we will seek a partnership with Afghanistan grounded in mutual respect -- to isolate those who destroy; to strengthen those who build; to hasten the day when our troops will leave; and to forge a lasting friendship in which America is your partner, and never your patron."
Obama spoke to an audience of West Point cadets, staff and guests in outlining his strategy that he has deliberated for months, meeting several times with his national security team.
He recognized that some in the audience had fought in Afghanistan, and some would be deployed in the future.
"As your commander in chief, I owe you a mission that is clearly defined, and worthy of your service," he said.
The additional U.S. forces "will increase our ability to train competent Afghan security forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight," Obama said.
"And they will help create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans."
Obama also said he is asking NATO allies to provide more troops, and that he is "confident that there will be further contributions in the days ahead."
"Our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in Afghanistan," he said. "Now, we must come together to end this war successfully. For what's at stake is not simply a test of NATO's credibility -- what's at stake is the security of our allies, and the common security of the world."
The new troop deployment would increase the total U.S. commitment to roughly 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, bolstered by more than 40,000 NATO forces.
Obama, whom Republicans had accused of "dithering" over the decision, concluded the deployment needs to be accelerated to knock back the Taliban, the senior officials said.
The push for a speedy deployment is surprising because White House officials who defended Obama's slow pace of coming to a decision had said the Pentagon wouldn't be able to get new troops to Afghanistan that quickly.
A Pentagon official noted that, under the new strategy, Obama is "trying to do it faster" than the 12-month timeline initially requested by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
McChrystal wrote in a report in August that a "failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) -- while Afghan security capacity matures -- risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible."
The Pentagon official said Obama's six-month timeline for sending the new troops is "very aggressive" and will be challenging for the military to fulfill. The official expressed confidence, however, that the military would successfully carry out the order.
Opponents of an increased U.S. troop deployment complain that the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai is corrupt and an unreliable partner.
Obama spoke to Karzai for an hour by videoconference Tuesday to discuss the deployment decision, according to a White House statement.
"The president also emphasized that U.S. and international efforts in Afghanistan are not open-ended and must be evaluated toward measurable and achievable goals within the next 18 to 24 months," the statement said.
Share your views on Obama's Afghanistan decision
The decision to send the troops carries significant political risk for Obama, who will announce it nine days before he travels to Oslo, Norway, to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.
His liberal base, which helped him win last year's presidential election, opposes another troop deployment to Afghanistan.
In addition, the deployment, expected to cost an extra $30 billion a year, comes amid high unemployment as the economy emerges from a recession. That concerns Democrats and Republicans faced with competing domestic priorities such as health care reform and job creation.
U.S.-led troops first invaded Afghanistan in response to the al Qaeda terrorist network's September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. The invasion overthrew the ruling Taliban, which had allowed al Qaeda to operate from its territory, but most of the top al Qaeda and Taliban leadership escaped the onslaught.
Taliban fighters have since regrouped in the mountainous region along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, battling U.S. and Afghan government forces on one side and Pakistani troops on the other. Al Qaeda's top leaders, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, remain at large and are suspected to be hiding in the same region.
The conflict has so far claimed the lives of more than 900 Americans and nearly 600 allied troops.Hold onto your seats everyone, things are about to get interesting.
Rumblings of a Joe Biden presidential run continue to get louder and despite the claims of James Carville, some Democrats and the Clinton campaign are starting to panic.
Just days ago, Hillary Clinton cut her vacation short in order to get back onto the campaign trail. Her return came shortly after Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a darling of the left who many wish were running for president instead of Hillary, met with Biden in Washington D.C. for lunch. Warren's non-commitment to another Senate run is also making the Clinton camp extremely nervous because it's an indication Biden may choose Warren as his VP nominee.
But it appears Hillary Clinton isn't the only part of the Clinton equation upset about a possible (and probable) Biden run. Former President Bill Clinton seems to be concerned a Biden run could destroy his chances of reoccupying the White House. From POLITICO:
Clinton’s camp, hands full with the email controversy and a surprisingly stout challenge from independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, isn’t in a patient mood. Bill Clinton, according to a person who has spoken with the former president in the past couple of weeks, is “very agitated” by the possibility of a Biden candidacy and incensed at the press hype around a possible bid.
If Biden does in fact get into the race, there's no doubt President Obama will not only endorse him over Hillary, but will offer the resources and infrastructure that got him elected in 2008 and 2012 as additional support.
The longtime feud between the Obamas and Clintons is far from over.space dock by Brian Hawkins is licensed under CC by 2.0
Part V:
The SEI Dock Model
Pillar VI: Reflection
Twice a year, Bill Gates disconnects from reality in order to reconnect with (and redefine) his goals. During each one-week break, Gates travels into the woods of the Pacific Northwest where he dives into papers written by the Microsoft community. He scribbles notes, maps out ideas, and writes summaries for executives. There are no interruptions (besides a caretaker who provides two meals per day and a steady stream of Diet Orange Crush), no employees, friends, or family to accompany Bill; even his wife stays at home. This is a time of deep thought, reflection, and goal creation, and has been responsible for many Microsoft innovations.
In a 2005 article published in the Wall Street Journal, Gates shared his long-time corporate secret, and it has since made waves in the IT and business communities. Michael Karnjanaprakorn, CEO and Co-Founder of Skillshare, has adopted this practice. In an article for Fast Company, he said, “For each ‘Think Week,’ I create a life to-do list, do a lot of research, and think through big ideas and challenges deeply. Going through this process has been enlightening.” Setting aside time for reflection is becoming more popular. Some teams and corporations have a time block each Friday afternoon where no meetings can be scheduled. The team or company encourage their employees to use this time to tie up loose ends before the weekend and reflect on the week.
Reflection is important as it is a necessary component for goal creation and goal revision. It provides a moment to pause and focus to ensure you are on course with your targeted goal. While you do this, you may realize that your priorities have changed; this is an important and honest realization as it allows you to set a new course and keep traveling full speed ahead.
Below, I have gathered four important takeaways for making a “Think” session successful. Keep in mind that you can also use reflection as part of your daily or weekly routine. Instead of letting things pile up and laying low for a week at a time every six months, you may find it more manageable to set aside time every Friday afternoon or Monday morning to reconnect with your goals and check your sights.
1) Spend Some Time Alone
“We come from a generation of people who need their TV or stereo playing all the time. These people so scared of silence. These soundaholics, these quietophobics.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby
Shut your door, turn off all technology, and find a space to concentrate free from distraction.
When was the last time you set time aside to think? Can you remember what it was like to be bored? It doesn’t happen anymore. The more technology we have, the more noise we have, and the harder it is to find a quiet space to be alone with our thoughts. Silence (and ambient sounds for some) is important. Quiet time alone allows us to recharge mentally. You will be able to have a true and honest assessment of what you need to work on to achieve your set goals because you will be able to better put your life in perspective.
Schedule one hour a week for this time. Write it into your day planner and take it seriously. During this time, feel free to take out a pen and a notebook, but keep it low tech. Use this time to think about how your projects are coming along. Ask yourself: what is going well and what can I do better. Take some deep breaths and jump out of the timeline of your life. After you finish tinkering around with the past (information gathering) and the future (setting goals) jump back into your present life with a renewed sense of self. During the middle or end of the week, this may be just the thing you need to charge your batteries and make it through to the weekend.
2) Information Gathering and Strategy Development
As you are scanning news sites and social media feeds, favorite links to articles and blogs you want to read when you have more time and file them in a favorites folder explicitly for these types of links (the application Zotero is a good tool to use to do this). I also suggest you keeping a list of books you want to read. Use an application/website like Goodreads to track the books you have read, are currently reading, and want to read. Tracking my reading in this app helps me recall books I have read and find books I should be reading.
As you work through this “stack” of articles and books, be sure to make notes of the key takeaways. I use post-it notes as a placeholder next to key text and write the information nugget directly on the post-it. For web articles, copy the quotable text along with a few keywords or bullet points and paste it into a text document or OneNote (remember to note where the information is from). As mentioned above, Zotero is a good tool to use for electronic text. If you have a long reading list, you may want to invest time learning some speed reading tricks. Audiobooks can help too.
Reflecting on the news and developments in your industry is important for you as you make progress on your goals. Take time each week to catch up on the “going-ons” so you know if something has changed, and how it affects you. Use this is a time to scan your field for new information, create goals, and come up with a strategy to achieve them.
3) Journaling/ Record Keeping
What did you have for dinner two weeks ago Thursday?
Humans are a forgetful species. I’ve been in many important conversations where my brain is screaming Yes! Yes! This is it! The missing gap between the dissonant chords that has been plaguing me for weeks! Only to walk away, forgetting nearly everything we talked about except a vague sensation of loss and wonder.
We are not stupid; we are forgetful, distracted, and over-stimulated. All of my mentors carry a small notebook with them to take notes and track their day. If the word “journal” reminds you too much of elementary school or your grandmother, feel free to call it something else. What you are doing is tracking your progress so you will be able to see the changes. Most change is gradual and happens over time; it’s usually not visible day to day, but it becomes clearer week to week and month to month. Every couple of weeks, read the journal and see if a theme arises; look closely and usually a pattern will appear. Use this information to track your goals and change your behavior to get yourself back on point.
4) Talk with Friends and Mentors
After your think week/think weekend/think day/think hour is over, reach out to mentors, colleagues, and friends to bounce off the ideas you came up with while you were alone. Something I have learned over the years is that all ideas are important: even imperfect ones because they help you reach better conclusions.
Connect with a friend, mentor, or both regularly. I have found that a weekly or monthly basis works well, insofar as it is consistent. These people will help you put your life and your goals in context. It’s the old saying: if you were to see a clone of yourself on the street, would you recognize yourself? These people will be the mirror for places and things you cannot see. With their input, you will be able to better craft your plan ahead.
Reflection in the SEI Dock Model
Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghosts live on the reflection pillar.After surveying the more than 40 professional barbers and men’s hairstylists that work in the company’s iconic Upscale Barbershop & Men’s Spas, Groominglounge.com has deemed ‘King of All Media’ Howard Stern as having the “Best Men’s Hair In America.”
“For the last 12 years, our now iconic shops have taken care of nothing but men’s hair – so our team knows a thing or two about guys and their locks,” said company founder Mike Gilman. “And when we asked our experienced team which celebrity has the ‘best hair’ – Howard Stern won the majority of the votes.”
The top 5 amount of votes were cast for:
Voting by the Grooming Lounge’s barbers and stylists was based on a variety of criteria which Stern seemed to ace, including:
Health: Hair that appears to be well-taken care of, soft and strong
Versatility: Hair that allows for a variety of handsome and different looks, whether created via additional cutting or simply the application and manipulation of styling products
Uniqueness: Hair and a style(s) that is not commonplace, yet work for the owner
Thickness & Coverage: Basically, hair that doesn’t appear to be thinning and is free of bald patches
Hair-To-Face Ratio: Hair that makes the man’s face appear more handsome than it otherwise would. Hair that upgrades the look of that man’s mug.
Others receiving votes included Questlove, Robert Pattinson and Russell Brand.
“We were totally surprised that Howard won this first-ever vote,” said Gilman. “We love the guy’s show and he definitely has hair that stands out – we just never guessed our professionals would say his was the best.”
To commemorate Stern’s honor, Groominglounge.com will be sending the superstar a hair-related trophy, certain to go right next to the Blockbuster Award award or Gary Puppet in his now-famous studio.FILE - In this April 17, 2017, file photo, U.S. forces and Afghan security police are seen in Asad Khil near the site of a U.S. bombing in the Achin district of Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan. The Pentagon will send almost 4,000 additional American forces to Afghanistan, a Trump administration official said June 15, hoping to break a stalemate in a war that has now passed to a third U.S. commander-in-chief. The deployment will be the largest of American manpower under Donald Trump’s young presidency. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A coming deployment of up to 4,000 more U.S. forces to Afghanistan, expected as part of a new Trump administration approach to America’s longest war, reflects the Pentagon’s view that beefing up its training-advising role and its counterterrorism effort can help turn around recent Taliban gains and snuff out a growing Islamic State threat.
But adding troops is a U.S. tactic that has failed in the past and much will depend on the president’s broader strategy for stabilizing Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s chief spokeswoman, Dana W. White, said Friday that Mattis had made no decision on a troop increase. She was responding to an Associated Press report Thursday, citing an administration official, that Mattis has settled on a plan to send almost 4,000 more troops and that it could be announced as early as next week. Another option is to hold off on the troop numbers until the new strategy is ready, which Mattis has said would be in July.
White said in a written statement that “any decision about troop numbers will be made only after consultations” with other U.S. government agencies, NATO allies and Afghanistan. Such consultations have been ongoing for weeks. Mattis is due to attend a NATO defense ministers meeting later this month.
The retired Marine general has said repeatedly that adding U.S. troops and other resources to Afghanistan would be just one part of a larger strategy, developed in conjunction with the State Department and other national security agencies. The plan envisions addressing the roles played by Pakistan, India, China and |
, but also the exchange of emails between Gmail and other providers. That pressure led Google earlier this month to start publicly naming which email services do and don't allow for that encryption in a bid to pressure other companies to safeguard users' privacy.
Marquis-Boire's focus turned to protecting journalists in particular earlier this year, when he and other Googlers released research in March showing that 21 out of the 25 top media organizations in the world had been targeted in digital attacks that were likely the work of state-sponsored hackers. The same month, he joined a technical advisory group for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which counts Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Edward Snowden as members of its board. "If you can’t protect your privacy and that of your sources, it's debatable whether you can actually practice journalism in the traditional sense," he says.
That notion represents a shift from the cypherpunk views of Marquis-Boire's youth. Once, cypherpunks were mainly interested in seizing privacy for themselves. Now, he says, that's no longer enough. "When we discovered that we could create private and anonymous communications with math, that was super cool," he says. "But then after a while I think it dawned on us as a movement that the only conversations you could have with those tools were with other cypherpunks."
"Now it’s been thrust into our faces that the people practicing adversarial journalism and exposing human right abuses are the real-world targets of precisely the kind of thing that the cypherpunk movement was trying to protect against," says Marquis-Boire. "It’s become apparent we need to provide privacy to those who need it, not just to ourselves."
1Correction 7/8/2014 12:27pm: An earlier version of the story misstated Glenn Greenwald's and Laura Poitras's role at First Look as founders.In Montana, only 25 percent of medical marijuana businesses raided earlier this year have re-opened, prompting some patients to turn to street dealers as a safer way to get marijuana, according to MSNBC.
Some patients no longer trust the state to keep their information confidential, while others simply think legal businesses are now more likely to be raided than street dealers are.
In fact, one dispensary owner says he will never re-open a legal pot business but is thinking of getting involved in the street trade himself. “I’ll never pay taxes again,” he exclaimed.
From the story:
The uncertainty has left medical marijuana users wondering what’s coming next. Some who lost their caregivers after the raids have found other providers, a transaction that must be registered with the state. But others have held back from switching or renewing their cards because they don’t want to leave a record with the state. They are fearful they may be targeted as criminals if the state law changes or if federal prosecutors decide to go after them. A Bozeman patient said he won’t register with the state for just that reason and is buying marijuana from street dealers instead. The man spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is buying pot illegally. “This is scary more than anything. You go from being a normal person to being a criminal,” the patient said. “But if I get it from a kid on the corner, it’s less likely for me to get in trouble buying it that way.”
“It is really sad that the federal government is trying to drive this back underground,” said Denver attorney Rob Corry, who represents medical marijuana interests.
Commenting on the letter from Department of Justice attorneys to the governor of Washington, wherein the feds declared that even state employees complying with directives from the Legislature may be prosecuted for violating the Controlled Substances Act, Corry said he could not predict if the feds would target Colorado next.
“No one knows. There is a certain randomness to the feds’ actions. There does not seem to be any overriding principle that the government can point to as the basis for their actions.
“Obama said in 2009 that he would devote no resources to prosecution of medical marijuana cases, and now, here we are. Some say the day is coming very quickly that they will move in to shut down every medical marijuana business in Colorado.
“It is federal arrogance, in my opinion,” he said. “I don’t get it. I don’t get how in an age of global terror and tanking economies that they can dedicate any resources to a plant.”
At one time, at least, Obama seemed to agree:
Karen O’Keefe, of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., said she didn’t think recent federal actions and letters in other states will have much bearing on Colorado.
She said the feds will always maintain the authority to prosecute, but that she didn’t believe Colorado was going to become a priority any time soon.
“This really should be an issue for the states to decide,” she said.Once the bomb goes off, the monkeys get loose, or Hell hits maximum capacity, it’ll be easy to give yourself a zombie make-over, but if you are impatient I have a few tips to get you there sooner.
A Good Zombie is a Clean Zombie
All right. The first step is to clean and thoroughly dry your face. I know, zombies are dirty snarling beasts but make-up doesn’t stick to dirt so wash your filthy face. Next you need to get your beautiful hair out of the way. You can use hair clips or a shower cap or something.
What Lovely Teeth You Have
Now it’s time to add any contacts you want to use or tooth enamel. You can find both at costuming stores. Just be sure to dry your teeth before applying anything to them and then drying again in between if you want to layer colors. You can use a hairdryer to speed up the process. My favorite way to do my teeth is to use black enamel to cover all the exposed white (yes my teeth are normally white). Next, I like to use a green along the gum line. And to finish it off I put a thin layer of yellow or nicotine color over the whole tooth. Be aware that any type of ‘blood’ you put in your mouth could affect your teeth. I would avoid unless you are performing. If you are using contacts you want to look for something almost white in color. I like the Marilyn Manson small pupil look. If you go for colors it’ll still look cool but it starts heading more to demon territory and cat’s eyes are very werewolf.
What do Werewolves, Elves and Vulcans Have in Common?
Let’s stick some crap on your face. This is the point to add any prosthetics you wish to use. You can buy fake ears, noses, or brows at most costume stores. Now to apply these I’m going to suggest spirit gum, not because it’s the best but because it’s cheap and plentiful. There are plenty of professional grade adhesives out there so feel free to use what works for you. Now, most adhesives come with a brush, but if not you can apply with a makeup sponge. What you want to do is apply some to both the surface of the prosthetic and the surface of your skin. Do not use too much and do not apply immediately.
You want to dry the adhesive for a couple seconds so that it becomes tacky. Once both surfaces are tacky go ahead and stick it on. There now don’t you look gross and uneven? We need to now take some liquid latex (once again, you can find it at the costume shop) and work your way around the perimeter of the prosthetic, building up a ‘ramp’ from the skin surface to the prosthetic surface. The goal is too remove the edge so that when you drag your finger over you don’t feel the transition. This is time consuming and delicate to do well. I would recommend using a triangle sponge for the detail. Be sure to get a friend for any part of your head you can’t see fully, especially if you are adding a bald cap (or just shave your head you big chicken, bawk bawk bawk).
Real Men Wear Latex
So we met our good friend liquid latex in the last segment. Doesn’t he smell great? Be sure to keep a fan going or open window and DO NOT get it in your eyes or mouth. It tastes like burning. The beauty of liquid latex is that you can do some serious face alteration with it. If you just add a coat of latex it doesn’t do too much for the scary. If you keep adding layers (drying in between) you can build up a false skin that can later be ripped to make scars and wounds. I would suggest using sponges for application or (a handy tip I picked up) the back of a plastic spoon.
However you apply, I suggest you be prepared to make a mess. It drips everywhere and if it gets on your clothes it’s a pain to get out. Perhaps use a paper bowl to catch the drippings for reuse. It’s at this point that you should be glad your hair is held back. You don’t want to mix the two. If you have to cover facial hair (like to cover your eyebrows) I would suggest covering the hair in spirit gum first. The spirit gum will form a protective layer and it’s removed much easier than direct latex.
Another thing you can do is add some material to build up the surface area. For example, I like to use tissue paper and perform a sort of Paper Mache on my face. I can dip the strips and then apply. This is great and makes for faster layering. Once you are built up you can rip a hole and add a prop (nail, bottle cap, fake spider) and then seal around it. Or you can make a hole and just leave it a gaping wound. Or maybe stuff tissue in the hole to make a raised bruise. (I made some sweet snakebite wounds this way once).
My favorite is to build up the area around my eyes so that they appear more sunken in. Let your imagination soar, you big dreamer you. Other materials you can use are cotton strands or even coffee grounds (for a rough grainy look). The key is not to lose your patience and stick big globs to your face. You have to go slow, using just a little and letting the layers build. A tip for using cotton: place the latex on your face and then stick the cotton to it. Once it dries you can pull most of the cotton off leaving a scar look behind. A lot of scars can look like a burn victim and perhaps some great Freddy Kruger make up. Once you have all the layers and props you want add a final layer of latex to seal it all together.
Yay! Make-Up!
Aren’t you scary? You probably look like you have a bunch of bird poop on your face. They call it clear drying but it never dries clear. It dries white. And prosthetics are always a weird yellow tinge. Let’s fix that. Now, if you look at your skin you’ll see that it’s translucent so the first thing we want to do is take a dark red/purple color foundation and apply over all the visible white. Use a make-up sponge and apply as thin and even as possible. Next we are adding your skin tone. Be sure to match as close as possible.
You can find hundreds of tones at the costume shop. I would suggest getting a few shades since your skin color changes over different body parts. When you apply the skin color you should use the tap method and just ‘tap’ it on. You do not want to wipe at all or you’ll lose your red foundation. Take your time and apply until you can’t see any unusual colors. You should look like a deformed version of your past self.
Quick tip: If you are just using latex without prosthetics you can skip the red layer step by mixing red and a dab of blue food coloring into the latex. Then it will go on and dry ready for your skin tone.
Whew, that’s a lot of work so far and you look like a freak. Just not a zombie. Not yet. The key to a zombie is the dark eyes. Get a black cream makeup and apply it around each eye. Close your eyes and get the lids as well (could be a good time to get a friend to help). Beautiful. I hope you didn’t get makeup on your contacts. Now we need take your nicely toned skin and make it dead. There are three standard colors to use here: decay green, Romero blue or dead grey. It depends what you want to do.
Take your color and VERY lightly pat your cheekbones, your nose and around the perimeter of your face including the ears. Now you are looking sick and dead. Now we’re going to lightly pat the area below the cheekbone and on your temples with the black. You don’t want solid black so just use a little. Our goal is to darken those areas to get a more skull shape to the face. Now take a black or brown and very gently highlight the lines on your face (the same trick to old age make up). You can use a small tip brush, the edge of a triangle sponge or even some eyeliner pencils. And blend, damn you blend! You aren’t on the stage, you are in their faces!
There Will Be Blood
So we deformed you and covered you in dead skin. Now the final step: wounds. You can do this to whatever extent you feel. I like to look like a bloody mess. First we put on bruises. The key to bruises is to make them puffy (the areas built up during the latex phase) and have them transition from being blue around the edge to purple and then maybe black to green if you want to look really gross. Use a broad sponge and pat the colors on so that they are even and it doesn’t take off existing makeup. A good tool is a hard textured sponge applicator. I like to mix a textured application with grainy latex (coffee grounds) to make a tire track look. Here is the word you’ve been eager awaiting… It’s time for blood. The blood has to go on last.
Now you want to get a nice thick liquid stage blood for anything going on your face. Do not use the homemade Karo syrup bloods or the store bought “Bottle o’ blood” for this. That is too thin and it will run your make-up off and wreak havoc with the latex sealed to your face. Trust me and use the good thick stuff. You want to apply the blood so that it is dripping out your orifices (under the nose and out the ears you perverts.)
If you want a bloody mouth I would suggest applying it to just your bottom lip (otherwise it’ll get in your mouth and drive you mad). The beauty of this stuff is that when you sweat it runs. A dot under your eye will become a bloody tear. A dot on the lip or under the nose will drip down your chin. Don’t add too much but add enough to look like you are slowly leaking out. Now is also the time to add blood to any cuts in the latex you’ve made. If you have a good flap of skin you may want to add the red/purple foundation (from when you covered all the white) under the flap before adding the blood.
Brains! Brains! Brains!
Well, there you are: a creepy bloody dead alive mess. A touch of setting powder or spray to seal it all and you are ready to shamble down the street. And don’t worry if it didn’t turn out perfect the first time. It takes awhile to get used to the products and some days they still just don’t want to mix. But you are a zombie so you aren’t expected to look good. So have fun, eat brains, and I’ll see you at the next apocalypse.
(Special thanks to Logan Donahue, Dorothy Massey and Dalles Wilie)09 August, 2016
Earlier today the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi 4 was spotted in the Geekbench database rocking a Snapdragon 625 chipset and 3GB of RAM, running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. And now a source from China is confirming these specs for the handset, and outs a bunch of additional info too.
The Redmi 4 is said to come with a 5-inch 1080p touchscreen, a metal injection molded body, a fingerprint scanner, and a 4,100 mAh battery with fast charge support. It will reportedly become official at an event on August 25. The base version will have 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and will cost just CNY 699 (approximately $105 or 94).
The same as of yet unconfirmed rumor goes on to claim that the much anticipated Mi Note 2 will be outed on September 5 boasting a Samsung-made AMOLED touchscreen, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 at the helm, and a 3,600 mAh battery with fast charging. It too will be made out of metal, with a fingerprint sensor on the front.
The Mi Note 2 will allegedly retail for CNY 2,499 ($375, 337) with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, while upping the latter to 128GB means the phone will cost CNY 2,799 ($420, 378).
Source (in Chinese) | ViaPeople of color and low-income communities are bearing a disproportionate burden of risk from dangerous oil trains rolling through California, according to a new report by ForestEthics and Communities for a Better Environment.
Called "Crude Injustice On The Rails," the report found that 80 percent of the 5.5 million Californians with homes in the oil train blast zone — the one-mile region around train tracks that would need to be evacuated in the event of an oil train derailment, explosion and fire — live in communities with predominantly minority, low-income or non-English speaking households.
Nine of California’s 10 largest cities that have oil train routes running through them have an even higher rate of “discriminatory impact,” the authors of the report found. In those cities, 82–100 percent of people living in the blast zone are in what they call “environmental justice communities.”
RELATED: Is a Bomb Train Rolling Through Your Community?
“In California you are 33 percent more likely to live in the blast zone if you live in a nonwhite, low income, or non-English speaking household,” Matt Krogh, ForestEthics extreme oil campaign director and one of the authors of the report, said in a statement.
SPONSORED
New Oil-by-rail Rules Inadequate
The Obama Administration released new oil-by-rail regulations in May that were heavily criticized as inadequate because the industry had too much influence over the final rules, which would not stop more incidents like the oil train derailment in North Dakota in May that led to an explosion and fire that burned for days. That was the fifth accident of its kind in the U.S. so far this year.
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Derailed oil train cars. An estimated 9 million barrels of crude oil are moving over the rail lines of North America at any given moment. (image: NOAA)
Massive fireballs and raging infernos often accompany oil train accidents because of the highly volatile Bakken crude they frequently carry. Yet, as Justin Mikulka wrote here on DeSmog, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s new regulations are so weak as to be little more than “a guidebook for the oil and rail industries to continue doing business as usual when it comes to moving explosive Bakken crude oil by rail.”
RELATED: Yet Another Oil Bomb Train Explosion Proves New Regulations Fail to Protect Us
Partly in response to the Obama Administration’s weak regulations, ForestEthics and CBE are organizing a "Stop Oil Trains Week of Action" starting July 6, the second anniversary of the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec oil train disaster that killed 47 people. Organizers say that over 100 events are being planned by volunteers across the country who are calling for stricter rules on oil trains to protect their communities.
ForestEthics’ Eddie Scher told DeSmog that he doesn’t think there’s any way to safely move crude oil by train, and enumerated two primary reasons.
“One is that the rail system in America was built to connect population centers,” Scher said. ForestEthics has mapped all of the oil train routes and built a website where you can look up whether or not you live in a blast zone.
“If you look at the blast zone map, which is based on the routes for oil trains as identified by the rail industry, you’ll see that every major U.S. city, with very few exceptions, has oil trains running right through it,” Scher said. “Our rail lines were meant to move people and products, they were never meant to move hazardous materials.”
RELATED: "Bomb Train" Derails and Explodes in West Virginia, Two Towns Evacuated
The second factor that Scher says makes crude oil too dangerous to transport by rail is that fire departments are not prepared to battle the blazes that ensue. “Rail companies and oil companies don’t keep emergency response equipment on hand,” he said, noting that oil train tanker cars hold 30,000 gallons each, and one train can be 100 or more cars long.
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The fireball that followed the derailment and explosion of two oil trains in North Dakota. A continental oil boom and lack of pipeline infrastructure have forced unprecedented amounts of oil onto U.S. and Canadian railroads: 43 times more oil being hauled along U.S. rail lines in 2013 than in 2005. (image: NOAA)
“The best-equipped fire departments in America are prepared to deal with a tanker truck,” Scher said. “That’s 10,000 gallons, one-third the size of one of these tank cars.”
Oil Trains Contribute to Environmental Racism
The “Crude Injustice” report makes a number of policy recommendations for dealing with oil trains, chiefly a moratorium to be declared by Governor Jerry Brown in California as a preliminary step to banning them outright. Scher also said the Obama Administration could use the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 12898, issued by Bill Clinton in 1994, to address the disparities of oil train impacts based on race and income nationwide.
California also has state laws that require the government to consider environmental justice in policy decisions, but so far that hasn’t happened.
Living in oil train blast zones is just one of the many environmental injustices minority and low-income communities in California are more likely to suffer. For instance, FracTracker Alliance reported last year that 79.6 percent of students attending a school within one mile of an oil or gas well are non-white (60.3 percent are Hispanic).
Nile Malloy, Northern California Program Director for Communities for a Better Environment, said in a statement, “It’s simple, oil trains contribute to environmental racism in California.”
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Shell CEO Admitted He's Not Familiar with Company's Arctic Oil Spill Response PlanCUP regional deputy Anna Gabriel announces her party's campaign for the independence referendum on October 1.
Catalonia’s far-left pro-independence movement launched its election campaign on Thursday ahead of the planned October 1 referendum on the northeastern region seceding from Spain with the slogan: “Sweep them away, disobedience and self-determination, Catalan nations.”
At an open-air event held in front of Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce, Anna Gabriel and Mireia Vehí – both deputies in the Catalan regional parliament for the Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (CUP), a small anti-capitalist party that supports leaving the euro zone and holds the key to power in the region – defended the need to “disobey” the Spanish state.
We want to bring down the structures of power that stimulate inequality and privilege CUP manifesto
“Holding the referendum, driving the constituent process and the construction of a new republic is only possible through the exercise of disobedience against unjust laws,” said Gabriel.
CUP’s campaign includes Arran, a radical student group that has been involved in a number of attacks against tourist infrastructure in Barcelona and the Balearic Islands in recent months.
“We want to bring down the structures of power that stimulate inequality and privilege,” reads the campaign manifesto. “Let’s sweep away capitalism, the patriarchy, corruption and the monarchy. Let’s decide our own future, let’s disobey unjust laws to build a free, independent and socialist republic,” it concludes.
CUP's poster, left, and Lenin, right.
The campaign is supported by a poster that shows a map of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearics. A woman is sweeping away around a dozen figures who supposedly represent economic and political power, among them Spain’s King Felipe, his sister Princess Cristina, former Prime Minister José María Aznar, and Artur Mas, the former head of the regional government of Catalonia, and who has driven the independence process over the last decade.
Similarities between the poster and one dating from the Russian Revolution showing Lenin were immediately pointed out on social networks.
English version by Nick Lyne.THE best way to have lower taxes and better services is to build a more productive economy.
Here's the Coalition's six point plan: first, encourage more people into the workforce; second, make public institutions more effective and responsive; third, cut red tape; fourth, improve competition rules; fifth, get greater value from infrastructure spending; and sixth, reform workplace relations to encourage higher pay for better work.
Productivity gains mean more output for the same input or more prosperity for the same effort. As Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has said: "Everything comes back to productivity. It always does."
Over the past two years, GDP per hour worked has not grown at all. To improve productivity, the Coalition will provide incentive payments to employers who take young people and seniors off welfare into work.
We'll extend around Australia the welfare quarantine arrangements that the Gillard government has put in place in the Northern Territory. We support the new impairment tables that the government has flagged for people seeking the disability pension. Unemployment payments should be suspended for young people where work is reasonably available.
The Coalition supports a fair dinkum paid parental leave scheme because women shouldn't be forced to choose between a decent income and more children. Paid parental leave should be as much an entitlement as sick pay and holiday pay. This is a long overdue reform that is pro-family as well as pro-work.
Over time, community- controlled hospitals and schools will mean better returns for each dollar of spending and will be vital in improving productivity.
When introducing the Fair Work Act, the Prime Minister claimed that it would be "good for productivity" but the truth is very different.
An Australian Industry Group survey reported that 74 per cent of large businesses had found the act made negotiating productivity improvements harder. The act should accommodate more flexible working arrangements and the Productivity Commission undertake the promised review of its operation.
The Coalition intends to manage a stronger economy, run a better government and foster a fairer society because that is the best way to restore hope, reward and opportunity for all.
Originally published as How we'll smarten up the economy"Once I get that hundred, I'll be gone. Vanished" © Cricinfo Ltd
"Good morning, Ewen Chatfield here." The voice is loud, warm and clear. You request an interview, a day before coming to Wellington, where he lives.
"Where will you stay in Wellington?" You tell him where you will stay.
"So I'll be there at 1pm."
"No, Ewen, I don't want to bother you. I'll come and see you."
"But I will be driving my taxi then, so I can't be sure where I will be."
How can Ewen Chatfield drive a taxi? I mean, you cannot drive a taxi in India, and most other places, if you have played 43 Tests and have had a successful pairing with the most iconic player of that country. And Chatfield of all players? He of the unruly hair, the long sideburns and the mo?
Next day. Phone rings. "Ewen Chatfield here. I am in the foyer." You go down and miss him. Most would. Imagine Chatfield with properly parted hair, a dark-grey suit and a tie. Without the moustache.
But the name tag on the breast pocket does say "Ewen". He asks you for some identification to prove you are indeed who you say you are. It's you who should be asking him for that reassurance.
You still can't get over the fact that he drives a taxi. Not that it's sad. Far from it. Chatfield has seen hardship at times, but he is a satisfied man with no complaints.
Doesn't he get recognised by passengers? "Surprisingly, it took three or four weeks for somebody to recognise me," he says. "I look a bit different now. No mo. And I have to wear glasses for driving." When he was coaching a side, his wards shaved bits off his moustache during a celebration and he had to take it all off. He was told he looked younger and has let it stay that way.
If you go by what you read of him, the personality might not be the same either. He was a man of economy - of run-up, of action, of words. He was the man who once got Viv Richards out caught down leg and told Ian Smith, the keeper, "That should have gone for four." That's what you read.
Chatfield is a funny man with faraway eyes. With long pauses when he speaks. Is idiosyncratic. Makes you laugh when he talks about his debut Test. Except that he almost died during it. Thirty-four years and two days ago; after a bouncer from Peter Lever struck him in the head.
"We were going to get beaten. There was no doubt about that," he remembers. "We had four days, then the rest day, and then the fifth day. Geoff Howarth and I had batted for an hour on the fourth day, which they grumbled a bit about. They wanted to go home. They had been to Australia and had been away from home for long.
"On the fifth day the forecast was for rain. So we carried on. We batted for another hour. We frustrated them.
"It was just one of those unfortunate things. I don't remember whether it was a bouncer or whether it was a shortish ball. It hit the top of the bat handle, hit the glove, and ricocheted onto my head.
"I knew there was something wrong. And when I got hit, I just went and knelt at the side of the wicket. If it hadn't been for him - I forgot his name, the England physio [Bernard Thomas] - I wouldn't be talking to you today. When I woke up on the way to the hospital in the ambulance, I knew exactly what my score was and what Geoff Howarth's score was. So, yeah, everything was okay."
Lever sobbed on the ground that day. He went to meet Chatfield later. But he never got any of his own medicine in return. "I never bowled a bouncer all my life," Chatfield says. "I wasn't quick enough for that."
Was it difficult mentally to come back? "No, it wasn't difficult. Just carried on as if nothing had happened… I got a helmet."
Chatfield was also a man who very rarely appealed. Not for him the backslaps and the send-offs. "I might have missed a few by not appealing."
India was never the place for him. His first time there, during the 1987 World Cup, he became the final victim in Chetan Sharma's hat-trick, and in the same match got hit for 39 in 4.1 overs. Sunil Gavaskar scored his only ODI century,a fiery one, in that game.
It is Bangalore a year later that Chatfield remembers. "Everybody told me how it was to tour India," he says. "Guys in the past, like Richard Collinge, came running in to bowl, and kept going. I went the first time and I thought there were no problems. There was no place greater than India.
"But after Bangalore, we all got very, very ill. Any New Zealander that was in India could have played for New Zealand. We were down to no one. There was times when guys got out of bed, took the bus, came to the ground, and went back to bed."
When he was coaching a side, his wards shaved bits off his moustache during a celebration and he had to shave it all off. He was told he looked younger and has let it stay that way
It hasn't been a great time after retirement. He coached his minor association, Hutt Valley, for a long while, only to lose the job when Hutt Valley merged with Wellington. His last job before the current one with Corporate Cabs, was that of a lawn-mower. Then two successive wet winters came.
"There was no income. I got frustrated that I couldn't do enough in summer without killing myself to make up for that." And just like that he called Corporate Cabs, because he "liked driving around". He got the licence and was employed. In between he has worked as a courier, a salesman at a chip shop, and has driven a dairy van. "One of your compatriots," he says of the dairy owner.
"I start at 5.30 in the morning, and I am only allowed to work for 13 hours a day. That's all. You think that's enough? Thirteen hours a day?"
He is not in touch with any of his team-mates. He claims he doesn't get nostalgic, doesn't watch old tapes ("I haven't even seen the 50-run partnership with Jeremy Coney, against Pakistan, to win the match"). There's no bitterness either.
What did New Zealand cricket mean to him? "A vehicle to be able to play against the best in the world. It wasn't a full-time job. I had to work as well. But, yeah, they enabled me to play." The faraway eyes. "Though I didn't dream of it when I was young. Later on, when I didn't get picked [for the 1978 tour to England] I was disappointed." Pause. "It must have meant something to me."
Does he have any regrets? None, but for that 1978 drop. "But I got over it."
There's one last wish before he can leave cricket. One hundred. He plays club cricket still, and the quest is on. "Once I get that hundred, I'll be gone. Vanished." Simple as that.
"We play on artificial wickets, only 40 overs. If they give me a good, flat wicket, and the bowling is not too good, I open the batting. Everybody knows I'm trying to get this hundred, but I'm getting slower and slower. I got to 70. Don't think it will ever happen."
You want to take a picture before he leaves. "Come out. We'll do it in front of the taxi. Let's get them some advertisement."
From a farm boy, to a Wellington player - Wellington, where he knew only five people when he first arrived - to a New Zealand Test player, alongside superstars like Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe, to a taxi driver, Chatfield is living an extraordinary life in a normal manner. Still being his own idiosyncratic self. Maybe he still is a farm boy. "I wasn't interested in farming," he says.
Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.by Lamar Clarkson
Look amazing day & night.
Collect your candle wax in this glass vase.
Watch Nicolas Cage perform John Cage’s 4’33”.
Say hello to Kim Kardashian’s baby bump.
Reach your full potential this year!
Attempt one colorful makeup moment a day.
Turn toward warming soups and away from raw salads.
Take steps to secure your account.
Sample Girl Scout cookie–flavored beer.
Stop pretending you can make good pancakes without buttermilk.
Turn your utensils into beautiful and unexpected crafts.
Receive close mentoring and become part of the stimulating writing community.
REACT.
Stop putting trees on skyscrapers.
Lamar Anderson is a San Francisco–based writer and permanent resident of the Internet. She blogs for Architizer, OK Gorgeous, and Ladyish, and is a frequent contributor to Architectural Record and ARTnews.Get the biggest Liverpool FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
New Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stopped to chat with fans and pose for selfies after taking training at Melwood.
Klopp pulled up to greet eager supporters at the club's West Derby training facility after taking his first session on Monday.
The new manager stopped in his Porsche 4x4 car outside the training facilities' gates as fans looked to grab a moment with their new hero.
The 48-year-old German smiled as young fans took selfies, while he also signed shirts and pictures pushed in front of him.
Nine players were available to the Liverpool manager yesterday but today's afternoon session is likely to include returning England players Danny Ings - fresh from his Three Lions debut - Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Lallana.
Klopp's first game in charge of Liverpool is just four days away, the 12.45pm kick-off against Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday.NEW DELHI: Are foreign tourists keeping away from India? Latest data from the tourism ministry appears to suggest so. Growth in foreign tourist arrivals has dropped to a two-year low of 4.5% with 7.1 million visiting India till November this year. In fact popular tourist haunts like Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have all shown a drop in foreign tourist visits in 2014 as compared to the previous year.Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) during the period January- November 2015 was 7.1 million with a growth of 4.5%, as compared to FTAs of 7.68 million with a growth of 10.2% in 2014. In comparison, India received 6.97 million visitors registering a growth of 5.9% in |
,” which featured collaborations with BIGBANG member T.O.P and 2NE1’s CL.
Source (1)back to news News A-35B: The American Legionnaire The M.B.174A-3 and the A-35B are now available for research and purchase for all players. The American Vultee A-35B dive bomber didn't really catch on in its homeland, but it received a warm welcome in the air force of Free France! History ▼ At the beginning of the 1930s, the American company Vultee was developing a concept for a strike aircraft capable of effectively hitting ground targets, light vehicles and enemy infantry from low altitudes. Effective actions by Germany’s Ju-87 dive bombers in Europe served as a basis for the creation of a concept for the American A-31 Vengeance, a strike dive bomber with a machine gun battery in its wings. This new addition immediately caught the attention of the British delegation, which happened to be searching for a design like the Stuka to aid in the fight against Germany. In the course of modernization, the A-31 received a new 1700 hp engine and strengthened armament of five, and then seven high-caliber Browning machine guns (six in the wings and one more for defense against attacks from the rear), and a bomb load of up to 2000 pounds. Modernized version got new designation - Vultee A-35. In spite of a large export order, the Vengeance also served in the American air force and navy, and the reviews about it were contradictory. For the war in Europe, the bomber turned out to be ill-prepared. Its low speed, large silhouette and need to descend to drop its bombs made it very vulnerable to enemy flak cannons and fighters. However, in the Pacific Theater the vehicle performed well. The Japanese had far fewer anti-aircraft defenses, and the Vengeance served as an attack aircraft, a bomber and a submarine hunter. Nonetheless, the main operators of the A-35 were foreigners. Several squadrons in the British Air Force were equipped with these dive bombers. The aircraft was delivered to Australia and Brazil, and it served in the Free French Army in Africa. We present the A-35B model in the French Air Force tree. In the game, this is a rank II dive bomber capable of carrying up to 2000 pounds of bombs and armed with 6 machine guns. The A-35B is slow, but it is perfectly suited for destroying small ground targets with bombs and machine guns, since aiming while diving is significantly simplified with the use of the airbrake.
Download Wallpaper: 1280x1024
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2560x1440 The A-35B’s defenses are also reasonable for its rank. The gunner controls a high-caliber machine gun on a pivot, and with the right skills and luck, the Vengeance is fully capable of overwhelming a troublesome pursuer before losing control or burning up. Overall, this is a typical initial-rank dive bomber with its own advantages and disadvantages. For effective actions, the pilot needs situational control in the skies and on the ground, and preferably cover from allied fighters, to deliver its bombs to enemy tanks or pillboxes. Have you had the chance to try the A-35B’in battle yet? Maybe you’ve been on the receiving end of one? Let us know about your experiences with the A-35B’ in the comments below. Until next time! Checkout the French Aircraft Premium packs available in our store now The War Thunder TeamWorld War 2 with Hats
posted 03-11-2013 at 06:00 am
I love tf2. I'm not sure if that's evident or not, and I do love how Valve has kept the game alive and relevant for as long as they have for no extra cost to me, but every time I see a black scotsman with a garish pink afro that's on fire, the artist inside of me dies a little. What was once a beautiful game based of World War 2 era American illustration art is now a breeding ground for promotional hats. At least it's still fun, so I can't complain too much!
Enjoy Dota 2's art style while you still can! When portal 3 comes out, everyone will be wearing orange jump suits with golden wigs that glow with rainbows.
-ScottBaviaans Municipality mayor Ewald Loock was hit with a knobkerrie while trying to address protesters.
CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape has called for calm in a municipal dispute that saw the mayor of a Democratic Alliance (DA)-led municipality attacked.
Baviaans Municipality mayor Ewald Loock was hit with a knobkerrie while trying to address a group of striking municipal workers in Willowmore on Friday.
The ANC's Mlibo Qoboshiyane says labour disputes should never be settled with violence.
"We want the matters that affect the workers in that municipality to be taken seriously. We know it's been coming and that our difficulty to come to a conclusion on certain matters … the violence and how the mayor has been handled is totally unacceptable."
Baviaans is the only DA-controlled council in the Eastern Cape and has been hit by strike action with workers complaining about unequal pay compared to other towns in the municipality.
About 300 municipal workers affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) were protesting in Willowmore last week.SLAVIANSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Dozens of charred bicycles stand upright in the rubble of a burnt-out sports shop in Slaviansk, a strategic stronghold for pro-Russian separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
A woman stands near charred debris in a bicycle store after what locals say was overnight shelling by Ukrainian forces, in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slaviansk June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
After a week of intensified shelling by government forces, windows of buildings on the outskirts of the city have been blown out, fires have gutted stores and the hulks of damaged Soviet-era cars lie abandoned in the road.
A few stores are still operating in the leafy town center, where the muffled sound of mortar fire drifts in from areas around the city edges, but life has been transformed even there.
A few days ago, residents were showing defiance by carrying on their lives as best they could. Now only a handful of people dare to walk in the open near the city hall, barricaded by sandbags and fenced off by the rebels. Others have fled.
“Why do my children and I have to know every day what time the shelling will start?” asked Nina Moiseyeva, tears rolling down her face as she walked with two bags of groceries. “We know when to expect it every morning: eight or nine o’clock.”
Although the army denies shelling civilians or buildings used by civilians, a woman who gave her name only as Tatyana said she had seen the incident in which the now burnt-out sports store was hit: “People were burned, lying on the street. There was a body lying there,” she said pointing under the rubble, her hands dirty because of a lack of water to wash with.
The transformation of Slaviansk in the past week is a result of the two-pronged policy being pursued by President Petro Poroshenko, the pro-Western leader elected last month and sworn in on Saturday with a pledge to end the insurrection.
Although he has started talks with Russia on a peace plan he has drawn up, he has also ordered Ukraine’s armed forces to step up their “Anti-Terrorist Operation” to win back control of towns and cities held by rebels seeking unification with Russia.
He is treading a tightrope. The rebels show no sign of surrendering, meaning force looks the only way of prising them out; but pushing too hard risks civilian casualties. That could both antagonize Moscow, whose troops are just across the border, and alienate eastern Ukrainians, deepening the nation’s divide.
STRATEGIC LOCATION
The military operation has focused increasingly on Slaviansk, a city of 130,000 which has been controlled since April by masked, camouflage-clad militants wielding assault rifles and grenade-launchers who oppose central rule by Kiev.
It has strategic value because it sits at the center of the Donbass coal mining region, at the crossroads of the three main regions of eastern Ukraine.
The Kiev government, battling to restore its authority after Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula following the overthrow of Poroshenko’s predecessor, said over 300 rebels were killed in one 24-hour period last week although the separatists deny this.
The violence is increasingly taking its toll on civilians as well. Residents estimate a third of the population of Slaviansk has fled hardships such as cuts in electricity and water supply.
Journalists enter and leave through an army checkpoint, at which there is a steady trickle of cars ferrying out residents, mainly women and children with their belongings and food.
On the day of Poroshenko’s inauguration on Saturday, organizers of a relief operation say more than 100 women and children left the city in minibuses to take refuge in Soviet-era recreational camps in a region farther to the west.
Men were barred from leaving, turned back at a checkpoint by the Ukrainian army, fearing they could join rebel forces elsewhere. “We all tried to leave together last week, but the Ukrainian military wouldn’t let me pass. They said I might be a terrorist,” said a 34-year-old market trader who gave his name only as Alexei and had hoped to leave with his two daughters.
The organizers of the evacuation convoy said they had reached an agreement with Kiev forces not to shell Slaviansk until they had left the city. As soon as the minibuses pulled away explosions in the distance began again.
A woman cries as she passes destroyed houses following what locals say was overnight shelling by Ukrainian forces, in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slaviansk June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
The New York-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch has urged the Ukrainian government to review its operation in Slaviansk and the neighboring village of Semyonevka, saying it has an obligation not to attack civilians or civilian objects.
Vladislav Seleznyov, a spokesman for the military operation in eastern Ukraine, has accused the rebels of shelling civilian positions.Chicago P.D. is losing Det. Erin Lindsay, but the Intelligence unit won’t be without some girl power this fall.
Tracy Spiridakos, who recurred as Det. Hailey Upton during Season 4 of the NBC drama, has been promoted to series regular for the upcoming run, TVLine has learned.
A member of the robbery homicide unit, Upton clashed with Voight when she was first introduced in a May episode. She eventually earned the Sergeant’s respect — and even a spot on his unit while Burgess took a leave of absence. Now it looks like that placement will be permanent (and hopefully, we’ll get some insight into the mysterious undercover assignment that earned Upton her detective shield).
There are plenty of cast shake-ups in store for Season 5 of the Fire spinoff: While the unit will be saying goodbye to Sophia Bush’s Det. Lindsay, they will also be welcoming back Jon Seda’s Det. Antonio Dawson, who departed the cop drama in the middle of Season 4 to join Chicago Justice‘s D.A. team as an investigator. Following the legal offshoot’s cancellation, it was announced that Seda would rejoin the P.D. ensemble as a series regular.
Prior to appearing on P.D., Spiridakos starred in NBC’s sci-fi series Revolution. Her credits also include recurring gigs on MacGyver, Bates Motel and Being Human.
Chicago P.D. returns with new episodes on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 10/9c on NBC.
P.D. fans, are you excited Upton is sticking around? Hit the comments with your thoughts!Income inequality has become a key hot button issue in the modern day political spectrum. While these economic and class divides seem more pronounced than ever before, the impressive new documentary Plutocracy: Political Repression in the USA reveals that the core of these struggles pre-date the beginnings of the industrialized labor force. The long and painful journey towards achieving worker rights and fair wages has been marked by violence, discrimination, and inhumane exploitation.
Take, for example, the West Virginia coal mining industry in the early years of the 20th century. Working under extreme conditions plagued by brutalizing hours, unprecedented accident rates and severe health hazards, the miners decided to fight back through strikes and the formation of their own labor union. The industry itself chose to fight back with the importation of replacement workers, and the structuring of new contracts which disallowed workers from joining a union. The fight for freedom from the tyranny of wealthy industrialists was fraught by thousands of lives lost, and many more wounded and incarcerated.
As the film makes clear, the country's founding fathers saw the potential for such class conflicts even before industrialized capitalism made its way to America's shores. During the Civil War, which ranks as the most devastating union conflict in the history of the United States, hundreds of thousands of casualties occurred, many of which were from the poorest populations. The wealthiest figures of the day paid destitute soldiers to fight on their behalf, and some like business magnate John D. Rockefeller could escape the burdens of service by making a cash payment of three hundred dollars.
Throughout history, liberty has come at a cost far more profound than dollars and cents. Change only becomes possible when the working masses band together under the shelter of a common cause of fair and equal rights. Plutocracy: Political Repression in the USA is a smart and engrossing tale of an issue which continues to drive economic instability and power dynamics today. The film honors the sacrifices of all those who have battled to win the freedoms we enjoy today, and reminds us of the importance of demanding equality for all and speaking truth to power.Last year, Google marked its return to public exhibition at Mobile World Congress, but with a whole new twist: it wasn't really exhibiting any of its own or any of its partner's products, it was all just in the name of fun. You see, at trade shows like MWC, business is the predominant subject of conversation, and while quite a few consumer product announcements may occur, they're often secondary to the whole issue of "things which cause money to change hands." MWC isn't open to the public, either, and so attendees are largely in the mobile business in one form or another, or members of the media. As such, things can get a bit... stuffy.
This year, Google is back again with a slew of small exhibits and personalized swag opportunities, and I took the time today to photograph the whole Bugdroid Bazaar between halls at the Fira Gran Via here in Barcelona. On the far end of the walk, you'll find Google's Android-powered robotic sketch artist, just take a picture of yourself with the smartphone on the wall, and this pen (which is of course powered by an Android app) will draw you on a little sheet of paper.
In this booth were also a number of artistic or interactive experiences which used cameras to track your face, analyze colors on a wall, or the gyroscope to explore a virtual scene.
Moving on, there was the Android smoothie and hot chocolate station. The only payment method accepted is a high-five. Seriously. It's compulsory.
The guys pouring the smoothies were definitely making the most of it.
Flavors include "go bananas," "hazelnut mocha," "marshmallow madness," "hot chocolate," and "very berry" something or other. I forget the last one specifically. Switching gears, there was live Android shrubbery art.
You could also "Androidify" yourself IRL, which allowed you to create a print of your creation and then have it painted on a custom Android water bottle. The line for said water bottles was, unfortunately, quite long.
As with last year, Google is doing a grand bugdroid pin scavenger hunt throughout the convention center, with opportunities to collect over 100 badges from Android partner booths over 3 days, with three tiers of completion (bronze, gold, silver). Collecting every badge at the show will get you a mystery prize of some sort.
Capping off the exhibit is a giant bugdroid head with Google Play Music headphones on, completely with TVs shaped to look like giant oversized smartphones.
And to finish off our post, a few of the lovely bugdroid statues adorning Google's Android-green garden.
Google, once again, brings some much-needed levity to the world's serious mobile show(TM). And also free smoothies, which are categorically the best sort of smoothie. Martim and I will definitely be queuing up for our custom bugdroid bottles tomorrow.by
What’s the value of a union contract? For nearly 500 retail janitors in the Twin Cities, who made history last year by forming the industry’s first metro-wide union, it’s a cool $4.5 million in wage increases and paid time off over the course of their new, three-year contract.
Local 26 of the Service Employees International Union, which represented the janitors who clean big-box stores like Best Buy, Target, Macy’s and others in negotiations with cleaning subcontractors, announced the landmark agreement in a press release today, calling it a “path forward for working families” to combat rising income inequality.
“While working people are under attack right now from the billionaires in charge of our country, we are showing that we can win if we stick together and fight,” said Maricela Flores, an employee of Carlson Building Maintenance who cleans the Target in Shakopee.
The “vast majority” of janitors in the bargaining unit are people of color, according to Local 26, so the contract’s gains will help combat Minnesota’s yawning disparities between white workers and workers of color.
The contract goes into effect immediately, and many union members will see their hourly wages jump from $9.50 to $11. They include Lizbet Vega Lopez, a Carlson employee who has cleaned the Cub Foods in Brooklyn Park for 12 years.
“This was not an easy fight, but I am so glad we stuck together and now have a union contract that moves us forward,” Lopez said. “I hope others will see our fight and realize that no matter how difficult the challenge may be, you can win positive changes if you are willing to stand up to those in power.”
In addition to wage increases and PTO, workers won up to three weeks of vacation time, stronger workplace protections and job security, and guidelines for workload conditions when covering absences.
Retail janitors’ new union grew out of a six-year campaign facilitated by CTUL, a Twin Cities worker center. Workers and community allies pressured corporations like Target and Best Buy to take responsibility for low wages and unsafe working conditions inside their Twin Cities stores by signing onto a “Responsible Contractor Policy.”
The campaign continues at Kohl’s, Home Depot and other big-box stores.
“We are contracted to clean the stores of some of the biggest corporations in the world, so it was a big win just to get to the negotiation table with our employers, and now we have won gains that cannot be taken away,” Lopez said. “We weren’t waiting on Trump’s empty promises and scapegoating. We decided to fight back and win changes for ourselves, and hope others do too!”He did what I never imagined my father would, girl recalls
These two girls were defiled by their HIV positive father but have not lost hope of attaining academic excellence. [PHOTO: MURIMI MWANGI/ STANDARD]]
By MURIMI MWANGI [email protected] On Friday, UNICEF led the world in marking the second International Day of the Girl Child, highlighting the power of innovation to get more girls in school and improve the quality of learning for all children. But as the world came together to honour girls, and indeed all children, defilement of minors is becoming a big problem in Kenya. From central Kenya to the Rift Valley, an increasing number of girls are being defiled by their fathers, teachers and relatives. Kenyans must unite to defend these girls and give them an opportunity to pursue and realise their full potential in life. Cases of fathers defiling their daughters are on the rise. In Nyeri, two girls – aged nine and 14 – were defiled by their 55-year-old HIV positive father. His stated intention was to infect them with the virus. Monstrous father The two girls are at a loss and unable to comprehend how the man who is supposed to protect them suddenly turned against them in such a beastly manner. Then man defiled his daughters in the presence of his bedridden HIV-positive wife, who had no strength to rescue her helpless children. And although the man was recently convicted and jailed for 50 years, the children are traumatised and living in fear. They painfully recall the days when their father repeatedly defiled them, telling them he wanted them to die of HIV like their mother who was helplessly squirming on her deathbed as he did the unthinkable. “I arrived home from school and found dad in the sitting room. Mum was sleeping in the bedroom,” starts the nine-year-old class four pupil. “I did not expect that my own father would do what he did to me. He stripped me and dragged me to the sofa and forced me to do tabia mbaya with him,” she says, tears tickling down her cheeks. “He wanted to infect me with HIV. That is what he told me, yet there was nothing wrong I had done, neither do I have anything to do with him contracting the disease.” The father did not stop there; he defiled her yet again when her mother was admitted to hospital, before turning to his elder daughter aged 14. She, too, is struggling to forget the ordeal she suffered in the hands of the man she says she is embarrassed to call father. “I did not know he had also defiled my sister, because he threatened to kill us if we ever disclosed to anyone what he had done,” recounts the Class Eight pupil. “My mum was bedridden at the Nyeri Provincial General Hospital, and I was all alone with him at home. He followed me to the kitchen and defiled me,” the older daughter said. “He told me he wanted to infect me with the virus so that I would die just like his two former wives and my mum who was on her death bed,” she adds. So traumatised were the girls that they never told anybody what they went through even after moving to their grandmother’s place following their mother’s death. Their mother took the secret to her grave. The man all along prevented the in-laws from visiting her in hospital and even attempted to rape a sister-in-law who had come to visit her while she was bedridden at home. Ironically, it is the same man who broke the news that he had defiled his children, through a text message he sent to the children’s grandmother. Sigh of relief In the message written in poor Kiswahili, the man told the granny to visit a VCT centre and purchase anti-retroviral drugs for the children since he had defiled them. Even after their father had confessed to having defiled them, it was not easy to get the traumatised children to open up. “They remained mum when I asked them about it. In fact, I had to threaten them with a thorough beating,” says their granny. They were taken to a VCT centre and counselled before undergoing an HIV test. The family heaved a sigh of relief when the tests returned negative results. Police Constable Brenda Okwach, who handled the case, narrated to The Standard On Sunday how angry she was as she investigated and eventually prosecuted the case in court. “It dawned on me then that I was not only an investigating officer but also a mother who should redeem the lives of those innocent children. I steadily counselled them and vowed to serve them nothing but justice,” recounts Ms Okwach. The younger girl aspires to be a lawyer and eventually a judge so that she can serve justice to girls who have gone through what she and her sister went through. Her sister, who will be sitting her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations this year, and who topped her class in the last end of term tests, wants to be a doctor and a children’s rights crusader so that she can help young girls to speak out on sexual offences. In an interview with The Standard On Sunday, Nyeri County director of children services George Kibuku, said the rising cases of defilement of children, some as young as five years old, was worrying. “The community needs to be sensitised that violence against children is violence against the entire society,” Mr Kibuku said. According to him, the 2012/2013 annual report shows Nyeri County reported 98 cases of children defilement, higher than the 69 cases reported in 2011 in the entire central Kenya region.By 2015, you could see the 3-D image of a person calling you and you can plan in advance your shortest and less traffic-congested route to the office.
Not enough? Even breathing batteries, laptops powered by kinetic energy could also be on your way over the next five years, according to the latest technology predictions of International Business Machines (IBM).
Armonk, New York-based computer giant has released its annual Next Five in Five list of five innovations that is expected to hit the ground by 2015. The predictions are based on survey conducted with over 3,000 researchers at IBM's Almaden research lab.
People could be able to interact with far-away friends in 3D and even conduct video conferencing through holographic cameras that fit into cellphones allowing video chat, IBM researchers said.
The technology giant also expects today's lithium-ion batteries could be replaced by batteries using energy-dense metals that only need to interact with the air to recharge and those kind of batteries could last 10 times longer than the current battery technology.
If successful, the result will be a lightweight, powerful and rechargeable battery capable of powering everything from electric cars to consumer devices. IBM said.
In addition, IBM noted that Adaptive traffic systems could personalize your commute, predict traffic congestions and other issues by computer programs that forecast traffic jams, thereby allowing a person to reach his destination with minimum interruptions on road.
IBM says citizens could collect real-time data about their environment with the help of sensors in cars, phones or wallets and that information can then be used by professional scientists for research, according to a video posted by the company on YouTube,.
IBM researchers also predict future homes could be powered by heat generated by computer servers as scientists will find ways to better recycle heat and energy from data centers to heat buildings in the winter and power air conditioning in the summer.
Up to 50 percent of the energy consumed by a modern data center goes toward air cooling, IBM said. Most of the heat is then wasted because it is just dumped into the atmosphere.
New technologies, such as novel on-chip water-cooling systems developed by IBM, the thermal energy from a cluster of computer processors can be efficiently recycled to provide hot water for an office or houses, IBM added.
IBM released its first list of predictions in 2006 and all predictions have not come true. In 2006, IBM scientists said instantaneous speech translation would become the norm, but that is yet to happen.
However, a 2007 prediction that mobile phones will act as a wallet, ticket booker, bank and shopping assistant have come true, driven by a surge in smartphone applications. Today, consumers can pay utility bills, buy movie tickets, perform financial transactions and do shopping, all with their phones.
IBM, the world’s largest provider of computer services, is one of the few big corporations investing in long-range research projects and has invested $5.8 billion in research and development last year, accounting for 6.1 percent of revenue, according to the company financials.
Separately, IBM said its 'racetrack' memory technology, which could enable a handheld device like an MP3 player to store about 3,500 movies or 500,000 songs, is a step closer to commercial viability.Most VPN providers do their best to deliver the core features that customers expect: plenty of locations, decent speeds, simple clients, and fair pricing.
While that all sounds great – and of course it’s far from a bad thing – we don't think it's enough. These are the most basic technical aspects of a service, features you're entitled to get from every VPN. And you should have higher expectations from providers – companies who want to secure you as a subscriber must do more to win you over.
Such as? Good question. We've come up with 10 little-used VPN ideas that could help any provider deliver the service users need and expect.
It’s also worth bearing in mind the good reasons why a VPN isn't enough
1. Tell us who they are
Every time you use a VPN you're entrusting it with some of your most important details, but many providers do absolutely nothing to show they deserve this trust. Often, you won't know who runs the provider, where it’s based, and indeed whether there's a real company behind the service, or it’s just some guy or gal reselling other people's kit from his or her bedroom.
The solution is simple, at least for genuine providers: stop hiding. Your service is supposed to be about preserving our anonymity, not yours.
So, make some changes. Add an 'About' page to the website to explain how the company started. Not with the usual vague "we're a group of privacy experts who decided to build the best VPN ever" line, but real details. Give us a name or two. Tell us when you started, where you're based, what you've done, give a contact email for questions and reply – quickly – to any messages received. You get the idea.
2. Present products clearly
Too many VPN websites cram their front pages with generic service benefits you understand already, ('we encrypt your Wi-Fi connection!', 'we give you a new IP address!'), while some of the most basic details, like the number of locations they support, might be hidden away on another page.
Searching the site won't always help. We often find providers spread information about specific topics all around a site, so for instance you might find a couple of sentences about logging on the front page, more details in a FAQ, another take in a blog post and a contradictory view in the small print. Which is correct? There's usually no way to tell.
We think there's a better way of doing things, and it starts by making all the key essentials visible on the front page: the number of locations, countries, how many devices you can connect, the monthly and yearly prices, and any other standout features for that provider.
Keeping the rest of the website well-organized and consistent is equally important. Details on any topic should be easy to find and always kept consistent and up-to-date, ensuring users are never left guessing about any aspect of the service.
3. Shout about their achievements
A quality VPN provider needs to show it's active, has real technical expertise and is always working to improve the service. The key word there is ‘show’ – we don't want to read empty claims on the website, but instead see real evidence that this is an active company which knows what it's doing.
This starts with the provider's public face. Social media, blogs and news pages should always be kept up-to-date. Not just with pointless filler, either, like repeated discount offers or retweets of other sites. Give us useful content, maybe expanding on a support issue, pointing users at a relevant new open source tool, or anything else that shows you understand what we need.
ExpressVPN, for instance, dedicates a section of its website to how-to guides and offers leak testing tools to help its users and the entire VPN industry be more secure.
We'd also like to see separate logs of every major service improvement. Always adding locations, for instance? Have a page which records every new server and when it was added.
Maybe you've updated a client, or added a new support document? Again, have pages for each which detail what you've done, and when. Most users may never check them out, but anyone who does will see how much you're doing to enhance and improve the service.
4. Team up with other providers
Most VPN providers offer only their core service with minimal frills or extras. If anyone does stray into another area, maybe implementing some kind of service to block ads or malware, it's usually very basic and less effective than similar products you can download and use for free.
This seems odd to us. VPNs are big business with cross-platform appeal, so why don't the top providers team up with other companies to offer you more and better features?
Some antivirus products now include VPNs, for instance. What if this could work the other way round – for example, a VPN provider could team up with an antivirus company to licence some top-quality URL filtering or firewall technology.
If nothing else, VPN outfits could give you better deals on related services from security suites to remote working services and Usenet providers. VPN users are experienced and knowledgeable as a group, and generally speaking they’re interested in security and often have money to spend, so giving them more options and choices will benefit everyone.
Check out the best free VPN services of 2018
5. Offer PAYG pricing
Paying for a VPN normally forces you to choose from a couple of options: either you go for an overpriced monthly plan, or to get the best price you're forced to buy a full year's service upfront. These aren't exactly flexible options, and neither will appeal to light VPN users.
We'd like to see more alternatives, especially pay-as-you-go schemes. Why not allow users to buy, say, a 100GB block of data which doesn't expire at the end of the month? It works with Usenet services (and in other areas), and we think it could be a welcome option with VPNs, too.
6. Provide an honest and complete privacy policy
VPNs are all about privacy, so why is it that so many service privacy policies tell you almost nothing about what data is collected, and how it's used?
We'll tell you why. It's because many providers think a privacy policy is just a place to repeat the general ‘we don't have any logs, no, really’ pledge from the front page, or maybe copy and paste some generic policy template they've copied from another site. And they couldn't be more wrong.
A good privacy policy should be detailed, clear and complete, discussing everything a service does and doesn't collect, and explaining why and how it's used. Crucially, there should be no loopholes, no ambiguity, no need to interpret the text, or guess what was meant, or wonder what may or may not be logged. If the text doesn't give the average user a complete picture of what's happening, it's not good enough.
That's difficult. No – it's really, really difficult. But it's also worth it, even if the policy ends up explaining that, for instance, there's some minor session logging. What's more important is that a provider is indicating that it’s honest, transparent and worthy of the user's trust, and that's what people will take from it overall.
7. Accept Bitcoin
If a VPN says it's a fan of anonymity and privacy, then maybe it shouldn't ask us to pay by card, and log our IP address, and store our payment details indefinitely. And then claim to protect those details with some generic clause along the lines of ‘we promise not to share them, ever, unless we really have to, but it'll all be fine, honest.’
Here's a better approach: just accept Bitcoin. It’s easy enough, at least for those already using it. There are already quite a few good providers using Bitcoin, if you're interested (for example ExpressVPN, VPNArea, IPVanish), but we'd like to see many more.
8. Allow anonymous signups
No matter how clear and detailed a VPN’s privacy policy might be, it's not an absolute guarantee of anonymity. The reality is it's still just a form of words, and you can't be completely sure a provider will deliver what is promised.
That's why VPNs should provide an extra layer of protection by allowing truly anonymous accounts. Don't ask for names, countries, phone numbers, not even email addresses – none of that is absolutely necessary.
Allow Bitcoin payments, as we suggested previously, and users become much safer. Even if an internet action is linked back to their account, there's little or no data which links the account back to them.
Unrealistic? Nope – Mullvad does it right now. Try it: go to the Mullvad site, click Get Account, complete the CAPTCHA and click Generate Account Number. That creates the ID that represents your account instead of an email address, and you can immediately download a client and sample the service for free with a brief three-hour trial.
9. Offer a VPN router
Most VPNs love to boast that you can use the service on ‘all your devices’, but this isn't always easy. You'll need to separately install clients on every mobile, desktop PC and tablet – maybe set up OpenVPN on unsupported devices – and then figure out how to manually set up smart TVs, game consoles and whatever else you need to use. All while trying to avoid falling foul of the VPN's limit of maximum simultaneous connections.
All of this could be avoided if providers would offer VPN routers. Getting started becomes as easy as plugging the new router into your old one and providing your account ID. Once it's authenticated, the router appears on your local list of wireless networks and you can log in as usual from any device.
This ease of use will come at a cost, and we don't just mean the hardware. Many providers sell accounts for single users only, and a setup which encourages whole families to use the service is going to be more expensive. But that will be a price well worth paying for some people, and we'd like the option to be available.
10. Provide a support forum
There are two ways to get support from a typical VPN provider. First you'll search an underpowered web knowledgebase for the answer, and when that fails – as it usually does – you'll have to contact the support team directly and wait minutes, hours or days (who knows?) for a reply.
We would like to see providers offer a support forum, too. This takes careful management – users should be encouraged to post in the forum, but not so much that it's flooded with vague "it doesn't work, help!" messages from folks who never return – but get the balance right and there are real benefits here.
A good forum allows everyone to see current issues, for instance. You can learn from questions asked previously, and maybe diagnose problems you didn't properly understand before. And it shows some real transparency, as the provider is allowing you to see problems users have and how they're addressed.Labor’s efforts to attack Malcolm Turnbull’s wealth and Cayman investments may have been received poorly by the media, but they’re right to pursue him for it, argues Ben Eltham.
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and actors with their quirky, pedal-powered BYOB tour of Asheville.
Shawn Verbrugghe, who owns both businesses, said he has visited several escape rooms in other cities and found them thin on plot. This one will be different.
"They were missing a lot of context, storyline," he said. "What we've come up with (are) ways to truly entertain people."
The Conundrum, as the business will be called, is in the basement of the Battery Park Hotel. Descending the steps below the tall brick building sets the mood. Inside, a lounge and three escape rooms with unique concepts await.
The lounge, which is open to the public and not just hopeful escapees, will serve beer and wine and include interactive components based on a steampunk theme. (The steampunk aesthetic is based on a Victorian industrial look with lots of Edison bulbs, pipes and exposed mechanical elements.)
From there, escapees in groups of two to six are greeted by an affable host, a developed character created to entertain and immerse visitors in the experience. The host escorts them through a set of doors at the back of the bar and becomes very serious when he explains the scenario to them in a briefing room Verbrugghe describes as a "creepy FBI office."
Then, escapees move to the actual escape room. The Conundrum's developers have already decided on two themes: the attic of a grand manor and a brewery called Wunderbrugghen's Brewery Brouhaha. The attic theme feels spooky, like a haunted house immersion, whereas the brewery is wholesome fun that would be good for families, Verbrugghe said.
Inside each room, escapees contend with games and clues that fit the plot. (Verbrugghe said giving away those details would ruin the fun.) Their hosts monitor their progress via video camera and standby to interject with new plot elements or give them clues if they get stuck.
It's not a trivia game, Verbrugghe explained.
"It's using your mind and strategy and teamwork," he said. "It's an experience."
So who's going to come to the escape rooms? Families, couples, corporate retreats — anyone interested in problem-solving and indoor fun.
Chase McNeill, a pubcycle host, said The Conundrum adds diversity to Asheville's downtown entertainment offerings.
"This is an actual activity that people can participate in that doesn't have to do with eating or drinking," he said. "(And) it's nice to be indoors for a change."
Escape rooms aren't new; the first ones started in Japan around 2007. But they're just becoming widely known. The Conundrum hopes to become an entertainment hub at which puzzle enthusiasts can compete for high scores.
As with any trend, others are thinking along the same lines. For other emerging escape room concepts, check out Great Escape on Woodfin Place and A-Escape on New Leicester Highway.
Verbrugghe hopes to open The Conundrum in late November. Tickets will cost about $25 per person, he said. For more information, visit entertheconundrum.com.
Read or Share this story: http://avlne.ws/1S6VcTbDiego Costa
Diego Costa’s situation at Chelsea keeps rumbling on. Back in June Antonio Conte sent the player a text message to tell him he had no future at the club, but Costa’s preferred move to Atlético Madrid is yet to materialise. Costa has accused Chelsea of pricing him out of the move but the situation at Atlético is complicated by their transfer ban, which prevents them from registering new players until January 2018.
Monaco, Marseille and Milan have apparently shown an interest in Costa but he is adamant about Atlético. “Chelsea have offered me to several clubs, but I was very clear with them,” he said. “I said that if I’m not part of the manager’s plans, I would like to choose my destination. I’m not going to let them decide just to get more money.”
Ronald Koeman says Chelsea’s Diego Costa would be ‘welcome’ at Everton Read more
Costa may have to compromise to keep his place in the Spain squad. Álvaro Morata, the player who was signed to replace him at Chelsea, is likely to lead the line for Spain in their World Cup qualifiers against Italy and Liechtenstein next weekend. Costa didn’t make the squad, with 35-year-old New York City forward David Villa called up to take his place. Costa has been playing five-a-side football with his friends in Brazil to stay fit but, if he wants to make an impact in what could be the final World Cup of his career, he will need to prove himself against tougher opponents over the next nine months.
Michy Batshuayi
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michy Batshuayi has scored once so far this season: an own goal. Photograph: TGSPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock
Michy Batshuayi isn’t out in the cold at Chelsea like Costa, but the 23-year-old is still very much on the fringes of the first team and may struggle to push his way into the Belgium side unless he can earn more starts in the Premier League. Romelu Lukaku will almost certainly lead the line for Roberto Martínez’s team next summer but Batshuayi needs to be ready to pounce if the Manchester United striker suffers an injury or a dip in form.
As things stand, Batshuayi is not even guaranteed a place in the squad. Last season – his seventh as a senior professional – he was only on the pitch for 239 minutes in the Premier League. Ambitious interest from Lille has emerged this week and a return to France would make sense for a player who made his name in Ligue 1, where he scored 17 goals and laid on nine assists in his final campaign with Marseille.
Anthony Martial
Sticking to the topic of strikers who are playing second fiddle to Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial will be hoping his early season form as an impact substitute for Manchester United will convince José Mourinho to give him more chances. With two goals and one assist in just 26 minutes of action this season, the 21-year-old has been key for United; five of their eight goals so far have come with him on the pitch.
He’ll hope to play a bigger part for his country next summer too, but France have an abundance of attacking competition. Didier Deschamps’ squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Holland and Luxembourg contained seven attackers – Kingsley Coman, Nabil Fekir, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Alexandre Lacazette, Kylian Mbappé and Florian Thauvin – leaving Martial to compete on the outside alongside Dimitri Payet and Ousmane Dembéle. If Mbappé signs for Paris Saint-Germain, Martial could do worse than returning to Monaco and leading the line for them in the Champions League.
Julian Draxler
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Julian Draxler captains Germany to success in the Confederations Cup. Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Mbappé’s potential move to Paris Saint-Germain could also affect Julian Draxler, who only joined the club in January but already looks surplus to requirements. Paris Saint-Germain need to balance their books after signing Neymar for £197m and Draxler has been linked with all sorts of clubs: Bayern Munich, Arsenal if Alexis Sánchez leaves, Liverpool if Philippe Coutinho leaves, and Monaco as part of a deal for Mbappé.
The 23-year-old winger captained Germany to glory at the Confederations Cup earlier this summer and is very much a part of Jogi Löw’s plans, but limited league appearances would significantly harm his chances of finding a place in the starting XI once Germany’s senior stars return. The world champions are not short of attacking talent so the last thing he needs is a season on the bench.
Ross Barkley
Footballers living on the breadline: low wages, short contracts and no security Read more
Everton valued Ross Barkley at £50m earlier this year but he could leave the club in the next week for half that fee given the understandable lack of interest. With just one year remaining on his deal, the midfielder refused to extend his contract having been given an ultimatum by manager Ronald Koeman. With no serious bids forthcoming, both he and the club are left in a sticky situation.
A hamstring injury suffered in pre-season has also held up a transfer, though Tottenham and Chelsea appear to be interested in the 23-year-old if the price is right. Barkley has hopes of playing in Russia next year despite a lack of action under Gareth Southgate so far. Playing Champions League football for either Mauricio Pochettino or Antonio Conte could prove a godsend for a player with undoubted ability – no Englishman has registered more assists over the last two Premier League seasons (16).
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AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn defensive linemen Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams are among the Top 20 players in line for the Lombardi Award, which goes to college football's top player who exemplifies football skills and "discipline, virtue and wisdom."
The Lombardi Award announced its Top 20 players Tuesday.
Lawson leads Auburn with 13 tackles for a loss, including a team-best 9½ sacks. Adams' 34 tackles are more than any Auburn lineman. He has eight tackles for a loss and four sacks.
Lawson needs three sacks to pass Nick Fairley for the school's single-season sack record.
"Carl has been one of our top players and one of the best players in college football," said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn on Tuesday. "He has stayed healthy this year and has been a big-time impact player. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he accomplishes that."
Malzahn said Adams is "a different player this year."
"He was a really good player before, but he' really raised his level. He's becoming a man. He's growing up. He's more mature with his approach to practice and games. He's one of our best players. He's an impact player."
Five of the Top 20 players up for the Lombardi Award will meet on Nov. 26 in Tuscaloosa when Auburn visits Alabama. Auburn has already played Top 20 players from Clemson, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
The Lombardi Award honored the nation's top college lineman from 1970-2015. The award expanded its reach to players at any position this season. The award committee said the winner should "exemplify the discipline, virtue and wisdom that defined Vincent Lombardi's exceptional brand of leadership."
The award ceremony is Feb. 11 in Houston.
The Top 20 Rotary Lombardi Award Nominations
Name Position University Jonathan Allen DE Alabama Reuben Foster ILB Alabama Cam Robinson OT Alabama Montravius Adams DT Auburn Carl Lawson DE Auburn Christian Wilkins DT Clemson Deshaun Watson QB Clemson Delvin Cook RB Florida State DeMarcus Walker DE Florida State Lamar Jackson QB Louisville Jabrill Peppers LB/DB Michigan JT Barrett QB Ohio State Pat Elflein C Ohio State Evan Engram TE Ole Miss James Connor RB Pittsburgh Ejuan Price DL Pittsburgh Donnell Pumphrey RB San Diego State Derek Barnett DE Tennessee Myles Garrett DE Texas A & M Jake Browning QB Washington
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMineWhat do you buy for someone who has everything? Either a pink fairy armadillo or an Arduino MKRZero. I’d recommend going with the Arduino.
The MKRZero is basically a really, really small microcomputer with a number of outputs and headers as well as a battery management system and USB control. It’s great for learning or building 32-bit applications and it’s small enough to fit inside almost anything.
What can you do with it? A few things including building a DIY Theremin and a money spewing “Make It Rain” machine that spits out dollars when you clap your hands. Obviously your results may vary.
Little boards like this one are great fun and are always valuable experimental and hacking tools. At a mere $22 you could probably pick one of these up and learn a little Arduino programming in your spare time which is more than you can say for a pink fairy armadillo. All that little guy will teach you is how to love again.The months (years?) leading up to the Timberwolves trading Kevin Love to Cleveland in the summer of 2014 weren’t exactly ugly.
Messy is probably a better word. Love clearly was tired of losing, and he more or less forced the Wolves’ hand. Flip Saunders made the best of a bad situation, extracting Andrew Wiggins from the Cavaliers as a centerpiece of a Love trade.
Love was coming off a season in which he averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds for a Wolves team that won 40 games. He was just shy of his 26th birthday when the trade happened, and many assumed he would be a natural fit as part of a “Big Three” on a Cleveland team poised to make championship runs.
But there were also some skeptics. I consider myself one, but I’d also say Timberwolves (and Star Tribune) owner Glen Taylor was a bigger one. Looking back nearly two years after he made an appearance at the 2014 State Fair and expressed that skepticism, it’s almost eerie to see how much Taylor predicted the future. Here are the three money quotes from that day — with some comments from me — as they appeared in an Aug. 27, 2014 Star Tribune story by Jerry Zgoda:
1) “The only thing I still have a question mark about is his health. … I still have that concern, and Cleveland should have that concern, too: if he can keep his health. If they sign him to a five-year contract like they’re thinking about, that’s a big contract on a guy who’s had some times when he has missed games.”
Love missed 112 games in his six seasons with the Wolves. To be fair, he’s only missed 12 regular-season games in two season with the Cavs. But he’s also fought lingering knee and back problems … and missed most of Cleveland’s run to the finals last year (where the Cavs lost) with a dislocated shoulder … and missed Game 3 of this year’s finals (when the Cavs won in a rout) with a concussion. Do you think Cleveland is happy to have five years and $110 million invested in Love?
2) “I think where he maybe got away with some stuff not playing defense on our team, I’m not sure how it’s going to work in Cleveland. I guess they will ask him to play more defense.”
I haven’t watched closely enough to know if Love consistently gives a better effort on defense than he did with the Wolves. I do know the narrative that Love is a bad defensive player has followed him — and continues to be proven in stories like this one about how teams have exploited the pick-and-roll defense Love and Kyrie Irving play.
3) “I question Kevin if this is going to be the best deal for him. I think he’ll be the third player on a team. I don’t think he’ll get a lot of credit if they do really well. I think he’ll get the blame if they don’t do well. He’ll have to learn to handle that. He’s around a couple guys who are awful good.”
Whoa, this last one is like “Back to the Future/time travel” accurate. If I had access to Taylor’s office, I’d inspect it for a Gray’s Sports Almanac, 2000-2050 version. While LeBron still takes the biggest share of the heat as the best player on the planet, Love absolutely gets hammered when things are going poorly and largely forgotten when things are going well.
And Love knows it. “It’s never enough,” he said recently. If the Cavs lose this series to Golden State, get ready for a raft of “Cleveland needs to trade Kevin Love” stories. He basically has two games to change the narrative — and even then, fair or not, it might not be enough.It’s remarkable how many reporters are now impatient with the U.S. obeisance to Israel. From yesterday’s State Department briefing (In the video, go to minute 41), questions about Obama’s State of the Union nod to Israel as a Jewish state to annoyance at the fact that the State Department regards boycotting SodaStream, which is made in the occupied territories, as illegitimate. Note the references to South African boycott and the necessity of boycott when governments have failed to act.
QUESTION: In the President’s State of the Union, he devoted a couple sentences to the Middle East peace process. And in one of them he referred to Israel as a Jewish state. Was that an endorsement of the prime minister’s condition in the peace talks?
MS. [Marie] HARF: The President has spoken frequently about Israel remaining a Jewish and democratic state. He said it a number of times. So I wouldn’t try and read too much into that, except he’s making very clear what our position is. I wouldn’t read anything into it in terms of any specific policies or discussions as part of the ongoing peace negotiations. He was just making clear what our position is.
QUESTION: Okay. Because the actual text of the speech was him saying Palestine will be recognized as a state and it’ll achieve dignity, and Israel will receive security —
MS. HARF: He has said that multiple times, including during his visit to Israel, including at his AIPAC speech a couple of years ago. He – it’s language he’s used a lot and is very clear about what our position is. I wouldn’t try and relate it specifically to specifics that are being discussed during the peace process right now.
Matt Lee (Associated Press): So related to this and following on the settlement issue that was – we talked with Jen about yesterday, I’m wondering if today, after that discussion yesterday, you are able to offer any more – a bit more of a clear explanation as to why you believe that boycotts of products produced in settlements are de-legitimizing of Israel when you yourself believe that settlements are – Israeli settlements are illegitimate.
MS. HARF: Well, as we’ve said, boycotts directed at Israel are unhelpful, and we oppose them. Again, just because we’ve made clear what our policy is on settlements, that doesn’t necessarily follow that there’s one course of action from a policy perspective that we think fits what we’re concerned about. This is exactly why we think that these issues need to be discussed at the negotiating table, and that we need to get a final status agreement. There’s just not a one size fits all that if we believe A, B should necessarily follow.
Lee: Well, okay, fair enough. But I guess what I don’t understand is why you believe that a boycott of something – of products made in settlements would be de-legitimizing of Israel when, in fact, they’re being made in settlements which are contested areas that you believe the occupation of which is illegitimate.
MS. HARF: Okay, right. I’m sorry… I don’t want to get tied up in the words here.
Lee: I’m having a problem with the –with the logic.
MS. HARF: Well, that we think the boycotts are unhelpful of Israel, and we oppose them because we believe that in order to resolve these issues, we need to discuss them directly between the two parties at the negotiating table, and that that kind of action isn’t helpful; it’s a part of that process. That’s part of the reason that we oppose them.
Lee: Well, I guess – it’s not directed at Israel; it’s directed at a private company, operating a settlement. And if you say you oppose boycotts of Israel because you don’t think they’re helpful, then that raises a huge question about
MS. HARF: But it’s directed at a company because of Israeli policies — or Israeli Government policies.
Lee: But people are free to buy or not buy whatever product they want to, right? I mean when you say if – when you say that boycotts of Israel are not helpful, it just raises a giant flag when you look at Jo’s question, when the entire world, with the exception of two – one other country thinks that your boycott/embargo of Cuba is wrong and unhelpful, why it is that you have this position that that’s okay, but then something to display – another country trying to display its displeasure with Israelis – Israeli policy, that that’s not helpful. I don’t – if you – what I don’t understand is, if you believe that the settlements are – that settlement activity is illegitimate yourself – and by you, I mean the United States —
MS. HARF: Yeah.
Lee: how is it that you can – how is it that you oppose other people who share that view taking some kind of action to demonstrate their unhappiness or to protest that that —
MS. HARF: Mm-hmm. Well, each situation is different, obviously, when we’re talking about how to respond policy-wise when we disagree with policies in one country. I think part of the nature is the across-the-board boycott of Israel on some of these issues, certainly. Again, I’m happy to check with our folks, Matt. I think a trade embargo in Cuba is obviously very, very, very different than boycotts of Israel that we do not believe are the way to resolve these issues. We don’t think it’s helpful to the process. We believe that these issues need to be discussed between the two parties, and that’s how we’re going to get some resolution on them; not through boycotts of Israel. I’m happy to see if there’s more analysis. I’m sorry. I just —
Lee : Okay. So –but – no, no, no, I understand. But I just –
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
Lee: Hold on. Hold on, Lesley. One more thing. How do you suggest that other countries or people, other groups, should demonstrate their unhappiness with another country’s – in this case, Israel’s – policy? If not through a peaceful action like a boycott, what should they do? I mean, this is not just something —
MS. HARF: I think we speak out very clearly when we don’t agree with Israel’s policies, and what – that we don’t think the settlements are legitimate. We say that very clearly and make that very clear, and work with the parties to get resolution on these issues through final status negotiations. That’s how we think we should help resolve these issues that are really underneath the boycott issue.
Lee: Okay. But by your own admission, your speaking out against this particular policy hasn’t had any effect.
MS. HARF: I don’t think I’ve ever said that.
Lee: Well, let’s put it this way.
MS. HARF: I think that’s your analysis.
Lee: You speak out about them, and the Israelis keep doing it. Is that not correct?
MS. HARF: Well, I think you’re making a broad generalization. You have no idea what the impact always is of our private diplomatic discussions and what would’ve been done differently if we hadn’t had those discussions.
And I am actually am on a time schedule, so we need to —
Lee: So you’re saying that you think that the Israelis would be doing more of this if you hadn’t been doing those —
MS. HARF: I’m saying I wouldn’t make any assumptions, Matt, about the kind of leverage we have.
Yeah.
QUESTION [I believe this is Rosalind Jordan, Al Jazeera]: Well, let’s go back 25, 30 years.
MS. HARF: I have about three more minutes.
QUESTION: Sure – 25, 30 years, there was, as part of the anti-apartheid movement, a concerted effort on people who opposed the regime in South Africa to not spend money with companies that did business with that government, notably multinational oil companies. How is this situation with SodaStream any different?
MS. HARF: Every situation is different, guys, every single situation in every country. We have different policy, diplomatic, and economic tools that we think are important in getting us to the policy goal we want in every country. I’m just not going to compare them.
QUESTION: And the U.S. doesn’t consider Israel an apartheid state. I just want to clarify that.
MS. HARF: Yes, correct.
QUESTION: So, just going off this, is it the policy – do you think it’s fair to conflate the settlement issue writ large with the – this issue that has caused a lot of riff-raff, which is the private company of SodaStream employing 250 people in a settlement and selling its products?
MS. HARF: I’m sorry, I don’t understand the gist of your question.
QUESTION: I’m sorry.
MS. HARF: No, it’s okay. We’re all getting tangled up in words here.
QUESTION: Yeah.
MS. HARF: I mean, what we said is we don’t support boycotts, we oppose them, period, of Israel. So I think that’s pretty clear.
Lee: Not under any circumstance?
MS. HARF: Period.
Lee: Under any circumstance?
MS. HARF: Matt, yes, we oppose them. I’m sure you will find some circumstance in 20 years where we would not, but right now we do.
QUESTION: No, I – okay.
MS. HARF: This is going to be my last question.It’s official. Virginia Tech will add one more holiday to the campus calendar beginning this fall. With a vote from the University Council on Monday, Virginia Tech will designate Labor Day, the first Monday of September, as a holiday when classes will not be held and offices will be closed.
Until now, classes had been held on Labor Day, and the holiday was optional for university staff. In 2015 and again last year, President Tim Sands declared the university closed on Labor Day. Such declarations, however, applied only to those days and did not change the holiday’s status for future years.
The resolution adopted by the University Council on Monday states that a recent survey found that 90 percent of students and 76 percent of faculty preferred that classes not be held on Labor Day. Further, 24 of the university’s 25 peers — as designated by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia — currently hold no classes on Labor Day.
The resolution also states that the academic calendar contains adequate contact hours during the fall term to reduce the semester by one day without affecting the defined instructional semester calendar length. The long weekend break in October and the weeklong break around Thanksgiving will not be affected by this change.
“As I stated in 2015, I was surprised that Virginia Tech held classes on this important national holiday,” President Sands said. “When we first closed for the holiday in 2015, I asked university governance to look into the possibility of making the Labor Day closing a permanent part of our academic calendar. I’m pleased with the work made by those various committees, and that was endorsed today by the vote from University Council. I know that faculty, staff, and students appreciate the opportunity to observe this holiday.”
As a result of the University Council’s decision, all policies and handbooks will be updated to reflect the change.The homecoming story is heartwarming, but the time is approaching when Shattenkirk and the Rangers will be focused on the business of winning, a challenge that will be harder this season.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The reasons defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk signed a four-year, $26.6 million contract on July 1 to play for the New York Rangers are plentiful. There was the chance to play near his native New Rochelle, New York, about a half hour from Madison Square Garden.
Including Shattenkirk, 28, there are new faces at defenseman and questions regarding depth at center that need to be answered. The Rangers will also have to again navigate the Metropolitan Division, which last season boasted a repeat Stanley Cup champion (Pittsburgh Penguins), a repeat Presidents' Trophy winner (Washington Capitals), three teams with at least 100 points (Capitals, Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets), and five that won at least 40 games.
Coming home is nice, but Shattenkirk also chose the Rangers because he believes they can measure up to the Penguins and anyone else.
"I think we have that capability of playing with a team like that," Shattenkirk said Tuesday. "We have great goaltending (Henrik Lundqvist). Our defense is fast and we can make plays, but I also think we have a little bit of edge as well. Up front, I'm sure we're one of the fastest teams in the League. You look at how Pittsburgh is built, and that's the way that they've won. We have some great depth on our team, and I think that's what it really comes down to at that point of the season: How deep are you?
"It's a grind, because you're not only battling against Pittsburgh. Columbus has shown they're a force to be reckoned with … Washington … it's tough, but I think we are right on the cusp of making something big happen here."
Video: Kevin Shattenkirk on joining the New York Rangers
Time, though, could be getting short. A perception exists that the Rangers' window to win the Cup for the first time since 1994 is rapidly closing and they've made moves to stay ahead of the curve since their six-game loss to the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Second Round. Core veterans -- center Derek Stepan (traded to the Arizona Coyotes) and defenseman Dan Girardi (buyout) -- are gone. One building block, center Oscar Lindberg, was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL Expansion Draft on June 21. Defenseman Kevin Klein retired from the NHL on July 7 and signed a one-year contract with the ZSC Lions in Switzerland one week later. And Lundqvist, 35, isn't getting any younger.
"I think everyone's probably all going to judge [the window] based on Lundqvist, and everyone is talking about, 'Well, how long does he have left?'" Shattenkirk said. "We have a lot of young players on this team, though, to counterbalance that.
"When you're with the New York Rangers, their business is to win every year. They're not a team that's looking to go through a rebuilding period. It seems like every year they're making the moves necessary to make their team a championship team. In that respect, it's kind of hard to see what the window is here. Every year I've been in the League they've been capable of winning a Stanley Cup."
Shattenkirk, who had 56 points (13 goals, 43 assists) in 80 games with the Capitals and St. Louis Blues last season, has yet to play in the Cup Final, though he came close when the Blues advanced to the Western Conference Final in 2016. He had his suitors, offering more money and term, as a free agent, but insisted the Rangers provide the best opportunity to win.
"Putting the fact of playing at home aside, it came down to who's the better team, which team is ready to win," Shattenkirk said. "That was probably the priority on my list. It was a matter of having a chance to play at home, for sure, but really getting on a team that I think is going to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup in the timeframe that I'm signing for. I really didn't find a better situation than here."
Video: WSH@PIT, Gm3: Shattenkirk nets PPG for OT win
For the next four years (and perhaps beyond), Shattenkirk has his opportunity. There will be perks, and the pressure of playing in one's backyard, but he's eager to embrace it and enjoy it.
"Having that luxury and having that kind of constant pressure is good," Shattenkirk said. "I kind of welcome that. It's only going to make me grow as a player and learn to handle that adversity when things maybe aren't going so well. It's going to happen, but you just have to roll with the punches, and I'm looking forward to hopefully raising my game to be as consistent as possible."Many people point to the prosperity of Silicon Valley and attribute it to some innate advantage in entrepreneurial culture or arrogantly believe that people in tech are simply better, smarter, or more innovative than everyone else. What else could explain our boom times while the rest of the country continues to suffer through painfully high unemployment? The real reason, however, is much more nuanced, largely having to do with how the Valley has avoided the economics of globalization.
At a rapidly increasing pace over the past 30 years, globalization has provided an outsized benefit to investors while generally hurting the working class due to the effects of capital mobility. In a nutshell, capital can be deployed around the world, seeking out the most beneficial or lowest cost labor, while labor is largely immobile.
Here’s an example, let’s say Nike wants to build a new factory. Since investment capital is globally mobile, Nike can build the factory in Bangladesh, while American designers and workers don’t really have the option to move or work at Bangladesh wages. The end result is that corporations and investors see higher returns, while the average worker feels the effects of job and wage competition from nations with lower cost structures. This is not a political argument as both Democrats and Republicans have embraced globalization. Capital mobility and labor immobility are simply part of the nature of global economics.
If capital is mobile and favors investors, shouldn’t that mean VCs would be investing overseas? One of the most curious things about Sand Hill Road is how unwilling most venture capitalists are to invest outside of a 30-mile radius of their office. I’ve met multi-exit entrepreneurs who are having trouble raising money simply because they moved away from Northern California, and I suspect the percentage of foreign investments made by Silicon Valley VCs, at least until recently, is in the low single digits.
Unlike manufacturing or Wall Street money, which has been deployed globally, venture capital has stayed geographically local. In the process, Silicon Valley has enjoyed a continuing stream of investment capital fueling industry renewal, while simultaneously shielding wages and employment from the downward pressures felt in the rest of the country.
It’s only a trickle now, but recently VCs have started to overcome their geographical fears. Dave McClure seems to live on an airplane as he travels the world looking for deals and Paul Bragiel just opened an Africa fund, not to mention the increasingly common investments in Europe, India, and Israel. For the moment, we’re still patting ourselves on the back for being generous enough to export our brand of entrepreneurship, but this was the same belief we had in the early 1980s when the first American companies made their investments in China.
If the ROI on investing outside of the Valley starts looking more attractive, the trickle will turn into the same kind of flood that we saw with overseas manufacturing investment. And in the same way that shift decimated domestic industries (affecting labor most), we may see a similar collapse in Silicon Valley. If a team in India can innovate for $10K and the investment patterns show promise, why give a team in San Francisco a million for the same thing? Eventually, both innovation and salaries in the Valley will begin to suffer.
I’m sure many of you think this scenario is absurd, and Silicon Valley is a special place that will stay ahead of global competition simply because we are just more talented. Perhaps you’re right. But remember that new trends often seem insignificant. 30 years ago anyone suggesting that Lenovo would eventually buy IBM’s PC business would have been similarly dismissed. Companies, industries, even empires have died because they believed they were “special” without recognizing the foundational advantages that fueled their growth.
I grew up in San Jose and I’ve been able to watch the Valley grow and transform into a truly unique place. Yes, I believe there is a wonderful culture of entrepreneurship here and clearly there is a high concentration of technical talent. But I don’t think that alone is what kept the Valley ahead of the game all of these years.
As much as anything else, the secret of Silicon Valley’s continuing success has been the result of VCs being afraid to invest in companies that they couldn’t reach by car. As venture capitalists overcome this fear and start investing globally, we may be facing real competition for our jobs and livelihoods for the first time, the same kind of competition that has already confronted American manufacturing. In the face of these looming challenges, I really hope we’re as special as we think we are, because it looks like venture capital won’t be immobile for very much longer.
[Illustration by Hallie Bateman]March 2, 2014 at 4:24 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Fish and Game officials killed an Eastern Interior wolf pack last week, and the National Park Service — which had been studying the animals — is none too pleased.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that all 11 wolves in the Lost Creek pack near Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve were shot. That included the pack’s alpha pair, which had been fitted with tracking collars as part of an ongoing research project.
Doug Vincent-Lang, acting director for the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation, says the wolves were in an area adjacent to the preserve that has been targeted by the state for aerial predator control, which is part of an effort to boost moose and caribou numbers.
But Yukon-Charley Superintendent Greg Dudgeon said the shootings are a setback for a long-term study of wolf behavior that began roughly 20 years ago. He said the Lost Creek pack had been monitored for the past seven years.It’s been about a month or so since I posted the original “Is Pinkie Pie an Ethical Hedonist” article, and I’ve gotten some good feedback about it. In fact, this feedback has hit the point where a follow-up article is needed to discuss a few points brought up by others, particularly about the episodes “Green Isn’t Your Color” and “Luna Eclipsed” that help to flesh out more of Pinkie Pie’s potential ethical hedonism.
Introduction
In the original article, I argued that Pinkie Pie’s behavior and statements in several of the Pinkie Pie oriented episodes seem to suggest that Pinkie Pie follows some kind of ethical hedonist belief. After posting the article up on several sites, I got some feedback on the idea The most interesting feedback, of course, were questions that analyzed Pinkie Pie’s behavior in non-Pinkie Pie oriented episodes that seem to suggest some inconsistencies. While I addressed them in part in those original comments, some of the questions themselves were interesting enough to warrant a full on article.
Two episodes in particular brought up some really interesting questions; “Green Isn’t Your Color” and “Luna Eclipsed.” The latter was something I had been wanting |
synod in November – a gathering that was striking for its overwhelming whiteness. Apart from Sentamu and a handful of minority ethnic members, most non-white faces belonged to security guards and catering staff.
Julie Conalty, the vicar of Christ Church in Erith, Kent, whose congregation is 50% black, asked a question from the synod floor about positive action measures to advance women and Bame clergy through the ranks. “I see a lot of goodwill, but not a systematic top-to-bottom drive to deal with what is institutional racism,” she said later.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest John Sentamu, the archbishop of York. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
“What’s really scandalous is that, unlike the debate about women priests and bishops, there is no possible theological reasons why Bame clergy cannot hold leadership positions, so there shouldn’t be any negotiations or debate,” she added. “We should be streets ahead.”
Tim Thornton, bishop of Truro, who chairs the development and appointments group, acknowledged that progress had been slow. “We haven’t got any better at it, and we’ve been talking about it for 30 years,” he said.
The church was failing in many ways to reflect society, he added. “This is part of a bigger picture that is something to do with the fact that we’ve become very introspective, and we’re in danger of carrying on a steady road to decline. Somehow we have to look very closely at what we’re doing right back at the beginning – why is it we are not attracting people? That’s a much deeper problem about, metaphorically speaking, how wide our doors are.”
Many point to a lack of welcome by the C of E to immigrants since the 1950s. Anderson Jeremiah, an ordained Anglican priest at Lancaster University’s department of politics, philosophy and religion, said immigrants from south Asia, the Caribbean and Africa had faced “inhospitality” from the C of E, which had “gently and politely diverted them to churches where they might ‘feel more comfortable’.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The general synod gathering in London last month. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Partly as a result, black-majority pentecostal churches “are growing by leaps and bounds. People see others like them at the front of the church in leadership positions, and it gives them a sense of belonging”.
He added: “Until there is a systematic mechanism to ensure there is a visible change at a structural, hierarchical level [in the C of E], it’s hard to see how this can change any time soon.”
Rose Hudson-Wilkin, chaplain to the speaker of the House of Commons, described coming to England from the Caribbean in 1979 as a teenager to find almost no black people leading C of E services. “I’d be dishonest if I didn’t say racism plays a big part of where the church is today in terms of lack of representation in leadership,” she said.
“The church has to wake up. In the same way it has agonised over women, and has eventually seen that it’s right for women to be in leadership within the church, it needs to put the same amount of work when it comes to minority ethnic people. Now, every time the church sits down to make an appointment it asks ‘where are the women?’ I don’t think it’s saying ‘where are the minority ethnic people?’ It has got to right this wrong.”
Jason Roach, a minister at Christ Church Mayfair, said the “woeful under-representation” of minority ethnic people in the church meant a lack of role models. “I’ve spoken to young black people, trying to encourage them to join the church, into vocations, and often what they’ve said is ‘we don’t feel this is a place for us’.”
Although he personally had been encouraged and nurtured, “you are nevertheless always aware that you’re very much in a minority, and at times that can be intimidating,” said Roach.
The church has begun offering those responsible for making appointments training in “unconscious bias”, starting with senior officials in the diocese of Chelmsford. “It has helped to unmask some of the ways we make decisions,” said Cottrell, acknowledging that the C of E was “way behind other organisations” in introducing such training.
Bame members of the church face barriers of “networks and connections” as well as straightforward racism and discrimination, said Elizabeth Henry, national adviser to the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns. The Bame talent pool was a welcome step, she said, but added: “This is not going to be a panacea. It’s one element of addressing these issues within the church.”
Pentecostal experience
At the United Pentecostal Faith church in Lambeth, there is no need to fast-track black and ethnic minority ethnic congregants into senior positions.
The church is led by Bishop Ervin Smith, who came to the UK from Jamaica 60 years ago, and he is supported by four black pastors. Most of his congregation are black, too, though “sometimes three or four white people come along”, he says.
After arriving in London, Smith sought out his nearest church, a C of E establishment in Streatham. “I was welcomed there, but it was a bit different to the Pentecostal worship I was used to. I found a place in Brixton where my people were.”
Pentecostal services are louder and longer, he says, with music, singing, dancing and preaching. “We can go on for two or three hours,” he says. Smith does not prepare his sermons. “You are led by the spirit, you preach the gospel, the word of God.”
In the past, he says, there was more interaction between denominations. “We used to meet up, the Catholics, Church of England, Methodists, Baptists and us. Sometimes we’d swap – I was the first black man ever to preach at the Catholic church in Brixton, in 1964.”
That has fallen away now, he says regretfully. “Names are just labels. All churches should be the same. We should be as one.”To our Brothers and Sisters of the IATSE,
This letter is written on behalf of the Local 600 Digital Imaging Technicians (DITs) in our Union nationwide. The security of the DIT position is under threat as a growing number of digital productions are shooting without a DIT.
Many productions are eliminating the dedicated DIT position as a cost-cutting measure while still utilizing equipment traditionally maintained by DITs. That equipment is instead being monitored and manipulated by other camera department personnel, often in addition to their already considerable workloads. Without a dedicated DIT to oversee the implementation of the cinematographer’s intent, quality control suffers and the digital negative is often in the hands of crew members whose primary focus is on other tasks.
This workflow not only puts our craft in jeopardy, it also harms the Union, camera departments and productions alike. Adding responsibilities outside of a discipline's job description is a step towards eliminating the focus and expertise of the entire craft system on which our Union is based.
There are many examples of how the responsibilities of a DIT are currently performed without a qualified technician. One Union brother in New York City has built a business renting fully assembled video carts, many capable of live image manipulation, to television productions which typically man them with Loaders, Utilities, or ACs. Another well-known production uses a program called “Foolcontrol” to remotely manipulate the image metadata live on set. Numerous others perform live image manipulation via external devices and computers, all without a DIT on set. There is also a trend of hiring a DIT for the first few episodes of a show, to set up equipment and develop creative look up tables (LUTs), then releasing the DIT and placing the responsibility of maintaining and loading the equipment and LUTs onto other members of the camera department. Instances like these, where a DIT is not used and should be, are what we would like to correct.
While we recognize that every digital shoot cannot be required to use the services of a DIT, it is unacceptable to delegate responsibilities to other members of the camera department which are traditionally performed by a DIT. This scenario echoes the playback issues Local 52 Video Assist Operators fought against years ago. There, the solution was to prohibit productions from offering playback unless there is a qualified individual on set.
Crew members from all unions and crafts need to be protected. As members of the IATSE, the undersigned ask for our Union leadership to acknowledge this issue and work with representative Local 600 DITs in advance of the April 2015 contract negotiations to ensure that our DITs have a voice in clearly delineating and preserving their responsibilities on set.
Please stand with us in defining the role of a Digital Imaging Technician, thereby protecting the future of our positions and the ongoing enhancement of our craft. Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter.No. There were far too many variables in play for the procedure to actually work. First of all, the staff and crystal medallion would have had to been at the correct height. Ancient peoples did not have precise measuring equipment, which is why a foot is the length of a foot and a cubit the length of a forearm. The length of Indy's staff would therefore not be the exact length needed. Secondly, the relationship between the sun and the horizon changes from day to day. Every day the sun rises further north or south from the previous day depending on the time of the year. If by chance he did have the staff at the correct height he would still have to hope it was the right time of the year. But there is one further problem: in the thousands of years since the map room was created the Earth has shifted on its axis (one of the reasons the Earth periodically has Ice Ages). Sailing ships in the past could often navigate at night because the Earth's axis pointed toward the North Star. At the time the map room was built the Earth's axis did not point at the North Star. Thus, there is no reason to think it would have worked. It's purely movie magic and myth and does make for one of the more memorable and exciting moments in the movie. Edit (Coming Soon)Don’t chalk up Peyton Manning’s late-season struggles to old age just yet.
Save for a few fingers, the veteran quarterback feels just fine. But that wasn’t the case last winter, when No. 18 caught a nasty stomach bug from his daughter and couldn’t rebound in the playoffs.
“I threw up all night,” Manning told Peter King of MMQB.com. “Then, in the game, I moved to the right on a simple scramble and my quad cramped on me. It lingered. I couldn’t shake it the rest of the year."
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Manning was worried when the Colts bounced his Broncos. He studied the injury vigorously before deciding to return for another NFL season.
"I just think I got dehydrated, and that caused it," Manning said. "It was just an isolated thing. I’ve made it through every other season, and this offseason I went through a state of the union physically, if you will, and I started training earlier and made some dietary changes.”
Added Manning: "I don’t think you can blame it on my age."
(h/t MMQB.com)(CNN) -- It's not often that a superyacht is inspired by the work of an obscure 19th-century Ukrainian mathematician. But the astonishingly shaped "Voronoi" is exactly that.
Still at the design stage, the 125-meter vessel is adorned with a complex lattice exterior that its designer, South Korean industrial architect Hyun-Seok Kim, says is based on an algorithmic diagram by Georgy Voronoy, a math professor who lived under the Russian empire during the late 1800s.
"What is special about the Voronoi diagram is that we also notice it in nature," said Kim, who is riding high after winning the 2011 Millennium Yacht Design Awards for an equally eccentric concept inspired by coral reefs and tropical fish.
"If you look at the wings of a dragonfly, the cell membrane of a plant or the fur of a giraffe, for instance, you see the Voronoi pattern over and over," said Kim.
The 32 year-old designer believes that the unusual exterior would appeal to those looking for a superyacht more in harmony with its natural surroundings.
"Structures based on the Voronoi pattern have an organic, playful, non-repetitive feel," said Kim, who also argued that the pattern can create very robust structures with a minimum amount of material, and for this reason is often employed in architecture and engineering. Just never before on a luxury yacht.
But the "Voronoi's" quirks don't stop at the exterior. Set across five decks, the design includes an indoor swimming pool lined with ancient Greek-styled columns, a sky-lounge, botanical garden and even a small golfing range.
So will it ever be built?
"I certainly hope so," said Kim, who admitted that its non-repetitive structure is an impediment to manufacturers because each segment requires different moulds.
He added: "For future yacht designs I will focus on the commercial market... however it isn't easy, I like futuristic yachts much more!"This paper offers recommendations for how the design of labor income taxes should change during recessions, based on a simple model of a recessionary economy in which jobs are rationed and some employees value working more than others do. The paper draws two counter-intuitive conclusions for maximizing social welfare. First, subsidize non-employment. This draws marginal workers out of the labor force, creating “space” for those who really need jobs. Second, subsidize employers for hiring, not the employees themselves. The problem during recessions is having too few jobs; subsidizing employers creates more jobs, while subsidizing employees confers benefits on those who already won the job lottery. Tax policy in the recent recession has done a poor job of following these recommendations.
Recommendations or reductios? It still seems that extensions of unemployment insurance somewhat raised the rate of unemployment (if only by a small amount), contrary to many Keynesian predictions. The implied multiplier in that data seems to be zero, as Garett Jones has pointed out. And do hiring and wage subsidies still make sense, as opposed to job search subsidies, if unemployment follows from matching problems rather than traditional aggregate demand deficiencies? Unclear, to say the least.
The paper is from Zachary D. Liscow and William A. Woolston, via the excellent Kevin Lewis.At least a half-dozen Democratic electors have signed onto an attempt to block Donald Trump from winning an Electoral College majority, an effort designed not only to deny Trump the presidency but also to undermine the legitimacy of the institution.
The presidential electors, mostly former Bernie Sanders supporters who hail from Washington state and Colorado, are now lobbying their Republican counterparts in other states to reject their oaths — and in some cases, state law — to vote against Trump when the Electoral College meets on Dec. 19.
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Even the most optimistic among the Democratic electors acknowledges they're unlikely to persuade the necessary 37 Republican electors to reject Trump — the number they'd likely need to deny him the presidency and send the final decision to the House of Representatives. And even if they do, the Republican-run House might simply elect Trump anyway.
But the Democratic electors are convinced that even in defeat, their efforts would erode confidence in the Electoral College and fuel efforts to eliminate it, ending the body’s 228-year run as the only official constitutional process for electing the president. With that goal in mind, the group is also contemplating encouraging Democratic electors to oppose Hillary Clinton and partner with Republicans in support of a consensus pick like Mitt Romney or John Kasich.
The underlying idea is that a mass defection of electors could provide the impetus for a wave of changes to the Electoral College.
"I do think that a byproduct would be a serious look into Electoral College reform," said Micheal Baca, a Democratic elector from Colorado who is spearheading the anti-Trump effort, along with Washington state elector P. Bret Chiafalo.
"If it gets into the House, the controversy and the uncertainty that would immediately blow up into a political firestorm in the U.S. would cause enough people — my hope is — to look at the whole concept of the Electoral College," said another elector involved in the anti-Trump planning, who declined to be identified.
One prominent Electoral College critic says that even if Trump wins easily on Dec. 19, a small number of Republican defections could still roil the future of the institution.
"If you could get eight or 10 Trump electors to vote for someone else... then that would probably get people's attention," said George Edwards III, a political science professor and Electoral College expert at Texas A&M University. "We haven't ever had that many faithless electors in one election."
Democratic elector Polly Baca (no relation to Micheal) said the Electoral College should be returned to its original conception — as laid out by Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers — as a deliberative body able to exercise free choice while using popular votes only as a guide.
"If we cannot use the Electoral College as a deliberative process... then we ought to do away with it," said Baca, a former co-chairman of the Democratic National Convention and former Colorado state senator.
The 538 members who comprise the Electoral College are slated to gather in their respective state capitals on Dec. 19 to cast the formal vote for president. Trump won the popular vote in states making up 290 electoral votes — and he’s leading narrowly in Michigan, which carries another 16 electoral votes. If all of them vote for Trump, he’ll win 306 electoral votes, easily exceeding the 270-vote majority he needs to become president. That's why the magic number is 37 Republican defections.
Dozens of Republican electors, picked at state and local party conventions, have signaled discomfort with Trump, but most have committed to supporting him despite their misgivings. Only a handful have said they'd consider voting against him in the Electoral College.
One, Texas' Art Sisneros, said he's still making up his mind. South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard, another elector, called on Trump to withdraw from the race after a tape of his comments about sexually assaulting women leaked in October. But he's since confirmed he'd still support Trump with his electoral vote.
A slew of Democrats, on the other hand, have also signaled they may defect from Clinton, which wouldn't help or hinder Trump's path to the White House but could contribute to a sense of disarray and voter disenfranchisement.
In any case, it's hard to know exactly how many faithless electors may be out there because there's no organized effort by candidates or parties to whip votes or track support.
Polly Baca, who's still considering whether to cast her vote against Clinton, said that she'll decide in part based on whether there's a strategic consensus reached with other Democrats to vote for another candidate.
Already, the six Democrats prepared to be "faithless" electors would be the most to defect from their party's presidential candidate since 1872, when Democratic nominee Horace Greeley died before electors cast their votes. The last time that many electors rejected a living presidential candidate was 1808.
Robert Nemanich, another Colorado elector prepared to cast a faithless vote, said he's spoken to five electors in his state alone who intend to join him.
The rarity of the faithless elector phenomenon is rooted in electors’ reluctance to reject the will of the voters. But it’s also because 29 states — including Colorado and Washington — have laws mandating that electors support the winner of the state popular vote.
These laws, though, have never been enforced or challenged. And some of them impose only modest fines but provide no recourse to change the outcome.
In recent elections, the Electoral College has become an increasingly vexing issue for Democrats, who won the popular vote in 2000, only to see George W. Bush take the White House because of the electoral vote math. Should the college vote for Trump, as expected, it'll be the same story: Clinton led the popular vote by about 1.7 million votes as of Monday morning.
To repeal the Electoral College outright would require a constitutional amendment — and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) conveniently proposed one last week. But it's unlikely to advance in a Republican-controlled Congress. Another measure, a multistate compact already enacted in 11 states, would require electors to support the winner of the national popular vote. But that would take effect only if enough states join to comprise a majority of the Electoral College.
So far, the 11 signatory states — all solidly Democratic — make up just 165 electoral votes.
Ironically, Democrats have taken heart from Trump’s own statements regarding the Electoral College. In the past, the president-elect has called the body a " disaster for democracy." In 2012, he urged supporters to march on Washington when he believed Mitt Romney had won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College.
His views haven’t changed. In a recent, post-election interview with "60 Minutes," he said, "I would rather see it where you went with simple votes."Bad news first:
As others have stated this book can be finished quickly--not in half an hour as one reviewer put it, but a week is enough time for a serrious adult student to master the material in this course. At the end of the book you will have encountered basic declensions, a smattering of verbs and around 100 words. This approximates the amount of material covered by the first 40 pages of Wheelock's Latin. After completing this book, students continuing their study of Latin will need to use another introductory text.
Now for the good news:
This is the best format for learning Latin I've seen! Each lesson clearly introduces one word or grammatical concept in two paragraphs or less, followed by ten example sentences that cover the lesson topic and review past lessons. Best of all, the sentences include only vocabulary covered in the book! This is the exact opposite of other Latin books that rely on dense grammatical explanations without many useful examples. Following this method the learner never feels overwhelmed, after learning a few nouns and verbs, one can quickly and naturally move on to correctly produce simple sentences. This is no small feat considering the fact that Latin nouns change based on case.
Although the author's voice reminds one more of a cowboy than a consul, the fact that he provides free MP3 recordings for each lesson in both ecclesiastical and classical pronounciation on his website is fantastic. This is the only Latin textbook I've found that offers so much audio material for free online.
This book needs a sequel or better yet two--ASAP!Air Force None? Trump Threatens To Cancel New Presidential Plane Over Cost
Enlarge this image toggle caption Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump wants to clip the wings of a new Air Force One, saying the customized 747 is too expensive.
"The plane is totally out of control," Trump told reporters Tuesday morning. "I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money."
Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that the new aircraft would cost more than $4 billion and urged the government to cancel the contract. Neither Trump nor his spokespeople said where that cost estimate came from.
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! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016
Trump's tweet followed an article in the Chicago Tribune suggesting Trump's tough talk on trade could be bad for Boeing's export business.
Last year the Air Force struck an agreement with Boeing to deliver two new 747s around 2024, by which time the two planes now in service for presidential travel will be more than 30 years old. The new models will be able to fly about 1,000 miles farther than the current planes. They'll also be slightly larger and faster, but will have a smaller carbon footprint.
"The presidential aircraft is one of the most visible symbols of the United States of America and the office of the president of the United States," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said at the time.
While affordability was listed as a top concern for the Air Force, the presidential planes include special features that drive up the cost, including secure communications equipment, counterterrorism features and capability for in-flight refueling.
The Air Force says it is still defining what it wants the planes to do and how much it's willing to pay. The military has budgeted $2.7 billion for research and development on the project, but says it expects that number to change as the process moves forward.
So far, Boeing is only contracted for $170 million to determine the capabilities of the new planes.
"We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the President at the best value for the American taxpayer," the company said in a statement.
Similar concerns were raised in the early weeks of the Obama administration over costs for a new fleet of presidential helicopters. That $13 billion project was eventually canceled, but not before Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., needled the new president over the high price tag.
Obama agreed the effort to upgrade Marine One was too extravagant.
"The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me," Obama said at the time. "Of course, I've never had a helicopter before, you know? Maybe I've been deprived and didn't know it."Muhammad Saleem is a social media consultant and a top-ranked community member on multiple social news sites. Follow him on Twitter for more social media insights.
Facebook's official company statistics outline the breakdown of the sites over 400 million active users. While the site points out about 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States, it doesn't dive deeper into the U.S. numbers.
To find out more about the average American Facebook user and how he or she compares to the average American, we dug a little further. After crunching the numbers and comparing the data, this is what we found.
Editor's Note: The DC number is greater than 100% because of the disproportionate amount of people who technically reside elsewhere but live in DC, and it would include people in surrounding cities who claim to live in DC on their profiles.The president spoke to and took questions from reporters at the White House for more than an hour, Feb. 16. Here are key moments from that event. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
President Trump on Thursday aired his grievances against the news media, the intelligence community and his detractors generally in a sprawling, stream-of-consciousness news conference that alternated between claims that he had “inherited a mess” and the assertion that his fledgling administration “is running like a fine-tuned machine.”
“To be honest, I inherited a mess,” Trump said, in a news conference that lasted more than an hour and was at times rambling, combative and pointed. “It's a mess. At home and abroad, a mess. Jobs are pouring out of the country.”
Yet moments later, the president seemed to acknowledge the widespread reports of turbulence and upheaval emanating out of his West Wing, only to claim that his White House — which so far has been marred by staff infighting, a controversial travel ban, false statements and myriad leaks — was operating seamlessly.
“I turn on the TV, open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos — chaos,” he said. “Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine, despite the fact that I can't get my Cabinet approved.”
President Trump said he asked for former national security adviser Michael Flynn's resignation on Feb. 13, but also defended him, saying, "what he did wasn't wrong," during a news conference on Feb. 16 at the White House. (Reuters)
Asked about recent reports that Mike Flynn, his former national security adviser who resigned Monday evening, had improperly discussed Russian sanctions with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump was sworn in, the president defended Flynn as a “fine person,” saying he had done nothing wrong in engaging the Russian envoy.
But, Trump said, Flynn had erred by misleading government officials, including Vice President Pence, about his conversations, which is why the president ultimately demanded his resignation.
“He didn't tell the vice president of the United States the facts,” Trump said. “And then he didn't remember. And that just wasn't acceptable to me.”
Trump made clear he had no problem with Flynn discussing the sanctions imposed on Moscow by the Obama administration with the Russian ambassador even if he was not directly told to do so by Trump, saying it was Flynn's job to reach out to foreign officials.
“No, I didn't direct him, but I would have directed him if he didn't do it,” he said.
Trump was asked several times about whether his campaign had contact with Russia and grew testy as reporters pushed him for a yes-or-no answer.
He said he certainly hadn’t and that he was not aware of such contacts during the campaign.
“I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia,” Trump said. “I have no loans in Russia. I don't have any deals in Russia. President Putin called me up very nicely to congratulate me on the win of the election. He then, called me up extremely nicely to congratulate me on the inauguration, which was terrific. But so did many other leaders, almost all other leaders from almost all of the countries. So that's the extent.”
Trump also used the questions to press his case that the United States would be well-served by a better relationship with Russia and to mock his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, for her efforts to “reset” the relationship between the two countries while she was secretary of state.
Trump derisively referred to that “stupid plastic button that made us all look like jerks,” a reference to the red “reset” button that Clinton presented to the Russian foreign minister early in the Obama administration.
1 of 83 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × A look at President Trump’s first 100 days View Photos The beginning of the president’s term has featured controversial executive orders and frequent conflicts with the media. Caption The beginning of the president’s term has featured controversial executive orders and frequent conflicts with the media. March 17, 2017 President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron, walk to Marine One at the White House en route to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
The news conference was ostensibly billed as a chance for Trump to announce his new pick to head the Labor Department — Alexander Acosta, who would be the first Latino in Trump’s Cabinet — after Andrew Puzder, his original choice, withdrew from consideration Wednesday amid mounting opposition on Capitol Hill. But for one hour and 17 minutes, the president offered the verbal equivalent of the brash and impetuous early morning tweets that have become the alarm clock for much of Washington, taking aim at everything from “illegal immigrant violence” to the “criminal leaks” within his intelligence community.
Trump said he would use his remarks to bypass the “dishonest media” and speak directly to the American people about the “incredible progress” his administration has made.
“The media is trying to attack our administration because they know we are following through on pledges we made, and they’re not happy about it for whatever reason,” he said.
Though the president began on a subdued, almost melancholy note, looking down repeatedly to read from prepared remarks on his lectern, he became more fiery and animated — joyful, even — when he began to banter and joust with the assembled reporters. At times, he seemed to reprise some of his favorite themes from the campaign trail, complaining about Clinton and criticizing President Barack Obama’s policies, from his Affordable Care Act to his failed reset with Russia.
Trump repeatedly lambasted the “fake news” media — which at one point he upgraded (or downgraded) to the “very fake news” media — while promoting some dubious claims and fake news of his own.
Pressed on his incorrect assertion that he had the largest margin of victory in the electoral college since President Ronald Reagan, Trump blamed faulty facts.
“I was given that information,” he said. “Well, I don’t know, I was given that information.”
On a substantive note, Trump said his administration would submit a replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act in early to mid-March and should have a tax reform package around the same time.
“Tax reform is going to happen fairly quickly,” Trump said. “We're doing Obamacare. We're in final stages.”
During the news conference, Trump alternated between showering the media with scorn and taking a more playful tone.
At one point, he insisted he was enjoying himself. “I’m not ranting and raving — I love this,” he said. “I’m having a good time doing this.”
Trump’s Thursday performance seemed an acknowledgment, by the president, that he may be his own best press secretary and adviser, and allowed him to appear both confident and comfortable. While many of his comments, as well as the sometimes disjointed nature of his delivery, are certain to alarm official Washington, they are also the sorts of red-meat talking points that delighted his base during the campaign and helped propel him to victory.
“I won with news conferences and probably speeches,” he told the assembled reporters. “I certainly didn't win by people listening to you people.”
Read more:
Donald Trump’s combative, grievance-filled news conference, annotated
The simple reason that Trump is holding a rally in Florida this weekend
When governing beckons, Trump keeps campaigningThe immigration executive order, issued last week, has created the perfect conditions for a blow-up. The order sowed chaos around the country over the weekend, as the federal government struggled to implement a directive that had not been run past relevant agencies and offered a range of areas for disagreement. Trump signed the order on Friday at a ceremony for Mattis’s installation at the Pentagon, and the retired Marine general looked on as Trump put pen to paper. It’s Kelly at DHS who is charged with implementing much of the order. But it appears that neither man was fully briefed on the order ahead of time, nor did they have any input in the drafting, which was run out of the West Wing.
Kelly is frustrated about how the order was issued, The Wall Street Journal reports, saying that the secretary, a former Marine general, had been pressing the White House for language on the order for days, but only learned of the specifics while traveling to Washington on Friday. The New York Times reports that Kelly was finally getting a briefing as he traveled: “Halfway into the briefing, someone on the call looked up at a television in his office. ‘The president is signing the executive order that we’re discussing,’ the official said, stunned.”
Kelly was not the only person left out of the loop, the Associated Press reports:
At least three top national security officials—Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Rex Tillerson, who is awaiting confirmation to lead the State Department—have told associates they were not aware of details of the directive until around the time Trump signed it. Leading intelligence officials were also left largely in the dark, according to U.S. officials.
According to the AP, neither Mattis nor General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff knew about the details. Tillerson, who if confirmed will become the nation’s top foreign-affairs official “has told the president's political advisers that he was baffled” that he was shut out, the AP said. Mattis was previously critical of the idea of a Muslim ban.
Trump defended the tight control of information in a tweet Monday:
If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad "dudes" out there! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017
One is left to wonder whether the president believes that his Cabinet secretaries are among the “bad ‘dudes.’” Yet the pace of leaks does suggest that if Trump had informed departments of the order ahead of time, the language would have made it to the public, and perhaps forced the White House to delay or soften the order.
The immigration order is only the latest matter to cause friction between Trump and the ex-brass, much of it following the same template—frustration over lack of communication and a sense that the White House demands its way over the objections of department staffers.Stunning turnaround as federal government agrees statement can be issued without redactions after legal stoush
The federal government has agreed to the unredacted release of Kevin Rudd’s statement to the royal commission into the home insulation scheme, in a stunning turnaround in Brisbane.
Late on Wednesday afternoon the former prime minister appeared before the commission to give evidence. But before he said a word beyond giving his name a legal stoush erupted over the large number of redactions made to his statement by government lawyers.
The commissioner, Ian Hanger QC, and legal representatives held a heated discussion about the huge portions of the statement which had been censored on request from the commonwealth owing to cabinet confidentiality.
The government set a precedent when Tony Abbott and George Brandis released Labor cabinet documents to the royal commission this year. The documents were intended for the eyes of the commission only.
On Thursday morning Tom Howes, for the commonwealth, informed the hearing of the government’s change of heart. "The commonwealth now supports ventilation of the redacted portions of Mr Rudd's statement,” he said.
Hanger said he had written down reasons for the decision he himself had come to, but suggested they were no longer necessary.
The request by Rudd's legal representatives that the cabinet documents be released to the public, and the government’s subsequent agreement to do so, sets a new precedent, well beyond that intended by Abbott and Brandis. On Wednesday evening the government's lawyers opposed the request; the lawyers of the victims' families supported it.
Rudd's legal representative, Bret Walker SC, told the commission the former prime minister had "no problem" with his whole statement being disclosed, but the decision was the commission's. He described it as "intolerable" that Rudd could be asked to give evidence with the story being so heavily truncated.
"My client is here ready immediately to verify his 31-page statement and all of it," Walker said.
Howes requested that the unredacted documents be submitted in a closed session, not to the public. Hanger asked whether that was legally possible, and if he could then use the evidence submitted in his final report.
Walker suggested Hanger's final report would be "impossible" should Rudd not be allowed to fully answer "suggestions" made by the current government that the home insulation scheme had been created in days.
"We want to answer that suggestion and we should be able to do so truthfully and fully," Walker said.
"The present government can't have it both ways. It can't require you to report faithfully on that matter and prevent you from pursuing the evidence about it.
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and pestle. Those are good for crunching up pills and hiding them in applesauce for your five year old. Not so good for mixing up cosmetics. This is why a close look at an undoctored Project Undefined swatch will, without fail, show streaks of unblended color. Here’s a couple examples:
Lookit dat hot mess.
This looks like vomit. Like someone ate a whole bunch of refried beans, Kraft Cheese singles, and purple Gushers and topped it off with a packet of Grape Kool-Aid. She has a vaguely outer-space themed collection, she really should have called it “Vomit Comet.” In my opinion.
Look at all that unblended green.
When I was a kid and mixed too many playdoh colors together, I got a similar marbled effect. It’s not a new invention, it’s not ‘different,’ it’s just a bad idea. The vomit-colored eyeshadow, when applied, is going to leave either streaks or patchy areas of obviously different color, depending on if it’s applied with a swiping motion or by patting the shadow on. The green shadow is going to look patchy no matter what. They’re all going to be difficult to work with for the same reasons.
There’s also the question of the safety of the ingredients themselves, since this was posted right around the time Emily was giving up on stealing other people’s photos for jewelry and switching to stealing other people’s photos for cosmetics.
Hopefully she’s talking about jewelry findings or something. I only worry because, as I said, this was shortly before she launched her initial makeup line. Incidentally, if her ingredients are from China, then nothing she’s sold as vegan or is selling as vegan is technically vegan. Vegans aren’t fans of using products tested on animals.
Honestly, another thing I question is Emily’s ability to produce a safe product.The tip of the iceberg is that she sells neons, legal in most places that aren’t the US, and possibly only illegal for eye use because the FDA hasn’t tested them for eye use, and she does not make sure her customers are informed of the full story behind these neons. She does a wink-wink “Safe for non-US eyes” thing like Sugarpill does, and I don’t like Sugarpill doing it, either. To me, personally, if you’re going to sell neons as eye shadows, you need a link to a cohesive post explaining the entire neon thing like this one does. Emily does not do that. Instead, she displays her IDGAF attitude, which she seems thinks makes her look supercool and badass, but really only shows, in my opinion, that she doesn’t give a fuck about her customers, in addition to everything else.
She planned to stop selling neons for a while. During this time, she desperately tried to get rid of them via sales and giveaways.
However, in a ‘fuck the haters’ moment, she changed her mind.
I’m sure drug dealers get a lot of requests for crack that doesn’t make it okay.
WHOOPS YOU GUYS NEONS MADE THEMSELVES WHILE SHE WAS ASLEEP AND SHE DIDN’T “PACT” THEM ON.
-ahem-
I don’t know Etsy’s rules on selling things that aren’t FDA-approved for eye use as eyeshadows, but I doubt they’re cool with it. Liability. Nevertheless, here are the first three results under ‘e y e s h a d o w s’ on her Etsy store:
She even calls them ‘neon shadows.’ While selling from the US, on a US-based website.
There’s also this ‘limited edition’ eye shadow:
I spy, with my little eye, unblended pink and yellow. Did it come from another shadow? Did it come from her hands/tools after using them on other colors? I don’t know, but if you can’t keep your colors from cross-contaminating each other, how do you have a hope for sanitary products or a hygienic work space?
Also, the above picture is what Blurred Nights looked like, according to Emily and PU, as of the original publishing of this post. At some point, she added this photo, also titled “Blurred Nights.”
Now, I see a mighty big difference. MIGHTY BIG. The previous picture showed a cool-toned smokey lavender with silver and/or purple and/or multicolored small glitter. Annnd unblended chunks of pink and yellow. She’s acting as if all this was done on purpose. I’m not sure if it was. Someone she knows made a handful of shades for her company, and those don’t have chunks of unblended color. Anyway, the NEW color is a warm-toned, deep purple, almost burgundy, with silver glitter and green and pink chunks. She has had Blurred Nights for sale for several days, with the older photo up. I wonder, if anyone ordered that color, what they’ll get? Maybe she decided to make it not-LE.
She’s also selling several shadows as extremely LE, only one or two made. The ones that only supposedly exist as one are listed on both her site and her Etsy store, though. So, either she didn’t think that out, or she’s making them sound harder to come by than they actually are, which I feel is a dishonest business practice.
All of the LE shadows, save one, bear a strong resemblance to other shadows. In my opinion, that means they’re ‘oops’ shadows. Most people mark these down, call them “Pretty Mistakes,” “Oops #X,” etc. Emily decides that they’re worth MORE and presents them as LE.
Here’s one. Note the big ol’ thumbprint. Now, plenty of indies have stuck thumbprints in the shadows they use for product photos, because they’re keeping that one for themselves. Given the other issues she’s had in the past, and her apparent views on sanitation, I worry that she is selling this particular bunch of shadow. I have absolutely no proof, and am not trying to say she is for sure. I’m simply stating that I’m concerned she might.
Here is one of her permanent shades, Skyy.
And here is one of her spiffy LE shades, which has “Skyy” in the name.
Customer (dis)service
Back in May/June, Emily had a thriving little indie shop, apparently. At least it seems that way, given there’s claims (I have inquired for proof) of an $80 order that was never sent or refunded, with Emily sweet-talking the customer and making excuses until it was past the time frame for a Paypal dispute, then blocking the customer’s means of communication.
What I do have proof of is the fact that, instead of, you know, just mailing the product or giving a refund, she posted a screenshot of a customer’s personal information, mocked her for making such a fuss over ‘only’ $13, and accused the customer of starting all of Emily’s troubles. During this same time frame, May/June of 2013.
Please note that I added the mustaches to hide the identifying information, Emily did not. She posted the poor woman’s name and email for all to see (and harass). Please remember that this happened in May/June, not last Sunday.
And here she is being quite rude to someone and making assumptions about them, inadvertently sticking her own foot firmly in her mouth.
Photoshopping and misrepresentation
Emily posted a shopped image a few days ago, saying it was a shopped image and she could easily ‘be like the other companies’ and use the same photo for every lip color.
She then went on to prove she’s different by shopping different photos of her models. These are lip colors she JUST made. They have not had time to reach her models.
So, that’s two shopped pictures in her Etsy store. I really hope Etsy is okay with all this you guys.
back to quality for a second
Look at this gritty-ass lip color. It looks so gross. I can’t even think of something snarky to say. This photo shows that there are gritty bits in it, and in my opinion, that is gross. Edit as of 3/15/2014: I have been informed that this blue lipstick was made by the woman in the photo, I’m assuming that’s Heather Homicyde or Homycide or however she spelled it. It was still sold in Emily’s Project Undefined Etsy store, so I’m leaving it up. I think having it to compare to the other two lip colors will be helpful for people examining the yellow and the pink lip colors for photoshopped details. Nevermind the fact that store owner who cared about their reputation, customers, anything besides getting some quick cash, wouldn’t allow a lipstick of that quality to be sold under their name, to anyone.
It can be yours for only $14.00 $10.50 through her Facebook app!
She also posted a photo, and used that photo for swatches, without specifying she used a base.She did mention applying them wet, but nothing about a base, when there’s obviously a base under at least the blue one.
STUFF THAT’S LESS OF AN ETSY CONCERN AND MORE OF AN INDIE COMMUNITY CONCERN
Emily is rude as all hell, likes to contradict herself, bought herself some likes for her birthday, and doesn’t understand how jars, fill weight, and net weight work
Seriously? “Good job though?” Darling Girl is one of the most successful indies around. They carry hundreds of eyeshadows, many of which are unique in my experience, carry bases, eye and face primers, cream shadows, glitters, glosses, balms, bronzers, blushes, and more. They routinely come out with collections of new shades, include a limited edition blush or shadow with each order, and as far as I know, have never had any photo theft or hygiene issues. Emily saying “good job” to them is like a Banksy-wannabe saying “Good job” to Picasso’s ghost.
She’s also doing that thing where she forgets/ignores what she’s said and says the complete opposite shortly thereafter. Here’s an update from five whole days ago:
And here’s one from Saturday morning (so four days in between the two):
Emily does not know that a 20g jar does not hold 20 grams of product. Not even by net weight.
She also appears to have purchased Facebook Likes, which isn’t a sign of an honest person, to me. She made no mention of hitting any milestones regarding the amount of likes she had until she was at 9,000+. In February. Not that long after she opened her shop.
She mentioned it again when she hit 11,000. In March.
It’s now November, and she has 12,434 as of posting this.
Emily’s ego
Emily’s narcissism seems to rival Doe Deere’s.
The only thing those two shadows have in common is that they’re both green. Ish.
Here’s a larger photo of the two for comparison.
Click for huge.
A few days after that, she posted this:
She doesn’t name names, and honestly someone needs to explain to her that she didn’t invent duochromes.
Once again, someone is copying her totally original idea. LITERALLY NO ONE HAS EVER DONE THIS BEFORE.
She seems to really get off on acting in a way she feels is badass. This is in response to someone asking simple questions, by the way. Emily posts their FB and their girlfriend’s FB for her fans to bum rush.
emily really just acts like a kind of terrible person and needs some mental health help, seriously, no sarcasm on that last part
There’s a name for this kind of thing, often found online. It’s ‘STDH,’ and it means “Shit that didn’t happen.” Even in her fantasy, she’s rude for no reason such a badass.
Starving yourself isn’t going to show anyone anything. This is attention-seeking, online when she really needs to be attention-seeking at a therapist’s office. I’m serious. The girl needs help. She’s a compulsive liar (“my mom’s a doctor and will be monitoring me”).
Also, please note that not eating anything but a few crackers and drinking water is called fasting, not calore-counting. Calorie counting is simply knowing the calories in the food you’re putting in your face, and trying to keep your caloric intake at or below a certain level each day. That’s some dangerous misinformation.
I have no idea what this is referencing, but it’s pretty damn offensive. Free speech is a wonderful right in our country, and she has every right to post whatever she likes to her pages. Just as others have the right to view her pages when they’re public, and find certain things alarming/disgusting/ghastly.
That’s all I’ve got.
In case you read the last post and don’t want to go back and see the edit, I found proof of her using Whip Hand Cosmetique’s product images.(screenshots courtesy of The Honest Reviews)
All of the squares that are close-ups of shadows are from Whip Hand.
Conclusion
I still don’t have anything against Emily Witcher. I honestly believe she has a mental health issue that is not being treated, and there’s nothing wrong with that, unless that issue prevents someone from giving good customer service and providing safe products. Those are my concerns. I do hope she gets help since, as someone who’s battled plenty of mental health issues on their own, I know that shit isn’t fun. But it’s none of my business, really, so long as she isn’t endangering stranger’s health and eyesight in the name of a quick buck.We will never see the beloved Janeway Maneuver in full HD glory.
Pretty much ever since the Blu-ray remasters for the original Star Trek series and The Next Generation were unveiled, fans have wondered when DS9 or Voyager would get a similar treatment. But according to Robert Meyer Burnett, who worked extensively on the HD re-releases those series, the odds of such a thing ever happening are incredibly low.
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Speaking to Trek News in an incredibly lengthy interview, Burnett detailed the reasons why fully HD versions of Deep Space Nine and Voyager would be Herculean tasks for CBS and Paramount to release. Basically, until recently, TV was shot on 35mm film, which is already high resolution—too high resolution for the early days of television. The film footage was edited together, archived, and then shrunk down to the more manageable NTSC video resolution for broadcast. As such, the Blu-ray release for the older Trek series could use the original negative to create a full HD release relatively easily, as each episode’s film was already edited together.
By the mid-1980s, video technology had advanced enough to the point that many TV shows—including Star Trek: The Next Generation—were no longer editing the 35mm film footage, but scanning it into computers, transforming it into the lower, TV-friendly resolution and edited from there to save money. In TNG’s case, that helped make the VFX work on the show easier, but it also meant there all the show’s film was left in separate pieces. Essentially, for the HD release of Star Trek, all people had to do was scan each episode. For The Next Generation, they would have to scan all those original pieces of film and then edit together each episode again, themselves. It’s more difficult, more expensive, and much more time-consuming.
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What’s amazing is that they actually did this for TNG’s Blu-ray release, which was a radical, unprecedented, and incredibly daunting task. Following the edited tape versions that were originally broadcast, a new team painstakingly recreated every episode of the show from the 35mm film footage, a process that cost millions and millions of dollars. But as TNG is the jewel in the Star Trek crown for legions of fans, it was seen as worth it.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t actually worth it. Sales of the extravagant TNG remaster —original retail price $118 for just season one—failed to reach CBS and Paramount’s expectations.
A similar process would have to be done for both DS9 and Voyager—and would actually be even harder. Both shows extensively used CGI effects that were only ever rendered in the lower videotape resolution, which means all the shows’ special effects would need to be completely recreated. But neither show is anywhere near as popular in the public consciousness as TNG, it’s simply too much effort for not enough of a value proposition.
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So, a long story made short and depressing: Deep Space Nine and Voyager aren’t popular enough to be worth the incredible effort it would take to make them available in a high-def format. It’s not an impossible task—just an unprecedented and incredible challenging one. Who knows, maybe one day it will happen. But for now, you’ll only ever see DS9 and Voyager in sub-HD resolutions.
Burnett’s full interview covers all this—the painstaking work done for TNG’s Blu-ray releases, and the future of behind-the-scenes featurettes on Star Trek releases—and is absolutely worth the read, even if it’s a bit of a downer. Check it out at the link below.
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[Trek News](Movements Moving Together 19)
My GEO colleague Josh Davis, has recently posted two blogs critical of the Evergreen project. In the first one, What’s Up with Evergreen, he raised several questions about what is going on there because there seems to be more hype than substantial information coming from Evergreen about how the project is going. I think the questions he raises are substantial as there is no way for our movements and the public to evaluate progress and the model itself without substantial disclosure.
In his second blog, A Critical Look at the Evergreen Model, his criticism is much stronger. I go with him in some of it, like here:
Failing to provide accurate market projections and failing to understand the existing skills of workers...and these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to rookie mistakes by the professionals. In fact, from everything I've read about Evergreen, despite the rosy spin most of it has had, I am unable to escape the conclusion that Evergreen's organizers essentially convinced a bunch of poor people to take part in a poorly thought-out experiment that very nearly crashed and burned. And when that happened, who stepped in to save the day? Was it the workers, having some hard conversations and deciding on a course of action? No. It was Evergreen executives bringing in new management to fire workers and cut wages from, in some cases, $20 per hour to $9.
What stands out for me is his saying “I am unable to escape the conclusion that Evergreen's organizers essentially convinced a bunch of poor people to take part in a poorly thought-out experiment that very nearly crashed and burned.” I am kind of in the same place. Given several critical reports that have come out, like the one from Politico that Josh links to above, very harsh stories I have heard second-hand, and critical observations made by seasoned movement people, it’s almost impossible “to escape” from drawing uneasy if not negative conclusions.
However, it is the lack of any substantial information coming from Evergreen itself about their struggles and successes that leave people who want to support the growth of the project quite disappointed. A project as original and as imaginative and as daring as Evergreen was bound to have substantial failures. Tuned-in common sense expects such projects to go through a lot of trial-and-error and a whole lot of learning. It is as much a research project for the public and the whole movement to learn from as it is an alternative business project. So I find it quite disheartening to sense that the model was being “sold” before having gone through a substantial trial-and-error process that was open to the public in a meaningfully way.
At the same time that I concur with Josh on the above concerns, I think he was off track in several ways in his second blog. I am sure the “white male” thing was a factor. It’s an embedded part of our whole lives everywhere, and that includes within our movements. However, it seems clear to me that there is no way a project like Evergreen could have ever gotten off the ground without the expertise a bunch of sophisticated people in these matters could bring to the task. And it’s a given that will involve a lot of white guys. Certainly, the minority people in the inner city of Cleveland did not have anywhere near the expertise or resources to attempt such a project. So it had to begin with that profound imbalance.
Still, I haven’t gotten any clear picture that there was serious efforts made to involve local folks in the design and development stages. And there is very little evidence of any in-depth effort at developing a worker co-operative culture among the people hired. Assuming this is true, and it is reported by many experienced developers and scholars, it is a major failure of the project.
I also have to disagree with Josh on this:
…how bizarre is it that worker cooperatives were designed based on the needs and interests of institutions and funders, and not on the needs, interests, skills and abilities of the worker-owners?
First, the core idea of the model the project is based on is to connect the business needs and interests of the anchor institutions in Cleveland to the job needs of the people living in an economically devastated inner city. Part of the very nature of all businesses—co-operative and otherwise—is to create livelihood by supplying what people need and desire. The designers were trying to do this in a unique way that would kick start substantial alternative community economic development in a place in dire need of it. Josh quoted the following from the report on Evergreen released by REDF:
The businesses were chosen based on opportunities, the needs of the Anchor institutions, and the interests of funders, but without the industry expertise necessary to operate efficiently. (pg. 7) [emphasis added]
In my mind the important part of this quote is what he did not put in bold. That was a major deficiency! (but not anymore major than the failure of giving top priority to developing a worker co-op culture). It is something that should be analyzed thoroughly and discussed broadly since the Evergreen project has been intensely promoted as the beginning of a new way to promote co-operative/solidarity economics in this country. For it to be the kind of project it needs and wants to be, Evergreen has needed all along to be telling us what is happening that’s not working. And inviting input to how to make things better. And promoting discussions designed to maximize awareness and learning of what works and what doesn’t. Instead, we have been getting mostly promotional material designed as “evaluations.”
But let’s be straight. Evergreen is also a victim in all of this. Where in our movements do we find open, meaningful and growthful discussion about our mistakes, failures and conflicts so that all of us and the movement as a whole can learn what it needs to learn in order to work better? To become more powerful and achieve more impact. Where does this happen to any substantial degree among us face-to-face, within our collectives, within and between our organizations, throughout our movements?
Very little in my experience. We are so tragically prone to tear each other up both by the criticisms and feedback we put out, or to receive such information as if it is an attack when it wasn’t meant to be that. So I can see some wisdom in Evergreen protecting itself. Why would they assume it would be safe to do that? Who wants to be torn apart? Not me. You?
This is our great conundrum. Sadly, it is Evergreen’s profound loss not to engage in open reflection on what it is working and not working. Worse, this is only a reflection of the profound loss our worlds suffer from being so conflicted about giving and receiving the information that is so essential for knowing what is not working and figuring out why. It’s essential for making things work better.
If you doubt this, think about our Grand Ole Party—the GOP—and what it is going through right now. We couldn’t ask for a better example of the consequences of a project blinding itself to what is going on in its ranks.One Tweet Unleashes A Torrent Of Stories Of Sexual Assault
Enlarge this image toggle caption RandyShropshire/Getty Images for Girlboss Inc. RandyShropshire/Getty Images for Girlboss Inc.
On Friday, writer Kelly Oxford shared the story of the first time she was sexually assaulted. She was 12, she said, when a man on a city bus grabbed her genitals and smiled.
She used the same word that Republican candidate Donald Trump used in a recording where he talked about doing things to women.
"Women: tweet me your first assaults," Oxford said: "they aren't just stats."
The responses poured in — not by the dozens or the hundreds, but by the thousands.
Strangers on the bus, in the street, on the subway, at a concert. Fathers. Uncles. Baby sitters. Classmates. Teachers. Doctors. Priests. Friends.
The women had been 23, or 17, or 11, or 9, or 6. In 140 characters, they expressed shock or the grim absence of surprise. They shared guilt and anger and shame. They told of family members who didn't believe them. Or they shared nothing but the narrowest facts: where they were, what was done to them.
Groped. Penetrated. Rubbed against. Exposed. Masturbated on. Stalked. Slapped. Raped. Forcibly kissed.
Many women said they'd never told anybody about their assault. In some cases, they still haven't: People created new, anonymous Twitter accounts solely to share a story they still weren't willing to attach to their name.
Some tweets came without a story. Women said they couldn't bring themselves to talk about their assault.
Other women couldn't share their story for a different reason — they couldn't remember a first time. It had happened all their lives.
On Saturday, Oxford said that over the course of a single evening, a million women had responded to her call-out.
The flood of stories still hasn't ended. More than 13,000 tweets were directed at Oxford on Sunday and Monday alone, mostly from women and men recounting assaults; still other stories were shared under the hashtag #NotOkay, or posted on Facebook.
Most of the conversation has been filled with celebration and support, but the popularity of the hashtag attracted trolls, too. Some women have been targeted by Twitter users questioning their honesty, victim-blaming them or openly attacking them.
And even if the only responses are positive, it can be agonizing to tell a story of abuse publicly — often for the first time.
Rebecca Arington, a follower of Oxford's who lives in New York, remembers what she thought when she saw the first tweet: "Well, yeah, of course I have a story."
She had three stories, in fact, which she'd only told her husband and a few close friends. And she says she rarely shared personal information on Twitter. But she saw other responses pouring in, and made up her mind.
She told her followers she'd been molested at 6, forcibly disrobed at 14, raped at 19. She was nervous before she published the tweets and says it was "a little bit traumatizing" to share the stories.
Then she had second thoughts.
"I don't want to be seen as perpetually wounded," Arington explained to NPR. Putting such deeply personal experiences out in public made her feel exposed.
"But then it occurred to me that well, that's the point," she says. "These things don't get talked about because women don't want to be exposed."
The tweets stayed up.
The vast majority of responses, including Arington's, do not mention Trump by name. They stand as a rebuke not only to the candidate, but to something much larger: a culture of complicit silence.
At the second presidential debate on Sunday, after repeated questions, Trump denied actually kissing or groping women without their consent, as he described in the video. To defend his "banter," Trump has invoked a kind of closed door: "Locker room talk," he says, a private conversation between men.
In response, women sharing their stories on Twitter have flung open another door — to a world of sexual violence that is discussed in secrecy or not discussed at all.
If you scroll through the stream of tweets, one thing becomes clear. This is not just a political reaction. It's a collective unburdening.
Oxford told her followers that any guilt about these stories belongs to assailants, not to survivors.
"We don't have to carry their shame anymore," Oxford tweeted.University lecturers and students reacted with dismay on Sunday after a group of leading British academics took a step towards the establishment of an elite US-style university system in the UK by launching a new private college offering £18,000-a-year courses.
AC Grayling, a professor of philosophy at the universities of London and Oxford, will welcome next year the first students to the New College of the Humanities to study for degrees in English, philosophy, history, economics and law taught by academics from Harvard, Princeton, Oxford and Cambridge.
There is a starry lineup of professorial talent: Richard Dawkins will teach evolutionary biology and science literacy; Niall Ferguson will lecture on economics and economic history; and Steven Pinker will teach philosophy and psychology.
Inspired in part by the business model of American Ivy League universities where $40,000 (£24,000) annual fees are not unusual, New College will cost double the maximum tuition fee allowed in government-funded universities. It is set up to deliver a profit to its shareholders who include the professors and a team of wealthy businessmen who have bankrolled the plan.
"At £18,000 a go, it seems it won't be the very brightest but those with the deepest pockets who are afforded the chance," said Sally Hunt, general secretary of the lecturers' association, the University and Colleges Union.
"The launch of this college highlights the government's failure to protect art and humanities and is further proof that its university funding plans will entrench inequality within higher education."
Grayling said the decision to set up New College came after the government cut subsidies to humanities and social science subjects and introduced increased competition by allowing universities to charge annual tuition fees of up to £9,000.
He admitted the business model might seem unusual for a group of professors who are, for the most part, "pink around the gills and a little bit left of centre", but he said government cuts meant going private was the only way to provide a high-quality humanities education and he predicted more universities would go private.
"It is the economic reality," he said. "The £9,000 cap is completely unsustainable. The true cost is way more and that ceiling is going to have to be burst. Other universities might also think 'either we sink or go independent'. Almost all of [the professors signed up] have served our time with decades in public sector higher education and we have seen it get more and more difficult. It is quite a struggle now to see into the future with how we can cope with these cuts. Either you stand on the sidelines deploring what is happening or you jump in and do something about it."
Other teachers signed up include Sir David Cannadine, a history lecturer at Princeton; Ronald Dworkin QC, a leading constitutional lawyer teaching at University College London and New York University; and Steve Jones, a leading geneticist. Lawrence Krauss, professor of earth and space exploration and physics at Arizona state university, who has advised Barack Obama on science policy, will teach cosmology.
The college sets out to "inspire the next generation of lawyers, journalists, financiers, politicians, civil servants, writers and teachers" and every student must take extra classes in ethics, science, literacy and logic and critical thinking as well as a course in practical professional skills.
Scholarships will be granted to one in five of the first 200 students. An endowment fund is being established to try to increase that ratio to one in three.
Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students, said the move showed that "an education in humanities from some of the leading thinkers in the world will be restricted to the richest" and that academics would be removed from the public system.
"This institution has been created as a reaction to the government's swingeing cuts to higher education funding that have seen all teaching funding removed from many humanities subjects," he said. "If the government does not hit the brakes on this rushed reform and reverse the cuts to funding, the UK's currently world-leading public universities will be irreparably damaged."
Gareth Thomas, Labour's universities spokesman, commended Grayling for his initiative, but added: "It is a sad reflection of the scale of government cuts in higher education that it is taking a private initiative to drive new investment in arts, humanities and social sciences courses.
"When independent experts are warning that 80% cuts in funding are likely to lead to large numbers of humanities courses being axed I worry that high fees will deter many of the brightest and best from studying those arts, English and humanities courses that remain."
The college aims to attract candidates with at least three A grades at A-level with the promise of more direct teaching than at traditional universities. The student-teacher ratio will be better than 10 to one and there will be 12 to 13 hours' contact with teachers each week.
Graduates will come away with a degree from the University of London and a separate diploma from the college to reflect the additional course that includes practical professional skills such as financial literacy, teamwork, presentation and strategy.
One of the backers is Charles Watson, chairman of the City PR firm Financial Dynamics. He said: "Higher education in the UK must evolve if it is to offer the best quality experience for students and safeguard our future economic and intellectual wealth. New College offers a different model – one that brings additional, private sector funding into higher education in the humanities when it is most needed, and combines scholarships and tuition fees."
Grayling said the organisation had raised "a very significant" amount of money, thought to be more than £5m, to fund the college.
One third is owned by Grayling and the 13 other founding professors, while shares are also owned by a group of wealthy businessmen. They include Jeremy Gibbs, former chief executive of specialist venture capital consultancy, Matthew Batstone, former marketing chief of the Economist Group and a trustee at Bedales, a £30,000-a-year boarding school, and Roy Brown, the founder of Metier Management Systems which pioneered computer project management systems in the 1970s and 1980s.
Intense degree
The professors at New College are promising an intense, three-year education in exchange for £54,000. Before they have even got to the library or started writing an essay, students will be expected to attend at least 13 hours a week of lectures, one-to-one tutorials and seminars.
They will not only be expected to master their chosen subject, whether law, economics and economic history, or a comination of history, English literature and philosophy, but each of them must take lessons in science literacy from Richard Dawkins and Steve Jones, applied ethics from Peter Singer as well as a module in logic and critical thinking.
The big-name professors, who include Niall Ferguson and Linda Colley, will together give 110 lectures a year, which any paid-up student can attend. You could drop in to see Niall Ferguson expound on economic history in the 20th century while history professors Sir David Cannadine or Linda Colley will talk on course subjects ranging from "The birth of western Christendom AD 300-1215" to "Material world: culture and environment in the last millennium". Law lectures will come from Ronald Dworkin QC and Adrian Zuckerman.
Every student will have a one-to-one tutorial in their main subject each week in which they will be grilled on their latest essay, though these will not be conducted by the star names, but by a professional teaching staff that is currently being recruited.
And that is not all. A further course in professional skills is supposed to give you an edge in the job market and features sessions on reading balance sheets, corporate governance, leadership, marketing and sales and entrepreneurship.The royal baby is one of around 2,000 children born every day in the UK. Yet whilst the third in line to the throne can expect a life unimaginable to its cohort of subjects with whom it will share a birthday, all babies can anticipate a longer span than their parents before them.
According to the Office of National Statistics one in four will live to be 100. The average longevity of those born since 2009 is 78.7 for a boy and 82.6 for a girl.
Yet worryingly campaigners estimate that one in three children in Britain – four million young people - are living in relative poverty which is one of the highest figures in the industrial world.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
At Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, one of the busiest maternity units in Britain, there is no such thing as an average child or an average mother.
Catering for a population of some 400,000 people last year it dealt with 3,700 deliveries or around 10 per day. Of these nearly seven out of 10 were delivered normally whilst in 20 per cent of cases the mother underwent a caesarean section.
Around 13 per cent were born with the aid of instruments such as forceps or ventouse. All mothers attend with a birth partner.
Emma Hardwick, head of midwifery and clinical services at Ipswich Hospital, said all mothers receive one-to-one care during labour in accordance with national guidelines.
But she said much had changed since she qualified in 1994.
“We see a lot of women now who might never have had babies – who have had treatment for infertility perhaps. The population is changing and the profile of women has changed in the past 20 years – they may be older, might have more complex medical conditions, mental health problems or be overweight,” she said.
“Being a midwife is a privilege and a delight. We understand what birth is about. We understand the physiological processes – what is normal and how to recognise what to do if we are concerned. Thousands of women across the world every day have babies. It is a normal process so it is about supporting the woman and her partner. But the wonder of seeing a baby born never diminishes,” she added.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
Subscribe nowESP8266 and MicroPython - Part 2 August 31, 2016 four minutes reading time
So, part 1 of ESP8266 and MicroPython was pretty lame, right? Instead of getting information out of Home Assistant we are going a step forward and create our own sensor which is sending details about its state to a Home Assistant instance.
Beside HTTP POST requests, MQTT is the |
Los Angeles.
The cast of the faux show on Hulu — a joint venture of the NBC Universal division of General Electric and the News Corporation — will include Jason Sudeikis of “Saturday Night Live,” Olivia Munn of the G4 cable channel and the comedian Fred Willard.
Those Hulu users who watch the “Bing-a-thon” will receive a reward: the ability to watch TV shows or movies on hulu.com without commercial interruptions. (Yes, you have to watch a commercial to avoid watching other commercials.)
After that will come integrations of Bing into shows on networks that are part of NBC Universal as well as on cable channels that are units of the MTV Networks division of Viacom.
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The NBC Universal networks include NBC, with segments on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” beginning next Friday, and integrations of Bing into episodes of a summer series, “The Philanthropist,” which starts on June 24.
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As a seller of technology products and services, Microsoft “is in a highly competitive space,” said Ben Silverman, co-chairman at the NBC Entertainment unit of NBC Universal in Los Angeles, so it needs “innovation marketing” to break through the clutter.
For instance, the segments on “Late Show” will present Mr. Fallon as a quiz master, asking contestants to use bing.com to search for answers to questions in categories like travel, health and shopping.
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“ ‘Bing’ sounds like a Jimmy Fallon word,” Mr. Silverman said, laughing. “The alignment is great.”
On “The Philanthropist,” in which James Purefoy portrays a globetrotting do-gooder, the Bing Maps feature will establish where in the world the character is; other characters will use bing.com to seek information.
And viewers will be prompted as commercial breaks begin to visit bing.com to learn more about subjects discussed during “The Philanthropist,” scheduled to run for eight episodes (which makes it, in the vocabulary of the drum-beating Mr. Silverman, “a summer maxi-series”).
The sponsorship deal with MTV Networks is to start on Thursday on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” on Comedy Central, and continue through June 17 on “Top 20 Countdown” on CMT, “The George Lopez Show” on Nick at Nite, “Charm School” on VH1 and “Real World — Road Rules Challenge Duel II Reunion Special” on MTV.
The Bing sponsorship will be centered on offering viewers about two minutes of additional content for each show by reducing the number of commercials. (Advertisers like Philips have done that before, enabling programs like “NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams” to report more news.)
The MTV Networks shows will carry a Bing spot, created by JWT, called “Fast Forward,” which looks like viewers are using the fast-forward feature on a DVR or VCR to zip through 2 1/2 minutes of commercials in 30 seconds. The intended message is that bing.com is about “getting what you want,” the spot declares.
“What’s great about ‘Fast Forward’ is that it flips traditional TV advertising on its head,” Judy McGrath, chairwoman and chief executive at MTV Networks in New York, wrote in an e-mail message, “to the benefit of the marketer and the consumer.”
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“We’re delivering stronger exposure for the brand,” she added, “and more show for the fan.”
The risk with all branded entertainment is that it comes across to consumers as too much brand and not enough entertainment.
In searching for ways to be “baked into the shows,” said Eric Hadley, general manager of worldwide marketing for search and MSN at Microsoft, the goal must be to get consumers to “say ‘Oh, wow’ ” and not “ ‘That’s it?’ ”Juventus are looking to beat Chelsea to the summer signing of Paris Saint Germain striker Edinson Cavani, reported the London Evening Standard.
The Uruguayan striker is reportedly looking to leave Paris at the end of the season, and expected next Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has made him one of his primary transfer targets for when he joins the club.
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However, Juve have been a strong force in Europe over the last few years and have tried to sign Cavani in the past - and still retain hope of landing him.
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Cavani made his name in Serie A with Palermo and Napoli, but joined PSG ahead of Juventus in 2013. Despite Chelsea's interest, Cavani's brother and agent Walter Guglielmone has suggested that the 29-year-old favours a return to Serie A and a move to Turin.
He said: "Juventus is a prestigious club with a great history and a great present - last year they reached the final of the Champions League.
"For Edinson, a return to Italy would absolutely not be a step back in his career. Playing [with Juventus striker Paulo Dybala], he would form one of the strongest duos in Europe.
Cavani “Do I want to play in the Premier League? It is the most wonderful league, the most important in the world." pic.twitter.com/ntfjIXzByY — Betfred (@Betfred) March 23, 2016
"The Premier League is where there is more competition between the teams, but Serie A and La Liga are equally difficult and at a high-level.
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"Anything is possible in football. In three months, everything can change. Edinson may remain at PSG, which has an ambitious project. It will depend on many aspects. Now, as my brother says, it's time to think only of winning the Champions League (with PSG). In June, if anything, there will be time to think of the market."
Cavani is ready to leave Paris because of a lack of first-team football, and is still reportedly keen to press ahead despite first choice forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic being out of contract in the summer.
Follow @_scottsaunders on Twitter and share your thoughts!World Can't Wait activists protest at a panel discussion at Boalt Hall on Thursday. Panelists discussed the presidency and the future of the courts after President Bush.
Contributing Writer
Clad in orange jumpsuits and black cloth, a group of about 20 people were pulled out by campus police after protesting a panel discussion moderated by UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo at the Boalt Hall School of Law.
Members of World Can't Wait, an organization opposing the current White House administration, protested against Yoo as the panel discussed the importance of the U.S. Supreme Court in the new presidential administration.
Group members cited former U.S Deputy Assistant Attorney General Yoo's alleged advocacy of torture in the Iraq War and support of a powerful executive body as reasons to protest.
"Yoo is moderating tonight, yet he is not non-partisan or neutral," said Giovanni Jackson, youth student organizer of World Can't Wait. "He is a war criminal responsible for undermining international law and supporting torture."
The expert panel discussion was part of the Institute of Governmental Studies' series "Choosing the President: Campaign and Governing in War and Peace," which kicked off last August and will continue until the upcoming presidential elections.
The panel focused on the importance of not just the next elected president but on the people he or she would appoint as well.
"People don't vote on judges and the court as an issue during elections, which is a current problem in our voting system," said William K. Kelley, associate professor of law at the University of Notre Dame.
As the panelist discussion progressed, protestors continuously shouted at Yoo, though he appeared unphased by the comments.
"Legalization of torture in the war must end. Yoo has authored torture memos and has advocated it," Jackson said. "He should not be a moderator and needs to be stopped."
Panelists from various disciplines included law professor Jesse Choper at Boalt and law professor Susan Estrich from the University of Southern California, said Ethan Rarick, director of the Center on Politics at the Institute of Governmental Studies.
"We're at a time where our only hope is courageous district judges to stand up for issues surrounding the war on terror," Estrich said during the talk.
Event organizers said the event was meant for open discussion, although they had hoped it would be respectful.
"We're fine with people coming to express their opinions even on the panelists and participants but it should not disrupt the event," Rarick said.A new report suggests that Samsung may soon bring back the Galaxy Note 7, in refurbished form. Units could be sold in select markets to help Samsung cut its losses with the whole explosion scandal that happened back in 2016. Here’s what we know so far.
Back in 2016, Samsung was forced to initiate two full recalls of its Galaxy Note 7 flagship smartphone due to fire hazards thanks to erupting battery units. Samsung later made the safe decision to permanently discontinue the smartphone entirely and launch a full investigation to discover the leading causes to the incidents. The South Korean company succeeded in its research mission and later made it clear to the public that faulty battery units were at blame. Samsung also discussed what new measures the company would be taking to prevent something similar in the future.
Taking you back a bit further before even the whole Galaxy Note 7 debacle began, Samsung reported that a new online store was to come (see here). The store would be part of Samsung’s current online store where consumers can find a variety of smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, and other cool tech gadgets. However, the company was planning a refurbished device program. Flash forward to now, and we hear that the Galaxy Note 7 could become part of that program. That’s right, Samsung could sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units after all that happened. Anyone say courage?
The program was first reported by Hankyung, who claims that Samsung could start to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units containing 3,000mAh or 3,200mAh batteries in India and Vietnam beginning in June of 2017. All original Galaxy Note 7s had a battery capacity of 3,500mAh.
The program makes sense, as the Galaxy Note 7 was a hot (*cough) item for the time it lasted before being taken off the market. This could help Samsung recover some lost ground in the department of reputation and reduce some of the firm’s losses. Our question for you is, if this actually happens, would you consider buying a manufacturer refurbished Galaxy Note 7 to help out Sammy? Personally, I’m happy with my Google Pixel XL. Drop a comment below this post letting us know your thoughts.
SOURCE [Hankyung]
VIA [SamMobile]The first round of post-spring attrition for the Texas Longhorns potentially began on Thursday with a report from Inside Texas that redshirt freshman offensive lineman Alex Anderson will seek his transfer from the program.
A source told Burnt Orange Nation at the start of spring conditioning that Anderson was an attrition candidate and a sideline incident during the Orange-White game that featured the 6'4, 320-pounder apparently upset about a walk-on offensive lineman taking reps before him could have been the final straw for his Longhorns career.
The school would not confirm the transfer on Thursday afternoon to Horns247, but the site did report that the coaches were in meetings all day, presumably with players. If Anderson isn't in the program's plans moving forward, that is something the coaches would likely communicate to him at that time.
An early enrollee in the 2014 class, the Louisiana native was one of two offensive line recruits that offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Joe Wickline landed late in the process -- offering Anderson in the middle of January earned an official visit and subsequent decommitment from Arizona State just days before he enrolled at Texas.
However, Anderson fell behind fellow freshmen Elijah Rodriguez and Jake McMillon on the depth chart while he redshirted, failing to appear on the version released for the Texas Bowl against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Even though McMillon moved back to defensive tackle this spring, Anderson was still unable to earn the trust of the notoriously tough Wickline.
So if Anderson does indeed transfer, he will become the third offensive lineman to do so since last fall, joining Rami Hammad and Curtis Riser. Junior college transfer Desmond Harrison is also no longer enrolled at Texas after he was suspended for all of last season.When asked his opinion of the political intrigue at the Kremlin, Winston Churchill reportedly compared the power struggle in the Soviet Union to a dog fight under a carpet: you may see a lot of movement, but you have no idea who is winning or losing.
The Soviet Union is no more, but politics within dictatorships is just as difficult to decipher. Take, for example, the recent spate of stories coming out of Beijing that China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, faces a significant challenge to his authority.
In late February, Ren Zhiqiang, an outspoken real estate mogul with nearly 38 million followers on weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, publicly derided statements attributed to Xi calling for the Chinese media’s unconditional loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When the government shut off Ren’s weibo account, China’s netizens were virtually up in arms denouncing the authorities and praising Ren for his courage to speak out.
Ren was not the only one to push back against party orthodox. In an even more daring act of defiance, Zhou Fang, a journalist at Xinhua, China’s official news agency, published a letter online on March 7 calling for the government to investigate China’s Internet censorship agency for violating Chinese citizens’ constitutional rights.
And on March 4, an an anonymous letter demanding Xi’s resignation was posted on a well-known website, Wujie News, a joint venture owned by SEEC Media Group (publisher of Caijing, a highly respected publication), Alibaba, and the government of Xinjiang. In late March, the Chinese police arrested 11 individuals in connection with the letter.
While no one knows whether these incidents amount to a coherent plot against Xi, they nevertheless signal the potential beginnings of a period of heightened tensions inside the Chinese regime.
These signs of defiance seem largely spontaneous and reflective of Chinese civil society’s disillusionment with the policies of the Xi administration in general and its crackdown on press freedom in particular. In a one-party regime, forces in civil society may not have much direct influence on elite politics, but their voices can change public perception. In this case, public opposition to the government’s attempts to restore ideological conformity and reinstitute Maoist-style propaganda tactics will likely undermine Xi’s popular appeal.
The timing of these events is also noteworthy. The CCP will hold its 19th congress in late 2017. At this gathering, Xi will certainly receive a second five-year term. Less certain is the make-up of the next Politburo Standing Committee, the regime’s top decision-making body. Five of its seven incumbents are set to retire. Will Xi be able to fill those slots with his own supporters? Will the regime name two successors to take over from Xi and Premier Li Keqiang in 2022 and thus enforce its two-term limit?
Based on the experience of the last leadership succession, power struggles at the top often precede party congress gatherings. In late 2006—one year before the 17th party congress, when the CCP had to choose a successor to Hu Jintao—a contender for the top position, Shanghai’s party boss Chen Liangyu, was purged on charges of corruption. In March 2012, eight months before the 18th congress, Bo Xilai, Chongqing’s party chief and a rival to Xi, was toppled on similar charges. It’s highly probable that we will witness the fall of a significant political figure in the next 12 months.
As the head of the CCP, Xi enjoys an overwhelming advantage in getting rid of his rivals in the run up to the 19th congress. However, sensing their imminent danger, his rivals are not going to wait for their demise passively. If they want to push back against Xi, they must act now.
For all the talk about Xi being China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, one glaring weakness of his strategy is that he excessively relies on purging rivals and centralizing power inside the regime as a principal means of ruling China. Without a broad coalition, he is forced to rely on a bureaucracy, now deeply resentful of his anti-corruption fight, to implement his policies. It is increasingly clear that this bureaucracy wants him to fail.
It is impossible to determine who will prevail in this power struggle. Xi has a clear advantage in controlling the levers of power inside the regime, but his opponents appear to benefit from Xi’s failure to deliver on his promises of bold reform and from the disillusionment among China’s social elites, such as the business community and the intelligentsia.
While Xi may be able to purge his rivals, a coalition of opposition forces will likely thwart his quest to build a highly centralized and personalized regime that rules with an iron fist. This is not good news, either for China or the rest of the world. A political stalemate will only further undermine business confidence and depress China’s growth.
Minxin Pei is a professor of government at Claremont McKenna CollegeRichard "Dick" Erdman (born June 1, 1925) is an American actor and occasional director.[1] He appeared in more than 160 film, television and theater productions since 1944, mostly in supporting roles.[2]
Early life and career [ edit ]
Erdman was born John Richard Erdmann in Enid in northern Oklahoma. His mother was Allie J. Erdman. His parents divorced during his childhood. Erdman, his sibling and his mother moved to Colorado Springs when he was a teenager. He graduated from Palmer High School, where he would perform on stage. During his youth, he worked as a paper boy for the Colorado Springs Evening Telegraph. A stage director named Newton Winburne encouraged him to try his luck in Hollywood.[3]
Erdman started his career at Warner Bros. where he signed a studio contract. Two of his first roles were in the films Mr. Skeffington, starring Bette Davis and Claude Rains and Janie, starring Joyce Reynolds. After a few smaller roles he achieved success as a character actor in supporting roles. In a career that has spanned seven decades, his best-known roles are that of the barracks chief Hoffy in Stalag 17, and the garrulous, tedious barfly McNulty in the Twilight Zone episode "A Kind of a Stopwatch" ("...you think about that now!"). He also appeared in The Men (1950) with Marlon Brando and the film noir Cry Danger (1951) with Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming. In Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) he played Colonel Edward F. French, the officer who responded to the failure to transmit the warning to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
He directed the 1971 TV film Mooch Goes to Hollywood.[4] From 2009 to 2015, Erdman had a recurring role as the old student Leonard Rodriguez on Community.
Personal life [ edit ]
Erdman married actress Leza Holland in 1948, but they divorced two years later. He was married to his second wife, Sharon Randall, from 1953 until her death in 2016. They had one daughter, Erica, who was born in 1954 and died on February 18, 2010, of an accidental overdose of prescription medicine.[5] Erica was a poet and illustrator (The Ellyn Maybe Coloring Book) and the author of one full-length collection of poems (The Apocalyptic Kid).
Selected filmography [ edit ]
Film appearances (complete) [ edit ]
Television appearances (selected) [ edit ]
Richard Erdman as a director (complete) [ edit ]
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1966, two episodes)
(1966, two episodes) Teenage Tease (1971, feature film)
(1971, feature film) Mooch Goes to Hollywood (1971, television film)
(1971, television film) The Brothers O'Toole (1973, feature film)
See also [ edit ]Posted 16 July 2012 - 09:00 AM
Q: How closely are you sticking to the BattleTech game stats; are you being as close as possible, or are you seriously messing with them? [Kay Wolf]
A: We use the table-top as our base stats, and then test from there. Most things are still pretty close though. [GARTH]
Q: Are there any plans of using weapons at the back of your mech? [Nash]
A: Currently no. There are many problems with this such as: How do you aim it? How do we make it clear what does what? Does it fire forward or back? In the end it's easier to just make those points fire forward, as there are almost no circumstances where a backwards facing hardpoint would be better. [GARTH]
Q: Will the minimap have the option to switch between rotating with your mech to the minimap always pointing north? [Dracol]
A: We do plan to include this - I personally need static maps or I am incredibly confused myself! [GARTH]
Q: Are there any plans to have a part of the website dedicated to listing mech and weapon specifications? Something we can consult to see things that aren't obvious or can't be reasonably assumed based on canon - rate of fire, of weapons, for example? Or will this info only be visible in the MechLab (or not at all)? [WardenWolf]
A: We have something like this planned. I can't talk much about it, but we do have something in mind we think you'll all really enjoy. [GARTH]
Q: WIll we be able to switch between cluster ammo and slugs with LB-X autocannons? [DerMaulwurf]
A: We plan to have this functionality eventually, but currently it is not available. Who doesn't want lots of different Ammo types, right? [GARTH]
Q: Can you elaborate on any additional game types besides the Deathmatch no-respawn? [Coolant]
A: We plan to have a plethora of different modes, though not all are in yet. We'll be adding many over time. [GARTH]
Q: If an UrbanMech falls in the forest, and no one is around, does it still make a sound? [Astaroth]
A: It sounds like thousands of people screaming "noooo!" [GARTH]
Thanks for reading, and we hope your question got answered!Max Boot Military Historian and Foreign Policy Analyst
James Clapper Former Director of National Intelligence
Norman Ornstein American Enterprise Institute Resident Scholar
Rob Reiner Director, Actor, and Activist
Charles Sykes Conservative Commentator
Fellow Americans,
On January 6, 2017, America’s intelligence agencies shared a declassified report concluding Russia had attacked our nation with the express goal of disrupting the presidential election and ultimately weakening our democracy. To this day, that destabilizing effort continues.
Historically, when the United States has come under attack, Americans of all stripes have united in our country’s defense. Today, however, too many Americans and too many of our elected officials are ignoring or not understanding Russia’s attacks against our country.
If we are to preserve the democracy our founding fathers envisioned and for which so many Americans fought and died, we must be vigilant and we must act. That requires information about and comprehension of the threats we face.
To that end, we pledge our support as Advisory Board members of the Committee to Investigate Russia, a non-partisan, non-profit effort designed to help Americans understand and recognize the scope and scale of Russia’s continuing attacks on our democracy.Saturday
5) 8:15 A.M. Morning Crunch
The baked goods at Avalon International Breads, including its breads and assorted pastries, are made with all-organic flour. The beloved Midtown institution is a great place to pick up a cappuccino ($3.25) and an oatmeal raisin cookie ($2.35) for a midday snack. (Avalon Cafe and Bakery, a full-kitchen spinoff of the flagship location, recently opened downtown near Campus Martius Park, at 1049 Woodward.) Parks & Rec Diner, in the Grand Army of the Republic Building, formerly used by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, is a casual and cheery space, with green chairs and bar seating. Recent menu items included the Coco-Yo Parfait, coconut milk yogurt made in-house with preserves and granola ($6), and the crunchy French toast, served with seasonal jam and two eggs ($12). Its upmarket twin, Republic, is at the other end of the castle-like building.
6) 9:30 A.M. Shelf Lives
For a unique adventure, swing by John K. King Used & Rare Books, housed in a former glove factory. With roughly one million books on-site, this four-story bookstore (along with a basement) has a way of nourishing intellectual pursuits. You can browse subjects as varied as religion in Michigan, Chrysler automobiles, taxidermy and astronomy. The floor will creak as you walk around, which is a nice way to announce your presence to staff members, who are adept at navigating the labyrinth of shelves. A former Otis Elevator building behind the main bookstore houses the collection of rare books, available for viewing by appointment only.
7) 11 A.M. Detroit Designs
The Guardian Building, a financial district skyscraper with an amalgam of Art Deco and Mayan Revival styles, features a three-story vaulted lobby with Pewabic tiles and an intricate mural of Michigan. The architect Albert Kahn designed the Fisher Building, another Art Deco gem in the New Center neighborhood. You can take free weekend tours of either building, courtesy of Pure Detroit, and learn more about the city’s gilded era. Both locations contain Pure Detroit retail stores, which sell T-shirts, hats and magnets to show your Detroit pride. Close to the Guardian building is the Monument to Joe Louis, the African-American boxer who was the heavyweight champion of the world from 1937 to 1949. Dedicated in 1986, five years after his death, the fist-shaped monument weighs 8,000 pounds and is suspended in a traffic island at a busy intersection. You can’t miss it.
8) 12:30 P.M. Seafood and Tacos
It is required that you venture out for fresh seafood. Huron Room, at the fringes of Mexicantown and close to Corktown, is an excellent choice. The décor, with a blue-infused nautical theme, is appealing. A signature item is the local cod fish and chips ($13). Order a side of hush puppies, served with pimento cheese and chives ($6), or the grilled crab cakes ($10). Another option is Taqueria El Rey, a cash-only Mexicantown restaurant with some of the best tacos anywhere. The grilled chicken tacos start at $1.50. For the classic Detroit experience, go to Lafayette Coney Island for a coney, a hot dog topped with chili, mustard and onions ($2.60).
Max Valldeneu playing at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge. Credit Laura McDermott for The New York Times
9) 2 P.M. Changing Gears
Tucked in a somewhat forgotten industrial neighborhood, the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant (admission, $12) is one of the most significant car factories ever built. This was where the first Model T was constructed. In the early 20th century, Studebaker had a plant next door. The exceptional guided tour gives you a sense of the plant’s huge role in American automotive history. Among an extensive selection of cars, you’ll find a 1904 curved dash Oldsmobile body, largely considered to be the first mass-produced gas vehicle, along with some of the first Cadillacs and a classic 1965 Ford Mustang.
10) 4:30 P.M. Retail Renaissance
For generations of Detroiters, the epitome of the downtown shopping experience was Hudson’s department store, which closed its flagship location on Woodward in 1983. (The massive building was demolished in 1998.) After years of decline, the city’s retail scene has improved significantly. The luxury brand Shinola, based in Detroit, has a minimalist Midtown store featuring its trademark watches, bikes and leather accessories. The men’s clothing designer John Varvatos, a Detroit native, opened a snazzy, guitar-filled branch of his namesake store in the Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District, joining the upscale retailers Bonobos, Moosejaw and Warby Parker.
11) 8:30 P.M. Jazz Composition
Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, one of the oldest jazz clubs in the world, exudes a coziness that only heightens the stellar musical performances. Luminaries including Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Cab Calloway performed at the lounge, which opened in 1933. Located near the city’s northern edge at Eight Mile Road, the bar surface at Baker’s resembles a keyboard. The Southern-inflected menu includes entrees such as smothered pork chops, meatloaf and catfish, and sides like yams and black-eyed peas.The thirst for felons is #real, ever since the internet first discovered (now) model and boyfriend to TOPSHOP heiress Jeremy Meeks in his famous viral mugshot from 2014.
The saga continues with California’s Fresno Police Department’s Facebook post from this week, highlighting the arrest of Mirella Ponce, an alleged gang member who police say was caught in possession of a loaded firearm. She was booked in the Fresno County Jail on Oct. 23.
Screengrab via Facebook/Fresno Police Department
Garnering thousands of shares and Facebook reactions, these recent comments show yet again that many are less concerned with crime and more intrigued by an arrestee’s on-point facial features.
The most popular comment comes from Facebook user Sotero Sanchez:
Screengrab via Facebook/Fresno Police Department
Others range from women complimenting her makeup (specifically her what appears to be her highlighting skills), to men offering to pay bail:
Screengrab via Facebook/Fresno Police Department Screengrab via Facebook/Fresno Police Department Screengrab via Facebook/Fresno Police Department
Screengrab via Facebook/Fresno Police Department
One woman clearly noticed the connection between Meeks and Ponce, writing, “So yall giving her attention on how beautiful she is..I agree she is… she might be the next Jeremy Meeks!”
Screengrab via Facebook/ Fresno Police Department
If you scroll far enough down on the post, some do state how “ridiculous” it is to ignore Ponce’s alleged gang membership and loaded firearm possession. Nevertheless, we may have a future America’s Next Top Model: Convict Edition approaching our television screens.Story highlights U.S. cargo planes carrying out another airdrop of water and food, the military says
A series of airstrikes targets ISIS fighters attacking Yazidis, officials say
The airstrikes are the first in the Sinjar area since ISIS forced thousands to flee
No timetable for U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, Obama says
American warplanes pounded extremist Sunni fighters in northern Iraq on Saturday in what officials described as an effort to defend minority Yazidis "being indiscriminately attacked," strikes that came just as President Barack Obama warned of an extended air campaign against the terror group.
The series of airstrikes began with a mix of fighter jets and drones that targeted militants firing on Yazidis near the town of Sinjar, where fighters with the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, forced tens of thousands into hiding on nearby Sinjar Mountain.
The airstrikes were the first in the Sinjar area since Obama authorized targeted attacks to protect Americans and Iraqi minorities from an ISIS advance threatening the Kurdish regional capital of Irbil.
News of the latest round of airstrikes came as Obama declined to provide a timetable for U.S. airstrikes and humanitarian aid drops in Iraq.
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"I don't think we're going to solve this problem in weeks," the President told reporters in televised remarks, while at the same time reiterating a vow that no U.S. combat troops will join the fight.
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Given that Iraqi security forces still need time to ramp up and Iraqi politicians need space to form to form a more inclusive government to whittle Sunni support for ISIS, "this is going to be a long-term project," Obama said from the White House South Lawn.
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The airstrikes on Saturday began at about 11:20 a.m. ET, with the targeting of two ISIS armored personnel carriers (APCs) firing on Yazidis, according to a statement released by the U.S. Central Command. Another two rounds of airstrikes were carried out about 20 minutes later after more ISIS vehicles, primarily APCs, moved into the area, the statement said.
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A fourth round of airstrikes was carried out more than three hours later when U.S. aircraft struck another ISIS armored vehicle, it said.
At the same time, health and civil defense officials said U.S. warplanes targeted ISIS fighters near the town of Makhmur, where the group has been launching attacks on the outskirts of Irbil.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the claims by Iraqi health and civil defense officials in Mosul, who told CNN the airstrikes killed at least 16 of the fighters.
'Running out of time'
Meanwhile, the UK and France has said it will join the United States in humanitarian airdrops for hundreds of thousands of Iraqis on the run ahead of a brutal ISIS advance.
On Saturday, the United States carried out another round of airdrops. Three cargo aircraft -- supported by U.S. fighter jets -- dropped 3,804 gallons of fresh drinking water and 16,128 ready-to-eat meals, the military said.
But a United Nations official said airstrikes and humanitarian airdrops aren't enough for the estimated 40,000 minority Yazidis, who are trapped on Mount Sinjar and hiding from ISIS fighters who have said they will kill the group.
Only about 100 to 150 people a day have been able to be airlifted by Iraqi security forces off the mountain, said Marizio Babille of UNICEF.
"We are running out of time for thousands who can obviously not be reached by these airdrops," he said, adding that UNICEF is appealing for the international support to open and secure "a humanitarian corridor over land."
Dozens, including 60 children, according to UNICEF have died on the mountain where the Yazidis are battling extreme temperatures and a lack of food and water.
American planes also have twice dropped food and other supplies to thousands of Yazidis, members of a minority group that fled to a northern Iraqi mountain after ISIS militants overran their town, Obama said Saturday.
U.S. aircraft are poised to strike ISIS militants who have surrounded the mountain, Obama said. Any such strikes would support Kurdish forces' efforts to free the Yazidis, he said.
The airstrikes have ramped up America's involvement in Iraq where ISIS is seizing control of towns and key infrastructure even as it celebrates its own slaughter along the way.
The United States has hundreds of military personnel in Iraq, including advisers sent in recent weeks to coordinate with Iraqi and Kurdish military officials in response to the ISIS rampage. The USS George H.W. Bush and other Navy ships also are in the region.
Obama indicated Saturday the United States' interests in targeting ISIS went well beyond protecting U.S. personnel and Iraqi minorities.
"My team has been vigilant... about foreign fighters and jihadists gathering in Syria and now Iraq, who might potentially launch attacks outside of the region against Western targets and U.S. targets," he said. "So there's going to be a counterterrorism element that we are already preparing for and have been working diligently on for a long time now."
Obama: Iraq's ethnic groups need to unite
Asked Saturday if Obama felt ISIS had been underestimated, the President said the advance of the Sunni Islamic extremists has been "more rapid" than intelligence officials and policymakers, both inside and outside Iraq, had predicted.
But he said ISIS' advance was made possible in part by the lack of an inclusive and functioning Iraqi government.
The government forces, "when they (were) far away from Baghdad, did not have the incentive or the capacity to hold ground against an aggressive adversary," Obama said.
To secure their country, Iraqis will need to build an inclusive government, Obama said, in an apparent dig at Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government.
Iraq's Sunni minority have bitterly complained of being marginalized and cut out of the political process by al-Maliki's government.
The height of that marginalization coincided with months of deadly sectarian fighting throughout the country, and preceded ISIS' rout of Iraqi security forces in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, earlier this year.
U.S. F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet
Photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet Photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the Sunliners of Strike Fighter Squadron 81 taxis onto a catapult before launching from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet An F-15E Strike Eagle was designed for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. It was derived from the F-15 Eagle, which was developed to enhance U.S. air superiority during the Vietnam War. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: U.S. military's fighter fleet A F-22 Raptor flies over Marietta, Georgia, home of the Lockheed Martin plant where it was built. The F-22 is the only fighter capable of simultaneously conducting air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos |
inson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The Saddle Club by Bonnie Bryant
Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Discworld by Terry Pratchett
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Choose Your Own Adventure by R.A. Mongomery
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
How many of these books have you read? What would you add? Stop by our FacebookAccording to Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, his main man Eden Hazard is yet to reach the peak of his footballing career.
Despite putting in a truly world-class performance on Saturday against Newcastle in which the Belgian grabbed a brace, Conte firmly believes his resplendent performances of late are just the beginnings of a long, successful career.
As reported by the Daily Star, the Chelsea boss said, “I don’t think that Eden is at the peak of his career yet. I think he has a lot of improvement.
“He is a young player and it’s important for him to work, work, work in every training session to improve himself and then to have this kind of performance.
“You are at the top when you win the Ballon d’Or the first time, when you win the Champions League, when you win the World Cup.
“At that moment you are at the top of the world, so you are a great player."
The Italian goes on to say how the World Cup is the pinnacle of players' career to showcase their talents, and with Gareth Southgate's England side due to face Belgium in the group stages of next year's tournament, they'll need to be on the top of their game to stop Hazard and co.
“The World Cup is a great tournament, the best tournament in the world. In this tournament you can show your abilities and your skills and you can show that you are a top player. I think this is a great chance where every great player has to show his ability.”
Dribble success rate in Europe's top 5 leagues in 2017/18:
1) Eden Hazard 79%
2) Neymar 67%
3) Lionel Messi 66%
He's topping the best of the best, Top 3 in the world at the moment. #EH10 pic.twitter.com/cGGiZkbndq — Mod (@HazardChaos) November 27, 2017
The Blues boss also spoke of his desire to tie down Chelsea's Belgian duo Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois as soon as possible.
“For sure, I will be very happy when they can have this deal but this is the responsibility of the club to try to do this.
Which Manager From the Premier League's 'Big 6' is Most Likely to Face the Axe This Season? Antonio Conte Arsène Wenger José Mourinho Jürgen Klopp Mauricio Pochettino Pep Guardiola
“They are both very young players and it will be great to keep them with us.”
Chelsea host Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, with the Blues looking to continue their impressive form of late.“This is the first time I've been ever featured in a negative light on a fashion blog. And here's the thing: it was the one public event I dressed myself for,” Bloom wrote.
She continues by giving credit to her stylist, saying “It makes me think of the times I've gotten credit for wearing something good, and how the credit is not due to me but to my unbelievable stylist, Annabelle Harron. Whenever a celebrity is at an event or on tv, chances are, they have been dressed, styled and made up by EXPERTS. Yet, the headline is always, 'Jennifer Lawrence rocks Dior,' as if the decisions of how to look rested solely on the celebrity's shoulders.”
Bloom referred to the necklace comment the blog made saying, “that necklace is a traditional Hawaiian necklace given to me by someone at the event, the event being a gala for an Asian-American-focused theater company. I wore it for some pictures in his honor.”
The actress made it clear that the blog’s comments will not stop her from wearing the dress again. “And I love that dress. I love it so much. I will wear it until the day I die.”Why not a statute of limitations on the misdeeds and peccadilloes of Presidential candidates? I am sure that there are three reasons why not, but I forgot the third. I’ll remember to ask Rick Perry.
Bill Clinton had to deny that he inhaled marijuana while a college student. George W. Bush had to reveal his battle with substance abuse that ended decades before he declared. Herman Cain’s campaign is tottering over buried allegations that he groped one or more women fourteen years ago. The birthers want to go back to Obama’s birth. They are certain he was born in a Madrasa in Yemen. The elitists want to see Perry’s grades in high school; the Tea Party wants Obama to release his grades in the Madrasa. They might even want to know whether he studied Sharia at Harvard Law School
Sure, Presidential candidates should be scrutinized closely, and this would fairly include possible health, substance abuse and moral issues. But how far back is it useful to go? And aren’t we getting a little ridiculous.
If Herman Cain’s harassment were the subject of a civil sexual harassment suit, it would be quickly dismissed on statute of limitations grounds. If he committed an unindicted sex crime 14 years ago, the prosecutor would not have a leg to stand on. Most criminal conduct, except for murder and child abuse, must be prosecuted in the majority of states within five years. Arsonists, rapists and bank robbers not indicted in time are roaming the streets in freedom. But is it fair for Presidential candidates to answer in the court of public opinion to charges that would not stand up in a court of law?
I have no brief for Mr. Cain, and I probably wouldn’t vote for him anyway. But isn’t there more to talk about than whether he groped a subordinate 14 years ago? I say it is an issue better left in the dustbin of history.
We are in deep trouble in this great country of ours, and many of our problems appear insoluble. Frankly, I am quite worried. I would like to know the candidates’ views on how we can stave off another financial meltdown; reduce the deficit; curtail spiraling health care costs; deal with an unsustainable national debt determined to approach our GDP; create jobs; reform the tax code; deal with the fact that we have become increasingly marginalized in the world; and manage a nuclear Iran.
I want to know what they think the proper role of government is in our lives. Rick Perry would like to abolish two or maybe three departments of government. This would include EPA. Does anyone agree with this? Can we combat cancer and Alzheimer’s without government funded scientific research? Houston and Los Angeles are engulfed in smog. Can we live in a pollution free environment without federal regulation? And while we are on the subject of regulation, is FDA regulation impeding the progress to market of life saving drugs? Is financial regulation impeding market efficiency? And what about our cultural deficit if we stop funding for the arts?
What should be our foreign policy? Should we intervene in Syria, manage Pakistan and China better, withdraw from Afghanistan, engage Latin America more and help the Europeans through their financial crisis? Can we work harder and more effectively with the Israelis and Palestinians to achieve a two-state solution in the Middle East?
What criteria would the candidates apply in making federal appointments, particularly to the Supreme Court?
How do the candidates see our right to be let alone by the government? Should law enforcement officers, acting without a warrant, be allowed surreptitiously to install GPS devices in our cars and monitor our movements 24/7? Can we imprison suspected terrorists indefinitely without arraignment and trial? The list is probably longer.
Old claims are inherently suspect, particularly in sex crime cases. If a wrong were done, it would be natural to make prompt outcry and seek prompt redress. If outcry there is none, it is logical to scrutinize the allegations with great care. It is an easy charge to make, and a difficult one to refute.
The statute of limitations, also called the statute of repose, bars stale and ancient claims. We have enough controversy in our society as it is, and the law in its wisdom has decided that old claims should give way to fresh ones.
Meanwhile, with Cain’s personal issues and Perry’s chronic gaffes, the Republicans will find every way they can to nominate Mitt Romney. And unless Romney addresses the issues head on, we are moving quite reluctantly toward an Obama victory next November.ASKING students to pay more for their education was supposed to encourage competition among universities, not just lighten the load on taxpayers. That was the idea in December 2010, when Parliament voted to let English universities charge tuition fees of up to £9,000 ($14,400) from this September, almost treble the existing limit. But demand for higher education is so great, and the fee increase so ringed with restrictions, that universities are not competing for students and responding to market demand. Instead, students are competing for places.
At first glance, statistics seem to tell a different story. The number of British people who applied for a full-time university course fell by 8.7% this year, according to figures published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service on January 30th. But the decrease was mainly among older folk, who may have been unwilling to quit hard-won jobs. And fewer people are leaving school in 2012. Adjusting for that decline, applications by school leavers were only 1% lower than last year, when a bumper crop dashed off to university to avoid the fee increase. High youth unemployment has encouraged many to seek shelter in higher education, taking applications to their third-highest level ever.
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There are a few signs that higher fees have encouraged marginal decision-making, even if they haven't stopped young people applying altogether. Arts and social-science subjects have attracted fewer applicants than last year. The lack of jobs has concentrated students' minds on employment prospects, according to Ross Renton, dean of students at the University of Hertfordshire. But they seem unfazed by the expense itself. “The first question is never ‘How much?' Students want to know what the course is like and what facilities we have,” he says.
In the past students have also proven surprisingly calm about rising prices. Just before tuition fees of £1,000 were introduced in 1998, many people cancelled gap years to avoid paying. The number of applicants fell slightly when the fees kicked in, but then recovered strongly. The same thing happened when fees trebled in 2006. The enduring popularity of higher education is such that demand now significantly outstrips supply, and the chances of applicants gaining a university place has been falling for years (see chart).
Alas for ambitious school leavers, universities cannot expand to accommodate them. That fact, as well as the cap on tuition fees, albeit at a higher level, has stymied the development of a higher-education market. Because the Treasury must lend students the funds to pay their fees and because not all graduates clear their debts, the state limits not only how much universities charge but also how many students they can admit. During the boom years, adding places was affordable. Now it is not. A temporary expansion of places in England announced in 2010 is about to end. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where devolved administrations keep fees down for local and EU students, expansion is equally unaffordable.
Moreover, reforms intended to make universities more responsive to student demand look increasingly bizarre. English institutions recruiting students who gain good grades at A-level will be allowed to take as many as they wish. But historically most high-fliers go to Oxford, Cambridge and a handful of other elite universities which prefer to retain their exclusivity and their present size. So David Willetts, the universities minister, will also let some institutions that charge £7,500 or less expand at the expense of others. The outcome will be determined not by student demand but by a committee comprised of dons and administrators.
Libby Hackett of Universities Alliance, which represents many middle-ranking universities, decries the opportunities lost. “At a time when our global competitors are increasing the number of graduates in the workforce to increase their capacity for economic growth, how can Britain justify a reduction in university places?” she asks.
She is not alone. Matt Grist of Demos, a think-tank, argues that anyone who wants to study and is qualified should be allowed into higher education. Too little capacity hampers social mobility more than high tuition fees. Mr Grist reckons the government should increase the interest on student loans and make the debt harder to forgive in order to finance more places.
Britain could benefit if it did. Graduates not only contribute more to the economy than less-qualified people but also pay more tax, enjoy better health and are more politically active. Poor youngsters would have a better shot at university in future, and the coalition's school reforms may swell the numbers of those qualified to get in. Future taxpayers might be thankful too: the Treasury is set to lose 30-40% of the money lent under the current arrangements. Perhaps Mr Willetts should tinker some more with the ivory towers.I. Relevant Background Points re: OWS
At the heart of the movement is an epiphany - that the power corrupting our democracy and destroying our rights is concentrated ultimately on Wall Street, in the capital markets and other politically erosive, entropy-promoting stock exchanges. This is not a trivial leap of understanding: We have known for a long time that out-of-control business and concentrated wealth were poisoning our society, but concrete appreciation that All Roads Lead to Wall Street was lacking - the financial sector was seen as merely one head of the hydra, with Big Oil, retail, and other major villains getting equal time in our attention. But the 2008 financial collapse, bailouts, and subsequent criminal impunity of the banking sector was a wake-up call that these institutions were not merely one head of the hydra, but the trunk.
These markets are so highly-leveraged, specialized, and timed down to the second that even momentary interruptions can be enormously costly to ownership without likely impacting employees or consumers. As a result, the NY General Assembly attempted to directly march on Wall Street in an attempt to shut down the stock exchanges, and came very close without succeeding. Inasmuch as peacefully shutting down those exchanges is the pinnacle objective of Occupy East of the Mississippi, and indeed the keystone of the entire worldwide movement, the Port of Los Angeles has similar importance to the Western half of the continent.
In the globalized trade economy, the Port also has a vulnerability to interruptions in ways similar to the stock exchanges (albeit to a lesser extent), given how tightly-wound the system of cargo movement is. Delays in the throughput of trade goods from China can cost billions, so there is a profound opportunity to cost Big Business big money without compromising the interests of workers or consumers - not to mention scoring a colossal PR win for the 99%.
II. Overview of the Port of Los Angeles
First, I should say that when I refer to the Port of Los Angeles, I am actually referring to the entire complex seen in the satellite image above, which includes two contiguous facilities operating under separate jurisdiction: The Port of LA proper, on the left half of the image, and the Port of Long Beach on the right half. For all intents and purposes, they are the same port, so I will simply combine them as "the Port" when making general statements. The distinction is only important insofar as it hinders gathering information about the complex as a whole, as official facts about the Port of LA only concern the LA side of it.
The combined grounds of the Port cover approximately 43 km2, making it the size of a small city. As you can see from the satellite image, it is divided geographically into three main areas: The mainline channel coast on the left and top, corresponding to the San Pedro and Wilmington districts of the City of Los Angeles, as well as Southwestern Long Beach; Terminal Island, which dominates the center of the image above; and the peninsula on the right that belongs to the Port of Long Beach. Terminal Island is divided between the two jurisdictions, with the very large artificial bay in the center of the picture controlled by Long Beach.
According to the website, the Port of LA is currently the busiest in the United States by container volume, and the Wikipedia page claims that in 2010 it handled $236.4 billion in cargo - a figure we can set as $230 billion flat for subsequent calculations given the likelihood that shipping in 2011 has declined from the previous year. Meanwhile, the Long Beach side handled about $140 billion in 2010, for a combined Port throughput of roughly $370 billion per year. Although traffic does not occur at a constant rate year-round (and anyone is welcome to look deeper for a more precise finding), we can use an average figure and say that daily throughput is about $1 billion. Combined, the two sides of the Port represent the sixth-busiest port in the world.
Port facilities are divided into terminals for containerized cargo, dry bulk cargo (i.e., large quantities of a solid commoditized product like scrap metal), liquids (e.g., petroleum products), break bulk (individually-processed cargo not in a container), automobiles, and passengers (which we can ignore). Here are the terminal maps for the LA and Long Beach sides of the Port, respectively:
A closer look at Port facilities - feel free to skip it if the details don't interest you:
Los Angeles :
Long Beach :
These details will be important in prioritizing areas of the Port to shut down, although the precise determination is beyond the scope of this analysis: I leave it to others in the Occupy movement to research these terminal companies and the businesses they serve, the monetary volume of cargo they each handle, and how they should be prioritized. However, it is reasonable to recommend that incoming cargo reflecting trade based on low-wage/outsourced labor would be a higher priority for interruption than exported goods. The goal is still to shut down the entire Port, but priorities are necessary in the event of only partial success.
III. Strategic Assessment
The word "strategic" is often misused as a synonym for tactical, but it is actually a very different concept having more to do with logistics than clever maneuvering. For example, a tactician would approach a chess game by narrowly focusing on the board, while a strategist would become an expert in the nature of his opponent. In other words, cultivating an awareness of the context and environment in which the game occurs - an appreciation for the unboundedness of cause and effect. Strategy identifies the objective through an understanding of process, and tactics select the method of achieving it via maneuver and control.
1. Why the Port?
Although it lacks the notoriety of Wall Street, the Port of Los Angeles is the economic nexus of the Western Pacific, and thus the natural focus of OWS in the region. Nothing else even comes close: Entertainment, finance, oil, mining, agriculture, etc. are all either trivial in comparison, or else are too widely-distributed for large-scale confrontation to be practical. The Port is both massive in absolute economic terms and profoundly dense, cramming an economy the size of Argentina into a geographic area the size of Berkeley, CA - another quality it shares with Wall St., which crams even more money into an even smaller area via abstract financial instruments.
Now, the vast majority of that economy is transitory - i.e., it occurs as value moving through the Port rather than emerging from it or being invested in it. But that is a large part of what makes it such a potent subject for OWS - from top to bottom, the revenues of every villainous corporation and subsidiary thereof West of the Rockies either directly pass through the Port or are deeply affected by resources that do. Wal-Mart needs its constant fix of slave-labor retail goods from China; for Exxon, Shell, BP, et al The Spice Must Flow; and every other business on this side of the country that fired well-paid American workers in order to relocate its factories overseas depends to some extent on the Port to be rewarded for their betrayal. Even companies that use other West Coast ports depend on this one to keep traffic manageable and fees affordable. US ports just barely keep up with trade as it is.
Furthermore, it represents a tangible infrastructure that in part or in total belongs to the people of the United States - it is our coastline, our border, and a facility that can legitimately exist only to serve our needs. It cannot be allowed to exist only for the needs of a handful of extremely wealthy people who use profits derived from the Port to fire American workers, make those who keep their jobs impoverished and unsafe, destroy the environment we all depend on, and undermine democracy at home and abroad through corporate interference in politics. Interruptions in the flow of cargo through the Port of Los Angeles, much like breaks in the flow of money on Wall Street, cascade throughout the world.
In addition to the role it plays globally and nationally, the Port is the only real source of economic gravity in the region - otherwise West Coast resources are all spread across huge swaths of territory: Silicon Valley, Hollywood, Downtown LA, Century City, California's Central Valley farmlands, and various smaller archipelagos of entertainment, finance, tech business, energy, and agriculture throughout CA, OR, and WA. Other than small-scale protests against the scattered headquarters of individual companies and camping on foreclosed properties, there is not much for Occupy to work with around here - no Dark Fortress to besiege as in New York; no obvious unifying focus. There is only the Port, and if Occupiers on the West Coast come to appreciate its significance, it can serve as just such a unifier both within the notoriously diffusive Occupy LA, and between West Coast occupations. Achieving that would also nail down one of the three key pivots in an eventual General Strike, which I discuss more fully at the bottom of this diary.
2. Who needs to be on board?
Broad-based support for the specific action (and not just OWS) in the general public, the local community, and especially among the workers who depend on the Port is strategically critical - without it, there is no point to shutting down the Port, and it might actually be counterproductive if it causes people to begin thinking the movement has lost touch with them. This includes, but is not limited to:
Longshoremen.
Truckers who haul to and from the Port.
Other workers directly dependent on the Port.
Support staff.
Communities adjacent to the Port.
The public at large who would otherwise only learn of the shutdown through biased media.
Unanimity or even majority support is not required, as long as a strong proportion are at least convinced of the action's sincerity, understand the reasoning behind it, and are made to feel like their concerns and views are taken more seriously by the movement than by the authorities. Truckers in particular need to be accommodated in some way, since many of them are paid upon delivery of loads and may face direct adverse consequences from a shutdown. While directly compensating all of them may prove impractical (or maybe not - it's worth looking into), they need to be convinced that we care, that we are listening to them, that shutting down the Port is meant to help them too in the bigger picture, and that we would do what we can to help them with any immediate problems it causes them. Getting truckers on board opens up important capabilities, which I explore further in the Tactical Assessment below.
A substantial part of the average population must be convinced that shutting down the Port is justified well in advance - it is not sufficient to just do it and hope they sympathize based on their situation and the rhetoric surrounding the action. Failure to make the effort would simply alienate people and make them see the movement as something increasingly distant from the problems they face in daily life. Pamphlets, flyers, and internet organizing are not sufficient - not even close. Face-to-face conversations, town halls in as many venues as possible (you may want to offer free refreshments or something similar as enticements), and the careful cultivation of a mainstream aura around the action is essential. The action must transcend the narcissism of some of the core OWS organizing constituencies who feel like the movement is their property - in other words, get over the impulse to value radical zeitgeist over practical success.
In publicity terms, the shutdown should be promoted as a matter of The People asserting prerogative over a facility that belongs to us, not the petulant action of an angry minority seeking to punish society for failing to live up to our standards. Attempts by conservatives and their media properties to portray it in the latter sense must fall flat and contradict average people's personal experiences in seeing how the movement engages them, portrays itself, and approaches its actions. In other words, there is to be no hostility to the Port itself as an institution, to global trade in general (albeit objections may be raised to specific policies), or to the people who operate it, but rather to corporate institutions that have come to regard it - and indeed this entire country - as their private property. In other words - and this is potentially a very potent spin - the shutdown is an attempt to "restore law and order" to the Port. If this framing can be carried off, it should be - it would turn the dominating narratives on their heads.
The shutdown cannot proceed without having so thoroughly covered the action in mainstream appeal that it barely seems out of the ordinary - the objective is to cost Big Business and get the masses on board with holding them accountable, not to incite further zeal in the faithful. Now, I realize this goes against the instincts of many in the core organizing constituencies, but it is utterly essential. Focusing inward and structuring the hype around the action in ways that only speak to the radical or issue-oriented activist rather than the apolitical citizen is far more likely to create rifts than to inspire The People.
As much as some in the movement enjoy wallowing in radical zeitgeist, they have to see beyond that to graduate into the real Big Leagues of strategic victories - shutting down the Port of Los Angeles can only practically happen, and if it does happen can only yield broad-based solidarity rather than division, if it is seen as the act of ordinary people with no more complicated agenda than standing up for their families and rights. So the necessity of it has to be argued long in advance, and achieve real social penetration long before the day.
To be perfectly clear, subsidiary agendas that seek to selfishly feed off the energy of the 99% should be discouraged from doing so overtly unless they are clear that the overall purpose supersedes their parochial issues. Protesters should wrap themselves so thoroughly in mainstream appeal that they sicken themselves: American flags should be everywhere, and not in ironic or contemptuous ways - not upside-down, or the mockeries with corporate symbols in the star fields. Real flags, wielded respectfully and preferably tastefully. It is unfortunate that some activists find the American flag offensive or disingenuous, but success demands solidarity well beyond the bounds of narrowly-focused ideological or issue niches: The symbols of patriotism are not optional for people demanding drastic change. Reclaiming the flag is a first, symbolic step to reclaiming the country, and it should be a prominent part of every major action - especially something as massive as this. I would recommend "planting the flag" as a symbolic act of reclamation at every protest assembly point.
In terms of Occupiers themselves, there is a distinct and problematic division of talents among the various local movements: Occupy LA appears to accurately represent the diffusive nature of Southland politics in microcosm, and its ability to play a central leadership role in a Port shutdown is thus doubtful - I get the impression from accounts posted here and elsewhere that there is a critical lack of social unity and common purpose in its ranks, making it less effective than NY and Oakland. However, it does have plenty of people - no one will ever accuse LA of not having enough of that - and it is within range of the Port, although not directly adjacent to it (LA only controls its half of the Port through a narrow strip of land created expressly for the purpose of contiguous jurisdiction).
Occupy Long Beach seems to be more cohesive, although I have less information about them. My guess, based on very limited information, is that they would have a stronger ability to organize the local strategic elements of the shutdown than OLA, or at least would be the more effective partner in a collaboration. This is purely an observation, however, so it is non-essential: If OLA and OLB know differently and choose an arrangement that relies more heavily on the former, then they are in a better position to know.
Moreover, Occupy Oakland, which by far has the most experience with successfully shutting down ports, is hundreds of miles away from the Port of Los Angeles, and only so much can be communicated over the internet. They have now twice proven their ability to shut down the Port of Oakland, but that is a relatively modest facility compared to the Port of LA complex, so it seems their talents and uncommon energy would be better applied to going after bigger fish. Occupy Oakland should be directly involved in this.
In light of these facts, I would recommend every Occupy on the West Coast (including the Canadian GAs) take up a proposal to convene a West Coast General Assembly at a location and date TBD, bringing together members from San Diego, LA, SF, Oakland, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, and whatever other coastal Occupies wish to participate. Whether they wish to do this by delegation or just by letting people decide for themselves is up to the individual GAs. At this event, they could settle on some of the broader details - such as whether to support the shutdown at all, of course - and have working groups focus more closely on how to achieve the objective. Still, while a West Coast GA is desirable, it isn't necessary: They could coordinate just fine by acting independently while communicating with each other.
Ultimately, all Occupies on the West Coast - and possibly even all in the Western half of the continent, including Nevada, Utah, Colorado, etc. - would have to participate to some extent for it to succeed. The number of people needed to shut down the Port would be quite large, and the amount of money and planning involved would be challenging though I doubt prohibitive. But it is clear that OLA and OLB, even together, do not have the resources or the numbers to do it alone. So for the purposes of the Port shutdown, the Western Occupies would have to de-emphasize localism and be willing to deploy significant distances from their home grounds in order to achieve a massive victory for the overall movement. If that does not occur, then there is no shutdown.
Another subject that needs to be addressed is potential blowback with respect to the 2012 elections. A massive, economically disruptive act of civil disobedience may force Democratic candidates to further disassociate themselves from the cause at a time when the plight of the 99% is the Party's most potent electoral weapon, causing ill will on the left and dividing the vote. Mainstreaming the action as described above would mitigate this potential problem, but I'd recommend timing the event to coincide with the primary season so that any divisions that do occur may be turned to positive results by nominating more progressive candidates. Doing it after the primaries have concluded would be sub-optimal since it would not lead to better Democrats, but still cause divisions that might impact the general election.
Furthermore, I want to be clear about something: The President of the United States, no matter how much he supports the 99%, cannot and will not support the shutdown of America's busiest ports, and in fact may condemn it. GET OVER IT, or else we will have to resign ourselves to a permanent conservative majority on the Supreme Court that will forever strike down every attempt to make this country safe for democracy while upholding every right-wing authoritarian violation.
3. Shutting down the Port
The three high-level tasks needed to shut down the entire Port complex are these:
1. Bring enough people to do the job.
2. Converge on the respective destinations before they can be intercepted.
3. Passively defeat attempts at dispersal or removal for an indefinite time.
Task 1 can be accomplished by having as many Occupies involved as possible, as well as cultivating active participation by members of nearby communities. We can arrive at a ballpark figure for the number of people needed by adopting the cautious standard that 100 people using a variety of tactics can hold one lane of traffic. Examining the satellite map of the Port, I've identified 13 primary assembly points along the perimeter that would choke off nearly all access if held by protesters, accounting for about 90 combined lanes of traffic (including on/offramps and rail lines). A map of primary assembly points:
Based on our 100/lane standard (counting only one street's lanes in an intersection), this gives us a figure of 9,000 people for the direct protest, which would have to be augmented by at least half as many reserves capable of joining later or assembling at secondary points to shore up the primary ones, as well as dedicated camera people arrayed diffusely around each assembly point. We can thus say 20,000 people is the ballpark bare minimum head count for even a slim chance at a successful, enduring shutdown. If I had to guess, I would say that 50,000 would be optimum target, provided the added numbers are no less focused and disciplined, but 20,000 would be the cutoff beneath which the event simply isn't worth attempting. These are not especially large numbers for a traditional protest, but are gargantuan for civil disobedience.
The key obstacle to achieving Task 1 is time - it would obviously take longer than the timeframe of the Oakland shutdowns to get 50,000+ people on board with taking direct action, consulting with the various groups identified above, and organizing the logistics involved. Since it is a truly massive undertaking, and one with few precedents to judge by, I would recommend an ample stretch of time: 3-4 months. Some activists might be tempted to set May 1st as the target date due to its significance to labor, but I would suggest moving sooner due to the electoral issues already mentioned - March or April, or even earlier if it's found that the numbers are not as hard to generate as I assumed. But given that this is late December, we can say with reasonable confidence that late February is the absolute earliest ETA, and probably inadvisable given the amount of preparation involved.
Task 2 is more complicated, since protesters can be intercepted at any point in the process of their travel from home to the assembly point. They may be preemptively arrested days before the event if authorities know why they're in the area - a tactic we have seen repeatedly over the years prior to big protests.
Strategies for avoiding interception If coming from outside LA County, arrive in the region at least a week before the event.
Stay somewhere reasonably far from the Port, such as in one of the many pleasant cities of the broader County.
Do not house together in groups or congregate prior to the protest except in small, innocuous meetings, such as having lunch.
Do not blog about where you are or what you're doing until the very moment the protest begins.
Do not look like a protester stereotype.
Do not drive cars with out-of-state license plates in the area.
Plan for the most absurdly heavy-handed and paranoid police attempts to stop you from even getting to the Port, and prepare accordingly. But common sense will do in most cases - don't go out of your way to announce why you're there.
If you consider yourself an especially notorious protester likely to be tracked via cellphones or laptops, buy all new equipment when you get into the region and don't use it (other than to check that it works) prior to the protest.
Stay in areas that a racial-profiling cop would not find suspicious. Young white people suddenly flooding the streets of a Latino neighborhood in the days before a ballyhooed protest of epic proportions would obviously attract attention, and attention could very easily mean preemptive arrest and confiscation of critical resources.
Arrive at your designated assembly point simultaneously with everyone else, and do so by converging from all possible directions. If road blocks prevent access, proceed on foot from a random direction (i.e., RUN). As can be seen in the linked maps above, most assembly points are wide-open, and would be very difficult for authorities to completely block without causing the very shutdown they'd be trying to prevent.
Participants should arrive in the area as close to the start time as possible, but arrive at the actual assembly points simultaneously - this would cause police intelligence to badly underestimate the numbers of protesters planning to participate, and have difficulty coping with the underestimate. Such estimates tend to be based on how many protesters are already on scene or known to be in the area, but if people flood in unexpectedly from everywhere around the region, the state, and the country, it could not be adequately predicted. Arrivals should occur via as a wide a variety of conveyances as possible, including just walking, but timing is crucial - it is not good for people to trickle in slowly for police to sweep up at their leisure, or for large groups to assemble outside their assembly points and then try to march to them: Police would simply block their movement and turn it into a by-the-numbers standoff and crackdown.
Furthermore, a decision would have to be made about whether to occupy key rail crossings or focus exclusively on roads. There would be special risks involved in trying to shut down the rail lines into the Port - namely, that someone wouldn't get the message that there are people on the rails, and that they're not in a position to move if a runaway train came barreling toward them. That could pose dangers not only to protesters, but to the personnel on the trains. In my amateur opinion, it could still be done safely by ensuring constant communication with the rail managers, but there are downsides either way. It certainly wouldn't be anywhere near as risky as standing in front of a tank in Tienanmen Square, or being a freedom fighter in Libya or Syria, so it's important to put risk in context.
To arrive at and effectively take possession of an assembly point would require that police aren't already holding it - something that is likely to be the case in several instances, given how much lead time would be needed to organize the shutdown. As a result, every intersection and access point into the Port around the perimeter should be assigned a backup priority as an assembly point for groups from surrounding points.
In other words, they would know that if they arrive to find the primary objective occupied by authorities, they either attempt to create de facto control of an intersection by taking over the two streets that comprise it |
Phil LaMarr: I haven’t seen it yet, which is weird. But I’m happy that they finally did it. Initially, when we first started working on Family Guy, there was this weird tension or perhaps perception that Family Guy was stepping on the territory of The Simpsons or trying to be a younger, hipper version. Seth MacFarlane and Matt Groening are just two very different voices. The only thing those shows have in common is that they’re built around a family.
Alex Obert: The Simpsons finally did a movie after twenty years, but Family Guy has never had an official release on the big screen. The closest thing we’ve gotten so far is Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, but that felt more like a three part episode. What happened there?
Phil LaMarr: Movies are hugely expensive. Movies cost a ton of money and they cost almost as much money to market. Kevin Smith has been going around for the last few years saying that he can’t do studio movies and there’s no reason for him to do so. He said, “I have a movie that will make twenty million dollars. If you spend forty million dollars marketing it, you’re guaranteed to lose money.” And I’m sure that the guys at 20th Century Fox Studios said, “Well, we know we have an audience for Family Guy. But we don’t know that there is an audience in the theaters for it, so why bother? Why waste that money?”
Alex Obert: How do you feel about crowdfunding?
Phil LaMarr: If it gets people in the millennial generation behind the idea of paying for entertainment, that’s great. There’s a whole generation now who doesn’t realize that the stuff that they enjoy costs money to make. It’s like “Oh yeah, I’m gonna download some free songs.” But it wasn’t free to make. It wasn’t free for that person to buy a guitar or take candle lessons. Art costs. I think it’s good, I think it’s good that people understand. It’s like you want to be a patron, patronize. Cough it up. I do find it a little weird that people are being asked to pay for stuff before, but this is a new time. The relative cost of creating things is much less. Before, you could never have crowdfunding, it was impossible. Film costs so much money. To try to get an audience to pay for a movie before they would go see it in the theaters, it was ridiculous. Now you can shoot stuff so cheaply that if you get enough people together, it can work.
Alex Obert: We are in the age of social media where marketing and promoting is far more convenient and accessible. It’s taking over television, radio, billboards, newspapers, all of it.
Phil LaMarr: The funny thing is, I think it’s the dirty secret of advertising in general, nobody knows if it works. People spend literally billions of dollars on a commercial and they have no idea if it’s actually gonna translate into greater sales or profits. I suppose internet advertising is step forward in the sense that you can actually track it. Does this person have a cookie from the site where we put up our ad and do they come to our site to buy it? Maybe now for the first time since its creation, advertising is almost honest.
Alex Obert: How do you feel about Twitter?
Phil LaMarr: I find Twitter fun because I just write jokes. It is of very little practical use because if you have a question about “Oh, how do something work?” and you try to get an actual response on Twitter, forget it. It’s like “Ahh, snarky snarky joke joke.” Like, really? So I get a feed full of nonsense. Even if somebody does respond and gives me an actual answer, I’ll never find it.
Alex Obert: What are the most common tweets that you get from those who follow you? Perhaps those wondering about Futurama or referencing a popular line you’ve delivered.
Phil LaMarr: People rarely ask questions. I’ll just post something that I think is funny. I rarely get a lot of interaction.
Alex Obert: So then it’s just like what you’re up to and your projects. Being here this weekend, I’d imagine you’d tweet about the appearance.
Phil LaMarr: Yeah. If there’s an event like this going on, then I’ll get interaction. Where are you? Can’t wait to see you. That’s great.
Alex Obert: And then they send you photos on Twitter afterwards from meeting you. It’s a great perspective for fans to share their experience from their point of view, same goes for concerts. Speaking of that, what’s on your iPod?
Phil LaMarr: Little Shop of Horrors and Bruno Mars. Oh, and Adele maybe. (laughs)
Alex Obert: How about songs from any of the projects you’ve been involved with?
Phil LaMarr: I think pretty much the only thing that I worked on that I have is the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. I still love it. That’s a great album.
Alex Obert: Along with voice acting and film, you got to appear on Broadway. What was the first performance you ever saw as an attendee of that nature?
Phil LaMarr: It probably wouldn’t have been until college. I think I remember seeing a revival of Chicago with Bebe Neuwirth. There’s nothing that compares to watching a live performance.
Alex Obert: So what’s going through your head that first night that you’re on Broadway?
Phil LaMarr: Honestly, the thing that goes through my head is “This is Broadway? It feels sort of the same. What’s Broadway about it?” We had done the show in LA on a stage roughly the same size and I was doing the exact same thing. This doesn’t feel that different. That was until after opening night. And then it’s like oh, we’re all going to a restaurant, oh, and there’s a carpet, oh, there’s Chita Rivera and Rosie O’Donnell and Martha Plimpton. “Oh…this is Broadway. Now it feels like Broadway.”
Alex Obert: On that note, I saw that a new Pee-wee Herman movies in the works.
Phil LaMarr: Yeah, he’s doing a movie that Judd Apatow is producing. And I think it’s gonna premiere on Netflix. Maybe Netflix and theaters, I’m not sure.
Alex Obert: It’s amazing what Netflix has done for reviving shows and films, as well as having exclusive series.
Phil LaMarr: There’s so many more avenues now.
Alex Obert: Before we wrap up, what projects do you have on the way that readers can look forward to?
Phil LaMarr: There’s a stage show called The Black Version that’s based in LA. Information for that is up at TheBlackVersion.com. And the same folks that I do that with, we got a pilot called The Weekly Show at TV One. Hopefully it’ll be a series by 2016. We’re finishing up a second season of Turbo FAST for Netflix. Also doing a lot of stuff with the new Marvel animated universe: Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spider-Man.
Alex Obert: Great stuff! I’d love to thank you for your time.
Phil LaMarr: Oh, thank you Alex.
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FOLLOW Journey of a Frontman on InstagramDemocratic mayor Corey Ellis prepares to vote Tuesday in the primary. The former city council member faces city Treasurer Kathy Sheehan in the race to succeed Mayor Jerry Jennings, who is retiring. (Jordan Carleo-Evangelist / Times Union) less Democratic mayor Corey Ellis prepares to vote Tuesday in the primary. The former city council member faces city Treasurer Kathy Sheehan in the race to succeed Mayor Jerry Jennings, who is retiring. (Jordan... more Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Zurlo declares victory in sheriff's race 1 / 18 Back to Gallery
In the Republican primary for Saratoga County sheriff, Michael Zurlo declared victory a short time ago in his race against Jeff Gildersleeve.
"This is nice. It really is." Zurlo said. "It's been a great journey. I worked hard. You people worked hard. And the result can be seen tonight."
With 88 percent of precincts reporting, Zurlo, a retired lieutenant in the sheriff's department, had 51 percent of the vote to 48 percent for Jeff Gildersleeve, a retired State Police investigator.
Zurlo led by 407 votes. Officials said 979 absentee ballots were sent to voters in the county, and 493 were returned by Tuesday. They must be postmarked by Monday.
The winner will face Phil Lindsey of Moreau in a general election for the four-year sheriff seat. The winner in November will succeed longtime sheriff James Bowen.
Meanwhile, in Albany, Democrat Kathy Sheehan declared victory in the Democratic primary for Albany mayor Tuesday night, setting herself on the path to be the first woman to lead the state's capital city.
"We have tremendous amount of work ahead of us," she told supporters. "Thank you so much and lets celebrate."
Sheehan addressed the crowd just 45 minutes after the polls closed. With 87 percent of the vote counted, Sheehan had 66 percent of the vote to Corey Ellis' 29 percent. Because of the heavy enrollment edge in Albany victory in the primary will be tantamount to victory in November's general election.
She thanked her husband, son and campaign workers. She then asked the crowd to toast her parents.
"The woman standing here before you is quite simply the product of two loving, selfless and wise individuals," Sheehan said.
A host of other primaries that will decide who gets on the party line in November's.
In the Democrats' primary for Albany treasurer, Darius Shahinfar defeated Gary Domalewicz in the race for the seat currently held by Sheehan. Shahinfar had 61 percent of the vote and Domalewicz had 34 percent. With now Republican in the general election, Shahinfar will be the next treasurer.
Several common council seats are on the ballot.
More Information
Unofficial results in other races:
Family Court Schenectady County
In Schenectady County, Kevin Burke beat Jill Polk in the Democratic and Working Families primaries. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Burke had 59 percent of the vote to Polk's 41 percent in the Democratic primary though the margin was closer in the Independence Party primary.
Polk is a lawyer who has worked in family court, while Burke is an assistant county attorney who is assigned to Family Court. According to their campaigns, Polk has been a trial attorney for the Commission on Judicial Conduct since 2008 and Burke has been most recently the county's chief prosecutor of child abuse and neglect. Since Republicans are not running a candidate, the winner of the Democratic primary is essentially the next Family Court judge.
Saratoga County sheriff
Albany County Family Court judge
In Albany County, Susan Kushner had 59 percent of the vote in the primary against Rika Murray. They are vying for the right to run as the Democratic party candidate for Albany County Family Court judge in November. The position carries a 10-year term.
Rika Murray has worked in the Family Court system for 24 years, including as a confidential law clerk. Kushner has practiced exclusively in Albany County Family Court representing indigent people in custody, visitation, child protective and family offense cases, according to her website.
Albany County Family Court Judge Dennis Duggan, 63, who has held the position since 1994, officially announced he wants to fill the seat of state Supreme Court Justice George B. Ceresia who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 this year.
Troy Council 6th district
Three term councilman Gary Galuski and political newcomer Emily Rossier were separated by just one vote with all precincts reporting. They squared off in the Democratic primary for the 6th Council District. Galuski, 53, was seeking/seeks his fourth two-year term.
The Republican-Conservative-Independence candidate is Emanuel Ned.
Malta supervisor
Councilman Peter Klotz Sr. opposes incumbent Supervisor Paul Sausville in the Republican party race that revolved around managing growth in the town that hosts the GlobalFoundries chip manufacturing plant.
Cynthia Young is the Democratic candidate in November. The supervisor's salary is $30,902. A $19,500 stipend is paid to the supervisor for representing the town on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors.
In another contentious race for town justice, town Republicans were choosing between attorney Steve Gottman, 44, and retired state trooper Ellwood Sloat Jr., 60. Incumbent James McKevitt stepping down at the end of the year.
Duanesburg supervisor In a campaign revolving around the town's surplus, Republicans in Duanesburg are deciding between Roger Tidball and William Park as their standard-bearer in November for supervisor. Seeking Republican slots for the two council seats are Laurie Meyer, Daniel Houlihan Jr., Charles Leoni and Randy Passonno.
Jean Frisbee is the Democratic supervisor candidate in November. Democrats are also backing candidate John Peters for Town Board, but don't have a second candidate.
The winner of the supervisor's race will succeed incumbent Rene Merrihew, who is not seeking re-election.Executives can squirm as numbers get thrown around at an annual shareholder's meeting, but one that led to Nintendo chief executive Satoru Iwata choosing his words carefully was 51. Specifically, the uniform numeral worn by a couple of all-time greats for the Seattle Mariners.
The late Hiroshi Yamauchi, the third president of Nintendo, purchased the major league baseball club in 1992. Yamauchi transferred his ownership stake in the team to Nintendo of America about 10 years ago. Howard Lincoln, the former chairman of Nintendo of America, is the Mariners' CEO and Nintendo's representative in the ownership group.
That still puts Satoru Iwata in a position of nominal leadership over the club, and an investor asked for a forward-looking statement on Mariners' plans to retire a uniform numeral anytime soon — specifically the 51 of Randy Johnson, who will be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame later this month. Johnson spent 10 of his 22 seasons with the Mariners, winning a Cy Young Award in 1995 and setting a club record for strikeouts and shutouts.
Why would someone in Japan care about that? Well, national hero Ichiro Suzuki, who set a major league record for most hits in a single season in 2004, played 12 seasons for the Mariners and wore 51, too.
"I speculate that it might be possible for the Seattle Mariners to consider retiring his uniform number of 51," the investor asked, "but to Japanese people, the uniform number 51 of the Seattle Mariners belongs to Ichiro Suzuki. About this possibility, I would like to know the opinion of Mr. Iwata who is also the CEO of the principal owner of the Seattle Mariners, Nintendo of America."
Uh...
Iwata noted that Nintendo of America "is not the 100 percent owner of the Seattle Mariners," and that itself has been a touchy fact of the company's ownership. Major League Baseball initially opposed Yamauchi's bid to acquire the team, then required that he control no more than 50 percent of the team's voting stock. That stance has since relaxed, making Yamauchi and now Nintendo of America now have majority ownership and control of the team.
"It was rather an exceptional thing for a Japanese company to become the principal owner of a Major League Baseball team," Iwata noted. "Nintendo was able to have such a unique position, which cannot be secured only by paying money, and we cherish this relationship."
But reading between the lines, he is not about to interpose on operations-level matters such as what number is retired for whom. Nintendo "makes important decisions with other owners of the team," he said, adding that he has met with Ichiro many times "and I personally would like to maintain a good relationship with him.
"However, it is not appropriate for the CEO of Nintendo of America to share my comments on your speculation at this sort of public occasion," he said.
Iwata's remarks suggest an awareness that a foreign company could create a lot of bad will doing things other American sports ownership groups could get away with, such as meddling in this kind of a club honor. Quite the contrary, Nintendo has had a very warm relationship with MLB and particularly the fans in Seattle.
Yamauchi purchased the team, he said, as a thank you to the city of Seattle for being so welcoming of his company's American headquarters. At the time, the franchise was playing the outdated and unsightly Kingdome, and had the team been sold to other interests it almost certainly would have been moved to Florida.
Under Nintendo's ownership, the Mariners (formed in 1977) have made all of their four postseason appearances, opened the retractable-roof stadium Safeco Field, and in 2001 won 116 games, tying a 95-year-old Major League record. Ichiro joined the club that year, becoming only the second player to win both the the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. He is still active, playing with the Miami Marlins.Dwyane Wade DOMINATES Pick-up Game... Against a Bunch of Kids
Dwyane Wade Dominates Pick-up Game... Against a Bunch of Kids
EXCLUSIVE
Despite having just crushed the Knicks and Bobcats,was still hungry for blood this weekend... destroying a group of innocent children in a pick-up basketball game... and TMZ has the footage.It all went down in NYC's Thompson Playground on Sunday... the NBA All-Star had just wrapped up a sock-shopping session at The Sock Hop in Soho -- and decided to jump in on some kids' pick-up basketball game (wearing slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie).Within seconds, it was total D-WADE DOMINATION... and the kids LOVED it.Wade must have played too hard though -- because the very next day against the Nets... his ass got benched.After crashing out of the Asian Champions League in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night, Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold said he will make drastic changes to make his team more competitive next season.
The Sky Blues drew 2-2 at Allianz Stadium with Shandong Luneng after a last-minute goal by Shandong captain Hao Junmin, one that sealed their progress to the next round on the away goals rule after last week's first leg was tied 1-1 in Jinan.
It was a crushing blow for Arnold after an underwhelming A-League campaign, one where his side entered the season as title fancies but ended without making the finals. In typically honest style, Arnold said wholesale changes were needed to recover the club's position.
"I have to be more ruthless," he said. "I have to forget about developing kids. "It's what I love, but I've got to forget about it. I've got to get the best players I can find. If that means, like a lot of the others clubs, who don't have any kids, that's what I have to do.A couple dining at a Red Lobster restaurant outside Albany, N.Y., were surprised to find a bizarrely offensive note written on their takeout container, the Times Union reports.
Cherry Ryan and her husband were eating dinner at the Colonie seafood restaurant when they had what seemed like a pretty minor argument with their waiter over the bill.
When the couple looked at their takeout box the next day, they were "shocked and disturbed" to find the words “Rooster & Bitch Box” (or “Boy”) written across the top, according to the report.
(Story Continues Below)
When reached for comment by the Times Union's Steve Barnes, the chain restaurant passed the complaint along to corporate. Red Lobster spokeswoman Heidi Schauer eventually responded, saying that the general manager had reached out to the couple to apologize.
Visit the Times Union to read the statement from Red Lobster.
The Red Lobster incident is only the latest in a lengthy string of notes and insults written on items from food establishments.
Last month, a trio of California friends were saddened to find someone had written "fat girls" on their check at Chilly D's Sports Lounge. The owner of the establishment later apologized for the insult.
In September, a Korean-American customer dining at a Hooters in Queens, N.Y., found that an employee had written the racial slur "chinx" on the receipt.
And in November, the tables were reversed when a picture of an Applebee's receipt posted to Reddit seemed to show the customers calling the server a fat bitch.
Once in a while, customers even discover creative "discounts" on their receipts.In our continuing series interviewing airline personnel Airfarewatchdog.com asked a regional jet pilot about his work. The answers may surprise--and perhaps disturb--you.
Is it true that you get paid less than some flight attendants?
Yes, but it depends on the airline. Most of us are doing this because we have a passion for aviation and plan to move up in the industry. We do not plan to fly 50-seat regional jets all of our life. While the hefty salaries of experienced pilots may not stay as high as they once were, we are not doing this for the pay. We earn experience by flying regional jets and that experience will help us fly for larger airlines with mainline aircraft where the pay is higher.
How do you earn the hours needed to qualify to be an airline pilot?
Many of us begin very early taking flight lessons and earning our hours. Others come through the military and earn their hours flying during their training or in school. They are the lucky ones because their training is paid for; school is the biggest expense for non-military pilots. It is a double whammy to have loans to pay for school and survive on such little pay. But, we love what we do so much that we deal with it.
Do you get paid more if you trained with the military versus at a flight school?
No, we all start at the same pay at my airline although it depends if you’re hired as a first officer or captain.Do you ever find yourself being treated differently by more experienced pilots because you are so young?On the flight deck, it depends. Most pilots respect each other and their decisions although occasionally advice and recommendations for how to do things are shared. However, there are a few more senior pilots that were furloughed from major airlines that now find themselves flying regional jets. They feel like they are superior to those who are just starting out and often seem a bit condescending. It is all part of the learning experience though. Being a pilot is just as much about learning to work with various personalities as it is about actually flying the airplane.
How do you survive on such a small salary?
For one thing, we are like flight attendants, and we have crash pads in our bases. These are apartments, houses, or sometimes even trailers that we all share as pilots. We are never all there at once meaning we all pay a portion of the rent, and then we use the beds a few nights a month. It is a lot cheaper than a hotel or paying for an apartment. Secondly, almost all of my friends have a second job. They are real estate agents, temporary workers, part-time coaches, or even eBay pros. We do what we have to do to survive, but our lifestyle is not glamorous. It is all fueled by the hope to grow our career while building our skills as a pilot.
Is it true that you sometimes sleep in the airport?
There have been times when crew scheduling has us operate flights into cities that arrive after midnight and depart around 4-5 am. In these instances, it makes little sense for us to take a shuttle to a hotel, check in, sleep for only a few hours, and then have a wake-up call an hour and a half before departure. What ends up happening is that we have "quiet rooms" in some terminals with La-Z-Boy style loungers, pitch-black surroundings, and absolute quiet. We get more rest knowing that we are at the airport, but it never qualifies as sound sleep. The media likes to make it seem that we slurp coffee in the airport bar all night, but we do have a place to sleep. It is not entirely restful, and our schedule only allows for one of these on a multi-day trip, but it does happen. This is becoming rare, but it happens. We will have more extended rest periods built into the trip later down the line.
Explain the parking lot trailer park at LAX.
It's true. Some crew members based in the LAX area don't even bother looking for crash pads in town. Instead, they pay rent to sleep in one of a series of trailers in a parking lot under the approach path at LAX. These are popular with pilots on reserve who need to be within close proximity to the airport and those who don't want to deal with the city traffic.
Why would you even accept this job if the schedule is so intense?
This is a stepping-stone for almost all of us. The major airlines typically hire from the regional carriers so this is a great avenue for growth. Sadly, there are also a lot of pilots who have been furloughed from their jobs flying the big jets at the majors who accept jobs flying for regional carriers because that is their only option.
Could you accept a pay cut from $90,000 to $30,000 in a year?
Most people could not, but we pilots are an enterprising bunch.
Why do pilots have to go through the same security checks that passengers do? Isn't that counter-intuitive?
That's exactly what we think! If we have the controls of the aircraft anyway, it makes more sense to ease the lines by clearing pilots in advance. Some airports have a test program and waive us through (Baltimore has this in some terminals for example), but others are still struggling to implement it. For now, we must go through the same charades as passengers except it really is pointless for us.
Do you ever hear qualms from passengers about your young age?
Occasionally, we will hear people commenting that we look like kids. But, it’s really all relative and a matter of perspective. What we hear most often is people exclaiming how small the plane is or their reference to it as a puddle jumper. This, too, is relative and most often heard by infrequent flyers. Seasoned travelers know that as many as half of domestic flights today (if not more) are operated by regional jets. The flight decks on these aircraft are just as modern as mainline aircraft. In fact, most regional jets are fairly new from the past decade or so, and they can fly distances of more than 1,000 miles easily. That is a pretty large puddle!
The airplane has a legacy carrier logo name on it; is that who you work for?
No. While regional jets often bear the branding of a major legacy carrier, we are often a smaller independent airline that operates under the banner of the larger carrier to provide flight connections and additional frequencies to their system of flights. These smaller airlines operate as subcontractors and have different safety procedures, training departments, and management teams than the larger airlines although, all of this is governed by the FAA to insure everything is up to par.
George Hobica is a syndicated travel journalist and founder of the low-airfare listing site Airfarewatchdog.com.
Other articles in the series:
Confessions Of A Fat-Fingered Airline Airfare Analyst
Confessions Of A Flight Attendant
More Confessions Of A Flight Attendant
Confessions Of An Airline "Baggage Thrower
Confessions Of An Airline Gate AgentTwo extensive reports released in April indicate that our current method of devising food policy is broken and that the current system is doing tremendous harm in many areas, including those that are of particular interest to President-elect Obama: human health, the environment, and global poverty.
The first of these reports, "Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America," was produced by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, a major project of the Pew Foundation and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Commission comprised 15 members, including ranchers and health-focused professors (e.g., Marion Nestle) as well as a former governor of Kansas (John Carlin), a former secretary of agriculture (Dan Glickman), a former assistant surgeon general/chief of staff to the surgeon general, and the president of the Western Montana Stockgrowers Association. After more than two years of research, which included heavy lobbying by the meat industries, the Commission released its report explicitly comparing the state of agriculture today to the "military industrial complex" feared by Dwight Eisenhower. Upon investigation, the Commission found what it calls an "agro-industrial complex--an alliance of agricultural commodity groups, scientists at academic institutions who are paid by the industry, and their friends on Capitol Hill."
One of the truisms of Washington politics is that agribusiness won't allow a sane food policy in the U.S. This sad fact is just as true of Democratic as of Republican administrations, as detailed by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser and the Center for Public Integrity (CPI). Both wrote their strongest exposés about the issue during the Clinton administration. And although I'm currently discussing the executive branch, the problem infects Congress as well--whether under Democratic or Republican control (as documented by the Pew Commission, Schlosser, and the CPI).
The results of the farmed-animal industry's self-governance have been disastrous. As the Commission explains, "Our diminishing land capacity for producing food animals, combined with dwindling freshwater supplies, escalating energy costs, nutrient overloading of soil, and increased antibiotic resistance, will result in a crisis unless new laws and regulations go into effect in a timely fashion.... This process must begin immediately and be fully implemented within 10 years" [emphasis added]. In its executive summary, the Commission writes, "Commissioners have determined that the negative effects of the [factory animal farming] system are too great and the scientific evidence is too strong to ignore. Significant changes must be implemented and must start now."
A similar report ("CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations") by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) was also released in April, reaching similar conclusions and making similar recommendations.
In addition to the other issues, the UCS report details the tens of billions of dollars the meat industry receives in taxpayer subsidies every year. Remarkably, factory farms are so economically inefficient that factory farm representatives claim the entire meat industry would cease to exist if forced to pay even a tiny fraction back in the form of meaningful clean-air legislation.
Sadly, but not surprisingly, not one of either reports' recommendations was included in either the House or Senate versions of the Farm Bill--or even meaningfully discussed.
In January--another Obama first--we will have a president who has shown a keen interest in the problem: The Obamas famously shop at Whole Foods and eat organic vegetables--so the president-elect has his personal house in order. Impressively, he also understands and cares about the broader implications of our food policy.
On August 1, at a forum in St. Petersburg, Florida, Obama discussed (video) the fact that funneling grains through animals is inefficient, which is contributing to food shortages and even food riots in the developing world. At home, he pointed out that agribusiness subsidies are vastly inefficient, that they neglect the healthiest foods, and that American health would benefit from a change in diet. He declared that we need "to reexamine our overall food policy...."
The issue was still on his mind when he spoke with Joe Klein from Time magazine in October, when he brought up Michael Pollan's recent New York Times Magazine letter to the "farmer in chief." Obama discussed food policy like a pro, arguing that the U.S. needs--but doesn't have--a comprehensive policy approach. Obama explained that our lack of a sane and coherent food policy poses significant environmental, health, and national security problems.
Of course, understanding the problem and fixing it are two very different things.
First, Obama must pick a secretary of agriculture who does not have ties to agribusiness and who has not spent her or his career defending the status quo. Three names that are being discussed in the media--Charlie Stenholm, Colin Peterson, and John Salazar--would be horrible choices, as these men have supported the status quo consistently and would be very unlikely to support even the most modest of reforms. Even on noncontroversial animal welfare measures, they have gone against the will of the American people to support the worst policies imaginable--including horse slaughter and the sport-hunting of polar bears--even when the vast majority of Congress, including Sen. Obama, were going the other way.
Second, PETA is recommending the creation of a National Food Policy Council (NFPC) to coordinate food policy, which is currently far too disparate to be efficient or wise. We have the National Economic Council, now run by Larry Summers, that looks at interagency economic policy, with a focus on efficiency and sound policy. And we expect that Obama will follow the advice of John Podesta, who recommends a cabinet-level "Department of International Development" in his superb book, The Power of Progress. Similarly, we desperately need a food-policy council, which could include Rep. Rosa DeLauro's proposal for a food-safety agency but with a broader mission.
One specific policy initiative that the new NFPC should address is the placement of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in the USDA. The current situation represents a conflict of interest that is harming the health of our nation's young people. Because the USDA exists to promote U.S. agriculture--not to improve human health--the NSLP has become a dumping ground for the meat and dairy industries at the expense of children's health.
A similar issue exists regarding poverty alleviation. Currently, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program provides women with up to 28 quarts of milk or 4 pounds of cheese per month, both of which are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. However, the program skimps on vegetables, allowing a monthly total of only 2 pounds of carrots (for breast-feeding women only) and 1 pound of beans--no other whole vegetables or fruits are allowed. The WIC program should be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, not the USDA, for the same reasons that there should be a shift for the NSLP.Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) decided to let his Nazi freak flag fly (again) Sunday afternoon. King, who’s known for embracing racism and supporting European white supremacists, tweeted his support for Geert Wilders’ bid to become prime minister of the Netherlands.
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King has previously been vocal about his support of people like Norbert Hofer, the 2016 Austrian presidential candidate for the far-right Freedom Party, as well as Marine Le Pen, leader of the nativist French party National Front.
After he sent out his “Let’s keep our nation pure” tweet, he received support from fellow white supremacist David Duke:
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I’m going to assume that Duke meant to write “white supremacy” instead of “sanity.”
Of course, no one is the least bit surprised by King’s tweet:
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You can’t expect much from a man who stated that white people have done more for civilization than “subgroups.”Pack some snacks and head on down to Lynndale Park (18927 72nd Ave W, Lynnwood) for an evening of Shakespeare performed by professional theater troupes Wooden O and GreenStage.
Perfect for the whole family – rain or shine – in the renovated amphitheater. The amphitheater is ADA accessible and a great place for all visitors to enjoy an evening of theater in a quaint, wooded environment.
The first of six free performances will begin at 7 p.m., Wednesday, July 15. Come and see Henry IV performed by Wooden O sponsored by Molina Healthcare and Community Transit’s Curb the Congestion.
Enjoy five more performances throughout the summer at the Lynndale Park Amphitheater. All performances begin at 7 p.m. and are free (suggested donation $5).
Schedule
July 15 Henry IV – Wooden O
July 16 Henry IV – Wooden O
July 22 As You Like It – Wooden O
July 23 As You Like It – Wooden O
July 30 Much Ado About Nothing – GreenStage
Aug 6 The Two Noble Kinsmen – GreenStage
Food & Beverage Options
The Pacific Little League’s Pacific Cafe will be open from 4:30 – 8:30 pm each performance night for those who would like to purchase a hot meal or snack. The cafe accepts cash or credit with all proceeds benefit the Pacific Little League Program.
Seating
The Lynndale Park Amphitheater has main seating consisting of wood benches on concrete platforms. The Amphitheater was renovated 2014 which included environmental improvements, ADA accessibility, a paved path to the seating area and the addition of bleacher seating. Patrons will still be able to bring camping chair however, the seating area for camping chairs is limited.
Supporters
Presented by the Lynnwood Arts Commission, Shakespeare in the Park is sponsored by the City of Lynnwood Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department, GreenStage, the Seattle Shakespeare Company, Community Transit’s Curb the Congestion, and Molina Healthcare.
For the full schedule, visit the Shakespeare in the Park webpage.ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins have an ailing receiver with speed; they also have one on the bench with speed. Yet with one fast receiver, DeSean Jackson, sidelined, the Redskins haven’t turned much to the other, Rashad Ross.
There’s a reason and it starts with the position he plays. Ross has run routes only from the X, or outside, receiver position. That’s where Pierre Garcon plays and to play Ross more would mean to sit Garcon. Of course, they could always move Garcon to the other receiver spot where he knows the routes.
Redskins receiver Rashad Ross has speed to burn, but his coaches want to see him do more than run routes. Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images
But the Redskins like their other targets more than Ross. So Ross only plays on a limited basis. With Jackson possibly back Sunday vs. the New York Jets, there won’t be more snaps available for Ross.
"Yeah, there is a thought. It's just who do you take out? Pierre or you take out [Jamison] Crowder or do you take out Ryan [Grant],” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “But yeah, he's slowly starting to emerge as a deep threat and a good, solid receiver.”
However, both Gruden and Ross |
. The Black Glove, lead by Doctor Hurt, a man claiming to be Bruce Wayne’s father, try to take down Batman and the Wayne family. They fail.
Movie 2 – Based on the first Batman Incorporated series. Batman recruits Batmen from around the world to do battle with a criminal organization known as The Leviathan, which it turns out is run by Damian’s mom. Awkward.
Movie 3 – Based on the second Batman Incorporated series. We don’t yet know where this series is going to end up since there have only been two issues so far, but I imagine Team Batman will eventually save the world. Hollywood is totally into super-hero team-ups these days — how could they say no to one made up entirely of Batmen?
This story, like Grant Morrison’s Batman stuff, is still in progress, but it’s still the story I’d most like to see made into a new Batman trilogy. Why? Because it’s really super great, that’s why.
Movie 1 – Based on Batman: Gates of Gotham. The history of Gotham city, and its important families the Waynes, Kanes, Elliots and others are explored. Meanwhile, in present day a villain known as The Architect is destroying Gotham landmarks. Hints and references to the Court of Owls can be laced throughout.
Movie 2 – Based on The Court of Owls storyline. Legend has it Gotham City is actually controlled by a shadowy organization known as The Court of Owls. Batman doesn’t believe it. He should. The Owls push Batman to the brink as he discovers Gotham City and even his family have managed to hide secrets from him.
Movie 3 – Based on, uh, whatever Scott Snyder’s working on for the future. After a couple straight years of great Batman comics from Snyder, I’m sure it’ll be rad.
So, how about you folks? Any good ideas for Bat-trilogies you’d like to see?On MLB Network Monday evening, contemporaries Dan Plesac and John Smoltz opined that Bo Jackson could have been a Hall of Famer, at least a regular All-Star, had he committed to baseball.
Jackson produced a career wRC+ of 111 and 7.7 WAR over parts of eight major-league seasons, hardly the stuff of bronzed immortalization in Cooperstown. But had Jackson fully committed to the sport, what could he have been? What could he have done?
Who is going to bet against a guy who can scale a wall?
Or accomplish this ….
The Bessemer, Ala., native was drafted by the Yankees in the second round of the 1982 draft but elected to attend Auburn. He did many impressive things at Auburn, starring in track and football, winning a Heisman Trophy. But he also posted a 1.364 OPS as a junior. He was drafted by the Royals in the fourth round of the 1986 draft after being selected first overall in the NFL draft. Jackson said publicly he would not sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And he didn’t sign.
Months after being drafted by the Royals, Jackson played 25 games in the majors in 1986. In 1987, he hit 22 homers and posted a.750 OPS with the Royals. In context – Jackson played only 53 minor-league games and 89 games in college – Jackson’s rookie numbers are remarkable.
The next year, Jackson was selected again in the NFL draft – this time in the seventh round – by the Raiders, who offered him a lucrative contract. From 1987 to 1990, Jackson split his time between the majors and the NFL. A football-related injury truncated his playing career.
Jackson was the subject of that conversation on the MLB Network because his name appeared in the news last week, as he made an interesting revelation: the star of Tecmo Bowl told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale he wished he had “never played football.”
“I wish I had known about all of those head injuries, but no one knew that. And the people that did know that, they wouldn’t tell anybody. “The game has gotten so violent, so rough. We’re so much more educated on this CTE stuff (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), there’s no way I would ever allow my kids to play football today. “Even though I love the sport, I’d smack them in the mouth if they said they wanted to play football. I’d tell them, ‘Play baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, just anything but football.’”
Jackson is arguably the country’s greatest living athlete, certainly one of them. And perhaps at a time when many parents are questioning whether they should allow their sons to play football, Jackson’s thoughts can be influential. He could perhaps become a de facto ambassador for baseball.
Growing the game at the youth and amateur levels, making baseball more inclusive, is one of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s priorities. He should be applauded for identifying the issue and trying to implement change. Manfred is behind the push to unify youth, amateur and professional baseball through One Baseball. Under Manfred, baseball has launched its Play Ball initiative.
Baseball has gone from a game of the masses at the youth and amateur levels to an activity reserved for the upper middle class. This is in part due to costs of equipment, travel ball, and private instruction. Expanding the participation base is not just about attracting future players, but future customers. Those that play the sport at a youth level are more likely to continue to follow it in adulthood.
Many have noted the advantages a major-league career has over one in football: guaranteed contracts, longer careers, and lower risk of severe injury.
But reaching the majors is another thing entirely.
Amateur athletes are in part incentivized to play basketball and football because Division I baseball generally offers only partial scholarships.
Baseball is a high-skill, high-repetition sport and acquiring those reps, and necessary equipment, can be expensive and prohibitive.
Early in my writing career, about a decade ago, I was reporting on a story about the decline of African-American participation in baseball for the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun News.
I traveled to Georgetown, S.C., to investigate one of the most extreme examples, locally, of the trend at Carvers Bay High School. About three-quarters of the student population of the rural school on the coastal plain remains African-American, but that spring about 80% of the varsity baseball team was white. The school had a football tradition with NFL alumni, but the baseball team’s demographics spoke to baseball’s struggles at the grassroots level to attract African-American players.
A decade later, the demographic trends remain largely stagnant. According to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, 8.3% of players on Opening Day rosters last year were African-American. According to SABR, African-American participation in the majors peaked at 18.7% in 1981 and has generally declined since then, reaching as low a 7.1 % in 2009.
Last year Adam Jones called baseball a “a white man’s sport.”
In 2015, Andrew McCutchen wrote a piece for the Players Tribune about the challenges of playing the sport as a poor kid growing up in central Florida.
Only 2.9% of Division I baseball players in 2015 were African-American last year, according to the diversity study.
Reported Peter Gammons in his notebook last week:
“The U.S. Hockey team that last week beat Canada in the finals of the World Junior Championships had three African-American players, as many as last summer’s Team USA baseball team comprised of the best college players.”
Baseball is losing ground in all types of rural communities. Jordy Mercer’s high school in remote Taloga, Oklahoma, no longer sponsors baseball and its varsity field has become overgrown, which I reported for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in 2015. Mercer is white and from a middle-class background.
Of course, much has been written about the decline of African-American participation in the sport. What has changed in the last decade, though, is the knowledge of the dangers of participating in football, which has displaced baseball as the country’s most popular pro sport.
Baseball has its own youth participation issues according to an NFSH study of youths between 6 and 17, as baseball participation dropped 4.3% from 2009 to 2014. But tackle football participation declined 17.9%.
Bo knew football. Bo knew baseball. Bo knows what path he would choose today. But how does baseball compel the next Jackson to choose baseball?
Jackson’s words perhaps resonate with thousands of families. But if more and more parents are seeking sporting alternatives for their sons, baseball must present itself as a viable one. There’s much work to be done.Five Climate Successes Since “An Inconvenient Truth”
May 24th, 2016 by Guest Contributor
Here’s something to smile about. Check out five of our favorite climate successes in the past decade.
Ten years ago, An Inconvenient Truth brought the issue of climate change out into the open and into mainstream culture like never before. People began asking tough questions about our climate and wanted to know what they could do to make our planet a safer, healthier place for us all. And 10 years later, we can see the results.
Last week, we shared in this blog post what’s changed for our climate, for better or for worse, over the past decade. But with so many climate successes to choose from, we felt they deserved their own story. So today on the 10th anniversary of An Inconvenient Truth, here are five of our favorite moments of progress the world has made in solving climate change.
China – the World’s Largest Carbon Emitter – Stepped Up
You know how US fossil fuel interests used to stall pro-climate policies saying, “Well what about China? It doesn’t matter what we do if they don’t do anything.”
Today, they’re scrambling for a new line. You see, China is ahead of the game when it comes to deploying renewable energy and working to solve climate change. Last summer, China made one of the strongest national commitments to climate action leading up to the UN’s COP 21 climate conference, pledging to expand total energy consumption from non-fossil fuel sources to around 20 percent by 2030. It will require China to deploy roughly 800–1,000 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel power by 2030, or about the total current electricity generation capacity in the US. This commitment solidified the progress China has made in recent years in combatting its dangerous air pollution problem.
As the world’s largest carbon emitter since 2006, China making a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using more and more clean energy is a major breakthrough. And if China can get serious about cutting emissions and embracing renewables, other nations are going to have to follow suit.
The Growth of Renewable Energy and Clean-Energy Jobs
Renewable energy has surged in the past decade, with the cost of clean energies like solar and wind falling each year. And as the price continues to fall, demand continues to increase, which means the industry needs to expand to meet it. The result? Thousands of new jobs added each year.
Let’s look at the solar industry. There are already more than 705,000 jobs in solar energy in the US, employing Americans in all 50 states. The industry added over 35,000 jobs in 2015 alone, and is showing no sign of slowing any time soon with solar companies projected to add over 30,000 new workers in 2016.
The wind industry isn’t far behind. The US Energy Department predicts there will be more than 600,000 wind-related jobs by 2050, according to its Wind Vision Report, with high growth expected in fields like manufacturing, transportation, and offshore wind. By the end of 2014, the US had more than 73,000 jobs in wind energy, and the state of Texas alone employed over 17,000 people in wind-related jobs in 2014.
Pope Francis United People from All Faiths to Protect Our Planet
In 2015, Pope Francis made headlines when he released his landmark encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. In the letter – written not just for Catholics, but for people of all faiths – he stressed some of the most important issues facing the world today, including climate change, the environment, poverty, and the world economy.
The pope followed up Laudato Si’ with a historic visit to the US where he met with top government officials. Here, he echoed themes of his encyclical in public statements and private conversations and made the case for growing our economies through clean energy and new technologies. Above all else, Pope Francis urged the world to come together to take immediate action to protect our planet and allow people from all walks of life to flourish.
World Leaders Came Together to Reach the Paris Agreement
In the years following An Inconvenient Truth, world leaders attempted to reach a consensus about how to solve climate change throughout various global summits, but never truly succeeded. That is, until last December, when world leaders came together at the UN’s COP 21 climate conference in Paris. The world watched as leaders from 195 countries negotiated for two weeks and finally reached a global agreement – known as the Paris Agreement – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the primary factor driving climate change.
World leaders formally signed the Paris Agreement this Earth Day, marking a turning point in the movement for climate solutions by setting a long-term goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. This is the most ambitious target ever formalized at this level – and a really big deal.
A Global Movement for Solving Climate Change Began
An Inconvenient Truth sparked a new kind of movement – one where people all over the world wanted to know how they could get involved in helping solve climate change. People realized their everyday actions had an impact on our planet, and that they could be part of the solution instead of contributing to the problem.
Part of this movement involved a new group of activists called the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. These activists – called Climate Reality Leaders – are people from every level of society working to educate and inspire others in their communities about the climate crisis. Shortly after the film’s release, former US Vice President Al Gore trained the very first group of Climate Reality Leaders in Carthage, Tennessee in 2006. Since then, the Climate Reality Leadership Corps has trained thousands of citizens in 135 countries around the world.
If you want to learn more about becoming a Climate Reality Leader, sign up for information here.
Let’s Recommit to Climate Action
Yes, we’ve seen a lot of great progress like the examples above over the past 10 years. But there’s still more to do to ensure we stay on the path to ending climate change and building a safe, healthy future for our planet. First and foremost, we need to ensure our leaders fulfil their commitments in the Paris Agreement to cut greenhouse gases. Pledge now to recommit to climate action and help us make certain world leaders live up to the promises they made in Paris.
Reprinted with permission.On March 18, 1965 Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov made the first spacewalk in history, floating outside his Voskhod 2 capsule. Leonov made the walk when he was just 30 years old, and later wrote that he felt “like a seagull with its wings outstretched, soaring high above the Earth.” His spacewalk lasted just 12 minutes but that was long enough to prove that humans in space could work outside a spacecraft.
Author and space historian Andrew Chaikin created some unique 3-D views of Leonov’s spacewalk, made from individual frames from the movie of the walk. Above is a red-cyan anaglyph, but if you don’t have your 3-D glasses available, don’t worry: Chaikin has also created stereo pair 3-D images, which you can view by crossing your eyes (explanation below, if you need a little help).
Oxford University provides this explanation of how to cross your eyes to view a stereo pair as a 3-D image:
Hold a finger a short distance in front of your eyes and stare at it. In the background you should see two copies of the stereo pair, giving four views altogether. Move your finger away from you until you see the middle two of the four images come together. You should now see just three images in the background. Try to direct your attention slowly toward the middle image without moving your eyes, and it should gradually come into focus.
While the spacewalk was exhilarating, getting back into the spacecraft became dicey. Leonov’s spacesuit expanded so much in the vacuum of space that he had a hard time squeezing back into the spacecraft. He took a risk and opened a valve on the suit to let enough air escape, which allowed him to enter the airlock.
Leonov’s walk took place almost 3 months before American astronaut Ed White took his spacewalk on Gemini 4. The first European to do a spacewalk was the French spationaute Jean-Loup Chrétien, who flew to the Russian Mir space station in 1988.
Thanks to Andrew Chaikin for sharing these images with Universe Today.
Here is some color footage of the spacewalk:
The BBC has created a special webpage to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Leonov’s spacewalk. ESA has a gallery of images from 50 years of spacewalks.GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Kendall College of Art and Design President David Rosen has resigned as president of the Grand Rapids art school. He made the announcement Thursday, April 10 in an email to students and faculty. Rosen, who took over as Kendall’s president in 2012, said he voluntarily resigned in March and his resignation is effective today. He said he’s “fully satisfied with the terms and conditions of my departure,” but did not elaborate on his reasons for leaving Kendall. Students and faculty rallied in support of Rosen on Wednesday after rumors of his resignation surfaced. They created a petition in his support and took to Twitter and Facebook to praise Rosen, saying he’s been an effective, forward-thinking leader. One Twitter post read: “The forced stepdown of Dr. Rosen would be a tragedy.”
Related:
In his message, Rosen said the demonstrations, both physical and online, have been “disruptive.” “These are not in my best interest, nor in the best interest of the college, our students, alumni, or supporters,” he said. “They are also based on misinformation. I was not terminated.” Rosen, who has not returned calls or emails, said he’s “appreciated” his time at Kendall. I “now look forward, without reservation, to new challenges,” he said. Ferris State University President David Eisler, in an email to Kendall students and staff, said he's "appreciated Dr. Rosen's nearly two years of service to Kendall and accepted his resignation with regret." Eisler said former Kendall President Oliver Evans will serve as interim president effective today. He said a search committee will be formed to find the institution's next president. "I want to thank Dr. Evans for his willingness to take on this new role," Eisler said. "His depth of experience, his dedication to students, and his commitment to the central role Kendall plays in the vitality of Grand Rapids’ arts and cultural life make him the obvious choice to further the college’s mission and goals at this time. Ferris officials declined to comment this morning on Rosen's departure, saying an official statement would be coming Thursday.
Brian McVicar covers education for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at bmcvicar@mlive.com or follow him on TwitterJewel Voice Broadcast Gyokuon-hōsō record inside the Therecord inside the NHK Museum of Broadcasting. Other names Gyokuon-hōsō, 玉音放送 Running time 12:00 pm–12:04 pm Country of origin Empire of Japan Language(s) Classical Japanese Hosted by Japanese Emperor Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa 昭和天皇 Shōwa-tennō) Original release August 15, 1945 ( ) – August 15, 1945 ( )
The Jewel Voice Broadcast (玉音放送, Gyokuon-hōsō) was the radio broadcast in which Japanese Emperor Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa 昭和天皇 Shōwa-tennō) read out the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the Greater East Asia War (大東亜戦争終結ノ詔書, Daitōa-sensō-shūketsu-no-shōsho), announcing to the Japanese people that the Japanese Government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military at the end of World War II. This speech was broadcast at noon Japan Standard Time on August 15, 1945.
The speech was probably the first time that an Emperor of Japan had spoken (albeit via a phonograph record) to the common people. It was delivered in the formal, Classical Japanese that few ordinary people could easily understand. It made no direct reference to a surrender of Japan, instead stating that the government had been instructed to accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration fully. This created confusion in the minds of many listeners who were not sure whether Japan had surrendered. The poor audio quality of the radio broadcast, as well as the formal courtly language in which the speech was composed, worsened the confusion. A digitally remastered version of the broadcast was released on 30 June 2015.[1]
Broadcast [ edit ]
The speech was not broadcast directly, but was replayed from a phonograph recording made in the Tokyo Imperial Palace on either August 13 or 14, 1945. Many elements of the Imperial Japanese Army were extremely opposed to the idea that Hirohito was going to end the war, as they believed that this was dishonourable. Consequently, as many as one thousand officers and soldiers raided the Imperial palace on the evening of August 14 to destroy the recording. The rebels were confused by the layout of the Imperial palace and were unable to find the recording, which had been hidden in a pile of documents. The recording was successfully smuggled out of the palace in a laundry basket of women's underwear and broadcast the following day, although another attempt was made to stop it from being played at the radio station.[2][3]
To ease the anticipated confusion, at the conclusion of the speech a radio announcer clarified that the Emperor's message did mean that Japan was surrendering. According to French journalist Robert Guillain, who was living in Tokyo at the time, upon the announcement's conclusion, most Japanese retreated into their homes or places of business for several hours to quietly absorb and contemplate the significance of the announcement.[4]
After the recording was played, the record used for playing it disappeared in the post-surrender chaos, but a radio technician had secretly made a copy, which was given to Occupation authorities and is the source of all recordings available today. The original record was later recovered but is generally believed to have never again been played.[5]
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The rescript was translated into English and was broadcast to overseas Allies by Tadaichi Hirakawa [ja] at the same time. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recorded the broadcast, and its entire text appeared in The New York Times.[6]
The main subject of the speech was to announce the surrender of Japan, that Hirohito "ordered our government to communicate to the governments of the United States, Great Britain, Republic of China and the Soviet Union that our empire accepts the provisions of their joint declaration."[2]
In the speech, Hirohito noted that the war arose out of "our sincere desire to ensure Japan's self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia […]", but "the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage". He then stated, "moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives", referring to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that occurred days before. He did not, however, mention the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and other Japanese-held territories that had also begun a few days before. He also said, "it is according to the dictates of time and fate that we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable."
Full text [ edit ]
TO OUR GOOD AND LOYAL SUBJECTS: After pondering deeply the general trends of the world and the actual conditions obtaining in our empire today, we have decided to effect a settlement of the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure. We have ordered our government to communicate to the governments of the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union that our empire accepts the provisions of their joint declaration.[7] To strive for the common prosperity and happiness of all nations as well as the security and well-being of our subjects is the solemn obligation which has been handed down by our imperial ancestors and which lies close to our heart. Indeed, we declared war on America and Britain out of our sincere desire to ensure Japan's self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia, it being far from our thought either to infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations or to embark upon territorial aggrandizement. But now the war has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the best that has been done by everyone – the gallant fighting of the military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of our servants of the state, and the devoted service of our one hundred million people – the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest. Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how are we to save the millions of our subjects, or to atone ourselves before the hallowed spirits of our imperial ancestors? This is the reason why we have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the joint declaration of the powers. We cannot but express the deepest sense of regret to our allied nations of East Asia, who have consistently cooperated with the Empire towards the emancipation of East Asia. The thought of those officers and men as well as others who have fallen in the fields of battle, those who died at their posts of duty, or those who met with untimely death and all their bereaved families, pains our heart night and day. The welfare of the wounded and the war-sufferers, and of those who have lost their homes and livelihood, are the objects of our profound solicitude. The hardships and sufferings to which our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable. Having been able to safeguard and maintain the Kokutai, We are always with you, our good and loyal subjects, relying upon your sincerity and integrity. Beware most strictly of any outbursts of emotion which may engender needless complications, or any fraternal contention and strife which may create confusion, lead you astray and cause you to lose the confidence of the world. Let the entire nation continue as one family from generation to generation, ever firm in its faith in the imperishability of its sacred land, and mindful of its heavy burden of responsibility, and of the long road before it. Unite your total strength, to be devoted to construction for the future. Cultivate the ways of rectitude, foster nobility of spirit, and work with resolution – so that you may enhance the innate glory of the imperial state and keep pace with the progress of the world. (Hirohito's signature and Privy Seal) Tokyo, August 14, 1945
Original manuscript of the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War, written vertically in columns going from top to bottom and ordered from right to left, with the Privy Seal imprinted
Single page print of the Rescript, again with the Privy Seal
Media releases [ edit ]
Komori, Yōichi (August 2003). 天皇の玉音放送 [ The Emperor's Jewel Voice Broadcast ] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Gogatsu Shobō. ISBN 9784772703949. Book includes a CD.
Kawakami, Kazuhisa (30 June 2015). 昭和天皇 玉音放送 [Shōwa Emperor Jewel Voice Broadcast] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Asa Shuppan. ISBN 9784860637996. Book includes a CD.
See also [ edit ]THE parlous state of public health care tops opinion polls of Brazilian voters’ concerns. Street protests in June were sparked by a rise in bus fares, but the low quality of hospitals and clinics was among the demonstrators’ main complaints. The constitution guarantees the right to free, state-provided health care. But two-fifths of Brazilians are not covered by local primary care, relying instead on chaotic hospital emergency rooms. A quarter go private. The proportion of total health spending that is public is lower than in the United States, which does not aspire to universal public provision.
President Dilma Rousseff’s answer is Mais Médicos (“More Doctors”), a crash programme to recruit thousands of foreign doctors to work in poor and remote areas shunned by locals. On August 23rd the first of them arrived. About 200, mostly from Argentina, Portugal and Spain, have been offered three-year contracts in family medicine. They will earn 10,000 reais ($4,250) a month, plus board and lodging. Some Cubans have also turned up, the first of 4,000 doctors the government hopes to hire from the island by December.
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Brazil has proportionately fewer doctors than many richer countries (see chart). And most are in big cities, often in private practice; too few are general practitioners. It is shorter still of nurses: one for every two doctors, while in efficient health-care systems the ratio is three to one. Those nurses are used poorly, too—largely because of lobbying by doctors. In 2002 their professional associations managed to halt training for nurses in diagnosing and treating common childhood illnesses. In 2009 they got a law passed forbidding anyone but doctors to prescribe any type of drug.
The original plan had been to use federal cash to lure Brazilian doctors to poor municipalities. But despite the unusually high salaries on offer, only 938 signed up for the 15,460 jobs offered. Most of the 3,511 municipalities that wanted doctors were disappointed.
Many countries struggle to lure doctors to poor or remote areas where they will have little chance to train further and specialise, or to practise privately on the side. Brazil finds it particularly hard: offering to pay off student loans, a common carrot in the United States, does not apply, since the public universities that train most of the doctors charge no fees. Most medical students are from better-off families and have few links to deprived communities.
For Cuba, the deal represents a handy source of hard currency. It overproduces doctors and nurses, and has long sent them abroad, for humanitarian or propaganda reasons. Increasingly, it is charging for them. Venezuela provides Cuba with a massive subsidy under the guise of paying for the services of 30,000 doctors and other professional staff. Brazil insists no subsidy is involved. But the size of the planned contract, worth around $150m a year, makes it valuable for Cuba, whose government keeps about two-thirds of the salaries of its doctors working abroad.
The new arrivals have been exempted from the usual test required of foreign-trained doctors, but they are unable to work except in their assigned clinics. Even so, Brazil’s medical associations want to block the import of foreign doctors. They argue that the Cubans’ lower pay and inability to choose where to work are “analogous to slave labour”. That is overblown. Yet Brazil’s strict labour courts may decide that the inter-governmental deal under which they were hired counts as “outsourcing”, which they frown on.
The doctors’ leaders also say that since the foreigners’ degrees will not have been revalidated, they will be practising illegally. The education ministry suspects that the revalidation test has been made needlessly difficult in order to keep foreigners out. Less than 10% pass it (though Cubans do somewhat better than average). The ministry recently tried to give the test to final-year Brazilian medical students. But too few turned up on the day to provide a decent sample.European taxpayers have it worse than Americans—not only are they propping up zombie banks, they are propping up a relatively new currency, and with it the entire European project.
Let’s talk about the European sovereign debt crisis and the meltdown of the euro. This column is for those who need the baby-talk version.
Greece is in the process of defaulting, and not for the first time. It has defaulted many times in recent history. It is not being bailed out, except on interest costs. Instead, it is being given another loan of €109 billion, and its existing loans will be extended. Portugal and Ireland also got extensions. Investors are being asked to volunteer for a tiny haircut.
This episode calls into question the whole premise of monetary union. Since when should Ireland, Greece and the other members of Club Med—Portugal, Italy and Spain—be able to borrow at the same interest rate as Germany?
Though investors were fooled for the better part of the 13-year history of the euro, they have begun to differentiate. The problem has been characterized as a rolling yield spike. The behavior of American money market funds—on which European banks depend for short-term capital—is instructive. They have pulled out of Club Med, and are lending only one-month money to French banks.
“The euro crisis will give Germany the empire it’s always dreamed of,” howled the conservative British Telegraph, which dubbed European leaders’ faith in monetary union essentially irrational. That is, equal borrowing costs will come about only if Germany runs Europe, which was the reason for putting the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt.
“Indeed, in many ways, the euro bears comparison to the gold standard,” said The Telegraph, analogizing the disastrous prewar faith in a monetary straitjacket. The gold standard became an impossible burden. The prediction: economic destruction of Club Med. (The Telegraph, July 21, 2010.)
A third Greek rescue was arranged at a special European summit. It is essentially extend and pretend. Bondholders will be encouraged to swap short and medium-term Greek debt for 30-year debt that is credit-enhanced by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
This debt exchange is considered a selective default. So if some holders voluntarily choose to exchange and accept less, the whole debt issue is not in default. It means that no credit event has occurred that would trigger payment obligations on credit default swaps, as determined by the International Swap Dealers Association (you read that right—a bunch of swap dealers get to decide).
The official document contains a lot of blather about helping Greece become competitive, but it is not clear where the money would come from. There is also an amorphous promise to recapitalize Greek banks.
Leaders congratulated debtor governments on adopting unrealistic and unenforceable austerity programs. Greece is expected to cut spending by 17 percent of GDP—you read that right--and sell €28 billion of state assets, including the Parthenon. (Why not just send the United Kingdom a gigantic bill for the Elgin Marbles? €10 billion plus interest ought to cover it.)
Under the latest deal, the EFSF will be allowed to offer lines of credit to banks, not just governments. The EFSF currently has lending power of €440 billion, which was not enlarged. That is where the taxpayers come in.
The EFSF is the sort of structured finance vehicle that got us in the trouble we are in. And it has to sell bonds in the financial markets. It is partially backed by the IMF, which has committed more than 40 percent of its lending facility to propping up the euro.
Of course, the sensible action, as advocated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, would have been to make investors take big hits on paper issued by insolvent European governments and banks.
We can’t have that! U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned the Europeans not to require investors to take haircuts. His position has been characterized as being willing to soak European taxpayers for $1 trillion so U.S. banks and bondholders don’t lose $1.
Investors that volunteer for the Greek debt swap will be pinched, not squeezed. If the swap were done at market prices, they would be looking at 50 percent haircuts, rather than the piffling 10 to 21 percent some are being asked to accept. The EFSF credit enhancement feature may even mean that some holders can mark their sovereign debt back up to par. The Institute for International Finance helped draft the plan.
While Geithner tries to protect American banks, the ECB is trying to protect large European banks, principally French and German ones, which have large exposures to dodgy debt issued by Club Med. (Make no mistake—protecting the euro and French banks is Christine Lagarde’s main task at the IMF.) Under the Basel rules, nothing need be reserved against sovereign debt, so banks were encouraged to load up on it.
The ECB has conducted a massive “cash for trash” program, accepting all kinds of dubious paper at par as collateral for loans to European banks. As a result, the ECB is thought to hold €45 billion of Greek debt and €30 billion of other Club Med debt, in addition to €480 billion of repackaged mortgages and mortgage-backed securities and €360 billion of other rubbish. Basically, European banks are utterly dependent on the ECB for funding.
European banks recently underwent another round of phony ECB stress tests, which featured tiny haircuts on sovereign debt. All but eight tested banks passed, but participating banks had to publicly detail their holdings by country of issuance. The data showed that Spain (the world’s ninth largest economy) and Italy (the world’s eighth largest) are the biggest threats to bank solvency.
Those two are too big to bail. This is why investors are attacking Spain and Italy rather than the peripheral countries. If Spain and Italy cannot borrow at Germany’s rate, France would be next, and then the whole euro project goes to pieces.The update was released in conjunction with a convention of the conservative Federalist Society, members of which made up the original list released by the Trump campaign in May 2016. (Neil M. Gorsuch, Trump’s actual Supreme Court pick, wasn’t on that original list.) But Trump’s update to the list served a broader purpose, as well: reminding his base — |
ification process adds 280kg to the Asterion’s overall weight. That’s a lot of battery cells, cooling gubbins, and control electronics, not to mention something of a philosophical about-turn compared to last year’s ultra-skinny carbo fibre-fest, the Sesto Elemento. This is what car industry realpolitik looks like.
But this glass is also defiantly half-full. The Asterion’s total power output is a thumping 907bhp. It’ll do 185mph all-out, and accelerate to 62mph in just over three seconds, while coughing out 98g/km of CO2s. A real-world range of 30 miles on pure electric power is a hell of a party trick. Finally, a claimed overall combined average of 282mpg sounds like silly talk.
“You can imagine the discussions we had,” Lamborghini’s R&D boss Maurizio Reggiani tells TG.com. “We are Lamborghini, we must be the best in terms of performance and handling. In the end, we decided this concept was the right solution for a technological demonstrator. This is a car you can drive in cities in pure-electric mode, but also a car whose thermodynamic engine delivers the same emotion as a pure Lamborghini.
“At 1800kg, we are at the upper end of the range of what we feel is acceptable [in terms of weight]. But we have worked, and are continuing to work, very hard to create a true Lamborghini feeling. Believe me, this car does not feel like a Prius.”
After so many barnstorming concepts, the Asterion posed a different challenge for Lamborghini’s Centro Stile design department.
“The best suit for this car was the tailored elegance of a Gran Turismo. It’s not all about power,” design boss Felippo Perini says. “I don’t like creating concepts that aren’t ready for production. The Asterion proposes a real future Lamborghini, not a fake one. A meaningless concept is also a way of wasting money, and I hate wasting money. We are too small a team to be able to squander our time or effort. We’re not telling lies with this car. It will be driveable.”
He agrees, however, that it’s a slightly softer looking Lamborghini.
“Historically, Lamborghinis don’t have a ‘face’,” he continues. “There are no obvious influences, so I prefer to talk about it more in terms of a ‘flavour’. Otherwise it could end up being retro. What I can say is that the design language is completely different to the Aventador’s and Huracan’s.”
The cabin is lovely, too. The Asterion features ivory leather, for a more luxurious atmosphere, as well as aluminium, forged carbon and titanium.
There’s also more storage space, a rather dull consideration unless you’ve ever tried to find somewhere to put your mobile in an Aventador or Huracan, then watched as your untethered handset bounces around the cabin.
Three drive modes – zero (for full electric), I (for Ibrido), and T (for termico) – are available via buttons on the steering wheel. The main dash binnacle has little leather straps on the side.
“We’re using materials in a transgressive way. It’s a more human car, more useable,” Alessandro Salvagnin, who oversaw the Asterion’s interior, says. A detachable tablet handles the Asterion’s infotainment, climate control and GPS functions.
Different times require a different sort of Lamborghini. TG approves. Do you?
For the inside line on – and even more incredible photos of – the Asterion, make sure you pick up the November edition of Top Gear magazine, on sale in print, iPad, iPhone and Android devices next weekThe Edmonton Oilers were rumored in recent weeks to be interested in acquiring Columbus Blue Jackets checking center Artem Anisimov. Though, according to a report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on Saturday, it would appear that the Oilers were targeting bigger game in their conversations with Blue Jackets executives:
"I think the Oilers did ask about the availability potentially of Columbus' Ryan Johansen, but as another GM said: 'Like everybody who's asked about it, we've been told he's not available.'"
A 22-year-old, 6-foot-3, 225-pound bona fide first line center, Johansen is one of the rarest types of players in hockey. Over his last 107 NHL games, he's managed 42 goals and 46 assists for 88 points. Who wouldn't want a player of that quality?
It makes sense that teams continue to ask about Johansen's potential availability, particularly after the acrimonious negotiations he and the Blue Jackets went through this past summer. It's similarly sensible that the Blue Jackets aren't having it, at least not yet.
Johansen is in the first year of a three-year, $12-million contract extension that he signed this summer, and he'll remain a restricted free agent upon the expiry of his current deal. So unless teams are offering a young, established superstar in exchange for his services, it's unlikely that a potential return could outweigh the affordable value Johansen will bring the Blue Jackets over the medium-term.Tucker refrains from calling Clinton 'vaginal-American' David Edwards and Jason Rhyne
Published: Wednesday October 17, 2007
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Print This Email This MSNBC's Tucker Carlson stopped himself from calling Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton a "vaginal-American" in a discussion about how the candidate's gender will impact her chances in the 2008 presidential primaries. He also weighed in with his opinion that voters making their choice on the basis of gender "shouldn't be allowed to vote." "This is an amazing statistic. 94 percent of women say they'd be more likely to vote if a woman were on the ballot," Carlson had said of a new poll from the Clinton camp. "I think of all the times I've voted for people just because they're male...we've got some more genitalia, he's getting my vote." "You didn't have a choice all those times you were voting," responded guest Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post. "When firsts happen they are significant. They say something about the society -- how far its come and where it is." Later in the segment, the host asked if his guests thought that "people who are voting on the basis of gender solidarity ought to be allowed to vote in a perfect world?" "Of course they shouldn't be allowed to vote on those grounds," he said, answering his own question. "That's moronic. I'm sorry, I know I'm going to get bounced off the air for saying it but it's true." Acknowledging that part of the female voting block's support for Clinton is "loyalty to the Clintons," Carlson added that the candidate was unfairly using her gender to garner votes. "The Hillary campaign relentlessly pushes the glass ceiling argument," he said. "You should vote for her because she's a woman -- they say that all the time." "At least call her a vaginal-American," said conservative guest Cliff May, who heads the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. "Is that the new phrase?" Carlson asked. "I don't think I can say that." "You shouldn't say that," Robinson assured him. The host later asked how, specifically, Clinton would differ from a male president. "How is she going to be a different president if she's a woman? I just don't get that," he said. "I don't think she will be," said Robinson. "But I think it will be significant if a woman is elected President of the United States, as it would be significant if an African American were elected...it says something about the country." The remarks were first reported by Media Matters, which includes a full transcript of the segment at its website. The following video is from MSNBC's Tucker, broadcast on October 15, 2007.
Advertisements Want a gift card? Participate in a presidential frontrunner survey!Tiahleigh Palmer: No suspects and few leads in death of Logan schoolgirl, Queensland Police say
Updated
Queensland Police have said they may never know how 12-year-old Tiahleigh Palmer died and still have no suspects, as divers scour a Gold Coast river for clues.
Tiahleigh was last seen being dropped off at Marsden State High School in Logan, south of Brisbane, by a carer on October 30.
Fishermen found her decomposing body six days later on the bank of the Pimpama River, about 30 kilometres from her last known sighting.
Tiahleigh's school clothes and backpack are yet to be found, despite police divers searching the river again on Tuesday and SES volunteers scouring thick bushland along its bank.
Forty-three students from Marsden State High have been interviewed by police and 200 reports to Crime Stoppers have been received, Detective Inspector Dave Hutchinson said.
"We don't know what happened to Tia, we just don't know," he said.
"We are still looking at options that she has planned what she is doing.
"There are no suspects at this time.
"The cause of death is still not determined. We may never identify the cause of death."
Officers want to speak to anyone who was on Kirkin Road North around the bridge that crosses the Pimpama River in the seven days prior to Tiahleigh's body being found.
They also want dashcams from cars which were on Chambers Flat Road on Friday October 30 between 7:00am and 10:00am
"We are still trying identify Tia's movements on that morning," Detective Hutchinson said.
"We are getting versions but sometimes they contradict each other, there are inconsistencies.
"We do have some footage of Tia previously, but nothing around that time, not relevant to this inquiry."
Review into how authorities respond to missing foster children
The ways in which Queensland authorities respond when foster children go missing or run away will be reviewed by the State Government, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Tuesday.
It took police six days to alert the public that she was missing.
Her decomposing body was found on the same day the alarm was raised.
Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston yesterday called for the Child Protection Act to be reviewed, and questioned why there was a delay in issuing the alert.
However, the Government said that while the Child Protection Act prevented people from naming children and disclosing they were in care, it did not prevent naming children who were missing, or taking every possible action to find them, including speaking in the media, or through social media.
Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said: "Our focus at the moment is very much on finding the perpetrators of that terrible crime."
"If there are systemic issues that sit around it that perhaps delayed issues in terms of reporting and what have you, then that will come out in the investigation.
"But I'm not suggesting there was. I'm not suggesting that there is a failure in the system."
Ms Palaszczuk said today the Queensland Family and Child Commission would conduct a review of arrangements in place for responding to missing or absconding children in out-of-home care.
"In addition, the Child Safety Minister has requested her director-general to urgently bring together the key stakeholders and agencies to discuss any concerns they may have," she told Parliament.
"I, like every Queenslander, have been left shocked, outraged, heartbroken by the death of 12-year-old schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer.
"There is not a person throughout our state who is not touched by what has happened to this little girl... a little girl who was dropped off to school but never made it to school and never made it home."
Topics: state-parliament, grief, laws, murder-and-manslaughter, child-abuse, brisbane-4000
First postedTen years ago there were no such things in cricket as the Spidercam, LED bails, day-night Tests or pink balls. The same can be said about some of the shots we see played in the game today. A decade ago these were as foreign as selfie sticks and Instagram.
Looking forward a decade, we know that the leading players, coaches and administrators will not be doing the same things they are doing today. While we're not sure exactly what they will be doing, as a coach, I'd much rather go out on a limb in uncovering these innovations than wait for somebody else to do so. In this, I know that I will come up with many more ideas that don't work than ones that do, failing more often than succeeding.
So, looking into the proverbial crystal ball, here are some ideas of what some of these innovations and changes might be.
Brain-training
We will have far more accurate methods of training the brain in terms of skill development in specific sports, for refining skills, and building focus, concentration and decision-making abilities. This will probably involve headsets that will communicate directly with the brain. Headsets will also be used to electronically reduce anxiety ahead of a match, and to induce optimal brain states. Players' helmets will have in-built devices to measure brain activity while they bat, and will have presets, based on individual brain profiles, that will help induce optimal mental states while batting.
Virtual reality in practice
We will find better ways to prepare the next batsman in. Options will include virtual-reality headsets that enable them to "face up" to opposition bowlers, and a net near the dugout where players can hit balls while waiting to bat. Similarly, bowlers will be able to study a batsman's trigger movements for early clues to what shot options they are setting up for.
Heads? Tails? Should it matter? Getty Images
Match-specific practice
Nets will no longer revolve around the frequently mindless and non-match-specific bowling and hitting that currently happens. The differences might include: a visible scoreboard that represents a match scenario, virtual fielders, a scorer and umpire, crowd sounds, and only one bowler bowling an over at a time to a pair of batsmen.
No more toss advantage
Ways will be found to neutralise the advantage - maybe due to pitch conditions or dew - that accompanies winning the toss at some cricket venues. Where the toss is deemed to have consequence, we might see the team that loses the toss being allowed to make one change to their original playing XI.
Eating healthy all the time
There will be a greater emphasis on providing an organic and whole-foods-based diet, particularly to touring cricket teams - in contrast to the nutritionally deficient food currently served at most playing venues and in hotels and airplanes.
Enhanced health and injury management
There will be a better balance between conventional and holistic treatments of sick and injured players, moving from today's approach, which relies on diagnosing the problem and fixing it, towards emphasising prevention and healing the whole person, not just clinically but also mentally, emotionally, and maybe even spiritually. Doctors and physiotherapists will require more than just conventional training and a bag of pharmaceuticals.
We will have more accurate methods of monitoring and managing players, more subtle ways of monitoring physical, psychological and emotional (stress) states that currently predispose cricketers to injury, illness and reduced performance. This will come in the form of advances in blood, skin, hair and nutrient analysis, and will include devices that are able to scan the body at a cellular level.
'Say what?' The Woolmer-Cronje earpiece episode may have been an idea before its time Getty Images
There will be greater awareness of the impact of sleep on health and performance, accompanied by advances in sleep technology - both to monitor sleep and to induce it.
Something for the bowlers
Today batsmen are allowed to switch-hit; next, we might see bowlers being allowed to bowl with either arm, without having to inform the batsman beforehand. They will still need to indicate whether they will deliver from the left or right of the wicket (the current terms about delivering from "over" and "around" the wicket will become redundant in this case). Bowlers will also be allowed two bouncers per over in T20 cricket.
Hearing from the coach
We will see real-time communication between the coach and players on the field, likely aided by earpieces worn by captains and batsmen.
Technology in umpiring
The duty of calling front-foot no-balls will be taken away from the on-field umpire and placed in the hands of technology. Similarly, we will see instant-replay monitoring of whether or not bowlers are throwing, with immediate consequences.
The future of the formats
In ten years' time, it might happen that the average age of people hoping to keep Test cricket alive will be about ten years higher than the corresponding average age now. Babies born around then might never watch a live ODI. The T20 game will see global franchise brands across tournaments, with centralised administration and coaching functions.
A simpler boundary rule would save us endless agonising over whether elbows, sleeves, shoes and the like are touching the boundary cushion AFP
Wearable tech
Players will wear GPS devices that monitor their speed, and distances covered, in training and games. These devices will help produce data on optimal training loads, and warn when fatigue-related injury is imminent.
Cricket bats and balls, too, will have in-built impact- and GPS-tracking features, providing detailed information on forces, angles and speeds.
Clothing that gives you an edge
Kit will be made relevant for different climates. After all, playing in Chennai is fundamentally different from doing so in Wellington. There will be innovations in fabrics and other technology that will result in less bulky yet more impact-absorbing materials for pads, gloves and helmets.
No time wasted over boundaries
The time consumed in reviewing footage to decide whether a player's body has touched the boundary or not when sliding to save a four will be saved by simplifying the rule to state that scoring a four requires the ball itself to touch or cross the boundary.
Players as data
There will be a bigger and better array of data available for player selection, and for the scientific planning and monitoring of training and performance. These measures will reduce players to data points, where they are seen as resources paid to produce results. This quantification of players will hopefully be accompanied by corresponding advances in the art of people management, which will treat athletes as human beings.
As ecological awareness becomes more acute, cricket will have to solve its waste problem Getty Images
The coach as aggregator
Fewer coaches will be using the old-school command-and-control methods ("I'm the expert who needs to tell you what to do") and more will be employing player-centred approaches, based on collective intelligence. Coach education and accreditation programmes will be upgraded accordingly.
More money, more fame
Thanks to specialising in T20, young players will make significantly more money than now. They will also have greater public profiles and their own media channels. There will hopefully also be relevant education and awareness campaigns to support these players as they deal with the social, emotional and psychological consequences of early-age fame and money.
A more environmentally-friendly game
Currently, in the course of one IPL tournament alone, eight teams litter the earth with dozens of thousands of plastic bottles in less than two months. Cricket tournaments and teams will not be guilty of such abuses of the environment a decade from now. We will have found an environmentally responsible way to deliver hydration to players.
Unwind anywhere
Cricketers will have the option to play golf near almost every major cricket venue on off-days. And in ten years' time, ideally there will be many more artificial wave pools near non-coastal cities where cricket is played, so the rest of us can go surfing.SALEM, Ore. -- Nearly 57 million gallons of diluted raw sewage flowed into the Willamette River and area streams after heavy rains overwhelmed Salem’s sewage treatment system Sunday.
That’s more than twice the amount released during a similar event on Thanksgiving 2016.
The city chooses to release sewage into the Willamette to prevent it from backing up and flooding streets and basements, city spokesman Mike Gotterba said.
The releases are permitted under state environmental regulations when at least 2.61 inches of rain fall over 24 hours, which was the case during storms this week and in November.
City officials allowed raw sewage to enter the Willamette River at Union Street from 5:18 a.m. Sunday until 6:40 p.m. Monday, releasing a total of 56,690,000 gallons, Gotterba said.
In addition to the authorized release, city officials also discovered raw sewage flowing from at least nine manholes across the city, beginning early Sunday morning and ending Tuesday.
As a result, officials estimate that 173,700 gallons of sewage flowed into Pringle Creek; 67,780 gallons flowed into Clark Creek; 26,655 gallons flowed into Claggett Creek; 10,350 gallons flowed into Waln Creek; and 8,100 gallons flowed into the Little Pudding River.
The grand total: 56,976,585 gallons.
The city posted signs on all the water bodies warning people to avoid contact with the water because of potentially high bacteria. The signs will remain up until follow-up sampling shows normal bacteria levelsRussian authorities have declared a state of emergency in Crimea after nearly two million people on the peninsula were left without power by the destruction of two pylons carrying electricity from Ukraine.
The Russian Energy Ministry did not say what had caused the outages, but Russian media reported that two pylons in the Kherson region of Ukraine north of Crimea had been blown up by Ukrainian nationalists.
The attack, if by Ukrainian nationalists opposed to Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year, is likely to further increase tensions between Russia and Ukraine and could strain relations between the government in Kiev and Ukrainian activist groups.
A blackout affecting the entire Crimean peninsula struck just after midnight on Sunday, the local power company, Krymenergo said. UkrEnergo, the Ukrainian grid company, said repairs would be completed within two days.
Photo: PA
Russia's Energy Ministry said in a statement that two power lines bringing power from Ukraine to Crimea had been affected, as a result of which 1,896,000 people had been left without power.
Officials said staggered outages of water and electricity supply were unavoidable following the outage. Residents would be informed of a timetable for cut offs later on Sunday, officials said.
"Crimea is completely cut off," Viktor Plakida, the director of Crimea Energy, told Russia's Tass news agency.
https://t.co/rOrzmFR89h Sky News: State Of Emergency As Crimea Loses Electricity pic.twitter.com/2UQMjpktiX — CyberNewsUK (@CyberNewsUK) November 22, 2015
Ilya Kiva, a senior officer in the Ukrainian police who was at the scene, also said on his Facebook page that the pylons had been blown up, without giving further details.
Two of four pylons that supply the peninsula with electricity from Ukraine’s Kherson region were originally damaged by explosions on Friday and Saturday, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Police in the Kherson region, which neighbours Crimea, said one pylon supporting high-voltage lines had been destroyed “with an explosive device” after midday on Friday, while something “resembling an explosive device” had been found on another pylon.
Photo: PA
Scuffles broke out between Ukrainian national guard troops and activists from Tatar groups and Right Sector, a far-right group, who reportedly tried to prevent repair of the damage on Saturday afternoon.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in a mostly bloodless invasion in February and March 2014, but the region still relies on Ukraine for supplies of water and electricity.
Crimean Tatar activists established a “blockade” of roads from Ukrainian into Crimea in September, in an effort to highlight discrimination faced by their community since Russia seized the region.
It is estimated that up to 15,000 Tartars have left Crimea since the region came under Russian control.
While the blockade is not officially condoned, Ukrainian authorities have allowed the activists to halt lorries and other commercial traffic headed towards the peninsula.
Petro Poroshenko, the president of Ukraine, met with Tatar leaders to discuss the standoff late on Saturday.
Mustafa Dzhemilev, speaker of the Mejlis, a Crimean Tatar representative body, said after the talks that the pylons had simply “fallen down,” and that the police had wanted to clear the area because of the danger of electrocution.
“I think we have resolved this [misunderstanding].” he said
Mr Kiva, the police spokesman, said on Facebook that the road blockade would continue.
The power outage came amid reports that western governments have agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for at least six months.
Several western leaders agreed at a meeting to extend sanctions imposed following the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine until July next year at, a senior European diplomat told Reuters.
David Cameron, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Mateo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, and Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, attended the meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Turkey last week.click above for more pics of the Tesla Roadster testing for the FMVSSIn order to legally be sold as a production vehicle in all 50 of these United States, a new car has to meet hundreds of requirements, some silly and some serious. Malcolm Powell, Tesla Motors VP of Vehicle Integration, reported on the company's blog recently that the Tesla Roadster has finished taking and passed every test of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.Perhaps the most important requirements to meet are the crash tests, and as you can see, a number of Tesla Roaster prototypes were sacrificed to ensure that drivers and passengers alike would be reasonably safe in the case of an accident. Emergency cutoff systems have also been put in place for those worried about what happens to those 1.21 gigawatts behind their head in case of an accident. The Tesla Roadster also passed muster in other tests, like being able to defrost the front windshield quickly and adequately, using symbols on the instrument panel that adhere to federal standards, and having headlights that aren't positioned to blind oncoming traffic.That's one more hurdle jumped for the Tesla Roadster on its way from hyperbolic vaporware to actual production reality. With the FMVSS tests out of the way and a solution for the transmission issue in place, it doesn't seem like much can stop this revolutionary car from entering production on March 17th as promised.Check out more pics of the Tesla Roadster undergoing federal testing in the gallery below.[Source: Tesla via AutoblogGreenIn highly competitive Plano ISD, where the race for valedictorian has been decided by precious few hundredths — or thousandths — of a grade point, most students may not know exactly where they stand for much longer.
The district is considering dropping class rankings beyond Nos. 1 and 2.
State law requires the district to keep track of which graduating students make it into the top 10 percent. But under recommendations that trustees heard this week, only the valedictorian and salutatorian would know their exact positions.
Other students would know only their GPA, and whether they make the cut for the top 10 percent.
Instead, top-performing students could be recognized as graduating summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude.
A task force made up of campus counselors, principals and central office staffers recommended several changes to the district's class rank policy at a board work session Monday. The group surveyed parents, students and teachers, and also held focus groups on the topic.Naples, Italy
Out for a late night cioccolata with my handsome Italian companion, he suddenly leaned forward to kiss me. Finalmente! I had heard about how romantic Italian men are, and now I was being given a chance to test the theory. Fortunately, my charming companion was a talented kisser and did not disappoint. Alas for my cioccolata, it went unfinished!
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Fast forward a few months. I had been the recipient of endless kisses; soulful looks (oh, those Italian eyes!); moonlit nights looking out over il Mediterraneo; and lessons on how to say important things like, "amore," and "il mio ragazzo." During one of our Italian lessons, I had the chance to return the favor and drive him as crazy as he'd been driving me.
Me: Amore, I seem to have a hard time keeping the words for juice, sugar, soup, and pumpkin straight. Especially pumpkin. Could you remind me what they are?
Him: Juice is succo, sugar is zucchero, soup is zuppa, and pumpkin is zucca.
I frowned.
Me: But if you mean 'pumpkin', why don't you just say 'pumpkin'?
Him:...
Me: Gotcha!
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Ah, Italia — home of so much art, history, and worldly influence! I love to eat your food, visit your volcanoes, take in your art, be wowed by your history — and drive your people insane!
Below are other ways you can encourage the Italians you know and love to emote dramatically using a gesture known as The Facepalm™. If you're very good at it, you might even elicit an "O, dio!" and a look toward the heavens.
Driving Your Italian Lover Crazy:
– When discussing politics say, "What do Italians know about democracy?" (For bonus points add, "Everyone knows it was invented in the US!")
– Some point during every romantic interlude, burst into song with That's Amore.
– Say, "Yeah, it's good, but French wine is better."
– Enter a McDonald's in Italy and try to pay in dollars. Insist, "It's an AMERICAN restaurant, fercryinoutloud!"
– Douse all your food with ketchup.
– Shriek, "Don't you people have any idea how to drive?!"
– Apply pronounciation rules you learned in high school Spanish class: "Feh-tah-SEE-nee!"
– Ask if he'd like to pack some "paninis" and go on a picnic.*
– Cut your spaghetti with a knife.
– Put tomatoes and mozzarella in the refrigerator. Be forceful — who cares about flavor? We're talking hygiene, people!
– Insist that mozzarella is cheese.**
– Frequently tell your lover that you look forward to the day when you can move together to a country that knows a little something about civilization.
*Un panino, due panini. Saying "paninis" is like saying "sandwicheses."
**No, seriously. To Italians, it's something above and beyond cheese. Just because it's a meltable dairy product made with enzymes does NOT make it cheese. This issue has no shelf life — you can go on about it forever!
Cupid, whose head apparently exploded when he read the above list.
The possibilities are endless! I mean, yeah, yeah, flowers and candlelit dinners are nice, but if you REALLY seek passion and romance, just study the culture. You are guaranteed to bring out the craziness!
Baci e abbracci!
(ps: He seems to like me despite all this. Maybe he was crazy to begin with. ;)U.S. assistance to food banks rose in 2009 with Recovery Act funding, after a record number of Americans struggled to put food on the table in 2008, a new report found.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of Americans that have trouble putting food on the table shot up last year in an unprecedented spike to a record 17 million households, the government reported on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture report, which has been released annually since 1995, said the number of Americans that were hungry rose to 14.6%. In 2007, 13 million households or 11.1% of Americans had trouble getting enough food.
The one-year jump is all the more significant, given the number of hungry Americans had never been higher than 11.9% since these surveys began.
Of the near-15% of the nation that couldn't secure enough food last year, the USDA said one-third of them had "very low food security," meaning they reduced the amount that they ate or disrupted their eating patterns during the year. That group made up 5.7% of all U.S. households, which was also a record high.
More than 500,000 households that scaled back the amount that they ate were households with children, making up 1.3% of all U.S. homes with children.
The USDA said the main cause of hunger and food insecurity in the country is poverty.
Obama's call to action. President Obama called the report "unsettling," and said more needs to be done.
"My Administration is committed to reversing the trend of rising hunger," Obama said in a statement. "The first task is to restore job growth, which will help relieve the economic pressures that make it difficult for parents to put a square meal on the table each day. But we are also taking targeted steps to prevent Americans from experiencing hunger."
Obama urged Congress to pass a "strong" child nutrition bill to help ensure that American children don't go hungry.
To combat the nation's rapidly growing hunger problem, the Recovery Act allocated $20 billion to the nation's food stamp program, and hundreds of millions of dollars to food banks and school lunch programs.
One recipient of stimulus funds was the USDA's Emergency Food Assistance Program, which was allocated an additional $150 million from the $787 billion economic stimulus plan.
The 28-year old program, known as TEFAP, sends shipments of federally purchased food to states, which in turn gets the food in the hands of large food banks. The food banks then allocate the food to soup kitchens and pantries that serve people in need. The $150 million for TEFAP provided by stimulus about doubled the amount of money already allotted to the program this year.
Feeding America, a network of more than 200 food banks that advocates in Washington for food assistance programs, said its member food banks reported a 30% increase in the number of people seeking assistance earlier this year, and 72% of food banks had been unable to adequately meet demand before the stimulus bill was enacted.(CNN) -- You know the old saying -- if a deal is too good to be true, then it probably is too good to be true.
That's what happened to a major retailer's online shoppers Friday afternoon.
Sears.com inadvertently advertised Apple's 16GB iPad 2 for $69, much less than the regular advertised price of $744.99.
That low price got the attention of web shoppers and the deal went viral on Twitter and other social media websites.
Many people took advantage of the unbelievable deal, though a Sears spokesperson couldn't give an exact number.
Friday night, Sears posted a statement online telling customers the error was made by a third-party vendor and the deal will not be honored.
"We want you to know that, unfortunately, today one of the Marketplace third party sellers told us that they mistakenly posted incorrect pricing information on two Apple iPad models on the Marketplace portion of the website. If you purchased either of these products recently, your order has been cancelled and your account will be credited," the statement said.
Paula Knight of Riverview, Florida, was one of the disappointed customers. Her son has Asperger's syndrome and relied heavily on his iPad for his schoolwork, until it was stolen a few months ago.
So when Knight's friends told her about the great deal on Sears.com, she said she jumped on it.
Knight said immediately after she paid for the iPad, she received e-mail confirmations from both PayPal and Sears.
About six hours later, Sears sent her an e-mail to tell her that her order was canceled because of the mistake.
"I shop online all the time and I've never had anything like this happen," Knight said. "They want to blame a third party, but the order confirmation e-mail I got was from Sears."
"They are a huge company I thought I could trust and rely on," Knight said. "But if they don't honor this, I won't ever shop at Sears again. I just want my order honored."Thomas Juneau is assistant professor at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. From 2003 until 2014, he was an analyst with Canada's Department of National Defence.
The proposed $15-billion sale of light armoured vehicles (LAVs) to Saudi Arabia has brought significant attention – mostly negative – to Canada's partnership with the Arabian Peninsula kingdom.
Much of this criticism is valid – the human-rights situation in Saudi Arabia is undeniably abysmal.
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But to stop the analysis there and advocate for the cancelling of the deal, as many critics do, is misleading: There is a broader strategic rationale that justifies – as foul as it smells – upholding the LAV deal.
The U.S.-Saudi relationship is built on a fundamental bargain: Riyadh assures the stability of global oil markets in exchange for security guarantees from Washington. The partnership is far from perfect, and frustration has often been high on both sides. But almost non-stop crises – over human rights, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the war in Syria, Iran – have systematically failed to break the seven-decade-old partnership.
Canada has a vital interest in the stability of the global economy; it thus has a major stake in, and it benefits from, the partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia. As a result, the collapse of order in Saudi Arabia or the emergence of a rival regime instead of the Saud family would seriously hurt Canada. Ottawa has very limited ability to shape this dynamic between Washington and Riyadh, but it has a major interest in its perpetuation.
This is not to deny that the partnership is costly since it associates Canada, if only indirectly, with Saudi Arabia's appalling human-rights record and its many poor foreign-policy choices. Riyadh fuels sectarianism; it exports Wahhabism (the austere version of Sunni Islam that is the official religion of the state); private individuals and charities in the country have financed terrorist causes for decades by taking advantage of lax terrorism financing controls; it prosecutes a brutal war in Yemen where it has been accused of war crimes; and it is one of the least democratic countries in the world.
Yet critics focus on the costs of these disagreements – which are many – but neglect the benefits of alignment. The partnership with Saudi Arabia is a difficult arrangement, but the alternatives are worse: A collapsed or enemy Saudi Arabia would be damaging to Canada's interests, and it would not be more democratic. Canada and its allies are better off keeping Saudi Arabia close.
Viewed through this lens, the LAV deal is consistent with Ottawa's interests in the preservation of the partnership with Riyadh. It also supports Canada's vital interest in being, and being perceived as, a good ally: The deal represents an important Canadian contribution to the maintenance of the U.S. bargain with Saudi Arabia.
It is also good for Canada's defence industry, which represents more than 700 companies and more than 63,000 jobs contributing about $6.7-billion annually to gross domestic product. The sale of the LAVs would represent about 3,000 additional jobs for 14 years. The deal also boosts expertise and research and development in the defence industry. |
energy efficiency, against a 2005 projection.
But environmentalists argue that the relatively less ambitious targets for 2030 will make Europe’s goal of 80-95% decarbonisation by 2050 more difficult to reach, especially as the CO2 cut is the only one that would currently be binding on EU states. In that context, energy efficiency targets are seen as a bellwether issue.
The new figures were one part of a detailed European commission costs and benefit assessment for energy saving measures, which never saw the light of day. Environmentalists claim it was suppressed by the EU secretary general’s office to appease conservative European states and energy intensive industries that view efficiency as an expensive luxury.
In one draft version of an emailed communication seen by the Guardian, the secretary general’s office added a passage to the EU energy department’s preferred text which read: “There are risks in promoting too ambitious a target for energy efficiency because costs increase faster than the benefits. More specifically, the additional fossil fuel import savings of an energy efficiency target of going beyond 28% are smaller than the associated costs.”
This remains the UK’s position, although the EU hierarchy has since moved to support a 30% objective, after an intervention by Jean-Claude Juncker, the new president of the European commission.The slide towards American theocracy was nudged one more step forward by today's Supreme Court decision in support of the "freedom" of corporations with "religious" beliefs to restrict the rights of their employees. In essence, religious "beliefs" trump the obligations, rights, and responsibilities that come with being members of the polity and a broader political community.
The NY Times details the logic of the theocrats as:
The 5-to-4 decision, which applied to two companies owned by Christian families, opened the door to challenges from other corporations to many laws that may be said to violate their religious liberty. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the court’s five more conservative justices, said a federal religious-freedom law applied to for-profit corporations controlled by religious families. He added that the requirement that the companies provide contraception coverage imposed a substantial burden on the companies’ religious liberty. He said the government could provide the coverage in other ways.
On that point, Justice Ginsburg, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said the court’s decision “is bound to have untoward effects” in other settings. “The court’s expansive notion of corporate personhood,” Justice Ginsburg wrote, “invites for-profit entities to seek religion-based exemptions from regulations they deem offensive to their faiths.”
The dissent offers up this chilling observation:The corporateocracy and the 1 percent are using the tricks, smoke, and mirrors of "religious faith" to expand their power and protections from civil authority and the social compact.
The tactic is Orwellian and dystopian.
Alas, if corporations are indeed "people"--an insult to the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution which was put in place to protect the rights of newly freed black slaves--then their behavior is sociopathic. The sociopath will lie, dissemble, and exploit others for his or her own gain because that is their essential nature.
There are many complications that will arise from the Supreme Court's "Hobby Lobby" decision.
The language of "religious liberty" and "free enterprise" are deified in American political culture and discourse. Those words are blinding and disorienting; therefore, they are also concepts that are not critically interrogated.
For example, "religious liberty" and "free enterprise" were used to justify slavery, as well as Jim and Jane Crow. The move towards privatized schools, "urban academies", and publicly funded religiously based secondary and primary education are the direct heirs of the "freedom academies" that whites used as a means to resist integration and the Black Freedom Struggle in the South and elsewhere.
[I wonder how many African-Americans and others who support school privatization are aware of that ugly history and the intersection between neoliberalism and white supremacy in the present?]
In practice, the language of religious liberty and free enterprise are in many ways antithetical to a true and expansive view of freedom, liberty, and civil rights.
The Roberts and Scalia court is operating under an assumption that Christianity is the United States' semi-official religion and that it should be legislated and protected in a way that other faiths are not. This is, of course, a misreading of the Constitution--despite what the deranged members of the Fox News Christian Evangelical Dominionist American public would like to believe.
Unintended consequences may lay bare the hypocrisy of the Right-wing and its agents on the Supreme Court.
How would conservatives and their agents respond if a company with Islamic beliefs (however defined) decided to impose its religious values on white, Christian, American employees?
Sharia hysteria would spread in such a way as to make the present day-to-day Islamophobia of the Right-wing echo chamber appear benign and muted by comparison.
What if a Black cultural nationalist organization such as the Nation of Islam or the Black Israelites claimed that they possessed a "religious freedom" to actively discriminate against white people in the workplace or elsewhere?
The White Right would explode with claims of "reverse discrimination" and "black racism".
The end game of the Supreme Courts' surrender to the theocrats and religious plutocrats could be the complete dismantlement of the liberal consensus politics of the post World War 2 era.
Consider the following questions.
Is there a "religious freedom" to practice housing discrimination if you are a member of a white supremacist "Christian" organization that leases or sells property? Does "religious freedom" for corporate entities trump anti-discrimination laws governing gender, sexuality, disability status, or race?
The beautiful thing about religious faith is its malleability and vagueness. "Faith" is a belief which cannot be proven by ordinary or empirical means: this trait makes religion dangerous and disruptive to a functioning democratic-liberal polity.
Religion can be anything to anyone.
The Framers understood this fact. Thus, their shrewd choice to separate church and state in the Constitution.
Movement conservatism is no longer a centrist force, one interested in stability or "tradition". Its members are radicals who want to fundamentally destroy and transform the standing bargains and norms which have guided American society and politics for decades.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court, what was once the United States' most respected political institution, is soiling itself by surrendering to the American Right's radical agenda.We have identified a Y-chromosomal lineage with several unusual features. It was found in 16 populations throughout a large region of Asia, stretching from the Pacific to the Caspian Sea, and was present at high frequency: ∼8% of the men in this region carry it, and it thus makes up ∼0.5% of the world total. The pattern of variation within the lineage suggested that it originated in Mongolia ∼1,000 years ago. Such a rapid spread cannot have occurred by chance; it must have been a result of selection. The lineage is carried by likely male-line descendants of Genghis Khan, and we therefore propose that it has spread by a novel form of social selection resulting from their behavior.
2000 Hamblin MT
Di Rienzo A Detection of the signature of natural selection in humans: evidence from the Duffy blood group locus. 1998 Stephens JC
Reich DE
Goldstein DB
Shin HD
Smith MW
Carrington M
Winkler C
et al. Dating the origin of the CCR5-Δ32 AIDS-resistance allele by the coalescence of haplotypes. The patterns of variation found in human DNA are usually considered to result from a balance between neutral processes and natural selection. Among the former, mutation, recombination, and migration increase variation, whereas genetic drift decreases it. Natural selection can act to remove deleterious variants (purifying selection), maintain polymorphism (balancing selection), or produce a trend (directional selection). Clear examples of the latter are rare in humans, but probable cases, such as those associated with resistance to malaria (Hamblin and Di Rienzo) or unidentified pathogens (Stephens et al.), can be recognized by the “signature” they leave in the genome. The rapid increase in frequency of the selected allele and its linked sequences results in a haplotype that is found at higher frequency than would be expected from its degree of variation. We have now identified such a haplotype on the Y chromosome, but we suggest that its spread results not from a biological advantage, but from human activities recorded in history.
2002 Qamar R
Ayub Q
Mohyuddin A
Helgason A
Mazhar K
Mansoor A
Zerjal T
Tyler-Smith C
Mehdi SQ Y-chromosomal DNA variation in Pakistan. 2002 Zerjal T
Wells RS
Yuldasheva N
Ruzibakiev R
Tyler-Smith C A genetic landscape reshaped by recent events: Y-chromosomal insights into Central Asia. 2001 Mohyuddin A
Ayub Q
Qamar R
Zerjal T
Helgason A
Mehdi SQ
Tyler-Smith C Y-chromosomal STR haplotypes in Pakistani populations. 1998 Wilson IJ
Balding DJ Genealogical inference from microsatellite data. 2002 Qamar R
Ayub Q
Mohyuddin A
Helgason A
Mazhar K
Mansoor A
Zerjal T
Tyler-Smith C
Mehdi SQ Y-chromosomal DNA variation in Pakistan. 1994 Morral N
Bertranpetit J
Estivill X
Nunes V
Casals T
Gimenez J
Reis A
et al. The origin of the major cystic fibrosis mutation (ΔF508) in European populations. 2002 Zerjal T
Wells RS
Yuldasheva N
Ruzibakiev R
Tyler-Smith C A genetic landscape reshaped by recent events: Y-chromosomal insights into Central Asia. Figure 1 1999 Bandelt HJ
Forster P
Rohl A Median-joining networks for inferring intraspecific phylogenies. 2002 Qamar R
Ayub Q
Mohyuddin A
Helgason A
Mazhar K
Mansoor A
Zerjal T
Tyler-Smith C
Mehdi SQ Y-chromosomal DNA variation in Pakistan. 2002 Zerjal T
Wells RS
Yuldasheva N
Ruzibakiev R
Tyler-Smith C A genetic landscape reshaped by recent events: Y-chromosomal insights into Central Asia. 2002 Y-Chromosome-Consortium A nomenclature system for the tree of human Y-chromosomal binary haplogroups. Median-joining network (Bandelt et al. Figure 2 1986 Morgan D Geographical distribution of star-cluster chromosomes. Populations are shown as circles with an area proportional to sample size; star-cluster chromosomes are indicated by green sectors. The shaded area represents the extent of Genghis Khan's empire at the time of his death (Morgan In surveys of DNA variation in Asia, we typed 2,123 men with ⩾32 markers to produce a Y haplotype for each man; these included 1,126 individuals described elsewhere (Qamar et al.; Zerjal et al.). Over 90% of the haplotypes showed the usual pattern (Mohyuddin et al.): most males had a unique code; and the few haplotypes present in more than one individual were generally found within the same population. However, we also saw one pattern that was novel in two respects. First, there was a high frequency of a cluster of closely related lineages, collectively called the “star cluster” ( fig. 1, shaded area). Second, star-cluster chromosomes were found in 16 populations throughout a large geographical area extending from Central Asia to the Pacific ( fig. 2 ); thus, they do not result from an event specific to any single population. We can deduce the most likely time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) and place of origin of this unusual lineage from the observed genetic variation. To do this, it is first necessary to distinguish star-cluster chromosomes from the remainder. For this, we used the criterion that haplotypes linked to the central one in the shaded area of the network without gaps would be included ( fig. 1 ). We then used two approaches to calculate a TMRCA for the star-cluster chromosomes. The program BATWING (Wilson and Balding) uses models of both mutation and population processes, which were specified as described elsewhere (Qamar et al.). With this program, we estimated ∼1,000 years for the TMRCA (95% confidence interval limits ∼700–1,300 years). The use of alternative demographic models with constant or exponentially increasing population size changed the estimate by <10%. A method that does not consider population structure (Morral et al.), ρ, suggested ∼860 (∼590–1,300) years. In both calculations, we assumed a generation time of 30 years. The origin was most likely in Mongolia, where the largest number of different star-cluster haplotypes is found ( fig. 1 ). Thus, a single male line, probably originating in Mongolia, has spread in the last ∼1,000 years to represent ∼8% of the males in a region stretching from northeast China to Uzbekistan. If this spread were due to a general population expansion, we would expect to find multiple lineages with the same characteristics of high frequency and presence in multiple populations, but we do not (Zerjal et al.). The star-cluster pattern is unique.
1865 Edleston RS Amphydasis betularia. 2001 Slatkin M
Bertorelle G The use of intraallelic variability for testing neutrality and estimating population growth rate. −237; if the mutation rate were 10 times lower, the probability would still be <10−10. Thus, chance can be excluded: selection must have acted on this haplotype. This rise in frequency, if spread evenly over ∼34 generations, would require an average increase by a factor of ∼1.36 per generation and is thus comparable to the most extreme selective events observed in natural populations, such as the spread of melanic moths in 19th-century England in response to industrial pollution (Edleston). We evaluated whether it could have occurred by chance. If the population growth rate is known, it is possible to test whether the observed frequency of a lineage is consistent with its level of variation, assuming neutrality (Slatkin and Bertorelle). Using this method, we estimated the chance of finding the low degree of variation observed in the star cluster, with a current frequency of ∼8%, under neutral conditions. Even with the demographic model most likely to lead to rapid increase of the lineage, double exponential growth, the probability was <10; if the mutation rate were 10 times lower, the probability would still be <10. Thus, chance can be excluded: selection must have acted on this haplotype.
2000 Jobling MA
Tyler-Smith C New uses for new haplotypes: the human Y chromosome, disease and selection. 1986 Morgan D Could biological selection be responsible? Although this possibility cannot be entirely ruled out, the small number of genes on the Y chromosome and their specialized functions provide few opportunities for selection (Jobling and Tyler-Smith). It is therefore necessary to look for alternative explanations. Increased reproductive fitness, transmitted socially from generation to generation, of males carrying the same Y chromosome would lead to the increase in frequency of their Y lineage, and this effect would be enhanced by the elimination of unrelated males. Within the last 1,000 years in this part of the world, these conditions are met by Genghis (Chingis) Khan (c. 1162–1227) and his male relatives. He established the largest land empire in history and often slaughtered the conquered populations, and he and his close male relatives had many children. Although the Mongol empire soon disintegrated as a political unit, his male-line descendants ruled large areas of Asia for many generations. These included China, where the Yüan Dynasty emperors remained in power until 1368, after which the Mongols continued to dominate the country north of the Great Wall for several more centuries, and the region west to the Aral Sea, where the Chaghatai Khans ruled. Although their power diminished over time, they remained at Kashghar near the Kyrgyzstan/China border until the middle of the 17th century (Morgan).
2002 Qamar R
Ayub Q
Mohyuddin A
Helgason A
Mazhar K
Mansoor A
Zerjal T
Tyler-Smith C
Mehdi SQ Y-chromosomal DNA variation in Pakistan. 1998 Mousavi SA It is striking that the boundary of the Mongol empire when Genghis Khan died ( fig. 2 ), which also corresponds to the boundaries of the regions controlled by later Khans, matches the distribution of star-cluster chromosomes closely, with one exception: the Hazaras. We, therefore, wished to compare Genghis Khan’s Y profile with the star cluster. It is not possible to examine his remains directly, but history provides an alternative. The Hazaras of Pakistan have a Mongol origin (Qamar et al.), and many consider themselves to be direct male-line descendants of Genghis Khan. A genealogy documenting these links has been constructed from their oral history (Mousavi). A large proportion of the Hazara profiles do indeed lie in the star cluster, which is not otherwise seen in Pakistan ( fig. 2 ), thus supporting their oral tradition and suggesting that Genghis Khan carried the star-cluster haplotype.
2002 Zerjal T
Wells RS
Yuldasheva N
Ruzibakiev R
Tyler-Smith C A genetic landscape reshaped by recent events: Y-chromosomal insights into Central Asia. 1994 Wilson DS
Sober S Re-introducing group selection to the human behavioral sciences. The Y chromosome of a single individual has spread rapidly and is now found in ∼8% of the males throughout a large part of Asia. Indeed, if our sample is representative, this chromosome will be present in about 16 million men, ∼0.5% of the world's total. The available evidence suggests that it was carried by Genghis Khan. His Y chromosome would obviously have had ancestors, and our best estimate of the TMRCA of star-cluster chromosomes lies several generations before his birth. Several scenarios, which are not mutually exclusive, could explain its rapid spread: (1) all populations carrying star-cluster chromosomes could have descended from a common ancestral population in which it was present at high frequency; (2) many or most Mongols at the time of the Mongol empire could have carried these chromosomes; (3) it could have been restricted to Genghis Khan and his close male-line relatives, and this specific lineage could have spread as a result of their activities. Explanation 1 is unlikely because these populations do not share other Y haplotypes, and explanation 2 is difficult to reconcile with the high Y-haplotype diversity of modern Mongolians (Zerjal et al.). The historically documented events accompanying the establishment of the Mongol empire would have contributed directly to the spread of this lineage by Genghis Khan and his relatives, but perhaps as important was the establishment of a long-lasting male dynasty. This scenario shows selection acting on a group of related men; group selection has been much discussed (Wilson and Sober) and is distinguished by the property that the increased fitness of the group is not reducible to the increased fitness of the individuals. It is unclear whether this is the case here. Our findings nevertheless demonstrate a novel form of selection in human populations on the basis of social prestige. A founder effect of this magnitude will have influenced allele frequencies elsewhere in the genome: mitochondrial DNA lineages will not be affected, since males do not transmit their mitochondrial DNA, but, in the simplest models, the founder male will have been the ancestor of each autosomal sequence in ∼4% of the population and X-chromosomal sequence in ∼2.7%, with implications for the medical genetics of the region. Large-scale changes to patterns of human genetic variation can occur very quickly. Although local influences of this kind may have been common in human populations, it is, perhaps, fortunate that events of this magnitude have been rare.Venezuela’s self-styled socialist experiment faces its toughest test yet this weekend in a parliamentary election held amid crippling inflation and spiralling crime that appear to have turned the tide against the late Hugo Chávez’s “Bolivarian revolution”.
Polls show the opposition stand to win a majority of seats in the country’s unicameral National Assembly but President Nicolás Maduro, Chávez’s handpicked successor, has said that he would “not hand over the revolution” if the ruling party loses at the polls.
Opposition candidates are leading by 25-30% in most races, despite what critics say has been a campaign skewed by government intervention on behalf of ruling party candidates, a lack of access to media and incidents of violence.
“Barring some very large election fraud, the opposition will win by a wide margin. The ruling party majority is almost certain to get wiped out,” predicted Michael Henderson, an analyst with Verisk Maplecroft, a risk consultancy.
In Caracas’s central Bolivar Square, Daniel Estevez, a 47-year-old government employee who previously supported Chávez, speaks quietly to avoid being overheard by passersby. “The opposition offers an alternative,” he says. “We’re tired of having to stand in queues with the government not resolving anything. I say we give the other guys a chance to see what they can do.”
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and relies almost entirely on oil for hard currency. That worked well when oil prices were high, allowing Chávez to set up a broad social welfare system that won him a loyal following.
But Maduro took power as oil prices began to plummet and since his election the country’s citizens have faced severe shortages of basic goods, long lines at the supermarket and triple-digit inflation.
Venezuela’s fortunes have fallen fast and hard. According to a study by researchers at Venezuela’s top three universities released last month, a full 75% of Venezuelan homes now live in poverty, compared to 27% two years ago.
That has fueled frustration with Maduro and the revolution he vowed to continue. And while the country is deeply polarized politically, standing in long queues to find scarce subsidised goods such as nappies, cooking oil and many medicines is a daily routine of survival that crosses party lines.
Venezuela voters divided on everything but their dissatisfaction, survey finds Read more
According to a poll released on Thursday by the Pew Research Centre, a full 85% of Venezuelans are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country.
Despite the difficulties, however, many Venezuelans stand by the president and his party, which blame the shortages of basic goods on what they see as an economic war to destabilize the government.
“It’s clear that the biggest problem is having to stand in line to buy food but we also see that it’s a strategy of the rich so that the poor people get pissed off and turn on Maduro,” said Mariana Navas, a 56-year-old housewife in the Carapinto neighbourhood in western Caracas.
Navas rejects the idea that the opposition can win Sunday’s elections. “That’s not a possibility,” she said. “The (Venezuelan) people woke up thanks to Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías and we will not go back to the past,” she said. “We are ready to defend our revolution even with our own lives.”
That attitude worries César Herrera, a motorcycle taxi driver in Caracas, who says he’ll vote for the opposition but wonders what sort of reaction Chavistas will have if they lose control of the assembly. “I think there’s going to be a shit-storm,” he says while waiting for passengers in the busy Plaza Venezuela of the capital.
“Those guys up there in the government aren’t going to let go that easily,” he says.
Even if the opposition does gain control of the assembly, their power to improve people’s lives could be severely limited. The PSUV currently controls every branch of government and state institutions.
If the opposition win, even before new legislators are sworn in, current lawmakers could extend the term and scope of enabling laws that allow the president to bypass the assembly, or the country’s high courts could simply determine laws passed as unconstitutional.
“They can pass all the laws they like in the assembly but it doesn’t mean the government will apply them,” says Phil Gunson, researcher for the International Crisis Group.
The opposition campaign has battled a system skewed against them.
In the run-up to the vote, top opposition leaders were jailed and others were banned from running for office. Tensions were heightened when opposition activist Luis Díaz was shot and killed at a rally in Guárico state on 25 November. The government condemned the attack but said it was the result of a gang dispute; opposition leaders said it was a political assassination orchestrated to scare people from their campaign events and the polls.
Those who do go to cast their vote may find the ballots confusing. In the city of Maracay two candidates named Ismael García are on the ballot, next to each other. One is the incumbent representative of the MUD opposition; the other for a new party called MIN. The parties’ logos bear an uncanny resemblance to one another. The attempt to stump voters was so blatant that electoral authorities fined the newer party.
The 27-party opposition grouped under the Democratic Unity Roundtable will also have to overcome personal and political rivalries and public disapproval. The two most public faces of the opposition, Henrique Capriles and Leopoldo López, each had approval ratings of just 36% in the recent Pew poll.
That’s only slightly better than Maduro, whose approval rating in the poll is 29%; other polls say it has sunk as low as 22%.
And even if the president is voted out of office, it remains unlikely that the country will see a rapid change in its fortunes, cautioned Henderson.
“It is not clear that an opposition win would be a silver bullet for Venezuela’s economic problems,” he said.
With a lack of concrete proposals to pull the country from the morass it is in, the opposition has relied on sending the message that anything is better than Maduro, said Henderson.
For many voters that appears to be convincing enough to let the opposition have a chance.
Estévez, the government worker in Bolivar Square, said that he supported Chávez – who died in 2013 of cancer – because he offered an alternative to the cronyism and corruption of government’s past.
“But things have gotten out of hand with Maduro,” says Estévez. That’s why we have to look for something different.”I agree with R. Cooper! This game is great for exercise! We bought this hoping that it would compensate for being indoors over the winter months. IT DOES... if you DO it! :)
The silly dances ARE fun and they are our favorites, but the tween girls' dances are just too humiliating for the boys (ages 11, 13, 15) to WANT to dance to. There are a few songs, too, that I think, "What did they just say?" I don't know if I heard it right, but I don't think it's great to be listening to it over and over, even though the kids assured me the songs had the "bad words" edited out. I wish all the lyrics were E rated and the dances that have girls were more unisex, so I took a star away on its OVERALL rating.
HOWEVER, after using it for 1 hour a day for ONE week - you can see its affect on my son. He's trimming down already! He's having fun doing it. He's excited to get to it everyday. He's dedicated and it's encouraging and fun to see!
The controls are a challenge for everyone to use. The more you use it - the easier it becomes in our experience.
One reviewer wrote it was difficult for the kinect to identify all 4 players when they danced at the same time. We noticed when we did a 4 person dance (well ANY dance) - that the room lighting made a noticable difference. It seemed fine when there was enough lighting for the kinect to see you.
We're really glad we bought this game. We really appreciate having something FUN to do INDOORS for exercise that makes you look forward to doing it, rather than avoiding it! Thanks, UBI Soft!Share This Story Tweet Share Share Pin Email
A curated list of things to do for the weekend. Enjoy!
Foodie Friday at Blue Ball Barn
Food and booze will collide for a good cause Friday night at the Blue Ball Barn (1914 W Park Dr., Rockland) at Alapocas Run State Park. The first Foodie Friday starts at 6 p.m. with small plates and special menu items from local food trucks like Wildwich, The Brunch Box, Cajun-Sno and Koi on the Go, along with beer and wine from Peco’s Liquor Store. It benefits the annual Man & Woman of the Year campaign by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Admission is $5 and featured dishes cost $4-$5.
Wilmington rapper Dreemy Yoey will be at the first Dirty Delaware show at Lavish.
(Photo: Courtesy of Weird and Awful)
‘Dirty Delaware’ debut hip-hop show
Mike Miller, who mans the hip-hop heavy “Dirty Delaware” account on Twitter, is taking the leap from cyberspace into the clubs by curating a show from 7-11 p.m. Friday at Lavish (1206 N. Union St., Wilmington). Fans can look forward to performances by locals including Ken Masters, Dreemy Yoey and Quadie Diesel. Also on the bill: Brizz Rawsteen, Geno, Ricky J. Reyes, Thwaglord, Timmy the Third, Tre Squad, Turt Luchiano, Blizzy Hunnid Band$, Val Strasser and Sounds by Yair. Tickets are $15. twitter.com/dirtydelaware
Animal Collective stops in Delaware Friday night.
(Photo: Kevin Winter, Getty Images)
Animal Collective at World Cafe Live at the Queen
Friday night’s concert by critically-acclaimed band Animal Collective at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington has been sold out for months. The good news? Tickets have appeared on secondary ticket sites like Stubhub for as low as $22.50. The experimental, Baltimore-based pop group is touring in support of its new album, “Painting With." Electronic composer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith opens. So if you’re a super fan and this show slipped past you, look beyond the Queen’s box office to see this off-centered act in your home state.
A competitor crosses the finish line of the Monkey Hill Time Trial as people gather in Brandywine Park to soak in the atmosphere at last year's event.
(Photo: WILLIAM BRETZGER/THE NEWS JOURNAL, WILLIAM BRETZGER/THE NEWS JOURNAL)
Wilmington Grand Prix
The bikes will be flying around downtown Wilmington this weekend when the annual Grand Prix, a three-day event, begins Friday with the Monkey Hill time trials. That's when the party starts, too. The kickoff party at Brandywine Park (1001 N. Park Ave., Wilmington) runs from 5-8 p.m. with live music, a craft beer garden and food trucks. So basically you can socialize with other people sweat. On Saturday, the biggest day of the event, cyclists will speed through downtown while kids have fun at the free activities and festival portion of the event. There are also Kids Sprints, a chance for ages 9-15 to race, starting at noon (registration opens at 10 a.m.) at the Urban Bike Project Tent, 5th and Market streets. Kids can bring a bike or borrow one, helmets provided. Sunday brings the Governor's Ride and Gran Fondo to close out the weekend.
Pooches in the Park returns to Lewes on Saturday.
(Photo: Submitted)
Pooches in the Park
Dogs and their human friends are taking over Lewes Canalfront Park (211 Front St., Lewes) on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. for Pooches in the Park. Pet portraits, games and prizes are part of the day, as are demos by Delmarva Dock Dogs and law enforcement K-9 units. Dogs should be on up to 8-foot non-retractable leashes. One dog per handler. (302) 645-2795.
Grapes and Grains Wine & Beer Festival
Brews and vino. That's what's going to be flowing Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. in Middletown. Get your tickets early for this and treat yourself to a sampler mug, unlimited samples and music. Food vendors will be there, too, in case you get the munchies. The festival is at Peachtree Station and Metro Pub & Grill (17 Wood St., Middletown). Tickets are $45-$55. grapesandgrainsde.com.
Matt Dell'Olio as Dr. Givings and Karina Balfour as Catherine Givings in Bootless Stageworks' "In the Next Room."
(Photo: Submitted photo)
"In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)"
Bootless Stageworks isn't the most traditional theater company in town, a fact highlighted by their current production "In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)." Catch the show that reviewer Holly Quinn called "a fun and historically illuminating production for adults" at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church (1301 N. Broom St., Wilmington). It runs through May 21.
Anita Mann hosts Springo Bingo on Sunday, a fundraiser for AIDS Delaware.
(Photo: WILLIAM BRETZGER/THE NEWS JOURNA)
Spring Bingo with Anita Mann
It's Springo! time once again. The fundraiser for AIDS Delaware mixes bingo with drag, and is hosted by drag personality Anita Mann. Call or visit the site for tickets as this does tend to sell out. The event is at 6 p.m. Sunday at Cranston Heights Fire Hall (3306 Kirkwood Highway, Prices Corner). (302) 652-6776 or aidsdelaware.org.Over the end credits of the new HBO documentary “Becoming Warren Buffett,” we hear the incongruous sound of Buffett singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” in a cracking voice. It’s a nod to a moment, earlier in the film, when Buffett’s daughter, Susie, says that she has a sweet spot for the song because her father used to sing it to her when she was a little girl. And, while it might seem like an odd way to end a film about the world’s most famous investor, it’s actually surprisingly fitting. The documentary, which was made with the coöperation of Buffett and his family, deals with Buffett the businessman and investor, but it’s Buffett the man and his complicated, and often difficult, relationships with the people he loved most that are the film’s real subject.
We are still treated to the greatest hits of Buffett’s business career. We hear about his early entrepreneurial endeavors—selling soda and gum door to door, delivering five hundred papers a day—as well as about his love of numbers and his interest, from a very young age, in the stock market. Buffett describes his discovery of Ben Graham, one of the fathers of value investing, from whom he learned the idea of buying “cigar butts”—companies that are on their last legs but are nonetheless so undervalued by the stock market that you can still make money off them (as you can get one last puff from a discarded cigar butt). And we get a picture of his partnership with Charlie Munger, who was instrumental in moving Buffett from buying bad businesses at cheap prices to buying great businesses—most famously, Coca-Cola—for reasonable prices, a move that was the foundation of his immense fortune.
But what makes “Becoming Warren Buffett” far more interesting than a simple hagiography is the exploration of Buffett’s personal life, and, in particular, his relationship with his first wife, Susan, who died in 2004. Personal relationships were not something that Buffett navigated naturally. At one point in the movie, he says, “I don’t have a mind that relates to the physical universe very well,” and the same seems to have been true of the emotional universe. Buffett, by his own description, was socially awkward as a kid (he attributes much of his later success to taking a Dale Carnegie public-speaking course as a young man), and the film is a portrait of a person for whom financial questions “are easy,” as Buffett says. “It’s the human problems that are the tough ones.”
In some ways, Buffett was the archetypal absent-minded professor, so locked inside his own head that he wasn’t always aware of what was going on around him. (He says he doesn’t recall the color of the walls of his bedroom or his living room.) This could be hard on the people around him. “Physical proximity with Warren doesn’t always mean he’s there with you,” Susan says, in an old “Charlie Rose” interview. His children reiterate this sentiment. His son, Howard, says that it’s difficult to connect with Buffett on an emotional level, “because that’s not his basic mode of operation.” Susie, his daughter, says that you had to speak to him in sound bites, because if you went on for too long you would “lose him to whatever giant thought he has in his head at the time.”
To some degree, Buffett’s cerebral, inward nature seems to have been there from the start. But the film also suggests, gently, that it may have been amplified by his family life when he was a boy. Buffett’s father—whose portrait still hangs on the wall of his son’s office at Berkshire Hathaway—was, by his account, a great dad, affectionate and inspirational. “The best gift I was ever given was to have the father I had when I was born,” Buffett says. But his mother, who was brilliant and ambitious, was another story. She was plagued with chronic headaches, and, Buffett says, “You didn’t want to be around her when she was having the headaches. She would lash out.” Buffett’s sister Doris is more blunt, saying that she remembers “being terrified” of her mother. “When I’d wake up in the morning, I’d listen to hear her voice. I could tell by her voice if it was going to be a terrible day or not.” It hardly seems like a stretch to speculate that Buffett’s emotional reserve might have been, in part, a reaction to the turmoil at home.
But Buffett has, over the years, pushed back against that reserve, and the movie examines him as a man trying, hal |
: an unpolished newcomer who shared their hard-line views on immigration. He espoused enthusiasm for Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and said a discussion on deporting some Muslims was in order.
An executive at a water-filtration plant who moved to Wisconsin two years ago, Nehlen launched his campaign in April and opened an office in Kenosha, a town on the lip of Lake Michigan that sits on the district’s eastern border. His pitch was that he was a rabble-rousing political outsider who would advocate on behalf of working-class people.
Paul Nehlen challenged Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in Wisconsin's Republican primary for his seat in the House of Representatives. (Paul Nehlen)
One early campaign video, a nearly two-minute spot posted on YouTube, was titled “Truth Resurrection” and featured Nehlen in sunglasses riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle around the district with his tattooed biceps exposed, past a shuttered General Motors facility in Janesville and nearby farms.
As hard-charging rock music played, Nehlen lamented in his flat monotone how Wisconsin’s southeastern corner was once a manufacturing hub, and he challenged Ryan to a debate — or, if not that, an arm-wrestling match.
The clip has since garnered more than 275,000 views and was useful in giving Nehlen traction with activists elsewhere who intensely dislike the Republican establishment and were eager to rally behind an effort to topple Ryan.
Some on the right began to whisper Nehlen’s name as potentially “the next David Brat,” a reference to the little-known college professor who beat then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) in his 2014 House primary.
Breitbart News, a widely read conservative website that has excoriated Ryan, embraced the prospect, however remote, of a primary stunner and began to provide its readers with near daily updates on Nehlen’s quest. Several conservative stars with frayed ties to the party’s leadership, such as former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, fervently bought in.
“I think Paul Ryan is soon to be ‘Cantored,’ as in Eric Cantor,” Palin predicted to CNN in May.
But whatever appeal Nehlen had as a blue-collar voice — he often spoke of the dozen years it took him to obtain a college degree and of his time on factory floors — was countered by his campaign’s edgy and confrontational approach.
Nehlen and his supporters in recent weeks have inched close to Ryan’s home as part of protests that have drawn the notice of the U.S. Capitol Police security detail that protects the speaker. Nehlen has made the fence lining Ryan’s backyard a recurring theme of his stump speech, going on about how Ryan seems to be protected from illegal immigrants while others are not.
Nehlen’s tactics and rhetoric made him a non-traditional Republican primary candidate, rarely framing Ryan as liberal or a “Republican in name only” and instead as a “soulless globalist” who is colluding with corporate interests to pass immigration reform and usher free-trade pacts through Congress.
That style also drew criticism. The editorial board of the Gazette of Janesville wrote in late July that Nehlen’s “theatrics outside his opponent’s home this past weekend were particularly despicable,” adding that “Nehlen appears to have minimal grasp of the realities of legislating and law enforcement.”
Nehlen struggled in near obscurity up until last week, winning support in the conservative blogosphere but finding it difficult to be seen as a rising threat in Wisconsin. Ryan’s network of support, including a bevy of local talk-radio hosts plus state and community Republican leaders, is deep and passionate, having been cultivated by the congressman since he was first elected in 1998.
Then Trump tweeted to his millions of followers. On Aug. 1, he sent out a warm message to Nehlen. A day later, Trump heaped praise on Nehlen’s campaign in an interview with The Washington Post, calling it a “very good campaign, obviously,” and thanked Nehlen for a “very scholarly” letter he had sent.
Both of Trump’s gestures jolted Nehlen into the spotlight he had been seeking, and the conservatives backing him felt rejuvenated, making plans to take advantage of the sudden attention and make a big push in the race’s final lap.
Firebrand commentator Ann Coulter headed to the district to campaign with Nehlen, as did conservative filmmaker Ron Maxwell, who directed “Gettysburg” (1993). Nehlen’s own tweets caught fire with Trump’s backers and Palin once again urged her supporters to contribute.
But the boomlet fizzled Friday night when, under pressure from party leaders irate at his meddling, Trump gave Ryan a muted endorsement at a rally in Green Bay.
The agony was made worse by Nehlen’s trip there. After driving three hours north in a dark suit to show his support, he was kicked out. Nehlen, in an interview, bitterly blamed the state GOP and not Trump for his removal, though the Trump campaign took responsibility, citing his lack of a ticket.
Nehlen plowed forward over the weekend, appearing on cable channels and national talk radio as he crisscrossed the state with Coulter at his side. Addressing his unconventional persona at a Saturday rally at his headquarters, Nehlen said he did not “live my life like I’m going to run for Congress.”
The linking of Nehlen to David Brat’s famed bid, as a way of keeping supporters excited in spite of Trump’s turn toward Ryan, was obvious. His name was invoked by the candidate and Nehlen’s campaign had Brat’s former campaign adviser speak at a rally.
Meanwhile, Ryan campaigned quietly, declining Nehlen’s invitations to debate and rekindling his relationships across the district. He held town halls and shook hands at gatherings like Serbian Fest, held in the parking lot of a Serbian Orthodox church, where he dismissed Nehlen’s support as coming from “this alt-right crowd,” out of the mainstream.
Ryan’s campaign did not sit idle. Just in case the political winds became unpredictable, it poured more than $600,000 into television advertising in the past month.
But Nehlen’s upset was not to be. Standing at the Holiday Inn Express here Tuesday surrounded by bunting and hot finger food as they waited for their candidate to appear, Nehlen’s supporters said they only wished Trump had intervened earlier — and resisted the calls for him to endorse Ryan.
“Trump shouldn’t have done it. The whole thing gave me a bad feeling,” said Danielle Hoffman, 25, wearing a navy blue Nehlen T-shirt. She had flown here from New York with her mother to volunteer.
“Nehlen is the one. He’s the one who should be winning tonight,” she said.
Another woman nearby, who refused to let her name be published, agreed as she spoke about the threat of illegal immigration. She had come here from South Carolina to join the cause.
Even in his hometown, on a night of victory, Ryan was being chided by conservatives from around the country. They had lost but they were not retreating.BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A young hospital patient is tased by Baltimore City Police, then falls into a coma and dies. The department launches an investigation into the officers’ actions at Good Samaritan Hospital.
Christie Ileto has more from police leaders.
The death of a 19-year-old hospital patient this week is the focal point of a Baltimore City Police investigation after they say one of their officers tased the teen who was in a violent altercation with Good Samaritan Hospital security earlier this month.
“When they arrived, there was at least five security guards who were engaged in a physical altercation with this 19-year-old attempting to restrain him,” said Lt. Eric Kowalczyk, Baltimore City Police.
Top brass say the teen had been given an unknown amount of medication before they arrived. When officers left:
“The person was breathing when the officers left the hospital,” said Dep. Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez, Baltimore City Police. “It was not learned that the individual was in a coma and was possibly brain dead until several days after this incident.”
Baltimore Police wouldn’t say if the teen was tased multiple times or for how long, only that he was brought to the hospital initially to be treated for emotional distress.
The hospital tells WJZ they’re saddened by the case: “There are sometimes circumstances that threaten the safety of our staff, which necessitate police intervention.”
“What we will be doing now is to look at what role, if any, any of the contributing factors were,” said Rodriguez.
Police say the teen was taken to the hospital from the home he was staying at. It’s unclear if it was a foster home or a group home.
Police are interviewing witnesses and the responding officers. Their findings will be turned over to the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Other Local News:Early in his acceptance speech Thursday night, President Obama gave a nod to his administration’s backing of education reform. “Some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math and reading,” he said, calling on the country to add 100,000 math and science teachers in the next decade. Then he moved on to other topics, like foreign policy and Medicare, that he clearly views as more vital to the campaign as it enters the home stretch.
It is hardly a surprise that education isn’t a heated subject in the presidential race. Not when the economy is still sluggish, and the fight over the role of government so central. Besides, Republicans and Democrats alike have tried to fix education: George W. Bush with “No Child Left Behind,” and Obama with his administration’s “Race to the Top.” Those “real gains” notwithstanding, progress remains fitful and frustrating. Too many disadvantaged children remain poorly educated. Too many high school graduates don’t attend — or drop out — of college, which has become the prerequisite for a middle-class existence.
Which is why the publication of a new book, entitled “How Children Succeed,” written by Paul Tough, a former editor of the Times Magazine, is such a timely reminder that education remains the country’s most critical issue. In “How Children Succeed,” Tough argues that simply teaching math and reading — the so-called cognitive skills — isn’t nearly enough, especially for children who have grown up enduring the stresses of poverty. In fact, it might not even be the most important thing.
Rather, tapping into a great deal of recent research, Tough writes that the most important things to develop in students are “noncognitive skills,” which Tough labels as “character.” Many of the people who have done the research or are running the programs that Tough admires have different ways of expressing those skills. But they are essentially character traits that are necessary to succeed not just in school, but in life. Jeff Nelson, who runs a program in partnership with 23 Chicago high schools called OneGoal, which works to improve student achievement and helps students get into college, describes these traits as “resilience, integrity, resourcefulness, professionalism and ambition.” “They are the linchpin of what we do,” Nelson told me. Nelson calls them “leadership skills.” Tough uses the word “grit” a lot.
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On some level, these are traits we all try to instill in our children. (Indeed, Tough devotes a section of his book to the anxiety of many upper-middle-class parents that they are failing in this regard.) But poor children too often don’t have parents who can serve that role. They develop habits that impede their ability to learn. Often they can’t even see what the point of learning is. They act indifferently or hostile in school, though that often masks feelings of hopelessness and anxiety.
Advertisement Continue reading the main storyThe Internet got all sorts of excited last week when rumors began to surface that Emma Watson was in talks for the role of Anastasia Steele in the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. Not so fast, says Watson. “I haven’t read the book, I haven’t a read a script, nothing,” Watson tells EW. “There are so many movies you become attached to when I’ve literally never even received a phone call. It was the same way with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — I never even saw a script!”
Watson is plenty busy: she has The Perks of Being a Wallflower in theaters this fall; she recently wrapped Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring and is currently working on Darren Aronofsky’s Noah. She adds that even some friends and family asked her about Grey since so many different items linking her to the film have popped up online. “I told them just because there are 60 articles on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s any less true than if there are three or four.”
And a word to the wise for those who believe everything that they read about the actress: “The thing is I’m not going to go out there every time someone attaches me to a film to say no or release a statement.”
Read more:
‘Fifty Shades of Grey’: Let’s cast the whole movie!
Now ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ has its own fan fiction. Where does it end?!
All about: Emma WatsonShould I skip the rest of the page and just read this FAQ?
No! Definitely read the whole page :) This is just where we're putting responses to some common questions.
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Fight for the Future for now, and we're looking for more funding for more teams, and longer runs.
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We can talk about this during the interview process, but are open to discussing what works best for you.
How does the structure of an A-Teams work and will you help match me with a co-founder?
We know the ideal set-up for an A-Team’s leadership is a Political Strategist working with either a Technical or Design Co-founder which is why we’re looking for both types of candidates. If we decide you are strong match for one, we’ll help match you with the other co-founder during interview process and finalize the political issue and opportunity as well. You’ll need other members (volunteers and potentially part-time contract staff, depending on the plan) for your team and part of your role will be to recruit the rest of your team. But we can help with that too.
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There are many other valid ways to change the world of course, but we think this particular one (A-Teams) is very effective and not getting used as much as it should. We want to change that, and our resources are limited, so we have to stay focused on this singular mission.
Do I really have to send in an application?
That would be best, but if you have questions or just want to introduce yourself, email us: ateams@fightforthefuture.org
What's your metric for success, for a team?
Ultimately, policy change, or a significant shift in the national debate. Or, on a shorter timeline, at least the precursors to policy change: visible, palpable political pressure on important targets.
What's your metric for success, for yourselves?
Being able to make a dozen solid new A-Teams happen on top issues while continuing work in our issue area (Internet freedom) would be a solid success. If that works, we think we’ll be able to go much farther. We think the limiting thing will be finding the right people, and the right structure.
How many groups will you try to create?
As many as we can, but we want to have some significant level of contact with each group in the first months/year at least so probably half a dozen teams in the first year.
Are you funding teams outside the US?
No, just US based teams. If you live outside the US, feel free to email us. We can potentially match you with a team as a volunteer or work with you on FFTF campaigns.
Is there a deadline?
The next application deadline is Friday, June 1st. But apply soon because the world moves fast.
Is this a scam?
No, but don't take our word for it. Please take the time to carefully Google us and our work. (Understanding us and our work will probably help with your application too, if you choose to apply.)
Do A-Teams have to use the Internet in some way?
Yes, but that doesn't mean you need any technical expertise to start. Part of what we think is happening now is that the Internet has made collective action much easier, creating all kinds of new opportunities for creative activism. So if you can code that's great (some of us are learning now using this delightful book) but you really just need to be able to write, and speak, and think about how to use whatever skills you have to tap the Internet's potential. (But you should definitely be able to think creatively about how to use the Internet to help you win. It's a very big deal.)
What do you get out of this?
Epic victories we will die knowing we helped make happen. Also, more company! We're committed to remaining small. This is our way to grow: helping start other A-Teams.
Our stretch goal is that we can make starting an A-Team a thing people know they can do, the way doing a startup, working for a community-based nonprofit, or going to grad school are things people do.
What if I don't get the job?
Please, find some way to keep doing it anyway. The world needs you.A recent poll revealed that 38% of Floridian voters believed that Ted Cruz might actually be the Zodiac killer. Enough said
The year was 2013. It was a more innocent time in conservative America. No primary candidates had declared themselves, Donald Trump was still safely tucked away in a reality show, and Senator Ted Cruz gave the keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the Republican Lollapalooza.
His speech was mostly forgettable, arguing that Republican success was inevitable if they simply bullied the Democrats hard enough. He salted it with references to pop culture and firmly denied that he was a “wacko bird”, as John McCain had recently alleged. He cracked a weird joke comparing a newly svelte Newt Gingrich to Anne Hathaway’s character in Les Miserables.
Alas, nothing he would say that night would stick to Ted Cruz the way this one small joke, tweeted from anonymous Twitter account @redpillamerica, would:
Red Pill America (@RedPillAmerica) #CPAC Alert: Ted Cruz is speaking!! His speech is titled: 'This Is The Zodiac Speaking'
This, according to the Daily Dot and confirmed by my own searches, appears to be the first time someone on the internet decided to put Ted Cruz’s name in the same sentence as the Zodiac killer’s.
“I think it was a convergence of being a fan of the Fincher film [2007’s Zodiac], the birtherism craze of 2012, and the sociopathic vibe one gets when Ted Cruz walks, talks, and breathes,” the person behind @redpillamerica told me. “While Trump is a buffoon, Cruz is the kind of guy that makes you want to check the closet, under the bed, and make sure the doors are locked.”
You might call that one man’s opinion. But if you frequent certain precincts of the internet lately, you’ll see that it has blossomed into quite a craze.
Kevin Tang (@Yolo_Tengo) whew! went on a great run today :) pic.twitter.com/jNuGxgdUQX
People all over the country are slyly linking the Republican presidential candidate’s name with that of the serial killer who terrorized California for several years in the late 60s and early 70s, and who was never definitively identified.
Let’s say you’ve checked out Twitter in the middle of the most recent Republican debate. You might have come across a tweet like this:
david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) Ted Cruz just finished his latest GOP debate. ZODIAC is currently airing on Showtime 2. it’s all adding up.
Or this:
Eamon Sheehan (@OgEamoney) Zodiac Killer Ted Cruz eats booger during presidential debate. he's hiding the DNA evidence folks https://t.co/FPj9mdZMB5
Or let’s say that in your daily rounds of several respectable news outlets – among them the Washington Post and Vox Media – you found serious journalists who took it upon themselves to “debunk” the notion that Cruz is in fact a serial killer.
Last week, for extra fun and mouseclicks, the respected polling outfit Public Policy Polling found that 38% of voters in Florida believed that Ted Cruz might be the Zodiac killer. (In fact, 10% said that yes, they thought he was; 28% were “not sure”.)
And, inevitably, there is a Facebook page.
These things might lead you to believe that there really is a constituency in America who have been fooled by this meme into thinking that the Zodiac is several hundred delegates away from the presidency. Perhaps there is. More likely, however, is that these people are kidding. In fact, the first rule of the “Ted Cruz is the Zodiac” meme club is this: you don’t actually believe Ted Cruz is the Zodiac.
“To those Cruz trolls who insist that we ‘look at the facts’ that Ted was not even born when the Zodiac was committing these horrid crimes... yes we know,” @redpillamerica volunteered to me over a Twitter direct message. (The first confirmed Zodiac killing took place in 1968; Cruz was born in 1970.) “Lighten up!”
But the meme works on a higher level. It satirizes the fact that political discourse in America has sunk so low that this kind of spurious accusation can actually get traction. Ted-Cruz-is-the-Zodiac types often say they’re only doing what birther Republicans did to Obama in 2008. They repeatedly insisted that Obama’s birth certificate was faked, and that he was born in Kenya. Gradually, certain members of the public began to believe it. So claiming that Ted Cruz is the Zodiac simply mimics the mass-panic technique Republicans have already perfected, several meme proponents argued.
The point has landed pretty sharply. Now that so many people have posted about Cruz and the Zodiac, angry Cruz supporters often appear in comments sections, on Facebook pages and elsewhere, to defend their man. Another “Ted Cruz is the Zodiac” enthusiast, Tim Faust, recently tweeted the following:
Kill Tim Faust (@crulge) it's been a confusing week, but one thing is unambiguous: i am only made stronger by people like this pic.twitter.com/D4cE8ab5Li
Faust, a data scientist, has played a particularly altruistic role in all this. He came across the meme on Twitter. Faust is, to say the least, not a Cruz fan. “The man is deplorable, contemptible,” he wrote to me. “This election is resplendent with abuses of integrity for political gain, and yet Cruz is still the worst of the bunch. How?! This would be some dark-ass comedy, if tens of millions of lives weren’t at stake.”
Faust promptly enlisted an artist friend, Rory Blank, to design a T-shirt. A fundraising project was born. Faust is a longtime pro-choice activist, so he decided sales of the shirt would benefit the West Fund, which helps women pay for abortions in Texas.
Initially, Faust says, he expected to make perhaps 20 T-shirts. But the project caught on, and he told me when he ended the sale on 2 March he had sold about 7,500 T-shirts. That comes out to an estimated donation of about $69,000.
Faust is satisfied with what he’s done so far. He also says that he has been urged by many to reopen sales. The logistics of mailing 200 T-shirts a day, however, exhausted him. He’s not sure he’ll be able to reopen. “Commercial sales to privately fund reproductive health is its own kind of libertarian dystopia,” he said. “This is no replacement for the actual good work of on-the-ground organizing. It was just a fun way to burn off some steam.”
Fun indeed, but some people are beginning to wonder if Cruz, faced with the internet ubiquity of the accusation, will somehow be forced to deny it. A favorite offshoot of the joke is to point out that Cruz has never denied that he’s a serial killer, so the possibility remains.
“Selfishly, I would love for him to actual[ly] deny it but the chances are slim,” @redpillamerica said. “Trump on the other hand? I think we’ve crossed the Rubicon on Trump’s daily insane vile diatribes. As Florida looms, I would say there is a very good chance Trump accuses Ted of the murders.”
Though @redpillamerica did not want to be identified by name, he told me he’s a New Yorker, 43, and has worked in politics his whole professional life. So he might actually know what he’s talking about.Lewis Holtby: Would welcome the opportunity to grace the Premier League
Schalke midfielder Lewis Holtby admits there is a chance that he could be lured to the Premier League by boyhood idols Everton.
The 21-year-old is a two-cap Germany international, but holds dual nationality.
His father is English and is a keen follower of Everton.
Holtby claims he too was bitten by the Toffees bug as a youngster and would welcome the opportunity to grace Goodison Park at some stage in his career.
He has refused to rule out the possibility of that happening in 2012/13, with David Moyes reported to have money to spend.
Aim
Holtby is reluctant to be drawn into a discussion regarding his future, but he is prepared to admit that a move to England would hold obvious appeal.
"I have always said that my aim is to come to the Premier League one day because I love the league," said Holtby, who missed out on a place in Joachim Low's Euro 2012 squad.
"My father is English and of course my favourite teams are Everton and Arsenal.
"My father was born in England and was an Everton fan since the age of five. He immediately infected me with the Everton virus! Since then I have been an Everton fan and have always followed their games.
"My thoughts now are first with Schalke but you never know."Bitcoin Adoption in Thailand Led by Tourism Industry
The Bitcoin scaling debate affects some businesses more than others, but few real-world businesses have the volume to watch Bitcoin’s momentum react to it like the tourist hotspot, the Pattaya Beer Garden. Bitcoin.com discussed adoption trends in Thailand with Peter Noid, the proprietor of this large and popular restaurant and bar located in Pattaya, a resort city south-east of Bangkok.
Also read: Bitcoin Startups Challenging Big Banks Profits
Bitcoin Accepted at the Pattaya Beer Garden
With seating for 400 and “around 2,000 visitors a day,” the Pattaya Beer Garden started accepting bitcoin in early 2014 when the Thai government first eased its stance on Bitcoin’s legality. “I was an early Bitcoin supporter,” Noid told Bitcoin.com. “We started accepting it as soon as the Thai government said it was not illegal to do so.”
In 2013, the Thai central bank declared the use of bitcoin illegal in Thailand, but changed its opinion in early 2014 to make it not illegal. However, buying bitcoin in Thailand and then selling it outside the country was still strictly prohibited, Noid explained. The revised stance “enabled us to begin accepting bitcoin,” he recalled. While there is currently no official law governing Bitcoin in the country, the central bank’s opinion is revered, and early adopters there have had to tread lightly.
The infrastructure for Bitcoin acceptance has grown but merchants are still very cautious to this day. “Bitcoin is well established in Thailand with a number of good local exchanges that have good liquidity,” Noid described. However, “merchant acceptance is very low. Just a few of us in Pattaya and a few more in Bangkok,” he added.
Noid uses Bitpay for merchant processing. “We hold 100% in bitcoin. I have never cashed out,” he conveyed, noting that he has been a big believer in Bitcoin’s future. While only a small percentage of his business is currently done in bitcoin, it is still at a frequency far higher than most bitcoin-accepting establishments receive. The beer garden gets “on average 1 or 2 bitcoin transactions a day,” he revealed, adding that:
I love the whole idea of Bitcoin and I am 100% convinced that merchants like me can do a lot to raise awareness.
To that end, Noid placed “we accept bitcoin” stickers predominantly around the premises which has led to “hundreds of inquiries about what the heck is Bitcoin.” This allows him to introduce many new people to the digital currency. “I enjoy doing that,” he said.
Tourism Industry Leads Bitcoin Adoption
“Tourism is the 2nd biggest industry in Thailand and the biggest industry by far in Pattaya,” Noid noted. The beachfront town receives roughly 8 million visitors each year from every corner of the globe.
“Bitcoin customers reflect that diversity although I would say Americans are probably the largest group of users we see,” he said. “On any day you could easily find visitors from 25 different countries at the Pattaya Beer Garden.” This makes the establishment one of the few places where one can watch global Bitcoin adoption trends in the wild on a daily basis.
The beer garden is an expansive tourist spot in one of the most congested parts of the main Pattaya strip, with a dining area overhanging the water.
The tourist hangout is patronized by customers from diverse demographics. The group consists of “a lot of couples which are predominantly 40+ American and European males and 20+ Thai females,” Noid divulged. “Quite a few Thai family groups and younger foreign men as well.”
He sees a lot of young Russian couples and older Chinese men too, and it’s this latter group that he often sees paying in bitcoin. “There are not a lot of places you can do that in Thailand so it’s a novelty for a lot of Bitcoiners,” Noid conveyed. “I have personally met many of these people and had some great discussions.” The beer garden gets “a lot of visitors who come specifically to spend their bitcoin,” he added.
Widespread Credit Card Fraud
In Thailand, like most countries, credit cards are widely known and accepted. “However a lot of tourists are reluctant to use [credit cards] because of fraud which is also well known here,” he explained, adding ATM fraud to the list of problems with the legacy financial system in Thailand. “For me, bitcoin is clearly the superior choice but of course most of our customers do not know that,” he said. “Bitcoin should be more widely adopted as it is so easy and safe for tourists.”
That’s why the Pattaya Beer Garden accepts zero-confirmation transactions for all bitcoin payments. “Any other choice would not be practical in a retail situation. We have never had one go bad and we have well over a thousand transactions,” he shared, illustrating the ample goodwill that still exists in the Bitcoin community.
Bitcoin Adoption Stalled
“It [Bitcoin adoption] grew quite rapidly until the ‘don’t buy a coffee with Bitcoin’ meme grew as well,” he recalled. With a saddened heart, he added, “We have seen little growth in bitcoin transactions this past year.” In fact, he said:
Adoption has ceased growing here.
“Paying for your beer or coffee may not be an important economic function but it makes Bitcoin real in people’s minds,” Noid stated. In his view, the current impasse in the scaling debate is the culprit that is “doing immense harm” to Bitcoin adoption. Specifically, “high fees and long confirmation times are definitely impacting adoption. That saddens me greatly,” he admitted.
“I was quite active getting other merchants to accept bitcoin here but I no longer advocate this,” he continued. “The present gridlock in Bitcoin is not something I wish to explain to potential merchant adopters.”
Noid fully understands that Bitcoin “cannot scale on chain to Visa/Mastercard levels,” and contemplated “second layer solutions may well be the answer or any other of the myriad proposals.” However, he made his stance clear that Bitcoin needs a quick fix in the meantime. “While that gets sorted out we need to scale on-chain right now to allow adoption to continue increasing and create more customers for whatever other scaling solutions actually get implemented,” he said, adding that:
Right here at the coal face of Bitcoin acceptance I can feel the momentum Bitcoin once had slipping away. I am very pissed off about that.
Do you think the scaling debate is holding back other merchants like it does in Thailand? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Albin Lageder, and Bill Pearson
Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.The Ether Review #68 — Numerai, The Last Hedge Fund
Arthur Falls Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jul 6, 2017
Xander Dunn and Richard Craib discuss Numerai, a new kind of hedge fund built by a network of data scientists.
The Numerai platform crowdsources machine learning by releasing encrypted data sets to data scientists, incentivising them to develop machine learning algorithms to analyse the data. Scientists then bid their predictions to the hedge fund by staking funds, and are paid returns in Numeraire, the platform’s native cryptocurrency, for correct predictions.
By abstracting its financial data to be only machine-readable, Numerai ensures that human biases and overfitting are overcome, and that short-term and long-term returns are equally weighted.
With the ultimate goal of “owning all of the money in the world”, the Numerai hedge fund has high hopes for the future.
numer.ai
twitter.com/xanderai
twitter.com/richardcraib
itunes.apple.com//podcast/the-eth…id899090462?mt=2TEHRAN, June 19 (Reuters) - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defended Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday as the rightful winner of Iran’s presidential election and called for an end to the biggest street protests in Iranian history.
Here are some highlights from Khamenei’s address.
"I am urging them to end street protests, otherwise they will be responsible for its consequences, and consequences of any chaos.
"The result of the election comes out of the ballot box, not from the street."
"If there is any bloodshed, leaders of the protests will be held directly responsible."
"Differences of opinion do exist between officials which is natural. But it does not mean there is a rift in the system.
"Ever since the last presidential election there existed differences of opinion between (President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad and (former president Akbar Hashemi) Rafsanjani.
"Of course my outlook is closer to that of Ahmadinejad in domestic and foreign policy."
"The enemies (of Iran) are targeting the Islamic establishment’s legitimacy by questioning the election and its authenticity before and after (the vote)."
"After street protests, some foreign powers... started to interfere in Iran’s state matters by questioning the result of the vote. They do not know the Iranian nation. I strongly condemn such interference.
"American officials remarks about human rights and limitations on people are not acceptable because they have no idea about human rights after what they have done in Afghanistan and Iran and other parts of the world. We do not need advice over human rights from them."
"It’s a wrong impression that by using street protests as a pressure tool, they can compel officials to accept their illegal demands. This would be the start of a dictatorship."
"Iran’s laws do not allow vote-rigging... With these laws, how could it be possible to have such vote-rigging." (Reporting by Fredrik Dahl, Parisa Hafezi, Dominic Evans and Hossein Jaseb in Tehran; Editing by Richard Williams)MOORESVILLE, N.C. — President Obama visited an innovative middle school in central North Carolina on Thursday to demonstrate the Internet-based education programs that he is proposing to make available nationwide.
Speaking to an audience of excited teenagers in a steamy gymnasium, Mr. Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to expand an existing program to provide discounted high-speed Internet service to schools and libraries, even if it meant increasing the fees that for years had been added to consumers’ phone bills. He said the initiative could lead to better technology at 99 percent of schools in five years.
“There’s no reason why we can’t replicate the success you’ve found here,” Mr. Obama said to the students’ cheers. “And for those of you who follow politics in Washington, here’s the best news — none of this requires an act of Congress.” To further applause, he added, “We can and we will get started right away.”
Mr. Obama was joined by his education secretary, Arne Duncan, whose department would work with the F.C.C. to revamp the initiative, known as the Schools and Libraries program or E-rate, to provide local schools with Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, among the fastest commercially available. With the federal money that Mr. Obama proposes to redirect for this purpose, schools also could pay for wireless networks throughout their buildings and campuses.Wine Announcement
This is release 1.0-rc2 of Wine, a free implementation of Windows on Unix. What's new in this release (see below for details): - Bug fixes only, we are in code freeze. Because of lags created by using mirrors, this message may reach you before the release is available at the public sites. The sources will be available from the following locations: http://ibiblio.org/pub/linux/system/emulators/wine/wine-1.0-rc2.tar.bz2 http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/wine/wine-1.0-rc2.tar.bz2 Binary packages for various distributions will be available from: http://www.winehq.org/site/download You will find documentation on http://www.winehq.org/site/documentation You can also get the current source directly from the git or CVS repositories. Check respectively http://www.winehq.org/site/git or http://www.winehq.org/site/cvs for details. If you fix something, please submit a patch; instructions on how to do this can be found at http://www.winehq.org/site/sending_patches Wine is available thanks to the work of many people. See the file AUTHORS in the distribution for the complete list. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bugs fixed in 1.0-rc2: 2493 Multi-select listview: Shift-arrow up only selects top two items 3003 Random crash during gameplay in Alien vs Predator Gold 3270 Problem with minimized top-level |
ship unfold in 2016, as the second shift is supposed to take command, while the crew of Overture speak in confidence to the ship’s therapy computer.
The key phrase here is “supposed to.”
Stretch Goal!
There is nothing magical about $45,000 - it is simply the minimum for which we can deliver Personal Space. Every dollar we raise over our goal will go toward value onscreen. It will go into the set, the studio, the sound equipment, and the lighting gear. If we raise enough, it also could prevent us from needing to do additional fundraising to cover post-production costs such as editing, color correction, sound mixing, music composition, and visual effects.
And if we raise $50,000 - just $5,000 over our original goal - then we will open up a new reward to backers.
If that happens, then anyone who pledges $30 or over will have a chance to become a part of the soundtrack! During an ominous scene, we’d add your chanting to a vocal part of the score, for a haunting choir effect, similar to the way The Dark Knight Rises crowdsourced their choir. So if that sounds exciting, keep spreading the word!
Starry-eyed scientist and second shift commander Gail Gartner (Clyne) is eager and excited to take charge and steer Overture ever closer to its destination. Gartner and the rest of her crew - flight engineer and American hero Leonard Freeman (Yaeger), ambitious but aloof botanist Deborah Li (Thai), and oddball sophist doctor Stan “Blasto” Blaszkiewicz (Persaud) - are in for a rude awakening when they realize that first shift commander Robert King (Hatch) doesn’t trust them with the fate of the mission, the ship, or his life. So he refuses to go into cryosleep, and Overture’s crew descends into petty squabbles and trickery which risks devolving into outright sabotage. They must solve their problems themselves in the isolated depths of space, or risk waking the much-feared Captain (Penikett), who might not find a solution they would like.
Meanwhile, on Earth, the space program sold Overture to a reality TV company, Actaeon Entertainment, known for airing shows like Say Maybe to the Baby and Did Aliens Build This? Actaeon hijacks the scheduled update of the ship’s therapy computer, AMI (Vox/Benning), to create more drama and conflict among the Overture crew with the aim of broadcasting their private therapy sessions as a reality show.
No one has told the crew that this is happening, but the hosts of the show - bubbly and personable Stephanie Park (Aks), passionate science-minded Trevor Richards (Bailey), and meek scientist Kelly Schreckengost (Morgan) - won’t let a little thing like that get in the way of their jobs. Probably.
Overture is now far past the locations of the other furthest human-built spacecraft. She has crossed out of the solar system, and into the space between stars. The Second Shift is going to take the ship into a vast, mysterious structure only hypothesized to exist: the Oort Cloud.
Personal Space will run 28 episodes, each 4-7 minutes long, for a total runtime of about 170 minutes - longer than a feature film. The series will be released in “real time”, as if the episodes are airing live as the recordings from the ship arrive on Earth.
The episodes deal with homesickness, the growing conflict between Gartner and King, and roommate issues in space. Personal Space is about the sacrifices we make in order to live with other people.
The show will be shot vlog-style, meaning that most scenes take place from the perspective of AMI, the therapy computer. We hear about things happening all over the ship from the characters pouring out their feelings to us. When the characters do interact with each other onscreen, it is generally within the therapy room. We'll be avoiding the use of greenscreen wherever possible, opting instead for practical effects and sets.
The show will be available worldwide for free, on YouTube's platform. Our videos will also be distributed on ShareTV.
Personal Space is a thrifty production, not a cheap one. By using our Kickstarter funds in a strategic way, we can create a show that looks as good as anything on TV. Building a good-looking set from scratch would cost more than we can afford even if we hit our goal. Instead, we will start with a set that was used for another production. We'll acquire this set for less than the cost of its raw materials. It will need to be redressed, repainted, and modified so its aesthetic is late 80s rather than 70s. There's work to be done to make the set uniquely ours. So the images below, which show the set as-is, are a worst case scenario for how the show is going to look.
It's also much too clean for a ship that's been a home to four people for 25 years, so we're going to have to take our lunch breaks in it and deliberately spill coffee. Now that's a challenge we look forward to!
Outside of the therapy room, there will be scenes in Mission Control, as well as two spacewalk sequences, which we'll go all-out on. We want them to be visually striking. And if we substantially exceed our goal, we'll look into building additional interior sets. $45,000 is not a magic number - it's just the hard minimum for which we can make this show. The more we raise, the better the show is going to look.
ShareTV has generously agreed to distribute our show as an original series, and TV Tropes has agreed to promote it in the vein of other Troper-created works. But this is an independent passion project, and if we want it to get made, we're going to have to fund it ourselves.
Personal Space was structured to be as realistic as a show about interstellar travel can be. All the shipboard systems are based on technology that has at least been proposed, if not built. Overture is not capable of breaking the speed of light - not even by exploding hundreds of nukes behind her drive plate. And if that method of creating thrust sounds absurdly awesome, well, it's based on a real proposal from the mid-20th century called an “Orion drive”.
Other aspects of the show were also inspired by real science. The idea that even well-qualified, intelligent people would start to annoy each other after being locked together for extended periods of time is backed up by experiments like Biosphere. AMI, the ship’s therapy computer, is based on an early therapy chatbot named ELIZA from the 70s. The Oort Cloud, Gartner’s area of study, is a real thing - at least in theory, since no one has seen it. Hence her curiosity.
Although there are moments of artistic license, when real scientists have proposed blowing nukes up to take a ship to another star system, it's not really necessary to make big departures from science to tell an exciting story.
We've also created Science Marches Han, a prequel miniseries, with the purpose of explaining the show's science. The show is a Bill Nye homage, created to look as if it aired on public television from 1989 - 1991. Four episodes of the miniseries will come out during our Kickstarter campaign.
Personal Space features a disabled character in its principal cast, Leonard Freeman, played by Kurt Yaeger, a disabled actor. Freeman was involved in an accident on a return trip from Mars, and his leg had to be amputated by a pilot who knew only basic first aid, guided by doctors on Earth, with a six-minute communication time delay. Freeman survived, but such an injury would normally ground an astronaut permanently. He successfully argued that the space program would benefit from sending a national hero on Overture, and went through rigorous training to prove he was capable of the job. In the end, he prevailed.
There have been other portrayals of disabled characters in science fiction, but many stories tend to show characters transcending disability rather than living with it. For example, someone in a wheelchair miraculously walks again by the end, or a blind character has bat-like hearing that makes them effectively able to see. Such portrayals, though well-intentioned, don’t always reflect disability as it is actually lived and experienced. Personal Space portrays Leonard Freeman as an engineer who happens to be disabled, not as a cyborg.
Freeman (Kurt Yaeger) training for Overture
Personal Space was created by Tom R. Pike, Zack Wallnau, and Dana Luery Shaw. We'd always wanted to make something set in space, but everything we wrote tended to be too big and expensive. When we tried to take big, expensive story concepts and cram them into a webseries format, we ended up with stories that clearly wanted to be something bigger. We didn't want to create a cheap scifi webseries that wished it were a big blockbuster movie - it would only end up showing off how cheap it was.
Eventually, we stopped trying to work against the constraints of the webseries medium. We asked instead, what kinds of stories can be told well with a budget we could actually raise?
Zack came up with an idea to do the show vlog-style for the most part, with us seeing the therapy records of a spaceship crew. This limited the number of sets we had to build, while still allowing us to tell an expansive story. With that puzzle piece in place, we put together a writer's room and got to work.Innovate ABQ requests statements of interest
Wanted: Developers to work with older property on Route 66, west of University of New Mexico, east of downtown Albuquerque
As the Innovate ABQ initiative unfolds, the effort has reached a critical point. The University of New Mexico and its partners purchased the seven-acre property at the northwest corner of Broadway and Central Ave. The group established a non-profit corporation, Innovate ABQ, Inc., operating under the New Mexico Research Parks Act. UNM’s Board of Regents put together a board of directors to make policy decisions for the property. And an architectural design firm is working on a master plan for the property that will be presented in March to the UNM Board of Regents.
Now, the Innovate ABQ board has made its first move to find private development partners to work with by launching a formal Request for Statements of Interest & Qualifications.
It could be the opportunity of a lifetime. The goal of Innovate ABQ is to build an innovation district in the heart of Albuquerque to give people who want to start and build businesses a place to work with others who are doing the same thing. At the heart of that district will be the Broadway and Central property.
“A critical part of Innovate ABQ is putting students who want to build businesses into an environment that will let them work with each other and with business people who can support their efforts,” said UNM President Robert Frank. “We have to create an environment where the ingredients for an innovation economy can combine and mix.”
The effort will have all the University can give to it. The Office of the Provost is creating new innovative courses, tracks and programs at UNM. These will provide learning opportunities for students who want to become innovators and entrepreneurs. One goal of the RFSO is to find developers willing to lease the ground and build that live/work space on the property.
Universities don’t always push this hard to develop an economy, but Frank believes UNM has no choice. He said, “We want our graduates to have good jobs waiting for them, so we need to do what we can to nurture an opportunity for our students to create those jobs for themselves.”
Frank said he would like to see UNM grow westward along Central toward the downtown property. UNM’s business school, the Anderson School of Management, has more than 1,800 students in class this spring. The university has 25,000 students in class on the main campus. Across the street, on the UNM North Campus, nearly 800 medical students, nursing students and pharmacy students help staff the only regional trauma hospital in the state. Less than a mile away, Central New Mexico Community College has 25,000 students, also preparing for the workforce.
It’s the largest, youngest workforce in the state, concentrated into a roughly three square mile area. The trick will be to find a way to channel all that raw energy and talent into jobs and companies to form an economy that can support New Mexico.
The RSOI document is available for developers with an extraordinary imagination. It’s not often the opportunity to change the face of an entire state economy comes along.With his inauguration now less than three weeks away, a new survey shows a majority of the American people are far from confident that Donald Trump, a former reality television star who won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, is up to the major tasks entrusted to the President of the United States.
According to results released by Gallup on Monday, "less than half of Americans are confident in [Trump's] ability to handle an international crisis (46%), to use military force wisely (47%) or to prevent major scandals in his administration (44%)."
Those numbers are far lower than measures taken on Trump's most recent predecessors—Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton—all of whom had percentages close to 70% in each of those categories prior to their taking office.
Even in areas where those polled expressed higher confidence in Trump, he still came up with much lower ratings than those who came before him.
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As this breakdown shows:
As Gallup notes, these figures are consistent with other polling showing Trump with historically low overall approval ratings both before and since his election victory.
Last month, a separate Gallup poll found that people also had a historically low approval of how President-elect Trump was handling his transition, a figure that is normally higher than overall approval numbers.Earlier this week, model Munroe Bergdorf made history when she was announced as the first openly transgender woman to front a L’Oréal UK campaign.
The announcement received considerable press coverage, and L’Oréal was praised for the campaign, themed around diversity.
However, this week the Daily Mail published details of a Facebook post Bergdorf had written after August's violent far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she apparently called for white people to "admit their race is the most violent and oppressive force of nature on Earth".
The post has since been deleted, but the Daily Mail claimed to have text from it:
"Because most of ya'll don't even realise or refuse to acknowledge that your existence, privilege and success as a race is built on the backs, blood and death of people of colour. Your entire existence is drenched in racism. From micro-aggressions to terrorism, you guys built the blueprint for this s***.
"Come see me when you realise that racism isn't learned, it's inherited and consciously or unconsciously passed down through privilege.
"Once white people begin to admit that their race is the most violent and oppressive force of nature on Earth… then we can talk.
"Until then stay acting shocked about how the world continues to stay f***** at the hands of your ancestors and your heads that remain buried in the sand with hands over your ears."As a Ruby programmer, I often hear that Ruby and Ruby on Rails are very slow, but are they really? After a few years working with Ruby code I think that the problem is more complex. In this short article I would like to show you where the main problems are and how not to fall into their trap. I hope that after reading it, you will look at code in a different way.
Why is Ruby slow?
Before looking at code, you have to understand what the biggest historical problem of Ruby is. When you look at the documentation for version 1.9, you will see that the core team added a virtual machine that executes the code faster. But the main change occurred from version 2.1 and 2.2 when a new garbage collector (GC) was implemented to Ruby. It changed the language’s performance dramatically but it did not change the way that programmers write the code. When I look at some of my code, I'm not an exception. The key here is to refactor the code, not only to shorten it, but also to optimize the performance. Always when you estimate a project, remember to add extra time for refactoring and testing. The client will probably complain about it but you save their money on fixing and increasing the speed of the application.
You might be thinking that this is not possible - there must be a problem with the language and not with my code. So let’s take a look at the example. Here is a very simple program:
Now let’s run it on a different Ruby version and performance. I won’t test the code on 1.8.x because you probably won’t work with such an old version.
As I mentioned before, from version 2.1 Ruby started to be very fast. Implementing a new GC rapidly changed Ruby’s performance. To be more sure about it, let’s execute the same code with the GC disabled:
After disabling the GC, we can see that the execution time for all versions is almost the same. So the first step for speeding up your Ruby app is to update Ruby to ad least 2.1.
How to speed up?
Now that you know that Ruby’s main problem is the GC, so when you write code you have to remember that. The less memory you use, the less time GC will need to clear it. Even the example above can be optimized to work faster.
First let’s look where the problem with the code is:
The rows that are generated inside the block are intermediate results that the program has to store in memory and which the GC has to clear. That extra results add 1GB of memory. So how can you rewrite it to get rid of that extra memory?
The new code is much longer and uglier, so while you can think that refactoring should work a different way, let’s first look at the execution of the code:
After the code change, we can see even better times than when the GC is disabled. Less memory, less execution time. This simple rule should always be in your mind.
When should we optimize?
We all know that optimization is important but when should you actually refactor your code from the optimization side? For me, the first clue is the cache key. When your cache key is long and you have to remember what rule you used while clearing the cache, you probably have implemented bad code. Not always will you get rid of caching, but the code before caching should be better, and maybe after refactoring the keys will be shorter.
The second sign is when you have big models and controller – the more code, the more probable it is that they are not optimized. A very quick example are loops. Depending on what way you iterate it, Ruby can copy a whole array to memory; imagine an array of 100, 000 which Ruby copies at every step. A much better approach is to shift an element so on every interaction, Ruby copies less data. This approach is very often used in functional programming. If you would like to know more about it, check out my other article.
I hope that this brief introduction will help you in writing Ruby code. If you would like an article with more examples, please let me know in the comments below.
Example's source: Ruby Performance Optimization by Alexander DymoAir show days & times, and feeds info Big Brother Canada 4 premieres March 2 at 9pm.
Feeds are free, but require a VPN to watch from outside Canada. We recommend Hide My Ass because it's safe, secure, and easy - just set to a Canada server and click "Connect". They also have great customer service for any questions or problems. Be careful with free VPNs as they can contain viruses, malware, spyware, and/or open up your system as a conduit for other content.
Once your VPN is set to Canada, feeds will be at the show's
Shows air on Global (Canada) Sundays 7pm, Wednesdays 9pm, and live audience/taped evictions Thursdays 8pm. The first eviction is March 3.
After Dark will air every night on Slice.
Side Show will air Fridays at 10pm on Slice with Arisa Cox, Peter Brown, and Sarah Hanlon.
Air show streams should be available but links will change as we go. Check
If you have Roku you can add
Archived air shows will be posted on the BB Canada official site after they air, and will also require a VPN outside Canada. Various uploaders may post air shows on YouTube, Daily Motion, etc. because it's safe, secure, and easy - just set to a Canada server and click "Connect". They also have great customer service for any questions or problems.Once your VPN is set to Canada, feeds will be at the show's official site (Canada) Sundays 7pm, Wednesdays 9pm, and live audience/taped evictions Thursdays 8pm. The first eviction is March 3.will air every night on Slice.will air Fridays at 10pm on Slice with Arisa Cox, Peter Brown, and Sarah Hanlon.should be available but links will change as we go. Check Hamsterwatch main page to see if there are stream(s) posted shortly before each show, under "Quick Links & Bookmarks" section on left sidebar.you can add CanadaTV in USA for $2 per month to watch the air shows live (including west coast replay). Shop Roku devices at Amazon will be posted on the BB Canada official site after they air, and will also require a VPN outside Canada. Various uploaders may post air shows on YouTube, Daily Motion, etc. __________________
i'm just here for the cheap entertainment.. the cheaper, the betterWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama put aside the victory celebrations on Wednesday and began crafting a White House team to help him lead a country mired in a deep economic crisis and two lingering wars.
President-elect Senator Barack Obama stands on stage with his family as he is greeted by supporters during his election night rally after being declared the winner of the 2008 Presidential Campaign in Chicago, November 4, 2008. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
The day after a sweeping election triumph that will make him the first black U.S. president, Obama named the leaders of his transition effort and offered U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel the job of White House chief of staff, party sources said.
Emanuel is expected to accept the offer, the source said, as Obama begins to lay the groundwork for a smooth takeover of power on January 20.
Obama led Democrats to a decisive victory on Tuesday that expanded their majorities in both houses of Congress, as Americans responded to his call for change and emphatically rejected Republican President George W. Bush’s eight years of leadership.
Raucous street celebrations erupted across the country, but Obama has little time to enjoy the triumph. Once in office, he will face immediate pressure to deliver on his campaign promises and resolve a long list of lingering problems.
“This victory alone is not the change we seek — it is only the chance for us to make that change,” Obama told more than 200,000 jubilant supporters in Chicago’s Grant Park after his win.
Obama has vowed to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq in the first 16 months of his term and to bolster U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, but his first task will be tackling the U.S. financial crisis, the worst since the Great Depression.
World leaders will gather in Washington on November 15 for a summit on the global financial meltdown. The White House has said it does not expect the president-elect to attend, but Obama has not yet stated his plans.
Reports released on Wednesday showed the U.S. private sector jobs market deteriorated rapidly in October and the service sector contracted sharply, highlighting the economic challenges for Obama.
Appearing in the White House Rose Garden, Bush said he had spoken with Obama and congratulated him on an impressive victory that represented a “dream fulfilled” for civil rights. He pledged his cooperation in the transition.
Obama named three leaders of his transition effort — his Senate chief of staff Pete Rouse, close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett and Bill Clinton’s former White House chief of staff John Podesta.
The first-term Illinois senator has been planning for the transition for weeks and is expected to move quickly to fill positions at Treasury, the State Department and Homeland Security.
The job offer to Emanuel, a Democratic congressman from Chicago who worked in President Bill Clinton’s White House, came within hours of his victory, party sources said.
A QUIET MORNING
But Obama’s first morning as president-elect was spent in more prosaic pursuits. He had breakfast at home in Chicago with his two daughters, then headed to the gym for a workout.
The son of a black father from Kenya and white mother from Kansas, Obama’s triumph over Republican rival John McCain on Tuesday was a milestone that could help the United States move beyond its long struggle with racism.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reflected the joy of many black Americans, calling Obama “inspirational” and praising the United States for its ability to surprise.
“As an African-American, I’m especially proud, because this is a country that’s been through a long journey, in terms of overcoming wounds and making race not the factor in our lives,” Rice told reporters.
“That work is not done, but yesterday was obviously an extraordinary step forward,” she said.
Many world leaders welcomed Obama’s victory. Some hailed it as an opportunity to restore a tarnished U.S. image; others urged him to help forge a new economic order. “Your election has raised enormous hope in France, in Europe and beyond,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
Initial market reaction was muted. U.S. stocks fell by midday on Wednesday as worries about the weakening economy returned to center stage.
Obama won at least 349 Electoral College votes with two states still too close to call. He led McCain in the popular vote by 52 percent to 46 percent.
Democrats gained at least five Senate seats and about 20 in the House of Representatives, giving them a commanding majority in Congress and strengthening Obama’s hand. Four Senate seats remained undecided.
Americans celebrated in front of the White House to mark Obama’s win and Bush’s imminent departure. Cars jammed downtown Washington streets, with drivers honking their horns and leaning out their windows to cheer.
Slideshow (27 Images)
Thousands more joined street celebrations in New York’s Times Square and in cities and towns across the country.
“This is a great night. This is an unbelievable night,” U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, who was brutally beaten by police in Alabama during a civil rights march in the 1960s, said at an Atlanta celebration.The Tappan Zee Bridge in Westchester County, New York is closed after a major crane collapse led to blocked traffic in both directions. At least one person was taken away on a stretcher, but no life-threatening injuries were reported.
The accident occurred just after noon on Tuesday, and it’s unclear what cause the crane to collapse. Emergency personnel could be seen flocking to the scene, and Governor Andrew Cuomo was reported to have arrived as well.
Breaking news: TAPAN ZEE BRIDGE CLOSED. MAJOR CRANE COLLAPSE. INJURIES REPORTED. BRIDGE TO BE CLOSED FOR 24 HOURS. pic.twitter.com/AtlEe0LGuM — nycphotog (@nycphotog) July 19, 2016
Drivers are advised to avoid the area by traffic signs as far back as Interstate 95 in New Jersey.
The red crane splintered across all six lanes of the causeway, leaving debris and damaging one car. It was being used for a construction project to create a new bridge to replace the aging Tappan Zee Bridge that is running alongside it.
#BREAKING: Crane collapse on the Tappan Zee Bridge in NY pic.twitter.com/6vkyvlwMwn — FOX 29 (@FOX29philly) July 19, 2016
BREAKING: Crane collapses onto Tappan Zee bridge - at least one person hurt #nbc4nypic.twitter.com/9o1l4NaxEF — Steven Bognar (@Bogs4NY) July 19, 2016
BREAKING: 2nd person placed onto stretcher at #TappanZee bridge following #crane collapse — Fox5NY (@fox5ny) Jul 19 2016
The Tappan Zee Bridge is one of the main arteries for the New York Metropolitan area, bringing over 135,000 across the Hudson River just north of the New York City every day.LA-DEN grades: Case Keenum, Jared Goff both ineffective against Broncos' pass-rush
By Bryson Vesnaver • Aug 28, 2016
Denver Broncos 17, Los Angeles Rams 9
Here are the biggest takeaways and highest-graded players from the Broncos’ 17-9 victory over the visiting Rams:
Quarterback grade: Trevor Siemian, 44.7; Paxton Lynch, 59.7
Trevor Siemian has seemingly locked up the starting role, despite average play
With his competitor Mark Sanchez not playing a single snap in the dress-rehearsal game, the job of starting quarterback seemingly belongs to Trevor Siemian. While he did throw his first touchdown pass of the preseason, Siemian was far from good in Saturday’s outing. He had a handful of misfires, and under-threw his receiver on his lone interception. He also got away with a terrible throw late in the first half that bounced right off a defender’s hands. Siemian frequently checked down even when he didn’t necessarily have to, as he averaged just 5.4 yards per attempt when not under pressure.
Trevor Siemian passing summary under pressure
Top offensive grades
FB Andy Janovich, 87.3
FB Juwan Thompson, 75.4
WR Emmanuel Sanders, 73.8
WR Demaryius Thomas, 73.7
OT Donald Stephenson, 73.4
Denver’s receivers can carry the load for this offense
The Broncos’ WR duo of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are easily one of the best receiving pairs in the NFL, and they showed why last night. They were targeted 12 times (only eight were catchable) and finished with seven receptions combined for 108 yards. All three of Sanders’ catches went for first downs, and two of those he caught behind the sticks and had to work to move the chains. Thomas’ incredibly casual one-handed catch while being interfered with by Rams CB Marcus Robertson was a reminder of how easy he can make catching the football look. If these two play like this all season, they should be able to bail Siemian out more often than not.
Top defensive grades
CB Kayvon Webster, 88.8
ED Shaquil Barrett, 84.4
ED Dekoda Watson, 84.4
ED Von Miller, 81.6
S T.J. Ward, 81.1
Broncos’ pass-rush is still the class of the NFL
Denver’s pass-rushing ability was on display in full force against the Rams last night. It seemed as though they were in the backfield every single snap; the Broncos pressured the Rams quarterbacks on 21 of 44 dropbacks, and five of those resulted in sacks. Von Miller was as strong as expected, notching one sack, one hit, and two hurries on the night. But it was reserve edge defender Dekoda Watson who stole the show, recording three sacks, a QB hurry, and an additional play in which he beat his man rushing the passer—all in just 14 pass rushes. Overall, Denver’s defenders combined for six sacks, three hits, and 20 additional hurries on the night.
Quarterback grades: Case Keenum, 51.2; Jared Goff, 49.4; Sean Mannion, 66.3
Neither Keenum nor Goff effective against Broncos’ pass-rush
While Case Keenum got the start last night, he did very little to show that he’ll be able to play effectively as a starter come Week 1. Keenum was strong when in a clean pocket, completing all six passes for 64 yards. But when he saw pressure, he folded, completing just two-of-six throws for 13 yards and a pass that should’ve been intercepted. Goff really struggled when dealing with pressure, as well, as he didn’t complete a single one of his six passes when under duress. The No. 1 overall pick wasn’t missing throws badly by any means, but he just didn’t have the accuracy many were hoping to see out of him. He also had one very poorly thrown ball that should’ve been intercepted and returned for a touchdown.
Top offensive grades
HB Terrence Magee, 73.7
TE Lance Kendricks, 73.1
WR Pharaoh Cooper, 70.3
G David Arkin, 70.0
WR Kenny Britt, 68.0
Rams’ receiving corps with positive flashes, but consistency questions still remain
The Rams’ receiving corps made some big-time catches last night, but they were few and far between. Rookie WR Pharaoh Cooper had one of the most impressive catches of the game, using one hand to track down an off-target throw to pick up 19 yards and a first down. That was his only catch of the game, however. Kenny Britt had one nice catch-and-run for 19 yards, but that was all he really did this game. On the other end of the scale, rookie TE Tyler Higbee and WR Michael Thomas had some struggles. The two combined to catch just two of nine targets for 25 yards; they also each dropped a pass.
Top defensive grades
ED Matt Longacre, 82.0
DI Aaron Donald, 79.9
LB Alec Ogletree, 78.6
LB Nicholas Grigsby, 78.5
DI Cam Thomas, 78.0
Longacre continues his impressive preseason run with another strong game
While it would be criminal not to mention Aaron Donald’s high game grade earned in just six snaps, this was another great night for Matt Longacre. After a hugely successful first preseason game, Longacre returned to that high level of play this week. He recorded three pressures while rushing the quarterback, and also recorded two solo run stops. Longacre currently ranks 10th in the league in pass-rushing productivity at his position—pretty good numbers for a guy going into his second season on an already-stacked Rams’ defensive line.
Get ready for the Rams’ 2016 regular season by checking out our Los Angeles team preview (click the image below).GHAZIABAD: Appointments of over 200 employees in the Ghaziabad Development Authority ( GDA ) are under the scanner of the Comptroller & Auditor General ( CAG ) of India that is probing the functioning of the civic body, sources said.The CAG audit of the authority began in April after the Yogi Adityanath government gave the go-ahead for the same soon after coming to power. The audit, according to sources, is nearing completion.Sources said the CAG team has sought clarifications from senior officials on the appointment of over 200 employees in GDA, allegedly without following procedure.As per the procedure, certain appointments in GDA could be made following a government order (GO) or through recommendations of the development authority’s board that has to be vetted by a GO within a certain time. But there are reportedly over 200 appointments on which GDA was unable to produce GOs in support. Though it is still unclear as to what will go in CAG’s final report, sources said the issue has both former and current GDA officials concerned.The previous state government of Samajwadi Party (SP), under Akhilesh Yadav, had locked horns with UP governor and the central government last year over allowing a CAG audit of GDA.Last June, a team had started an audit but it was discontinued on the ground that there was no clearance from the state government. While GDA had maintained that it does not fall under the ambit of the CAG because it does not use resources out of the Consolidated Fund of India, the then state government had maintained that GDA generates its own resources and is a non-profit body.On February 8 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his election rally at Ghaziabad, had said he would ensure a CAG audit of all development authorities, including GDA, if the BJP was elected.Even in the first week of April this year, a team of CAG officials had approached GDA for conducting an audit but the officials had refused them on the same grounds.As many of you know, I’m in graduate school right now working on my MS in Sports Leadership. This summer, I took Strategic Sports Marketing, and our final project involved creating a marketing plan for a sports team or organization. Since the NWHL has had my attention from day one, I chose the Buffalo Beauts, and since I am a nerd, I decided I’d share with you guys the main points of my plan.
Today’s subject: what does the “professional” in “professional women’s hockey” mean to marketing this team, anyway?
On October 11th, 2015, the hockey world will see something entirely new—a professional women’s hockey league that pays its players dropping the puck on their inaugural season. In a professional sports team’s inaugural season, marketing is everything. With the NWHL’s four chosen markets—Buffalo, New York, Boston, and Connecticut—all being major hockey hotbeds, the groundwork has already been laid for these teams to establish a foothold in their respective areas. However, for the teams to have any kind of longevity, there is plenty of work to be done.
In an interview with ESPNW, NWHL Commissioner and New York Riveters General Manager Dani Rylan said, “These are the best athletes in the world, and we need to treat them like that. To make this as professional as possible, we want to supply them with all the necessities they need to compete at that level”.
Rylan’s point, to me, is the key component to successfully marketing the NWHL—that is, to convincing people that these women are worth their time and money. It’s almost painfully simple. If a women’s professional hockey league is to succeed, they must not only treat but also market their players as elite professionals.
This is an opportunity that I feel the NWHL has to take and run with, and one that its Canadian counterpart, the CWHL, hasn’t done.
Here’s what the CWHL got wrong, and what I would like to see the NWHL get right. For the market to view these women as elite professionals who are worth watching, the league—and the individual teams—have to make it obvious that they too view these players as elite athletes. The NWHL has a responsibility to market their players as being worthy of fans’ time and money, and in marketing it is all about the image |
from vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. I have on-the-record statements from the president of the United States, the vice president, the secretary of State. I've got on-the-record statements from prime minister of the United Kingdom. We've got the president of France. We've got a multi-lateral resolution passed by the Arab League indicating all of these things."
Administration officials will also try to soothe growing concern among lawmakers to a potential strike, later on Thursday when members of the president's national security team will hold an unclassified telephone briefing for leaders of the House and Senate from both parties, as well as the chairmen and ranking members of relevant committees.
The White House is also expected to publicly disclose an unclassified intelligence report, perhaps as early as Thursday, detailing the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/12Q5KihLooking inspirational quotes for kids and students? Here are some of our favorite quotes for kids about learning and life.
When we think about how kids and students communicate, we often think about how they speak to adults and their peers. This post is focused on how young people speak to themselves, their internal dialogue.
Kids need to be equipped with positive self-talk just as much as anybody else. Of course, everyone has different obstacles and a different situation, but there are still many themes that young people face. For example, some universal challenges that all students and kids face are:
Looking for acceptance from their peers
Looking for acceptance from their parents
Low self-esteem
Fear of judgment from others
Lack of patience towards one’s goals
Not using social media in a productive way
Pressure from school, state tests, college pressure and pressure from society as a whole to be successful
While children build their identity, question the world around them and identify their strengths – how they talk to themselves is a major factor when it comes to determining the life they will lead.
This is just one of the many reasons all students should read these inspirational quotes for kids.
Looking for the right words to say to keep your students motivated at the beginning of the school year?
With children incorporating many of their parent’s values, beliefs, favorite phrases and so on, let’s make sure they get their healthy dose of motivational quotes as well!
These motivational quotes for kids are for children of all ages. Enjoy!
Inspirational quotes for kids of all ages about success, life, and happiness
1.) “Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can do.” – John Wooden
Sometimes we make things more complicated than they really are.
Sometimes we focus on all the wrong things.
Focus on what you can do, right now, where you are.
2.) “We all can dance when we find music we love.” – Giles Andreae
Anyone can dance! Anyone can move their body to a rhythm that makes them feel good.
Focus on feeling good and the dance will come naturally.
As they say, ‘dance like no one is watching’.
In regard to being successful, just like finding the right songs, YOU must find YOUR THING!
Explore. Learn. Discover. Then when you find YOUR THING, OWN IT!
3.) “The more you give away the happier you become.”
We’ve been fooled into thinking that receiving makes us happy.
Try giving more and see how you feel.
4.) “I think I can. I know I can.”
Everything that you do or don’t do comes down to confidence.
Always believe in yourself even when it’s not easy.
Actually, the BEST time to believe in yourself EVEN MORE, is when it’s NOT easy!
5.) “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus
Life is hard for everyone.
Everyone gets hurt.
Everyone gets betrayed.
Everyone feels a loss.
The focus should be on: how will you respond to it?
How will this make you a better person?
Where is the high road in this situation?
6.) “Being kind is never wasted.”
How people treat you is THEIR path, how you treat people is YOURS.
Walk a path that will make you better and make you proud!
7.) “When you know better you do better.” – Maya Angelou
Learn to be the best version of yourself, learn how to handle tough situations, learn how to tell whether a friend is good for you or not.
And learn how to focus on the positive in your life, learn how to believe in yourself.
Learn how to imagine a life better than your current situation.
Learn to love yourself.
8.) “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
To get started all you need is you.
Focus on what you can do right now in this moment.
Things don’t need to be perfect for you to get started.
Start now!
9.) “You always pass failure on the way to success.” – Mickey Rooney
When you avoid failure YOU ALSO avoid success.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Instead, spend your time NOT focusing on failure, but on surrounding yourself with people who will support your setbacks.
Know that failure is a part of your process.
Failure is natural. Failure is not permanent.
10.) “Make each day your masterpiece.” – John Wooden
Every living moment do your best. The rewards will be amazing. It’s just that simple.
Positive quotes for kids about life and dreams
11.) “Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.” – Pamela Vaull Starr
Don’t be afraid to use your imagination.
You might seem like life is full of tests, questions, grades, parents, and pressure, but still dream.
Dare to use your imagination. Be bold. Be creative.
12.) “No one is perfect – that’s why pencils have erasers.” – Wolfgang Riebe
Love yourself, your whole self.
You are not here to be perfect, you are here to be you.
Be who you are and you will attract the right people around you.
13.) “Never waste a minute thinking of anyone you don’t like.” – Eisenhower
People you don’t like or people who don’t like you are not worth your head space.
You can only think about 1 thing at a time, so why waste it.
Use each moment to love yourself and to become better.
14.) “Only surround yourself with people who will lift you higher.” – Oprah Winfrey
Do you have the courage to get rid of the toxic people in your life?
We all have them. One of the most important things we can do is surround ourselves with people who believe in us, support us and love us unconditionally.
If your friends don’t meet that criterion, then it might be time to find some new friends.
15.) “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Seuss
When it seems like everyone is trying to fit in, standing out can be a bit scary.
As a kid, I was scared to stand out and be who I really was. I was concerned and caught up with what other people thought of me.
When I got past that, my whole life changed for the better and I started doing things, achieving things and experiencing things; I could have only dreamed of.
16.) “Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.” – H. Jackson Brown
Anything great that has ever been accomplished, was seen at the time as ‘unrealistic’. Whether it’s flying a plane, creating the light bulb, becoming valedictorian, coming up with a cure for a disease, nothing special is realistic.
It’s always born from a new way of thinking. When we settle for realistic, we often settle to be average.
You have greatness inside of you.
17.) “There is a voice inside of you, that whispers all day long, I feel this is right for me, or I know that this is wrong.”
We all have a conscious, listen to yours.
Always ask yourself, “Is this what my best looks like?” That one question alone will change your entire life.
18.) “You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” – Dr. Seuss
Your life is completely up to you.
Many times when we are going through hard times, it doesn’t feel like that, but it is.
As we spoke about before, we can’t control everything that happens to us, but the way we respond is ALWAYS up to us.
19.) “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” –Dr. Seuss
You don’t need to be the smartest person in the room to be destined for success.
Even if you don’t see yourself as a success right now, if you’re committed to learning – success is just a matter of time.
When you think about your goals and dreams, what do you need to learn to make it happen? Commit to the learning process.
20.) “Anything is possible. Anything can be.” – Shel Silverstein
Believe it’s possible. Sometimes it’s just that simple. Yet, some people will never truly believe.
Have faith. But just because it’s possible, doesn’t mean it will be easy. Know that whatever life you want, the grades you want, the job you want, the reputation you want, friends you want, that it’s possible.
Nothing is off limits. Everything is within reach. Anything can be.
More inspirational quotes for kids about learning and success
21.) “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ― Albert Einstein
It’s clear that Albert Einstein believes that imagination is the key to real intelligence. Does real intelligence mean we only know facts?
Does it mean we are creative? Does it mean we focus on solutions? Is it a mix of all three?
Whatever your position is, imagination allows to see what is not there, and therefore be builders of a new and improved reality.
22.) “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
Do things get more complicated as we get older?
Or do WE BECOME more complicated as we get older? What do you think? Why?
23.) “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” ― Margaret Mead
In today’s world, we are over-saturated with information. But, how do we know if what we’re reading is true?
How do we know that this meme we love is actually stating facts?
Kids and students need to be critical thinkers, who can discern between what is real and what is fake clickbait.
24.) “Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts. ” – Albert Einstein
25.) “Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve done before. ” – Bonnie Blair
26.) “Don’t just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it.” – Jim Rohn
27.) “Nothing is particularly hard if you break it down into small jobs.” – Henry Ford
28.) “When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” – George Washington Carver
29.) “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
30.) “Be silly, be honest, be kind.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
31.) The secret of success is to do the common things uncommonly well. – John D. Rockefeller
32.) “The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you.” ― Bette Midler
33.) “Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.” ― Roy T. Bennett
34.) “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” ― Robert F. Kennedy
35.) “Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.” ― Dalai Lama XIV
36.) “I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you. ” ― Oprah Winfrey
37.) “Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.” ― Joyce Brothers
38.) “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
39.) “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” ― Booker T. Washington
40.) “Success means we go to sleep at night knowing that our talents and ablities were used in a way that served others.” ― Marianne Williamson
Other inspirational quotes for kids
41.) “I don’t love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful.” – Natalie Portman
42.) All students can learn and succeed, but not on the same day in the same way. – William Spady
43.) There is no substitute for hard work. – Thomas Edison
44.) “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” – Roald Dahl
45.) “We know what we are but know not what we may be.” – Shakespeare
46.) Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it ‘The Present’. – Eleanor Roosevelt
47.) “We grow great by dreams.” – Woodrow Wilson
48.) MOST GREAT LEARNING HAPPENS IN GROUPS. COLLABORATION IS THE STUFF OF GROWTH. – Sir Ken Robinson
49.) “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
50.) FORGIVENESS DOES NOT CHANGE THE PAST, BUT IT DOES ENLARGE THE FUTURE.- Paul Boese
Want more than inspirational quotes for kids?
Are you a teacher or an administrator looking for a motivational speaker to come to your Elementary, Middle or High School?
Jeff Moore is based out of NYC, but travels the US inspiring students to reach for greatness, choose their friends wisely, and see themselves making a difference in the world.
Read more info here!
Want more inspirational quotes for kids?
What other motivational children quotes would you add? Make sure to share them in the comments below!DAILYKENN.com -- Confederatephobes suspended seven boys who took photos of themselves posing with a Confederate flag.
School authorities at Round Rock Ridgeview Middle School in Texas said the teens were suspended because the flag represents slavery.
A school spokesperson said the flag represents intolerance and that safety and security were a top priority.
Obviously, the government goons who dominate the nation's education system have little concern for tolerating Southern culture nor are they particularly worried about the safety of white students. (See video below.)
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More racist hate crime reports at AbateTheHate.com
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Please do not submit comments containing obscene, racist, or otherwise offensive language. Although comments are not routinely monitored, offending comments will be summarily zapped if discovered to be unduly gauche.DailyKenn.com is a family-friendly web site.In a recent interview with Collider.com, 'Beautiful Creatures' director Richard LaGravenese revealed that he is currently working on an indie film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical THE LAST FIVE YEARS. The show appeared off-Broadway in 2002 and will be revived at New York's Second Stage Theatre this April.
The love story is all-sung and features just two characters. "[It's] about a young man and young woman in their 20's who meet, fall in love, get married and break up, all in the span of five years," explains the director. "All of her songs start at the end of their relationship and go to the beginning, and all of his songs start at the beginning and go to the end...It goes back and forth like that."
Written by Jason Robert Brown, The Last Five Years explores a five-year relationship between Jamie Wellerstein, a rising novelist, and Cathy Hyatt, a struggling actress. The show uses a form of storytelling in which Cathy's story is told in reverse chronological order (beginning the show at the end of the marriage), and Jamie's is told in chronological order (starting just after the couple have first met). The characters do not directly interact except for a wedding song in the middle as their timelines intersect.
Related Articles View More TV StoriesOver the past decade the New York City Police Department’s Intelligence Division (Intel) has built an active, fully staffed spying unit devoted to “mapping” the city’s large Muslim community in search of “home-grown” terrorists with no known ties to international jihadist groups. Their sense of alienation and resentment about the mistreatment of Muslims, it is feared, might lead them to commit “lone-wolf” attacks. Intel employs undercover informants, analysts, and spies, as well as “rakers” and “mosque crawlers,” in police parlance, who act as “human cameras,” and it opens investigations and files, without evidence of criminal activity, on unknown numbers of New Yorkers.1
Federal and local law enforcement agencies have revealed fourteen plots that have either failed or been foiled since September 11, 2001. It would be impossible to quantify the role the NYPD has played in this record. For example, the would-be Times Square bomber of May 2010, who reportedly had ties with the Taliban, was thwarted by a hot dog vendor who spotted smoke from a lit fuse in the parked SUV that held the terrorist’s bomb, and immediately reported it to nearby police.
The FBI has been responsible for aborting many of the plots, including a serious 2006 plan with international terrorist support, involving “martyrdom and explosives,” to destroy PATH train tunnels in order to flood the Financial District. And in 2006, a plot involving twenty-four suspects to use liquid explosives on commercial airliners bound for the US and Canada was thwarted by British law enforcement.
Certainly, the city’s regular police force of 36,000 officers, thousands of whom patrol the streets at any given hour, has been effective in protecting the public.2 But how much protection have the activities of the NYPD’s Intelligence Division itself provided? We do not know the intricacies of the relations between Intel and the rest of the NYPD; but Intel has initiated investigations and taken sole credit for arrests involving three separate potential attacks.
A common thread in all three cases has been the mental instability and subnormal intellectual capacities of the alleged terrorists. Each involved a sting operation and relied almost entirely on the testimony of a paid undercover informant. Mentally unstable people may be capable of great harm and paid informants may help detect serious crimes. But the facts in these cases warrant critical attention.
Jose Pimentel, a Dominican-American who converted to Islam, was arrested in November 2010 and charged with planning to use homemade bombs to attack US soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Intel twice approached the FBI to become involved in the case—partnership with the FBI and, by extension, the US Attorney’s office helps ensure that a case…The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly floated a rule claiming authority to bypass the courts and unilaterally garnish paychecks of those accused of violating its rules, a power currently used by agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service.
The EPA has been flexing its regulatory muscle under President Obama, collecting more fines each year and threatening individuals with costly penalties for violating environmental rules. In one case, the agency has threatened fines of up to $75,000 per day on Wyoming homeowner Andy Johnson for building a pond on his rural property.
“The EPA has a history of overreaching its authority. It seems like once again the EPA is trying to take power it doesn’t have away from American citizens,” Sen. John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican, said when he learned of the EPA’s wage garnishment scheme.
Others questioned why the EPA decided to strengthen its collection muscle at this time.
Critics said the threat of garnishing wages would be a powerful incentive for people to agree to expensive settlements rather than fight EPA charges.
EPA officials did not respond to repeated questions by The Washington Times about why they thought it was necessary to garnish people’s wages.
PHOTOS: See Obama's biggest White House fails
The EPA announced the plan last week in a notice in the Federal Register, saying federal law allows it “to garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order.”
The agency cited authority under the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 that centralized federal collection operations under the Treasury Department, which oversees garnishments of wages or tax refund checks.
Under the law, every federal agency has the authority to conduct administrative wage garnishment, provided the agency adopts approved rules for conducting hearings where debtors can challenge the amount of debt or terms of repayment schedule, a Treasury official said.
Still, the rule would give the EPA sweeping authority to dictate how and whether Americans could dispute fines and penalties, even as the amount of EPA fines collected from individuals, businesses and local governments steadily increase.
The amount of fines raked in by the agency has jumped from $96 million in 2009 to $252 million in 2012, a more than 160 percent increase, according to EPA annual reports.
Putting the collection powers on a fast track, the agency announced it in the Federal Register as a “direct final rule” that would take effect automatically Sept. 2, unless the EPA receives adverse public comments by Aug. 1.
The EPA said it deemed the action as not a “significant regulatory action” and therefore not subject to review.
The negative reactions began almost immediately.
In a comment letter submitted to the EPA, the conservative Heritage Foundation faulted the rule for giving the government “unbridled discretion” in controlling the process for challenging fines and wage garnishment, such as dictating the site of a hearing without consideration of the time and travel expense placed on the accused debtor.
The rule allows the EPA to decide whether a debtor gets a chance to present a defense and then picks whomever it chooses to serve as a hearing officer, even someone not trained as an administrative law judge, wrote David S. Addington, group vice president for research at The Heritage Foundation.
It also puts the burden of proof on the debtor, not the EPA, he said.
The EPA has been on the front lines of the battle over Mr. Obama’s climate change agenda, including issuing proposed rules that would require coal-fired power plants to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent over 15 years.
Critics say it will cause massive increases in the cost of electricity, lead to power shortages and eliminate jobs, while making scant impact on the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted worldwide.
The agency has been a magnet for criticism over new rules on things such as wood-burning stoves and small streams or ponds on private land, including waterways on farms and golf courses.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.If my cheese and onion plait wasn’t your thing, here’s another vegetarian Christmas dinner idea – carrot and cashew nut roast!
A reader emailed me the other day (hello Faye!) and asked if I had a nut roast recipe, and it was only then that I realised that I had never, ever made a nut roast before. I’ve eaten it millions of times on Sundays in pubs (usually with lashings of gravy and plenty of roast potatoes), but had never made it myself. Since nut roast is such a great vegetarian go-to meal at this time of year, I thought I should make one straight away!
Instead of using loads of breadcrumbs to fill out my nut roast, I made sure it was crammed with plenty of nuts (cashew nuts, walnuts and pine nuts), as well as some carrots and leek, and even some cannellini beans. All killer, no filler! Plus, it has the added advantage that it ended up entirely gluten free. I used eggs to bind it all together, so I’m afraid it’s not vegan, but you could always experiment with flax eggs or another egg alternative if you need your nut roast to be vegan.
I left my nut roast quite chunky, but if you prefer a finer texture then just chop everything up a bit more – the flavours will be the same!
The two of us obviously couldn’t get through a whole nut roast in one go, so we had the leftovers the next day, and it reheated really well in the oven. Any loose nuts might get a bit too crunchy, but the bulk of the nut roast tasted just the same the next day. If you’re cooking this for your Christmas dinner, it would probably be totally fine to cook it in advance and reheat it on a moderate heat before serving. Or if you’re serving this for a less fancy occasion (i.e. to eat in your pyjamas on the sofa), it would probably reheat just fine in the microwave too.
Don’t forget the gravy!
Print Carrot and cashew nut roast Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 1 hr Total Time 1 hr 15 mins Recipe Type: Main meal Servings : 4 -6 Author : Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche Ingredients 1 tbsp oil
1 medium leek halved lengthwise then sliced
1 large carrot grated
3 cloves garlic minced
150 g cashew nuts coarsely chopped
50 g walnuts coarsely chopped
50 g pine nuts
400 g tin cannellini beans 240g when drained, drained
3 tbsp fresh thyme or 1tsp dried, chopped
Salt
Black pepper
2 eggs lightly beaten
Spray oil for greasing loaf tin Instructions Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F). Heat the oil in a large frying pan, and add the sliced leek, grated carrot and minced garlic. Cook over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes, until everything is soft and fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the three types of nuts, the cannellini beans, and the thyme. Season generously. Add the eggs, and mix thoroughly until everything is well coated. Line a loaf tin with baking paper or foil, and grease very thoroughly. Transfer the nut mixture to the loaf tin, and press it down into the corners of the tin. Smooth out the top. Bake for around 1 hour, or until the nut loaf is firm and golden brown. Carefully turn over the loaf tin, and remove the loaf. Peel off the paper / foil, and serve.
If you have any cashews left over, they go great in stir fries! Try my pineapple and cashew stir fry:The Dutch Senate looks set to uphold an EU association deal with Kiev in April, a year after the majority of Dutch voters rejected the plan that would bring Ukraine closer to the bloc, Ukrainian media reported Friday.
© Sputnik / Pavel Palamarchuk EU Association Deal Not Conferring Candidate Status, Aid Guarantees to Ukraine - EU Council
KIEV (Sputnik) — The association agreement was backed 89 to 55 by the House of Representatives, the 150-seat lower house of the Dutch parliament, on Thursday and will soon be put to senators’ vote.
A Dutch diplomatic source told Ukraine’s Unian news agency that the accord was likely to secure the required number of votes.
The Netherlands is the only EU country that has not ratified the pact after it was rejected in a non-binding referendum last April. The agreement was signed in 2014 to deepen political, economic and trade links between the European Union and its eastern neighbor.Buy Photo Tracy Allen, director of Finkelstein Memorial Library, describes the damage done to the Spring Valley hallmark. A driver drove his Toyota SUV through the doors and crashed uno the large front desk, injuring patrons and hospitalizing one girl,15, who ended up underneath the vehicle. (Photo: (Steve Lieberman/The Journal News))Buy Photo
SPRING VALLEY – A sport-utility vehicle ran over a 15-year-old girl and injured four other pedestrians Tuesday after smashing through the front entrance of the Finkelstein Memorial Library, setting off a chaotic scene as rescuers rushed to help the victims.
The driver, said to be a man in his late 50s to early 60s, told police mechanical trouble caused him to lose control of his Toyota RAV4 before striking the girl, who was pinned beneath the SUV inside the building, police said.
"She had to be rescued by the fire department and EMS personnel putting the airbags under the car to lift the vehicle off of her," Spring Valley police Lt. Jack Bosworth said. "We have other people who were injured.... We did have a STAT Flight on standby. It turned out we didn't need them."
Bosworth initially said the girl appeared to have suffered at least a broken leg. Police later described her injuries as "serious."
Another of the victims, an adult woman, was said to have suffered a head injury that bled heavily. The driver experienced some chest pain after the crash, police said.
Bosworth could not describe the injuries suffered by the remaining pedestrians, who varied in age, but said they all appeared non-life-threatening.
Two of the injured were taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla by Hatzolah Ambulance. The others were taken to Nyack and Good Samaritan hospitals by Rockland Paramedic Services and Spring Hill Ambulance.
Buy Photo A sport-utility vehicle sits inside the Finkelstein Memorial Library in Spring Valley after pinning a 15-year-old girl and striking four others on Tuesday night, May 27, 2014. (Photo: James O'Rourke/The Journal News)
Emergency responders raced around the scene, calling into the crowd for anyone who may have been injured and trying to help others get their cars out of the parking lot. Scores of people, many visibly shaken children, watched paramedics move one of the victims into an ambulance shortly after 8 p.m.
Joseph Duque, 12, was inside the library at 7:43 p.m., when the car plowed through the busy parking lot, between two sturdy concrete barriers and through the metal-framed glass doorway.
"I heard the crash and saw everybody running," Joseph said. "I saw a lady with blood (on her face)."
CLOSE Six people were injured Tuesday after a Toyota RAV4 crashed through the front of the Finkelstein Memorial Library. James O'Rourke/The Journal News
Bosworth estimated at least 50 people were inside the library at the time of the crash and said police were able to evacuate the building without incident, using emergency and other exits at the side and rear of the brick structure.
Library Director Tracy Allen said the damage was extensive.
"There's glass in the children's room. Half of the circulation desk is gone. … It's just pretty nasty," she said.
She said the library would be closed Wednesday, but was hopeful that opening Thursday would be possible, using an older entrance on Madison Avenue.
"It's pretty bad," she said, "but it looks like there won't be any fatalities, so that's a blessing."
As the scene gradually grew calmer and the large crowd of onlookers began to disperse, the dark-colored SUV remained about 20 feet inside the building.
A Rockland County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Investigations unit was aiding Spring Valley police in the investigation, taking pictures near the vehicle. Bosworth said the building had been deemed "uninhabitable" because of numerous wires left exposed after the crash.
Despite the driver's assertions, the official cause of the incident remained under investigation.
"What the driver is saying is that he believes a recall on the car may have had something to do with this as far as the mechanical failure on the vehicle," Bosworth said. "We're going to look at all aspects of that."
How fast the car was traveling was not yet clear. Bosworth said alcohol did not initially appear to have been a factor in the crash.
Volunteers from the Spring Valley Fire Department responded to the scene along with Clarkstown police, which aided in crowd control and evacuating the library's parking lot.
NEWSLETTERS Get the Breaking News newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-888-426-6388. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Breaking News Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
The library, which was founded in 1917, serves more than 100,000 people in the East Ramapo Central School District. It has a collection of nearly 400,000 items and a circulation of almost 783,000 items per year. Its website describes the library as one of the most heavily used ones in the region, with more than 460,000 visitors annually.
Twitter: @JORourkeT800
Read or Share this story: https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/2014/05/27/suv-smashes-entrance-spring-valley-library-several-injured/9648869/Rosetta flyby uncovers the complex history of asteroid Lutetia
by Staff Writers
Paris (ESA) May 31, 2012
The long and tumultuous history of asteroid (21) Lutetia is revealed by a comprehensive analysis of the data gathered by ESA's Rosetta spacecraft when it flew past this large main-belt asteroid on 10 July 2010. New studies have revealed the asteroid's surface morphology, composition and other properties in unprecedented detail.
In particular, extensive studies of Lutetia's geological features have opened a unique window into the complex history of this peculiar object.
On its way to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, ESA's Rosetta spacecraft flew by the main-belt asteroid (21) Lutetia, reaching the closest approach, at a distance of about 3170 km, on 10 July 2010. From this unique vantage point, Rosetta gathered high-resolution images, spectra, and other data, providing scientists with a valuable dataset with which to probe this peculiar asteroid in great detail.
The first results from the flyby, published in late 2011, revealed the mass and volume of Lutetia, leading to an estimate of the asteroid's density, which turned out to be surprisingly high.
Data from the flyby also suggested that Lutetia is a primordial planetesimal formed during the very early phases of the Solar System. These and other findings called for further investigations about the nature and history of Lutetia.
"The images collected by Rosetta during the flyby have uncovered, for the first time, the wide variety of craters and other geological features that scar the surface of Lutetia," notes Rita Schulz, Rosetta Project Scientist at ESA.
"Scientists have explored this rich pool of data thoroughly in order to characterise many of Lutetia's properties, from its surface morphology and composition to its shape and internal structure, revealing its underlying geological history," she adds. The results of these studies are reported in a series of 21 papers published in a special issue of the journal Planetary and Space Science.
The OSIRIS camera on Rosetta has surveyed the part of Lutetia that was visible during the flyby - about half of its entire surface, mostly coinciding with the asteroid's northern hemisphere.
These unique, close-up images have allowed scientists to identify regions characterised by very distinct geological properties with an accuracy of a few hundred metres.
Counting craters is a powerful tool that is used to compare the regions and to uncover their past history. By recording the number, spatial distribution, shapes and sizes of the hundreds of craters that mark the surface of each region, it is possible to date the epoch when these craters were produced by collisions with smaller bodies. In the case of the largest craters, it is even possible to reconstruct the details of the impact that created them.
By tracing craters and other features on Lutetia's surface, scientists have put together a geological map for the asteroid. Their studies have shown that Lutetia's surface comprises regions spanning a wide range of ages: each of them reveals a chapter in the long and tumultuous history of this asteroid.
At one end of this age spectrum, the two heavily cratered Achaia and Noricum regions represent the most ancient portions on the surface of Lutetia: with ages between 3.4 and 3.7 billion years or more, they are almost as old as the asteroid itself.
Some of the craters that densely populate these two regions date back to an early epoch in the Solar System's history, right after the so-called Late Heavy Bombardment, when the flux of bodies impacting asteroids, planets and their satellites was significantly larger than it is at present.
Massilia, the largest crater identified on the asteroid, is located in a younger region named Narbonensis. With a diameter of 57 km, this crater provides evidence of the most dramatic event in the history of Lutetia: numerical simulations suggest that the 'projectile' responsible for producing this very wide crater was quite large, with a diameter of about 7.5 km.
However, the probability of such a large body colliding with the asteroid is quite low, and so this must have occurred when Lutetia was relatively young.
The youngest patch on the surface of Lutetia is the Baetica region, located in the vicinity of the asteroid's North Pole. This region hosts a number of superimposed craters, named the North Polar Crater Cluster (NPCC), which include three large ones with sizes exceeding 10 km.
These craters represent the signature left by a series of subsequent impacts that took place quite recently on geological timescales - namely, in the last few hundred million years.
The smooth appearance of the craters in Baetica, which have not been dotted yet with many smaller craters, indicate that its surface is much younger than the heavily battered areas of Lutetia.
Furthermore, this region still bears signs |
out over it. She eventually left in a huff leaving her school login and program open. After looking through her code, I realised she was writing software to sell tickets online, keep in mind, this was before Ticket Master went online in 1996.
Her artist of choice was The Tragically Hip. I decided instead of working on my work, Armed with will and determination, I would fix all her code. I mean I was terrified to talk to her, she was very fuckin hott. I left her a massive comment(note) at the end of the program explaining how I love The Hip as well, and decided to help her out by fixing all the database bugs in her code. A couple days went by and she found me in the cafe. She sat down across from me, She kinda bit her lip, and said “Thank You”. Following up with asking if I had a date for our Winter Formal. I responded with saying, “Grade 10’s don’t get to go”. She barked back at me, “I know that you ass hat. Well not unless someone invites you. Therefore. Want to be my date?” C’mon just let’s go
WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?
So I went. A friendship was built over The Hip and some nerdism. 3 concerts, camping trips, summer vacations and to be honest, a shit load of spliffs. All this while Gord sang in the background. She would come unannounced, Knock on the door, and we would take off. Some times we would just lay there, smoking a splif, looking at the stars. Orion was her favorite constellation. December nights were never cold in those years(The height of Orion). We were just friends, best friends for a while, that’s all we were.
Fast forward a couple years to OAC(Grade 13). I was still in touch with JP even though she was attending first year as an engineering student. Hung out on some weekends here and there, shared some spliffs and always had a Tragically Hip CD or Cassette playing. I hadn’t heard from her in couple days(ICQ Messenger Era), then one night my heart was broken.
A phone call from her Mother.
JP passed away from heart failure.
💔”There’ll be no knock on the door”💔
Young. Fit. Attractive. Smart. Had everything going for her. I was broken. SCARED
You try and stay strong in surprise.
You can try to stay strong through preparation of the inevitable. But I can guarantee; you hurt, you hate, you love, then weep.
Every time I hear any Hip song, even the newer ones she never got to hear, I think of my friend. A best friend. Good memories. Great memories. She was my Grace, and I know I was her Grace Too.
Thank you Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip, through your music, JP and yourself will live forever.
Just because someone is physically gone doesn’t mean they are gone from your heart. Today Canada weeps, tomorrow Canada will remember. It is through great memories that ones soul will live forever. That is how you live life. If you really want to live forever, create great memories with your friends, family and loved ones. Gord created so many great memories for so many Canadians with his music, that he gave eternal life to himself and to all your lost friends who enjoyed his music with you.
Good-Bye Gord, and hello again Jen.
DH
#GoLeafsGo #LoveForGordLast night, Apple pushed out iOS 8.2 to my iPhone, an update to its operating system. The blurb for the update promised "improvements to the Health app." Finally, I thought. When HealthKit was first introduced last year, it came under criticism for not taking women's health needs into consideration. The Apple app tracks an amazing assortment of possible health indicators: sleep, body mass index, number of times fallen, "electrodermal activity," sleep, weight, sodium intake, copper intake, and even selenium intake. But it didn't track the one thing most women want to track: their periods.
However, I was in for a disappointment. After I updated my iPhone last night and fired up the Health app, I found there were only two changes. "Biological sex" had been changed to "Sex." And there was just one addition to the suite of tracking tools; it wasn't "Menstruation," it was "Workouts." Seriously, Apple? What is the matter with you?
How can an app that promises to let you "see your whole health picture" neglect to include one of the most important aspects of a woman's health? Apple did not respond to a request for comment about why there's still no period-tracking in HealthKit; perhaps this image offers a clue:
Advertisement
When Apple hosted an event last month to introduce its newest products, all of the people who appeared on stage to talk about them—and who had been instrumental in leading the design for them—were men. The only woman to appear on stage was a former supermodel, Christy Turlington Burns, who was essentially there to model the Apple Watch. According to ReadWrite, the last woman to appear on stage at a live Apple event had been five years earlier, in 2010, when Zynga's then-mobile chief Jennifer Herman appeared to talk about Farmville.
If you're a man reading this — and particularly a man working at Apple — you might be thinking, "Why does period tracking matter? It happens once a month, right? Isn't that all you need to know?" And then you Google that South Park joke about not trusting anything that bleeds for 5 days without dying, watch the YouTube clip, laugh, and go back to entering your selenium intake for the day.
Here are a few reasons it matters: Periods differ from woman to woman in terms of how often and how long they come. Women like to know and be reminded when the "crimson tide" is coming so that they can remember to pack their tampon surfboards. Women like to track the monthly visitor for fertility reasons—whether it's to get pregnant or avoid pregnancy. Young iPhone-toting women, particularly, belong to the "pull-out generation" and tracking their periods allows them to know when they are the most fertile. The ability to track your periods isn't a nice-to-have feature; for many women, it's the thing standing between them and an unwanted pregnancy.
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Yes, there are a number of options in the App store for period tracking—most of them, annoyingly, have pink icons—and venture capitalists (who are also largely male, but recognize the value of a good idea) have poured millions of dollars into some of them. But there are also apps for tracking all the other stuff Apple put into HealthKit, including workouts. Bundling period-tracking into HealthKit would have given women an easy, secure way to track their sensitive rhythm data without needing to rely on a third-party provider, or pay for an extra app. It would have nudged women in the direction of knowing more, not less, about their bodies.
C'mon, Apple. Please include period-tracking next time you're tinkering with the HealthKit, and at least pretend you care about your lady customers who have not yet hit menopause. And—come to think of it—while you're at it, maybe you should add hot flash tracking to HealthKit, too.The action had been taken to give the Zhang Yimou-directed "House of Flying Daggers" a boost at the local box office and was a new form of regulation compared to the foreign film quota, which had been in existence for much longer, said Cavender.
Naturally, the blackout serves to boost the performance of domestically produced films in the mainland market as competition from foreign titles is reduced.
Data from research firm EntGroup showed that local titles like "Wolf Warrior 2," "The Founding of an Army" and "Brotherhood of Blades 2" dominated the Chinese box office in the week that ended on July 30. The only Hollywood film on the top-grossing list is "Despicable Me 3," which had been released in China on July 7, likely before the blackout on foreign film releases began.
In comparison, five foreign films occupied the top-10 spots in the week that ended on June 25 — before the Hollywood blackout.
Success for domestically produced titles, however, is not guaranteed even when the foreign competition is removed.
The trend in historical box office records show that, when there is no ban in effect, the one or two foreign films released in China tend to absorb up to 90 percent of revenues from ticket sales during a given week, Cavender said. In comparison, when the blackout is enforced, several domestic films tend to share relatively even portions of the market.
The blackout is sometimes framed as an ideologically driven piece of regulation, but its existence is likely linked to more pragmatic thinking. That could include giving China-made films more of a chance to be seen, according to Felicia Chan, a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester.
"I'm not sure if 'preventing too much Western influence' is an argument any more at the Chinese box office, given the numbers Hollywood blockbusters are hitting in China... I suspect (the blackout) keeps the Chinese film industry buoyant, which then allows its players to have more negotiating power with Hollywood," Chan added.Blockchain startup Chain has named a Goldman Sachs managing director as its new president.
Tom Jessop is joining the firm after serving as Goldman’s managing director for business technology development since January 2016, according to LinkedIn.
Between 2008 and 2012, he served as managing director for principal strategic investments, serving stints in Hong Kong and New York. He served as a vice president for the Wall Street investment bank between 2000 and 2008. Prior to working for Goldman Sachs, worked for credit ratings firm Standard & Poor’s.
According to Chain, Jessop will be chiefly responsible for pursuing commercial opportunities for the firm.
He said in a statement:
“I am excited to collaborate with Chain’s team, customers, and strategic partners to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology in financial services and other industries.”
Jessop is far from the first Goldmanite to head for the blockchain space.
Earlier this year, a former Sachs vice president sought to take on the traditional hedge fund concept using blockchain. And in early 2016, the Blythe Masters-led Digital Asset Holdings tapped another ex-VP to serve as a senior software developer. The digital currency exchange space has also attracted veterans of the firm over the years.
Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Chain.
Image via YouTube/DTCCThe 9 Most Anticipated Features in Android Gingerbread 2.3
Nobody besides Google insiders know when Android Gingerbread 2.3 will drop, but it's supposed to be any day now. On November 12th, @GoogleMobile tweeted, "Our cafes are baking something sweet" with a link to a photo of gingerbread cookies. But what exactly are they cooking up for 2.3? To give Android application developers an idea of what features they will need to support in this new version, here are the top 9 most anticipated features users are hoping to see.
1. Video chat
"Perhaps the biggest addition (that we can confirm so far)," Quentyn Kennemer at Phandroid.com said, "has been support for video chat using the same protocols that powers video chat on the desktop version of Google Talk." Now if Google can only get hardware manufacturers to put a front-facing camera on handsets.
2. Streaming Music from Home Computers
With Gingerbread, rumor has it that users will be able to stream music from their home computers to their Droid devices, according Marin Perez at IntoMobile.com. Details on how this will work are sketchy, but Google bought a company called Simplify Media, and according to Perez, Google "will use this technology to let you stream all of your unprotected music to your Android." Google gave a sneak peak of this feature back in May.
3. Android Market Music Store
For users who don't have terabytes of music at home to stream, the Android Market is expected to offer music for sale with Gingerbread. "An interesting thing," Perez blogged, "is that Google said its market will be for more than just apps, as you'll soon be able to purchase music from it. That's a clear shot across the bow at Apple and its iTunes juggernaut."
4. Google TV
Google owns YouTube. "Lean Back" is a version of YouTube that opens in full-screen mode with continuous play and ads. Speculators predict that Gingerbread will take advantage of YouTube's "Lean Back" functionality for YouTube videos, as well as integrating with the Google TV service to provide a much more television-esque video watching experience.
5. New User Interface
The biggest criticsm of Android is that it's user interface (UI) is clunky. Each version of Android has attempted to tackle these UI problems and Gingerbread is likely to follow that trend. In fact, Gingerbread is expected to have a new UI with cleaner, redesigned icons and more lime green. Rather than having applications appear to be something bolted onto the Android operating system, Phandroid's Kennemer reported that unnamed sources said applications will be more seamlessly integrated into the OS. Kennemer said that the YouTube application will be one of the first to get this new treatment.
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Page 1 of 2Giant platypus had taste for meat
By John Pickrell |
A GIANT SPECIES OF extinct platypus that had powerful teeth has been found at Queensland’s Riversleigh World Heritage Area fossil site.
Researchers led by Professor Mike Archer at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney believe the metre-long animal used its teeth to prey on turtles, frogs and fish.
Today’s platypus is around half that length and does not have teeth as an adult, instead relying on horny pads in its bill to crunch up yabbies, shrimp and other invertebrates.
“Discovery of this new species was a shock to us because prior to this, the fossil record suggested that the evolutionary tree of platypuses was relatively linear,” says Mike. “Now we realise that there were unanticipated side-branches on this tree, some of which became gigantic.”
Platyzilla is king of the fossils
Former UNSW student Rebecca Pain, now a doctoral candidate at Columbia University in New York City, USA, discovered a fossil tooth in 2012. The size and eating habits of the new species, named Obdurodon tharalkooschild, were later determined from a detailed study of the size, shape and function of the tooth.
“Monotremes [platypuses and echidnas] are the last remnant of an ancient radiation of mammals unique to the southern continents,” says Rebecca, who is the lead author of a study on the find, published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology.
“A new platypus species, even one that is highly incomplete, is a very important aid in developing understanding about these fascinating mammals.”
The experts believe that, similarly to the modern platypus, the fossil species was an aquatic animal that inhabited pools and rivers in the rainforests that covered the Riversleigh region millions of years ago.
The oldest evidence for ancestors of the platypus in Australia is the 26-million year-old fossil of a smaller species, Obdurodon insignis, found in the Simpson Desert. The fossil record of the platypus group extends back 61 million years in South America.
RELATED STORIESPART I: THE ESTABLISHMENT DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU
by Don Fredrick, ©2016, author of The Complete Obama Timeline
(Jan. 25, 2016) — Either the 22 authors of National Review’s “stop Trump” issue don’t “get it” it or they are frightened to death that the voters do “get it.” While the gang of 22 is allegedly preoccupied with preserving “the conservative movement” (which Mark Steyn observes “barely moves anything”), the rest of us are worried about preserving our nation. While they are worried about the loss of their immigrant maids and lawn care services in Connecticut and Georgetown, those of us who make our own beds and cut our own grass are worried about the loss of our culture.
I am not sure what people like William Kristol and George Will do besides pontificate (with varying amounts of arrogance and alliterations), but if they and their cohorts were asked by the average citizen, “What have you done for us lately?” they’d be hard-pressed to provide a convincing answer. Kristol could be counted on to nod approvingly if you want to engage in a war we have no business fighting, and Will knows a lot of baseball stats, but they have arguably done little to contradict Steyn’s observation.
Granted, most people are beholden to their bosses. If the millionaire who funds your Internet broadcasts is all-in for Ted Cruz and even set up his political action committee, you aren’t going to disagree. Heck, you’ll even ask an underling to pen an anti-Trump article as well. Still, there are limits to one’s loyalties—or at least there should be.
Editor Rich Lowry lost me at his despicable “make the trains run on time” remark on The Kelly File—a remark that Miss “And Did I Tell You About My Husband’s Book?” chose not to challenge. Thomas Sowell—who I had thought was above such things—did Lowry one better. Sowell not only compared Donald Trump to Hitler and Mussolini, he tossed in Vladimir Lenin and the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini for good measure.
If the face of conservativism is outrageous comparisons to several of history’s more murderous thugs, then I am more than happy that National Review’s declining readership has fallen even lower than Rachel Maddow’s dismal ratings. Fewer than 200,000 readers out of 300+ million Americans is a batting average Will would declare incomparably inconsequential, although Kristol could put quite a few boots on the ground with 200,000 blind followers. But knowing that few watch Maddow or read NR helps restore my faith in America.
Lowry and staff may get their comeuppance, however. At ChroniclesMagazine.org Justin Raimondo points out that National Review’s tax exempt status as a 501(c)3 organization requires that it must “not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” If Lowry is not meeting with his magazine’s tax lawyers and accountants, he probably should be.
The 22 tried their darnedest to make their point (“Trump is not a real conservative”) and declared unworthy of respect anyone who dares support the Manhattan real estate magnate—while at the same hoping no one would recall that in 2012 some of those same 22 wrote off (and even attacked) more than a few far more conservative candidates in their eagerness to promote Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. (For those of you who have forgotten, Romney started the socialist ObamaCare ball rolling with RomneyCare in Massachusetts, and Paul Ryan has so far managed to do the impossible: make us wonder why we hated Eric Cantor and John Boehner so much.) National Review, requiescat in pace.
Elections always bring out the ludicrous “I am not part of the establishment” claims, and this year is not only no exception, it brings out Guinness Book levels of mendacity. Asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer if she is part of the establishment, Hillary Clinton responded, “I just don’t understand what that means.” Apparently the Trump and Bernie Sanders phenomena are not obvious enough for her, but she will find out soon enough that the voters certainly understand the term. Eventually, she may even discover the meaning of “minimum security facility,” and her communications with Huma Abedin will be via mirrors passed through steel bars rather than a private server.
Define it as you will, but Americans have had it with “the establishment.” In 1952 they saw favored conservative Robert Taft replaced by Dwight D. Eisenhower in a smoke-filled room. But by the end of his two terms even Ike learned to be wary of the military-industrial complex. (Today it is closer to a military-media complex.) In 1960 the nation was given an establishment candidate (Richard M. Nixon) opposed by John F. Kennedy, whose inexperience and naiveté were compensated for by a quick mind, a good sense of humor, his old man’s money—and monumental vote fraud by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. But even Kennedy’s money could not stand in the way of the establishment, which forced him to accept as his running mate Lyndon B. Johnson—one of the most corrupt and despicable human beings ever to tread American soil.
The establishment saw to it that JFK would not serve a second term, and LBJ went all the way in 1964 with the help of the infamous “daisy commercial” concocted by the smarmy Bill Moyers. In 1968 the establishment was initially fought by Senator Eugene McCarthy, who managed to get Johnson to withdraw from the race. That lured Bobby Kennedy into the competition. But once again the establishment saw to it that no “upstart” would win a nomination, and Hubert Humphrey was anointed. Of course, it did not matter to the power brokers whether Humphrey or Nixon won; they would get what they wanted either way.
Watergate upset the applecart in 1974 and gave us Jimmy Carter in 1976, who was stuck with the disastrous economic consequences of the war in Vietnam and Nixon taking the nation fully off the gold standard. Not that Carter wasn’t a Jew-hating doofus, but even the brilliant Friedrich Hayek would not have been able to put a quick stop to the massive price inflation.
In 1980 the establishment was challenged by Ronald Reagan. (National Review didn’t want him either, at least in the beginning.) The only people who wanted Reagan were the voters—the people who are supposed to be involved only peripherally in presidential decisions. By sheer force of will and personality, Reagan defied the odds, won the nomination, and pummeled Carter. But just as Kennedy was forced to take Johnson as his running mate, Reagan was forced to accept George H. W. Bush as his. Strings got pulled, but not enough of them and Reagan survived the 1981 assassination attempt—which likely tempered some of his conservative plans, such as eliminating the Department of Education. (Don’t believe everyone in the GOP establishment who says, “I supported Reagan even before he became popular!” Ask them to prove it and they’ll react as if you demanded they show you their ticket stub from Woodstock.)
Reagan was followed by Bush the elder in 1988, who four years and one war later bumbled his way through a few debates with Arkansas’ premier womanizer and sexual molester, William Jefferson Blyth III, aka Bill Clinton. Clinton learned the tricks of the political trade from racist Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright. The Clintons are, of course, as establishment as they come—and will remain so as long as the checks keep coming.
In 2000 the choice was between establishment Al Gore and establishment George W. Bush. Establishment John Kerry, an embarrassing dunce who was nevertheless intelligent enough to court wealthy widows, tried to end the Bush legacy but was thwarted by a few war veterans who remembered more than he would have preferred about his “feats of bravery” in Vietnam. With his invasion of Iraq, Bush thrilled neo-conservatives like William Kristol and every other idiot who believed we could “bring democracy to the region”—as if people still living in the seventh century would know what to do with it. It turns out that the “New World Order” is a bit difficult to impose on a world overflowing with disorder.
Then along came Marxist community activist Barack Hussein Obama Soetoro Obama (BHOSO), or whatever his name is, to thump Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2008 by bringing in busloads of supporters from Chicago to vote in the Iowa caucuses. (The state’s black population probably doubled on that day.) Additional cheating in Texas, and considerable rule-rigging from the Democrat National Committee, guaranteed that Webster Hubbell’s daughter’s mother would not be the Demosocialist party’s nominee that year. She settled instead for Secretary of State, where her incompetence ensured that she would fail at almost every task she attempted, and where her corrupt and secretive nature ultimately led to 150 FBI agents poring over the server she apparently lacked enough cloths to adequately wipe.
Obama, as we are all constantly reminded by our astronomically high health insurance deductibles, defeated the hapless John McCain—largely through the help of John McCain himself and an incompetent campaign staff that seemed determined to see him lose. The “conservative” National Review pushed McCain—rather than a more conservative, and probably more electable, alternative. Things went so badly for McCain in 2008 that in 2012 the GOP (again supported by National Review) naturally repeated the process, by nominating perhaps the least conservative candidate in the race and even using some of McCain’s crack campaign advisors. (In two elections the Democrats practically pleaded for the gutless GOP to nominate McCain and Romney—and listen they did.)
Here we are now in 2016, with an establishment that has spent decades shoving bad candidates down our throats and often into the Oval Office, telling us once again that we voters are nincompoops who should defer to their remarkable and unsurpassed judgment. (George Will and National Review to the Chicago Cubs: “You have to trust us; Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio will be a tremendous trade!”) Thanks, but I’ll pass on the establishment’s advice. If Rich Lowry and William Kristol know what’s best for us, then put them on a “National Review Party” ticket and let the electoral college chips fall where they may.
The reality is that we voters have simply had enough and we’re not going to take it anymore. We want no one named Bush, Clinton, Obama, or anyone like them in our Oval Office, while behind the scenes Goldman Sachs, George Soros, Tom Steyer, Warren Buffett, Martin Sorrell, Rupert Murdoch, Leo Gerard, General Electric, Time-Warner, and a few other conglomerates call the shots. We don’t care if Disney and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce want cheap labor. We don’t care if Heidi Cruz’s comrades want a New World Order. We don’t care if Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to be the caliph of the ISIS-created caliphate while Barack Obama runs interference for him as the next Secretary General of the United Nations.
We certainly don’t want South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley telling us not to be angry when we have millions (actually 18+ trillions) of reasons to be angry. We don’t want the federal government forcing the nuns of the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide employees with free abortifacients. We don’t want foreign aid going to nations that hate us. We don’t want to pay for the defense of Japan and Germany until the end of time. We don’t want a welfare system as generous as Michael Moore’s waistline. We don’t want a border as porous as a Kardashian brain. We don’t want illegal immigrants raping our daughters and murdering our loved ones. We don’t want terrorists who claim to be refugees infiltrating the United States and poisoning our water supplies. We don’t want hypocritical celebrities flying around in their private jets telling us we are using too much gasoline. We think it is perfectly reasonable and prudent to ask for photo identification to vote, especially when you need the same darned ID to board a plane, rent a car, or pick up a package at the Post Office. We don’t think our lives are better with health insurance that covers what we don’t need and doesn’t cover what we want covered. All this nonsense (and a lot more) was given to us by “the establishment.” Well, this year the establishment can go to Hell.While the film's actors did not receive any SAG Award nominations, Paramount is zeroing in on the Academy's acting branch, which accounts for one-sixth of its membership
The early teaser trailers for Interstellar, released back when nobody really had any idea what Christopher Nolan's latest film was about, didn't offer much information about it. All one could really deduce from the visuals and Matthew McConaughey's vague ramblings (perhaps they were his audition tape for the Lincoln commercials?) was that its focus would be on the exploration of our solar system.
Now that the film has been unveiled and the awards race is heating up, Paramount wants to bring that focus back down to earth by highlighting its central performances by lead actor McConaughey, lead actress Anne Hathaway and supporting actress Jessica Chastain.
Interstellar was not nominated for any SAG Awards on Wednesday morning. (Screeners of the film were not ready in time to reach the nominating committee prior to the close of voting, but it's not clear that they would have changed the outcome anyway.) The studio feels, though, that it still can and should make its best possible case to the acting branch of the Academy, which determines the acting Oscar nominees and accounts for one-sixth of the Academy's overall membership, all of whom get to weigh in on the best picture category.
Read more Full Interview With Christopher Nolan and the Stars of 'Interstellar'
This studio knows that the failure to land a SAG nom doesn't always mean an actor's Oscar prospects are squashed. In recent years, Revolutionary Road's Michael Shannon and The Wolf of Wall Street's Jonah Hill both overcame the same sort of early setback that McConaughey, Hathaway and Chastain endured Wednesday.
But for that to happen, Paramount will have to highlight not only the ambitious and audacious nature of the film — points it certainly needs to hit to have any chance of landing best picture or best director Oscar noms, for which it is currently thought to be on the bubble — but also the acting challenges that came with it.
To that end, the studio will now be focusing more on the human and emotional aspects of the film and its three principal performances in all of its campaigning. (It is also going to highlight supporting actor Michael Caine, although that presents a bit more of a challenge because he's not based stateside and his scenes in the film contain major spoilers.) Starting the week of Dec. 15 — Oscar nomination voting begins on Dec. 29 — the studio will begin running 60-second television spots centered around each of those performances. (The McConaughey installment debuts exclusively at the top of this post.)
When Oscar nominations are announced on Jan. 15, will Interstellar have been brought back down to Earth or lost in space? It will be interesting to find out the answer.
Twitter: @ScottFeinbergAs they so often do, The Washington Free Beacon has posted a must-see clip taken from a recent interview in which PBS host Charlie Rose quizzed National Security Advisor Susan Rice over the deteriorating international security environment. Apparently, it was a laugh riot.
In the process of discussing the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe and NATO’s response to Russian aggression, Rice was interrupted when Rose submitted that it was “humiliating” to see a group of unspecified troops surrender. Rice was apparently confused, but why she was taken aback is unclear. Has there been another mass surrender of troops in Europe other than those Ukrainian soldiers who laid down their arms after being surrounded by pro-Russian forces in Debaltseve? Is that hitherto unknown mass capitulation a secret? If so, Rice didn’t maintain her poker face for very long.
Having apparently been caught off guard by this question regarding the return of war to the European continent, both Rice and Rose succumbed to a chummy moment of collegial laughter. How humanizing.
“I was just simply saying we’re taking very serious steps to reinforce NATO’s presence, air, land and sea, in the NATO countries that are on the eastern flank,” Rice finally said after regaining her composure.
It isn’t entirely clear what is so humorous in this moment, but both the host and interview subject seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. Of slightly less comic value is the situation in Ukraine following the collapse of the latest attempt to secure a ceasefire.
For the first time in weeks, Ukraine reports suffering no troop deaths in the last 24 hours. Since the last ceasefire agreement was reached, heavy fighting has resulted in significant casualities on both sides of the conflict and the fall of a strategic railway hub to pro-Russian forces. Secretary of State John Kerry asserted that neither said of the conflict had “come close to complying with their commitments” associated with honoring the ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s decision to reduce gas supplies to some areas of the country under rebel control may result in the deepening of this crisis. Russian president Vladimir Putin called the move a decision that would exacerbate a “humanitarian catastrophe” in that part of the country.
“What do you call that?” he asked. “That already smacks of genocide.” If Putin wanted to step up the intervention into the border regions of Ukraine, he has his pretext.
And, if a Russian report that alleges to have reproduced Moscow’s plans for Ukraine is to be believed, the Kremlin will not limit its provocations to two Ukrainian oblasts along the border. “[Russian journalist Dimitri Muratov] said the overall strategy included plans on how to break Ukraine into autonomous sectors, immediately attaching now war-torn southeastern Ukraine to Moscow’s tax union, with a longer term plan for annexation,” one report on the leaked plan read.
Given these conditions, it’s hard to see what’s so funny.A NORTH KOREAN defector has praised Donald Trump for his tough stance on Kim Jong-un’s regime as tensions continue to grow with the US.
Hyeon-seo Lee, the author of The Girl with Seven Names, said she was reduced to tears when she first heard Mr Trump speak out against North Korea.
Speaking to Fox News, the 37-year-old said it had taken more than 70 years for a US leader to condemn the regime in Pyongyang.
She said: “Not any president said those words until today – even though we’ve been suffering for seven decades.”
Ms Lee, who fled North Korea in 1997 as a teenager to China before moving to South Korea, spoke about life under the regime.
“The North Korean regime really can control people,” she said. “I think they are the best dictator in the whole planet.”
Meanwhile, China has vowed to remain a good neighbour to North Korea, despite a rare and stinging critique in Pyongyang’s state media of its main diplomatic protector and economic benefactor.
Beijing offered a measured response to a signed commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which lashed out at China and said it should be grateful to Pyongyang for its protection.
The bylines article warned of “grave consequences” if North Korea’s patience is tested further.
China’s Global Times newspaper retorted that the nuclear-armed North was in the grip of “some form of irrational logic” over its weapons programs.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang took a conciliatory tone when asked about KCNA’s commentary at a press briefing, saying Beijing has a consistent position of “developing good neighbourly and friendly co-operation” with North Korea.
He also said China was “firmly committed” to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula through dialogue and consultation.
Beijing and Pyongyang have a relationship forged in the blood of the Korean War, and the Asian giant remains its wayward neighbour’s main provider of aid and trade.
But ties have begun to fray in recent years, with China increasingly exasperated by the North’s nuclear antics and fearful of a regional crisis. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has yet to visit Beijing, more than five years after taking power.
The media spat is a sign of the level to which ties between the two have deteriorated. KCNA regularly carries vivid denunciations of the US, Japan, and the South Korean authorities, but it is rare for it to turn its ire on China.
Beijing regularly calls for parties to avoid raising tensions — remarks that can apply to both Washington and Pyongyang — and in February it announced the suspension of coal imports from the North for the rest of the year, a crucial foreign currency earner for the authorities.
Chinese state-run media have called for harsher sanctions against the North in the event of a fresh atomic test, urged Pyongyang to “avoid making mistakes”, and spoken of the need for it to abandon its nuclear programs.
The KCNA commentary denounced the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist party, and the Global Times, which sometimes reflects the thinking of the leadership, as having “raised lame excuses for the base acts of dancing to the tune of the US”.
Chinese suggestions that the North give up its weapons crossed a “red line” and were “ego-driven theory based on big-power chauvinism” said the article, bylines “Kim Chol” -- believed to be a pseudonym.
“The DPRK will never beg for the maintenance of friendship with China, risking its nuclear program which is as precious as its own life,” it said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Pyongyang had acted as a buffer between Beijing and Washington since the Korean War in the 1950s and “contributed to protecting peace and security of China”, it said, adding that its ally should “thank the DPRK for it”.
Beijing should not try to test the limits of the North’s patience, it said, warning: “China had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the DPRK-China relations.”
In its response on Thursday, the Global Times — which can sometimes stridently espouse what it sees as China’s interests — dismissed the KCNA article as “nothing more than a hyper-aggressive piece completely filled with nationalistic passion”.
“Pyongyang obviously is grappling with some form of irrational logic over its nuclear program,” it added.
Beijing “should also make Pyongyang aware that it will react in unprecedented fashion if Pyongyang conducts another nuclear test”, it said.
“The more editorials KCNA publishes, the better Chinese society will be able to understand how Pyongyang thinks, and how hard it is to solve this nuclear issue,” the Global Times said.
Washington is meanwhile pushing Beijing — which says its influence is less than believed — to put more pressure on Pyongyang. |
1951 1.0
Note unit is 288k FFT. I'll try two of -t 2 in parallel next, then 4x singles.
Was that single threaded test running on one core with three cores idle, or were there 4 copies running independently on all 4 cores (simulating normal BOINC utilization)?
____________
Please do not PM me with support questions. Ask on the forums instead. Thank you!
My lucky number is 75898524288+1
That was a single task by itself.
Two -t 2 just completed in 1193s average (less than 1% time difference between the two), putting its throughput about 4% higher than -t 4.
I have 4x singles running now. Results to follow.
Running 4 single tasks at the same time took 2263s average. In throughput, that puts 2x2t as 5.4% slower, and 1x4t as 9.5% slower.
I'd expect things to swing in the favour of more threads as the size increases, but at 288k FFT, we're not there yet.
Note above is based on my specific i5 system. Results may vary with CPU model and ram configuration. As i5, I'd expect it to hit the cache penalty earlier than an i7 would, but the faster than average ram would help offset that.
Man what a day NOT to change Running Projects!
What do we select for "The new badge for GCW-LLR."
Wow! Over 20 Hours on the AMD CPU 12-Core AMD Opteron 6180 SE, 2500 MHz (12.5 x 200)
Down to 10 Hours
17 to 2 Days on my two 14-Core Intel Xeon E5-2680 v4, 2900 MHz (29 x 100)
I must have the wrong project selected
Generalized Cullen/Woodal Prime Search LLR
Or is it this one: Generalized Cullen/Woodall Sieve (I guess this one)
____________
Crunching@EVGA The Number One Team in the BOINC Community. Folding@EVGA The Number One Team in the Folding@Home Community.
I searched and didn't find an answer to: HT or no HT?
Testing with this now.
<app_config>
<app>
<name>llrGCW</name>
<max_concurrent>4</max_concurrent>
<fraction_done_exact/>
</app>
<app_version>
<app_name>llrGCW</app_name>
<cmdline>-t 8</cmdline>
<avg_ncpus>8</avg_ncpus>
<max_ncpus>8</max_ncpus>
</app_version>
</app_config>
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Crunching@EVGA The Number One Team in the BOINC Community. Folding@EVGA The Number One Team in the Folding@Home Community.
I searched and didn't find an answer to: HT or no HT?
It would be nice if they would provide this kind of info in the First Post of a new Project.
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Crunching@EVGA The Number One Team in the BOINC Community. Folding@EVGA The Number One Team in the Folding@Home Community.
I searched and didn't find an answer to: HT or no HT?
Rule of thumb: no HT for LLR, HT for sieve.
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My stats
Badge score: 1*1 + 5*2 + 8*9 + 9*6 + 12*3 = 173
I searched and didn't find an answer to: HT or no HT?
Rule of thumb: no HT for LLR, HT for sieve.
How does this work with multi-threads?
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Crunching@EVGA The Number One Team in the BOINC Community. Folding@EVGA The Number One Team in the Folding@Home Community.
What Name do we use here?
Thanks
Use llrGCW as app_name, already answered today in this thread.
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My stats
Badge score: 1*1 + 5*2 + 8*9 + 9*6 + 12*3 = 173
How does this work with multi-threads?
Already covered by mackerel, also today in this very thread.
____________
My stats
Badge score: 1*1 + 5*2 + 8*9 + 9*6 + 12*3 = 173
How does this work with multi-threads?
Already covered by mackerel, also today in this very thread.
Sorry I have been looking, still cannot find if HT should be on with multi-threads of off.
I always have trouble with setting up new PG Projects.
Sorry
Not really a Math person and that might be why I have a hard time.
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Crunching@EVGA The Number One Team in the BOINC Community. Folding@EVGA The Number One Team in the Folding@Home Community.
How does this work with multi-threads?
Already covered by mackerel, also today in this very thread.
Edit: This reply is a mistake, see apology below. Leaving so quoted messages below aren't confusing.
Infinitely unhelpful and bordering on rude given I'm trying to donate to this project. Search for HT on this thread. Many HTTP and a few overnight's and ZERO HT or mention or hyper threading. My HT is the first one you'll find.
Plus, this forum is the link that the "Generalized Cullen/Woodall Prime Search (Sieve)" It's a sieve for an LLR task. Sieve or LLR? I'm not a bleeping expert on primes, I just want to know how to setup my damn system.
And, still no direct answer. Wouldn't have been easier for you to say:
HT or No HT?
It's almost easier to switch back to WCG.
Your call on a friendly direct answer or not.
Sorry, I will not ask anymore.
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Crunching@EVGA The Number One Team in the BOINC Community. Folding@EVGA The Number One Team in the Folding@Home Community.
Question - what does this project actually do? As in, are they generating some kind of specific primes or? New to this, sorry.
How does this work with multi-threads?
Already covered by mackerel, also today in this very thread.
Infinitely unhelpful and bordering on rude given I'm trying to donate to this project. Search for HT on this thread. Many HTTP and a few overnight's and ZERO HT or mention or hyper threading. My HT is the first one you'll find.
Plus, this forum is the link that the "Generalized Cullen/Woodall Prime Search (Sieve)" It's a sieve for an LLR task. Sieve or LLR? I'm not a bleeping expert on primes, I just want to know how to setup my damn system.
And, still no direct answer. Wouldn't have been easier for you to say:
HT or No HT?
It's almost easier to switch back to WCG.
Your call on a friendly direct answer or not.
My apologies for this rant. I got the messages screwed up and thought this was a reply to my HT question.
Crunch on...
Question - what does this project actually do? As in, are they generating some kind of specific primes or? New to this, sorry.
Yes, we are looking for some kind of specific primes.
A good summary is in Welcome (back) to the Generalized Cullen/Woodall Prime Search thread is this subforum.
____________
My stats
Badge score: 1*1 + 5*2 + 8*9 + 9*6 + 12*3 = 173
How does this work with multi-threads?
Sorry I have been looking, still cannot find if HT should be on with multi-threads of off.
I always have trouble with setting up new PG Projects.
Sorry
Not really a Math person and that might be why I have a hard time.
Aha. Not how does LLR work with MT but how does HT works with MT.
*Generally, there is no benefit to have HT on while doing LLR tasks (yes, this thread is about LLR). I would say this apply to MT scenario as well.
* I can imagine some benefit with single-core, HT CPU.
Running 6-core with HT would probably hit bottle-neck on memory.
Xeon CPU might be a bit different, have no experience with latest AMD Ryzen.
And it depends on number of memory channels, RAM speed.
Most probably slower on multi-socket CPUs systems.
FFT size plays some role as well - so generally no HT while doing LLR, be it single-threaded or MT task.
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My stats
Badge score: 1*1 + 5*2 + 8*9 + 9*6 + 12*3 = 173
On the HT question, it was better turned off in the single thread era, but testing in another thread was suggesting a possible not insignificant throughput improvement in using those extra threads. It isn't giving more peak potential, just offsetting some of the losses so you get closer to ideal scaling. Further testing is required to understand where it will help or not.
Why is there only a "Recent average CPU time: 0:00:00" on http://www.primegrid.com/prefs.php?subset=project when I look at the project while editing my setings?
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Why is there only a "Recent average CPU time: 0:00:00" on http://www.primegrid.com/prefs.php?subset=project when I look at the project while editing my setings?
It hasn't been long enough yet for the stats to be generated. Also, even when they are, the task sizes are growing so quickly that they're not going to provide meaningful information for a few days. The project only started yesterday and some of the systems take a while to ramp up.
____________
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My lucky number is 75898524288+1
Thank you guys. I got my answer... ;)
Another question: Under http://www.primegrid.com/show_badges.php?userid=388469, I don't see a GCW LLR line. Yes, I don't have any badge right now since none of my tasks completed. I don't know if that is the reason, or just that the new project didn't make it to that page, yet. If the former, I think there is value in listing the projects in there for which the user has no badge, but has tasks in progress and/or pending credits. The CurrentCredit and CurrentBadge would be blank, but all other fields would have useful info.
Another question: Under http://www.primegrid.com/show_badges.php?userid=388469, I don't see a GCW LLR line. Yes, I don't have any badge right now since none of my tasks completed. I don't know if that is the reason, or just that the new project didn't make it to that page, yet. If the former, I think there is value in listing the projects in there for which the user has no badge, but has tasks in progress and/or pending credits. The CurrentCredit and CurrentBadge would be blank, but all other fields would have useful info.
It will show up as soon as you get credit. Thanks for your suggestion, but I don't know how feasible it is, so no promises.
____________
Please do not PM me with support questions. Ask on the forums instead. Thank you!
My lucky number is 75898524288+1
Another question: Under http://www.primegrid.com/show_badges.php?userid=388469, I don't see a GCW LLR line. Yes, I don't have any badge right now since none of my tasks completed. I don't know if that is the reason, or just that the new project didn't make it to that page, yet. If the former, I think there is value in listing the projects in there for which the user has no badge, but has tasks in progress and/or pending credits. The CurrentCredit and CurrentBadge would be blank, but all other fields would have useful info.
It will show up as soon as you get credit. Thanks for your suggestion, but I don't know how feasible it is, so no promises.
It turns out that's a deliberate design choice. We don't want rows showing with merely pending or in-progress tasks. Amongst other reasons, there's no guarantee that credit will actually be granted, and we don't want rows blinking in and out of existence.
____________
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My lucky number is 75898524288+1
I turned on the new app yesterday, and today i have BOINCstats credit for it. I run WUProp, and the new app doesn't show up. It's early days. If there is an error here, i've no idea where it might be - PrimeGrid or WUProp. I expect to see WUProp (counts hours contributed) before BOINCStats, since WUProp works on an every six hours, whereas BOINCStats waits until units are validated and are awarded credit. I've checked. The machine running the new app has gotten credit, and in the right amount...
Stephen.
I turned on the new app yesterday, and today i have BOINCstats credit for it. I run WUProp, and the new app doesn't show up. It's early days. If there is an error here, i've no idea where it might be - PrimeGrid or WUProp. I expect to see WUProp (counts hours contributed) before BOINCStats, since WUProp works on an every six hours, whereas BOINCStats waits until units are validated and are awarded credit. I've checked. The machine running the new app has gotten credit, and in the right amount...
Stephen.
Its a wuprop problem. You'll need to take it up with them. It's already been discussed on their forums.
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My lucky number is 75898524288+1
We have passed a milestone of note:
* GCW tasks are now above 1 million digits
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My lucky number is 75898524288+1
At this rate, how long would it take to do all double checks?
Another milestone:
* base 116 has sent out all of its double check tasks and is now sending out leading edge tasks. Base 121 isn't far behind.
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My lucky number is 75898524288+1
Good progress.
And b=13 is near n=1M.
So far so good - tasks have 5 days deadline.
Any plan ye on this as we go forward?
Should we start betting on which b yield a prime first?
And/or around what n?
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My stats
Badge score: 1*1 + 5*2 + 8*9 + 9*6 + 12*3 = 173
With the bigger units I think I'll revisit the thread scaling testing later. A quick look at some recent units shows FFTs up to 480k. I suspect 2x2 might be faster than 4x1 now based on expected cache usage.
Even without such data, I've decided to go -t 4 on my quads purely to keep unit times down, even if it means I'm not maximising throughput.
* Base 121 is also beyond the double check tasks and is sending out leading edge tasks.
____________
Please do not PM me with support questions. Ask on the forums instead. Thank you!
My lucky number is 75898524288+1
With the bigger units I think I'll revisit the thread scaling testing later. A quick look at some recent units shows FFTs up to 480k. I suspect 2x2 might be faster than 4x1 now based on expected cache usage.
Even without such data, I've decided to go -t 4 on my quads purely to keep unit times down, even if it means I'm not maximising throughput.
I've decided to do the same thing. Since we're now starting to get leading edge tasks with real wingmen, I'd rather be the guy who finishes first, even if I'm doing a couple fewer tasks per day. Someone is going to find a prime sooner or later. And, of course, when the tasks get large enough, multithreading will be more efficient as well.
____________
Please do not PM me with support questions. Ask on the forums instead. Thank you!
My lucky number is 75898524288+1
With the bigger units I think I'll revisit the thread scaling testing later. A quick look at some recent units shows FFTs up to 480k. I suspect 2x2 might be faster than 4x1 now based on expected cache usage.
Even without such data, I've decided to go -t 4 on my quads purely to keep unit times down, even if it means I'm not maximising throughput.
I've decided to do the same thing. Since we're now starting to get leading edge tasks with real wingmen, I'd rather be the guy who finishes first, even if I'm doing a couple fewer tasks per day. Someone is going to find a prime sooner or later. And, of course, when the tasks get large enough, multithreading will be more efficient as well.
Likewise. Increased chance of being the original finder and shorter run times more than offsets a small drop in throughput, and tasks will soon enough be large enough that throughput benefits.
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It's fixed now. I didn't get a chance to talk to WUProp...
With the bigger units I think I'll revisit the thread scaling testing later. A quick look at some recent units shows FFTs up to 480k. I suspect 2x2 might be faster than 4x1 now based on expected cache usage.
Even without such data, I've decided to go -t 4 on my quads purely to keep unit times down, even if it means I'm not maximising throughput.
I've decided to do the same thing. Since we're now starting to get leading edge tasks with real wingmen, I'd rather be the guy who finishes first, even if I'm doing a couple fewer tasks per day. Someone is going to find a prime sooner or later. And, of course, when the tasks get large enough, multithreading will be more efficient as well.
Definitely, with my i5-4670K, it was the right time to switch. Equivalent tasks (based on credit) are running more than 4 times faster running with -t 4 than when running 4 separate tasks.
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My lucky number is 75898524288+1
Does anyone have a working app config they could post to run GCW-LLR with four threads?
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Does anyone have a working app config they could post to run GCW-LLR with four threads?
<app_config> <app> <name>llrGCW</name> <fraction_done_exact/> </app> <app_version> <app_name>llrGCW</app_name> <cmdline>-t 2</cmdline> <avg_ncpus>2</avg_ncpus> <max_ncpus>2</max_ncpus> </app_version> </app_config>
This is mine using t2, so that I run 2 tasks at a time (with t2 each); change the three "2" for a "4" to make a t4 version.
Does anyone have a working app config they could post to run GCW-LLR with four threads?
Here you go. Note that most people also put a <max_ncpus> tag in there, but that's an error. Max_ncpus is not used and is ignored. The correct tag is avg_ncpus.
<app_config> <app> <name>llrGCW</name> <fraction_done_exact/> <max_concurrent>1</max_concurrent> </app> <app_version> <app_name>llrGCW</app_name> <cmdline>-t 4</cmdline> <avg_ncpus>4</avg_ncpus> </app_version> </app_config>
Don't forget to restart BOINC after creating the app_config.xml file.
____________
Please do not PM me with support questions. Ask on the forums instead. Thank you!
My lucky number is 75898524288+1
Does anyone have a working app config they could post to run GCW-LLR with four threads?
Here you go. Note that most people also put a <max_ncpus> tag in there, but that's an error. Max_ncpus is not used and is ignored. The correct tag is avg_ncpus.
<app_config> <app> <name>llrGCW</name> <fraction_done_exact/> <max_concurrent>1</max_concurrent> </app> <app_version> <app_name>llrGCW</app_name> <cmdline>-t 4</cmdline> <avg_ncpus>4</avg_ncpus> </app_version> </app_config>
Don't forget to restart BOINC after creating the app_config.xml file.
Michael, this is awesome. Thanks! I was just gonna make time this morning to read through the lengthy http://www.primegrid.com/forum_thread.php?id=7348, and create my own, but this helps a bunch! I guess one remaining question would be, although unrelated to this thread: What other app names could be used to replace llrGCW above in the app_config.xml? In other words, what other apps can take in a "-t n" param that are currently active?
Michael, this is awesome. Thanks! I was just gonna make time this morning to read through the lengthy http://www.primegrid.com/forum_thread.php?id=7348, and create my own, but this helps a bunch! I guess one remaining question would be, although unrelated to this thread: What other app names could be used to replace llrGCW above in the app_config.xml? In other words, what other apps can take in a "-t n" param that are currently active?
Take a look here. Anything that starts with "llr" is up for multithread grabs.
Michael, this is awesome. Thanks! I was just gonna make time this morning to read through the lengthy http://www.primegrid.com/forum_thread.php?id=7348, and create my own, but this helps a bunch! I guess one remaining question would be, although unrelated to this thread: What other app names could be used to replace llrGCW above in the app_config.xml? In other words, what other apps can take in a "-t n" param that are currently active?
You already received the link to the app name list. The only thing I would add is that you probably don't want to use multithreading on PPS-MEGA or smaller (PPS, PPSE, SGS). It's inefficient with smaller numbers. Furthermore, performance varies a lot depending on the size of the number, CPU and cache configuration, etc.
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My lucky number is 75898524288+1
Thank you both!
Thank you both!
I posted this as a summary: http://www.primegrid.com/forum_thread.php?id=7348&nowrap=true#107600
I hope I didn't screw up something...
Tuna
Same test PC as before. This time 631200*73^631200+1 which uses 512k FFT.
2x2t the faster one took 3412s
1x4t took 1641s, putting its throughput about 4% higher.
Doesn't seem to be any point in trying 4x1t.
It took some rather insane SQL-fu, but I came up with a way to generate reasonable double check statistics for GCW. While the database query is ridiculously long and complicated, it runs very quickly, which is the important thing.
+--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | b | candidates | residues | done | work | work % | done % | +--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | 13 | 12510 | 8178 | 10572 | 2,847.228 | 3.674 | 3.522 | | 25 | 15287 | 13843 | 12114 | 5,074.152 | 6.548 | 4.712 | | 29 | 11084 | 10142 | 8420 | 4,051.367 | 5.228 | 3.287 | | 41 | 11030 | 9998 | 7338 | 5,038.974 | 6.502 | 2.924 | | 47 | 11671 | 10590 | 7583 | 5,626.827 | 7.261 | 3.063 | | 49 | 13383 | 12370 | 8784 | 6,549.047 | 8.451 | 3.401 | | 53 | 11886 | 11024 | 7673 | 6,051.078 | 7.808 | 2.973 | | 55 | 16437 | 15283 | 10361 | 8,533.111 | 11.011 | 4.030 | | 69 | 19730 | 18249 | 11639 | 11,397.797 | 14.708 | 4.576 | | 73 | 11796 | 10953 | 6957 | 6,946.979 | 8.964 | 2.719 | | 101 | 10630 | 9947 | 5774 | 7,294.817 | 9.413 | 2.262 | | 109 | 8864 | 8157 | 5684 | 4,405.192 | 5.685 | 2.251 | | 116 | 14182 | 12260 | 12067 | 2,577.002 | 3.325 | 3.229 | | 121 | 5856 | 5190 | 5113 | 1,100.873 | 1.421 | 1.384 | | TOTAL: | 174346 | 156184 | 120079 | 77,494.445 | 100.000 | 44.332 | +--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
b is self explanatory.
Candidates is the count of all the numbers that are part of the double check.
Residues is the count of residues for those candidates. As you can see, about 18000 candidates didn't have any residues.
Done is the number of candidates that have been proven prime or composite. In BOINC terms, that means at least two tasks have been validated.
Work is the amount of computing power required. "1.0" is the amount of computing power necessary to test a single 1-million digit number twice. This implies that 0.5 is the amount of computing power required to test a 1-million digit candidate if a residue already exists.
Work % is, for each base, its portion of the total work.
Done % is, for each base, how much is completed (validated) out of the total work.
As of right now, we're 44% done. Note that done means "validated". If you look at what's been sent out, we're at a higher percentage. I may add that data to the chart later.
Note that unlike the PSP and SoB double checks, we're still sieving GCW. It is about 100% likely that as the double check proceeds, the sieve will remove candidates that are part of the double check. The statistics in this chart take into account unprocessed candidates that have been removed by the sieve. As a result, as I publish updated versions of this chart, you will notice that some of the numbers will drop over time. "Candidates", "residues", and "work" will slowly drop as factors are found, and "work %" will fluctuate.
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My lucky number is 75898524288+1
Thanks Mike, great job...I somehow thought you would take a challenge and make sunch an SQL to get those usefull numbers so we know how we are doing.
____________
My stats
Badge score: 1*1 + 5*2 + 8*9 + 9*6 + 12*3 = 173
The double check of original PRPNet work has reached 50% complete. Three of the 14 bases (13, 116, and 121) are beyond the double check and sending out new leading edge tasks.
+--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | b | candidates | residues | done | work | work % | done % | +--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | 13 | 12509 | 8178 | 10714 | 2,847.227 | 3.678 | 3.595 | | 25 | 15284 | 13841 | 12933 | 5,072.301 | 6.553 | 5.530 | | 29 | 11080 | 10141 | 8967 | 4,050.304 | 5.233 | 3.828 | | 41 | 11024 | 9992 | 7824 | 5,032.439 | 6.502 | 3.407 | | 47 | 11656 | 10581 | 8115 | 5,615.058 | 7.254 | 3.586 | | 49 | 13369 | 12359 | 9346 | 6,535.941 | 8.444 | 3.958 | | 53 | 11869 | 11011 | 8202 | 6,034.733 | 7.796 | 3.506 | | 55 | 16425 | 15277 | 11101 | 8,525.530 | 11.014 | 4.755 | | 69 | 19720 | 18242 | 12421 | 11,388.343 | 14.713 | 5.348 | | 73 | 11785 | 10945 | 7401 | 6,935.962 | 8.961 | 3.163 | | 101 | 10624 | 9943 | 6166 | 7,289.593 | 9.418 | 2.651 | | 109 | 8856 | 8151 | 6073 | 4,398.223 | 5.682 | 2.627 | | 116 | 14176 | 12260 | 12204 | 2,576.958 | 3.329 | 3.291 | | 121 | 5854 | 5190 | 5173 | 1,100.853 | 1.422 | 1.409 | | TOTAL: | 174231 | 156111 | 126640 | 77,403.464 | 100.000 | 50.653 | +--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
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The double check of PRPNet work is now 55% completed. Furthermore, base 25 has joined 13, 116, and 121 in having surpassed its progress on PRPNet and is now sending out new leading edge tasks.
+--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | b | candidates | residues | done | work | work % | done % | +--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | 13 | 12509 | 8178 | 10749 | 2,847.227 | 3.681 | 3.619 | | 25 | 15282 | 13841 | 13394 | 5,072.278 | 6.557 | 6.061 | | 29 | 11078 | 10140 | 9353 | 4,049.331 | 5.235 | 4.269 | | 41 | 11021 | 9991 | 8129 | 5,031.260 | 6.504 | 3.769 | | 47 | 11651 | 10578 | 8424 | 5,611.393 | 7.254 | 3.951 | | 49 | 13365 | 12356 | 9721 | 6,532.187 | 8.444 | 4.393 | | 53 | 11864 | 11006 | 8484 | 6,028.723 | 7.794 | 3.838 | | 55 | 16420 | 15273 | 11519 | 8,520.801 | 11.015 | 5.227 | | 69 | 19712 | 18236 | 12899 | 11,380.084 | 14.711 | 5.889 | | 73 | 11782 | 10944 | 7669 | 6,934.744 | 8.965 | 3.469 | | 101 | 10612 | 9931 | 6399 | 7,272.396 | 9.401 | 2.914 | | 109 | 8854 | 8150 | 6310 | 4,397.099 | 5.684 | 2.898 | | 116 | 14175 | 12260 | 12230 | 2,576.958 | 3.331 | 3.301 | | 121 | 5854 | 5190 | 5179 | 1,100.853 | 1.423 | 1.413 | | TOTAL: | 174179 | 156074 | 130459 | 77,355.333 | 100.000 | 55.012 | +--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
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The GCW Double Check has exceeded 60% complete:
+--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | b | candidates | residues | done | work | work % | done % | +--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | 13 | 12502 | 8178 | 10793 | 2,847.171 | 3.685 | 3.653 | | 25 | 15279 | 13841 | 13670 | 5,072.272 | 6.565 | 6.364 | | 29 | 11076 | 10139 | 9777 | 4,048.246 | 5.240 | 4.777 | | 41 | 11015 | 9988 | 8527 | 5,027.591 | 6.507 | 4.258 | | 47 | 11642 | 10572 | 8816 | 5,604.348 | 7.254 | 4.445 | | 49 | 13353 | 12347 | 10175 | 6,521.000 | 8.440 | 4.959 | | 53 | 11854 | 10998 | 8917 | 6,018.848 | 7.790 | 4.377 | | 55 | 16409 | 15268 | 12084 | 8,514.290 | 11.020 | 5.909 | | 69 | 19695 | 18224 | 13537 | 11,363.925 | 14.708 | 6.651 | | 73 | 11774 | 10937 | 8055 | 6,924.496 | 8.962 | 3.940 | | 101 | 10599 | 9919 | 6688 | 7,254.258 | 9.389 | 3.258 | | 109 | 8845 | 8143 | 6614 | 4,388.607 | 5.680 | 3.265 | | 116 | 14172 | 12260 | 12246 | 2,576.929 | 3.335 | 3.310 | | 121 | 5853 | 5190 | 5187 | 1,100.847 | 1.425 | 1.418 | | TOTAL: | 174068 | 156004 | 135086 | 77,262.826 | 100.000 | 60.586 | +--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
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We have passed the end of the double check (n=1M) for base 29. New leading edge tasks are now being sent for base 29. That's the 5th base to reach the end of the double check.
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The double check of the PRPNet work is now 65% complete:
+--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | b | candidates | residues | done | work | work % | done % | +--------+------------+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+ | 13 | 12500 | 8178 | 10806 | 2,847.170 | 3. |
detect diffuse filaments connecting al-Qaida."
Prior to those terror attacks, the NSA intercepted seven calls by eventual hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar, who was living in San Diego. The calls went to an al-Qaida safe house in Yemen.
Though the calls were intercepted, the NSA could not capture the man's telephone number identifier.
"Without that identifier, NSA analysts concluded mistakenly that al-Mihdhar was overseas and not in the United States," Pauley wrote. "Telephony metadata would have furnished the missing information and might have permitted the NSA to notify the [FBI] of the fact that al-Mihdhar was calling the Yemeni safe house from inside the United States.
"The government learned from its mistake and adapted to confront a new enemy: a terror network capable of orchestrating attacks across the world," Pauley said. "It launched a number of countermeasures, including a bulk telephony metadata collection program -- a wide net that could find and isolate gossamer contacts among suspected terrorists in an ocean of seemingly disconnected data."
The judge cited several instances in which a "nascent plot" was headed off by NSA metadata information sent to the FBI, including planned attacks on the New York subway system and the New York Stock Exchange.
NSA leaker "Edward Snowden's unauthorized disclosure of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court orders has provoked a public debate and this litigation," Pauley said. "While robust discussions are under way across the nation, in Congress and the White House, the question for this court is whether the government's bulk telephony program is lawful. This court finds it is. But the question of whether that program should be conducted is for the other two coordinate branches of government" -- Congress and the Obama administration -- "to decide."
Down the road, the U.S. Supreme Court likely will have to decide which view prevails legally -- the review board's finding that the NSA programs are illegal and possibly unconstitutional, or the the argument from successive administrations and rulings from the FISA court that they are both legal and constitutional.
If the NSA's efforts head off a major terror attack in the United States or, in cooperation with Russia promised by President Obama, head off an attack in Sochi where thousands of Americans are gathering for the Games, it could sway public opinion. But it's unlikely the public would even know about it. The agency's activities are normally so secret that for decades a rather lame joke in Washington was that "NSA" stood for "No Such Agency."
However, one factor to consider in the court fight over NSA programs: Chief Justice John Roberts appoints the 15 judges on the FISA court, without oversight from Congress or the White House, and the judges presumably reflect his views.Between their election in 2015 and the end of the next fiscal year, the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau plans to run up deficits totalling $52.5 billion — with another $91.3 billion planned for the next four years after that.
Fifty two billion dollars doesn’t sound all that impressive in a world of $20 million fighter jets and $500 million birthday celebrations.
But to illustrate just what a gargantuan sum Canada is running up on the charge card, the National Post broke out the calculator and found out what else $52.5 billion could buy.
Sending 15 Curiosity rovers to Mars
Canadian space endeavours are generally limited to tagging along on other countries’ space missions. But with a cheque for $52.5 billion, the Canadian Space Agency could be utterly peppering the cosmos with maple-leafed spacecraft. As an example, the extremely ambitious NASA mission to send the truck-sized Curiosity rover to Mars cost only $3.4 billion CDN, with smaller Martian missions clocking in as low as $300 million.
Raising more money for cancer research than 75 Terry Foxs
Fox’s 1980 Marathon of Hope succeeded in its goal of raising one dollar from every Canadian by earning $24.17 million (the equivalent of $73 million today). Throughout another 37 years of Terry Fox Runs, meanwhile, another $700 million has been raised in his name — a number that is precisely one 75th of $52.5 billion.
Matching the combined worldwide gross of the 31 top-earning movies of all time
Avatar, the creation of Canadian-born director James Cameron, is history’s highest grossing film, with a total of $3.7 billion CDN in worldwide earnings. But it takes 30 more of history’s most popular movies to make $52.5 billion. Jurassic Park, Titanic, Skyfall, The Dark Knight, Finding Dory, Iron Man 3, Fate of the Furious and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, among others. Imagine every single movie ticket ever sold around the world for those films, and know that three years of Canadian deficit could have purchased every single one of them.
Replacing every private car in the Maritimes with a Tesla
Tesla’s new Model 3 is a relatively affordable $35,000 USD ($46,000 CDN). Presuming that Elon Musk wouldn’t give Canada a bulk rate, this means that $52.5 billion would buy about 1,135,000 Model 3s. With 1,199,612 vehicles under 4,500 kg registered in PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, that’s almost enough Teslas to make gas-powered cars a thing of the past in the Maritimes.
Equipping every Canadian homeless person with their own jet
The Canadian Homelessness Research Network estimates that on any given night, 35,000 people are sleeping rough on the streets of Canada. Divide $52.5 billion among them and that’s $1.5 million apiece —just enough for a used, entry-level private jet. Giving luxury jets to the homeless is generally inadvisable, of course; most experts would recommend some combination of transitional housing, mental health treatment and detoxification therapy.
Signing a modern treaty with every single First Nation in B.C.
Unlike other provinces, most of B.C. sits on land whose Aboriginal title was never extinguished via treaty. Thus, modern governments are left to sort this with modern treaties. The classic example is the 1998 Nisga’a Final Agreement which, among other things, included a cash transfer of $190 million. Each agreement is different, but $52.5 billion is more than enough to cover a similar cash transfer with all of the province’s 198 distinct First Nations. And before you ask; yes, $52.5 billion would absolutely be enough to deliver potable tap water to every First Nation across Canada.
Paying for two years of the Second World War
In terms of deficit spending, nothing holds a candle to what Canada spent to fight the Second World War. By war’s end, debt was 108.9 per cent of GDP — the highest in Canadian history. And yet, even when adjusted for inflation, $52.5 billion would cover Canadian defence spending for almost all of 1941 and 1942. In other words, with the equivalent of $52.5 billion in deficit money, the Canadian government of 80 years ago paid for the Defence of Hong Kong, the Dieppe Raid, Canadian fighter squadrons protecting the British Isles, hundreds of thousands being placed into uniform and getting a head start on building what would become the world’s third largest navy.
Matching the revenue for Canada’s largest corporation
In 2015, food distribution giant George Weston Ltd. ranked as Canada’s largest corporation, with total revenues of $46.9 billion. The company utterly dominates the Canadian grocery scene, with ownership of Loblaws, No Frills, Provigo, Extra Foods, T&T, Shoppers Drug Mart and the Real Canadian Superstore, among others. It’s an unbelievably massive corporate machine of 3,500 locations, more than 200,000 employees and kilometre after kilometre of shelf space. And still, in an entire year of sales the company can’t quite top $52.5 billion.
Building enough Queen Mary 2s to take the entire city of Peterborough to sea
Built by the corporate descendant of the company that had owned the Titanic, the Queen Mary 2 was the world’s largest and most expensive ocean liner when it was launched in 2004. In 2017 dollars, though, the price tag is only $1.42 billion, which means Canada could build 37 of them. At a passenger capacity of 2,695 each, Canada’s Queen Mary 2 fleet could comfortably carry 99,715 people — enough to carry away the residents of Peterborough.
Constructing a Confederation Bridges long enough to link Toronto and Montreal
Opened in 1998, the Confederation Bridge connecting PEI to the mainland cost $840 million ($1.2 billion in today’s money). Thus, $53.5 billion would buy 43 bridges. With the Confederation Bridge spanning 12.9 kilometers, this equals 550 kilometers worth of bridge — just enough to build a bridge clear from Montreal to Toronto.
Paying off basically every major Canadian natural disaster of the last 25 years
The 2011 Slave Lake fire cost about $700 million. The Ice Storm of 1998 is believed to have hit central Canada with an inflation-adjusted $8 billion in total damage. The 2013 Calgary Floods are believed to have totaled $6 billion. The 2011 Goderich, Ont. tornado destroyed $100 million of property. The financial costs of the Fort McMurray wildfires are about $9 billion. Right there, those are five of the biggest Canadian natural disasters in recent memory, and we’re only at $23.8 billion.
Hosting every Winter Olympics until 2042
The operating and planning costs of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics were about $2 billion. However, when factoring in peripheral costs such as new venues, an improved Sea to Sky highway and a new SkyTrain line, the bill rises to about $7 billion. With $52.5 billion this means that, starting in 2018, Canada could host seven consecutive Winter Olympics, moving it to a different city each time.
Building enough hydroelectric dams to generate a Toronto’s worth of green energy
B.C.’s planned $8 billion Site C dam promises 5,100 Gigawatt hours of electricity each year. Manitoba’s under-construction $8.7 billion Keeyask Generating Station promises 4,400 Gigawatt hours per year. Neither dam is a particularly good bang for the electricity buck. But regardless, use the $52.5 billion to build six of either dam, and you’ve got more than enough renewable energy to satiate the 25,000 Gigawatt hours consumed each year by Toronto.
Building ten One World Trade Centres (the world’s most expensive skyscraper)
The awesome successor to the twin towers destroyed on September 11, 2001, One World Trade Center cost an incredible $5 billion CDN, partially because it’s built like a fortress in order to withstand any future terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, $52.5 billion would buy a forest of skyscrapers in Asia, where costs are lower and building codes are more lax. In the United Arab Emirates, the sum would be enough to build 26 of the world’s tallest structure, the Burj Khalifa.
Buying every Canadian dairy cow a Cadillac
According to the latest count, there are precisely 959,100 dairy cows in Canada. Per cow, therefore, the Liberals’ accumulated deficit equals $54,738 — enough to equip each of them with a respectably luxurious new Cadillac.
Hiring Sean “Diddy” Combs for 304 years
In Forbes magazine’s latest calculation of the world’s highest paid celebrities, the top spot was filled by Sean Combs, who goes by the stage names Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy and Diddy. He earned the equivalent of $172.5 million CDN last year; $52.5 billion could sustain his current level of compensation until the year 2321.
Sending a bathtub full of Molson Canadian to every single Canadian (even at Ontario prices)
In the inconvenient dystopian beer-buying world of Ontario, a two four of Molson Canadian tall cans is $51.95. At that price, $52.5 billion buys 28 cases of beer for every single person in the Dominion of Canada — even the teetotalling ones like babies and Mormons. That many cases is equal to 317 litres of beer, which is enough to fill up a good sized bathtub.
• Email: thopper@nationalpost.com | Twitter: TristinHopperThere are changes coming to Stargate Universe when the show returns for the back half of the season in April.
There are changes coming to Stargate Universe when the show returns for the back half of the season in April, executive producer Robert C. Cooper says.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cooper talked about a number of elements introduced early in the show which many fans have expressed concerns over. As it turns out, some of those same conversations were taking place in the writer’s room.
First on the list, perhaps, is the amount of time the characters are spending back on Earth — rather than trapped on board the Ancient space vessel Destiny, billions of light years from their loved ones. On the show, these mental trips home are accomplished using Ancient communication stones, a technology which allows one to swap bodies with somebody back on Earth.
“It’s certainly been a hot topic of debate,” Cooper said. “It’s very valuable in terms of tying the crew to Earth, and some have suggested the crew should be more isolated. There’s also a debate about the moral issue of how the [body swapping] stones are used and whether it’s right for a person to do certain things in the body of the another person and that’s interesting too.
“I think there’s some value in terms of seeing who they’re missing and the political ramifications of the Destiny‘s mission back on Earth. We’re not going to abandon the stones, but the emphasis of the second half of the first season is more heavily weighted to what’s going on with the ship.”
Also conspicuously absent from the first half of the season: aliens. Though the producers didn’t want to distract from the core stories about the characters, they also recognize that life “out there” is an important element of science fiction and the Stargate mythology.
“The show was always intended to be a drama and about people who are struggling to survive,” Cooper said. “There is a sci-fi element, but it was never going to turn into the ‘alien of the week.’ However, there is a big story point coming up that does introduce an alien race that’s a very cool, CG alien. It’s more along the line of a District 9-type of alien. Our interaction is handled in a very Universe way — they’re not the typical Stargate alien bad guys.”
Cooper also expressed a hope that those who have loved SG-1 and Atlantis over the last 12 years will come to embrace Universe for what it is — not what it isn’t. “Hopefully as it goes on, people will began to appreciate it for being its own thing,” he said. “That’s all we can hope for. It sometimes takes awhile to overcome those expectations. I can’t really be upset that people came to love something I had a part in creating. But as a creative person you have to move on and have to grow.
“I don’t think we could have been successful in the exact same vein as what we did before. We had to evolve.”
Writing and principal photography on Season One has been complete since October. Scripts are currently being written for the just-announced second season (story).
Check out the full interview with Robert C. Cooper now at The Hollywood Reporter. The producer also talks about SGU‘s female characters and some viewer criticisms, sex on the show, the use of kino-vision, and more. Stargate Universe resumes in April on Syfy in the U.S.Very soon the crisis will start costing the US taxpayer real money [AFP]
Several categories of individuals and institutions stand accused for the current financial crisis in the US. We examine the blame game and how it all got this bad.
What is happening in the financial sector of the United States?
The investment bank Bear Stearns was bailed out by the Federal Reserve (the central banking system) for $29 billion, and the US Government has since taken over the home mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, at a potential total cost to the taxpayers of $200 billion. Yet, the turmoil in the financial markets continues.
The venerable Lehman Brothers, one of the largest and oldest investment banks, has filed for bankruptcy. The super-insurance company AIG, the largest in the US, was loaned $85 billion by the Fed and then taken over by the US government. The great brokerage company, Merrill Lynch, was acquired by Bank of America. Morgan Stanley, another blue-chip investment bank, is likely to be acquired by a commercial bank. Goldman Sachs, another blue-chip, has been beaten down by the stock market. Finally, the largest savings bank, Washington Mutual, is also teetering on the edge of collapse.
These are the headlines. Behind the headlines, there are 117 banks which are on the "in trouble" list of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In addition, for the first time, a money market fund has announced that the unit value of its assets is no longer $1 but only 97 cents.
At the time of this writing, the bailouts announced by the US government included an insurance fund of $50 billion to protect household deposits in money market funds.
What is causing such turmoil? Is there something new, or is it the same old mortgage crisis?
The same culprit as before: the housing market collapse. From 2002 until 2005, the mortgage lenders made bad mortgage loans, loans that homeowners could not pay after the initial "teasing" period.
Since then, there have been millions of defaults and the resulting foreclosures of homes. As far as the financial crisis is concerned, the US government has not done anything to stop this bleeding problem where it is really happening, and that is at the level of the homeowners -- right where the rubber meets the road.
The vicious cycle continues with falling housing prices. The defaults and foreclosures in recent months have spread much beyond the lower-middle class and middle-class home owners. The new defaulters are "prime" borrowers. These borrowers are financially savvy, because they are walking away from their houses as the price of the house falls below the outstanding mortgages. These well-off borrowers are foreclosing not on their first homes, but on their second or third or fourth properties. Hence, these foreclosures do not affect their credit ratings adversely and do not leave them homeless. Thus, mortgage defaults continue to proliferate.
Why are the investment banks in so much trouble?
They have overstepped their bounds. Investment banks used to be pure financial intermediaries. For example, firms like Lehman Brothers would underwrite a debt issue for a client like the US government, and then distribute the bonds to say, the California State Pension Fund, another client. Investment banks did not hold on to assets like US government bonds for the purposes of earnings.
Their earnings were based on capturing the difference between the price they would pay the US government and the price they would charge the California State Pension Fund, and the fees they would charge both those clients.
It is only recently that investment banks like Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley have been hoarding income earning assets. And guess what kind of assets? They bought mortgage securities galore for the purpose of investment for themselves!
Given that they were new to the residential mortgage business, they ended up with an inordinate share of the bad mortgages, when compared to old hands like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. More importantly, they paid for their mortgage securities by borrowing from the bond market.
By the end of 2007, Lehman Brothers had $700 billion in assets against a capital reserve of only $23 billion. In other words, they were "leveraged" 30 to 1 by borrowing, a number so high that it deserves to be called nothing short of reckless. When their assets stopped earning the expected income because of mortgage defaults, they started having difficulties paying back their liabilities. Finally, the "short-sellers", sensing that these institutions were in trouble, drove their stock prices down to ridiculously low levels.
It is now becoming clear that some hedge funds have been targeting the financial institutions we are talking about and selling their stocks short. Speculators "overshoot" both ways; they create bubbles on the boom side and drive companies, and even countries, down to the ground on the downside. The modus operandi of the short-sellers have led to highly destructive results. On Thursday, September 18, 2008 the London Stock Exchange banned short-selling of stocks of financial institutions, and on Friday, September 19, 2008, the New York Stock Exchange followed suit, but only for two weeks.
How are the authorities bailing out the financial institutions? And what do all these maneuverings mean to the tax payers?
The bailouts so far have been arranged by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. Even though the Fed and the Treasury are working together during the crisis, they are very different institutions.
The Treasury is part of the US government but the Fed is not. The Fed can create money but the Treasury cannot; however the Treasury can issue debt and use tax payers' money, which the Fed cannot. We are very fortunate that Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Fed, and Henry Paulson, the secretary of the Treasury, have been able to work well together and use their specific authorities in a coordinated way.
The first intervention of the authorities took place when they arranged for the troubled mortgage institution Countrywide -- the biggest creator of the notorious "sub-prime" mortgages -- to be taken over by Bank of America.
The next problem was Bear & Stearns, an investment bank with severe problems of the kind stated above. Investment banks have not been regulated much in the US because they do not take deposits from households, and hence they do not put the wealth of the vast middle class at risk.
The Fed took the lead to prevent Bear Stearns from failing even though they did not have to. The Fed created $29 billion of new money to fix the non-performing assets of Bear Stearns, and then arranged for that firm to be acquired by a commercial bank, JP Morgan Chase. At this time, the bailout looks like a nice gift for JP Morgan Chase, and it did not cost the US taxpayers anything.
Throughout this time, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in trouble because the stock market (read the "short-sellers") had beaten their values down to very low levels. However, the assets of Fannie and Freddie, mortgages worth $5 trillion, were mostly sound.
It is the Treasury that bailed out Fannie and Freddie, not the Fed. The Treasury has authority to infuse $100 billion of taxpayer money to each of the mortgage titans, but at the same time the US government can take ownership of 80% of each of the two titans with stocks that guarantee a 10% return.
A possible scenario is that the US government will have to infuse very little cash into Fannie and Freddie, and yet earn a handsome income flow from the profits of the two titans. In that case, the US government would have demonstrated to China, India and Russia how to run state-owned enterprises profitably!
Why was AIG, which is an insurance company, bailed out? First of all, AIG is more like a commercial bank rather than an investment bank, in the sense that they are involved with households. AIG has supposedly sold insurance of one kind or the other to 70 million households worldwide. But that is not all, AIG, even though primarily an insurance company, had diversified into wide ranging activities like leasing aircraft, and, not surprisingly, mortgage securities.
AIG's trouble was not due to the fact that their own mortgage holdings were turning sour, but due to a type of insurance they sold widely, called Credit Default Swaps (CDS). When the mortgage holdings of other companies became “non-performing,” AIG had to make good if these other institutions held CDS issued by AIG. It would be as if AIG’s home insurance business had been hit by a hurricane.
The AIG bailout was a very unique combination of the involvements of the Fed and the Treasury. The Fed created $85 billion worth of money and "loaned" the sum to AIG. In return, 80% of AIG came under the ownership of the US government, just like Fannie and Freddie. But the AIG deal is even better for the US taxpayers, because they will be earning income from an enterprise which they did not have to pay for!
It pays to have Paulson, an investment banker formerly of Goldman Sachs, as the Secretary of Treasury.
What is the latest bailout plan, which was announced late afternoon of Thursday, September 18, 2008?
A comprehensive, not a case by case plan. The US government (not the Fed) will set up an institution just like the one that was used to take possession of the sick savings and loans in the late 1980s, called the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC).
Let us call the new one, just for symmetry, Resolution Mortgage Corporation (RMC). The RMC will use the taxpayers' money to buy up all the bad mortgages from the private financial institutions. This will immediately make the financial institutions more profitable and their stock values will go up. They will be able to raise fresh capital, issue new credit, and the private market financial markets which are basically at a standstill, will start functioning again.
At the same time, let us be sure that the US government will be left with all the lemons while the private companies will keep all the peaches. No doubt this will bail out the private financial institutions, but how much will it cost the taxpayers?
RTC and the rescue of the savings and loans had cost the US government $120 billion in the late 1980s. The initial cost estimates for the RMC led rescue plan reported in the media range from $500 billion to $1 trillion. Very soon it will start costing the taxpayers real money! The Bush administration has already asked Congress for $700 billion in bailout money.
The author is a professor of economics at Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service in Qatar.
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Al Jazeera.“One of the key principles is to address the root cause of the issue. There’s lots of ways to get at it. Like, ‘Why are people food insecure?’ Are they not making enough money? Do they not have enough access to benefits? So you could support community groups that are fighting for an increase in the minimum wage, and that can help with food insecurity,” explains Iimay Ho, Resource Generation’s executive director.
Resource Generation might be unique in its approach, but it is not alone. A combination of the outsized wealth created by Silicon Valley businesses and the philanthropic community’s desire to reach the children of Baby Boomers—who are, according to consulting firm Accenture, set to pass an estimated $30 trillion in inheritances over the next 30 to 40 years—is leading to an explosion of interest in younger donors. These efforts range from the traditionally philanthropic, like 21/64, a nonprofit that works with high-net-worth families to encourage multigenerational philanthropy, to others that are, like Resource Generation, overtly political. On the right, Chase Koch, the son of Charles Koch, has sponsored programs for adult children of conservative donors who attend the Koch network’s twice-yearly meetings. One participant: Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of the conservative donor Robert Mercer and a political power in her own right.
People who join Resource Generation initially meet one-on-one with either a volunteer or staff member at one of the 17 chapters located across the United States, and are encouraged to attend monthly meetings of a practice group, where they discuss everything from what constitutes “enough” money to social-justice philosophies. There is no minimum income or wealth requirement for joining—if someone thinks he or she is wealthy, that is enough for the organization. It also offers more-traditional services, such as investment and personal-finance education, as well as coaching on how to navigate familial and societal secrecy around money.
Resource Generation is perhaps best known for partnering with the organization Wealth for Common Good (now part of Patriotic Millionaires, a group of high-net-worth individuals concerned about income and wealth inequality) to create a website and social-media campaign for members of the 1 percent who wanted to express solidarity with the other 99 percent of the population during Occupy Wall Street in 2011. Called “We are the 1 percent. We stand with the 99 percent,” supporters posted their pictures and a (usually) handwritten index card with their story. “I am a 19-year-old college student at one of the most prestigious colleges in the country, and will graduate with no debt,” read one woman’s post. “I’ve always been told it’s crass to talk about my wealth. But it’s time to talk about it.”The United Airlines passenger dragged from a plane Sunday will require reconstructive surgery and both United and the city of Chicago are responsible for Dr. David Dao's injuries, his attorney said Thursday.
Blaming an overly aggressive response by the city's Aviation Department officers and accusing United of failing to protect its customer, attorney Thomas Demetrio said the incident will likely result in a lawsuit.
"I would defy anyone to suggest that there was not unreasonable force and violence used to help Dr. Dao disembark that plane," Demetrio said at a news conference.
Dao, 69, of Elizabethtown, Ky., and his wife were flying home to Louisville, Ky. through Chicago O'Hare International Airport after a vacation in California. Dao was one of four passengers told to leave a full flight to make room for four airline employees. When he refused, he was dragged from the plane and suffered a significant concussion, a broken nose, a sinus injury and lost two front teeth, Demetrio said.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune Thomas Demetrio, an attorney representing David Dao, speaks April 13, 2017, at a news conference at the Union League Club in Chicago. Dao's daughter, Crystal Dao Pepper, is at right. Attorneys for Dao, who was dragged from a United Airlines flight April 9, 2017, at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, say the incident will probably result in a lawsuit. Thomas Demetrio, an attorney representing David Dao, speaks April 13, 2017, at a news conference at the Union League Club in Chicago. Dao's daughter, Crystal Dao Pepper, is at right. Attorneys for Dao, who was dragged from a United Airlines flight April 9, 2017, at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, say the incident will probably result in a lawsuit. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
His wife also was asked to leave after Dao was pulled from the flight, attorneys said. Dao was discharged from the hospital Wednesday night, Demetrio said, but did not attend the news conference.
"He said that he left Vietnam in 1975, when Saigon fell, and he was on a boat, and he said he was terrified. He said that being dragged down the aisle was more horrifying and terrible than what he experienced in leaving Vietnam," Demetrio said.
While Aviation Department officers who pulled Dao from the plane were not United employees, Demetrio said United is ultimately responsible for what happens on its flights. Airline employees should have stepped in once they saw officers' "forceful, violent" response, he said.
Demetrio acknowledged Dao could have chosen to comply with the airline and officers' instructions to leave the aircraft. Under federal law, airlines are allowed to remove passengers from a flight for failing to comply with instructions from the crew.
Dao and his wife, both doctors, had patients to see the next day and needed to get home, Demetrio said. He declined to comment on how many patients Dao needed to see or where he practices.
"What happened to my dad should never happen to any human being regardless of the circumstances," Dao's daughter, Crystal Dao Pepper, said at the news conference.
At the start of a City Council hearing on the issue Thursday, the chairman of the Aviation Committee, Ald. Michael Zalewski, 23rd, warned that city and United Airlines officials would not be able to answer some questions because of "pending litigation."
And Ald. Ed Burke, 14th, suggested taxpayers will end up bearing the brunt of a lawsuit.
"It is especially troublesome to Chicago taxpayers that now they will be saddled with lawsuits alleging misconduct by city employees who joined with United employees to drag a passenger off the plane and, in the process, knock out his teeth, bloody his lip, inflict a concussion and cause him to be hospitalized," Burke said. "Chicago employees should not be doing the dirty work for the 'Friendly Skies' Airline."
Demetrio said Dao had not heard from United or the city. In a nationally televised interview Wednesday, United CEO Oscar Munoz said the airline had been attempting to contact the family, and in a statement after the news conference, United said it had contacted Dao to apologize.
A lawsuit could create a conversation about how passengers should be treated on flights, Demetrio said.
Dao's attorneys have taken the first step toward a lawsuit, asking the Cook County Circuit Court for an order requiring United and the city to keep records from the flight, including video and cockpit records. A hearing has been scheduled Monday, Demetrio said.
"For a long time, airlines, United in particular, have bullied us. They have treated us less than maybe we deserve," he said.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune Crystal Dao Pepper, daughter of David Dao, who was dragged off a United Airlines flight, speaks April 13, 2017, at a news conference at the Union League Club in Chicago. Crystal Dao Pepper, daughter of David Dao, who was dragged off a United Airlines flight, speaks April 13, 2017, at a news conference at the Union League Club in Chicago. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston, has said she would propose legislation barring airlines from involuntarily bumping passengers from oversold flights.
In a Thursday statement responding to the news conference, United again apologized and said it will take "immediate, concrete action" to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
The airline reiterated several changes detailed by Munoz on Wednesday. It will not ask law enforcement officers to remove passengers from flights unless it is a matter of safety and security and is reviewing policies around how it handles oversold flights and incentivizes passengers to volunteer, along with how it works with airport authorities and local law enforcement. United also plans to improve training programs to "ensure our employees are prepared and empowered to put our customers first."
Demetrio declined to say where Dao is staying, but said he "has no interest in ever seeing an airplane again. My guess is he'll be driven back to Kentucky. I can't say I blame him."
Hal Dardick contributed.
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com
amarotti@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @laurenzumbach
Twitter @allymarottiAnswer
Tasks in Elm 0.15 are executed by sending them through a port. That means that your Task or Signal Task needs to be available at the top-level in the Main module, because that's the only place where you can declare a port. This means that you cannot simply send a message to a mailbox in-line (that would be a side-effect), you'll have to make sure that the task can flow through your program to the port definition.
Example
import Html exposing (..) import Html.Attributes exposing (..) import Html.Extra exposing (..) import Signal import Model.PickList exposing (pickList) import Model.BabyName.Debug as Debug headerPane : Html headerPane = header [ id "header" ] [ text "header" ] leftPane : Signal Html leftPane = flip Signal.map (.signal pickList) <| \pl -> ul [] [ li [] [ fromElement << show <| pl ] ] mainPane : Html mainPane = section [ id "main" ] [ text "what? what?" ] layout : Signal Html layout = flip Signal.map leftPane <| \lp -> div [ id "wrapper" ] <| [ headerPane, lp, mainPane ] port toPicklist = Signal.send (.address pickList) Debug.dummyList main : Signal Html main = layout
ResourcesAn interesting development in the Wisconsin recall wars: GOP state senator Alberta Darling, one of the top targets of the Dems’ recall drive, told a radio show host that those who are making over $250,000 should not see higher taxes because they are “not wealthy.”
Labor will grab on to this in the days ahead to highlight exactly what this whole fight is really about: Pushback against class warfare that Wisconsin Republicans are waging against working people. The quote comes at around the 7:45 mark of an interview Darling gave to conservative talk show host Mark Belling:
I just went to a woman today and she said, “Why are you giving tax breaks to the wealthy?” I said, “What do you consider wealthy?” She said, “$250,000 and above.”
And I said “that is small business.” Those are small business people. Those aren’t wealthy people. We are not interested in raising taxes on the quote “rich.”
Here’s why labor and Dems see this as significant. Darling is the co-chair of the committee that passed Scott Walker’s union-busting proposals. Here she’s revealing that while it’s okay to take away the bargaining rights of public employees, allegedly on behalf of the Wisconsin taxpayer, people who make over $250,000 should be protected and given a tax break because they are supposedly not wealthy.
Dems have privately conceded for months that they don’t think Darling can be recalled. But Dem polling recently suggested she may be vulnerable to her challenger, state Rep. Sandy Pasch. And major conservative money is now pouring into the effort to prop her up, suggesting that the right is worried that Dems targeting Darling are succeeding in widening the recall playing field. As difficult and unlikely it seems that she’ll be dislodged, you can’t overstate what a big win recalling Darling would represent to Dems and labor, and this latest quote will only serve to sweeten the prize.ITALIAN car maker Fiat has unveiled plans to take over Vaxuhall, insisting the British-made cars are still not quite rusty and unreliable enough.
Fiat wants to buy General Motors' UK and German brands to a create a new pan-European third-rate car giant to compete with the likes of Volkswagen in its dreams.
A Fiat spokesman said: "If you kick a Vauxhall Astra only the rear bumper falls off, while the Corsa does not have the same all-over, reddish-brown hue of a typical Italian hatchback.
"On the other hand, if you so much as cough near the new Fiat Punto, both the bumpers literally fly off in opposite directions, the doors drop off their hinges and the headlights fall out like some kind of clown car. And then it explodes."
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Todd Allen wears a lot of hats. At various times he’s been (alphabetically), a bouncer, college professor, humor columnist, Internet producer and an NBA/WNBA Beat Writer, among other things. He’s the author of Economics of Digital Comics. You should probably read it.
Like this: Like Loading...RENO, Nev. – Two teams coming off losses in their opening-week matches settled for a draw as Reno 1868 FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 finished tied 1-1 on Saturday at Greater Nevada Field. Brenton Griffiths scored the first goal in 1868 FC history within the first four minutes, only to see Vancouver forward Thomas Sanner find an equalizer just four minutes later. Both goals also came during set-piece sequences, with Griffiths heading home a Junior Burgos corner and Sanner eventually finishing several touches after WFC2’s own corner. Both sides are 0-1-1 (1 point) in the early going this season.
Scoring:
4’ – RNO – Brenton Griffiths (Junior Burgos)
8’ – VAN – Thomas Sanner (Cole Seiler)
Three Things That Mattered:
1. Following a scoreless offensive performance last week during a 2-0 loss to Orange County SC, the first goal in 1868 FC still was there for the taking. At the start of the fourth minute Saturday, history was written with defender Brenton Griffiths taking the honors. It was a textbook set piece from Reno’s standpoint as Junior Burgos’ ball from the right corner flag stayed above Vancouver’s back line and Griffiths timed his jump well, heading the ball across the mouth toward the far right corner of the frame for a 1-0 lead.
2. Set pieces were the early theme as Vancouver needed only four minutes to answer with its first goal of the season. Thomas Sanner ultimately found the goal, and he was deserving of it as his original header caromed off of the crossbar following a corner kick. Play continued in the eighth minute and Cole Seiler headed the ball into the middle of the action around the edge of the six. Sanner finished this time around for his first of the season. Sanner made a name for himself with his hat trick against Arizona United SC (now Phoenix Rising FC) during a 3-1 win on Aug. 21, 2016.
3. With WFC2’s Kadin Chung (Canada U-23s) and Deklan Wynne (New Zealand) back from national team duties, Vancouver certainly enjoyed having its depth on the back line. The outside backs were effective in their connection passing, but Saturday as a whole lacked goals from the run of play. Defensively, both teams lived dangerously as a second goal could have come if not for multiple offside sequences or shots off the frame.
USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
Brenton Griffiths, Reno 1868 FC – Griffiths tallied the first goal in Reno’s history. Griffiths also was close to tallying the winner on the final delivery of the match, but his header went wide of the post in stoppage time.“Democracy has nothing to do with freedom. Democracy is a soft variant of communism, and rarely in the history of ideas has it been taken for anything else.”
– Hans-Herman Hoppe
Many constitutionalist patriots believe that the United States of America is a republic, but not a democracy. Etymologically, “democracy” and “republic” are defined, respectively, as:
“1570s, from Middle French démocratie (14c.), from Medieval Latin democratia (13c.), from Greek demokratia ‘popular government,’ from demos ‘common people,’ originally ‘district’ (see demotic), + kratos ‘rule, strength’ (see –cracy).”
“c. 1600, ‘state in which supreme power rests in the people via elected representatives,’ from Middle French république (15c.), from Latin respublica (ablative republica) ‘the common weal, a commonwealth, state, republic,’ literally res publica ‘public interest, the state,’ from res ‘affair, matter, thing’ + publica, fem. of publicus ‘public’ (see public (adj.)). Republic of letters attested from 1702.”
From what I can tell from these definitions, there appears to be only a difference of emphasis between what are otherwise similarities in kind. As has been mentioned before, an Archon in ancient Greece was a municipal official that could accurately be extrapolated to mean a ruler; therefore, “monarchy,” is one ruler, “oligarchy” is rule by the few, and “anarchy” is an absence of rulers. Democracy, interestingly enough, is rule by the many; to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson’s definition of a republic, each citizen’s voice is weighed the same in determining public policy.
If there is no substantially fundamental difference between a republic and a democracy, then what is the governmental structure of these United States? It could be said that it is a federated constitutional democratic republic; the federation enjoys dual sovereignty between the several state governments and the central government, each with its own constitution and citizenry, elections are held by each of these American governments to rotate the inhabitants of public offices, and the government’s laws are intended to both protect the liberty of the individual as well as to constrain the power of the government itself. Although it is true that the word, “democracy,” is enumerated in neither the Declaration of Independence nor the United States Constitution, it is also equally true that these democratic republics have established constitutionally enumerated county sheriffs, (in addition to the unconstitutional federal alphabet soup boys, state highway patrols, and municipal police departments) as the monopoly on the provision of security services.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t want to be ruled by the many. Alexis de Tocqueville is correct in saying that America is a democracy, which is due largely to the presence of governmental elections. Not only that, but it seems to me that Tocqueville predicted the rise of political correctness:
“I think that democratic communities have a natural taste for freedom: left to themselves, they will seek it, cherish it, and view any privation of it with regret. But for equality, their passion is ardent, insatiable, incessant, invincible: they call for equality in freedom; and if they cannot obtain that, they still call for equality in slavery. They will endure poverty, servitude, barbarism – but they will not endure aristocracy. This is true at all times, and especially true in our own. All men and all powers seeking to cope with this irresistible passion, will be overthrown and destroyed by it. In our age, freedom cannot be established without it, and despotism itself cannot reign without its support.” [emphasis added]
And that is exactly the reason I don’t particularly care for alleged “equality” as promoted by both progressive socialists and the “social justice” advocates – they prefer an “equal” slavery to an “equal” freedom; in other words, they are no advocates of liberty at all. Paradoxically, this frustration only grows with increases in equality, and has been dubbed the Tocqueville effect. Similarly, Tocqueville also predicted the rise of the neoconservatives:
“I think that extreme centralization of government ultimately enervates society, and thus after a length of time weakens the government itself; but I do not deny that a centralized social power may be able to execute great undertakings with facility in a given time and on a particular point. This is more especially true of war, in which success depends much more on the means of transferring all the resources of a nation to one single point, than on the extent of those resources. Hence it is chiefly in war that nations desire and frequently require to increase the powers of the central government. All men of military genius are fond of centralization, which increases their strength; and all men of centralizing genius are fond of war, which compels nations to combine all their powers in the hands of the government. Thus the democratic tendency which leads men unceasingly to multiply the privileges of the State, and to circumscribe the rights of private persons, is much more rapid and constant amongst those democratic nations which are exposed by their position to great and frequent wars, than amongst all others.” [emphasis added]
This suggests to me that, perhaps, democratic armies are more bloodthirsty and power-hungry than even monarchies, which might explain the underground support for American monarchism during the colonial period. Taking this all into account, it would appear that the rise of the false left-right paradigm is a fait accompli because of democracy itself. War is Peace and Freedom is Slavery, much?
Although Tocqueville’s observations about the American condition are rather insightful, his own personal attitudes colored the rest of his institutional analysis. Simply put, Tocqueville was a collectivist because he despised individualism; as he said:
“Individualism is a novel expression, to which a novel idea has given birth. Our fathers were only acquainted with egotism. Egotism is a passionate and exaggerated love of self, which leads a man to connect everything with his own person, and to prefer himself to everything in the world. Individualism is a mature and calm feeling, which disposes each member of the community to sever himself from the mass of his fellow-creatures; and to draw apart with his family and his friends; so that, after he has thus formed a little circle of his own, he willingly leaves society at large to itself. Egotism originates in blind instinct: individualism proceeds from erroneous judgment more than from depraved feelings; it originates as much in the deficiencies of the mind as in the perversity of the heart. Egotism blights the germ of all virtue; individualism, at first, only saps the virtues of public life; but, in the long run, it attacks and destroys all others, and is at length absorbed in downright egotism. Egotism is a vice as old as the world, which does not belong to one form of society more than to another: individualism is of democratic origin, and it threatens to spread in the same ratio as the equality of conditions.”
In other words, Tocqueville believed that individualism always led to narcissism and self-isolation, but if what he said about political correctness and the warfare state is also true, then it does beg the question as to which is the lesser evil, if individualism is an evil at all? Unfortunately, Tocqueville is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a notorious racist, for he said:
“I remember that while I was travelling through the forests which still cover the State of Alabama, I arrived one day at the log house of a pioneer. I did not wish to penetrate into the dwelling of the American, but retired to rest myself for a while on the margin of a spring, which was not far off, in the woods. While I was in this place (which was in the neighborhood of the Creek territory), an Indian woman appeared, followed by a negress, and holding by the hand a little white girl of five or six years old, whom I took to be the daughter of the pioneer. A sort of barbarous luxury set off the costume of the Indian; rings of metal were hanging from her nostrils and ears; her hair, which was adorned with glass beads, fell loosely upon her shoulders; and I saw that she was not married, for she sill wore that necklace of shells which the bride always deposits on the nuptial couch. The negress was clad in squalid European garments. They all three came and seated upon the banks of the fountain; and the young Indian, taking the child in her arms, lavished upon her such fond caresses as mothers give; while the negress endeavored by various little artifices to attract the attention of the young Creole.
“The child displayed in her slightest gestures a consciousness of superiority which formed a strange contrast with her infantine weakness; as if she received the attentions of her companions with a sort of condescension. The negress was seated on the ground before her mistress, watching her smallest desires, and apparently divided between strong affection for the child and servile fears; whilst the savage displayed, in the midst of her tenderness, an air of freedom and of pride which was almost ferocious. I had approached the group, and I contemplated them in silence; but my curiosity was probably displeasing to the Indian woman, for she suddenly arose, pushed the child roughly from her, and giving me an angry look plunged into the thicket. I had often chanced to see individuals met together in the same place, who belonged to the three races of men which people North America. I had perceived from many different results the preponderance of the whites. But in the picture which I have just been describing there was something peculiarly touching; a bond of affection here united the oppressors with the oppressed, and the effort of nature to bring them together rendered still more striking the immense distance placed between them by prejudice and by law.”
As if that ridiculous portrait wasn’t enough for you, consider what Tocqueville described earlier as his attitude towards both Negroes and Indians alike:
“The negro makes a thousand fruitless efforts to insinuate himself amongst men who repulse him; he conforms to the tastes of his oppressors, adopts their opinions, and hopes by imitating them to form a part of their community. Having been told from infancy that his race is naturally inferior to that of the whites, he assents to the proposition and is ashamed of his own nature. In each of his features he discovers a trace of slavery, and, if it were in his power, he would willingly rid himself of everything that makes him what he is.
“The Indian, on the contrary, has his imagination inflated with the pretended nobility of his origin, and lives and dies in the midst of these dreams of pride. Far from desiring to conform his habits to ours, he loves his savage life as the distinguishing mark of his race, and he repels every advance to civilization, less perhaps from the hatred which he entertains for it, than from a dread of resembling the Europeans. While he has nothing to oppose to our perfection in the arts but the resources of the desert, to our tactics nothing by undisciplined courage; whiles our well-digested plans are met by the spontaneous instincts of savage life, who can wonder if he fails in this unequal contest?”
Well, so much for democracy being progressively tolerant, huh? Most importantly, Tocqueville was a statist because he hated anarchy, for he said:
“Governments usually fall a sacrifice to impotence or to tyranny. In the former case their power escapes from them; it is wrested from their grasp in the latter. Many observers, who have witnessed the anarchy of democratic States, have imagined that the government of those States were naturally weak and impotent. The truth is, that when once hostilities are begun between parties, the government loses its control over society. But I do not think that a democratic power is naturally without force or without resources; say, rather, that it is almost always by the abuse of its force and the misemployment of its resources that a democratic government fails. Anarchy is almost always produced by its tyranny or its mistakes, but not by its want of strength.”
“Nevertheless, a careful examination of the history of the United States for the last forty-five years will readily convince us that the federal power is declining; nor is it difficult to explain the causes of this phenomenon. When the Constitution of 1789 was promulgated, the nation was a prey to anarchy; the Union, which succeeded this confusion, excited much dread and much animosity; but it was warmly supported because it satisfied an imperious want. Thus, although it was more attacked that it is now, the federal power soon reached the maximum of its authority, as is usually the case with a government which triumphs after having braced its strength by the struggle. At that time the interpretation of the Constitution seemed to extend, rather than to repress, the appearance of a single and undivided people, directed in its foreign and internal policy by a single Government.”
“I am, however, persuaded that anarchy is not the principal evil which democratic ages have to fear, but the least. For the principle of equality begets two tendencies; the one leads men straight to independence, and may suddenly drive them into anarchy; the other conducts them by a longer, more secret, but more certain road, to servitude. Nations readily discern the former tendency, and are prepared to resist it; they are led away by the latter, without perceiving its drift; hence it is peculiarly important to point it out.”
Needless to say, Tocqueville knew that the Federalist power grab, which was agreed to by the concession of the Anti-Federalists in the form of the Bill of Rights, would diminish the natural liberty of the people to live without rulers. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, as Lord Acton pointed out, but then what becomes of constitutionally limited power? Aren’t the grievances of the constitutionalist American patriots suggestive that such “limited” powers are in fact not limited at all, but rather that they are truly absolute?
Interestingly enough, Frédéric Bastiat was a contemporary of Tocqueville’s, since they both had been born and died within a few years of each other. For all of Tocqueville’s promotion of the State, Bastiat said otherwise:
“The State is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everyone else.”
Considering that democracy is rule by the many, and it is a form of the State (as is a republic, as well), then it stands to reason that Tocqueville is no classical liberal, but if anything, he’d be a social democrat. I think this other insight by Bastiat really clinches the case against democracy:
“Is it any wonder that every failure threatens to cause a revolution? And what is the remedy proposed? To extend indefinitely the dominion of the law, i.e., the responsibility of Government…and now, after having vainly inflicted upon the social body so many systems, let them end where they ought to have begun – reject all systems, and try liberty – liberty, which is an act of faith in God and in His work.”
Given all the government failure inherent in democracy, I can’t help but agree with Bastiat’s conclusion that rejecting all systems, including democracy and republicanism, is the prelude to genuinely trying liberty, especially in the context of breaking up the monopoly on the production of security services
Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is demonstrative of the fact that democracy is truly the war of all against all, where life is nasty, brutish, and short, because special interests vie of control of the government’s laws, that is, the coercive legal apparatus of the State. Naomi Wolf, much like Tocqueville, is a social democrat and a reformist; both of them are evocative for my reasons why I abhor reformism, and why I especially loathe democracy with a passion, hence why I canceled my voter registration. I just can’t find within myself the enthusiasm to cheer on the spreading of democracy, especially in light of the fact that Tocqueville himself warned of democracy slipping into a soft despotism. If any of you decide to go on a circuit of political fieldtrips, then you will discover for yourself whether Tocqueville’s hope for democracy panned out at all, or has fizzled out of existence in any real way that matters.
Kyle Rearden is a blogger, podcaster, and videographer who started The Last Bastille Blog in 2011 since he thought the blogosphere would be more conducive to his study of a wide variety of subjects within the alternative media. From 2009 – 2012, his former YouTube channel amassed over 127,000 total upload views with 150+ videos; and between 2012 – 2014, his blog has received approximately 81,000 total views. Currently, he is the creative consultant for Liberty Under Attack Radio, a co-host of Behind Enemy Lines, and records the Liberty Intelligence Files alongside Alex Ansary.Ken Costa, the former chairman of Lazards International, says that one of the foundation stones of the capitalist system – maximising shareholder returns – should no longer be the “sole criteria” for judging how a company is run.
Last week Mr Costa was asked by the Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, to head a team of leading figures in the financial and religious world to “start a dialogue” on how a form of ethical capitalism could work.
In an article in today’s Sunday Telegraph, his first public comments since his appointment last week, Mr Costa says that markets have lost sight of their moral duty and gives details of how the Church initiative will work.
“It will be an interactive dialogue that will aim to bridge the differences between protesters and the City,” Mr Costa writes.
“It will look at how the market has managed to slip its moral moorings and explore pragmatic ways of uniting the financial and the ethical. And it will be an opportunity for making connections between people and ideas that have come to forget or dismiss one another. It will ask some penetrating questions about shareholders. Is it still the case that the promotion of shareholder value is the object of all companies?”
Mr Costa, who said he still believed that the market was the best system for creating vital growth and jobs, said that boards and shareholders should have a richer understanding of what constitutes real value.
“The present duty – on all boards to maximise shareholder value as the sole criteria for satisfying the return to shareholders – cannot continue,” he said.
“I am aware that this is a big change that will need detailed discussion, but we need to start with big ideas.
“For some time and particularly during the exuberant irrationality of the last few decades, the market economy has shifted from its moral foundations with disastrous consequences. I cannot recall when public feeling worldwide has run so high, and even if only a minority takes its anger on to the streets, no one should imagine that the majority is indifferent to their cause.”
He said that it was vital that the private sector was supported to create jobs or social unrest would grow.Florida has had a huge increase in the number of HIV cases over the past couple of years. Not all of it is due to a lack of financial action on the part of Governor Rick Scott—money spent on AIDS prevention has not increased at all while the numbers in cases have gone up over the past few years. Some of it has to do with inaction on the part of Gov. Scott and other legislators surrounding rising drug abuse and needle-sharing and devaluing sex education. But don’t worry, Florida has fixed the number of HIV cases so it isn’t as bad as it is:
The department's division of disease control lowered the number of new HIV cases logged in 2014 from 6,147 to 4,613 — erasing one in four new infections from the rolls that year, state records show. [...] The revised figures still represented an increase in new infections through 2014, but a small one. They put Florida behind published counts for California and Texas.
Boom. Problem solved. One number is bigger, but you make that number smaller and voila! It’s smaller! To be serious, Florida is just doing some number crunching so they can continue to not do anything about treating the problems facing their state.
The agency claimed it reached the new total by culling duplicated names from state records and by removing names of patients diagnosed with HIV in Florida clinics but with an official residence in some other state. Experts, however, found the reduction startling. And the timing suspicious. Earlier this month, the state Senate hadrefused to confirm John Armstrong, Rick Scott’s nominee for state surgeon general, in part because of concerns over the steady rise in HIV cases. Armstrong, who had been acting surgeon general since 2012, had also presided over cutbacks in health department staffing. The Herald reported in January that during Scott’s tenure, state-funded staff positions at Florida’s 67 county health departments had been reduced from 12,759 employees to 10,519. Critics in the Legislature suggested there was a relationship between the staff reductions and the increase in HIV cases.
This is how Republicans do things in Florida. Sure, most of the new cases of HIV infection are in the gay male community, but hey, it’s not just the gays that Republicans could care less for—it’s children too!
Nine thousand kids have been dropped since May, even though the state was running a surplus, and possibly to help fund the tax cuts Scott wants. This program—for Medicaid-qualified children and for those whose parents make too much for Medicaid coverage but not enough for private insurance—provides more intervention with specialists and care devised for kids with special medical needs. Some of the activities of the CMS, like "providing care coordinators to help parents access therapy and medication, and organizing one-stop clinics for kids with sickle cell disease, HIV or cleft palates," just doesn't happen with Medicaid.
The concept of “hell” was created as an eternal punishment for people that hurt children.A day in the life of a zookeeper: There's more to it than just cuddling cute animals
Posted
Zookeeper Bec Scott begins her day caring for the tallest animal at the National Zoo and Aquarium — Hummer the giraffe.
She hoists his breakfast of lucerne and wattle five metres up a pole.
"Hummer... gets quite hungry, so we head down there first thing in the morning to put his food out," Ms Scott said.
She then checks and washes his feet before letting him out into his enclosure.
"Hummer is 16 years old and he needs work on his feet, they do get a little bit overgrown sometimes," Ms Scott said.
"He might step on a pebble or get some dirt stuck up inside his hooves, so before we let him out we hose them out and do any care on them."
Ms Scott then drives her buggy around to the deer where she rakes up all the droppings.
"It's a pretty epic job; they have tiny little poos and they're everywhere."
The deer also need some extra TLC.
"Our deer get sunburnt ears over summer, so every three days we'll pop a bit of powdered sunscreen on their ears."
The tigers are up next, and again it is time to get out the pooper scooper.
"Every day we go in, pick up the poo, we scrub the water bowl and check for anything that's in the enclosure that's abnormal," Ms Scott said.
It's then on to the lions to clean their enclosure, check their teeth and feed them.
After lunch, it's time to check on Hummer again.
"We give him some more food because he likes to browse throughout the day and if he runs out of food he gets a bit antsy."
Ms Scott spends the afternoon running the Meet a Cheetah encounter where visitors get the chance to pat Jura the cheetah.
Hummer's enclosure is then cleaned and the tigers are given access to their dens.
"We put something in their dens as well, whether it be a scent or some tree leaves or another toy," Ms Scott said.
All of the animals are given a final check and observations are recorded before heading home for the day.
"A key part of our job is to report and make observations on all of our animals, whether there's anything behaviourally different, they might be coming into season, or pregnant, or unwell," Ms Scott said.
"It's a busy day."
Every day is different
Many of the keepers at the National Zoo rotate through looking after different animals which each have individual requirements.
"I like the everyday challenges; you don't exactly know what you're going to get until you turn up," Ms Scott said.
"Animals are such incredible personalities to work with. You get the cranky ones, the ones who've had a bad day, or ones that are just playful that day."
Ms Scott has been a zookeeper for 16 years and she enjoys how varied the job can be.
"Even picking up the poo is fun. You grow to love it," she said.
"You're being active, out in the open air and getting up close and personal with your animals."
Hard work rain, hail or shine
But there is a lot more to being a keeper than pats and cuddles.
"A lot of people think that all we do is sit around and pat our animals all day, but only about 2 per cent of our day is that, if that," she said.
"Zookeeping is quite a physical job, there's a lot of hard work.
"We have to be out in the weather; regardless of whether it's sunny or windy or rainy, the animals still need to eat and have their enclosures cleaned and so those days can be quite trying."
And some days can be extra challenging.
"Sometimes you might come in and find that you have an animal that is unwell," Ms Scott said.
"When you're working with that animal every day, it can be quite trying to realise that your animal is not in its best shape.
"That is a reality that we have to face... and we work really hard to make that animal better as soon as possible.
"Seeing animals recover from an illness or an injury is quite rewarding as well."
Topics: zoos, people, animals, human-interest, careers, canberra-2600, actSix years ago today, Chelsea spurn a one-goal advantage as they lose to Fenerbahce in the Champions League.
English clubs have notoriously found it difficult to collect positive results within the intense atmosphere of a Turkish football ground.
For years Galatasaray had been the team that most wanted to avoid in European competition, but from the late 1990s onwards, Istanbul-based Fenerbahce had emerged as a force on the Champions League scene.
That was who Chelsea were paired with in the quarter-finals of the tournament, with the first leg being played at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium six years ago today.
Some had predicted that it would be a tough clash for the West Londoners, but from the way that they started the tie, it was clear that they were determined to gain control early on.
© Getty Images
With just 12 minutes on the clock the visitors broke the deadlock when a neat passing move involving Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole freed Florent Malouda down the left flank. The Frenchman in turn attempted to pick out Didier Drogba with a low cross, but before the ball reached the Ivorian, it was turned into the home team's net by Fenerbahce midfielder Deivid.
The goal put Chelsea in the ascendancy and they went close to doubling their advantage before the break through Michael Essien, who saw his powerful strike cannon to safety off the crossbar.
While the Blues had dominated large parts of the first half, the introduction of Fenerbahce's London-born Turkish international Colin Kazim-Richards in the 54th minute coincided with the hosts gaining a foothold on proceedings.
The former Bury and Sheffield United attacker took just 10 minutes to have a telling impact as his pace took him beyond the Chelsea defence to reach Marco Aurelio's lofted pass. Then, with Carlo Cudicini committed, he showed good composure to curl the ball into the net from 12 yards out.
© Getty Images
That awoke the home support from their slumber and their team had them in raptures 11 minutes from time as Deivid made amends for his earlier error. The Brazilian was afforded too much time 30 yards from goal and having weighed up his options, the frontman powered a rising effort into the top corner of Cudicini's goal.
Speaking after the final whistle, defeated Chelsea boss Avram Grant said: "I feel good. If we play like we did in most of the game, then we can win. Normally it is a good result to lose 2-1 away but because we played the better football we are disappointed. We wanted to have the second leg at home - now we need to use it.
"From the point of view of the football we played, it was good but football is about the result. Now we are going home 2-1 down but are still optimistic."
FENERBAHCE: Demirel; Turaci, Lugano, Edu Dracena, Wederson; Maldonado, Aurelio, Boral (Kazim-Richards), Deivid; Alex, Kezman (Senturk)
CHELSEA: Cudicini; Essien, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Makelele; J Cole (Anelka), Ballack, Lampard (Mikel), Malouda; DrogbaEarlier this week, Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, said that he would not vote for his fellow presidential candidate Ron Paul should Paul become the Republican nominee. The immediate cause of this dissension – highly unusual in a party primary – was the repugnant newsletters that Paul published from the late 1970s until the mid-1990s, which contain a raft of bigoted statements. Paul has denied authorship and implausibly claims not to know who wrote them.
The story of the newsletters is not new. In 1996, Lefty Morris, Paul’s Democratic Congressional opponent, publicized a handful, and in January 2008, I published a long piece in The New Republic based on my discovery of batches of the newsletters held at the University of Kansas and the Wisconsin Historical Society. Yet Paul’s popularity in the prelude to the Iowa caucuses, where many polls put him in first place, has renewed attention to their revolting contents.
Recent media reports have tended to focus on the newsletters’ bigotry, which was primarily aimed at blacks, and to a smaller extent at gay people and Jews. The newsletters have complicated the situation for writers who have defended Paul, who point out that there is no trace of such prejudice in his public statements. Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Beast, for instance, writing last week about “rethinking” his original endorsement of Paul, suggests that
A fringe protest candidate need not fully address issues two decades ago that do not in any way reflect the campaign he has run or the issues on which he has made an appeal. But a man who could win the Iowa caucuses and is now third in national polls has to have a plausible answer for this.
In a long, anguished post on the Web site of The Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf wrote that “the question is complicated by facts not in evidence and inherently subjective judgments about politics, race and the norms that govern how much a candidate’s bygone associations matter.” As long as one accepts the most charitable explanation for Paul’s opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act (it infringes on private property rights) or re-litigation of the Civil War (the government should have bought and released the slaves instead), perhaps there’s something to that argument. Though Paul’s penchant for promoting the cause of secession puts these stances in a dubious context.
But there is one major aspect of the newsletters, no less disturbing than their racist content, that has always been present in Paul’s rhetoric, in every forum: a penchant for conspiracy theories.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
In a 1990 C-Span appearance, taped between Congressional stints, Paul was asked by a caller to comment on the “treasonous, Marxist, alcoholic
dictators that pull the strings in our country.” Rather than roll his eyes, Paul responded,“there’s pretty good evidence that those who are
involved in the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations usually end up in positions of power. And I believe this is true.”
Paul then went on to stress the negligible differences between various “Rockefeller Trilateralists.” The notion that these three specific groups — the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Rockefeller family — run the world has been at the center of far-right conspiracy theorizing for a long time, promoted especially by the extremist John Birch Society, whose 50th anniversary gala dinner Paul keynoted in 2008.
Paul is proud of his association with the society, telling the Times Magazine in 2007, “I have a lot of friends in the John Birch Society. They’re generally well educated, and they understand the Constitution.” In 1998, Paul appeared in a Birch Society documentary which lauded a bill he had introduced to force American withdrawal from the United Nations. With ominous music in the background and images of United Nations peacekeepers patrolling deserted streets, the film warned that the world body would destroy American private property rights, replace the Constitution with the United Nations Charter and burn churches to the ground.
Paul has frequently attacked the alleged New World Order that “elitist” cabals, like the Trilateral Commission and the Rockefeller family, in conjunction with “globalist” organizations, like the United Nations and the World Bank, wish to foist on Americans. In a 2006 column published on the Web site of Lew Rockwell (his former Congressional chief of staff and the man widely suspected of being the ghostwriter of the newsletters, although he denied it to me), Paul addressed the alleged “Nafta Superhighway.” This is a system of pre-existing and proposed roads from Mexico to Canada that conspiracy theorists claim is part of a nefarious transnational attempt to open America’s borders and merge the United States with its neighbors into a supra-national entity. Paul wrote that the ultimate goal of the project was an “integrated North American Union” — yet one more bugbear of conspiracy theorists — which “would represent another step toward the abolition of national sovereignty altogether.”
In his newsletters, Paul expressed support for far-right militia movements, which at the time saw validation for their extreme, anti-government beliefs in events like the F.B.I. assault on the Branch Davidians and at Ruby Ridge. Paul was eager to fan their paranoia and portray himself as the one man capable of doing anything about it politically. Three months before the Oklahoma City bombing, in an item for the Ron Paul Survival Report titled, “10 Militia Commandments,” he offered advice to militia members, including that they, “Keep the group size down,” “Keep quiet and you’re harder to find,” “Leave no clues,” “Avoid the phone as much as possible,” and “Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”
The closest Paul has come in his public statements to endorsing violence against the government was during an interview in 2007, when he was asked about Ed and Elaine Brown, a New Hampshire couple who had refused to pay federal income taxes. In the summer of that year, they instigated a five-month armed standoff with United States marshals, whom Ed Brown accused of being part of a “Zionist, Illuminati, Freemason movement.” Echoing a speech he had just delivered on the House floor, Paul praised the pair as “heroic” “true patriots,” likened them to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., and compared them favorably to “zombies,” that is, those of us who “just go along” and pay income tax.
Finally, there’s Paul’s stance on the most pervasive conspiracy theory in America today, the idea that |
issue.
A good word from Oprah can go a very long way in helping with sales of a product. And layoffs leading into the crucial holiday sales season imply that Jawbone may be very much in need of that.
Jawbone is not releasing any recent sales figures for its UP trackers, but it has been feeling the pace of competition this year — both from pure-play wearables companies, and popular hardware brands now making more recent moves into the space.
Going into Q3, Jawbone was lagging far behind its rivals. According to IDC‘s most current figures, for Q2, Jawbone sold just over half a million UP fitness trackers, ranking them number seven among top wearable device vendors and working out to a market share of only 2.8%.
As a point of comparison, Fitbit — a rival also embroiled in a legal dispute with Jawbone — sold 4.4 million devices for a 24.3% share as the top-selling wearables vendor. And Apple and its Watch stormed in with a debut at number two, selling 3.6 million for 19.9% of all sales.
Similar to the concentration of power in smartphones, the market for fitness trackers specifically is currently dominated by a couple of key players, Fitbit and Xiaomi, who together control 70% of the market, according Ben Bajarin of market intelligence firm Creative Strategies.
He tells me that Xiaomi owns the lower end of the fitness tracker market, while Fitbit, with a share of over 50%, dominates the higher end, “making it very hard for others,” he said. Fitbit, he added, “will continue to be the dominant player there for some time.” Jawbone has less than 6% according to his figures.
This is the second round of layoffs at Jawbone since this summer. In June, Jawbone laid off 20 employees just weeks after it raised $300 million in financing in the form of a convertible loan from BlackRock. In light of today’s news, those layoffs look more like part of a bigger strategic plan to cut costs and focus more. Just days after the news of 20 cuts, the company announced a new CFO, Jason Child, who joined from Groupon; a new president, Sameer Samat (who joined from Google) started at Jawbone later in June.
In total, privately held Jawbone has raised just under $820 million in funding from investors that include, in addition to BlackRock, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia and Yuri Milner.In an interview with the New York Times Magazine published today, Donald Trump continued to revise his comment to MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that there should be “some form of punishment” for women who have abortions.
Robert Draper writes:
Now he argued to me, rather unconvincingly, that he had been misinterpreted: “I didn’t mean punishment for women like prison. I’m saying women punish themselves. I didn’t want people to think in terms of ‘prison’ punishment. And because of that I walked it back.
Trump’s so-called “walk-back” is actually a stroll through the rhetoric and actions of the far Right. If women are “punishing themselves,” it is only because anti-abortion activists and Donald Trump want to stigmatize them for receiving a legal medical procedure.
One of the principal tactics of the anti-abortion movement is shaming women who are seeking out a safe and legal medical procedure. They stand at clinic doors harassing patients and set up “crisis pregnancy centers” to mislead women about abortion. States have passed laws forcing doctors to lie to patients, telling them abortion is linked to mental illness, despite research saying the opposite.
Perhaps Trump is just borrowing from the playbook of Operation Rescue’s Troy Newman, who recently endorsed his candidacy. In a 2003 book, the radical anti-abortion activist with ties to terrorists, claimed women who receive abortions, their families and their doctors have “personal bloodguilt” for their actions, which in turn makes the entire United States “bloodguilty.”
Trump’s remarks also echoed those of Priests for Life’s National Director Frank Pavone, who remarked in early April that the anti abortion movement does not aim to “imprison [women], we aim to liberate them from the shame and guilt and wounds abortion brings.”
Trump’s penchant of shaming women in public forums is no secret, and his personal treatment of women in professional and personal settings has been the subject of dozens of column inches and countless cable news segments. His most recent statement should be cause for even greater concern. Trump now wants to take his Twitter rants and make them a matter of national policy.
Draper’s article points out that according to a senior campaign adviser, “Trump, a serial non-apologizer, initially saw nothing wrong with his remark and refused to walk it back.” It was “only when every network chief executive and over 100 media outlets besieged the Trump campaign with requests for additional comment on how women should be punished for abortions did the Trump campaign turn to an ally: Chris Christie, whose tenure as the Republican governor of the blue state of New Jersey had given him experience placating both social conservatives and the moderate voters Trump hoped to attract in the general election.” It turns out, according to Draper, “A member of Christie’s political team helped draft a statement that essentially repudiated Trump’s earlier one.”
What we’ve learned about Donald Trump’s beliefs is that before the media’s outcry he saw nothing wrong with women being jailed for having an abortion. Now, weeks after his campaign confronted a tsunami of pushback, his default position is to effectively shame women.Kia's GT concept car: A new direction for the automaker?
Designed by Kia’s European design team and introduced this year at the Frankfurt Auto Show, the GT has a long wheelbase of 112.6 inches, with front and rear-hinged back doors that open slightly upward.
“For us, we’ve been known as a fuel-efficient, quality and value brand,” said Michael Sprague, marketing vice president. “Now we’re moving forward as a design brand."
“This is Kia’s first rear-wheel-drive concept,” said Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer at Wednesday’s press conference. “Beneath the hood is a 3.3-liter turbocharged engine, 395 horsepower, eight-speed automatic transmission. Put it all together, what you get is a four-door sports sedan that’s sleek and masculine and breathtaking.”
Kia, which has launched nine new products in the last three years, plans to move forward with design-led transformations, unveiling the Kia GT four-door sports sedan concept for the first time in the United States at the L.A. Auto Show.
“The rear-wheel drive allows us to play with different proportions,” said Gregory Guillaume, chief designer at Kia’s European Design Center. “The cabin is now further back, and it has a more dynamic silhouette.”
He pointed out the bronze-painted leather seats and the new two-coated vinyl on the doors. The bronze layer below the black layer allows you to buff up the surface and see the bronze shining through, Guillaume said.
“We think of our customers who are young at heart. Looking for character, style,” Guillaume said. The GT dashboard, made of three layers of glass, is transparent when the LED-lit displays are turned off.
“The GT signals a new direction for Kia — one that is graceful, athletic and confident,” Schreyer said.
No price has been set for the concept car, but Guillaume said that Kia is “seriously thinking like the premium brands that already offer rear-wheel drive.”
“We’ll have a premium adjustment for the GT, but keeping price advantage is still a Kia thing,” he said.
360° PANORAMA: L.A. Auto Show
Boasting the lowest cost of car ownership in the industry, Kia also presented at the press conference its continued investment in its young racing program. Going into its second racing season, Kia featured its Optima race car paired with Kinetic Motorsports as well its new 2012 Rio B-Spec race car.
An appearance by Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin, Kia's new official spokesperson, rounded out the press conference. The basketball player signed a sponsorship deal with Kia this summer.
Moving forward with its design visions, Sprague said, Kia has no specific target market. “Our average buyer is 48 years old,” he said. “The common thread is that they all like the perception that Kia is a cool, upcoming, hip brand, and ‘I want to be seen like that.’”
ALSO:
Honda announces all-new 2012 CR-V
Infiniti JX pampers family-oriented buyers
Fiat chief says new 500 Abarth is "a car that arouses without need for prescription"
--Rosanna XiaTwo very uniquely different heavyweights will be making their promotional debuts on the main card of UFC 131 this Saturday night (June 11, 2011) as Dave Herman takes on Jon Olav Einemo.
Dave Herman was and is still one of the sport's top heavyweight prospects. He was able to destroy opponents despite preparing for fights on his own and partying with friends before Japan gave him a heavy dose of reality in early 2009.
He's trying to prove the hype is real in his Octagon debut.
Jon Olav Einemo is a world-renowned submission expert but will be entering the Octagon with one of the largest cases of ring rust in history after having last competed in November of 2006. At 35 years old, he's looking to make one last impact in the world of MMA.
Has Herman stepped his game up since switching camps to Team Quest with Dan Henderson? Does Einemo still have it in him after nearly five years away from the sport? Which Dave Herman will show up....the brash ball of clay or the refined killing machine?
Check out our complete fight preview after the jump to find out:
Dave Herman
Record: 20-2 overall, 0-0 in the UFC
Key Wins: Ron Waterman (EliteXC: Return of the King), Yoshiro Nakao (WVR: Soul of Fight), Don Frye (Shark Fights 6)
Key Losses: Choi Mu Bae (Sengoku no Ran 2009)
How he got here: Dave Herman made a name for himself by becoming one of MMA's top heavyweight prospects despite not taking the sport seriously or training hard for much of the first three years he competed.
"Pee Wee" burst onto the scene in EliteXC, scoring three straight knockouts of MMA veterans Mario Rinaldi, Kerry Schall and Ron Waterman all inside the first six minutes.
Herman took his "no-train" attitude to Japan where he would lose to Choi Mu Bae after gassing early in the second round. The midwestern fighter would then take his game back stateside where he would go under contract with Bellator and become embroiled in a power struggle for his contract after failing to receive a second fight from the promotion for over a year.
He finally settled things with the upstart promotion this past September with one final fight and signed with the UFC after defeating the infamous "Herring-kisser," Yoshiro Nakao, at Sengoku's "Soul of Fight" event on New Year's Eve.
He was originally slated to face Rob Broughton but after injuries to UFC 131 fighters, he was paired up with Joey Beltran before the dust settled with Jon Olav Einemo.
How he gets it done: Herman is a complete enigma. The talented young fighter relied purely on his freak athleticism and natural ability for much of his career.
He used horrible technique but his unusual style, raw power and diverse array of attacks won him the day much of the time.
Hopefully, Herman's recent switch to Dan Henderson's Team Quest in California will do him a tremendous service. He has excellent wrestling and will likely want to use that grappling skill defensively to keep the fight standing and look to land his heavy hands.
Herman has been known to hang his hands all the way down and leave his chin exposed when he strikes. Hopefully he's been improving his defense while training with "Hendo" and Sokoudjou in the last few months.
If Herman scores a stoppage, it won't be with submissions. He'll either try to blast Einemo standing or with ground and pound if he can take the Norwegian jiu-jitsu king down and blast through his guard.
Jon Olav Einemo
Record: 6-1 overall, 0-0 in the UFC
Key Wins: James Thompson (2H2H: Pride & Honor)
Key Losses: Fabricio Werdum (Pride 31)
How he got here: Jon Olav Einemo is an esteemed Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist. At the turn of the millennium, he used his offensive grappling skills to earn three first round stoppage victories in the European MMA circuit.
After taking a short break to compete in the world level of jiu-jitsu tournaments, Einemo would return in 2003 and score two more submission victories in less than three minutes combined.
Einemo would leave again for three years, winning his weight class at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club in 2003 and he is also the only man to ever defeat Roger Gracie in the ADCC.
Einemo would again return to MMA in 2006 but would lose to Fabricio Werdum at Pride 31 via unanimous decision. After defeating James Thompson with a first round arm bar, he would again step away from MMA for nearly five years.
He announced his return to the sport and the UFC gobbled him up. He was originally scheduled to face Shane Carwin but when Brock Lesnar's diverticulitis returned, he was paired up with fellow promotional newcomer Dave Herman.
How he gets it done: There's no doubt that Einemo will enter the UFC as one of the most technically sound Brazilian jiu-jitsu experts. He'll likely want to use his offensive grappling to take this fight to the ground where he can work ground and pound (Herman has been TKO'd once before) or hunt for submissions.
Einemo's best chances of winning the fight are on the ground, but, then again, he's been training at Golden Glory recently alongside world class strikers like Alistair Overeem.
There's a possibility that he's been refining his striking in his years away from the sport and he enters the Octagon as a completely well-rounded mixed martial artist.
Regardless, striking is Herman's biggest strength so look for Einemo to clinch or shoot on "Pee Wee" early and often. If he can put the American on his back, his odds of winning this fight increase significantly.
Fight "X-Factor:" There are so many "X-Factors" for this fight, it's not even funny but we'll limit it to three.
Number one: Is Einemo for real? Sure he did great things in sport jiu-jitsu but he lost the only fight against a credible opponent in his career. His biggest win was against James Thompson for crying out loud.
Number two: Did Herman finally take a fight seriously? He's a freak athlete with heavy hands but that will only take a fighter so far. Hopefully, training with Dan Henderson at Team Quest has helped mold him into an absolute wrecking ball but old habits die hard.
Number three: What does Einemo have left? The Norwegian BJJ master last fought MMA when he was 30 years old. That's an incredibly long time. Maybe he's been able to become stronger since then but in five years, there's no way he's faster with better reflexes. As fighters age, they have to use their experience to make up for their declining physical gifts. There will be a nine year age difference going into this bout and that may very well be the largest "X-Factor" of them all.
Bottom line: When it's all said and done, this match is a total mystery. There are so many questions about each fighter that it's practically impossible to predict how the fight will play out. It could be an entertaining stand-up war, especially if Einemo's been improving his striking with Golden Glory or it could be a hug-fest in the clinch while Einemo desperately attempts to work takedowns but is stuffed. Hell, it could be a one-sided beatdown from either fighter on the ground.
The aura of uncertainty with this fight is what makes it so intriguing.
Who will come out on top at UFC 131? Let us know in the comments section below!Damascus, SANA, President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to NBC News published Thursday, following is the full text:
Journalist: Mr. President, thank you for having us and allowing NBC News to ask you some important questions.
President Assad: You’re most welcome in Damascus.
Question 1: A few weeks ago, you told lawmakers here that you would retake every inch of Syria. The U.S. State Department called that “delusional.” You’re a long way from winning this war, aren’t you? Never mind retaking every inch of Syria.
President Assad: Actually, the Syrian Army has made a lot of advancement recently, and that is the goal of any army or any government. I don’t think the statement for the United States is relevant. It doesn’t reflect any respect to the international law, to the Charter of the United Nations. It doesn’t reflect respect of the sovereignty of a country that it had the right to take control of its full land.
Question 2: But how long do you think this will take you to win this war?
President Assad: You’re talking about something that is related to many factors. The most important factor is how long are the supporters of those terrorists are going to keep supporting them, especially Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with the endorsement of some Western countries including the United States. If you don’t have that support, it won’t take more than a few months.
Question 3: More than a few months. You see, I’ve been here ten times, and I’ve heard your governors say “it will take a month to retake Homs, it will take six months to retake somewhere else.” It always takes longer than that. So, realistically, this will take years, won’t it?
President Assad: That’s why I said that depends on how much support the terrorists are going to have, how much recruitment are you going to have in Turkey with the Saudi money, to have more terrorists coming to Syria. Their aim is to prolong the war, so they can prolong it if they want, and they’ve already succeeded in that. So,
that depends on the question. If you’re talking about how much it’s going to take as only a Syrian conflict, an isolated conflict, this is where it won’t take more than a few months. But if it’s not isolated, as is the case today with the interference of many regional and international powers, it will be going to take a long time, and no-one has the answer to the question you have posed. Nobody knows how the war is going to develop.
Question 4: A year ago, the war was going quite differently. You made a speech in which you said you were short of troops, you had to give up some areas reluctantly. What changed after that? Was it that Russia entered the war? That’s the real reason this war is turning, isn’t it? That Russia is on your side.
President Assad: Definitely, the Russian support of the Syrian Army has tipped the scales against the terrorists.
Question 5: It’s the crucial factor?
President Assad: It is, it is, definitely. At the same time, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have sent more troops since that Russian legal intervention started, but in spite of that, it was the crucial factor, as you just mentioned.
Question 6: So, you owe President Putin a lot.
President Assad: Everyone who stood beside us; Russians, Iranians, and even the Chinese stood, but each one in its own way, whether political, military, or economic, because it’s not one factor; you cannot only talk about the firepower or the human resources. It’s a multi-factor issue. All those countries supported Syria, beside other countries who supported to a lesser degree.
Question 7: Has President Putin demanded anything of you? What’s the deal?
President Assad: When he wanted to intervene? He didn’t ask for anything.
Question 8: Nothing?
President Assad: For a simple reason: first of all, their politics are built on values. This is very important. The second thing, their interest is common interest with us now, because they are fighting the same terrorists that they should fight in Russia. We are fighting the terrorists that could be fighting in Europe, in the United States, anywhere else in the world. But the difference between President Putin and the other Western officials is that he could see that clearly while the other officials in Europe or in the West in general couldn’t see that. That’s why his intervention is based on values, and at the same time based on the interest of the Russian people.
Question 9: Do you speak much with him?
President Assad: When there’s something to speak about, of course we speak, or through officials.
Question 10: How often, for example, this year, have you spoken with him?
President Assad: I didn’t count them, but many times. We spoke many times.
Question 11: And how would you describe your relationship with him?
President Assad: Very frank, very honest, mutual respect.
Question 12: But he has demanded nothing of you, is that the case?
President Assad: Nothing at all, nothing at all.
Question 13: Because the suspicion is that Russia may be working in concert with the United States, and Secretary of State Kerry is meeting Vladimir Putin Thursday in Moscow. The suspicion is that they are coming to some sort of deal that might be bad news for you.
President Assad: First of all, regarding the first part, if he wanted to ask for something, he would ask me to fight the terrorists, because this is where his interest as a president and as a country – I mean Russia – lies. Second, regarding that allegation from time to time, that the Russians met with the Americans and they discussed something about the Syrian issue, like, in order to give the impression that they are deciding what is going to happen in Syria. Many times, the Russian officials many times said clearly that the Syrian issue is related to the Syrian people, and yesterday Minister Lavrov said that clearly; said we cannot sit with the Americans to define what the Syrians want to do. This is a Syrian issue, only the Syrian people can define the future of their country and how to solve their problem. The role of Russia and the United States is to offer the international atmosphere, to protect the Syrians from any intervention. The problem in that regard is that the Russians are honest, the Americans didn’t deliver anything in that regard. But, this is not to take the decision about what we have to do as Syrians.
Question 14: So just to be clear: neither Foreign Secretary Lavrov nor President Putin has ever talked to you about political transition, about a day when you would leave power? That’s never come up?
President Assad: Never, because as I said, this is related to the Syrian people. Only the Syrian people define who’s going to be the president, when to come, and when to go. They never said a single word regarding this.
Question 15: And you’re not worried in the least about Secretary Kerry meeting Vladimir Putin and coming to an understanding in which you may have to leave power?
President Assad: No, for one reason: because their politics, I mean the Russian politics, is not based on making deals; it’s based on values. And that’s why you don’t see any achievement between them and the Americans because of different principles. The American politics are based on making deals, regardless of the values, which
is not the case for the Russians.
Question 16: But of course it’s not just Russia that’s bombing your enemies; it’s the United States. Do you welcome American airstrikes against ISIS?
President Assad: No, because it’s not legal. First of all, it’s not legal.
Question 17: It’s not legal for Russia to do it, is it?
President Assad: No, they are invited legally and formally by the Syrian government. It’s the right of any government to invite any other country to help in any issue. So, they are legal in Syria, while the Americans are not legal, with their allies, of course all of them are not legal. This is first. Second, since the Russian intervention, terrorism has been, let’s say, regressing, while before that, and during the American illegal intervention with their allies ISIS was expanding and terrorism was expanding and taking over new areas in Syria. They’re not serious. So, I cannot say I welcome the un-seriousness and to be in Syria illegally.
Question 18: Thousands of missions, hundreds of airstrikes… the United States is not being serious in Syria?
President Assad: The question is not how many strikes. What is the achievement? That’s the question. The reality is telling, the reality is telling that since the beginning of the American airstrikes, terrorism has been expanding and prevailing, not vice versa. It only shrank when the Russians intervened. So, this is reality.
We have to talk about facts, it’s not only about the pro forma action that they’ve been taking.
Question 19: So, American airstrikes are ineffective and counterproductive?
President Assad: Yes, it is counterproductive somehow. When terrorism is growing, it is counterproductive. That’s correct.
Question 20: Whose fault is that? Is that a military fault, or is President Obama simply not being, let’s say, ruthless enough?
President Assad: No, first of all it’s not about being ruthless; it’s about being genuine. It’s about the real intentions, it’s about being serious, it’s about having the will. The United States doesn’t have the will to defeat the terrorists; it had the will to control them and to use them as a card like they did in Afghanistan. That will reflected on the military aspect of the issue. If you want to compare, more than a hundred and twenty or thirty Russian airstrikes in a few areas in Syria, compared to ten or twelve American allies’ airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, it means militarily nothing. But that military ineffectiveness is a reflection of the
political will.
Question 21: There was a political will, as you put it, to remove you from power. That was the will of Washington. That seems to have changed. Have you any idea why the United States has changed its mind apparently about your future?
President Assad: No, because the problem with the American officials is that they say something and they mask their intentions, they go in a different way. They say something, they say the opposite. They say something, they do something different. So, you cannot tell what are their real intentions. What I’m sure about is that they don’t have good intentions towards Syria. Maybe they are making tactics, maneuvers, but they haven’t changed their intentions, as I believe.
Question 22: President Obama wanted you out. He’s leaving office soon, and you’re staying. Did you win?
President Assad: No, it’s not between me and him. It’s between me and whoever wants to destroy this country, and mainly the terrorists within Syria now. This is where we can win as Syrians; if we can get rid of those terrorists, if we can restore the stability in Syria, this is where we win. Otherwise, we cannot talk about winning.
That’s true, they didn’t succeed, but if they don’t succeed in their plans, if it went into a fiasco, it doesn’t mean we win the war. So I have to be realistic and precise about choosing the terms in that regard.
Question 23: But one of the president’s key aims, which was to remove you from power, has clearly failed, or do you believe it’s failed?
President Assad: Yeah, I said he’s failed, but that doesn’t mean I win, because for him the war is to remove me, for me the war is not to stay in my position; for me the war is to restore Syria. So, you’re talking about two different wars; for me I’m not fighting my war, I’m not fighting the war that the president should stay. My war is to protect Syria. I don’t care about if I stay or not as long as the Syrians don’t want me to be in my position. For me, I don’t care about what the other presidents want; I care about what the Syrians want. If they want me to stay, I’m going to stay, if they want me to leave, I’m going to leave. So, it’s different, a completely different thing.
Question 24: Do you feel the United States has fundamentally misunderstood your war with ISIS, with what you might call a common enemy?
President Assad: Again, it’s not a common enemy, because for us we are genuine in fighting not only ISIS but al-Nusra and every affiliated to Al Qaeda organization within Syria. All of them are terrorists. So, if you want to talk not about ISIS, about the terrorist groups, we wanted to get rid of the terrorists, we wanted to defeat those terrorists, while the United States wanted to manage those groups in order to topple the government in Syria. So, you cannot talk about common interest unless they really want to fight those terrorists and to defeat them, and they didn’t do that. They’ve been in Iraq in 2006, they didn’t try to defeat them.
Question 25: But America is very genuine about fighting ISIS. ISIS is a threat to the American homeland. How can you say America is not serious about fighting ISIS?
President Assad: Because ISIS has been set up in Iraq in 2006 while the United States was in Iraq, not Syria was in Iraq, so it was growing under the supervision of the American authority in Iraq, and they didn’t do anything to fight ISIS at that time. So why to fight it now? And they don’t fight it now. It’s been expanding under the supervision of the American airplanes, and they could have seen ISIS using the oil fields and exporting oil to Turkey, and they didn’t try to attack any convoy of ISIS. How could they be against ISIS? They cannot see, they don’t see? How the Russians could have seen it from the first day and started attacking those convoys? Actually, the Russian intervention unmasked the American intentions regarding ISIS, and the other terrorist groups, of course.
Question 26: Three years ago, President Obama made a threat against you. He drew a red line, and then withdrew from that and did not attack you. What do you feel about that? Is that the sign of a weak president?
President Assad: That’s the problem with the United States. They’ve been promoting for years now that the only good president is ruthless or tough and who should go to war. This is the definition. Otherwise, he’s going to be a weak president, which is not true. Actually, for the American administrations since the second World
War, they have shared in stoking the fire in conflicts in every part of this world. And as the time goes by, those administrations are becoming more and more pyromaniac. The difference now between those administrations is only about the means, not about the goal. One of them sends his own troops, like Bush, the other one is using surrogate mercenaries, the third one using proxies, and so on, but the core is the same, nothing has changed.
Question 27: But to go back to that moment three years ago, was that the sign of a weak United States and a weak president?
President Assad: No, because if you want to talk about the core, which is the war attacking Syria, they’ve been attacking Syria through proxies. They didn’t fight ISIS, they didn’t make any pressure on Turkey or Saudi Arabia in order to tell them “stop sending money and personnel and every logistic support to those terrorists.”
They could have done so, they didn’t. So, actually they are waging war, but in a different way. They didn’t send their troops, they didn’t attack with missiles, but they send mercenaries. That’s what I meant. I mean, it’s the same.
Question 28: Did it surprise you that they didn’t attack?
President Assad: No, no. It wasn’t a surprise, but I think what they are doing now had the same effect. So, between mercenaries and between missiles, this one could be more effective for them. So, no, I couldn’t say that I was surprised.
Question 29: You’re a leader. By drawing a red line and not following through, has that damaged America’s credibility, not just in the Middle East, but in the world?
President Assad: But this credibility hasn’t ever existed for us, at least since the early 70s, to be frank with you, since we restored our relations with the United States in 1974 we never saw any administration that has real credibility in every issue we dealt with. They never had it. So, I cannot say that it is harmed. Many of
their allies don’t believe them. I think the American credibility, not because of what you mentioned, because of their politics in general, their mainstream politics, are at an all-time low. That’s how we see it.
Question 30: An all-time low in terms of its credibility in the world?
President Assad: Generally, yeah. Regarding the politics in general, not regarding Syria. Yeah.
Question 31: Do you welcome the end of President Obama’s term of office?
President Assad: It means nothing for us, because if you change administration but you don’t change politics, it means nothing. So, it’s about the politics, and in Syria we never bet on any president coming or any president going. We never bet. Because what they say in their campaign is different from what they practice after they are elected.
Question 32: You’ve talked about presidents being the same, never changing their policy, but there will be a new president in the United States next year. Do you hope for a new relationship? Do you believe anything like that is possible?
President Assad: Yeah, of course. We always hope that the next president will be much wiser than the previous one, less pyromaniac as I said, less militaristic, adventurist president. That’s what we hope, but we never saw. I mean the difference is very marginal. So, we keep hoping, but we don’t bet on that hope.
Question 33: So, there will be a new president. There are two main choices: one of them is Donald Trump. What do you know of Mr. Trump?
President Assad: Nothing. Just what I heard in the media, and during the campaign. That’s what I say, we don’t have to waste our time hearing what they say in their campaign; they’re going to change after they are elected, and this is where we have to start evaluating the president, after the campaign, not during the campaign.
Question 34: And you’re here in Damascus, what are you hearing in the media about Mr. Trump?
President Assad: The conflict between the Americans, but we don’t pay much attention to it. I mean, even this rhetoric between the different, let’s say, nominees, is changing during the campaign. So, what you hear today is not relevant tomorrow. So, we cannot build our politics on day-to-day politics.
Question 35: But you’re following this election?
President Assad: Not really, not really. Because as I said, you don’t follow anything that you cannot consider as connected to the reality yet. It’s only connected to the reality when they are in office. So far, it’s only rhetoric. We don’t have to waste our time with rhetoric.
Question 36: Simply rhetoric. So, for example, talking about Mr. Trump; anything Mr. Trump says, you wouldn’t necessarily believe that would be the policy of a President Trump?
President Assad: No, we cannot. Whether Trump or Clinton or anyone. I’m talking in general, it’s not about the names. It’s a principle for every American president in every campaign.
Question 37: He’s made very few comments about Syria or the Middle East, but he’s described you as a “bad guy.” Does that worry you?
President Assad: That’s his opinion. No, it’s a personal opinion. He doesn’t have to see me as a good guy. The question for me: do the Syrians see me as a good guy or
a bad guy, not an American person or president or nominee. I don’t care about it. It’s not part of my political map, let’s say.
Question 38: One of the things he’s said and been very clear about is that he would be much tougher on ISIS. You would welcome that, wouldn’t you? Because you just said President Obama isn’t serious.
President Assad: You don’t have to be tougher. This word doesn’t have any meaning in reality, in real life, in this region. You have to fight ISIS in different ways.
ISIS is not only fighters you have to attack with the strongest bomb or missile. It’s not like this. The issue of terrorism is very complicated, it’s related to the ideology. How can you be tough against the ideology of ISIS? That’s the question. How can you be tough regarding their economy, how they offer money and donations?
How can you deal with that?
Question 39: I think Mr. Trump is talking about military toughness. He wants to-
President Assad: It’s not enough, it’s not enough. You have to be smart. It’s not enough to be tough. First of all, you have to have the will, you have to be genuine, then you have to be smart, then you can be tough, and being tough and being militarily active, this is important, but this is the last option when you fulfill the first criteria.
Question 40: From what you know of Mr. Trump, is he smart enough?
President Assad: I don’t know him. When I sit with him face-to-face, I can judge him, but I only look at the person on the TV, and you know on the TV you can manipulate everything, you can make, how to say, you can rehearse, you can prepare yourself, so that’s not the issue.
Question 41: Do you like what you see on TV of Mr. Trump?
President Assad: I don’t follow the American elections as I said, because we don’t bet on it. We don’t follow it.
Question 42: He seems to respect President Putin. Does that give you hope that maybe he’s a man you could do business with?
President Assad: If he’s genuine, I think he’s saying the right thing, because every person on Earth, whether they agree or disagree with President Putin, should
respect him, because he’s respectable. He respects himself, and he respects the other, he respects his values, respects the interests of his own people, and he’s
honest and genuine. So, how can’t you respect someone with those descriptions? If he’s genuine, I think he’s correct. That’s what I can say.
Question 43: Mr. Trump has also made comments about Muslims, and not allowing Muslims into |
share more information about the Xbox community and we are continually looking for ways to do so that alsoprotect the interests of gamers and our partners."
Original story:
The team over at Ars Technica have put together an interesting report that analyzes how millions of Xbox Live account holders use their consoles.
In a similar fashion to Ars' well-received Steam Gauge series, the new deep-dive study randomly sampled a huge amount of publicly available Xbox Live info using a third-party API to find out more about the user habits of Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners.
The resulting report contains a number of fascinating findings. For instance,it suggests that the majority of Xbox One users spend just over 50 percent of their time actually playing games (as shown in the chart below).
The rest of their time is split between media and non-game apps like YouTube and Netflix. That split is even more pronounced on the Xbox 360, with those still using the ageing console spending 60.3 percent of their time on non-game apps.
It's hardly a surprising revelation, as you'd expect most players to have made the Xbox One their gaming system of choice by now. Still, it perhaps show why huge game companies like Microsoft have attempted to turn their consoles into full-fledged media hubs in recent years.
The full report is well worth checking out, and is packed with reams of data spotlighting everything from the most popular backwards compatible titles to the most played Xbox One releases on the market right now.I have been thinking a lot about the importance of male spaces. There has been a feminist war on the existence of any and all male spaces based on the principle of if men are doing something, no matter what it is, without women, then they have to be stopped immediately. This is also applies to predominantly male spaces like STEM employment, video games, “geek culture”, etc. It’s no surprise that we have seen a feminist/female assault against these areas such as the constant blather about sexism in video games and Obama’s attempt to apply Title IX to STEM. Whiskey has talked about how (female) Twilight fans (including the “Twi-moms”) took over Comic Con and ruined it.
We are running out of male spaces. The feminization of game is being attempted. There have been several attempts to turn the MRM into being all about women. (The most recent attempt was the LadyMRAs reddit which was supposedly about women helping the MRM ended up exposing its real agenda when they became rabidly insane against MGTOW.) The only real space that has managed to completely resist and fight off feminization and feminist invasion is MGTOW. At least one reason for this is because women in general see the MGTOW as hostile to women (regardless of what men in the MGTOW space are actually doing).
Knowing that MGTOW has been the only male space to resist feminization and feminist invasion because it is (de facto) hostile to women, then is the only way to preserve male spaces by making them hostile to women? 8ball commenting at SWAB’s blog thinks that this could be the case:
I’m starting to wonder if it’s even possible to have a male-only space that isn’t hostile to women. And contrary to popular belief, this isn’t because I think any gathering of men will inherently turn misogynistic, rather the opposite. Any space that isn’t completely alienating to women will eventually be …. “invaded” (for lack of a better term) by women, who will then insist that it conform to their sensibilities. Look at Geek culture for example. You can see this happening in places like The Good Men Project. Most of their readers are women, a good percentage of their articles are not even remotely about men, and another significant percentage are about how men’s lives affect women. And even when the article is about men… often it is written by a woman.
I’m not sure how good of an example The Good Mangina Project is since it was started by male feminist men, but in thinking about it, 8ball has a point that even The Good Mangina Project now has a much higher percentage of women authors and women commenting and less articles even tangentially relevant to men than when they started. In a way, this does show that male spaces have to be hostile to women to defend against feminization and feminist invasion. While The Good Mangina Project didn’t start out as a true male space, it shows that any space that is feminized will become more feminized over time.
I’m certainly willing to listen to ideas on how to protect male spaces without making them completely hostile and alienating to women, but at this point, I can’t see any other solution to protecting male spaces.
Like this: Like Loading...This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Today, we look back at 2013. It was an historic year. Edward Snowden exposed how the National Security, the NSA, built a worldwide surveillance apparatus, while Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years in jail for leaking U.S. secret documents to WikiLeaks. Pope Francis urged the world to address economic inequality, warning about the tyranny of unfettered capitalism. Tens of thousands were killed in Syria. And the Philippines was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. The Supreme Court struck down part of the Voting Rights Act, while overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage. George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin. The U.S. government was shut down for 16 days while Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform or any true gun-control measures. The U.S. war in Afghanistan entered its 13th year, while over 8,000 civilians were killed in Iraq in the deadliest year there since 2008. Meanhwhile, President Obama’s secret drone wars continued in Pakistan and Yemen. We’ll spend the hour looking back at 2013. We begin with President Obama’s inauguration.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal, as well.
AMY GOODMAN: A prominent immigrant rights activist has spoken out after her mother and brother were detained in a raid by federal immigration agents at their Phoenix home. Erika Andiola, who has played a leading role in the undocumented youth movement, urged an end to the raids in a tearful recording.
ERIKA ANDIOLA: We need to do something. We need to stop separating families. And this is real. This is so real. I need everybody to stop, to stop pretending like nothing is wrong, to stop pretending that we’re just living normal lives, because we’re not. This can happen to any of us.
AMY GOODMAN: The late Internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz was laid to rest on Tuesday at a funeral near Chicago. Swartz killed himself on Friday, weeks before he was to go to trial for downloading millions of articles provided by the nonprofit research service JSTOR. He was facing 35 years in prison, a penalty that supporters of Swartz called excessively harsh.
AMY GOODMAN: In a moment, we’ll be joined by Aaron Swartz’s girlfriend, but first let’s turn to Aaron Swartz in his own words. This is part of a speech he delivered last May in Washington, D.C., when he explained the challenges he sees the Internet facing.
AARON SWARTZ: There’s a battle going on right now, a battle to define everything that happens on the Internet in terms of traditional things that the law understands. Is sharing a video on BitTorrent like shoplifting from a movie store? Or is it like loaning a videotape to a friend? Is reloading a webpage over and over again like a peaceful virtual sit-in or a violent smashing of shop windows? Is the freedom to connect like freedom of speech or like the freedom to murder?
TAREN STINEBRICKNER-KAUFFMAN: Aaron was the most—person most dedicated to fighting social injustice of anyone I’ve ever met in my life, and I loved him for it. He used to say—I used to say, “Why don’t you—why we do this thing? It will make you happy.” And he would say, “I don’t want to be happy. I just want to change the world.”
NERMEEN SHAIKH: A retired CIA agent who blew the whistle on the agency’s Bush-era torture program has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. John Kiriakou becomes the first CIA official to be jailed for any reason relating to the torture program.
JOHN KIRIAKOU: I’m going to prison, ostensibly, for violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. I believe, and my supporters believe, that this, however, was not a case about leaking; this was a case about torture. And I believe I’m going to prison because I blew the whistle on torture.
AMY GOODMAN: President Obama has formally unveiled his second-term nominations for two key Cabinet posts: former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel for defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to helm the CIA.
AMY GOODMAN: In a rare move, Brennan’s confirmation hearing was temporarily called into recess following multiple interruptions by protesters drawing attention to his leading role in the drone war.
JOHN BRENNAN: And I’m very pleased to be joined today by my wife Kathy and brother Tom.
CODEPINK PROTESTER: Speaking of children, I speak for the mothers who lost children—
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN: All right, we will stop again.
CODEPINK PROTESTER: —in your drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia. And who else? Who else? Where else?
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN: Please remove the—
CODEPINK PROTESTER: The CIA and the Obama administration refuse to even tell Congress. They won’t even tell Congress what countries we are killing children in.
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN: Please—
CODEPINK PROTESTER: Senator Feinstein—
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN: If you could please expedite the removal?
CODEPINK PROTESTER: —are your children more important than the children of Pakistan and Yemen? Are they more important? Do your job! World peace depends on it! We’re making more enemies—
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Forty-eight environmental activists were arrested Wednesday in front of the White House as part of an ongoing protest calling on the Obama administration to reject the Keystone XL pipeline.
MICHAEL BRUNE: And so we know that we can’t win on climate change if we continue to dither, if we continue to talk about it but not do anything. And so, the Sierra Club is engaging in civil disobedience for the first time, because we have a moral catastrophe on our hands, and we need to do everything that we can to compel stronger, bolder action.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Venezuela has announced seven days of mourning for its president, Hugo Chávez, who has died at the age of 58. Chávez died after a two-year battle with cancer that was first detected in his pelvis in June of 2011. This is Bolivian President Evo Morales remembering Chávez.
PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] He fought for his country, for the great nation, like Simón Bolívar, a friend who gave his entire life for the liberation of the Venezuelan people, the people of Latin America and all anti-imperialists and anti-capitalists of the world.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: More than a hundred detainees held in the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, are reportedly entering their fifth week of a hunger strike against deteriorating conditions.
PARDISS KEBRIAEI: We’ve heard reports of people losing over 20, 30, 40 pounds. And we’re now today in day 36 or so of the strike. By day 42, 45, you start seeing things like loss of vision, loss of hearing, and eventually death.
AMY GOODMAN: A papal conclave has selected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to be the new pope. He is viewed as a theological conservative who has staunchly opposed abortion, same-sex marriage and the ordination of women. In Argentina, he has long been dogged by reports that he aided the military dictatorship in the 1970s.
TOM ROBERTS: He really does live a life identified with the poor. He lives in a simple apartment, cooks his own meals, and has really been identified with a very, very strong social justice current in Latin America. He has used language about the inequalities between countries and talks about Argentina as one of the most unequal places in the world, talks about the unjust distribution of goods as a social sin.
AMY GOODMAN: Military officials appeared before a Senate panel on Wednesday to answer questions over the failure to halt the epidemic of sexual assault within their ranks. New York senator and panel chair, Kirsten Gillibrand, blasted the military’s handling of sexual assault.
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: I am extremely disturbed, based on the last round of question and answer, that each of you believes that the convening authority is what maintains discipline and order within your ranks. If that is your view, I don’t know how you can say that having 19,000 sexual assaults and rapes a year is discipline and order.
AMY GOODMAN: Anuradha Bhagwati of Service Women’s Action Network also testified.
ANURADHA BHAGWATI: Military sexual violence is a very personal issue for me. During my five years as a Marine officer, I experienced daily discrimination and sexual harassment. I was exposed to a culture rife with sexism, rape jokes, pornography and widespread commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls, both in the United States and overseas. My experiences came to a head while I was stationed at the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, from 2002 to 2004, where I witnessed reports of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment swept under the rug by a handful of field-grade officers. Perpetrators were promoted or transferred to other units without punishment, while victims were accused of lying or exaggerating their claims in order to ruin men’s reputations.
AMY GOODMAN: A series of bomb blasts have ripped through Baghdad and surrounding towns on the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion that began a decade-long war in Iraq. At least 56 people died in more than a dozen explosions, most of them car bombings. It was 10 years ago today the United States, under President George W. Bush, invaded Iraq on the false pretext that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction. Now, a decade after the invasion began, a new poll confirms most people in the United States believe it was a mistake.
DAHR JAMAIL: The situation in Iraq today, 10 years after the U.S.-led invasion and occupation began, it’s just utter devastation. It’s a situation where, overall, we can say that Iraq is a failed state. The economy is in a state of crisis, perpetual crisis, that began far back with the institution of the 100 Bremer orders during—under the Coalition Provisional Authority, the civil government set up to run Iraq during the first year of the occupation. And it’s been in crisis ever since.
AMY GOODMAN: Two high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio, have been found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl at a party last August. On Sunday, the teenagers, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, were convicted of sexually assaulting the victim, who witnesses testified was too drunk to move or speak. The case sparked a national controversy following the emergence of images and social media postings from the night of the assault, including one picture of the defendants holding the victim over a basement floor.
AMY GOODMAN: At least three people are dead and 144 wounded, 17 of them critically, after two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: This was a heinous and cowardly act. And given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism.
AMY GOODMAN: One suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is dead, and a massive manhunt is underway for the second, after a chaotic scene erupted overnight that left one police officer dead, another critically wounded.
JAY CARNEY: He will not be treated as an enemy combatant. We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: On Tuesday, the Senate held its first-ever public hearing on the U.S. secret drone program, 12 years after the United States launched its first deadly drone strike. The most moving testimony at the Senate hearing on drones came from Farea al-Muslimi, a youth activist from Yemen.
FAREA AL-MUSLIMI: Now, however, when they think of America, they think of the terror they feel from the drones that hover over their heads, ready to fire missiles at any time. What the violent militants had previously failed to achieve, one drone strike accomplished in an instant. There is now an intense anger against America in Wessab.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: For the first time, the Obama administration admitted Wednesday it had killed four U.S. citizens in drone strikes overseas.
AMY GOODMAN: For more, we go to Jeremy Scahill, author of the new book Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield. He is also a producer and writer of the documentary film by the same title, Dirty Wars, which premieres in theaters around the country June 7th.
JEREMY SCAHILL: I really think that Congress needs to step it up and ask how these Americans were killed. But I also think that, on both a moral level and, my understanding, also on a legal level, it really is irrelevant whether they’re Americans or not Americans. Why I think it’s important to focus on these cases is because how a society will treat its own citizens is a good indicator of how it’s going to treat noncitizens around the world. And if the basic standards of due process are not being afforded to American citizens, then they certainly are not going to be afforded to non-American citizens.
AMY GOODMAN: The retail giant Wal-Mart has been tied to the collapsed Bangladesh industrial building where more than 1,100 workers died last month. The New York Times reports documents found in the rubble show a contractor had hired one of the building’s factories to produce jeans for Wal-Mart stores.
AMY GOODMAN: Bangladeshi activist and former garment worker, Kalpona Akter, attended Wal-Mart’s annual meeting and addressed Wal-Mart Chair Rob Walton.
KALPONA AKTER: Mr. Rob Walton, I’m sure you know that these fixing buildings would cost just a tiny fraction of your family wealth. So I implore to you, please, help us. You have the power to do this very easily. Don’t you agree that the factories where Wal-Mart products are made should be safe for the workers? For years, every time there is an accident, Wal-Mart officials have made promise to improve the terrible conditions in my country’s garment factories, but the tragedies continue. With all due respect, the time for empty promises is over.
AMY GOODMAN: The FBI has added the former Black Panther Assata Shakur to its Most Wanted Terrorists list, and the reward for her capture has been doubled to $2 million. Shakur is the first woman added to the list. We’re joined now by Angela Davis.
ANGELA DAVIS: It’s designed to frighten people who are involved in struggles today. Forty years ago seems as if it were a long time ago, four decades; however, in the 21st century, at the beginning of the 21st century, we’re still fighting around the very same issues—police violence, healthcare, education, people in prison, and so forth. So I see this as an attack not so much on Assata herself, although of course she deserves to be brought home.
AMY GOODMAN: In an historic verdict, former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt was found guilty Friday of genocide and crimes against humanity and was sentenced to 80 years in prison. Judge Yassmin Barrios announced the verdict on Friday.
JUDGE YASSMIN BARRIOS: [translated] By unanimous decision, the court declares that the accused, José Efraín Ríos Montt, is responsible as the author of the crime of genocide.
AMY GOODMAN: Our guest in Mexico City is the Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú. It was her lawsuit that helped to lead to the conviction—first trial, then conviction and 80-year sentence of the former U.S.-backed dictator of Guatemala, Efraín Ríos Montt.
RIGOBERTA MENCHÚ: [translated] This verdict is historic. It’s monumental. The verdict against Ríos Montt is historic. We waited for 33 years for justice to prevail. It’s clear that there is no peace without justice. There is no peace without truth. We need justice for the victims for there to be real peace. This verdict is crucial.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to move to another subject with the former attorney general of the United States here, Ramsey Clark, and that is this top story in our headlines today, the Associated Press saying the Justice Department secretly obtained a trove of journalists’ phone records, believed more than 100 reporters working at AP and outside, reporters who even used the AP phones.
RAMSEY CLARK: It seems to be a terrible intrusion on the freedom of the press. I don’t see how the press can operate effectively if the public and people that talk to the press have to assume that Big Brother is listening in or can seize the conversations that they engage in. So, the impairment to freedom of the press would seem—the threat to freedom of the press would seem clear and substantial, and it ought not to be done.
AMY GOODMAN: President Obama’s speech at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., was interrupted multiple times by Medea Benjamin, the founder of CodePink.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Once again—
MEDEA BENJAMIN: There are 102 people on a hunger strike—
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Today—
MEDEA BENJAMIN: —these desperate people [inaudible]—
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I’m about to address it, ma’am, but you’ve got to let me speak. I’m about to address it.
MEDEA BENJAMIN: You are commander-in-chief.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Let me address it.
MEDEA BENJAMIN: You can close Guantánamo today.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Why don’t you let me address it, ma’am?
MEDEA BENJAMIN: You can release those 86 prisoners cleared for release [inaudible]—
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Why don’t you sit down?
AMY GOODMAN: We continue our look back at 2013 in a minute.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me)” by the Staple Singers. Cleotha Staples died February 21st, 2013, at the age of 78. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, as we continue our look back at 2013.
AMY GOODMAN: A newly disclosed court order shows the telecom giant Verizon is handing over the phone records of millions of subscribers to the U.S. government without individual warrants. The Guardian of London reports the FBI obtained the three-month authorization from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in April. It compels Verizon to provide the National Security Agency with “metadata” of all subscriber phone calls: who they spoke to, where and at what time they made the call, and for how long. This appears to mark the broadest act of government surveillance known to date.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re now joined by two former employees of the National Security Agency, Thomas Drake and William Binney.
WILLIAM BINNEY: Well, it’s certainly an extension of what I’ve been trying to say, that we were on a slippery slope to a totalitarian state. And that was simply based on the idea that the government was collecting so much information about all the citizens inside the country, that it gave them so much power.
THOMAS DRAKE: I think what people are now realizing is that this isn’t just a terrorist issue. This is simply the ability of the government in secret, on a vast scale, to collect any and all phone call records, including domestic to domestic, local, as well as location information. We might—there’s no need now to call this the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Let’s just call it the surveillance court. It’s no longer about foreign intelligence. It’s simply about harvesting millions and millions and millions of phone call records and beyond.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to the man who blew the whistle on the National Security Agency and the expanding U.S. surveillance state. On Sunday, The Guardian newspaper revealed the source of its explosive series on the NSA to be a 29-year-old former CIA technical assistant named Edward Snowden.
EDWARD SNOWDEN: Any analyst at any time can target anyone, any selector anywhere. Where those communications will be picked up depends on the range of the sensor networks and the authorities that that analyst is empowered with. Not all analysts have the ability to target everything. But I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities to wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant to a federal judge, to even the president, if I had a personal email.
AMY GOODMAN: On Friday, President Obama confirmed the existence of the surveillance program.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: When it comes to telephone calls, nobody is listening to your telephone calls. That’s not what this program’s about.
AMY GOODMAN: Glenn Greenwald, Ed Snowden turned 30 on Friday. Also, then, the charges against him were made known. Can you explain what he has been charged with by the United States?
GLENN GREENWALD: He’s been charged so far with three felony counts, one of which is essentially stealing property that doesn’t belong to him. The other two are the much more serious ones. They’re offenses under the Espionage Act of 1917.
AMY GOODMAN: Journalist Michael Hastings has died at the age of 33. Hastings was killed in a car crash in Los Angeles early Tuesday morning. Speaking to Democracy Now! in 2012, Michael Hastings said the Afghan War, like the invasion of Iraq, was based on a false premise.
MICHAEL HASTINGS: If WMDs were the big lie of the Iraq War, the safe haven myth is the big lie of the Afghan War. And what I mean by that—and this was true in Iraq, as well—but 99 percent of the people, maybe even higher, honestly, the people we’re fighting, whether it was Sunni insurgents in Iraq or Shiite militias in Iraq or in Afghanistan, the Taliban never actually posed a threat to the United States homeland.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: In a major blow for voting rights, the Supreme Court has gutted an integral part of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act. The act was a crowning achievement of the civil rights movement and helped transform the South.
AMY GOODMAN: Reverend Jesse Jackson, let’s begin with you. Your reaction to the Supreme Court decision?
REV. JESSE JACKSON: A source of deep pain. My father came from World War II, had to sit behind lots of POWs on American military bases and did not have the right to vote. I’ve grown up with this all of my life. I marched in Selma, Alabama, for the right to vote; went to jail trying to get Mandela his right to vote. We’ve been fighting the struggle to democratize our nation and our nations for a long time, and so it hurt at that level.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: In a resounding victory for marriage equality, the Supreme Court ruled that married same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits, as it struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. In addition, the court paved the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California. When the five-to-four decision on DOMA was announced, an enormous cheer went up outside the courtroom, and the crowd started chanting, ”DOMA is dead!” as couples hugged and cried. The lead plaintiff in the case was an 84-year-old lesbian named Edith Windsor.
EDITH WINDSOR: Children born today will grow up in a world without DOMA, and those same children who happen to be gay will be free to love and get married as Thea and I did, but with the same federal benefits, protections and dignity as everyone else. If I had to survive Thea, what a glorious way to do it. And she would be so pleased.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Pro-choice advocates and Democratic lawmakers waged a battle into the early hours of Wednesday morning to successfully block a bill that would have forced nearly all of the state’s abortion clinics to close.
SEN. WENDY DAVIS: Members, I’m rising on the floor today to humbly give voice to thousands of Texans who have been ignored.
AMY GOODMAN: Wendy Davis’s filibuster lasted nearly 11 hours before Republicans cut her off. That was when her colleagues and the protesters in the gallery took over.
AMY GOODMAN: Deadly violence is continuing in Egypt days after the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. Earlier today at least 42 people were reportedly killed at the military site where Morsi is being detained. The Muslim Brotherhood says the victims were holding a peaceful sit-in when gunmen opened fire, wounding over 500. The victims included women and children.
AMY GOODMAN: We go now to Cairo, where we’re joined by Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous.
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Well, Amy, I’m just coming back from the scene of a bloodbath in Cairo today. As you mentioned, the official count is at least 42 people killed, 300 wounded, many of them killed with live ammunition. I spoke to many eyewitnesses. All of them say that the attack began right at the end of dawn prayer, where pro-Morsi supporters are holding a sit-in.
AMY GOODMAN: The Pakistani schoolgirl attacked by the Taliban last year appeared at the United Nations on Friday to deliver her first speech since undergoing surgery and to celebrate a global day in her honor. Malala Yousafzai was left seriously wounded when militants shot her in the head for campaigning for the rights of girls. On Friday, her 16th birthday, Malala said she is undeterred by the Taliban’s efforts to silence her voice.
MALALA YOUSAFZAI: Dear friends, on the 9th of October, 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends, too. They thought that the bullet would silence us. But they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died; strength, power and courage was born.
JUDGE DEBRA NELSON: Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?
CLERK: In the Circuit Court of the 18th Judicial Circuit in and for Seminole County, Florida, State of Florida v. George Zimmerman, verdict: We, the jury, find George Zimmerman not guilty. So say we all, foreperson.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: When Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me, 35 years ago.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more, we’re going to Columbus, Ohio, where we’re joined by Michelle Alexander, civil rights advocate, attorney, author of the best-selling book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
MICHELLE ALEXANDER: I think it’s critically important that we not allow ourselves to get bogged down in the details of who said what when, but rather step back and consider what this Zimmerman mindset, a mindset that views a boy walking in his neighborhood carrying nothing but Skittles and iced tea as a threat, this mindset that views black men and boys as a perpetual problem to be dealt with. This mindset has infected our criminal justice system, has infected our schools, has infected our politics, in ways that have had disastrous consequences, birthing a prison system unprecedented in world history and stripping millions of basic civil, human—millions of people of basic civil and human rights once they’ve been branded criminals and felons.
AMY GOODMAN: Pope Francis has issued unusually candid remarks about LGBT people, saying they should not be marginalized in society, but maintaining that homosexual acts are a sin under Catholic teaching.
POPE FRANCIS: [translated] If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?
AMY GOODMAN: In Iran, Hassan Rouhani took the presidential oath of office Sunday, replacing outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
PRESIDENT HASSAN ROUHANI: [translated] Interactions based on equal footing and cooperation will be the basis of our relations with other countries. On this basis, proportionate to the behavior and approach of the other side, in view of improving and promoting future ties, we will ascertain our next step. So I will say this: If you want the right response, don’t speak with Iran in the language of sanctions; speak in the language of respect.
AMY GOODMAN: A federal judge has denied a request for compassionate release from jailed civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart, who is dying from stage IV breast cancer. Stewart has served almost four years of a 10-year prison sentence for distributing press releases on behalf of her jailed client, Omar Abdel Rahman, an Egyptian cleric known as the “blind Sheikh.”
AMY GOODMAN: Ralph Poynter, your wife, Lynne, in prison, you visited her last week.
RALPH POYNTER: This is dangerous, a dangerous situation, and the prison wants her dead. I don’t call them “prisons” anymore; I call them “death camps.”
AARON MATÉ: We begin with a historic ruling in federal court that the stop-and-frisk tactics used by New York police officers are unconstitutional.
AMY GOODMAN: Shortly after the decision was announced, the plaintiffs in the case held a news conference alongside their lawyers.
LALIT CLARKSON: The reason why I joined on to this case was because many of us, including myself, feel like “stop and frisk” is police abuse, and that that’s the lowest level of police abuse. And once police abuse power when it comes to “stop and frisk,” then they can do it in terms of falsely arresting people, then they can do it in terms of planting evidence. And at the most extreme cases, they can do it in terms of killing people.
AARON MATÉ: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg reacted angrily to the ruling and accused the judge of denying the city a fair trial.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: This is a very dangerous decision made by a judge that I think just does not understand how policing works and what is compliant with the U.S. Constitution as determined by the Supreme Court.
AMY GOODMAN: In breaking news out of Russia, National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has been given one year temporary political asylum in Russia. Snowden has reportedly already left the Moscow airport where he’s been holed up for over a month.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Members of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood have called on followers to march in protest in Cairo today after at least 525 people died when security forces raided two protest encampments filled with supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. More than 3,500 people were injured. The Muslim Brotherhood says the death toll may top 2,000.
AMY GOODMAN: In Cairo, Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous.
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: The scene inside the main medical facility in Rabaa was extremely tragic. People were being brought in, the dead and wounded, every few minutes. The floor was slippery with blood. The windows were closed to prevent tear gas from coming in, and it was almost unbearably hot. And the dead were everywhere. In one room alone, I counted 24 bodies just strewn on the ground, packed so closely you couldn’t even walk in; on another floor, another 30; on another floor, another eight. Doctors were overwhelmed with the casualties.
AMY GOODMAN: The British government is being accused of abusing press freedom after detaining the partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald. On Sunday, Greenwald’s partner, David Miranda, was held and interrogated at London’s Heathrow Airport while traveling home to Brazil.
DAVID MIRANDA: [translated] I stayed in a room with three different agents that were entering and exiting. They spoke to me, asking me questions about my whole life. They took my computer, my video game, cellphone, everything.
AMY GOODMAN: Syrian opposition activists are accusing the regime of Bashar al-Assad of killing hundreds of civilians in new chemical violence. The Syrian Revolutionary Command Council claims as many as 650 people have died in a gas attack on rebel-held areas of eastern Damascus.
RAZAN ZAITOUNEH: Hours later, we started to visit the medical points in Ghouta to where injured were removed, and we couldn’t believe our eyes. I haven’t seen such death in my whole life. People were lying on the ground in hallways, on roadsides, in hundreds.
AMY GOODMAN: Army Private Bradley Manning has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking more than 700,000 classified files and videos to WikiLeaks. The sentence is much longer than any punishment given to previous U.S. government officials who have leaked information to the media. Under current guidelines, Manning could be released on parole in about seven years. After the hearing, Manning defense attorney David Coombs read a statement from Manning asking President Obama for a pardon.
DAVID COOMBS: When I chose to disclose classified information, I did so out of a love for my country and a sense of duty to others. If you deny my request for a pardon, I will serve my time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society.
AMY GOODMAN: We welcome you back to Democracy Now!, Julian Assange. What is your response to the verdict?
JULIAN ASSANGE: Edward Snowden’s freedom is a very important symbol. Bradley Manning’s incarceration is also an important symbol. Bradley Manning is now a martyr. He didn’t choose to be a martyr. I don’t think it’s a proper way for activists to behave, to choose to be martyrs. But these young men—allegedly in the case of Bradley Manning and clearly in |
finds new home as developer chips in
CP24 - March 9, 2015 - Red Door shelter in Leslieville to get new home in deal with developer
CBC News - March 9, 2015 - Red Door Shelter could be part of new Queen Street condo building
Toronto Star - June 11, 2014 - City council wants to save Red Door Shelter
Global News - June 11, 2014 - Red Door Shelter finds support from Toronto City Hall
National Post - June 11, 2014 - Toronto city councillors get along in Rob Ford’s absence, agree to rescue Red Door homeless shelter
Beach Mirror - June 11, 2014 - Toronto council voted unanimously to support Red Door Shelter
Now Magazine - June 11, 2014 - Council votes to save Red Door shelter
April
The Torontoist - April 9, 2014 - Community Rallies to Save Red Door Shelter
Beach Riverdale Mirror - April 8, 2014 - Efforts increase to save Red Door Family Shelter; former mayor joins cause
CBC Toronto - April 7, 2014 - News Toronto - Late Night (starting @7:20)
CTV Toronto - April 7, 2014 - News at 11:30 (starting @8:23)
Toronto Star - April 7, 2014 - Former Red Door residents praise shelter at emergency meeting
Toronto Star - March 26, 2014 - East end community rallies around Red Door shelter
March
Beach Riverdale Mirror - March 26, 2014 - Red Door Family Shelter’s Queen Street East site is facing an uncertain future
CTV News - March 25, 2014 - News at 11:30 (starting @5:25)
CityNews Toronto - March 25, 2014 - Red Door Family Shelter fights to stay open
Global News - March 25, 2014 - Legal battle puts family shelter in danger
Toronto Star - March 25, 2014 - Real estate dispute threatens future of Red Door family shelterBeijing’s Bad Air Day
If the government says healthy people should avoid outdoor activity should a bike race go ahead?
That’s the question facing the organisers of the Tour of Beijing which starts tomorrow as air pollution levels in Beijing today reaching a red-alert score of 397, a level declared as hazardous for all. Is it safe to race?
First let’s put the current level of pollution in context as 397 probably doesn’t mean much. The score is issued hourly. The pollution indices and codes below are defined by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection:
As we can see, 397 is well into the red alert level where “healthy individuals should avoid out door activities“. If 200 points is light pollution but 300 means heavy, then going 97 points past the severe pollution threshold is a big deal. So if the Chinese government tells people to stay indoors, should a bike race take place?
Bike racing is a risky sport with wet roads and sharp corners. The difference here is these conditions can be tackled, riders can change tires and use their brakes. If the sun shines then some riders use sunscreen. When it rains in Belgium there is no government advice to avoid the cobbles.
The Chinese authorities and health professionals warn against exercise and there’s little riders can do to mitigate the risk. If teams could find masks to filter the pollution the riders could not breathe through them.
What are the heath risks?
Air pollution is a matter of degree, the higher the AQI score, the worse the air. Then it’s all about duration, the longer you spend outdoors, the greater the exposure. But it’s also dependent on what you do outdoors. A race means you’re breathing at a rate that’s maybe 20 times the normal airflow of a sedentary person so a few hours of racing is the equivalent of spending much longer outdoors walking. And hard exercise in polluted air puts a strain on the cardiovascular system because the reduced lung function sees the heart trying to compensate, putting an additional strain. At worst it can provoke a heart attack but this appears unlikely in a fit cyclist.
Scanning the PubMed database and its extracts, it seems there’s no particular threshold for time or pollution. But exposure can increase your chances of becoming asthmatic and getting other long problems, both in the short term and longer term problems. So if it’s a matter of nuance we fall back on the government advice. Given the Chinese authorities advise against exercise, what should be done? Fortunately the UCI sets out plenty of guidelines for rider safety. First up, safety of a race is a factor in awarding a race “World Tour” licence:
2.15.149 In addition to meeting the conditions set out in the regulations, the following selection criteria shall be taken into consideration by the licence commission in deciding to refuse a licence, grant it for a reduced duration or to select between events falling in the same class under article 2.15.147:
…3. the quality of organisation, particularly as regards safety;
I suppose we’ll never know if the UCI officials sat down to evaluate the obvious risks of air pollution and if they decided on any precautionary measures. Once again the danger here is that as both race organiser and governing body awarding the licence to the race, the UCI straddles a conflict of interest, where the duty of care competes with money.
As employers the teams have particular duties to their riders, here’s the UCI rulebook again:
1.1.079 The team manager shall constantly and systematically strive, wherever possible, to improve social and human conditions and protect the health and safety of the team’s riders. 13.1.002 Each Team taking part in cycle races shall constantly and systematically ensure that its members are in proper physical condition to engage in cycling. It shall also ensure that their members practice the sport under safe conditions.
Here the burden is obvious. If a team has to ensure its riders “practice the sport under safe conditions” then if the government says it is not safe to exercise outdoors then a team has a duty to heed this advice. Perhaps though it can obtain a second opinion, for example seeking the advice of the team doctor or a respiratory illness expert.
Where does the buck stop?
The race organiser is “entirely and exclusively responsible” under UCI rule 1.2.032. So any decision on safety from the race has to come from GCP, the UCI’s 100% owned race promotion subsidiary, and its partners in Beijing.
However others have a duty too. Commissaires normally think of safety in terms of adequate barriers to hold the crowds back near the finish line or making sure danger spots like narrow roads are pointed out. But they can’t miss the smog. Similarly the UCI rules are also clear that teams have a duty to their riders. If health risks beyond the normal dangers of a race exist then a team is responsible for the riders
Solutions?
The UCI’s advice is clear (my emphasis):
Out of respect for the riders, the organiser should avoid heavily polluted areas as much as possible (industrial towns, etc.), particularly if there are other options for the race route
Are there other options for the route? Perhaps the race shouldn’t be in Beijing at all and it’s late to re-route; these are questions for another day. There is the possibility to cancel the urban stages and only race the rural roads. But this depends how much the race has tried to escape the smog of Beijing. Indeed they could cancel a stage or even the race. The UCI’s own race handbook says:
The organiser must consider that it may be necessary to cancel the event, for example in cases of force majeure (adverse weather conditions, political reasons, etc.).
If the conditions are beyond the control of the race, the UCI and everyone else then cancellation is reasonable. But given the Tour of Hangzhou went up in smoke the UCI’s push into China would face crippling humiliation if the race was cancelled. Don’t forget the UCI was caught pressuring team sponsors this time last year to “encourage” their squads to take part, this showed just how vital this race is to the governing body. Even if it might be the right thing to do, don’t expect safety to trump money.
Perhaps the best solution is to shorten the stages. It happens when snow blocks the road (see the Tour of California or the Etoile de Bessèges this year) and Chinese climate conditions could also make shortening the stage safer. Instead of 120-150km, riders could be driven along the route and perhaps complete the final 40km and then stage a “sprint” to satisfy the locals, preferably without awarding World Tour points so everyone is encouraged to ride tempo instead damaging their lungs. This would represent a compromise between health and the UCI’s desire not to lose face in front of the Beijing government.
History
For all the talk of safety and reading the UCI’s own rules the history of the sport is very different. From the earliest days riders have faced inhuman conditions and the sport has become associated with suffering and danger. However most of the legends are tales of overcoming adversity, whether climbing over a mountain or riding through a snowstorm. It seems quite unlikely that we’ll remember Tony Martin’s overall win in Beijing last year as a triumph over adverse air pollution.
Indeed in the modern era things are quite different. Riders are employees and have rights. Gone are Albert Londres’ “convicts of the road”, today a riders sign employment contracts just like anyone else in, say, Belgium or the USA and have corresponding expectations of safety in the workplace, albeit adjust for sports. However if things have improved, we rarely see riders take much of a stand. So even if their lungs are at risk, don’t expect to see the riders stage a protest.
Sympathy
Finally let’s spare a thought for the locals. Whether it’s kids walking to school or the elderly, this is a daily problem for residents of Beijing. Many workers have to endure the pollution whilst our riders can jet in and jet out. But I’m not blogging about China or environmentalism so I’ll leave this broad topic for others. Nevertheless, local cyclists have the choice not to exercise whilst the riders in the race will probably be told to start as normal.
Conclusion
Cycle racing is dangerous enough but we take steps to mitigate the risks. Tunnels have to be lit, sharp corners come with warning signs, whistles and even bales of hay. So when the city government advises its citizens to stay indoors, staging a bike race in these conditions is certainly contradictory and maybe even reckless. Unless fresh air arrives in time for the race making riders complete the full distance seems unnecessary.
It’s a shame for everyone that the weather and pollution are conspiring to reach such hazardous levels whether fans in Beijing or riders who want, or even need, a result in this race. Pollution is part of life in the Chinese capital as the country rushes to catch up to the standard of living enjoyed in Western cities via rapid industrial growth and perhaps locals accept pollution as the price to pay? We’ll leave this question for others.
All this blog knows is that the UCI’s own rules and guidelines state the race organisers and teams have responsibilities when it comes to health and safety, that air pollution is at severe levels and the local advice is not to exercise.Brotherhood is Magic
A lone pegasus, clad in the golden armor of the royal guard marched—quietly—through the dark hallways and corridors of the royal palace, noting that while the architecture was designed to let in as much sun as possible during the day; at night it made everything seem large and looming. Swallowing nervously he made his way to Canterlot Tower, the location of the fabled Elements of Harmony.
He looked at the large door with the intricate symbols and, most significantly, the hole for a unicorn horn. Quickly looking around to make sure he was alone, he reached under his armor to remove a small pointed object. He had bought it from the same unicorn who had sold him the magic armor that made his coat and mane change colors to match those of the royal guard. The pegasus wasn't sure if all royal armor was enchanted the same way or if they selected guards based on their coats to match. He didn't much care either way, so long as the ruse was kept up long enough for him to do what he came in to do: get the Elements of Harmony.
Gingerly he lined up the magic object with the hole in the door. The unicorn claimed that it would emit a magical emission that would open any door or her name wasn't the Great and Something…something or other. By this point he had stopped listening to her. Holding his breath he slowly started to push the magic skeleton key—horn, whatever—into the hole…
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A soft voice whispered in his ear. With a startled yelp the pegasus dropped the key and whirled around, his heart hammering in his chest. He found himself staring at a pure white coat that shined all the more brightly for being in a totally darkened room. From her large graceful wings to the tip of her long horn, she practically radiated royalty. Of course, the crown helped too.
"P-princess Celestia?" He stammered. "I-I…"
With a thoroughgoing neutral look, Celestia raised an eyebrow at him. "Am not one of my royal guards? I had guessed as much. Now, why don't you remove your armor and tell me who you are and why you've come for the Elements of Harmony?"
Slowly, with shaking hooves, he removed the royal armor. As he did, his normal colors returned. A lazuli blue coat with a light turquoise mane and tail; also visible was his Cutie Mark, three five-pointed stars. He was also sporting a pair of glasses balanced at the end of his snout. Celestia noticed that he was a young adult, perhaps a few years older than Twilight and her friends. "I—I'm Trinary. Um, Your Highness. From, er, Cloudsdale." He gulped.
Celestia didn't bat an eye. "Follow me."
She turned around without even waiting to see if he would comply. Trinary contemplated fleeing, but realized that flying away from the Princess of Equestria would probably be an exercise in futility and would just make her madder. On shaky hooves and with a bowed head, he followed her through the castle. With every step the silence of the Princess seemed to make every thought and fear in his head grow louder and louder. What if she banishes me? Or throws me in a dungeon? Or banishes me and then throws me in a dungeon in the place that she banished me to?'
Celestia stopped suddenly, so suddenly that the distracted pegasus' head actually bumped into her rump. He leapt back blushing and starting to apologize. "We're here." Celestia said evenly, taking no notice. She had stopped in front of a closed door.
Trinary's knees went weak. Lowering his head he slowly walked forwards as the Princess magically opened the door. There was a glow from her horn as a candle was lit. Looking up he expected a dungeon, manacles, maybe a rack or…a nice soft looking bed with the nicest sheets and what. The. Hay?
Trinary raised his head, blinking and rubbing his eyes with his hooves while Celestia stepped inside behind him, closing the door. "P-princess Celestia? Does this mean that you're not going to banish me or throw me in a dungeon or…"
"Banish you and then throw you in a dungeon in the place that I banished you?" Celestia finished with a smile. "My goodness, where do my little ponies all get these strange ideas?" She chuckled. "But young Trinary, I need to ask why you came here for the Elements of Harmony."
"I-I need them. For my brother." He blurted out. "Please, if you want to punish me, fine—I deserve it. But please let me have the Elements first, for Tycho's sake? I'll bring them right back! I swear!"
Celestia raised a hoof to cut off the stream of babbling. "Have a seat Trinary." With immediate unquestioning obedience, Trinary sat down on the floor. The alicorn's voice betrayed a little mirth as she clarified. "On the bed, please." Nodding sheepishly, Trinary got up off the floor only to climb onto the large soft bed and sat down, his legs tucked beneath him. "Now, then." Celestia could almost hear his jaw drop as she sat down next to him. "Why does your brother need the Elements of Harmony? Is he in some sort of trouble?"
Trinary swallowed. "T-Tycho's…dead. He died last year." He looked down and sniffled. "I wanted…I wanted to use the Elements of Harmony to bring him back. Please, let me do this!"
With a face schooled over the millennia, Celestia refused to let her face betray what she was thinking until she was able to articulate it in words. This was not the first time a pony had come beseeching her to restore a lost loved one. She would have to, kindly, explain to them that not even she could turn back time, nor grant life back to the dead.
To lose one's younger sibling…that was a special kind of pain, one Celestia knew all too well. She started to lift up a wing to console him. "Young Trinary…" She began, but got no further.
"I'll do anything!" Trinary suddenly blurted out, actually cutting the princess off. "Please! I mean it! Anything! Just please help! I…I just want my brother back." His voice cracked as tears started to trace their way down his cheeks.
Leaning down, the white alicorn gently rubbed her muzzle against his mane, like any mother would do to comfort her foal as she gently wrapped a wing around Trinary's side. "I'm so sorry for your loss." She murmured gently. "Do you want to talk about it?" Sniffling, Trinary gave a weak nod and a subdued "uh huh." Celestia nodded. "Tell me about your brother."
There was a long pause that might've been half a minute or half an hour before Trinary started speaking. "T-Tycho was…the most amazing pony I've ever known." He said. "He was my younger brother—the youngest of the three of us. There was Jaysong, me, and then Tycho. Tycho was the youngest, and he knew how to exploit that to get what he wanted from our parents. He could be a real pain in the rump but I wouldn't have traded him for anything. He probably lived more than both of us combined." Trinary gave a sad little grin as he looked up at Celestia for the first time. "Jaysong and I liked to horse around with each other, tease one another, make bad jokes, trade insults…before he even earned his cutie mark, Tycho was slinging insults and fighting to prove that he was our equal."
Celestia smiled. The personality might have been different but the thought of a younger sibling trying to prove the equal of their older brother or sister…that sounded familiar enough. "Sounds like a rambunctious little pony." Celestia said gently, encouraging Trinary. It worked as a weak smile crossed his face.
"Ty was a lot bolder and stronger than I was, even if he was eight years younger than me. I-I don't have many friends and I just like to be by myself a lot. But Tycho was outgoing, funny, athletic and adventurous! He had more self-sustained injuries than any pony I've ever known. Broken legs, broken wrists, sprained wing, even a kidney stone once! No matter what happened or what he did to himself, none of that stuff would ever stop him or make him change the way he acted. He would just keep cool, make jokes and ham up how horrible it all was."
Celestia nodded encouragingly for Trinary to continue. "Tycho was a better colt, and a better teenager than Jaysong or me. He did things spontaneously and stupidly, and some of his accidents were just plain embarrassing. But whatever he did, he did naturally and without fear. He was born to be a teenager, doing the dumb things teenagers are supposed to do. Jaysong and me…we never did stuff like that. For Tycho though? It was just his nature. He would always refuse to think before he spoke. He defended himself by saying he was dumb, but that was false. He was a smart kid who decided he didn't care if he was the smartest person in the room. That had always been important to me and Jaysong. Tycho preferred to let his impulses steer him right even if he injured himself in pursuit of a good time. He was the bravest pony I've ever known and no matter what stupid thing he did, he always came out of it. I thought he was indestructible." Trinary looked down at the floor. "I always wished I was a little more like him…I actually got my cutie mark after he was born."
Celestia looked. His mark was a trio of five-pointed stars in a triangular pattern; one for each of his brothers and himself. She reached over and gently nuzzled him. "You must have admired your little brother a lot."
Trinary gave a weak nod. "Ty was my inspiration. After he was born I started getting interested in politics and history and I got passionate for various causes. Whenever I saw a little filly or colt being sad or in trouble, I just put Tycho's face on them and, well, I wanted to make things better; for him. It was just so…amazing being a big brother. And now I'm not." He shifted uncomfortably. "I f-feel like…it should've been me. N-not…not Tycho."
"Trinary—" Celestia put a hoof on his withers. "Why would you say something like that?"
"B-because…because he had a future, a real future! Everyone liked him, he just got so much more out of living than me…I like doing what I do, but I know that he could've been so really great-could've touched more lives than I ever could hope to. Me? Sure my family would be sad and a few of my friends, but it wouldn't have been as big a loss as…" He trailed off, sniffling.
Saying nothing, Celestia sighed and stroked Trinary's back with her wing. "You don't honor your brother by minimizing your own worth." She soothed. "I don't think Tycho would've liked that. I know how big an influence older siblings can have on their younger brothers or sisters and by minimizing yourself, you minimize him." The pegasus looked down, dejected. Celestia rubbed his back a little more. "Can you tell me what happened?" When he didn't respond she gently nuzzled him again. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but I honestly think it'll help."
Licking his lips slowly, Trinary sighed. "O-okay…a few months after I came home from my studies he had this sore throat. I mean, this really bad sore throat and scratchy voice and it just would not go away. After four weeks my mom started taking him around to doctor after doctor. Finally a unicorn scanned his head and they found a…thing…in his head." He trembled. "S-so then he went to Manehattan for surgery; for brain surgery. H-he was only fourteen years old. It was supposed to be two weeks, but it turned into two months!
"We started hearing all these horrible words…meningitis, stroke, tracheotomy. I-I don't know how he endured it. I know I couldn't have done it, but he did. He couldn't play sports anymore because they had to fuse part of his spine to his skull, which I think bothered him more than anything else; that and missing his annual summer flight camp stuff. He really loved camp." Trinary shook his head. "A-anyway, the rest of the year was spent doing follow up scans in Maresachusetts and in rehab. He got a lot of support though, and I think that helped. Jaysong wrote to Vinyl Scratch—Ty was an incredible music fan—and he was so blown away when Vinyl Scratch sent in a signed picture where she wrote he hoped he got better! And the ponies from Make a Wish Foundation got him season tickets to the Allmare Sisters. I even went once, even though it wasn't really my thing. It was tough and it sucked, but it seemed like it would be okay…but then the thing came back a year later and he had to go back to Maresachusetts…I think it was sometime around then that I saw Mom cry for the first time. Ever.
"Mom, well—she can be like an Ursa Major on a rampage—she didn't believe in making things happen, but ordering things to happen. Even without facts, she had this absolute, overwhelming certainty about how things should work. She could summon that certainty at a moment's notice and deploy it to set reality straight the instant somepony said anything she felt was wrong. Given the choice between shouting down a thunderstorm and disagreeing with Mom, any of us would have reached for a raincoat. In my whole life I never saw anything faze her like that. But this…it was cruel, and finally it was too much for her. She was never the same. Mom didn't mind that life could be hard. She could fight obstacles no problem. Fighting to get us the best teachers in the best schools or finding work or whatever she could do. But now life was just being mean-spirited. It was like life was out to prove it held every single one of the cards, and that there was nothing she could do to fight it." Trinary's rubbed his snout with his hoof.
"But it seemed okay for a bit…the unicorns there zapped it with their magic, and I think they got it controlled, for a while at least. Then last year, he was at camp and so excited to be back! He'd been going since he was eight and missing a summer there killed him worse than anything. Then just after his birthday h-his face was partially paralyzed on one side, so mom had to bring him home."
Celestia could feel his body shuddering under her wing. This was so painful for him, but she knew he would feel better once he had finished telling it.
"Then a little while later my father gave me a hug out of nowhere while mom and I were cleaning Ty's room. I didn't get it at first…then I asked mom if there had been any news. They called me into their room, Ty was already sitting there. He already knew. That's when my dad told me that…w-we weren't going to have a happy ending."
He sobbed, instinctively burying his head into Celestia's shoulder. She made no move to dissuade him; only gently holding her wing across him. Like a broken dam, Trinary continued his sad narrative.
"O-over the next two months, Tycho got weaker and weaker. He started walking with a cane, the right side of his body was so weak, it never recovered from a stroke he had the first time he was in the hospital. One of his vocal cords had been paralyzed when this all started and it was hard for him to eat without choking. Even cutting his food into smaller pieces only helped a little. Mom started sleeping with him in his bed and he almost never left his room under his own power. He was in so much pain, they gave him painkillers but they made him sleep a lot, and he wasn't really lucid for the last week or two. Then he stopped eating. It was just too much trouble for him, so we had to start freezing drinks into ice cubes so he could start sucking on them. It-it was so hard to watch!" Trinary looked up at Celestia. "He was just withering away! It wasn't—it wasn't him! So tired and weak and dependant…it was like he wasn't Tycho anymore! Like somepony else had come and taken his place one day."
Celestia closed her eyes. "I know how that can feel." She said softly.
Trinary had to stop to swallow a lump in his throat. "Jaysong told me about something he saw one day. Ty, who had been getting in really bad moods, raged at my parents over something or other; only then to start crying and ask that they not remember him that way. A-and Jay's girlfriend overheard my mom asking Ty to promise to visit her in her dreams. He said he would."
That was probably when Celestia felt her own heartbreak, for Trinary, for Tycho and their family, and for their poor mother.
"T-then the day the hospice nurse told us that he would…die, we all just stayed in his room with him. We started playing his favorite music, read books of poetry, things he'd wrote…we took turns reading MyFather'sDragon series. Mom read that to all of us when we were little…we had just finished the second book when Jaysong saw his lips turning blue. S-so we all stopped and just…watched him breathe. His breaths started to get farther and farther apart. A-and at the end we held our breaths to see if that was it. That it was over. But then he'd just force another breath out. And another. I-I tried to start counting them but I couldn't keep track. And then he just…stopped. It was over and he was g-gone—" Trinary let out a wail like a hydra had buried its fangs in his chest and started keening.
Celestia laid her neck across his back and made soothing sounds as he cried. There were no words needed, nor adequate for the task. Eventually Trinary ran out of tears to shed and started silently shaking with sobs. He might have dozed off for a bit until he heard Celestia murmuring in his ear. "When was this?" she asked quietly.
"A year…a year ago today." Trinary admitted tiredly.
"Oh, my poor little pony…if I could, I would do what you asked. But it would be cruel to raise your hopes. Neither I nor Luna nor the Elements of Harmony themselves can stop the progression of life and death. I can't bring Tycho back. Nothing can. I'm so sorry."
Trinary seemed to sink into the bed as if his bones were magically removed. "…I know…" He admitted wearily. "I just—I mean, I had to try. What kind of brother would I be if I didn't?"
"You are a wonderful brother and I know that Tycho knew that." Celestia said kindly. "Trinary, do you know the story about my sister Luna…of Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony?" Trinary nodded weakly. "When I had to—when I used the Elements to seal Nightmare Moon away, I was heartbroken. I didn't know if I would ever see Luna again. I didn't know what the Elements would do to her; if I would ever see her again; if she would ever stop being a creature of nightmares; if she would even survive. I mourned for Luna, the same way that you're mourning for Tycho now. I know what you're going through.
"But there's something I learned from my separation from Luna; when I thought I would never see her again. Even then, I realized that she wasn't truly gone. Neither is Tycho." Trinary looked up at her, his attention rapt. "His future will be invisible to you. But invisible is not the same as nonexistent. His deeds and accomplishments, his influence and achievements will still serve to guide everypony who has known him and in that way, will never truly be gone. It's like dropping a rock into a pond. Even after the rock fades from view, the ripples will go out in all directions. They may get smaller and harder to see as time goes on, but they'll still be there in your life. And when you come across one of those ripples and you realize just how wide your brother's influence spread, you'll feel happier and prouder of him than you can imagine."
Celestia saw the look of hope in Trinary's eyes, the promise that the perhaps one day pride would replace pain whenever he thought about his lost brother. He yawned, physically and emotionally drained. Celestia rose from the bed. "Please, try to get some sleep. In the morning I'm going to arrange a chariot for you to Ponyville. I think you'll find there a magic even greater than that of the Elements of Harmony."
"M'kay." Trinary said sleepily as he pulled the blankets of the bed up and slid beneath them. With a soft 'whoosh' of her breath, Celestia put out the candle and slowly trotted out of the room, pulling the door gently shut behind her.
As he lay his head on his pillow, Trinary faced the open window, where the curtains were pulled back to reveal Luna's night sky. The stars were all shining brightly against the black velvet curtain of night, but none shone quiet as brightly as a trio of stars Trinary had never noticed before. Then the smallest but brightest of the three seemed to wink out. Then he saw a shooting star streak across the heavens and go down behind the mountains where it faded from sight. "Goodbye Ty." He whispered softly as sleep claimed him. "I miss you."
For Tyler
1992-2010
Brotherhood is MagicAs the U.S. Postal Service faces a growing financial crisis, U.S. senators think the agency can solve some of its problems by turning to alcohol.
Lawmakers introduced a bipartisan reform plan Wednesday that would, among other things, allow postal workers to deliver wine and beer in a bid to boost revenues.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn, said the plan would pull the Postal Service "back from the brink of bankruptcy" and allow it to survive for years to come.
The proposal on alcoholic beverages would allow the Postal Service to do what FedEx and UPS already do now -- handle packages sent by licensed wine and beer manufacturers in accordance with state laws. Consumers would not be able to mail alcohol to one another.
According to the senators' plan, the Postal Service would first have to issue new regulations to ensure beer and wine are sent only to recipients who are at least 21 years old and have a valid ID.
The plan would also keep six-day mail delivery for at least two more years. Ending Saturday delivery has been one of the more controversial components of the Postal Service's plan for cutting costs.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the senators want to ensure that cutting Saturday delivery is the "last resort," as opposed to the "first option."
The plan would also encourage the Postal Service to negotiate a new health care system with union employees, seek cuts in post office staffing and refund postal overpayments of nearly $7 million to the federal retirement system.
With part of that money, the senators want the Postal Service to start a "compassionate buyout program" to reduce staff.
The Postal Service lost $8 billion last year and could report even larger losses when its 2011 budget year report comes out in mid-November.
"Without taking controversial steps like these, the Postal Service is simply not going to make it, and that would be terrible," Lieberman said.
Mail volume is down 22 percent since 2007, largely because of the combination of people switching to the Internet to communicate and pay bills. The recession has discouraged advertising mail.
The Postal Service is at the center of a $1.1 trillion mailing industry that employs 8.7 million people in direct mail, printing, paper-making, catalog sales, fundraising and other businesses.
A separate overhaul plan sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is awaiting action by the full House.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.The (Bad) Introduction Page
The current method of teaching the user, and why it’s not used correctly
Life360 Introduction
The thinking is this: “Before the user has to go through a signup process, let’s teach them about our app”. Let’s see how well it worked. Take a look at the gif on the left. Do you have any idea what this app does?
Here’s what I got: connective, seamless, peace of mind, and a bunch of pictures of women. Is it a period tracker? When you read the smaller descriptions, it tells you a little bit more about the app, but that’s besides the point. Nobody reads the small text.
Memoir Introduction
This is memoir. I opened the app without letting myself know ahead of time what it was. Verdict? Still have no idea. After reading the descriptions, it has something to do with pictures, but it’s still not that clear. I had to go back to the app store and see the screenshots to understand it.
(Disclaimer: These criticisms have nothing to do with the actual functionality of the app. Both of these products are pretty well received)0059That concludes our live coverage of Egypt's 10th day of protests, but you can continue to follow events with regular updates That concludes our live coverage of Egypt's 10th day of protests, but you can continue to follow events with regular updates on the BBC news website throughout the night. Thank you for following developments on the BBC.
0056 Hanan Abdalla tweets: "Good night to all who are detained and who fought today. Rest well and fight well tomorrow. So much respect for you all. xx"
0046 Steve Holland, US political reporter for Reuters tweets: "By a voice vote, the Senate approved the McCain-Kerry resolution calling on Mubarak to give way to an interim caretaker government in Egypt."
0045The BBC's Barbara Plett reports on the UN's decision to pull its staff out of Egypt: "The UN has a range of humanitarian and cultural agencies based in Egypt. There've been no attacks on them, but hundreds of non essential staff members and their families have been flown to Cyprus. UN spokesmen said the security situation in Cairo was deemed volatile and unstable; they also said technical problems - such as the government blocking the internet - had made it difficult to work. The BBC's Barbara Plett reports on the UN's decision to pull its staff out of Egypt: "The UN has a range of humanitarian and cultural agencies based in Egypt. There've been no attacks on them, but hundreds of non essential staff members and their families have been flown to Cyprus. UN spokesmen said the security situation in Cairo was deemed volatile and unstable; they also said technical problems - such as the government blocking the internet - had made it difficult to |
his fascinating study of early America, Red, White, and Black: "Thus power was shared between the sexes and the European idea of male dominancy and female subordination in all things was conspicuously absent in Iroquois society."
Children in Iroquois society, while taught the cultural heritage of their people and solidarity with the tribe, were also taught to be independent, not to submit to overbearing authority. They were taught equality in status and the sharing of possessions. The Iroquois did not use harsh punishment on children; they did not insist on early weaning or early toilet training, but gradually allowed the child to learn self-care.
All of this was in sharp contrast to European values as brought over by the first colonists, a society of rich and poor, controlled by priests, by governors, by male heads of families. For example, the pastor of the Pilgrim colony, John Robinson, thus advised his parishioners how to deal with their children: "And surely there is in all children... a stubbornness, and stoutness of mind arising from natural pride, which must, in the first place, be broken and beaten down; that so the foundation of their education being laid in humility and tractableness, other virtues may, in their time, be built thereon."
Gary Nash describes Iroquois culture:
No laws and ordinances, sheriffs and constables, judges and juries, or courts or jails-the apparatus of authority in European societies-were to be found in the northeast woodlands prior to European arrival. Yet boundaries of acceptable behavior were firmly set. Though priding themselves on the autonomous individual, the Iroquois maintained a strict sense of right and wrong.... He who stole another's food or acted invalourously in war was "shamed" by his people and ostracized from their company until he had atoned for his actions and demonstrated to their satisfaction that he had morally purified himself.
Not only the Iroquois but other Indian tribes behaved the same way. In 1635, Maryland Indians responded to the governor's demand that if any of them killed an Englishman, the guilty one should be delivered up for punishment according to English law. The Indians said:
It is the manner amongst us Indians, that if any such accident happen, wee doe redeeme the life of a man that is so slaine, with a 100 armes length of Beades and since that you are heere strangers, and come into our Countrey, you should rather conform yourselves to the Customes of our Countrey, than impose yours upon us....
So, Columbus and his successors were not coming into an empty wilderness, but into a world which in some places was as densely populated as Europe itself, where the culture was complex, where human relations were more egalitarian than in Europe, and where the relations among men, women, children, and nature were more beautifully worked out than perhaps any place in the world.
They were people without a written language, but with their own laws, their poetry, their history kept in memory and passed on, in an oral vocabulary more complex than Europe's, accompanied by song, dance, and ceremonial drama. They paid careful attention to the development of personality, intensity of will, independence and flexibility, passion and potency, to their partnership with one another and with nature.
John Collier, an American scholar who lived among Indians in the 1920s and 1930s in the American Southwest, said of their spirit: "Could we make it our own, there would be an eternally inexhaustible earth and a forever lasting peace."
Perhaps there is some romantic mythology in that. But the evidence from European travelers in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, put together recently by an American specialist on Indian life, William Brandon, is overwhelmingly supportive of much of that "myth." Even allowing for the imperfection of myths, it is enough to make us question, for that time and ours, the excuse of progress in the annihilation of races, and the telling of history from the standpoint of the conquerors and leaders of Western civilization.In our daily audio show, Jon Dennis and guests discuss Zimbabwe; the credit crunch; and the elections in Nepal
In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe is using violence and intimidation to quash support fro the opposition ahead of a possible second-round runoff election. Meanwhile the results to the first round – which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change claim they won – have not been announced. Africa correspondent Chris McGreal reports.
After a downbeat growth forecast from the International Monetary Fund, G7 finance ministers are meeting in Washington to discuss the global credit crunch. Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz tells me there's a crisis of confidence in political and financial institutions, and coordinated action is needed.
Martin Wainwright reports from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, where Karen Matthews has been remanded in custody in connection with the disappearance of her nine-year-old daughter, Shannon.
Randeep Ramesh has been covering today's election in Nepal, where the country's 17 million voters are expected to back a new constitution and throw out their monarchy – the world's last Hindu king.
And in her weekly G2 interview, Hannah Pool hears how Ulrika Jonsson copes with media criticism.In perhaps the most stirring speech of the Democratic National Convention thus far, Vice President Joe Biden, animated and emphatic, tore into Donald Trump, calling the GOP nominee.
"The times are too uncertain to elect Donald Trump as President of the United States," Biden said. "No major party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or has been less prepared to deal with our national security.
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He compared his and Hillary Clinton's middle-class origins to Trump's, and reminded the audience that Trump became famous for the phrase "You're fired!" Biden implored the audience to "think about that," i.e. the fact that he enjoyed saying that phrase so much.
"We cannot elect a man who exploits our fears of ISIS and other terrorists, but has no plan to make us safer -- a man who embraces the tactics of our enemies, torture and religious intolerance," he added.
He further claimed that even Republicans know this, "and we simply cannot let [him be elected], period."
"We lead not only by the example of our power," he said, "but by the power of our example!"
He began by noting that eight years earlier, he accepted the nomination to be vice president. "Every single day since then," he said, "we've been grateful to Barack and Michelle for asking to join them in that journey."
Biden noted that the president is "a man of character, and he has become a brother to Jill and me — and Michelle, I don't know where you are, kid, but you're incredible. As they say in Delaware, Barack and I'married way up.'"
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He spoke to those who survive without the robust support system that he and his family are fortunate enough to have, before praising teachers, who teach "not because that's what they do, it's who they are."
When Biden finally turned to Hillary Clinton, he noted that once a week, she had breakfast with Biden and his family. "I know what Hillary is passionate about," he said. "She understands that the college loan is about more than getting a qualified student an education -- it's about saving a mom and a dad the indignity of having to look at their talented child and say, 'Sorry, the bank wouldn't lend me the money you need to get to school.'"
Clinton, he argued, has "known for years that people go to bed staring at the ceiling and thinking, 'What will we do if I get breast cancer or you get a heart attack?'" He declared that everyone in the room "knows what it will be like for their daughters and granddaughters when Hillary Clinton walks into the Oval Office -- it will change their lives."In the previous article I introduced the principles of and differences between 4 types of ELISA.
How do you decide which type of ELISA to use?
The following list consists of questions that can guide you as you devise an ELISA experiment:
How specific should your ELISA to be?
Direct capture ELISA works like a Western blot by using a specially coated plate to capture the target antigen. While effective, there is a higher possibility of non-specific background signal, as many proteins in the heterogenous sample will bind to the coated plate.
Sandwich ELISA selectively captures and immobilizes the target antigen by binding an antibody to the plate that will specifically form a complex with your biomolecule under specific conditions. As a result, there will be less background signal. Many commercially available ELISA kits use indirect capture ELISA.
How sensitive should your ELISA be?
There are two major determinants for optimal sensitivity: the concentration of your target antigen in the total mixture and the antibody structure.
Conduct a literature search for the relative abundance of the target antigen in different cell lines. For example, Western blot analysis of the target antigen can give you a rough idea of how sensitive your ELISA must be in order to detect a signal.
Direct detection ELISA is less sensitive for the following reason: the immunoreactivity of the primary antibody is impaired because it is conjugated to the reporter enzyme. Indirect detection ELISA, on the other hand, is more sensitive because the primary antibody is not conjugated to the reporter enzyme. Rather, it is the secondary antibody that is conjugated with the reporter enzyme.
What is the desirable speed of processing?
Sandwich ELISA is slower because the use of two different antibodies requires more incubations and washes.
Are your pipettes calibrated?
For an assay as finicky as an ELISA, it’s imperative that your pipettes are accurate.
What are your controls?
There should be at least a “blank” (no addition of antibody and reporter enzyme), “non-specific binding” (addition of antibody and reporter enzyme to buffer only), and “positive controls” (known concentrations of target antigen).
Other general suggestions:
Plan your plate layout! I would plan your cell culture plate layout and your assay plate layout ahead of time ON PAPER. With a tangible plate layout, you can take notes directly on it especially of any deviations you’ve made during the course of the assay.
I would plan your cell culture plate layout and your assay plate layout ahead of time ON PAPER. With a tangible plate layout, you can take notes directly on it especially of any deviations you’ve made during the course of the assay. Store leftover reagents from a commercial ELISA kit as back-up.
Example Protocol for Indirect ELISA
I have had the most experience with a specific type of indirect capture-indirect detection competitive ELISA, and I'd like to share my protocol using cyclic AMP (cAMP) as the target antigen:
Microplate wells are coated with antigen (Donkey anti-Rabbit Ig). On the antigen-coated well, unlabeled primary antibody (Rabbit anti-cAMP) is incubated in the presence of unlabeled antigen in the sample with unknown concentration of cAMP. Enzyme-linked antigen (cAMP-peroxidase) is added to the wells containing the antibody-sample antigen complexes, allowing the labeled antigen to bind to any unbound primary antibody. The less sample antigen, the more labeled antigen is retained in the well and the stronger the signal. In other words, there will be more of the primary antibody-labeled antigen that will bind to the antigen-coated wells. The plate is washed so that unbound antibodies are removed. A substrate (3,3’, 5,5’-Tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) substrate) is added to each well to react with the horseradish peroxidase to elicit a chromogenic signal. The reaction is stopped (with 1M Sulphuric Acid) to prevent eventual saturation of the signal.
This is a quantitative ELISA, so the optical density (OD) of the sample is compared to a standard curve, which is typically a serial dilution of a known concentration solution of the target molecule.
Here are my tips for reproducible quantification:
In order to generate the best standard curve, I’d recommend running all samples in TRIPLICATE if you can.
Collect OD readings multiple times post-addition of reporter enzyme to determine optimal reading time.
You will have to determine empirically the optimal concentration of lysate that will generate an OD that is within the range of the standard curve. This will most likely entail diluting samples.
That's it!
I hope you found the ELISA tips here useful. Let me know in the comment section below if you have any question!
To help you find antibodies or kits for your next ELISA exerpiment, I'd suggest trying out BenchSci to review published data before making a decision, as a successful ELISA depends heavily on the specificity of the antibody used.(CNN) -- China "resolutely opposes" a planned trip by the Dalai Lama to Taiwan, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Thursday, hours after Taiwan's president announced the visit.
The Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan could anger China, which accuses him of advocating independence for Tibet. more photos »
Beijing opposes the visit "in whatever form and capacity," a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said, according to Xinhua, which did not name the spokesman. "Under the pretext of religion, (the Dalai Lama) has all along been engaged in separatist activities," he said.
The Tibetan leader's spokesman denied there was any political subtext to the visit.
"His holiness has received an invitation from several mayors inviting him to Taiwan. He has accepted for the sole purpose (of expressing) his condolences and to share his sorrow for Taiwan's people," Tenzin Taklha said, calling the visit "completely... non-political."
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said earlier Thursday that he had approved a visit by the Dalai Lama to pray for the victims of the typhoon-battered island.
Ma made the announcement Thursday while visiting a school in the southern part of the country, a government spokesman said. The Dalai Lama has accepted the invitation, his spokesman Tenzin Taklha said.
"We are working on the details of his visit, which will take place soon," he said. Watch a report on the Dalai Lama's planned visit »
Typhoon Morakot slammed into Taiwan on August 8 and unleashed floods, mudslides and misery. More than 400 people were killed.
The visit of the Dalai Lama to Taiwan seemed certain to anger mainland China, which accuses both the Tibetan spiritual leader and the island nation of separatism.
Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of advocating for Tibetan independence from China, and considers Taiwan to be a renegade province.
Taiwan and the mainland are only now smoothing their relationship after years of animosity.
Taiwan's relations with China have improved under Ma, who has taken a more conciliatory approach than his predecessor. Then-Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian rejected China's assertion that there is only "One China" and Taiwan is an inalienable part of it.
CNN's Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.
All About Taiwan • Natural Disasters • Dalai LamaImage caption Nadine Dorries has arrived in Brisbane to take part in the show
Nadine Dorries has been suspended by the Conservative Party over her decision to appear on ITV1's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.
The Mid-Bedfordshire MP has had the whip withdrawn, a party source said.
Ms Dorries will be the first sitting MP to appear on the show, which could see her being away from her job in the Commons for up to a month.
The chief whip will meet her when she returns from Australia, when she will be expected to explain herself.
The Conservative Party is concerned about Ms Dorries' inability to do parliamentary and constituency business while she is taking part in the programme.
Ms Dorries said she wanted to use her appearance on the reality show to raise awareness of issues she is interested in, such as reducing the time limit on abortions from 24 weeks to 20 weeks.
'Heated debates'
"I'm doing the show because 16 million people watch it. Rather than MPs talking to other MPs about issues in Parliament, I think MPs should be going to where people go," she told the Daily Mail.
"I'm not going in there to upset people, but I have opinions. There are certain causes that I'm interested in, one of which is '20 Weeks'.
"I will be talking about this issue around the campfire. I hope there will be some lively, heated debates."
But she has come in for criticism over her decision to enter the celebrity jungle, with Home Secretary Theresa May saying: "Frankly, I think an MP's job is in their constituency and in the House of Commons."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Former MP and reality show contestant Lembit Opik: "Nadine Dorries is completely entitled to go into the jungle"
Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston said Ms Dorries should resign, telling the BBC: "I was horrified, frankly. I think it just makes her look ridiculous and it brings politics into disrepute."
Paul Duckett, chairman of the Mid-Bedforshire Conservative association, said members may consider sacking Ms Dorries over her appearance on the show, adding that he had only learned about Ms Dorries appearance when media arrived in the constituency on Tuesday morning.
Mr Duckett said Ms Dorries was a hard-working MP but the appearance might "detract from the gravitas" of her role.
Prime Minister David Cameron - who has publicly clashed with Ms Dorries in the past - earlier refused to be drawn into the row, saying: "Nadine Dorries can speak for herself on this issue."
'Z-list celebrity'
Relations between No 10 and Ms Dorries, a former nurse, have been strained since the prime minister made a joke at her expense in the Commons, describing her as "frustrated". He subsequently apologised.
Ms Dorries grabbed headlines by describing Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne as "two arrogant posh boys" who were out of touch with the real world.
Former Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik, who took part in I'm a Celebrity in 2010 after losing his seat, told the BBC the Conservative leadership was "out of touch with the zeitgeist of the nation".
He added: "I'm outraged by the fact that it thinks she's been wrong to do something that can put politics in touch with the public."
But former Tory MP Louise Mensch, who recently resigned from the Commons for family reasons and who has had a well-publicised spat with Ms Dorries over her decision, tweeted: "Nothing sadder than a politician, or ex-politician, on any of those shows."
Labour MP Steve McCabe said: "David Cameron was too weak to stop Nadine Dorries appearing on a reality TV show.
"But even after dithering over what to do all day, by suspending her he's acted more quickly over an MP who called him an 'arrogant posh boy' than he ever did over a chief whip who swore at a police officer."
In February 2010, Ms Dorries took part in the Channel 4 documentary series Tower Block of Commons, in which MPs moved in with benefit claimants on a deprived council estate.
George Galloway, the only other sitting MP to have taken part in a reality game show that took him away from the Commons, when he spent three weeks on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, also faced criticism that he was neglecting his constituents.A federal judge in Philadelphia ruledagainst the Trump administration's policy of withholding law enforcement grants from so-called sanctuary cities, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer
In a 128-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson said Department of Justice (DOJ) law enforcement grants can't be withheld from Philadelphia because it refuses full cooperation with federal authorities on immigration, the news outlet reported.
At issue is Attorney General's stated policy of withholding federal law enforcement aid to sanctuary cities. Sessions said he'll use the power of the purse to compel cities to help federal agents detain and pursue undocumented immigrants, setting off a slew of lawsuits between DOJ and local governments.
In his ruling, Baylson said Philadelphia proved that withholding the grant money would cause irreparable damage, as part of it is used by first responders who provide life-saving naloxone to victims of opioid overdose, according to Inquirer reporter Jeremy Roebuck
The money in question was $1.5 million of a $4.4 billion city budget, according to the Inquirer.
Baylson said the city should be allowed to "deal with local issues as it sees best," according to the filing shared by Roebuck.
The judge added that the federal government should be allowed to intervene if there's a conflict between levels of government on how to proceed.
"In this case, given Philadelphia's unique approach to meshing the legitimate needs of the federal government to remove criminal aliens with the City's promotion of health and safety, there is no conflict of significance," he said.
Many large cities, notably Chicago, have butted heads with Sessions and the Trump administration over how to properly enforce federal immigration policy within their boundaries.
Federal authorities argue cities should honor detainers issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — requests for local jails to hold foreign detainees until ICE can pick them up.
Local authorities say that's a violation of detainees' constitutional due process rights, opening a risk of due process lawsuits against cities.
And most cities, including Philadelphia, reject the "sanctuary" monicker, saying they don't protect criminals, immigrant or otherwise.
Baylson said it is a "misnomer" to call Philadelphia a sanctuary city.
"Philadelphia is not a sanctuary for anyone involved in criminal conduct, nor is it a sanctuary as to any law enforcement investigation, prosecution, or imprisonment after having been found guilty of a crime," he said, according to the Inquirer.
Most immigration violations are civil violations, rather than felonies or misdemeanors.
Baylson also repeated an argument used by many local authorities who say they don't want to waste law enforcement resources on immigrant communities, which have a lower crime rate than natives.
"There is no evidence on the record whatsoever that non-citizens in Philadelphia commit any more crimes than the citizens," he said.
“In Philadelphia, 2017 homicides have already eclipsed 2016’s numbers, and so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ further undermine public safety and law enforcement. The Justice Department is reviewing the ruling and determining next steps,” Devin O’Malley, a spokesman for DOJ, said in a statement following the court's decision.The Income Gap: How Much Is Too Much?
Enlarge this image John Moore/Getty Images John Moore/Getty Images
In the debate over income inequality, the right and left seem to agree on one point: The U.S. is more the land of equal opportunity than the land of equal outcomes.
But what's the real relationship between the growing income gap and opportunity? A new report out last week has triggered more debate about the haves and the have-nots.
The study, led by Raj Chetty of Harvard University, says it's not any harder to achieve economically in the U.S. today than it was 20 years ago. That flies in the face of growing criticism that the income gap is putting some opportunities beyond the reach of average Americans.
A National Challenge
President Obama last month called income inequality and economic mobility "the defining challenge of our time." The president, who is set to deliver his State of the Union message on Tuesday, also promised to keep those issues front and center for the remainder of his presidency.
"While we don't promise equal outcomes, we've strived to provide equal opportunity," he said.
Historically, however, the country's policies have sought to address both. President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty created early childhood education programs and investments in poorer schools. But it also tried to address the income gap by creating social safety net programs like Medicare and food stamps.
Sheldon Danziger, president of the Russell Sage Foundation, a progressive think tank, says in the decades that followed, that approach worked. Wages rose for everyone. The economy bounced back quickly from brief recessions.
Neither of those things, he says, are true about the U.S. economy today.
"What's not going to happen is a return to the golden age, when a rising tide lifted all boats," he says.
A Fading American Dream?
Danziger argues that the yawning gap in the income distribution between the top earners and those at the bottom is becoming self-perpetuating. He says the rich get richer from investments in the financial markets, and secure better educations for their children.
Minimum-wage and middle-income earners, meanwhile, cannot keep pace, making it less likely their children will have the opportunities to move up.
"The American dream is less robust than the Canadian dream," he says.
Children born in Canada and some European countries do, in fact, have a better shot at working their way out of poverty than American kids. But an academic study published last week found that, contrary to popular perception, it has not gotten harder to climb the income ladder in the U.S. in the past two decades.
Or A Problem Of Perception?
Scott Winship, a fellow at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute, says that study debunks some commonly held misconceptions. Just because a handful of people at the top are making much more money than the rest of the workforce, he says, does not mean there are greater barriers to climbing the economic rungs.
"There's an intuition among a lot of people that inequality has these problematic effects, but when you really get down to the research that's been done, it's hard to find a reason to worry," Winship says.
Winship says policy should aim to increase access to opportunities to those on the lower rungs of the social ladder. But, he says, narrowing the income gap by taxing the rich more or raising the minimum wage is unlikely to have much of an effect on mobility.
Either Way, The Rich Stay On Top
Richard Reeves, policy director for the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution, agrees the inequality gap is driven largely by those at the very, very top of the income scale making even more. And the discrepancy, while staggering, benefits a relative handful of those outliers. Which raises the question: How much does income inequality matter if we're talking about a relative handful of people?
"How much does that matter? In a way, I think you're asking the central question of much of current political debate," Reeves says.
He says this is where philosophy meets policy. Some say those who can make money deserve to be richly rewarded.
"On the other hand, you can say that other things happen when people are doing that much better than the rest of society," he says. "They pull away. They might be able to avoid tax by complicated tax schemes. They may ensure their own children do much better, which I think is a problem, by opportunity hoarding. They may, if you have a political system that allows people with money to have disproportionate political influence, end up shaping the very policies that result in greater levels of income inequality."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senator attacked on Wednesday an industry-backed fund that covers claims for investors of failed brokerages, saying the fund was failing to help people who had been victimized by convicted financier Allen Stanford’s $7 billion Ponzi scheme.
Allen Stanford (C) leaves the Federal Courthouse where the jury found him guilty, in Houston March 6, 2012. REUTERS/Donna W. Carson
Louisiana Senator David Vitter’s criticism of Securities Investor Protection Corp (SIPC) came one day after a jury in Texas convicted Stanford of carrying out the elaborate fraud.
Prosecutors had accused Stanford of bilking investors with fraudulent certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank, his offshore bank in Antigua.
SIPC, whose directors are confirmed by the Senate, has argued that it cannot help Stanford’s victims because the bogus certificates of deposit involved in the fraud were issued by Stanford’s offshore bank and not by Stanford Group Co, the SIPC-member brokerage based in Texas.
In testimony before a House Financial Services panel, Vitter, a Republican, accused SIPC of ignoring investor protection laws that are designed to protect customer accounts when a brokerage fails.
He criticized SIPC for failing to launch a liquidation process to allow Stanford clients to file claims over their losses.
In a brokerage liquidation, a trustee winds down the business, returns securities and other assets to customers and creditors, and often tries to recover additional assets. The goal is to maximize what customers and creditors recover, and distribute assets fairly.
“I do not think SIPC is focused enough on following the law and executing the law,” said Vitter, who said he had heard from dozens of Stanford victims in his home state. “It is far too focused on serving the industry and its member companies and looking after their interests.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to order SIPC to start a liquidation proceeding in Texas so that investors can begin recovering losses.
SIPC has argued that the law does not cover Stanford victims, and that its power is limited to protecting customers against the loss of missing cash or securities in the custody of failing or insolvent member brokerages.
Stanford’s offshore bank falls outside its scope, SIPC says.
“The investors in the Stanford case... knowingly sent their money away from the brokerage firm to an offshore bank,” Stephen Harbeck, SIPC’s president and chief executive, told lawmakers on Wednesday. “They were specifically told in writing that SIPC does not protect their investments.”
Lawyers for the SEC and SIPC argued the issue at a federal court hearing in Washington on Monday before an audience that included Stanford investors from around the country. The court must now rule on the matter.
LAWMAKERS ALSO CRITICAL OF SIPC ROLE IN MADOFF
The fund has also faced congressional scrutiny over its handling of the estimated $64.8 billion Ponzi scheme engineered by Bernard Madoff, whose victims have been eligible to file claims. But the method used by SIPC and Madoff trustee Irving Picard to calculate claims has been opposed by many investors.
Rather than basing the claims on final account statements, which might be fictitious, Picard has used a “net equity” method, the difference between what investors put in and what they withdrew.
Investors are appealing Picard’s methodology to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Frustrated U.S. House lawmakers such as New Jersey’s Scott Garrett have drafted bills that would allow investors to rely on their account statements.
“The failures of SIPC in regards to the Madoff liquidation are so fundamental relative to the protections SIPC is supposed to provide to investors,” Garrett said.
But Harbeck defended the net equity method and said Garrett’s proposed changes to the law would be devastating to many investors.
“To base the payment on the last statement is to allow the fraudulent actor... the final say on who wins and who loses,” Harbeck said.UK: Two Systems of Justice Translations of this item: French Tommy Robinson has not been -- as Choudary was -- at the heart of a nexus of terrorists and terrorist-supporters going back years. He has not been on friendly terms with numerous people who have beheaded civilians and carried out suicide bombings.
Robinson is in an exceptionally unfortunate position. He is not a radical Islamist and nor is he from any discernible minority. He is a white working-class man who, it appears, can thus not only be harassed by certain authorities with impunity, but can find few if any defenders of his rights among the vast panoply of people in our societies who are only too keen to defend the rights of Islamists.
Civil liberties groups such as "Liberty," which are so stringent in protecting the rights of Islamist groups such as "Cage," are silent on the case of Tommy Robinson. So farewell, then, Anjem Choudary. For two and half years at least. On September 6, the radical cleric was sentenced by a British judge to five and a half years in prison for encouraging people to join the Islamic State. If he behaves himself in prison he could be out in half that time, although whenever he emerges, it is unlikely that it will be as a reformed character. But the law has taken its course and in a rule-bound society has responded in the way that a rule-bound society ought to behave -- by the following due process. So it is useful to compare the experience of Anjem Choudary and the way in which the state has responded to him with the way in which it has responded to another person. It is now seven years ago that a young British man from Luton going by the name of Tommy Robinson formed the English Defence League (EDL). He did so after he and other residents of the town of Luton were appalled by a group of radical Muslims who protested a home-coming parade for British troops. There is some interesting symmetry here in that the Islamists present in Luton that day were members of Anjem Choudary's group, al-Muhajiroun. Robinson and other residents of Luton were not only taken aback by the behaviour of the radicals but by the behaviour of the police who protected the radicals from the increasingly angry local residents. Whatever its legitimate grievances when it began, the EDL did undoubtedly cause trouble. Protests often descended into thuggery, partly because of some bad people attracted to it and partly because "anti-fascist" counter-demonstrators often ensured that EDL protests became violent by starting fights with them. But through most of the time that Robinson led the EDL, there did appear to be -- confirmed by third-party observers including independent journalists -- a sincere and concerted effort to keep genuinely problematic elements out of the organisation. To those who said that Robinson and his friends had no right to organise protests, there are two responses. The first is that they had as much right to be there as anyone else. And second, that the problems they were objecting to (hate-preachers, grooming-gangs and so on) are real issues, which the state has increasingly realised are such in the years that followed. In 2013 Robinson left the group he started, and in the years since, has engaged in a range of activities, including authoring a book. The book chronicles, among other things, a campaign by the state of harassment, which began from the moment Robinson formed the EDL. His own house and those of his nearest relatives were repeatedly raided by police, and computers and other materials taken away for examination. Any fair reading of the book -- whose details have again been broadly confirmed by the few journalists who have been interested in the case -- suggests that there was a very clear and concerted effort to find something -- anything -- on Robinson to get him locked up. In the end the police did find something -- a mortgage fraud matter -- for which Robinson was eventually tried and found guilty. In 2014, he was imprisoned for eighteen months. Even after his release, the effort to find something on Robinson continued. His movements were restricted. His ability to speak and congregate was restricted. He was repeatedly threatened with a return to prison for alleged breaches of bail conditions. On one occasion, the nature of the charge was a brawl Robinson had been involved with in prison, with a Muslim prisoner who was allegedly in the act of attacking Robinson -- who had repeatedly been placed in prison wings where there were large numbers of Muslim inmates. Since his release, as before, Robinson has been repeatedly assaulted in the streets, including by Luton Muslims who have faced no subsequent charges for their attacks, even when caught on camera. In February of this year, he was hospitalised after being assaulted upon leaving a nightclub in Essex. Then, this August, as he and his family were attending a football game in Cambridge, they were once again the subject of police harassment. While sitting in a pub with his wife and young children, they were ejected from the pub by Cambridgeshire police. The police did this despite the volunteered insistence of the management of the pub that the family had been doing nothing wrong and were causing no trouble. Police escorted Robinson and his family from the premises, and on the video footage of the incident you can easily hear the sound of Robinson's young children crying. Unlike Anjem Choudary (left), who was at the heart of a nexus of terrorists and terrorist-supporters, Tommy Robinson (right) is a white working-class man who can not only be harassed by police and other authorities with impunity, but can find few if any defenders of his rights among the vast panoply of people in our societies who are only too keen to defend the rights of Islamists. There will be those who think that such harassment of Robinson is correct -- that in order to keep the peace it is necessary to keep an eye on anybody who may have any effect to the contrary. But if that is true, it is curious that such measures were not routinely used on Anjem Choudary in all his years living freely in the community. It would be interesting to know if there are any records of Choudary and his family being harassed by police or removed from establishments while the hate-preacher was on whatever down-time he used to have. Or whether the British police ever routinely raid and search the houses of radical Islamists in the hope of finding errors in their VAT returns and the like. But of course the very comparison is unfair and in many ways lazy, because Tommy Robinson has not been -- as Choudary was -- at the heart of a nexus of terrorists and terrorist-supporters going back years. He has not been on friendly terms with numerous people who have beheaded civilians and carried out suicide bombings. There are not any occasions, of which the author is aware, on which Robinson has called for violence or the breaking of the law in the name of his political views. But in the eyes of the law, much of the media and a certain number of people in the country Robinson is in an exceptionally unfortunate position. He is not a radical Islamist and nor is he from any discernible minority. He is a white working-class man who, it appears, can thus not only be harassed by certain authorities with impunity, but can find few if any defenders of his rights among the vast panoply of people in our societies who are only too keen to defend the rights of Islamists. Civil liberties groups such as "Liberty'" which are so stringent in protecting the rights of Islamist groups such as "Cage," are silent on the case of Tommy Robinson. To consider why this is so is to see to the heart of a problem that Britain has been going through in recent years and which seems destined to continue for many years to come. Douglas Murray, British author, commentator and public affairs analyst, is based in London, England. Follow Douglas Murray on Twitter © 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute. Related Topics: Threats to Free Speech, United Kingdom Recent Articles by Douglas Murray UK: A Defeat Dressed Up as a Victory, 2019-02-11
Lessons We Seem Unwilling to Learn, 2019-01-13
UK Welcomes Extremists, Bans Critics of Extremists, 2018-12-29
The EU's Dangerous New Confidence Game |
well known Neo-Nazis and one, Nathan Damigo, served time for a hate crime against a cab driver. This is the largest open white power gathering in the bay area in some time and shows the degree in which the far-Right is growing in the wake of Trump's campaign.
When the idea was announced only a few days ago it seemed like an insulting media stunt, and it was, but it was also a strategic point for the growing Alt Right and its attempts to market racism and bigotry to Millenials. Richard Spencer of the Radix Journal and the National Policy Institute put together a video and a plan, to promote an outdoor meeting at the historic Sproul Plaza on the University of California and Berkeley campus. This was a place where 60s radicals joined together to confront the Vietnam War, and to build the Berkeley Free Speech movement. The point they were trying to make is that Berkeley is no longer a bastion of free speech because of the Political Correctness that has run rampant. Though this seems like the embarrassing overreach of angry children who are stomping their feet about no longer being able to say the N-word in public, what they are tapping into is a feeling in much of middle America of not understanding the new developments that have come in confronting interpersonal oppression.
Submitted toOn Friday, May 6th, white nationalist Richard Spencer, President and director of National Policy Institute (NPI), (a think tank aimed at millennials and educated adults that puts on conferences), and head of its publishing arm Washington Summit Publishers, arrived just before 3pm at UC Berkeley. Encircled by three other white nationalists, Spencer walked from the street through several corridors and hallways until finally making his way to Sproul Plaza where a group of other supporters had already gathered and started to live-stream and hold signs. In doing so, Spencer was stepping out of the world of paid conferences and weekly podcasts and into the terrain of street activism.Having announced the event on his twitter 48 hours before hand and working with Red Ice Radio, a live-streaming and in home studio run by a white nationalist married couple, the National Policy Institute along with Identity Europa, the youth wing of the American Freedom Party, (a key organizer for ANP is David Duke's former right-hand man, Jamie Kelso ), a Neo-Nazi formation, was working to create a "virtual rally." The event itself was billed as a "Safe Space" to talk about race in America, using language common among left-wing, activist, and anarchist spaces. Before the rally even began, Spencer's fellow white nationalists at Red Ice were already playing up what they imagined was going to happen that day. "Here is is, the birth of the free speech movement, and all of these liberals aren't going to be able to stand white people talking about race," they stated, (as if somehow Berkeley was devoid of white people doing just that). As Anti-Fascist News wrote:While they didn't fly completely under the radar, their event happened without being physically shut down. When their gathering was disrupted (briefly only twice), NPI members waved at the police (who were stationed around the plaza watching the entire event) to come over and back them up. This makes it appear that there had to have been some level of coordination between the white nationalists and UC Berkeley itself, and if a permit (aka, police protection) was involved, then this would have meant that UC Berkeley students were needed to set those wheels in motion.Also, throughout the event, a large man in his 40s was stationed next to Spencer and watched closely the entire time. When he left towards the end he stated, "This went really well." At the end of the event, after a loud heckler belated members of the NPI/IE crowd as fascists, Spencer left within five minutes alongside other members of his entourage surrounding him, leaving what appeared to be "the locals" to find their way home. They weren't going far anyways, on twitter members of the rally posted pictures of themselves drinking beers and discussing the days events in what seems to be a moneyed house We believe that all of this information: the path that they choose to enter the campus to avoid detection, the use of "muscle" as bodyguards, and the possible use of students to get access for police protection all point to UC Berkeley students possibly being involved in the white nationalist movement. According to one article, at least one UC Berkeley white nationalist alumni was in attendance. We also think it is clear that no Berkeley student is going to come forward as an out and out white nationalist; when a heckler approached supporters in the crowd, all but a few seemed to disavow being associated with the event.
Spencer left, with Henrik Palgren and Lana Lokteff of Red Ice Radio, and Mike Enoch of The Right Stuff podcast at an NPI Conference.
Our dream is a new society, an ethno-state that would be a gathering point for all Europeans. It would be a new society based on very different ideals than, say, the Declaration of Independence.
– Vice, October 2013
I think we should have a new Roman empire...a grand ethno-state for all Europeans to come together.
-The Tab, May 2016
The site has come under fire in the past for promoting racist content. During the Trayvon Martin trial, it published an article by John Derbyshire that instructed white parents to encourage their children to stay out of predominately black neighborhoods and warned them to scrutinize black politicians more than whites. (The conservative magazine National Review fired Derbyshire after he wrote this screed.)
Even a small group of militant anti-fascists could have stopped Spencer from stepping foot on campus, however Spencer was after something much different than the inevitable ass-whooping that would have been dealt to him and all his counterparts had the heads up arrived sooner. An energetic dialog and disagreements with enthusiastic UC Berkeley students that would make excellent livestream, podcast, meme, and twitter fodder. If they yelled and screamed and called them names, all the better, because then the NPI/IE could show that of course, "there is no safe space to talk about race." If students were instead polite and composed, then just as well, fascist ideas were then thrust into the mainstream realm of debate and argumentation. There, along with PETA booths stacked with Why Vegan? pamphlets and a plethora of campus socialist groups, the National Policy Institute, Identity Europa and the 'nipsters' (Nazi hipsters) that made up its rank and file could be free to enter into the mainstream of college campus discourse.In many ways, this idea and concept that was created almost entirely for online consumption and with hopefully viral potential, played out pretty flawlessly. Anyone walking around UC Berkeley for more than five minutes will be approached by either a campus group, GreenPeace or another non-profit asking for money, or someone promoting a business or restaurant. Because of this, most people walked right past the "safe space," and continued on their way, heads buried in their phones. A cluster of 20-30 people did gather around the spectacle, however it seems many (or at least almost all the white males) were associated with the fascists.This "safe space" tactic we image will grow in popularity among white nationalists. As Trump's campaign continues to polarize the US and embolden white supremacists, Anti-Fascists will have to step it up on information gathering of these groups and individuals as well as strengthen networks with students on campus to build a culture of resistance that shuts down these events before they even start. No platform for fascism.The following is a partial list of individuals and some background on organizations that were in attendance at the fascist rally at UC Berkeley.Richard Bertrand Spencer, resident of Whitefish, Montana, is no dummy, in fact, he's a doctor, but like all white nationalists, Spencer proposes the creation of an all white "ethno-state" in which people of color would not be welcomed. This new government would be organized along fascist and authoritarian lines, of course. Growing up in Boston, he went on to attend St. Mark's School in Texas (a private prep school), get his BA in Virigina, and then on to get his Humanities MA in Chicago and then his doctorate at Duke University. After getting out of school, Spencer went on to edit the American Conservative magazine and later the webzine Taki's (both with white nationalist ties) before being fired for his racist views (guess he really went tor it). Taki's, which is politically paleconvservative ('we were fascists before it was cool'), also drew fire due to the articles written by other writers. Salon wrote:
Richard Spencer watches at Jared Taylor gives a talk at an NPI conference.
The National Policy Institute was founded in 2005 by William Regnery II who, in the words of the Southern Poverty Law Center, is a “prime mover and shaker” within academic white nationalist circles. As an heir to the conservative Regnery Publishing, which brought us Trump’s campaign screed Time to Get Tough in 2011, Regnery has thrown his fortune behind a number of white nationalist causes. In 2001, he founded the Occidental Quarterly, whose pseudo-scientific agitprop makes it “sort of the Nature of academic racism,” according to Mother Jones.
In 2011, Spencer took over heading the National Policy Institute after the death of long time white nationalist Louis Andrews. NPI hosts conferences in the DC area several times a year and is aimed at young people (people under 30 get a discount), those on the outside of the right wing establishment, academics, and the rank and file of the white nationalist movement. In doing so, NPI has helped to increase the visibility of the "Alternative Right" along with providing a space for movement heads to meet and network. Milo Yiannopoulos, a BreitBart reporter recently has pushed the Alternative Right along with the NPI, even further into the spotlight by covering their conferences and has become a bad boy in the movement in his own right. As Raw Story wrote:
Roosh V and Matt Forney attend an NPI Conference.
Contributors ranged from Matt Forney, who now writes for the men’s rights activism site, Return of Kings, to Aleksandr Dugin, a Russian fascist, writer, and academic who provided much of the intellectual foundation for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into Ukraine.
[S]cientifically bogus works as a 2015 reissue of Richard Lynn's Race Differences in Intelligence and screeds by other white nationalists, including Jared Taylor, editor of the racist American Renaissance journal, and Sam Francis, the late editor of the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens’ newsletter.
The [NPI] organization’s editorial unit publishes “scientifically-based” books like “Race Differences in Intelligence” and “The Perils of Diversity.” “Our goal is to form an intellectual community around European nationalism,” [Spencer] wrote in an email.
The NPI conferences has also been a place where the white nationalist and Alternative Right movements have been able to link up with Men's Rights Activists ( although many fascists objected to Roosh being non-white ), including Roosh V (also a Trump supporter) of the Return of Kings website. Roosh V, who along with other MRA's has spoken at NPI conferences, recently created controversy for advocating legalizing rape on private property as a means to further cement the second class citizenship of women to men. His attempt to hold meetups across the world was a bitter failure, but also shows the degree in which the Alternative Right is attempting to get off the internet and into the streets. This connection between Spencer and the pro-rape Men's Rights Movement goes back to his days at Taki's After AC and Taki's, Spencer then began publishing the Alternative Right journal and then went on to produce Radix Journal as well as oversee Washington Summit Publishers. This publishing house publishes and re-publishes works such as Salon wrote:The late Samuel Francis mentioned above, who is being republished by Spencer (who's writings also helped influence the white nationalist child star, Matthew Heimbach of the Traditionalist Workers' Party) was once much like Richard Spencer in his own early days, holding down a day job working as a columnist for The Washington Post before he was fired for railing against everything from interracial sex to desegregation. After his firing, Francis continued to head deeper into the white nationalist movement, playing a key role in the Council for Conservative Citizens, which grew out of the White Citizen's Councils that were formed in the Jim Crow era South and acted as a kind of citizens auxiliary to the KKK, and were often referred to as the "Uptown Klan."
Dylann Roof, white nationalist serial murderer.
Currently, the Council for Conservative Citizens is best known for helping to inspire the young mind of Dylann Roof, the white supremacist that massacred African-American church goers in Charleston, SC. Spencer's long-time pal and American Renaissance organizer Jared Taylor is also currently part of their organizing body and has helped conduct robo-calls urging white people to vote for Trump. Taylor was also close with Francis, who himself presented and spoke at AmRen conferences.Central to Francis's vision, was that he saw the white working and middle classes as moving towards becoming Middle American Radicals, or MARs; a growing body of people and consciousness that rejected a multi-racial society and moved farther and farther towards the Right but also rejecting corporate capitalism. Over the years, Francis maintained a close friendship with Pat Buchanan, who at one time was a part of the Reform Party along with Ross Perot and David Duke, the ex-Klansman and KKK leader. Ironically, Donald Trump, then a former Democrat, quickly exited the Reform Party after sticking his toe in, refusing to be associated with anti-Semites and Neo-Nazis. While Buchanan would go on to campaign unsuccessfully as a Republican Presidential candidate in 1996, after his failure he continued to keep ties with the white nationalist movement and has made several appearances on The Political Cesspool podcast, which is sponsored by the Council for Conservative Citizens and the Institute for Historical Review (linked to the now defunct OG suit and tie Nazi outfit, the Liberty Lobby ), a holocaust denial organization that promotes warm and fuzzy feelings of Third Reich.
American Freedom Party's promotional material for Trump.
While they have all kept their distance from each other, Duke, Buchanan, and Trump have also all relied (Duke especially) on white nationalist muscle organize support, and staff offices. At the same time, white nationalists, KKK members, and Neo-Nazis, also saw the success of their own movement in their activity within these campaigns, as many of their predecessors did in the runs of Barry Goldwater and George Wallace. Those that attended the NPI event at UC Berkeley were no different, as many wore Trump hats and Spencer himself has talked openly about his support for Trump's campaign As Spencer was quoted in a recent article saying, "Thank god for Donald J. Trump!"
Richard Spencer panders to the camera.
A century and a half ago, Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederate States of America, was faced with the prospect of the victory or annihilation of his nation and fledgling state in what is now referred to as the American Civil War. In his greatest address, “The Cornerstone of the Confederacy,” he did not speak (mendaciously) about "states rights" or any kind of Constitutional legality. He instead cut to the heart of the social order he was opposing. He stressed that the Confederacy was based on the conclusion that Thomas Jefferson was wrong; the "cornerstone" of the new state was the "physical, philosophical, and moral truth" of human inequality.
Ours, too, should be a declaration of difference and distance—"We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created unequal." In the wake of the old world, this will be our proposition.
"We are undergoing a sad process of degeneration,” [Spencer] said, coming back to minority births in the U.S. “We will need to reverse it using the state and the government. You incentivize people with higher intelligence, you incentivize people who are healthy to have children. And it sounds terrible and nasty, but there would be a great use of contraception.”
He didn’t mean the government should encourage people to use birth control pills and condoms. He was advocating for some type of government-forced sterilization.
“They could still enjoy sex. You are not ruining their life,” Spencer said.
“Today, in the public imagination, ‘ethnic-cleansing’ has been associated with civil war and mass murder (understandably so). But this need not be the case."
But support for Trump is only part of a bigger struggle to create an all white fascist state. Spencer fashions much of his support for an ethno-state on the same logic that the Confederate elites, such as Vice President Alexander Stephens articulated, who Spencer drew from in his 2014 essay, The Metapolitics of America, by calling for the removal of all non-whites on the basis that whites are superior. Spencer writes for Radix But while Spencer sees this as a far off goal, in the meantime he's happy to push for mass deportations, exclusions, and forced sterilizations of people of color in the here and now. As Salon wrote During the American Renaissance conference in April, Spencer was quoted as saying Spencer and the NPI represent the intellectual and academic wing of the white nationalist movement, much as the Futurists did in Italy as they threw their support behind Mussolini. Others though, come from much different backgrounds.https://twitter.com/NathanDamigo/status/727927853266784258Like most of those within the white nationalist movement, while Spencer promotes a clean, nicely dressed, and WASPy appearance, his associations show the links between the broader fascist movement and himself. For instance, a key contributor and presenter at National Policy Institute Conferences has been Kevin MacDonald, a former 60's Leftist and professor in Long Beach, California, and a participant in the American Freedom Party, which was founded by white power skinheads. MacDonald has made a name for himself as the leading 'academic' of Anti-Semitism, traveling across the US preaching how the Jews run the government and are trying to destroy the white race.
Nathan Damigo, youth organizer for Identity Europa, formerly known as the National Youth Front, the youth wing of the American Freedom Party. From Damigo's Twitter account, 'Fashy Haircut.'
Damigo is running the organization Identity Europa...[and w]hen it was still the National Youth Front it had a back and forth relationship with the fascist and populist American Freedom Party, where they automatically registered NYF members with the AFP when they turned 35.
Nathan is an example of the kind of middle ground that the Alt Right has always been on. Good looking, well spoken, dresses and combs his hair like a hip Banana Republic model; he is a good advertisement as he looks far from a Klansman (looks a lot like Richard, to be exact). He is an Iraq war veteran, but he is also a felon for a hate crime. Several years ago, after he returned from Iraq, he brutally attacked a Muslim man on the street, and robbed him.
Though Identity Europa seems to be little more than his brainchild and attempt to coordinate with young people, they seem to attempt to be largely the same project that Youth for Western Civilization, the Traditionalist Youth Network/Workers Party, and the various White Student Unions are. They wish to make whiteness an identity battle, and present white advocacy as the same as Black and Latino rights organizations, including reaching out to communities of color to find “allies of color” who think that whites are being discriminated against on college campuses.
The National Youth Front (NYF) was the youth wing of the American Freedom Party, until it recently changed its name to Identity Europa. One of its key organizers who was also at the UC Berkeley event, is Nathan Damigo, a former veteran and convicted felon, who in 2007 drunkenly pulled a gun on a cab driver. As Anti-Fascist News wrote:
Damigo's face help promotes Neo-Nazi National Youth Front.
"We have to look good,” Spencer said, adding that if his movement means ”being part of something that is crazed or ugly or vicious or just stupid, no one is going to want to be a part of it.” Those stereotypes of “redneck, tattooed, illiterate, no-teeth” people, Spencer said, are blocking his progress.
Identity Europa represents an attempt by smart and nicely dressed young people to reach out and attempt to bring in others likes them that are attracted to the look, appeal, and ideas of the Alternative Right. At the same time, IE also shows the clear link between the wider, much more openly Neo-Nazi white nationalist movement as well as their rich-kid PhD cousins at the NPI, no matter how much Spencer slags them off. As Salon quoted him saying:But much like earlier fascist movements, there are many parts to them. For instance, Hitler used the SA or brownshirts to beat up communists and break up union meetings of workers who were the bulk of resistance to the Nazi Party. At the same time, the SA was made up largely of unemployed men who were paid for their "services" by rich industrialists who wanted them to smash the communists. Towards this end, they were given a place to live, beer to drink, and food to eat. In many ways, the claims by Trump that people will "Win so much they'll get tired of it!" and that their incomes will double and beyond, work much in the same way in the minds of dispossessed and angry white workers.https://twitter.com/IdentityEvropa/status/730926885278879744After Hitler took power, he had no use for the SA, and slaughtered their leaders in the "Night of the Long Knives," along with much of the left-wing of the Nazi Party. This history still is a point of reference for some fascists, such as the white nationalist band, Death in June, who takes their name and imagery from this history of the Nazi Party. Thus, while Spencer represents the segment of movement "thinkers," not far behind him are the more rough and tumble elements which have no qualms of flying swastika flags or screaming "seig heil!"In many ways, Damigo represents the coming together of both of these worlds, through his connection to the American Freedom Party and IE. Currently, Damigo according to his twitter account "Fashy Haircut", lives in Northern California. His current tweets show pictures of wine country and him playing a game at a bar located in Sonoma.
White nationalist poster pasted up in Downtown Berkeley shortly after the rally. Was quickly ripped down.
But Damigo wasn't the only person from Northern California or even the bay area to attend the fascist event at UC Berkeley.In late April, hundreds of people blocked the streets of Burlingame, a town located south of San Francisco, in protest of Trump speaking at a gathering of Republicans in California. Among the protesters were about 20 or so Trump supporters, many of them high school students. One of the older supporters there, a shorter man with black hair and a large bear, was Johnny Ramondetta, aka, Johnny Monoxide, editor and producer of "The Current Year Tonight" podcast which is broadcast on the Neo-Nazi, " Right Stuff" online site
A promotional image for a Red Ice Radio program, featuring Johnny Monoxide.
John currently works as a union foreman electrician through Local 6, located in San Francisco. Johnny can also clearly be seen live streaming the UC Berkeley event at the rally as well as wearing a hoodie with the logo of his podcast that bears a meme of "Pepe the Frog," (how original).
Ramondetta on his facebook account.
According to our sources, Ramondetta was pulled to the Left during Occupy Oakland and also took part in protests against the killing of Trayvon Martin and in the wake of the Ferguson verdict, however decided instead that he's actually a fascist anti-Semite and entered the world of spending most of his time while not at work making a shitty podcast and posting things on twitter. View his twitter here
"Just think how much better this game will be son after we ethnically cleanse the team!"
(415) 861-5752.
Ramondetta currently has a tweet-mance with Spencer and Damigo, and we only can expect that this relationship between himself and the rest of the white nationalist movement will continue to grow.https://twitter.com/johnnymonoxide/status/729168447582568448We also encourage everyone to contact IBEW Local 6 in San Francisco and voice your displeasure with Ramondetta's fascist (which supposedly bars one from IBEW membership) and racist views. IBEW Local 6 is located at: 55 Fillmore St #2, San Francisco, CA 94117. Feel free to callhttps://twitter.com/johnnymonoxide/status/731734095105908738
John Hess from Arizona. Seen here sporting a Golden Dawn shirt. GD is a fascist and Neo-Nazi party in Greece, known for attacking immigrants, refugees, and anarchists.
NYF member named John Hess of Phoenix, Arizona...Hess's Facebook page is on lockdown, because he doesn't want you to see what he's apparently all about, and by that, we mean Nazi idolatry. Hess's page is peppered with videos filled with Nazi themed content, a strange coincidence considering claims by the NYF that they are not racists, and that there are no Neo-Nazi members of their group. Very odd indeed! The account has since been locked down.
John Hess, just like Damigo, comes out of the National Youth Front that is now called Identity Europa. Hess hails (all the time!) from Arizona, where he gained about 5 minutes of fash fame for going after professors on campus he deemed to be "anti-white." According to one blogger
From John Hess's facebook account.
...[T]he “Battle of Berkeley...” [a]fter all, it takes far more courage to show oneself publicly as a pro-white advocate in an area internationally famous for being hostile to white interests than it does to sneak, under cover of darkness, into an urban area with a mask and a bat and join many dozens of other human failures in various acts of “vandalism for the establishment.” Not one of us in attendance knew what to expect. Anything could have happened. There is a formidable antifa presence in the Bay Area, and that so few of them showed up is not our fault. A battle easily won is no less a battle.
I wanted to add my physical presence to the mix to show support and to help in case things got ugly, which I was almost certain they would. To my surprise and, to be quite honest, an equal amount of relief and disappointment, the event was peaceful. But this is a credit to Mr. Damigo, Mr. Spencer, and the caliber of supporters in attendance, each of whom was smart, confident, and composed. I do not believe there was a single supporter in attendance who would not have been prepared to physically defend the group if necessary, but due to the deftness with which the organizers handled the crowd and the affability of the supporters in attendance, we gave them no opportunity to get violent.
There will come a day when keyboard warriors will be forced to hit the streets and when they do it will not be the autistic nitpickers who will be leading the charge.
Let this be the first of many such events across the entire country and let us all hope that the next battle has men like Mr. Spencer and Mr. Damigo front and center. I want to thank both the organizers and the supporters I met that day for engaging in this action. I look forward to many more
“I think alt right is a really good term to use…It’s something different than conservatives, it’s something different than Republicans. I also like to use the word ‘identitarian’…I think it’s a very good term because what is most important is European identity.”
After [Spencer] saying “I think Hitler is misunderstood” and telling me he does condemn violence, he finally answers whether or not he condemns Hitler, saying, “No, I don’t. The idea that someone would want a country of their own, that someone would want a country that’s defined by their ancestors and their people, I do not condemn that.” He is so skillful at making white supremacy sound like a nice fairy tale that he can almost make Hitler sound like someone who just wanted a quaint little Germany with his extended family – almost.
Start mapping the fascists in your area. Start with the big names and groups on facebook and twitter and get going. See who follows who. Make maps, follow accounts, find out when events are happening. Organize and tell others. Make life interesting for Damigo, Hess, and Spencer. Salon wrote: Spencer says he has no desire to advertise his views to his neighbors. “I don’t want to get in big disputes with anyone in Whitefish,” he says. “I would like this to be a place where I have a little bit of an anonymous status.” He lives in Whitefish, Montana and hangs out at the Red Caboose Cafe. It has a population of under 7,000. He shouldn't be hard to find. Damigo appears to be in wine country, Hess in Arizona. Get on social media and do your homework. Have a plan for when these groups will hold an event on campus. What can you do with 5 people? With 10? With just yourself? Let this be a building exercise. Watch out for Johnny Monoxide in the bay area. He will sure to be seen at upcoming events, live streaming for his own projects and also attempting to get on InfoWars and other right-wing establishments. Get ready to shut down the National Policy Institute Conference on November 19th in Washington DC at the Ronald Reagan Building, 9 AM - 11 PM. More info here. Get ready for Sacramento on Sunday, June 26th. The Golden State Skinheads, Traditionalist Workers' Party, the KKK, and other groups are holding a rally at the State Capitol. Be there. More info here. This is shaping up to be the largest white power rally on the west coast in some time.With talk of a “rigged” system as a centerpiece of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, many have begun to ask whether or not he’ll accept the election results on November 8th. While some on the left are complaining that questioning the legitimacy of a presidential election is unprecedented, it wasn’t long ago that many of them were doing just that–including Hillary Clinton herself!
In October of 2002, during a heated midterm election, then-New York Senator Hillary Clinton declared that President George W. Bush had been “selected” and not “elected” in 2000.
In 2002 Newsweek reported:
At a private fund-raiser in Los Angeles for Democratic Sen. Jean Carnahan of Missouri, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told the crowd that President Bush merely had been “selected” president, not elected, Newsweek reports in the current issue.JUBA, South Sudan -- South Sudanese soldiers accused of a horrific attack on foreign aid workers during the country's civil war are facing trial almost a year later, with the possibility of a death sentence.
Twelve of the 20 soldiers accused of rape, torture, killing and looting during the attack on the Terrain hotel compound were in court Tuesday. The assault came during fresh fighting in the capital, Juba, in July.
Scott Pelley on the famine crisis in South Sudan
An investigation by The Associated Press last year showed that dozens of soldiers broke into the compound and terrorized residents and staff while the nearby United Nations peacekeeping mission did not respond to pleas for help. Five foreigners reported being gang-raped, and one local journalist was shot in the head and killed as others were forced to watch.
The trial is a test of South Sudan's ability to hold its soldiers accountable. It is expected to last several weeks, with the next court date scheduled for June 6.
If convicted of rape, the soldiers could face up to 14 years in prison. If convicted of murder, they could be sentenced to death.
The prosecution said it "absolutely" has the necessary evidence to convict the accused, citing testimony from witnesses and victims including an American man who was shot in the leg.
South Sudan's military marked the start of the trial by announcing it is committed to "human rights, the rule of law and the transparency of the legal system."
The start of the trial comes shortly after a new U.N report that exposed potential war crimes by the army in soldiers' targeting and killing of dozens of South Sudanese civilians. The international community has repeatedly expressed concern about impunity for widespread abuses in the civil war, which is well into its fourth year and has left tens of thousands dead.CTV.ca News Staff
After four years, Canadian forces have transferred command of Kandahar city to the U.S., as thousands more American troops prepare to mount an offensive against the Taliban.
Under a reworked system of command, Canada will command a unit the size of a brigade to the south and west of the city, in the districts of Dand, Daman and Panjwaii. The unit will report to NATO's southern command.
Panjwaii is one of the areas the Taliban originated in, and has been a troublesome district for Canadian forces trying to quell the insurgency.
Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, the commander of Task Force Kandahar, told The Canadian Press recently that the new command structure "makes a lot of sense."
"We're able to concentrate force, concentrate focus and so we can deal in detail with the sort of tactical challenge in making sure that districts and villages within those districts start to rebound."
The hand-over took place two weeks after the Americans took command from Canada over the Zhari and Arghandab districts in Kandahar province. It also occurred without much of a ceremonial display.
Canada has more than 2,700 troops in Afghanistan, mainly in Kandahar province. They assumed command of Kandahar province in 2005. Since entering the war in 2002, 150 Canadian soldiers have died in that country.
Under the reorganized command, Canadian forces are expected to be spread less thin, CTV's South Asia Bureau Chief Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Kandahar.
"It was not really a surprise that this transition was going to happen, since U.S. President Barack Obama announced 30,000 U.S. troops were coming to this country," she told CTV News Channel. "Still, this is a significant shift in the Canadian dynamic."
Lt.-Col. Craig Dalton, the chief of staff for Task Force Kandahar, said the move is part of a "gradual transition" as additional U.S. troops arrive in the war-torn country. He added that American troops will assume full command of Kandahar city within a few weeks.
Washington is in the midst of a troop "surge" that will see the number of NATO soldiers in Kandahar province reach 21,000 by summer's end -- three times more than were stationed there a year earlier.
By the end of August, 140,000 NATO troops will be stationed across Afghanistan, most from the U.S.
In Kandahar province, Mackay Frayer said the conflict between the Taliban and NATO troops will likely become bloodier as more troops continue to arrive.
"Soldiers tell us that IEDs really are everywhere, and the insurgency seems to be more clever and more cunning in where they're able to plant them," she said. "So there is the expectation that casualties will mount."
"It's very contested ground. You have two very determined forces who want the same thing."
With files from The Canadian PressPhotographer Kjartan Pétur Sigurðsson of Iceland just uploaded two new videos of flying a Light Sport Aircraft in China. The first video shows the assembly of a Ramphos Trike aircraft and the initial test flight. I can only imagine the surprise of the locals as it took off from a road and began flying overhead.
The second video shows video shot from the Ramphos as it flew in the vicinity of a major river. The scenery is fun to watch and the background music is relaxing harp music with some type of wind instrument (perhaps a flute)? If you know what instrument is used, please post a note in the comments below. After watching, you’ll probably want to visit China or purchase your own Ramphos Trike!
Regarding the former, I visited China 2 years ago and found it fascinating. I imagine that General Aviation will take off there is a big way during this decade. Here’s hoping we see more aerial videos from China in the future.
UPDATE: One reader wrote "I've been flying China for a few years and my son is a musician. The instrument does sound a bit like a flute but I believe it is an ehru. It is a stringed instrument that is hard to explain." Here's information on the erhu.John Bel Edwards talks about his life in Amite (photo gallery)
Gov. John Bel Edwards is sticking his old positions on education issues. (Photo by Ted Jackson, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
Gov. John Bel Edwards has had a busy public schedule lately, speaking to groups about the state's financial crisis and his suggested solutions ahead of the release of his first state budget proposal next week.
Over the past three days, Edwards has spoken to the Louisiana Hospitals Association, a building construction trades convention, the state sugar cane association, Louisiana Board of Regents and the House Republican caucus -- among others.
But Edwards also made time for the people who arguably played the biggest role in getting him into office: public school teachers.
The governor was the featured guest Tuesday night (Feb. 2) at a Louisiana Association of Educators and National Education Association "listening tour" stop at a Baton Rouge high school.
Edwards gave a brief presentation, answered questions and took several selfies with the audience of mostly educators and students. The crowd of about 60 to 70 people is much smaller than those Edwards has been appearing before lately, but a constituency the governor takes a special interest in.
"I get painted as a person who is close to teachers unions," said Edwards, while appearing on stage with a leader of the National Education Association. "I'm not going to distance myself."
The governor, who was an outspoken member of the Louisiana House Education Committee for eight years, went on to reiterate many of his beliefs. Much of his education agenda is embraced by those involved with traditional public schools but makes people in the school choice movement -- those who support charters and the voucher program in particular -- nervous.
Edwards has said he thinks additional limitations should be put on the state's school voucher program and that local schools boards should have more control over whether charter schools open in their districts. And he has said that test scores should not play as prominent a role in teacher and school evaluations as they do now.
"We should not divert any resources away from our traditional public schools for unproven gimmicks, especially when we don't have many resources to begin with," Edwards told the crowd. "The worst performing schools in Louisiana that we know anything about are voucher schools."
The governor said the public, |
human life.
Bravo Frank, you are truly inspiring and thank you for the outstanding works of art.
Happy 29th Birthday! -10/28/16
#FrankOcean #media #studentvoicesMICROSOFT IS FACING a loud backlash from users of its Skype messaging service which has been redesigned to look like a series of stills from Yellow Submarine covered in icing sugar.
Users have complained that not only does it look like Willy Wonka's factory in a snowdrift, but a lot of key features on the Android and iOS versions, which have been the first to roll out, have disappeared.
Most notably, it's now very difficult to see who is online and who isn't but there are lots of other gripes. We spotted that you can no longer share from the context menu in Android, you need to copy and paste, which gets very old, very fast, especially as other services integrate perfectly.
This story was picked up on Reddit (we love it when that happens) and here are some of the other things that people hate, and… well, that's it, about the new Skype. There's no word on when exactly this garish nonsense will be coming to desktop, but as Skype for Windows isn't exactly working brilliantly as it is, let's hope it's not for a while.
JoseJimeniz has a list of faults:
"I also noticed some features missing:
no longer works with bluetooth headset
no longer advertises any "sharing" intents (i.e. cannot share anything using Skype)
no longer supports video while outside Skype
can no longer tap anywhere on the screen, or use the volume buttons, to take a picture
can no longer make your own video full screen
On the upside, it does have some nice new features: (TODO: think of anything i like about it)," adding: "It's the Windows 8/8.1/10 of Skype - There's nothing in this new version I want; and everything I don't"
Reddit user albeva adds: "Forget re-design - new version of Skype just doesn't work. For me every single call fails. Can I roll back to previous version?"
While TrunksTheMighty is even harsher: "I downgraded it like immediately after seeing the changes. If they ever force an update I'm gonna delete my account."
The key here is the delineation between Skype as a business tool and Skype as a Snapchat clone. There is a separate Skype for Business, which will retain the old look, but it comes as part of Microsoft Office 365 Professional which (surprise, surprise) costs extra.
With so much competition from Snapchat, Messenger, WhatsApp and so on, it's quite logical that Microsoft would want something a little bit more groovy. But as we've learned from the rather lacklustre performance of Google's Allo and Duo, what they don't want is their traditional apps being replaced by "for the kids, yo" versions. Sometimes, chatters just want to chat. µLeague of Legends is not just a game: it's a cutthroat competitive digital sport where the winners roar in victory and the losers whimper in defeat. You don't need to play on the same level as the pros to experience the thrills of these online battlegrounds, however. Blending elements of action role-playing, real-time strategy, and tower defense games into an engrossing amalgam of awesome, League of Legends is a free-to-play game that ensures each play session yields a unique and explosive experience.
Each player in a match controls a single champion. In the default game mode, Summoner's Rift, two teams of five champions are pitted against each another with the ultimate goal of destroying the opposing team's nexus, which is guarded by three lanes of towers. The catch is that at the start of a match, your champion is only level 1 with no items to back up his or her quest for victory. To power up to a level sufficient enough to take on the enemy's base, a champion must first focus on killing AI-controlled minions for gold and experience.
Bots offer great training for new players.
The gold can be spent at the shop at each team's respective base in order to purchase items like the appropriately named B. F. Sword (a big freakin' sword), or its mage-friendly counterpart, the Needlessly Large Rod. Once you're appropriately equipped, your goal shifts from slaughtering the endless waves of minions to pushing your army down the lanes by destroying the towers. Of course, your enemies won't stand idly by and watch you destroy them. League of Legends erupts in beautiful savagery once the teams of five group and fight as a unified force. As the two teams engage one another in a semi-chaotic brawl, players dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge skill-shots and target abilities in order to survive and kill the opposition. Team fights can make or break a match, as victory in a single battle means there will be no resistance to the siege of towers for some time. Trailing teams may attempt to turtle around a tower in order to use its power to make up for their weakness, and then mount a defense that turns the tides of battle into an epic comeback.
Team fights don't always erupt around towers, however. An elder lizard and an ancient golem both spawn in each team's jungle, and slaying one grants special sigil buffs. In the early stages of a game, some of the tensest moments occur when a team tries to steal away a buff from the opposing team. These skirmishes may not even result in a kill, but denying an enemy champion the mana regeneration of their ancient golem's blue sigil can grant a power play during which you may assert your dominance over the middle lane. Along the river, there are far more powerful neutral monsters which grant global gold to the team that bravely battles them. The dragon is a powder keg of early game team fights; combatants wage a war of vision-granting wards in order to ensure both, or neither, have vision over the dragon's pit so they may exterminate the beast out of sight of their foes.
Failing the Baron fight or having the enemy steal the kill quickly turns the tide into a tsunami of aggression against you and your teammates.
Late in the game, the powerful Baron Nashor serves as a cold war catalyst. You seek to kill him for the enormous stat boost he grants, but you also fear being nuked by a lurking enemy team, and so you wisely wait to fight him until you know your foes cannot contest. The stalemates over Baron are some of the most intense moments League of Legends has to offer, making the catharsis of overcoming a mighty challenge even greater. Beware, though, as failing the Baron fight or having the enemy steal the kill quickly turns the tide into a tsunami of aggression against you and your teammates.
Every match is a challenge, and with over 100 champions to choose from, there are countless ways for a team to overcome it. Whether your style involves dropping a flaming bear on the opposition to stun them all, flying in as a frozen phoenix to summon a wall of ice and cut off a path of retreat, or slashing through minions in a fit of undying barbaric rage, League of Legends has you covered. Champion designs draw influence from regional legends and mythology, though others are Riot's own unique creations. Although most can be categorized as a role-playing archetype (mage, marksman, assassin, tank, fighter, or support), some champions blend two or more archetypes and allow you flexibility in how to play.
Slaying Baron Nashor can buff up your team, but bring a friend!
Riot has worked to ensure that new players don't immediately mix with veterans. League of Legends requires new players to reach level 3 by playing tutorial matches and cooperative matches versus the AI before being allowed to queue for matchmaking. If you're a complete novice, however, it's best to avoid facing other humans until you are certain you understand the basics of the game. Some veteran players may lurk on lower-level accounts, while others have slipped past bans issued by Riot's automated tribunal system, and their familiarity with the game will give them an unfair advantage. In spite of the tribunal system, which removes particularly unsavory players from the player pool, plenty of combatants use the chat window to vent their frustration toward others. Underperforming, arrogant, and impolite players are still unfortunate hurdles you must occasionally overcome.
Dedicated theorycrafters will relish the ability to make a seemingly weak champion smash perceptions and succeed.
To keep you invested in the game, Riot allows you to unlock champions permanently using influence points (earned by playing matches in the game) or Riot points (purchased with real money). Riot points can also be spent on boosts to increase IP gain, but the most common reason you may end up purchasing RP is to unlock skins. The pricier skin options also tweak champions' animations, spell effects, and even voice-overs in the case of legendary and ultimate skins. Skins have no actual effect on a champion's combat ability, so spending money on the game doesn't offer any actual gameplay advantage. Don't be fooled by the free-to-play moniker, though: you might eventually find a skin that finally convinces you to pay to support the game, and soon find yourself staring at a vast library of looks.
However, the influence points earned through participating in matches can offer distinct gameplay advantages by adjusting the stats of a champion. Runes, which can only be purchased with influence points, can offer a flat bonus to a stat, or a bonus that gets more powerful over the course of a game as a champion levels up. All in all, you may assign up to 30 runes to your individual rune pages, with a new rune slot becoming available every time you gain in summoner level until you reach the cap at 30. Rune and mastery setups allow you to customize your champions' stats as you see fit, and dedicated theorycrafters will relish the ability to make a seemingly weak champion smash perceptions and succeed.
In the ARAM mode, all players face off in a very confined wintry lane
Also unlocking at summoner level 30 is the true focus of the more hardcore players: ranked solo/duo matchmaking queues. You may queue alone or drag a friend along for the ride as you play games with slightly higher stakes than the normal games. Winning or losing in a ranked game grants or deducts league points from the summoner account. League points help to sort players into tiers ranging from bronze to challenger, with the challenger tier being available only to the cream of the crop among League of Legends players. If you're a player with an insatiable competitive appetite, ranked queues are where you'll find your home.
If you don't find the initial Summoner's Rift map appealing, you'll be glad for the other vibrant battlefields on offer. Crystal Scar, Twisted Treeline, and Howling Abyss maps each stamp League of Legends with their own unique marks. Crystal Scar is a five-versus-five map with a focus on capturing territories in order to damage the opponent's nexus. Twisted Treeline plays mostly like Summoner's Rift, but with a limit of three players per team. And Howling Abyss, affectionately dubbed "Murderbridge" by the community, pits teams against one another in a single lane, with the queue for that map randomly selecting an available character to assign to each player in the game mode referred to as "ARAM" (short for "all random, all mid").
It's difficult to resist the constant thrill of the game's diverse battles.
Differences between League of Legends and Dota highlight LoL's focus on a cleaner learning curve for new players as well as the (normally) healthy competitive environment. The unintuitive mechanic of denying, in which you kill a minion or tower on your own team so that the opposition may not earn gold, does not exist. Although this slightly reduces the control you have over the lane and where minions meet, it also frees you up to focus more on interacting with the opposing champions, rather than with the minions. Additionally, randomized elements, such as a chance to do anything (critical hits excepted) have been removed from League of Legends, ensuring you have a greater ability to predict the outcome of a given situation.
Riot displays its eSports support with pride during major tournaments.
The game is still expanding, with a new playable champion being introduced roughly every month. Riot is highly proactive in keeping the game as balanced as possible as new gameplay trends are discovered and rise in popularity. For instance, a robust spectator tool and multiple game modes have appeared over the game's four-year history. The only missing feature that could be labeled a staple for competitive games is a replay feature, but even that is currently in development, with an iteration available for testing on the test realm.
League of Legends is a fantastic game with something for players of all skill ranges to enjoy. Although it's better to play with friends, you are not left to your own devices if you tend to keep to yourself. The early hours can be frustrating as you learn the ropes, but once you are swept away by the ebb and flow, it's difficult to resist the constant thrill of the game's diverse battles. Once League of Legends has its hooks in you, don't be shocked to find you've spent a few hundred hours seeking digital fame in one of video gaming's finest battlegrounds.Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and will surpass Christianity as the largest religion by the end of the century, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.
Islam’s global growth results from two simple demographic factors: age and birthrate. Muslims are the youngest of all major religions in the world, with a median age of only 23, compared to the combined median age of 30 for all other world religions. This means that more Muslims are currently, or soon will be, at the age of childbearing compared with significantly more non-Muslims who have passed this period of their lives.
Second, the birthrate among Muslims is notably higher than that among non-Muslims. Whereas non-Muslim women have a combined average of 2.3 children, Muslim women have 35% more children on average, or 3.1 children each.
The study also pointed out that migration is currently shifting the make-up of the populations of many nations. Both North America and Europe are experiencing significant growth of Islam both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the population because of the combined effect of birthrate and Muslim immigration. The Pew Center estimates that Europe’s population will be 10% Muslim by 2050.
The survey found that a substantial majority of Muslims in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia favor the adoption of Sharia law as the official law of the land.
Significant minorities of Muslims in Turkey, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian territories believe that suicide bombings in defense of Islam are “often or sometimes justified.” In the case of Afghan and Palestinian Muslims, more than one in three supports suicide bombing, with respective percentages of 39% and 40% in favor.
Among citizens of European nations, those who view Islam most favorably are the British, of whom 72% hold a positive view of Muslims. On the other end of the spectrum are the Italians, with 61% holding an unfavorable view of Muslims.
Among all European nations, the Italians have been exceptionally efficient in thwarting Islamist terrorist attacks, without a single death to Muslim terrorists occurring on Italian soil. This has led one notable military analyst to put Italy forward as a model of counterterrorism for the world.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter @tdwilliamsromeOver the past 14 months Donald Trump has upended much of what we thought we knew about American politics. He won the Republican nomination easily with no prior political experience, no filter, and an entirely new kind of political platform–one that, in an almost total rejection of conservative orthodoxy, is anti-free trade, isolationist and doesn’t really seem to care that much about the size of government.
He’s also raised a crucial question: Is the Trump campaign about the man or the message? In other words, will Trumpism survive Trump?
Many in both parties are hoping for the former–that the Trump campaign turns out to be the brief, dramatic story of a celebrity sweeping up primary voters with lavish but empty promises, and that his harsh “America First” worldview will disappear once it’s no longer being flogged from a jet plane by a billionaire TV star.
For people who feel that way, I have some discouraging news. As part of a broad study of white working class politics, I solicited white Americans’ support for Donald Trump, but also for a hypothetical third party dedicated to “stopping mass immigration, providing American jobs to American workers, preserving America’s Christian heritage, and stopping the threat of Islam”–essentially the platform of the UK’s right-wing British National Party, adapted to the United States. How many white Americans do you think would consider voting for this type of protectionist, xenophobic party?
65 percent.
Clearly, Trump’s allure is bigger than Trump himself.
Who would the new party’s supporters be? What I found in the study is that much like those who support the Trump campaign, those who would consider voting for this third party are more likely to be male, of lower socioeconomic status, without a university education and ideologically conservative–in other words, the Republican Party’s longtime base. They are also more likely to be young (under 40 years old)–so this is not a phenomenon likely to pass quickly.
{snip}
From six months of fieldwork in post-industrial cities in the British and American Rust Belts, I observed a remarkable sense of loss. Lost wealth in many cases. But more poignantly, I observed a sense of lost status. And while some white Americans were concerned by their loss of political status as a constituency with power, many others were more frustrated by their loss of social status–their drift from the middle of American society to its periphery. Once America’s backbone, many white working class people now feel like an afterthought.
Among young, white, conservative, working class survey respondents, those who felt a sense of loss in political power were about 30 percentage points more likely to support Donald Trump, 33 percentage points more likely to support the Tea Party and 23 percentage points more likely to support the hypothetical third party.
Among the same group of respondents, those who felt a sense of loss in social centrality were about 26 percentage points more likely to support Donald Trump, 34 percentage points more likely to support the Tea Party and 20 percentage points more likely to support the third party.
More than that, those with this sense of lost social status are more likely to perceive immigrants and other minorities to be ascendant. In short, they are feeling displaced.
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Original Article
Share ThisEddie Hutch Snr, pictured left, was reportedly shot nine times when four gunman burst into his home in Dublin. His death is said to be part of a gangland feud in the Irish capital
Irish capital Dublin is braced for all-out gang warfare after the city's tit-for-tat murder spree spiralled out of control with another brutal gun killing.
A brother of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch was shot dead in retaliation for the bloodbath at the city's Regency Hotel on Friday, in which gangster David Byrne was murdered ahead of a boxing match.
The four-man hit on Eddie Hutch Snr was ordered by the Kinahan crime cartel, to which Byrne was affiliated.
Father-of-five Hutch, in his late 50s, was reportedly shot nine times as he prepared to leave his home in the North Strand, Dublin 3, to go to the pub just before 8pm.
It is the third murder in the escalating feud - and came despite a massive police (Garda) presence on the streets.
Police chiefs have now ordered roadblocks be put in place and have increased surveillance on high-profile targets amid fears of further violence.
A prominent member of the Kinahan gang, 'Fat' Freddie Thompson, was reportedly arrested last night following a high-speed chase through the city. He was later released pending inquiries.
Thompson, a cousin of David Byrne, is believed to have recently returned to Ireland from Amsterdam, where he went after his release from a jail sentence for a pub brawl.
An elite Garda unit armed with high-powered weapons is being permanently set up in the city in the wake of the gangland bloodshed.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald signalled a green light for the new dedicated response team today and armed police were seen on the streets this afternoon.
A policy similar to that used to rein in feuding gangsters in Limerick in recent years will also be deployed in the capital amid growing fears of a murder frenzy.
The Kinahan crime cartel, which has its headquarters in Spain, sparked the feud by shooting dead Gary Hutch last year.
The Regency Hotel shooting was in revenge for this killing, and was blamed on the Hutch gang.
In return, the Kinahans chose to target the Hutch family.
Last night, four masked men burst into Eddie Hutch's home in Poplar Row and shot him dead in his hallway at 7.45pm.
Irish police (Gardai) pictured at the scene of the fatal shooting in Dublin tonight, where Eddie Hutch Snr is believed to have been killed in revenge for last Friday's attack on the Regency Hotel
Police forensics officers removed Mr Hutch's body this morning after the shooting last night
Police say at least four gunmen broke into the Dublin home of Mr Hutch and fatally shot the 59-year-old
It is understood Mr Hutch senior was shot nine times in the head and upper body.
The four men had pulled up in a Volkswagen Passat outside the house and kicked in his front door. They shot him dead in the hallway as he was about to leave.
Senior sources say that other members of the victim's family had been encouraging him to move to a safe house because of fears of reprisals in the feud.
However, as he was not considered by gardaí to be a serious or active criminal, he had not left his home, which he shares with his partner Margaret.
He has some convictions, including fraud offences, but gardaí believe he was a'soft target' and 'easy to get at'. It was for this reason that he was targeted by Kinahan cartel.
A source said: 'He was shot dead by members of the Kinahan gang, undoubtedly. They didn't care which Hutch they shot dead, they just wanted to get one of them.
'They wanted a Hutch scalp and any Hutch would do. The Monk or the victim's son, Eddie Hutch Jnr, would have been much harder to get as they have heightened security around them.
'But Eddie Snr wouldn't have been as concerned for his safety, because he essentially was not involved in this feud and was not involved in criminality.'
Victim Eddie Hutch Senior, pictured (left) with his son Ross, was targeted in the tit-for-tat violencePictured right is his gangster brother Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch
'Fat' Freddie Thompson (right) - a friend of David Byrne (left), who was killed in the boxing weigh-in shooting on Friday - was questioned by police last night
A Volkswagen Passat, believed to be the getaway car, was found at a nearby location, sources say. A container of petrol was found inside but it was not set alight.
Police say they have identified most of those involved in Friday's attack but have made no arrests, in part because they suspect the attackers have fled Ireland.
Another of Hutch's relatives currently behind bars, Derek 'Del Boy' Hutch, was been moved to a secure wing of prison to deter assassins. He was convicted in 2010 of stabbing a man to death and attempted armed robbery.
CONTINUITY IRA CLAIM 'IS NONSENSE', SAY POLICE Gardai, the Irish police force, have dismissed as 'opportunistic nonsense' claims by the Continuity IRA that they were behind Friday afternoon's shooting spree at the Regency Hotel in Drumcondra. Senior gardaí attended a meeting at Ballymun station yesterday to discuss the gangland atrocity which saw one criminal - David Byrne - murdered and two of his friends injured. In a phone call to the BBC in Belfast, the Continuity IRA said they ordered the killing of Byrne using a four-man gang, some armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles. The dissident republican group claim Byrne was singled out on Friday as a reprisal for the killing of Real IRA leader Alan Ryan in Dublin in September 2012. But security sources say they are do not believe this claim, given that Byrne - a senior member of the Christy Kinahan crime cartel - is not linked in any way to Alan Ryan's murder. Security sources say that they will fully investigate the claims by the Continuity IRA, as they must follow up on every aspect of this investigation.
Just five days ago, David Byrne, 34, from Crumlin, was shot dead in the Regency Hotel attack.
He had been a key Dublin-based member of the Christy Kinahan cartel for a number of years and was considered a serious criminal.
Two of his close friends were also shot in the daylight attack and were lucky to survive.
Gardaí believe Byrne was shot dead by members of the Hutch crime gang.
The hotel shooting was direct retaliation against the Kinahan crime syndicate from associates of murdered criminal Gary Hutch, shot dead in Spain last year by Kinahan gang members.
The leader of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, today called on'mothers and grandmothers' of those involved to tell them to step back from the spiral of violence.
'The perpetrators are not idols or stars or heroes,' said Archbishop Martin.
'They are criminals who threaten not just public order but democracy and the rule of law and who have no care for anything except their own criminal interests.
'All of us have to remind them they are not untouchable.'
The first murder was claimed by a group purporting to be the Continuity IRA, a dissident republican splinter faction, but that drew scepticism from detectives immersed in gangland investigations.
The first claim of responsibility - attributed to dissident republicans and made with a code word to the BBC in Belfast - drew scepticism from seasoned commentators in Dublin while the top brass in the Garda said they were keeping an open mind and pointed to a 'criminal' element.
In a second statement, issued to the Irish Daily Mirror hours later and again purportedly from the Continuity IRA, dissident republicans dismissed the first claim as bogus.
Armed police were seen on the streets of Dublin today as officials sought to bring an end to the killings
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said: 'The gardai will have every resource that they need in order to have the kind of armed response that is necessary'
Roadblocks have been set up in parts of the city and a jailed relative of a victim has been moved for his safety
'The Continuity IRA wish to make it clear that we did not have any involvement in Friday's shooting at the Regency Hotel,' the second statement said.
'We have absolutely no involvement in criminal feuds. We see the false claim that the CIRA were involved in this act as another attempt to tarnish the name of the organisation.'
Gary Hutch was a nephew of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch and also a nephew of Eddie Hutch Snr, murdered last night.
Locals on Poplar Row in North Strand told the Irish Daily Mail that they heard shots fired before 8pm.
One woman who lives at the block of flats said: 'I heard all the sirens and came out to see what was happening. There was a swarm of Garda cars and ambulance crew.
'The man is known locally as 'Neddy' and he drove a taxi. With everything that went on last weekend we thought he'd cleared out but he came back tonight to collect something we heard,' said the woman.
'My kids often play outside that apartment so it's terrifying to think a group of gunmen burst into that apartment and gunned Neddy down.'
Both of the shootings took place in the north of the Irish capital, just a couple of miles apart
Flowers have been placed at the Regency hotel where a man was killed and two were injured on Friday
Family of victim Mr Byrne wrote tributes on notes with flowers after the killing during a boxing weigh-in
Two executioners dressed in SWAT-style police clothes are pictured storming the Regency Hotel in Dublin, where they shot dead gangster David Byrne (right) and injured two of his associates
Another local man added: 'The gardaí need to step up here, there's small children living in this road and any innocent child could have been injured.'
The getaway car was found in nearby St Patrick's Parade. The gang, in a panic to leave the scene, appear to have forgotten to burn it out.
Gardaí are hopeful of finding key forensic clues left behind. The murder victim's son - Eddie Jnr - is well known to gardaí.
Eddie Jnr, who has 189 previous convictions for crimes including theft and car break-ins, walked away from Winning Streak with €33,000 in cash and prizes after his younger brother appeared for him on the RTÉ show last September.
Former Dublin Lord Mayor Councillor Christy Burke said the community is in a state of shock after last night's shooting.
'I called for calm and no retaliations. This is going to add more misery to a community already struggling with crime. We are in shock,' said Mr Burke.
One of the boxers, pictured, was in the middle of his weigh-in in Dublin just as the gunmen opened fire
Amid chaotic scenes, the boxer and audience members fled through an emergency exit to flee the gunmen
Just two and a half hours before the murder, gardaí from across the six Dublin districts held a meeting at Ballymun Garda station to discuss how to contain the escalating feud.
Officers from each division had to submit a policing plan to contain the bloodshed in terms of monitoring the criminals involved and containing the violence.
Senior officers from the five other Garda divisions also agreed to provide a unmarked Garda car to Ballymun - because of lack of vehicles to monitor the escalating feud.
'But it was all obviously too little, too late. As senior gardaí sat in the meeting, a murder plot was being hatched and it couldn't be stopped,' said a source.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone who was in the area or may have information, to contact them at Fitzgibbon Garda Station on 01 666 8400, the Garda Confidential Line 1800-666-111 or any Garda Station.
Claims that the Continuity IRA were responsible for the Regency Hotel shooting have been disregarded in the wake of last night's murder.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the attack was 'deplorable' and would be meeting senior Gardai officials tomorrow
In a tweet, pictured, he called for the culprits to be 'taken off the streets'
Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan is expected to meet Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald today to discuss the murder.
Ms Fitzgerald said last night: 'Tonight's fatal shooting in Dublin is another deplorable example of the ruthlessness of gangland criminals.
'It seems that some gangs are intent on waging a feud where human life counts for nothing.
'The gardaí will take all necessary steps to try to prevent further bloodshed but we have to recognise the challenges they face.'
Kingpins in a long-running and bloody feud: Who's who in the gang war tearing Dublin apart?
THE KINAHAN CRIME CARTEL Christy Kinahan Originally from St Teresa's Gardens in Dublin's south inner city, the 'Dapper Don' now lives in a £4.5million villa in Spain's Costa del Sol where he is head of one of the biggest wholesale drug businesses supplying narcotics into both Ireland and the UK. Kinahan, speaks several foreign languages, including Dutch and Spanish, and has managed to avoid arrest despite massive police surveillance. Daniel Kinahan The eldest son of Christy, Daniel is believed to have inherited much of the day-to-day running of the Kinahan empire from his father Christy. He lives along with his father in the Costa del Sol, where he is also a boxing promoter, and it was in that role that he returned to Dublin for last Friday's ill-fated weigh-in at the Regency Hotel. He escaped through a window with a minder when the shooting started. Fat Freddie Thompson A well-known member of the Kinahan cartel, he is a cousin of David Byrne who was shot on Friday. Thompson has many convictions and was sentenced to 20 months last year for his part in a pub brawl. Despite reports that he had fallen out with the Kinahans, he is believed to have returned to work for them since his release. Liam Byrne A brother of murder victim David Byrne, he is believed to be one of the Kinahans' key henchman who plays a role in their drug business. He is reported to have been involved in sending arms into Ireland and was questioned by UK police in 2012, along with Thompson. However, they were never charged. He has convictions for firearms offences and assault. Paul Rice Another Kinahan henchman and feared career criminal. He was jailed for ten years in 1995 for armed robbery of a bank. Astonishingly, he escaped on horseback after the raid.
GERRY HUTCH'S ASSOCIATES Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch Famously nicknamed 'The Monk', this former criminal is from Dublin's north inner city, he is believed to have been deeply involved in two of the biggest armed robberies in the history of the State, which he denies. A brother of Eddie Hutch who was murdered last night, he is an uncle to Gary Hutch, whose murder in Spain last September kick started the recent spate of bloodletting. Eddie Hutch senior Last night's murder victim was a brother of The Monk, and also an uncle to the late Gary Hutch. He is believed to have had very little involvement in crime. His death indicates how desperate the rival faction were to gain revenge against anyone connected to the Hutch family. Eddie Hutch junior A son of last night's victim, Edward has a series of convictions, including for theft and motoring offences. He came to national prominence last year when he won a place on RTÉ's Winning Streak. His brother Ross took his place, easing the potential for embarrassment for the national broadcaster. He won €8,000 in cash and a car worth €25,000. Derek 'Del Boy' Hutch Another nephew of the Monk, he is currently serving a 16-year sentence for his role in cash van robbery. He was attacked in October of last year by two inmates who are believed to have slashed him on the arm with a shiv. In 2011, he also got a six-year term with four suspended for the manslaughter of Alan Donoghue, who was stabbed by Del Boy and an accomplice on St Stephen's Day 2007 in Co. Meath.
Boxing referee reveals chilling moment two men dressed as Gardai and armed with AK47s stared him in the eye before shooting another man dead at the weigh-in
A veteran boxing referee who was officiating at a weigh-in in Dublin when gunmen burst in and shot dead a gangster has told of his terror.
Mickey Vann was due to referee the fight between Irish boxer Jamie Kavanagh and Portuguese Antonio Joao Bento on Saturday night.
But the weigh-in for the fight, held in a Dublin hotel on Friday, turned into a murder scene after a team of gunmen, two dressed as police swat team members and another dressed as a woman killed alleged drug dealer David Byrne.
Mickey Vann (centre, in 2001) was officiating at the weigh-in on Friday where David Byrne was shot dead
The shocking scene was witnessed by British boxing referee Mickey Vann, who revealed he stared into the eyes of one of the killers.
Mr Vann, 72, told the Yorkshire Post: 'Two of them came in carrying Kalashnikovs. They had scarves round their faces, but they were dressed as Gardai. They walked in very slowly, with their rifles pointed down. They were looking at people on the floor, then one of them looked at me.
'I looked down, then they spotted a guy in a grey tracksuit standing four or five feet from me, lifted their rifles and shot him. There were two or three shots, really loud, then they just walked off.'
Mr Vann gave a statement to police before flying back to Britain when the boxing matches were cancelled.
The body of David Byrne lies slumped against the hotel reception desk after he was gunned down during the boxing weigh-in in Dublin on Friday
Two other men, who remain in hospital, were seriously injured by the four-strong gang, three of whom were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Another witness told the Irish Independent that two gunmen entered the building and began shooting - while another two, including the man dressed as a woman - cornered those fleeing on the steps outside.
The witness explained: 'I heard a man dressed as a woman say 'he's not f****** here, I can't find him.' He was wearing a long blonde wig.
'The other guy roared back 'get the f*** out of here' just as the other two came out the front door and came out past me and went down to the silver transit van and they all bundled into this van.'
Gardai Chief Superintendent Barry O'Brien said it was a 'particularly nasty incident' that had involved'severe weapons'.Close
For women even just imagining trying on swimsuits can cause a bad mood, according to a new study.
It increases feelings of self-objectification, which basically reduces women to thinking they're only being evaluated as objects.
"Self-objectification has a variety of negative consequences - always worrying about how you look, shame about the body, and [it] is linked to eating disorders and depression," the lead researcher Marika Tiggemann, a psychologist at Flinders University in Australia, told LiveScience.
In an attempt to test the impact of clothing on self-objectification, the researchers had one hundred and two female undergraduates imagine themselves in four scenarios - wearing a swimsuit in a dressing room, wearing a swimsuit while walking down a beach, and wearing jeans and a sweater in similar settings. They then filled out questionnaires about mood, feelings about the body and self-objectification.
Unsurprisingly, it was more stressful imagining wearing a swimsuit than jeans and a sweater.
What is more interesting was that women were more stressted out when they imagined wearing a swimwuit in a dressing room than on a beach where they might expect people would judge their bodies.
That result shows how much self-objectification is truly an internal process.
"The physical presence of observers is clearly not necessary," authors was quoted as saying by LiveScience. "More particularly, the dressing room of a clothing store contains a number of potentially objectifying features: (often several) mirrors, bright lighting, and the virtual demand that women engage in close evaluation of their body in evaluating how the clothes appear and fit."
The study is published in the journal Sex Roles.
See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About ObamacareOf the three criminals collectively referred to as "Remnant's Unholy Trinity of Crime", Lady Lilac is both the most feared and the most mysterious. Dwelling in an ancient |
vertical alignment:
draw_set_color(c_white)//sets color to white
draw_set_valign(fa_top)//aligns vertically
draw_set_font(fHUDSmall)//sets font to fHUDsmall
Time Lines
When developing a game, sometimes you may want something to happen at a certain time, this is where time lines come in. After creating a time line a properties box pops up. To add a an event click “Add”, then type in how many steps after the game starts to execute the action. A step is basically a frame, so if the room speed is 60 frame a second, there are 60 steps per second. If you want to have something happen five seconds after the game starts, just multiply 5 by 60. All of the events and actions from creating an object are present and act the same. An object needs to initialize timelines, they do not start when the game starts.
Objects
These are the actual objects that will show up in the game. While many of the objects in the game will use the sprites created earlier, some may not and may just be used to initialize variables and set game preferences. GameMaker: Studio is event based, which means there needs to be an action for a reaction. To add an event click “Add Event”, this brings up a screen that let’s you choose what type of input or event will cause the action specified to happen. This may include when the room starts the GUI is drawn, or when the screen is touched something happens. The possibilities are endless. Each panel in the image above has a bunch of different actions that can be dragged and dropped into place with specified values. The best way to learn what each action does is to go in and experiment, most of the actions are self explanatory, while others need a lot of practice to use correctly. The sample game that will be explained later in this article will not be using any of these actions and will be coded using GameMaker Language, since it is easier for Android and other touch screen operating systems.
Rooms
This where the actual game UI is made. Each screen, including levels and menus will be in a room. Creating a room is the same as everything else in the sidebar, just right click and click new. Once a room is created you can place objects in the locations needed. This could include building the platforms for a platformer as well as objects that draw the GUI or the main character. The room settings pane has six tabs: backgrounds, physics, objects, views, settings and tiles. The most used ones are background, objects, views and settings. The backgrounds tab is where you can set the background for that specific room. The object tab is where objects can be selected and placed in the room. Views can be tricky, the basic understanding of how this works is if the target device has a screen resolution of 1080×1920 in portrait but the room size is 1080×3000 the game will just show the specified dimensions relative to the y value set in the views tab. This enables a scrolling effect that can follow an object or just stay stationary. This can be useful for games that have enemies coming from above or for platformers. The object following part of the views tab allows the game to follow a given object, this is not a replacement from a standard view setup because it dynamically changes the camera to follow the object and can be kind of wonky without coding something better/custom.
Included Files
GameMaker is not limited to files that are created in the program itself. Using this option the developer is able to add any other files needed to make the game work properly. These files may include bundled items with *.exe and HTML files. This shouldn’t be needed for Android.
Extensions
These.GMEZ files can add a lot of functionality to GameMaker: Studio including adding GameMaker Language functionality. The most important thing that pertains to Android is the ability to add ads to the application. YoYo Games offers a few tutorials on how to add ads here.
Macros
A macro is something that holds a constant value globally in GameMaker. Some built-in examples include “vk_…” variables for the keyboard and “c_…” variables for colors. The developer is able to define constant global variables as macros in this section. To create a new macro right click on the folder like you would on any other folder in the side bar then once the box pops up click “add” to add a new macro, then just type in a name and a value.
The green area in GameMaker: Studio is just open space dedicated to showing the latest YoYo Games news when the app first opens to other things like rooms or object properties. It all depends on what you are working on at that specific moment.
A brief intro to GameMaker Language
GameMaker: Studio offers it’s own programming language for more control than the basic drag and drop actions. To add code into the game, do as you normally would to add an action, but instead of adding one, go to the “control” tab on right and go down to code and drag in the white piece of paper. This brings up the code editor. GML is not difficult to learn and is much easier than Java or C++. This is because GML is not an Object Oriented Programming language and therefore doesn’t include things like classes or methods. This leads to simpler code. Also, there is no need to declare data types in GML. For example if I wanted to declare a few int types and Strings in Java, I would have to explicitly define the data type, where as in GML this is not the case.
Java:
int x = 0;
int y = 42;
String s = "Android Authority";
String str = "Alex";
GML:
x = 0;
y = 42;
s = "Android Authority";
str = "Alex";
Another side note is that the semicolon “;” is not required after each statement like it would be in Java or C++. Even so, it is good practice to use the semicolon after each statement, not doing so may lead to errors later on that can be avoided. Assuming basic knowledge of Java and the like, GML will not be difficult. Pretty much all the the basic logic from those languages apply here, including “=”, “==”, “+”, “-” and so on. The program structure is also basically identical with “{” starting blocks and “}” closing them. The sample game will go into a lot more detail when it comes to GML. For basic games that do not require anything special, there is no need to use or even think about GML, as most of the functionality is available with the drag and drop interface.
Creating a basic game
To help you get started with game development, I have uploaded a complete game to GitHub. It is a basic game based off Fruit Ninja complete with sounds and animations. This game was originally made by YoYo Games, but it has been modified to include comments on why everything is set up the way it is. The font used is “Gang of three” which is a free font. This isn’t necessary to download unless you want to modify the in game text. This game has been tested to work on both Windows and Android. Almost every line of code in each action is explained in each code file.
Exporting the GameMaker file to an apk file
Creating an.apk file is very simple, just go to File> Create Application. This will make an.apk that you can upload to the Play Store. However, there are a few steps that need to be taken before the app should be made. First, go into “Global Game Settings” in the sidebar then click on “Android”. From here there are four tabs that need to be completed, this includes the name, version and package name of the application in the General tab. In the Graphics tab the app icons, texture size and screen color depth can be chosen. The social and permissions tabs handle leaderboards and permissions respectively. Once all of this is filled out, the application can be exported as an apk and uploaded to the Google Play Store.
Wrap-up
Developing for Android is hard, especially when it comes to beautiful games. Thankfully engines like GameMaker: Studio exist that make game development a lot easier. With its drag and drop interface, creating games for Android has never been easier. With the addition of GML, the possibilities are endless and there should be no limit to what is possible. If you have any questions on the game feel free to comment below.In the 63rd minute on Saturday, Justin Meram notched his first career MLS Cup Playoffs goal after pouncing on a squared ball in the box from Wil Trapp, who showed great soccer awareness in helping make the goal happen.
The play starts when Andrew Farrell clears a ball from inside his own box by booting it skyward. It falls to Trapp, who heads backward to maintain possession. Here's Trapp at the moment he first plays the ball:
Remember what Thierry Henry said about Trapp being the key to the Crew because he builds the play out of the back? Here's a good visual example of exactly that. After heading this ball to Steve Clark, Trapp hustles backward in order to collect the pass and start the play forward once more:
After a few passes, the ball eventually finds Federico Higuain, who attempts a through pass to get the ball forward. We don't have a clear look at the run made by Aaron Schoenfeld; here's the first instance when he appears in the frame (circled at left). With four Revs in or around the line connecting Higuain to Schoenfeld, you can get a sense of the difficulty of this pass and the vision required by Pipa to even attempt it:
It's understandable that the Revs do a good job to cut this out, but not entirely, as the ball comes back to Pipa, who elects to play it out wide to Hector Jimenez. Now, the Crew has a good chance to get the ball into the box. When you watch this replay back in motion, you can see the urgency with which the Crew attackers hustle to get in position when it's clear that this is a good opportunity to cross.
Here's the moment that Jimenez serves the ball inward:
Looks pretty good for Columbus. Note Waylon Francis aggressively pressing forward from the leftback spot, as well as Trapp getting forward as well. The latter ends up making the difference for the Black & Gold. The Revs again do a great job to win this ball in the air, but unfortunately for New England, it falls right to the feet of Trapp in a dangerous position. He has options:
I see three realistic options that Trapp has here, at the moment he makes his first touch, He could attempt to hit a looping ball to the back post, he could try to blast it on goal, or he could lay it off to Higuain. For as intelligent a player as we know Trapp to be, he's not typically in a position where he has to make split-second decisions in the box, which makes his vision and ability to choose the third option all the more impressive.
Here's the very moment he squares the ball. Tight window, huh?
In fact, it's so tight that Scott Caldwell narrowly gets a touch on it, sending it wayward from Higuain and toward Justin Meram:
And it's a clear finish from 10 yards or so:
It's a shame that the deflected ball caused Trapp to lose an assist, because his awareness and the decision to play the difficult ground pass to the center of the box makes the play for the Black & Gold.May is our meteorological bridge from spring into summer. We typically see quite a bit of spring-time variability during the month, which delivers a few chilly days along with summer-like warmth, and even our first 90-degree temperatures of the season (although the associated humidity is usually much drier than core summer levels).
Our current estimate is for warmer than normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.
For reference, here are the 30-year climatology benchmarks for Reagan National Airport for May, along with our projections for the coming month:
Average temperature: 66 degrees; Forecast: 67-69 degrees
Average precipitation: 3.99 inches; Forecast: 3.75 or less
However, even though May aims to be drier than normal, the result is probably still wetter than April was (3.41 inches).
Let’s discuss the primary factors utilized for the May outlook.
Warmer head start again: Just like April, the first two weeks of May should be warmer than normal in the Mid-Atlantic. The short-to-medium guidance favors a healthy surge of 80s (two to four days of it!) next week which will offer a big head start for a warmer than average May. The second week of May doesn’t look quite as warm, but could still lean warmer than normal before we see chances of some cooler weather returning by the third and/or fourth week of the month.
[April ended warmer, wetter than average]
Long-range: Here is the most recent long-range model forecast from the National Weather Service CFS. It favors a seasonal to warm East, while the wetter weather resides primarily across the South. Even California’s Sierra Nevada may get some additional and much-needed rain or snow.
Ocean and atmosphere: We’re still following a strongly positive Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in the North Pacific as well as a weak El Niño situation in the tropical Pacific. Recently, the El Niño has strengthened and sits on the fence between weak and moderate intensity. We have had ten May months since 1950 with weak Niño intensity or higher. Six of those cases resulted in warmer-than-normal temperatures at National and four were cooler-than-normal.
[The strangest snowfall record ever]
Given our warm head start and warm-leaning model guidance shown above, the majority warmer analog cases seem to have the better chance this month too. The average temperature anomaly of all ten cases is +0.6 degrees warmer than normal. Precipitation was actually more clear-cut, with 80 percent of the cases drier-than-normal at National. The mean departure was 1.24 inches drier-than-normal.
Now, we’ve had a wetter start to 2015, so we can probably absorb a slightly drier month ahead (although the forecast and May typically are both wetter than April). As you can tell from the CFS forecast above, the boundary between a drier Mid-Atlantic and wetter Southeast is fairly tight; one storm track shift on one week could tip us over to the wetter side.
When looking nationally, we found that a cool/wet Texas and warm Pacific Northwest carried the higher confidence, while the Midwest to East were trickier, which means our confidence is on the low side for this outlook.
Similarities to 2014: Last spring was also extremely variable, and April-May 2014 ended warmer than average, and we seem to be in the same situation this year.
We continue to see frequent high pressure ridging over the Alaska area (like last winter and last year), but the duration of the ridging has been briefer, and the split jet stream flow from the Pacific Ocean tends to dilute its impact compared to the colder periods of the winter. This leads to brief cool periods that simply prevent warmer patterns from completely dominating.
The one difference from 2014 we expect is a drier Mid-Atlantic as the Southeast could see more precipitation instead.
(Commodity Weather Group)
(Commodity Weather Group)
National Weather Service
Here are the latest forecasts from the National Weather Service issued late yesterday. They favor higher chances for warmer-than-normal temperatures like we do, but do not make a call on precipitation. As noted above, May with an El Niño tends to favor a wetter south and so do they, especially toward Texas and the Southern Plains — an area that has also been suffering from drought in recent years. You can read the Weather Service’s forecast discussion here.
April outlook verification
This past month was a lower confidence forecast given all the mixed signals and pattern variability. We were not as confident as the more successful March outlook. Nonetheless, we were able to get the general directions of both temperature and precipitation correct (warm and wet).
Here is the summary from last month’s outlook with actual outcomes in bold:
Average temperature: 56.8 degrees; Forecast: 57-58 degrees
Actual: 59.4
Average precipitation: 3.06 inches; Forecast: 3.15 inches or more
Actual: 3.41
Average snowfall: Trace; Forecast: 0 to trace
Reality: 0 (oh well!)
The forecast for a warmer and wetter April worked out correctly for Washington, D.C., but since we missed the average temperature by about 1.4 degrees to the warm side, I’d say this forecast gets an A-. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.Robert James Freemantle AGE System, News 2015, AGE, christ pramas, GM Screen, Jack Norris, Rulebook
It is my pleasure to talk to you about the future of the RPG we have in common, Dragon Age.
Green Ronin’s Captain at the helm and all round game design virtuoso Chris Pramas has just spoken of his plans for the company in 2015, with a heading of course including the Dragon Age, and indeed that of AGE as a system.
You can of course read his article here – http://greenronin.com/blog/2015/01/19/green-ronin-in-2015/
but to summarise things for you:
Sets 1-3 are out of print and never to return. They will be replaced by a full 400 page core rulebook, currently in layout stages. The book will also contain a new intro adventure, replacing ‘The Dalish Curse’.
A new Game Master’s kit, containing a brand new adventure. Let’s be honest, our old one is based on the game’s first five levels, so this was a decent idea.
No longer a sole focus on the 5th blight, with various options now open – including a new sourcebook specifically for the Inquisition time frame.
More support for the previously started PDF releases ‘Faces of Thedas’, a series where known characters from the Thedas mythos were put into stats for your usage, should you so wish. But here’s the big news, it too is planned as a collected book.
Then there’s the new mode of enemy type grouping for the bestiary and threat level ordering. Threats of Thedas will no doubt come as a welcome purchase so that GMs can have better indication on what is a suitable fight for a given level of party. This is of course a luxury that the likes of “That well known D20 game” have enjoyed for so long.
Chris Pramas further elaborated on the generic fantasy AGE setting in the pipeline, hopefully to appear around May 2015. It’s going to be sweet for them not being slowed by approval requirements to a licence holder, and a benefit to the content starved GMs of you out there, who will undoubtedly consider buying much of those releases to use for existing Dragon Age campaigns (I know I will!)
That’s the news from your Oracle, stay tuned for more from them, and more from us. Also, please feel free to submit any of your own ideas for articles, as I would love to get some of those wonderful GMs out there into the spotlight too.
See you at the table!
AdvertisementsOn a lackluster evening for Donald Trump, one fact stands out as particularly ominous: Trump won a massive victory among people who voted early in Louisiana. But among those who went to the ballot box on election day itself, Trump tied with Ted Cruz. That strongly suggests that Trump's campaign is taking on water.
Trump's evidently declining support probably has something to do with the sustained fire he's been receiving from Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. (Though those attacks have done nothing to buoy Rubio himself.) But Trump may have also made a political miscalculation over the past week or so, as well. He's become so confident in winning the Republican nomination, it appears, that he's aggressively moving to the political center. He's shaking the famed etch-a-sketch.
Consider: He lavished praise on Planned Parenthood during his Super Tuesday victory news conference. (Last summer, meanwhile, he said he supported shutting down the government unless federal subsidies to Planned Parenthood were scuttled.) He reversed his position on killing the families of terrorists. And most damagingly to his electoral prospects, given the theme he's built his campaign on, he promised "flexibility" on immigration.
All of that would be fine as a general election strategy, except Trump is being rather premature. While he does very well among independents, as Saturday's results demonstrated, Trump can't afford to surrender too many conservative votes yet. You have to win the nomination before you can etch-a-sketch in earnest. Trump, for all the victories he's notched so far, hasn't yet done that.UPDATE: Since this article was originally published, additional details have been made available on CodeLens for Git and.NET Memory Analysis, both of which are provided by Update 3.
Wasting no time after the recent release of Visual Studio 2013 Update 2, Microsoft has announced the first preview (CTP) of Update 3. This newest set of updates currently seems to be similar in size and scope to Update 1, bringing a limited set of changes as compared to Update 2.
The new features that have been announced cover several different areas. Developers with a multi-monitor setup writing Windows Store apps may find a new convenience item useful: the debugger will now remember which screen an app was last run on, reducing the amount of resizing and placement needed..NET Native applications targeting X86 can now be debugged within the IDE. A big change for CodeLens users is added support for author labeling and change-indicators when using Git repositories, previously only traditional TFS was supported. Finally, this preview provides enhancements to the deployment and management of configuration data with Windows PowerShell.
As usual with CTPs, this should be considered beta software and not installed on critical workstations. The CTP is available from Microsoft now. Full release notes for this CTP are available on the Microsoft support site.'I never thought he was capable of this': Horror of woman who 'heard wailing as her fiancé raped and strangled girl, nine'
Girl's father: I don't blame police
But furious mother says officers 'blew her off' after she reported neighbour
Fiancée: I heard screams... but thought it was just a neighbour arguing with their child
Suspect'sat down to dinner with fiancée just minutes after beating schoolgirl to death in basement'
Detectives discovered blood-soaked clothes in suspect's bedroom
Girl's badly-beaten body was found dumped in a bin
Charged: James Troutman allegedly raped and strangled the nine-year-old daughter of a neighbour then threw her body in a dumpster
The fiancée of a man accused of raping and strangling a nine-year-old girl has revealed she overheard the attack.
Heather Clemens was in the apartment directly overhead as young Skyler Kauffman was killed in the basement - allegedly by Miss Clemens' fiance James Lee Troutman.
She said heard a female voice 'wailing', along with screams, crashing sounds and someone crying, 'Nooooo!' according to a police complaint.
'I thought maybe it might have been a parent arguing with a child, and the child was going 'Nooooo,' like, 'Why are you taking my toy?'' Miss Clemens told KYW-TV.
'I thought any number of things at that point except what this turned out to be.'
She told the station that she felt disbelief and shock when Troutman was arrested.
'I was horrified that they actually said that he was the one who did it,' she said.
'Never in a million years did I think he was capable of doing this.'
She told another station: 'I felt like I was living with a stranger, a monster, maybe even a demon.'
The badly-beaten body of nine-year-old Skyler Kauffman was found wrapped in a blanket and thrown into a rubbish bin behind her apartment block in Souderton, near Philadelphia, after she failed to come home for dinner.
Police arrested 24-year-old James Lee Troutman when a detective spotted blood on his trainers, and allegedly found blood-soaked clothes stuffed into a hamper in his bedroom.
Scroll down for video
Victim: Skyler Kauffman pictured at Christmas, left, and at her eighth birthday party, right. Her neighbour has been arrested after allegedly raping her, strangling her and dumping her body in a rubbish bin
Innocent: Skyler Kauffman, nine, was found strangled in a bin behind the apartment complex where she lived in Philadelphia
'I was living with a monster': Heather Clemens claimed she had no idea that her boyfriend was capable of murder
Yesterday Skyler's mother, Heather Gebhard, said she believed the tragedy could have been avoided if police had listened to her. She said: 'They blew me off.'
She called police on April 18, after her daughter and a friend came home saying Troutman had locked them in his apartment, and only let them go when they started screaming.
Surrounded by hundreds of mourners at a vigil for her daughter yesterday, Miss Gebhard wept as she said police 'twisted everything my daughter said, they didn't believe her.'
She described Skyler as outgoing and friendly, and said 'it's like a nightmare. She was loved by everybody.'
But the girl's father, Eric Kauffman, said he believed it wouldn't have made a difference if police had arrested Troutman at the time
'I guess either way it probably would have happened,' Mr Kauffman told The Associated Press yesterday from the home he shares with his parents in Harleyville.
Troutman admitted he strangled Skyler with his hands and said her head hit the basement floor 'a couple of times at least', according to the arrest affidavit.
He told investigators 'it was like white-out' and he'snapped'. According to the affidavit he said: 'I got rid of her. Once I took her down [there], I knew she could get me in trouble.'
He allegedly wrapped her body in a blanket, carried her outside and threw her into a nearby dumpster, leaving a trail of blood behind.
Accused: James Troutman covers his face as he is led out of his apartment block in front of a jeering crowd following his arrest last year
Then he went back home, took a shower - and sat down to eat with his fiancée.
A huge search was launched for Skyler, described as an outgoing and friendly little girl, after she failed to come home for dinner.
Her mother called police at about 7pm, and they joined her family as they combed Souderton Garden Apartments, in a leafy suburb of Philadelphia.
Guilty: James Lee Troutman, 24, admitted he brutally raped and murdered 9-year-old Skyler Kauffman
Soon after they arrived, a neighbour called and said they had found a pool of blood in one of the building's communal basements.
According to Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, one of the detectives ran into Troutman and spotted what looked like blood on his right tennis shoe, which he claimed was from a nosebleed.
The officer searched his apartment and spoke to his fiancée, Heather Clemens, who said he had left home at around 5pm to 'play games on his cell phone.'
Just a few moments later, she heard a girl screaming, shouting and yelling 'no' over and over again.
Then she heard a wail, 'crashing sounds' and someone falling to the ground, Patch reports.
Miss Clemens told police she called Troutman, but he didn't answer.
He eventually called back and said he'd been out exercising at a nearby school, and told 'everything would be ok', according to the affidavit.
When Troutman arrived home, he appeared to be covered in mud, which he blamed on playing football.
Then the officer discovered a bundle of blood-covered clothes in his bedroom. He arrested Troutman, and shortly afterwards a colleague discovered Skyler's battered body inside the rubbish bin.
Blood was streaked over a water heater and along a path leading to from the basement to the dumpster.
Souderton Police Chief James P. Leary told the Philadelphia Inquirer: 'The child obviously struggled.'
A post-mortem showed Skyler died of asphyxiation, blunt-force trauma and sexually-related lacerations.
Yesterday it emerged Miss Gebhard had reported Troutman to police on April 18, after Skyler and a friend told her he had locked them in his apartment when they knocked on the door and asked to use the bathroom.
Party girl: Friends and family have paid tribute to Skyler Kauffman, nine, who they said was 'loved by everybody'
Inconsolable grief: Skyler's mother, Heather Gebhard, wept at a vigil last year as she described her daughter
The girls said the walls were covered with photos of naked women, and Troutman said he would'show them his bird'.
He allegedly only let them go when one began screaming, the Inquirer reports - but police failed to arrest him.
Yesterday the district attorney defended the decision not to arrest Troutman.
She said: 'You have to have a crime take place in order to file charges. Everyone did what they were supposed to do and unfortunately it wasn't enough to prevent the death of this child.'
According to Patch, she said: 'This is one of those terribly disturbing situations where it seemingly happens out of nowhere.
Horrific end: Detectives investigate the area around the bin where Skyler's badly-beaten body was found
Outraged community: A huge crowd yelled obscenities at Troutman as he was led to the courthouse for his arraignment last year
'No criminal history to speak of, and certainly none of the typical history that we see many times in cases with these kind of allegations.'
Troutman's only previous conviction was for shoplifting.
Skyler's death has badly shaken members of the tight-knit community, many of whom have children.
One, Corey Wagner, told the Inquirer:'Things like this just don't happen here. I just don't know what to think.'
'The last thing I would have thought is that they would find this child dead.
'This is a safe little community,' said Wendy Hansen, a 47-year-old mother of three girls who lives nearby.
'We're not going to tolerate this... It could have been any of our kids.'
Investigation: Police cordon off the area surrounding the dark basement where Skyler Kauffman was raped, strangled and beaten
In mourning: Hundreds of neighbours gathered outside Souderton Garden Apartments yesterday to hold a vigil for Skyler Kauffman, nine
Around 50 neighbours gathered to yell and jeer as Troutman, who wore a bullet-proof vest,was escorted in and out of his arraignment at a courtroom across the road yesterday.
He hid his face with his hands as the crowd shouted obscenities at him. One man yelled: 'Burn in hell.'
At the hearing, Troutman did not enter a plea or speak, except to acknowledge the charges. He is being held without bail.
Josh Piston, a neighbour, said Troutman had moved into the complex with his fiancée two or three months ago but he did not know them well. He said: 'They were quiet, kept to themselves,'
Failure to act? Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman defended the decision not to arrest Troutman three weeks ago
At the prayer vigil, many paid tribute to Skyler, who was described as a little girl who 'loved to play' by her father, Eric.
One family friend, Seward J. Foland, said:'She just had a smile that would not end.'
Her mother said: 'She's in heaven now. That's all I can say. She's safe.'
Skyler and her mother had lived with the Kauffman family most of the girl's life but moved to an apartment complex in nearby Souderton, in suburban Philadelphia, in January.
Troutman moved to the complex a short time later.
Skyler's paternal grandmother, Carol Kauffman, said the girl often visited the stairwell near where Troutman lived because she had a friend there. She called Skyler outgoing and fearless, traits she said may have worked against her.
'She was very trusting, but she absolutely spoke her mind,' the grandmother said. 'Maybe he took her into the basement just to talk to her and scare her and then he realized this little kid was not to be quieted down.
'No way he was going to be in trouble either for what he did a few weeks ago or what he started to do Monday,' Mrs Kauffman said.
She said her granddaughter had talked about the incident, but the girl was mostly enthused about calling 911. She did not report feeling any serious or sexual-type threats, although Mrs Kauffman was baffled that she had gone near Troutman's apartment again.
Photos of the Kauffmans' only grandchild fill their large suburban house, which they bought to accommodate their son's family after Skyler was born.
The photos show a gap-toothed, brown-haired girl with an impossibly wide smile in a witch's costume, playing jump rope, wearing a Brownie's sash, sitting with Santa.
'So here we are with a big house - and no Skyler,' Spencer Kauffman said.
Skyler's father, who was treated at a hospital Tuesday for a panic attack, said a photo of the man accused of killing his daughter is forever etched in his brain.
'I'm just getting more and more punished as each day goes by because some idiot couldn't take his anger out on something else,' he said.Capital Gate
Capital Gate, the iconic leaning building in Abu Dhabi, reached halfway point. The building, designed by international architects RMJM, will lean 18 degrees westward, 14 degrees more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
To make this possible, the central core of the building slants in the opposite direction to the lean of the structure, and it straightening as it grows. It sits on top of a 7-foot-deep concrete base with a dense mesh of reinforced steel. The steel exoskeleton known as the diagrid sits above an extensive distribution of 490 piles that have been drilled 100 feet underground to accommodate the gravitational, wind and seismic pressures caused by the lean of the building.
A gigantic internal atrium, including a tea lounge and swimming pool suspended 263 feet above the ground, has been constructed on the 17th and 18th floors, the halfway point of the 35-story, 525-foot tall tower.
Capital Gate will house Abu Dhabi’s first Hyatt hotel – Hyatt at Capital Centre, a presidential-style luxury, 5-star hotel and will provide 200 hotel rooms for Abu Dhabi and will serve ADNEC’s (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company) visitors and exhibitors as well as international business and leisure travelers.
Via Arch DailyDuring the Metrolinx Electrification Study, those of us who attended various workshops became aware that there was a parallel study of capacity issues at Union Station. The electrification plans are, among other things, in support of operating better service on GO generally, but if that service won’t physically fit through Union Station and its approach corridors, there’s a big problem.
That problem is independent of electrification per se because The Big Move from Metrolinx depends on substantially improved commuter rail service. No capacity, no additional service.
At the recent Metrolinx Board meeting, GO’s President, Gary McNeil, presented an update on GO operations and construction activity.
GO President’s Report & Presentation Deck
The report includes a reference to Union Station capacity:
… Retaining wall construction is well underway to allow for an additional track in this corridor. The Union Station capacity study has been completed, with the result that in the near term, there is capacity at this station to meet needs. With the start of design of double berthing and new south platform, this will provide access required for service expansions. This work is anticipated to be completed in the next five years. [Page 8]
After the meeting, I requested a copy of the study to learn what conclusions it might have reached. Various working papers from the study had been leaked, but they were neither definitive nor entirely coherent on how to deal with the problem.
Metrolinx has now replied that:
At this time, a detailed public component of the Union Station study is premature as we are undertaking on-going research. Specific information will most likely be available for the public when future potential projects develop from this study.
The purpose of the study is to assess the Union Station Rail Corridor (USRC) train capacity at four time points:
existing;
completion of planned infrastructure in 2015 and implementation for service improvements, including the ARL;
Electrification Reference Case (ERC);
and 2031 (Big Move planning document).
In doing so, we hope to identify opportunities to increase capacity by making more effective use of existing and planned infrastructure. We also hope to identify the infrastructure needed to address any capacity shortfalls. This study provided only a technical analysis, and Metrolinx will consider its opportunities after further assessment.
However, there is a good deal of material to get started on.
First off, the capacity problem is not some far-distant issue, but one that GO must address today.
Current schedules and operating patterns use all available capacity in peak times (24 GO Trains per hour in peak time). Bottlenecks are happening in the Union Station Rail Corridor (USRC), not in the Union Station train shed and there cannot be any additional peak trains without negatively affecting the on-time performance.
By 2015, there will 24 GO Trains per hour in peak time, plus 4 Air Rail Link trains. At this time, service levels can be accommodated with the planned infrastructure.
This means that if you were hoping for additional peak hour service in the next four years, you shouldn’t hold your breath. Existing runs may be extended to more remote destinations, but there isn’t capacity for more trains in that peak hour. This also means that the number of commuters entering Union is capped by what these trains can carry. Extension to 12-car trains will help, but that is of limited benefit on corridors that already have long trains.
Looking at the higher service level in the Electrification Reference Case, the study concluded that:
the service did not operate with an acceptable on-time performance level (based on the RTP/GO 2020 planning documents).
the ERC provided a conceptual service level, not an operational schedule.
with minor adjustments, an actual ERC schedule could function with an acceptable on-time performance.
[the service] requires a new south platform and changes to both GO and VIA operations.
up to 44 GO Trains per hour in the peak is the approximate capacity upper limit.
The Big Move requires an even higher level of service on the GO corridors than in the Electrification Base case, and this brings more challenges.
significant capacity shortfall inside and outside of the USRC
additional tracks under Union would need to be installed (4 tracks required). Entraces to the underground would likely be problematic as extra property is required in developed areas. The minimum |
immersive scenes.
This post is about developing the ability to use sense impressions and details effectively. There will be a few concepts discussed, and lots of exercises for practice.
Learning Goals
Understand the meaning and importance of sensory density; Develop range across sensory modalities, and awareness of options for increasing sensory density; Practice writing with high sensory density; Understand how distancing language reduces immersion; Practice avoiding distancing language; Understand salient details and telling details; practice using salient details and telling details.
Sensory Density
Sensory Density is the degree of compactness of different sensory modalities. A passage that only has visual sense impressions has low sensory density. A passage that engages multiple sensory modalities has high sensory density.
I could describe a walk through part of the city by showing the reader discarded shoes hanging from power-lines, old payphones caked with grime, a boarded up house on the corner, potholes. You’re beginning to see what kind of a place this is. But it’s not immersive description -not as immersive as it could have been if I also mentioned urine fumes from the sidewalk, the hacking coughs of old men, clouds of cigarette smoke -things that impinge on different senses.
A common rule of thumb is to engage three different senses to make a scene feel real.
The following lines of poetry have a very high sensory density:
All through the night the dead crunch pieces of ice from the moon. (Yannis Ritsos)
This line of surreal poetry, though not aiming to be believable, is vivid and evocative. Part of its strength comes from the density of sensory impressions. We have sight, sound, taste, temperature, passage of time, all engaged in the space of one sentence. It conveys a creepy sense of weary, dissatisfied restlessness, and maybe dread or existential angst. I don’t know what it looks like for the dead to crunch pieces of ice from the moon -and I’m not sure you could find pieces of moon-ice big enough to crunch, or how the dead might get those pieces, or how they would crunch them- but the surreal line comes to life because of the evocative sensory imagery.
Here is another example of high sensory density.
“The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.” (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde)
We can say that a passage conveys a sense impression to the extent that the reader is able to answer questions about the passage related to that sense. For the passage from The Picture of Dorian Gray, we could test what was conveyed by asking such questions:
Could you say what temperature the wind was?
How frequently it was blowing?
The sound it made?
The smell(s)?
What the studio looked like inside?
What it looked like outside, through the open door?
The passage manages to paint a vivid picture across several senses (and all of that from one sentence that is, grammatically, just about the smell). That’s sensory density.
Exercise – Sense Modalities
There’s way more than five senses. The point of this exercise is practicing with senses we might not normally consider, in order to expand our range with different sensory experiences. Some of these exercises will require you to really flex your descriptive and creative muscles.
There’s a table below with a series of different senses listed in the left hand column. For each one, your job is to come up with a description that uses that sense (write out a chart like this on a sheet of paper). Use your imagination to come up with any scene, setting, action, or object you want to describe. Or use any of the following prompts: piece of fruit, visiting a planet, magic spell, meeting an alien, fist fight, explosion, losing consciousness, stepping through a portal, skiing, falling asleep on a couch.
For example, in the “sight” row, you might choose to describe an apple using sight. For the “temperature” row, you might describe a cup of coffee. Use only one sentence per description. The purpose of this exercise is just to expand awareness of available sensory modalities, and to practice making descriptions using these different senses.
sense modality description that uses that sense sight sound smell taste touch proprioception temperature balance familiarity/recognition chronoception interoception (your choice) electroception
Exercises: Sensory Density
The point of these exercises is to practice sensory density. For each of the following prompts, write a description that engages three(3) or more senses. The main goal of this exercise is to practice coming up with different sensory impressions for the same scene. It is up to you to rely on your creativity to fill in the sensory details.
Additional instructions:
2 to 3 sentences in length per exercise
3rd person, past tense
The POV character is your choice
Prompts: (for each one, use three or more senses!)
Going to the dentist. Playing hockey outside. Trench warfare. Shopping at a large mall. Dumpster diving. Casting a magic spell.
Exercises: Sensory Density part 2 – specific challenges
For each of the following, render the given scene/action/object by using the specified sense(s). Some of these are super challenging. Some might require a little bit of research.
Additional instructions:
4 to 6 sentences in length per exercise.
3rd person, past tense.
When a specific sense is asked for, come up with a descriptive detail that makes that sense relevant. For example, if you are asked to use smell, you will have to invent some detail in your scene that can be smelled; if you are asked to use nociception, you will have to invent some reason why the POV character is in pain.
Exercises:
Render: dumpster diving, from the POV of a blind raccoon, using touch, smell, taste, and sound. Don’t use vision. Render: hunting shrimp, from the POV of a narwhal, using any combination of senses, but including salinity detection. Render: being abducted by aliens, from the POV of a farmer, using any combination of senses, but including sense of gravity, proprioception, chronoception, balance, and interoception (your choice). Make it weird. Render: running from the police, from the POV of a burglar, using any combination of senses, but including nociception and cardioception. Render: sick on a rollercoaster, from the POV of someone who ate too much cotton candy, using any combination of senses, but including taste, smell, and at least three different forms of interoception.
Salient Impressions
Salient impressions are the most powerful sensory impressions in a given scene or setting. They are the things that stand out to the viewpoint character.
Try to render salient sensory impressions for any scene or setting. Imagine yourself in place of the viewpoint character -or rely on a memory of something similar- and capture what draws your attention: in an outhouse, that might be the smell; in a subway, that might be the feeling of cramped bodies invading your personal space, or the jerk-and-stutter of the train while you search for something to hold for balance; if you step outside in winter, the salient impression might be the cold.
Because salient impressions are the ones that draw our attention, it makes sense for them to be included in your descriptions, not just because it helps render the scene, but because it increases psychological fidelity. Your prose will better match psychological reality if you focus on the sensory impressions that are more plausibly drawing the attention of the viewpoint character. And, conversely, immersion can be ruined by focusing on low-salience details when a high-salience detail is available (imagine reading a passage where the POV character is set on fire, and they describe the smell and the colours of the flame: immersion is guaranteed to be broken; the focus in this case should be on the heat and the pain, because of their salience).
Telling Details
The smell of flowers coming through an open window is a “telling detail”, because it also helps to illustrate a larger picture -we can picture the garden even though we are only given the scent.
Telling details are descriptions of smaller parts of the scene that help to paint a bigger picture. Unlike salient details, they are not necessarily the strongest sensory impressions. But telling details give an indication or suggestion of the larger scene, allowing the reader’s imagination fill in the gaps. For example:
The ascending-and-descending pitch of a race-car’s engine as it whooshes by. This detail is just about the characteristic sound. But it helps render the larger scene. We can picture the race-car. Maybe we can also feel the wind.
A single pair of sneakers squeaking on the basketball court, and the rhythmic bouncing of the ball. Again, this detail is just about the sound. But we can imagine someone practicing basketball by themselves on an empty -probably indoor- basketball court. We can picture their motions. The sound gives an indication of a larger scene.
Broken bottles and cigarette butts littering an apartment hallway. I don’t need to explicitly tell you that this is a dirty and run-down apartment. The telling detail informs you of the larger scene. If I asked you whether any of the lights are broken or burnt out, your imagination can probably supply the answer.
A trick for rapidly establishing a scene is to use one broad description, just to situate the reader’s imagination, and then supplement that broad description with one telling detail. The formula is: broad description plus telling detail.
Dave Chappelle used this technique with comedic effect (successful comedians are master story-tellers). He wanted to describe a particularly bad ghetto. This is how he set the scene:
We pulled up to an old rickety building[…]
That’s the broad description. Then comes a telling detail (which Dave Chappelle calls one of “the familiar symptoms of a project”):
A [expletive] crackhead ran this way [skittering noise][…] And then another one jumped out a tree [skittering noise][…].
You could think of “telling details” as “familiar symptoms” if you prefer Dave Chappelle’s terminology. He continues the routine by adding additional telling details to further colour the scene:
I look out the window. Remember, it’s 3 o’clock in the morning. […] I look out the window. There was a [expletive] baby standing on the corner. And the baby -the baby didn’t even look scared. He was just standing there.
It’s a funny picture, but it proves the point. When you want to describe a scene, give the broad description, and then colour it with “telling details” (or “familiar symptoms”).
Don’t over-describe. It is often better to let the reader’s imagination do the heavy lifting. Give them a telling detail and let their mind fill in the blanks.
Exercises: Telling Details
Your goal with these exercises is to rapidly establish a scene by using one broad description, and one or two telling details. You are practicing coming up with evocative details. They should be small details that help paint a bigger picture. Try to create as vivid a scene as you can by using small, suggestive details that create an impression of the larger scene.
Additional instructions:
1 to 2 sentences in length per exercise. Don’t cheat by using really long sentences. Part of the exercise is condensing your descriptions. Deliver a powerful punch by using telling details.
3rd person, past tense.
POV character is up to you.
Exercises:
Render: a medieval battlefield after a gruesome battle. Render: the lobby of a fancy hotel. Render: an island paradise. Render: a maniacal gang leader. Render: a bookish and nerdy university student. Render: a magical kingdom. Render: an evil kingdom of a dark lord. Render: a goblin with a heart of gold. Render: a prison with a bad reputation full of violent criminals. Render: the class clown.
Distancing Language (also called “filter words”)
Avoid using language like “he saw” or “she smelled” or “Billy heard” in your descriptions, and instead show the sensations directly. When you present a sensory impression by indicating that a particular character is the one sensing it, you place that character as a barrier between the reader and the experience. This distances the reader from the experience. This is called using “distancing language” or “filter words”. It makes the reader experience less immediate and less immersive.
When you are editing your prose, look for distancing language and get rid of it. When rendering a sensory detail, you don’t need to indicate which sense is being engaged, or who is doing the experiencing. I don’t need to say “the smell of urine fuming from the sidewalk” -by mentioning “urine fumes” the sense modality is implied; I don’t need to say “Billy smelled urine fumes” -if Billy is the point of view character, it is implicit that it is Billy who is experiencing those fumes. By indicating either of these things explicitly, you distance the reader from the experience, putting an additional layer between them and the experience.
Avoid distancing language whenever possible. Don’t say, “Billy saw a goat standing there.” Just show the goat. Leave Billy out of it.
Exercises: Avoiding Distancing Language
Fix each of the following passages by eliminating the distancing language. They are not good passages, and they need some revision. For some of them, you will have to be creative and invent your own details about the scene (eliminating distancing language is not always a simple matter of cutting words). Feel free to add or delete words as necessary, or completely rework the passage (as long as the gist is the same). Your primary goal is to make the passage feel more immersive by eliminating distancing language -but that will sometimes require inventing details.
Billy walked in to the barn. He could smell that the goat had left something for him. Gertrude jumped out of the plane. She felt the wind, and she saw the ground far below, but growing slowly larger. He felt a pull on his hand, like a magnet, sticking his hand to the rune-symbol on the wall. She walked outside. The temperature was very low, and the wind felt very cold on her face. (For this one, please also get rid of the word “very” both times it appears). X89’s cyber-sensors picked up the reading of an electromagnetic field. He could feel the buzzing of the field. The device must be nearby.
Review
Sensory density is the degree of compactness of different sensory modalities. Prose with a high sensory density will feel more real and immersive than prose with a low sensory density. A rule of thumb is to aim for three different senses.
Try to give salient sensory impressions. In addition to helping to render the scene, this increases psychological fidelity. Conversely, a passage that neglects a high-salience impression to focus on a low-salience one risks breaking reader immersion.
Avoid distancing language (filter words) like “he saw” or “she smelled” and instead show the sensations directly.
Use broad details to set the scene, and telling details to add colour to the scene. Don’t over-describe. Let the reader’s imagination fill in the scene based on your telling details.
In our exercises, we practiced eliminating distancing language, rewriting to increase sensory density, rendering a scene with high sensory density, using salient details, and using telling details.
Final Words
I hope you liked this post on sensory impressions. Please feel free to leave comments, questions, suggestions, etc. in the comment section.
This site is updated at least once a week with new content. Come back soon for more posts on writing craft or related topics.
If you want updates on articles like this one, join my mailing list.There are approximately 1,500 characters in the Valiant universe.[1] This is not a complete list in any way.
1-A
A [ edit ]
B [ edit ]
Balaam
Bazooka
Bear
Benito Carboni
Doctor Bev
Big Mean Monkey Head
Bionisaurs (Dinosoid)
Blast
Bloodshot (Angelo Mortalli)
Blowhard
Blur a.k.a. Parker Matthews
Parker Matthews Boaz
Boogieman
Buck McHenry (Geomancer of 1889)
C [ edit ]
Calamity a.k.a. Jane Ngo
Camouflage
Carmen Ruiz a.k.a. Carmen Mirage (Crazy Legs)
Carrera
Cinder [Marco Rosetti]
Chan
Charly Donovan
Chichak
Claiburne
Clay McHenry
Clemenceau
Coach Heinz
Cobrah
Colin King (Ninjak)
Constance Allen
Costantino
Crescendo
Crimson Dragon
D [ edit ]
E [ edit ]
F [ edit ]
Fire Angel (Gianna)
Fitzhugh
Flamingo (Charlene Dupre)
Flashbulb
Flatline
Flo
Fluffy
Fort
Frost
Frank Arcko
Frendy
G [ edit ]
H [ edit ]
H8
Hammerhead (Chris Eastman) of H.A.R.D. Corps
Harbinger, The
Harbingers
Harry Donovan
Hazey
Headbutt
Doctor Heyward
Hook
Hotshot
Hotwire
Hydrich
I [ edit ]
Ilysee
Immortal Enemy
Inga Dacia
Ishmael
Ivar, the Timewalker
Izak
J [ edit ]
Jack Boniface (Shadowman)
Jillian Alcott
Jim
Reverend Joe Earl Archer
Joe Irons
Jolt (Victoria Martinelli)
June Schneider
Juan Javier Caldone
K [ edit ]
Ken Clarkson
King Crab
Kris Hathaway
Krytos
L [ edit ]
Lana Heffner
Lauren (the stripper)
Law
Laws
Lazlo Noel
Leeja Clane
Livewire (Amanda McKee)
Longhunter (Israel Crockett)
Lord of the Fleas
Lounge Lizard
Lucinda Mendez (Geomancer of 2062)
Lummox
Lump
Lydia Polk
M [ edit ]
M’rrha (Maria)
Mad Cow
Mademoiselle Noir
Magnus, Robot Fighter
Magskrag
Mahmud
Makiko Minashi
Mallak
Maniac of H.A.R.D. Corps
Malev Emperor
Malevolents
Mallik
Map Giver
Marcia
Marty
Mary Donovan
Master Darque
Mama Nettie
Max St. James
Medoc the Red
Megan
Midnight Earl (Earl Simkus)
Mimsey
Mitch Donovan
Monique Lynn Levingston
Mosquito
Mother Nike
Mr. Twister
N [ edit ]
Nettie
Neville Alcott
Ninjak
O [ edit ]
Obadia
Outback
P [ edit ]
Q [ edit ]
Quantum
Queen
R [ edit ]
Rachel Hopson
Rage
Rai
Rampage
Randy Cartier
Ravenrok
Ravenwing
Regan Howell
Rebound a.k.a. Zach Helvin
Rentaro Nakadai (41st Rai)
Rexo
Ripsaw
Robert Folly
Rock (Joe Nicoletti)
Rockland Tate (Geomancer of the 41st Century)
Rolf (Dacia)
Rollergirl
Rotwak
Rubberneck
S [ edit ]
T [ edit ]
T-1
Takao Konishi
Takashi Nakadai
Tank
Taser
Tashi Khatun (Geomancer)
Tekla
Teresa Giardino
Tetsuwan Nucleo
Thelma Archer
Thomas Morgan
Thumper
Timbuc (York Timbuc)
Ting ( a.k.a. Master Ting)
Master Ting) Tintorrera
Todd Bevins
Tohru Nakadai (42nd Rai)
Tonguelasher
Torque (John Torkelson)
Torque Clane (Magnus's son)
Toyo Harada
Trenchmouth
Trinity Angels
Tsetse
Turok
Twin Bill
Two-Face
Tyger (Mira Choudhury)
U [ edit ]
Über-Sasquatch
Ularu a.k.a. The White Goddess
The White Goddess Una
Uzzi the Clown
V [ edit ]
Vekter
Vincent Van Goat
Vise
The Visitor
Victor Zeramiah Clane
Viva
W [ edit ]
Wassily Borkov a.k.a. The White Wolf
The White Wolf Weasel
Welt
William Ackerman
Willie Maye (Mae)
Willis (Willy)
Willow Talltree
Winged Cerebrum
Wipeout of H.A.R.D. Corps
Wisp
Woody (Henderson a.k.a. Woody Van Chelton)
Woody Van Chelton) Woody 2
Wormfeeder
X [ edit ]
Y [ edit ]
Z [ edit ]It's not every day that scientists get all bubbly.
Lawrence A. Crum, a physics professor at the University of Mississippi, was trying to record the sound of snowflakes hitting the surface of water to determine why, counter to logic, these fluffy, air-filled assemblies of ice crystals seem to make a lot of noise underwater. Several years ago, Crum got his big chance during a visit to Yale University in Connecticut.
After a dinner of pizza and beer, Crum heard television forecasters predicting snow for Baltimore. So he and a colleague borrowed the Yale engineering dean's van and equipment and went south in pursuit, but not before he picked up the phone and called colleague Andrea Prosperetti, Hopkins professor of mechanical engineering.
"He threatened to wake me up at 6 a.m.," Prosperetti remembers. "Thank God it didn't snow here. I kept sleeping and he kept driving."
As Crum recalls: "We asked if we could use his office or lab to do the measurements. But the storm went south and we couldn't find it, so we were chasing."
What Crum and his Ole Miss colleague Ronald Roy found that trip after rigging up acoustic equipment in a motel pool in Roanoke, Virginia, led to a research paper published in October in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Crum, now chair of the Acoustics and Electromagnetics Department at the University of Washington, is the study's lead author, in conjunction with snowchase colleague Roy, now at Boston University, and Prosperetti.
The journal article, also co-authored by Hugh Pumphrey of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, reveals a bit of the scientist's joy of discovery: Early snowfall data was "so unique and contrary to our intuitions and expectations that it has inspired us to accumulate data from a number of storms," the authors wrote. After studying such data, researchers believe the high-pitched sound Crum and Roy recorded is not caused by the impact of the flakes but by vibrating bubbles created after the snow hits the water's surface.
They had already detected a similar phenomenon in rainfall back in the 1980s. Prosperetti, a wizard theorist on the relation between bubbles and sound fields, had teamed up with Crum to publish groundbreaking research on the role of rain-induced bubbles in underwater noise. Among other tests, they used a high-speed camera to capture the bubbles. This time around, Prosperetti analyzed the acoustic signature of the snowflake noise recorded in Virginia; he found a similar "footprint." In both cases, the signatures revealed the typical features of pulsating bubbles. "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck," says Prosperetti.
It's an odd duck at that. "We think it is a bubble, but how can a bubble be involved? A snowflake is mostly empty. It's 10 percent water and the rest is air," Prosperetti says of the mystery. "As a snowflake deposits itself, there is no impact essentially. Leisurely, bumm, bumm, bumm, it drops down." A serenely quiet scene by any standard.
"But what the layer of water engulfs is not solid ice, it is engulfing the air of which the snowflake is made," he adds. As water melts the ice, a bubble remains, researchers postulate. Water surface tension and pressure then would cause the bubble to pulsate. Those pulsations, or oscillations, create the sound. "It's like beating a drum," Crum says.
Prosperetti (pictured at right) adds, "It's a high-frequency sound. It would sound like a hissing noise if we could hear it, but we can't." The sound, ranging between 50 and 200 kilohertz, is too high for human ears (which can normally hear nothing higher than 20 kilohertz). Snowflake screeching, which was first recorded in the mid-1980s, adds 30 decibels to the underwater environment. "It's the difference between a private conversation and a rock band," Crum says. It's unclear just how much it disturbs underwater animals, though porpoises can hear sounds at high frequencies, he says.
However, the noise does wreak havoc with underwater sonar equipment.
Wildlife researchers using sonar devices to count salmon in the Pacific Northwest, and U.S. Naval submarine officers using sonar to detect enemy subs, dread storms because raindrops and snowflakes have the potential to create "background noise," which could interfere with a sub's torpedo detection. Concerns about sonar detection gaps led the Office of Naval Research to fund Prosperetti's and Crum's work on underwater rain noise. The researchers suggest one possible solution: change the frequency range of fish finders and similar sonar devices.
Their findings could lead to other applications. Scientists need to measure rainfall in the oceans, an important factor in studying worldwide climatology. But gathering such data is difficult; oceans are big. Yet researchers could analyze the signature of bubble noise picked up by remote sensors to determine rainfall (in short, louder sound means heavier rainfall).
The next research step in the snowflake study? Using high-speed cameras to visually record snow bubbles. "In principle, what one would like to see is a snowflake caught in the act," Prosperetti points out. Trouble is, there isn't much of a practical demand for that verification. "This stuff is nice, but it's not by accident that there's no money in it," the veteran researcher says.
In the end, the four-university study can't help but be a bit of science for science's sake. Says Crum (who among other things has climbed onto the roof of his lab on Christmas Eve to record snowfall sounds): "When scientists get around each other and talk about things, they don't talk about girls and cars. They talk about how to find the next data point."
--Joanne Cavanaugh SimpsonNEW YORK—More people were using the mail to get high, and Jared Der-Yeghiayan knew it.
"We hadn't seen ecstasy being seized in letter-class like that in a long time," said the Homeland Security special agent. "Since I'd been at O'Hare."
Der-Yeghiayan was speaking on Wednesday from the stand in a Manhattan federal courtroom, where 30-year-old Ross Ulbricht stands accused of being the mastermind in the most successful drug-dealing website of all time, the Silk Road.
On a large screen on the courtroom wall, prosecutors showed a photo of a table full of more than 20 envelopes, with a few varying kinds of labels, all used to ship drugs. "This was just one day," said Der-Yeghiayan, who pursued narcotics investigations from his office at the Chicago airport. "We hardly had seizures of ecstasy in years past."
When his team did find such pills in the mail, they were generally one-offs in a hand-addressed envelope. By 2011, though, Der-Yeghiayan began to see plenty of letters coming from Europe and elsewhere with printed labels and fake business logos, like StudyAbroad.com, as return addresses.
By October of that year, Der-Yeghiayan had opened an investigation of Silk Road. It would ultimately lead him to a long relationship with the website: first as buyer, then as seller, and ultimately as a staff member, becoming friendly with—and getting paid by—Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR), the boss behind the site. Two years after he began seizing those stunning amounts of drugs in the Chicago airport, Der-Yeghiayan came to believe that DPR was Ross Ulbricht.
Der-Yeghiayan's last chat with Dread Pirate Roberts would take place on October 1, 2013. It ended when federal agents set upon Ulbricht in a San Francisco public library, grabbing his laptop while it was still open to the chat page.
Walking a jury down the Silk Road
Testimony today was partly the narrative of Der-Yeghiayan's investigation and partly a tour of the Silk Road. It was the jury's first look at the website.
The testimony, which began yesterday and continued throughout today, touched on some things not made public until today: private messages from Dread Pirate Roberts, secret staff-only chat areas, and DPR's guide for drug dealers, covering everything from packaging to "philosophy."
Der-Yeghiayan looks to be in his early 30s, with close-cropped hair, a goatee, and a light beard. On Wednesday, he wore a conservative black suit with a dark tie. Clearly an experienced witness, he shifted his gaze from the prosecutor to the jury as he answered every question.
Shortly after the investigation opened, Homeland Security agents began to make buys from the site. They would compare the drugs they seized, or bought, to Silk Road listings they had seen—and found match after match.
Ultimately, Der-Yeghiayan and his team made 52 undercover buys from the site, from over 40 distinct Silk Road dealers in 10 countries. All but one of the 52 purchases came through with real drugs.
The jury was walked through a few examples, like a chunk of brown heroin weighing.2 grams and shipped from the Netherlands. Der-Yeghiayan intercepted the package and took photos, shown to the jury today. The packaging was pro: the vacuum-sealed pouch wasn't visible behind a bluish sheet of paper, and the heroin was within not one but several plastic bags. Another photo showed cocaine wrapped in black foil.
In April 2013, the feds did another buy—a big one. This one was walked through more slowly so the jury could understand how Der-Yeghiayan bought bitcoins—and what they were. Der-Yeghiayan told the jury how he used the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange to turn $7,000 into 27.26610656 bitcoins, then logged into a Silk Road account he had taken over, called "dripsofacid."
At that point, the court reporter stumbled. "Sorry?" he asked.
"Drips—of—acid," Der-Yeghiayan said more slowly.
Then prosecutors ran through the various sections of Silk Road. The Silk Road "Community Forum" was divided into five sections: Security, Shipping, Drug Safety, Philosophy, and "Off Topic." The Philosophy section was held out to users as the "Home of DPR's Book Club."
"That's where they try to discuss how to use drugs safely, and just, effects of different drugs," was Der-Yeghiayan's description of the drug safety section.
"Has anyone tried MDMA from these sellers?" read a typical forum post, shown to the jury, which listed three Silk Road seller account names below the question.
On the site's wiki, jurors read about the site's built-in "tumbler."
"Instead of doing a transfer from one account to another, they put a lot of other accounts in between," Der-Yeghiayan said. "That masks who the buyers and sellers are."
"Avoid abandoned buildings or anywhere it would be suspicious to have mail delivered," read a wiki section called "Receiving packages."
"If you follow these guidelines, your chances of being detected are minimal."
From buyer to seller
Der-Yeghiayan also had access to at least one seller account, presumably from an arrest, called "SuperTrips." With that he was able to enter seller-only sections of the site.
On the Silk Road "Seller's Guide," the rules read:
Never ask clients for personal information
Under no circumstances should you save a copy of your client's address.
Publish a public encryption key in your user description on your settings page so your customers can send you their information encrypted if they wish.
No selling "out of escrow"
That last point was important. The Silk Road escrow system discouraged either side, buyer or seller, from ripping the other one off. Money was held by Silk Road until both sides were satisfied.
"Every caution must be taken to maintain the secrecy of the contents of your clients' package," advised another part of the seller's guide. "Creatively disguise it in such a way that a postal inspector might ignore it... It is your responsibility to stay up to date on the latest stealth packaging."
Sellers should print their mailing labels, not hand-write on substances, the guide insisted. When selling any substances that had an odor, "you MUST vacuum seal the package," DPR explained, not try to mask it with another pungent item like coffee.
The sellers' "contract" with Silk Road obliged them to "describe your items accurately and truthfully." Another part read like a corporate mission statement: "Treat your customers with respect. Go above and beyond for them."
Der-Yeghiayan read DPR's posts regularly. The site admin at first simply called himself "Silk Road," adopting the Dread Pirate Roberts name in February 2012, around when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began buying drugs off the site.
For a drug kingpin, DPR's tone was sometimes quite emotional; one imagines scenes with a therapist.
"Hey gang, really sorry for the dead time there!" the site admin wrote after an outage in June 2011. "This work is scary and exciting all at the same time, and I'm really very happy to be on this journey with you."
In another post shown to jurors, DPR waxed emotional about the success of his project:
It's great to see that my words are resonating with so many of you. It's a privilege to have a stage to speak from here. It doesn't get said enough, and it is hard to get across in this medium, but... I love you <3 Who knew that a softy could lead an international narcotics organization? Behind my wall of anonymity, I don't have to intimidate, thankfully. But yea, I love you guys. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being my comrades. Thank you for being yourselves and bringing your unique perspectives and energy. And on a personal note, thank you for giving me the best job in the world. I've never had so much fun! I know we've been at it for over a year now, but really, we are JUST getting started. I'm so excited and anxious for our future I could burst ;D
In a later message, DPR got angry responding to users who had complained about increases in the commissions he charged on each sale. He wrote:
When have I lied? When have I cheated or stolen from anyone here? When have I treated anyone unfairly? When have I lead you astray? Why do you turn on me now when I have poured my heart and soul into this community and project? 10% on $50 orders? We are talking about an extra $1.88! A $10 order? An extra 38 cents! Do you think this site built itself? Do you think it runs itself?... Do you have any idea the risk the people operating this site are taking? Do you have any clue what we've been through to get here today? Whether you like it or not, I am the captain of this ship. You are here voluntarily and if you don't like the rules of the game, or you don't trust your captain, you can get off the boat.
From seller to admin
By July 2013, Der-Yeghiayan had managed to take over the account of someone who was not only a Silk Road seller but one of several staffers. Adopting the identity of "cirrus," Der-Yeghiayan earned 8 bitcoins a week, about $1,000 at the time, to moderate forum posts. After several weeks, he got a raise to 9 bitcoins weekly. He kept getting the salary until the Silk Road site was shut down in October 2013.
"Cirrus has always been dedicated to our community at large," Dread Pirate Roberts explained in a private message sent to cirrus and a small group of other administrators. The message was sent shortly before HSI took over the account.
It wasn't clear from testimony today how Der-Yeghiayan was able to take the identity of the trusted cirrus; it may have been the account of an arrested user, or one who otherwise made a deal with authorities.
Cirrus was part of a group of forum moderators, along with three other trusted users: "inigo," "Libertas," and "samesamebutdifferent," who also went by SSBD. Those three were identified and indicted two months after Ulbricht was arrested.
"I had admin rights," Der-Yeghiayan explained to the jury. "I could search through the database of users, and I could edit, delete, and move posts on the forums." There were other things he couldn't do; the distribution of such powers on the site was by DPR, and DPR alone.
In late August, DPR charged cirrus with moderating a new part of the marketplace's discussion boards.
"You're going to be our quality control expert on this," DPR told him in a chat message.
"So, we're going to be pretty strict about what gets through?" Der-Yeghiayan wrote back, in his undercover persona Cirrus. "So basically, the discussions have to be connected to products, not just bitching?"
"Yes," wrote DPR. Users in the special forum should be "calm, polite, etc." This wasn't the general Silk Road forum, but a different one hosted on the marketplace, that only certain users had access to. "The forums are the backyard party," explained DPR. "This is the storefront."
From admin to arrest
Der-Yeghiayan didn't know who Dread Pirate Roberts was, and even after his extensive testimony, it still isn't clear how he found out. On the stand today, he said that an IRS investigator told him Ulbricht was the suspect.
Ulbricht was easy enough to locate. By late September, Der-Yeghiayan was on his way to San Francisco, Ulbricht's adopted hometown. Around noon on October 1, Der-Yeghiayan met up with a team of federal agents in the Glen Park neighborhood. They gathered at a cafe where Ulbricht had been |
to win over Muslims with Islam speech
News Hour:
Donald Trump is set to deliver a major speech on Islam during his visit to Saudi Arabia, just two months after he signed revised orders to halt people from six Muslim-majority nations from entering the US.
During a lunch with up to 50 Muslim leaders in Riyadh on Sunday, Trump is expected to express his “hopes for a peaceful vision of Islam”, a day after Washington took issue with Iran.
It will be especially sensitive given tensions sparked by the Trump administration’s attempted travel ban.
During his campaign, Trump floated the idea of putting mosques in the US under surveillance while calling for a “total shutdown” of Muslims entering the US “until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on”.
His words shocked many Americans, with Trump’s detractors noting that the US Constitution prohibits religious discrimination.
“I think Islam hates us. There is a tremendous hatred there. We have to get to the bottom of it,” Trump said in a March 2016 interview with CNN.
Sunday’s address comes a day after the US and Saudi Arabia signed agreements worth more than $380bn – almost a third of that military-related.
“That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the United States,” Trump said on Saturday at talks with Saudi King Salman.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson set the tone on Saturday when he urged Iran’s newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani to dismantle his country’s “network of terrorism”.
Tillerson also said the new arms deals signed between Riyadh and Washington aim to help Saudi Arabia deal “with malign Iranian influence”.
Like this: Like Loading...MTV followed a friendly 20-something named Chris who moved to Oakland to pursue his lifelong dream of growing marijuana. But “he’s been afraid to tell his family for fear they’ll disown him,” the announcer intones dramatically. It also features a Colorado hippie couple, Gemma and Pa, as they struggle to make marijuana bars in between stoner ruminations and screaming matches.
Mr. DeAngelo wanted to avoid this type of portrayal. He said that before the Discovery Channel offer, he turned down 10 other companies because “I could tell they had some sort of agenda.”
“We have been stereotyped as slackers, profiteers and criminals,” Mr. DeAngelo said. “With this show, they will see that we are decent people who are providing medicine for patients in a responsible way.”
The first episode of “Weed Wars” centers on a tax-bill fight between Harborside and Oakland’s Business Tax Board of Review (in what is undoubtedly the television debut for the solemn and obscure entity).
Photo
To cope with the stress of the ordeal, Mr. DeAngelo turns to his own form of relief. The camera cuts to a darkened room. “I don’t want to forget how to relax, and cannabis really helps me remember how to relax,” said Mr. DeAngelo as he lovingly inhaled.
At another point, Mr. DeAngelo, who has a medical marijuana card, rips into a marijuana-laced piece of gingerbread to calm his nerves as he drives across the Bay Bridge to a speaking engagement. It does not take effect for 45 minutes, he tells the camera in an effort to explain that he is not driving while high.
Although Discovery could not know it at the time, the dispensary’s skirmish with the tax board was a precursor to much more serious weed wars. Soon after the crew turned off its cameras, Harborside was hit with a $2.5 million bill from the Internal Revenue Service. The Department of Justice crackdown on California dispensaries came the following week.
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In an interview this week, Mr. DeAngelo acknowledged that when he opened his doors to the cameras last year, the legal climate was decidedly sunnier. The Obama administration had indicated that it would not go after medical marijuana dispensaries.
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“I wasn’t expecting to find us in the middle of a huge reversal of federal policy when we made this,” Mr. DeAngelo said.
Indeed, after the announcement from the United States attorneys, the Discovery crew returned to collect more video. When asked if it added more drama to the show, Mr. DeAngelo deadpanned, “Just a touch.”
Some people in the medical marijuana industry were alarmed by Mr. DeAngelo’s decision to open up his operation to the cameras.
“I think they’re absolutely nuts,” said William Panzer, a criminal lawyer who represents medical marijuana dispensaries in the Bay Area. “I think they risk getting shut down. They risk getting raided.”
The Discovery producers, however, seem careful with the dispensary’s image.
“With this show in particular, because there’s a lot on the line for Steve and his business, we wanted to make sure we were getting it right,” said Nancy Daniels, executive vice president of production and development at Discovery.
Mr. DeAngelo is hoping for the best. “There’s no question in my mind that the show will help the movement,” he said, though the dispensary still faces some harsh realities. “Whether or not it is going to protect Harborside from the wrath of the federal government, I don’t know.”‘I know a lot of people see us as an isolated community, like we’re sort of better than the rest of society, but we’re really not. We’re normal humans like everyone else," says Abigail Miller, 17, daughter of Kenneth Miller, one of two pastors in Waterford’s Amish Mennonite community.
‘I know a lot of people see us as an isolated community, like we’re sort of better than the rest of society, but we’re really not. We’re normal humans like everyone else," says Abigail Miller, 17, daughter of Kenneth Miller, one of two pastors in Waterford’s Amish Mennonite community.
The Amish Mennonites are distinct from the Old Order Amish. While they share beliefs based upon the simplicity and practice of the Christian faith, the Amish Mennonites tend to be more tolerant of technology and the wider society.
The Amish Mennonite community near Dunmore East has been growing steadily for the last 19 years, as an outreach programme originating from the larger Amish Mennonite community in the United States. This practice is in keeping with biblical teachings where Jesus Christ told his followers to go out into the world and serve him by serving others, and since the Amish Mennonites originally began in Europe, they are now eager to return to the lands of their ancestors. An effort is made by members to apply the teachings of the Bible, and New Testament especially, in a practical way, every day. Members refrain from drinking and smoking, do not enter the armed forces, do not watch TV or listen to the radio, and dress according to an agreed ‘plain’ dress code.
I ask Abigail if she knows much about the world outside her community. “Not really. I mean, I’ve heard,” she replies pleasantly. Would it interest her to know more? “No, not really, actually,” she tells me softly. “I know I don’t know a lot about it. I’ve been protected from it and I’m thankful for that. Although sometimes you look at society and you see that it is different. You wish that you wouldn’t be different, but once you remember why you’re here, and why you don’t want to be there, that helps a lot. I know this is where God wants me.” Abigail is one of six children and is being homeschooled for her final months of formal education. She is aware of the protection that living in a close community provides: “There is peace here whereas there isn’t peace in a lot of the world. There’s rest and there’s joy, too, that a lot of the world doesn’t experience.” Abigail pauses momentarily. “Of course there’s conflict, but underneath that there’s a peace and you’re just at rest. It’s not like you’re trying to succeed materially. We don’t want to be seeking earthly things. We’re seeking heavenly things, essentially.”
I’m struck by Abigail’s wisdom and obvious sense of self. One by one, as I tot up the different values in my head, I realise that my own priorities, and how I identify myself, are in a completely different realm; heavenly things relegated to the future, when my mortality becomes more of an issue. “You’re so much more free this way,” she adds. Marriage and family life are things that appeal to Abigail, but there is no great rush or master plan. “I wouldn’t just marry anyone, obviously,” she smiles. “It would depend on what his values were. I know my standards are high. They would have to be very similar to mine, but not necessarily of this denomination. I would value, of course, the church that he was going to and if the spirit of God was there and things like that.”
As soon as I gesture towards Abigail’s head covering, she predicts where the question is going. “We’re not feminists,” she smiles. “We would believe that women should be in subjection to men. It’s the headship order, I don’t know if you’ve heard of that?” She interrupts herself to explain the biblical roots of the practice: “Where the man would submit to Christ and the woman would submit to the man, as being her head, and she would also submit to Christ. It’s not like it’s a bondage; it’s just a choice.”
So this is why men and women sit on opposite sides during their Sunday service? “Yes, I suppose,” she concedes, “We value purity a lot.” None of the Amish-Mennonite community here have televisions or radios. “Because of the bad influence,” Abigail explains. But what about fashion, pop culture, make-up — all the things that we have come to associate with teenage girls in particular — do they hold any intrigue for her? “It can be hard to be different,” she replies in a serene, placid tone. “You’d rather just be like everyone else, but I think it comes back to values and that you value inner beauty more than outer beauty or fashion. That is the main thing.”
Pastor Kenneth Miller, 46, Abigail’s father, believes that many people, including the larger Irish community, are searching for some form of faith. “For many people in our modern world, God doesn’t seem at all relevant, and more and more give up on the idea of God completely,” he says. “But we think people are not as much disillusioned with God as they are disillusioned with Christianity as they know it. People are not disappointed with Christ, but with an impotent Christianity that has no practical relevance. People who once mistakenly believed that a life without God is liberating are now discovering that life without God is debilitating. Christ has revolutionised our lives. He is what holds this community together.”
In 1997, the Amish-Mennonite community in Dunmore East bought a shop which accompanies a petrol station on the road out from Waterford. Jaybees is your average newsagent’s shop with a few intrinsically Amish additions: a religious-books corner, crafts, wooden furniture and an old-fashioned bakery.
It is here that I meet Naomi Byler, 37, from Indiana, who works in the community bakery. Naomi followed her sister Ruth to Ireland, as Ruth came to teach at the school, then married Senior Pastor Dan Yoder’s son Nathaniel and settled here. “I visited a number of times,” says Naomi, “Then they asked if I would come over and work in the bakery. So I thought about it and prayed about it. I was a secretary. I worked in an office for 15 years so it’s very different, but it’s been very good. I was ready for a change.”
Naomi believes that her church’s rules have become more relevant as she matures. “Sometimes, as a younger person, you look at the things that maybe your church sees as things that aren’t good for you, spiritually and things,” she explains, “and as a younger person sometimes you don’t see that. You think, ‘Oh, they just don’t want me to enjoy life!’ But as you get older, you kind of understand.”
Though unmarried herself, Naomi is a firm believer in the headship order. “We would feel that the man of the house is supposed to be the provider and we feel it’s very biblical to do that. But if you’re not married then you have to kind of find your place as well. We all do, I guess, if you choose not to be married,” she tells me. While TVs are forbidden, Naomi has been known to watch the odd film. “I find it interesting because it’s a story and things like that,” she reveals. “Not everybody would do that, though, and I don’t know if I would do that with children. I think that if you don’t have a strong spiritual teaching, the lifestyle that those people have off screen can oftentimes be a bad influence.”
Wesley Sensenig, 32, is from Pennsylvania, where he worked at a camp for difficult young people. He came to Ireland with the hope of recreating such a camp here. Wesley and other members of his community have been hard at work. The result? Comeragh Camp, a fully functioning wilderness retreat, which has been used so far by Youthreach, Wytech in Waterford and other youth-training centres. The goal is to some day work with the HSE and Educational Welfare Board, providing an alternative to detention for young people.
“The young people with the most difficult problems often wind up being the young people who don’t really have a place,” Wesley explains, as we make our way through the surrounding forest. “It’s a very democratic group, rather than an autocratic thing, significantly different from the boot-camp model, where it would be about authority and obedience. The main work they do is attend to the really basic things in life, so living out in the forest in structures they build themselves, etc.” The camp would be considered Christian, but Wesley assures me that it is not about preaching. “It is not a religious training programme, but then I bring myself and I would see nature as a creation, so I would talk about it in that sort of sense,” he says. “It’s more an element of who we are. We would see it as more of the way Jesus lived was to go out and help people as best you can.”
Yann Larrieu, 32, is also involved at Camp Comeragh. Yann is different from many of the others in that he was raised in a secular society. “I was 17 and went to the States with my dad. We’re French, but my father worked in Qatar. We went to an auction and I met a Mennonite couple there that really inspired me,” he says. Yann kept in touch with this couple, spending summers working with them at a sawmill in Maryland. “They encouraged me to read the gospels and I discovered the Jesus of the gospels through that,” he explains.
So was it a difficult decision to leave secular, modern society behind? “It was a very easy decision,” Yann smiles. “The warmth of community far surpassed anything that I had before, and that’s not anything against my parents — they were wonderful people, but it was a nuclear family, in a very metropolitan city, no community. Later on, though, a few years after, you start thinking about it a bit more. When you get older, you’re not as generous. Younger people are more generous in giving themselves. You start thinking, ‘Did I do the right thing?’ That happens, but on a whole I think I made the right choice.” Yann has not yet married. “At this point I don’t see it happening,” he tells me. “I think maybe that God has other plans for me.”
On my descent from Comeragh Camp, I meet Ruth Yoder, 38, Naomi’s older sister, out for a walk with her youngest son Dominic. “Number four, four boys,” she tells me quietly, patting little Dominic’s back as he sleeps soundly against her chest. Ruth is quick to point out the relevance of what people might view as some of her community’s more quirky traditions. “There are rules that we agree to, and some of them in the overall picture of life aren’t necessary, but it’s something we’ve agreed to do, and by holding it and doing it together it gives us a strength,” she tells me. “It’s not something that I feel everyone has to do if they want to follow Christ. Some of it’s tradition that’s been passed down, and it’s very strong tradition and a lot of young people look at it and think it’s silly,” she smiles. “I think that people can find Christ in any situation. Our community does not have a monopoly on Christ at all.”
Ruth feels the Amish women’s head covering is of particular importance. “I wear it because I honour men as the leader or provider or protector,” she explains. “People look at it and think. ‘Oh, you’re being oppressed!’ But we’re actually not. It’s like any relationship. My husband and I, we have to talk about things and when we want to do something we have to come to an agreement. The reason I wear it is that I choose to let my husband be the provider and the leader for our family, in the same way that my father was, and that’s not saying that he’s above me. It’s saying that I’m free then to be who I want to be, because he takes the responsibility. I think men like to be honoured and that’s when they can excel.”
Another aspect of the Amish women that struck me was their ability to dress plainly: no make-up, no hair straighteners, no curlers, etc. During the time I spent with them — at times, I admit that I cut back on my own cosmetics to fit in — I began to wonder if this was more of a sacrifice for the women or the men. By casting aside the aids on which many of us women rely, had they overcome the worry and self-esteem issues associated with looking good? Ruth assures me that Amish women have the same body issues as anyone else. “Oh, yes! You have bubbles where you don’t want them and bulges, especially after having children!” she exclaims, “but I would say that in a sense we try to be whole. When I was young I would always compare myself to people I saw walking down the street, and I would sometimes say ‘Oh, thank God I wear skirts!’ because I always felt like the weight I carried was on my legs.
“I think it’s within everybody,” Ruth concludes. “We like the approval of other people, and of men, but as I matured I realised that I wanted my approval from Christ first of all.” Hew Gregory-Smith, 42, was until recently an Anglican priest. After years exploring the Amish Mennonite church, he decided to move his family from Wales, to live within the Dunmore East fellowship. “It was more academic to begin with and now it’s become more practical,” Hew says of the choice. “It’s attractive,” he adds, pausing for thought. “You have your day-to-day obstacles to get over, but it’s a place where the parents have the same vision.” Hew is particularly pleased with the Amish Mennonite school system, which has grown out of a shared vision among the families and is an extension of home education. “I think there’s a lot of emphasis placed on socialisation in public schools, but I don’t see it as particularly positive,” he explains. “I’ll give one incidence. Really, another of my sons finds it much easier to get on with girls here; there’s less sort of giggles and stupidity. You can just get on and play a game, it doesn’t have that sort of innuendo. There’s very little innuendo among the young people here.”
So how do they survive economically? “We’ve basically had to learn to live by the work of our hands,” Hew tells me. “I garden and bake; my wife bakes too.” As if on cue, Hew’s wife appears with a beautiful lemon drizzle cake. “There are some things there are agreement on, like no television, no radio,” Hew continues a couple of minutes later. “You live an interesting life like that. We read papers, though, you’ll be interested to know that,” he laughs. Hew is not yet a church member. “I haven’t signed up, so I still have a radio in the car and I tune into the news sometimes, so there you are, there’s a good confession,” he chuckles. “But I’m going to get rid of it. You don’t get much — just snippets, nothing in detail and then just a general sense of foreboding, really. It doesn’t do you a lot of good.” Another element Hew appreciates is the church’s inclusive approach. “It’s very democratic. If there’s a decision that needs to be made which affects everyone in the community, the pastors come and consult everybody and there’s a vote as to what direction the church will take.”
Yet, community members will not vote in elections or enter the defence forces. The Amish Mennonites firmly believe in ‘turning the other cheek’. “We wouldn’t vote in an election because that has implications too,” Hew warns. “You vote for somebody who may lead your country into war, you’re as responsible as the next person.” Hew’s son, Richard, 16, was baptised into the church just two weeks before we meet. “For church members there is a fairly small list of clothing standards,” he explains, “standards on how you live, or not taking part in armed forces. A number of the people who come here are trying to come out of the secular culture, so there’s a certain amount of going, not too far, but going further than would be needed to keep ourselves separate.”
Back at the school I meet Quentin Weaver, 22. Quentin was born and raised in Texas. He came to Ireland as a volunteer to teach in the Amish Mennonite school and although he has a beard, which all married Mennonite men tend to have, he has yet to take the plunge. “I don’t like shaving all the time, it’s just personal preference,” he laughs heartily when I make the faux pas of assuming he’s off the market.
“I would definitely like to marry and have a family, but I would feel that there are important things to do right now as a single person. I want to travel and figure out who I am first, and I guess God’s calling me to celibacy right now and the sooner I accept that, the better off I’ll be later on,” he laughs. I ask Quentin about his knowledge of the outside world. “I like to be culturally literate,” he replies, becoming notably more pensive. “I like to know what’s going on around me. I’m just curious about what most people are thinking. I wouldn’t like to know certain things, like I wouldn’t want to know what goes on in a nightclub, but I would want to know what kind of songs are popular right now. I wouldn’t listen to them necessarily, but I would kind of know a little bit about them.” Like Yan, Libby Turner, 34, who also teaches at the school, did not grow up in the Amish Mennonite community. “We went to church when I was little. I was probably 11 when I first heard of the Mennonite church and then I was 14 when I decided to join.”
I wonder aloud what Libby makes of the clear gender-defined roles within her church. “I don’t know if I’ve really ever thought about it too much,” she answers softly. “I would say I appreciate it. Like here at school, there are the two of us teachers and Mr Weaver is the one that can lead out and stuff. I don’t have to always take charge and I appreciate that. I think if it’s done properly for ladies to be under, or for men to able to take charge and the ladies to follow a little more, it’s more natural. It just works.” Like so many of the others I met, Libby was willing to leave her destiny in God’s hands. It’s an alien ideal in an increasingly secular Ireland. “I felt like God wanted me here, so I came,” she states with conviction.
“I would like to be married and I would like to have a family, but I suppose my main goal is to follow where God leads me.”
Sunday Indo Life MagazineImage copyright Harriet Line Image caption Nicky Morgan's forced academisation plan was mocked by head teachers
Plans to force all of England's schools to become academies are being abandoned in a government climbdown.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan hopes the concessions will meet the demands of Tory rebels opposed to compelling high-performing schools to convert.
This was about the government listening, she said, adding ministers understood top schools should retain the choice on whether to convert.
The move comes days after threats of industrial action by head teachers.
Academies are independently run - but state-funded - schools, overseen by a not-for-profit business, known as an academy trust. They are often part of a chain.
The controversial plans to require all schools to convert to academy status, or have plans to do so, by 2022 were announced in the Budget, but details followed in a white paper.
'Lift standards'
It was not long before opposition to the idea was heard from teachers and head teachers, education experts and MPs and councillors - both Conservative and opposition.
Mrs Morgan told the BBC in an interview with Education Editor Branwen Jeffreys: "This is about being a listening government and I would consider myself to be a listening secretary of state.
"Better to have reforms than have none at all.
"We absolutely support those strong local authorities where schools are good and outstanding - they can make the choice to convert.
"I hope that they will, because we are convinced that becoming academies does lift standards but they can do the right thing for them and I think that reflects the concerns and the conversations that we have had."
Conservatives have been voicing opposition to the plans in recent weeks, particularly because all schools - even highly performing ones - were to be forced into the new arrangements.
Innovation
Melinda Tilley, an Oxfordshire county councillor, complained of "diktats from above" and expressed concerns about small village schools closing.
Labour had argued that the academies programme was already hitting problems, with a number of large-scale trusts being sanctioned for failing to improve results fast enough.
Shadow Education Secretary Lucy Powell said: "It is frankly a humiliating climbdown for David Cameron and his education secretary, who just weeks ago were insisting they would plough on with the policy regardless."
However, the government said it would push forward with compelling academy conversions in two areas:
•Where it is clear that the local authority can no longer viably support its remaining schools because too many schools have already become academies.
•Where the local education authority consistently fails to meet a minimum performance threshold across its schools.
The government also announced a package of measures to protect small rural schools including extra financial support and a requirement that any closure would have to be agreed by the local authority and the regional schools commissioner.
Chairman of the largely Conservative County Councils Network Paul Carter said Mrs Morgan had "rightly listened to the concerns of councils, teachers, governors and parents in taking this important decision".
"This decision is also vital for the preservation of rural schools which are at the heart of their local communities," he said.
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers said: "We are pleased the government has listened to the profession.
"We stand ready to engage in further discussions about how the government can meet its vision in co-operation with the education sector. This move gives us hope that such dialogue can now be constructive."
The Local Government Association said its recent analysis of the grades achieved by all schools proved that 81% of council-maintained schools are rated as "good" or "outstanding", compared to 73% of academies and 79% of free schools.
"It is right that these schools should not be forced down the academy route unless they make that decision themselves," it added.
Analysis - by education reporter Hannah Richardson
Plans to require all schools, good or bad, to become academies have been greeted with increasing disquiet and derision since they were somewhat incongruously announced in the Budget.
George Osborne described the move as freeing schools from the "shackles of local bureaucracy".
Teachers and heads were bemused by the idea of forcing change on high-performing schools. "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" they chorused.
When fury exploded from the usually loyal Conservative MPs and councillors, the education secretary began to look very uncomfortable.
During an opposition day debate, it was the Tories who made the most effective arguments against the plan.
The divisions within the party were exploited by Labour at PMQs with David Cameron having to mount a robust defence two weeks in a row.
And embarrassment grew further when Nicky Morgan was greeted by head teachers heckling: "You're not listening."
With splits over the European referendum to contend with, Mr Cameron may simply have decided it was not worth a fierce fight with the backbenches.
Ministers had argued that the new landscape would provide a high level of autonomy to schools and help drive up standards through greater innovation and competition in the system.
Currently all schools can choose to convert to academy status, but those deemed to be struggling or failing to improve sufficiently can be forced to convert. That will remain the case under these new plans.The Earth Has Oceans And Continents: How Weird Is That?
NASA/NOAA
Seen from space, our planet has often been called a "blue marble."
It's not, however, just the swirly white clouds that give Earth its marbled appearance. The continents: They are what complete the metaphor. All that land, sticking up above sea level, gives our world its distinctive look.
But now that we know the universe is awash in planets, just how distinct is our world? Is an almost equal mix of land and sea common — or will most planets be either entirely desert or entirely ocean? Most importantly, how does the dry-land vs. open-water mix influence the evolution of intelligent life?
The relationship between land, water and the presence of intelligent observers (like us) is the topic of a provocative paper by Fergus Simpson, a researcher at the University of Barcelona. One of the best things about Simpson's study is it reminds us of a simple fact about life on Earth: You can't take any of it for granted.
Here is the thing: It is kind of weird that we live on a planet that has almost equal amounts of open ocean and dry land. Every planet will have some degree of bumps on its surface — highland and lowlands. The more water the planet has, the more the lowlands get filled in. But if a planet doesn't have much in the way of a water inventory, that world should be quasi-desert with nothing more than a bunch of disconnected lakes. This is exactly what is seen on Titan, the giant moon of Saturn, which is the only other solar system body that shows liquid on its surface (of course Titan is so distant and cold that the lakes are actually made of liquid methane at minus 292 degrees Fahrenheit).
But with enough water, sea levels will be above the highest point on the planet. In that case, what you have is an ocean world (astronomers prefer the term water-world, sorry Kevin Costner). Getting the mix that Earth has, however, seems tricky. If our planet had just three times more water than it does now, even Mt. Everest would be submerged.
So somehow we got just enough water to form globe-spanning oceans, while also retaining enough highlands to form large-scale continents (it's worth noting that the Earth may not have had continents early on, they may have had to grow).
So how do planets get their water? The water mostly comes from comets and asteroid impacts early in the planets' history. Recent studies imply that the amount of water delivered during planet formation should be random. That means there should be a lot more ways to end up with water-world planets or desert-world planets than the remarkable fine-tuned balance we have on Earth.
That fact alone is enough to give one pause. More than anything, it shows you the real power of science as a force in human culture. We tend to just think the ways things are, well, they're just the way things are. We don't usually go to the beach, stare at the ocean and think: "Wow, that's really weird."
But science gives us new eyes. It lets us see that even the map of the world is full of mystery.
Continents and oceans, we have them both. But it didn't have to be this way. And on most planets, it probably isn't.
Next time you look at the stars, pick one and focus on it. It almost definitely has planets basking in its warmth. Can you see, in your mind's eye, if it's a water-world wrapped in endless blue oceans? Or might it be a desert-world of sand and dunes stretching to every horizon?
And, here, I leave you with a question: Is there any process naturally regulating the evolution of water on a planet that could make our balance of oceans and land natural? Or did we just get lucky?
If the answer is luck, is there a connection between the happy water-land mix Earth has and our own evolution as intelligent observers? Is that why we are here? Are we truly children of both water and land?
Adam Frank is a co-founder of the 13.7 blog, an astrophysics professor at the University of Rochester, a book author and a self-described "evangelist of science." You can keep up with more of what Adam is thinking on Facebook and Twitter: @adamfrank4With an endless combination of modern and legacy browsers for users to choose from (depending on their system capabilities), it's our responsibility as designers and developers to ensure the websites we build perform adequately.
Testing multiple browsers on multiple platforms isn't just difficult — it can be virtually impossible without the correct resources. However there are tools that let you comprehensively test your website, and check if it successfully displays across various browsers, platforms and resolutions. That way, your users will receive a positive, user-friendly experience no matter what their setups are.
See also: 17 Bug and Issue Tracking Apps for Developers
Below is a curated list of both free and premium cross-browser testing tools, ranging from cloud platforms to desktop applications. These tools will help you easily test everything from versions of Internet Explorer versions to more than 300 modern browser combinations.A new study in the journal Addiction lays out what the vast research on marijuana has revealed over the last 20 years, highlighting the drug’s adverse effects, both acute and chronic. Though researchers have been studying the effects of marijuana for decades, the science has really exploded just in the last 20 years, due in part to better study methods, and also spurred by the growing interest in legalization. The new study maps out exactly what marijuana does and does not do to the body and brain, both in the short and long terms. What’s clear is that marijuana has a number of adverse effects over years of use – in certain people, anyway. What’s not so clear is how policy should be informed by the science. But the researchers suggest that with increasing legalization should come increasing public awareness of the sometimes-serious effects of chronic use.
Acute Effects
The acute effects aren’t so bad: No one has ever died from a natural marijuana overdose, the study found. (N.B. This is not true for synthetic marijuana, which can be very dangerous.) Driving while high on marijuana does seem to double the risk of a car crash, which is of course heightened if there is also alcohol in the system. Marijuana has been linked to low birth weight when it is used during pregnancy. Otherwise, acute effects mainly include anxiety, paranoia (especially among new users), dysphoria, cognitive impairment, and psychotic symptoms (especially in people with a family history of psychosis). These particular side effects seem to have risen over the last 20 years, which may be due to the fact that the THC content in marijuana has also risen over that time.
Chronic Effects
Over the long term, things get a little worse. It’s important to point out that in epidemiological studies, it can be very difficult to tease out whether cause and effect is actually at play, or whether there's something else going on. But the authors have gone to great lengths to separate causation from correlation, combing the data for studies that point strongly to cause and effect. Here’s what they found:
Marijuana can be addictive. But only for some people. About 10% of all users seem to develop dependence syndrome, and for those who start in adolescence, the number is more like 1 in 6. Withdrawal syndrome is also a real phenomenon, with depression, anxiety, insomnia, and appetite disturbance being the main symptoms, which can often be severe enough to have an effect on daily life.
But only for some people. About 10% of all users seem to develop dependence syndrome, and for those who start in adolescence, the number is more like 1 in 6. Withdrawal syndrome is also a real phenomenon, with depression, anxiety, insomnia, and appetite disturbance being the main symptoms, which can often be severe enough to have an effect on daily life. Marijuana use is linked to adverse cognitive effects. In particular, the drug is linked to reduced learning, memory, and attention. It hasn’t been entirely clear whether these effects persist after a person stops using the drug, but there’s some evidence that it does. One study found a reduction in IQ of 8 points in long-time users, the greatest decline being in people who'd started using as teenagers and continued daily into adulthood. For people who began in adulthood and eventually stopped using, a reduction in IQ was not seen a year later.
In particular, the drug is linked to reduced learning, memory, and attention. It hasn’t been entirely clear whether these effects persist after a person stops using the drug, but there’s some evidence that it does. One study found a reduction in IQ of 8 points in long-time users, the greatest decline being in people who'd started using as teenagers and continued daily into adulthood. For people who began in adulthood and eventually stopped using, a reduction in IQ was not seen a year later. Marijuana may change brain structure and function. There’s been an ongoing debate about whether marijuana actually changes the brain, but recent evidence has suggested that it is linked to changes in the hippocampus, amygdala, and pre |
when I drive it...so I assume it is indeed the correct size, and is not killing the piston.
If this is an incorrect assumption please let me know
My friend is a mechanic and said it sounded better with the longer plug than the CR7HIX...but I have just felt paranoid about it.
I now took the time to install an LED break light. Its pretty good, very bright. I also installed a cheapo windshield (will be getting a better one later) and plan to purchase an oil cooler eventually.
I replaced my orange performance coil with an OML Premium Racing Wire, and my CDI with a NCY Racing CDI. I also replaced my variator with a SRP 115mm Racing Variator, and put in the NCY Racing Driveface.
My dragon exhaust and oil catch can. I wrapped the header after it began to yellow. I think it looks better that way. ***
Available here:
This is my fuel filter. A little too large, but I like it.
Available at any motorcycle parts dealer *
This is my dragon intake, and chrome cvt cover ***
Intake available at:
Chrome CVT: No longer carried by StandardFunctions
This is the chrome I added to the fan area... +600hp
Generic covers, available at any major online parts dealer
4-valve head ***
Available at:
Blue NCY 30mm intake ***
Available at ScooterElements
My chrome shocks..infinitely better than stock
I got them from that sh!t local shop. You can get them at ScooterElements though. ***
The hose for my intake...this thing was a real pain in the butt.
This is how loose my kickstart was...just threw it out. Now my case has "extra venting"
My work-around for having 2 vacuum ports and only needing one
My Shinko Whitewalls. Much better than my stock tires, and I love the way they look.
Available at:
Stock plug vs CR8EIX.
Purchased at Amazon.com ***
Onboard battery tester
Purchased on ebay, generic part *
drink holder
Purchased at Autozone. Generic Part *
Charging port
Purchased on ebay. Generic part. *
Completed bike. Seat cover was done by
Windshield is generic ebay windshield *
Other parts used:
SRP Variator: Available at ScooterElements **
NCY DriveFace: Available at ScooterElements **
OML Ignition Coil: Available at ScooterElements ***
NCY CDI: Available at ScooterElements ***
NCY Bolt-on 61mm BBK: Available at most major parts dealers ***
OKO Carb: Purchased on Ebay. Available at most parts dealers ***
NCY 30mm Intake: Available at ScooterElements ***
LED brake lights:
Take a little doing to get on...worth it though.
NCY 16/37 Final Gear Set: Got from crap local shop..available at most dealers though.
(the stars are my rating, * = generic,'meh' item, ** = very good, *** = something I definitely recommend, extremely good)
I am still waiting on some 11g sliders and an impact gun to arrive in the mail. It should be the last bit of tuning I need to do. Assuming the carb jets are still good after I cleaned up that shops mess.
Any input or questions would be appreciated. I probably left some stuff out...this was a lot to write so just let me know if you spot something, and I will fill in the gaps.
I would especially like some input about the spark plugs.
The longer plug did make the bike exhaust louder...not necessarily a bad thing
I also plan to install a Thor Alarm System later this summer. I've spent the last 3 or 4 months upgrading my bike to a 170cc engine. I don't have a step by step instruction on how to do it, but I figured I would talk about the parts I used, where I got them, dealers and shops I dealt with, the ups and the downs, and just kind of give people an idea of which parts worked well for me.Its going to be a long read lolBasically, the first thing I did to the bike was your standard pdi, switched out all the lines to some quality stuff, and put in a fuel filter that is worth something-nothing new there.Then came the exhaust, I opted to go with the Dragon Custom Big Shot free flow exhaust system, it is a very nice, bolt on exhaust kit that is made and shipped from Houston TX. It took some fiddling to get the mounts to line up, but in the end it was worth it. This exhaust has a great sound, and surpassed all of my expectations. It is a 10/10 would recommend item on my list.Then I upgraded my air intake with a matching Dragon Custom Big Shot air intake system. It is basically a glorified K&N cold air intake. I'm not sure there is anything amazing about it, but it looks pretty damn cool. The Dragon intake was a bit trickier to install...the pipe supplied was just very stubborn with the carb. With work and patience, it finally slipped on, and I have to say it is a good intake system. Not sure how it holds up to a UNI, but its good none the less.The carb that came with my Tao Tao Powermax 150 was junk. No A/F screw, and no way to open it...so naturally I chunked it and got an OKO 30mm. A little too large perhaps, but I like it. It works well for me, and it makes a nice sound...the accelerator pump alone was worth the trouble of tuning it. I would recommend OKO carbs to anyone needing a cheap replacement. They are high quality.Not having enough time left in my winter break to dig into the major engine mods, and wanting a break from wrestling with the bad stock hardware to install things...I took a break and chromed the rest of the bike out. I installed a chrome cvt cover, and chrome fan cover/scoop. I also installed a battery tester inside my glovebox, and a charging port to plug my battery in without removing it from the bike. I also installed my Dragon Custom Little Shot catch can.Not having time to do the major mods properly, I dropped off my bike at a local scooter shop to have my 4-valve head and 61mm NCY bbk installed. I also had them install new Shinko whitewall tires to replace my no-name stock set. I also had my final gears upped to 16/37.The truly wonderful experienceI had with this place can be read in a previous thread here: scootdawg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=48658 In addition to that, upon receiving the bike the following things were not up to code: There was no oil in my gearbox, and my drain screw was missing (took about 70 mile to figure that one out), my air intake hose had been connected to look connected when viewed from the top, but was actually not connected to the carb at all, the main vacuum hose was about 3 sizes too big, just shot off of the nipple, the headlight was dead, my battery was dead, the rear tire was not quite balanced correctly, the vent line from the head was pointlessly routed through the old, un-needed PAIR system, the tank vapor emissions system was incorrectly hooked up, causing intermittent vapor lock, the wrong intake manifold was used (too long) and was installed incorrectly, the kickstart was loose inside the CVT, they replaced my ngk plug with the stock torch (which was the wrong kind of plug for my head anyways), and probably a few more things!Luckily it seems like they did the engine work fine...no leaks, no metal shavings in the oil, no weird noises.I had some stuff to fix.... I put the proper vacuum line in. Removed the useless PAIR stuff and routed my vent back to directly to my catch can. I replaced the terrible intake they used with a NCY Teflon coated 30mm intake. I removed my kickstart (never used it anyways), switched my weights to 10g (they left the stock 13g which were too heavy with the new gears), took off the vapor emissions junk, and CORRECTLY assembled my intake system/exhaust. Along with some other minor work a long the way. The shop reluctantly replaced my battery, and headlight after I made a giant stink about it.I emailed the dealer that sold me my 4-valve, only to find that the CR7HIX is too short for that head. I was advised to use the CR8EIX instead. I plugged it in, and so far it seems to run better. I didn't hear any terrible death noises when I ran it on the stand, or when I drive it...so I assume it is indeed the correct size, and is not killing the piston.My friend is a mechanic and said it sounded better with the longer plug than the CR7HIX...but I have just felt paranoid about it.I now took the time to install an LED break light. Its pretty good, very bright. I also installed a cheapo windshield (will be getting a better one later) and plan to purchase an oil cooler eventually.I replaced my orange performance coil with an OML Premium Racing Wire, and my CDI with a NCY Racing CDI. I also replaced my variator with a SRP 115mm Racing Variator, and put in the NCY Racing Driveface.My dragon exhaust and oil catch can. I wrapped the header after it began to yellow. I think it looks better that way. ***Available here: shop.dragoncustom.com/product.sc?productId=87&categoryId=3 This is my fuel filter. A little too large, but I like it.Available at any motorcycle parts dealer *This is my dragon intake, and chrome cvt cover ***Intake available at: shop.dragoncustom.com/product.sc?productId=14&categoryId=4 Chrome CVT: No longer carried by StandardFunctionsThis is the chrome I added to the fan area... +600hpGeneric covers, available at any major online parts dealer4-valve head ***Available at: www.ebay.com/itm/GY6-4-VALVE-HEAD-PERFORMANCE-125-150-SCOOTER-59MM-/270981428508?pt=Other_Vehicle_Parts&hash=item3f17c0751c&vxp=mtr#ht_539wt_1396 Blue NCY 30mm intake ***Available at ScooterElementsMy chrome shocks..infinitely better than stockI got them from that sh!t local shop. You can get them at ScooterElements though. ***The hose for my intake...this thing was a real pain in the butt.This is how loose my kickstart was...just threw it out. Now my case has "extra venting"My work-around for having 2 vacuum ports and only needing oneMy Shinko Whitewalls. Much better than my stock tires, and I love the way they look.Available at: www.motorcycle-superstore.com/ ***Stock plug vs CR8EIX.Purchased at Amazon.com ***Onboard battery testerPurchased on ebay, generic part *drink holderPurchased at Autozone. Generic Part *Charging portPurchased on ebay. Generic part. *Completed bike. Seat cover was done by scooterseatcovers.net/ and they do some sweet work! ***Windshield is generic ebay windshield *Other parts used:SRP Variator: Available at ScooterElements **NCY DriveFace: Available at ScooterElements **OML Ignition Coil: Available at ScooterElements ***NCY CDI: Available at ScooterElements ***NCY Bolt-on 61mm BBK: Available at most major parts dealers ***OKO Carb: Purchased on Ebay. Available at most parts dealers ***NCY 30mm Intake: Available at ScooterElements ***LED brake lights: scooterelements.ecrater.com/p/13805974/led-brake-lights Take a little doing to get on...worth it though.NCY 16/37 Final Gear Set: Got from crap local shop..available at most dealers though.(the stars are my rating, * = generic,'meh' item, ** = very good, *** = something I definitely recommend, extremely good)I am still waiting on some 11g sliders and an impact gun to arrive in the mail. It should be the last bit of tuning I need to do. Assuming the carb jets are still good after I cleaned up that shops mess.Any input or questions would be appreciated. I probably left some stuff out...this was a lot to write so just let me know if you spot something, and I will fill in the gaps.The longer plug did make the bike exhaust louder...not necessarily a bad thingI also plan to install a Thor Alarm System later this summer.Ritter's family says he didn't have to die
Lawsuit faults the care the actor received from two doctors. They say they did nothing wrong.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs fault the care Ritter, 54, received from two doctors -- one who interpreted the results of a body scan he had in 2001, the other who treated him the night he died.
Early next month, in response to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Yasbeck and Ritter's four children, a Los Angeles County jury will be asked to decide: Did Ritter have to die?
"The doctors told it to me like I was 5 and I told it to her like she was 5," Yasbeck said in an interview with The Times. "The truth is, it's a lot more complicated and it's a lot more sad."
Since then, Yasbeck has come to believe the story she told their daughter Stella was wrong.
Comic actor John Ritter died on his daughter's 5th birthday in September 2003. The next day, his widow, actress Amy Yasbeck, told the girl that her dad's death was unavoidable.
Defense attorneys say their clients did nothing wrong and that Ritter would have died no matter what doctors did.
The trial will feature high-stakes legal questions, celebrity cameos and dueling medical opinions by researchers who have written books on the arterial condition that killed Ritter.
Besides the medical issues, the proceeding probably will delve into sensitive areas for Hollywood bosses: how much successful television stars are worth and how that question is settled in contract negotiations.
It also will highlight how differently malpractice lawsuits play out when the alleged victim is wealthy. Ritter, best known for his starring role as Jack Tripper on "Three's Company," was an actor with tremendous earning potential, the plaintiffs' lawyers say. Because of his subsequent success on the series "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," his family is asking for more than $67 million in damages -- a stratospheric sum compared with most such claims.
The family already has received more than $14 million in settlements, according to court records, including $9.4 million from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where he died.
No one disputes that doctors at St. Joseph treated Ritter as if he were having a heart attack. Both sides agree that his true condition -- an aortic dissection, which is a tear in the largest blood vessel in the body -- was not identified until right before his death.
Lawyers for the two remaining defendants, radiologist Matthew Lotysch and cardiologist Joseph Lee, say Ritter was doomed by his own biology.
"I really, really believe that for whatever reason, John Ritter's time was up," said Stephen C. Fraser, who represents Lotysch.
Yasbeck, Ritter's second wife, who married him in 1999, said the doctors missed signs of her husband's condition until it was too late to save him.
The trial is about more than money, she said. As is typical, none of the hospitals, doctors or other entities that have settled with the family have admitted guilt or said they were sorry. Yasbeck said she wants a public accounting of what happened.
"You can't treat my kid's dad for something and kill him in the process," she said.
"I think the money will show how angry the jury will be about what happened to John and what could happen to them."San Francisco-based Gameface Labs, the company behind the all-in-one Gameface virtual reality headset, will be part of the Valve ecosystem, CEO Ed Mason told Hypergrid Business.
The headset will also support Google Cardboard applications, he said, and will have a virtual world browser that will be compatible with both Second Life and OpenSim when it launches in the middle of next year.
Virtual reality ecosystems
Currently, there are five major ecosystems that virtual reality hardware and software companies are aligning with.
The Google Cardboard ecosystem is supported by over a hundred headset manufacturers and has hundreds of apps for both Android and iOS smartphones. Headsets are typically dumb cellphone holders — boxes with a couple of lenses and a button controller — making them extremely inexpensive, but requiring users to have a late-model smartphone. Over 16 million of these headsets are currently in use.
The Oculus ecosystem, supported by Facebook and Samsung, is the oldest and has received the most publicity. Several third-party high-end headset manufacturers are also building headsets to be compatible. Prices are typically in the hundreds of dollars. Samsung’s Gear VR headset is the least expensive, at $99, and just hit the market this month. The consumer version of the Oculus Rift isn’t due out until next year.
Another big brand name in the virtual reality space is Sony, and its Playstation VR headset is due out next year as well. This is a closed, proprietary ecosystem and typically features high-end gaming experiences produced by Sony’s partners.
There is also OSVR, an open source project backed by Razer, Leap Motion, Jaunt, Intel and Ubisoft.
Steam VR is Valve‘s answer to the Oculus Rift, and its main flagship product is the HTC Vive headset.
The all-in-one headset
Gameface is a smart headset, an all-in-one device with a built-in computer, so it does not require the user to connect it to either a smartphone or a desktop. But users can connect it to a PC if they wish, and use it like an HTC Vive.
According to Mason, the latest version of the headset has a 110 degree field of view, a 6-inch 2.5K high resolution display, and a battery that lasts about seven hours.
The headset weighs slightly less than Oculus Rift’s Developer Kit 2 and has slightly better resolution than the HTC Vive.
There is also a third-party peripheral that allows full-body motion tracking, as well as Valve’s Lighthouse position tracking system.
“Gameface is the only set that is capable of playing all mobile virtual reality content as well as plugging into a PC and playing SteamVR or OpenVR content,” he said.
Gameface will also have its own app store, Mason said. Similar to the Gear VR app store or the Oculus Rift store, the Gameface platform will deliver virtual reality content “faster than anyone else,” he said. And it “effectively eradicates piracy,” he added.
As a bonus for developers, the app store will track how the content is consumed, such as what levels players get most stuck at, in order to help them improve their games.
Gameface hasn’t yet started shipping its development kits, he said. That will start at the beginning of next year.
Developers based in London or San Francisco can also contact that company to arrange for demonstrations.
“Also, developers can visit our website www.gamefacelabs.com and click the button on the top right to get an early access code,” Mason added. “With this free code, users get the headset a month before everyone else.”ECATEPEC, Mexico (Reuters) - So many teenage girls turned up dead in a vacant field on the outskirts of Mexico City that people nicknamed it the “women’s dumping ground.”
Family members and friends stand next to a coffin holding the remains of Idaly Jauche Laguna in Ciudad Juarez December 27, 2013. Idaly disappeared in 2010 and her remains were found in 2012, positively identified by members of the Argentine Forensic Athropology team (EAFF), and handed over to the family. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
They began showing up in 2006, usually left among piles of garbage. Some were victims of domestic violence, others of drug gangs that have seized control of entire neighborhoods in the gritty town of Ecatepec, northeast of the capital.
The lot has since been cleared and declared an ecological reserve. But its grisly past is not forgotten and the killings have only accelerated.
Dulce Cristina Payan, 17, was one of the victims. Two years ago, armed men pulled up in a pickup truck and dragged her and her boyfriend away from the porch of her home. He was tossed from the truck within a few blocks but she was taken away and murdered, stabbed repeatedly in the face and stomach.
Her father, Pedro Payan, believes the killers belonged to La Familia, a violent drug gang operating in Ecatepec, and that Dulce Cristina was murdered when she resisted rape.
“I think my daughter defended herself, because her nails were broken, and her knuckles were scraped,” sobbed Payan, a former police officer who now sells pirated DVDs from his home to get by. “She had a strong character.”
As drug violence has escalated across Mexico in the past seven years, the rule of law has collapsed in some of the toughest cities and neighborhoods. When that happens, local gangs take control, imposing their will on residents and feeding a culture of extreme violence.
Abductions, rapes and murders of women have all soared with more women being killed in Mexico than ever before.
Since former President Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive on the drug cartels at the end of 2006, over 85,000 people have died. Between 2007 and 2012, total murders rose 112 percent. Most are young men but the number of women killed shot up 155 percent to 2,764 in 2012, official data shows.
Corruption and incompetence are rampant in under-funded police forces across Mexico and the vast majority of murders are never solved. Families routinely complain that police show little interest in the cases of missing women.
The parents of Barbara Reyes spent 18 months looking for her after she disappeared in August 2011 from Cuautitlan Izcalli, near Ecatepec. They finally discovered that their daughter’s body had been found by authorities within two months of her disappearance and was dumped into a mass grave with other unidentified corpses at a cemetery.
“To this day we really don’t know what happened to our daughter,” her father, Alejandro Reyes, said in the living room of their home, sitting next to a photograph of Barbara smiling.
‘PANDEMIC’
President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December 2012, has pledged to reduce drugs war violence but has not made major changes to the security policies pursued by Calderon. Nor has he done much to tackle murders of women, experts say.
Before becoming president, he was governor of the State of Mexico, which encircles much of Mexico City and is home to Ecatepec. In the second half of his 2005-2011 term as governor, the murders of women doubled in the state.
“Violence against women isn’t an epidemic, it’s a pandemic in Mexico,” said Ana Guezmez, Mexico’s representative for United Nations Women, the U.N. entity for gender equality.
“We still don’t see it as a central theme of the current administration. You have to send a much stronger message.”
Experts say the spike in violence against women is worst in areas hit hard by the drugs war, similar to what happens during civil wars like those in Colombia, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Women in conflict zones are often seen as “territory” to be conquered, and raping and murdering women a way to intimidate rival gangs and the local population. Authorities say victims are getting younger and the attacks more violent.
In northeastern Mexico, a major drugs battleground, the number of women slain jumped over 500 percent between 2001 and 2010, according to a study by Mexico’s National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence against Women.
Guezmez says public violence against women intensifies when crime gangs take control. “It’s associated with rape and displaying the body in public places. A lot more brutal.”
The U.S.-Mexico border has long been a dangerous place for women. More than one-fifth of the women killed in Mexico in 2012 were slain in three of the four states neighboring Texas, according to the national statistics agency.
Most infamous is Chihuahua, home to Ciudad Juarez, where hundreds of women were murdered or kidnapped in the 1990s.
With 22.7 murders for every 100,000 women in 2012, Chihuahua is still Mexico’s most dangerous state for women.
None of the figures include the many women who have gone missing or those corpses that are so badly mutilated that authorities cannot even identify their gender.
About 4,000 women disappeared in Mexico in 2011-2012, mostly in Chihuahua and the State of Mexico, according to the National Observatory Against Femicide.
It says many are forced into prostitution, a lucrative business for drug cartels expanding their portfolios.
The gangs even prey on women migrants looking to get to the United States. In the desert between Mexicali and Tecate on the U.S. border, rapists are so brazen that they flaunt their crimes by displaying their victims’ underwear on trees.
Central American migrants trekking to the U.S. border often take contraceptive pills with them because as many as six of 10 are raped passing through Mexico, Amnesty International says.
Human rights groups say security forces are often involved in sexual abuse and disappearance of women.
IMPUNITY
International pressure over the tide of killings persuaded Mexican lawmakers in 2007 to approve new legislation aimed at preventing violence against women.
Defining femicide as the “most extreme form of gender violence,” it created a national body to prevent the killings, and urged judges to sign protective orders for abuse victims.
The law also established so-called gender violence alerts, a tool to mobilize national, state and local governments to catch perpetrators and reduce murders. Yet in practice the gender alert has never been activated.
Pena Nieto in November pledged a broad response that includes fast-tracking protective orders and making the gender alert more effective. But doubts persist about how effective such measures can be against an overburdened, weak and often corrupt justice system.
“Violence against women is so rife in Mexico that there’s no political cost for those who don’t deal with the issue,” said a top international expert involved with the matter who didn’t want to be identified so he could speak freely.
When Payan, the former policeman living in Ecatepec, heard his daughter’s screams as she was dragged from their home, he and his neighbors gave chase. Witnesses led them to a house a few miles away, but when they arrived she was already dead.
Locals helped relatives track down the killers, but it took months for police to start interviewing witnesses.
One suspect was charged with the teen’s kidnapping but he was released after posting bail. The other two were jailed for the rapes of other women from the same neighborhood but have yet to be charged in Dulce Cristina’s murder.
The State of Mexico’s attorney general declined to be interviewed over the case.
So widespread is the impunity that barely 8 percent of crimes are reported, according to national statistics. Witnesses and victims alike are afraid to testify.
Slideshow (6 Images)
Jessica Lucero, 14, was raped in June 2012 near Ecatepec and reported the crime, implicating a neighbor. Within a month, she was raped again and killed.
At the “ecological reserve” in Ecatepec where women used to be dumped, a policeman who can only see out of one eye because of glaucoma stands guard.
“The truth is that against these people there is little we can do,” he said of the gangs. “We are also helpless.”Andy Stanley (YouTube)
The head of an Atlanta megachurch has rejected his pastor father’s hateful views on homosexuality and says the church should be the “safest place on the planet” for gay young people.
Andy Stanley, who has turned North Point Ministries into one the nation’s largest churches, said Christians must stop driving gay teens away from the church – saying that politics should not overrule biblical teachings, reported Project Q.
“There is not consensus in this room when it comes to same-sex attraction; there is not consensus in this room when it comes to gay marriage,” Stanley told a gathering of church leaders last month in California. “We just can’t continue to look into the filter of our politics at our spirituality. It’s got to be the other way around — and specifically when it comes to this issue.”
His views stand in stark contrast to his father – who once hired armed security guards on horseback to protect his church from Atlanta gay pride marchers.
Charles Stanley, pastor of the First Baptist Church Atlanta, has said AIDS is God’s punishment for America’s acceptance of homosexuality – which he describes as “destructive behavior.”
The anti-LGBT pastor teaches that being gay is a choice that can be overcome, and he said accepting gay people is “disobedience to God.”
His son, however, urged Christians to “take a break” from the culture wars for a year and lead by example.
“If all the Christians for just one year, would quit looking at porn, would quit smoking weed, would quit having premarital sex, would quit committing adultery, would pay their taxes, and every church just foster one kid — in one year our nation would feel different,” said the younger Stanley at the Catalyst West gathering.
“There are so many Christians, so basically — if we would just be better Christians, everything we would like to see changed for the most part would change,” he added.
Andy Stanley has spoken out against “religious freedom” legislation that allows Christians to deny service to gay customers, saying such discrimination violates biblical teachings.
“Serving people we don’t see eye to eye with is the essence of Christianity,” he said. “Jesus died for a world with which he didn’t see eye to eye. If a bakery doesn’t want to sell its products to a gay couple, it’s their business — literally. But leave Jesus out of it.”
The younger Stanley’s church has gained a reputation for being “gay-friendly,” and he explained that he treats LGBT congregants the same as anyone else.
That’s reflected in his recent book, “The New Rules for Love, Sex and Dating,” which does not directly address LGBT issues – which he said was by design after meeting with gay members of his church.
“I asked them if they wished I would have addressed them specifically, since all of my illustrations and teaching assumed heterosexual relationships,” Stanley said. “These men and women unanimously said no. They said that in the LGBT community, when they attend church, they are accustomed to contextualizing all the relationship teaching anyway.”
Watch Andy Stanley speak in this video posted online by Catalyst Conference:Still, some senators are speaking out against Mr. Summers. They are raising questions about potential conflicts of interest and noting his role in the repeal of the Glass-Steagall law, which limited the sorts of activities banks could undertake, and his opposition to regulating derivatives in the 1990s — decisions that many critics say contributed to the financial crisis.
“I start from a position of being extraordinarily skeptical that Larry Summers is appropriate to chair the Fed,” said Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon. “I have serious doubts that Mr. Summers, who as a committed deregulator drove policies that set the stage for the Great Recession, is the right person for a key regulatory position.”
Mr. Summers declined to comment. But whatever his views on regulatory policy, those who know and admire Mr. Summers say he arrived at them honestly.
“There has to be a distinction between talking to people, even for payment, and doing what they want you to do,” said Robert Z. Lawrence, a professor who taught a course at Harvard with Mr. Summers this year. “When it comes to Larry Summers, for good or for bad, he’s uncontrollable when it comes to the positions he takes. He doesn’t take them for that reason.”
Wall Street Wealth
Mr. Summers’s wealth comes mainly from two periods of private sector work between government postings. After a lengthy tenure at the Treasury Department in the 1990s, he became the president of Harvard — a job that Robert E. Rubin, who preceded Mr. Summers as Treasury secretary, helped him obtain.
But in 2006, Mr. Summers was forced out of the university presidency for a variety of reasons, including remarks he made questioning why few women engage in advanced scientific and mathematical work. Soon after, a young Harvard alum brought him into the hedge fund world with a part-time posting at D. E. Shaw. That firm, one of the largest in the industry, paid Mr. Summers more than $5 million.
Mr. Summers’s wealth soared from around $400,000 in the mid-1990s to between $7 million and $31 million in 2009, when he joined the Obama administration, according to a financial disclosure he filed at the time. Before returning to government service, he earned $2.7 million from speeches in one year alone.After skipping the national anthem ceremony last week, the Steelers intend to have every player on the sideline—standing—this weekend in Baltimore, Maurkice Pouncey told reporters Wednesday.
“Pittsburgh Steelers will go out there and do the right thing,” Pouncey said, according to ESPN.com.
The Steelers stayed off the field during the anthem last week in Chicago, with the exception of left tackle Alejandro Villanueva. Villanueva, an Army veteran, stood on the edge of the stadium tunnel, a move he later said he regretted because it “made my teammates look bad.”
Ben Roethlisberger said he was unable to sleep after the protest and released a statement on Monday in which he said, “I wish we approached it differently.”
Roethlisberger and Arthur Moats also said that the planned protest was a distraction in the lead-up to the game and was at least partially to blame for their loss to the Bears.Get the latest from TODAY Sign up for our newsletter
Sep. 19, 2016, 7:58 PM GMT / Source: TODAY By Scott Stump
In the aftermath of Saturday's explosion in New York City that injured 29 people, a local Starbucks employee wanted to do his part to show his appreciation for the brave first responders who rushed to the scene.
A man from a local Starbucks in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan came by to give out free coffee and food to New York Police Department officers, firefighters and others who secured the scene.
His gesture echoed many acts of kindness performed in the wake of the airport attack in Turkey and the deadly nightclub shooting in Orlando earlier this year.
The man, identified only by his first name, Germaine, was captured on video by KnightNews.com giving bags of pastries and cups of coffee to officers, saying he "wished he could do more."
RELATED: Istanbul terror attack witness describes random act of kindness after bombing
"These guys, they run to danger instead of running from danger,'' Germaine told KnightNews.com. "I just figured, why not (bring them coffee)? We should be nice to each other. We should be kind to each other."
Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, the suspect in a series of explosions in New York and New Jersey over the weekend, was apprehended Monday after a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey.
Follow TODAY.com writer Scott Stump on Twitter.Command and Objective Cards Preview
with Andrew Haught The Command and Objectives cards provide players with optional cards that enhance or change their gaming experience.
When we started working on Version 4 Flames Of War I was tasked with creating Command Cards, something we will make for each book to add more options to armies and to use some of those leftover points. These cards add new Formations, Upgrades and Warriors giving you, even more, choice when building your force. Command cards have come a long way since we first sat down to do Version 4 and I am glad to be finally able to show off some of the Command cards. Command Cards allowed us to take some of the more complex rules that are not easily covered in an army book and put them onto cards so that they are easily referenced during games. Players can choose how to use Command Cards in their games. For example, each player can have a set amount of points dedicated to Command Cards, or players can add Command Cards directly to their lists spending points as normal. Most Command cards are hidden until they are used, so you’re never quite sure what your opponent’s battle plans are until they are revealed. While hidden Command cards do not affect their attached unit, a player must reveal them if they wish to gain the benefits of the card. Some Command cards must be revealed at the start of the game, these cards are used to build your army and have the keyword Build. Pre-order your Afrika Korps Command Cards here... Pre-order your Desert Rats Command Cards here... The Fog of War Objective deck adds a new mission to the game, creating an ever-changing game state where you may not know your opponents plans right away. Players will need some objectives on hand as these will be placed throughout the game. When taking an objective in the Fog of War mission you do not win right away, instead, you score victory points. The player who first hits the set victory point goal wins. There are two ways to use the Fog of War deck, players can either construct their own objective deck or they can share a communal deck. Pre-order your Fog Of War Objective Cards here... Command Cards
This week we thought we would showcase some of the cards you will find in the Command Decks. Each Command card has Points and Keywords that help you know how to use the cards in the game, these are explained in the Command Card rule insert.
Command cards can be added to your force in two ways. You can add them to your normal point limit just like you would add a Unit to your force, or you and your opponent can agree on a set amount of points that players may only use to add Command cards to their lists. Panzerknacker
This card (and Sticky Bombs) give an interesting option to infantry forces and something that the Tigers in the Desert have to fear. Having some of these upgrades as cards in your deck will make tanks think twice when assaulting your troops, but on the other hand, they cost 2 points each so players have to make the choice between arming all the troops with Panzerknackers or taking that extra unit in your force. Click on the cards for a larger version... Pip Roberts
There are two ways Warriors effect your force, some Warriors like Pip Roberts have a global effect that will enhance a large part of your force, while others will take over models in your force and fight alongside your troops. Remember like other non-build cards Warriors remain hidden until used, so your opponent might not know until it’s too late that they are facing a formidable warrior. Portees
This card is an amazing upgrade for the 6pdr unit, it basically makes your 6pdrs into |
, but the BBC said that, in this instance, it merely meant "cheap".
The decision came from the Editorial Standards Committee, part of the corporation's governing body, the BBC Trust.
One of the complainants, the Traveller Movement, said it was "horrified" the BBC had given the term a "green light".
'Play on words'
The BBC's committee acknowledged that "pikey" derived from the word "turnpike" and was therefore related to travellers.
However, it added, the term had "evolved into common parlance among a number of people to mean "chavvy" or "cheap".
"Depending on the context, viewers would not necessarily associate it with the Gypsy and traveller communities."
The committee noted that the placard was a deliberate pun on the US race course Pike's Peak, which had been referenced earlier in the show's script.
"On this occasion, the use of the word 'pikey' as a play on words would not have been seen as a careless or purposeless stereotype about travellers and Gypsies, but in keeping with the style of humour exhibited by the presenters towards Richard Hammond's perceived 'cheap' style," it said in its ruling.
'Absurd decision'
In response, the Traveller Movement said the committee's explanation was "breathtaking in its mendacity".
"The claim that [the word] has evolved a new meaning and that most people do not realise it has any reference at all with Gypsies and travellers is absolute rubbish," said a representative.
"It is an absurd decision that flies in the face of the evidence we presented during the course of the 13 month-long complaint process.
"Gypsy and traveller children are now open to even more abuse in the playground. Abuse that has the official sanction of the BBC Trust."
The BBC Trust's verdict came in December, before Clarkson was suspended for an alleged "fracas" with a producer. However, the findings have only just been made public.
As a result of the complaint, the BBC Trust has advised programme-makers to use the word only with "extreme care and sensitivity".An Information Processing Model For Goalies (A Puzzler For You)
This is about goalies, nominally, but it's also about information acquisition and decision making in general. So some of you will like this, and some of you have already fallen asleep.I'm very excited about writing this, though. And you guys can help Eli in a major way.I've noticed that Eli 15.4 has been very dominant at times this season, even against nationally ranked teams (he's won in goal against teams rated as high as #8 in the country).At other times, though, he's looked vulnerable, and even though I've been thinking about it for a few months, I couldn't figure out why.Until now. And it relates to models for processing information.Being a good goalie has much in common with being a good driver, believe it or not.A good driver is constantly acquiring information in a steady stream. Information from side and overhead mirrors, from peripheral vision, from constantly assessing the situation in front of them. Along with information acquisition, there are good habits, like always observing a safe following distance, which support and reinforce the data stream.Let's call this the steady state acquisition model.Even the best drivers, though, wind up in high traffic situations at times. Situations where they can't have a safe following distance, or the road conditions are unstable, or (more likely) other drivers are unstable.A guy cuts in front of you and you have to swerve, but also manage to avoid drivers who might be coming up behind you. A car who emerges out of a blind spot.In these situations, there is a split-second where a driver has to correctly and almost instantly react to a huge amount of new information. Even a high level of skill in the steady state acquisition model is useless here,Let's call this the sudden state acquisition model.There are drivers who are absolutely awful at steady state information acquisition. They have terrible driving habits. Yet they excel in sudden state acquisition, at avoiding accidents in split-second situations. They cause some of these situations, yes, but they're still adept in critical situations. That doesn't make them good drivers--they're not--but they're skilled in a very specific way.A high-level goalie has an enormous set of steady state information acquisition that he continuously processes. It amazes me when Eli talks about it, because his information acquisition model is incredibly sophisticated, and he processes a staggering amount of information during a game.In this mode, he is utterly dominant.In the sudden state mode, though, he is much less dominant. A puck squirts off someone's stick, or suddenly appears from behind a screen.Deflections. Turnovers.Instead of steadily sipping information, the sudden state situations require an enormous gulping of information and an almost instant response, particularly because most of these situations happen only a few feet away.That's when I realized why Eli was dominant at some times but not others.In practice, in lessons, every drill focuses on steady state acquisition. He's dominant in steady state mode because he's learned the skill.There really aren't any sudden state drills.Until now, at least, because you guys are going to help me create some.This is absolutely a trainable skill. All you need is an experience bank to draw on. And if Eli is able to do this, he is going to be an absolutely monster in net.Let me explain two drills that I made up as starting points. Remember, we're trying to create situations where a huge amount of visual information has to be processed immediately and appropriate action taken.Drill #1There are three shooters and a coach (who passes the puck) in this drill.The coach calls out a position and location for the goalie. So the position could be standing, the butterfly, VH, or reverse VH. I'm sure there are others, but you get the idea.Certain locations go with certain positions, so the VH and reverse VH are always against the post. The coach calls out a valid location along with the position.The goalie gets into the position--and closes his eyes.The three skaters move into three distinct positions.The coach passes the puck. While it's traveling across the ice, the coach shouts "GO!" The goalie opens his eyes and has to immediately acquire the puck location and immediate threats, and respond.The skater will shoot immediately, or can make one pass. So it's a bang-bang play, as they say.The skater location can be constantly changed between reps, even including very difficult locations like behind the net. Or two guys could be together, with one screening the other.The number of positions for the skaters is basically infinite, but the drill will focus on positions inside fifteen feet, because that's both the most dangerous in a game and the most difficult in terms of the amount of information and the time available for processing.You could have more skaters in this drill, but it's usually tough to find shooters for goalie drills, so three is probably as high as is possible.Drill #2This is also a "blind" drill, where the goalie starts out with his eyes closed.The coach stands about twenty feet away and tumbles a puck, tossing it in the air so that it's going to bounce erratically when it lands on the ice.Each puck should be thrown differently--different heights, different speeds.When the puck is still in the air, the coach shouts "GO!", and the goalie has to find the puck, even if it's not in his expected visual frame (So a puck high in the air can be difficult to acquire, because the goalie is never expecting a puck to be that high, but it does happen in games on deflections sometimes).Eli calls these "knuckle pucks", and they're very, very difficult to handle in games.There should be a shooter (or even two) located close to the goalie, and their job is to get their stick on the tumbling puck and shoot. Their locations should change between reps, just like in the previous drill.The shooters can shoot immediately or make one pass to set up a shot from the other player.This is a very in-close drill, with an unpredictable puck, so it's a somewhat different type of data being acquired than the other drill. In both, though, there's a flood of information that the goalie has to acquire immediately.Interested? Here's where you can help.If you have ideas for on-ice drills based on these principles, please e-mail me. Also, if you can come up with off-ice drills that incorporate these ideas, also let me know. I think these skills can definitely be improved off-ice, but not at the computer--it needs to be based in 3D space, so that his body can move at the same time he's acquiring the information.I think this is totally doable, and it will really help Eli build his game. Thank you for your help.The boys in our team polos and tracksuits (a.k.a. "trax-edo") at a meet-and-greet event with the fans
Barely making a save in Wales against the Cardiff Devils -- I swear that one didn't go in
Game Day: our plane to Belfast -- not the biggest plane ever
Manchester Town Hall in Albert Square
Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City FC. Attendance for this game was 50,000+ fans!
The fellas and I (wearing my new 'Man City' blue and white scarf)
Hello goalies, goalie fans, and parents!I hope this first update of the year finds everyone enjoying the start of yet another hockey season. I am shocked that it has already been fifty days since I last stood on American soil...Since my Thomas Cook Airlines outbound flight - direct from JFK to Manchester - touched down that sunny day in mid August, it has been a series of highs and lows, as is the perpetual cycle of hockey life.In late August, the pre-season saw my new team, the Manchester Storm, short of a few players who were still awaiting official approval to enter the United Kingdom. However, our abbreviated squad mustered up the energy for several dramatic games which included a home shootout victory against Nottingham, and a road win in a very cold, archaic arena straight out of the 1980's (I don't think it has been updated since) in Peterborough, England.The Storm then travelled to Cardiff, Wales, the second country visited in as many weeks. In our first Challenge Cup game of the year, we suffered a tough 5-1 loss in front of a spirited packed house. Although we didn't come out with any points, a rowdy and energetic atmosphere was provided by the Welsh spectators in my first official game in the Elite Ice Hockey League. After a long bus trip back to Manchester and a quick sleep, the Storm captured its first home win against the Edinburgh Capitals in an impressive 8-1 win the next afternoon. It was definitely a well-deserved win for all those involved and an honor to be a part of a very important milestone for the team. It had been 13 years since the Manchester Storm had played a competitive game after the team ceased operations in 2002.The following weekend, the team made its first real "roadie" to Northern Ireland where we would battle the Belfast Giants. We caught our flight from Manchester in the morning, grabbed a quick bite and nap at the hotel in the afternoon, and played in front of another great crowd that very same evening. As a result of this trip, I have a newfound respect for players in the NHL who play on the same day of a flight. Travel can be extremely draining no matter how long or short the duration. We ended up losing 6-2. However on a positive note (all press is good press), we made, playing the part of the victim on a couple of amazing individual plays by Giants' player and former Boston University forward Chris Higgins.You can see the video clips onwebsite below. I am obviously the guy in net doing an impression of a deer in headlights on both goals: http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/watch-eihl-player-dish-two-of-the-most-jaw-dropping-assists-youll-see-all-season/ Remember goalies, it's good to be humbled once in a while.The following week was one of the more memorable weeks of my time spent in the UK so far. After a few tough losses on the ice, it was great to get some down time to take my mind off hockey for a while and experience the city of Manchester. A few teammates and I took the train downtown, where we did some sightseeing and snapped a few photos of the picturesque buildings.Later in the week, a couple of my teammates and I were lucky enough to get great seats to a Manchester City football (soccer) match. Up against the top team from the Italian league, Juventus FC, the blue and white 'Man City' put in a valiant effort but fell short 2-1 in Champions League action. The sheer beauty of the stadium and energy of the crowd was enough entertainment in itself, let alone witnessing up close the talent of some of the best in the world.After a few days of fun, it was back to work for the Storm where we eventually got back on the winning track and defeated the Coventry Blaze to snap a four-game losing streak. Over the next couple weeks after a few tough games in Scotland, our team showed its character and came up with another home win against Edinburgh in exciting shootout fashion --see video highlights of the match https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6BpGZONQEc As I said earlier, hockey can be a roller coaster of ups and downs, so it is especially important for you younger 'tendies to keep a positive attitude and not get discouraged when things don't go as planned. We all get beat once in a while, but it's how you respond that counts. It's this part of the game -- the emotional aspect -- that will become very, very important in years to come as many goalies that move up the hockey pyramid already have the physical skill (e.g. skating) and mental skill (e.g. reading the play).So remember...keep your head up, put the work in, trust in your abilities, and the saves and wins will come!!!Until next time, keep the biscuit out of the basket...Cheers,ZaneA woman being held inside the Limestone County Jail now faces new charges after authorities say they found 173 pills inside her this afternoon.
Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely said Heather Leanne Rice, 32, of Athens, is being held in the jail on $7,500 bond on charges of drug possession and promoting prison contraband.
Blakely said Rice turned herself in at the sheriff's office July 22 on a probation violation warrant. However, authorities noticed she appeared to be under the influence of drugs while inside the jail.
She told a jail supervisor that "she knew beforehand that she would be coming to jail, so she made sure she had enough (drugs) to last until her court date."
When she refused to say where her drugs were, authorities gained a warrant to search her. She was taken to Athens Limestone Hospital, where a nurse removed a Pop Tart bag from "a body cavity."
Inside the bag were approximately 32 Xanax, 80 Ambien, and 61 Buprenorphine (Subutex) tablets, Blakely said.The Toasters
The Toasters have had so many musicians pass through them over the decades that it’s a wonder this epic band is still alive and kicking after thirty years. It seems, though, that it is this constant infusion of new talent that keeps their sound as fresh as it was in 1981 when Bucket Hingley (the only original member of the band still present) formed the group. For The Toasters, ska is all about having a great time, and this is the golden rule when going to one of their concerts. Even if you wanted to be miserable during a show– and why would you? – you’d find it impossible not to have the time of your life while the band showers you with their energetic ska-pop-R&B hybrid sound.
During their performance in Ireland early this year, the group got things started on the right foot by opening with ‘Dog Eat Dog’. As the beat really kicked in halfway through the song, I couldn’t stop myself from dancing. And I wasn’t alone. Song after song came and went too quickly, and before I knew it the band was ending their set with their classic ‘Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down’. Thank goodness there was a three-song encore because there was no way anybody in the audience was prepared to let them leave after that corker. Definitely catch The Toasters live while you still can. Their gig was the best nights out I’ve had in a while!
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Report as inappropriateCLOSE Take a look at Aaron Aikman and Jerry Jodloski's recreation of the Mystery Inc. gang's classic ride - the Mystery Machine. Rachel Greco/Lansing State Journal
Bath Township Officer Tom Miller's ghoulish, oozing jack-o-lantern was a Halloween hit at the "Trunk Or Treat" event at Bath Elementary School in 2011. (Photo: Courtesy of Bath Twp. police department)
The countdown to Halloween begins and not just for kids.
From dressing up like a zombie and wandering lifelessly through the streets of downtown to Halloween film trivia, there's plenty for adults who want to get into the spirit.
And of course, we've rounded up a couple activities for the little ones to enjoy.
Check out our guide to what's happening this Halloweekend.
You might also like:
5 scary things you must do before Halloween
Your guide to Halloween: Local events, trick-or-treating and more
Ha Ha Halloween comedy show
Don't miss the Ha Ha Halloween comedy show at the Loft. A handful of comics perform as some of the most legendary comedians — living and dead. We're talking about Jerry Seinfeld, Rodney Dangerfield and Gilda Radner, just to name a few.
If you go: Ha Ha Halloween comedy show, 8 p.m. Wednesday. The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing. $8 to $10.
Trick-or-Treat on the Square
Buy Photo Kaira Ly, 8, from St. Johns checks out the Potter Park Zoo display during Trick-or-Treat on the Square on Oct. 24, 2016 on Washington Square in downtown Lansing. (Photo: Kevin W. Fowler/for the Lansing State Journal)
Cider, doughnuts and fire dancers, oh my!
Brace yourselves as the cutest ghouls and goblins take over downtown Lansing during Trick-or-Treat on the Square on Thursday.
MORE:Trick-or-Treat on the Square in Lansing postponed
In addition to collecting free candy, little ones (and adults, too) can enjoy stilt walkers, balloon twisting and face painting.
Hay rides will be available on the 100 W. Block of Allegan Street between Biggby Coffee and Grand Traverse Pie Company.
If you go: Trick-or-Treat on the Square, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Downtown Lansing along 100 and 200 blocks of South Washington Square. Free.
Halloween movie trivia
From left: Kathy Najimy, Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker starred in the 1993 film, "Hocus Pocus," a cult classic. (Photo: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures)
From "Hocus Pocus" to "Friday the 13th," how well do you know your classic Halloween flicks? Test your knowledge at Claddagh's Halloween movie trivia night on Thursday.
If you go: Halloween Movie Trivia, 7:30 p.m. to 9:20 p.m. Thursday. The Claddagh, 2900 Towne Centre Blvd. in Lansing. Free. Limited space. To reserve a spot, call (517) 484-2523.
Nightmare Off Elm Street
Get into the Halloween spirit at REO Town's weirdly awesome and spooktacular costume party a.k.a. Nightmare Off Elm Street.
There will be costume contests, carnival games, a pop-up art exhibition, as well as performances by the Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle, Karma Bellydance and Autumn Tribe X.
But keep your eyes open for a giant, mobile pirate ship on wheels. No, really.
Oh, and Pie Hole Pizza Truck and From Scratch (Middle Eastern cuisine) will provide the chow.
If you go: Nightmare Off Elm Street, 1023 S. Washington Ave. in REO Town, near the corner of Elm and S. Washington Ave. 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday. Ages 18 and up.
Zombie Walk
Buy Photo "Zombies" make their way to the Lansing Center in the seventh annual Downtown Lansing Zombie Walk on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016. (Photo: Robert Killips/for the Lansing State Journal)
Are there any "The Walking Dead" fans in the house?
Don't miss your chance to join the horde and terrorize downtown Lansing on Saturday during the 8th annual zombie walk.
If you go: Downtown Lansing Zombie Walk, 4 p.m. Saturday. Assembly kicks off at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Lansing Center Exhibit Hall C. Participants are asked to bring a nonperishable food item to benefit the Greater Lansing Food Bank.
Stephen King-themed Halloween party
Buy Photo The Spiral dance bar in Lansing, Mich. is shown Friday, April 28, 2017. (Photo: Al Goldis/for the Lansing State Journal)
Head on over to Spiral Dance-Bar on Saturday dressed in your best Halloween costume, ideally one of the iconic characters from Stephen King's novels, for a chance to win up to $200.
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But we're talking about Spiral Dance-Bar, so expect loads of entertainment, with drag performances and gogo dancers.
If you go: Stephen King Halloween party, 9 p.m. Saturday. Spiral Dance-Bar, 1247 Center St. in Lansing. $5 for 21 and older, $10 for ages 18 through 20.
Dearly Departed Ofrendas Exhibit
Buy Photo Photos and figurines decorate the Emma Teneyuca ofrenda by Maria Starr at the Lansing City Market Dia de los Muertos celebration in 2016. (Photo: Matthew Dae Smith/for the Lansing State Journal)
Folks from all backgrounds and walks of life are invited to celebrate Día de los Muertos (translation: Day of the Dead), a Mexican tradition.
This weekend, stop by the Foster Community Center learn more about Mexican culture, while admiring a beautiful collection of ofrendas.
Ofrendas are symbolic offerings, such as bread, flowers, old photographs and lit candles, that sit on an altar as a way to honor the memory of dead ancestors and welcome their spirits.
If you go: Dearly Departed Ofrendas Exhibit, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. Foster Community Center, 200 N. Foster Ave. in Lansing. Free.
Contact Princess Gabbara at pgabbara@lsj.com or (517) 377-1006. Follow her on Twitter at @PrincessGabbara.
Read or Share this story: http://on.lsj.com/2gIK3kgI had a baby today! Okay, not a living, breathing, poke-it-in-the-belly-and-watch-it-react type of baby, but at six pounds nine ounces, it's just about the size of one. And, unlike a real human baby, this one had a gestation period of over five years and came preloaded with all kinds of useful information. It's also non-gendered, which made naming it pretty difficult.
I ended up naming it The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, and it's the result of a little over five years of long, sleepless nights in the kitchen and at the computer. It's certainly the greatest accomplishment of my career, and I couldn't be prouder to unleash it on the world today. If you're interested in buying it, you can find it wherever books are sold, or order it online from a number of retailers on my website. (The website also has 48 excerpted pages and images from the book, if you want to take a look inside.) And if you're interested in chatting with me and getting your book signed (or perhaps eating some delicious food), I'll also be going on tour! Check out my website for a list of events, and stay tuned to my Twitter account and Facebook page, as I'll be adding more tour cities and dates as they're confirmed. If I'm not coming to a city near you, bear with me: I'm working hard on figuring out a way to get signed books (or, at the very least, bookplates) to anyone who would like them.
The Origins of The Food Lab
The very first article in my column, The Food Lab, was published on October 9, 2009, which makes it nearly six years old. It was about perfect boiled eggs, and it was full of puns and misinformation. Such is the way of science: No matter how sure you are of yourself, you must always be prepared to be proven wrong in the future, oftentimes by yourself. (I thoroughly updated the boiled-egg article in 2014 and expect that version to stand for at least another half decade.)
I wrote that article after a lunch I had with Ed Levine, Serious Eats' overlord and founder, where, over a burger, he suggested that I write a column about food science. Yeah, that sounds fun to me, I said. I boiled a few hundred eggs, I wrote a few thousand words, and I sent it in. At the time, I was a freelance writer struggling to make it in New York, living with my grad-student wife in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with literally no windows. I'm fairly certain this is illegal, but we were in no position to argue. I was cooking private dinners for an Upper East Side family to make ends meet (who knew you could scrape together a meager living making reheatable bean burritos and mac n' cheese?). Even though Serious Eats was still an uppity young blog at that point, I was so infatuated with the passion and humor and inclusivity of the site that I had absolutely no problem writing a couple thousand words about boiled eggs for a rate that would barely buy me three dozen of them in the current San Francisco market.*
*This was back in the rough-and-tumble early days of food blogs, when nobody could afford to pay a decent rate for stories. Thankfully, those days are quickly receding.
It was the best decision I ever made.** The reaction that article got when we published it was mind-boggling to me. I wrote it because it was interesting to me. Little did I know that there was this vast audience out there, thirsty for food science and, apparently, for terrible humor and puns. I couldn't believe it! The thought that I could churn out these tests at home and tap out a few words on my computer, and that there, out in the world, were thousands of folks who were interested in learning about how science might help them lead more delicious lives, was incredible. I've always been the type of person to work on only the things that deeply interest me. For the first time in my life, it looked like the circle of "things that interest me" might actually overlap with the circle of "things that will let me earn a living."
**If my wife is reading this, it was the second-best decision I ever made.
Within a few months of the column's launch, under the prodding of Ed and his wife, Vicky (a literary agent who, for some reason, wanted to represent me), I decided to write a book. I spent a couple of months researching the market, writing up a table of contents, deciding what recipes would be included, and putting together a proposal for a book. A reasonably sized, 380-page book with about 100 recipes in it, to be published a year later.
I won't bore you with the details, but one year and 380 pages came and went. What I wound up with, five years later, is one thousand pages long, with around 300 recipes, thousands of full-color photographs showing step-by-steps and comparisons of testing results, charts, graphs, do-at-home experiments, and lots and lots and lots of words, including a foreword by my living idol, Jeffrey Steingarten. Hopefully, you'll find some of them useful and interesting. It's hardcover with nice, thick, semi-gloss pages with a binding that's designed for laying flat without the pages jumping up or flopping around as you cook. This is a book that's gonna be equally at home on your coffee table, your kitchen counter, or if you're a night owl like me, under the covers with a flashlight.
I would like to make one thing clear here about the book: It's not a recipe book. Yes, there are several hundred recipes in it—the majority of which are, incidentally, brand new, though some of the greatest hits from the site appear in its pages as well. But, with a ratio of one thousand pages to 300 recipes, there's quite a bit more other stuff. (As a point of reference, The Joy of Cooking is a 650-page book with 4,500 recipes. Its recipe-to-page ratio is about 20 times greater than mine!) This is a book for people who want to learn the hows and the whys of cooking. It's a book about technique, a book about food science, a book about how to learn to feed yourself and your loved ones more deliciously. If I did my job right, by the time you're done reading and cooking your way through it, you won't even need any of the recipes, because by building your knowledge and your skills, you'll have all the building blocks you need to create your own recipes and traditions in the kitchen.
How good does that sound?
Some Words of Thanks
I wrote the words, tested the recipes, and took the photographs for this book myself, but a book is far, far more than a collection of words and pictures. If you're eager to get to the excerpt, you can skip right to it, but I wanted to take a quick second to send out some good vibes. The acknowledgments and thanks I give in my book span four columns, and those don't really even begin to cover the breadth of people who've helped me out along the way. (And, indeed, some of those folks who did most of the tasting grew in both breadth and width because of it.) Here are just a very few of the most important—the folks that loom largest in my legend.***
***Please excuse the odd turn of phrase. I cribbed it from George Harrison the first time I saw A Hard Day's Night and have been using it ever since.
Thanks to my family, first and foremost my wife, Adriana, who, despite losing her husband between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m. for several years straight, still seems to love me (or at least tolerate me). My mother, who has gotten over her initial misgivings about my throwing away my education to become a cook, and has since become one of my biggest fans. Both of my sisters, my father, and my grandfather, who I all sincerely hope can make it to our house for Thanksgiving this year, because sing-alongs are just no fun on my own.
Thanks to Ed Levine and everyone on the Serious Eats team, both the old-timers who were with me when The Food Lab all started, and the incredibly talented and hard-working new faces who've managed to bear with me through the insanity leading up to its release. I want to thank every chef and line cook and dishwasher who's taught me how to be a better cook and a better person.
Thanks to my agent, Vicky Bijur, who has done far more for a first-time author than any agent should rightly be expected to do. Thanks to all the folks at my publisher, W. W. Norton, especially my editor, Maria Guarnaschelli, who is not nearly as fearsome in real life as she is in reputation.
Thanks to the late Don Herbert, a.k.a. Mr. Wizard, who taught me almost everything I know about science and everything I know about how to make it entertaining and sticky. Without him, I'd probably be doing something far less interesting, though perhaps sleeping a bit more.
And, of course, thanks to each and every reader. You guys are the reason I'm able to make a living doing the thing I love doing most in the world, which, by pretty much any measure I can think of, is a dream come true.
Excerpt From The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science
Here's a short excerpt from the introductory chapter of the book. You can expect some more excerpts over the course of the next couple of weeks. I sincerely hope you enjoy them.
What's In This Book?
About twenty years ago, celebrated food scientist, author, and personal hero Harold McGee made a simple statement: contrary to popular belief, searing meat before roasting it does not "lock in the juices."* Now, saying this to a cook was like telling a physicist that rocks fall upward or an Italian that pizza was invented in Iceland. Ever since the mid-nineteenth century, when German food scientist Justus von Liebig first put forth the theory that searing meat at very high temperatures essentially cauterizes its surface and creates a moisture-proof barrier, it had been accepted as culinary fact. And for the next century and a half, this great discovery was embraced by world-famous chefs (including Auguste Escoffier, the father of French cuisine) and passed on from mentor to apprentice and from cookbook writer to home cook.
*McGee was not actually the first to debunk this theory, but it was the first time anybody took real notice.
You'd think that with all that working against him, McGee must have used the world's most powerful computer, or at the very least a scanning electron microscope, to prove his assertion, right? Nope. His proof was as simple as looking at a piece of meat. He noticed that when you sear a steak on one side, then flip it over and cook it on the second side, juices from the interior of the steak are squeezed out of the top—the very side that was supposedly now impermeable to moisture loss!
It was an observation that anyone who's ever cooked a steak could have made, and one that has since led restaurants to completely revise their cooking methods. Indeed, many high-end restaurants these days cook their steaks first sealed in plastic in low-temperature water baths, searing them only at the end in order to add flavor. The result is steaks that are juicier, moister, and more tender than anything the world was eating before von Liebig's erroneous assertion was finally disproved.
The question is, if debunking von Liebig's theory was such a simple task, why did it take nearly a hundred and fifty years to do it? The answer lies in the fact that cooking has always been considered a craft, not a science. Restaurant cooks act as apprentices, learning, but not questioning, their chefs' techniques. Home cooks follow the notes and recipes of their mothers and grandmothers or cookbooks—perhaps tweaking them here and there to suit modern tastes, but never challenging the fundamentals.
It's only in recent times that cooks have finally begun to break out of this shell. Restaurants that revel in using the science of cookery to come up with new techniques that result in pleasing and often surprising outcomes are not just proliferating but are consistently ranked as the best in the world (Chicago's Alinea or Spain's now-closed El Bulli, for example). It's an indication that as a population, we're finally beginning to see cooking for what it truly is: a scientific engineering problem in which the inputs are raw ingredients and technique and the outputs are deliciously edible results.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not out to try and prove to you that foams are the way of the future or that your eggs need to be cooked in a steam-injected, pressure-controlled oven to come out right. I'm not here to push some sort of newfangled, fancified, plated-with-tweezers, deconstructed/reconstructed cuisine. Quite the opposite, in fact.
My job is simple: to prove to you that even the simplest of foods—hamburgers, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, chicken soup, even a g#%amn salad—are every bit as fascinating, interesting, storied, and delicious as what the chefs wearing the fanciest pants these days are concocting. I mean, have you ever stopped to marvel about exactly what goes on inside a hamburger when you cook it? The simultaneous complexity and simplicity of a patty formed from the chopped muscle mass of selected parts of a remarkably intricate animal, seasoned with salt and pepper, seared on a hot piece of metal, and then slipped into a soft toasted bun? You haven't? Well, let me give you a quick rundown to show you what I'm talking about.
On Hamburgers
Hamburgers start as patties of beef...no, let me back up a bit. Burgers actually start as ground beef that's then formed into...no, sorry, even further back. Hamburgers start with whole cuts of beef that are then ground into.... Wait a minute, let's get all Inception on this and go one level deeper: hamburgers start with cows—animals that live exceedingly complicated lives, that can differ not only in breed and feed, but also in terms of exercise, terrain they're exposed to, how and when they're slaughtered, and whether they live on grass their whole lives or are supplemented with grain. From these animals come many cuts of meat that vary in flavor according to fat content, their function during the animal's life, and its specific diet. Blending specially selected cuts will lead to ground beef with the optimal flavor and fat profile.
From there, it's just a simple matter of grinding, forming patties, and cooking, right?
Not so fast. How you grind your beef can have a profound impact on the texture of the finished burgers. Think all ground beef is created equal? Think again. And what about salting? Do you salt the meat and blend it in, or do you salt the outside of the patties? How do you form those patties? Pressing the beef into a ball and flattening it works, but is that really the best way? And what causes those burgers to puff up into softball-shaped, spherical blobs when you cook them, anyway? Once you start opening your mind to the wonders of the kitchen, once you start asking what's really going on inside your food while you cook it, you'll find that the questions keep coming and coming, and that the answers will become more and more fascinating.
Not only does answering questions about burgers help you to cook your burgers better, but it also reveals applications to all sorts of other situations. We start big fat burgers off on the cooler side of the grill and finish 'em with a se |
overcharged” in the incident.
Intense interest in the case has prompted court officials preparing for Monday’s sentencing to open overflow rooms to cope with the expected crowd.
The prosecution, in its sentencing recommendation, argued that Ravi be sent to prison, but not for the maximum 10 years.
Clementi’s family was expected to read a victim impact statement, as is a lawyer for the older man who visited the dorm room, identified only as M.B.
Ravi’s lawyers argue that he should be set free. They are appealing the verdict and asking for a new trial.ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON in the summer of 2008, I found myself standing in a concrete building on the outskirts of Armoor, a town in the Nizamabad district of Andhra Pradesh. The building was called Garden City Function Hall, but apart from its bleak surroundings—the vegetation blasted dull yellow by months without rain—there was little to distinguish it from countless other such structures in India, usually rented out for weddings and celebrations. There was a hall with a stage, a lawn covered by a white tent, waiters dressed in jeans, waistcoats and shoes without socks and a few bedraggled swans in one corner.
The occasion that afternoon wasn’t a wedding. As the waiters circulated with glasses of water, a man with long hair and a splendidly oiled moustache climbed onto the stage and began singing, his right hand sometimes pressed to his heart, sometimes swept out in a gesture intended to raise people from their midday torpor. A chorus line of young boys, bare chested and in white dhotis, danced behind the singer, breaking out from time to time in a sheepish refrain of “Jai Telangana!” or “Victory to Telangana.”
They were demanding a new state called Telangana, an area of some 155,400 square kilometres to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh, India’s fifth-largest state. I was a stranger to the region and had known nothing of the movement for Telangana until that afternoon, but the 100-odd people in the audience—ranging from farmers with calloused hands to lawyers wielding video cameras—were all there to support the demand. This was true of R Limbadri, a professor of public administration at Osmania University in Hyderabad, who had brought me to the event. Limbadri was a Dalit who had grown up in a nearby village, a man whose Chaplinesque moustache belied the childhood experience of humiliation and deprivation that he had transformed into a firm but good-humoured activism. When Limbadri addressed the gathering, therefore, he was less dramatic than the singer, saying that he supported the demand for Telangana, but only if this new state was envisioned differently, committed to ending the vast social and economic disparity that has marked Andhra Pradesh in recent years.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy will expand its presence in the Mediterranean with a fourth cruise-missile armed warship because of the escalating civil war in Syria, a defense official said on Friday.
The USS Mahan had finished its deployment and was due to head back to its home base in Norfolk, Virginia, but the commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet has decided to keep the ship in the region, the defense official said.
The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, stressed that the Navy had received no orders to prepare for any military operations regarding Syria.
U.S. officials are considering a range of options for responding to reports that Syria has used chemical weapons against civilians, including possible cruise missile attacks from the sea, a senior defense official told Reuters earlier.Community
It has scarcely been the best week on Community's set. On November 14, NBC announced its January schedule, and the acclaimed cult comedy about the eccentric members of a community-college study group whose outsize, genre-bending adventures frequently boggle the mind was missing in action.
It's expected to return and finish out its season later in 2012, but gallows humor has set in: When the cast shot a scene in the show's study room, a message on the chalkboard read, "The TV thingy didn't work out."
The next Friday, however, halfway through their third season, the cast gathered for a photo shoot, where they learned that their Little Show That Could and Still Might had been named, via online voting, TV Guide Magazine's second annual Fan Favorites winner, earning the magazine's cover.
Fists were pumped. Yelps were yelped. Alison Brie, who plays the semi-innocent Annie, improvised a rap ("We got a trophy, yo!"). Chevy Chase (aka the clueless, wealthy reprobate Pierce) was impressed the trophy actually had a nice inscription on it.
"Because we don't get nominated for awards, this is our fans' outlet," says Gillian Jacobs, who plays rebel-with-too-many-causes Britta. "They may not see us win Emmys or SAG Awards, but they do have the power in this, and you see a lot of people care. It's gratifying to have a dedicated army."
Some cast members, like Joel McHale (who stars as the snarkily charismatic Jeff) and Yvette Nicole Brown (passive-aggressively religious Shirley), implored fans to vote for the show on their Twitter feeds. "We just got benched, which is not a great feeling, and to find out the same week we're the fans' favorite? That's amazing," Brown exults. "I would say it's bittersweet, but it's not — it's just sweet."
It was news to Chase that this competition even existed. "I'm impressed there is such an award and that we got it, and if I'm not on the cover, I'll be deeply upset," he deadpans. (Not to worry, Chevy — you're on one of our three collectible covers.)
Jim Rash, who plays the school's überquirky Dean Pelton, jokes, "I think we won because we all secretly voted." Adds Danny Pudi (pop-culture conduit Abed), "That's how we all broke our laptops, the multiple voting."
Perhaps no cast member was more touched by the victory than Ken Jeong, who plays the deeply weird Chang. "This is something we don't take for granted," Jeong says. "I used to be a physician, and the only reason I gave that up is because I wanted to follow what I love to do. This proves to me that if you do the best you can, good things can happen."
McHale — who responded to the win with a hearty "Holy crap!" — believes the show's fan base doesn't adhere to the usual notions of TV viewers. "Our fans don't watch TV the way others do," he says. "I did a stand-up show at the University of Arizona and there were 30 kids who ran the event. I said, 'How many of you watch Community?' and they all raised their hands, which was great. I asked, 'How many watch it Thursdays at 8pm?' Zero hands. I asked, 'How many of you have TVs?' Four hands. I asked, 'How many of you watch on computers?' All hands went up. That may be an excuse, but our audience skews young. But with something like this, they vote. That's how rabid they are, so that's great."
For more with the cast of Community, pick up this week's issue of TV Guide Magazine, on newsstands Thursday, December 1!
Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!Fedor Emelianenko Officially Retires; No “Fantastic Offers” to Tempt Him Fedor Emelianenko says that, were he in his prime, he would like to fight UFC champ Cain Velasquez. (MMA Weekly)
Initial reports following Fedor Emelianenko’s victory over Pedro Rizzo on Thursday left his retirement in doubt, but it appears that the legendary Russian fighter has finally decided to hang up his gloves.
“I think it is time I quit,” Emelianenko said, according to a report by the Russian News & Information Agency RIA Novosti.
“My family influenced my decision. My daughters are growing without me, that's why it's time to leave.”
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Emelianenko, 35, also apparently said that there are no “fantastic offers” that could tempt him out of retirement, specifically mentioning that even exacting revenge on Fabricio Werdum was not of great importance to him.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was in attendance at Fedor’s final fight, getting up in the ring afterwards to congratulate him.
“I want to congratulate Fedor and thank him from all of us, martial arts fans,” Putin said; according to Russian news site RT.com. “It is because of him this sport became so popular in our country.”
Fedor went the majority of his career relatively undefeated.
He lost to Tsuyoshi Kosaka in just the fifth fight of his career in 17 seconds due to a cut.
Fedor fought to a 31-1 record before ever again tasting defeat, that being to Werdum under the Strikeforce banner. That started some dominoes toppling, however, as Fedor lost two more fights before he exited the promotion.
The win over Rizzo on Thursday was his third consecutive victory since a loss to Dan Henderson in Strikeforce.
Fedor dominated the heavyweight division in the early 2000s fighting for Pride Fighting Championships in Japan. Pride’s heavyweight class was considered the premier assembly of big men in the world at the time.
Story continues
The UFC eventually tried to sign Fedor to fight in the Octagon, but company officials could never come to terms with the Russian great’s management company, M-1 Global.
Fedor Emelianenko’s record stands at 34-4 as he hangs up his gloves for the final time.
Follow @KenPishna on Twitter or e-mail Ken Pishna.
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With this issue, we’re inaugurating “The Score,” a monthly feature about the economy by Bryce Covert and Mike Konczal. Ad Policy
The wealth controlled by the top tenth of the top 1 percent has more than doubled over the past thirty years in the United States, approaching levels not seen since the 1920s. The left’s two recent intellectual blockbusters—Thomas Piketty’s bestselling Capital in the Twenty-First Century and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “The Case for Reparations”—published by The Atlantic—indicate the profound uneasiness with this trend.
Wealth is the ownership of the productive economic elements in society, such as land and corporations. The wealthy control the direction of the economy, and they claim an increasing share of what it produces. But as their influence increases, they avoid being held to the same standard of accountability under a system of democratic politics, while those of us without wealth find ourselves vulnerable.
Democrats and Republicans advocate different solutions to inequality, but both seek to shift financial risk from the state to the individual. Republicans promote the “ownership society,” in which privatizing social insurance, removing investor protections and expanding home ownership align the interests of workers with the anti-regulatory interests of the wealthy. Democrats focus on education and on helping the poor build wealth through savings programs. These approaches demand greater personal responsibility for market risks and failures, further discrediting the state’s role in regulating markets and providing public social insurance.
Instead of just giving people more purchasing power, we should be taking basic needs off the market altogether.
Consider Social Security, a wildly popular program that doesn’t count toward individual wealth. If Social Security were replaced with a private savings account, individuals would have more “wealth” (because they would have their own financial account) but less actual security. The elderly would have to spin the financial-markets roulette wheel and suffer destitution if they were unlucky. This is why social-wealth programs like Social Security combat inequality more powerfully than any privatized, individualized wealth-building “solution.”
Public programs like universal healthcare and free education function the same way, providing social wealth directly instead of hoping to boost people’s savings enough to allow them to afford either. Rather than requiring people to struggle with a byzantine system of private health insurance, universal healthcare would be available to cover the costs of genuine health needs. Similarly, broadly accessible higher education would allow people to thrive without taking on massive student loans and hoping that their “human capital” investment helps them hit the jackpot.
We already know how to create social wealth using taxes on private wealth and capital. Consider inheritance taxes: in addition to creating revenue, they motivate the wealthy to donate to nonprofits and other organs of civil society. Inheritance taxes direct private wealth to public ends.
Bringing wealth under democratic accountability—rather than making everyone a tiny capitalist—has to be an essential part of any equality agenda. America’s biggest declines in poverty often follow from this approach (expanding Social Security and Medicare, for example). Otherwise, we’ll be left with a dystopic Lake Wobegon, where almost all of the men, women and children are below average, even as they hope to join the 1 percent.
Mike Konczal
Construction jobs that would be created by investing $1.3 billion in infrastructure projects. This could be done via the Highway Trust Fund, the pot of money for road and bridge repairs that’s about to run dry.
The number of companies with court cases pending that challenge the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that their health insurance policies cover contraception. After the Hobby Lobby decision by the Supreme Court, more companies may succeed in dropping coverage.
The hourly wage that homecare workers in Illinois will make by the end of the year thanks to a union-brokered agreement. The Supreme Court ruling in Harris v. Quinn holds that such workers are no longer required to pay union dues, a decision likely to bankrupt their unions.
The amount spent on four World Cup stadiums in Brazil—buildings that will now stand empty.
Half-full: Employment growth has picked up in 2014. The average number of jobs created per month has been 231,000, compared with 194,000 last year. Also, broader surveys of consumer confidence are approaching pre-crisis levels.
Half-empty: This hasn’t translated into real wage gains, with median incomes still 4 percent below pre-crisis levels and showing no signs of catching up. Ironically, the good employment numbers could also hurt working people by prompting the Federal Reserve to step on the brakes sooner and raise interest rates.CLOSE The Milwaukee Bucks' G League team Wisconsin Herd located in Oshkosh Wis., unveiled it logo to an invited crowd at Oshkosh West High School. Artist Patcasso painted to the music provided by DJ Steady Rock. Once the painting was done the logo was revealed. Wochit
Xavier Munford of the Wisconsin Herd plays defense against the Reno Bighorn's David Stockton during a game Saturday in Reno. Stockton is the son of NBA great John Stockton. The Herd won 106-102. (Photo: Courtesy of the Reno Bighorns)
Free tickets are available for the Wisconsin Herd's home opener Friday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
In its inaugural season, the Herd, the minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, are 3-1 and feature Xavier Munford who scored 31 in the team's victory Saturday over the Reno Bighorns.
Munford was named the G-League Performer of the Week last week.
RELATED: Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee Bucks' minor league team, ready to roll in Oshkosh
The Herd includes several players with NBA experience, including Gary Payton II and Joel Bolomboy who are signed to "two-way" contracts, which means they are on the Bucks' roster for up to 45 days.
Wisconsin Herd introduced David Dean (left) as the team's general manager and Jordan Brady as the team's head coach at a press conference at the Oshkosh Convention Center on Friday. (Photo: Steve Clark/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
The Herd also includes former Wisconsin Badgers standout, forward Vitto Brown.
Friday's game against the Windy City Bulls was to have been the Herd's home opener in the new $21 million Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh. Construction delays forced the team to move the game to Milwaukee.
About 375 Herd fans from Oshkosh will come by bus to the game, said Herd spokeswoman Mallory Steinberg. The team also provided 600 tickets to its Menominee Nation partner and about 2,250 to nonprofits, she said.
RELATED: Wisconsin Herd home opener moved from Oshkosh to Bradley Center due to arena project delays
The team will play two additional "home" games at the Bradley Center. Those games on Saturday and Tuesday Nov. 28, are not open to the public.
The Herd plan to have its home opener in Oshkosh on Friday, Dec. 1.
Tickets for Friday's 7 p.m. game are available online at WisconsinHerd.com. Fans who download tickets for the game will be entered to win two lower-level tickets to a Milwaukee Bucks game in December.A literary tour of Syria illuminates the dark side of religion and politics that lurks behind the current crisis, as well as the fearlessness of ordinary people
The best books on Syria: start your reading here
The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami, translated by Anthea Bell
This monumental novel of forbidden love is an opulent, intricately assembled mosaic of stories. With its myriad digressions and vast array of characters, it isn’t always an easy read – but persistence is richly rewarded.
At its heart is the Romeo and Juliet-like romance between Farid Mushtak and Rana Shahid, whose Christian clans – one Catholic, the other Greek Orthodox – have been engaged in a blood feud over generations. Originally from the mountain village of Mala, the rival families later take their enmity to Damascus, which is vividly – and lovingly – portrayed.
The compelling tale of the star-crossed couple straddles love, lust, betrayal and revenge, while laying bare the sins of a male-dominated society. It sweeps through much of Syria’s turbulent 20th-century history as the country endures French occupation, military coups, union with Egypt and war with Israel.
Schami illuminates the dark side not just of love, but also of religion and politics. The latter, frequently blighted by violence and repression, causes Farid to pay dearly for his radical affiliations.
The best books on North Korea: start your reading here | Pushpinder Khaneka Read more
“Knowledge is a lock,” says one character, “and the key to it is a question, but we’re not allowed to ask questions in this country.”
The author, who fled Syria in 1970 and now lives in Germany, says the catalyst for the novel was witnessing an “honour killing” on the streets of Damascus in 1962.
In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa, translated by Leri Price
Khalifa’s multi-layered novel explores the rise of religious extremism in Syria from a female perspective. It is set in the early 1980s, during the bloody struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood and the ostensibly secular regime of Hafez al-Assad (President Bashar’s father), in which thousands died.
The unnamed narrator, a young girl growing up in her grandparents’ house in Aleppo with her three aunts, finds her cloistered existence encroached upon by the tumultuous events taking place in the country.
Under the influence of an uncle, she becomes increasingly conservative and religious, finally embracing fanaticism and declaring herself a mujahida, a Muslim warrior. She becomes enthused by sectarian animosity, believing “we need hatred to give our lives meaning”.
As the conflict escalates, and “bodies on both sides fall like ripened berries”, family members are caught up in the battle and the ferocious repression that follows. She is eventually jailed and tortured for her links to the Islamists. During her long, harsh spell in prison she realises “hatred [is] worthy of praise as it lives within us exactly as love does”.
That hatred has echoes in the country’s brutal civil war today.
Khalifa’s book was banned in Syria. Despite his run-ins with the government, the author – also a well-known screenwriter – continues to live in Damascus.
Burning Country meshes first-hand testimonies with lucid analysis to chronicle the 2011 Syrian revolution from the grassroots up. It is a people’s history, giving voice to the ordinary citizens who defied the Assad “realm of fear”.
The early chapters provide historical context, charting how the minority Shia Alawite sect – to which the Assad family belongs – went from society’s margins to its mainstream, seizing power in the 1960s. Hafez al-Assad’s dictatorship presented a facade of socialism and secularism behind which lurked crony capitalism and sectarianism.
Bashar’s takeover after his father’s death in 2000 brought hopes of reform, which remained unfulfilled. When peaceful protesters took to the streets in 2011, the regime’s response was savage. After that “baptism of horror”, the revolt became fiercer. It militarised, split into factions, and an increasing number of the fighters were Islamist.
In the denouement that followed, the country became the site “of proxy wars, of Sunni-Shia rivalries, of foreign interventions”. And it brought the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war.
The authors lament the international community’s failure to support the moderate opposition movements and to prevent the country’s fragmentation and mutilation.
Intelligent, indignant and hugely empathetic, Burning Country tells us a lot of what we need to know about Syria.
Yasmin-Kassab and Al-Shami are British-Syrians, the former a commentator and novelist, the latter an activist.Turkey's army killed 35 Kurdish militants after they attempted to storm a base in the southeastern Hakkari province early on Saturday, military officials said.
The overnight attack came hours after clashes in Hakkari's Cukurca district between soldiers and militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that left eight soldiers dead, the officials said.
The militants attempted to take the base in three different groups, but were spotted by aerial reconnaissance.
An air operation was launched, killing 23 of them, the officials said. Four more were then killed in a ground operation, they said. The remaining eight were killed in clashes in Hakkari's Cukurca district.
Friday's clashes in Cukurca also left 25 soldiers wounded, the officials said.
Turkey's military — NATO's second-largest — is grappling with the insurgency in the mainly Kurdish southeast as its senior ranks undergo a major shake-up in following a July 15-16 coup attempt.
On Thursday, Turkey announced an overhaul of the armed forces, with 99 colonels promoted to the rank of general or admiral and nearly 1,700 military personnel given dishonourable discharges over their alleged roles in the coup.
About 40 per cent of all generals and admirals in the military have been dismissed since the coup.
In the southeast, the military has frequently carried out airstrikes after a 2 1/2-year ceasefire and peace process between the government and the PKK broke down last summer.
Thousands of militants and hundreds of civilians and soldiers have been killed since then. Some cities in the predominantly Kurdish southeast have been engulfed in the worst violence since the 1990s.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK — designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union — began its insurgency in 1984.7 Gallon Chronical Conical Fermenter
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Lid is easy to remove, and sealed in place with a molded silicone gasket. Full capacity to the rim of fermenter is 7 gallons, and with domed lid and a blowoff setup, ferments can go cleanly and effortlessly! Laser Etched Gallon Markers inside denote what volume of brew you are working with. Six spring-loaded Lid Clamps hold the lid in place and can be pressurized to 5 psi.
Sturdy Stainless Steel Legs keep your beer off the ground, and allow for clean and easy access to racking and dump valves. We mentioned these legs are sturdy, and we mean it. They are designed to hold the weight of multiple Chronicals, stacked on top of each other!
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Please allow time for drop shipping from manufacturer; this product will ship Fed Ex ONLYSeveral people were wounded, some fatally, in various shootings across the city’s West and South Sides.
One of those killed was a 58-year-old woman, the sister of a Chicago police officer and teacher.
Dr. Betty Howard was a beloved special education teacher who worked part-time as a real estate agent in Chatham. She was inside the real estate when a stray bullet tore through the wall, taking her life.
At the 58-year-old’s school, Brooks College Prep, students, parents and staff are devastated by her death. She was absolutely adored there and to lose her this way, by mis-directed gunfire from gang members, has hit those who knew her extremely hard– particularly her brother, we’re being told.
He’s a chicago police officer. Those her worked with her say Betty Howard always went out of her way to guide her students.
D’Andre Weaver, Principal, Brooks College Prep: “She was a true professional and was committed to the work of educating kids.. No matter what challenge they had.”
“We truly miss her- we love her and we’re really thinking about her family at this time.”
Dorothy Robinson, Brooks College Prep parent: “Doctor Howard was just a beautiful person. My son has Autism and they welcome him into the Gwendolyn Brooks community. It’s a beautiful school, a beautiful program and she was a beautiful person.”
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis issued a statement reading in part:
“Our fallen sister brings to mind the loss that we all feel for every child and adult who lives in the city and is a victim of deadly violence. The seemingly random nature of this incident makes it all the more painful, and highlights the attention that must be given to neighborhoods where people face these tragedies on a daily basis.”
Friday night, there was a police roll call and a neighborhood rally for peace under the banner ‘unite or die.’
It’s grief so profound, it’s painful to watch. at the scene of last night’s fatal shooting, relatives of Betty Howard are overcome.
Melzenia Long, cousin: “She was just an overall good human being that did not deserve to have her life taken away from her like that.”
Friday night, there was a police roll call and a neighborhood rally for peace under the banner ‘unite or die.’
Cong. Bobby Rush (D) 1st district: “This is not a police problem, this is a state problem, this is a city problem, this is a national problem. My office is one block west of here.”
In a seperate shooting, a 51-year-old man was killed and another man injured in the Fuller Park neighborhood on the South Side, according to family and officials.
The shooting happened at about 6:30 p.m. on the 4200 block of South Princeton Avenue, according to fire department and police officials.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene from wounds to his head and chest. A 32-year-old man was shot in the chest and was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County where his condition had stabilized, said Chicago Fire Department Chief Joseph Roccasalva and police.
Not even 20 yards from a busy stretch of West 43rd Street, police had covered a body with a tarp, an open hand still visible. Nearby, evidence markers sat outside a pool of blood.Meet Rocky. He's a patrol and narcotics K-9 for the Jenkintown Borough Police Department in Montgomery County.
He fights crime and keeps the community safe like any other officer.
"He's found drugs and narcotics in cars and homes he's found burglary suspects," said Sgt. Richard Tucker.
However take one look at the shaved hair on his coat and you know he's been through something.
"While he was here, he fell I'll all of sudden and totally unexpected," said Chief Albert DiValentino.
The 7-year-old German Shepherd is supposed to be in his prime but on March 29th the K-9 had to be taken to the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital.
"They discovered they had to do emergency surgery or put him down," said Chief DiValentino.
Rocky had a rare and life threatening condition - his colon and intestines had become entangled.
"They removed a large part of his colon and had to fuse the rest back together," said Chief DiValentino.
Sgt. Tucker is Rocky's handler. He's also the one who rushed Rocky to the hospital that night.
"We have a bond. I protect him, he protects me. It's a different bond than people realize because you're with that animal so much," he said.
The doctors saved Rocky's life. But now the department is trying to find a way to pay for his surgery.
"Unfortunately for us, Rocky didn't have insurance at the time. The surgery started at $8,000," said Sgt. Tucker.
The department is asking for help to cover those costs and says saving Rocky's life was the only choice, after all he's family.
"We chose for him to have surgery. He's too valuable a member of the force and the community," said Chief DiValentino.
Rocky underwent the surgery but is not out of the woods yet. Doctors will continue to monitor him over the next few weeks.
The department says anyone who would like to donate towards Rocky's medical bills can contact them at their headquarters located at 700 Summit Avenue, Jenkintown, PA 19046 or call 215-885-0700.HONG KONG (Reuters) - As China’s economy wheezes to a 25-year low, investors who once collected stocks and property are turning to what they are willing to believe will become a new safe haven market - a trading platform for fine art.
Even as the global fever among connoisseurs cools for Chinese art, Hong Kong-based Takung Art Co said its revenue and profit jumped along with rampant growth in valuations for a portfolio of paintings, jewelry and precious gems. Via Takungs’s platform, investor-enthusiasts can partly own, buy and sell Chinese art pieces over a 10-year period.
Earlier this week, the small U.S.-listed firm said thousands of customers like Shenzhen-based finance professional Zhou are boosting trading of units in artwork listed on its platform. Takung said the notional value of its portfolio of contemporary pieces has surged over 700 percent to $179 million since it launched the platform at the end of 2013.
“We all want an easy, safe place to earn money,” said Zhou, 37, who declined to give his full name. Formerly a stock investor, Zhou said he researches art trends personally and currently has around 400,000 yuan ($61,360) tied up in Takung’s platform: “Here I know my assets are safe, and for a long time.”
Online art marketplaces have proliferated as the Internet has grown, with sites from Beijing’s Hihey.com to New York-based Artspace offering art lovers an alternative to traditional auction houses. Giants of e-commerce are also in on the act - Amazon.com Inc operates Amazon Art, featuring $200,000 oil paintings.
But traditional art auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s International have seen overall sales slow of late amid global economic uncertainty. By 2014 the global auction market for Chinese art and antiques had slid to $7.9 billion, nearly a third below its 2011 peak, according to a joint survey by online auction platform Artnet and the Chinese Association of Auctioneers.
Philip Hoffman, chief executive of the Fine Art Fund Group in London, said he would be very surprised if Takung’s model was translated outside China as the mode of investing was risky.
“A lot of these people (using the online platform) simply have the financial approach with no art understanding whatsoever,” said Hoffman, whose fund manages $350-500 million in art assets.
ART FOR HK$1 PER UNIT
Takung’s model is a first for Hong Kong. The brainchild of 40-year-old Chairman and Chief Executive Di Xiao, Takung neither buys nor sells art on its own account, but charges a percentage fee for owners to list works that will be traded on the platform for a guaranteed 10 years, as well as trading commissions.
The art’s price tag is then broken down into a large number of small ‘units’ - for example, a painting valued at HK$1.2 million may be divided into 1.2 million units at HK$1 apiece. Platform users then trade units, the price changing according to demand - and so far, every work on the platform has appreciated in their notional on-screen value, often by huge multiples.
This week Takung reported revenue more than doubled to $11.3 million and net profit nearly quadrupled to $5.4 million. “We believe that our sharp increases in revenue and profitability validate the soundness of our shared fine art ownership model,” Di Xiao said in a statement.
Slideshow (2 Images)
After trading on the platform for 10 years, Takung said works will be sold “in any way available at the time, including auction house, galleries and/or a 1-to-1 transaction platform that we are developing”.
The first such sale is due in December 2023, with proceeds to be distributed among the shared ownership. Asked what might happen if the art fetched less than its on-platform valuation, Takung said, “As a product approaches the end of the 10-year period, the on-platform valuation will converge to the expected valuation of selling the piece as a whole.”
($1 = 6.5188 Chinese yuan renminbi)A Labour Party councillor has not been given a jail sentence despite being caught with thousands of rape images of children and being a drug dealer – in his own ward.
Labour councillor Tom Neilson, 33 and his lodger supplied drugs from his home where wild parties were also held.
When police raided his property in November 2015 they caught his lodger, Brendan Evans, with a stash of illegal substences and drugs paraphernalia.
Neilson’s computers were seized and officers found thousands of rape images of youngsters some involving sex with animals.
The Labour councillor for North West Leicestershire District Council, representing Measham South ward since 2011, resigned following his arrest.
Neilson and Evans, 27, both previously admitted possessing drugs, with intent to supply.
Neilson, of Measham, Leicestershire, further admitted three counts of possessing rape images of children between 2008 and 2015.
Yesterday, he was given a three-year community order with a requirement to undergo an internet sex offender programme and carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
Evans, also from Measham, who has previous convictions for drug offences, was jailed for 20 months at Leicester Crown Court.
Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Dean QC told Neilson: ‘You’re in a different position to your co-accused.
‘You’re a man of good character and your offending was carried out in a different way.
‘These offences are taken seriously by the court; if it happens again you’ll be going to prison.
‘Indecent images were found on your computer, a different form of offending which is as serious, if not more.’
He said he accepted the defendant looked at the images after ‘straying’ from mainstream adult pornography.
The judge said he also accepted the recommendation in the pre-sentence report that Neilson should receive ‘appropriate rehabilitation’.
Judge Dean told Evans he had previously been jailed ‘for precisely the same offending’ which could not be overlooked by the court.
The court heard Neilson allowed himself to be involved by allowing parties to take place and drugs to be used on the premises.
James Bide-Thomas, prosecuting, said the defendant also used drugs himself and passed on messages relating to dealing.
Nicola Moore, defending Neilson, said: ‘If he’s sent to prison he won’t receive any form of assistance.’
She said the indecent images offending was ‘combined with problems he had with his drug use’, which is |
ats are calling him a traitor to his race and telling him he is not allowed to have those beliefs.
Garcia, in public statements accompanying the cancellation, acknowledges that it was intentionally somewhat “over the top” in order to get attention and spark discussion, but he has been pressured by fear of retaliation from university officials and by threats to his personal safety to go as far as saying the idea was “misguided.”
This isn’t the first time Gracia’s group has garnered something of the spotlight of controversy. His group also made news in September, when they hosted an “Affirmative Action Bake Sale” wherein white males were charged a higher price for brownies than women and minority customers–certainly not the first time such a demonstration has taken place on a college campus; the idea and actual putting on of such a bake sale protest dates back at least a decade, to my recollection.
It also wouldn’t have been the first time the “Catch an Illegal Immigrant” game was played on a college campus–according to Esther Yu-Hsi Lee, writing at ThinkProgress.org, identical stunts were put on by student activists between 2005-2007 at the University of North Texas, Michigan State U., the University of Michigan, New York University, and University of Iowa.
This time, however, the Left was ready to pounce, and pounce like never before. Besides the massive outcry, hostile media coverage, and protests, Garcia has been the target of an effort to get him expelled from the university, and to silence him. “I have received emails and comments via social media filled with obscenity,” Garcia said. “The reactions of some who claim that YCT is creating a demeaning or degrading environment on campus have been truly disgraceful.”
In fact, some of Garcia’s enemies want to forbid all debate on the topic of illegal immigration. One nugget of communication from a member of the “tolerant” Left who went on the attack over the planned game of tag said that “the First Amendment is over-rated and just a tool white people use to heckle people of color.”
Well, where does that last statement leave someone, an Hispanic concerned citizen, such as Lorenzo Garcia?Last updated on February 7th, 2017 at 07:55 pm
THE International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has ordered the Philippine government to pay P800 million to Baggerwerken Decloedt En Zoon (BDC) for scrapping the P18.7-billion Laguna Lake Rehabilitation Project (LLRP) in 2011.
ICSID issued the award on January 23, 2017, six years after former President Benigno S. Aquino III junked the deal that was twice declared by then-Justice Secretary Leila M. de Lima as “legal and binding”.
Former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra also issued a legal opinion affirming the validity of the contract entered into between BDC and the Arroyo administration through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR.)
The BDC project was originally crafted to dredge the 94,900-hectare Laguna de Bay and deepen its average depth of 2.5 meters, and called for the creation of navigational channels in the waterway, which has Class C water quality deemed to be inappropriate for human consumption.
The Laguna de Bay cannot be a source of water for purification, since its average depth is 2.5 meters, well below the global standard of a minimum of 2.8 meters depth for harvesting water for purification.
A Belgian company, BDC had designed the project under the official development assistance (ODA) scheme of Brussels and supported by then-Belgian King Albert, but former President Aquino did not accede to the plea of the king to salvage the project, calling it as a project that calls for merely transferring the silt from one part of the lake to another.
BDC also worked on securing 37.4 percent of the funding from a Belgian export agency to enable it to be covered by ODA and secured additional financing from BNP Paribas.
Belgian executives calculated the P18.7-billion LLRP could be paid in nine years, if the Laguna de Bay is dredged, its water-holding capacity expanded, and measures are implemented to improve the quality of water flowing from 100 rivers and creeks from the Sierra Madre, Quezon, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna, with the revenues coming from Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc.
ICSID took jurisdiction of the case, which was covered by an investment treaty among the Philippines, Belgium and Luxembourg signed in 1998, and invoked the applicable rules of the ICSID convention and arbitration rules on October 11, 2011.
The ICSID tribunal was constituted on February 29, 2012, with Pierre Tercier of Switzerland appointed by the parties as president, Stanimir A. Alexandrov of Bulgaria as arbitrator named by BDC and J. Christopher Thomas of Canada, who was named arbitrator by the respondent, the Philippine government.
Allen & Overy of Hong Kong represented BDC as counsel, while the Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Florentino P. Feliciano and the law firm White & Case of Washington also took the cudgels for the Aquino administration.
The tribunal decided in favor of BDC, with Tercier concurring and Alexandrov issuing a separate opinion.
ICSID said the tribunal was constituted in accordance with Article 37(2)(a) of the ICSID Convention and started its proceedings by compelling the parties to produce their documents, with the first session held via teleconference on April 30, 2012.
BDC filed its memorial on the merits on June 25, 2012, with the Philippine government responding with a memorial of its own on October 17, 2012, along with a memorial on jurisdiction, including counter-claims and the filing of cost hearing briefs, the tribunal declared the proceedings closed on November 28, 2016, based on ICSID Arbitration Rule 38(1).
On January 23, 2017, the tribunal agreed with BDC, and said the 150-year-old Belgain dredging company was the aggrieved party.
BDC was compelled to sue the Aquino administration before ICSID in April 2011 for breaching its contract after all its efforts to push the project with Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima and President Aquino failed.
The company sought at least P6 billion in damages from the Aquino administration.
BDC officials said Aquino was wrong in tagging the project as “graft-ridden” and Sen. Franklin M. Drilon described dredging projects as a source of corruption during a year when Iloilo, his home province, had six dredging projects supported by state funds.
Sen. Loren B. Legarda also described the dredging project as contributing to flooding, which floored BDC, its engineers and hydrologists.
The Aquino administration then did not explain to the Belgian government why the LLRP was scuttled despite the Belgian counterpart’s plea to let the project proceed.
In 2010 Dimitry Dutilleux, BDC’s North Asia manager, explained that under the 850-day LLRP, there was little chance for fishermen and settlers to be evicted from the lake region, since the principal concern of the project was to deepen the lake and allow boats to navigate from Laguna to Rizal and the National Capital Region and vice versa.
BDC spent close to P400 million to undertake studies on the lake, including its water quality, its geology and geomorphology, the species still existing in the lake, and the social and economic impact of the LLRP.Get the biggest Manchester United FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Louis van Gaal went mad when some of his Manchester United players were one minute late for lunch.
United target man Marouane Fellaini revealed Van Gaal, a stickler for time and discipline, blew his top at a group of his squad and issued on the spot fines.
Fellaini, who has enjoyed a revival under Van Gaal, said: “He blew a fuse the other day when a group of 10 of us were one minute late for lunch after training.
“You think one minute is nothing and it wasn’t for training, but for the canteen. For him it’s important though.
“He dished out a few fines. That’s what happens to late-comers and even for a red card. You get fined, too, for a bad foul”.
(Image: Getty)
Fellaini also claimed United will be “a machine” next season under Van Gaal, whom he claimed was merely running in his players this term, just like a new car.
“We’ve worked with him for months and are getting to know him,” said Fellaini.
“His thing is circulating the ball and pressing the opponent. Everything is repetition with him.
“We do practically the same exercises each week. Next season we will be a machine. At the moment, we are running it in.
“There is intensity and people get stuck in. Players limp about, but there is never a foul. There is no referee.
Video - Young fan asks Fellaini if his hair is real:
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“We lost one session 1-0. [Robin] van Persie scored after a heavy foul, but Van Gaal didn’t blow. It’s in those games that you have to win your place.”
And the Belgian international admitted he wept when David Moyes, the man who took him from Everton for £27.5 million, was sacked.
He said: “I was sad when he went. I came into the canteen and saw him in a suit instead of his tracksuit. He called me into his office and told me.
“There were tears and that is normal, I am human. I worked six years with him. He was not a second father, but almost. He helped me a lot”.
In pictures - Manchester United summer targets:Two top Indian-American former executives of a Chicago-area information technology company have been charged by the US federal regulator in an accounting fraud scheme in which they misled investors and siphoned millions of dollars from the firm for their personal benefit.
Nandu Thondavadi, 63, of Illinois was the CEO of Schaumburg-based Quadrant 4 System Corporation (QFOR) while Dhru Desai, 55, was its chief financial officer.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the duo as well as Quadrant 4 System in the accounting fraud scheme.
The SEC's complaint, filed yesterday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that Thondavadi and Desai siphoned off more than USD 4 million from the company over a nearly five-year period.
The former executives are also alleged to have caused the company to understate its liabilities and inflate its revenues and assets, evading scrutiny by lying to the company's auditors and providing them with forged and doctored documents.
Both were earlier arrested on December 1 last year in the US for allegedly misrepresenting their company's finances to inflate its stock price.
According to the SEC's complaint, the alleged scheme continued until November 2016, when Thondavadi and Desai were arrested and criminally charged with fraud. QFOR announced their resignations in December 2016 and disclosed that the company's financial reports could no longer be relied upon and required a restatement.
"As alleged in our complaint, Thondavadi and Desai perpetrated a multi-faceted scheme to mislead investors about QFOR's financial condition and secretly enrich themselves," said David Glockner, Director of the SEC's Chicago regional office.
The SEC's complaint charges QFOR with filing false and misleading quarterly, annual, and other reports, failing to keep accurate books and records, and internal accounting control failures.
Subject to court approval, and without admitting or denying the allegations, QFOR consented to an order to permanently enjoin the company from further anti-fraud, reporting, books and records, and internal control violations.
Thondavadi and Desai are charged with multiple violations, including fraud, falsifying books and records, lying to auditors, falsely certifying QFOR's filings, and aiding and abetting QFOR's alleged violations. In a parallel action, the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois also announced additional criminal charges against Thondavadi and Desai, including charges that Thondavadi and Desai attempted to obstruct the SEC's investigation, lied to the SEC under oath, and paid two individuals to lie to the SEC in the course of its investigation.
The SEC's complaint seeks injunctions and return of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest and penalties against the company and the former executives as well as officer-and- director bars against Thondavadi and Desai.The first is the announcement of the 40 millionth Toyota Corolla being sold worldwide, making Corolla the best selling nameplate of all time! To give you a comparison, in 1966 Toyota announced production of about 240,000 vehicles. Nowadays, over 1.1 million of them are produced annually, including the all-new 2014 Corolla with its premium interior and more stylish design. According to Jack Hollis, Toyota's Vice President of Marketing, the Corolla is "built for the way we live today and the places we go. From urban chic to family road trip, at 40 million we’re just getting started!”
Take a look at the comparison photo below and you can see just how much the car has evolved in terms of size, style, and technology. I don't think the designers of the original Corolla ever imagined it could be outfitted with a Take a look at the comparison photo below and you can see just how much the car has evolved in terms of size, style, and technology. I don't think the designers of the original Corolla ever imagined it could be outfitted with a backup camera or the ability to make hands free phone calls with Bluetooth!
Now, what's special about the number 50? This story is a little more emotional, and involves a special surprise for an unsuspecting police officer in suburban New York. Michael Dee, who's been part of the police force there for over 20 years, was having a barbecue in his backyard when Toyota's U.S. Sales Chief Bill Fay showed up unannounced with balloons in hand. What was the commotion about? Well, it turns out that Michael, who had just purchased a Toyota Camry, happened to be Toyota's 50 millionth customer in America! You'll have to watch the video below to see how they celebrated Michael's purchase, and his genuinely candid reaction. Would you have felt the same way if you were in his shoes?
Mention numbers in the 40 to 50 range to me and the first thing that usually comes to mind is hearing about a friend or family member celebrating a birthday. Is it time to bring out the cake with all the candles on it and the funny yet self deprecating card? Fortunately, in Toyota's case, they're not going that route. They do have two great milestones to celebrate, however!The US-led coalition's reluctance to bomb Islamic State-controlled oil deposits in Syria has raised eyebrows, according to prominent Turkish journalist Alptekin Dursunoglu.
© AFP 2018 / Self-Styled ISIL Caliphate Will Stop at Nothing to Get Money for War
In an interview with Sputnik, eminent Turkish journalist Alptekin Dursunoglu voiced surprise about the US-led coalition's reluctance to bomb Islamic State-controlled oil deposits in Syria, which he said are one of the key sources of income for the jihadist group.
He referred to the Islamic State's smuggling of oil to Turkey via an illegal pipeline, the existence of which has yet to be confirmed, according to Dursunoglu.
At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that the US-led air campaign never targeted the ISIL-controlled oil fields in Syria.
"This fact really makes [me] wonder, given that one of the steps of Obama's plan to fight ISIL was the destruction of sources of the Islamic State's income," Dursunoglu said.
To find the answer, it is necessary to discern who ordered the US and its allies not to bomb ISIL's oil fields, he said, referring to previous activities by local officials nominated by the US.
Commenting on thousands of oil tanks supplied by ISIL, Dursunoglu wondered why American drones failed to track the convoy of such a big scale.
© AFP 2018 / MARWAN IBRAHIM ISIL Sells Oil to Diffuse Network ‘That No One Controls’ - US Official
He also said that the delivery of oil is not the only source of income for the Islamic State, which he recalled was part of al-Qaeda in 2012.
"This unified organization deliberately avoided being named al-Qaeda. This organization got the considerable share of money that was delivered by the Gulf States and Turkey under the pretext of helping the Syrian opposition," Dursunoglu said.
He quoted local humanitarian workers as saying in 2012 that the money was sent in "bags, suitcases and sacks."
Dursunoglu added that apart from illegal oil trading and racketeering, the smuggling of antiques and historical artifacts, as well as human trafficking and the organ trade add significantly to the Islamic State's coffers.A WARRIORS great has put his hand up to buy the club on behalf of fans in a move that would give the team to the members.
And the NSWRL honchos meet to discuss the future of coach Laurie Daley.
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NSWRL TO DISCUSS DALEY’S FUTURE
Laurie Daley’s future as State of Origin coach is likely to be top of the agenda when the New South Wales Rugby League board gather on Friday.
Daley five-year reign as Blues mentor has been under a dark cloud since yet another series failure earlier this year was followed by a spectacular post- mortem last month.
NSW coach Laurie Daley after another series loss.
Central to the dramas was Blues pair Blake Ferguson and Josh Dugan being condemned for breaking camp and drinking in the lead-up to the pasting NSW copped in the Brisbane decider.
Daley also came under heavy fire for backflipping on initial plans to move star forward Andrew Fifita to the bench and starting David Klemmer in game three.
The defeat immediately raised speculation Brad Fittler, Andrew Johns or Dean Pay would take over, with the NSWRL a month ago announcing a “ongoing” review of its series performance.
However with the heavy fallout dissipating, the NSW legend is widely tipped to be afforded a sixth crack at Queensland next year with a new-look coaching staff to be installed.
WARRIORS GREAT WANTS TO BUY CLUB
Warriors legend and former captain Monty Betham has started a campaign for fans to buy the club off owner Eric Watson.
Watson has been trying to offload the Auckland NRL club and Betham has announced he will lead a push for fans to own the franchise.
He’s open to either fans buying the entire club off Watson, or purchasing shares if Watson is to remain a major shareholder.
Betham made it official with an Instagram post on Thursday and has called for fans to join him in raising funds to purchase the Warriors.
Meanwhile, Jim Doyle has confirmed he will quit as Warriors CEO and move upstairs into an executive chairman role.
Watson said in a statement to the New Zealand Herald Doyle will be replaced in the role by current chief operating officer Cameron George.
Watson will also step down as chairman of the club on September 1.
Ben Ikin, Nathan Ryan and Ben Glover discuss the problems facing the Titans, Broncos succession planning and Souths turning the corner.
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BRENNAN STEPS UP COACHING ROLE
Penrith’s reserve grade coach Garth Brennan has joined David Kidwell’s staff as an assistant at the Kiwis ahead of the World Cup.
Kidwell has appointed Brennan and Brian Smith as his assistant coaches as New Zealand ramps up its preparation for the tournament starting in November.
“I have known Dave for a while, I have coached against him over the years and we have met up a few times after games or I have seen him at football,” Brennan told RLWC.com.
“I found him a really nice guy and I am looking forward to working with him and helping him out where possible.”
BIG TIGER RE-SIGNS
Wests Tigers have extended the contract of veteran forward Tim Grant.
Grant has signed on until the end of 2018, adding another name to Ivan Cleary’s roster for next season.
“I think we’ve made some real progress in the time that I’ve been here, we’ve seen a lot of growth throughout the club, there are some great young guys coming through and that’s exciting for everyone involved,” Grant told the club website.
“We’ve also got a lot a lot of talent coming to the club and are definitely heading in the right direction.”There are more than 200 countries in the world, from which 36 are such countries that had allowed the citizens of Pakistan to enter their country without having a visa. Due to which Pakistan had achieved the 90th position in the world rating for visa facilities. The position of Pakistan in the world rating of Henley visa index comes in the list of last 10 countries. The group of countries in which Pakistan had been positioned is the countries which are suffering from the issues of terrorism.
The visa index report states that Britain is ranked as the first country getting the most free visa facilities. The citizens of Brittan are allowed to go in 166 countries without having a visa with no restrictions.
In the countries where Pakistanis can go without having a visa does not include any neighboring country of Pakistan. However in the list of getting free visa facility Denmark is on second number whose citizens are allowed to go to 164 countries without visa, Sweden on third with having visa facility from 163 countries and America on seventh having visa facility from 159 countries.
Here is the list of counties where Pakistanis can travel without having a visa:
Dominica Haiti Micronesia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago Vanuatu
Below is the list of countries which offer Visa on Arrival for Pakistanis:
Burundi Cape Verde Comoros Djibouti Guinea-Bissau Kenya Madagascar Maldives Mali Mauritania Mozambique Nauru Nepal Palau Tanzania Timor-Leste Togo Tuvalu UgandaHawaiian Brian’s Staff photo
It was just a couple weeks ago that we posted news on more than a dozen restaurants that have opened, closed, or plan to soon open in Fayetteville. Consider this post an addendum to that one.
Since then, San Lio and Hawaiian Brian’s have both closed their doors.
Hawaiian Brian’s announced their closure on Facebook.
San Lio Staff photo
“It does come with a heavy, heavy heart that Hawaiian Brian’s is closed until further notice,” the announcement stated. “We have enjoyed your company, laughs, advice and friendships afterall you are ohana! (family).”
Hawaiian Brian’s originally opened inside an Airstream trailer at The Yacht Club mobile business park in 2012 before upsizing to a brick and mortar location in Evelyn Hills Shopping Center, and then moving to Center Street in downtown Fayetteville. The restaurant also opened and closed a location in Springdale during that time.
San Lio, which opened less than a year ago at 300 W. Dickson St., also took to social media to announce their closure, with a bit of good news for fans of their ramen bar and dim sum menu.
“Today is our last day at this location,” the announcement read. “We’re happy to announce that coming soon you can continue to enjoy dim sum and ramen at our sister restaurant Meiji, located at the corner of Joyce and Crossover.”
Meiji, also owned by San Lio owner Darwin Beyer, recently moved a couple doors down from their original location, into the space most recently home to East Side Cantina at 3878 N. Crossover Road.The Rubin Museum of Art - K2 Lounge
Details more information about this event
Come out to the Rubin Museum of Art on Friday January 24th starting at 6pm. The museum is located at 150 West 17th Street between the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.
Every Friday night the Café at the Museum becomes the K2 Lounge, offering a special Pan Asian Tapas menu to accompany the evening's DJ and unique thematic gallery tours and programs. Admission to the galleries is free from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. Drink special (2 for 1 special) are available from 6pm-7pm (bar in K2 Lounge closes at 10pm).
The Catholic Fellowship will have a separate area reserved for us in the lounge. Meet some new people, make some new friends and experience the unique collection, display, and preservation of the art of the Himalayas and surrounding regions, especially that of Tibet. For more info on the museum, go to www.rmanyc.org
How to find us: at the K2 Lounge. Ask for Joe or Toan. Our group will have name tags, and we will have tables reserved for The Catholic Fellowship. To learn about The Catholic Fellowship, go to www.cfnetwork.org.
Public Transportation
Subway
A, C, E to 14th Street (8th Avenue)
1 to 18th Street (7th Avenue)
2, 3 to 14th Street (7th Avenue)
F, L, M to 14th Street (6th Avenue)
N, Q, R, 4, 5, 6 to 14th Street-Union Square
Bus
M6, M7, M20 to the corner of 7th Avenue and 18th Street
M5, M6, M7 to the corner of 6th Avenue and 18th Street
Commuter Rail
PATH trains to 14th Street or 23rd Street
Parking
There is a 24-hour parking lot on the corner of 17th Street and 6th Avenue. There are also a number of parking garages and lots on 17th Street between Union Square and 7th Avenue.After a frustratingly long wait between rounds, the V8 Supercars Championship headed north to escape the winter at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway. A recently resurfaced track promised quick lap times while the high temperatures led to some hot action. Familiar faces showed up at the front and history was made in this great weekend up in the top end.
The new track surface proved to be quick early in practice with The Bottle-O Racing Team’s David Reynolds topping the first session, and setting a new lap record in the progress. He then did the same thing in the second session on hard tyres, proving the pace of not only the track but the Ford customer team Prodrive Falcon. In Saturday’s qualifying, it was the turn of Holden and Nissan. First up, James Courtney put his Holden Racing Team Commodore on pole for race one, pipping Prodrive Racing’s Chaz Mostert to the top of the timesheets and denying the young Ford driver his fifth straight pole. Jamie Whincup, Fabian Coulthard, Shane van Gisbergen and Mark Winterbottom completed the first three rows. For race two, Rick Kelly broke a nearly four year long drought to claim pole in the burgeoning Nissan Motorsport Altima, edging out Coulthard by just 0.01 seconds. Whincup, meanwhile had a horrible session, lining his Red Bull Racing Holden up in 17th.
Race One
In Saturday’s opener, Mostert got the jump on Courtney off the line, but further back the race got away to a messy start when Whincup collided at turn one with Coulthard, ending the Kiwi’s race with a bent steering arm among other things. The action kept coming heading to the top of the circuit as Craig Lowndes was pushed onto the grass in a three-wide battle. Things only got worse at the hairpin when Scott McLaughlin took a dive on the inside of Lowndes and Tim Blanchard, sending both onto the grass as well as Erebus Motorsport’s Will Davison who was following the trio. McLaughlin’s car was retired due to damage. A few laps later, Dale Wood overshot his braking marker into turn one, ending up in the grass. The heat of the underside of his car combined with the dry grass caused a minor fire, bringing out the safety car for marshals to extinguish the flames. After the short break, racing resumed and Mostert bolted ahead of the pack while Winterbottom applied pressure to Courtney. The mid-pack kept changing as drivers skirmished for position like the championship depended on it. Courtney locked up into turn one and lost places, struggling to wrangle the Commodore. Lowndes made a costly mistake a few laps later at turn five, dropping on to the grey area of the track and setting the grass alight a second time. This forced race control again to deploy the safety car and condense the pack ahead of a two lap sprint to the flag. The drama didn’t stop when Tander (outside), Courtney (middle) and van Gisbergen (inside) went three-wide into the first corner which ended in tears when all three made contact, putting the HRT team-mates off the road. The two Pepsi Max Crew Falcon’s spearheaded the pack across the line, leading from the three Nissans of Rick Kelly, James Moffat and Michael Caruso. Recording his best result of the year, sixth place went to DJR Team Penske’s Scott Pye from a P20 start in the Shell Helix backed Falcon FG X.
Race Two
The day’s second race got off to an equally fierce start. Pole sitter Rick Kelly lost the lead into turn one to Coulthard and then lost control of his Altima spearing into the Freightliner Racing entry and sending them both into the grass. Kelly was later handed a drive-through penalty for the accident. Capitalising on the incident, Lowndes swooped through on the inside of both Mostert and van Gisbergen to take the lead of the race. Further down the road at turn ten, Super Black Racing’s Andre Heimgartner was spun by Will Davison, causing a pile up between the pair, Whincup and LDM’s Nick Percat. Both Heimgartner and Percat were forced to retire due to damage to their cars, with the safety car deployed to recover the stricken SBR Ford. After the restart, the field again struggled to get into a groove with contact being made every lap. Going into turn five, GB Galvanizing Racing’s Dale Wood and Wilson Security Racing GRM’s David Wall made contact, forcing both onto the grass and to miss the hairpin section of the track. Trouble then struck the Erebus entries when Ash Walsh tagged and spun team-mate Will Davison going into the last corner, bringing both of them to a stop. Mostert applied pressure to second placed Tim Slade and attempted a pass at turn five but couldn’t get a good exit, giving the place back. Van Gisbergen then ran off the road further along the lap, giving away a place to Courtney. Pye was able to carve up the field and took fourth place off Courtney into the final turn. The rest of the race became a battle for fifth between Courtney, van Gisbergen and Winterbottom. However, all eyes were on Lowndes as ‘The Kid’ notched up a history making 100th win in the 888th V8 Supercars race in car 888. Emotions were high for both Lowndes and his team as he crossed the line on such a crazy day. Slade was able to hold off Mostert for second, while Pye remained in fourth, again exceeding expectations and improving on the team’s best result of the year set in the earlier race. Van Gisbergen, Courtney, Winterbottom, Tander, McLaughlin and Reynolds rounded out the top 10.
Qualifying on Sunday saw Reynolds find his Friday practice pace and grab his first pole position since the Gold Coast round in 2013. Coulthard again had to settle for second ahead of van Gisbergen, Mostert and Wood. Whincup had yet another dismal session with a time only good enough to get 12th spot.
Race Three
Sunday’s headline race got underway cleanly with Coulthard pipping Reynolds into the first turn. Everyone got around the first lap with no major contact for the first time in the weekend, Coulthard leading the way from Reynolds, Mostert, van Gisbergen and Winterbottom. Coulthard seemed to be comfortably leading until lap 12 when he was baulked by a lap-down Heimgartner, forcing the BJR driver to the dirty side off the race, losing grip and running off the road. From this mistake, Reynolds retook the lead ahead of Mostert. After the initial pit stops, Reynolds only spent 11 laps on the hard compound tyre after developing a puncture, forcing him to pit ahead of schedule, but with the ability to fill up enough to get home. A handful of laps later, Mostert and Coulthard pitted, rejoining in second and fourth respectively. Lowndes slotted in between the pair, coping with pressure from Coulthard on better tyres while still maintaining the gap to Mostert. Whincup was punching away in the mid-pack but was forced to pit as his front-right tyre started to delaminate. Lowndes soon suffered the same fate as his Red Bull team-mate, unexpectedly pitting to slap on a new set of tyres to get to the finish. Following Michael Caruso, Reynolds had a heart-stopping moment into turn five as he locked up, having to go onto the grass and rejoin at turn seven to miss the Nissan. Race stewards concluded that he had lost enough time to not have to give up a place to Mostert. Despite the scare, Reynolds took the flag ahead of Mostert and Coulthard for his second career win. Van Gisbergen held off Winterbottom for fourth, while Percat, Courtney, Bright, Slade and Wood completed the top ten.
SkyCity Triple Crown Darwin Winners and Losers
It wasn’t only the temperatures that were high at Hidden Valley, but the on-track drama too. Mostert showed he’s a championship contender, Lowndes proved he is one of the best there ever was, and Reynolds showed that he still has some fight left in him. We will need some time to get our heart rates down and must wait until the series heads to tropical Townsville for the next round.
Winners:
Chaz Mostert was the only driver of the weekend to finish on the podium in every race, helping him to make up ground in the championship but also regain his confidence after his blunder at Winton. Consistently finishing ahead of team-mate and championship leader Winterbottom suggests that Mostert is comfortable in the FG-X Falcon. His speed and consistency as well as a strong performance at his bogey tracks means that he will surely be in contention for the championship this year. Fabian Coulthard may have had two terrible races on Saturday but it was through no fault of his own. His new chassis has pace to burn and, as shown in Sunday’s race, is good on its tyres. If he hadn’t been caught up in the first corner dramas in both races one and two, Coulthard would’ve easily been in contention for a top five finish. He’ll be looking for a win when the circus moves on to Townsville. Mark Winterbottom snagged a good haul of points over the weekend and capitalised on the dramas that rivals Red Bull Racing Australia faced to extend his championship lead. Consistency is something that he has struggled with in previous years so his results in previous rounds bodes well for his championship ambitions. Darwin was where he scored his last win of 2014, which will have Frosty pushing to keep up the pace for the rest of the season.
Losers:You’d think that Dunkirk, a World War II epic about the Allied evacuation of the eponymous beach as German forces closed in, just might be the first opportunity for Christopher Nolan to crack through the three hour run time barrier. He’s been flirting with it for some time, with both The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar clocking in at about 2:50. It’s been a long time since his first feature, Following, barely qualified as such by clocking in at a svelte 69 minutes. Since then, as Nolan has become perhaps the gold standard for the thinking man’s blockbuster through his Batman trilogy and original projects like The Prestige and Inception, he’s been given the freedom to let his run times swell. And when you think about some of the most famous war films, whether it’s the Bridge on the River Kwai (2:41), Saving Private Ryan (2:49), The Thin Red Line (2:50) or Schindler's List (3:15), there’s a well-established history of World War II films taking their time to tell their story of the Great War.
It’s safe to say that neither Nolan nor war films are particularly known for their brevity.
It may come as a bit of a shock, then, when Dunkirk’s credits roll at just barely over an hour 45. That’s a full hour shorter than Nolan’s last two films, and on the face of it, the opposite of what might be expected. But the reason I harp on the run times of these films and the expectation audiences may have lies in how important Dunkirk’s running time is to its success as a film. This is very much a small sliver of the actual conflict, beginning at its end with harried soldier Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), running from Axis rifle fire until he reaches the beach, finding columns of British soldiers waiting for a ride across the English Channel back home. They’re sitting ducks on the beach, with no cover and no respite from relentless German fighter planes strafing their easy targets; all they can do is hope they don’t get hit this time. Attempting to quell the aerial assault are two Allied fighters, Farrier (Tom Hardy, his voice once again muffled behind a flight radio) and Collins (Jack Lowden), dog fighting their way across the skies, shooting down Germans before they can decimate the beaches. The evacuation effort, overseen by Commander Bolton (Kenneth Branagh, steely-eyed and jaw-clenched as ever), is hobbled, as the Navy ships are too large a target for the Germans, too easily sunk |
this year, including Latino and women-led shops.
“There are favorites that get played and that tends to be with the larger firms, or the people staff think they can get a job from,” another Democratic consultant said.
Any consultant who feels he or she isn’t getting enough business could have an incentive to complain. But “the closed shop” concern is bigger than one consultant or even one party.
“It is something we faced,” Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said outside the speaker’s lobby Monday night.
After losing 30 seats in 2006, Cole said the NRCC opened up.
“You put staff in and tell them, ‘I don’t want a select group of people here. We want to throw this open, we want everybody who’s a reasonable consultant to have a legitimate opportunity to compete,’” he said.
Friday, Luján fired more DCCC incompetents-- though he didn't even consider getting some of the garbage members like Bustos and Heck out of the works, even though it was they, not the staffers, who set the policy. He hired Dan Sena, a Ward deputy?, to take her place, and made Aaron Trujillo chief of staff and Meredith Kelly communications director. "More of the same," is what one congresswoman told me in disgust after the announcement. Ughhh.
Politico, Thomas Mills started the respected blog, PoliticsNC and this year he ran for the NC-08 seat held by Richard Hudson. He spent $380,866 to Hudson's $2,431,160 and received 131,428 votes (41.2%) to Hudson's 187,909 (58.8%). The DCCC didn't recognize his race in any way whatsoever. Yesterday he wrote a post for How The Democratic Party Lost Its Way, which has been called to my attention by nearly a dozen former congressional candidates who have an equally dim view of the DCCC in the Pelosi era. Mills, though, started with a good DCCC experience-- in 1998 as the campaign manager for Mike Taylor. By 2016, though, with his own campaign, the DCCC experience was pretty awful, something dozens of Democratic candidates all over the country will tell you. "After the primaries," he wrote, "I reached out to them. But despite leaving numerous messages on both email and answering machines, I never got any response. When I eventually used my Congressional connections to get an audience, I took my pollster and media consultant to a meeting that lasted all of 15 minutes. We left with little more than a list of reasons why the DCCC wouldn’t be helping our campaign."
Back in the ’90s when I started out, the DCCC was tasked with contesting as many races as possible and providing staff, training and direction to the campaigns in the field. Today, they’re narrowly focused on a small number of highly targeted races. Other campaigns get little attention or support.
Democrats need to be sharper going into the next election cycle. With a 50-plus seat deficit in the House, the party will have to win more than just the most competitive seats. They’ll probably need a wave in which they figure out how to win some longshot races. That won’t happen unless the party actively recruits good candidates around the country and treats them with respect and encouragement. And it also won’t happen unless the party provides campaigns-- especially in the toughest districts-- with the training, support and infrastructure to create or take advantage of opportunities.
...Democrats should be thinking broadly instead of narrowly. Successful political organizations are entrepreneurial and opportunistic, especially when they are 60 seats in the minority. But despite the dismal record it’s racked up in recent years, the DCCC has become insular and myopic. Candidates and consultants can’t reach high-ranking staffers. Reaching ranking members is unthinkable. The circle of people influencing the political strategists rarely reaches outside of the beltway, which means the strategists-- like so much of Washington-- have lost touch with the people whose votes they need to attract. They rely on polling and focus groups to give them an understanding of the challenges facing families today. Those tools would be greatly enhanced if the people using them had regular contact with the people they are trying to reach.
Much of the insularity seems to be rooted in a lack of accountability. For staff, there’s little penalty for failure. They often either get rehired or go to work for consulting firms that have contracts with the DCCC. And the Democratic Congressional leadership comes predominantly from safe districts. Most ranking members haven’t run competitive races in many years, if they’ve run them at all. They don’t understand the skills and experience they need in a caucus staff since they don’t really know what a professional campaign organization looks like and they don’t understand what candidates in competitive districts need to succeed.
The DNC stopped providing its training academy in the late 1990s. Since then, training been contracted out to organizations like Wellstone Action, which has a heavy field emphasis or EMILY’s List, with a fundraising emphasis. We’ve lost the intensive trainings that focused on basic management and strategic skills.
It’s not only the training that’s taken a hit. Despite their 60-seat deficit heading into 2016, the Democrats didn’t appear to do much candidate recruiting except in the most competitive districts. In Texas, Hillary Clinton won in a congressional district where Democrats didn’t even field a challenger. Numbers, not potential, guided the DCCC efforts. Instead of looking for possibilities, or trying to create them, the committee only paid attention to the districts that looked viable on spreadsheets.
The DCCC and other campaign committees ought to retool their campaign operations looking back to the 1980s and 1990s. Back then, they introduced research and polling to campaigns. Now, they should be teaching campaigns how to use social media and online operations to reach voters early and build low-dollar fundraising operations.
Today, Democrats are so far in the hole that they could use the opportunity to try new tactics and strategies to see if they can win in some unlikely places. Longshot and marginal races are not won in the final two months of a campaign. They’re won because candidates put together campaigns that prepare them to take advantage of opportunities throughout the cycle. Social media and online fundraising give candidates the platforms to build profiles and low-dollar fundraising operations, as well as create excitement among their base before the paid media and field campaigns begin.
For Democrats to be successful, they need leaders, both campaign professionals and elected officials, who understand how modern communications and campaigns have changed. They would be wise to reach out to operatives and consultants who live outside the Washington, D.C., bubble to better understand voters. They should get back to their roots: recruit candidates to compete in as many races as possible; create an army of professional operatives across the country to run campaigns cycle after cycle; provide a base level of support for every candidate who files; introduce innovative strategies and tactics and teach campaigns how to use them. They’ll need the leadership to take them there.
And, alas, that's never going to happen while Nancy Pelosi is the House Democratic Leader. She should give it up and let the party she loves, and has served for so many years, get a new lease on life. This morning I was speaking with a recent candidate who told me he thinks he's better off with the DCCC not getting involved in his race in any way. "All they can do," she told me, "is diminish my chances of winning. They don't seem able to bring anything worthwhile to the table... They're from a bygone era. It's pretty sad... As you pointed out in your blog, the best people who won this year, like Pramila and Nanette Barragan, Carol up in New Hampshire, Jamie Raskin all won without any involvement with the DCCC."
Pelosi has turned the House Democratic Conference into a morgueOne of the more confusing tasks of heavy metal is separating thrash from speed from early power metal. This is difficult because all three styles sound similar and were happening at the same time. Where thrash was heavily influenced by punk and retains an aggressive and chaotic disposition, speed metal is more collected from past heavy metal and early power metal is a further offshoot of that. Aligned through the lineage of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) and traditional metal, speed metal continued the bloodline of fast, melodic metal into the 80’s. Where the style can be considered a torchbearer for previous styles, it also played an integral part in the development of power metal. Europe had its own brand of manly battle driven speed/power, apart from the US. I am always driven to investigate genres that have a lot of ambiguity. European power/thrash/speed is damn near heart stopping. Let us then just focus on one country. How about Germany?
Germany is interesting because of its placement within the history of European power metal. Scandinavia and greater Europe have been known for their output of what would become fast melodic power metal, which usually leans heavily on synth. Right before Helloween, and Gamma Ray however there were a handful of speed and thrash metal bands from Germany that were working their way up. Additionally, some of these bands even shared latent qualities that would later become the style we have all come to tolerate. Ha, joking…Just like I did with US Power Metal (USPM), German speed can be thought of as the night before power metal really took hold. I am sure I can do this with England or other countries to add a more complete view of 80’s speed metal, thrash, and proto power, but for now it is time to rock the Rheine. The Rheine is in Germany right? Don’t make me look this up.
Exumer – Possessed by Fire
And we start here. Actually, we start here because Exumer, out of all of these bands, is the most popular. Not reaching the level of success of Gamma Ray and Helloween but Possessed by Fire has enjoyed a comfortable legacy as a second tier masterpiece. Much in the same way as Dark Angel, Annihilator, and Flotsam and Jetsam, Exumer is pretty high on the list for albums you are required to listen to if searching for fast riffs and unbridled aggression. I have no idea what is going on in the cover. I am going to assume that it started out as Jason Voorhees and ended up as a metal mascot that is only recognized by people with an advanced knowledge of thrash.
Warrant – The Enforcer
If you were expecting 80’s speed metal to go any different than any other style of 80’s metal then you are in for a disappointment. Where long careers are usually the hallmark of successful bands, many just have one album that everyone pretty much loves. Warrant. No, not that Warrant. The German one. Warrant released their debut in 1985 followed by a the First Strike EP. The following year and until pretty much for the rest of time, Warrant just sort of faded into nothingness. The Enforcer, however, leaves behind more than enough to be glad about. Dominate riffs, well constructed choruses, and a big muscle bound executioner on the cover. The 1980’s was really the time when what I just said could come off as incredibly badass, not hilarious.
Chainsaw – Hell’s Burnin Up
Holy fucking shit. Is that bat carrying a chainsaw? How in the world is he holding a chainsaw? Chainsaw sadly did not see much action after their debut, aside from a follow up release in 2011. Something tells me they couldn’t repeat the success of a bat demon holding a chainsaw. Aside from the Motorhead worship, Chainsaw is filled to the leather-clad brim with entertaining moments. Steady rhythmic drums, great guitar leads, and, yes, the raspy Frank Von Scheidt, who does his best to hit the high notes, combine to make one entertaining album. Chainsaw has charm and that charm lies in an album which isn’t the best but it sure is fun as hell to listen to. Also, bat carrying chainsaw. Bat carrying fucking chainsaw.
Sweet Cheater – Immortal Instant
Man, what a terrible band name. Man, what a great album full of energetic hooks and unchained vocals. I’ll even give the album cover points for being silly. Is that Jesus with lasers coming out of his eyes? Is that one of the better guitar solos of recent memory? Oh man, Sweet Cheater ran into a brick wall following the release of Immortal Instant. Some of the band members tried to form a progressive metal band, which didn’t last long despite the latter having a better promo picture than the first. Who dressed these guys? Why is their music so good?
Paradox – Hersey
By now you should know me as a lover of all things slightly dorky. Take the cover for Paradox’s Hersey. Holy shit. This goes into the top 10 of all time best album art. Look at that stonework texture on the name. This looks like an adventure design for advanced dungeons and dragons. Paradox is different than a lot of bands in this article. For one, they share many traits of thrash and power metal, to the point where selections from Hersey sound like Master of Puppets era Metallica. This album would be lacking if it weren’t so well crafted and held together by a unique style. If you enjoy this album then the band also has a previous record that is just as good, if not as fast. The album cover isn’t as cool but I can understand that there can only be one amazing cover with a skeleton.
Vectom- Speed Revolution
A round of applause for one of the best album covers in the history of music. Speed metal comes in many varieties. If you remember the introduction of this article, I mentioned speed has more to do with traditional metal than punk. Well, this doesn’t mean punk never had a hand. Example: Vectom. The album’s pace is fast, as well as chaotic as a sofa burning in your living room. I would call this album thrash if the speed had any sort of rhythm, but it doesn’t. It just rolls off the conveyer belt at a comically fast speed forgoing any thought of consonance and order.
Grave Digger – Heavy Metal Breakdown
Just like Heresy, Grave Digger’s first album remains in the nebulous bubble between speed and power metal. The fact is that it is more allied towards the beginning of power metal. But before power metal would sound like Keeper of the Seven Keys, it would be filled with raw underpinnings of steam powered aggression. Actually, it would sound like it was covered in beer and then sprinkled with bar pretzels and cigarette ash. Grave Digger is carcinogenic. With songs like “Head Banging Man” and “Back From the War,” there is enough raw emotion in this record to last you until next year. What in the hell is coming from the head of that earth skull?
Minotaur – Power of Darkness
Oh god my neck is going to break. Minotaur is interesting because, for one record in the late 80’s, this German trio spilled out their insides all over Power of Darkness. I mean, this record sounds like it is going to skip off the turntable at any moment and if it does it is going to fly at me with deadly force. There is not much to say about Minotaur other than falling in line with the other bands in terms of eventual obscurity. In fact, I think the strength of 80’s metal is built upon the amount of good music coming from so many bands. Minotaur may not be at the front of the line in terms of thrash, but as a roleplayer in a large thrash/speed/power deck, it is a safe bet."I guess it's like being part of some oddly exclusive club. We talk about things like being annoyed by subway doors, the size of cars, where to buy gloves."
I've always been tall. I can't remember ever being in a room full of people and not being the tallest. In secondary school, my mother actually wanted me to see a doctor because she was genuinely worried that I might never stop growing. That's how serious it was. Being a teenager is stressful enough without having to worry about whether or not you'd ever stop growing. I wasn't just overly tall either, I was really skinny too. Those two factors put together made me feel like an alien. I hated going to school because people constantly bullied me for being lanky. Sure, not everyone knew my name, but they all definitely knew who "the tall guy" was. I guess my height made me an easy target for all the other kids, so I eventually ended up just not going to class. I was really depressed. Sometimes I forget just how horrible school actually was.
At some point that feeling faded, though. After school I began to realize that being tall wasn't all bad—it actually had its advantages. I could walk faster than everyone, I could take the stairs two steps at a time, that kind of thing. A lot of people assume that tall folks have health issues, but there's nothing wrong with me. That might have something to do with the fact that when I was growing up I did all sorts physical therapy to strengthen my muscular system. Because of that doctors have told me that nowadays my lung capacity is too big for their equipment to even measure. And apparently that's a good thing.
Another common myth is that your height affects your love life, that you can't have a normal-sized girlfriend or some other such nonsense. It's rubbish, I've absolutely no issues in that department.
Me in India
Of course, being tall isn't completely without its annoyances—some aspects of day to day life are that little bit more difficult. For a tall person, cities stop being merely cities and instead transform themselves into obstacle courses full of traffic signs, ledges and marquees—all those banal things that you little people don't need to care about. Imagine finding out firsthand that a huge amount of Austria's traffic signs don't meet the required 7'11" minimum height regulation.
Public transport isn't always easy either. There's a good bit of Vienna's tram system that I simply can't use. Its train cars are too small for me to stand up straight, and I can't sit down, unless I curl up into a sort of ball and press my knees against my face.
I have to constantly be conscious of not smashing my head into everything. For instance, holidaying in Southern Europe can be terrifying because of their super low ceiling fans. I suppose it's still better than being worshipped like a god on some Indian street, though, which is what happened on a recent trip there.
I've managed to make my life a lot easier by basically remodeling my apartment. High ceilings were the first necessity but plenty of other smaller trivial things needed a reworking, too. Adjusting the shower head so it wasn't at navel height. Fixing the kitchen counter so I no longer had to chop vegetables at a 90-degree angle. Cupboards, mirrors, the sink—I just mounted everything that little bit higher so as not to have to practice yoga to use it all.
Dressing yourself is an issue that deserves its own category. It's not too often that I come across a place that sell clothes in my size, but when I do, their selection is awful. Guess what guys, tall people are into fashion too. And no, we're not all overweight either. Why is it that just about every pair of pants long enough to cover my legs seems to have a waist fitted for an elephant? These days I only buy trousers on the internet. The rest of my clothes—I either taylor them myself or ask a professional.
Putting that extra bit of effort into fixing up your garb is definitely a small price to pay to not have to go into a store, and have everybody stare at you while you wait for the salesperson to root their entire stock, only to find nothing.
A giant in its glorious splendor
How people react to my height—that depends. I get approached by a lot of people on the street—some of them are curious, others are just plain shocked. They're full of compliments and like to regale me with stories of their own mates who are really tall, but not quite as tall as me. I always listen to their stories because, for some odd reason, they really think I give a shit.
It's not at all unusual for hordes of inquisitive bystanders to surround me on the street, full of questions of varying degrees of intelligence. It makes me feel kind of like a superstar, but, more often than not, it just pisses off whoever I'm with.
One of the tall people problems that might surprise you is conversation. Given that I'm two heads taller than most, I can rarely figure out what's being said. Going to the pub is a particular nightmare, it's impossible to hear a word through all the noise. It gets a little awkward for folks when I need to spend half of our chat bent over just to make out what's going on. You can't believe how many times I've heard: "Can you stand somewhere else please, I feel so little," or "It would be way easier if you'd just sit down." I actually like going out, but things like that can put you off.
Whenever I meet people for the first time, they always give me a once over, checking me up and down to see if I'm on stilts or something. Once they realize that I am not, they fire off the same barrage of clichés—classics like: "How's the air up there?"; "Do you play basketball?" and the ever so slightly less dickhead-y "How tall are you?" Fair enough, that that's the first thing that springs to mind, but I'm sick of it.
Seriously, why should I play basketball? Because I'm tall? Would you ever say: "Hey you're fat, you should enter an eating contest"? Probably not. Why? Because, it's degrading. Another classic is "What are you eating to get so tall?" Seriously, what do these people think? Actually, I'm not entirely sure I want to know. Sure, I'm aware that people aren't trying to be complete assholes or anything, but would it hurt to display just just an ounce of compassion? That said, I still prefer people who dare to say all this to my face, rather than just pointing and whispering. Fortunately, the vast majority get used to my height pretty quickly.
Thank God, it isn't just me dealing with all of this. There's plenty of other tall folks in the exact same situation as me. I guess it's like being part of some oddly exclusive club. We talk about things like being annoyed by subway doors, the size of cars, where to buy gloves.
For the most part, I live a fairly normal life, just like everybody else. But it took a lot of time and effort to get to this point, to relax and feel comfortable in my own body. Of course I wish that sometimes people would be a little more polite but my negative experiences are few and far between. It's just a lot of unwanted attention, that's all.
I always have the best view, I can change a lightbulb without a stool, I win every race, and I always get that seat by the emergency exit. I've come to accept the fact that I'm not an error, I'm something far more special.
And yes, I've been asked how big my penis is.
...and this is how crazy giants are:
Did you ever feel like being crazy? Are you crazy?New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the nation’s most prominent gun control critics, issued a scathing statement Wednesday after legislation to expand background checks to gun shows and Internet sales failed in the Senate:
Today’s vote is a damning indictment of the stranglehold that special interests have on Washington. More than 40 U.S. senators would rather turn their backs on the 90 percent of Americans who support comprehensive background checks than buck the increasingly extremist wing of the gun lobby. Democrats – who are so quick to blame Republicans for our broken gun laws – could not stand united. And Republicans – who are so quick to blame Democrats for not being tough enough on crime – handed criminals a huge victory, by preserving their ability to buy guns illegally at gun shows and online and keeping the illegal trafficking market well-fed. Senators Manchin and Toomey – as well as Majority Leader Reid and Senators Schumer, Kirk, Collins, McCain and others – deserve real credit for coming together around a compromise bill that struck a fair balance, and President Obama and Vice-President Biden deserve credit for their leadership since the Sandy Hook massacre. But even with some bi-partisan support, a common-sense public safety reform died in the U.S. Senate at the hands of those who are more interested in attempting to protect their own political careers – or some false sense of ideological purity – than protecting the lives of innocent Americans. The only silver lining is that we now know who refuses to stand with the 90 percent of Americans – and in 2014, our ever-expanding coalition of supporters will work to make sure that voters don’t forget.
Bloomberg released the statement through the group he co-founded, Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Through that group and a political action committee, Bloomberg has spent millions from his multibillion dollar personal fortune to support the background check bill and other gun control legislation.Get the biggest football 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
Theo Walcott has revealed the entire England squad was shocked to see the extent of Wayne Rooney’s “horror film” injury.
Manchester United striker Rooney is out of England’s World Cup double headers with Moldova and Ukraine after suffering a huge gash to his head the size of a bottle in a terrifying training ground accident.
Pictures of the injury taken on a mobile phone are doing the rounds in the England camp which is now facing a striker crisis with Rooney missing and Daniel Sturridge also struggling with a thigh problem.
Arsenal winger Walcott said: “I have seen the actual injury and it is not a nice sight to be honest. It is not going to help his looks I wouldn’t think.
“I have seen a picture and it is a very, very big gash. It’s not nice to see. It’s like something out of a horror film.”
Rooney’s Manchester United team mate Danny Welbeck is favourite to take Rooney’s place against Moldova on Friday night with Daniel Sturridge struggling because of a thigh injury.
Sturridge is desperate to stay with the squad in the hope of being fit and able to play for next Tuesday in Ukraine but England boss Roy Hodgson has resisted any further call-ups.
Walcott added: “It is sad to see but it is an opportunity for someone to come in and take their chance.
"It is a great to see Danny still here at the moment, that’s a positive.
“Danny Welbeck has started the season well for his club and Rickie Lambert has had a great start to his England career, so the manager has some great options and I am sure he knows what to do.”
Sturridge missed training at St George’s Park yesterday and remains a major doubt.
Jack Wilshere also sat out training with a stomach upset which saw him substituted on Sunday while Jermain Defoe and Steven Caulker also did light training in the gym.The room went quiet, as if everyone had just held their breath. Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, had just walked in wearing Crocs. I think it was the fact it was billionaire Brin, rather than the Crocs. Brin has the loosest of schedules and works on whatever takes his fancy. This morning it was self-driving cars. Regularly deferring to his engineers for the detail, Brin was there to emphasise how important and impressive the technology is, as if we needed reminding.
I asked Brin how he planned to humanise the technology, how to take it beyond Google’s privileged and pro-technology bubble into a real world where citizens are more sceptical and less trusting. He looked disappointed with the question.
“I’d explain to them the benefits. Our mothers might be having a hard time driving and still want to get around. It’s important to have that mobility, so I’d just explain it’s an affordable way to get from here to there that is safe,” he said, and quickly moved on to more comfortable questions about the American love affair with the automobile. If something as brilliant as Google is asking you to put your life in the hands of its software, then just do it and stop asking stupid questions about human beings.
Self-driving cars: from 2020 you will become a permanent backseat driver Read more
The car oozed to a halt in front of me. I opened the oversized door, put my bag on the floor and took a seat next to my fellow journalist, Dave. The inside had more floorspace than most London toilets, and a big storage bucket where the steering wheel and dashboard weren’t. Instead we had a small screen showing our route, a few buttons to open the windows and a large red panic button. “No photos or video, and please don’t remove your seatbelts,” our chaperone instructed. That sounded ominous, but we trusted she hadn’t programmed a route on this rooftop test circuit to dispose of two tiresome British journalists.
Google’s prototype self-driving electric cars, of which the company had 50 built in Detroit, have been driving on the streets of Mountain View, California, since June. Designed, I suspect, to look as unintimidating and benign as possible, the cars verge on cutesy, in softly rounded white plastic with large headlamp eyes and big windows. But Toytown they are not, with a sophisticated triage of 360-degree lasers, radar and cameras that scan its surroundings as it drives, creating a complex 3D image of its environment up to three football fields away.
Analysing that environment, it identifies and categorises vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, traffic signals and the road network, calculating movement and response according to its knowledge of road rules and applying a conservative driving style. Road safety statistics inform that driving style; most accidents at intersections happen in the first second after the lights turn green, so the car waits one second before pulling away.
The strongest case for self-driving cars is safety, its logical, programmed movement also means vehicles can be centrally controlled, rerouting traffic away from congestion. Since the project started in 2009, Google has driven most of its 1.2m hours of tests in a small fleet of customised Lexus autonomous cars. As of July this year, there had been 14 accidents but all had been caused by human error, not by the software. Around 33,000 people die in traffic accidents in the US every year; Google says self-driving cars will reduce that number significantly. The opportunities are, indisputably, immense.
The hard sell for Google will be winning over generations of people who feel safer being in control of their vehicle, don’t know or care enough about the technology, or who simply enjoy driving. Yet most people who try a demo say the same thing: how quickly the self-driving car feels normal, and safe. As the head of public policy quipped, “perhaps we just need to do demos for 7 billion people”. Google’s systems engineer Jaime Waydo helped put self-driving cars on Mars while she worked at Nasa; it may well be that regulation and public policy prove easier there than on Earth.
If Google is asking you to put your life in its hands, just do it and stop asking stupid questions about human beings
And before it can get to the public, Google has to get through the regulators. In taking on the auto industry, Google has some mighty pitched battles ahead, not least the radical changes it implies for the insurance industry (who will find the number of accident claims dropping sharply), car makers (who will become partners with Google to equip their autonomous cars) and the labour issues of laying off a whole class of drivers, from cabs to haulage. But Google has already pre-empted the scrutiny of regulators, inventing a new parent company called Alphabet that will allow its specialist businesses to be built more independently. And Google is already the third biggest lobbyist in the US, spending $10m in the first half of 2015 alone.
There’s no reason why Brin himself should have the answer on how to take his company’s technology to the masses. Our expectations are defined by the myth of the founder, and we like to buy into the idea that these be-Crocced geniuses have some all-knowing power, where in fact they were privileged, smart and got lucky. But that is increasingly the biggest challenge for technology firms, in not only being able to explore and exploit the opportunity of technology using their significant resources and brainpower, but in knowing how to win the confidence of citizens. Would you feel safe in a self-driving car?President Obama blames gerrymandering for exacerbating political partisanship in Washington and blocking some of his top agenda items.
“I think political gerrymandering has resulted in a situation... with 80 percent Democratic districts or 80 percent Republican districts and no competition... that leads to more and more polarization in Congress, and it gets harder and harder to get things done,” he said in an interview with NPR published Monday.
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Obama also took aim at two other familiar targets for poisoning the political environment: the filibuster in the Senate and the influence of super-PACs, which allow “a handful of billionaires to dictate who can compete or not compete... in a Republican primary.”
Republicans took control of the House in 2010, and in 2014 they expanded their majority to the largest it has been in almost nine decades.
That has stymied Obama’s push for legislation on immigration, climate change and gun control. Instead, the president resorted to using executive actions to address those issues, further inflaming tensions with Congress.
The New Republic that his gun control push was halted in part because GOP members “may not feel compelled to pay attention to broad-based public opinion, because what they're really concerned about is the opinions of their specific Republican constituencies.” Obama previously singled out gerrymandering in 2013, tellingthat his gun control push was halted in part because GOP members “may not feel compelled to pay attention to broad-based public opinion, because what they're really concerned about is the opinions of their specific Republican constituencies.”A much improved performance from Sunderland helped them earn their first point of the season as Jermain Defoe’s goal cancelled out Gomis’s opener.
There was very little between the two teams in the opening half hour with neither team threatening the opposing goal, however Sunderland had a much greater intensity from last week’s shocker against Norwich.
Chances were limited in the first half with Shelvey and Naughton shooting from range but neither threatened Pantilimon. Sunderland registered their first shot on target on 35 mins through a Danny Graham overhead kick but Fabianski wasn’t really troubled.
However all of Sunderland’s good work was undone on the stroke of half time as Bafetimbi Gomis put Swansea ahead after a mis-communication in defence. Van Aanholt and O’Shea stepped up leaving Coates alone with Gomis who slid the ball home after being fed by Naughton.
It was a much better first half performance from the Black Cats after last week but they still found themselves a goal behind after switching off at the back.
Swansea could have taken a two goal lead on 51 mins after Andre Ayew hit the post from a free header. Sunderland were sleeping at the corner which Swansea took short and Shelvey’s cross found Ayew who headed against the post.
Sunderland were struggling now and Ayew had another free header five minutes later which went narrowly wide.
Just as Sunderland looked like conceding another they found an equaliser on 62 mins from Jermain Defoe. Danny Graham picked up the loose ball, he played it to Lens who slid Defoe in on goal with a beautiful through ball and the Englishman finished well into the bottom corner.
Sunderland were enjoying a good spell now and they had a big penalty shout as Rodwell’s shot from the edge of the box struck Williams on the arm but the referee waved play on.
The Black Cats could’ve taken the lead on 69 mins after Lens drove to the byline and his cut back found Fletcher on the six yard box but he couldn’t get enough contact as he was sliding.
Sunderland had to be thankful to Pantilimon for keeping the scores level on 74 mins. Montero’s cross found Gomis whose header looked to be flying into the net but the big Romanian managed to claw the ball away from goal.
Sunderland could’ve nicked all three points at the end but Coates headed off target and two free kick opportunities went begging.
Sunderland (4-3-3): Pantilimon, Van Aanholt, Jones, Coates, O’Shea (c), Cattermole, M’Vila, Rodwell, Lens (Larsson 90’), Defoe (Watmore 86’), Graham (Fletcher 66’).
Subs: Mannone, Matthews, Brown, Larsson, Giaccherini, Watmore, Fletcher.
Goals: Defoe (62’)
Swansea City (4-2-3-1): Fabianski, Taylor, Naughton, Williams (c), Fernandez, Cork, Shelvey, Sigurdsson, Montero, Ayew, Gomis (Eder 76’).
Subs: Nordfeldt, Rangel, Bartley, Britton, Routledge, Dyer, Eder.
Goals: Gomis (45+2’)window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-3', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 3', target_type:'mix' });
Photo: Courtesy photo Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Image 2 of 4 Students at Eastside Catholic High School participate in a sit-in at the school in Sammamish. Students protested after Vice Principal Mark Zmuda was forced to resign after officials with the Archdiocese of Seattle discovered he entered into a same-sex marriage earlier this year. less Students at Eastside Catholic High School participate in a sit-in at the school in Sammamish. Students protested after Vice Principal Mark Zmuda was forced to resign after officials with the Archdiocese of... more Photo: Courtesy photo / special to seattlepi.com Image 3 of 4 Students at Eastside Catholic High School march to 228th Avenue SE during a walkout and sit-in at the school in Sammamish. Students protested after Vice Principal Mark Zmuda was forced to resign after officials with the Archdiocese of Seattle discovered he entered into a same-sex marriage earlier this year. less Students at Eastside Catholic High School march to 228th Avenue SE during a walkout and sit-in at the school in Sammamish. Students protested after Vice Principal Mark Zmuda was forced to resign after... more Photo: Courtesy photo Image 4 of 4 |
consistent, I think he'll be one of the better centers, and that's the honest truth," Harrison said.
The linebacker, Sheppard, looked past the Browns' weak rushing stats: 21 carries, 58 yards.
"Those two running backs, No. 29 and No. 34, are both dynamic backs," he said of Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell. "I believe they could go to any team and contribute, if not start.
"They had good tight ends. Of course, there's Gary (Barnidge), but also No. 87. I don't know his name, but he showed something in the receiving game."
No. 87 is rookie fourth-round pick Seth DeValve, who caught three passes for 39 yards.
Safety Eli Apple, a rookie first-round pick from Ohio State, seemed impressed by starting wideouts Corey Coleman and Terrelle Pryor.
"(Coleman) is fast, and he's quick," Apple said.
Pryor helped keep the Browns in the game with a long pass-interference penalty. Apple was the defender who got flagged.
"(Pryor) gave me a little shoulder (bump)," Apple said. "He's a big guy, and he got off a little bit."
Left tackle Ereck Flowers said there had been a lot of practice chatter about Browns nose tackle Danny Shelton. Against a front seven anchored by Shelton, running backs Jennings and Paul Perkins teamed for 24 carries that netted 84 yards, 3.5 per attempt.
"They had some talent out there," Jennings said. "That young boy, Naz (rookie Carl Nassib) got off the edge and was really disruptive.
"They've got a stout, strong guy in 55 (Shelton). They brought in (linebacker Jamie) Collins from New England. He's a weapon. Their DBs came up and hit."
The Giants, 8-3, headed for he bus out of Cleveland and into the heat of a December playoff race. They left behind a few words that might help keep the winless Browns warm during the bye week.
Reach Steve at 330-580-8347 or
steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREPShameless is a character-driven series where the characters’ growth is more important than any overarching storyline. Every single character is worthy of a full-length analysis, but we have decided to go with Ian Gallagher for several reasons. Not only is Ian one of the characters that has changed the most throughout the seasons, but he’s also the most-talked about character in the fandom due to what the writers have done to Gallavich.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers
Ian’s journey through the series could be defined by three plot points: his homosexuality and relationship with Mickey, his goal to join the army and his bipolar disorder. Before that, I would like to throw a question that has been on my mind ever since I caught up with the series: who is Ian Gallagher, really? Since Ian left for the army in the end of Season 3, in all the scenes we got from him he was either high on drugs, having a psychotic break or heavily sedated/medicated. That is why to understand Ian’s personality better we should take a look at his portrayal during the first three seasons.
The very first thing we learned about Ian is that he is gay. In fact, his first episodes in the series are all about his relationship with Kash, Mickey and, later on, Lloyd. However, Ian’s character is not reduced to his his sexual orientation. In fact, his homosexuality is hardly ever brought up (Mickey is the one who carries issues like coming out or homophobia), and his family is nothing but accepting of his sexuality. From his relationships with his siblings, Ian is shown to be ambitious, loving and responsible, but also very tough (he’s a Gallagher, after all). Most of these aspects are shown in the scenes he shares with Lip, his older brother. Lip and Ian have a very strong relationship in the first seasons, being the two eldest brothers besides Fiona. Sadly, a big part of this relationship is lost when Lip leaves for college, coinciding with the beginning of Ian’s emotional and mental downfall.
Speaking now about his parents, Ian is very different from his siblings. In the first season, it is revealed that Frank is not Ian’s biological father, but rather his uncle. Before this was revealed, though, we had already seen Frank being aggressive towards Ian. Frank has had his moments with all of the kids, but he’s barely had any significant moments with Ian. It would be a stretch o say Frank dislikes Ian, but it does seem like he just doesn’t care. Ian does seem to get along more with Monica. Ian’s relationship with his mother is one of the most interesting ones in the series as a whole. Even before it was revealed that Ian also suffered from bipolar disorder, Ian had already shown more attachment to her (going to a gay bar together, trying to feed her when she was depressed in bed, worrying about her before she tried to kill herself during Thanksgiving…). Sure, the purpose of those scenes was probably to add foreshadowing for Ian inheriting her disorder, but I’m sure it was also to show that Ian cared more about her because, unlike Frank, she’s his biological parent. Don’t get me wrong – Monica is not good for Ian either, but some scenes they share in Season 5 are among the most emotional moments in the entire series.
Outside of the family, besides Mandy, it’s clear that the most important relationship he has is with Mickey. Actually, talking about Gallavich is the same as talking about Mickey’s character development. Ian and Mickey’s love for each other is genuine, raw, but very influenced by external factors. The beginning of their relationship is constantly put in stand by due to Mickey’s fear of coming out (can’t really blame him given the father he has), and his own emotional constipation. Just as Mickey had finally come out, put his father in prison and started being more comfortable with showing his love for Ian in public, Ian started to lose himself. Ironically, as inconsistent and toxic this relationship could be, the more inconveniences they faced, the stronger their love grew.
Seasons 4 and 5 are the most defining one for their relationship. Gallavich was one of the major attractions in the series, and a big portion of the fandom started watching the show only because it featured a realistic gay couple. However, Gallavich breaking up in the end of Season 5 is not the reason why many of these viewers are complaining: it’s the fact that Ian has seemed to have forgotten who Mickey was and what he was willing to do for him. I used to believe that Gallavich would be endgame, but I started losing hope when Fiona/Jimmy was over for good. Same for Lip and Mandy. It’s easy to forget that Shameless is also a drama, so the fact that these two couples could end up separated by the end of the series is actually quite possible. Shameless is no stranger to getting rid of characters (Sheila, Mandy, Karen, Little Hank…), but the problem comes when they made the entire relationship disappear as if it never happened.
It’s rare to see bipolar disorder being represented in media. I personally knew very little about this disorder and learned a lot thanks to Shameless and, reading comment by bipolar viewers, it seems like the show has done an excellent job with it. The beginning of this storyline also marks Cameron Monaghan‘s best work in the series. Ian returned to Season 4 completely changed, both physically and mentally. In a way, Ian regained the spotlight he had previously lost. In only 2 seasons, Ian had dropped out of highschool, illegally joined (and left) the army, started working in a gay bar as a stripper, and had problems with drugs. For the most part of the season, we saw a very hyper and motivated Ian, and it wasn’t until he refused to get out of bed for an entire day that Fiona suggested that he could probably have inherited Monica’s bipolar disorder. Season 5 dealed with the consequences of not getting treatment, like having Ian steal Mickey’s baby to later sign up in a psych ward in one of the most stressful and devastating episodes in the entire series.
Ian broke up with Mickey because he didn’t want him to be worrying about him all the time. At the time, Ian was at his lowest. He had just returned from his trip with Monica and he was lost trying to figure out his disorder and, basically, his new life as a bipolar person. I understand Ian’s argument of wanting to stay away from Mickey for a while, so that Mickey could catch a break while Ian could be alone and figure out who he is first. I honestly believe that if Sammy hadn’t shown up, they would have been able to work it out.
Season 6 had its problems, and Ian was no exception. Ian (as a person) was doing great: he was taking his meds, had started a job, and also started dating someone. However, Ian (as a character) started losing credibility. Of course there was nothing Ian could do if Mickey was in jail, but the problem came from the fact that he pulled a 180º and started acting as if he never cared about Mickey in the first place. Furthermore, he seemed to imply that Mickey was a negative influence in his life, and that because of him, he didn’t know how to love right.
While it’s understandable to have Ian dating other people, he could have probably also used some time of his own, and maybe even go back to high school (why did he drop out, again?). Caleb helped Ian move on and start taking his life seriously, but we can’t just ignore the fact that he laughed at Mickey being raped. And Trevor is a good person who’s expanded Ian’s perception of the LGBT community, but he pales in comparison to what Ian shared with Mickey. I’m not going to lie here – chances are the reason Noel Fisher was back for a couple episodes in Season 7 was probably because the backlash they got from the audiece was impossible to ignore. But more than that, if they had a chance to give Gallavich closure and give Mickey a better open ending, I don’t see why they shouldn’t take it. Sadly, while it was easy to believe Ian still loved Mickey (mainly due to the chemistry Monaghan and Fisher share), it was also hard to see that was the same Ian from Season 6 because the damage had already been done.
After the Season 7 finale, Ian has already said goodbye to Mickey, and he might be willing to make an extra effort to fix things with Trevor. However, what will probably determine what kind of person he’s become will come from what he decides to do with his share of Monica’s meth (what that else could you expect from Shameless?)When statewide backers of a California anti-gay-marriage ballot measure need legal advice, they call a Folsom phone number. Attorney Andrew Pugno, 35, represents founders of the Protect Marriage national coalition and its ProtectMarriage.com Internet site, which is he official site for backers of a November ballot initiative known as the California Marriage Protection Act. The measure will not have a proposition number or letter assigned until June 26. Backers want voters to vote to amend the California Constitution after a May 15 state Supreme Court ruling invalidated legislation barring same-sex marriage. Court justices held the legislation prevented equal protection under the law and so was unconstitutional. If passed, the ballot initiative would change the Constitution to match the anti-gay-marriage legislation. "Most large campaigns use the assistance of an attorney specializing in election law," Pugno said. "There are a lot of laws regarding campaign financing and voter registration." Pugno said the campaign takes a good deal of his time. "My main practice is in estate planning," he said. "I'm trying to keep it up." Supreme Court justices declined June 16 to stay their ruling wait until a November vote might pass amending the state Constitution to allow a gay-marriage ban. The still unnumbered ballot measure is being financed in large part by wealthy Texas and Florida interests, according a New York Times report of May 18. They are organized by an Orlando, Fla.-based, non-profit law firm called Liberty Counsel, the report said. The law firm, which is not affiliated with ProtectMarriage.com, litigates nationally in three main areas -- anti-separation of church and state, anti-choice on abortion rights and anti-gay-marriage. Also behind the ballot initiative are Washington DC's Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council. All told, a coalition of such interests, called Protect Marriage, had spent some $1.8 million on the campaign through the end of March, according to the New York Times. Proponents of same-sex marriage rights are planning to spend large in response. Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California has predicted "the largest, most expensive and most hard-fought (gay-rights) ballot measure in the history of the country." Each side estimates it will spend between $10 million and $20 million. Pugno noted that despite a recent poll showing Californians as a whole support a right to same-sex marriage, later polls show support for the measure to amend the Constitution to bar it. Pugno said he believes the court justices, in basing their May 15 decision, looked only selectively at the recent legislative record on gay rights. "They looked at accounts of gay-rights legislation, and said, 'Because of this legislation, there's now a new understanding of marriage' -- but they failed to give weight to the initiative passed by the voters in 2000 with Prop. 22." Pugno is a former chief of staff to then-State Sen. Pete Knight, author of Prop. 22. Ballot measure backers have played down out-of-state financing, noting that a grassroots network of volunteers -- many organized by churches -- sprang up in California to help qualify the measure for the ballot. Florida organizer Matthew Staver of Liberty Counsel wrote in a Web publication " A 501(c)(3) organization is described as one in which 'no substantial part of the activities...is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation.'" But the group's Web site reports that in Florida, Liberty Counsel "argued in favor of state law requiring informed consent for women considering abortion." Staver flew to Dallas to fund-raise just hours after the controversial California Supreme Court ruling, the New York Times reported. Folsom High School graduate and gay-rights activist Lance Chih said he is cautiously optimistic on the November ballot measure but believes one way or the other the outcome won't settle things in California "I think it's going to be really close," Chih said. "To me, what it comes down to is how soon are people going to be ready to change. I know some people hope this will be the end, but the anti-gay community is not going to go away."Curious about the next MINI Clubman? The wait is over. MINI has taken the wraps off of the Clubman concept, and in doing so, given us a very clear view at the 2016 Clubman itself. As is customary with MINI and BMW’s lightly disguised concepts, it’s the hard-points that should be focused on. The question remains, however, what exactly is going to make it to production and what is a design exercise? Read on to find out.
The Exterior – what’s Concept and What’s Production?
If you’ve been following MF for the past year, nothing here should be a surprise. The size of the car (4223 mm, or 5″ longer than the Countryman) is key, as are the four forward-opening doors we’ve been telling you about. The front is taken directly from the F56 (with some concept bits added on for good measure) and the rear is 100% production with the exception of the latch.
One detail that is particularly interesting is the similarity of this concept to the design sketches we saw just before the F56 was released last year. If we had to guess (and make some slightly informed assumptions) we’d say that this might be an early look at the LCI (the “life-cycle refresh” or “impulse” in BMW-speak) for the F5X cars due out in 3-4 years. One key aspect of the design that gives this away is the attention to detail of the ducting around the front wheels. These create the air curtain (again BMW-speak) that improves airflow around the wheels to decrease drag. The amount of engineering that goes into something like this indicates that these are a feature we’ll see headed to production at some point.
What about the color? Our sources tell us that the unique color for the F55 won’t be the burgundy you see here, but a new dark blue called Lapisluxury Blue which looks very similar to the revised Rocketman concept blue from a few years back.
The Interior: What’s Concept and What’s Production?
Inside it’s pretty much all concept when you look at the details. The Clubman will carry over some of the F56 interior design but will tweak the overall look and functionality of the dash and center console.
What about the rear and the legroom? We won’t have specific details, of course, until we see it in person but our sources have called it better than the R60 Countryman in every way.
Release Date
We expect the F55 four door hatch to debut later this summer followed by the convertible in the spring of 2015. That would mean the Clubman concept you see above should hit dealers in production form in the latter half of 2015 as a 2016 model.
Check back for more on the F54 Clubman as we’ll have hands-on impressions and plenty more details in the coming days and months.
Official Release: At the 2014 Geneva Motor Show MINI presents the MINI Clubman Concept, showcasing a new brand philosophy for a higher class of automobile. 26 centimeters longer and just under 17 centimeters wider than the current MINI Clubman, the Concept comes over as sophisticated, cool and elegant. The iconic design is supplemented by high-quality details, plenty of space for functional features and selected materials. Refinement of the hallmark MINI styling ensures instant recognition, both on the exterior and the interior. The extensive colour and material concept redefines contemporary elegance and high-end quality in this segment.
Four doors and five seats offer plenty of utility space, thereby supporting an active lifestyle.
Classic MINI design features such as the hexagonal radiator grille, Side Scuttles, the Black Band, short overhangs and elliptical front and rear headlights ensure high recognition value from every angle.
Length: 4223 mm, width: 1844 mm (not incl. mirror), height: 1450 mm.
Integrated aerodynamics as an essential part of the exterior design.
The interior design interprets typical MINI shapes and colours, presenting an effortless and elegant combination of high-end quality and functionality.
An elaborate colour and material concept in the interior with exclusive materials and unexpected details. The Center Instrument with newly conceived user interface creates an event-controlled interaction space with touch operation.
A new class for the future of MINI.
“The MINI Clubman Concept shows how the MINI Clubman could be taken a step further: more interior space, a greater sense of high-end quality and yet still clever, bold and distinctive. In short: more car, more MINI,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, explaining the approach to this model. For over 50 years now, MINI has stood for maximum use of minimum space. 26 centimetres longer and just under 17 centimetres wider than the current MINI Clubman, the MINI Clubman Concept applies this aspiration to a new class of automobile. As Head of MINI Design Anders Warming explains: “With the MINI Clubman Concept we are presenting a car with space, flair and style in a segment where the focus is mainly on function and utility. With clever ideas, emotional design and a cool blend of colours and materials, it offers an overall experience which remains unique in this segment to date.”
Supreme, dynamic, elegant – the exterior design.
Even with larger exterior dimensions, the MINI Clubman Concept is instantly recognisable as a typical MINI. With the characteristic agility of the MINI proportions, the prolonged roof line clearly reflects the car’s extensive utility space. It also gives the silhouette a distinctive elegance, underscored by generous surfaces. The powerful, warm Berry Red colour shows surfaces and shapes to optimum effect. The roof in the colour “Blade” – a metallic grey – creates an elegant contrast with the warm red of the corpus.
Classic MINI design icons such as the hexagonal radiator grille, Side Scuttles, Black Band and the typical lights are designed in precise, high-end style. The modern, reduced interpretation of these features gives the MINI Clubman Concept a more sophisticated, charismatic look. The themes of aerodynamics and air ducting are clearly highlighted in the exterior design. All openings and outlets are integrated in the geometry and elegantly shaped. Clearly defined wheel arches and the roof spoiler accentuate the car’s dynamic appearance, underscoring the overall impression of sporty flair.
Typical MINI in every detail – the front section.
Seen from the front, the circular headlamps, hexagonal radiator grille and roof with add-on look clearly identify the MINI Clubman Concept as belonging to the MINI family. The radiator grille is strikingly elaborated and incorporates the bumper in the front section. The bumper is finished in Black Chrome, adding a touch of exclusive style to this functional element. Elaborate details such as the three-dimensional structure of the chrome ribs inside the front grille further enhance the front section. The high quality standards of the MINI Clubman Concept even extend to the surface modelling. Fine edges add precision and presence to the generous surfaces. In the lower area of the front-end design there is a continuous air inlet which highlights the breadth of the MINI Clubman Concept, thereby emphasising its solid standing on the road. Meanwhile a finely wrought chrome rib appears to hover inside the air inlet, giving this sporty detail a touch of exclusive appeal. In the outer section of the front apron there are so-called AirCurtains – an aerodynamic feature that gives the wheel arches an aerodynamically optimised closure. These dynamically surround the lower part of the front section like two brackets.
Plenty of space for characteristic dynamism – the side.
Reduced to the essentials, the side view instantly conveys the qualities of the MINI Clubman Concept: a long wheelbase, flatly positioned windows and short overhangs reflect characteristic MINI agility. At the same time, the long roof line and the typical two-box design clearly emphasise the car’s high level of functionality and its generous utility space. Meanwhile the four doors reflect the extended exterior dimensions and increased functionality. Generous surface expanses elongate the side, while at the same time subtle surface modelling and precise lines make the silhouette appear flat and dynamic. Three chrome elements give the side section a sense of exclusivity with modern understatement. At the front, the Side Scuttle incorporates the filigree mirror base and turn indicator in an elongated element whose shape is echoed by the two electrical door openers. Integrated flush with the surface, these draw a line back to the rear which is taken up by the rear door handles. Above this, the surrounding shoulder line in chrome offsets the corpus of the car from the greenhouse and roof in hallmark MINI style. This so-called Waistline Finisher embraces the entire passenger cell, reinforcing the exterior graphics so typical of the brand. The 19″ light alloy rims in bicolour Black Chrome and Chrome finish are the highlight of the side view. A clear cup formation gives the elaborate multi-spoke design a highly dynamic touch. In between, glossy accents are added by non-cupped polished surfaces.
Aerodynamic details for optimum air ducting.
The MINI Clubman Concept is the first MINI to be fitted with a so-called AirBreather at the side. The AirBreather echoes the design theme of the AirCurtains in the front apron, cutting dynamically into the surrounding Black Band. The elaborate double roof spoiler at the rear is shown to best advantage from the top view. The third brake light is integrated in between the two wings of the roof spoilers in Formula 1 style. There are also two longitudinal sections of plexiglass which run across the entire length of the roof like rally stripes. In conjunction with the roof spoiler, this means that the distinctive dynamic air typical of MINI is applied to the MINI Clubman Concept from a bird’s-eye perspective, too.
Typical MINI Clubman: split doors for increased loading convenience – the rear.
The MINI Clubman Concept is broad and athletic in the rear view. The familiar MINI cascading – a staggering of multiple layers – gives the automobile a very solid standing and a muscular wheel orientation when seen from the rear. The most striking rear elements are the characteristic split doors. The typical continuous door frame is no longer made of sheet metal. The door graphic itself provides the frame surrounding the entire rear section like a discreet bracket. This newly elaborated design gives the whole rear a reduced, modern appearance. The horizontally positioned rear lights have a highly detailed finish. Their shape underscores the car’s broad standing and the dynamic orientation of the rear section. Selected chrome accents such as the “Clubman” inscription, the MINI emblem on the left-hand door and the door handles are specific details which emphasise the high-quality aspiration of the MINI Clubman Concept. As in the front section, the aerodynamically optimised bumper finishes off the rear to the road.
Exclusivity and function interpreted in contemporary style – the interior design.
Along with the exterior, the interior of the MINI Clubman Concept has also grown to larger dimensions. With four doors and five fully-fledged seats, the MINI Clubman Concept offers plenty of space for the pursuit of an active lifestyle.
The new dimensions are brought to life by means of generous surfaces and more sophisticated spatial effect. The underlying design theme in the interior is the characteristic ellipse. Precise and contoured in its shaping, it comes over as more sophisticated while clearly displaying its origins. Around the ellipses, the interaction between several levels and surfaces adds lightness and a three-dimensional feel to the interior.
The unusual materials are especially worthy of mention: nubuck leather in a light Sky Blue, patent leather in rich Berry Red and black soft nappa leather ensure an exclusive interior atmosphere which is highly expressive. In between, elements in patinised silver add high-end accentuations. The patina gives them the character of familiar, fondly used items. Decorative strips in blue limed ash grain convey cool, modern elegance. The two highly expressive fabrics Tweed Grey and Black Twill set an attractive counterpoint to the classic value attributes of wood, leather, silver, thereby creating the familiar MINI interior experience. Small details such as the buttons with Union Jack embossment on the seats and central console, contrast stitching, piping or red accentuation surfaces in the sunblinds which only appear when these are folded down all add a touch of surprise to the mature character of the MINI Clubman Concept.
High-end sophistication and presence – the instrument panel.
The interior element of the MINI Clubman Concept with the most powerful presence is the leather-covered instrument panel. With a surround in blue limed ash grain and a white porcelain finish, the black upper section of the instrument panel has a hovering appearance. Indirect rear lighting of the gap reinforces this impression and gives the area in front of the driver and front passenger an extremely high-end ambience. The linear air vents have patinised, silver-plated surrounds. Between the air vents there is an area in Black Chrome which can be back-lit if required that provides additional information for the driver and front passenger. The suggested “Faded Diamonds” rhombus pattern gives the Black Chrome surface a particularly high-quality structure. The lower section of the instrument panel is finished in Berry Red patent leather, providing an extrovert yet sophisticated contrast to the more discreet design of the upper half.
Multi-layered and light – the door design.
The newly interpreted ellipse in the side runs dynamically across the two doors to create a visual link between front and rear. The armrests in blue nubuck leather appear to hover in the doors, while behind them there are practical storage compartments. The decorative surfaces in the doors have indirect backlighting to underscore the inviting, contemporary ambience. The side mirrors and roof liner recede discreetly into the background due to use of high-quality fabric Tweed Grey in salt-and-pepper look, while the quality weave of the fabric Black Twill with classic black-and-white contrast on the floor and mats makes for an elegant finish. The concept of spatial function in the rear is rounded off with clever storage facilities in the split doors as well as a double load floor. The pouches in the doors are elaborately fitted with nubuck leather in Silk White. They are placed within convenient reach and help make optimum use of space in the luggage compartment. The double load floor provides additional storage capacity.
Intelligent controls.
The display area in the centre console (160mm x 150mm) adapts according to the content selected or the situation on the road. Three “intelligent” toggles are assigned the relevant content according to selected content or driving functions. Above and beyond this, the three toggles can also be freely programmed and assigned particular functions according preference. The haptic quality of the toggles means that the various functions can be operated during travel without looking. Here the MINI Clubman Concept has taken classic operating elements that have been a part of MINI for 55 years and consistently advanced them.
GalleryWhen Dire Straits wrote the song “Money for nothing” they would have hardly thought that someone would take the idea and bring it into reality. The efforts of feminists have started to yield very sweet fruits to them as they have been able to convince the society that they should get all the benefits, rights etc but all without responsibility. Women are continuously asking for more in the name of equality and are also succeeding in getting it as nobody questions it, people blindly accept the false propaganda and cooked up or skewed statistics.
Well many of you may not believe me as you have been blinded by the media hype or just suffering from the white knight syndrome. http://lifenstory.com/white_knight_syndrome Otherwise it hardly takes any serious intellectual and logical thinking to realize that men are being milked legally and slowly being turned into a slave sought of person.
Few facts that point in this direction are as follows
Men are made to pay higher taxes but the money goes to women’s welfare whereas there is no official body which looks after needs of men due to this there are so many laws which are enacted in favor of women but without giving any thought on its repercussion on Men.
If a woman files a complaint on man than person is considered guilty until proven innocent. Whereas a woman is never considered to be able to commit crime and police are reluctant to accept any complaint against them. This hurts men in two ways. First if a false case is filed against them their life is destroyed as it’s very difficult to prove a woman false. Secondly is a man is suffering because of women he has nobody to rely on as there are no laws which accept abuse of men by women
Women are admitted for education and jobs even at lower standards of screening so even if a man is more qualified or capable he loses the opportunity and there have been many cases where a more qualified man lost a job just because the management wanted to hire a woman as happened in case of US immigration agency where The official, James T. Hayes Jr. alleges that he was shunted out of a high-level position in the agency in favor of a less-qualified woman because he was a man., he also accuses the agency’s chief of staff, Suzanne Barr, of “sexually offensive behavior” that contributed to a discriminatory work environment for male employees The discrimination lawsuit, which names Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary, as the sole defendant, was filed in May by Mr. Hayes, special agent in charge of investigations for the agency’s New York office. Ms. Barr stepped down from her post and voluntarily left the agency on paid leave pending the outcome of an internal review of the misconduct allegations, a spokesman said. Ms. Barr, the lawsuit alleges, “Created a frat house-type atmosphere that is targeted to humiliate and intimidate male employees. - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/us/immigration-agency-accused-of-unfairness-to-men.html?_r=3&hpw
Those talking about equality are shamed by women who want freebies in the name of women empowerment. In fact even Microsoft CEO Mr. Saty Nadella was not spared by these radical feminist, when he was invited to women’s conference. His only folly was he wanted real equality not promote bias in name of equality. So instead of offering women shortcuts and unfair advantage under euphemism of positive discrimination over men. He asked them to work at par with men and than expect progression in career. Such a fair talk did not go down well with those used to getting unfair advantage everywhere including pay & promotions. That’s why feminist started shaming attacking on him. Sadly he too backtracked.
If a man gets separated from wife he has to pay alimony and maintenance to the lady irrespective of whether he is able to earn or not. Some of the worst cases I have come across makes are that of Even if a husband is dying he has to pay alimony!! This is gross negligence of human rights and men are being treated like bonded labor at par with animals. http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/hc-tells-husband-to-pay-wife-despite-his-unemployment-illness/95763/
Girls are not contended with reserved seats for them and less stringent selection criteria compared to men. They are now demanding that they should be given grace marks to pass in exam even if they are not able to get minimum passing marks on account of bunking classes and not being serious in studies!!! - http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_failed-girl-students-hold-teachers-hostage-later-free-them_1779127
GoAir airlines opt for female crew which is outright discrimination on males. I request mty readers to shun such airlines, never travel with such sexist airlines which plans to reduce the 40% of their male cabin crews to female hence reducing the job opportunities for Men http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/GoAir-opts-for-female-crew-to-save-fuel/articleshow/20805888.cms
The judiciary who are feel that the custody of child should go to the mother and the father should pay maintenance of the child to the mother, should wake up and realize that such women are only interested in the maintenance money and not bothered about the well being of the child as seen form the case of a lady who did not give custody of child to father in order to claim maintenance for the child and had put the child for adoption!! - http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-10/delhi/35725826_1_hindu-adoption-minor-daughter-maintenance-petition
Rajesh Khanna's so called live in partner has filed a case of Domestic Violence against Dimple and Akshay Kumar. So now the rich and famous have also started facing the Legal extortion by women. They will realize that they are also prone to the issue which they thought was only related to middle class. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Rajesh-Khannas-live-in-partner-Anita-Advani-files-domestic-violence-case-against-Khanna-family/articleshow/17149215.cms
1 in 5 boys at primaries have no male teachers while some could go through their entire education without one. Official statistics compiled for the first time reveal how 360,485 boys aged four to 11 are attending schools which have only women teachers. But no effort is being taken to ensure gender equality there and getting more male teachers onboard - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2234250/1-5-boys-primaries-male-teachers-entire-education-one.html
Most women flirt to get their way is now proved as more than half of women in UK admit to flirting with men to get their own way, with a fifth saying they do so at work, according to a new study, many women will turn to their feminine wiles to... get ahead, should the situation call for it - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Most-women-flirt-to-get-their-way/articleshow/17608081.cms
Highly sexist move against Men & Merit by Rahul Gandhi, he wants 50% seats reserved for women in AICC http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-29/india/40271498_1_congress-vice-president-rahul-gandhi-sonia-gandhi
Male Job applicant humiliated after being made to dance http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Job-applicant-humiliated-after-being-made-to-dance/articleshow/22384902.cms Abuse of men is always ignored.
Twenty-six men maintenance staff members working at a university in Wales are suing their employers for more than £700,000 over allegations of sex discrimination and unequal pay. These men have been underpaid since 2007. Had they been a female secretary or a library worker on the same grade working the same shift pattern, they would have received an additional £4,000 per year. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/17/male-university-workers-sue-sex-discrimination
Gender bias in office Men are the victims of sex discrimination at work, according to a ground-breaking new study suggesting that professions once regarded as male bastions are now biased towards women. The results present a startling picture of the so called modern workplace, suggesting employers may now be employing a form of stealth fake affirmative action and actively trying to recruit more women. It makes life more difficult for a mand to get a job without decreasing his responsibilities while increases job opportunities for woman without increasing their other responsibilities. Athis imbalance in the rights and responsibilities will lead to social issues. - http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/jan/22/discriminationatwork.workandcareers
Job bias against men http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/males-put-on-hold-as-india-inc-chases-women-workers/articleshow/15396243.cms
Things have gone to really bad levels... charge of sexually harassing Robot... http://www.headlinednews.com/chicago-man-charged-in-sexual-harassment-of-robot/ So no doubt that women who want to reduce competition from a male counterpart can charge them in fake sexual abuse case or get rid of a hard working boss who expects his team to be as hard working as him. Now it’s Males at Accenture, soon it will be males in IBM India, Infosys and wipro who will fall prey to misuse.http:// |
reenter shared element transitions are not available for Fragment Transitions, see George Mount’s answer and comments in this StackOverflow post. ↩
A similar sequence of events occurs during the exit/return/reenter transitions for both Activities and Fragments. ↩
One other subtle feature of ChangeTransform is that it can detect and handle changes made to a shared element view’s parent during a transition. This comes in handy when, for example, the shared element’s parent has an opaque background and is by default selected to be a transitioning view during the scene change. In this case, the ChangeTransform will detect that the shared element’s parent is being actively modified by the content transition, pull out the shared element from its parent, and animate the shared element separately. See George Mount’s StackOverflow answer for more information. ↩
Note that this section only pertains to Activity Transitions. Unlike Activity Transitions, shared elements are not drawn in a ViewOverlay by default during Fragment Transitions. That said, you can achieve a similar effect by applying a ChangeTransform transition, which will have the shared element drawn on top of the hierarchy in a ViewOverlay if it detects that its parent has changed. See this StackOverflow post for more information. ↩
Note that one negative side-effect of having shared elements drawn on top of the entire view hierarchy is that this means it will become possible for shared elements to draw on top of the System UI (such as the status bar, navigation bar, and action bar). For more information on how you can prevent this from happening, see this Google+ post. ↩EA Expands Award-Winning MMO Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ with Free-to-Play Option This Fall
New Free-to-Play Option Will Open Up the Critically-Acclaimed MMO from BioWare and LucasArts to Millions of Additional Star Wars™ Fans and Gamers Worldwide
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BioWare™, a Label of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), announced today that it will be expanding the story-driven, massively multiplayer online game Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ by adding a new Free-to-Play option this fall. This option will give players access to each of the eight iconic Star Wars character class storylines, all the way up to level 50, with certain restrictions*. Unlimited game access, including new higher-level game content and new features, will be made available through individual purchases or through a subscription option.
“Players want flexibility and choice. The subscription-only model presented a major barrier for a lot of people who wanted to become part of The Old Republic™ universe”
“Players want flexibility and choice. The subscription-only model presented a major barrier for a lot of people who wanted to become part of The Old Republic™ universe,” said Matthew Bromberg, GM of BioWare Austin.
Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic added, “Since launch, we’ve been listening to feedback from our fans and adding new content and refining The Old Republic at a breakneck pace. We believe we are in a position to help improve the service even more, not only by continuing to add new content, but also by expanding the game to many more Star Wars fans, increasing the populations on worlds and the vibrancy of the community.”
Starting this fall, there will be two different ways to play Star Wars: The Old Republic:
Subscription – A service designed for players who want unrestricted access to all the game features via ongoing subscription or by redeeming a Game Time Card. In addition to gaining access to all game content as our current subscribers do now, subscribers will receive ongoing monthly grants of Cartel Coins, the new virtual currency that will be introduced later this fall. Cartel Coins can be used to purchase valuable in-game items including customizable gear and convenience features that will enhance the game play experience.
– A service designed for players who want unrestricted access to all the game features via ongoing subscription or by redeeming a Game Time Card. In addition to gaining access to all game content as our current subscribers do now, subscribers will receive ongoing monthly grants of Cartel Coins, the new virtual currency that will be introduced later this fall. Cartel Coins can be used to purchase valuable in-game items including customizable gear and convenience features that will enhance the game play experience. Free-To-Play – The first 50 levels will be Free-to-Play, with restrictions on access to new content and advanced player features. Some restrictions can be “unlocked” with Cartel Coins.
As the first step towards adding the new Free-to-Play option this fall, Star Wars: The Old Republic will go on sale in August for $14.99 USD, including one-month of free subscription.
Current and former players will also find additional benefits as part of this program. BioWare will be increasing the frequency of game content updates, with the first of many new releases coming in August. In addition, current subscribers will receive Cartel Coin grants and qualify for access to special in-game items. Even former players who re-activate now will qualify for special benefits. To learn more about these rewards, please visit www.StarWarstheOldRepublic.com/FREE.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the most critically acclaimed MMOs of all time, having won MSNBC’s “Game of the Year” award in 2011, “Editor’s Choice” awards from IGN, PC Gamer and “Best MMO of 2011” awards from Game Informer, GameSpy, AOL Massively, Ten Ton Hammer and more. The game is set thousands of years before the classic Star Wars movies, with the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire locked in the middle of an epic, galactic war. Players choose one of eight iconic Star Wars character classes, including the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent, becoming the hero or villain of their own personal Star Wars saga.
For more information on Star Wars: The Old Republic, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/FREE, follow the game on Twitter at http://twitter.com/swtor or “Like” Star Wars: The Old Republic on Facebook at http://facebook.com/starwarstheoldrepublic. For additional press assets, please visit http://info.ea.com.
*ACCEPTANCE OF END USER ACCESS AND LICENSE AGREEMENT ('EUALA'), PERSISTENT INTERNET CONNECTION, AND ACCOUNT REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO PLAY. MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER. SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRES REGISTRATION WITH ONE-TIME USE SERIAL CODE. SERIAL CODE IS NON-TRANSFERABLE ONCE USED. PAID SUBSCRIPTION, VALID AND ACCEPTED PAYMENT METHOD OR PAID GAME TIME CARD (IF AVAILABLE) REQUIRED TO ACCESS GAMEPLAY. PAYMENT METHOD AGE RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY. SWTOR ONLINE SERVICE MAY BE DISCONTINUED AFTER 30 DAYS NOTICE POSTED ON WWW.SWTOR.COM. SEE EUALA FOR DETAILS. AGREEMENT TO SHARE ACCOUNT INFORMATION WITH LUCASFILM ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY LTD. ('LUCASFILM') IS REQUIRED TO ACCESS GAMEPLAY. GAME INTENDED FOR PLAY ONLY WITHIN NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE AND CERTAIN OTHER TERRITORIES. PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE AVAILABLE AT WWW.SWTOR.COM. ALL TERMS AND CONDITIONS TO PLAY THE GAME APPLY AT ALL TIMES. THE FIRST 30 DAYS OF SUBSCRIPTION ARE INCLUDED IN THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT. SUBSCRIPTIONS MAY BE CANCELLED AT ANY TIME. SEE WWW.SWTOR.COM FOR DETAILS.
WARNING: PEOPLE WHO HAVE PHOTOSENSITIVE SEIZURES (A SEIZURE REPORTEDLY INDUCED BY FLASHING LIGHTS OR PATTERNS), OR OTHER SYMPTOMS FROM BEING PHOTOSENSITIVE, SHOULD NOT PLAY THIS GAME WITHOUT FIRST SEEING A DOCTOR
About LucasArts
Founded in 1982 by filmmaker George Lucas, LucasArts is a leading publisher and developer of interactive entertainment. With development facilities in San Francisco and Singapore, LucasArts leverages the global skills, technology and resources of the Lucasfilm family of companies -- including visual effects leader Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation and Skywalker Sound -- in addition to strategic partnerships with best-in-class external partners, to further the boundaries of game development. LucasArts is dedicated to delivering deeply immersive, visually spectacular and engaging experiences that inspire and amaze generations.
About BioWare
The BioWare Label is a division of EA which crafts high quality multiplatform role-playing, MMO and strategy games, focused on emotionally engaging, rich stories with unforgettable characters and vast worlds to discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world's most critically acclaimed titles and franchises, including Baldur's Gate™, Neverwinter Nights™, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, Jade Empire™, Mass Effect™ and Dragon Age™. BioWare currently operates in eight locations across the world, including Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec, Canada), Austin (Texas), Fairfax (Virginia), San Francisco (California), Los Angeles (California), Sacramento (California) and Galway (Ireland).
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones, tablets and social networks. EA has more than 220 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.
In fiscal 2012, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.1 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield™ and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.
LucasArts, the LucasArts logo, STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks in the United States and/or in other countries of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © 2012 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.
EA, Bioware, The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Battlefield is a trademark of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. BioWare Mass Effect, Jade Empire and Dragon Age are trademarks of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. Madden, NFL and FIFA are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission.The U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding proposal to allow states to collect sales tax on Internet sellers that have no presence within their borders.
The proposal was an amendment to a 2014 budget bill that the Senate debated Friday. It was pushed by Senators Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican, and Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, and was designed to give backers a sense of whether they had enough votes to push forward with final legislation to impose an Internet sales tax.
The vote showed they have plenty of backing to overcome any filibuster seeking to block a final sales tax bill. Sixty votes are needed to overcome a filibuster, and senators voted 75-24 for the nonbinding resolution. The Enzi and Durbin amendment would allow the Senate Budget Committee to include the sales tax in the budget, providing it does not increase the federal deficit.
The budget amendment is an initial step toward allowing state and local governments to collect sales taxes from out-of-state retailers who sell more than US$1 million worth of products in a year over the Internet. Enzi and Durbin are the lead sponsors of the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would still have to pass through Congress before a tax is imposed.
Forty-six U.S. states now have sales taxes, but a 1992 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited states from collecting sales tax from catalog sellers because of the burden it would place on the sellers. The court, however, left it up to Congress to allow states to collect sales taxes on remote sales if the states created a streamlined tax collection system.All states with sales taxes require Internet shoppers to report on their Internet purchases and pay taxes, but the rules are not well-known and few shoppers comply.
Supporters of the amendment said the current tax system isn't fair to brick-and-mortar businesses, which have to collect sales taxes from their local shoppers.
Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, argued against the amendment, saying it would encourage U.S. Internet sellers to move overseas, where it's tougher for states to collect sales taxes. "The Internet is now the shipping lane of the 21st century, and foreign retailers are going to get an advantage," he said.
But past arguments against the sales tax suggesting e-commerce was in its infancy and needed to be protected are no longer true, Durbin said. "You're asking for a safe haven here, an advantage over a lot of good small businesses in my state," he said.
Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's e-mail address is grant_gross@idg.com.Andrea Bocelli will not be playing at president-elect Donald Trump's inauguration after suffering 'backlash.'
Page Six reported that the famous tenor had been approached by Trump personally to play at his inauguration.
But a Boycott Bocelli movement on social media supposedly forced him to reconsider.
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Trump is a big fan of Bocelli and reportedly personally asked him to play his inauguration. The pair are pictured together in February 2010
Bocelli and wife Veronica Berti (left) and Trump and wife Melania at Bocelli's 2010 concert at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach
After rumors spread that Bocelli would be appearing at the inauguration, many on social media called for a boycott of his music
'Trump has a long-standing relationship with Bocelli, and wants to ask him in person to perform.
'The plan is to have acts at the inauguration that are meaningful for Trump, and he’s a huge fan of Bocelli,' a source told the column.
When word got out, fans went ballistic and a 'Boycott Bocelli' movement was started on social media.
'I love your voice, but will feel obligated to join #Boycott Bocelli if you sing at Trump's coronation. Please don't,' wrote @carefordemocracy.
'If Andrea Bocelli refuses to join artisticboycott of Trump and is helping legitimize him, then we #BoycottBocelli' wrote @SheWhoVotes.
Meanwhile, the opera singer's Facebook wall was filled with pleas not to play the inauguration.
'This inauguration is a tragedy and please do not lend your angelic voice to it,' wrote one fan.
A source told the gossip column: 'Bocelli said there was no way he’d take the gig... he was ‘getting too much heat’ and he said no.'
Bocelli was reportedly considering playing the inauguration but backed off after getting backlash. He is seen singing at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday
Another source added: 'Trump suggested to Bocelli he not participate because of the backlash. It’s sad people on the left kept him from performing on a historic day.'
Bocelli joins Garth Brooks as one of the few famous names who were floated as being willing to play who have apparently changed their minds.
A member of Trump's transition team even went so far as to say Elton John would be playing, but the singer vehemently denied it, according to Variety.
So far, the only 'famous' name confirmed to play is classical prodigy Jackie Evancho.
Even Kanye West, who didn't hesitate to take a photo op with the president-elect last week, hasn't offered.
Trump is rumored to be the one who offered Bocelli an 'out' telling him there was too much heat
The Wrap reported that two Republican standbys, Kid Rock and Ted Nugent, were willing, but nothing has been announced.Premier Christy Clark has virtually admitted she smoked pot in her high school days, but says that doesn't mean she's about to lobby the federal government to loosen Canada's marijuana laws.
Clark said she attended high school in suburban Vancouver nearly 30 years ago and that students smoked pot regularly.
"I graduated from Burnaby South Senior Secondary in 1983 and there was a lot of that going on when I was in high school and I didn't avoid it altogether," Clark said.
Clark said she's been reluctant to answer questions about marijuana use because doing so could pose parenting issues.
"When you grow up and leave your childhood aside, and you want to be a good role model for your kids. Those aren't great questions to have to answer," Clark said.
Clark said her priorities as premier are creating jobs and helping families and that she'll leave changing the pot laws to Ottawa even though several high-profile British Columbians have called for the decriminalization of marijuana laws.
Mayors from eight B.C. communities, including Vancouver, North Vancouver and Burnaby, sent a letter to Clark, Opposition Leader Adrian Dix and B.C. Conservative Leader John Cummins Apr. 26, urging them to support the decriminalization, regulation and taxation of marijuana in the province.
Dix has already said he smoked some pot in his youth, but, like Clark, says he wasn't a pothead.
Justice critic Leonard Krog says most British Columbians likely don't care that the premier has smoked marijuana, but surveys suggest the majority of residents favour relaxed pot laws.Finsbury Park phone snatcher is caught by a DOG
Tyson managed to chase and catch a phone snatcher in Albert Road, Finsbury Park. Picture: Roger Sahota Archant
It’s quite rare for a phone snatcher to be caught – and it is very, very rare for one to be caught by a dog.
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But incredibly that is what happened last night in Finsbury Park.
A woman had her mobile swiped from her hand by two teens on bikes while she was walking along Stroud Green Road at about 8.40pm.
They rode off around the corner into Albert Road, where the aptly-named Tyson was being walked by his owner.
The dog set off in pursuit and snapped at the heels of one of the lads, who jumped off his bike and cowered against a wall, terrified.
Roger Sahota, a Stroud Green councillor for Haringey, was there and called the police.
He told the Gazette: “I was coming home having been swimming and there was a bit of a commotion in Albert Road.
“I then saw Tyson and his owner had cornered this young lad, who had been chased down the road by the victim, a young woman, who had her phone snatched.
“Unluckily for them Tyson was doing his rounds and had chased one of them and snapped at his heels, making him jump off his bike. He was terrified of the dog and it was the dog that made sure he didn’t run off.
“He got his just deserts and Tyson was the hero. His owner was gushing with pride. I’m sure he got an even bigger T-Bone steak than normal.”
Police arrived at the scene and arrested a 15-year-old boy on suspicion of theft.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Police were called to Albert Road at 8.40pm to reports of a robbery by two people on bikes.
“The victim was a woman in her 20s.
“On arrival a male had been detained by members of the public. A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of theft and is in custody at a north London police station. Enquiries are ongoing to trace a second individual.”On Monday, the Obama administration released a pair of critical documents indicating the path it intends to take on military and defense issues. One of these documents was the budget for fiscal year 2011, which calls for an increase in defense spending as well as the restructuring of a couple of major weapons programs. The other document was the Quadrennial Defense Review, or QDR. Every four years, the Department of Defense reports to Congress on its long-term strategic and procurement plans. The QDR gives the White House the opportunity to both lay the tracks of future equipment procurement and to make a statement about its strategic orientation.
Developed under the supervision of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the 2010 QDR eschews grand strategic theory in favor of a concrete approach to fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of developing a vision for the application of U.S. military power and weaving a narrative around it, the 2010 QDR concentrates on the lessons learned in recent conflicts and on the maintenance of the standing force. Gates' QDR would prefer to finish our current wars before thinking about the next.
The 2006 QDR was very much the product of Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon -- the document provided him with the first opportunity to set forth his long-term strategic plan for the U.S. military. Rumsfeld became secretary of defense in the immediate wake of the 2000 QDR release, which was written during the Clinton administration. Because of the Bush administration's unhappiness with the draft, the QDR was substantially revised and re-released by the Department of Defense in late September 2001, although most of the work was done prior to the September 11 attacks that reshaped the strategic landscape.
By 2005, the Bush administration had invaded two countries and embarked upon a profoundly new strategic path. The objective of the 2006 QDR was to make sense of the previous five years. The motivating concept behind the 2006 QDR was the "Long War," a unifying thread that tied together all U.S. military actions and preparation across the world. The QDR defined the Long War as an irregular conflict against "dispersed, global terrorist networks that exploit Islam to advance radical political aims." The concept seamlessly integrated the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan into the same ideational framework, sidestepping arguments that the former was neither necessary for nor to the benefit of the latter. But problematically, the Long War concept subsumed U.S. military intervention in East Asia, Latin America, and Africa under the same rubric as the "hot wars" in the Middle East. This perspective implies that no potential intervention can be judged on its own merits, as each use of military force is weighed in terms of its contribution to the Long War. But because the Long War is sufficiently amorphous and vaguely defined to include almost anything, it provides a poor guide to the wisdom of specific interventions.
As a rhetorical concept, the Long War idea is deeply evocative of the United States' Cold War strategy, in which military operations around the world contributed to the containment of Soviet communism. A failure to resist Communist subversion in Latin America, for example, could demonstrate to the Soviets our lack of resolve, giving them an incentive to push harder in Asia or in Germany. In the Long War, money spent on marijuana grown in Colombia could theoretically end up in the hands of terrorists dedicated to bringing down American jetliners. The idea that we are waging a Long War against what amounts to a barbarian horde had a certain narrative appeal to the Bush administration and helped tie the otherwise dry bureaucratic document together. Shortly after the release of the 2006 QDR, Gates, a veteran of the national-security establishment with a reputation for competence, was brought in by President George W. Bush to clean up the real and conceptual messes that Rumsfeld had left.
The words "Long War" appear 31 times in the 2006 QDR. The phrase does not appear once in the Gates-Obama QDR. This year's QDR treats the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the variety of other military operations around the world, as discrete instances of the pursuit of U.S. national objectives. To return to the Colombia example, the U.S. supports the current government in order to reduce drug trafficking and balance Venezuela's influence in the region, rather than as part of an overarching plan to combat global terrorism. Although the 2010 QDR doesn't say so directly, it implies that intervention in Haiti is worthwhile for humanitarian reasons and refugee concerns, rather than as part of the fight against al-Qaeda. The document rejects the Long War rhetoric of a dramatically coherent struggle against a shadowy enemy in favor of concrete analysis of specific conflicts. Among other things, this allows the Obama administration to frame the Iraq War as a mistake and as incidental to the battle against al-Qaeda and associated terrorist groups.
Some critics of the 2010 QDR have argued that the document fails to serve its purpose in that it does not sufficiently lay out a long-term force structure and strategy for the United States military. For example, the current QDR does not offer a sweeping vision for future U.S. competition with China, and critics suggest that the document is bogged down with practical solutions to immediate military problems. Gates essentially concedes this point, writing:
This is truly a wartime QDR. For the first time, it places the current conflicts at the top of our budgeting, policy, and program priorities, thus ensuring that those fighting America's wars and their families -- on the battlefield, in the hospital, or on the home front -- receive the support they need and deserve.
In other words, this QDR is about fighting, winning, and recovering from the conflicts in which the United States currently finds itself embroiled. The implication is that long-term strategic planning can be put off until at least 2014, when the United States will presumably be out of Iraq and nearly out of Afghanistan.
Understood within the context of his tenure, the 2010 QDR is evocative of the pragmatic approach that Gates has taken to virtually every defense issue since he took the helm of the Department of Defense in late 2006. The document is indicative of why Obama retained Gates as secretary of defense and of how easily Gates has fit into the administration. The pragmatism and modesty of this QDR stands in contrast to the grandeur of Rumsfeld's 2006 document. Instead of waging a long-term, identity-defining civilizational struggle against the forces of barbarism, the United States is fighting -- quite plainly and unromantically -- wars. Wars against people, not heathens. This rhetorical approach fits very comfortably into a White House that prides itself on pragmatic, competent, non-ideological policy-making and execution.Mozilla plans to release Firefox 41 Stable to the public on September 22, 2015. This article walks you through all important changes, features and everything else that is new.
Since the release process is streamlined, all other editions of Firefox will be updated as well on that day.
This means that the following versions will be released tomorrow: Firefox 41 Stable, Firefox 42 Beta, Firefox 43 Developer Edition, Firefox 44 Nightly and Firefox ESR 38.3.
The information below covers only Firefox Stable and no other edition of the web browser.
Firefox 41 download and update
All versions of Firefox are configured by default to check for updates regularly. If you have not modified that setting you should be notified about that new version soon.
If you don't want to wait, these checks don't happen in real-time, then you can run a manual check for updates as well.
The easiest way to do so is to tap on the Alt-key on the keyboard, and select Help > About Firefox from the menu that opens when you do.
If you prefer, you can download the newest versions of Firefox from their official download locations as well. Note that some may not have been updated yet at the time of writing. Mozilla usually does that around the time the official announcement of the release goes live.
Firefox 41 Changes
Mozilla wanted to introduce add-on signing enforcement in Firefox 41 initially but pushed this back so that it is now scheduled to arrive in Firefox 43 instead.
The browser.newtab.url preference has been removed
Mozilla removed the browser.newtab.url preference in Firefox 41 which allowed Firefox users to set a custom new tab page using it.
Firefox users who still want to modify the New Tab page url can do so by installing the New Tab Override for the browser which enables them to do that.
Instant Messaging support added to Firefox Hello
Firefox Hello, a built-in communications module that allows you to make free video and voice calls to others, supports direct messaging in an instant messenger like environment in Firefox 41.
Simply start or join a conversation as usual. You can then start typing messages and hit enter to send them to everyone else participating in the conversation.
Binary XPCOM components are not supported anymore except as part of the application
If you are using a Firefox add-on that relies on binary XPCOPM components, you will notice that it won't work anymore once you update the web browser to version 41.
According to Mozilla's Benjamin Smedberg, the move was necessary as these represented "signigicant compatibility and stability risks to Firefox users".
Memory overhead of AdBlock Plus has been greatly reduced
If you have AdBlock Plus installed in Firefox you may have noticed that it may cause spikes in memory usage under certain conditions.
The main issue was that AdBlock Plus injected its stylesheet (of blocked resources) into every iFrame loaded on a page. While that did not matter on sites that used none or only a few, it resulted in huge memory spikes on sites that used many.
Firefox memory usage jumped more than a Gigabyte in extreme cases on sites that make excessive use of iFrames.
We have talked about this before and suggest you check out the initial post on the matter for details.
The fix, which we have reviewed here, improves memory usage by enabling the sharing of CSS data. AdBlock Plus users should notice memory improvements across the board thanks to the changes that Mozilla made.
WebRTC now requires perfect forward secrecy
Perfect Forward Secrecy limits the damage that can be done with compromised keys.
This means that the compromise of one [session] cannot lead to the compromise of others, and also that there is not a single secret value which can lead to the compromise of multiple [sessions]
Head over to Mozilla Hacks for additional information on the implementation.
Improved image decoding with performance up to twice as fast on some devices especially while scrolling
The release notes don't link to a bug listing on Bugzilla or mention details. It is unclear if this is related to support for Async Pan Zoom in Firefox or something else.
We have reviewed the APZ integration previously and found it to improve scrolling and zooming in Firefox significantly.
Other changes
Ability to set a profile picture for your Firefox Account
SVG images can be used as favicons. [Bug 366324]
WARP was disabled on Windows 7 after memory bug on YouTube, Deezer and probably other sites was reported on Bugzilla. [Bug 1188831]
Smoother and more reliable CSS animations via asynchronous animations [Bug 706179]
The media.autoplay.enabled preference now also apply to untrusted HTMLMediaElement.play() invocations too, that is calls from non-users activated scripts. [Bug 659285]
Enhance IME support on Windows (Vista +) using TSF (Text Services Framework)
Improved box-shadow rendering performance
Developer Changes
You can now take screenshots of selected nodes using Firefox's built-in Web Developer Tools. This is done by right-clicking on the node in the developer area (which you open with F12).
The Web Developer Tools rules view has additional copy operations added to it.
A right-click on image declarations in the developer tools allows you to copy the image as a data url.
Implemented Cache API for querying named caches that are accessible Window, Worker, and ServiceWorker
The command "security csp" has been added to the Developer Toolbar. It displays information related to Content Security Policy of the current domain (Open with Shift-F2). The Firefox Developer Toolbar is might useful for non-Developer related actions as well.
CSS Font Loading API enabled by default, see W3.org for additional details.
MessageChannel and MessagePort API enabled by default
Firefox for Android
Android changes
Swipe-to-close tabs on tablets
Quickly search with different search providers from the search panel
Overlay to manually search and copy/paste login credentials from login manager when they're not auto-filled
Improved bookmark management with duplicate bookmark detection
Open Android applications from a web page via Intent URIs
User Agent now includes Android version
Experimental new "speed dial" home panel add-on API
Security updates / fixes
Mozilla reveals security patches after the official release. We will update the review as soon as they become available.
MFSA 2015-114 Information disclosure via the High Resolution Time API
MFSA 2015-113 Memory safety errors in libGLES in the ANGLE graphics library
MFSA 2015-112 Vulnerabilities found through code inspection
MFSA 2015-111 Errors in the handling of CORS preflight request headers
MFSA 2015-110 Dragging and dropping images exposes final URL after redirects
MFSA 2015-109 JavaScript immutable property enforcement can be bypassed
MFSA 2015-108 Scripted proxies can access inner window
MFSA 2015-107 Out-of-bounds read during 2D canvas display on Linux 16-bit color depth systems
MFSA 2015-106 Use-after-free while manipulating HTML media content
MFSA 2015-105 Buffer overflow while decoding WebM video
MFSA 2015-104 Use-after-free with shared workers and IndexedDB
MFSA 2015-103 URL spoofing in reader mode
MFSA 2015-102 Crash when using debugger with SavedStacks in JavaScript
MFSA 2015-101 Buffer overflow in libvpx while parsing vp9 format video
MFSA 2015-100 Arbitrary file manipulation by local user through Mozilla updater
MFSA 2015-99 Site attribute spoofing on Android by pasting URL with unknown scheme
MFSA 2015-98 Out of bounds read in QCMS library with ICC V4 profile attributes
MFSA 2015-97 Memory leak in mozTCPSocket to servers
MFSA 2015-96 Miscellaneous memory safety hazards (rv:41.0 / rv:38.3)
Additional information / sources
Summary Article Name Firefox 41: Find out what is new Description Find out what is new, changed and removed in Firefox 41, the latest stable version of the popular web browser. Author Martin Brinkmann
AdvertisementMedia playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Richard Lawrence filmed a wallaby near the village of Stonor in July
A wallaby recently made headlines after it was photographed by a stunned binman in Oxfordshire.
But from readers' responses it seems for those living near Henley-on-Thames the sight of the marsupials hopping over fences and across roads has become almost mundane.
For years they have been sighted across south Oxfordshire, and in 2002 there were even reports of "delinquent" wallabies taking over the town.
So how easy is it to spot one and why are they there? Visitors to the BBC Oxford Facebook page offered a number of suggestions for where to start the search.
The leafy village of Nettlebed is about four-and-a-half miles north-west of Henley-on-Thames - a town famed for its annual rowing regatta but not necessarily for its wandering wallabies - and has been described as a "hot spot" for the creatures.
Image caption Nettlebed has been described as a "wallaby hot spot"
Andrew Cahill says he saw one while walking his dog in the village and did "the most massive double-take".
"I saw it out the corner of my eye and thought it was a fox," he said. "It's probably a cliché, but you expect to see wallabies in Australia, not Oxfordshire."
According to John Gillespie, they have been seen since the early to mid 1970s around the Henley/Nettlebed area "with a few being run over up and down the Bix dual carriage way".
And even if you think you haven't see one, maybe you have? John Slater has a tip should you find yourself in the area: "Look carefully and you may see some more amongst the deer".
Image caption A rustle in the bushes but... not a wallaby
However, a trip to the picturesque village of Shepherd's Green where the animal was snapped last week, failed to unearth a wallaby - although resident Sarah Stevens suggested the source of the sightings was the nearby Fawley Hill estate owned by Sir William McAlpine.
Middle Assendon resident Louise Chater also shared her wallaby sightings.
"They look like big rabbits or hares," she said. "We've seen them jumping between fences up near Fawley village."
Image caption Fawley Hill has enclosures to prevent animals "pottering into Henley"
The Fawley Hill website appears to support the theory it's behind the macropod mystery, admitting responsibility for past sightings - but then again not recent ones.
"We don't approve of 'cages' but some of our animals do need their own enclosures to prevent them pottering into Henley when they feel like it, "it says, but then: "This is not a joke: the wallabies did: but now although they COULD, they don't bother."
And indeed when the BBC contacted Fawley Hill after the recent sighting it was told all their wallabies were accounted for.
Image caption The wallaby enclosure - and an open gate
There are other theories which point to Beale Park, a wildlife attraction based about 10 miles (16km) away in Berkshire, which also keeps wallabies, and the BBC has been told a man in the area keeps wallabies privately and they sometimes run off, resulting in occasional sightings.
Meanwhile, it looks like the population is growing. In 2004 Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital said accounts of wallabies living wild in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire had increased.
But how they got there and how many there are, for the moment at least, remains a mystery.The Oakland Raiders have been talking to former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren about a leadership position within the organization, according to two sources.
Holmgren would be a natural candidate because of his relationship with Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie. Both worked for the Packers.
For several months, the Raiders have been looking at potential new leaders for the team. They have been talking to Ray Anderson, the NFL's senior vice president of football operations.
According to a source, Holmgren has visited the Raiders to talk about the position. Currently, he is on vacation in Europe.
There is no timetable for the Raiders to find a top front office executive.
Part of the job would be to lead the quest for a new stadium. Holmgren ran the Cleveland Browns until an ownership change led to his release from the team at the end of the season.WASHINGTON – Despite the State Department's announcement Wednesday that North Korea has agreed to suspend its uranium-enrichment program and long-range missile tests, Obama administration officials stress that the concession marks only modest progress toward its goal of denuclearizing North Korea.
"The United States… still has profound concerns, but on the occasion of Kim Jong Il's death, I said that it is our hope that the new leadership will choose to guide their nation onto the path of peace by living up to its obligations," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in testimony before Congress. "Today's |
6 Agnew-Blais, J., & Danese, A. (2016). Childhood maltreatment and unfavourable clinical outcomes in bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(4), 1–3. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00544-1; Danese & Tan, 2013 Danese, A., & Tan, M. (2013). Childhood maltreatment and obesity: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Molecular Psychiatry, 19(5), 544–554. doi:10.1038/mp.2013.54; Nanni, Uher, & Danese, 2012 Nanni, V., Uher, R., & Danese, A. (2012). Childhood maltreatment predicts unfavorable course of illness and treatment outcome in depression: A meta-analysis. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 169(2), 141–151. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.11020335). Inflammation can affect the risk for psychopathology by altering the metabolism of key neurotransmitters including monoamines and glutamate; in addition, when acting in early life, inflammation can also impact on brain development and influence the reactivity of the HPA axis and microglia to later stressors (Danese & Lewis, 2017 Danese, A., & Lewis, S. (2017). Psychoneuroimmunology of early life stress: The hidden wounds of childhood trauma? Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(1), 99–114. doi:10.1038/npp.2016.198). Inflammation also affects risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes by influencing atherosclerosis progression and insulin sensitivity (Danese & McEwen, 2012 Danese, A., & McEwen, B. S. (2012). Adverse childhood experiences, allostasis, allostatic load, and age-related disease. Physiology & Behavior, 106(1), 29–39. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.08.019). Supporting the role of inflammation in mediating the association between childhood trauma and later disease, experimental research in rodents showed that administration of anti-inflammatory medications can buffer cognitive impairment after early life stress (Brenhouse & Andersen, 2011 Brenhouse, H. C., & Andersen, S. L. (2011). Developmental trajectories during adolescence in males and females: A cross-species understanding of underlying brain changes. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 35(8), 1687–1703. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.04.013). However, more research is needed to directly test mediation processes in humans (Danese, 2014 Danese, A. (2014). Developmental psychoneuroimmunology: From bench to bedside. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 36, 27–28. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2013.11.001).
If inflammation explains the link between childhood trauma and later disease, research in this area can have important clinical implications for secondary and tertiary prevention. Secondary prevention refers to the possibility of reducing the risk of onset of clinical conditions after trauma exposure. If inflammation mediates these effects, then reduction in inflammation would decrease risk of illness. Strategies to reduce inflammation in the context of secondary prevention may include broad interventions targeting unhealthy behaviours including over-eating, lack of physical activity, substance abuse and poor sleep (Danese & Baldwin, 2017 Danese, A., & Baldwin, J. (2017). Hidden wounds? Inflammatory links between childhood trauma and psychopathology. Annual Review of Psychology, 68(1), 517–544. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010416-044208; Danese & Lewis, 2017 Danese, A., & Lewis, S. (2017). Psychoneuroimmunology of early life stress: The hidden wounds of childhood trauma? Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(1), 99–114. doi:10.1038/npp.2016.198). Tertiary prevention refers to the possibility of reducing the severity of clinical conditions in affected individuals with a history of childhood trauma. This is equally important given the evidence that adults with a history of childhood trauma have greater risk of showing unfavourable clinical characteristics, course of illness and treatment response, for example in the context of affective disorders (Agnew-Blais & Danese, 2016 Agnew-Blais, J., & Danese, A. (2016). Childhood maltreatment and unfavourable clinical outcomes in bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(4), 1–3. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00544-1; Nanni et al., 2012 Nanni, V., Uher, R., & Danese, A. (2012). Childhood maltreatment predicts unfavorable course of illness and treatment outcome in depression: A meta-analysis. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 169(2), 141–151. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.11020335). If inflammation contributes to these effects, then treatments that reduce inflammation would decrease the severity of trauma-related illness. Strategies to reduce inflammation in the context of tertiary prevention may include anti-inflammatory medications, which for example have shown some beneficial effects in treatment-resistant depression related to high inflammation (Raison et al., 2013 Raison, C. L., Rutherford, R. E., Woolwine, B. J., Shuo, C., Schettler, P., Drake, D. F., … Miller, A. H. (2013). A randomized controlled trial of the tumor necrosis factor antagonist infliximab for treatment-resistant depression. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(1), 31–41. doi:10.1001/2013.jamapsychiatry.4).
In sum, further understanding of the biological processes that translate the exposure to childhood trauma into biological risk for disease (biological embedding) may point to innovative strategies for the treatment of trauma-related psychopathology and medical conditions (Lanius & Olff, 2017 Lanius, R., & Olff, M. (2017). The neurobiology of PTSD. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 8(1), 1314165. doi:10.1080/20008198.2017.1314165).I'm completely cereal.
Dear fellow influencers,
I’m glad you’re all as excited about the new Krisflyer UOB account as I am. I mean, why else would you all have, in a coordinated and synchronized manner, simultaneously posted Instantgram posts on the very day the UOB Krisflyer account was launched?
I have to admit, I feel really noob reading all your posts. After all, you guys take better photos than me, have more aesthetically pleasing bodies than me and also got more followers than me. Staring at your followers list makes me feel like proverbial urchin staring through shop window on cold Christmas eve.
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Now, because none of these posts were tagged #sponsored, #ad, #advertorial, or #theypaidmeinsmallunmarkedbills, I must assume that these are all impartial reviews based on your personal experiences with the product. Therefore, I am genuinely concerned that you guys are missing out on some of the best opportunities to earn miles.
Fortunately, I can help you here! I’ve done some research on the account and while I feel that the overall idea is definitely innovative, there are things that could potentially be improved on. I really hope that UOB takes notice of these and makes some changes so that a great idea doesn’t get let down by poor execution.
Hope this helps!
Dear ladyironchef
I love your food porny posts and the way you introduce to me new restaurants all the time. You’re the reason I haven’t seen my feet in years and have the turning radius of a small van. And am currently going to die alone.
However, it seems like you are paying for your restaurant expenses with the UOB Krisflyer debit card. I think this is a mistake. You see, you could easily be earning 4 mpd on all your local dining and online expenses with the HSBC Advance card, without cap, all the way until 31 May 2017!
Yes, I know the card is a bit of a pain in the butt to get, but trust me, when you’re earning unlimited 4 mpd without an arbitrary 5% cap and a chunk of money earning 0 interest in the bank, it is the most shiok feeling ever. More shiok than when the Sin Huat crab beehoon uncle actually treated me with dignity and respect and never try to upsell me. Happy days man.
But what happens after 31 May, you ask? Well, we can hope that HSBC, from the kindness of their hearts, decides to extend this promotion again as they have done time and time again in the past. But if they don’t, you might fancy gambling and applying for the UOB Preferred Platinum AMEX and hope they take your application, failing which you could get the Maybank Horizon Visa Signature card which gives 3.2 mpd on dining. Not as good as 4 mpd, of course, but might be better than parking funds in a 0 interest account.
Dear melissackoh
I love your posts because your photo skills really zai. Every time I see your posts I wonder why I must use Blackberry camera to take all my photos. Then I remember that blur out of focus bokeh is the new black(berry). Ha ha ha!
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In your post you implied your trip to Sydney was made possible thanks to the UOB Krisflyer account. I am excited because I also want to go Sydney and see koalas boxing wallabies, which I hear is on the national flag.
Now, it takes 56,000 Krisflyer miles for a round trip Economy saver award between Singapore and Sydney.
If you have $3K-$100K in your Krisflyer UOB account (let’s take $51.5K as the middle value), you’d be earning 1.4 mpd, the bonus component of which (1 mpd) is capped at 2,575 (5% of $51.5K) per month.
To earn those 56,000 miles, you’d need to spend $5,250 a month for a year on your Krisflyer UOB debit card (25,200 base miles, 30,900 bonus miles- remember, bonus is capped at 2,575 a month!) for a total outlay of $63,000
But assuming you spent an average of 30% on dining out, 30% on online shopping and 40% on everything else, with the right card strategy (HSBC Advance + DBS Woman’s World/Citibank Rewards + UOB PRVI Miles) you could get a weighted average of 0.3*4 +0.3*4 +0.4 *1.4= 2.96 mpd! This means you’d only have to spend <$19K in a year to get that Sydney trip!
Plus, you’d be able to put that $51.5K to work for you in koalas boxing wallabies futures. I hear the return on that is non-zero.
Obviously, the equation changes if you have 100k+ in your account, but if you are parking $100K+ without interest in the bank, please let me know who your influencer agency is because mine is clearly not doing its job properly.
BTW, please don’t go to Pancakes on the Rocks. Last time I was in Sydney everyone told me that was THE place to go to, but I thought it was super average. This is why I don’t like people.
Dear bellywellyjelly
I love your travel posts. Super bohemian one. I wish my Bangkok trips could be as awesome as yours but I am scared of new experiences so every time I go it’s Paragon–>Roast–>After You–> Patpong –> Emporium
(EDIT: Posts have since been updated with #ad tags)
In one of your posts, however, you mentioned this-
Here’s a tip, use the #KrisFlyerUOB Account on your fav budget airlines Scoot & Tigerair to get complimentary additional baggage allowance plus FREE seat selection and more? (got you covered here)
Don’t worry! Bro got you covered too!
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You might like to know that your complimentary additional allowance (5kg) only applies if you buy a minimum of 20kg luggage allowance. And you need to buy this 20kg at the time of booking, not after! If you buy after, hard luck.
Also, you talked about complimentary seat selection. I am balding and have bad BO, so no one wants to travel with me. But if you travel with your friends, you need to know that only the principal cardholder gets free seat selection, even if the other travelling parties are on the same booking.
PS- I’m a bit confused, because from the way you’ve written your post…
Scratched this off my bucket list on my trip with #KrisFlyerUOB, the first debit card & account in Singapore.
…it kind of makes it sound like you’ve already been able to travel with the miles you got from this account. Which is quite impressive given that it was only launched a few days ago, and (assuming your situation matches melissackoh’s) you’d have had to have spent ~S$56K to get the 25,000 miles you need for a round trip economy saver (you see your bonus 1 mpd is capped at 2,575 miles each month, meaning you’d have to earn the remainder 22,425 miles at 0.4 mpd)
Moreover, as per the T&C of the UOB Krisflyer debit card, any miles earned only get credited to your Krisflyer account at the end of the month. And it’s only 24th April. If you have lobang for faster miles crediting, please share ok?
Dear thetravelintern
Hope you guys are doing well. I liked that quote by Eleanor Roosevelt you shared- “Do one thing every day that scares you.” This morning I tried using 1 ply toilet paper instead of my usual 2. Don’t want to tell you how that went but the important thing is I tried.
You guys mentioned this in one of your posts-
Great travel perks such as free seat selection and convenience fee waiver when booking flights — no more additional charges to deal with while planning your next big adventure
Regarding the free seat selection- see the advice I gave bellywellyjelly. Regarding convenience fee waiver- take care guys. I know it sounds good but you need to spend a minimum of S$250 on a Scoot/Tigerair booking on a single transaction first. Then you’ll get a fee waiver voucher that can be used on your next booking.
So technically, you should be saying “no more additional charges to deal with while planning your next next big adventure”. Also, be aware that you get a maximum of one waiver a year per account yeah?
You guys say the Krisflyer UOB debit card is helping you achieve your travel dreams. Let me see if I can help you out there- it takes 25,000 miles to go to Laos in economy saver on Silkair. Assuming the same figures I gave to melissackoh, you would need to spend $1,500 a month, or $18,000 a year to get the miles you need (7,200 base, 18,000 bonus).
But if you used my recommended card strategy @ 2.96 mpd, you’d only need to spend ~$8.5K! Anyway guys, I recommend you save your Krisflyer miles for long haul redemptions. You could get to Laos for <S$400 return trip with budget airlines.
So that’s my advice!
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My fellow influencers, let us continue to maintain the highest standards of transparency and miles earningness. Without us, the public is lost.
Excelsior!
The MilelionIt would have to be decided on a case by case basis. If it's a crime of passion, something that isn't premeditated, then the individual should undergo some kind of mandatory psychological care so that they and the community might better understand what is wrong, and they should also work off their debt to the community, in particular whoever was closed to the harmed party.
Most people when they ask this question are thinking of psychopaths, so I'll talk about that. The last decision in the chain would be banishment, applied to people that cannot be helped. That's the short answer.
A lot of people are strangely focused on punishment, which I cannot fit into an anarchist world view. Punishment is a very authoritarian thing to do; "You have offended Big Brother, therefore you must be punished!". I believe that all crimes are the result of a problem, and that most problems can be fixed. Instead of looking to punish people we should be looking to understand them better, while they work to understand themselves and offer reparations. To understand all is to forgive all. It is with such a positive attitude that we can build each person and their community better despite such a tragedy.
Punishment only serves to alienate both the victim and the arbiter, and serves next to no practical purpose. Promoting the necessity of punishment as a deterrent belies a failure in the community to address the real causes of crime. Using punishment as a form of revenge "justice" is an attempt to fill in a hole with earth you dug from the bottom of it.
Edit: I would add further that in the case of rape it would benefit the victim if they where counselled to the point at which they could open up a dialogue with the (subsequently reformed) rapist, and attain some kind of mental resolution. Expert psychologists can correct me if I am wrong but this would be much more beneficial to their mental health than not being able to do so.The head of Air Force Special Operations Command says he wants to put a laser cannon on the nation’s fleet of gunships by 2020.
It isn’t quite the Death Star, but in the near future, we’re likely to see super-powered lasers above the skies behind enemy lines, raining laser ammunition onto the battlefield.
Speaking at the Air and Space Conference in Washington, D.C. last week, the general in charge of the nation’s 19,000 air commandos says that, just as President John F. Kennedy wanted to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, he wants lasers on gunships by the end of the decade.
“You’re going to find this very hard to believe, but we don’t want to kill everybody we have in our sights.”
The comments by Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold are the latest in his pursuit of a laser-weaponized gunship. The command, based out of Hurlburt Field in Mary Esther, is already developing what are referred to as “tactics, techniques and procedures” — essentially an operations manual — for how to employ the airborne lasers in combat. The general also says he would like to pursue “less than lethal” weapons to deploy in combat.
“You’re going to find this very hard to believe, but we don’t want to kill everybody we have in our sights,” Heithold said. “There are times where we’d like to have non-lethal methods to force the enemy to stop what they’re doing — like directed microwave energy guns. It would be real nice one day, since we have the room on an AC-130, to look at a microwave energy gun that makes people stop what they’re doing rather than killing them.”
In regards to weaponizing the current gunships with lasers, Heithold has said his command sees the need for precise, on-demand tools to use on the battlefields of the future. “We’d like to look at high-energy laser weapons in place of the 105mm howitzer on the AC-130J,” Heithold says. “These are developments we’d like to see in the future.”
“We would like to take a comm node out in the middle of the night and nobody hears anything, nobody sees anything; it just quits working — because we burnt a hole in it.”
Using a hypothetical wartime scenario, Heithold illustrates the advantages of such a weapon. “We would like to take a communications node out in the middle of the night and nobody hears anything, nobody sees anything; it just quits working — because we burnt a hole in it.”
The Air Force has stated they want the system to weigh less than 5,000 pounds — roughly the weight of a Jeep Wrangler — and would like the laser to occupy a space no greater than one gun position on the latest AC-130J “Ghostrider” gunship, set to begin operational service in 2017. The Ghostrider, currently undergoing testing at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County, is set to be armed with a World War II-era 105mm howitzer and modern 30mm cannon, along with various guided munitions.
Heithold swears by the AC-130’s monstrous 105mm howitzer, stating that it’s both more accurate and much more affordable than the precision guided bombs and missiles that were set to replace it. While considered a “dumb” bomb, the gun’s precision is credited to its lower explosive yield than even small guided — or “smart” — bombs and missiles. Even still, the howitzer fires explosives that can destroy an entire city block in one swift pull of the trigger by an enlisted airman in the back of the aircraft — all while flying safely at 20,000 feet. The gun is so powerful that aircrew have said that when fired, the entire aircraft is pushed several feet in the opposite direction of where it’s firing, due to the massive forces produced by the cannon.
The cost difference is also no secret — a 105mm howitzer shell costs a few hundred dollars, while a guided bomb can easily cost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Additionally, the AC-130’s big shell can arrive on station in just a few seconds and re-attack rapidly, which is much faster than smart glide weapons or even missiles. Adding a laser to the gunship’s weapon inventory, according to Heithold, could be cheaper and more effective than single-use munitions, like bombs or missiles.
Regarding procurement of the new weapons, Heithold says it’s important for the Air Force to do its due diligence. “You have to have a wheelbarrow full of paperwork before you get a wheelbarrow full of money,” according to Heithold. “Nobody’s going to give you money unless you have fleshed out what you want this to look like and what’s the overall cost of the system.”
Originally, the plan was to shrink the AC-130 fleet as the war in Afghanistan drew down and Iraq was supposedly in the rearview mirror. That didn’t happen. Throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — and continuing in Africa and the Middle East — the AC-130 has consistently been the most relied upon aircraft by the the U.S. and its allies. The fleet has been referred to as “aging warhorses” and have show their age with every rotating deployment. The Air Force and USSOCOM have nearly 30 gunships in operation around the world. By 2021, up to 32 J-model AC-130s may join the fleet.
While it may seem like this idea came out of a popular science fiction film, the Air Force, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the defense industry have been working towards placing directed-energy weapons aboard aircraft for years.
More than five years ago, defense contractor Boeing developed and tested a directed-energy chemical laser — dubbed the Advanced Tactical Laser — on modified Air Force C-130 aircraft. During tests, the laser was mounted to a ball turret on the aircraft’s belly. It required toxic chemicals to refuel and proved to be a dangerous process for ground crews. The laser beam generated was approximately 4 inches in diameter and cut like a blowtorch through solid steel. The new laser weapons are proposed to use electronic lasers rather than chemical directed energy.
“The intent is to create a laser powerful enough to knock out missiles defensively, but also to ‘burn a beer-can sized hole’ in a vehicle,” Heithold said.
One gunship has been spared from retirement to support development and testing, the general says.
“To me, the hard part will be directing the beam. We can create a laser,” he says. “If you’re shooting a laser from the ground you’re in a stable situation, but now you’ve got to put it in an aircraft.”
Air Force Special Operations Command’s desire to employ laser weapons has been met with an increase in spending on science and technology. The budget for US Special Operations Command is up 11% this year, to $7.5 billion — not including the more than $30 billion dedicated to classified programs by the Defense Department. Traditionally, USSOCOM spends about 3% of its budget on S&T, but that portion of the budget has spiked to 5%.
But in case you were wondering of a real life Star Wars coming to a war zone near you, the Pentagon has said they have no plans to zap humans with the laser, since that would go against several long-standing international treaties, like the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons.
Instead, General Heithold and the special operations community say they only want to use laser technology to deny the enemy the means to continue fighting — like disabling incoming missiles and silently burning holes in solid targets like communications towers, boats, cars and aircraft.
Until then, they’ll just have to make do with howitzers.3:05 p.m. update: Austin police issued 19 citations during Monday morning’s increased traffic enforcement on Cesar Chavez Street.
Police wrote the following tickets during the "Don’t Block the Box" campaign from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.:
9 red light citations7 blocking intersections citations2 citations issued to pedestrians for crossing against the crosswalk signal1 talking on cell phone while operating a motor vehicle citation
This is the first day of the city’s campaign to ease traffic jams. Austin police will continue increased enforcement on Cesar Chavez this afternoon from 4 to 7 p.m.
Earlier: Starting Monday, drivers will see more police enforcing traffic rules downtown as part of a city effort to ease traffic jams.
During peak travel hours — from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. — officers will be ticketing drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists as part of the "Don’t Block the Box" campaign, one of a several efforts to reduce traffic congestion the city announced last month.
"Although this is not a new law, with traffic increasing on Austin roadways daily, blocking the box has become an issue," the campaign’s news release stated.
Police will be looking for traffic violations such as blocking intersections, failure to yield to pedestrians and reckless driving at the following intersections:
Cesar Chavez and Guadalupe StreetsCesar Chavez and Lavaca StreetsCesar Chavez and Colorado StreetsCesar Chavez Street and Congress AvenueA Toms River man has taken on an initiative to help those struggling through the disease of addiction find recovery and reach their goal of getting clean with his service, 'Addiction No Longer '.
CEO of the group, Anthony Chiacchio explains that they provide services for those who are suffering with addiction and for those who are trying to get and stay clean.
"It's like a post rehab guidance," said Chiacchio. "We will drug test them, give them support, give their families support and push them in the right direction."
He says they provide services for at least a month but he encourages users to stay as long as they need.
"One month includes four drug tests and all the guidance and support that one will need to overcome the addiction," said Chiacchio.
He says they also encourage users to attend regular Narcotics Anonymous meetings and even begin a regular exercise routine, like going to the gym and work towards putting their addiction behind them.
Chiacchio adds that he has received referrals for Addiction No Longer services from boyfriends, girlfriends or family members of someone struggling to find help and recovery, but it's ultimately their decision to come in and get clean.
"The user has to want to get clean, if they don't want to get clean, there's no way they're going to get clean," said Chiacchio. "Even if parents are pushing them to get clean they have to want it."
The reason the Toms River High School East 2010 graduate started this service about a month ago was stemming from something personal happening in his life.
"My brother was addicted for 12-years and thank God he's past that now, but that's why I started this," said Chiacchio.
As Ocean County and New Jersey continues to battle the opioid and heroin epidemic wreaking havoc across the state, Chiacchio feels one of the problems currently on the surface is there's such a large demand for those drugs here, especially among high school kids and teenagers.
"They go to parties and it's like, 'try this' or 'try that' and the next thing you know they're hooked on prescription pills," said Chiacchio. "After a while the pills cost so much money and they'll go to heroin."
The former State Corrections Officer and intern with the Ocean County Prosecutors Office fears another dangerous portion inside the epidemic is people are more interested in dealing drugs instead of finding a full-time job because in some cases money is easier to come by.
Which is one of the reasons why Chiacchio agrees with the idea of expanding drug education further back in the school system, to even kids in Elementary and Middle School.
"They should be taught at such a young age so that when they come to high school, they're not even thinking about using," said Chiacchio.
To learn more about Addiction No Longer, refer someone or if your looking for treatment services yourself contact Anthony on Instagram, Facebook or at 848-221-4533.Overview (4)
Mini Bio (1)
Trade Mark (2)
His distinctive laugh after every joke he made on The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965)
Nasally voice
Trivia (23)
Attended Northwestern University (Evanston, IL).
Posthumously "outed" by Boze Hadleigh, who has written extensively about previously closeted Hollywood actors/actresses.
The coroner who examined his body said he had the heart of an 88-year-old man.
Told his agent shortly before his death that he had given up cigarettes and alcohol.
Long-time "center square" and court jester in residence on the original The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965), Paul Lynde's quips on that show are still quoted, and laughed at, to this day.
A fan once set up a museum full of Paul Lynde memorabilia in his home town on Mount Vernon, Ohio
His older brother Cordon died in World War II.
Lynde left The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965) in 1979, in a dispute over his salary. When tabloids ran stories claiming he had been fired for his drinking as well as on-set problems, he sued them for libel, seeking $10 million in damages.
Explained his lifelong bachelorhood to fans (in the days before "coming out") by telling them his high-school sweetheart had broken his heart, and he was still too hurt to give other women a chance.
He had a weight problem that he fought to control his entire life.
When he first went to New York, he lived in an apartment building that housed many other struggling actors. The building had communal kitchens, kitchens shared by all the tenants of a floor. One of the other actors in the building claimed that Lynde used to steal his food from the refrigerator. That actor was a young Marlon Brando
Holds a unique place in show business history - he actually got to sing on "The Ed Sullivan Show" the song he performed nightly in the Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie" about the excitement of appearing on the iconic " Ed Sullivan Show".
In "Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story," biographers Steve Wilson and Joe Florenski lay to rest rumors that there was something suspicious about Lynde's death at the age of 55. Dismissing such rumors that the comedian was murdered by a hustler who robbed Lynde's house and left him dead and naked, the authors say that Lynde did die of a heart attack, as the coroner's report contended he did. Lynde expired at almost the same age as his father, who also died from a heart attack. The authors express surprise that Lynde didn't have a heart attack sooner, what with his transgressive lifestyle. Lynde was heavily into alcohol and also used drugs. He claimed to have quit these habits cold-turkey not long before his death, having been transformed by a personal event that he never revealed.
The sign proclaiming Mount Vernon, Ohio, as the birthplace of Paul Lynde was recently changed to read: "Home of Daniel Decatur Emmett, Author of [the song] 'Dixie.'"
Lynde and long-term companion, Bing Davidson were staying at the Drake hotel in San Francisco, California on July 17, 1965. The two went out the next day for a good time and got very drunk. Davidson decided to show Lynde a trick and dangled off the hotel balcony by his fingers. He was slipping and Paul desperately tried to help him in, but Davidson fell to his death.
Was an accomplished cook.
Portrayed Mr. MacAfee in the original Broadway stage version of "Bye Bye Birdie" which opened April 14, 1960 and ran for 607 performances. He reprised the role in the film Bye Bye Birdie (1963).
His father's name was Hoy Lynde, and his mother's name was Sylvia Bell. He had three brothers: Richard, Cord, and John.
One of only a handful of actors to have appeared on both "magic" television shows Bewitched and I Dream Of Jeannie.
Paul had two sisters.
Father: Hoy C. Lynde; Mother: Sylvia Bell.
His classmates at Northwestern included Georgann Johnson, William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett.
Personal Quotes (10)
Upon telling his family he wanted to go into show business: "My dad hit the roof and I hit the road, simultaneously."
I don't know who the hell Paul Lynde is or why he's funny, and I prefer it to be a mystery to me. An actor shouldn't undergo psychoanalysis, because there are a lot of things you're better off not knowing.
I have so many friends who were lovers. After they got married, it was over.
I'm used to living alone, and I like it that way. You become so selfish living alone...I'd make a terrible husband anyway.
I don't meet enough women outside show business, and I wouldn't marry anyone in this field. [in 1969]
Sometimes, I think you're better off not being married today. When you see your married friends split up, it's devastating. Call it scared! Call it an obsession. But I took it for granted I was going to marry a girl I went with for nine years. That is, until I received her wedding invitation. [in 1974]
I was in 'Bye Bye Birdie' on Broadway - played the father. I was in the film version, but they should have retitled it 'Hello, Ann-Margret!' They cut several of my and the other actors' best scenes and shot new ones for her so she could do her teenage-sex-bombshell act.
I had a drag scene in Doris Day's The Glass Bottom Boat (1966). An elegant gown. Actually, it was more expensive than any of the ones Doris had to wear. That day that I came in fully dressed and coiffed, I was the belle of the set! Everybody went wild! Doris came over and looked me up and down and told me, 'Oh, I'd never wear anything that feminine.'
I always wanted to be Anna May Wong. She seemed so much more exotic and exciting than plain ordinary folk. But no-go. I wasn't fated to be Wong, just white.
[to a traffic cop who had flagged him down for drunk driving] I'll have a double cheeseburger and a chocolate shake.Let us begin with a question: which is the best read country in the world? Recent research revealed that in Iceland more books are written, published and sold per person per year than anywhere else on the planet. On a recent trip there I discovered the average Icelander reads four books per year, while one in ten will publish something in their lifetime.
The reasons for this are multifold: long, dark winter nights, a geographical expansiveness that makes trips to, say, the cinema more difficult, a great selection of well-stocked bookshops and a small population, but perhaps more than anything, it is down to Iceland's most famous literary export, The Sagas.
The Sagas remain an intrinsic part of Icelanders' identity to this day, their presence around the country unavoidable. Here is a physical document which traces the lives of its indigenous people during a most tumultuous time, an era when the Vikings were changing the shape of society across Northern Europe and Christianity, Catholicism and Paganism were all fighting it out to be the prevailing belief system.
With events taking place around fifty years either side of 1000AD and written down by a series of authors whose identity can only be guessed at circa 1190 -1320, this collection of stories is, to my mind, the most important European work of the past thousand years. Possibly ever. As tragic as Shakespeare, as colourful as The Canterbury Tales, as enduring as Beowulf, as epic as The Iliad and eminently more readable than The Holy Bible, The Sagas contains some monumental events, not least Norse explorer Leif Ericsson's discovery of a large island he called Vinland and which was later divided into two and renamed Canada and America.
Perhaps more importantly, The Sagas still influence the way we tell and read stories today. Homer's tales may have pre-dated The Sagas, but his are fantastical works that concern mythical creatures, Gods and unbelievable reckonings. Though trolls and ghosts feature, much of The Sagas remains grounded in reality. They tell stories of farmers, families and fighters, lovers, warriors and kings, of betrayal and dilemmas, and which are, for the most part, believable and credible. Women play a strong role too: few characters are as memorable as Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir, believed to be the first person of European |
. His failed attempts to seduce Selina Kyle fall flat, not only for him but also for the audience. When she finally turns him down he attempts to kill her, also killing any final bits of empathy the viewer may have had for him.
The world of Batman Returns is an engulfing experience and that's in no small part due to Danny Elfman's soundtrack. After creating the iconic Batman theme in the first movie, Elfman came back and crafted a score that's just as vital to the story of Batman as Gotham itself. Elfman's score guides us through the moments when characters are silent, and that silence is vital in the world of Batman Returns. The film ends as it began, devoid of dialogue, lifted by Elfman's score. Bruce walking through the snowy streets of Gotham, lost in his own trauma, the silence only broken by Alfred, whose Christmas wishes seem to bring Bruce back to reality.
Returns stretches the boundaries of what we expect from a blockbuster. It manages to be visually unique whilst also delivering a story that has become as iconic and instantly recognizable as any number of the comics it's inspired by. Arguably the peak of Burton's stylized filmmaking, Returns showcases Burton's inimitable personal style, sharing so much with Batman's visual history that has throughout the years been not only pitch black but also kitschy and camp. Burton's understanding of these different sides of Batman--his favorite comic is the Killing Joke--gives Returns a balance and authenticity all its own.
Though Tim Burton's first Batman is a masterclass in subtle Gothic storytelling with splashes of comic book vibrancy, Returns embraces everything that makes Batman fantastic and runs with it wildly through the painted sets of Gotham City. The reckless abandon with which the filmmakers revel in Gotham and all of its dark corners gels with their dedication to telling a great story creating something incredibly special that still stands up after more than two decades.
What do you think? Is the more serious and spooky Gotham of Batman the better version? Did the eerie extravagance of Batman Returns capture your imagination as a kid? Enter our Batcave (err, comments) and let us know!
Images: DC / Warner BrothersSo after my still developing issue, I went out trying to find some additional freelance work to help build up my portfolio and put some money away in the bank. I wanted to skip the oDesks and outsourcing sites and go for something I thought may be a bit better: Job Boards. So I checked out the 37Signals Job Board and found this post. How the brief was written scared me a little, but 37Signals charges a pretty decent amount to post a listing so I figured it was all going to be kosher. I added them to my list to contact and a few days later we spoke.
“phenomsolutions1″ messaged me with no introduction spitting out loose questions around his project. After his description of the product I informed him that doing this from the ground up would not be a inexpensive task. He informed me he had “loads of money.” After I quoted him, he quickly took that statement back and changed the scope of the project, we agreed on a price and the following conversation took place:
phenomsolutions1: Do you have a merchant? Me: I’m sorry? For payments/my invoicing? phenomsolutions1: yes phenomsolutions1: Credit card processing Me: My myself I use PayPal and invoice through FreshBooks. phenomsolutions1: I dont use paypal, or use my credit card through paypal phenomsolutions1: any other option? Me: Out of curiosity, why not? I will have to look into another option. Me: (We could run the project through oDesk.) phenomsolutions1: What if we run it through 99designs? Me: That seems odd. phenomsolutions1: why Me: I think I’ll pass. phenomsolutions1: Why? Me: Because that isn’t the way business should be done. phenomsolutions1: Why not :S phenomsolutions1: paypal isnt the end of the universe, paypal is where i lost about 4 grand last time i used it. phenomsolutions1: Like what the heck is wrong with 99designs Me: Because 99Designs is used for contests. There is a slew of things you could do to cancel out the process along the way. Me: I have to protect myself here as well. Me: (I’ve been screwed a number of times myself.) phenomsolutions1: I will start the contest and give you the login details for the account and you can change the passowrd and take full control. Me: It’s okay. I think I am going to pass though. Best of luck with your project! phenomsolutions1: fuck you phenomsolutions1: faggot phenomsolutions1: you dumb dickhole phenomsolutions1: dont fucking insult me phenomsolutions1: calling me a scammer phenomsolutions1: fucking pussy phenomsolutions1: ill fuck you up phenomsolutions1: bitch phenomsolutions1: mother fucker Me: How am I insulting you? phenomsolutions1: fuck you. phenomsolutions1: Fucking cunt. phenomsolutions1: you fucking insulted me phenomsolutions1: you fucking idiot. Me: How so? phenomsolutions1: dont fucking insult me by calling me a scammer phenomsolutions1: shut the fuck up now Me: I’m just protecting myself in this situation. phenomsolutions1: your name is JIM WALKER, and you type *NOD* every 3 seconds Me: Have a good day. phenomsolutions1: so shutup phenomsolutions1: fucking clown.
That promptly ended my bid to do any work with him or his company. Do any of you run into this type of client every once and awhile? Or worse, have any of you ever gotten burned bad by a client?At All Pro Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, we are committed to your complete comfort. A full-service plumbing, heating, AC & electrical company based in Ontario and serving all of San Bernardino County, we can help you with any home service need you may have. We have more than 25 years of industry experience, giving us the expertise to address any plumbing problem, heater issue, AC, or electrical emergency. Best of all, we provide our services quickly—we’re even available 24/7 to assist you! And, we always offer affordable pricing to save you stress when an unexpected heating, cooling, or plumbing problem arises.
Whether you need fast repairs, reliable system replacement, or new product installation, you can count on our friendly, professional, and highly trained team. We’re happy to answer your questions and address your concerns throughout the process.Story highlights Only 11 days remain in Kerry's tenure as Secretary of State
Kerry said the anti-gay discrimination dated back to the 1940's
(CNN) The State Department on Monday formally apologized for what it describes as decades of discrimination against LGBT employees and job applicants, a rare statement meant to right wrongs that preceded current Secretary of State John Kerry.
"These actions were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today," Kerry said in a statement issued by the department in his name. "On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past."
While lauding what his State Department had done for its employees and around the globe, Kerry said the discriminatory practices had included requiring some LGBT employees to resign or not to hire job applicants because of their sexual orientation.
Kerry said the discrimination dated back to the 1940s, although he noted that the department was "among many public and private employers" that acted similarly.
Only 11 days remain in Kerry's tenure as Secretary of State. He has spent his final weeks primarily mired in crossfire over a United Nations resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction, a policy fight Kerry sought to reframe in a high-profile speech.
Read MoreCarbon ceramic disc brake rotors have been used in aerospace applications since the 1970s and in motorsports since the ’80s. Brembo provided them for the Ferrari Enzo in 2002, and now Lamborghini, Mercedes, Chevrolet (Corvette), Aston Martin and others use them in production cars and on the track.
The benefits are improved heat dissipation and increased longevity, not to mention less unsprung weight.
Now, finally, we’re about to get our hands on some for bicycles. Kettle Cycles just launched their Kickstarter campaign to bring their SICCC disc brake rotors to market.
SICCC stands for Silicon Carbide, Ceramic and Carbon. The Silicon Carbide provides the friction, Ceramic manages the heat and Carbon keeps the rotor strong, stiff and light. How light? Their SFL one-piece 140mm rotors are as light as 40 grams!
Video, tech and more pics below…
As the photo at top indicates, two models will be offered. The one-piece SFL version is the premium piece since it requires a bit more production time and more of the premium materials. SFL means Super Feather Light officially, but is more likely to result in you saying So F–kin’ Light.
Co-founder Josh Gore says the whole reason for the two piece rotor is to reduce the amount of SICCC material used, which is a more expensive material than using just carbon fiber for the spider.
“We started with a two-piece design, thinking the product would be too hard and too expensive to produce as a one-piece,” Gore told us. “It’s more complex to lay up the material using the thin cross sections needed, but during testing we discovered an alternate manufacturing process that let us do it more efficiently and with less wasted material. And, since we could make a lighter version, we thought we really should. It seemed a shame to have the ability to do it and not do it, even if it did cost a bit more.”
“Normally, with something like a SICCC material, you’d see people laying up a solid piece then machining away the excess. But that means there’s too much good material going to waste and we didn’t want to do that.”
For the two-piece rotors, the spider is a special carbon fiber that was developed just for this project. What’s different about it isn’t something they’re willing to divulge yet, but it’s tailor made for the application…and it’s something they’re already looking at using on other components in the future.
Target weights for the one-piece SFL rotors are 40g (140mm) and 55g (160mm). Two-piece rotor weights are 60g (160mm) and 75g (180mm). A 200mm rotor in both formats are planned, but weights are TBD.
The rotors will be made in Illinois, about an hour northwest of Chicago, from US-sourced raw materials. Josh and partner Aaron Stephens developed the manufacturing process and will, at least initially, oversee production in a very hands-on manner to ensure the rotors are made to their spec. They own the machinery and will personally train any future workers. The only process they outsource is the grinding of the rotor surface after finishing, which is done to ensure the braking surface is perfectly flat.
PRODUCT BENEFITS
One of the challenges with producing brake pads like this is getting the mix of ingredients right.
Carbon-carbon rotors and even some carbon ceramic blends need to “warm up” to have proper friction. The manufacturing design used by Brembo uses carbon chunks, which wouldn’t have the necessary structural integrity. Kettle uses long fibers in a woven pattern, which gives them the strength they need to keep the rotor stiff – particularly important for a rotor with such a thin cross section compared to car rotors.
“It really was the perfect storm of components and chemistry to get this to work for the bicycle,” Stephens said. “That’s our strength, being able to solve problems and find the right partners. Our chemist is super excited about this project and really helped us make it work.”
The benefits seem worth the effort. The main boon to using a carbon-ceramic blend is heat management. With steel rotors, a lot of attention is given to channeling heat away from the pads and braking surface, but you’re still left with a material that holds heat and, during repeated or sustained braking, essentially becomes a heat source.
Ceramics, on the other hand, are very poor thermal conductors. Sure, they’ll heat up during braking, but then drop all the heat almost instantly.
Think of it this way: Imagine steel rotors as water in a microwave. As you heat the water, the molecules get hyperactive and the water remains hot for a long time. Conversely, imagine that as soon as you turn off the microwave the water molecules stopped moving and it immediately went back to room temperature. That would be ceramics. They’ll take their share of the heat away from the pads and pistons during braking, and then immediately release it into the air.
Since the rotor, as a whole, is thermally inert, even under extremely aggressive braking, it theoretically provides consistent, fade-free braking…something we’re eager to test soon.
Gore says they’ll also handle much higher temperatures than steel rotors. And for durability, Gore says they’ve experienced negligible wear on the rotors during testing, even in sloppy, muddy, wet, dirty conditions.
“As an example, when the SICCC rotors are ground, they’re ground smooth with a diamond abrasive,” said Gore. “Actually, silicon carbide is generally used to grind other materials like metal, etc. Even on some of our high temperature test sessions, we didn’t see any measurable wear. It’s really quite impressive.”
Stephens added: “They’re going to last a really long time. They’re never going to glow red like in the video, we just wanted to test that, and after we pulled that rotor off, it had no measurable wear. Even so, it shouldn’t wear pads much faster than with steel rotors, but our rotors will definitely win. Oh, and during that test in the video, we used SLX brakes and still had the same stopping power at the highest test temp as we did when they were cool.”
The initial grab and overall feel of the brakes can tailored by pad selection. Stephens said they considered and tested proprietary pad compounds, but they wanted to “drop in solution”, meaning it’d work with OEM pads from whatever brake brand you’re using.
Stevens: “Basically, if you’re using good brakes, these rotors are going to make them work better.”
He also said modulation is really good, and they’re quiet. When they first get a little wet, they may make a bit of noise, but during normal braking they make a cool sound, almost like a knife on a sharpening stone at a whisper volume. They recommend bedding them in properly, same as you would with any steel rotor.
The rotors are intended for all applications – DH, XC, road, cyclocross, whatever. They also said they tried everything stupid they could to destroy them -drilled holes in them, ran ’em with three bolts- and just couldn’t get them to fail.
Stephens: “We don’t really believe in weight limits and things like that. Either it’s a solution or it’s not.”
PRICING
This might be the best part. The one-piece SICCC SFL rotors start at $99, and the two-piece models at just $79. Prices aren’t 100% set for the different sizes, but expect a modest increase as diameter grows. Gore said just because there’s some amazing tech here doesn’t mean they need to be outlandishly expensive. We like that thinking.
Interested in getting a set and helping them get the project off the ground? Check out the Kickstarter page here and their website. The Kickstarter campaign runs through December 3, and the target ship date is in January. The design is complete and they have all the machinery, the campaign is primarily to fund materials purchasing and finish up the final tooling.
BONUS MATERIAL
Just for fun, here’s a How It’s Made segment on Brembo’s carbon ceramic disc brake rotors:Story highlights Mayor: "We hope the killers are caught before any more people are lost"
Kaufman County DA Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, are found dead in their home
Two months ago, McLelland's deputy was shot to death outside the county courthouse
Investigators are not sure whether the deaths are linked
[Update 2:15 p.m. ET] "We are taking precautions to protect elected officials in the county," Kaufman County, Texas, Sheriff David Byrnes said at a news conference Sunday after District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found dead Saturday in their home.
[Posted at 9:29 a.m. ET]
Two months ago, a Texas district attorney vowed to put away the "scum" who had killed one of his top deputies.
Now, the district attorney and his wife are dead. And authorities aren't sure whether their killings are part of a broader scheme targeting criminal justice officials.
The bodies of Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found Saturday in their home in Kaufman County, east of Dallas.
"I don't know of anyone who would want to cause him harm," Kaufman city Mayor William Fortner said. "As far as I could tell, he was doing a really good job as a district attorney."
JUST WATCHED Searching for leads in D.A.'s murder Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Searching for leads in D.A.'s murder 04:27
JUST WATCHED Mayor discusses killing of Texas D.A. Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Mayor discusses killing of Texas D.A. 02:25
Fortner said police are taking "extra precautions" to try to ensure no one else is targeted.
"We lost some important people, and we hope the killers are caught before any more people are lost," he said.
A law enforcement official told The Dallas Morning News that a door was apparently kicked in, and "there are shell casings everywhere."
Authorities have not identified a suspect. Nor are they sure whether the deaths are related to the killing of Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, who was killed on his way to work in January.
The county sheriff's office brought in the FBI and the Texas Rangers to help with the investigation.
McLelland was an Army veteran who later earned a master's in psychology and became a psychologist for the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, the district attorney's website said.
He was raised in the small town of Wortham, Texas, where his parents had a ranch. He joined the Army after attending the University of Texas and spent 23 years in the service.
He later earned his law degree and practiced as a defense attorney and mental health judge for 18 years before becoming the county's district attorney in 2010.
McLelland and his wife leave behind two daughters and three sons. One son is a Dallas police officer.
Another top prosecutor slain
The McLellands were killed almost exactly two months after Hasse was shot to death in broad daylight outside the county courthouse on January 31.
Hasse had feared for his life and carried a gun to work, said a Dallas attorney who described herself as his longtime friend.
Colleen A. Dunbar said she spoke with Hasse on January 24. She said the prosecutor told her he began carrying a gun in and out of the county courthouse daily.
"He told me he would use a different exit every day because he was fearful for his life," Dunbar told CNN.
She said that Hasse gave no specifics on why he felt threatened -- only that he did.
McLelland called Hasse "a stellar prosecutor" who knew that threats were part of the job.
He vowed after Hasse's slaying to put away the "scum" who killed his deputy.
"I hope that the people that did this are watching, because we're very confident that we're going to find you," McLelland told reporters.
"We're going to pull you out of whatever hole you're in, we're going to bring you back and let the people of Kaufman County prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law."People looking for their names on the voter list during Kurdistan Region's parliamentary elections of 2013. Photo by Farzin Hassan/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— The Electoral Commission in the Kurdistan Region has officially started preparations for this year’s general elections, tentatively set for November despite continued gridlock in the parliament and bitter political feuds among the major factions.
Member of the commission Jutiar Adil told Rudaw Monday that November 6 had been set for both the parliamentary and presidential votes to take place simultaneously.
“We have convened with the officials in the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) regarding the elections after which they initially approved to allocate the needed budget for the polls,” Adil said.
Kurdish factions including the dominant Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) had previously announced that due to wide disagreements among the political factions over key issues, including the region’s constitution, they expect the elections to be postponed.
“We cannot predict where the political climate will eventually lead to, but we have said that the elections as a rule should take place no later than November 6, and to that end we have launched our preparations,” Adil added.
A key issue at the center of the disagreements is the position and constitutional form of the presidency in the region which the KDP wants to be elected directly in a popular vote with sweeping executive powers.
The opposition Change Movement (Gorran), however, has relentlessly campaigned for a constitutional president that is accordingly elected by the parliament with as few executive powers as possible, something the KDP has rejected categorically.
The Kurdish draft constitution, passed in the regional parliament in 2009 with a overwhelming majority, is in line with the KDP position regarding a more powerful president. But the draft needs to be put to referendum before it is established as the Kurdistan Region’s charter, something Gorran has opposed due to its concerns for the post of presidency, party officials have said.
The parliaments 111-seats and the regions presidency will both be at stake if the elections take place in November. Currently the KDP has 38 seats, the Change Movement (Gorran) 24, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) 18, the KIU 10 and the Kurdistan Islamic Group KIG have 6 seats in the regional parliament which has virtually been shut down since October 2015.
“I really have no intention what so ever to take part in the elections because it will lead to nothing,” Hawraman Muhammad, a teacher in Sulaimani, told Rudaw resonating the growing discomfort of the voters in Kurdistan Region with the political climate.
“The parties have failed to deliver any good for the struggling people over the past years, what makes it different this time?” he added.Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM's weekly program "The Dean Obeidallah Show." He is a columnist for The Daily Beast and editor of the politics blog The Dean's Report. He's also the co-director of the documentary "The Muslims Are Coming!" Follow him on Twitter: @TheDeansreport. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) We have all seen a great deal of hypocrisy from politicians, pundits and the like. But there's a new king of hypocrisy: al Qaeda.
On Wednesday, al Qaeda released a video featuring Nasr Ibn Ali al-Ansi, one of its top commanders in Yemen, claiming responsibility for the horrific attack last week on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. He gave two reasons for the attack.
First, he claimed it was in revenge for Charlie Hebdo's printing of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed. Al-Ansi then went on to state in much greater detail that the attack was in response to France and the West killing Muslims: "We will tell you once again... stop spilling our blood." And then he urged Muslims across the world to "take vengeance for Muslim blood spilled."
Well, if spilling Muslim blood is the deciding factor for us Muslims to decide who we should take vengeance against, then al-Ansi and others in al Qaeda should immediately go into hiding. Simply put, al Qaeda has been slaughtering Muslims for years. Islamic clerics, doctors, nurses, women, children, etc. -- you name any type of Muslim, and al Qaeda has butchered them.
In fact, a report released in 2009 by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point documented the people killed by al Qaeda between 2004 and 2008. It found that only 12% of the victims of al Qaeda were Westerners. That suggests that al Qaeda has killed seven times as many Muslims as non-Muslims. And these attacks were just the ones for which al Qaeda had publicly claimed responsibility.
And since that report, al Qaeda in Yemen has engaged in even more vicious attacks on Muslims. Keep in mind that 99% of the population of Yemen is Muslim (65% Sunni and 35% Shia) so with a few exceptions, virtually every person the group kills there is a Muslim.
In December 2014, for example, an al Qaeda bomb killed 15 children and 10 adults when the bus they were on was blown up by an al Qaeda car bomb intended for a competing militia leader in the area.
This attack followed another in which al Qaeda sent a suicide bomber into a crowd of protesters in the nation's capital, killing 47 people and injuring 140.
And back in December 2013, al Qaeda launched an attack on a hospital, killing 52 people and wounding 167 with two car bombs before gruesomely shooting patients and doctors in the hospital.
The list goes on, but al Qaeda is not alone in killing Muslims who stand in its way. ISIS has done the same in Iraq and Syria.
U.N. report released late last year found that ISIS had killed thousands of Muslims -- both Sunni and Shia -- between July and September of that year. This includes the slayings of three nurses in Mosul, Iraq, because they refused to provide medical care to ISIS fighters. ISIS also killed numerous Sunni imams for refusing to swear allegiance to ISIS, and beheaded another Sunni leader for refusing to support the group.
And the reality is that that's truly what al Qaeda and ISIS are about. They are not about the concept of "submit to Islam or die," as some have claimed. It's submit to ISIS/al Qaeda or die. Both organizations clearly don't care how many Muslims they kill. Yet at the same time they will both claim they are carrying out their actions in the name of Islam. In fact, al-Ansi stated in Wednesday's video that the terrorist brothers who carried out the attack on the Charlie Hebdo officers were "two heroes of Islam."
He couldn't be more wrong.
But that isn't to say there weren't heroes of Islam in Paris that day -- it's just that they are two quite different people.
Ahmed Merabet was the French police officer shot in cold blood while lying on the sidewalk by the so-called "heroes of Islam." As his brother stated at a press conference, Merabet was a proud Muslim who gave his life defending French values of "liberty, equality and fraternity."
And there was Lassana Bathily, the Muslim employee at the kosher deli in Paris who reportedly saved the lives of seven Jewish patrons by helping them hide when Amedy Coulibaly entered the store with guns blazing. Bathily's actions exemplified the famous Quranic verse, "Whoever saves one -- it is as if he had saved mankind entirely."
Obviously, calling out the hypocrisy of al Qaeda and ISIS won't change these organizations' goals -- they will continue to invoke Islam as cover for their political ambitions because it helps them entice new recruits and raise funds which are vital for their continued existence.
But maybe if their hypocrisy is consistently laid bare then it might help all understand the true motivation of these terrorist groups and hopefully even give pause to any Muslims thinking of joining their un-Islamic cause. After all, al Qaeda and ISIS aren't interested in upholding the principles of Islam. They are focused only on power, however many Muslim lives they take.Twitter: Mallorca, of Spain’s 2nd division has a new American owner. Robert Sarver of the Phoenix Suns along with Steve Nash have bought the club (@AndresCantorGOL)
It is being reported by Andres Cantor that former NBA star Steve Nash has purchased Spanish Liga Adelante club Real Mallorca. Nash has become a businessman since leaving the NBA and this is his latest venture. He has purchased the team alongside American Robert Sarver who owns the Phoenix Suns and tried to buy Glasgow Rangers in 2015.
Mallorca are perhaps most famous for being the club who made Samuel Eto’o into a European star, since then however the club has fallen into rough times and they now lie in the Spanish second tier as a mid table club. Nash and Sarver now own a controlling stake and they will make many of the footballing decisions for the Mediterranean club.
Nash is yet to comment on his latest venture but he is a well known football fan and he supports Tottenham Hotspur. It is good to see the former Suns and Mavericks star keeping himself busy.ALBANY – Preserving the status quo can create the strangest of bedfellows in Albany.
Just look at the jockeying over whether New York should hold a convention to consider changes to the state Constitution. Groups that could seldom stand to be in the same room with one another are working together to defeat the question known as Proposal One that goes to voters in four weeks.
The lineup of opposition groups includes: environmental groups, gay rights organizations, New York City cops, Western New York auto industry workers, the state chapter of the National Rifle Association, every imaginable public and private-sector union, political leaders on the left and right and even a group called “Humanists of Long Island.”
No matter their differences, these organizations agree on one thing: Proposal One presents too much risk to their individual causes.
“Groups that on 364 days a year can’t agree on anything on this one day are coming together to say ‘No,’ " said Mario Cilento, president of the 2.5 million-member New York State AFL-CIO.
Supporters of Proposal One say it’s not surprising that special interests with deep ties in Albany are furiously working against the ballot measure.
“The Legislature is scared," Evan Davis, an organizer of the “yes” vote, said of a convention that represents an end-run around state lawmakers.
“The people who have invested heavily in the Legislature and who depend on the Legislature are also scared,’’ added Davis, manager of the Committee for a Constitutional Convention and a former chief counsel during the administration of the late Gov. Mario Cuomo.
A rare alliance
Consider two groups: Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts and the New York Right to Life Committee. The longtime opponents have been in an especially nasty battle the past several years over whether New York State should expand its abortion rights laws.
The issue has been at a stalemate in the Legislature, and a constitutional convention offers the opportunity to settle the dispute in a much stronger legal format – the state’s Constitution – rather than a statute that future lawmakers and governors could undo.
The uncertainty about what might happen in a convention – and who might be elected delegates next year if Proposal One passes in November – has pushed both abortion rights opponents and supporters into an opposition alliance.
“Abandoning our legislative process for a constitutional convention risks our rights,’’ said Robin Chappelle Golston, chief executive officer of the statewide Planned Parenthood group.
A convention would not be inclusive – “making it vulnerable to powerful special interests that do not stand for New Yorkers,” she added.
But anti-abortion activists fear that an expansion of abortion laws - presently just proposed legislation that Planned Parenthood supports - could be placed into the state’s Constitution.
“This legislation has not passed because the majority of the people of New York have opposed it. A constitutional convention might be a way to accomplish these sinister goals and pro-life people would no longer be able to protect mothers and babies through defeating pro-abortion legislation or passing pro-life legislation,’’ said Barbara Meara, chair of the New York State Right to Life Committee.
Those two groups are part of a Proposal One opposition campaign called New Yorkers Against Corruption. Its members include leaders from the New York Republican Party, New York Conservative Party and the Working Families Party, the state’s most liberal party with roots in some labor unions.
This opposition group also includes unions representing health care workers, teachers, state and local public employees and various trades. Those are the kinds of labor groups that boast some of New York’s most sophisticated and deep-pocketed political campaign operations, and Cilento said they will bring the full weight of their operations into a "no" vote effort on Proposal One.
Opposition – for varied reasons
Members of this colorful tapestry of opposition have individual reasons for getting involved.
Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, worries that gun opponents could lead a push in a constitutional convention to get major components of the state’s SAFE Act inserted into the Constitution.
“I think we have more of a chance of losing rights than gaining anything,’’ King said of a convention.
He and other opposition leaders worry who would control a state convention.
“The delegates are going to come from New York City, and they’re going to be extreme liberals and that’s where the anti-gun forces come from,’’ said King, whose group is an affiliate of the NRA.
Ed Cox, chairman of the state Republican Party, is another opponent.
“The structure of the constitutional convention in New York puts far too much control into the hands of liberal politicians and special interests who could do catastrophic damage to New York's already precarious finances," Cox said. "The risk of potential outcomes under these circumstances is simply too high for me to support it.’’
Environmentalists also fear the delegate make-up.
“Approval of a convention places every safeguard we’ve fought for and cherish, like (the) Forever Wild clause, on the chopping block or subject to a political trade,’’ said Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York.
The Forever Wild clause, protecting millions of acres in the Adirondacks and Catskills, was approved in a state constitutional convention in 1894. But groups like Environmental Advocates and the Adirondack Council fear campaign finance laws could make it easier for opponents of Forever Wild to influence the convention delegate selection process. [That process would occur next year if Proposal One passes.]
The focus should be on an “environmental bill of rights” amendment pending in the Legislature and not “on a convention where dark money and polluters win the day,’’ Iwanowicz said.
Staying the course
New York’s Constitution includes some of the strongest labor protections in the nation, including provisions on pension rights, workers compensation, unemployment insurance and prevailing wages for public projects.
"All of those things could possibly be attacked,’’ said Cilento, head of the state AFL-CIO.
Unions are among the most potent political forces at the Capitol. They get major policy and spending bills approved or killed, and help Democrats and Republicans get elected to the Legislature.
Why, then, would unions not be well-positioned in a constitutional convention to drive through even more gains for unionized workers in a state with the nation’s largest percentage of organized workers in its labor force?
It’s about risk.
“When you have some of the strongest labor protections in the country, it is very difficult to gamble on all that. It is much easier to stay the course,’’ Cilento said.
A Siena College poll last week gave opponents some mixed news. Support for Proposal One has been steadily dropping, and Siena found backing from 44 percent of registered voters.
But respondents were receptive to issues that could come up in a convention, such as term limits for state officeholders. For unions, one question in the poll sent worry signals: 41 percent of voters say collective bargaining rights of public employees should have limits.
One member of the opposition group said his stance is not based on what might, or might not, happen at a convention.
“I very, simplistically, don’t see a need for it,’’ said Mike Long, chairman of the state Conservative Party.
He noted voters on the same ballot next month will have an opportunity to approve changes to the constitution – including stripping pensions from government officials convicted in felony corruption cases connected to their public jobs. He dismisses claims that a convention is needed to address Albany’s unending corruption caseload.
“I see it as a boondoggle and a waste of taxpayer money,’’ Long said.
Chance for change
The basic message of Proposal One supporters is change. A constitutional convention has not been held in New York in 50 years, and it won’t happen in 2019 unless voters next month approve it in the referendum.
Bill Samuels, founder of Effective NY, a group supporting Proposal One, sounded hopeful earlier this year that some unions might get on board. But he acknowledged few likely would “because they already have their access.’’
“You see no establishment people for it,’’ said Samuels, a former advisor to Mario Cuomo.
There are groups – such as Citizens Union, the New York Bar Association and the League of Women Voters – behind the convention proposal. Donors to the pro-convention group include several Democratic and Republican activists, constitutional scholars like Canisius College emeritus professor of political science Peter Galie, former Lt. Gov. Stan Lundine, and former Court of Appeals Judge Victoria Graffeo.
But Davis, a leader in the "yes" votge campaign, acknowledged serious opposition.
“We’re going to be seriously outspent,” he said.
To make up for that, backers are focusing heavily on social media, statewide forums and free media via newspaper stories and editorials.
Both sides do agree on one thing: the electorate, especially after the 2016 presidential election, can be unpredictable. That’s making opponents work far harder than they did 20 years ago when they last defeated a convention ballot question.
“We are at a time in this country when you cannot take anything for granted,’’ said the AFL-CIO’s Cilento.
Supporters are hoping Proposal One will attract voters who might not know much about the issue but will read the ballot question and see a "yes" vote as an opportunity to fix problems in Albany.
“The biggest difference from 20 years ago is that there are a couple of issues that have led people to say ‘enough is enough and we’ve got to fix Albany,’ and the head of that list, of course, is corruption,’’ Davis said.11 February 2015
An international team led by Uppsala University scientists has succeeded, for the first time, in depicting intact live bacteria with an X-ray laser. This technique, now described in the journal Nature Communications, can give researchers a clearer understanding of the complex world of cells.
‘If you really want to understand a cell’s functions, it has to be alive,’ says Professor Janos Hajdu of Uppsala University, one of the leading researchers responsible for the experiment.
The method the researchers used in this experiment allows better resolution, in both time and space, than that obtained from the best optical microscope techniques. The new technique involves shooting a fine aerosol of cells with light pulses from an X-ray laser. This aerosol is literally a jet of living cells, thinner than a strand of hair. The |
from 1-60 and doesn’t require any gear. Please note, PotD leveling is not very efficient from levels 60-70. Refer to my Palace of the Dead Leveling Guide for more on leveling 1-60!
While leveling in Dungeons with a quick queue is more efficient at 51-60, it is also viable to continue leveling to 60 using PotD if you don’t want to deal with upgrading gear – just note it’s slightly less experience per hour.
Experience Gear
There are a few pieces of gear you can equip for earlier leveling. Please note, these do not affect PotD completion reward experience. I’ve listed them below, along with how to acquire:
Friendship Circlet – Head armor increasing experience by 20% when level 25 and below (all classes). You obtain this by recruiting a friend, or being recruited, and them subbing for 30 days.
– Head armor increasing experience by 20% when level 25 and below (all classes). You obtain this by recruiting a friend, or being recruited, and them subbing for 30 days. Brand-new Ring – Ring increasing experience by 30% when level 30 or below (DoW / DoM). You obtain this by completing Hall of Novice at the Adventurer’s Guild.
– Ring increasing experience by 30% when level 30 or below (DoW / DoM). You obtain this by completing Hall of Novice at the Adventurer’s Guild. Ala Mhigan Earrings – Earrings increasing experience by 30% when level 50 or below (all classes). You obtain these by pre-ordering Stormblood.
Notable MentionsEmma Watson just made history and to say she feels incredibly honored is an understatement.
The Beauty and the Beast actress accepted the Best Actor in a Movie award at the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which happens to be the first-ever genderless acting award to be presented in the history of awards shows.
Watson—a feminist who has spent a lot of her time promoting gender equality—made sure to thank MTV for taking such a giant step forward.
"I feel I have to say something about the award itself," she began. "The first acting award in history that doesn't separate nominees based on their sex says something about how we perceive the human experience. MTV's move to create a genderless award for acting will mean something different to everyone. But to me, it indicates that acting is about the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes. And that doesn't need to be separated into two different categories."Woman claims she was arrested for videotaping cops
An Ansonia woman, Jennifer Gondola, said she was arrested by New Haven police after refusing to giver them her phone she had been using to record officers make an arrest. An Ansonia woman, Jennifer Gondola, said she was arrested by New Haven police after refusing to giver them her phone she had been using to record officers make an arrest. Photo: Contributed Photo: Contributed Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Woman claims she was arrested for videotaping cops 1 / 3 Back to Gallery
NEW HAVEN -- An Ansonia woman said she was arrested after refusing to give police her cell phone that she used to videotape the officers making an arrest.
Jennifer Gondola, 35, said she stuffed her iPhone into her bra when police asked her to turn it over to them. She was then arrested.
"The handcuffs were so tight," Gondola said. "They were like the tightest they could be."
Gondola said she'd be arrested again if it means protecting people's rights. She said she was leaving Pulse Nightclub on Chapel Street in New Haven early Saturday morning, when she joined others in filming police who were arresting a man.
About 10 minutes later she said police noticed her recording with her iPhone.
"I told him it was my civil right to film and he told me he would need to review the tape," said Gondola, who works for a real estate agency. "I told him it wasn't evidence of the suspect doing a crime, it was police doing a crime."
Gondola said the officer asked for the phone again or else she'd be under arrest. Instead of handing it over, she said she put it in her bra.
"He yanked my arms behind me and cuffed me," Gondola said.
She said she's innocent based on rules put in place just last year.
Police General Order 311 says: "It is the policy of the New Haven Department of Police Service to permit video recording of police activity as long as such recording does not interfere with ongoing police activity or jeopardize the safety of the general public or the police."
Gondola says the story of her arrest outside Pulse has become so popular that a blogger from Miami contacted her to share his story.
"He's been arrested numerous times for videotaping police and this is very important to him," Gondola said.
It's clearly important to Gondola too.
"It may seen petty to some people," she said, "but I think it's very important everyone know their rights and they're not intimidated by the police."
Gondola says since police confiscated her phone, it's been impossible to do her job as a realtor with no contact numbers.
She'll be in court June 12. Gondola was charged with interfering with police.
Police said there is an internal investigation regarding her allegations against the arresting officer, identified by the New Haven Independent as Sgt. Chris Rubino. The Independent (http://bit.ly/JHmjjj) reported police were arresting a 24-year-old Bridgeport man who police said was involved in an altercation outside the nightclub and refused to leave when asked by officers.
Gondola told the Independent police hit the man after he had been handcuffed.Spoilers incoming for the first episode of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, the entire first season of the original Life is Strange game, Twin Peaks, Fire Walk with Me and Twin Peaks: The Return.
In its first season Life is Strange proved itself to be incredibly cineliterate. The episodic sci-fi teen drama contained references to numerous movies and tv shows, many obvious and some as easter eggs but the video game draws more inspiration from Twin Peaks than any other. While Life is Strange managed to tell its own funny, bizarre, emotional and relatable tale at its own pace, the influence of Twin Peaks was obvious. The setting of Arcadia Bay is similar to that of the titular town of the American television series, complete with comparable establishments and the narrative sandbox of the ‘small town with secrets’ trope. The disappearance, and then murder, of Rachel Amber is the catalyst that propels Life is Strange’s story forward and is very similar to the murder of Laura Palmer which began the dark and weird tale of Twin Peaks. Recently the first episode of a three-part prequel to Life is Strange was released, subtitled Before the Storm, and it strikes multiple similarities to Twin Peaks’ own prequel which was titled Fire Walk with Me. Let’s explore these similarities and how the series and film might yet influence the game.
While Chloe Price is the protagonist of Before the Storm, the series is putting a lot of focus of Rachel Amber whose name and spirit (almost literally) dominated Life is Strange but we never saw her, let alone get to know her. Now the series will spotlight her downfall from popular straight-A student to someone who is clearly disturbed, addicted to drugs and wanting to leave her life behind. Fire Walk with Me did this with the Twin Peaks mythos too, focusing on the last seven days of Laura Palmer’s life as the Homecoming Queen relied on drugs and her friend to survive a life spiraling out of control. In Twin Peaks everyone claimed to have known and loved Laura and had no idea who had murdered her and yet Fire Walk with Me showed a disturbed and isolated teenager and Before the Storm is showcasing the same. In Life is Strange pretty much everyone that lead character Max talked to knew Rachel and were fond of the apparently untroubled girl and now Before the Storm, like FWWM before it, is removing the gloss and studying the hard, sharp truths within.
Another similarity is that both Rachel Amber’s and Laura Palmer’s lives began to spiral out of control because of their fathers. Laura’s father Leland had been possessed by the spirit known only as BOB for many years and had been raping her since she was 12 years old with Laura only just discovering that BOB was her father during one such act. While Before the Storm doesn’t go that far, although I wouldn’t put it past the writers who go to some dark, supernatural places in the first game, Rachel’s father is seen to be acting strange and is then caught having an affair by Rachel and her only confidant Chloe. This discovery about her father seems to be the inciting incident to her depression although we know that her death is seemingly unrelated as Nathan Prescott, her eventual murderer (with Mr Jefferson), has his own motives although does appear in episode 1.
We don’t yet know how far in the timeline Before the Storm will go, and even if we don’t get to Rachel’s death the player still knows it’s coming adding a sense of eventual doom and a ticking clock element. The same can be said for Fire Walk with Me where everybody knew that the film was leading to Laura’s death; even those who had not seen the show knew because of how much of a popular culture soundbite “Who killed Laura Palmer?” was. Also, I can only imagine what audiences who hadn’t seen the TV show before watching the film would have thought. The film was much maligned upon its initial release but has since become seen by many, including myself, as a masterpiece of the genre. Despite being a prequel, it falls more into sequel territory at times because of the supernatural/metaphysical time-altering elements which make the film complicated even for the biggest fan, let alone people new to the series.
Just like in Fire Walk with Me, I’m guessing some of the information and character connections with Rachel Amber won’t be explored in Before the Storm in order to keep it focused on the relationship between her and Chloe. Side characters in Life is Strange who knew Rachel like Daniel DaCosta who used to draw pictures of her and jokingly referred to her as his muse probably won’t be in the prequel because it’s not relevant and for the interest of time. Laura Palmer used to look after Audrey Horne’s brother Johnny, worked in Horne’s Department Store and was a prostitute for a time at One Eyed Jacks but these either do not appear at all in the prequel film (or it’s copious amounts of deleted material known as The Missing Pieces) or are only mentioned passingly.
The writers of Before the Storm are very much aware of the connections with Twin Peaks and flaunt their homage to the series and film with some easter eggs and references. The opening minute of episode 1 makes reference to a band named ‘FireWalk’, a nod to the film’s title and the phrase it refers to, with the band being a relatively big part of the first episode. The band is playing at a location called ‘The Mill’ which is apparently close to the border and known for its openness to the vices. This sounds very much like ‘The Pink Room’ which features in Fire Walk with Me which is close to the Canadian border and filled with drugs and open sex. The Pink Room also features one of my favourite pieces of a film score ever, an ultra-sleazy number composed by Angelo Badalamenti. And let’s not forget that Chloe’s license plate in Life is Strange was TWNPKS.
A major focus of Fire Walk with Me was the expansion of the supernatural elements of the original show whether it be the green ring, the Woodsmen or Garmonbozia (don’t ask) and Before the Storm could follow suit and focus on the supernatural/metaphysical/spiritual/sci-fi elements of the original games. As far as we know there is no time travel in Before the Storm but we are already getting a lot of Lynchian dream logic including a raven which may or may not be supernatural and the ending seemed to suggest Rachel had some sort of control of the weather, or at least the wind. Don’t forget the deer from Life is Strange either. While it was implied to be Max’s spirit animal it was also almost definitely linked to, and representative of, Rachel. I’m almost certain we’ll see it again soon.
To conclude I’d like to float the possibility of, in a sense, re-writing Rachel’s role in the Life is Strange mythos. In the new season of Twin Peaks: The Return, Laura was revealed to have originated from the White Lodge and is implied to be a being of pure good to combat the unleashing of BOB (a being of pure evil) into the world. I’m not saying Before the Storm should get quite that weird with it but maybe Rachel could be revealed to be more important than just the missing girl who pushes plot forward. Maybe if she does indeed have some sort of weather power could Rachel have somehow created the almighty storm we see in the first game? It could be an interesting and bold direction to go.
Played Life is Strange: Before the Storm? Twin Peaks fan? Let me know in the comments and geek out with me about TV, movies and videogames on Twitter @kylebrrtt.Michael Gross, the artist responsible for one of the 80s most iconic and enduring logos - the Ghostbusters - has died of cancer aged 70.
The 70 year-old, who famously said his goal in life was "to have fun and do new things”, passed away at his California home on Monday, having received a terminal diagnosis in 2014.
The New York-born artist, illustrator, film producer and personal designer will be forever synonymous with the much loved 80s films series The Ghostbusters for which he designed what is one of the most famous film logos ever created.
Gross created the drawing of the confused-looking spirit caught in the middle of a red circle with a slash through it for the first film and adapted it for the 1989 follow up. It has since come to be a ubiquitous symbol in American pop culture.
It placed first, beating out the Chrysler Building, when the Pratt Institute ran a survey for their thoughts on the 125 most admired icons created by its alumni and faculty.
The legacy of the logo is also evident in the fact that it is rumoured to be adapted and used for the forthcoming Ghostbuster film which is scheduled for a 2016 release.
Gross’s career had many other prestigious highlights and saw him hold positions such as John Lennon's personal designer, senior designer for the 1968 Olympics and art director for National Lampoon magazine.
It was his work with National Lampoon magazine which comes a close second to his design for the Ghostbusters logo. In 1973 he created a cover for the magazine featuring a frightened-looking dog on the cover with a gun to its head and the words, "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog."
In 2005, the American Society of Magazine Editors rated it one of the 40 greatest covers of all time.
His recent battle with cancer was not his first having survived an earlier fight with the illness 30 years before. This time however he decided to forgo any life-extending efforts and announced to the AP last year that he would "go down fighting" and launched a darkly comic anti-cancer campaign.
This involved dozens of paintings and drawings from fellow artists and himself, each featuring a hand with a raised middle finger. Underneath each drawing he put the words "Flip Cancer."Records, sleeves and bottles of Shiner and Brewer’s Choice are scattered across a West End dining room table as Jason Stowell and Christopher Garza recall the early days of their friendship.
Stowell, 33, works in safety at a local chemical plant. Garza, 32, is a buyer. When Garza showed up at a plant safety meeting in a T-shirt featuring the logo for NBC’s “The Office,” well, “that was it,” he said.
Talk of Must See TV turned to a discussion about comic books and music.
“We discovered by accident that we had similar taste in both,” Stowell said. “We’re both vinyl freaks.”
Fast forward a couple years and Stowell and Garza sit surrounded by multi-color 7-inch records, finishing each other’s sentences as they sip craft beer. That chance meeting at a refinery led to a close friendship that led to something even bigger: a record label.
Wrong Side of Texas Records started as a pipe dream, but the 700 records stacked in Stowell’s dining room are indeed quite real.
“A lot of my friends are still trying to make a
living in art and music,” Stowell said. He rattled off a list of record labels, like Subpop, that started in somebody’s home or garage. “We thought, maybe we should just start a record label.”
And it didn’t take long to decide which band they wanted to release first.
“The first record really had to rock,” Stowell said, “’cause we gotta sell 700 records so our wives will let us make another one.”
So the duo approached a local band known for rocking quite sufficiently: We Were Wolves.
“When Chris and Jason gave us their very solid pitch, including sample packaging ideas and distribution plans, it was a solid, safe and sound idea that we were all immediately stoked about,” said Jake Hooker, bass player and vocalist for the Beaumont band that recently re-located to Houston. “Of course, we’d all like to make a profit, but these records are a labor of love for Wrong Side and the Wolves, and that was what sealed the deal.”
Shrimpy is a product of that first meeting — and a lot of man-hours that came after. The 7-inch vinyl, which comes in a variety of colors and features album art by local tattoo apprentice Meghan Muzerie, will be released with great, booze-filled flourish at an album release party Friday night at Tequila Rok.
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Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Image 2 of 12 We Were Wolves playing the PaceSetter. Tammy McKinley/cat5 We Were Wolves playing the PaceSetter. Tammy McKinley/cat5 Image 3 of 12 We Were Wolves playing the PaceSetter. Tammy McKinley/cat5 We Were Wolves playing the PaceSetter. Tammy McKinley/cat5 Image 4 of 12 We Were Wolves. Tammy McKinley/cat5 We Were Wolves. Tammy McKinley/cat5 Image 5 of 12 Image 6 of 12 We Were Wolves. Tammy McKinley/cat5 We Were Wolves. Tammy McKinley/cat5 Image 7 of 12 Jason Stowell, right, and Christopher Garza recently began their own record label dubbed the Wrong Side of Texas Records. Their first release, a We Were Wolves 7", was available at a recent Wolves show. Guiseppe Barranco/cat5 less Jason Stowell, right, and Christopher Garza recently began their own record label dubbed the Wrong Side of Texas Records. Their first release, a We Were Wolves 7", was available at a recent Wolves show.... more Image 8 of 12 Jason Stowell, left, and Christopher Garza look over a kitchen table full of records. Working out of thier homes, the duo recently began their own record label dubbed the Wrong Side of Texas Records. Guiseppe Barranco/cat5 less Jason Stowell, left, and Christopher Garza look over a kitchen table full of records. Working out of thier homes, the duo recently began their own record label dubbed the Wrong Side of Texas Records. Guiseppe... more Image 9 of 12 We Were Wolves "Shrimpy." Guiseppe Barranco/cat5 We Were Wolves "Shrimpy." Guiseppe Barranco/cat5 Image 10 of 12 Image 11 of 12 We Were Wolves "Shrimpy." Guiseppe Barranco/cat5 We Were Wolves "Shrimpy." Guiseppe Barranco/cat5 Image 12 of 12 Right time, Wrong Side - new label kicks off with We Were Wolves release 1 / 12 Back to Gallery
Stowell and Garza, neither of whom are professional musicians, are almost glowing as they describe the circumstances that led to their decision to launch a label this year.
“For a while it seemed like everybody left Beaumont to go to Austin or somewhere else to make it big,” Garza said. “But lately we’ve seen a real resurgence in art and music in the area. Things are starting to pick up. It seems like an awesome time to be around here, which is weird to say.”
Citing things like First Thursday on Calder and explosive growth in the local street food movement (and maybe the scrappy little upstart nightlife magazine that you happen to be reading currently), Garza and Stowell said starting Wrong Side of Texas Records right now seemed like a no-brainer.
“I think it was just now or never,” Garza said. “I just wanted to be involved somehow and it was a perfect opportunity to do something creative.”
After a little online shopping, they found a Nashville company to press the records. Everything after that has been on them — which means many hours of packaging, labeling and website-building.
“DIY takes a little more time than we estimated,” Stowell said sheepishly.
“But we definitely wanted to do it that way,” Garza interjected.
The records will sell for $10 each at Friday night’s show, and if you don’t have a turntable, don’t fret — each 7-inch comes with a digital download of the E.P. But, like any purist, they’d rather you listen to the record.
“Vinyl is the only way to listen to rock ‘n roll,” Stowell said. “It belongs on records.”
And with an attitude like theirs, Hooker said, it’s obvious that the Wolves belong on Wrong Side Records.
“You won’t hear anything on this record that was in any way affected by some weak-bellied record executive,” Hooker said. “As long as there are truly independent labels like Wrong Side, you’ll be able to hear what the musicians wrote, and that’s absolutely invaluable.”
So what happens after the Shrimpy release? Garza and Stowell already have their sights set on a few other local bands.
“We’re big Ramblin’ Boys fans,” Garza said. They also extolled the virtues of local three-piece Purple and Louisiana band The Pests. But none of that matters, they readily admit, unless Shrimpy sells.
But even if it doesn’t, Garza said they’re happy to have created something, to become part of a steadily growing community of self-made artists and musicians.
“At the end of the day, there’s nothing better than popping open a beer and dropping the needle,” Garza said.
I bet it feels even better when that record was released on your own label.
A tour of the Shrimpy E.P., courtesy of We Were Wolves bass player and vocalist Jake Hooker:
1. “Hodo Hada”
“‘Hodo Hada’ was recorded at Polarity Studio with James ‘Baby J’ Faust, who recorded the Lost at Sea E.P. He works well with us because he’s known us from day one,” he said. “This song was the first brainchild Vinc offered, and had finally been aged and fine tuned enough for recording. It starts strong like a rabid elk, slams you back and forth like in a Droopy cartoon, and has a clean finish with a pleasant aftertaste.”
2. “Crash and Burn”
“A product of sessions at Sugar Hill in Houston — it’s just fun,” Hooker said. “The writing was entirely collaborative, so it’s sort of the most representative of what happens when our group works together and off of each other.
“Zach’s drumbeat brings it in like a lowboy designed for rock ‘n roll transport. The bass is strangely happy and sort of funky. Vinc’s guitar adds a decadent darkness, not entirely unlike an old Scooby Doo episode. Drew’s vocals are straightforward and connect with that fiery bastard in all of us that we keep at bay, and when we all play, it’s primal and simple, then classically influenced and sinister. That fiery bastard wakes up and reminds you why you appreciate freedom.”
3. “Hell in Spades”
“Another from the Polarity sessions, it’s the only song on this record with me singing lead vocals, and there’s also a video on YouTube,” Hooker said. “The lyrics are inspired by one of Stephen King’s ‘Dark Tower’ books.
“It’s a mid-tempo steering wheel tapper influenced by cKy and Coheed & Cambria. Whether one can hear those influences, I can’t say.”
4. “No Head”
“‘No Head’ is a new recording of the song we had released on our split with Cousin Phelpy,” Hooker said. “We’ve always found it to be a really solid song, and it has evolved significantly, featuring new vocal harmonies and guitar work by Vinc, who wasn’t in the band when the split was recorded. We recorded this song at Sugar Hill Studios with Chris Longwood for our next full length album.”
We Were Wolves ‘Shrimpy’ E.P. Release Party
Featuring: The Ramblin’ Boys, Purple, The Blistering Speeds
When: Doors at 9 p.m. Friday
Where: Tequila Rok, 260 Crockett St., Beaumont
Cost: $5
beth@thecat5.com
@BeaumontBeth on Facebook, Twitter & Foursquare(CNN) A boy sits on a sidewalk barefoot, his head wrapped in a bandage. For the past three weeks, he hasn't heard the pummeling of air raids in the city.
Bombings had been temporarily stopped in Aleppo.
A wounded boy in Aleppo in the aftermath of Syrian airstrikes.
But Wednesday, his childhood of war resumed. His dad sits beside him holding one of his injured siblings. Behind him, his sister is covered in a red blanket. She's dead.
And life goes on for the boy in Aleppo.
The photo was shot after the Syrian government bombed rebel-held areas in the city.
At least 87 people, including four children, were killed in a Syrian regime blitz on war-ravaged eastern Aleppo and the surrounding countryside. The bombings pounded hospitals, a blood bank and targets near schools, activists and medical staff said.
The Al-Shaar neighborhood appeared to be the worst hit, with barrel bombs striking the Children's Hospital, Al-Bayan Hospital and the Central Blood Bank, staff on site with the Syrian American Medical Association (SAMS) told CNN. Buildings nearby were completely flattened.
and said three additional bodies had been recovered from bombings the previous day, when regime forces Bebars Meshaal from the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, initially put the death toll at 27and said three additional bodies had been recovered from bombings the previous day, when regime forces resumed its air raid over eastern Aleppo after a three-week lull.
The death toll rose later in the day, with the White Helmets saying 22 people of those killed were in the village of Batbo. Fifty were injured there, the group said.
Children flee after airstrikes hit their neighborhood in eastern Aleppo on Tuesday.
Video of the aftermath in Aleppo shows White Helmets volunteers rushing to rescue a girl from the rubble of a toppled building.
The victim is carried away and doused in liquid from a water bottle to clear her sight.
She rubs her eyes for several seconds, but is unable to open them. Blood drips from her nose.
CNN has not been able to independently verify the impact of the strikes, having little access to the area.
The Aleppo Media Center (AMC) activist group said four killed children were in the al-Sukkari neighborhood, adding that more could be among the dead.
Children's Hospital Director Dr. Hatem, said he felt some 20 barrel bombs hit the facility and that staff members had hunkered down in the basement as the bombardment continued through the morning.
The hospital is run by the Independent Doctor's Association.
''A horrible day for the Children's Hospital. Me and my staff and all the patients are sitting in one room in the basement right now, trying to protect our patients," Hatem said earlier in a statement.
"Pray for us please," said Hatem, one of the last three pediatricians working at the hospital.
Medical staff on the ground said the Central Blood Bank had in October distributed about 1,500 bags of blood to 10 facilities in eastern Aleppo. The blood is a much-needed resource in an area pummeled by regular shelling.
126 attacks on health facilities
The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned recent attacks on three other hospitals in a rural area west of Aleppo city and two in Idlib province in which at least two people were reportedly killed and 19 people wounded.
A child in the aftermath of regime airstrikes in the Salaheddin neighborhood of Aleppo.
"Shockingly, such attacks on health in Syria are increasing in both frequency and scale," it said in a statement, adding that it had documented 126 such attacks across the country so far in 2016.
"The pattern of attacks indicates that health care is being deliberately targeted in the Syrian conflict -- this is a major violation of international law and a tragic disregard of our common humanity."
Pictures and videos posted by the AMC on social media show children, still wearing their school backpacks, fleeing through rubble from obliterated buildings in Karam al-Beik, near al-Shaar. One image shows a young girl in tears, holding hands with another.
Other children were wounded in a strike near a school in the Salaheddin neighborhood, the AMC said, adding that a medic was also killed.
Eastern Aleppo has become the wretched center of Syria's five-year conflict and the regime's siege has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe there, as food, water and medical supplies run low.
Blitz after text message warning
a The strikes that resumed Tuesday followed dire text message was sent en masse to residents in the east, essentially telling them to flee or be killed in the bombings.
There had been a three-week lull in eastern Aleppo air raids before the Syrian government blitzed the area Tuesday, using what the regime called "precision weapons to target terrorist positions."
JUST WATCHED Text messages warn people in Aleppo to 'leave or die' Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Text messages warn people in Aleppo to 'leave or die' 01:55
Rebels took control of eastern Aleppo in 2014, and government forces continue their siege of the area, battering it from above with the help of Russian air power.
Moscow has sought to distance itself from the blitz, with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov saying Wednesday that the Russian air force had not carried out the Aleppo strikes, according to state-run news agency Tass.
A boy receives medical treatment after being injured in an airstrike Tuesday.
Trump: Assad's friend or foe?
Following the US election, questions have swirled over how US President-elect Donald Trump might approach the war, which has seen the US and Russia on opposing sides on many counts.
Central to the row is the question of which groups in the conflict are regarded as terrorist groups. The old Cold War enemies agreed to target ISIS, but the US has armed and supported what it calls moderate rebel groups to fight ISIS, many of which also oppose the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Assad told Portugal's RTP TV that Trump could be a "natural ally" to his government, but said he was dubious Trump could influence all the decision-makers to change the US strategy.
Trump has previously suggested that he is opposed to targeting the Assad regime and ISIS at the same time, and has said he is willing to work with Assad.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says Donald Trump could be a "natural ally."
"Of course, I would say this is promising. But can he deliver? Can he go in that regard? What about the countervailing forces within the administration? The mainstream media that were against him? How can he deal with it?" Assad said.
Members of the White Helmets rescue group search for victims after an airstrike on Aleppo on October 17.If Microsoft's Hyper-V was found to treat Linux guests as second-class citizens, the resulting storm of controversy would probably generate enough heat and light to make a dent in some climate change models.
So there are probably a few brows being mopped down Redmond way this week over this knowledge base article titled “Degraded integration services message for non-Windows guests” explaining that while Hyper-V really is behaving in ways that make Linux guests look like second-class citizens, the software is telling fibs and all is well.
The article explains that “While running a non-Windows guest such as Linux on Hyper-V, the Hyper-V management console may display messages that indicate that the integration services for the non-Windows guest are degraded and no formal support will be provided unless the integration services are updated.”
Which sounds scary, until Microsoft explains that “This message is overtly aggressive in warning and users should feel free to ignore it. Microsoft will provide required support despite of these messages being shown in the Hyper-V console or the Windows event log.”
So why is Hyper-V doing this? Here's Microsoft's explanation:
“... non-Windows guest integration services may not always have the code to interoperate with the latest Hyper-V protocols. This is due to the fact that Windows release cycles are not in sync with the release cycles of other operating systems. As a hypothetical example, the latest Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) release may ship in January but the latest Windows release may ship in the following September. Between January and September, the Windows team may upgrade the Hyper-V protocols due to which the RHEL release shipped in January may have integration components that were written based on earlier Hyper-V protocols. Now, when a user tries to run an older RHEL release as a virtual machine on a newer Windows release then they may observe messages suggesting that the RHEL integration components are degraded.”
The article goes on to say that “... it is safe to ignore these messages because Hyper-V protocols are implemented to be backward compatible...” and even if “... a certain non-Windows guest has integration services that were based off earlier Hyper-V protocols, the guest is expected to run flawlessly on newer Hyper-V releases.”
Panic over, then, for both Microsoft and the Linux community. But perhaps also a close-run thing, given the endless animus between fans of the two platforms. ®A Quebec judge told a woman in Montreal this week that she would not hear the case until the woman removed her hijab.
Rania El-Alloul has said she couldn't believe what was happening as she appeared before the Court of Quebec judge in a bid to get her car back after it was seized by the province's automobile insurance board.
"When I made landing in Canada, I was wearing my hijab," El-Alloul said.
"When I swore by God to be a good Canadian citizen I was wearing my hijab, and the judge, I shook hands with him the same day I became Canadian. I was really very happy. But what happened in court made me feel afraid. I felt that I'm not Canadian any more."
Head coverings have been at the heart of several legal debates and controversies in Canada. Here's a look at some of them.
1. Sikh Mounties permitted to wear turbans
When Baltej Singh Dhillon immigrated to Canada from Malaysia in 1983, he brought the beliefs and customs of his Sikh faith with him. But when he wanted to join the RCMP — a police force deeply steeped in its own traditions, right down to the Stetson hat — he faced a choice.
Dhillon opted to argue for his religious rights and asked for an exception to be made to allow him to wear his turban. He was permitted to wear his turban while training, and in 1990, the federal government ended the ban preventing Sikhs in the RCMP from wearing turbans.
There were protests, but Dhillon said he was "willing to look these people in the eye and tell them that I'm no different from them."
The federal decision was not an instant one, coming a year after an RCMP recommendation that the turban ban be lifted. In the meantime, protests had mounted.
Herman Bittner, an Alberta man who made a calendar to protest the decision, said: "Am I really a racist, or am I standing up and trying to save something that you know can be lost forever?"
2. Turbans on the soccer pitch
Baltej Singh Dhillon, first RCMP turbaned officer, plays with Harshaan Ahluwalis during a friendly soccer match in solidarity with young players who wear turbans on June 15, 2013 in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press) In 2013, controversy swirled after the Quebec Soccer Federation announced a ban on players wearing turbans or related religious headwear on the pitch. headwear
The ban, which the federation said was a result of safety concerns, came despite a directive from the Canadian Soccer Association that said turbans were OK.
After hearing from FIFA, the international soccer body, the federation reversed the ban and said it was "deeply sorry" if anyone was offended.
3. Taking a citizenship oath
In 2011, then immigration minister Jason Kenney announced new rules banning face coverings for people taking the Canadian citizenship oath.
Until then, a citizenship clerk or other official could pull aside a woman wearing a niqab at the ceremony and have the woman lift it for identification.
But the law came under court scrutiny after Zunera Ishaq, a Pakistani woman living in Mississauga, Ont., argued that the ban violated her rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In February 2015, a Federal Court judge ruled that women can wear a niqab while taking the oath.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said the federal government will appeal the ruling, a decision critics have questioned.
4. Testifying in court
In April 2013, an Ontario judge ruled that a woman had to remove her niqab to testify in a sexual assault case.
The decision came after the judge applied a new test set out by the Supreme Court of Canada dealing with witnesses wearing a veil.
In the split decision, the majority ruled that judges have to do a four-part test to determine if a Muslim woman can be allowed to wear a niqab when testifying:
Does she have a sincere belief in her religion?
Does wearing a veil create a serious risk to trial fairness?
Is there any other way to accommodate |
The Express Tribune, an affiliate of the New York Times, recently reported in an article titled, “Startling revelations: IS operative confesses to getting funds via US,” that another “coincidence” appears to be contributing to the so-called “Islamic State’s” (ISIS) resilience and vast resources. A recent investigation being conducted by Pakistani security forces involving a captured ISIS fighter has revealed that he and many fighters alongside him, received funds that were routed through the US.
“During the investigations, Yousaf al Salafi revealed that he was getting funding – routed through America – to run the organisation in Pakistan and recruit young people to fight in Syria,” a source privy to the investigations revealed to Daily Express on the condition of anonymity.
Al Salafi is a Pakistani-Syrian, who entered Pakistan through Turkey five months ago. Earlier, it was reported that he crossed into Turkey from Syria and was caught there. However, he managed to escape from Turkey and reached Pakistan to establish IS in the region.
The Tribune would also reveal that the findings of the investigations were being shared with the United States. The source cited by the Tribune suggested a compelling theory as to why the US has attempted to portray itself as “at war with ISIS,” stating:
“The US has been condemning the IS activities but unfortunately has not been able to stop funding of these organisations, which is being routed through the US,” a source said.
“The US had to dispel the impression that it is financing the group for its own interests and that is why it launched offensive against the organisation in Iraq but not in Syria,” he added.
Indeed, the story reveals several troubling aspects regarding ISIS’ operations in Syria. First, Al Salafi’s ability to effortlessly enter into Syria through NATO-member Turkey, then escape back to Pakistan, again, via Turkey once again confirms that the source of ISIS’ strength is not captured Syrian oil fields or ransoms paid in exchange for hostages, but rather from a torrent of fighters, arms, equipment, and cash flowing from NATO territory in Turkey.
Second – the US does indeed claim to be at war with “ISIS,” going as far as unilaterally bombing Syrian territory while claiming it must now train more militants not only to topple the Syrian government, but now also to fight ISIS – yet appears incapable of stopping torrents of cash flowing from its own borders into the hands of its implacable enemy. A similar conundrum presented itself amid the recent Paris killings, where France too is participating in military operations aimed at both toppling the Syrian government and allegedly fighting ISIS – yet claims to be unable to stop thousands of its own citizens from leaving its borders to join ISIS’ ranks.
The All-Selectively-Seeing Eyes of American Surveillance
Finally, now that the US is reportedly aware that money destined for ISIS has been routed through its own borders, surely it can leverage its massive and continuously growing surveillance state to identify where the money originated from. The individuals, organization, or government that provided the funds can then suffer the same fate other “state sponsors of terrorism” have suffered at the hands of US foreign policy, including sanctions, invasion, and occupation.
However, the likelihood that the US was unaware of these routed funds – specifically because of its massive and continuously growing surveillance state – is unlikely, as is the likelihood that the US is not also fully aware of where the funds originated from. Der Spiegel in a report titled, “‘Follow the Money': NSA Monitors Financial World,” would state (emphasis added):
In the summer of 2010, a Middle Eastern businessman wanted to transfer a large sum of money from one country in the region to another. He wanted to send at least $50,000 (€37,500), and he had a very clear idea of how it should be done. The transaction could not be conducted via the United States, and the name of his bank would have to be kept secret — those were his conditions.
Though the transfer was carried out precisely according to his instructions, it did not go unobserved. The transaction is listed in classified documents compiled by the US intelligence agency NSA that SPIEGEL has seen and that deal with the activities of the United States in the international financial sector. The documents show how comprehensively and effectively the intelligence agency can track global flows of money and store the information in a powerful database developed for this purpose.
The obstacle the US faces in stemming funds destined for ISIS centers then, not on knowing about them, but on the fact that both the US itself and its closest allies in the region surrounding Syria are directly complicit in the funding.
As exposed by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in his 2007 article, “The Redirection: Is the Administration’s new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism?” it was stated explicitly that (emphasis added):
To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.
Thus, it is clear, that from 2007 where the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel openly conspired to stand up, fund, and arm a terrorist army to fight a proxy war against Syria and Iran, to 2015 where this army has finally manifested itself as the “Islamic State” complete with funding, arms, and fighters streaming in from NATO members, the source cited by the Tribune claiming that “the US had to dispel the impression that it is financing the group for its own interests,” and thus must now feign to be interested in stopping the organization in Syria, is the most compelling and logical explanation available.
It will be interesting to see if the New York Times itself picks up its affiliate’s story, or if the US State Department, reportedly aware that ISIS funds are being routed through America, makes a comment on this recent development. What is more likely, however, is that the “War on Terror” charade will continue, with the US propping up ISIS, using it both as impetus to funnel more cash and weapons into the region that will inevitably – and intentionally – end up in ISIS’ hands, or as an excuse to intervene militarily in Syria’s conflict more directly.
Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine“New Eastern Outlook”.Illustration by Taylor Beldy
Thanks to the federal government's national data surveys, we know with great accuracy what percentage of American workers carpool (9.4) and what percentage of American homes have more than one fridge (23). Yet we have no precise idea how many Americans identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or trans, because as they stand, the government's national demographic surveys don't ask about any of that. And experts and activists say that those surveys, including the US Census and the American Community Survey (ACS), need to change—because for reasons both scientific and symbolic, collecting accurate, population-wide data on LGBTQ Americans is an important step toward understanding their present and future place in our society.
Countries like India and Australia already include gender-identity questions in their census, and the UK is considering doing the same in 2021. The reason our own census doesn't may be simple enough—they haven't been asked to by legislators or federal agencies. Last May, US Representative Raul Grijalva introduced the LGBT Data Inclusion Act, which sought to require federal surveys to collect gender and sexuality information; more than a hundred congresspeople signed on in support, but after the bill was sent to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, it wasn't pursued further.
Experts I spoke to emphasized the considerable benefits that collecting such information would bring; chief among them are the vast improvement such data would offer over what currently exists. Researchers today rely on state-level data or surveys with small sample sizes to draw conclusions about LGBTQ populations. But that's an imperfect process, especially when dealing with groups as small as the trans community. (The Williams Institute, a UCLA School of Law think tank that researches public policy related to gender and sexuality, estimated that there were 1.4 million trans Americans in 2016—double that of the previously most reliable estimate, but still based on data from just 19 states.) Some private survey companies, like Gallup, collect sexual-orientation data, but because it's privately held, it's not available to researchers. And no survey exists with the comprehensiveness of the US Census or the ACS. David Grant, a researcher at the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit public policy think tank, said that while LGBTQ population estimates show more consistency across different studies today than they once did, they aren't as solid as they could be, and given the current data, nobody can say anything very precise about the demographics of LGBTQ populations.
But population size is only the beginning—national survey data would allow gender and sexual identity to be linked to other factors, like income, education, and rates of disability. That allows researchers to better understand the health and well-being of LGBTQ communities and recommend appropriate interventions to help. With shockingly high rates of poverty and homelessness among the trans community, smaller studies can help show that such problems exist, but reliable, national statistics are a precondition to addressing those challenges in any effective way. "If you want to make an argument about inequality, you can't make it without data," noted Laurel Westbrook, associate professor of sociology at Grand Valley State University. And Gary Gates, the former Research Director at the Williams Institute, noted that such data is also necessary to do further research. "If you're writing an application to the National Institutes of Health, without rudimentary data, you're just way less likely to get research funding," he said.
Finally, being included in federal data has profound symbolic importance. As Laverne Cox said in support of Grijalva's bill: "LGBT people exist, we are a vital part of the fabric of this country, and we just want to be counted." Gates bluntly noted the political ramifications of such data: "Whether we like it or not, in political terms, you do not count unless the federal government counts you. If sexual orientation and gender identity are not routinely part of federal data-collection process, it allows the federal government to ignore the LGBT community." And parts of the LGBTQ community agree; a study of attitudes toward data collection among trans persons found "strong support" for adding a gender-identity question to the census.
But the idea of having the government collect gender and sexuality data has strong resistance within other corners of the LGBTQ community. Privacy concerns loom large; federal surveys contain sensitive information like one's home address. Some fear that if data identifying where LGBTQ persons live were collected, it could lead to harassment or attacks on those persons. And census data has been used to target individuals for discrimination before, as with Japanese and German Americans during World War II. However, the federal government has developed strong measures to protect data. Even the FBI, armed with a warrant, has been denied access to census data.
There has also been debate among LGBTQ activists and demographers about the best way to ask relevant questions. Gender and sexual orientation occur along a spectrum, and standard categories used to classify it—heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual—can fall short for identities like asexuality and pansexuality. And a surprising number misunderstand terms like homosexual and bisexual, particularly if English is not their first language, leading to the totals being distorted by false positives.
Demographers have carefully considered the issue over the past two decades. In a 2014 report, the Williams Institute detailed recommendations to best collect gender and sexuality data, including a two-step gender-identity question that first asks about gender assigned at birth, then about how one currently identifies. For orientation, Gates said that respondents can be asked if they are "straight—that is, not gay" in order to diminish false positives. Westbrook said that while not everyone agrees with all of the institute's report, it certainly provides a workable blueprint moving forward. And Grant noted that the 35,000-household National Health Interview Survey recently added questions about sexual orientation, providing good examples of how it can be done.
Some may say that given the country's uncertain political climate, progressive demographics are the least of America's worries. But Grant noted that the sheer amount of progress made for LGBTQ equality over the past few decades makes it hard to imagine this issue "being put back in the bottle." Though the Trump administration may slow progress, Grant nevertheless thinks that willingness exists even within today's government to address these issues. Given the potential impact that adding gender and sexuality identifiers to our national surveys could have for the LGBTQ community, one would hope the powers that be in America won't stand in the way of simple progress.
Neil McArthur is the director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at University of Manitoba, where his work focuses on sexual ethics and the philosophy of sexuality. Follow him on Twitter.A West Heath father and son have received a Good Citizens Award for their bravery in protecting a teenager who took refuge in their home. Martin Thompson and his 18 year old son Edward both suffered stab wounds during the incident in May 2011 but stood firm to protect the youngster from his attackers.
They courageously confronted the teenager’s pursuers – an 18-year-old man from Ladywood and a 15-year-old lad from Northfield – on the driveway and blocked the pair’s attempts to get at their target as he cowered in the hallway.
Edward was stabbed in the back by one of the attackers, puncturing a lung and leaving him in a critical condition in hospital. Dad Martin Thompson is a researcher with West Midlands Police’s Public Protection Unit and also suffered knife wounds.
Following a brief standoff the older attacker produced a knife and stabbed Edward in the back – puncturing one of his lungs – whilst dad Martin suffered knife injuries as he fought off the intruders.
The 15-year-old handed himself in to Bourneville police station the following day whilst the 18-year-old was traced to an address in Longbridge on 23 May and arrested by a police dog handler as he bolted through rear gardens.
A judge later jailed the knifeman indefinitely – he’ll spend a minimum of five-and-a-half years behind bars and only released when deemed no longer a danger to the public – whilst the schoolboy was handed a two-year youth rehabilitation order.
And last week (July 25) the father and son heroes – set to appear later this month in BBC TV show Fightback Britain – picked-up Good Citizens Awards, whilst several West Midlands Police detectives were commended for their efforts in bringing the offenders to justice.
Martin – who helps research serious sex offence and domestic violence cases – said: “We acted instinctively…the lad was clearly petrified and asked for our help. They began scuffling with us but it wasn’t until later we realised he was lashing out with a knife, not just his fists.
“Edward was seriously hurt and needed emergency surgery and lengthy rehab in hospital – thankfully he made a full recovery, but we know it could have been much worse.
“We’re both really proud to have been given these awards and to have taken the stage alongside people who’ve been recognised for amazing feats of bravery.”
Following the stabbings, detectives carried out search warrants at more than 10 addresses linked to the 18-year-old and finally found him lying low at a house in Longbridge Lane.
A citation delivered during the presentation read: “The tenacity and relentless pursuit of the culprits led to their swift arrest…and the expertise and thoroughness of the officers’ interview secured full and frank admissions.”
The 18-year-old admitted two counts of wounding whilst the schoolboy admitted affray.
Read more:
Police seek witnesses as good samaritans seriously injured in stab attack
15 year old boy charged & new arrest as victim recounts events in West Heath stabbing
Teenagers sentenced for West Heath father & son stabbingSignup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world
The Coalition for Marriage is still calling for same-sex marriages to be voided in England and Wales.
The group, which failed to stop the introduction of marriages equality – is now trying to void the marriages of gay and lesbian couples who have already married.
Speaking at a C4M event, director Colin Hart said: “Parliament can change the law, but marriage remains in reality the union between one man and one woman. The Coalition for Marriage would like to repeal the law – that’s our aim, that’s our goal.
“In the meantime, there’s all the mess of the change that has happened.
“There are the issues now of people who believe in traditional marriage being punished for their beliefs.
“We must be campaigning for our liberties to be restored in the UK.”
Mr Hart continued: “True marriage is the greatest partnership in history. Time and again the evidence shows the evidence shows the benefits of marriage for children.
“For the sake of future generation, for the sake of freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, let’s fight for the freedom to believe in real marriage.”
The group’s spokesman Simon Calvert also hailed B&B owner Hazelmary Bull – who came to prominence when she turned away a gay couple – as an “inspiration”.
He said: “Hazelmary, thank you for your courage… You’re an inspiration you know, to a lot of people.”
UKIP MEP Jonathan Arnott also spoke at the event.The Disney-owned animation studio Pixar has taken the rare step of changing the plot of its forthcoming sequel to the 2003 blockbuster Finding Nemo, according to a New York Times report, following claims about a US marine park in the critically acclaimed Sundance documentary Blackfish.
Finding Dory will feature the voice of Ellen DeGeneres, reprising her award-winning role as the friendly but forgetful fish Dory from the first film. The original co-director Andrew Stanton is taking the reins once more, with the movie due in cinemas in 2015.
According to the New York Times, Finding Dory's screenplay features an ending involving a marine park. It is here that the storyline has been changed following claims made in Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, that SeaWorld, which has parks in Orlando, Florida, San Diego, California and San Antonio, Texas, was responsible for the deaths of three people, owing to its policy of keeping killer whales in captivity. It is understood that the new ending for Finding Dory retains the marine park, but makes it clear that the movie's aquatic heroes are free to leave at any time.
Blackfish, which was released in the US last month, centres on an orca named Tilikum which, it claims, has been involved in three fatalities since being captured in 1983 off the coast of Iceland. These include the death of animal trainer Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010 after she was pulled into a tank and mauled. SeaWorld has denied the accusations and accused Cowperthwaite of producing an "inaccurate" and "misleading" film which "exploits a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for Dawn Brancheau's family, friends and colleagues".
Finding Nemo took more than $800m (£516m) worldwide on its original release and was Pixar's highest-grossing film prior to Toy Story 3 in 2010.
Disney has made no public comment on the New York Times's claim about the forthcoming film's altered plotline.Rumors have been swirling that LG will get its first crack at a Nexus phone this year. If there's any merit to that claim, we might have just received an early peek. An XDA-Developers forum goer has posted a collection of photos for the E960, which appears to be a variant of the Optimus G -- until you realize that it's using software navigation keys, doesn't quite resemble the international or AT&T Optimus G models and is oddly badged as the "Full JellyBean on Mako." Given that Google likes to name its reference Android phones after fish, it doesn't take much to suspect that a device codenamed Mako is more likely to become a Nexus than an Optimus. The completely stock but unreleased Android 4.1.2 build of Jelly Bean certainly helps fuel the rumor mill. If the E960 does carry Google's honorific, though, some may be in for a disappointment knowing that the model that reached the FCC last week doesn't have LTE. We won't rule out that this is one of multiple Nexus variants, if it's a Nexus at all, but the 3G edition's filing hints that Google may not rock the boat for its 2012 flagship.
Update: More images have surfaced, this time with the anti-spy casing removed from the back of the phone. Click past the break for more.Veronica Drantz on the Biology of Gender, Intersex and Sexual Orientation.
In 26 concise minutes, Dr. Drantz an animal physiologist lays to waste social myths about gender and sexuality in all its variations with plenty of just good science. She pulls no punches in attacking both the religious and social misinformation and wrong attitudes toward LGBTI people and their conditions and behavior. If I could summarize, atypical is not abnormal and the variation in genetic and hormonal effects on the reproductive organs, body and especially brain during prenatal development that we observe in animals and humans are well described and understood in terms of biology and physiology.
The made up nonsense that the Conservative religions promote as explanations of LGBTI behavior are exposed. She also takes the medical community to task for moving much too slow away from the social attitudes towards LGBTI people that are primarily religion-promoted and have no basis in reality.
This is a classic example of the clash between scientific knowledge and religious claims. Religions are bastions of old ideas that must give way to new knowledge.
Information Kills Religion.
Thank you Dr. Drantz for providing a clear, concise summary of the reality of gender and sexual variance. If every high school kid in America was taught the biology of the prenatal development of sex and gender, the bullshit we hear repeated about “choice” and “sin” and the strict male/female dichotomy would disappear even quicker than it already is.
end religion now.
(1950)
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commentsMicrosoft and Salesforce.com today announced a strategic partnership that will bring the latter’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) apps to Windows, Windows Phone, and Office 365. Neither disclosed terms of the deal, so it’s not clear if any money is changing hands.
The two companies are planning to deliver Salesforce1 for Windows and Windows Phone 8.1 so that customers can access Salesforce and run their business from their Windows devices. A preview is slated for fall 2014 with general availability expected sometime in 2015.
The duo also hopes to release Salesforce for Office 365, though a timeline was not provided. The goal is to let customers access their content as well as collaborate, sell, service, and market from wherever they need. Plans include the ability to:
Access, share, edit and collaborate on Office content from within Salesforce and on Salesforce1 using Office Mobile, Office for iPad and Office 365.
Use OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online as integrated storage options for Salesforce.
Use Salesforce and Outlook together with a new Salesforce App for Outlook.
Connect Salesforce data to Excel and Power BI for Office 365 to visualize information and find new insights.
“We are excited to partner with salesforce.com and help customers thrive in a mobile and cloud-first world,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement. “Working together we’ll deliver new solutions that connect the customer insights of Salesforce to the cloud productivity of Office 365, the cloud platform of Azure and the mobility of Windows, so our customers can do more.”
This is a big change for the duo, given that Microsoft and Salesforce.com have been CRM competitors for years. In fact, Microsoft sued Salesforce for patent infringement in 2010, which led to a countersuit and an eventual settlement between the two later that year.
Salesforce.com chairman and CEO Marc Benioff alluded to the formerly strained relationship in his own statement: “Today is about putting the customer first. Together with Microsoft, we are building bridges that allow customers to be more productive.”
Bloomberg first reported on the partnership earlier today before it was confirmed in an announcement by the two companies.
Top Image Credit: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock
Read next: Pixar offers RenderMan free to non-commercial users and drops price to $495Mr. Angel sat next to me on the park bench. He is my best friend. I pointed to an old man that sat across from me.
“What’s he doing Mr. Angel?”
An unlit cigarette sat in the corner of the man’s mouth. His eyes were withered with age as he stared blankly at nothing. Mr. Angel leaned close to me as he whispered into my ear.
“He’s looking for a woman he lost a long time ago.”
He cooed. His words felt warm against my cheek as I smiled up at him. I liked his secrets; Mr. Angel knew everything.
“That’s really sad Mr. Angel,” I said. “Why don’t you help him?”
I couldn’t see it, since he didn’t have a mouth, but he was smiling. He got up and walked silently over to the old man and set a single bony finger in the center of his chest before he turned away and took his seat next to me. I tugged on the black shroud that he always wore.
“What’d you do, Mr. Angel?” I asked.
I could hear Mr. Angel sigh tiredly as he leaned against the scythe that he carried.
“I sent him back to his woman,” his voice rasped. “I took her a long time ago and she was getting very lonely.”
I looked at the old man. He was hunched over his legs as he clutched painfully at his heart. His face looked like it was clamped shut, and I could hear him wheeze as he fought for breath.
“Mr. Angel! What’d you do!” I cried, “That’s not helping him!”
But Mr. Angel sat silently as he watched the man suffer. I made tiny fists and tried to pound pathetically on his shoulders, but all I found was empty, cold air. A tear began to crawl down my cheek.
“Mr. Angel!” I screamed.
“Mr. Angel! Come back!”
The tears dripped below my eye as I buried my head into my lap and wept. I turned and looked at the old man’s body. It had gone stiff by now, but his face didn’t look like it was seized tight and shut. He wasn’t desperately clutching at his chest; he was lying on his back with his hands set neatly against his heart. His face looked relieved, calm. Content.
I slid off the park bench and got on my hands and knees. Any moment now that old cadaver would spring up and laugh in my face. I wanted to think it was some kind of horrible joke. I wish someone was laughing, but all I heard was the peace that follows after something has moved on. I loomed over the body as a tear drop landed on its skin. I didn’t know what to do.
“Please…” I pleaded, “get up!”
“Please! Get up!” I shook its shoulder. Nothing.
“Get up!” I rested my palm alongside the man’s hands. Nothing. No heartbeat.
“The old man is where he should be now,” I heard an old voice coo beside me. “He’s happy.” His words whistled against my skin.
I looked behind me. Mr. Angel was watching from the park bench.
“You killed him!” I screamed.
My breathing was haggard. The feeling in my legs was disappearing. Mr. Angel got up from the parking bench and walked over me. He knelt down and I could feel his shroud move over me in a warm embrace. I looked up and Mr. Angel’s blank face stared pleasantly down at me. He gripped his scythe with one hand and with the other hand he set it against my shoulder. I couldn’t see it, but I could tell he was smiling.
“Death,” I said to him.
My voice was still hoarse as I choked down a few tears.
“Did you really help him?”
Death looked at me and leaned close.
“My dear little one,” he whispered softly,
“Death can be many things.
Death can be hard. Death can be painful.
Death will someday be at your heels.
But never forget,
The best thing to do when Death greets you is embrace him as a friend.”
He pulled me closer to him. I could feel his shroud slowly wrap around me. It felt warm and cozy. It was good to be close to Death.
“Now don’t call me Death. I’m an angel, remember?” I laughed at him and wiped a tear away.
“Because you bring people to heaven, right?”
He could only nod.
“Mr. Angel,” I said to him. “You’re my best friend, right?”
My breathing stopped. His smile was gone and the shroud felt cold as it caressed my skin.
“Yes,” Death rasped, “I’m your best friend.”The former manager of a Children's Lighthouse Learning Center on Clay Road in Katy claims she was fired because she refused to recognize a transgender student.At a news conference, Madeline Kirksey and her former co-worker Akesha Wyatt stood with their attorneys, saying they're filing EEOC complaints.Kirksey claims the child's parents decided their six-year-old child was now a boy instead of a girl. She claims the parents cut the child's hair, changed the child's name and asked the school to respect their decision.Kirksey says she was unable to give her approval to the change in gender identity because of her religious beliefs and was promptly fired."At her age she was indecisive, some days she wanted to be a girl, some days she wanted to be a boy, it was according to what situation she got in that day," said Kirksey.Kirksey now plans to take legal action against the daycare center."Madeline has paid the price for standing her ground in defense of all her children at Children's Lighthouse," her attorney, Andy Taylor, said in a statement. "This has gotten out of control and now this dedicated experienced child care worker has been wrongfully terminated. That will not stand."Eyewitness News has reached out to Children's Lighthouse Learning Centers, and they referred us to their corporate office.The spokesperson, Jamie Izaks, said the company could not comment on this specific case, citing student privacy. He maintains that the company looks out for the welfare of students and staff, and did not discriminate against the teachers in their firings.WASHINGTON (ISNS)? Astrophysicsdeals mostly with thingsthat are so distant? thousands or billions of light years away?that wecan't ever hope to see them up close. But clever scientists can do thenextbest thing to making a light-year journey; they can recreate some ofthecelestial occurrences in a lab. In effect, they can bring parts of thesky downhere to earth.
That's what physicists in Italy havedone. Using nothingmore than lasers, a sample of pure glass, and sensitive detectors theyhave createda miniature environment that mimics theconditions of a black hole.
Blackholes and pure glass
Black holes, whose existence is nowuniversally accepted byastronomers, are thought to be the remnant of celestial objects such asstarsor galaxies that have collapsed under the strength of their owngravity.Encapsulating a volume of space much smaller than the original object,a blackhole bends space and time so drastically that nothing can escape, notevenlight, once it passes inside a hypothetical boundary known as the"eventhorizon."
Something analogous to thegravitational warping of spacecan be achieved in terms of light waves. A collaboration of physicistsfromseveral Italian institutions sent laser light into a crystal of veryclearglass. Normally the light passes right through. However, if theintensity ofthe light passes a certain level, then the atoms that make up the glassmaterial are wrenched slightly out of position. This in turn alters thematerial's index of refraction, the parameter that tells you the anglelightcan be deflected when it passes from that material into air.
The change in the refraction indexoccurs in lockstep withthe laser pulse as it passes through the glass. The resulting movingdisturbance is referred to as RIP, the refractive index perturbation.The RIPhappens not because of the energy of the laser pulse, and not evenbecause ofthe size of the change in the refractive index (which is less than 1percent),but because of the quickness of the change, occurring over merepicoseconds(trillionths of a second).
Escapinga black hole
Proposed in 1974by British physicistStephen Hawking, theradiation that bears his name? Hawking radiation? overturned theconceptthat black holes are inescapable. Until then black holes were thoughtto be aone-way-only phenomenon, in which light, comets, spacecraft? anyconceivableobject? might enter a black hole but would never come out. Hawkingallowedthat the intruding object would indeed never re-emerge. In fact, itwould betorn apart by the powerful gravity tides inside the hole.
But the very violence of a black holemight, Hawking said,allow for some energy to escape from the black hole. He counted on thefactthat the vacuum of space, including even the space inside a black hole,isteeming with virtual particles, courtesy of the concept of quantumweirdness.The fuzzy nature of quantum reality allows particle-antiparticle pairsto comeinto existence out of the vacuum. These pairs normally disappearquickly backinto the nothingness, never to be seen.
However, Hawking foresaw that in thevicinity of the eventhorizon the density of energy was so great that occasionally thesurplus energycould convert the evanescent pair of particles into real particles.This isalso the way particles are created out of the vacuum at the collisionpoint athuge particle accelerators. If the pair had been born right at theeventhorizon, the point of no return, then one of the particles might escapefromthe black hole while its mate would remain trapped behind.
In this way the black hole couldactually emit a form ofradiation in the form of those unpaired, just-created-out-of-the-vacuumparticles.This stream of particles is now called Hawking radiation, and it playsaprominent part in the study of how the universe behaves over long timeperiods.But black holes are elusive. They can't be seen directly and theirexistence isinferred only through their effect on surrounding space. No actualHawkingradiation has been seen.
Stoppinglight in the lab
What the Italian physicists have madewith their laserdisturbance moving through glass is a tiny zone where (at least amidthedisturbance itself) light cannot move forward, which is just thesituation atthe event horizon of a black hole.
From the perspective of the RIP?consider, for the moment,the disturbance zipping through the glass to be a sort of physicalthing all byitself? the contention between the light and the local perturbationin theglass causes the light to come to a standstill. This is just whathappens atthe event horizon of a black hole.
In one case the progress of light isfrustrated by theimmense warping of space by gravity, in the other the progress of lightisfrustrated by the warping of the optical environment in the glass.
What happens in the glass is whathappens in the black hole:the vacuum will sprout virtual particle pairs, in this case pairs ofparcels oflight, or photons. However, in the high-energy environment of theartificialevent-horizon, some of the virtual photons will be converted into realphotons.
And indeed the INFN scientists seelight coming out of theirglass sample. But is this truly Hawking radiation made in the wrenchingpulsewithin the laser disturbance, in analogy to light emitted from blackholes, orcould it be coming from somewhere else?
The leader of the Italian team ofresearchers, DanieleFaccio, who works at Insubria University in Como, Italy (where theresearch wasdone), said that all other known origins of the light can be ruled out.Thecareful tuning of the laser pulse precludes the light having beenabsorbed bythe atoms in the crystal sample, he said. The use of anoriented laserpulse also rules out the idea that the Hawking radiation observed tothe sideof the glass could be light scattered from the laser beam.
The idea of creating Hawkingradiation with an artificialevent horizon inside a solid material was proposed two years ago by ateam ofU.K. scientists from The University of St. Andrews, writing in ScienceMagazine. One of the authors of that paper, Ulf Leonhardt,said that thenew Italian results are extremely important.
"Their experiment is the very firstobservation ofHawking radiation? I salute them," Leonhardt said.
Leonhardt's group is attempting tocreate an artificialevent horizon inside an optical fiber rather than in a bulk piece ofglass. Hebelieves this general line of research is important since it combinesthe studyof astrophysics, quantum science, and thermodynamics (the science ofenergy).Leonhardt said that it might be possible to test theories? likestring theory? that combine gravity and quantum behavior.
The new Italian experimental resultswill soon be reportedon in the journal Physical Review Letters.
According to Faccio, the creation ofHawking radiation in aterrestrial lab will not lead to direct modeling of celestial objectslikeblack holes. But he does suggest that an artificial event horizon inthe labmight be useful for other things.
"We can now study and test some veryexotic andexciting things," Faccio said. "We can combine black hole and whitehole (a black hole in which time goes backward, and into which lightmay notenter, but only exit) horizons to create a black hole laser, one inwhich lightbounces back and forth between the horizons, each time amplifying lightenergyjust as in a laser."On October 6, a narrowly foiled terror plot failed to capture national media coverage despite the attack’s clear intent to kill innocent Americans. According to reports, the alleged perpetrator, 46-year-old Michael Christopher Estes, planted in the Asheville Regional Airport an improvised explosive device — which was later rendered safe by bomb technicians from the local police department, several minutes after it was scheduled to detonate. The bomb, filled with shrapnel, was reportedly part of Estes’ plan to “fight a war on U.S. soil” of which the bomb was but the first blow. Estes waived his Miranda rights and admitted his guilt in front a federal judge this past Tuesday.
Though the story was largely ignored by corporate media for much of the past week, it gained renewed attention following an article written by Shaun King and published in the Intercept. In the article, King argues that the lack of attention given to the terror plot was due to the fact that Estes is a white man. King may have been on the right track. Certainly |
. Talk about a dream job: The Cleveland Browns will pay Brock Osweiler almost $900,000 to play for the Denver Broncos this weekend. Thanks to his $16 million salary the Browns took on in order to get the Houston Texans' second-round pick in the 2018 draft, Osweiler is making almost a cool million per week to play for another team.
2. Stick to Football Episode 30 is ready for download—and if you haven't already, go ahead and subscribe and leave a five-star review!
This week, Connor and I are joined by Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey to discuss Call of Duty, his acclimation to the NFL and what Cam Newton is like behind the scenes. We also break down the trade deadline and how that affects each team's draft needs. To close it all out, we take your fan questions in our "Draft on Draft" segment with our intern, Kennedy.
1. If you're a fan of the podcast, we have good news for you: Stick to Football is expanding to two shows per week with Stick to Football Fridays launching later today. The shows will be a little shorter and there won't be a guest, but co-host Marshal Miller and I will give you more NFL draft news and notes with players to watch in the Saturday games each Friday.
Matt Miller covers the NFL and NFL draft for Bleacher Report.Tories criticised for making empty threats to Network Rail over extended closures for engineering works, having attacked Christmas closures when in opposition
The Conservatives have been accused of hypocrisy for allowing another Boxing Day rail shutdown after attacking the Christmas closures when in opposition.
The shutdown of rail services across most of the country, forcing holidaymakers on to congested roads, comes ahead of another year of rail fare rises due to come into force on 2 January, when the price of regulated tickets will go up by 1%.
Most operators will be running no services on Boxing Day, with the rest running a reduced service.
Engineering works also mean there are some extended closures over the whole Christmas period, with no Gatwick Express services running for 10 days and Heathrow Express shutting for four days because of Crossrail works.
Christmas travellers told to expect road and rail delays across England Read more
Ministers will be anxious to avoid a repeat of last year’s protracted rail disruption after holiday engineering works overran, causing misery for passengers especially at London Bridge and Finsbury Park.
Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, recently threatened “dire consequences” if Network Rail allows the same to happen again. But Labour said ministers have no effective sanctions – such as the ability to fine the company – other than the power to sack its new chairman Sir Peter Hendy, who only took the role earlier this year.
A determination over whether Network Rail’s licence has been breached, and a decision on whether to impose fines, is taken by the independent Office of Rail and Road.
Lilian Greenwood, the shadow transport secretary, criticised McLoughlin for making empty threats about consequences when he had known for months that there was a possibility that the works would overrun.
“Network Rail is attempting an even more ambitious programme of works than in 2014 even after last year’s chaos at Finsbury Park and London Bridge, and it’s difficult to believe that the transport secretary has only just been made aware of the issue,” she said. “Instead of sabre-rattling he should heed the regulator’s warnings and address the growing safety concerns on our railways.”
In opposition in 2009, the then Tory shadow rail minister Stephen Hammond said Boxing Day could hardly be seen as a quiet period for travel and called for engineering works to be shifted to another time.
Jon Ashworth, a shadow minister without portfolio, said: “In opposition the Tories attacked the Boxing Day rail shutdown. They’ve now had more than five years to do something about it but haven’t. Their lack of action, even despite the chaos of last year, gives the impression they don’t really care about it at all. The Tory hypocrisy on this issue is astounding.”
On Christmas Eve, Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne said he was “acutely conscious” that people wanted to travel by train to see their families.
“Passengers have shown themselves to be incredibly understanding of planned improvement work and I’d like to thank them in advance for their support and understanding as we deliver the big improvements that the travelling public want to see.”
Claire Perry, the rail minister, said: “Network Rail and the operators are delivering essential improvements to the rail network over the Christmas period.
“I expect people working across the whole industry, both at Network Rail and train operators, to ensure that such works are properly planned and any impacts to services are communicated to passengers.”
The Department for Transport estimates that passenger numbers are down by 50% over Christmas, making it the most practical time of year to do engineering works.
Responding to Labour’s charge of hypocrisy, a source close to McLoughlin said: “Unlike when Labour were in power, we are delivering the largest programme of rail upgrades since the Victorian era, which will benefit passengers in the long-term.”3D-printer torture tests being all the rage, I decided to test overhanging features (35° angle from the horizontal) in combination with a tightly turning (35 mm diameter) torus on top.
A simple instruction to how I made it is included.
I think my Zortrax M200 did well, but there is a ripple effect visible on the underside that I don't know the cause of, and the bridging of the curve was (of course) impossible... ;)
Edit: the first STL file was incorrectly positioned, uploaded a new file with the Z axis pointing UP... Both files are otherwise identical!
Edit2: Added two closeups of the wavy undersides, one from the Helical Horror, and another from a lattice cube with the same dimensions, but with straight lines instead of curves! The waves are less pronounced in the lattice cube, but they are still there. X-Y resolution issues? Resonance?
Edit3: Added a final photo, printed the object at 0.09mm layer height, and resized to 200%. The wavy pattern is almost invisible, and the only flaw is the beginnings of a slight drip beneath the overhanging parts, but that is easily removed with some sandpaper.Amanda Who-nes?
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) color commentator Joe Rogan, like a majority of hardcore mixed martial arts (MMA) fans, will be tuning in for the upcoming UFC 207 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Dec. 30, 2016, inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
That’s because former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (12-1), still considered to the the biggest name in UFC (sorry, Conor), will make her first appearance since Holly Holm stiffened her at UFC 193 in Australia.
Naturally, you can’t have a cage fight without an opponent, but the promotion can’t be bothered with Brazilian champion Amanda Nunes (13-4) because this is show business and “Rowdy” moves the proverbial needle.
Much to the chagrin of purists like Rogan.
“I find it extremely bizarre that all these UFC 207 promos only focus on Ronda and very little about the champion,” Rogan wrote on Twitter. “Ronda deserved every bit of hype she got, but Holly KO'ed her, Miesha choked out Holly, and Amanda smashed Miesha. That should be respected.”
Respect? As if!
Nunes was already ranked in the top five of the division when Rousey entered the Octagon to fight Holm in late 2015; however, “Lioness” -- along with the rest of the bantamweights — were treated like props in the shadow of the Olympian.
But you meet the same people on the way down who you met on the way up.
The soft-spoken Brazilian went on a four-fight tear, which included three violent finishes, and usurped the throne from “Cupcake” Tate earlier this summer. Since then, we haven’t really heard much from UFC in terms of promotion.
Bizarre... or business as usual?SAO PAULO – Two days away from her UFC Fight Night 100 appointment, onetime title challenger Claudia Gadelha celebrated the best weight cut of her life with only 4.5 pounds to go.
But that’s not the only way in which she felt lighter. Unlike what happened in the drama-filled lead-up to her last scrap, a five-round title affair against strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk, she could actually rest easy this time without having to engage in verbal wars.
“I know that today you have to talk, you have to promote your fight,” Gadelha told MMAjunkie. “But I grew up in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu philosophy. I learned to respect my opponent, their trainers and everybody. I’m not that kind of person. It’s just not inside me. Even though now I know I have to talk (expletive) to make money, I’m not going to do it because it’s not me. So I feel better that way.
“I could sleep well every night of my fight camp and not worry about what she was talking about me. Joanna really made me angry a lot of times during camp, during ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ (the two were coaches on the 23d season of the show), so now I feel much better about that too.”
Gadelha (13-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) had already discussed the major changes made in her camp for Cortney Casey (6-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) – her first in the U.S. But while she’s more than happy to be training under Chris Luttrell and Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, N.M., the former Nova Uniao staple is not fighting under any banners.
“I’m training with them, and I’m learning with them,” Gadelha said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. Jair (Lourenco, head of Kimura Nova Uniao, the team’s branch in Natal) is going to America as well, and I’ve been training with him since I was a little girl.
“So, I really enjoy training with them. Chris Luttrell is one of the best coaches I’ve met in my life, and I want to be between them. I want to have them in my team and have my own team instead of defending another team.”
Gadelha and Casey meet on the FS1-televised main card portion of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 100 event, which takes place at at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo. Early prelims stream on UFC Fight Pass.
As happy as she is with the training conditions, Gadelha is still not committing to a full-time life abroad. Sporting a Brazilian flag on her sidecut, the 115-pounder said she plans to go back to her home country – though, for the time being, mostly for vacations.
As for the more immediate future, the No. 2 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s strawweight rankings doesn’t seem all that preoccupied with the unranked Casey, who wasn’t her first, second or third choice on a hit list led by former champ Carla Esparza.
While the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt takes Casey’s size and strength into account, she simply feels too good about her own preparation.
“She’s tall and heavy, and she uses that to bully her opponents,” Gadelha said. “She’s very strong. She has good jiu-jitsu and fast hands, but nothing fantastic. She’s good at every little thing but not fantastic in anything.
“I think she’s going to try to use her weight, her range, her size to make me tired, to make me fight stepping back the whole time. But I’m faster, stronger. Even though I’m lighter now, I feel like I’m stronger, healthier, and I’m ready to go. You’re going to see Claudia fighting forward the whole time.”
Thinking further down the road, Gadelha knows she’s in a tough spot. Having fought and lost to the current champ twice – in spite of disagreeing firmly with the result of the first one – she is trying not to fuss too much about title shots for now.
“For sure I want to fight for the belt,” Gadelha said. “For sure I want to be the champion. That’s why we’re fighting. I’m not there to be only one more fighter. I’m there to be at the top of the division, and I want to be the champion.
“But Joanna is there. I fought her twice. The first fight everybody knows (what happened). I don’t even need to talk about that. But I lost the first fight, and I think the best thing for me now would be seeing someone beating her and fight that person.
“But I’m thinking about my next opponent, and after that fight, I want to fight Carla, and I’m concentrating on these things now.”
Check out the full video above.
And for more on UFC Fight Night 100, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.A leading adviser to the Baird government's proposed changes to native vegetation laws has quit in protest, warning the plans could lead to a doubling of broadscale land clearing in the state.
Hugh Possingham, a Queensland University conservation biologist, submitted his resignation letter to Premier Mike Baird and key ministers, saying his advice and those from a panel he had sat on were being ignored.
Instead of improving the existing legislation, the new biodiversity conservation package due to be put to Parliament as soon as next week will enable farmers to clear hundreds of hectares a property without having to find equivalent areas of offsets to preserve biodiversity under so-called "equity codes".
"It's not what we agreed to," Professor Possingham told Fairfax Media. "If you increase the quantity and quality of land clearing, you increase the chances of extinction."It’s January and some of the seed catalogs have already arrived! It’s time to get down, and I mean DOWN, and plan the garden for planting this spring. Usually, when the catalogs arrive I snatch them out of my husband’s hands, grab a sheet of paper and a pencil and bolt for the bedroom and lock the door. Don’t bother me when I’m planning the tomato garden! The garden is mine, all mine! I can survive this rotten winter planning the garden and looking at pretty pictures of all the varieties. Especially when Plan A is going to be getting back to the Wall ‘O Waters this spring for 6 of my tomatoes. They can be planted in April! Which means it’s just about time to start the seeds! I used Wall O’Waters for years out in the country and got beautiful ripe tomatoes by July 4th. But that was before I moved to the city and was introduced to…..
VAMPIRE SQUIRRELS
Never, NEVER have I had to deal with creatures such as these. When I lived way out in New Salem, dealing with woodchucks that lived only 25 feet from my garden was not a biggie. They’d come out and rummage around in the grass chomping away and I’d surprise them once in awhile. “RUN AWAY! SHE’S BACK! RUN!” They never touched my garden. Skunks. Deer. Lots of deer. There were wire cages around my tomatoes, but no protection anywhere else and they were, “Eh. We’ve got enough to eat.” Porcupines. Ok, once in awhile a bird would poke a beak into one of my tomatoes and they would eat all my blueberries overnight (birds do that) but not my cherries (don’t know why birds do that, but one morning I watched a coyote fill his belly with cherries that had dropped) but we lived in harmony. Everyday, standing on the front porch from spring to fall, I’d see Turkey Mom (who never bothered ANYTHING) crossing the front of our property near the old apple tree with her 7 turkey cutlets and not losing a single baby to the vicious coyotes that prowled our property. And she didn’t even care that I was strolling around. That’s respect, man! The turkey never yelled: RUN AWAY!
Turkey Mom: Hey.
Me: Hey. How ya doin’?
Turkey: These kids of mine are a pain in the neck, but you’ve gotta get them into a routine, ya know?
Me: Tell me about it. At least your kids won’t ask for a college fund.
Turkey: LOL!!! See ya!
Me: See ya!
Cutlet: When are we going to get there, Mom?
Turkey: You ask me that one more time…
So, leaving the quiet of the country for a neighborhood in the city, I though gardening would be a breeze! Until I ran into:
VAMPIRE AND JEDI SQUIRRELS!
They not only eat everything in site, they’re little criminals. Members of some inner city rodent gang who bring terror into the heart of every other animal in the city. Including Rottweilers, Pit Bulls and Mastiff’s. They knocked over every plant on our back porch ledge because they thought it was FUNNY. I put the cages up around the tomato plants but they just ran up to the top and jumped inside, eating their way down and back up. ” Time to go! Here she comes! Ha ha ha! B __ch!” They ate tomatoes while they were green and would toss them like baseballs. “Yuck. This one sucks. Maybe the next one will taste better! Nope! Hey, what about this one…”
I had to resort to covering the tops of the cages with chicken wire and could see them huddled on the top of the fence giving me dirty looks, chattering with their trash talk, flipping me the bird. I can no longer have Topsy Turvy’s, because they used them for a squirrel carnival ride while they were eating the tomatoes that grew on them.
I am going to defeat them this season! Even if I have to sit out all night with a gong to keep them and the occasional possum away. Hmmm, the neighbors might not like that…
Back to that Jung’s Seed Catalog! Ooooh, the Burpee’s catalog arrived, too!The press, the public and democracy itself have always relied on people of conscience speaking out as witnesses of corruption, misconduct and the abuse of power. The whistleblower’s vital role is even protected by federal law. But the Obama administration has been waging what filmmaker Robert Greenwald calls a “war on whistleblowers,” particularly those accused of exposing information related to national security. His new film “War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State,” tells the story of four government employees who, in the post 9/11 era, spoke out against official wrongdoing and paid a heavy price. We caught up with Greenwald to learn more.
First, watch the trailer:
Lauren Feeney: Introduce us to the whistleblowers featured in your film.
Robert Greenwald: The first is Franz Gayl, an amazing American hero who spoke up, took on the military industrial complex and was responsible for saving many, many lives by forcing the institutions to introduce the MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle) in Iraq instead of what they had previously been using. By the soldiers’ admission and by quite a few others, this was literally a lifesaver of enormous importance.
The second whistleblower is Michael DeKort, who discovered that radios being put on Coast Guard boats were not waterproof, which is really hard to even believe.
The third whistleblower is Thomas Drake, who spoke out loudly about the fact that our phones were being tapped, and that there was surveillance software available that could have done a better job, a legal job, and a more inexpensive job that was not used because of a competing project. He was accused and cited under the Espionage Act.
And the fourth case is Tom Tamm, whose revelations were part of what led to the original New York Times story about the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping. He had worked for the FBI, and his father had worked there, and he lost his job and paid a tremendous price for speaking up.
Feeney: You call this a “war on whistleblowers.” Why the crackdown?
Greenwald: The national security state — the ideologies and institutions created by the 1947 National Security Act, like the CIA and the National Security Council — believes in all secrets, all the time, and is leading the charge for silence. It is important that the administration and citizens resist this pressure. The crackdown on the national security whistleblowers by the Obama administration is a cause of great concern and unhappiness for whistleblowers, reporters and transparency experts.
Feeney: What effect does this “war on whistleblowers” on our democracy?
Greenwald: The effect of silence and secrets is devastating. Think of all the important stories and issues that have been exposed only because of whistleblowers. We must fight hard to make sure that tradition is upheld. Our action guide tells you what you can do to protect whistleblowers and investigative reporters.
Robert Greenwald is an activist and filmmaker whose documentaries include Uncovered: The War on Iraq, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism and Koch Brothers Exposed.Earlier in 2013 I happened upon Garden of Eden, an exquisite parcel created by Liara Okiddo. Just 8192 sq m in size, the parcel was a veritable tour de force of design and presentation, demonstrating just what could be achieved in a small space, given a keen eye and patience.
Garden of Eden is now sadly gone; not because Liara has moved from Second Life, but because she and her partner Lucy have moved to a Homestead region, where they’ve been establishing a new home and new art studio and gallery.
Liara kindly offered me a preview look at Isla Okiddo ahead of the formal opening, and while real life prevented me from being able to take up the offer when first extended, I’m pleased to say that Liara kept the invitation open, and it was my privilege recently to have a tour of the island and spend time photographing it, and I can say hand-on-heart, that it is an incredible build.
As Isla Okiddo is not yet open, I’m not providing a SLurl here; I’m saving that for when I can fully review it. However, those wishing to show their interest in seeing the island Liara has established a unique way for them to do so via another build.
As well as working on Isla Okiddo, Liara has also been developing a small airport. As with Garden of Eden, it is once again a very creative use of space, buildings, and windlight. Should you visit it, I really do recommend you accept the parcel windlight to experience the setting as intended. Liara has put considerable effort in bring the scene together, and the selected windlight really brings the setting to life.
Here you can enjoy a period setting, with a silver Douglas DC-3 sitting on the tarmac in the early morning light, waiting for the inaugural flight to Isla Okiddo. This is to be a first class flight, as the champagne on ice alongside the steps up into the plane demonstrates. Alongside the champers sits a guest book where those wishing to join the flight – registering their interest in seeing Isla Okiddo – can do so.
The airfield offers an excellent location for those wanting something a little different as a backdrop for their photoshoots – just make sure you drop word to Liara about your intent beforehand and make sure she’s OK with things.
I’ll be bringing more news on Isla Okiddo in the future; in the meantime, and rather than my usual Flickr slide show, here’s a little preview video I put together to help whet your appetite.
Related Links
AdvertisementsGoogle promised to deliver something spectacular on the second day of the Google I/O conference, and they did not disappoint. Google has just announced Google Wave, a new in-browser communication and collaboration tool that is already being hailed by some as the next evolution of email. Yes, Google Wave is potentially that disruptive.
Created by two of the guys behind Google Maps with a small team in Sydney, the concept behind Google Wave is to "unify" communication on the web. It's a hybrid of email, web chat, IM, and project management software. It features the ability to replay conversations because it records the entire sequence of communication, character by character. Because of this, discussions are also live in Google Wave: you will see your friends type character-by-character.
The features don't stop there, either. Google Wave also supports the ability to drag attachments from your desktop into Google Wave. It loads that file and sends it immediately to anyone in the conversation. It's also embeddable, so you can embed Google Wave conversations on any blog.
As you can see, it looks very similar to a Gmail inbox, except it's more focused on your contacts, whose faces you can see in your contacts sidebar on the left. As for conversations, well, it's a bit different than anything we've seen before. You can reply and add your thoughts anywhere within a message. Communication within Google Wave is completely shared.
The key to it all is the faster line of communication. Attaching documents, like you do in email, is unnecessary in Google Wave. Real-time conversations and collaboration make it an ideal tool for business teams as well. Imagine an entire office having Google Wave open to quickly share and receive files. It combines some of people's favorite aspects of many different web communication tools.
You're going to have to wait a while though: Google Wave will not be available to the public until later this year. Right now it's only available to a select group of developers, who will be able to create their own Wave servers. It's also an open-source project with a lot of API integrations, so we can expect a lot of user-driven innovations and extensions for the platform as well.
So, back to the big question: could Google Wave really redefine web communication? Clearly it's too early to tell, but we're already very impressed with the client and its potential. We'll be testing out its sandbox soon and giving you our assessment, as well as updating you with any more information coming out of Google I/O today.Hackers last year made more than 90 billion cyber intrusion attempts against the Commonwealth, according to a state official. As a security precaution the state is withholding information on the number of attempts against specific applications.
Wanda Murren, press secretary for the state Department of State, said that such disclosure could potentially provide useful information to hackers and draw attention to the application, resulting in even more intrusion attempts.
"As for our efforts to guard against hacking, like other mission-critical systems and data, Pennsylvania protects its voter registration system with a cybersecurity program based upon industry best practices and careful protection," Murren explained in an email to PennLive.
The 90 billion figure applies to all computer systems and applications in use by all Commonwealth agencies and offices. But the accounting comes as local and state election systems across the country remain under scrutiny amid reports that scores of them were compromised during the election.
The state Department of State declined to provide specific numbers on intrusion attempts against Pennsylvania's voter registration system.
The Hill last week reported that hackers had made nearly 150,000 attempts to break into South Carolina's voter registration system on Election Day 2016. The Hill's report was based on information from South Carolina's election commission.
Pennsylvania election officials have no evidence of Election Day interference -- from Russia or elsewhere -- with the state's voting system, which include about 25,000 voting machines.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Russian hackers targeted 21 U.S. states' election systems in last year's presidential race. News media reports have suggested the number could have been more extensive. In at least one case, hackers made a successful attempt to alter voter information, Time reported in June. Thousands of voter records containing private information, including Social Security numbers, were stolen, Time reported.
The hacking integrity of states election systems remain under review across the country amid a probe that President Trump's campaign had ties to Russia propaganda efforts.
Officials have not identified specific states targeted; nor do they have evidence that any actual votes were manipulated.
Murren said Pennsylvania has implemented policies, technologies, practices and procedures to safeguard data and protect applications, systems and resources. The state Chief Information Security Officer works closely with federal counterparts at the Department of Homeland Security, she added.
"We constantly monitor our data and systems for vulnerabilities and attempted attacks in order to keep pace with the rapidly evolving threat landscape," she said.
Cyber intrusion attacks run the gamut and may include passive attacks, meaning information is monitored (such as eavesdropping), or active, meaning information is altered, corrupted or destroyed.
In the run-up to last fall's election, Pennsylvania was the first state to take advantage of Homeland Security's offer to do vulnerability testing and scanning, Murren said. That assessment gave the Commonwealth high grades overall. Some minor changes that were recommended were put in place.
State officials also work closely with county election offices to develop and implement best practices, Murren added.
The state Department of State, which oversees elections, issued a directive to counties in 2016 reiterating good cyber-hygiene practices for elections.
Pennsylvania is considered one of the states most susceptible to hacking because 96 percent of its voting machines store votes electronically. Still, state officials consider the state immune from hacking because its voting machines and tabulating systems aren't connected to the internet.
Editor's Note: This story has been clarified to underscore that the number represents hacking attempts across all state systems and applications. The Department of State declined to provide specific numbers on intrusions against voting systems.The beauty queens with the highest number of votes in the competition held in Las Vegas will receive a guaranteed spot in the Top 12.
Anyone who wants to vote for Mareeya, a 25-year-old half-Thai, half-Swedish model, can cast their ballot by visiting vote.missuniverse.com. You will need to log in using Facebook, Twitter or email authentication, and follow the voting instructions. There is a limit of 10 votes per account per day via this method during the voting period.
A second voting approach is via Twitter by submitting a tweet or a retweet with #MissUniverse and a contestant-specific hashtag announced on the website. For Mareeya, the tweet could be something like: “I support Mareeya to be Miss Universe 2017 #MissUniverse #Thailand.”
Miss Universe 2017’s Facebook page said that only the votes that complied with the instructions and rules, and were within the proper voting period, would be counted.
Tweets must not contain subject matter that is sexually explicit, obscene, pornographic, violent, discriminatory, illegal, offensive, threatening, profane or harassing.
Mareeya wore a specially designed Thai outfit under the theme “Making of the Chasing of Light” at the national costume competition on Saturday at the Planet Hollywood Mezzanine in Las Vegas. The costume, designed by Prapakas Angsusingha, won applause from both Thais and foreigners at the event.
The inspiration for the costume came from a Thai native tale about the origins of lightning and thunder from a story in the epic poem, Ramayana. According to the story, Mekhala, the goddess of lightning who had a magic crystal, accidentally met the Giant Ramasoon, or god of thunder. She refused to give him the magic crystal and he became angry.
Mekhala wanted to tease him by soaring into the air, tempting him to follow her. During the chase, the crystal shone and caused lightning. When the giant threw his diamond hammer at her, it caused thunder.
There are two figures incorporated in the costume. Mekhala is a puppet, while Mareeya is Ramasoon in the costume. The costume is in a modern Thai style.
You will be able to watch a broadcast of the official national costume contest on facebook.com/MissUniverse/ and on YouTube next Sunday, November 26 at 9am, Thailand time.The fifth installment of d10e returns to San Francisco for a two-day event, July 19-20, which will feature a star-studded cast of keynote speakers, including Andreas Antonopoulos.
Andreas Antonopoulos is a computer security and Bitcoin expert who has advised hundreds of organizations on emerging technologies and trends for over two decades.
First of its kind
D10e, a numeronym for decentralization, is composed of members mostly based in the United States, distributed from the east to west coast. Led by CEO Tiffany Madison, d10e originated as Coin Congress. D10e launched two successful 2014 events in Singapore and San Francisco which included 60 top professionals and 400+ attendees representing 200 companies.
July’s conference is claimed to be the first ever Blockchain-related event to be streamed live globally, in virtual reality (VR). The industrial-grade VR camera and unique VR live streaming service is being brought to d10e by Shanghai Blockchain Network Technology Co. Ltd and their strategic business partners in North America, Time Technologies (Canada) Ltd. and The Vanbex Group.
Major players
Time Technologies will also have a special VR corner where attendees will be able to view and use the emerging technology of live streaming.
The role of The Vanbex Group at this event will be to provide communications, public relations and strategic services to d10e to help deliver an unprecedented, exclusive and intimate exploration of the hottest developments in decentralization.
Kevin Hobbs, director at Vanbex Group, says:
“We are very excited to be part of d10e and to introduce an evolution in conferencing with virtual reality technology. The prospect of globalizing d10e, opening accessibility to the widest parameters... technologically, is great for business and for general interest.”
Vanbex Group CEO Lisa Cheng will also take to the stage at d10e. Cheng specializes in advising emerging tech startups. She is an expert in business development and product strategy with experience which includes Fortune 500 companies, enterprise sales, big data, and SaaS applications.
Cheng says about the conference:
“D10e is an event like none other because of its expansive inclusion on the latest technologies in Bitcoin, Blockchain, and decentralization in general. Having attended events around the world, d10e still stands out as something exceptional, the energy, the buzz, everything.”
Further rounding out the growing list of speakers is managing partner at Blockchain Capital, Brock Pierce, who will speak on the future of Blockchain technologies and how they relate to decentralization.WASHINGTON — While still more than a year away from a flyby of a distant object in the solar system’s Kuiper Belt, the team running NASA’s New Horizons mission is already looking ahead to future extended missions that could include another flyby.
In a Sept. 6 presentation to the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) in La Jolla, California, Alan Stern, principal investigator on the New Horizons mission, said there was a “fighting chance” the spacecraft would be able to fly past another object in the Kuiper Belt.
New Horizons, which completed its primary mission with the July 2015 flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto, is currently on an extended mission that will take the spacecraft past a small Kuiper Belt object known as 2014 MU69 on New Year’s Day 2019. That flyby is part of an extended mission, lasting until 2021, that NASA approved in 2016 as part of the most recent senior review of planetary science missions.
Stern announced at the OPAG meeting that the flyby of 2014 MU69 will take the spacecraft much closer to the object than the 2015 flyby of Pluto: on the spacecraft’s nominal trajectory, New Horizons will come to within 3,500 kilometers of the object, compared to 12,500 kilometers for the Pluto flyby. An alternate trajectory would bring the spacecraft no closer than 10,000 kilometers to 2014 MU69 should future observations detect evidence of a debris field or other hazards in the vicinity of the body.
Little is known so far about 2014 MU69, discovered in Hubble Space Telescope observations as part of an effort to identify a Kuiper Belt object close enough to New Horizons’ post-Pluto trajectory to enable a flyby. Scientists though the object was a small body no more than about 50 kilometers across. “About the only physical measurements we had of it until recently were its magnitude and its color,” Stern said at the OPAG meeting.
More recent observations by Hubble showed little evidence of variations in brightness as the body rotated. “It either means that the object is not presenting vastly different cross-sections to us as it rotates, or we’re looking down the barrel of the rotation axis,” he said.
Because of that, New Horizons may not need fuel being reserved to adjust the spacecraft’s trajectory for the flyby. “It doesn’t matter where in the rotation phase we show up,” he said. “We’re going to see about the same amount of terrain.”
That fuel, Stern suggested, could instead be used to redirect New Horizons after the 2014 MU69 flyby to another, even more distant Kuiper Belt object yet to be identified. “We are currently searching for new close flyby targets, and we have some very promising techniques” for doing so, he said. “We have a fighting chance of having a second [Kuiper Belt object] flyby.”
That search, though, is secondary to planning for the 2014 MU69 flyby. The flyby campaign, he said, will start in August 2018 and continue through the first week of January 2019, after which the spacecraft will spend the next 20 months transmitting the data collected during the flyby back to Earth.
Observations performed this summer suggest that 2014 MU69 may be a more complex object than originally expected. An occultation of a distant star by the object, witnessed in July by teams of astronomers operating portable telescopes in the Patagonia region of Argentina, gave scientists their first estimate of the shape of the object.
“What we expected, of course, was just an ellipsoid,” Stern said. “What we got looks like either a double-lobed object or two objects — a binary — orbiting one another that just happen to be overlapping at the time of this event. Either way, it’s exciting.”
In addition to the 2014 MU69 flyby, New Horizons is making more distant observations of dozens of other Kuiper Belt objects as well as Centaurs, another class of small bodies in the outer solar system that orbit closer to the sun. The spacecraft is also performing heliophysical observations.
Such observations could continue in future extended missions beyond 2021, regardless of plans for another close Kuiper Belt object flyby. “There’s still a lot of good planetary science to be done with New Horizons,” he said. “We expect to put a second extended mission proposal in for senior review around that time.”
Stern said he expected additional extended missions to follow even after a second one. Those future extended missions, he said, could take advantage of upgrades to the software on the spacecraft’s computer to do image processing and analysis on the spacecraft, reducing the amount of data that the spacecraft has to |
Japan and the 14 event medals place them tenth, behind Italy and France but ahead of South Korea. Below is what the medal count looks like.
Country Gold Silver Bronze Total United States 24 18 18 60 China 13 11 17 41 Great Britain 10 13 7 30 Japan 7 3 14 24 Russia 6 9 8 23 Australia 6 7 9 22 Italy 6 7 5 18 France 5 8 5 18 Cal 7 3 4 14 South Korea 6 3 4 13
Note: Cal Athletics appears to not be counting Cierra Runge’s medal since she is transferring from the program.
Here is the full list of Cal-lympic medalists.
By Individuals:
13 Golds, 4 Silvers, 4 Bronze
By Events:
7 Golds, 3 Silvers, 4 Bronze
Dana Vollmer (USA) - Silver from Women’s 4x100 Free Relay, Bronze from Women’s 100 Fly, Gold from Women’s 4x100 Medley Relay
Abbey Weitzeil (USA) - Silver from Women’s 4x100 Free Relay, Gold from Women’s 4x100 Medley Relay
Nathan Adrian (USA) - Gold from Men’s 4x100 Free Relay, Bronze from Men’s 100 Free, Bronze from Men’s 50 Free, Gold from Men’s 4x100 Medley Relay
Anthony Ervin (USA) - Gold from Men’s 4x100 Free Relay, Gold from Men’s 50 Free
Kathleen Baker (USA) - Silver from Women’s 100 Back, Gold from Women’s 4x100 Medley Relay
Ryan Murphy (USA) - Gold from Men’s 100 Back, Gold from Men’s 200 Back, Gold fromMen’s 4x100 Medley Relay
Josh Prenot (USA) - Silver from Men’s 200 Breast
Missy Franklin (USA) - Gold from Women’s 4x200 Free Relay
Cierra Runge (USA)* - Gold from Women’s 4x200 Free Relay
Olivier Siegelaar (Netherlands) - Bronze from Men’s Eight
Tom Shields (USA) - Gold from Men’s 4x100 Medley Relay
*Runge is not one of the 50 Calympians on the Cal Athletics list, so our Calympian medal count may differ from their00:00 Here’s our starting XI 1-Pita / 6-Young 24-Yuhaschek 21-Dunstan / 12-Finlay 14-Bywater 4-Aldred 23-DeSmedt / 7-Carrier / 9-ZECA 89-F. Antonio
05:00 Jon Finlay handles a long pass masterfully, passes to Zecca, who’s called for an inadvertent hand just west of the box. 0-0
07:00 The league leading defense will be tested tonight.
16:00 Brilliant bit of footwork by Jon Finlay, dodging defenders and waiting until the LAST minute to pass to Antonio for the goal.
26:00 Memphis free kick from about 30 yards out, the header is just wide left. CLOSE! 1-0
33:00 Long pass in to #13 Nishi, who sneaks past the defenders and leaks a ball behind Pita. Tied up 1-1
41:00 Felipe gets a shot off at point blank range, the keeper’s right on top of it. 1-1
42:00 Zeca sends a clever cross through the box, and it misses Felipe’s boot by mere inches! 1-1
45:00 CFC sub after the half: Out: 21-Dunstan In: 26-Wiltshire
47:00 REALLY nice give and go pass from Felipe to Aldo to Felipe, but the Memphis CB breaks it up. 1-1
48:00 PERFECT long pass in from Leo, Zeca’s header skies over the crossbar.
55:00 55' YELLOW CARD to #15 Kebba Demba. CFC will get the free kick at midfield 1-1 #CFCvMEM — Chattanooga Football Club (@ChattanoogaFC) June 29, 2017
58:00 Just another perfect summer night in Chattanooga 1-1 #CFCvMEM pic.twitter.com/4Jy1C4lRLd — Chattanooga Football Club (@ChattanoogaFC) June 29, 2017
60:00 Zeca screams into the box off the counter, send a brilliant pass to Felipe, but not before the GK makes a diving stop. 1-1
62:00 CFC subs: In: 17-Winter, 15-Goni Out: 9-Zeca, 89-Antonio
66:00 Jon heads the corner across the box, Winter’s header bounces off the crossbar straight down, Whitehall style…
67:00 #16 Lewis Jones with the goal. CFC now down 1-2 with 23 minutes to play.
76:00 CFC subs: In: 3- Jacob Lever, 16- Marc Tautz Out: Soren Yuhaschek, Matt Aldred
82:00 Leo’s Free kick is in the Winter header goes long and wide.
83:00 83' TONIGHTS ATTENDANCE: 3,854. THANK YOU CHATTANOOGA! Get loud! 1-2 #CFCvMEM — Chattanooga Football Club (@ChattanoogaFC) June 29, 2017
84:00 CFC sub: In: 20-Felipe Oliviera Out: Leo DeSmedt
88:00 Memphis maintaining possession… can we get another goal???
90:00 TWO MINUTES OF STOPPAGE. LETS GO CFC!!!_Cursor adds detailed, customizable cursor trails to your UI. If you've ever lost track of your mouse in a hectic battle, or if you're looking to put the finishing touches on your stylized UI, look no further. _Cursor uses World of Warcraft's built-in spell effects to offer a variety of preset cursor looks while leaving your system's resources free for more important things.
Details
The Cursor
Each character's cursor can be customized to match that character's style. They can have multiple layers, so you can mix and match different styles. Each layer can show one of many preselected effects, or you can choose your own “Custom” model effect from the game's files. In addition, you can scale, rotate, and move layers around to stack them up in unique ways.
Saved Sets
A “Set” is a pre-packaged cursor, like a template that you can save and load between characters. _Cursor comes with a few default sets, such as the <kbd>“Energy Beam”</kbd> default, pictured below. But if a lightning cursor doesn't fit with your character, feel free to save your old set and create something more fitting from scratch.
Options
_Cursor's extensive configuration is available in the Interface Options window, or simply with the <kbd>“/cursor”</kbd> slash command.
Sets
Save, load, and delete cursors for your other characters to use. Select your saved sets from the dropdown menu, or type a name in directly.
Cursor
Lets you preview and edit each layer of your active cursor. Every layer has a tab associated with it, and they can be toggled on or off using the Model Enabled checkbox.
Preset Type The category of preset effects, such as <kbd>“Particle Trail”</kbd> or <kbd>“Glow”</kbd>. With a category selected, see the Preset Name dropdown box below to browse effects in that category. The <kbd>“Custom”</kbd> category allows you to specify any model file's path within the game. Preset Name This dropdown lists all preset effects in the chosen Preset Type. Select one to preview and use it for the active layer. File Path Shows the location of the current effect model. When the <kbd>“Custom”</kbd> Preset Type is selected, you may edit this path freely. However, you must leave out the file extension.
The checkered box on the right side previews the layer behind a dummy cursor. The preview is animated, and can be sped up or stopped by clicking on it. The self-explanatory slider bars to the left and below the preview move the cursor up/down and left/right in relation to the cursor, respectively.
The Scale slider controls how large the effect should be drawn, ranging from half-size to four times normal size. Lastly, the Facing slider controls the direction that the model looks, where moving the slider from one end to the other will rotate it completely.Any participation by Saudi forces in a US-led ground operation in Syria would focus on fighting the ISIS group not President Bashar al-Assad, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister told AFP on Thursday.
"Saudi Arabia has expressed its readiness to send special forces to Syria as part of the coalition, with the goal of eliminating Daesh. This is the mission and the responsibility," Adel al-Jubeir said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
Riyadh has been a fierce opponent of Assad, but Jubeir said any participating Saudi force would make the battle against ISIS the priority.
"For now the objective of any ground forces or special forces would be to fight Daesh on the ground in order to seize territory from them," he said.
"If they enter Syria, these forces will work in the framework of the international coalition to fight Daesh, there will be no unilateral operations," he said.
Asked if the mission could be expanded to include operations against Assad's forces, Jubeir said: "This would be something the international coalition would have to make a decision on."
Al-Jubeir also said Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen will continue until the country's legitimate government is fully restored to power.
"It's a matter of time before the international coalition in Yemen succeeds in restoring the legitimate government... in control of all of Yemen's territory," he said.
"The support for the legitimate government will continue until the objectives are achieved or until an agreement is reached politically to achieve those objectives."
Last Update: Thursday, 18 February 2016 KSA 19:36 - GMT 16:36In his inaugural address Monday, President Barack Obama made climate change a priority of his second term. It may be too late.
Within the lifetimes of today's children, scientists say, the climate could reach a state unknown in civilization.
In that time, global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are on track to exceed the limits that scientists believe could prevent catastrophic warming. Carbon dioxide levels are higher than they have been in 15 million years.
The Arctic, melting rapidly and probably irreversibly, has reached a state that the Vikings would not recognize.
"We are poised right at the edge of some very major changes on Earth," said Anthony Barnosky, a University of California, Berkeley professor of biology who studies the interaction of climate change with population growth and land use. "We really are a geological force that's changing the planet."
The Arctic melt is occurring as the planet is just 0.8 degree Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than it was in pre-industrial times.
At current trends, Earth could warm by 4 degrees Celsius in 50 years, according to a November World Bank report.
The coolest summer months would be much warmer than today's hottest summer months, the report said. "The last time Earth was 4 degrees warmer than it is now was about 14 million years ago," Barnosky said.
Experts said it is technically feasible to halt such changes by nearly ending the use of fossil fuels. It would require a wholesale shift to renewable fuels that the United States, let alone China and other developing countries, appears unlikely to make.
Indeed, many Americans do not believe humans are changing the climate.
"Science is not opinion, it's not what we want it to be," said Katherine Hayhoe, an evangelical Christian, climatologist at Texas Tech University and lead author on the draft climate assessment report issued this month by the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee.
"You can't make a thermometer tell you it's hotter than it is," said Hayhoe, who with her husband, a linguist and West Texas pastor, has written a book on climate change addressed to evangelicals.
"And it's not just about thermometers or satellite instruments," she said. "It's about looking in our own back yards, when the trees are flowering now compared to 30 years ago, what types of birds and butterflies and bugs we see that... used to be further south."
Robins are arriving two weeks early in Colorado. Frogs are calling sooner in Ithaca. The Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting earlier.
Cold snaps like the one gripping the East still happen, but less often.
Scientists are loath to pin a specific event such as Hurricane Sandy or floods in England to global warming.
But "the risk of certain extreme events, such as the 2003 European heat wave, the 2010 Russian heat wave and fires, and the 2011 Texas heat wave and drought has... doubled or more," said Michael Wehner, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and co-author of the climate assessment report.
"Some of the changes that have occurred are permanent on human time scales."
A key question is when greenhouse gas emissions might reach a tipping point, where changes become self-reinforcing and out of human control.
Arctic sea ice reflects the sun. As it melts, the dark ocean absorbs more solar heat, raising temperatures. Similarly, the Greenland ice sheet is melting rapidly, reducing reflectivity, and possibly speeding up the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet. The northern permafrost is thawing, with the potential to release methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and carbon dioxide stored in soils. These can produce sudden, so-called nonlinear changes that are hard to predict.
"We could be at a tipping point where the climate just abruptly warms," said Mark Z. Jacobsen, director of Stanford University's atmosphere/energy program. An Arctic melting "would make it more difficult for the Northern hemisphere to cool down, so all Greenland would be next. Greenland stores about five to seven meters of sea level."
UC Berkeley's Barnosky said tipping points could come earlier than anticipated when factoring in population growth and land use.
More than 40 percent of Earth's land surface has been covered by farms and cities.
Much of the rest is cut by roads. By 2025, the percentage of development could reach half, a level that on smaller scales has led to ecological crashes.
"It's just sort of simple math: the more people, the more footprint," Barnosky said. "If we're still on a fossil fuel economy in 50 years, there is no hope for doing anything about climate change. It will be here in such a dramatic way that we won't recognize the planet we're on."
Not all climate scientists are so gloomy. Ashley Ballantyne, a bioclimatologist at the University of Montana who studies paleoclimate records, said the climate has always changed, with ice ages, warmings and mass extinctions. He said at current carbon dioxide concentrations, the Arctic and Greenland are likely to become ice-free, as they were 4 million years ago.
Polar bears are poorly adapted to such conditions, he said, "but it wasn't bad for boreal trees. They were quite happy."
Clochhead@sfchronicle.comWhen Angela Merkel meets with Donald Trump on Friday, she won’t just be representing Germany. She’ll be bringing all the hopes and anxieties of an anxious continent—one whose fears have been stoked by the fervor sweeping from Amsterdam to Rome, Paris to Berlin. It’s no exaggeration to say that this meeting between Trump and Merkel could set the tone for the very future of the Western Alliance.
For a specter is haunting Europe—the specter of populist nationalism. Ideologically indeterminate, it manifests across the Continent in the form of France’s right-wing National Front, the post-communist German Left party and the Italian Five Star Movement, which defies any traditional political label. While these parties, and the intellectual currents to which they give voice, may not align on everything, they are invariably anti-establishment, opposed to the European Union, and hostile to America. They are also all supported—either materially or through other, less tangible instruments—by Russia.
This is not incidental. As Europe’s political stability, social cohesion, economic prosperity and security are more threatened today than at any point since the Cold War, Russia is destabilizing the Continent on every front. Indigenous factors—whether long-extant nationalism, design flaws in the Eurozone lack of a common foreign policy, or incapability at assimilating immigrants – certainly lie at the root of these crises. But all are exploited by Moscow and exacerbated by its malign influence. Fomenting European disintegration from within, Russia also threatens Europe from without through its massive military buildup, frequent intimidation of NATO members and efforts to overturn the continent’s security architecture by weakening the transatlantic link with America. If a prosperous and democratic Europe is a core national security interest of the United States, as it has been for the past 80 years, then the Russian regime is one to be resisted, contained and ultimately dethroned. For none of the existential problems Europe faces will dissipate until the menace to its East is subdued. The road to a Europe whole, free and at peace, in other words, goes through Moscow.
Moscow seeks nothing less than a reversal of the momentous historical processes begun in 1989, when Central and Eastern Europeans peacefully reclaimed their freedom.
Just at the moment when the West requires unity, it’s disintegrating. Brexit foretells the potential demise of the EU, a democratic bulwark to Russia’s predatory strategy of divide and conquer. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Americans have chosen a president who abjures his country’s traditional role as linchpin of the liberal world order and wishes to ally with the very power threatening to dismantle it. Unlike any American president of the postwar age, Trump’s 19th century worldview seems to accord with a Russian sphere of interest in Europe. For the next four years at least, it is an open question whether there will be any American leadership to corral Europeans together against Russian aggression and subversion. On the contrary, Trump wants to gain Moscow’s partnership in pivoting back to the Middle East, a strategic realignment that may sacrifice European security as the cost of Russian collaboration.
“The End of Europe” may come about not in the dissolution of the EU or something so catastrophic as a conventional war (though these are real, if remote, possibilities), but rather something more ethereal and imaginable: the slow, gradual reversion to the European state of nature prior to the postwar integration project, and the rise of amoral, prostrate, nationalist governments that no longer project the liberal values upon which the Euro-Atlantic community is grounded, and that are willing to engage in purely transactional relationships with Moscow. Should this future scenario come to pass, it will be the fault of apathetic Europeans, absent Americans and aggressive Russians.
Unlike during the Cold War, Russia seeks not the military and political domination of Europe through the advance of the Red Army and spread of communist ideology, but rather a resetting of the Continent’s security order. The Kremlin hopes to achieve this through meddling in European and American politics so as to install governments acquiescent to it’s primary objective: supplanting the values-driven, rules-based international system with what Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently called a “post-Western world order” wherein might makes right. In this order, Russia’s neighbors will have to accept limited sovereignty within a Russian sphere of influence.
Moscow seeks nothing less than a reversal of the momentous historical processes begun in 1989, when Central and Eastern Europeans peacefully reclaimed their freedom after decades of Russian-imposed tyranny. For President Vladimir Putin, who witnessed the downfall of Russia’s empire as a KGB officer stationed in East Germany, and for whom the Soviet Union’s collapse was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” this revulsion for everything that 1989 represents is deeply felt. Putin is implacably hostile to the United States, blaming it for bringing down the Soviet empire and humiliating Russia. Because the European Union and NATO – both of which have welcomed countries once dominated by Russia – serve as obstacles to the reassertion of Russian hegemony, Moscow’s long-term strategy is to undermine and ultimately break these institutions from within, thereby neutralizing the concert of nations that has traditionally been necessary to restrain Russian expansion on the Continent. The Kremlin’s ideal outcome is the “Finlandization” of the West, whereby Europe and America abandon their principles, sacrifice their allies and accommodate Kremlin prerogatives without Russia having to dispatch a single soldier abroad. A West that is divided, inert and unsure of its own basic values is not one that will resist Russia’s revisionist agenda. Which is precisely by the Russians backed Trump—and why Merkel is so worried.
Befitting a judo master, Putin is pushing on open doors across the West, exploiting fears over Islam, immigration, economic inertia (blamed on a catchall “neoliberalism”), and globalization to “nudge” Western publics in a more Russia-sympathetic direction. Through means both minor and covert (internet troll factories) as well as significant and overt (a €9 million loan to Marine Le Pen’s National Front), the Kremlin aids and abets a wide variety of disruptive movements and figures in the Western world, no matter how radical or seemingly hopeless the cause, on the calculation that such a strategy is low risk and high reward. The most prominent example of this phenomenon was Brexit, which Russian state media outlets touted ceaselessly, as they have a variety of European secessionist movements from Catalonia to Venice. Frequent Russia Today guest, Putin-admirer and Brexit cheerleader Nigel Farage’s recent meeting with WikiLeaks impresario Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London epitomizes what British journalist Nick Cohen calls the “shameless illiberal alliance” Moscow is nurturing all over the Western world. For a more extreme illustration of the Kremlin’s spoiler role, consider the leader of a movement seeking independence for California, who just happens to live in Yekaterinaberg. Secession by the Golden State may seem like a foolish and wasteful endeavor for the Russians. But when the ultimate prize is splitting off the world’s 7th largest economy from the “main adversary,” why not throw a few rubles its way?
* * *
Beginning with President Trump, many Western leaders have difficulty accepting the strategic necessity of treating Moscow like the pariah that it is. They labor under the illusion that it’s our own hubris, our arrogant post-Cold War imposition of security and political arrangements on an emasculated post-Soviet Russia, that’s primarily standing in the way of good relations, and not Russian revisionism and aggression. Like the titular leader of the free world, a fair number of European political elites, stuck in a mindset that still considers Russia a potential partner, bend over backwards to explain Russian conduct as the predictable and not entirely unjustified reaction of an “encircled” power whose “interests” must be “respected.” They counsel us to bend the rules of the international liberal order to the claims of a revisionist power that wants to overturn it completely.
This credulity marked the previous administration, many of whose members have suddenly awoken to the paramount threat Russia poses to our security and values, and who are engaging in a bout of selective amnesia regarding their own solicitousness to Moscow while condemning the current president for his promises to “get along with Russia.” Barack Obama was far too late to realize how the Putin regime constituted a threat to Western values and interests. His first diplomatic gambit as president was a “reset” with Moscow initiated just six months after Russia invaded and occupied Georgia. Six years later, after Russia perpetrated the first armed annexation of territory on the European continent since World War II, Obama insisted, “This is not another Cold War that we’re entering into. After all, unlike the Soviet Union, Russia leads no bloc of nations. No global ideology. The United States and NATO,” he declared, “do not seek any conflict with Russia.”
Shorn of Marxist-Leninism, the Kremlin today is driven by an ideologically versatile illiberalism willing to work with any political faction amenable to its revisionist aims.
To paraphrase Vladimir Lenin, the West may not seek any conflict with Russia, but Russia seeks conflict with the West. That is because the Putin regime— nationalist, revisionist, territorially expansionist—cannot coexist alongside a democratic Europe willing to stand up for its principles. Moscow sees liberal democracy as a threat and therefore must defeat it, either by force of arms in Ukraine and an attempted coup in Montenegro, or through non-violent means in the West, bringing us down to the Kremlin’s own, depraved level through corruption, disinformation and support for nationalist political movements. If the Kremlin’s intention has been to bring about “a civilization-warping crisis of public trust” in the American body politic, as Sen. Ben Sasse recently described the increasingly hysterical debate over President Trump’s alleged relationship to Russia, it’s clearly winning.
Obama was also dead wrong to say that Russia does not lead a “bloc of nations” or disseminate a “global ideology.” Shorn of Marxist-Leninism, the Kremlin today is driven by an ideologically versatile illiberalism willing to work with any political faction amenable to its revisionist aims. Whereas once Moscow allied with local communists and other fellow travelers, now, in addition to those left-wing allies, they can also count upon a growing number of sympathizers on the right. Russia has reverted to its place as, in the words of the liberal writer Paul Berman, “the historical center of world reaction,” headquarters of the new counter-Enlightenment. Only now, after Russia’s audacious interference in the American presidential election, have Obama and his allies in the Democratic Party belatedly awoken to the ideological challenge posed by Putin’s counter-Enlightenment, one that exports kleptocracy and disorder through a European fifth column of front organizations, political parties, media organs, reactivated KGB networks and plain hired hands.
The avatar of the Kremlin-friendly conservative is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who, over the last quarter century, has undergone one of the more remarkable transformations in European politics from liberal, anti-communist firebrand to Putin’s closest ally in the EU. Despite being the leader of a proud nation brutally invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union, Orban is the most vocal opponent of EU sanctions placed on Russia over its meddling in Ukraine (a neighbor of Hungary) and has signed a major nuclear power deal with Moscow. Orban also aligns with the Kremlin on a more profound level, championing “illiberal democracy,” echoing Russian-promulgated narratives on Western decline, the advantages of “ethnic homogeneity” over cosmopolitanism, and the threat posed to Christian civilization from Islam. The embrace of the Russian strongman by Western leaders like Orban, Le Pen—and yes, Trump—is the culmination of Moscow’s assiduous, years-long cultivation of the global right.
One of the most potent narratives Russia has weaponized in this regard is that of a Judeo-Christian civilization under siege from a rising Islamic threat. A powerful vector through which Russia blends its informational and kinetic warfare is migration, the consequences of which threaten the future of the European project perhaps more than any other crisis. Russia’s military intervention in Syria and support for the warlord ruling Eastern Libya have created what Russian political analyst Leonid Futini calls a “crescent of instability” around the continent. Having colluded in the conditions driving massive numbers of migrants to Europe through its support of the Assad regime, Moscow then “weaponizes” their presence on the continent by aiding and abetting xenophobic populist movements. Long before the term “fake news” was on everybody’s lips, Moscow ginned up the infamous “Lisa” case, wherein Russian state media falsely alleged that a gang of migrant Muslim men had raped an ethnic Russian girl in Berlin and that German authorities had covered up the crime. As fears of demographic and societal change have taken hold in Europe, Russia has subtly insinuated itself into Western politics to an extent unprecedented since the collapse of the Soviet Union, its narrative of impending civilizational doom increasingly adopted in the parts of Europe traditionally most resistant to Russian meddling, and by conservative Central and Eastern Europeans with anti-Soviet pedigrees.
The Kremlin’s overall strategy to dismantle the Western alliance is best encapsulated by a 2013 article in a Russian military journal, where what’s since become known as the “Gerasimov Doctrine” was laid down in writing. Adopting tactics of subterfuge traditionally associated with “non-linear” or “hybrid” war, the doctrine calls for the use of non-military over military measures by a four-to-one ratio, thus allowing a conventionally weaker power like Russia (whose military budget is one-tenth that of NATO’s) to fight asymmetrically by exploiting its adversaries’ weaknesses. Ignored at the time of the article’s publication, the Gerasimov Doctrine was essentially the blueprint for Russia’s strategy in the annexation of Crimea, where special-operations troops without insignia carried out a bloodless takeover while a confused and listless West sat stupefied.
A primary component of hybrid war is disinformation. Finely attuned to the particular grievances of a diverse array of Western audiences, Russian psychological operatives produce narratives that find fertile ground in Europe, where resentment over the Iraq War, fallout from the 2008 financial crisis and revelations of National Security Agency surveillance continue to breed anti-American sentiment and undermine societal resilience to Russian agitprop. Kremlin “active measures” (Soviet-style lies aimed at influencing an adversary’s decision-making) about Western political and financial corruption, the subservience of Western leaders to shadowy and unaccountable corporations and America’s insatiable quest for global domination— disseminated through social media bot networks that, by manipulating algorithms, create the impression that such information is at the very least widely believed if not factually valid—find resonance across the ideological spectrum, uniting everyone from left-wing anti-globalization activists to right-wing cultural traditionalists.
Part of what makes Russia’s war on truth so ominous is that it transcends ideology. Once Moscow had Pravda and espoused the virtues of the international proletariat. Today it uses “fake news” as part of a long-term strategy to transform Western publics into conspiracy-addled zombies. Take the case of the disturbed young man who shot up a Washington, D.C. pizza parlor last year, convinced it was sheltering a child sex ring run by associates of Hillary Clinton. The assailant came to this conclusion after marinating in a stew of conspiracy websites that developed the story based upon email correspondence stolen by Russian hackers from Democratic Party servers. While this was a lone wolf incident, it is not difficult to fathom the prospect of more aimless, politically malleable young men in the West (a demographic disproportionately supportive of Trump and other far-right movements) “self-radicalizing” through the path of inflammatory material propagated by Russia or its proxies on the internet, à la Islamic jihadists.
The annexation of Crimea and invasion of Eastern Ukraine is a warning shot across the bow of the West, a message, written in blood, that the old ways of doing business are over.
Less implausible is Russia’s ability to alter the political trajectory of Western politics in a way that suits its geopolitical aims. Last year in the Netherlands, a motley collection of Russian expatriates, far-right nationalists and left-wingers banded together to defeat a referendum on an EU trade agreement with Ukraine. Though the Dutch intelligence agency could find no hard evidence of direct Russian government support to the opposition side, it did conclude that the Netherlands is a target in Moscow’s “global campaign to influence policy and perceptions on Russia,” and that the Kremlin has mobilized a “network of contacts built up over the years.” Speaking of Russia’s suspected involvement in this week’s parliamentary election, a Dutch foreign policy analyst told the New York Times that, “A little effort goes a long way” and could “destroy the European Union from inside.”
While waging a nonviolent war against the West from within, Russia is rapidly building up its military capacities and engaging in kinetic action along Europe’s. Over the course of Putin’s 17-year reign, Russian defense spending has increased 20-fold. Arms procurement grew by 60 percent in 2015 alone. Kremlin rhetoric over the past several years has also shifted in a disturbingly confrontational direction. Putin’s recent justification for the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union—stating, alongside a stunned Merkel, that the infamous agreement which divided up Eastern Europe between the two totalitarian powers “ensur[ed] the security of the USSR”—epitomizes the moral failure of Russian elites to come to terms with the Soviet past. Other Russian officials, meanwhile, engage in shockingly loose talk about using nuclear weapons and Russian military exercises frequently end with simulated nuclear strikes on NATO capitals. The West has neither acknowledged the threat from Russia nor adequately prepared to defend itself against potential aggression. Only four European members of NATO commit the recommended 2 percent of their GDP to defense; so poorly equipped is the Bundeswehr that its soldiers infamously had to use broomstick handles instead of guns during a training exercise.
This is why Russia’s war in Ukraine is about far more than Ukraine. The annexation of Crimea and invasion of Eastern Ukraine is a warning shot across the bow of the West, a message, written in blood, that the old ways of doing business are over. “Protecting” ethnic Russians was never the issue for Putin; Russian intervention was about exerting a veto over Ukraine’s Western path. Moscow’s highly sophisticated execution of hybrid war, a forecast of conflict to come, belies the haughty complacency of people like Obama and his hapless secretary of state, John Kerry, who scoffed that Russia is trapped in “the 19th century.” On the contrary, it is the allegedly backwards Russians who have adapted their war-fighting capabilities to the future, and the supposedly advanced Westerners who have been caught in their dust.
* * *
To quote Lenin again, what is to be done? To avert catastrophe, it is imperative that the United States pivot back to Europe. As a collective political entity, Europe is America’s most important ally, with whom we share values and interests. Abandoning Europe at this time would create a political and security vacuum on the Continent, one that would inevitably be filled by Russia.
In response to Brexit, the U.S. election and the rise of populists across Europe, many in the West are beginning to question the assumptions upon which the postwar liberal world order stands. While introspection is necessary, we do not need to rethink first principles. Protectionism remains wrong, both morally and economically. NATO remains the bedrock of our security, no matter how many times certain individuals call it “obsolete.” The postwar international system has benefited America enormously; it’s not a rip-off. Lavrov’s call for a “post-Western world order” is not new; Russian leaders have frequently floated proposals aimed at diluting the Western-led international system by incorporating a non-democratic Russia into its structures.
The West wants peace and Russia wants victory. These desires are incompatible.
Increasingly, these calls for reassessing the liberal world order are finding an audience on this side of the ocean, where voices posit that it has outlived its usefulness. In a combination of astonishing historical illiteracy and sinister prophecy, the president’s senior counselor says he wants to make the world “as exciting as the 1930s” and that “strong nationalist movements in countries make strong neighbors.” Meanwhile, a leading figure in what passes for the pro-Trump intellectual movement, who now serves as a high-ranking national security official in the administration, asks of NATO, “What is the alliance for once its original purpose has evaporated?” The original purpose of NATO was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.” With exception of that last part about Germany, whose neighbors want it to play a more assertive role in continental defense and security, the founding rationale for the Atlantic Alliance endures. The fundamentals remain; the arrangements we have are working. They need strengthening, not a redesign.
The West wants peace and Russia wants victory. These desires are incompatible. Those who cherish liberal democracy and wish to see it endure must accept the fact that a Russian regime is once against trying to debilitate and subvert the free world. While Russia today may not be as conventionally strong an adversary as it was during the Cold War, the threat it poses is more diffuse. Russia is as much an enemy today as it was a generation ago, and we need to adopt a more hardheaded, adversarial footing and mentality to defeat it. In a globalized world where the cancerous influences of Russian money and disinformation can more easily corrupt us than when an Iron Curtain divided Europe, and where the ideological terrain is more confusing than the Cold War’s rigid bipolarity, containing Russia presents different challenges than it did a generation ago, not the least of which is maintaining Western unity against a more ambiguous adversary skilled at fighting asymmetrically. Never during the Cold War, for instance, was there such a traumatic break within the Western political alliance as Britain’s departure from the European Union—nor, for that matter, did an overtly pro-Russian leader ever capture the presidency of the United States.
If the Putin regime cannot live alongside a democratic West, a democratic West cannot live with the Putin regime. A genuinely democratic Russia would feel no threat from Europe, and thus lack the impulse to debase and disrupt it. To be sure, the illiberal movements currently roiling the EU would exist regardless of Russia; anyone remotely familiar with the Continent’s bloody history knows that Europeans don’t require outside instigation to fall for the siren songs of chauvinism, populism and other illiberal forces. But only absent the revisionist and belligerent regime in Moscow is a Europe whole, free and at peace possible.
James Kirchick is author of The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues and the Coming Dark Age.Political fundraising has been a big topic of the 2016 presidential campaign. Both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, to name two, have attacked their rivals over taking big donations from wealthy fundraisers. However, on Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver set out to prove that congressional funding is somehow even more ridiculous than the more famous presidential equivalent. To prove this, Oliver pointed to testimony from present and former congressmen saying that sometimes they spend as much as two-thirds of their time fundraising.
“If two-thirds of the work you do is strictly about the money, you’re not a legislator; you’re Robert De Niro at that point,” Oliver quipped.
Oliver then looked at what political fundraisers actually entail. Hilariously, he found that many such events occurred at the same Washington, D.C., seafood restaurant, Johnny’s Half Shell. Johnny’s has hosted |
every year – and most of them are women. Six of them talk about prejudice, peace and praying in car parks
Ioni Sullivan, local authority worker, 37, East Sussex
I'm married to a Muslim and have two children. We live in Lewes, where I'm probably the only hijabi in the village.
I was born and raised in a middle-class, left-leaning, atheist family; my father was a professor, my mother a teacher. When I finished my MPhil at Cambridge in 2000, I worked in Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Back then, I had a fairly stereotypical view of Islam, but became impressed with the strength the people derived from their faith. Their lives sucked, yet nearly everyone I met seemed to approach their existence with a tranquillity and stability that stood in contrast to the world I'd left behind.
In 2001, I fell in love with and married a Jordanian from a fairly non-practising background. At first we lived a very western lifestyle, going out to bars and clubs, but around this time I started an Arabic course and picked up an English copy of the Qur'an. I found myself reading a book that claimed that the proof of God's existence was in the infinite beauty and balance of creation, not one that asked me to believe God walked the Earth in human form; I didn't need a priest to bless me or a sacred place to pray. Then I started looking into other Islamic practices that I'd dismissed as harsh: fasting, compulsory charity, the idea of modesty. I stopped seeing them as restrictions on personal freedom and realised they were ways of achieving self-control.
In my heart, I began to consider myself a Muslim, but didn't feel a need to shout about it; part of me was trying to avoid conflict with my family and friends. In the end it was the hijab that "outed" me to wider society: I began to feel I wasn't being true to myself if I didn't wear it. It caused some friction, and humour, too: people kept asking in hushed tones if I had cancer. But I've been pleasantly surprised at how little it has mattered in any meaningful relationship I have.
Anita Nayyar, social psychologist and gender equalities activist, 31, London
Anita Nayyar: 'One of the biggest challenges I face is the prohibition of women from the mosque.' Photograph: Felicity McCabe for the Guardian
As an Anglo-Indian with Hindu grandparents who lived through the partition of India and Pakistan, and saw family shot by a Muslim gang, I was brought up with a fairly dim view of what it was to be Muslim.
I was a very religious Christian, involved in the church, and wanted to become a vicar. At 16, I opted for a secular college, which is where I made friends with Muslims. I was shocked by how normal they were, and how much I liked them. I started debates, initially to let them know what a terrible religion they followed, and I started to learn that it wasn't too different from Christianity. In fact, it seemed to make more sense. It took a year and a half before I got to the point of conversion, and I became a Muslim in 2000, aged 18. My mother was disappointed and my father quietly accepting. Other members of my family felt betrayed.
I used to wear a scarf, which can mean many things. It can be a signifier of one's faith, which is helpful when you don't wish to be chatted up or invited to drink. It can attract negative attention from people who stereotype "visibly" Muslim women as oppressed or terrorist. It can also get positive reactions from the Muslim community.
But people expect certain behaviour from a woman in a headscarf, and I started to wonder whether I was doing it for God or to fulfil the role of "the pious woman". In the end, not wearing the scarf has helped make my faith invisible again and allowed me to revisit my personal relationship with God.
One of the biggest challenges I face is the prohibition of women from the mosque. It's sad to go somewhere, ready to connect with a higher being, only to be asked to leave because women are not allowed. In the past, I have prayed in car parks, my office corridor and in a fried chicken shop. The irony is that while my workplace would feel it discriminatory to stop me praying, some mosques do not.
Dr Annie (Amina) Coxon, consultant physician and neurologist, 72, London
Dr Annie (Amina) Coxon: 'After 9/11, my relationship with my sister-in-law changed and I am no longer welcome in their home.' Photograph: Felicity McCabe for the Guardian
I'm English back to the Normans. I was brought up in the US and Egypt, before coming to boarding school in the UK at six, then doing medical training in London and the US. I've been married twice, have three stepchildren and five stepgrandchildren.
I converted 21 years ago. It was the result of a long search for a more spiritual alternative to Catholicism. Initially, I didn't consider Islam because of the negative image in the media. The conversion process was gradual and ultimately guided by the example of the mother of the current Sultan of Oman – one of my patients – and by a series of dreams.
My family were initially surprised, but accepted my conversion. After 9/11, however, my relationship with my sister-in-law changed and I am no longer welcome in their home. I have friends for whom my conversion is an accepted eccentricity, but I lost many superficial ones because of it.
When I converted, I was told by the imam that I should dress modestly, but didn't need to wear the hijab because I was already old. During Ramadan, however, I do warn patients that I'll look a bit different if they see me coming back from the mosque. The response has been fascination rather than repulsion.
I tried to join various Islamic communities: Turkish, Pakistani and Moroccan. I went to the Moroccan mosque for three years without one person greeting me or wishing me "Eid Mubarak". I had cancer and not one Muslim friend (except a very holy old man) came to pray with me in nine months of treatment. But these are small annoyances compared with what I've gained: serenity, wisdom and peace. I've now finally found my Muslim community and it is African.
Many Muslims come to London as immigrants. Their ethnic identity is tied to the mosque; they don't want white faces there. We are pioneers. There will be a time when white converts won't be seen as freaks.
Kristiane Backer, TV presenter, 47, London
Kristiane Backer: 'It has been a challenge transforming my TV work in line with my new-found values.' Photograph: Felicity McCabe for the Guardian
I grew up in Germany in a Protestant but not terribly religious family, then in 1989 moved to London to present on MTV Europe. I interviewed everyone from Bob Geldof to David Bowie, worked hard and partied hard, but something was missing. At a moment of crisis, I was introduced to the cricketer Imran Khan. He gave me books on Islam and invited me to travel with him through Pakistan. Those trips opened a new dimension in my life, an awareness of spirituality. The Muslims I met touched me profoundly through their generosity, dignity and readiness to sacrifice for others. The more I read, the more Islam attracted me. I converted in 1995.
When the German media found out, a negative press campaign followed and within no time my contract was terminated. It was the end of my entertainment career. It has been a challenge transforming my TV work in line with my new-found values, but I am working on a Muslim culture and lifestyle show. I feel I have a bridging role to play between the Muslim heritage community and society at large.
Most Muslims marry young, often with the help of their families, but I converted at 30. When I was still single 10 years later, I decided to look online. There, I met and fell in love with a charming, Muslim-born TV producer from Morocco who lived in the US. We had a lot in common and married in 2006. But his interpretation of Islam became a way of controlling me: I was expected to give up my work, couldn't talk to men and even had to cut men out of old photographs. I should have stood up to him, because a lot of what he asked of me was not Islamic but cultural, but I wanted to make the marriage work. Insha Allah my future husband will be more trusting and focused on the inner values of Islam, rather than on outward restrictions.
I have no regrets. On the contrary: my life now has meaning and the void that I used to feel is filled with God, and that is priceless.
Andrea Chishti, reflexologist and secondary school teacher, 47, Watford
Andrea Chishti: 'Islam has strengthened my ethics and morals.' Photograph: Felicity McCabe for the Guardian
I have been happily married for 18 years to a British-born Muslim of Pakistani origins. We have a son, 11, and a daughter, eight.
Fida and I met at university in 1991. My interest in Islam was a symbiosis of love and intellectual ideas. Fida wanted a Muslim family, and by 1992 my interest in Islam had developed significantly, so I chose to convert. It took us three more years to get married. During that time, we battled things out, met friends and families, agreed on how to live together.
I grew up in Germany, in a household where religion did not play a prominent role. My father was an atheist, but my mother and my school left me with a conviction that spirituality was important. When I converted, my father thought it was crazy, but he liked my husband; even so, he bought me a little flat so I "could always come back". My mother was shocked, horrified even. We had a typical Pakistani wedding with Fida's large extended family, and I moved to another country, so it was a lot for her to deal with. His family were not all happy either, because they'd have preferred someone from a Muslim background.
I don't feel I need to dress differently. I don't feel I need to wear hijab in my daily life, but I am very comfortable wearing it in public when performing religious duties. I don't wear it also out of consideration for my mother, because it was a huge issue for her.
I was a sensible teenager. I didn't drink. I am a teacher. So, I didn't drop out of an old life to find a new one. But Islam has strengthened my ethics and morals, and given a good foundation for our family life.
You sometimes feel like a "trophy" because you are white. If you go to a gathering, everyone wants to help and teach you and take you under their wing, up to the point where I found it suffocating. But, mostly, a lot of conversion problems are human problems, women's problems.
Anonymous, software developer, East Midlands
'I feel my family will be disappointed, somewhat embarrassed and also scared that the world will treat me unfairly if I'm Muslim.' Photograph: Felicity McCabe for the Guardian
I was the talk of the student Islamic society when I became a Muslim: happy-go-lucky, trendy, outspoken me. After meeting Muslims at university, I'd become intrigued. I started studying Islam and taking heed of the Qur'an's teachings. Two years later, at 23, I took my shahadah (Islamic profession of faith).
The fact that my family were Sikhs intrigued many Muslims. I was handed many sisters' phone numbers and people wanted to meet me. Then it all went quiet: the sisters were too busy. It hurt; I was alone.
I am single, 26, and live at home with my family who are non-practising Punjabi Sikhs. My family and Sikh friends have yet to learn of my conversion, but I am not hiding my copies of the Qur'an. I want my family to see that I'm studying Islam with a fine-tooth comb, so they'll know I've made a well-informed decision; Islam has given me a sense of independence and serenity, I've become more accepting of what life throws at me and less competitive. But I feel they will be disappointed, somewhat embarrassed and also scared that the world will treat me unfairly if I'm Muslim.
Becoming a Muslim is not easy: people say hurtful things about your faith, and it's a struggle to fit in with pious-looking sisters who wear traditional Arabic dress. It's also hard to kiss goodbye to nights out in bars with friends. I loved to party; I still do. I take pride in my appearance: I wear makeup, dresses and heels. Initially, I went in all guns blazing and covered every inch of my body. I used to go to work in the hijab and remove it as I drove back into my home city. It was as if I was leading a double life and that became tiresome and stressful, so I stopped.
I would like to marry sooner rather than later, but how will I ever find a suitable husband? Most Muslims find mingling with women haram [forbidden by Islamic law]. Because I am not fully out in the open, Muslim men won't know I exist.
• This article was edited on 14 October 2013. Since the interviews, Kristiane Backer's personal circumstances have changed, and the piece has been changed to reflect this. Also, an additional, anonymous interviewee has been added at the end.Where? - 161 Mickleham Rd. Tullamarine
Price? - $21.90
Website? https://www.lazymoes.com.au/
Reviewers – Lee & Nikki
I'm struggling on how to start this review. You guys know about Lazy Moe's, right? It's the restaurant chain that nobody seems to particularly like, yet everyone seems to end up going to at some point in their lives - Mostly because its open plan spaces, big menu and family friendly vibe make it a great, inoffensive choice for family gatherings.
Everyone seems to have a Lazy Moe's story... And very few of them are positive. The Zomato page for Moe's is a list of horror stories that reads like an episode guide for Kitchen Nightmares. Yet day after day they are constantly busy. We have been suggested their parma a few times, mostly with the caveat of "It's not great, but its huge" but have avoided it for years, purely based on the reputation of the restaurant.
Well avoid no longer as last week we found ourselves at a function at Lazy Moe's, and, as most of the people around the table decided on a parma, an impromptu review was born.
The Tullamarine Lazy Moe's has the unmistakable structure of an ex-Pizza Hut location. In fact my childhood was filled with trips to the Tullamarine Pizza Hut, cringing in a corner booth while Mum tried to argue that even though I look Thirteen I am, in fact, under 8 and therefore should only pay kids menu prices.
Gone are the all-you-can-eat pizza stations and dessert bar and in its place is an open plan, spacious restaurant with an outdoor seating area circling the building should you feel so inclined.
We arrived and took our seats and checked the menu, where we were greeted with our first taste of Lazy Moe's schtick...Bobby Russell received HIV treatments for almost eight years before receiving a shocking diagnosis: He never actually had the virus that causes AIDS.
Now the 43-year-old Lexington man is suing the doctors and others at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, the UK-affiliated Bluegrass Care Clinic, and the Fayette County Health Department for medical malpractice.
Russell, 43, claims the defendants were negligent in misdiagnosing him and negligent in failing to order the appropriate tests for HIV.
“I feel like I was sentenced to a crime I wasn’t guilty of,” Russell said in an interview. “I have intentionally put distance between my family and my friends because I thought I was dying, and I didn’t want my family to see me dying. I didn’t want my nieces and nephews see me deteriorating. I thought I was dying
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“Emotionally, mentally, it destroyed me. It just destroyed me,” Russell said. “In 2009, when things got really bad for me, suicide was a strong option for me.”
But Russell said he never attempted suicide. He seeks a trial by jury and an award for compensatory damages and “all other relief” a jury deems appropriate.
The lawsuit filed in Fayette Circuit Court in August says Russell spent eight years believing he had HIV after he was incorrectly diagnosed in 2004. The diagnosis came after a visit to the UK Medical Center emergency room, where Russell was treated for profuse bleeding from the colon. (An earlier routine test at the health department had come back negative for HIV.)
Russell learned he never had the virus after a new test was done at Bluegrass Care Clinic in August 2012.
In between, Russell focused on treatment and “an extensive medication regimen” because “he was afraid he was going to die,” the lawsuit says.
Jonathan C. Dailey, the Washington D.C. lawyer who represents Russell, said no one ever conducted a full spectrum of tests for HIV.
“The fact is that the standard-of-care-protocol methodologies for HIV testing were never done,” Dailey said. “By failing to follow the standard protocol, and telling him that he was HIV positive, telling him that he could only have relations with HIV-positives, then that damage has been done. You can’t take that back. That’s the critical part of this case.”
UK spokesman Jay Blanton wrote in an email that, “as a policy, we do not comment on pending litigation.” (Bluegrass Care Clinic, an infectious disease and HIV/AIDS clinic, is affiliated with UK’s medical school.)
Greg Hiles, a spokesman for the Fayette County Health Department, had no comment but said the matter has been turned over to legal counsel.
Russell said after he was diagnosed with HIV, he took the drug cocktail HAART (or highly active antiretroviral therapy) that routinely keeps many HIV and AIDS patients alive today.
Through the years, tests would provide negative or “undetectable” results, but Russell said “I really never gave it any more thought because I’d already gotten to the point of accepting a diagnosis and treatment.”
That changed when Russell, a military veteran, sought benefits from the Veterans Administration.
“The Veterans Administration had always said, ‘You give us a confirmatory test and we’ll start these benefits for you,’” Russell said. “But nobody had a confirmatory test result to provide me to give to the Veterans Administration.”
The suit says that on Dec. 7, 2012, an infectious disease specialist at Bluegrass Care Clinic told Russell that it appeared no one had ever completed a confirmatory test.
In similar cases, defendants and insurance companies often insist that a plaintiff like Russell ought not to be in court complaining because he is still alive. Dailey has a counter-argument.
“I would ask a jury to look at what they (medical providers) exposed Mr. Russell to, look at the hell they put him in, and look at the emotional devastation that it caused him for over eight years, and then consider what they think the appropriate measure of damages is, even though, yes, he is still alive,” Dailey said.
“We’re talking about stigma, we’re talking about living with disease on a daily basis,” said John Tackett, Russell’s Lexington attorney.
The lawsuit does not seek punitive damages. But if victorious, Dailey said he hopes the suit will “change the protocol so there aren’t more victims in the future.”
Russell said he has had sexual relationships with three HIV-positive partners since he was diagnosed, but he has been in a committed relationship with an HIV-positive partner for the last two years.
Dailey was the attorney for Terry Hedgepeth, a man who sued a Washington D.C. clinic in 2005 because it had mistakenly told him five years earlier that he was HIV-positive. That case was settled in 2012 about a year after the D.C. Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that medical patients who are given incorrect information from their doctors about a life-threatening illness can seek recourse through the courts for emotional distress.
Russell’s suit doesn’t specifically seek damages for emotional distress, but Dailey said that is included in seeking relief for compensatory damages.
Russell lives on his Social Security checks, but he said the suit is not about money.
“This has been the most traumatic event for me. The worst. The worst,” Russell said. “I’m not so sure the next person can be as strong as I have to be able to stand up and fight for what they believe in. If it saves one person, it’s worth it.”China warned India on Monday not to “push your luck” by underestimating its determination to safeguard what it considers sovereign Chinese territory.
Defense ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian reiterated China’s demand that Indian troops pull back from the Doklam Plateau, an area also claimed by Indian ally Bhutan where Chinese teams had been building a road toward India’s border.
“China’s determination and resolve to safeguard national security and sovereignty is unshakable,” Mr. Wu said at a news conference to mark the coming 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.
“Here is a wish to remind India, do not push your luck and cling to any fantasies,” Wu said. “The 90-year history of the PLA has proved but one thing- that our military means to secure our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity has strengthened and our determination has never wavered. It is easier to shake a mountain than to shake the PLA.”
India has called for both sides to withdraw forces and a negotiated settlement to the standoff that began last month after Chinese troops began working to extend southward the road from Yadong in Tibet.
While the sides have exercised restraint thus far, heated rhetoric in both Beijing and New Delhi has raised concern over a renewal of hostilities that resulted in a brief but bloody frontier war between the sides in 1962. The nuclear-armed neighbours share a 3,500-kilometer border, much of it contested, and China acts as a key ally and arms supplier for India’s arch-rival, Pakistan.
The crisis is expected to be discussed when India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visits Beijing at the end of this week for a security forum under the BRICS group of large developing nations that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Source: Don’t underestimate our determination to safeguard national security, China warns India – The Hindu
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Summary:
This would be an exciting game to watch as the San Diego Chargers took on the Baltimore Ravens Sunday afternoon. The Ravens were up the entire game up until the final minute of the game when the Chargers would come storming back to take the lead and, the eventual, victory. Both teams were 7-4 coming into today with playoff implications on the line as both squads are fighting for, at least, a wildcard spot in the AFC.
The Chargers’ defense gave up a ton of yardage to the Ravens but would play stellar defense once they were in the redzone as the Ravens would be held to 4 field goals for the day.
A couple of turnovers early for the Chargers resulted in early points for the Ravens which would put the Chargers in an up hill battle for the rest of the game. Luckily, the Chargers were able to be clutch with their 2-minute drive leading to the touchdown score sealing the victory bringing their record to 8-4 for the season.
Game Recap:
A game between two 7-4 teams coming into today began with the Ravens having the ball to begin the game. The Ravens would seem like they would know the importance of this game real quickly as they would execute a 8-play drive for 61 yards which would result in a 16-yard touchdown reception from quarterback, Joe Flacco, to receiver, Torrey Smith. The Ravens would have the quick lead, 0-7.
So how would the Chargers respond to the Ravens’ quick score? A 2-play drive resulting in a Philip Rivers’ interception to Ravens’ Daryl Smith. So just 5 minutes into the game the Ravens were set to take a two score lead now being in good field position.
Fortunately, for the Chargers, the Ravens would not get a first down and would be forced to a field goal try by Justin Tucker from 33 yards out. The kick would be good and the Ravens would now be up, 0-10.
The pressure would now be rising for the Chargers as they would need to score some sort of points to bring some sort of momentum back in their favor. This is exactly what the Chargers would do as they use the rest of the first quarter to do a 13-play drive for 80 yards which would end in a 12-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen. The Chargers now fight back only being down, 7-10, at the start of the 2nd quarter.
The Ravens would now get the ball back, though, and continue their impressive offensive ways against the Chargers’ defense as they would march down the field with ease but would stutter as they got closer to the endzone. 11 plays and 66 yards later, the Ravens would settle for another field goal from 21 yards out which would be good giving the Ravens a 7-13 lead.
The Chargers, with the ball, would start to put together a decent drive down the field but this would all change with another Chargers’ turnover, This time, a fumble by Eddie Royal.
The Ravens have not punted for the entire day as their drives had resulted in a score each time so far. This would not be any different as the Ravens would, again move down the field pretty easily until they reached the redzone where they would be held to another field goal try. The field goal would be from 29 yards out and would, again, be good as the Ravens would now be up 7-16 with just a minute left in the half.
While the Chargers’ defense has been letting the Ravens move easily down the field, they had been solid in their redzone defense allowing only one touchdown so far.
Now with only a minute left in the half, the Chargers would like the get something together to bring the game to being just a one score game going into halftime. A 10-play drive for 46 yards would result in a long field goal try by Chargers’ kicker, Nick Novak. This would be from 52 yards out and Nick Novak would nail the kick as the Chargers would now be down, 10-16 going into halftime where there have been 0 punts so far by both teams.
The Chargers would start with the ball in the 3rd quarter and would be forced with a 3rd and 10 play where, after multiple audibles for Rivers, would get the matchup he would be looking for as he would find Malcom Floyd deep down the field for 59 yards. Now in the redzone, the Chargers would not get any closer to the endzone as they would be forced to a field goal try of 26 yards which would be good. Chargers down, 13-16.
The Ravens would get the ball back with good field position as the Chargers have been trying to avoid Ravens’ return man, Jacoby Jones, all day. The drive would start from the 47-yard line nad the Ravens would begin their march down the field once again. On a 3rd and 8 play, Flacco would scramble out of the pocket and throw it to a wide open man down the field, Kamar Aiken, who would drop the pass which could have been a touchdown with no Chargers in the vicinity.
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Still, the play would still end up in a 15-yard penalty against the Chargers as Eric Weddle, would be called for roughing the passer which would extend the Ravens’ drive. A few plays later, a Flacco pass to Torrey Smith for 10 yards would be a touchdown giving the Ravens a 13-23 lead.
The Chargers, now with the ball, would not get anything going on their next possession and would be the first team to punt in this game late in the 3rd quarter.
Fortunately, for the Chargers, the Ravens would also not be able to get anything going on their next drive and they would also be forced to do their first punt of the game.
The Chargers would begin their drive in decent field position following the Ravens’ punt and would have some nice throws down the field including one 18-yard one to Malcom Floyd. Then, one run up the middle with Ryan Mathews for 14 yards would be for a touchdown. The score would now be just a one score game with the Chargers now only down 20-23.
On the following Ravens’ possession, a bunch of drops would occur by the Ravens’ receivers but, on the flipside, there would be a bunch of penalties against the Chargers’ defense. As a result, the Ravens were still able to move the ball down the field on the longest drive of the day.
A pass interference penalty in the endzone would put the Ravens on the 2-yard line where, after a couple Charger defensive stops, the Ravens would opt to go for the quarterback sneak with Flacco on 3rd down and convert for the touchdown. The Ravens are now up 30-20 midway through the 4th quarter after a 12-play, 79 yard drive going for 7 minutes.
In crunch time for the Chargers, they needed to score as time would be running down quickly. A few nice passes down the field would get the Chargers, at least, in field goal range. Then, like on the previous Ravens’ possession, a 3rd down play would come and it would appear the offense would not convert but there would be a penalty on the defense which would extend the drive. On the very next play, Rivers would throw to Keenan Allen on a 23-yard pass in the endzone as Allen would have to do a 360 in the air in order to come down with the ball for a touchdown. The Chargers were now down, 27-30, with 3:40 left in the game.
Unfortunately for the Chargers, they have been kicking away from Jacoby Jones all day on the kickoffs and, on the one time they actually do kick it to Jones, he would make the Chargers pay with a 70-yard return down to the 30-yard line of San Diego.
On this possession, the Ravens be faced with a 3rd down play after the Chargers have already used all of their timeouts. If the Ravens converted, then the game would have been over. Instead, it would be an incompletion for Flacco and the field goal unit would come on the field for a 31-yard field goal. It would be good and the Ravens would lead 27-33 with 2 minutes left in the game.
With no timeouts left and 2 minutes to go, it would be up to the Chargers to score a touchdown in order to take the lead and win the game. It would be an intense drive as the Chargers had to fight threw many 3rd conversions but, after a defensive pass interference in the endzone, the Chargers would be setup on the 2-yard line with under a minute left to score a touchdown. On the very next play, a pass to Eddie Royal in the endzone would go for a touchdown to give the Chargers the lead with 38 seconds left up 34-33.
The Ravens had only 1 timeout left with 38 seconds to go and would not be able to accomplish much of anything as the Chargers come out with the victory, 34-33.
Quick Statistics:
San Diego Chargers –
QB – Philip Rivers – 34-45, 383 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 interception
RB – Ryan Mathews – 13 carries, 38 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
TE – Antonio Gates – 7 receptions, 83 receiving yards
WR – Malcom Floyd – 3 receptions, 85 receiving yards
Baltimore Ravens –
QB – Joe Flacco – 19-31, 225 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns
RB – Justin Forsett – 24 carries, 106 rushing yards
WR – Torrey Smith – 6 receptions, 65 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns
LB – Daryl Smith – 8 tackles, 3 solo tackles, 1 pass deflection, 1 interceptionRetired neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson has ruled out serving as part of a Trump administration, according to a report from The Hill.
The TV host Armstrong Williams, who is a close friend and ally of Carson, told The Hill that Carson was not interested in serving the administration in any official capacity, although would consider a more informal role.
Williams also denied reports that Carson had been offered a role, adding that “he was never offered a specific position.”
“Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he’s never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency,” he said.
Donald Trump himself had previously suggested that Carson would join his team, saying that he hoped that Carson “will be very much involved with my administration.”
Carson ran for the Republican nomination before suspending his campaign in March following an unsuccessful Super Tuesday where he failed to win a single state. He later went on to become an enthusiastic supporter of Trump’s candidacy.
He has since become the national chairman of the My Faith Votes charity, which encourages Christians to vote.
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.BATON ROUGE -- The head of Gov. Bobby Jindal's Office of Elderly affairs has been removed from her position after criticizing plans to merge her agency into the Department of Health and Hospitals. Martha Manuel, who was appointed by Jindal in Feb. 2011, offered a sharp denunciation of the plan Tuesday while testifying before the House Appropriations Committee.
In comments that surprised administration officials, Manuel said the move would lead to cuts in services to senior citizens in coming years, would increase bureaucracy and would not yield the benefits promised by the administration.
Responding to questions about Manuel's employment, Frank Collins, a spokesman for the Jindal administration, said in an email, "We decided to go in a different direction."
Administration officials have said moving the Office of Elderly Affairs into DHH would increase efficiency and allow the state to leverage additional federal money for programs aimed at elderly residents. The administration's proposed budget for next year would keep funding for the office level after the move.COEYMANS, N.Y. -- Authorities say the 15 buffaloes that escaped from a farm have been shot and killed because they became a danger after crossing the New York State Thruway.
Three men hired by the farm were cleared to open fire Friday afternoon in a stream in woods in the town of Coeymans, about 10 miles south of the capital. CBS affiliate WRGB reports that the Albany County Sheriff's Office nor the Bethlehem Police Department were involved in the shooting on the animals.
A herd of buffalo cross a road, Friday, April 24, 2015, in Bethlehem, N.Y. About 15 of the animals got loose Thursday from a farm in the Rensselaer County town of Schodack, on the river's east bank a few miles southeast of Albany. AP Photo/Mike Groll
Police say the decision was made after experts agreed tranquilizers would not be effective and no portable corrals could hold the animals.
"I just couldn't believe it, I was absolutely amazed," said one driver who had to pull over when he saw the herd.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple yells at a man who was shooting at a herd of buffalo on Friday, April 24, 2015, in Coeymans, N.Y. Mike Groll, AP
The Times Union reported that one of the men hired to shoot the animals appeared to have a heated exchange with Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, who said he was concerned about the safety of people in the area. The man was taken into custody and later released, the Times Union reported.
Authorities say the animals escaped Thursday from a farm across the Hudson River in the Rensselaer County town of Schodack. The owner believes they swam across the river to the town of Bethlehem, where they wandered across a busy stretch of Interstate 87 and into neighboring Coeymans.
"The buffalo are wild animals, they're not tame animals," farm owner George Mesic told the Times Union.
CBS affiliate WRGB reports that the animals can move as fast as 40 miles per hour.DUGWAY -- Using phrases such as "administrative error," "a serious mishandling of our agents" and "unfortunate oversight," the U.S. Army Thursday said a 13-hour lockdown at Dugway Proving Ground was prompted by an internal error.
A mislabeled one milliliter vial of the nerve agent VX, or less than 1/4 teaspoon, that could not be found during a routine inventory check resulted in the base being locked down from approximately 5:25 p.m. Wednesday until 7 a.m. Thursday.
In this instance no one has been harmed, no one's injured. Everyone is safe and that's one of our goals here. –Paula Thomas
Dugway commander Col. William E. King IV told reporters Thursday the vial was not lost.
"It was just misplaced into a different container that was improperly marked," he said.
On Tuesday, a two-person team was conducting tests on the vial of VX. The remaining residue after the tests were completed was supposed to be put back into its original vault.
Instead, the VX was returned to a container with the wrong serial number. During a routine inventory check Wednesday, it could not be found.
King said he immediately ordered Dugway Proving Ground on lockdown, and no one on the base — Army personnel or civilians — could leave.
It is possible that any visible VX liquid contact on the skin, unless washed off immediately, would be lethal. -CDC
"I had to make sure there was no malicious intent to put it somewhere else so that later someone could steal it," he said.
The vial was found about 3 a.m. The lockdown continued, however, as the investigation into whether there was malicious intent was settled. It was determined that there was no malice.
"No one was ever in danger," the Army said in a statement.
A Dugway employee who asked not to be named said he and others he commutes with sat in their van for two hours before going back to their offices Wednesday night to wait out the lockdown. He worked in his office for a while. Food was brought in to the small diner about 11 p.m., but the line was so long he did not wait.
"I had my jacket as a |
sanitation minister’s objects of desire. While the masses may not have a squattie to call their own, the rich have gone potty over bathroom fittings and fixtures. The solid gold faucet may still be the indulgence of only the precious Mittal, but as soon as Mr & Mrs Middle Class learn to spell ‘aspiration’, they head for the sanitary-ware showroom. Extravagance for extravagance, these expanses match their counterparts dealing in counterpanes, or even those stores specialising in lavish drawing-room furniture.
True, everybody needs to go, but in bathroom fittings as with funerals, some get to go in style.
***
Alec Smart said: “Shouldn’t the BJP make Nitin Gadkari into Not-in Gadkari?”Share this...
Before COP21 assembled in Paris last month, there was a sense of optimism that a new climate treaty to replace the long-expired 1997 Kyoto Protocol for reducing “greenhouse gas” emissions would be hammered out.
But now that COP 21 is approaching its scheduled end, we are finding out from the media that representatives are a long way from any effective CO2 reduction agreement. No one believes the COP21 summit is going to end tomorrow – rather expect it to drag out possibly into early next week, or even beyond. After all, when it’s about “saving the planet”, there’s no going home early.
The online German center-left DIE ZEIT here today describes a climate of growing chaos and diminishing order: “Almost every country has expressed reservations against the draft treaty at the climate summit.”
Among other countries DIE ZEIT blames Saudi Arabia, which threatens “to pull their support for the core goals of the treaty“, and India and Malaysia which are holding out for “greater commitments from rich countries“. According to DIE ZEIT there is neither agreement on financing for the poorest countries nor agreement on a limit in how much more the world should be permitted to warm. DIE ZEIT writes:
The Saudi Arabian representatives have indicated that they do not want to accept any long-term target of limiting the warming to a maximum of 1.5°C.”
Another sticking point brought up by DIE ZEIT is the issue of whether to stop the burning of coal completely, or to just reduce it. On this point agreement seems unlikely given the number of coal-fired power plants now under construction and the hundreds more in planning. Developing countries may express their intention to some day stop coal in a new treaty, but they will certainly push the task off to future generations. It’s hard to imagine a number of struggling countries agreeing to forego the use of cheap and plentiful coal.
According to DIE ZEIT, environmental groups observing the negotiations and examining the latest draft are saying that the text in the treaty would lead “only to a weak reduction in greenhouse gases”.
So what is shaping up? Overall expect to see a treaty that will be very painful for rich industrial countries ($100bn per annum), but one that will be completely toothless against rising global CO2 emissions.Today's Music News Zep without Plant Page's manager discusses possible tour and album for Zep mark II 07 January 2009 - Legendary rock manager Peter Mensch has been discussing his client Jimmy Page's plans to reform Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant.
According to Mensch, Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham - the son of original Zep drummer John Bonham - look likely to tour, and there's even talk of recording an album.
“People don’t really understand it,” Mensch told 6 Music, “Jimmy Page has been playing guitar professionally since he was 16 years old. Jimmy Page likes being a musician. That’s what he does! He doesn’t want to be a race car driver or a solicitor.
“So they [Page, Jones, Bonham] did the show with Robert Plant; they had a really good time rehearsing, the three of them, before Robert showed up.
“And they decided that if they could find a singer that they thought would fit their bill – whatever their bill was at this stage in their career – that they’d make a record and go on tour.
“And I support that because, why not? That’s what Jimmy Page does. That’s his job, his hobby, his vocation.” "They decided if they could find a singer that they thought would fit their bill... that they’d make a record and go on tour."
Peter Mensch
Mensch – whose company Q Prime also represents Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snow Patrol – also revealed that the band have yet to find a replacement for Plant: “John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page enjoy playing with each other, Jason Bonham is a really good drummer so why not? We just need to find a singer.”
Despite a list of rumoured vocalists that includes Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Chris Cornell from Soundgarden and Myles Kennedy from relative unknowns Alter Bridge, Mensch wouldn’t confirm any names.
“I can’t comment on any rumours right now,” Mensch continued, “It’s gonna be a long and difficult process. And we’re not soliciting people! So don’t call me about it!”
Similarly, it’s not known whether the new outfit would be touring under the banner Led Zeppelin or a new name.
A reaction
Since this story was first published (7 January), Peter Mensch spoke to MusicRadar.com saying that there are now no plans for a reunion without Plant.
"They tried out a few singers, but no one worked out,” he explained. “That was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero. Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking about it."
Mensch concluded: "Led Zeppelin are over! If you didn't see them in 2007, you missed them. It's done. I can't be any clearer than that."
Back in September 2008, singer Robert Plant said he had no plans to work with Led Zeppelin while he was recording and touring with the bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, with whom he created the Mercury nominated album Raising Sands.
To hear more from this interview listen again to the
Matt Everitt 07 January 2009 - Legendary rock manager Peter Mensch has been discussing his client Jimmy Page's plans to reform Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant.According to Mensch, Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham - the son of original Zep drummer John Bonham - look likely to tour, and there's even talk of recording an album.“People don’t really understand it,” Mensch told 6 Music, “Jimmy Page has been playing guitar professionally since he was 16 years old. Jimmy Page likes being a musician. That’s what he does! He doesn’t want to be a race car driver or a solicitor.“So they [Page, Jones, Bonham] did the show with Robert Plant; they had a really good time rehearsing, the three of them, before Robert showed up.“And they decided that if they could find a singer that they thought would fit their bill – whatever their bill was at this stage in their career – that they’d make a record and go on tour.“And I support that because, why not? That’s what Jimmy Page does. That’s his job, his hobby, his vocation.”Mensch – whose company Q Prime also represents Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snow Patrol – also revealed that the band have yet to find a replacement for Plant: “John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page enjoy playing with each other, Jason Bonham is a really good drummer so why not? We just need to find a singer.”Despite a list of rumoured vocalists that includes Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Chris Cornell from Soundgarden and Myles Kennedy from relative unknowns Alter Bridge, Mensch wouldn’t confirm any names.“I can’t comment on any rumours right now,” Mensch continued, “It’s gonna be a long and difficult process. And we’re not soliciting people! So don’t call me about it!”Similarly, it’s not known whether the new outfit would be touring under the banner Led Zeppelin or a new name.Since this story was first published (7 January), Peter Mensch spoke to MusicRadar.com saying that there are now no plans for a reunion without Plant."They tried out a few singers, but no one worked out,” he explained. “That was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero. Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking about it."Mensch concluded: "Led Zeppelin are over! If you didn't see them in 2007, you missed them. It's done. I can't be any clearer than that."Back in September 2008, singer Robert Plant said he had no plans to work with Led Zeppelin while he was recording and touring with the bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, with whom he created the Mercury nominated album Raising Sands.To hear more from this interview listen again to the Music Week or download the Music Week podcast Bookmark with: Delicious
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StumbleUpon What are these?Dozens of people living in a row of private homes in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn face relocation for at least six months, and possibly much longer, when the MTA renovates a section of its elevated M train line next year.
But residents who live in the two-family homes on Ditmars Street told Newsday last week that they had yet to hear from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority about the relocations, approved by the agency’s board last month.
In addition, a coffee shop, a bicycle store and an apartment house with five units around the corner on Myrtle Avenue face the same fate, and workers in those stores said they had not heard about the relocations. Messages left for the owners of those stores were not returned.
“We still haven’t heard from the MTA,” one homeowner on the triangular block said. “I’ve talked to my neighbors about it. Everybody’s worried. Everybody’s confused. We don’t know what to do next. We’ve got to get together and talk about it, but everybody works. It’s hard.”
He and another owner interviewed by Newsday asked that their names not be used because they were uncertain how to deal with the MTA. The other owner said she had allowed MTA workers into her backyard to examine the elevated structure, but they did not mention the relocations.
“No. They told me nothing. How can I do that [relocate]? How can I move out like that?” she said.
An MTA spokesman said Friday that notices of the agency’s plans were mailed to affected parties Thursday and hand-delivered Friday.
“We know this is going to be a serious inconvenience.... We intend to to help them however we can because it is essential we do this work,” MTA spokesman Stephen Morello said.
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MTA documents show 26 dwelling units on the block with an undetermined number of occupants would be displaced for at least six months, possibly 10 months, “but potentially longer.”
The MTA said it planned to hire a relocation consultant “to provide suitable accommodations” and compensation to the residents.
The agency said some property owners might not want to return, and it would pay them fair market value for their homes. The MTA said it would resell them after the project was finished.
The elevated tracks were built in the early 1900s, cutting through the block and the existing homes, one MTA document said. The tracks come “within 10 feet of seven two-story residential buildings to the east and within one foot, in places,” the document said.
The MTA Board authorized the relocations on March 23 as part of two projects to renovate the elevated track — one section curving just feet behind the Ditmars Street homes in Brooklyn, and one section near the M terminus at Middle Village in the Maspeth section of Queens.
A news release on March 18 announced the renovation work, but made no mention of the relocations. The news release said the first section in Middle Village would be done during the summer months to minimize the impact on Christ the King Regional High School, just across the street from the last stop, Metropolitan Avenue in Maspeth.
A school spokeswoman, Joanne Castellino, said the MTA had not contacted the school, and that officials there knew only what they read in newspapers the day after the news release. “We do have summer school, so there will be some impact,” Castellino said.
The work in Bushwick will begin after the Maspeth section is completed, the MTA said.
Newsday attempted to interview several people entering and leaving the Ditmars Street buildings during the past two weeks, but most said they did not speak English or did not want to talk.
Newsday left copies of an MTA Board document outlining the plan in mailboxes at each of the affected properties, but only three property owners responded.[Ed note: This article was updated on October 19 to reflect the fact that the dining spot is open once again.]A growing chain of healthy fast-casual dining spots has shut down one of its Boston shops because of health violations--and this is the second location to be closed for violations in the past couple of months.WCVB Boston is reporting that Sweetgreen on School Street in Downtown Crossing has closed "due to the nature and extent of the inspectional violations found," according to the city's Inspectional Services Department. This comes on the heels of its Boylston Street shop in the Back Bay being closed for a short time in August after 20 health violations were found at that shop. The article says that workers could be seen cleaning the kitchen section of the Downtown Crossing store and that inspectors plan to be back on the scene tomorrow, presumably to give the shop the ok to reopen if the health issues have been rectified.The closing of the School Street location of Sweetgreen comes on the same day that another outlet opened nearby--on Summer Street in the Financial District. Other locations of the chain can be found at the Ink Block in the South End, Fort Point, the Back Bay (2), the Fenway, Chestnut Hill Square on the Newton/Brookline border, and MarketStreet Lynnfield.[October 19 update: The Boston Globe states that the closing of Sweetgreen on School Street was voluntary, with the shop wanting to inspect the kitchen equipment and ingredients used while also conducting staff training. The article says that five violations had been discovered at the eatery, including four critical violations that included a major fruit fly infestation in the basement and heavily-soiled cutting boards. (The inspection apparently took place because a diner developed a fever that included vomiting and appetite loss after having food from the place on Friday.)][October 19 update #2: Eater Boston states that Sweetgreen on School Street has reopened after getting approval by the city.][Earlier Articles]Follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston
Labels: Boston restaurants, downtown Boston restaurants, Downtown Crossing restaurants, farm-to-table restaurants, restaurant chains, restaurant closings, salad chainsGetty Images/Aurora Creative File photo
A Virginia State Police trooper is accused of shooting and killing a pit bull during the evening of March 8.
Trooper Daniel Campbell, 28, assigned to the Fairfax Division, was arrested Friday by Manassas Park Police detectives. He is charged with discharging a firearm in a public place and one count of cruelty to an animal.
Police were called to the area near the Manassas Park Community Center and Dog Park around 9:45 p.m. on March 8 for gunshots fired. When officers arrived, they found a tan colored pit bull, suffering from a single gunshot wound.
The dog was rushed to an emergency animal hospital, where it died from its injuries.
Virginia State Police supervisors were alerted to the incident on March 16 and got in touch with Manassas Park Police detectives. In accordance with state police policy, Campbell is on unpaid leave from the department, pending outcome of the investigation.
The supervisors have also started an internal investigation of the incident. Investigators have not release any possible motive behind the shooting.That’s the question that two Republicans in Congress want answered. The failure of a relatively small local bank drew a lot of contributions from major financial institutions in order to qualify for $75 million in bailout cash, an odd level of attention considering the size of ShoreBank — but not if considering its political connections:
U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) joined U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) in a letter to Obama asking for records concerning ShoreBank. The South Side bank, known for its community lending and with personal ties to Obama aides, has lined up at least $125 million in capital from major banks to qualify for a potential $75 million from the federal government. Citing unspecified reports of pressure on Wall Street mega-banks, whose interests are involved in a financial regulations bill, the representatives asked for all material, “including e-mails, phone logs and meeting records,” that deal with ShoreBank. They said ShoreBank may be getting special favors when other banks have been forced to close. The letter asked Obama to respond by June 2.
So who came to ShoreBank’s rescue? The list includes Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JP Morgan — all heavily involved in bailouts themselves, and all heavily connected to the administration. These all have accepted and repaid TARP funds, and as a consequence, all have to account for themselves to Treasury on salaries, bonuses, and business practices.
But why ShoreBank? The Boss Emeritus explains:
ShoreBank is a Windy City investment bank with all the right (or, rather, left) ties. Its stated progressive mission isn’t merely to make good lending decisions, but to engage in Barack Obama-esque social engineering to “create economic equity and a healthy environment.” The ShoreBank corporate slogan: “Let’s change the world.” The company website features a video of Obama in Kenya championing ShoreBank microlending projects overseas. ShoreBank has also touted itself as a “green” bank from its founding days — promoting dubious carbon credit programs, subjecting new borrowers to eco-litmus tests (“we look at how you use water, how you recover water and clean it, how you use energy, if you produce clean energy, how you manage CO2, whether you are offsetting CO2 that your product produces, if you are using sustainably produced materials”) and encouraging customers to participate in “EcoDeposits” to “directly support the green agenda.”
It’s more than just a politically-correct agenda, though:
– ShoreBank co-founder Jan Piercy was a Wellesley College roommate of Hillary Clinton’s, who has long supported the bank along with former president Bill Clinton. – Former ShoreBank Vice Chairman Bob Nash worked for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential bid as deputy campaign manager. Board of Directors member Howard Stanback is a Hyde Park neighborhood pal of President Obama, who served with Stanback on the board of the radical Woods Fund (where Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers also sat). – White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett served on the board of Chicago Metropolis 2020 with ShoreBank Director Adele Simmons, former president of the liberal MacArthur Foundation, where she focused on “climate change” and “global governance” issues. – The bank and its employees donated some $12,000 to the Obama 2008 presidential campaign, and co-founder Mary Houghton reportedly gave advice to Obama’s late mother about small business lending issues.
This practically defines “crony capitalism.” Having the big financial institutions come to ShoreBank’s rescue should have everyone’s noses in full smell-test mode. Unless these institutions heavily invested in ShoreBank prior to its failure, this looks like a political intervention in an effort to pick winners and losers when the market should be determining those.
Addendum: Does anyone think Alexi Giannoulias might be wondering why these financial institutions didn’t come to his family bank’s rescue?By just about any rookie standards, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown had a highly successful 2016-17 season.
Brown quickly proved himself valuable to Brad Stevens and the Celtics, demonstrating an athletic physical profile that made him a versatile defensive weapon. His shot developed throughout the season, finishing 34.1 percent from behind the arc as opposed to 29 percent behind the shorter college line in his one season at California. He played meaningful playoff minutes for a team that made the Eastern Conference Finals.
But Brown wants considerably more, and after the Celtics completed a deal that sent Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons, he might have a bigger opportunity.
He sure sounds ready.
"I'm using Summer League to get better, I'm using Summer League to prove a point," Brown told CSNNE's Abby Chin on Thursday.
What point, exactly? Brown hesitated for a second and appeared to choose his words carefully.
"That I want to be someone who can add and contribute, and be a play maker on this team right away," he said. "I don't want to wait two, three, four years down the line. I think I'm ready now, and I'm going to continue to get better to show that I'm better now."
The implication here seems to be that Brown wants more than the 17.2 minutes per game he received last season, and it's certainly possible he gets them. Bradley's departure leaves a hole in the Celtics' starting lineup, and Brad Stevens made it clear that he sees positionless basketball as the future. Under Stevens' designation, there are three real positions: Wings, bigs and ball-handlers. Isaiah Thomas is clearly the team's ball-handler, while Gordon Hayward can provide minutes alongside him as well.
Brown, meanwhile, could potentially slot into some dangerous lineups as a wing -- lineups that could even start games. For instance, Thomas, Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Horford would be small-ball only in theory -- the trio of Brown, Hayward and Crowder would be long-armed and strong, able to contain penetration and switch almost any screen. Brown's versatility and defensive awareness, especially with Thomas on the floor, will likely buy him more minutes next season.
It's interesting, however, that Brown feels he can "prove a point" in Summer League. After all, he proved to the league that he belonged by posting nearly 14 relatively efficient points and seven rebounds per 36 minutes as a rookie, and by breaking through into the playoff rotation for a conference finalist. Why does Brown think he needs to play meaningless games in July to prove a point about regular-season minutes?
There are a couple of possibilities. Before the 2016 draft, there were some weird whispers about Brown that implied basketball might not be his top priority. The whispers were, of course, ridiculous -- dumb narratives that largely existed because Brown likes chess and because one executive before the draft called him "too smart for the league." Perhaps Brown feels the need to prove he is all about basketball 365 days out of the year, despite Boston's obvious confidence in him.
It's also possible that Brown sees an opportunity to show the Celtics the laundry list of untapped skills he possesses. Last season, he was an off-ball threat -- either cutting backdoor, getting out in transition or working on his 3-point shot. At Summer League, Brown is often the primary ball-handler -- looking to take defenders off the bounce and get to the rim himself. He is also far more likely to be able to isolate -- whether from the wing or as a post-up threat. Brown may want the Celtics to see work he has put into various skill sets that he didn't feel he had a chance to flex last year, and the ways those skills could fit in with the current roster.
The results have been mixed. In his first game, Brown dominated the 76ers -- posting 29 points and 13 rebounds, while burying deep 3-pointers comfortably. He also blocked Sixers star rookie Markelle Fultz at the rim to end the game, putting an exclamation point on a marquee performance. His second game was less impressive -- six points, eight rebounds (a good number) and four turnovers, including an 0-for-4 performance from deep.
The Celtics, of course, aren't going to be particularly worried about Summer League stats. They will want to see signs of progress from Brown's game, and those exist. He looks more comfortable handling the ball (despite high turnover totals), and his jumper continues to look smoother and smoother.
And in any case, Brown is likely to get his wish. He will get more minutes in 2017-18, and his role will increase dramatically. Whether the Celtics give him a chance to fully prove whatever his point might be, or whether they shut him down to avoid an injury, the Bradley trade -- and the team's steadfast refusal to include him in reported trade talks -- made it clear that Brown is a key part of Danny Ainge's vision for the future.The president of a Christian university in Oklahoma just declared that his institution was a university, not a daycare, after he chided students for playing the victim over their hurt feelings when they hear something they don't like. I've seen a lot of chastising of college students over the past few weeks, especially students of color, because they've spoken out about their experiences of mistreatment on campuses.
The response from the dominant (well-off, white, straight, male) culture has primarily been to accuse students of being weak and self-absorbed opponents of free speech. Those are easy accusations for people to make who have never been interlopers in higher education. Our institutions of higher education, on the whole, were created by and for heterosexual white men. Changes resulting from the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Movement, the LGBTQ Movement, Black Lives Matter, and other movements for social justice have challenged white male dominance in higher education, and many of the responses to recent challenges by students seem to me simply to be the good ol' boy system pushing back.
I'm a professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at a large research university, and so I see a greater proportion of students of color, women students, LGBTQ students than many professors in more traditional disciplines. I can't speak for students at Yale or Missouri, but my students are not asking to be coddled or protected from ideas they don't like. In fact, my students engage deeply with diverse ideas and care passionately about understanding the world around them.
What my students do want, as do I, is to be respected, to feel welcomed, and to feel valued by their institution. Many of the people criticizing students have never had the experience of being a minority of any kind on campus. They have not had to live with long histories of subordination and the psychological toll of oppression. So dismissing critiques of racist, sexist, classist, and heterosexist behaviors comes easily when one has never been targeted because of one's identity. One can simply believe that the playing field is level and everyone has an equal opportunity because that has been one's own experience. And, of course, acknowledging that others may not have had those same experiences would mean one would have to examine one's own privilege and systematic advantaging within social institutions.
What my students want is not to be called names. I get that. I don't want to be called b---h or c---t. I don't want to hear sexist jokes or have colleagues comment on my appearance. I don't want to see pictures of naked women on office walls in my workplace. All of those things create a hostile work environment.
Similarly, my students don't want to be asked to speak for their groups. They don't want to be singled out for their identities. They don't want to be stereotyped. They don't want to be reduced to a single identity. They don't want to see their cultures diminished by Halloween costumes or mascots that simply continue colonizing appropriations of their people and cultures. Those things also create a hostile environment, and learning in a hostile environment is not playing on a level field.
I know because I went to a Southern Baptist seminary in the early 1980s when Southern Baptists were fighting over the roles of women. I and other women at the seminary were told we didn't belong because of our gender. We listened to denominational leaders blame women--all women, including us--for the Fall of humankind. One of my fellow students once told me that he'd pray for me that I didn't get "messed up with this women in ministry thing." That was the day I became a feminist!
Asking for respect is not the same as asking to be coddled. Expecting professors to create inclusive, equitable, and just learning environments for each and every student in their classrooms is not asking for censorship.
My students want to be students. They want to learn. They want to see themselves represented in the curriculum alongside all the straight white men who still dominate course content. They want the range of ideas discussed broadened, not narrowed.
In my own classes, I welcome all ideas as long as they are argued responsibly and respectfully and are supported with evidence. I encourage students to examine conflicting ideas, including, and sometimes especially, ones with which they disagree. Sometimes, if all of the students seem to be agreeing, I argue an opposing viewpoint, just to expand the dialogue.
But I don't let students use slurs toward each other. If a student inadvertently says something offensive, I stop and address the comment--not targeting the student, but the student's words. I ask my students to read things they don't like, and sometimes I ask them to take the point of view of someone who liked what they read. I help them develop critical thinking skills. And they do.
Not surprisingly, the critics of diverse students use excesses as their evidence of the downward spiral of higher education. Of course, there are excesses. These are college students. They are young and idealistic and learning their way in the world. They are also making change. Have we forgotten how important a role college students played in stopping the war in Vietnam?
Our goal with students is to teach them. Rather than accusing them, we need to work with them, to hear them, to make change with them, because change is needed.
I am also the Principal Investigator on a large National Science Foundation funded project to transform institutional climate at my university. Why? Because despite the progress made over the last few decades, universities are still places where women, people of color, LGBTQ people, people from poor and working class backgrounds are disadvantaged in many ways that are often obscured by the veneer of equal opportunity.(Grass)
(Food)
(Warp Star)
(Beam Sword)
(Lip's Stick)
(Star Rod)
(Fire Bar)
(Ray Gun)
(Fire Flower)
(Steel Diver)
(Smoke Ball)
(Pitfall)
(Mr. Saturn)
(Banana Peel)
(Boomerang)
(Killer Eye)
(Franklin Badge)
(Super Leaf) (Rocket Belt)
(Metal Box) (Lightning) (Bob-omb) (Gooey Bomb) (Smart Bomb) (Bombchu) (X Bomb) (Hocotate Bomb) (Deku Nut) (Green Shell) (Unira) (Soccer Ball) (POW Block) (Cucco) (Beehive) (Freezie) (Super Star) (Super Mushroom) (Poison Mushroom) (Motion-Sensor Bomb) (Sandbag)
(Assist Trophy) (Pokeball) (Masterball)
(Barrel) (Crate) (Capsule) (Rolling Crate) (Party Ball) (Blast Box)
(Maxim Tomato) (Heart Container) (Fairy Bottle)
(Hammer) (Golden Hammer) (Home-Run Bat) (Daybreak Parts) (Ore Club)
(Boss Galaga) (Spiny Shell)
(Dragoon Parts)
(Superspicy Curry)
(Timer)
(Gust Bellows)
(Hot Head)
(Bumper)
(Spring)
(Special Flag)
(Drill)
(Screw Attack)
(Bunny Hood)
(Bullet Bill)
(Back Shield)
(Super Scope)
(Smash Ball)
This section is for our current impressions on every item explaining why they are legal or banned. These may change over time as we have more information about items and any possible exploits or strategies these items may promote. This is incredibly open to discussion, and any good discussion in this thread may be added here.We are doing something different then the original ISP thread however. We will not be having counterpick items. We deem if an item is not safe enough for game one, we do not think is is good for the entire set.Now, for an explanation on each item:This one is very simple. You see the patch of Grass, pull it up and get another item. Players could negotiate stage control over the possibility of a random item from the items turned on, and the item even takes a second to be usable. This is a very tame item as is good for ISPAn item that can replenish a tiny bit of health. While there is no traditional "counter" to food, food at most can only heal maybe one hits worth of health, so just getting hit by the opponent negates its effect. This item is very tame and unlikely to sway the match drastically. It also adds one item to the possibility of all items being spawned effectively diluting the item pool and reducing the effect other items have on the outcome of a fight. Food is good for ISP.The Warp Star has a limited range of aiming, which means that many times a player can simply run out of range of the star, but even if this is not an option, all it takes is a simple well-timed air dodge for a player to completely negate the Warp Star. A great pressure item that is well balanced, the Warp Star is highly recommended for item play.The sword is not incredibly strong and some of it's attacks are slow, but it is made up for slightly with it's nice range. This item could help those without good disjoints get in on certain characters while still being punishable if they miss. A good ISP candidate.This item definitely fits the criteria. It is well restricted by it's range, and although the contact with the flower can drain health it is proportionate to the strengths of the attack. This makes it so skilled players can avoid the long charged hits or be prepared for the short ones. It's not going to KO at most percentages either. Lip's Stick is approve3d for ISP.A unique item in that it is the only item in the game capable of acting as both a projectile and a bludgeon (without having to be thrown), the Star Rod opens up a lot of interesting strategies. The item isn't overpowered and adds in a good way to strategic value for an item. Approved for ISP.An interesting item, it slowly gets smaller and smaller with each major hit you get the opponent with. When you are down to one fireball the item doesn't seem to die either. Though by that point your range is severely reduced. This item isn't overly strong as a bludgeon and as the range lowers over time this breaks none of our criteria and is good for ISP.The shots the gun has itself are not very powerful and provide very little knockback. The biggest potential this weapon may have is to chain together attacks for a low percentage kill if you can trap an opponent offstage. It is very possible to DI out f this however. This item is approved for ISP for now, but we'll be watching to see if these low percentage kills become an issue.A simple power similar to the flame breath of Boswer or Charizard but much weaker. It has its strategic uses but removes so of the possible moves from your repertoire while you have it. A tame item breaking no criteria, it's good for ISP.Reminiscent of the Ray Gun but this projectile takes a bit of tile before it really gets moving and can fly. This item is also capable of a chain to try and kill off stage players but because of the delayed timing it is incredibly difficult to make happen. With good strength but slow start up to compensate this item is good for ISPAn extremely tame item, Smoke Ball can be used to obscure your movements slightly. It only lasts a short time and is very tame doing no damage. It can stick to you if you're hit with it as well. Approved for ISPThis item can be used in two ways. You can throw it down to set a trap similar to the motion censor bomb, or throw it directly at your opponent hoping to catch them or spike them. When opponents are in the air or on certain platforms, Pitfalls with smash them down into the ground. An item that can be caught and dodged or just avoided if it's set up as a trap, it is approved for ISP.A simple projecile that walks around the stage. Mr. Saturn is known for eating shields up for breakfast. He can also absorb certain moves so he can be used strategically for that purpose. A solid item for ISP.Functionally Diddy Kong's Banana Peel. If it's okay for a character to have it, it's okay as an item. Approved for ISP.A cool item, it acts as a normal projectile but increases in damage each time you catch it. Catching it is not always easy however, and a simple hit after throwing it can usually lose the item for you. A projectile with cool strategic value, it is approved for ISP.Set this baby down and get yourself some lasers shot out to bug your opponents. The opponent can knock this over with a decent hit however making it only so useful for stage control. An item with a basic counter, it is approved for ISP.Immunity to projectiles! This may seem overly strong at first, but the Franklin Badge can be knocked off with a strong hit giving it a reasonable counter, plus it vanishes over time. Approved for ISP.These two items can do some awesome things in terms of recovery and giving you more options. Recently banned, it was pointed out that these can be knocked off just like the Franklin Badge that is currently legal. Having a possible counter they are currently approved for ISP.Let's start with the biggest group of all of the items. All of these are banned because they can be used by simply hitting them. If they spawn in midair or in the middle of any attack this is an issue as the player themselves is not consciously attempting to use them. These easily break our criteria and are banned from ISP.Each of these is capable of being used then just enjoying what happens. Maybe you get a weak Pokemon or Assist, maybe you get an incredibly amazing one. These items are just not well balanced and break our ISP criteria, so much be banned from ISPContainers. Some of these can explode at random and spawn in the middle of an attack causing issues. On top of this when on these items are more likely to spawn and they bring in large amounts of items in at once which can cause abuse problems. These break our criteria and must be banned from ISP.Getting one of these can seriously swing the match. These are just too powerful for healing, and must be banned from ISP.These items just have too much power if they get in your hands. They could easily sway a match quite quickly and are just too unbalanced for ISP.These items have no real strategy. You throw them and get a free chance to put massive pressure on your opponent. These items are unbalanced and thus banned in ISP.while it takes a while to get the parts and they can |
sales. Andreyev himself seems to follow the same communications policy as a pimp might -- he doesn't like to talk about his business.
Andreyev is a good example of both the successes and the problems faced by Russian Internet entrepreneurs, whose creativity and cool-headed pursuit of profit are stealing a share of the market away from American behemoths such as Google and Facebook -- and doing so with the Kremlin's blessing.
Ties with the Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself a former KGB agent, clearly enjoys seeing the same power dynamics play out in European cyberspace as once did in Europe itself. Just as Washington and Moscow divided the Continent into spheres of influence during the Cold War, today, American and Russian companies are battling for dominance of the Internet. Market research shows that 16 of the 20 most popular websites in Europe are American. Not one of those top 20 is German, French or British, while the remaining four are all Russian. Indeed, the IT boom is the Russian economy's most notable success since the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Putin has welcomed Russia's rise to become a major digital power, and he's happy to see Russian Internet companies chipping away at America's dominance. At home, though, Putin fears the Internet for its role as a place where resistance is fomented against his government. Within Russia, he keeps IT firms under the control of state-owned enterprises and a small circle of loyal oligarchs.
He also hastily implemented a controversial Internet law last week that the Kremlin pushed through the Duma, Russia's parliament in mid-July. The law forces Internet providers to use web filters, a new infrastructure that makes it possible to introduce a broad program of censorship at any time.
The law is part of Putin's push, three months after his return to the Kremlin, to put the rebellious Russian population back in its place. A trial began last Monday against members of the punk band Pussy Riot, who had sung protest songs against Putin in a church. And, last Tuesday, a public prosecutor brought charges against Russia's most famous blogger, Alexei Navalny, who may face a decade behind bars.
Given these circumstances, it's not all that surprising that people doing business in this environment tend to be cautious. Banker Alexander Mamut, said to be worth $2.1 billion and the owner of blogging platform Livejournal.com, which is popular in the US as well, avoids interviews as he is wary of overly political questions. Yuri Milner, a major investor with Facebook, prefers to talk about his oversees business deals rather than about his Russian online empire, the Mail.ru Group, whose pages are visited by around 70 percent of all Russian Internet users.
Milner's most important financial backer is Alisher Usmanov, Russia's wealthiest man with a fortune worth $18 billion. Usmanov's wife, Irina, coaches Russian Olympic rhythmic gymnasts. Usmanov owes his wealth to business deals in the gas and steel industries, but also to his political connections. In 2006, with Putin's blessing, Usmanov bought the newspaper publisher Kommersant, where he has been known to act directly in the Kremlin's interest. In December, when Kommersant's influential and independent-minded newsmagazine Vlast ("Power") printed an image of a ballot on which an angry voter had written "Putin, f you!" in large red letters, Usmanov fired Kommersant's editor-in-chief the very same day.
Taking on the US Giants
Another major player in the Internet industry has its headquarters in a futuristic new building in downtown Moscow. Arkady Volozh, CEO of the search engine Yandex, has a panoramic view from his office, with the golden domes of the Kremlin glinting in the distance. The initial public offering of Volozh's search engine on Wall Street in 2011 raised $1.3 billion.
Yandex is the only comprehensive, global search index other than Google and Microsoft's Bing. This made it all the more important to the Russian government to ensure its influence over the search engine. Sberbank, the giant state-owned savings bank run by Putin's former economic minister German Gref, holds a so-called "golden share" in Yandex, which gives it the right to block any sale of more than 25 percent of the company. The Kremlin doesn't want the search engine to fall into foreign hands. The company is "of strategic importance," Volozh says, just like Gazprom, pipeline operators or telephone companies. Every day, 19 million Russians visit the Yandex site, which also displays news. This year, for the first time, the company reached more Russians than the country's biggest TV channel.
Yandex has 3,500 employees, nearly twice as many as it had just two years ago. With a 60 percent market share, the search engine is the market leader within Russia, outstripping Google. It hopes to show up the American giant elsewhere, as well. In Ukraine, for example, the Russian company has boosted its market share from 18 to 25 percent.
In September 2011, the company expanded beyond the borders of the former Eastern Bloc for the first time. Yandex hopes to win away up to 20 percent of Google's market volume in Turkey by drawing users with new functions, such as a search feature for Koran verses and traffic alerts for chronically congested Istanbul.
The new office on the Bosporus is meant to be a foothold for the leap into the global market. Yandex wants to take on countries in which Google holds sway and users are eager for alternatives to the Californian giant -- Brazil, Thailand, Poland and "Germany would fit as well," Volozh says. Yandex started feeling out the German market this June, initially as a partner of MetaGer.de, a search engine run by the University of Hanover. "Yandex has hits that Google would never find," MetaGer.de's Wolfgang Sander-Beuermann says in praising the Russian search engine.
Yandex makes $179 million in profit from $622 million in annual sales, roughly the same profit margin as the gas industry giant Gazprom, and the market is far from saturated. In the second quarter of 2012, profits saw a year-on-year growth of 76 percent.
Yandex's triumphal advance represents the success of Russia's new economy. "Runet," a term used to describe the Russian segment of the Internet, has long provided a place where IT pioneers, such as Volozh, could experiment largely undisturbed by competition from America. Amazon and eBay preferred to focus on financially strong markets in Europe and Asia, while Google found itself struggling with the Cyrillic alphabet and the pitfalls of Russian grammar.
Cracking Down on Online Dissent
Before moving to London, Andrey Andreyev created a Russian forerunner to Badoo in Moscow, as well as an online advertising company that Google was interested in buying for $140 million in 2008. The Kremlin nixed that deal, wanting "Runet" to remain Russian.
The Internet has become a significant power factor in Russia. Last year, the country overtook Germany as Europe's largest Internet nation, with 70 million people from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok surfing the net. When the Kremlin once again used fraud in parliamentary elections held in December, the opposition struck back online, posting videos that showed the manipulation taking place. State-run television hid the existence of these videos, but one clip -- showing a representative of Election Commission No. 2501 filling out ballot after ballot himself -- was viewed around 2 million times on Youtube.
One particular blogger left his mark on that election campaign. Lawyer Alexei Navalny, 35 at the time, leveled online accusations of corruption against politicians and high-level government employees, calling Putin's United Russia "a party of crooks and thieves." Navalny struck a nerve with voters fed up with corruption and cronyism. Despite ballot-rigging on a massive scale, United Russia lost 12 million voters, and its overall support dipped below 50 percent.
Putin's party has been out for revenge ever since. In late July, access to Navalny's website was blocked, supposedly by accident. Now the blogger must appear in court to defend himself against charges that he misappropriated public funds in 2009 while working as a governor's adviser. If convicted, Navalny faces up to 10 years in prison.
The general climate, both in Russia and online, has grown harsher since Putin took over the presidency from Dmitry Medvedev in May. As president, Medvedev liked to be photographed with an iPad in hand, he kept a blog and he presented himself in his Sunday speeches as the Internet's greatest protector.
As recently as December, Putin also lauded the Internet as "free and enormously democratic." But that was nothing more than campaign rhetoric. Since the beginning of August, the new Internet law has made it possible for authorities to block websites without a court order. The Kremlin officially says it wants to fight online child pornography. But the technology Russia's Internet providers are now acquiring resembles what censors from China's Communist Party use to block sites that don't toe the party line. This method, known as Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), makes it possible to block websites and to monitor chat programs, such as the one from popular provider ICQ.
Calls for Internet Freedom
The Kremlin's efforts to battle the Internet's influence are only fanning the flames of conflict with Russia's ambitious and increasingly confident IT sector. Yandex, for example, protested openly against the new law because it "does not fulfill the stated objective of protecting children, but can theoretically be misused."
In few other countries are social networks as influential as in Russia. Russian users spend an average of around 10 hours a month on such sites, nearly twice as much as the global average. Some hardliners call for shutting down Russia's largest Facebook clone, VKontakte.ru, on the grounds that it allegedly serves as a platform for child pornography. Security agencies dislike that the site provides Putin's opponents a forum for planning mass rallies. The Kremlin fears a scenario such as unfolded during the Arab Spring, when Facebook and Twitter became the demonstrators' most important channels of communication.
VKontakte has nearly 110 million users throughout Eastern Europe -- and a stubborn boss. With his pale features, Pavel Durov, 27, even looks a bit like Neo, the cyber-rebel from the "Matrix" trilogy. This winter, when the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia's domestic security agency, demanded that Durov shut down certain forums in which tens of thousands of Russians were arranging to meet for massive demonstrations against electoral fraud, the head of VKontakte resisted publicly. "I don't know where this will end," he tweeted. "But we're still standing."
Durov must also proceed with caution since 40 percent of his social network belongs to Usmanov, the Internet magnate with the close ties to the Kremlin. Still, that hasn't stopped Durov from penning a manifesto that calls for Internet freedom -- and for high penalty taxes on oil and gas corporations, the economic pillars of Putin's system. Durov hopes this will help overcome the country's natural resource dependency. His manifesto reads like a declaration of war by the new Russia against the old one.
There's no way to predict how this trial of strength will turn out. As Julia Latynina, star commentator at the radio station Echo of Moscow, puts it: "Either the Internet will destroy Putin's regime or the regime will destroy the Internet."Photo
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Alexander Kumar, a physician and researcher at Concordia Station, writes from Antarctica, where he conducts scientific experiments for the European Space Agency’s human spaceflight program.
Antarctica can be an overpowering and overwhelming continent, and spending winter in the Antarctic has been used as a comparable setting for long-term manned spaceflight and as a model for planetary exploration.
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So the question we face is: How can we produce the “perfect astronaut” — someone who, through honed selection and detailed and directed training, can operate under any degree of isolation, stress and sensory deprivation, both effectively at individual tasks and as a sociable, skilled and appropriate crew member, for a manned mission to Mars?
To answer this question we first have to think about how a person interacts with and is challenged by extreme environments. Broadly speaking, the major stresses and challenges affecting human life, which in turn affect performance within extreme environments ranging from space to the Antarctic winter, can be divided into these five categories:
1. Physiological (physical) — from radiation to altered circadian rhythm; in space, this includes adaptation to microgravity and Space Adaptation Sickness (S.A.S.), whereas in high-altitude areas of Antarctica, it includes exposure to low oxygen levels and chronic hypobaric pressure.
2. Psychological — living within a hostile or alien extreme environment “away from the norm,” isolation, confinement, high risk or potential for loss of life and limited sensory stimuli.
3. Psychosocial — forced, close-quarters interpersonal contact, crew factors (culture, sex, size, personalities, etc.) and conflict and resolution.
4. Human factors — limited communications, fluctuating workload levels, risk, dealing with equipment failure, use of equipment within extreme environments, and increased reliance on technology for survival.
5. Habitability — hygiene limitations, a relative lack of privacy, artificial lighting, noise exposure and unusual sleep facilities.
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I will concentrate today on human factors and ergonomics, a field that incorporates psychology, industrial and graphic design, anthropometry and psychology, and is an important area of study, essentially because the science behind safety in extreme environments has become an area of focus on many fronts, from space agencies to airlines to operating theaters.
In Antarctica risk runs high as human error, and less commonly machine breakdown, can cost lives. It is interesting to note that the majority of accidents don’t occur at the beginning or even the middle of an expedition; they occur at the end, when human factors are exaggerated.
Expert knowledge and training help, but in the end human survival within such extreme and risk-filled environments relies upon effective performance, problem-solving, vigilance and fine motor skills, as well as the ability to make and take good decisions and continually assess and reassess risk and system performance to prevent the occurrence or worsening of any unexpected problems. But we know no human is infallible, no human is perfect and mistakes are still made regardless of risk assessment, precise planning and implemented health and safety measures.
Human factors research in Antarctica involves studying ways to enable humans to operate safely and effectively, despite the difficulties put upon us by working in such an extreme environment. Areas of interest and study include crew selection and training, habitat architecture and design, human-machine interactions, alongside biological, psychological and behavioral studies of how humans operate within such an extreme, remote and isolated environment. This is the science of designing and balancing workplace conditions and job demands with the capabilities of the working population.
It is interesting to scientists and for spaceflight planning to study the behavioral characteristics of populations in Antarctica — looking out for symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia and hostility, and also studying group dynamics and interpersonal relationships.
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There are different elements to human factors and ergonomics research. One element relevant to Antarctic and spaceflight science that I study at Concordia is “cognitive ergonomics” — looking at mental processes ranging from memory to perception to reasoning and response. All of these have been shown to be affected by the Antarctic winter — for example, winter-over members suffer short-term memory difficulties, slowness processing tasks and changes in reasoning.
Our crew has suffered all of these and more over the winter, which has affected our interpersonal interaction and our bodies’ systems. My research included testing areas of cognitive performance over our long winter to see if we could find ways to curb and prevent the expected decline. Interventions include exercise.
Other factors that can easily affect performance in the workplace include sleep quality, diet, outside stresses and mood. Through such study, we can try to find ways to optimize crew well-being and, in turn, help to ensure long-term performance.
With an increased number of people overwintering in Antarctica and traveling to space for longer periods, personnel selection has improved and ideal characteristics have been summarized in the term “professional isolates” — those who seem most able and ideal to survive the isolation and monotony while completing their tasks working and living in unison with fellow crew members.
Life support systems are being tested and technology built to withstand the remotest and most extreme environments.
In time, these lessons will not only help in developing safety in aviation and your local operating theater, but also in spaceflight and a future mission to Mars. You will see its impact everywhere — from designing the inside of spacecraft, to the selection and training of an appropriate team and the development of technology to be able to voyage into the beyond and safely return.Fresh Air Weekend: Actor Giancarlo Esposito; 6 Summer Books; Polar Photography
Enlarge this image toggle caption Michele K. Short/AMC/Sony Pictures Michele K. Short/AMC/Sony Pictures
Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:
'Better Call Saul' Actor Giancarlo Esposito On The Making Of An Iconic Villain: Six years after the demise of his Breaking Bad character, Esposito is back on TV as the vicious drug lord Gus Fring. He says the current role allows him to take the character "back in time."
Searching For A Summer Escape? These 6 Books Will Carry You Away: Journeys, near and far, into the past and even into near space, are the subject of the novels, memoirs and narrative histories that make up book critic Maureen Corrigan's early summer reading list.
Polar Photographer Shares His View Of A Ferocious But Fragile Ecosystem: Paul Nicklen has spent decades documenting the Arctic and the Antarctic. "I want people to realize that ice is like the soil in the garden," he says. "Without ice, the polar regions cannot exist."
You can listen to the original interviews here:
'Better Call Saul' Actor Giancarlo Esposito On The Making Of An Iconic Villain
Searching For A Summer Escape? These 6 Books Will Carry You Away
Polar Photographer Shares His View Of A Ferocious But Fragile EcosystemPresident Donald Trump on Wednesday used his tax-reform pitch in Missouri to make the case for a 15% corporate tax rate as he said he would help Texas recover from devastating floods.
Reuters President Donald Trump speaks about tax reform during a visit to Loren Cook Company in Springfield, Missouri.
MISSOURI TAX PITCH
Trump went to the Show-Me State in part because he thinks he can win the support of Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Democratic senator from Missouri, a state Trump carried easily in the presidential election. “If she doesn’t do it for you, you have to vote her out of office,” Trump said.
See: ‘I don’t want to be disappointed by Congress,’ Trump says in tax speech
One unexpected development was Trump stating he wanted a 15% corporate tax rate. White House officials had indicated he wasn’t going to go into details, as it’s leaving it up to Congress to write a tax plan after articulating principles. A corporate tax rate that low — the current rate is 35%, though there a number of loopholes companies can exploit to lower their payments — would make it challenging to create a plan that is deficit neutral, which it would have to be to pass in the Senate with only Republican votes.
The undercurrent of Trump’s pitch was his disappointment that Republicans have not been able to repeal Obamacare. “I don’t want to be disappointed by Congress, do you understand me?” Trump said.
TOUTING GDP
Trump did tout the latest data to come out of the Commerce Department, showing an upward revision to 3% growth in the second quarter.
“We announced we had 3% in GDP, it just came out. On the yearly basis, the last administration never hit 3%,” Trump said. “We are really on our way.”
Read: U.S. economic growth hits 3% rate in second quarter
MESSAGE TO TEXAS
Trump started his speech by talkin g about the rain which has flooded Houston and other communities. “We are with you today, we are with you tomorrow, and we will be with you every single day after, to restore, recover and rebuild,” he said.
Opinion: Harvey’s ravaging of Houston is perfect reason to kill the flood insurance program
He also sent a tweet along the same lines.
After witnessing first hand the horror & devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey,my heart goes out even more so to the great people of Texas! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2017
Reporters noted that Trump did not meet any hurricane victims during his visit to Texas on Tuesday.
NO DIPLOMACY FOR NORTH KOREA
Also noteworthy on the Twitter front, Trump tweeted that the U.S. has been talking to North Korea “and paying them extortion money” for 25 years, which he said wasn’t the answer.
Another tweet spoke of the “ferocious anger” in magazines, a possible reference to unflattering covers of periodicals including The New Yorker, Time and Der Spiegel. “After reading the false reporting and even ferocious anger in some dying magazines, it makes me wonder, WHY? All I want to do is #MAGA!,” he tweeted.
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Naturally, every cannabis chef and home cook believes their own method for making cannabutter works the best (or they would use another method). As the author of The Official High Times Cannabis Cookbook, I’ve been approached by people touting literally dozens of different recipes for “the ultimate cannabutter,” each promising to produce the most potent, tasteless, scentless, product possible.
Ever wondered how to make cannabutter? I’ve tried out many of these recipes, and they all work. But how well, exactly?
To find out, I took butters into my own hands by testing four top methods side-by-side using the same basic ingredients in each batch.
Which method of infusing cannabis into butter works for you?
Aiming to dispel the myths and make with the science, I enlisted two dedicated cannabis testing laboratories to analyze the finished samples using high-pressure liquid chromatography to determine their cannabinoid profiles. That analysis will reveal which method is most efficient at using heat to convert THCa (a non-psychoactive form of the drug found in raw marijuana) into psychoactive THC, giving you the most bang for your buck and ensuring that none of your precious weed gets wasted.
Toasting ground cannabis on a baking sheet in the oven at 240ºF for an hour will activate the THC.
Decarboxylation, through heating or drying your cannabis, is a chemical reaction that converts THCa into THC. The boiling temperature for THC is 314ºF, and heating your cannabis too high for too long will result in lowered potency as THC converts to CBN, or is destroyed completely. Heating your herb at 240ºF for an hour will decarb your cannabis so that it is ready to use in an infusion. Most of the methods we tested included a decarb step, with the exception of the traditional water-simmered method.
First, begin by clarifying high-quality organic butter and carefully weighing your cannabis.
The Experiment
Using a 1/2 ounce of the same kind of cannabis and 8 ounces of clarified butter as our ingredients, we tested four different methods from well-known cannabis cooks and had the finished butters analyzed by SC Labs and Steep Hill in California. The lab results revealed how much THCa remained in the butter, showing us the potential THC that was not successfully activated, along with other useful information.
This old shake was from a harvest of Nepalese several years prior.
The Ultimate Cannabutter Experiment was repeated twice, with different types of cannabis used for each batch, for eight total butter samples. Two different laboratories analyzed each set of samples along with the cannabis used to create the infusions, allowing us to confirm trends by comparing the data sets.
Method 1: Scientific Cannabutter
Preparation Time: 8 hours
Equipment: Oven, Crock-Pot, Spray Bottle
Secret Weapon: Everclear Alcohol
Our first method was developed by scientist Tamar Wise, CSO at Nutrawerx, a cannabinoid nutraceutical company. Tamar’s method is unique because it uses Everclear alcohol to help break down the cellulose in the plant material, helping cannabinoids to migrate into the lipids.
First, toast the cannabis trim in the oven at 240ºF for an hour, before cooling and spraying with Everclear alcohol. As soon as the alcohol hits the decarbed flowers, an intense toasty cannabis smell is released, making your kitchen very fragrant.
Simmer the 1/2 ounce of decarbed trim in 8 oz. of clarified butter in a Crock-Pot for 6 hours, stirring frequently, before removing and straining. I measured the temperature of the Crock-Pot at various points through the process, seeing it climb from 185ºF to 240ºF on the low setting. The cannabis becomes incredibly crisp after this process, and it smells and tastes rather strong.
Learn the Recipe: Scientific Cannabutter
Unique for using Everclear alcohol to help break down the plant matter and allow cannabinoids to escape, this method was developed by cannabinoid scientist Tamar Wise. Using common household equipment and the ever-popular Crock-Pot makes it simple to create cannabutter overnight. Watch Tamar create her infusions for a gourmet dinner hosted at Hunter S. Thompson’s house!
Ingredients:
1/2 oz. flowers
1 oz. Everclear in a spray bottle
8 oz. clarified butter
1. Preheat oven to 240ºF.
2. Grind your flowers down in a blender or food processor. Spread ground flower evenly on bottom of a sheet pan and place in middle of oven.
3. Bake for an hour, stirring once halfway through. Make sure the flower stays evenly spread out.
4. Take pan out of oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place some Everclear in a spray bottle, and spray a fine mist of alcohol all over the toasted flower. This step helps break down the cellulose slightly, allowing for a less green infusion color. If you don’t have a spray bottle you can use a teaspoon and sprinkle the Everclear on the cannabis flowers while stirring with a spoon.
5. Let flowers sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, begin melting your butter over low heat.
Since we have already decarboxylated, the butter only needs to be hot enough to extract cannabinoids. A slow simmer is good. Spoon the flower into the butter and stir. Extract using a Crock-Pot set on low for 6 hours and stir every hour or so to prevent burning.
6. Once your infusion is done, turn off heat and let the cannabutter cool down for at least 20 minutes.
7. Line a metal strainer with cheesecloth. Pour butter through the cheesecloth and use a spoon to squeeze all the infused cannabutter out.
8. Now your cannabutter is ready to use in recipes! Keep it in the fridge and use within two weeks.WINNIPEG — Over 20 traffic lights were out in the St. James area, affecting numerous intersections in the region. Police were asking drivers and pedestrians to treat these intersections as a four-way stop until the problem is resolved.
At around 3:45 p.m. police said through their twitter account that all traffic lights had started working again.
Great news West #Winnipeg commuters! It looks like the traffic lights in St. James are functioning again. Have a safe drive home tonight. — Winnipeg Police (@wpgpolice) July 20, 2016
See below for list of the outages Wednesday afternoon:
St. James Traffic Light Outages Update – This is a listing of the outages we're aware of present. Please be safe. pic.twitter.com/iuKdHFOV0i — Winnipeg Police (@wpgpolice) July 20, 2016
The outages began at roughly 2:45 p.m.
RELATED: Power outages to affect Gimli and surrounding areas over the next three months
Manitoba Hydro worked on restoring power to the area.
#mboutage Tyndall Park, St. James, Maples: approx. 4,000 customers restored. Crews working on remaining 4,000. Thanks for your patience. — Manitoba Hydro (@manitobahydro) July 20, 2016
More updates will follow.The University of Calgary is defending a proposal to charge more for dorms with premium views.
Some students are upset that suites on the top two floors could cost an extra $100 per month when two new residence towers open next fall.
Linda Dalgetty, vice president of finance and services at the U of C, says other post-secondary institutions already charge higher rates for premium views.
“We've done a bit of a comparative in the market and we have found both in Alberta, and then also in Calgary, there is a pattern of other institutions meeting that demand by charging a premium … for those people who choose to apply to get … on the upper floors," she said.
Austin Baecker, president of the Residence Students’ Association, says the premium rates could have a divisive effect.
"When you have communities separated completely by these premium rates, you'll have, you know, your upper-class students on the upper floors and middle to lower on the lower floors,” he said.
The university plans to hike rents overall by up to 8.5 per cent next year.
The new rates still have to be approved by the school’s board of governors.This article is about the theory involving communist countries. For the Weather Report album, see Domino Theory (album). For the Steve Wariner song, see The Domino Theory
An illustration of the domino theory as it had been predicted
The domino theory was a theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s that posited that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect.[1] The domino theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War to justify the need for American intervention around the world.
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower described the theory during an April 7, 1954, news conference, when referring to communism in Indochina:
Finally, you have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the "falling domino" principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.[2]
History [ edit ]
In 1945, the Soviet Union brought most of the countries of eastern Europe and Central Europe into its influence as part of the post-World War II new settlement,[3] prompting Winston Churchill to declare in a speech in 1946 at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri that:
From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "Iron Curtain" has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow.[4]
Following the Iran crisis of 1946, Harry S. Truman declared what became known as the Truman Doctrine in 1947,[5] promising to contribute financial aid to Greece during their Civil War and to Turkey following World War II, in the hope that this would impede the advancement of Communism into Western Europe.[6] Later that year, diplomat George Kennan wrote an article in Foreign Affairs magazine that became known as the "X Article", which first articulated the policy of containment,[7] arguing that the further spread of Communism to countries outside a "buffer zone" around the USSR, even if it happened via democratic elections, was unacceptable and a threat to U.S. national security.[8] Kennan was also involved, along with others in the Truman administration, in creating the Marshall Plan,[9] which also began in 1947, to give aid to the countries of Western Europe (along with Greece and Turkey),[10] in large part with the hope of keeping them from falling under Soviet domination.[11]
In 1949, a Communist-backed government, led by Mao Zedong, was instated in China (officially becoming the People's Republic of China).[12] The installation of the new government was established after the People's Liberation Army defeated the Nationalist Republican Government of China in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949).[13] Two Chinas were formed - mainland 'Communist China' (People's Republic of China) and 'Nationalist China' Taiwan (Republic of China). The takeover by Communists of the world's most populous nation was seen in the West as a great strategic loss, prompting the popular question at the time, "Who lost China?"[14] The United States subsequently ended diplomatic relations with China in response to the communist takeover in 1949.[13]
Korea had also partially fallen under Soviet domination at the end of World War II, split from the south of the 38th parallel where U.S. forces subsequently moved into. By 1948, as a result of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the U.S., Korea was split into two regions, with separate governments, each claiming to be the legitimate government of Korea, and neither side accepting the border as permanent. In 1950 fighting broke out between Communists and Republicans that soon involved troops from China (on the Communists' side), and the United States and 15 allied countries (on the Republicans' side). Though the war never officially ended, the fighting ended in 1953 with an armistice that left Korea divided into two nations, North Korea and South Korea. Mao Zedong's decision to take on the U.S. in the Korean War was a direct attempt to confront what the Communist bloc viewed as the strongest anti-Communist power in the world, undertaken at a time when the Chinese Communist regime was still consolidating its own power after winning the Chinese Civil War.
President Eisenhower was the first to refer to countries in danger of Communist takeover as dominoes, in response to a journalist's question about Indochina in an April 7, 1954, news conference, though he did not use the term "domino theory".[15] If Communists succeeded in taking over the rest of Indochina, Eisenhower argued, local groups would then have the encouragement, material support and momentum to take over Burma, Thailand, Malaya and Indonesia; all of these countries had large popular Communist movements and insurgencies within their borders at the time.
In May 1954, the Viet Minh, a Communist and nationalist army, defeated French troops in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and took control of what became North Vietnam.[16] This caused the French to fully withdraw from the region then known as French Indochina, a process they had begun earlier.[17] The regions were then divided into four independent countries (North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) after a deal was brokered at the 1954 Geneva Conference to end the First Indochina War.[18]
This would give them a geographical and economic strategic advantage, and it would make Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand the front-line defensive states. The loss of regions traditionally within the vital regional trading area of countries like Japan would encourage the front-line countries to compromise politically with communism.
Eisenhower's domino theory of 1954 was a specific description of the situation and conditions within Southeast Asia at the time, and he did not suggest a generalized domino theory as others did afterward.
The John F. Kennedy administration intervened in Vietnam in the early 1960s to, among other reasons, keep the South Vietnamese "domino" from falling. When Kennedy came to power there was concern that the communist-led Pathet Lao in Laos would provide the Viet Cong with bases, and that eventually they could take over Laos.
Arguments in favor of the domino theory [ edit ]
The primary evidence for the domino theory is the spread of communist rule in three Southeast Asian countries in 1975, following the communist takeover of Vietnam: South Vietnam (by the Viet Cong), Laos (by the Pathet Lao), and Cambodia (by the Khmer Rouge). It can further be argued that before they finished taking Vietnam prior to the 1950s, the communist campaigns did not succeed in Southeast Asia. Note the Malayan Emergency, the Hukbalahap Rebellion in the Philippines, and the increasing involvement with Communists by Sukarno of Indonesia from the late 1950s until he was deposed in 1967. All of these were unsuccessful Communist attempts to take over Southeast Asian countries which stalled when communist forces were still focused in Vietnam.
Walt Whitman Rostow and the then Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew have argued that the U.S. intervention in Indochina, by giving the nations of ASEAN time to consolidate and engage in economic growth, prevented a wider domino effect.[19] Meeting with President Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger in 1975, Lee Kuan Yew argued that "there is a tendency in the U.S. Congress not to want to export jobs. But we have to have the jobs if we are to stop Communism. We have done that, moving from simple to more complex skilled labor. If we stop this process, it will do more harm than you can every[sic] repair with aid. Don't cut off imports from Southeast Asia."[20]
McGeorge Bundy argued that the prospects for a domino effect, though high in the 1950s and early 1960s, were weakened in 1965 when the Indonesian Communist Party was destroyed via CIA-supported death squads in the Indonesian genocide. However, proponents believe that the efforts during the containment (i.e., Domino Theory) period ultimately led to the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Some supporters of the domino theory note the history of communist governments supplying aid to communist revolutionaries in neighboring countries. For instance, China supplied the Viet Minh, the North Vietnamese army, with troops and supplies, and the Soviet Union supplied them with tanks and heavy weapons. The fact that the Pathet Lao and Khmer Rouge were both originally part of the Vietminh, not to mention Hanoi's support for both in conjunction with |
the methadone clinic. After his dose kicks in, Joey takes a couple of Klonopins and then shoots a gram of heroin. He cries, nods off, wakes and repeats.
"It was horrible, just horrible," Joey says. "I was ready to kill myself 'cause I had nothing to live for except to get up every day and do drugs and ruin my life and everybody’s life around me that loved me."
Joey comes up with a plan.
"I was going to do it on a Sunday mornin'," he says. He would go to Bellingham Square in Chelsea, the center of his heroin universe. "I'd have coffee with the guys, buy like 10 Klonopin and two bags of heroin. I'd go to sleep and probably never wake up."
But the Friday before, Joey runs into an old buddy. Chris, who Joey used to shoot heroin with, was working for one of the street outreach programs, handing out clean needles.
"He walked up to me, right, and said, ‘Joe, you look terrible, let me take you to detox,' " Joey recalls. He'd said no, dozens of times, to counselors and cops and his brother. But on that Friday, in the dead of winter, Joey heard himself say 'OK.'
He's not sure why. Maybe it was God talking for him, or maybe, "I was just feelin', like, cared for by someone, for once in a long time," Joey says.
'Now I'm Ready'
Joey at the New Hope program in South Weymouth in May (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Now Joey sits at a peeling picnic table outside New Hope, a residential treatment program in South Weymouth. He’s been here for two months, going to group counseling twice a day. He eats three regular meals a day, sleeps at night, and is working his way through the AA 12 steps of recovery.
Joey has been at this stage many times before. But this time, "I’m a lot more spiritual. Sometimes I pray 100 times a day. I’ll just be sitting here and…" Joey pauses. He sits up straight and lifts both arms toward the sky. This time, says Joey, he really will start a new, sober life.
"I didn’t, I didn’t go after it before 'cause I wasn’t ready. Now I’m ready," Joey says, letting his arms fall. "I know I’m ready, I want it. I want to be better. I don’t want to use drugs any more. I’m changing."
Joey stays at New Hope for another month, until he secures a spot in a halfway house with supervision. During the move, his phone goes missing and I lose track of him.
'Now I'm Running Again'
Then one Thursday in late September, there’s Joey, plastic cup in hand, walking past cars stopped at a light in Everett.
"Come on, baby," he says, shaking his medley of coin, "someone gotta give, someone gotta give."
On good days Joey can make $50 to $70 in a morning. But business is slow this day. Joey agrees to break for a cup of coffee. We head to Dunkin' Donuts because Joey has a gift card. He gets tested for HIV every few weeks if he can.
"I’m negative," Joey says. "I get tested, like, all the time. I just did it for the card."
Joey orders his usual, a medium with cream and eight sugars, and sits down to fill me in.
He did, indeed, move into a halfway house in Somerville. He lasted two months.
One day, as Joey tells the story, he was sitting quietly, reading the Gospel according to Matthew, his favorite New Testament book, when one of the guests started harassing him. It was a guy who always wears black and calls himself a Satanist.
"He kept pushing me and pushing me," Joey says. "Finally I got up and I cracked him. Now I’m running again, you know, doing drugs here and there."
Joey panhandles on Revere Beach Parkway in Everett in October. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Joey has stopped going to AA regularly, but he's still on methadone, the medication that is supposed to help curb his craving for heroin and block the effects. Doctors say few patients beat an addiction with methadone or Suboxone alone, that some kind of counseling or support group is critical.
Joey's shooting heroin again even though, he says, "I’m wasting my money 'cause I don’t feel it. It’s just the addiction, like just the whole thing of like, getting it and putting it in the spoon, and drawing it up, and seeing the blood. That’s the whole part of the high."
For a vicarious high, it’s incredibly dangerous. Someone from Whidden, the local hospital, tells Joey they’re losing a patient every day to an overdose -- a fact we confirmed during the summer.
The news terrifies Joey.
"Someone dies every day, just around here? That’s crazy," he says. "The amount of people doing heroin right now, it’s out of control."
A Pack Of Cigarettes, And Love
Joey says he's taking small steps toward a more stable life. He uses the money from panhandling to buy food first, then drugs, for example. He may take a big step soon. Joey just got word that after years of waiting, his application for a subsidized apartment is approved.
"I am so happy," he says, emphasizing every syllable. "If I get that, my life will be so much easier. And I deserve it. I didn't ask to get sick."
In early December, a case manager from Heading Home invites Joey to visit a fully furnished one-bedroom apartment in Revere and then hands him the keys. Joey contributes a third of his monthly income, $192.50, for rent.
"They gave me this place and I should be real happy and ecstatic," he says a few weeks later during a visit, "but some days I still wake up depressed and not happy."
Joey in his new apartment (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
For years, Joey’s life revolved around running and doing drugs in the square near Chelsea City Hall. It's not a healthy place for him now, but he doesn’t have a replacement. He meets with a counselor once a week to talk about getting a part-time job or going back to school. He has one friend, a guy he knew from high school, who stops by a few times a week. Joey spends a lot of time alone.
"There’s no friendship today like there used to be, that’s for sure," Joey says. "People rat on each other, send people to jail, steal from one another."
Joey seems a little out of it. He says he's smoking weed but hasn’t used heroin in five days. Joey isn’t sure if he’ll go to an uncle’s for Christmas or stay home alone. He stares at a small artificial Christmas tree on his kitchen table, one of the few things he has from his mom. I stare at him, wondering what’s missing from this recovery plan, what he needs.
"I need a pack of cigarettes," Joey says, "and I need, um, I need love. Just good ol' love."
Joey, the survivor, is optimistic.
"Good things come to those who wait," he says with just a little twinkle in his eye.U.S. television viewership declined by 12 per cent in January compared to the same month a year earlier, the eighth consecutive double-digit drop, according to new data from ratings firm Nielsen.
The main reason for the drop-off is that viewers are switching to streaming video services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Video, say analysts Anthony DiClemente and Benjamin Black at investment bank Nomura.
There's also little evidence that January's data is a blip.
On an annual basis, overall television viewership has declined by more than 10 per cent annualized every month since last July. Even before that, the numbers were down by single digits for several months.
"The viewership declines that we observed throughout most of 2014 accelerated for most media companies in January," the analysts said. "This does not bode well for … domestic cable TV ad revenue trends."
Declines across the board
Every media company that Nomura tracks saw viewership declines in January, according to the Nielsen data, but none fared worse than Viacom, which owns channels such as BET, MTV, CMT, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Overall ratings across Viacom properties were down 23 per cent in January compared to the same month a year earlier.
Others fared only slightly better:
Twentieth Century Fox saw its ratings decline by about 10 per cent.
Disney, which owns ABC, was off 7.5 per cent.
Time Warner, one of the brighter lights, was still down by three per cent.
Specialty network AMC saw its ratings decline by almost 19 per cent. But the analysts noted the channel had no new original programming during January, so AMC's number is expected to change in February with a new season of The Walking Dead starting, and the premiere of the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul.
Of Scripps, owners of several specialty channels, the analysts said: "Food Network and the Travel Channel ratings remained soft, somewhat offset by modest viewership growth at HGTV," but overall Scripps's ratings were down by a little over six per cent.
Add it all up and it's a worrisome trend for the industry that's facing exponential growth from online streaming services.
Lobby group The Internet Association, which counts Google, Netflix, Amazon and Yahoo among its members, revenue from online streaming video has increased by 175 per cent between 2010 and 2013, from $1.86 billion to $5.12 billion, the group told the New York Times this week.
In a nod to the shift towards digital, Nielsen said late last year it plans to start including data on online video streaming in its monthly ratings in the near future. That development should give a clearer picture of what people are watching and how much, on a head-to-head basis.Mayor Mike Duggan's administration is seeking proposals from real estate developers about how the 264-acre Coleman A. Young International Airport could be used for nonaviation purposes amid continued operating losses and limited use.
The City of Detroit's Office of Contracting and Procurement issued a request for proposals Thursday seeking plans from development firms and and land use consultants that would create the most "economic impact and job creation in either aviation or no-aviation capacity."
Detroit's RFP seeks proposals for redeveloping the airport land for an industrial or mobility park, which could effectively end private and corporate aviation at the east side airport that has just 66 full-time workers.
City officials also want proposals about what it would cost to increase aviation use of the airport, which hasn't had commercial passenger airline service since 2000 when Pro Air discontinued service.
"We haven't done a study of the airport of this nature in a very long time — and a lot has changed in the city," said Jed Howbert, executive director of the mayor's jobs and economy team. "We need someone to look at the facts, walk us through the options and help us come up with a set of proposed recommendations."
Any attempt by the Duggan administration to shut down the airport would have to be approved by City Council, whose members have passed resolutions in recent years calling for more investment in the facility to lure more private and commercial planes to land in Detroit.
"I believe that this is a viable asset that needs to be invested in and it could be a huge revenue generator, a job creator in the city of Detroit," said Councilman Scott Benson, whose 3rd District includes the airport along Conner Street. "I do not support shutting the airport down."
Redevelopment of their airport land for industrial uses could be linked with the nearby I-94 Industrial Park, where Urbana, Ill.-based supplier Flex-N-Gate Corp. is building a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing plant on 30 acres of land the company purchased from the city.
"Industrial users like being near other industrial users, so there may be some rationale for that," Howbert said. "But we need the consultant to go through that in detail."
Coleman A. Young International Airport, which was formerly called Detroit City Airport, has two runways that are 5,090 feet and 4,025 feet long.
The Duggan administration's new openness to redeveloping the airport comes as the facility continues to mount losses that city taxpayers ultimately shoulder.
The airport is expected to generate $819,824 in revenue this year, but cost $2,124,195 to operate — a $1.3 million operating loss. It posted operating losses of $736,751 in the 2016 fiscal year and $396,132 in 2015. For the 2018 fiscal year, the airport's operating loss is estimated to be $885,000.
There are fewer than eight departures at Coleman A. Young International Airport on an average daily basis. The airport directed the takeoff of 2,085 flights in 2016, according to the city's RFP.
Federal Aviation Administration regulations have prevented the city from simply closing the airport or ceasing taxpayer support without alternative financial support.
"Other communities around the country have chosen to shut down airports and have found ways to navigate that," Howbert said. "We want the consultant to help us understand that to inform the decision."
On the capital expense, the cost to city taxpayers for continued maintenance of the airport escalates.
"Airport management has requested $29,658,620 in capital expenditure funding for FY18," according to the city's RFP.
Ann Arbor-based Avflight Corp. has a contract with the city through June 30, 2019, to provide aeronautical services, manage the main terminal building and provide day-to-day maintenance of the airport, its parking lots and aircraft taxi areas.
The city's Office of Contracting and Procurement has set a June 8 deadline for firms to submit proposals for future use of the airport.Sean Hannity latest teabagging event has come to a violent halt when he pulled out at the last minute. WLWT reported that there were some technical issues and then it would seem that Hannity blamed it on personal reasons.
Fox News commentator Sean Hannity has cancelled his appearance and broadcast at a Tea Party rally at Fifth Third Arena.Hannity planned to tape his television show from the event, which starts at 6 p.m. at the University of Cincinnati.Organizers of the rally said there were technical issues, but that the overriding factor for the cancellation was a personal matter that Hannity needed to attend to in New York. WLWT was the first to report that there were issues when Hannity failed to appear at a book signing at 4:30 p.m. Minutes later, Hannity's bus was seen leaving the campus.Hannity's newscast will broadcast from New York with a guest host.
However that story isn't holding water. The LA Times is reporting that Sean took a scolding from FOX News execs and they are making him do his show tonight from his studio.
Angry Fox News executives ordered host Sean Hannity to abandon plans to broadcast his nightly show as part of a Tea Party rally in Cincinnati on Thursday after top executives learned that he was set to headline the event, proceeds from which would benefit the local Tea Party organization. Rally organizers had listed Hannity, who is on a book tour, as the headliner of the four-hour Tax Day event at the University of Cincinnati. The rally, expected to draw as many as 13,000 people, was set feature speakers such as “Liberal Facism” author Jonah Goldberg and local Tea Party leaders. Participants were being charged a minimum of $5, with seats near Hannity’s set going for $20, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, which reported that any profits would go to future Tea Party events. Media Matters for America noted that Hannity’s personal website directed supporters to a link to buy tickets for the Cincinnati rally. But senior Fox News executives said they were not aware Hannity was being billed as the centerpiece of the event or that Tea Party organizers were charging for admission to Hannity’s show as part of the rally. They first learned of it Thursday morning from John Finley, Hannity's executive producer, who was in Cincinnati to produce Hannity's show. Furious, top officials recalled Hannity back to New York to do his show in his regular studio. The network plans to do an extensive post-mortem about the incident with Finley and Hannity's staff. “Fox News never agreed to allow the Cincinnati Tea Party organizers to use Sean Hannity’s television program to profit from broadcasting his show from the event," said Bill Shine, the network’s executive vice president of programming. "When senior executives in New York were made aware of this, we changed our plans for tonight’s show.”
Before the tea party movement got going, FOX News was very excited to use their entire network to promote them because a Democratic politician was elected to the White House. Now, they are trying to make believe that never happened. I wonder if their legal department got involved when money was changing hands with the teabaggers?
UPDATE: More News from FOX 19:
A statement was released by the Vice president of Programming of FOX News, Bill Shine. "FOX News never agreed to allow the Cincinnati Tea Party Organizers to use Sean Hannity's television program to profit from broadcasting his show from the event. When senior executives in New York were made aware, we changed our plans for tonight's show." FOX News has confirmed that Sean Hannity's broadcast of tonight's show from New York City.
Yep, it's all about the cash. Well they still have Joe the Plumber and Bill Cunningham to entertain them...
Poor Glenn Reynolds of Pajamas Media has been there waiting for Hannity to arrive and now can be counted as the people who were surely disappointed by Hannity's sudden departure.WASHINGTON (December 10, 2017) — D.C. United have acquired Jamaican National Team forward Darren Mattocks from the Portland Timbers in exchange for a 2018 International slot, exercising his option for 2018. The 27-year-old made 24 appearances last season for the Portland Timbers, scoring four goals and recording two assists.
"We are thrilled to add an attacking player who unbalances opposing defenses with his speed, willingness to get into dangerous areas, and ability to score goals," Dave Kasper, United general manager, said. "Darren is coming off a great year with impactful performances for Portland and for Jamaica, helping them reach the Gold Cup final. We believe Darren's best football is ahead of him as he enters the prime of his career, and we welcome him to the Black-and-Red."
Mattocks started his MLS career with the Vancouver Whitecaps who him second overall in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. After scoring seven goals in his rookie season, Mattocks topped the 2012 MLS Top 24 Under 24 list.
He appeared in 93 games, scored 19 goals and recorded six assists in five seasons with the Whitecaps. The Portmore, Jamaica native made history by scoring the first MLS Cup Playoff goal for the 2011 expansion team against the Los Angeles Galaxy on November 1, 2012.
On the international stage, Mattocks made his debut for the Reggae Boyz in a 2-0 win against El Salvador in an international friendly on Aug. 16, 2012. He has scored 14 goals in 42 appearances for Jamaica and most recently appeared in all six of their Gold Cup 2017 games including the final against the U.S. Men’s National Team.Álvaro Arbeloa takes stock of his time over the past three years alongside the coach he has always supported, one month after José Mourinho's departure from Real Madrid, and who he believes was such an important figure that even "the President of Spain should be grateful", because in his view "he has stopped people talking more about what's been happening in Spain".
"The biggest thing Mourinho has given me is that mind-set and intensity of wanting to win on an every day basis. Of knowing that you always have to work your hardest because that is what it takes to achieve success in the end", says Arbeloa.
"No-one feels indifferent about Mourinho. You're either with him to the death or against him. I think he has been such an important figure over the past three years that he has become blown out of all proportion", the Spanish defender continues.
"It's not all hits when you're in a team like Real Madrid for three years. When you're the coach of Real Madrid and you have to make a lot of important decisions, it's normal to make mistakes. I'm sure Mourinho's made mistakes, but if he did it was because he thought it was the best thing for the team and done without malice. You can't criticize him for anything. Nobody's perfect. The same will happen now with Ancelotti. I'm sure he'll have his hits, but he'll have his misses too" Arbeloa concluded.Nothing like chomping on crickets to give yourself a daily protein boost.
Or so say Greg Sewitz and Gabi Lewis, two young entrepreneurs who next month plan to begin selling energy bars containing ground-up chirping insects. They point out that crickets are loaded with protein, way more than an equal amount of chicken or cow, and that they provide more iron than beef does and almost as much calcium as milk. Plus, as food products go, they're far easier on the environment than cows, producing one-eightieth the amount of methane and requiring much less food and water.
Yes, that's all very sensible. But we are talking about insect parts.
Sewitz and Lewis certainly understand that for most Americans chowing on bugs is way up on the "ewww" scale. But they say that crickets don't actually taste like much when they're ground to the consistency of flour. Since tastelessness generally is not a good quality for food either, they have flavored up their bars in three versions--peanut butter and jelly, cacao nut and cashew ginger spice.
To be clear, these protein snacks, called Exo bars, are not little bricks of flavored cricket flour. There are 40 crickets in each bar, but they make up only 6 percent of its mass. The bars also include raw almonds, dates, honey, coconut and cacao.
Gregory Ferenstein, after a tasting for TechCrunch, described the Exo as having “the taste and texture of a mildly sweet protein bar” adding “No, you can’t taste the crickets.” Silvia Killingsworth, writing in The New Yorker, likewise found “no discernable cricket element” when she chewed on one.
Eat like an Aztec
The truth is Sewitz and Lewis weren’t the first to come up with the idea of putting crickets in protein bars. A little more than a year ago, Patrick Crowley, a Utah hydrologist who saw the environmental and nutritional benefits of using cricket flour in food, began selling Chapul bars—"chapul" is Aztec for crickets—in health food and sporting goods stores.
Crowley points out that his creation is not such a novel idea—the Aztecs, he says, made a dense protein bread out of cricket flour 500 years ago. His inspiration came from a TED talk a few years ago by Dutch scientist Marcel Dicke, who has become an evangelist for making insects a food staple in Europe and North America.
Like the Exo team, Crowley knows that bug food is not exactly going to sell like, well, hot cakes, but he figured that cricket flour would be a smarter way to ease Americans into the idea of insect dining than say, fried beetles. He thinks cricket protein bars could be to bugs what California rolls were to sushi—a palatable starter meal.
That said, he is not shy about promoting the Chapul bar’s essential ingredient. There’s a cricket on the wrapper, along with the tag line, “The Original Cricket Bar.”
Happy meals?
Here’s other news from the food front:
· After two hours, even celery looked hot: Exercise may actually make your brain feel better about healthy food—at least that’s what a team of researchers at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. found. They say that after young men jogged for an hour on a treadmill, the reward centers of their brains were more active when they were shown photos of low-fat food than when they looked at pictures of fast food.
· The last thing I remember was a giant pizza: Cramming for exams is usually not a good idea; eating junk food while you’re cramming may be even worse. According to a recent study at the University of New South Wales in Australia, eating a particularly unhealthy diet for even just a week may be enough to impair your memory. Scientists discovered that rats fed a diet of cakes, cookies and fat for a week suffered memory impairment, particularly when it came to retaining new information.
· Nothing like Monster Thickburgers by candlelight: Even in a fast food restaurant, encouraging people to eat more slowly can cause them to consume less food. As part of their research, two scientists got a Hardee’s restaurant in Champaign, Illinois, to class up a separate room with indirect lighting, tablecloths and soft jazz. The result: Diners who ate in the “nice” room consumed 18 percent less food than those who had their meals in the regular part of the restaurant.
· That smoothie went right to my head: Nestle has entered into a partnership with a biotechnology company that will allow it to obtain human brain and liver cells and then study how nutrients in food affects them. The thinking is that Nestle will use what it learns from that research to create drinks, smoothies and other products that, according to the Wall Street Journal, it “can market as having medical benefits.”
· Have it our way: A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics says that not only do most American students have frequent exposure to fast food through their school’s meals, but that 30 percent of high school cafeterias serve food promoted with a company’s brand at least once a week. And that’s not all. Almost two-thirds of the elementary schools surveyed in the study provided fast food coupons to students.
Video bonus: Here’s the TED talk by Marcel Dicke that helped launch the cricket protein bar business.
Video bonus bonus: Let’s take a moment to celebrate crickets, in all their swarming glory, last fall in Oklahoma.
More on Smithsonian.com
Insect Farming Kit Lets You Raise Edible Bugs
Why Cockroaches Meticulously Groom Their AntennaeHow to Hollow Out 3D Models to Save Material and Time
in Tutorials
By default, stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers create fully dense parts. At times when you’re not printing functional parts that require a certain strength, hollowing out your design can be great way to save a considerable amount of material and time.
A few designs we recommend hollowing out:
Art and sculptures
Scale models
Early stage conceptual models
Large models and multi-piece assemblies
Using PreForm, and Meshmixer’s (free) hollowing tool you can prepare your model for printing in three simple steps.
Step 1: Find the Correct Orientation
During the SLA printing process, your model is printed layer by layer and lifted out of the liquid resin as the build platform gradually moves up along the Z axis. Depending on your 3D printer, when you print a hollow object it could trap resin inside the print as the layers are solidified by the laser below the liquid. You can circumvent this by first finding the correct orientation to print your model and strategically adding vent holes to let the resin flow out.
Open your model in PreForm and orient it the way it’ll print the best. The side closest to the build platform should be one that won’t be visible on the object or where a vent hole can be placed without influencing the function of the part. Try to avoid having multiple negative overhangs, as they would trap resin inside as well.
Orient the model in PreForm the way it’ll print the best, while keeping in mind the location of the prospective vent holes.
Step 2: Hollow Out Your Model
First, open your model in Meshmixer. You can orient it identically to your preset in PreForm, if it makes it easier to find the correct location for the vent holes (Edit > Transform). Look for the hollow tool (Edit > Hollow) and adjust the settings based on your preferences for wall thickness.
Meshmixer will create a shell inside your model according to the offset you specify. Next up is generating the vent holes. Place one as close to the build platform as possible and at least one more on a surface of your preference. This will help the resin and air to vent while printing the part, as well as isopropyl alcohol (IPA) flow through during the cleaning process. Sometimes, flat surfaces will be destroyed when a hole is added. To prevent this, use the Make Solid (Edit > Make Solid) function to generate an easily manipulable mesh. Note that your mesh may lose quality this way unless you use the sliders to preserve quality.
What to consider for the best results:
The wall thickness directly influences the strength of your print. Since there’s no internal structure or scaffolding within the hollow print, having a thin shell will render large models fragile.
The thinner the walls, the less material your print will require and the lighter it’ll be. If you need a solid or stronger part, you can also opt for filling up the model with inexpensive epoxy or plaster after printing.
Specify the settings of your preference in Meshmixer and add vent holes to your model (red marks on the display).
When you’re finished, accept the settings and export your model from Meshmixer in.STL format.
Step 3: Print Your Model
Now you’re ready to print. Import the modified 3D model to PreForm and orient it identically to the previous steps so that the vent holes are as close to the build platform as possible. From here on, the printing and post-processing follows the same path as regular SLA prints.
The actual time and material savings are dependent on your specific model and settings. In our example case, the results for a 112 mm X 85 mm X 114 mm model with 2 mm offset distance and 0.1 mm layer thickness are the following:
Overall Comparison
Original Solid Hollow Material 246.28 mL 77.37 mL Printing time 15 h 35 min 7 h 47 min
The finished hollow model, printed with Formlabs Standard White Resin
Visit our materials page to learn more about Formlabs Resins, and request a free sample part to experience SLA quality firsthand.Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh speaks at the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Winner's Circle Clinic at the Lansing Center on Jan. 16, 2015. (Photo: Rod Sanford LSJ)
When Messiah deWeaver committed to Michigan in June, the Wolverines looked set at quarterback for years.
With one in every class, through deWeaver in 2016, the position was locked up under coach Brady Hoke.
Then Hoke was fired, Jim Harbaugh was hired and the plan was altered dramatically.
DeWeaver, the No. 7 pro-style quarterback in the 2016 class out of Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne, realized it when Harbaugh recruited a second 2015 QB in New Mexico's Zach Gentry and then went after a few other highly ranked QBs in his class.
So he decommitted on Tuesday night, posting on Twitter that he is "reopening my recruitment."
In the past two days, Harbaugh visited with the No. 1 QB in the 2016 class, Washington's Jacob Eason, currently committed to Georgia.
He also visited the No. 2 QB in the class, Santa Margarita, Calif.'s KJ Costello.
Jim Harbaugh saw KJ Costello yesterday; he has very high interest in #Michigan and has for over a year: http://t.co/YInAGWti1m — Steve Lorenz (@TremendousUM) January 28, 2015
Eight days ago, the uncommitted Costello showed he's willing to listen.
Coach Harbaugh is the man〽️ — LilKev (@kj_costello) January 20, 2015
Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder.The anti-tumoral effects of cannabinoids have been described in different tumor systems, including pancreatic adenocarcinoma, but their mechanism of action remains unclear. We used cannabinoids specific for the CB1 (ACPA) and CB2 (GW) receptors and metabolomic analyses to unravel the potential pathways mediating cannabinoid-dependent inhibition of pancreatic cancer cell growth. Panc1 cells treated with cannabinoids show elevated AMPK activation induced by a ROS-dependent increase of AMP/ATP ratio. ROS promote nuclear translocation of GAPDH, which is further amplified by AMPK, thereby attenuating glycolysis. Furthermore, ROS determine the accumulation of NADH, suggestive of a blockage in the respiratory chain, which in turn inhibits the Krebs cycle. Concomitantly, inhibition of Akt/c-Myc pathway leads to decreased activity of both the pyruvate kinase isoform M2 (PKM2), further downregulating glycolysis, and glutamine uptake. Altogether, these alterations of pancreatic cancer cell metabolism mediated by cannabinoids result in a strong induction of autophagy and in the inhibition of cell growth.
Here, to shed light on the molecular mechanisms of autophagy induction by cannabinoids in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells, we have investigated whether the AMPK has a role in this effect and whether this mechanism is related to the alteration of the energetic metabolism. For this purpose, we performed analysis of autophagy with a mutant of the γ subunit isoform 2 of AMPK unable to bind AMP, metabolomic analyses and determination of phosphorylation, activity or localization of proteins involved in the energetic metabolism or autophagy. We show that cannabinoids induce AMPK-mediated autophagy in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells through a ROS-dependent increase of the AMP/ATP ratio.
Cannabinoids are a class of bioactive lipids 1, 2, 3 that have a range of interesting activities, including the ability to reduce the growth of tumours such as glioma, 4 breast cancer, 5 prostate cancer, 6 and colon cancer 7 in different animal models. They impair tumour progression at different levels, with the most prevalent effects being the inhibition of cell proliferation by apoptosis, 8 cell cycle arrest, 9 and autophagy. 10 Cannabinoids induce autophagy in various types of cancer cell lines, and pharmacological or genetic inhibition of autophagy prevents their antiproliferative action, thus demonstrating that autophagy is important for cannabinoid antineoplastic activity. 11 Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved process in eukaryotes by which cytoplasmic cargo sequestered inside double-membrane vesicles are delivered to the lysosome for degradation. 12 This process has the role to rid the cell of intracellular misfolded or long-lived proteins, superfluous or damaged organelles, and invading microorganisms, and also is an adaptive response to provide nutrients and energy on exposure to various stresses. 13 In hepatocellular carcinoma cells, cannabinoids can trigger an ER stress-dependent activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) that cooperates with the TRIB3-mediated inhibition of the Akt–mTORC1 axis in the stimulation of autophagy-mediated cell death. 14 AMPK is a sensor of energy status that responds to the increase of AMP or ADP cellular concentration to maintain cellular energy homeostasis. 15 AMPKs appear to exist universally as heterotrimeric complexes comprising catalytic α subunits and regulatory β and γ subunits. 15 The α subunits contain a typical serine/threonine kinase domain at the N terminus and is significantly active only when phosphorylated by upstream kinases. 15 The γ subunits contain four regulatory adenine nucleotide-binding sites, two of which competitively bind AMP, ADP and ATP, and are the sites via which cellular energy status is sensed. 15 The major upstream kinase phosphorylating Thr 172 of the α subunit, and thus activating AMPK, in most mammalian cells is the tumour suppressor kinase LKB1. 16, 17, 18 Although LKB1 has to be expressed in mammalian cells for agents that increase the cellular AMP/ATP and ADP/ATP ratios to cause the activation of AMPK, 16 it is worth emphasizing that these effects are due to the binding of adenine nucleotides to the γ subunit of AMPK and that the LKB1 complex itself appears to be constitutively active. 19 In some cell types, Thr 172 can also be phosphorylated by the Ca 2 + /calmodulin-dependent protein kinase, CaMKK β, providing a Ca 2 + -activated pathway to switch on AMPK. 20, 21, 22 Activation by this mechanism can occur in the absence of any change in the adenine nucleotide ratios, although increases in Ca 2 + can act synergistically with increases in AMP or ADP. 23
Glutamine and glucose are the only two molecules catabolized in appreciable quantities in most mammalian cells in culture, to supply the cell with most of the carbon, nitrogen, free energy and reducing equivalents. To assess whether the regulation of glutamine catabolism was involved in the downregulation of the energetic metabolism, we measured the levels of glutamine and glutamate in the culture medium after the treatment of cells with cannabinoids. shows that glutamine incorporation was strongly reduced by both GW and ACPA, whereas glutamate release remained unchanged. The oncogene c-Myc has been described to coordinate the expression of genes involved in glutamine catabolism, including the induction of glutamine transporters. 27 Furthermore, it has been shown that Akt induces the upregulation of c-Myc and that Akt suppression inhibits the c-Myc expression. 28 We evaluated both Akt phosphorylation on serine 473, which is a marker of activation for this kinase, and c-Myc activity after GW or ACPA treatments. show that GW strongly inhibited Akt phosphorylation and c-Myc activity at 12-h treatment and even more at 24 h, while ACPA determined a significant decrease of both the proteins only at 24-h treatment. Altogether, these results suggested that the inhibition of glutamine uptake by cannabinoids could depend, at least for GW, on the repression of glutamine transporters determined by the decrease of c-Myc activity.
To further examine the involvement of the energetic metabolism in the induction of AMPK-mediated autophagy by cannabinoids, we analysed the critical metabolites of the Krebs cycle. As shown in, only the levels of the α-ketoglutarate ( ) and, to a very large extent, those of NADH ( ) increased after cannabinoid treatments. These |
, “We learn to do something by doing it. There is no other way.”
Even earlier, in the late 19th century, Maria Montessori was advocating for experiential, hands-on learning by doing, and in her 1947 book, Education for a New World, observed. “Scientific observation then has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment.”
The list goes on and on, suggesting that while the “Maker Movement” does indeed make a very compelling case for integrated, personalized learning, it is only the most recent such case. The “Maker Movement” in education is hands on learning repackaged in a way that seems to make sense to more people than perhaps homeschooling did (or does), just the way homeschooling was the small one room schoolhouse experience repackaged for 20th century rebellion against factory schooling. On the heels of homeschooling came charter schools, and blended learning, and now the “Maker Education” movement, which is not to diminish its value, but rather to put it in the context of history and within the framework of the future. It’s wonderfully encouraging that the language of making galvanizes so many communities, from libraries to the White House, in a way that few other educational “movements” have, but we must do everything in our power to keep the maker momentum alive.
The blog author concedes that the “Maker Movement” may well be a fad, observing, “As soon as a new development is described as a “movement”, this is perhaps inevitable.” So let us go back to the common ground on which all of these individualized, meaningful project based learning and living ideas stand, on that urgency of doing, and describe this not as a movement, but as yet another very good opportunity to apply what we know by now to be true: that hands on, contextual learning is the best and most enduring kind of learning.
“Making is a central part of the key to problem-solving and the more elusive skill of problem-finding,” says Maelstrom. “These skills are essential if we want to teach young people to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet. It seems we should all have a manifesto that includes making as part of the learning process.”
I don’t know about yet another manifesto.. There are already volumes written about what a good education should provide to students and to society, including a few maker education manifestos already:
But in our zeal for a maker driven world, I would add the importance of well informed makers, too, who don’t accept every quote in a persuasive meme they read as automatically authentic, or every movement as necessarily new. We need self-reliant, capable people who also have a sense of their shared history, who understand the contextual complexities of the present, and who are able to identify the common factors that truly make ideas “great” in order to make them realities.
In the end, the urgency lies not in saying, yet again, what works and what needs to be done, but as DaVinci (or someone else) and legions of homeschoolers, Montessori and school reform advocates contend, in simply doing it.President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget will generate nearly $10 trillion in cumulative budget deficits over the next 10 years, $1.2 trillion more than the administration projected, and raise the federal debt to 90 percent of the nation’s economic output by 2020, the Congressional Budget Office reported Thursday.
In its 2011 budget, which the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released Feb. 1, the administration projected a 10-year deficit total of $8.53 trillion. After looking it over, CBO said in its final analysis, released Thursday, that the president’s budget would generate a combined $9.75 trillion in deficits over the next decade.
“An additional $1.2 trillion in debt dumped on [GDP] to our children makes a huge difference,” said Brian Riedl, a budget analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “That represents an additional debt of $10,000 per household above and beyond the federal debt they are already carrying.”
The federal public debt, which was $6.3 trillion ($56,000 per household) when Mr. Obama entered office amid an economic crisis, totals $8.2 trillion ($72,000 per household) today, and it’s headed toward $20.3 trillion (more than $170,000 per household) in 2020, according to CBO’s deficit estimates.
That figure would equal 90 percent of the estimated gross domestic product in 2020, up from 40 percent at the end of fiscal 2008. By comparison, America’s debt-to-GDP ratio peaked at 109 percent at the end of World War II, while the ratio for economically troubled Greece hit 115 percent last year.
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“That level of debt is extremely problematic, particularly given the upward debt path beyond the 10-year budget window,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
For countries with debt-to-GDP ratios “above 90 percent, median growth rates fall by 1 percent, and average growth falls considerably more,” according to a recent research paper by economists Kenneth S. Rogoff of Harvard and Carmen M. Reinhart of the University of Maryland.
CBO projected the 2011 deficit will be $1.34 trillion, not much different from the administration’s estimate of $1.27 trillion. However, CBO’s estimate of the 2020 deficit at $1.25 trillion significantly exceeds the administration’s $1 trillion estimate.
“The biggest part of the deficit difference is lower tax revenue due to the different economic assumptions,” said James R. Horney, a federal-budget analyst at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “The administration assumes GDP and incomes will be higher, and that translates into higher revenues than CBO expects. Relatively small differences in economic assumptions can add up to big differences over 10 years.”
While Ms. MacGuineas agreed that “economic forecasts have a large impact on budgetary projections,” she cautioned that such differing assumptions, often called the “rosy scenario,” could account for just $350 billion of the 10-year, $1.2 trillion difference between the White House and CBO.
The president has established a fiscal commission to propose actions to reach his goal of balancing the budget by 2015, except for net interest payments, which CBO projects to total $520 billion that year. The president’s budget, however, will generate a $793 billion deficit in 2015, according to CBO.
“The proposed budget is woefully insufficient to achieve the president’s goal or the important fiscal goal of stabilizing the debt at a reasonable level in the medium and long term,” Ms. MacGuineas said.
The CBO and the administration expect the deficit for fiscal 2010, which ends Sept. 30, to approximate $1.5 trillion and exceed 10 percent of GDP, the first time that threshold will have been reached since World War II. Before last year’s deficit reached an eye-popping 9.9 percent of GDP, the biggest postwar deficit was 6 percent of GDP in fiscal 1983.
In addition to the free-spending fiscal policy the U.S. government will pursue, monetary policy will remain loose in the near term, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told a congressional committee Thursday.
Citing still-fragile economic conditions and noting the low level of inflation, Mr. Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee that the Fed would maintain historically low short-term interest rates for the time being.
Tightening would not begin until the “expansion matures,” he said, though he did not provide a specific timetable for ratcheting up interest rates.
Indicative of the economy’s ongoing fragility, especially in the labor market, was the fact that first-time claims for unemployment benefits were still a relatively high 442,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The number was a decline of 14,000 over the previous week’s seasonally adjusted number.
Economists disagree over the propriety of running a $1.5 trillion deficit this year as the economy shifts into recovery mode. But they generally agree that budget deficits should proceed along a consistent, downward path as the expansion matures. Most economists, therefore, fear the prospect of rising deficits in the latter part of this decade, long after steady economic growth has returned and unemployment has plunged.
In a worrisome development, CBO projects that federal budget deficits, after dropping sharply, then will begin to rise continuously from 4.1 percent of GDP in 2014 to 5.6 percent in 2020.
For the 2016-20 period, CBO estimates that deficits will average more than 5 percent of GDP, even while assuming the economy will be near full employment, with an average jobless rate of 5 percent during that same five-year period.
One economist concerned about unsustainable fiscal policy in the out years is OMB Director Peter R. Orszag.
“Deficits in the, let’s say, 5 percent of GDP range would lead to rising debt-to-GDP ratios in a manner that would ultimately not be sustainable,” Mr. Orszag acknowledged to reporters on March 20, 2009, two months after the administration entered office.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.BY MARIA D. JAMES — The banner posted along side of the new Gateway at UTC development, located at 3702 East West Highway, that once announced Safeway is opening soon has been removed. In its place is much better news. Today, the grocery chain revealed the grand opening of the new Safeway will be April 6.
In addition, those interested in applying for a job may do so online at www.safeway.com/careers.
As initially reported, the new Gateway at UTC development will include MedStar Health primary and urgent care facility and Town Center Wine & Spirits, Unleashed by Petco, Le’s Nails, and Phenix Salon Suites. The opening date for these businesses has not been announced.
In February, ECHO Realty announced that Latin fast food restaurant Pollo Campero will also join the list of new businesses coming to the area.GUANGZHOU, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The last pipe was put in place on Tuesday, as work on the undersea tunnel of world's longest cross-sea bridge, linking Zhuhai in Guangdong Province with Hong Kong and Macao, nears its end.
The 5,664-meter tunnel, believed to be world's longest sunken pipe tunnel, comprises of 33 sections. and is now 12 meters from closure. Construction of the bridge began in December of 2009 in Zhuhai.
The bridge and tunnel system spanning the Pearl River estuary is an important waymarker in the integration of Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong. The Y-shaped bridge starts from Lantau Island in Hong Kong with branches to Zhuhai and Macao.
Major construction work on the 55-km bridge was completed last September. It is expected to be open to traffic by the end of this year.
Once in operation, the current four-hour drive from Hong Kong to Zhuhai will be reduced to less than an hour. All Pearl River Delta cities will then be within a reasonable commuting radius of Hong Kong.Alpha-2 adrenergic receptors are potential targets for ameliorating cognitive deficits associated with aging as well as certain pathologies such as attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. Although the alpha-2 agonist guanfacine has been reported to improve working memory in aged primates, it has been difficult to assess the extent to which these improvements may be related to drug effects on attention and/or memory processes involved in task performance. The present study investigated effects of guanfacine on specific attention and memory tasks in aged monkeys. Four Rhesus monkeys (18-21 years old) performed a sustained attention (continuous performance) task and spatial working memory task (self-ordered spatial search) that has minimal demands on attention. Effects of a low (0.0015 mg/kg) and high (0.5 mg/kg) dose of gunafacine were examined. Low-dose guanfacine improved performance on the attention task [i.e. decreased omission errors by 50.8 ± 4.3% (P = 0.001) without an effect on commission errors] but failed to improve performance on the spatial working memory task. The high dose of guanfacine had no effects on either task. Guanfacine may have a preferential effect on some aspects of attention in normal aged monkeys and in doing so may also improve performance on other tasks, including some working memory tasks that have relatively high attention demands.
© 2011 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2011 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Full Text View
Volume 22 Issue 12 (December 2012)
GSA Today
Article, pp. 4-10 | Abstract | PDF (2MB)
Land transformation by humans: A review
Roger LeB. Hooke1*, José F. Martín-Duque2 1 School of Earth and Climate Sciences and Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-5790, USA
2 Dept. of Geodynamics and Geosciences Institute (CSIC-UCM), Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain
3 Javier Pedraza, Dept. of Geodynamics, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Abstract In recent decades, changes that human activities have wrought in Earth’s life support system have worried many people. The human population has doubled in the past 40 years and is projected to increase by the same amount again in the next 40. The expansion of infrastructure and agriculture necessitated by this population growth has quickened the pace of land transformation and degradation. We estimate that humans have modified >50% of Earth’s land surface. The current rate of land transformation, particularly of agricultural land, is unsustainable. We need a lively public discussion of the problems resulting from population pressures and the resulting land degradation. *Email: Manuscript received 14 Feb. 2012; accepted 16 Aug. 2012 DOI: 10.1130/GSAT151A.1
Introduction
“Global Change” refers to changes that alter the atmosphere and oceans, and hence are experienced globally. It also refers to local changes that are so common as to be, collectively, of global importance; these include changes in climate, in composition of air and water, in biodiversity, and in land use (Vitousek, 1992; Rockström et al., 2009). Herein, we focus on land use (Fig. 1). Vitousek (1992, p. 7) remarks that this may be the “most significant component of global change” for decades to come.
Many changes in land use are a consequence of the increase in human population and the resulting demand for more resources—among them, minerals, soil, and water. This demand now exceeds that which Earth can provide sustainably. The long-term sustainability issue is more serious than, but exacerbated by, climate change.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the extent to which humans had already modified the landscape was recognized by George Perkins Marsh (1864). Marsh understood that Earth’s ability to provide the many ecosystem services upon which we depend was exhaustible.
Over the last half century, numerous impacts of changes in land use have been identified (Lambin and Geist, 2006, p. 1). In the 1970s, it was recognized that changes in albedo and evapotranspiration due to clearing and overgrazing had led to local decreases in rainfall. In the 1980s, the role of land-use changes in the carbon cycle was highlighted. Many papers since the late 1990s have drawn attention to the effects of land use on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and soil degradation.
Humans are likely the premier geomorphic agent currently sculpting Earth’s surface (Hooke, 1994). Earth is moved and the landscape modified, commonly degraded, by many of our activities. Mining, infrastructure expansion, and urban development are obvious ones. Plowing moves huge amounts of earth and leads to accelerated erosion. Grazing and logging also increase erosion. Much of the eroded sediment ends up as colluvium on hillslopes and as alluvium in floodplains (Trimble, 1999; Wilkinson and McElroy, 2007), thus subtly altering the shape of the land. The rest is carried away by streams and rivers.
We are land animals. The resources upon which we depend come largely from the land. The land and the other inhabitants it supports, its biodiversity, provide us with food, fiber, mineral resources, medicines, industrial products, and innumerable ecosystem services like cleansing our waste water, dampening flood peaks, breaking down rocks into productive soil, maintaining the supply of oxygen in the atmosphere, and supporting pollinators for many crops and predators that control many agricultural pests (MEA, 2003 [see esp. chapter 2, p. 49–70]; TEEB, 2010). The diversity of species contributes to the stability or resilience of this life support system, facilitating continuation of services despite disturbances (Rockström et al., 2009). Degrading the land degrades our life support system. The land is an essential resource for future generations.
Land Area Modified by Human Action
Assessments of the percentage of ice-free land affected by human action vary from 20% to 100%. Humans appropriate 20% to 40% of Earth’s potential net primary biological production (Haberl et al., 2007; Imhoff et al., 2004; Vitousek et al., 1986). Nearly 24% of Earth’s surface area likely experienced decline in ecosystem function and productivity between 1981 and 2003 (Bai et al., 2008). As of 1995, ~43% of Earth’s surface area had experienced human-induced degradation (Daily, 1995). Ellis and Ramankutty (2008) concluded that more than 75% of Earth’s ice-free land area could no longer be considered wild. Of Earth’s ice-free land area, 83% is likely directly influenced by human beings (Sanderson et al., 2002). Our pollutants affect plant and animal physiology worldwide (McKibben, 1989, e.g., p. 38, 58).
The amount of earth moved by humans and the history of human earth moving have been discussed previously (Hooke, 1994, 2000). Herein, we consider the area of the landscape we humans have reconfigured.
Changes through Time in Cropland, Pasture, Forest, and Urban Land
In pioneering studies, Ramankutty and Foley (1999) and Klein Goldewijk (2001, and pers. comm., March 2010) assessed the land area used as cropland or pasture (Klein Goldewijk, 2001, only) and that covered by forest (supplemental data1), during the past 300 years. Recently, they have updated some of their estimates (Ramankutty et al., 2008; Klein Goldewijk et al., 2011), and Pongratz et al. (2008, and pers. comm., Jan. 2012) have presented new ones. All of these studies are based on data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations since 1961 (http://faostat.fao.org). The authors then hindcast and sometimes forecast using satellite, ground-truth, and historical data (Fig. 2). Ramankutty et al. (2008) give values only for 2000. Thus, we adjusted the Ramankutty and Foley (1999) values for cropland in earlier years downward by the percent difference between the Ramankutty et al. (2008) and projected Ramankutty and Foley (1999) values for 2000 (see the supplemental data, Sec. C, for additional details [footnote 1]).
1 GSA supplemental data item 2012340, supplemental information, definitions, figures, tables, and references, is online at www.geosociety.org/pubs/ft2012.htm. You can also request a copy from GSA Today, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140, USA;.
Noteworthy in Figure 2 are the increases in cropland and pasture over the past 300 years, the corresponding decrease in forest, and the recent decreases in the rate of change of all three.
Recent estimates of the global urban area range from 0.3 to 3.5 Mkm2 (Potere and Schneider, 2007). The wide range is due to differences in the definition of “urban” and in the methodology for identifying areas that are urban. An urban area is one in which the population density exceeds a minimum value. Different countries, however, use different minima, ranging from <200 to 4000 people/km2. Methodologically, the problem is the lack of a standard remote sensing technique for identifying urban areas. Common approaches use either the intensity of night lights or the extent of impervious ground. The former varies spatially, because more affluent countries use more power. The latter overlooks open space around houses that, nonetheless, has been modified by human action.
We think of “urban areas” as expanses of contiguous land, divided into parcels (£~1 ha) with different owners, and modified for residential or commercial purposes. This includes land covered by structures or pavement as well as intervening land modified to form gardens or parks. The estimate of 3.5 Mkm2 (CIESIN, 2010) best reflects this description. It is based on night lights, censuses, and a variety of supplementary data, and is as of 2005. We projected back-ward and forward using CIESIN’s population density (796 people/km2) and estimates of urban population from UNPD (2004, 2007a, 2007b) and Kelley and Williamson (1984).
Land Modified by Human Action as of 2007
In Table 1, we present a more comprehensive estimate, as of 2007, of the land area modified either directly by human earth moving or indirectly by actions causing changes in sediment fluxes.
To obtain the areas of cropland and pasture in Table 1, 16.7 ± 2.4 Mkm2 and 33.5 ± 5.7 Mkm2, respectively, we first adjusted the Ramankutty et al. (2008) value for pasture in 2000 downward by the mean decrease between 2000 and 2007 in the FAO (2009) and Pongratz et al. (2008) estimates. We then fit a 4th order poly-nomial through the Klein Goldewijk et al. (2011) and Ramankutty et al. (2008) cropland data and extrapolated them to 2007. Finally, we then averaged these values with those of Pongratz et al. (2008).
Erosion rates are higher on agricultural land; typical estimates are 15 t ha−1y−1 for cropland and 5 t ha−1y−1 for pasture (e.g., USDA, 1989; Pimentel et al., 1995; Montgomery, 2007). Of this, ~70% is likely redeposited nearby on slopes and floodplains (Wilkinson and McElroy, 2007). Using population estimates, the per capita need for agricultural land, and a mean deposition of 1 ± 0.5 m, we estimate that the area thus reshaped in the past five millennia is ~5.3 ± 2.0 Mkm2 (see supplemental data, Sec. D [footnote 1]).
Logging operations disturb forest soils and thus also increase erosion (Elliot et al., 1998). Unlike agricultural land that is reused annually, however, logged areas recover as regrowth occurs. Furthermore, part of the logged land may not be degraded. We estimate the global area logged annually by dividing the production (3.5 Mm3 in 2007) by an estimate of the yield per hectare (15 ± 5 m3 ha−1). We assumed that 50% of the area would have been disturbed during the year in which it was cut and that due to regrowth half of the area remaining disturbed in any given year would have recovered by the next. This calculation yielded a disturbed area of 2.4 ± 1.2 Mkm2 in 2007. The uncertainty is based on uncertainties of 50% in the regeneration rate, 25% in the area initially disturbed, and 33% in the yield per hectare (see supplemental data, Sec. E [footnote 1]).
For forested area, we extrapolated the Ramankutty and Foley (1999) time series using a 4th order polynomial and averaged it with the FAO (2009) estimates, yielding 41.3 ± 2.6 Mkm2. This is identical to the Pongratz et al. (2008) estimate for forest plus shrubland. As this includes bothnatural and planted forests, we subtracted the latter, 2.7 Mkm2 (FAO, 2009). We also subtracted the area disturbed by logging, yielding 36.2 ± 2.9 Mkm2.
To estimate the area of urban development in 2007, 3.7 ± 1.0 Mkm2, we extrapolated the CIESIN (2010) estimate of the area in 2005, using an annual growth rate of 2.1% (UNPD, 2007a).
The area occupied by rural housing and businesses, 4.2 ± 1.4 Mkm2, is assessed from the rural population in 2007 (UNPD, 2007b), assuming that people would disturb a hectare of rural land.
To calculate the land area affected by roads in rural areas, we used data for 2002–2007 on the total lengths of roads of various classes in 188 countries (IRF-WRS, 2009). Other data suggest that 70% of these roads are rural. We assigned widths to these various road classes, based on standards in the United States (supplemental data, Sec. F [footnote 1]). Assuming an uncertainty of ±15% in road widths and in the percentage of rural roads, we obtained 0.5 ± 0.1 Mkm2.
A comprehensive list of reservoir volumes has been compiled by the International Committee on Large Dams and updated by Chao et al. (2008). They sum to ~10,800 km3. B.F. Chao (pers. comm.,2011) thinks the mean reservoir depth is ~50–100 m. Noting the large number of small reservoirs, we chose the lower number, yielding a total surface area of 0.2 ± 0.1 Mkm2.
Data on the global length of railways are from IUR (2008). Widths are from ADIF (2005). The product is 0.03 Mkm2. We have no basis for estimating an uncertainty.
We found summary data on the area disturbed by mining for 14 regions or countriesrepresenting 22% of Earth’s ice-free land area, all continents except Africa, and the two principal economic powerhouses of today’s economy, China and the United States (supplemental data, Sec. G [footnote 1]). The weighted mean is 0.3%. Assuming that this percentage applies globally, we obtain ~ Mkm2. For comparison, Norse et al. (1992) suggest that the area is between 0.5 and 1.0 Mkm2, but the basis for this estimate is unclear.
Our subtotal for land disturbed by human infrastructure (Table 1) is ~9.0 ± 1.7 Mkm2. We believe this is a conservative estimate because we have not evaluated the land area modified by coastal or river engineering projects; by construction of infrastructure like levees, electric power grids or wind farms; or by infrastructure from the distant past (e.g., prehistoric archaeological sites).
Discussion
The data in Table 1 suggest that ~70 Mkm2, or >50% of Earth’s ice-free land area, has been directly modified by human action involving moving earth or changing sediment fluxes. Many of these activities have indirect consequences well beyond the area directly affected. Converting land to agriculture leads to local extinctions of biota in adjacent areas, the insecticides and herbicides used diffuse into the surroundings, killing non-target species (Ehrlich and Ehrlich, 1981), and fertilizers foul our streams and rivers, leading to dead zones in the ocean (Halpern et al., 2008). Invasive species commonly find footholds on surfaces disturbed by agricultural activities, and can severely reduce the usefulness of large areas (e.g., Tobler, 2007). Toxic chemicals spewed into the air from urban centers rain out over vast areas downwind. Others, like CO 2, diffuse over the entire globe. Roads and railways fragment ecosystems, a key element of habitat destruction and a principal cause of loss of biodiversity (Vitousek et al., 1997; Sala et al., 2000), and runoff from them carries pollutants. The land area ecologically impacted by roads may be tens to hundreds of meters wider than the area physically disturbed (Forman, 2000). Runoff from mining areas is commonly contaminated and has a high sediment load, affecting hundreds of kilometers of riparian ecosystems. Dust raised by plowing and other human activities is deposited over distant surfaces. Dust commonly contains pathogens (Prospero et al., 2005) or heavy metals (Herut et al., 2001; Reynolds et al., 2010) that can have adverse effects on people and other organisms. Dust also accelerates melting of snow and ice on mountains, affecting water supplies downstream (Painter et al., 2010). Levees on rivers prevent natural water storage during floods, thus increasing damage downstream (e.g., Pinter et al., 2008). Deforestation and construction projects involving earth moving on steep slopes too commonly result in catastrophic failures and in human deaths (Kellerer-Pirklbauer, 2002). Thus, the impact of land transformation is much larger than suggested by the numbers in Table 1.
These impacts reduce the ecosystem services we receive, seemingly for free, from the plants, animals, insects, and microbes with whom we share the planet (MEA, 2005; TEEB, 2010). The global annual value of these services is roughly twice the global GNP (Costanza et al., 1997; Daily, 1997). They are essential for human survival. Some are likely irreplaceable.
Cropland
The data in Figure 2 suggest that the rate of change in area of cropland and pasture has decreased in the last few decades. Projected into the future, these trends suggest a peak and then a decline in the areas of both. Let’s focus on cropland, because that is the land use for which data are most robust and the one of most concern, given our swelling population (Fig. 2).
At least three trends are contributing to the decline in the rate of increase in cropland:
Urban area is increasing, commonly at the expense of agricultural land. Between 2000 and 2030, worldwide, the loss of agricultural land to urbanization may be as much as ~15,000 km2 annually (Döös, 2002). There is a dearth of additional land suitable for agriculture. Of Earth’s land area, 70% to 80% is unsuitable for agriculture owing to poor soils, steep topography, or adverse climate (Fischer et al., 2000, p. 49; Ramankutty et al., 2002). About half of the rest is already in crops (Table 1), and a large fraction of the other half is presently under tropical forests that beneficially take up CO 2. Tropical-forest soil loses fertility rapidly, once cleared. Some existing agricultural land has deteriorated so much that it is no longer worth cultivating. As of ca. 1990, soils on nearly 20 Mkm2 of land, or ~40% of the global agricultural land area, had been degraded (Oldeman et al., 1991, p. 28). Of this, over half was so degraded that local farmers lacked the means to restore it.
Partially offsetting these trends may be increases in efficiency of farming and food distribution. Rudel et al. (2009), however, could not find correlations that supported this hypothesis.
Prognosis for the Future
Looking ahead a few decades, land suitable for agriculture will likely continue to diminish as urban areas expand, soil is degraded, fertile soil is washed down rivers and blown away ten times faster than it is replaced (Montgomery, 2007), and water tables decline in areas dependent on groundwater for irrigation (Gleick, 1993). Foreseeing a shortage of arable land, global investors are, in fact, buying huge tracts in Africa and South America (De Castro, 2011). In addition, despite foreseeable future technological developments, agricultural productivity is likely to decrease as (i) the supply of phosphate for fertilizer decreases (Rosmarin, 2004); (ii) petroleum (used to run farm machinery and as feedstock for fertilizer) becomes more expensive and less available; (iii) pollution adversely affects pollinators, plant growth, and predators that control agricultural pests (Peng et al., 2004; supplemental data, Sec. H [footnote 1]); and (iv) climate changes.
Will Earth be able to support the projected 2050 population of 8.9 billion? Fischer et al. (2000, p. 88) believe that it can. Döös and Shaw (1999), considering climate change, water availability, irrigation, salinization, pests, farm management, and access to fertilizers, think it likely that the demand for cereals could be met in the more developed countries, and highly unlikely that it would be met in less developed ones. Seto et al. (2010, p. 95) conclude that it is unlikely that Earth’s land resources can support current and future populations sustainably without a “breathtaking” change in our way of life. Wackernagel et al. (2002) estimate that, as of ca. 1978, the land area needed to grow crops, graze animals, provide timber, accommodate infrastructure, and absorb waste, all sustainably, already exceeded Earth’s available area, and that as of 2002, we needed 20% more land than is available. If this is the case, we are in a period of overshoot.
Overshoot
Overshoot occurs when populations exceed the local carrying capacity. An environment’s carrying capacity for a given species is the number of individuals “living in a given manner, which the environment can support indefinitely” (Catton, 1980, p. 4). Only a population less than or equal to the carrying capacity is sustainable.
A sustainable population is one that (i) consumes renewable resources at a rate less than the rate at which they are renewed; (ii) consumes non-renewable resources at a rate less than the rate at which substitutes can be found; and (iii) emits pollution at a rate less than the capacity of the environment to absorb the pollutants (Daly, 1991, p. 256).
It is axiomatic that, on a finite planet, there is a limit to growth. The question is, “Are we now bumping up against that limit?”
Several observations suggest that, with our present lifestyles, we are, indeed, now living in a state of overshoot. We struggle to supply the food needed by the present population. Groundwater tables are declining. Our way of life is based on non-renewables like fossil fuels, phosphates, and ores, accumulated over millions of years, with no clear plan for adequate substitutes once natural sources are exhausted. We discard many chemicals (e.g., CO 2, N, plastics) faster than they can be absorbed by the environment.
When the number of individuals exceeds the carrying capacity, overuse of the environment sets up forces that, after a delay, first reduce the standard of living and then eventually the population (Catton, 1980, p. 4–5). Initiation of the correction may be manifested by stagnant or negative economic growth rates, by famine and/or water shortages, by increases in disease resulting from undernourishment (Pimentel et al., 2007), and by increases in conflict. Sound familiar? Fifty-four nations with 12% of the world’s population experienced economic declines in per capita GDP from 1990 to 2001 (Meadows et al., 2004, p. xiv; World Bank, 2003, p. 64–65). Famine, disease, and conflict are frequently in the news.
Solutions
If we are in a state of overshoot, here are three ways to bring the human impact on Earth back to sustainability:
1. Reduce demand. Demand can be reduced by improving building insulation or mandating energy-efficient vehicles and appliances. Recycling reduces demand for primary materials. Tempering our impulse to buy things that we don’t really need or of which we will soon tire also reduces demand.
2. Develop technological solutions. Existing technology can mitigate our impact. Adoption of efficient building and farming practices limits degradation, and ecological restoration can partially reverse it (Rey Benayas et al., 2009). Technological breakthroughs are also possible. Simon (1996) argued that a larger population increases the likelihood of spawning the brain power needed to achieve such breakthroughs. But without well-fed bodies, brains don’t function well.
Our technological skills have enabled us to support an ever increasing population. They have also exacerbated some problems. Use of oil as an energy source in agriculture has increased efficiency, but at the expense of leaving us presently dependent on a non-renewable resource. Mechanical well drilling and pumping facilitate irrigation, but now ground-water tables are dropping unsustainably (Gleick, 1993). Given present usage, more than half of the U.S. High Plains aquifer will likely |
but the team has bigger holes elsewhere. The left tackles are out, with Joe Thomas around. If the Browns stay put at four, that pick will likely end up as one of the quarterbacks (if they’re in love with one particular passer) or Khalil Mack. That would allow them to target a quarterback later in the first round; they could very well use the 26th- and 35th-overall picks to move up to, say, the Giants’ selection at 12 and grab a passer there. It all seems to depend on what the Texans do with the first-overall pick. All we know right now is that the Browns have the most chips at the table.Anti-shale gas protesters in Kent County say SWN Resources Canada is winding down its exploration activities after spending the past two months in the area.
Protester Ann Pohl referred to the news as "armistice day."
But she and others expect seismic testing will resume in mid-September and say they will be ready to continue to fight.
SWN officials declined to comment on the company's plans.
Former Elsipogtog chief Susan Levi-Peters says SWN Resources Canada should consult with the community before it resumes testing. (CBC)
Susan Levi-Peters, a member of Elsipogtog First Nation and a former chief, says SWN plans to do the next round of testing close to the borders of the reserve.
She wants the company to hold meetings with the community before crews return.
"If they were to come back in September, that they are not allowed to come back unless they get the full consent from the people of Elsipogtog. So now they have time to do consultation and get the consent from the people," said Levi-Peters.
"If they don't get that, we told them at the meeting that we won't allow testing in September and this time the warriors and us we'll be back again from Day 1," she said, referring to a meeting organized by the RCMP earlier this week.
Some charges to be dropped
About 35 people were arrested during recent protests in Kent County. (CBC)
Peters has asked police to drop charges against the people who were arrested at protests in the area in recent weeks.
Warrior chief John Levi told CBC News the RCMP have agreed to drop 25 of 35 charges.
Charges against people who have already entered the system, including Levi, are expected to proceed.
Earlier this month, a group of mayors from the area asked for a moratorium on shale gas exploration and a meeting with the province's energy minster.
The Kent Regional Service Commission voted 16-1 in favour on July 18. Chairman Marc Henri said they want more consultation and better communications between the communities, the provincial government and SWN Resources Canada.
Although regional service commissions do not usually intervene in this manner, Henri said members felt they had a moral mandate to speak up on the issue.
The Alward government has repeatedly rejected the idea of imposing a moratorium on the shale gas industry.
Premier David Alward called the Liberal party’s demand for a moratorium on the industry "anti-jobs" in May.
Tensions have flared over the possible development of a shale gas industry in New Brunswick and in particular, the use of hydraulic fracturing, also known as hydro-fracking.
It is a process where exploration companies inject a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into the ground, creating cracks in shale rock formations, which allows companies to extract natural gas from areas that would otherwise go untapped.
Opponents have raised several concerns about the process, such as the use of chemicals, the potential to ruin water supplies, noise from the operations and the potential to damage the local environment.For those following along over the past two years this will not come as a surprise. European manufacturers understand the entire foundation for the Paris Treaty was about economics, economic advantages and the transfer of economic strength away from the U.S., not climate. Specifically for Germany the outlook is especially troubling.
First, Germany will be the primary EU country to fill the financial void from the U.K. leaving the EU (Brexit); that financial hole is approximately €15 billion per year. Secondly, Germany will be faced with having to renegotiate trade deals with the U.S. while they remain encumbered with the regulatory burden of the Paris treaty, while the U.S. negotiators are not. This is a large advantage for Team America.
As such, today we see and immediate reaction. German auto manufacturers announce they are faced with losing a competitive advantage over the U.S. in the global market, and will now need to reassess their domestic production and manufacturing standards:
REUTERS – Germany’s powerful car industry said Europe would need to reassess its environmental standards to remain competitive after the United States said it would withdraw from the Paris climate pact. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would withdraw the United States from the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change, drawing anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry. “The regrettable announcement by the USA makes it inevitable that Europe must facilitate a cost efficient and economically feasible climate policy to remain internationally competitive,” Matthias Wissmann, president of the German auto industry lobby group VDA, said in a statement on Friday.
“The preservation of our competitive position is the precondition for successful climate protection. This correlation is often underestimated,” Wissmann said, adding that the decision by the Unites States was disappointing. The VDA said electricity and energy prices are already higher in Germany than in the United States, putting Germany at a disadvantage. (link)
Think about the underlying argument here.
Funny that. Apparently, when push comes to economic shove the German sensibilities are connected more to their economics than to any do-gooder need to save the planet.
It won’t stop with Germany either. Specifically by design of their negotiating teams, China and South-East Asia writ large are inoculated from the economic damage of the Paris Treaty. The EU and the U.S. were set-up by the global financial systems to fall hardest on the economic sword of redistribution. Other massive manufacturing growth economies did not have to meet the same level of intentional economic infliction.
Germany is merely responding to the predictable future.
We can anticipate many more industrialized nations accepting the looming financial burden and positioning themselves for the exits. Anticipate treaty exits coming faster than a fat kid playing dodge ball.
Bottom Line:
We are no longer an American economy being led by “stupid people”…
AdvertisementsIn a study conducted by The Global Language Monitor, Pope Francis was the most discussed proper name on the internet, eclipsing secular leaders, global celebrities, and proper names of places, organizations, and movements. Additionally, the Holy Father’s Twitter handle “@Pontifex” was the #4 ranked word.
Despite the fact that secular society often tries to enforce the myth of the irrelevance of faith and religious leaders and the indifference of the common person towards religion, the elevation of Pope Francis and his papacy has been a noticeably impactful event in the daily lives of the people of the modern world.
The group out of Austin, Texas determines the top terms, words, phrases, and names by analyzing “the Internet, blogosphere, the top 275,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new social media sources as they emerge”. The study is limited to the English language, which according to this study, is spoken by 1.83 billion individuals.
The Top Names of 2013 Rank /Name / Comments
Pope Francis — The former Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, born December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires ObamaCare – Five years after Obamamania, the president’s name is still in use though not always in a praiseworthy manner. NSA – The National Security Agency of the US collects intelligence through clandestine means of both foreign and (to the surprise of many) domestic sources. Ed Snowden – Edward Joseph Snowden, the former NSA contractor and CIA employee, who leaked classified United States, British and Israeli surveillance programs. Kate Middleton — Officially, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, the fashion and style icon, the future Queen of the Realm, wife of the Prince of Wales, and mother of Prince George of Cambridge.
The Top Words of 2013 follow Rank / Word / Comments
404 – The near-universal numeric code for failure on the global Internet. Fail — The single word fail, often used as a complete sentence (Fail!) to signify failure of an effort, project, or endeavor. Hashtag – The ‘number sign” and ‘pound sign’ reborn as the all-powerful Twitter hashtag.] @Pontifex — The Hashage of the ever-more popular Pope Francis. The Optic — The ‘optic’ is threatening to overtake ‘the narrative’ as the Narrative overtook rational discourse. Does not bode well for an informed political discussion.
CommentsAt the end of last quarter, Tesla had a bigger cash position than ever before with $3.25 billion in principal sources of liquidity – thanks to its recent $1.7 billion stock offering, which was announced to finance the expansion of Tesla’s manufacturing effort for the Model 3 following the increased demand.
Now it looks like Tesla will need more money to finance its ambitious plans. Today, Tesla confirmed that its is currently planning another round of financing.
In a SEC filing today for proposed merger with SolarCity, the company confirmed the news:
“Tesla is currently planning to raise additional funds by the end of this year, including through potential equity or debt offerings, subject to market conditions and recognizing that Tesla cannot be certain that additional funds would be available to it on favorable terms or at all.”
The company added that the funds will be “primarily used for tooling, production equipment and construction of the Tesla’s Model 3 production lines, equipment to support cell production at Tesla’s Gigafactory.” As well as for general expansion of its retail and service presence and to support the capital needs of the new company with the merger of SolarCity.
Tesla also highlights another event that prompted the need for capital. After the end of the second quarter, Tesla has received notices of conversion from convertible senior note holders of approximately $422 million. It will need to pay it back in cash by the end of the quarter, which will put a strain on its cash position – hence the new planned capital raise.
The expansion of the Fremont factory for the Model 3 assembly is believed to be the main driver of Tesla’s capital expenditure in the second half of 2016. The automaker expects to spend about $2.25 billion in capital expenditures in 2016 alone.
In a filing earlier this year, Tesla said that it was working on a $1.3 billion expansion of its Fremont Factory for the Model 3 assembly line. Earlier this month, the automaker also confirmed that “some Model 3 production equipment is already on line, including initial capacity in stamping and paint centers”. Tesla added that it also plans the start construction for a “new Model 3 body and general assembly centers” by the end of the year.I heard a strange noise at the front door, went out to investigate and saw the delivery man sprinting across the road! Luckily he has left a surprise for me! Thinking it would be for another family member, I was so happy to see it was for me. I opened it and saw all the beautifully wrapped boxes. Open the first one and OMG Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook! That I was literally thinking about purchasing for myself the other day. I mentioned how much I love Harry Potter and cooking, and I was so nervous when my Santa had picked up my details and marked me as shipped within an hour. Last time I got a dodgy broken binoculars as a gift and I was really sad. But it turned out she just already knew the perfect thing to buy me! Opened the lovely icing tips next, and then lastly the Harry Potter 20 questions game lastly. It beat me and guessed Luna Lovegood :/ and it beat everyone else too. Very fun though! Thank you so so so much Amber! I love my gifts!! You're the best santaHOLY SHIT! Since I didn't get anything from my last secret gifter, I really wasn't expecting anything. My new Exchange match went the extra mile and practically got me EVERYTHING on my wishlist! I don't even drink tea! I just joined this gift exchange so I could use my Starbucks benefits for another redditor. My girlfriend drinks tea, so I thought I might as well give her whatever I received.
She(?) got me an IngenuiTEA teapot and a loose tea leaf sampler to go along with it. It's so cool how (s)he thought of me by incorporating something I like: my anonymous gifter obviously read my profile and got me a DOPE Batman ice cube tray! Haha, this is so fucking awesome.
Wow, I am truly amazed! THANK YOU SO MUCH SECRET REDDITOR!Why vegans are so fucking annoying
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Vegans are all the same. They love animals more than people, and that means hanging out with them is never fun. So while I have a vegan communities audience, allow me explain why I find vegans so annoying. And please, use this guide as a tool for things you can’t do if you want to be considered a cool vegan.
They talk about animal cruelty and death all the time
No one wants to see what happens on farms and in slaughterhouses. We already know what happens- don’t put us off our lunch. I don’t feel guilty, I just don’t want to see it.
They turn down free food
They’d rather waste non-vegan food then eat it. One vegan said no when I offered them Cheetos once, who does that?
They make it seem like you’re not an animal lover
Even though I can’t decide if I’m a cat or dog person, I’m obviously an animal lover. I visit the zoo whenever I can, and I bought a animal calendar from the Humane Society. I just don’t love chickens.
They think nutritional yeast is cool, and vegan cheese is good
Why do they always push their weird foods on non-vegans? We all know they taste like feet, give up.
They make you watch scary documentaries and read books
Once you’ve seen one movie, you’ve seen them all. Blah blah blah end of the world bullshit. Not buying into that propaganda. And I’m definitely not wasting time on fiction, either.
They judge you
They’re always telling non-vegans what’s wrong with them. This lifestyle is good enough for Leonardo DiCaprio, so it’s good enough for me.
They tell everyone they’re vegan all the time
We know- do you want a medal? Should we give prizes to everyone who had broccoli for dinner?
They think vegetarians aren’t good enough/you’re not doing enough
I have cut back on meat so much, okay. It’s what works for me because I don’t like soy, so don’t pretend I’m that I’m so awful. I’m super cruelty free.
They act like non-vegans are uneducated
I know what the world health organization said about processed meat and I believe in climate change. I’m not an idiot, it’s just my choice to be non-vegan.
They are so pretentious/narcissistic/self righteous
They think that just because they don’t contribute to the slaughter of piglets on the daily, they’re saints. Don’t you know faux leather is bad for the environment, too?
They think they’re the only ethical people
All of my meat is humane, and I would never eat eggs from chickens that weren’t given at least three inches of space for chilling. Don’t pretend being ethical has anything to do with helping others.
They’re constantly talking about baby cows
It doesn’t matter if I have a splash of cream in my coffee because I never eat veal. And no, I’m not a baby cow, but I’m a powerful human who thinks it cool to steal milk. Deal with it.
They force you to go to their favourite restaurant every time
We all have THAT vegan friend. Your restaurant’s smell like kale and sadness, no thanks. Plus, I’ll just get hungry af in like an hour.
They fill your fb page with animals
Your profile and banner are bad enough, stop reposting every set of paws you could across. Do you even like humans?
They spout facts and statistics all the time
And none of them carry around their sources. It’s irresponsible. It’s total propaganda. Online, it’s totally made up, too. Everyone knows fossil fuels are the problem.
They don’t like being asked questions about nutrition
Why did you go vegan if you didn’t want to talk about vegetables? Everyone knows vegans are the healthiest, so I expect you to back that up when I ask you where you get your protein.
They don’t laugh at vegan jokes
Literally no sense of humor. Didn’t you hear what I said- meat is murder, tasty murder. Bahahahahahaha! Don’t they realize vegan jokes are way funnier the 100th time?!
They tell you being vegan is the only way to save animals
Ricky Gervais taught me that you can love animals and still eat them, as long as you’re not a hunter. Animals wouldn’t be born if we didn’t raise them, so who is the real animal lover now?
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If you’re vegan, chances are you’ve encountered four or more of these vegan put-downs, and that’s just today. The misconceptions about how vegans feel about non-vegans and what our end goals are mean that ignorance and the bullying it can breed is far from uncommon. What’s important to remember is that veganism is about the animals, and that anyone who tries to divert attention to themselves (or to our journeys) isn’t understanding our position. Although living non-violently means having to let these comments roll off of our shoulders fairly often, giving into them would mean letting what happens to animals go unnoticed instead. Proudly share your veganism, eat your Gary cheese, recommend documentaries, and don’t let people say that being critical of the system of exploitation makes you stuck up, judgmental, or annoying. Advocate for animals, advocate for nonviolence, and advocate that all vegans are as different as all non-vegans.What is the purpose of sex for human beings? No really, I’m serious. What do you believe is the purpose of sex? Is sex only for procreation to sustain our species? Or is it also for other purposes? If so, what are those other purposes?
What about because it makes us feel good? What about as a way to bring people closer together, not only physically but also emotionally? Spiritually? What about because it constitutes a natural human need and function? For human touch? For bodily release of fluids, tension, frustration? For enhancement of our emotional stability?
I ask these questions as someone who was not raised within an orthodox religious tradition, and who is thoroughly bewildered by the anti-sex (sexphobic) and, therefore, anti-human doctrines of many of these religions.
For example, based on Pope Francis’s recent document “On the nature of family life and marital love” (AMORIS LÆTITIA), Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles Caput told unmarried Catholics, divorced Catholics, and Catholics who have re-married outside the Church that they must say “caput” to sexual relations and “live as brother and sister” if they are still interested in receiving the sacraments of Holy Communion and penance (confession).
He wrote on the archdiocesan website on July 1 that “Catholic belief, rooted in Scripture, reserves all expressions of sexual intimacy to a man and a woman covenanted to each other in a valid marriage,” calling this an “unchangeable” tenet.
Though he didn’t tell people with same-sex sexual attractions to live as siblings as well, he commanded that:
Those with predominant same-sex attractions are therefore called to struggle to live chastely for the kingdom of God. In this endeavor they have need of support, friendship and understanding if they fail. They should be counseled, like everyone else, to have frequent recourse to the Sacrament of Penance, where they should be treated with gentleness and compassion.
Gentleness? Compassion? How “gentle” and “compassionate” is it for any person or institution to extort one’s sexuality for the honor of being permitted to rest among the flock, to find acceptance from one’s family, friends, peers? How realistic is it to live in a dualistic binary separation splitting the mind from the body, in which the mind holds sway over the “sins” of the flesh?
This Story Filed UnderBangkok: Thai tourism officials have suggested a novel way to attract foreigners to the country's beaches, temples and mountains – promote life under a century-old martial law that was imposed as the army seized power in a bloodless coup in May.
They say that reminding tourists of military rule will make them feel safe 24 hours a day, and that will help reverse a 19 per cent drop in tourist arrivals between January and September, compared with the previous year.
Military rule: Thailand's Prime Minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha,on a recent official visit to Myanmar. Credit:AP
"We want the tourists to be confident that they can travel in Thailand both day and night and with safety at all times," Thawatchi Arunyik, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, was quoted telling the Thai Rath newspaper.
He suggested the concept may create a "buzz" in social media.Python Programming, news on the Voidspace Python Projects and all things techie.
ContextDecorator: creating APIs that work as decorators and context managers
Two of the best additions to Python in recent years are the with statement and decorators. Both context managers (objects used in with statements) and decorators can be used for similar purposes: performing an action before and after executing the decorated function or the code inside the with block. In fact I now find that many places I used to use decorators I now prefer the with statement (if I'm lucky enough to be able to ignore Python 2.4 compatibility).
If you're a library or framework creator then it is nice to be able to create APIs that can be used either as decorators or context managers. The patch decorators in mock behave like this, and when I was writing a new variant ( patch.dict ) I found myself having to figure out again how to do it. It isn't hard, but it's a bit fiddly. Nor is this an uncommon pattern, both py.test and Django have code that behaves like this.
I've written a very simple utility class that does this, called ContextDecorator, and it is now part of contextlib in Python 3.2.
Context managers inheriting from ContextDecorator have to implement __enter__ and __exit__ as normal. __exit__ retains its optional exception handling even when used as a decorator.
Even better contextlib.contextmanager, which is a decorator for writing context managers as functions, uses ContextDecorator so the context managers it creates can automatically be used as decorators as well.
I've put both ContextDecorator and the new contextmanager into a package on PyPI, and it works with all versions of Python from 2.4 - 3.1.
Example:
from contextdecorator import ContextDecorator class mycontext ( ContextDecorator ): def __enter__ ( self ): print 'Starting' return self def __exit__ ( self, * exc ): print 'Finishing' return False
>>> @mycontext ()... def function ():... print 'The bit in the middle'... >>> function () Starting The bit in the middle Finishing >>> with mycontext ():... print 'The bit in the middle'... Starting The bit in the middle Finishing
Existing context managers that already have a base class can be extended by using ContextDecorator as a mixin class:
from contextdecorator import ContextDecorator class mycontext ( ContextBaseClass, ContextDecorator ): def __enter__ ( self ): return self def __exit__ ( self, * exc ): return False
contextdecorator also contains an implementation of contextlib.contextmanager that uses ContextDecorator. The context managers it creates can be used as decorators as well as in with statements.
from contextdecorator import contextmanager @contextmanager def mycontext ( * args ): print 'Started' try : # decorated function or with # statement executed here yield finally : # exception handling here print 'Finished!'
>>> @mycontext ('some', 'args' )... def function ():... print 'In the middle'... Started In the middle Finished! >>> with mycontext ('some', 'args' ):... print 'In the middle'... Started In the middle Finished!
Porting mock to Python 3
One of the nice new features in mock 0.7 is that it works with both Python 2 & 3. The mock module itself, even with all the freshly added docstrings, weighs in at less than 800 lines of code so compatibility is maintained with a single source base rather than the more recommended 2to3 approach. There are however about 1500 lines of test code that also need to work under Python 3; so whilst not a particularly difficult exercise it was not entirely trivial to get all the tests passing under Python 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7 and 3.2. Good tests make it much easier to have confidence that the port works. Attempting this without tests would be much more painful, even though it means there is more code to port.
I've written up all the changes needed for mock to support Python 3:
Release: mock 0.7 beta 2
I'm pleased to announce a new release of the mock module, the first in a while. Konrad Delong has joined me as a maintainer of mock and has been a great help in getting this release out. As there are several major new features this is a beta release, with 0.7.0 final coming out in a few weeks assuming there are no major problems discovered. Please download it and try it out:
mock is a Python module that provides a core Mock class. It is intended to reduce the need for creating a host of trivial stubs throughout your test suite. After performing an action, you can make assertions about which methods / attributes were used and arguments they were called with. You can also specify return values and set needed attributes in the normal way.
The mock module also provides utility functions / objects to assist with testing, particularly monkey patching.
mock is tested on Python versions 2.4-2.7 and Python 3.
Full documentation is included in the distribution.
Mock is very easy to use and is designed for use with unittest. Mock is based on the 'action -> assertion' pattern instead of'record -> replay' used by many mocking frameworks. See the mock documentation for full details.
Changes in 0.7.0 (including the much awaited magic method support) are:
Addition of mocksignature
Ability to mock magic methods
Ability to use patch and patch.object as class decorators
and as class decorators Renamed patch_object to patch.object ( patch_object is deprecated)
to ( is deprecated) Addition of MagicMock class with all magic methods pre-created for you
class with all magic methods pre-created for you Python 3 compatibility (tested with 3.2 but should work with 3.0 & 3.1 as well)
Addition of patch.dict(...) for changing dictionaries during a test
for changing dictionaries during a test Addition of mocksignature argument to patch and patch.object
argument to and help(mock) works now (on the module). Can no longer use __bases__ as a valid sentinel name (thanks to Stephen Emslie for reporting and diagnosing this)
works now (on the module). Can no longer use as a valid sentinel name (thanks to Stephen Emslie for reporting and diagnosing this) Addition of soft comparisons: call_args, call_args_list and method_calls return now tuple-like objects which compare equal even when empty args or kwargs are skipped
, and return now tuple-like objects which compare equal even when empty args or kwargs are skipped Added some docstrings.
BUGFIX: side_effect now works with BaseException exceptions like KeyboardInterrupt
now works with exceptions like BUGFIX: patching the same object twice now restores the patches correctly
The tests now require unittest2 to run
Konrad Delong added as co-maintainer
There are several major new features in this release, not least of which is the support for mocking the Python protocols (magic methods).
The easiest way of using magic methods is with the MagicMock class. It allows you to do things like:
>>> from mock import MagicMock >>> mock = MagicMock () >>> mock. __str__. return_value = 'foobarbaz' >>> str ( mock ) 'foobarbaz' >>> mock. __str__. assert_called_with ()
Note In the 0.7.0 final release (and already in svn) using the spec keyword argument to MagicMock will only pre-create the magic methods that are in the spec object or list.
Mock allows you to assign functions (or other Mock instances) to magic methods and they will be called appropriately. The MagicMock class is just a Mock variant that has all of the magic methods pre-created for you (well - all the useful ones anyway).
The following is an example of using magic methods with the ordinary Mock class:
>>> from mock import Mock >>> mock = Mock () >>> mock. __str__ = Mock () >>> mock. __str__. return_value = 'wheeeeee' >>> str ( mock ) 'wheeeeee'
mocksignature is a useful companion to Mock and patch. It creates copies of functions that delegate to a mock, but have the same signature as the original function. This ensures that your mocks will fail in the same way as your production code if they are called incorrectly:
>>> from mock import mocksignature >>> def function ( a, b, c ):... pass... >>> function2 = mocksignature ( function ) >>> function2. mock. return_value = 'fishy' >>> function2 ( 1, 2, 3 ) 'fishy' >>> function2. mock. assert_called_with ( 1, 2, 3 ) >>> function2 ( 'wrong arguments' ) Traceback (most recent call last):... TypeError : <lambda>() takes exactly 3 arguments (1 given)
Also new is patch.dict for setting values in a dictionary just during a test and restoring the dictionary to its original state when the test ends:
>>> foo = { 'key' : 'value' } >>> original = foo. copy () >>> with patch. dict ( foo, { 'newkey' : 'newvalue' }, clear = True ):... assert foo == { 'newkey' : 'newvalue' }... >>> assert foo == original
Authentication with Python aside, did you know as long as you have a computer running Windows OS and that's hooked up to the internet, you could remotely view cctv camera systems, from anywhere in the world? Well you can. Check out this website for more information.
Discover 0.4.0: test discovery for unittest
discover is a backport of the new test discovery features only from Python 2.7 / 3.2. The discover module provides automatic test discovery for standard unittest based tests:
python -m discover python discover.py
If you have setuptools or distribute installed you will also have a discover script available.
This will discover all tests (with certain restrictions) from the current directory. The discover module has several options to control its behavior (full usage options are displayed with python -m discover -h ).
discover 0.4.0 provides feature parity with the test discovery in Python 2.7 RC1 and unittest2 0.4.2.
unittest2 provides not just the test discovery features that are new in Python 2.7, but a whole lot more as well.
The full list of changes since discover 0.3.2:
Addition of a setuptools compatible test collector. Set "test_suite = 'discover.collector'" in setup.py. "setup.py test" will start test discovery with default parameters from the same directory as the setup.py.
in setup.py. "setup.py test" will start test discovery with default parameters from the same directory as the setup.py. Allow test discovery using dotted module names instead of a path.
Addition of a setuptools compatible entrypoint for the discover script.
A faulty load_tests function will not halt test discovery. A failing test is created to report the error.
function will not halt test discovery. A failing test is created to report the error. If test discovery imports a module from the wrong location (usually because the module is globally installed and the user is expecting to run tests against a development version in a different location) then discovery halts with an ImportError and the problem is reported.
Matching files during test discovery is done in DiscoveringTestLoader._match_path. This method can be overriden in subclasses to, for example, match on the full file path or use regular expressions for matching.
. This method can be overriden in subclasses to, for example, match on the full file path or use regular expressions for matching. Tests for discovery ported from unittest2. (The tests require unittest2 to run.)
ArchivesWith some CSS3 properties, like box-shadow or text-shadow, it is possible to have a comma-separated list of values for multiple shadows like this:
.element { box-shadow : 0 1px 3px #eee, 0 5px 10px #f5f5f5 ; }
This works well with regular ol’ CSS, but with CSS3 support being what it is, we sometimes want to use LESS mixins for properties like box-shadow. Given we need various vendor prefixes in our mixin, our example changes to this:
.box-shadow ( @shadow ) { -webkit-box-shadow : @ shadow ; -moz-box-shadow : @ shadow ; box-shadow : @ shadow ; }.element {.box-shadow(0 1px 3px #eee, 0 5px 10px #f5f5f5); }
However, when you use LESS with this approach, the compiler will choke on the unexpected comma between those two shadows. With recent versions of LESS, one might think @arguments is the solution, but that only gets you past the compiling problem. You’ll still end up with a final output that strips that ever important comma between the two shadows. While the most straightforward approach doesn’t work, there are at least two ways of making comma-separated values work in LESS.
The first is to use a local throw-away variable:
.box-shadow ( @shadow ) { -webkit-box-shadow : @ shadow ; -moz-box-shadow : @ shadow ; box-shadow : @ shadow ; }.element { @ shadow : 0 1px 3px #eee, 0 5px 10px #f5f5f5 ;.box-shadow(@shadow); }
This works because we’re declaring a value that’s a literal string because it’s a variable and the mixin respects the entire contents of that variable, including the comma. We currently use this method across Bootstrap for it’s simplicity and because we didn’t know of any other options at the time until we discovered this second method.
Your other option is to escape the value when you call the mixin:
.box-shadow ( @shadow ) { -webkit-box-shadow : @ shadow ; -moz-box-shadow : @ shadow ; box-shadow : @ shadow ; }.element {.box-shadow(~"0 1px 3px #eee, 0 5px 10px #f5f5f5"); }
This effectively does the same thing as the local variable: it ensures the value passed to the mixin is a string and not a list of options compressed into a single value. The syntax is a still fairly clear, but also more succinct. One potential downside to note is that this method doesn’t enable you to place line-breaks and spaces between values to stack them in your code for improved readability, meaning this wouldn’t compile:
.element {.box-shadow(~"0 1px 3px #eee, 0 5px 10px #f5f5f5"); }
If that’s your style, you can accomplish this with the local variable method:
.element { @ shadow : 0 1px 3px #eee, 0 5px 10px #f5f5f5 ;.box-shadow(@shadow); }
All in all, it depends on your own style and conventions. Whatever method you opt for, I do recommend being consistent with it throughout entire projects.
It’s worth noting that in the next version of Bootstrap, we’ll be using the second method (escaping when we call the mixin). It’s less code to write and those familiar with LESS shouldn’t be caught off guard by the escaping.In the event that North Korea tests another Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) or potentially launches an attack on the United States, the Pentagon could try to intercept those missiles with the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. However, as many analysts have pointed out, the interceptors that miss their target could reenter the Earth’s atmosphere inside Russian airspace. Such an eventuality could prove to be a serious problem unless steps are taken to address the issue now.
“You should also be aware of the concern that those interceptors fired from Alaska that miss or don't engage an incoming North Korean ICBM(s) will continue on and reenter the Earth's atmosphere over Russia,” Kingston Reif, director for disarmament and threat reduction policy at the Arms Control Association told The National Interest.
“This carries a nontrivial risk of unintended escalation.”
Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, told The National Interest that the United States should open a dialogue with Russia on the issue immediately.
“Good god, yes,” Lewis said emphatically.
Olya Oliker, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies agreed.
“We have time now to consult with Moscow, talk about plans, discuss how notification would work,” Oliker told The National Interest.
“This isn’t the rocket science part of all this.”
Indeed, in a recent op-ed, Lewis argues that an American interceptor launch could accidentally trigger a nuclear exchange if the Russians mistook such a weapon for an incoming ICBM.
“We can’t assume that Russia would realize the launch from Alaska was a missile defense interceptor rather than an ICBM. From Russia, the trajectories might appear quite similar, especially if the radar operator was under a great deal of stress or pressure,” Lewis wrote for The Daily Beast.
“It doesn’t matter how Russia’s early warning system ought to work on paper, the reality of the Russian system in practice has been a lot less impressive.”
Joshua H. Pollack, editor of the The Nonproliferation Review and a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said that the danger is real.
“Whether they actually would enter Russian airspace is probably less important than whether they break the line of sight of Russia's early-warning radars,” Pollack said.
“They do appear to plan in terms of |
few such changes coming up in the Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” (ICS) release of Android. We wanted to take the opportunity to combine these words on undocumented APIs with some specifics about the changes.
Calendars
Let’s start with the good news: As of ICS, the Android Framework will include a fully-worked-out set of APIs for accessing Calendar data. You can guess the bad news: Quite a few developers have built apps (including many good ones) using the undocumented Calendar APIs, some using fairly low-level access to the calendar database. Unfortunately, these integrations were unsupported, and prone to breakage by platform updates or OEM customization of calendar features.
We want to see lots of good calendar apps and extensions that work reliably across Android devices, and aren't broken by platform updates. So we decided to create a clean API, including a comprehensive set of Intents, to manage calendar data in ICS. Now anyone can code against these new APIs and know that Android is committed to supporting them, and that partners have to support these APIs as part of CTS.
Once the new APIs arrive, you’re going to have to update your apps before they’ll run correctly on ICS while still working on older releases. There are a variety of techniques for doing that, many of which have been featured on this blog, including reflection and lazy loading. Recently, we introduced Multiple-APK support, which could also be used to help with this sort of transition.
Text To Speech
Android has never really had a text-to-speech API at the Framework level, but there was unofficial access at the C++ level. With ICS, we will have a fully-thought-through application-level API running on Dalvik, so you can access it with ordinary Java-language application code.
The old C++ API will no longer be supported, but we’ll have a compatibility layer that you can use to bridge from it to the new API. We think it should be easy to update for ICS with very little work.
Doing the Right Thing
We recognize that this means some work for developers affected by these changes, but we’re confident that Android programs in general, and both Calendar and TTS apps in particular, will come out ahead. And we also think that most developers know that when they use undocumented APIs, they’re making a commitment to doing the right thing when those APIs change.Earthquake: Big one overdue in Oregon
A 6.0 magnitude quake in Californias Napa Valley served as another friendly reminder to Oregonians about the big one.
Its not a matter of if, but when a major quake along the Cascadia fault strikes Oregon, and emergency preparedness is of the utmost importance.
Three faults run through the city of Portland, and off the Oregon Coast sits the Juan de Fuca plate – which could move at any time.
The California quake reminds Portland State University Geologist Scott Burns that an earthquake of that magnitude or higher could just have easily have struck Portland.
Were concerned about that, he said.
A big one in the Pacific Northwest occurs on average every 500 years, he said. The last large earthquake in the region happened more than 300 years ago.
Are we ready?
University of Portland Environmental Studies professor Robert Butler said local infrastructure could be severely damaged by a major quake, because any buildings constructed before 1990 were built with no earthquake codes.
Those unreinforced buildings will sustain severe damage, said Butler. We have infrastructure that is not ready for that.
Furthermore, Burns said more faults are being found in the Portland area and Willamette Valley.
Oregon is making progress retrofitting buildings with seismic upgrades. Still, experts say too few Oregonians take the threat seriously enough to have an earthquake kit at home.
Emergency preparedness at home includes an earthquake kit, which should include water, a first aid kit, medication, a flashlight, a portable radio and plenty of batteries.Development status of in development Final Fantasy titles was revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu, and they’re pretty close to completion.
FFシリーズ開発状況：FFXHD 80%、LRFF13 70%、FFX-2 HD 65%、FF8PC版 80% だそうです — aibo (@aibo_ac7) May 29, 2013
Final Fantasy X HD is 80% done while it’s sequel Final Fantasy X-2 HD is 65%, do note that both these games are supposed to hit stores together in bundle form. The recently announced Final Fantasy VIII HD is 80% and should be released soon. The current Final Fantasy flagship title Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is 80% done preparing for it’s release later this year. Mobile titles were obviously not mentioned along with silence over the Final Fantasy Versus XIII front.
Speaking about Final Fantasy Versus XIII, recent rumors suggest we should be hearing about it more at E3 next month. There’s also talks about Square doing something with the Final Fantasy Agito brand as they registered the trademark just a few days ago. This year’s E3 can’t come sooner!
Which Final Fantasy title are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments below.By Matthew Wadleigh of Beaverton, Oregon. Matthew is a 23 year old student that attends Portland State University who has called Oregon home all his life.
An open letter to Senator Sanders:
To the Honorable Bernie Sanders,
My name is Matthew Wadleigh, and I'm a student at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.
If I were given the chance and had the resources, I would happily go to Iowa, Rhode Island, South Carolina, or any other early primary state in order to help you secure the Democratic nomination. I would do this because my own state of Oregon votes in the primaries very late, and unfortunately I believe that if conventional wisdom holds true, the Democratic nomination will be settled before Oregon voters get their chance to make their voices heard.
I am penning this letter in order to ask you to make sure that is not the case. In fact I would like to take this one step farther, and ask you to keep your campaign alive until the Democratic National Convention, scheduled to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the 25th of July next year. Every state in the union deserves the chance to allow its voters to assign their delegates. This election especially is of too much importance to not let every vote and every voice be heard.
As the race goes on you will be pressured, especially should you lose the early primaries, to back out of the race and endorse one of the other candidates for the presidency. It will be suggested to you that party unity is more important than the voices of the American people. Do not give in to those suggestions. It is not the place of the elites of the Democratic Party to decide who our nominee should be. That responsibility should lie solely with us, the voters of the Democratic party.
Every American deserves the chance to vote for the person who shares their ideals. Every American deserves the chance to vote for the person they believe should lead us into the future. Give us that chance so that after our vote has been cast, we can proudly return home with a clear conscience. Knowing that the democratic process has heard us, and that the Democratic Party shall listen.
You are a very special candidate. This may be your one shot. Do what is right by the American People and see your campaign to the end. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
Sincerely,
Matthew Wadleigh
guest columnOhio Treasurer Josh Mandel today backed a proposed state law to ban "sanctuary cities" in Ohio and hold municipal officials criminally and civilly liable for crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
Mandel said he supports legislation to be introduced by a fellow Republican, freshman state Rep. Candice Keller of Middletown.
"This is about protecting parents and protecting kids here in Ohio," Mandel said in a telephone conference call this morning. "I believe we must have zero tolerance policy when the safety of our kids are at stake."
The bill would prohibit cities from sheltering refugees and immigrants who may be in the country illegally.
Mandel, who again is seeking the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in 2018 to run against incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown, singled out Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, both Democrats, as targets of the legislation.
"They are putting families at risk," Mandel said. "What they're doing is playing partisan politics and this is a non-partisan issue."
Columbus has not declared itself a sanctuary city, but has said it would not use resources to enforce efforts to expel immigrants.
Mandel accused Ginther and Cranley of "totally ignoring" incidents in Europe causes by terrorists and "sticking their head in the sand."
Cranley issued a statement in response to Mandel, saying, "Josh Mandel continues to falsely declare Cincinnati is violating federal laws — that is a blatant lie. We have not and will not violate federal laws. Mandel’s proposal is a straw man for his political ambitions, demonizing refugees fleeing oppression in the process. We are standing with refugees and disagreeing with President Trump’s executive orders, which is our First Amendment right to do. Mandel’s attempt to jail people who disagree with the president is an outrageous attack on the First Amendment."
The proposal, which has not been introduced in the General Assembly, would make city officials criminally liable if a crime was committed by an undocumented immigrant. The crimes that would trigger a violation were not specified.
Officials could be charged with a fourth-degree felony, punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a fine up to $5,000. A public official could he held personally liable for up to $1 million in damages if a person is injured by an immigrant.
Information provided by Mandel said the law would prohibit "any local jurisdiction from adopting or implementing a law, ordinance, rule, policy, or plan or taking any action that limits or prohibits an elected official, employee, or law enforcement officer from communicating or cooperating with an appropriate public official, employee, or law enforcement officer of the federal government concerning the immigration status of an individual residing in the state."
It would also prohibit "any local jurisdiction from deliberately obstructing immigration enforcement, restricting interaction with federal immigration agencies, or shielding illegal aliens from detection."
Mandel, who said recently that Cincinnati would become a sanctuary city "over our dead body," has repeatedly lashed out at "radical Islamic terrorists."
It is the first bill to be introduced by Keller, who was elected last fall.
She blamed immigrants and their "culture" for committing crimes, including assaults and rape, and bringing in "sexually transmitted diseases."
"My phone has been ringing off the hook with constituents in my district who are concerned about this," she said.
She said refugee resettlement is "not about humanitarianism, but about importing "cheap labor" and violence.
Kent Scarrett, executive director of the Ohio Municipal League, said he had not seen the Mandel-Keller proposal. However, he said it would "almost certainly be an encroachment on the home rule powers granted to cities by the Ohio Constitution."
Ginther spokeswoman Robin Davis said the mayor "will continue to uphold the rule of law and protect all Columbus residents. Nothing in his executive order is in violation of federal law. Just as it is not the role of immigration officials to investigate a theft in Columbus, federal courts have ruled that local police do not have authority to make their own immigration arrests. Unlike Treasurer Josh Mandel, Mayor Ginther will not use fear as a reason for discrimination and will not pick and choose who he protects based on religion or national origin."
“Regardless of one’s views on immigration, it is reprehensible and unconstitutional to use Ohio criminal law in an attempt to shut down differing opinions on this issue," Davis said.
ajohnson@dispatch.com
@ohioajA U.S. regulatory filing for a Bitcoin investment trust from the Winklevoss twins said they will protect the virtual currency like gold bars—in vaults.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, famous for their early association with Facebook, are selling the trust as a way for institutional and retail investors to invest in bitcoins without dealing with the hassle of exchanges and the thorny security problems around storing bitcoins.
The goal of the fund centers on an anticipated appreciation if bitcoins become more widely used as a means for exchange. Some businesses are using bitcoins, but volatile exchange rates and regulatory issues remain a concern.
In a 74-page document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, the twins write they will use a network of secure vaults around the U.S. to store their investors' bitcoins.
Their company, Winklevoss IP, owns intellectual property related to patent-pending technology that will be used by the trust, the filing reads. That includes what is described as a "proprietary security protocol."
IDGNS
A bitcoin is essentially a secret number that can be transferred to another computer using public-key cryptography. A bitcoin has a private key that if unencrypted allows the coin to be sent to another computer using peer-to-peer software.
A bitcoin transaction is seamless and fairly quick, but since the private key is often stored on a person's computer or with a web-based service, hacking remains a real risk.
Some bitcoin enthusiasts have written private keys down on pieces of paper in so-called "offline" wallets. But losing a private key to a bitcoin means that it can never be used and is lost forever.
The long list of risks highlighted in the SEC filing shows that an investment with the twins' trust is only for those with steely nerves. And they make no guarantee that the security system will be able to thwart hackers.
The trust's sponsor, Math-Based Asset Services, which is owned by Winklevoss Capital Management, is not liable for losses due to "failure or penetration" of the security system, absent gross negligence, fraud or criminal behavior by the sponsor, the filing reads.
Also, the people responsible for the day-to-day administration of the trust "will also not be liable for any system failure or third-party penetration of the security system."
They also anticipate their trust "may become a more appealing target of security threats as the size of the trust's assets grows."
The warnings may not put off people familiar with bitcoin, which has made a handful of people who bought in after the system launched in 2009 very wealthy.
Many others, however, have racked up losses after buying bitcoins during a rapid, speculative rise to $260 per coin in April before falling as low as $56. A single bitcoin sold for around $90 on Tuesday, according to the largest exchange, Mt. Gox in Japan.
The Winklevoss twins told The New York Times in April that they held as many as 1 percent of all of the bitcoins in circulation. There are about 11.3 million bitcoins in circulation, putting their holdings conservatively at $9 million today.
According to their plans, the trust would offer "baskets" of shares, of which each share is comprised of one-fifth of a bitcoin. The baskets would be redeemed in blocks of 50,000 shares based on an average bitcoin market price calculated from exchanges.Death Stranding exists and someone's played it. Good news if you were worried it might just be a collection of cool trailers and an IOU from Kojima, as he travels the world approving merchandise.
President of Sony Interactive Entertainment America Shawn Layden has played it though. So some working demo exists although, even after going hands on, Layden admits he "couldn’t explain to you what the game is."
Speaking in an interview with The Telegraph Layden confirms that the game is "up and running." Apparently using Guerrilla Game's Decima engine "really gave him a leg up and test it, and have some prototype levels running."
That doesn't mean it makes any sense though, which is where Layden's post-playing admittance that he can't explain it comes from. However, when asked if the game is 'as revolutionary as Kojima-San is promising?' he replies, after a pause, "all that and more!”
If you want more than catch up with everything we know about Death Stranding, and there's also this, where Kojima admits even his own team didn't understand Death Stranding.“Brian has genuinely my best wishes that he can take the sport to where it needs to go”
New UCI president Brian Cookson has contacted Paul Kimmage to tell the journalist that he is ending a legal action instigated against him by the previous UCI leaders Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid.
Kimmage was contacted yesterday by Cookson and told that he was calling a halt to the action, which was launched last year and which had remained in limbo since last October.
In recent weeks the lawyers acting on the case had stalled on ending it, causing concern to Kimmage and prompting him to ask three days ago on Twitter what Cookson intended to do about it.
“For the record: I am still receiving letters from Reymond & Associes, the solicitors acting for the UCI, Verbruggen and McQuaid. I presume @BrianCooksonUCI that you're aware that tab is still running. And that you'll be handing that bill to Verbruggen and McQuaid?” he stated on October 7th.
Cookson sought out Kimmage’s contact details yesterday and contacted the Irishman, reassuring him that the action would not be continued.
“I had a call from him, just before he went to Beijing,” Kimmage told VeloNation. “He told me that they were in the process of issuing a release to the extent that the they are going to drop the case against me.”
In January 2012 McQuaid and Verbruggen initiated legal proceedings against Kimmage, claiming they were defamed by articles in the Sunday Times and L’Equipe. He was issued with a summons on September 19th, compelling him to attend a trial in Switzerland on December 12th.
On October 26th, days after it received and accepted USADA’s reasoned decision on Lance Armstrong and the US Postal Service team, the UCI announced that it was putting the case on hold. It was facing considerable pressure at the time due to the release of the USADA report, and had been criticised for suing a journalist who had long campaigned for a cleaner sport.
However the case was only suspended, not ended, and with the Swiss courts seeking an answer in recent weeks as to whether it would continue or not, the UCI’s lawyers were stalling.
“I was still getting letters from their solicitors,” Kimmage explained. “The last letter I got from them was about ten, twelve days ago telling me that the decision about the case had been moved back again until the end of the month…they kept moving back the deadline to decide whether they would continue it or not, keeping it open.”
Kimmage has long been a critic of McQuaid but stopped short of endorsing Cookson in the run up to the election. He has been reassured by yesterday’s pledged to end the legal action, though, and also by what they spoke about during that phone call.
“We had a brief conversation as he was on the way to Beijing,” he said. “I asked him about the legal action and the fact that he was on the management committee when it was launched. I don’t want to get into details of what Brian said as it was off record, but I’ve told him that I was very happy that it was being dropped and that I wished him all the best in the new job.”
While Cookson was on the UCI management committee since 2009, he presented himself as a candidate for change and said that if he was elected, that he would reform the governing body and seek to give it a new credibility after the doping scandals and public spats of the past.
Asked now if he believes Cookson represents a step forward, Kimmage is clear. “Absolutely. I don’t want to be flippant about him or be insulting to him, but he can’t be any f**king worse than McQuaid,” he answered. “He can’t be any worse.
“My only reservation about endorsing him [before the election – ed.] was the fact that hadn’t clarified his position on the decision to sue. Given he hadn’t clarified that, I wasn’t going to endorse him…absolutely not.”
‘Astonished but not surprised’ if McQuaid had won election:
Cookson went head to head with two-term president McQuaid in the election held during the UCI Congress on September 27th.
The long meeting saw various individuals from the UCI acting to help McQuaid overcome the issue about whether or not he had a valid nomination. At one point two lawyers were brought out to argue his case; one of them even suggested that the rescinded Swiss backing was still valid as it hadn’t been withdrawn by the closing date for nominations.
The tone of the meeting appeared increasingly farcical but, after calling for an end to arguments over nominations and requesting that a straight vote be held, Cookson emerged victorious, becoming the next president of the UCI.
Asked if he was surprised that McQuaid lost, Kimmage gives an apparently contradictory answer, but one which will be understood by many.
“I was actually surprised he lost, given how much time he spent cultivating his vote and given what he was saying about it,” he said.
“That said, I would also have been astonished if he had won, given everything that had happened in the past. I would have walked away from the sport if he had done so…absolutely and without question.
“It seems a contradiction to say that you would be astonished and yet you wouldn’t be surprised, but that is just a reflection on how bad things had been. That probably doesn’t make sense but that is how I felt about it.”
The final tally saw Cookson secure 24 out of the 42 delegate votes, and McQuaid getting 18.
“It is actually astonishing that McQuaid got as many votes as he did. That is incredible, absolutely incredible,” said Kimmage. “Everything that happened that day is just a reflection of how the sport has been run for years.
“It goes without saying that I am absolutely thrilled that McQuaid was beaten, and that I am hopeful that Brian can do a proper job.
Cookson made a wide number of promises after his election, including pledges to separate the promotion of the sport from the policing of it via the establishment of a fully independent anti-doping organisation. He is yet to finalise details of that, but working out the mechanism to do it will take time.
He has moved quicker in other areas, ending the UCI’s long running relationship with the lawyer Philippe Verbiest and also scrapping a controversial – and nonsensical – UCI rule setting age limits on women’s teams.
The weeks and months ahead will show if Cookson can deliver on what he has pledged but while it is very early days, Kimmage is cautiously optimistic.
“Now I believe Verbiest is gone and that is another step in the right direction,” he said. “I am personally very, very happy that this case has been lifted from me as it has been a huge strain on me and on the family.
“Brian has genuinely my best wishes that he can take the sport to where it needs to go. I am very hopeful of that. I look forward to sitting down with him in the near future and having a proper conversation about it.”
“I wouldn’t touch Aaron Brown with a bargepole”
When Kimmage was originally sued by the UCI, a fund was set up by the NYVelocity and Cyclismas websites to try to raise legal backing for him. The writer was out of a job, having been let go by the Sunday Times, and had been facing potentially huge legal fees.
The campaign for the so-called Kimmage Fund was a big success, with a total of over $90,000 was raised. However at the end of April the journalist learned from the Cyclismas site editor Lesli Cohen that the co-founder of that site, Aaron Brown, had transferred the fund out of the PayPal account that had been used, and that there was no longer any access to the money.
Brown refused to hand the funds over to Kimmage, essentially meaning that the money donated by individuals from around the world was either in limbo or missing altogether.
Kimmage was furious and was clear at the time that he felt betrayed by Brown, who had built up a prominent profile via his @UCI_Overlord Twitter account and interactions with people in the industry.
Brown said he would retain the funds because he was involved in a legal dispute with Cohen and also because he was facing a potential tax liability for the fund. He said he would release the money if it was needed by Kimmage to defend against any further UCI action.
In recent weeks Bill Hue, a Kimmage fund donor who also works as a Circuit Court Judge in the State of Wisconsin, launched a class action lawsuit against Brown on behalf of those who donated in order to force him to hand over the money.
Likely as a response to that, the latter recently set up a website saying that those who contributed to the fund could apply to have 70% of the donated amount refunded. He states that the other 30% has been either already paid out or is tied up with miscellaneous costs.
Asked for his reaction by VeloNation, Kimmage makes clear that he believes those who donated should be very careful.
“My position on this is that I wouldn’t touch Aaron Brown with a bargepole. This half-arsed scheme he has cooked up himself is just a means of hanging onto as much money as he can, in my view,” he said.
“I hope that Bill Hue succeeds in the actions he has taken in the States to secure what is left of the money and to get a full account of what is spent. I hope he succeeds in that and he as my full support.
“I think this is a better course of action for people. I don’t know what game Aaron Brown is playing. He has had ample opportunity…he has had months now to account for the money and to give it to a neutral third party. Nobody in my view should engage with him. That is my opinion but, that said, it is not my money. People can decide what they wish to do.”
He expresses frustration with what has happened to the fund, and the complications Brown’s actions have caused.
“I just f**king despair. I see my name being bandied about and people badgering me, asking what they should do about it. It is just incredibly frustrating to me – I have been drawn into this and my name is being thrown out there. It is just driving me crazy at the moment.”The Pekingese dog, often affectionately called the "Peke" by western pet-owners, has a long and illustrious history in China. Nobody knows quite when the Chinese first began to breed the Pekingese, but they have been associated with the emperors of China since at least the 700s CE.
According to an oft-repeated legend, long ago a lion fell in love with a marmoset. The disparity in their sizes made this an impossible love, so the heart-sore lion asked Ah Chu, the protector of animals, to shrink him down to the size of a marmoset so that the two animals could marry. Only his heart remained its original size. From this union, the Pekingese dog (or Fu Lin - Lion Dog) was born.
This charming legend reflects the courage and fierce temperament of the little Pekingese dog. The fact that such a "long ago, in the mists of time" story exists about the breed also points to its antiquity. In fact, DNA studies reveal that Pekingese dogs are among the closest, genetically, to wolves. Although they do not physically resemble wolves, due to intense artificial selection by generations of human keepers, Pekingese are among the least changed breeds of dogs at the level of their DNA. This supports the idea that they are in fact a very ancient breed.
Lion Dogs of the Han Court
A more realistic theory on the origins of the Pekingese dog states that they were bred in the Chinese imperial court, perhaps as early as the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) period. Stanley Coren advocates this early date in The Pawprints of History: Dogs and the Course of Human Events, and ties the development of the Peke to the introduction of Buddhism into China.
Actual Asiatic lions once roamed parts of China, thousands of years ago, but they had been extinct for millennia by the time of the Han Dynasty. Lions are included in many Buddhist myths and stories since they are present in India; Chinese listeners, however, had only highly stylized carvings of lions to guide them in picturing these beasts. In the end, the Chinese concept of a lion resembled a dog more than anything, and the Tibetan mastiff, the Lhasa Apso, and the Pekingese all were bred to resemble this re-imagined creature rather than authentic big cats.
According to Coren, the Chinese emperors of the Han Dynasty wanted to replicate the Buddha's experience of taming a wild lion, which symbolized passion and aggression. Buddha's tame lion would "follow at his heels like a faithful dog," according to the legend. In a somewhat circular story, then, the Han emperors bred a dog to make it look like a lion - a lion that acted like a dog. Coren reports, however, that the emperors had already created a small but fierce lap spaniel, the forerunner of the Pekingese, and that some courtier simply pointed out that the dogs looked like small lions.
The perfect Lion Dog had a flattened face, large eyes, short and sometimes bowed legs, a relatively long body, a mane-like ruff of fur around the neck and a tufted tail. Despite its toy-like appearance, the Pekingese retains a rather wolf-like personality; these dogs were bred for their looks, and evidently, their imperial masters appreciated the Lion Dogs' dominant behavior and made no effort to breed out that trait.
The little dogs seem to have taken their honored position to heart, and many emperors delighted in their furry counterparts. Coren states that Emperor Lingdi of Han (ruled 168 - 189 CE) conferred a scholarly title on his favorite Lion Dog, making that dog a member of the nobility, and starting a centuries-long trend of honoring imperial dogs with noble rank.
Tang Dynasty Imperial Dogs
By the Tang Dynasty, this fascination with Lion Dogs was so great that Emperor Ming (c. 715 CE) even called his small white Lion Dog one of his wives - much to the irritation of his human courtiers.
Certainly, by Tang Dynasty times (618 - 907 CE), the Pekingese dog was thoroughly aristocratic. Nobody outside of the imperial palace, then located in Chang'an (Xi'an) rather than Peking (Beijing), was allowed to own or breed the dog. If an ordinary person happened to cross paths with a Lion Dog, he or she had to bow, just as with human members of the court.
During this era, the palace also began to breed tinier and tinier lion dogs. The smallest, perhaps only six pounds in weight, were called "Sleeve Dogs," because their owners could carry the tiny creatures around concealed in the billowing sleeves of their silk robes.
Dogs of the Yuan Dynasty
When the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty in China, he adopted a number of Chinese cultural practices. Evidently, the keeping of Lion Dogs was one of them. Artwork from the Yuan era portrays fairly realistic Lion Dogs in ink drawings and in figurines of bronze or clay. The Mongols were known for their love of horses, of course, but in order to rule China, the Yuan Emperors developed an appreciation for these tinier imperial creatures.
Ethnic-Han Chinese rulers took the throne again in 1368 with the start of the Ming Dynasty. These changes did not diminish the Lion Dogs' position at court, however. Indeed, Ming art also shows an appreciation for the imperial dogs, which could legitimately be called "Pekingese" after the Yongle Emperor permanently moved the capital to Peking (now Beijing).
Pekingese Dogs During the Qing Era and After
When the Manchu or Qing Dynasty overthrew the Ming in 1644, once more the Lion Dogs survived. Documentation on them is scarce for much of the era, until the time of the Empress Dowager Cixi (or Tzu Hsi). She was dotingly fond of Pekingese dogs, and during her rapprochement with westerners after the Boxer Rebellion, she gave Pekes as gifts to some European and American visitors. The empress herself had one particular favorite named Shadza, which means "Fool."
Under the Dowager Empress's rule, and perhaps long before, the Forbidden City had marble kennels lined with silk cushions for the Pekingese dogs to sleep in. The animals got the highest grade rice and meat for their meals and had teams of eunuchs to look after and bathe them.
When the Qing Dynasty fell in 1911, the emperors' pampered dogs became targets of Chinese nationalist rage. Few survived the sacking of the Forbidden City. However, the breed lived on because of Cixi's gifts to the westerners - as souvenirs of a vanished world, the Pekingese became a favorite lapdog and show-dog in both Great Britain and the United States in the early to mid-twentieth century.
Today, you can occasionally spot a Pekingese dog in China. Of course, under Communist rule, they are no longer reserved for the imperial family - ordinary people are free to own them. The dogs themselves do not seem to realize that they have been demoted from imperial status, however. They still carry themselves with a pride and attitude that would be quite familiar, no doubt, to Emperor Lingdi of the Han Dynasty.
Sources
Cheang, Sarah. "Women, Pets, and Imperialism: The British Pekingese Dog and Nostalgia for Old China," Journal of British Studies, Vol. 45, No. 2 (April 2006), pp. 359-387.
Clutton-Brock, Juliet. A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Conway, D.J. Magickal, Mystical Creatures, Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn, 2001.
Coren, Stanley. The Pawprints of History: Dogs and the Course of Human Events, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003.Ellie the Unstoppable: New world record as teenager wins second gold and Cameron is there to cheer her on
Prime Minister punched the air as 17-year-old Ellie scooped another gold
He took time out from his Cabinet reshuffle to cheer on GB team
British swimming star Ellie Simmonds smashed her own world record in the pool last night as she claimed her second gold medal of London 2012.
The 17-year-old took her fourth Paralympic gold medal with a stunning swim in the women’s 200m individual medley.
After trailing her rivals for most of the race, the teenager – who has a condition called achondroplasia, or dwarfism – finished in a stunning sprint to win the race in a remarkable 3.05.39.
Champion: Swimming star Ellie Simmonds smashed her own world record to claim her second gold medal of London 2012 In doing so she broke the world record she herself had set only hours before in qualifying for the race. With two events still to go, Simmonds is now likely to become the biggest superstar of the Paralympics after the controversy surrounding defeated South African blade runner Oscar Pistorius. RELATED ARTICLES Previous
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Next Iranian Paralympic athlete refused to shake Duchess of... The Magnificent Seven for golden GB: Kate cheers them on......
Blades of fury: Paralympic posterboy Oscar Pistorius loses... Share this article Share Experts say Simmonds is likely to net hundreds of thousands of pounds in sponsorship. She has also been tipped to feature in the next honours list and to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year title. Watched by her proud parents Steve and Val, the Briton had turned into the final freestyle leg more than five metres down but roared on by the crowd she was back on level terms within a few strokes before powering away to win easily.
Go on Ellie! Prime Minister David Cameron cheers on Ellie Simmonds as she competes in the pool In the team: Cameron took time out from organising his Cabinet re-shuffle to support Ellie Simmonds Yes! Cameron punches the air as Ellie finishes first and breaks another world record in the pool Fellow Briton Natalie Jones, 27, claimed bronze. A jubilant Simmonds punched the water with delight and gave her now trademark grin on realising she had broken another record.
David Cameron was on his feet to roar on the Briton to her second victory, which came 48 hours after her world record-breaking performance in the 400m captured the heart of the nation. There were boos mixed with the cheers as the Prime Minister stepped forward to present the medals but they turned to roars as Simmonds, her grin as wide as her medal, was given her gold and a kiss on both cheeks by Mr Cameron. Chancellor George Osborne was also booed as he performed a similar role for the men’s 400m. Simmonds, after singing the National Anthem along with the crowd, said: ‘I’m on a mission at the moment.
‘It’s the biggest event of my life and I just want to do the best that I can. 'I like to be nervous – it gets my adrenaline going. So far I’ve dealt with the pressure. It’s pushed me to show what I’m made of.’
She added: ‘I am chuffed, I have two more races to come, and it is amazing to do this in front of this home crowd. Mixed reception: There were boos and cheers as the Prime Minister stepped forward to present the medals Popular winner: Boos turned to roars as Simmonds was given her medal and a kiss on both cheeks by Mr Cameron
Simmonds is to compete in two more events at this year's Paralympics
Simmonds broke her own world record - which she set in the qualifiers - to take gold number two
Star attraction: Experts say Simmonds is likely to net hundreds of thousands of pounds in sponsorship ‘I have two golds, and I have two more to concentrate on. Let’s hope I wake up tomorrow in form.’ There was a silver for Sascha Kindred in the 200m SM6 individual – he had been going for his fourth straight gold in the event – to add to the silver won earlier in the pool by his wife Nyree. And Newcastle University graduate Susannah Rodgers, 28, took a bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle S7. Elsewhere in the Olympic Stadium wheelchair sprinter Mickey Bushell smashed the Paralympic record in the 100m as he powered to the gold in 14.75 seconds. Roared on by 80,000 fans, the Shropshire |
Machado.
Commentary
Manny Machado needs to chill the fuck out. You’re Manny Machado for fuck’s sake. Not Derek Jeter. Not Albert Pujols. Hell, you’re not even Josh Donaldson. You have had one good half-season in your career, so fuck off. You’re still a nobody who can only dream of one day getting the honor of just sniffing Mike Trout’s jock strap for a few moments. Act like you’ve been here before. If somebody hits you with a pitch and you want to do something about it, run out to the mound and put the pitcher in a headlock and start hammering away on his dome with your fists a la Nolan Ryan. But don’t pull some Delmon Young bull shit and start throwing baseball bats at human beings…The Thunder was only 5-5 in its first 10 games without Westbrook. But over the past 10 days, Durant has led his team to wins over Houston, Golden State, Portland and San Antonio, while putting it into first place in the West, as of Friday. On Wednesday in Miami, we'll have our first installment of the season of James vs. Durant, a battle between the only two players in the race for MVP. For many weeks it wasn't even a race, but lately Durant sure has made it one.... On Sunday, before the Lakers and Knicks play at the Garden, the showcase game of the day features the Spurs returning to Miami for the first time since their crushing Finals defeats in Games 6 and 7. The Spurs lost Kawhi Leonard for upwards of a month with a broken finger, as he joined injured role players Danny Green and Tiago Splitter on the sidelines. "It's tough, we're dropping like flies right now," Tim Duncan said. Here's what else is wrong with the Spurs: They're 1-8 versus the best teams in the West (the Thunder, Blazers, Rockets and Clippers) and 0-1 against the Pacers. They're only win came against the Clippers, minus Chris Paul. This is their first game against the Heat, which expects to get Dwyane Wade back after he missed the last four games to rest his ailing knees. This season Miami is 7-6 without Wade … Danilo Gallinari went for a nontraditional form of knee surgery when he blew out his ACL last spring. But the ligament didn't heal properly and so the ex-Knick had the standard reconstructive surgery this past week, ending his season. "I am partly annoyed," the Nuggets forward said on his Facebook page. Just partly? He originally thought he'd be back by the end of November.... When the Blazers lost in Houston, giving up 126 points, they blew a chance to become the first team to sweep the three games in Texas since Boston did it in 2008, the year the Celtics last won the title.People walk past a bronze replica of a bull at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai November 3, 2008. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/Files
Reuters Market Eye - Morgan Stanley sets a new target for the BSE Sensex at 23,069 points by the end of December 2013, implying an index trading at 14.9 times estimated 2014 earnings.
The target would surpass the index’s record high of 21,206.77 points hit on January 10, 2008.
“Conditions for a new bull market are getting slowly satisfied. The yield curve has stopped flattening, liquidity is improving, valuations appear supportive and profit margin expansion is a growing possibility in the coming months,” the investment bank says in a note dated on Monday.
Morgan Stanley expects domestic earnings growth of 10 percent in fiscal 2013 and of 19 percent in fiscal 2014.
Morgan Stanley says cyclicals are “ultra cheap,” and prefers “quality” cyclicals over defensives.
As a result, the investment bank goes “underweight” consumer staples in its model portfolio, while raising energy and materials to “overweight” and taking industrials to “neutral.”
Morgan Staley also cuts technology exposure in its portfolio by 100 bps.The giveaway has ended. Congrats to the winners: : Kyle S. (Hawaii, USA) – Grand prize winner, Leo S. (Russia) – Oculus/Vive winner, and Maria H. (Brazil) – Gear VR winner. Our next giveaway is for the Oculus Rift.
Virtual reality is nothing new, with the earliest attempts to commercialize the technology going back to the 80’s and 90’s. Unfortunately, the tech just wasn’t ready. This all changed with the debut of the Oculus and its VR kit on Kickstarter back in 2012. With this ambitious headset’s introduction it seemed that virtual reality technology had evolved enough to finally offer the kind of immersion we had long dreamed of. Fast-forwarding to 2016, the VR platform wars are heating up as everyone scrambles to claim a piece of the VR pie.
In the midst of it all, VR Source is here, locked, loaded, and ready to walk you through all the latest in the realm of VR and AR.
VR Source actually soft launched back in March of 2016. During this time, we worked to foster a great team of dedicated VR afficiendos, building up tons of great content from news to guides, reviews to first impressions, and beyond. Today we are finally ready to share this dream with the masses, formally announcing that we are the latest member of Android Authority’s growing network of sites.
For those that have been following VR Source since the very beginning, we want to thank you for letting us serve you as your one stop for all the VR news. For those just joining us, we look forward to providing you the very best VR/AR coverage now and in the years to come.
You can engage with the VR Source team through a number of different ways:
VRSource.com – VR Source is your source for all things VR, from news to best lists, gaming reviews, and so much more.
Follow VR Source on social – Looking for one place to find all the great news, video teasers, and other tidbits relating to VR Source? You’ll want to follow us on Google Plus, Facebook, and Twitter.
VR Source is on YouTube! – We’re officially kicking off our YouTube channel today with several videos including our impressions on the Rift and the full review of Edge of Nowhere. Later in the week VR Source’s YouTube channel will also come to life with tons of great video coverage direct from E3 2016!
The Giveaway
At VR Source we are 100% confident that VR is the future, but experiencing is believing. That’s why we celebrating our official debut with a giveaway. Three lucky winners will have the chance to win one of three great VR prizes!
Grand prize: a VR-ready Alienware X51 PC with your choice of the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive
a VR-ready Alienware X51 PC with your choice of the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive Second prize: your choice between the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive
your choice between the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive Third prize: A Samsung Gear VR headset
HTC Vive – Occulus Rift – Gear VR Mega Giveaway!
Terms & ConditionsBuilding Dreams: Sung Kang's '72 Ford Maverick
Sung Kang’s “Fugu Z” was a showstopper at last year’s SEMA Show. The Fast & Furious franchise heartthrob’s ’72 240Z wore a dream list of aftermarket parts, and crowds could not break themselves away. It won Best Import at SEMA, and it’s already a Hot Wheels car. Star power, big splash.
It cannot be a coincidence that its follow-up project, unveiled at SEMA Show 2016, made just as big a splash. A lowly Ford two-door was slid in place of the low-slung Datsun, working with most of the same suppliers and using the same restrained white color palette. To most, this might not have appeared to be an exciting script, but Sung was determined to make this sequel another box-office hit.
Project Underdog, “UDog” for short, took a ’72 Ford Maverick and transformed it into what we see today. Sung first saw the potential this forgotten vehicle had when his character, Han, drove it in Fast Five. In the UDog build process, Sung had the vision of helping transform today’s budding car enthusiasts into tomorrow’s top car builders.
Car restoration was used as both a literal and figurative vehicle to promote youth outreach, matching aspiring shop hands with industry leaders. With Sung acting as sensei, three shop-class students—Alexis Hernandez, Christian Quiroz and Tony Chen—were chosen to help build UDog. Garnering the help of SEMA, the team began work on the Maverick—an underdog car if there ever was one. The U3 logo, seen throughout the car’s design, represents the three teen builders. The result, seen here, will be auctioned off to fund other youth auto-shop outreach.
The chosen platform, the Maverick, was created as an economy car that definitely wasn’t a Pinto, but it wasn’t quite a Mustang either. The Maverick represented potential; it was a blank canvas for cheap speed. It was mechanically simple: front-engine, rear-wheel drive and available before big bumpers and emissions controls complicated matters. While not often seen in high-caliber builds, the Maverick can give the bucks-down performance nut the opportunity to make something special.
For the U3 team, they wanted to do something different with the Maverick, so they injected some new blood into this old soul with a 2.3L Ford EcoBoost engine. This new-generation engine was the perfect answer with its small displacement, high output and fuel efficiency. The ease of this engine swap would not have been possible without the help of SEMA Garage, where it was built. Using a 3-D scanner, they were able to collect data on both the engine and engine bay to virtually find the optimal mounting locations to maintain a good center of gravity for the UDog. This EcoBoost engine gave the project a 310hp heart, which after visiting GReddy, a custom turbocharger was installed to give it more power—beating closer to 400 hp.
From unleashing the potential of this ’72 Maverick to helping the students get a glimpse of their own potentials, no matter how overlooked, the parts were always there; someone just needed to put them together. For both Project Underdog and the students, Sung Kang played the perfect role to make a difference in their lives. Building showstoppers isn’t new to Sung, so it came as no surprise that the UDog received an enthusiast reception at the SEMA Show. Crowds could not break themselves away. It won Ford’s Special Recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Design and is on its way to becoming a Hot Wheels car. Star power, big splash. Some things never change.
Maverick: Secret JDM Influence? Did the kenmeri Skyline want to be a Ford Maverick when it grew up? Look at the Maverick’s roofline: long hood, short deck, fastback styling. Now add the UDog’s take on it with Rocket Bunny flares, the big wheels and other JDM stylings. Are we the only ones seeing an alternate-universe kenmeri Skyline here? Maybe. Except, of course, that the Maverick was around for three years before the kenmeri turned up across the ocean. Though Americans know the kenmeri as a delightful chunk of JDM unobtanium today, the truth is that Nissan wanted its new-for-’72 Skyline to have a more luxurious American feel. The people in the ads were also American—or else, not so very obviously, Japanese. (Mary, aka Diane Krey-Wesley, was all-American; Ken, aka Jimmy Zinnai, was half-Japanese and half-Russian.) Thus you had Ken and Mary, popularly shortened to kenmeri. This was fun wordplay: flip the order of the names and you get Mary Ken—or American.
Tuning Menu
1972 Ford Maverick
OWNER Sung Kang HOMETOWN Los Angeles, CA SPONSOR Pennzoil ENGINE Ford Motor Company 2.3L EcoBoost; GReddy turbocharger, cooling system, exhaust, air intake, catch can and intercooler; Aeromotive fuel pump and fuel filter; BBK throttle-body; Griffin Thermal Products radiator, fan shroud and electric fan DRIVETRAIN Custom Tremec Manual six-speed transmission, shifter, T/O bearing, clutch master cylinder and shift knob installed by American Power Train; Currie Enterprises rear end; Lakewood bellhousing, clutch disc, pressure plate, flywheel and pilot bushing SUSPENSION AJE front coilover suspension, crossmember, A-arms, ball joints and tie-rod ends; Bilstein rear shocks; Eaton rear leaf springs; Hotchkis Sport Suspension sway bars BRAKES Baer Brakes calipers and rotors upgrade WHEELS & TIRES 17x10- and 18x12-inch custom U3 design by Art In Motion; Nitto Tire NT555 255/40ZR17 (front) and NT555 R305/40R18 (rear) EXTERIOR Rocket Bunny bodykit; custom U3 rear emblem; Maverick Man carbon-fiber Grabber-style hood and trunk; 09 Racing carbon-fiber fender mirrors; Topolino front grille, taillights and hood hinge; Dapper Lighting headlights; White PPG paint and body work by LGE-CTS Motorsports; Pilkkington Classics windshield, rear window, door and side windows installed by Alfredos Auto Glass INTERIOR Carbon Signal carbon-fiber dash, package tray, gauges, center console, headliner and upholstery; Cerullo Seats; Maverick Manic clutch pedal and seat rails; NRG Innovations custom U3 steering wheel and quick-release hub
(Photos: Cory Mader, Justin Pagtalunan, Terence Patrick)
Never fear, more Underdog photos are here! Take a look at the gallery below to see more of Sung Kang's latest creation.Armor Class: 13 (Padded)
Hit Points: 130 (20d8 +40)
Speed: 30ft (9m / 6 sqr)
Proficiency: +6
STR 11 (+0) DEX 15 (+2) CON 14 (+2) INT 14 (+2) WIS 13 (+1) CHA 17 (+3)
Skills: Deception +9 Performance +9 Persuasion +9 Arcana +8
Saving Throws: Charisma +9 Dexterity +8
Challenge: 12 (8400 XP)
Actions
Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack +8 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 +2 ) slashing damage. Properties: Finesse, Light,
Spellcasting. the Minstrel is an 20th-level bard. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 17, to hit with spell attacks +9)
Cantrips (at will): Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Message, Blade Ward, Friends,
1st level (4 slots): Silent Image,
2nd level (3 slots): Heat Metal, Lesser Restoration, Suggestion, Magic Mouth, Locate Object,
3rd level (3 slots): Plant Growth, Hypnotic Pattern, Speak with Plants, Fear, Dispel Magic, Glyph of Warding,
4th level (3 slots): Dimension Door, Compulsion, Locate Creature, Polymorph,
5th level (3 slots): Greater Restoration, Legend Lore,
6th level (2 slots): Mass Suggestion, Otto's Irresistable Dance,
7th level (2 slots): Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion,
8th level (1 slots): Glibness, Dominate Monster,
9th level (1 slots): Foresight,
Click here to see spells descriptions (external tool)
The minstrel is a bon vivant who tries to live the most of his life each day and has a renown for his increadible ability with music, dance and charm. Simply by playing a show or chatting with right persons he can make others pay his modest life expenses. With a CR 3 this benefit goes to Comfortable, CR 10 Wealthy and CR 15 Aristocrat life style.
He knows a lot of people on his region and made a lot of good and bad choices during his life. He has a incredible high chance to have met or to be known by anyone. The GM can roll a d10 to see if another NPC know the Minstrel, on 1 the Minstrel is hated by the NPC, on 2-3 the NPC is unfrendly, on 4-7 the NPC don't know him, on 8 he has a minor connection, a friend in common, member of family, etc; on 9 the minstrel already worked for the NPC and on a 10 he is an old friend or someone who owns the minstrel a favor.
The minstrel is proficient with 2 Musical instruments of his choice and 2 kinds of Gaming Sets.
Racial Features
Ability Modifiers: +1 Wis, +2 Cha
Darkvision: 60ft (18m / 12sqr)
Celestial Resistance: You have resistante to necrotic and radiant damage.
Radiant Soul: Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing your eyes to glimmer and two luminous, incorporeal wings to sprout from your back. Your transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you end it as a bonus action. During it, you have a flying speed of 30 feet, and once on each of your turns, you can deal extra radiant damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell. The extra radiant damage equals your CR. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Healing Hands: As an action, you can touch a creature and cause it to regain a number of hit points equal to your CR. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Light Bearer: You know the light cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.
Languages: speaks Common and Celestial
Character created at rpgtinker.comIf your software really gets better over time, and if you've accepted the idea that backwards compatibility is technical debt, the important question is "How do I pay down that debt?"
The only approach I've seen work is to establish and maintain a sane deprecation policy. Specific details depend on your project and your users (and, likely, your availability to perform the work -- community-driven projects performed mostly by volunteers have different characteristics from paid projects), but the principles are the same.
Start with a regular release cycle. I prefer monthly releases for free software projects, but several projects do well with quarterly or twice-a-year releases. There are tremendous other benefits, but if you can make and meet your committment to releasing new versions of your software on a regular cycle, you add predictability to the process. Not everyone will upgrade with every new release, especially if you have a short cycle period, but you demonstrate frequent progress -- and you have to keep your software stable to have a hope of maintaining this release schedule.
Mark deprecated features as deprecated and give a timeline for their removal. In general, that's one release cycle. It can be more, but it can't be fewer. The severity of deprecation depends on the scope of the change. Perhaps adding a warning to a deprecated feature will help people know to upgrade. Perhaps you can provide a backwards-compatibility feature as an optional extension. You must notify people that there will be change, so that they can prepare for it.
Note that aggressive release schedules, such as monthly releases, may be too short a period for larger deprecations. Appropriate periods depend highly on the nature of your work, but public projects probably should have a three month warning period for significant deprecations.
Remove the deprecated feature when its time has come. Get rid of the code. Stop carrying that baggage around.
That sounds easy, doesn't it? It is! All it takes is discipline, committment, and -- okay, you have to document your deprecation policy and refer to it prominently. Some people will complain that they want to upgrade to new versions of your software which behave the same way as old versions without changes. Ignore them. Desire doesn't make paradoxes logically consistent, even if you really really want it.
Before you post a comment, please note what I didn't say.
I didn't say "Break old features for the sake of breaking them."
I didn't say "Deprecate features that people are using for the sake of expermenting with new ideas."
I didn't say "Never undeprecate a feature" or "Never extend the deprecation or warning period if the change is difficult or widespread."
You still have to use your best judgment -- but once you've achieved the discipline of regular releases and have written your support policy, you have the benefit of being able to discard old code and shave off the rough spots of misfeatures until they're right. It's not always easy to reach that point, but it's always valuable to do so.Am I the only one who realized that this is a Poe?
Come one people, anyone can ask a stupid question but only an idiot ASSumes that the asker is a Christian. It's more likely that it is a smart-alec punk who just wants to give all the Atheists a straw man to burn in effigy. You know they can't win against a real Christian.
I really like this answer:
A frog turning into a prince is a fairy tale, add millions of years and it is called EVOLUTION but it is STILL A FAIRY TALE!
@FXM, the theory of evolution is that the DNA of a species will change to form a completely new species. So you would have to give an example of how a moth turned into a butterfly. Moth's in a birch forest have the genes to be born either black or white or various mottled shades of grey. The population of the expressed gene which allows the moth to escape predators will of course be more numerous, yet the DNA does not change. You take those white moths and put them in a forrest blackened by smoke and the opposite occurs from the same DNA.
A cave fish was found to be the same species as a sea fish. The cave fish looked very different... no eyes, different bone structure, smaller adult size, and even the behavior was different as they did not sleep as much. But genetically they were found to be the same fish species. Subsequent generation born in an aquarium looked more and more like the sea fish. This is nothing more than PROOF that the changes in fossil structure are not evidence of changes in DNA. Everything on this earth has the same DNA that God created it with. Only the expression of the genes changes based on heredity and environmental factors. So while it may be possible for an elephant to become small as a dog due to environmental changes, the DNA will still be of the same species. Just look at the species of dog to see what a wide variety of expression is possible using the same base DNA. Yet there are limitations. When breeders have reached these limitations, the new generation of dogs either become sterile or revert to previously expressed genes. It's fascinating science to explore the range that God programmed into our DNA, but it is fallacy to believe that man and ape ever shared a common ancestor. The variation of our species is as varied as it gets.
You can take two books written by the same author and you can look at their similarities and suppose that over millions of years the letters of an ancestor book changed in such a way and diverged to form two or more different books that are now different books with similarities, or you can believe what the author tells you, that he wrote two different books using the same letters of the alphabet.
Which is more likely to be the case?
God told us that He created us. Why do some people reject God? Only because they don't want to give up sin. It is the ostrich head in the sand defense. If they deny God fervently enough, they hope He won't be real. But He is. Millions of people testify to having a personal relationship with God today. How can anyone continue to ignore that?
Parrill Apple · 8 years ago 1 Thumbs up 0 Thumbs down Report AbuseRough conditions take down big names
The Pacific proved a brutal force for competitors in the 2010 Long Beach to Catalina and Back APBA Offshore National Championships on July 18. Countless big-name pros would suffer breakdowns in the rough waters between Long Beach and Catalina Island, leaving those on stock machines to fare best. After a brutal crossing and heavy fog, Kim Bushong would hold on for the win, with Paul Pham taking second and Brian Steeves rounding out the top three.
The race hadn’t even begun when one of the early favorites, Chris MacClugage, would be forced to bow out due to mechanical problems. That would leave another seasoned veteran, Craig Warner, to lead the race out of the Queen’s Gate, followed closely by Sean Conner, Pat Roque, Lee Phan, Chris Lawrence, Mark Gerner, Robert Carreon, Andy Wise, and Taylor White. Those positions, however, would not last long. Carreon was first to break as the racers ventured into the big water outside Long Beach, followed by White only a mile offshore. About two miles out, race-leader Warner would also fall victim to mechanical problems, allowing Gerner to surge into the lead as racers began to enter heavy ocean fog. Roque would soon have hull problems, while Wise and then Lawrence would all suffer breakdowns battling to stay in the race.
Mark Gerner held the lead before blowing a supercharger belt. (Photo courtesy PWCOffshore.com)
With the fog forcing race helicopters to turn back to the mainland, Gerner continued to press his advantage, opening up about a two-mile lead on the pack as he reached the turn boat. But Gerner’s luck would shortly run out as well, as the Californian would blow a supercharger belt about a mile into the return leg and be forced to abandon.
Robert Carreon’s race ended shortly after hitting the big water. (Photo courtesy PWCOffshore.com)
Gerner’s breakdown would then turn the lead over to Roque, who was followed by Conner, and Bushong. But at about the halfway point of the return leg to Long Beach, Roque too would break. Bushong would go on to pass Conner and then build a sizable lead, holding on all the way back to Long Beach. Pham would ultimately pass Conner, as would Steeves. Not so surprisingly, the sole survivors of the race were all on basically stock skis. No highly modified hardware survived the brutal conditions. In fact, popular veteran Shawn Alladio simply abandoned her own race, quickly providing assistance to the massive number of riders suffering breakdowns.
Plenty of riders needed help getting back to dry land. (Photo courtesy PWCOffshore.com)
“It was carnage in the Pro Class,” said Gerner. “The pros were holding heavily modified rockets wide open in big water…and it took a toll.”Author: Flavio Guzman, MDLast updated: December 24, 2017
Besides being a SERT inhibitor, fluvoxamine is an agonist at sigma 1 receptors.
The drug is approved in the US for the treatment of OCD but not depression. This is interesting as this is a widely used antidepressant in other countries.
Fluvoxamine has the potential for drug-drug interactions through inhibition of CYP 450 isoenzymes.
The dosage range goes from 100 to 300 mg/day.
Let’s summarize some of the most clinically relevant features of fluvoxamine.
Besides being a SERT inhibitor, fluvoxamine is an agonist at sigma 1 receptors.
The drug is approved in the US for the treatment of OCD but not depression. This is interesting as this is a widely used antidepressant in other countries.
Fluvoxamine has the potential for drug-drug interactions through inhibition of CYP 450 isoenzymes. We’ll see in a minute more details about this.
The dosage range goes from 100 to 300 mg/day.
Pharmacology and MOA
Like other SSRIs, fluvoxamine selectively inhibits the SERT transporter, it is a more potent inhibitor of serotonin reuptake than the tricyclic antidepressants. Fluvoxamine has minimal affinity for muscarinic, 5HT2C and alfa 1 receptors.
A feature worth noting is its affinity for sigma 1 receptors. The role of sigma receptors is not very clear, studies in animal models suggest their activation might be involved in cognitive improvement in depression. This is an area of active research.
Clinical Uses
Fluvoxamine is approved as immediate release and controlled release formulations The immediate release formulation is approved for OCD and the controlled release for OCD and social anxiety disorder.
In the US, fluvoxamine is not approved for the treatment of depression. However, it is approved for this use in Europe, Australia, Latin America and other countries.
Other clinical uses include anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Pharmacokinetics
The pharmacokinetics of fluvoxamine is interesting in terms of half life and CYP 450 interactions. Fluvoxamine has a half life of 9 to 28 hours, this requires twice a day dosing for the immediate release formulation, the controlled release formulation can be administered once daily.
Fluvoxamine inhibits a number of CYP 450 isoenzymes, as we will see in the next slides.
Fluvoxamine inhibits four CYP 450 isoenzymes, we are going to focus on two of them: CYP 1A2 and CYP 3A4.. In vitro data shows that fluvoxamine inhibits two other isoenzymes, these are CYP 2C9 and C219.
What happens when fluvoxamine inhibits CYP 3A4? This isoenzyme is involved in the clearance of some antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and carbamazepine.
So, fluvoxamine can reduce the clearance of the antipsychotics pimozide and thioridazine, the benzodiazepines alprazolam and diazepam and the anticonvulsant carbamazepine.
The other important enzyme inhibited by fluvoxamine is CYP 1A2. Fluvoxamine can increase the levels of clozapine, theophylline and tizanidine.
Adverse Effects
Regarding adverse effects fluvoxamine has a profile similar to other SSRIs. Postmarketing clinical studies show that the most common side effects are: nausea, somnolence and asthenia.
In a metaanalysis by Serretti and colleagues fluvoxamine was found to have “no transient or negligible effect” on weight gain.
Fluvoxamine is classified as pregnancy category C.
Prescribing information
Fluvoxamine is FDA-approved for OCD and social anxiety disorder. For these two indications the therapeutic range is between 100 to 300 mg/day. Fluvoxamine is commonly used in other countries for depression in the same range, but response is commonly seen in the 100 to 200 mg/day range.
The starting dose is 50 mg administered at bedtime. This dose may be increased by 50 mg every 4 to 7 days.
Fluvoxamine is available as immediate release tablets and controlled release capsules. Tablets of 25 mg, 50 mg scored and 100 mg scored. According to the manufacturer, if fluvoxamine is dosed higher than 100 mg, it needs to be given twice daily.
This is an important difference with controlled release capsules of 100 and 150 mg, as they have the advantage of once daily dosing.
Other SSRI videos
This video is also available in Spanish: “Fluvoxamina: farmacodinamia, indicaciones, efectos adversos, farmacocinética y posología”Looking for a memorable and fun way to explore programming languages? "Nevermind" the rest, this technique rocks!
As programmers, a large portion of our job is to stay aware of, research, and assess new technologies in an industry that evolves at breakneck speed. Being continually bombarded with such information it can seem like an uphill struggle to process this information in a memorable fashion.
How we cope with this varies on an individual basis, and my method for learning, exploring, and (crucially) remembering a new programming language has been pointed out to be somewhat unconventional, yet strangely effective - perhaps it could be for you too?
This is Major Tom To Ground Control
The ubiquitous “Hello World” scenario - whereby you are shown the code necessary to output the words “Hello World” - has long been the defacto introduction to a new language. While this is extremely useful as an indicator of complexity and verbosity, it is soooooo immeasurably dull that it is almost instantly forgettable. The fact that there are so many other “Hello World” examples seems to work against its memorability, as there is nothing to make it stand out.
Exit Hello World, Enter Sandman
There have been many studies into the positive effect of the senses on memory. A smell can remind you of a place visited long ago, a song can trigger the memory of a specific moment in time only rememebered subconciously. So can this be utilised for learning a new programming language? Fo’ shizzle! Attempt to apply the language to the lyrics of a song of course!
This Is How We Do It
Now you can’t pick just any song, and this is a key factor to get you highly invested and start priming the memory. It has to be a good fit for the language, which is great for researching and remembering best practices, and hence learning to avoid the bad ones.
For example, take Mark Morrison’s seminal “Return of the Mack”, if you wish to explore Scala, and your idea was to use the return keyword to accomplish the namesake lyric, you would find that explicitly returning values in Scala is not considered good practice, so may not be a good candidate song. However, you will have learnt something even though it is not an easy fit, from the very fact you evaluated it for a particular scenario, and discounted it, rather than simply reading about the languages nuances. Hence, you are much more likely to remember that in Scala, The Mack never returns!
On the other hand if you wanted to experiment with ranges, symbols, and enumeration in Ruby, Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” could be the perfect fit…
Once it is chosen it likely won’t be a smooth ride. This is fine, it will help!
Write a rough outline that represents the lyrics well, but likely doesnt compile or run.
Every time an error is encountered, research the reasons why
Refactor bit by bit in a manner that still conveys the lyrics or the concepts contained in the song
Rinse and repeat until compiles and runs
Evaluate entire program against song lyrics (optional)
Refactor to better fit song with your newfound wider knowledge (optional)
It’s Like That, And That’s The Way It Is
The benefits I find are two-fold:
In the desire to convey the complexities of a song, you will inevitably run into and experiment with many low level characteristics of the language that you would not encounter in a “Hello World” exercise.
Recollection of the exercises results is enhanced by having engaged both the creative and analytical functions of the brain and creating a direct mapping between the two, much like the Picture Superiority Effect attempts to do via imagary. In this case it is easier to visually recall the song written in code from memory as there is another stimulus to aid you - the song playing in your head - the same stimulus as when you were performing the excercise.
Back To Life, Back To Reality
While you may be thinking this as all fun and games and not at all applicable to real life situations, this was used to great effect when I was tasked with interviewing candidates for a QA Automation Lead role. In order to do so, I had to very quickly familiarise myself with Gherkin. Admittedly, this was a much easier task given the limited scope of the language and its human readable syntax, however I decided to make it more interesting by attempting to research and incorporate all the features of the language into a single memborable song.
After toying with Michael Bolton’s “How Can We Be Lovers” (due in equal parts to the conditional structure of the lyrics, and my lifelong admiration of his majestic flowing locks), it was eventually decided to settle upon The Human League’s anthemic “Don’t You Want Me”.
It’s The Final Countdown
Hopefully you will find some merit to this “Off The Wall” technique, and perhaps give it a try. However, even if you do not find it useful as a learning tool, consider its potential uses elsewhere, here are some for consideration:
> Recruitment: Candidate employees complete no end of boring coding challenges prior to inteview. Will they put more effort into a challenge that is fun and differentiates itself from the rest? Very probably! Would they be attracted to a company that stands out in its more interesting and relaxed approach? Hell yeah!
> Motivation / Team building: Why not introduce a recurring challenge between teams of your programmers? Rewarding perhaps a team lunch for the winners, for a fun activity that gets them working together, thinking outside usual constraints, and lets them experiment with new languages furthering skills within the company.
> Brand Image: When the idea for a “code wall” came about at IntentHQ to showcase excerpts of what is under the hood, these were deemed perfect material for promoting our light hearted attitudes and abilities simultaneously, whilst also creating a talking point for intrigued visitors.
Above all have fun, and make of it what you like - I’ll be seeing you at the first Programmy Awards ceremony!
Join the discussion in hacker news / coding tips.You're Gonna Need Some Gels
Three Useful Kits
L103's Companion Text
One Last Thing
Lighting 103 is about color. We'll be weaning ourselves from the stock, unnatural white light that comes out of your bare speedlights. At a minimum, you'll be working with two flashes. We'll be blending colors in highlight and shadows, so you really won't be able to get through it with just a single speedlight.A basic, value two-light kit will suffice. But FYI, we'll also be stretching into more lights in some examples. You can get good advice on a two-light—or perhaps add-a-light to your current bag— here, in Lighting 102.Speaking of that, it stands to reason that you should also be familiar with the concepts in Lighting 101 and 102 before starting Lighting 103. So if you need to catch up (or brush up) you should start here My recommendation is that |
Ed) John MarkeyOvernight Energy: Climate protesters storm McConnell’s office | Center-right group says Green New Deal could cost trillion | Dire warnings from new climate studies Center-right group: Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal could cost trillion Dozens of climate protesters storm McConnell’s office over Green New Deal MORE (Mass.) asked the Department of Health and Human Services to press the Surgeon General to issue a report and call to action on the issue.
Markey said in an interview that the issue “has to be bipartisan” because drug abuse affects rural and urban areas as well as rich and poor.
“Whether it’s Lexington, Massachusetts or Lexington, Kentucky, this epidemic knows no boundaries,” he said. “Senator McConnell and I believed that our response should know no political boundaries.”
The problem has hit particularly hard in the Senate majority leader's home state, Kentucky, as well as northeastern states like Massachusetts. Around 1,000 people die each year from drug overdoses in both of those states.
McConnell also joined with Democratic Sen. Bob Casey (Pa.) in March to introduce a bill directing HHS to develop a plan to address the problem of babies being born dependent on opioids — powerful painkillers — which occurs when a pregnant mother takes the drugs.
McConnell invited President Obama’s "drug czar," Michael Botticelli, to join him at an event in Kentucky on fighting drug abuse last month.
“This is a bipartisan issue that members of both parties have come together to fight head on,” McConnell said in a statement to The Hill.
“Fighting drug abuse will take all our efforts at the local, state, and federal level, which is why I invited National Drug Control Policy Director Botticelli to Kentucky to talk about how the federal government can play a role in a solution to our state’s drug problem.”
On the campaign trail, Clinton drew attention to drug abuse this week in Iowa, acknowledging that it is an unlikely subject for a presidential bid.
“When I started running, when I started thinking about this campaign, I did not believe I would be standing in your living room talking about the drug abuse problem, the mental health problem, and the suicide problem,” Clinton said at the home of two of the first gay men to get married in the state.
“But I’m now convinced I have to talk about it. I have to do everything I can in this campaign to raise it, to end the stigma against talking about it.”
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has also been drawing attention to the issue with a series of hearings calling upon officials and community leaders to give perspectives on the problem.
“There’s definitely more interest in it in Congress,” said Kyle Simon, director of policy and advocacy at the Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence in Washington. “We’re really encouraged by the congressional hearings.”
The Obama administration also ramped up its response in March. A new initiative includes training doctors on better prescribing practices, increasing the use of the drug naloxone to fight overdoses, and expanding treatment with medication and counseling.
Obama’s budget request also calls for $133 million in new funding to fight drug abuse.
The issue of increased funding is where the potential for bipartisanship gets murky.
Asked if McConnell supports the increased funding, a spokesman noted only that the appropriations process is still ongoing.
Markey also introduced legislation this week to increase federal grants for state prevention and treatment programs.
Markey said that once a Surgeon General’s report draws attention to the seriousness of the problem, other issues like funding can be addressed.
“Senator McConnell and I agree that a Surgeon General’s report would highlight it as the national epidemic that it is, but out of that the discussion can flow,” Markey said.
“Once it’s elevated by that report we can discuss the other issues.”Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his councillor brother Doug Ford helped one of the customers of their family business to lobby the city's highest ranking bureaucrat for a special property tax break and repeatedly intervened with city staff without disclosing the company had a commercial relationship with the Ford family, a Globe and Mail investigation has found.
In the months after the mayor and Councillor Ford took office in 2010 they intervened for Apollo Health and Beauty Care, a soap and shampoo company that unsuccessfully urged City Manager Joe Pennachetti to hand it a generous property tax grant. Apollo's proposal failed when Mr. Pennachetti refused to make an exception for the company, but a cache of e-mails, letters and memorandums obtained by The Globe under the Freedom of Information Act show a pattern of intervention by the Fords on Apollo's behalf that extend to a variety of municipal issues, from stop-sign designations to building permits.
The Ford family's business, Deco Labels and Tags Inc., has manufactured labels for Apollo, off and on, for about a dozen years, but this was not disclosed to six senior civil servants who detailed, in interviews, how the mayor and Councillor Ford inserted themselves into Apollo-related discussions.
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"In terms of the mayor requesting I meet with a resident or a business, this is the case where I spent the most time of any," said Mr. Pennachetti, referring to his meetings concerning Apollo's efforts to secure a tax grant, and the Fords' role in arranging those discussions.
The city manager met with representatives from Apollo at least three times in the spring of 2011, the records show. Mr. Pennachetti also was told by the mayor, but declined, to attend a meeting at Apollo's factory when city inspectors were investigating Apollo's alleged role in a sewage spill in the summer of 2012.
Asked if he was ever told Apollo was a client of the Ford family company, Mr. Pennachetti said: "I had no idea."
Mr. Pennachetti said he never felt pressured by the Fords to break from city policy. But he said that had he known about Apollo's relationship with Deco he may not have attended the meetings, and that the Fords should have provided that information. "If they were a client, I think they should have declared it," he said.
Councillor Ford called it "absolutely ridiculous" to suggest Apollo got special treatment. Deco does business with "thousands" of companies, he said in an interview, arguing its business ties with Apollo had nothing to do with the brothers' efforts to help the firm. "That doesn't make two hoots of a difference," he said.
The councillor refused to answer questions about Deco's business with Apollo and the mayor did not respond to questions given to his chief of staff before he recently went on leave.
Richard Wachsberg, the co-owner and chairman of Apollo, said his company never received special treatment or access because of the Fords. "Nobody asked them to be involved and it has never been contributive or positive in my opinion," he said.
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The Apollo chairman said he does not know how the Fords came to involve themselves in issues concerning his firm, and that the issue of disclosure of the relationship between his company and Deco is one for politicians to address, not him.
Though Apollo is not a household name, its soaps and shampoos can be found around the world on the shelves of department stores and drug stores as private-label or in-store brands. Its vast product lineup requires many types of labels – business that Apollo has typically dispersed among a handful of label suppliers in Ontario.
But after the Fords came to power, Deco's business with Apollo grew, The Globe and Mail has learned. In late 2011, other label manufacturers that Apollo had been using were informed that a portion of that work was being shifted to Deco, three label industry sources said in interviews. Estimates on how much that business was worth varied but the sources agreed that, at a minimum, it amounted to about $1-million a year for Deco.
In an interview, Mr. Wachsberg said that the Fords' advocacy on behalf of his company played no role in Apollo's choice of label manufacturer. He declined to detail how much business his company has given Deco since the Fords came to power, except to say "Deco has won business and lost business in the past two years."
"I can tell you unequivocally and in no uncertain terms, the only – the only – reason business moves from supplier to supplier is price or quality," he said. "And unequivocally – put it in the press in big bold letters on the front page – it's the only reason."
He declined to say whether he had ever had any discussions with the Fords about Apollo's label needs while Councillor Ford and the mayor were engaged with him in city business.
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"Ours is a private business. I believe theirs is as well. I don't want [that] to be a matter of public record for private businesses. And it's just not a reasonable ask, so I'm not going to answer that," Mr. Wachsberg said.
The Fords' interventions on behalf of Apollo began in the spring of 2011 when construction of Apollo's manufacturing facility was well under way.
Mr. Pennachetti was called to an impromptu meeting in the mayor's office by Councillor Ford, Mr. Pennachetti said in an interview. It was here that the city manager was pitched by Mr. Wachsberg on giving Apollo a special tax holiday.
Apollo was preparing to take part in a program, known as the Tax Increment Equivalency Grant, that provides a sort of rebate for companies that develop new buildings in the city. After a new development is assessed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corp., city staff use a formula to calculate a grant, based on the difference between the higher tax on a new building and the older, lower tax on the undeveloped property. The city then pays back 60 per cent of 10 years' worth of that difference.
But for Mr. Wachsberg, Apollo's rebate wasn't good enough. Handwritten notes taken by the city treasurer, Giuliana Carbone, show that Mr. Wachsberg wanted to receive a grant covering 20 years. He also wanted a "different percentage" than the standard 60 per cent, the notes show.
At no point in the meeting did Councillor Ford disclose that his family's business had a relationship with Apollo, both Mr. Pennachetti and Mr. Wachsberg said. Mr. Wachsberg's factory is not in Councillor Ford's ward, a fact that Mr. Pennachetti said he was unaware of until it was pointed out to him by The Globe.
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On April 20, Mr. Pennachetti responded to Mr. Wachsberg with a letter, explaining the city couldn't make an exception for him because it had 15 similar agreements being arranged. The first two people cc'd on the letter were Councillor Ford and the mayor's then chief of staff.
This was not the answer Mr. Wachsberg expected and he let the mayor and Councillor Ford know it in an e-mail the next day.
"Dear Rob and Doug," he wrote. "This response is very unexpected given our conversations and we are quite disappointed in the result." Given the 450 jobs that Apollo expected to bring to Toronto from its previous headquarters in Vaughan, and the environmental certifications the building was expected to receive, Apollo should be considered special, he wrote.
"Please assist us to progress this matter."
Councillor Ford e-mailed one of his aides and instructed him: "Remind me to talk to Joe about this."
Mr. Pennachetti could not recall what, if anything, Councillor Ford or Mayor Ford said to him about his rejection letter, but less than a month later, Apollo had another audience with Toronto's chief executive.
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On May 18, the company again urged Mr. Pennachetti to amend the draft grant agreement – this time the issue was how Apollo's land was classified for tax purposes. Although Apollo does not own the land on which its manufacturing facility is housed, city records show that it applied as a tenant along with the owner – a company called Fifty-Five Developments Inc. – to participate in the city's tax-rebate program.
Fifty-Five Developments, a company unrelated to Apollo, had around that same time negotiated an agreement with MPAC that classified the predeveloped land as farmland, which would significantly increase Apollo's grant. Apollo wanted this agreement acknowledged by the city, and its consultant Bob Langlois was given access to Mr. Pennachetti to impart that, the records show.
Six days later, Mr. Pennachetti found himself meeting with Mr. Wachsberg, Mayor Ford, Councillor Ford and Mr. Langlois, according to an e-mail. In addition to land classification, Apollo wanted to discuss "some traffic issues" with the city's top bureaucrat, an e-mail states.
Around the same time, city planners also were becoming familiar with how important Apollo was to the mayor. Planners had concerns Apollo was deviating from the construction site plan, making a private driveway look like a public road. Planning manager Neil Cresswell said he was called to the site in the spring of 2011 and arrived to be greeted by Mr. Wachsberg and the mayor. Mr. Cresswell said the mayor's attendance sent a clear message to staff that he wanted "this building to proceed."
"He basically said he would like to get this figured out and staff said yes," said Mr. Cresswell, adding that he was not told that Mr. Ford's family business had a relationship with Apollo.
Finally, on June 14, Mr. Pennachetti wrote Mr. Wachsberg about how much his company would receive in grant money and said that in keeping with MPAC's decision, it would recognize the predeveloped land as farmland. This resulted in a larger grant – an estimated $2.5-million – for Apollo. The city's top bureaucrat, an official in charge of the tens of thousands of city staff, also assured Mr. Wachsberg that he had personally inquired about his request for an all-way stop intersection at his building and that field studies were under way, the letter states.
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There were 10 officials cc'd on the letter. The first two were the mayor and his brother.
Several months later in October, Councillor Ford involved himself in another Apollo-related meeting, this time over a building permit, said Mike Williams, head of the city's Economic Development department. Mr. Williams said neither he nor staff involved in that meeting were told of the commercial ties between Apollo and Deco.
On June 15, 2012, the mayor and Councillor Ford stood on the front steps of Apollo, adorned with balloons and ribbons, and presented Richard Wachsberg and his brother Charles with an official city scroll commemorating the grand opening of the factory.
But on the evening of Aug. 14, aides for Councillor Ford and the mayor started contacting the city's top officials – including Mr. Pennachetti and deputy manager John Livey – with an urgent request: Be at Apollo headquarters for a meeting the next day to answer questions about a sewage-spill investigation.
The next day, Mr. Livey and Lou Di Gironimo, the head of Toronto Water, arrived at Apollo's factory for a meeting with Mr. Wachsberg, the mayor and Councillor Ford. The mayor and Mr. Wachsberg questioned why city inspectors suspected Apollo was responsible for a spill that had taken place five kilometres away. City staff explained that inspectors traced the spill – a mass of foam that spewed out of a manhole in a public park – back up the sewer line to Apollo's factory. Again, no one disclosed the relationship between Deco and Apollo, Mr. Livey and Mr. Di Gironimo said.
Eventually, the city entered into an agreement with Apollo to treat its excess discharge, for a fee, at a city treatment plant. Mr. Wachsberg said that agreement has cost his company $800,000 a year, and he complained that no one from the bureaucracy warned him about the city's water standards before he moved his company to Toronto.
Mr. Wachsberg said he didn't know how the Fords came to involve themselves in so many municipal issues concerning his company.
Mr. Wachsberg said he could not address questions about why the relationship between his company and Deco was never disclosed. "Your issue, if you have an issue, is with conduct of politicians in their own realm and has nothing to do with the private sector. It has nothing to do with us," he said.
With files from Robyn DoolittleEastWind from the SoSuave forum has come to the existential conflict of the bitter taste of the red pill:
So, after reading through the most prominent articles of Rollo’s, Roissy’s and some of Dalrock’s, alongside this comment and this comment by Mark Minter, I’ve reached a point of depression and giddiness at the same time.
Their take on the female imperative, female behavior, marriage, relationships and everything else rings so true to me, it’s unbelievable. I find it impossible that any guy could read these posts, then go back outside and compare what he sees and what he has experienced and is experiencing to what he has read and not see the truth in it. Maybe the reason this understanding comes naturally to me is because I’ve seen and experienced enough (emotional) pain at the hands of fellow humans to know for damn certain a human being is capable of just about anything given the right circumstances, and maybe it’s because I’ve dabbled in this “game” and “manosphere” stuff for near to ten years now, ever since I was 15, so I am actually an example of someone who was, in a way, brought up with it.
And I see the divorce rate and the cock carousel riders and my friends who get knocked around by their girls and my colleague who announced he’s going to be a daddy and he’s so happy and, isn’t life full of miracles, both methods of contraception they were using failed at the same time, what a coincidence, and he’s an engineer who deals with fail rates, no less. So now he’s going to be a daddy on a PhD salary because his girl will stay at home and, what do you know, the baby’s due two months after she’s getting her degree, another happy coincidence.
And I’m starting to wake up, not from the dream of happy equal relationships, I had forgotten that years ago, but from everything, and I realize:
The true red pill doesn’t tell you, as a man, that women are sh1t-testing you, it makes you see that everything and everyone in your life and society is grooming you up to be a provider, to be someone who does work for other people’s benefits, to give your money and LIFE for some cause that is not your own.
It’s enough to seriously depress a man. This had been creeping up in the back of my head for some time now, Rollo and co. just had the words to give it a shape; that most of what we do is utterly pointless if we let go of trying to obtain women. Suddenly nothing matters much anymore.
I’m supposed to get a good education, a steady job, a comfortable apartment, for what? Other people tell me it’s so I can take care of a family, but now the only reason for me to do so is for mysecurity and convenience, I find myself planning out my life without a woman, with a comfortable minimum of expenditures and “furnitures” and a maximum of free time and enjoyable activities, with a job that provides me with enough cash to live, do the things I like and put some on the side in case I do get old.
But it’s scary. It’s fucking scary, believe me. Suddenly the questions everybody is asking, here and in real life, i.e. “how can I get a girlfriend?”, “how can I get laid?”, “what will I do/what will become of my family if I lose my job?”, they lose all their importance. I find myself wondering why I should have to head to some place everyday, whether I want to or not, whether it’s interesting or not, when I could be doing more enjoyable things, and no matter how much you love your work, there’s always more enjoyable things than work. My PhD topic is somewhat interesting, but I’m pissed off by the “office politics” going on at my institute, even though it’s a bloody university, and you know what? If I leave, or am made to leave, it doesn’t matter because I only have myself to take care of.
So a side effect of realizing that you will never find a woman who will be thankful for the sacrifices you make for her is utter and total freedom. And freedom is huge, and it’s scary. And I can’t handle it. I’m sticking with my position because, well, it’s somewhat interesting, but mainly because I don’t know what else to do. I’ve never been prepared for this, never been told that dreams can be reached, how to reach them.
And another thing is, and this is for you, Rollo, well, what about women now? I’m 25, I’m eligible, and every woman my age, even the nice, kind, beautiful, sweet, intelligent ones, who gives me serious attention creeps me out because I know what she’s really after.
The Red Pill makes you see that the only people who love you for who you truly are is your parents, if you’re lucky, and every other person in this world is going to expect something from an association with you, with women expecting your life for it. And this is why we cry so miserably when our parents die (I did when my mom died), it’s the subconscious knowledge that no-one will love us like they did, be there for us like they were, without expecting anything in return, simply because it was us.
All my friends and family tell me, well, yes, bad things could happen to you, but you just have to find the RIGHT girl, and in my eyes all of them are insane. This isn’t like having to take the right street in a peaceful German town or you’ll get mugged, this is like walking around Johannesburg blindfolded.
I’m not trying to fight the concepts, I see their truth. But I can bloody well be disgusted at the way the world works.
So what about the “giddiness” I talked about up there? Well, feeling free makes you giddy. It makes you VERY giddy. The feeling that your life isn’t planned out or that there’s only one true possible path is positively exhilarating. But it’s also extremely scary.FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen is hoping to return to the bond market as early as May, people familiar with the matter said, aiming to raise billions of euros to replace the costly bank loan it has been relying on in the wake of its emissions test cheating scandal.
Signage at a Volkswagen dealership is seen in London, Britain, March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Europe’s biggest carmaker has been effectively shut out of the unsecured bond market since September, when it admitted to rigging U.S. diesel emissions tests.
Investors have been put off by uncertainty over the costs of the scandal, which could run into tens of billions of euros in regulatory fines, vehicle refit costs and lawsuits. That has left the German company relying on an expensive 20 billion euro ($23 billion) bridging loan agreed with banks in December.
With the publication of its annual results on April 28, however, Volkswagen (VW) hopes to provide some clarity on costs.
“Volkswagen has started talking to banks, and a first issuance may take place right after the publication,” one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter isn’t public.
“The provisions figure (VW’s estimated cost of the scandal) will enable bond investors to do their math,” another said.
A VW spokesman said on Monday the company expected to issue debt on capital markets before the end of June.
Ahead of its results, VW (VOWG_p.DE) and U.S. regulators have been set an April 21 deadline by a federal judge to agree a fix for the nearly 600,000 cars affected in the United States.
Such an agreement will be key to VW putting a cost on the scandal. The company postponed its 2015 results in February, saying it was not yet in a position to give a precise figure.
“As soon as VW strikes a settlement, it will start a roadshow and we may see the issuance of an unsecured bond within one or two weeks”, one of the sources said, adding the carmaker might look to raise 3-4 billion euros.
“VW is keen to come to the market... markets are on fire”, another source said, adding the size of the issuance was unclear and would likely depend on the terms VW can secure.
Conditions for a return to the bond market appear favorable, as auto bond spreads.IBBEU0029 have decreased by more than 30 basis points since the European Central Bank’s announcement to expand its asset purchasing program. Investors expect VW bonds to qualify for this program.
While not at risk running out of funds, as it has used the securitization market and still has plenty of unused credit lines, VW is keen to issue unsecured debt before the summer break as relying on loans is becoming increasingly costly.
The company has only drawn about 8 billion euros of the 20 billion euro bridging loan and could continue to rely on the facility, two of the sources said.
However, the one-year loan is relatively expensive with a coupon of 70-80 basis points over the benchmark Euribor rate, and gets even more costly over time as the coupon automatically increases by 25 basis points six months after issuance and again after nine months.
By comparison, the coupons for the 1.5 billion euros of five and two-year bonds its subsidiary Volkswagen Leasing issued in August 2015 stand at 0.75 percent and 27 basis points over the money market benchmark.
Banks which have committed to the larger of two tranches in the bridging loan will be rewarded by getting roles in organizing the return to the debt market, the sources said.
Barclays, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Citi, Unicredit, HSBC, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi and Mizuho all offered up to 2.5 billion euros in the bridging loan. Barclays, BNP and SocGen are seen as having a good chance of being picked as bookrunners to lead the debt issue, the sources said.
Separately, VW management and labor leaders on Monday sought to quell a dispute over cost cutting at the core VW brand division by pledging to jointly map out a strategy.
Related Coverage VW management to map out brand strategy with labor
Both sides will aim to agree “packages” to secure factories in Germany, the company said, without giving details about what the deals might involve.
VW’s influential works council boss Bernd Osterloh last week called for fixed targets and quotas for products, output and investments to help secure local jobs.
The carmaker’s management said on Monday steps to safeguard German factories would entail “short and medium-term measures and investments,” without elaborating.Hello everyone! Today we are learning how to make kissel.
Word “kissel” (pronounced in Russian as “kee-sel”) originates from Russian verb “kvasit”, which means “make sour”. Kissel has been an integral part of traditional Russian cuisine for a long time. Before 19th-century kissels were usually grain-based and thick. Popular oatmeal kissel while cooled off has been so thick that it could be cut with a knife! Such thick kissels were usually served with hemp or sunflower oil.
It is usually prepared from fresh berries, juices, syrup, and milk with the addition of some starch. The density of kissel (thick, medium or very liquid) depends on the amount of added starch. For thick kissel you can use 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup or 60 grams) of starch per pint, 2 tablespoons (35 grams) would get you medium consistency and 1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) would keep your kissel very liquid.
Thick or medium kissels can be served as a separate dessert while liquid ones are often used as sauces for various sweet casseroles and grits-based dishes. Once cooked, thick kissel is poured out into pans and cooled off. It can be served with syrup, jam, milk or cream.
“Kissel” – Fruit Drink, Dessert
Type of starch used depends on what your kissel is based on. If you use berries, utilize potato starch, if you make milk-based kissel, use corn starch. Initially, starch is diluted in cold water and then poured into boiling syrup. You start the process with making juice, then boiling it to the syrup consistency, adding diluted starch, then juice and, finally, cooling off. To avoid the formation of the membrane on the surface of your kissel adds a bit of sugar into it.
This concludes our recipe for today. Happy kissel making!
“Kissel” – Fruit Drink, DessertTed Cruz only talks tough on immigration now because he did so badly in S.C. He is in favor of amnesty and weak on illegal immigration.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 23, 2016
Updated at 10:30 p.m. Monday with comment from Cruz spokeswoman and Tuesday morning with Trump comment.WASHINGTON --Ted Cruz said Monday night that he would use federal immigration officers to round up and deport all 12 million people in the country illegally -- a markedly tougher stance than he has struck in the past.“Yes, we should deport them,” Cruz told Fox host Bill O’Reilly. “That’s what ICE exists for. We have law enforcement that looks for people who are violating the laws, that apprehends them and deports them.”The toughening stance comes after a disappointing, if narrow, third-place finish in South Carolina on Saturday, with immigration hard-liner Donald Trump strengthening his grip on the race."There's no change here," Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said late Monday by email. "Cruz has been very clear: People who are here illegally should be deported. That is the law today. Period. They broke the law, they face the consequence. ICE exists for that purpose and they should continue to do their job. And on top of that, any law enforcement that encounters those here illegally should follow the law and deport them."Cruz has long avoided specifics of what he would do with people in the country illegally. His immigration policy focuses on border security and enforcement of existing laws.Just five weeks ago, he explicitly rejected the idea of a “deportation force” of the sort proposed by Trump, who has unabashedly called for the federal government to actively round up people in the country illegally.“I don't intend to send jackboots to knock on your door and every door in America. That's not how we enforce the law for any crime," Cruz told CNN’s Jake Tapper in Iowa. On that point, Trump seemed to strike a harder line on illegal immigration, until Monday night. Cruz boasts that he’s actually tougher, though, because Trump would let deportees eventually return to the United States, while he would bar them forever.That’s the basis of his assertion that Trump -- like Sen. Marco Rubio, who co-authored the Gang of Eight immigration plan that included eventual citizenship for people in the country illegally -- embraces “amnesty” while he does not.Before Monday, Cruz resisted saying that he would use federal assets to proactively search for people in the country illegally in order to deport them.For years, he routinely ducked questions from journalists and from voters about exactly what he would do with people in the country illegally, insisting that question should be discussed only once the border is fully secure. He tipped his hand somewhat at a Senate hearing in early December, when he sparred with Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Sarah Saldaña, pressing the former Dallas federal prosecutor over what he perceived to be the administration’s soft approach.Tuesday morning, Trump accused Cruz of pandering in a desperate effort to resurrect his campaign.The key part of Monday night's exchange on Fox:
O’Reilly: Would you round up 12 million illegal aliens here and if so, how?
Cruz: Yes we should deport them. We should build a wall, we should triple the Border Patrol. Federal law requires that anyone here illegally that’s apprehended should be deported.
O’Reilly: Would you go look for them, though? Mr. Trump would look for them to get them out. Would you do that if you were president?
Cruz: Look, Bill, of course you would. That’s what ICE exists for. We have law enforcement that looks for people who are violating the laws, that apprehends them and deports them.City in Georgia, United States
Waycross is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County. in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 14,725 at the 2010 Census.
Waycross includes two historic districts (Downtown Waycross Historic District and Waycross Historic District) and several other properties that are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Lott Cemetery, the First African Baptist Church and Parsonage, and the Obediah Barber Homestead (which is seven miles south of the city).
History [ edit ]
Street in the Downtown Waycross Historic District
The area now known as Waycross was first settled circa 1820, locally known as "Old Nine" or "Number Nine" and then Pendleton. It was renamed Tebeauville in 1857, incorporated under that name in 1866, and designated county seat of Ware County in 1873. It was incorporated as "Way Cross" on March 3, 1874.[5][6] Waycross gets its name from the city's location at key railroad junctions; lines from six directions meet at the city.[5]
Waycross was home to Laura S. Walker (1861-1955) a noted author and conservationist. Walker promoted a comprehensive program of forestry activity, including the establishment of forest parks. She erected markers and monuments along old trails and at historic sites, in Waycross and Ware County so that local history would not be forgotten. An effort to recognize her work culminated in President Franklin D Roosevelt issuing a proclamation to establish the Laura S Walker National Park in her honor. She was the only living person for whom a state or national park was named.[7] In 1937, the federal government purchased distressed farmland for the park.[8][9] Work on the park was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1941, the national park was deeded over to Georgia, becoming the State's 13th state park.[9]
Waycross was the site of the 1948 Waycross B-29 crash, which led to the legal case United States v. Reynolds (1953), expanding the government's state secrets privilege.
During the 1950s the city had a tourist gimmick: local police would stop motorists with out-of-state license plates and escort them to downtown Waycross. There they would be met by the Welcome World Committee and given overnight lodging, dinner and a trip to the Okefenokee Swamp. The tradition faded away after the interstates opened through Georgia.[10][11]
In the mid-1990s, the Bubba Burger, a frozen hamburger that needed no defrosting, was created in Waycross.[12] This was the creation of Eaves Foods, Inc., a company that later changed to Bubba Foods, LLC. in 2000. Bubba Burgers are now sold nationwide as well as worldwide through the United States Military Commissary system.[13]
Geography [ edit ]
Waycross is located at (31.213860, -82.354911)[14] and is the closest city to the Okefenokee Swamp.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.7 square miles (30 km2), of which 11.7 square miles (30 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.17%) is water. The closest major city is Jacksonville, Florida, which is roughly 81 miles away.
In May 2010, the city purchased the Bandalong Litter Trap and installed it in Tebeau Creek, a tributary of the Satilla River. The trap was invented in Australia, but is manufactured in the United States. Although the city has maintained a good standing with the state's Environmental Protection Division, the city wanted to take action to reduce the amount of human generated trash entering the Satilla River and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue said, "Water is one of Georgia's most important and precious resources... the litter trap installed by Waycross is a model of stewardship for the state and the nation." The Satilla River litter trap is the first in Georgia and only the second in the nation.[15]
Part of Waycross was situated in Pierce County, but effective July 1, 2015, Waycross was no longer located nor allowed to be located in Pierce County. State Rep. Chad Nimmer[16] introduced HB 523 during the 2015 Legislative Session without providing the required statutory notice to the City of Waycross. HB 523 de-annexed the portion of Waycross located in Pierce County and prevents the City of Waycross from coming back into Pierce County.[17][needs update]
Climate [ edit ]
Climate data for Waycross 4NE (1981-2010) extremes 1897–present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 88
(31) 88
(31) 95
(35) 98
(37) 104
(40) 106
(41) 108
(42) 106
(41) 104
(40) 99
(37) 92
(33) 87
(31) 108
(42) Average high °F (°C) 62.2
(16.8) 65.9
(18.8) 72.9
(22.7) 79.2
(26.2) 86.4
(30.2) 90.9
(32.7) 92.9
(33.8) 91.2
(32.9) 87.3
(30.7) 79.7
(26.5) 72.7
(22.6) 64.0
(17.8) 78.8
(26.0) Daily mean °F (°C) 48.9
(9.4) 52.5
(11.4) 58.9
(14.9) 64.7
(18.2) 72.8
(22.7) 79.3
(26.3 |
-- as in, "Why compare yourself to a reserve?" -- but Lin truly felt their games were similar.
While Lin spoke with McHale, Montgomery and Tanner talked to the Rockets' management. They spoke about the parameters of a deal, and Lin's camp left Houston believing it would eventually receive an offer. Conflicting reports had the Rockets expected to offer either four years, $28.8 million, or three years, $19 million. According to a source, Houston confirmed to the Knicks the size of the offer that had been discussed with Lin's representatives.
Such information, whether gained directly from Houston or indirectly from media reports, must have convinced New York, at least Woodson, that would be the Rockets' offer, because he told reporters at the Las Vegas summer league that Lin would "absolutely'' return, and return as the Knicks' starter. Media reports cited other sources that confirmed the Knicks planned to match.
Of course, the only official offer would be the one the Rockets actually presented to Lin (and to the Knicks, if Lin signed the offer sheet), and that one had not yet been finalized. Houston, whether spurred on by Woodson's comments or not, eventually offered Lin the maximum that it could in a three-year deal, giving him $14.9 million in the final year to bring the total to $25.1 million. Lin signed the offer sheet on July 13.
While Lin's reps didn't have to call the Knicks, they telephoned Knicks GM Glen Grunwald to tell him about the offer. After sharing the numbers with Grunwald, they asked him for a reaction. According to a source, Grunwald said the Knicks had three days to match and he'd let them know once they got the offer.
With Raymond Felton back in a Knicks uniform, Lin knew he might be wearing a different one. Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
Things got a bit strange at that point, with Grunwald seemingly avoiding the Rockets in Las Vegas in order to buy more time before receiving the offer. Lin didn't understand what was happening, but it eventually dawned on his representatives that the Knicks were working on an alternative plan just in case they decided not to match the offer. When Lin saw reports about the Knicks trading for Raymond Felton, he realized his days in New York might be numbered.
Still, he never accepted it until he got the call from Grunwald himself Tuesday night. Even with all the reports that the Knicks would not match the offer, Lin held on to the idea that they might just be false reports, according to a source close to him. Throughout the process, Lin tried to keep an even keel. He tried to remember that it was business, and to keep his emotions out of it.
His experience with celebrity during the height of Linsanity helped. When reports surfaced that Anthony called Lin's contract offer from Houston "ridiculous," Lin refused to believe it, the source said. He had seen many false reports during his fabulous Knicks run and chalked up the Melo story as just another inaccuracy. He told those close to him that Anthony had to have been either misquoted or had his quotes taken out of context. He never believed Anthony belittled him or didn't want him back.
It was the same with J.R. Smith, even though Smith was quoted on the record as saying the size of Lin's contract could become a problem in the locker room with some Knicks who had more experience than the 23-year-old Lin. Still, Lin was bothered by suggestions that leaked out that some thought he had developed a sense of entitlement and become big-headed and arrogant during the height of his fame, and that he had rubbed his teammates the wrong way.
He also didn't like the idea emerging from some corners that he had sold out his teammates by not playing in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first round against the Miami Heat even though he was "85 percent" healthy.
"You go through a range of emotions when you hear that stuff, especially because it's so inaccurate," a source close to Lin said. "Initially, you're upset, then disappointed, then angry and you even think about getting even. But when it's all said and done, you have to stick to who you are and that usually prevails in the end.
"Ultimately, Jeremy looked at it as reporters being reporters. He never felt anything against the Knicks, and he has nothing against them now. The Knicks gave him an opportunity that was great and he cherished it."MELBOURNE Victory boss Kevin Muscat has distanced his club from speculation linking Steven Gerrard with the A-League.
Since the Liverpool legend left LA Galaxy in America, and became a free agent, there have been whispers about interest brewing from clubs in Australia, working alongside Football Federation Australia, to make the most of their marquee funds.
Fox Sports understands that Gerrard, who had talks with League One club MK Dons about taking their vacant manager spot, is more focused on a career in management now.
Victory, who made two unsuccessful plays for a marquee before the season - Alessandro Diamanta and Michael Essien - were the club most heavily linked with the Premier League icon, however, Muscat ended that speculation.
Round 21 Visit Match Centre Visit Match Centre Visit Match Centre Visit Match Centre Visit Match Centre
“At this stage no,” Muscat told SEN radio on Wednesday.
“We’ve been contacted in relation to a few players.
“But any discussions with those players will remain confidential.
“At this stage, there’s no chance, no.”
With Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Robbie Keane now all free agents following the end of their Major League Soccer careers, could A-League clubs make a play?
Steven Gerrard leads the Liverpool Legends out in Sydney. Source: News Corp Australia
Lampard was close to joining Melbourne City but rules precluded that, so he moved to Manchester City before his New York stint, while Keane has been linked with Brisbane Roar this week.
Speaking on the Fox Football Podcast, Daniel Garb said: “Make the offers by all means.
“Kevin Muscat has already hosed down speculation … saying it’s not in my plans.
“My understanding is – having spoken to someone close to the Gerrard camp – is he is fully set on becoming a coach now.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST with Adam Peacock, Simon Hill and Daniel Garb.
“I think he misses Liverpool desperately. He basically hinted that, basically.
“He misses the Premier League; it’s hard for him to see the club progressing when he’s not involved.
“I think he wants to get in the Jurgen Klopp coaching set-up, ideally.
“His ideal scenario would be the next manager once Jurgen Klopp departs.
“MK Dons made an offer; he already sat down … which goes to show how keen he is to become a coach.
“But Lampard, Keane, by all means. Look at that with great interest.”
Steven Gerrard with Robbie Slater in Sydney. Source: News Corp Australia
As for the idea that Australia should still be making a play for these sorts of players, Simon Hill added “bring them in”.
“I do still think we need that little sprinkle of magic dust,” he said on the podcast.
“In this period of time... they work. Sorry purists, I’m one of them, but they work in a market that’s still immature.
“If we have to have it, let’s have the biggest names.”
Melbourne Victory boss Ian Robson told SEN Radio: “To me it just seems a million miles off because the money involved from what we’re led to believe is just going to make it unaffordable and uneconomic.
“It’s a million to one shot.”
“Is it a player that would turn the dial in terms of interest? I don’t think there’s any doubt Steven Gerrard would turn the dial,” Robson said.
“But whether or not what we would think it would be pragmatic, practical - dare I say it, affordable - in real terms here, is sometimes a long way off.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has added to the suggestion that Gerrard’s next move will involve a clipboard, not boots, saying it is just “a matter of time” before his former Liverpool team-mate becomes a manager.
Gerrard reportedly turned down a chance to take over at English third-tier side Milton Keynes Dons after his playing contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy expired.
Carragher reckoned the chance to manage at Milton Keynes came too soon for his close friend, but added the 36-year-old former Liverpool and England skipper will move into coaching soon enough.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen now going there, I just don’t think he fancies it (MK Dons),” Carragher said during a Twitter Q&A on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show.
“He’s turned it down now but the fact he spoke to a club shows it will only be a matter of time.
“I just think it’s come too early, six or 12 months down the line there would have been a good chance of it happening.
“I don’t think he is fully ready yet. That’s not to say he couldn’t do the job, but maybe he wants to see if he can get more experience and he is still getting his coaching badges.”
Gerrard has not yet made any decision on his future, with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp having previously said there will always be a place for the Reds great at Anfield if he wants one.
But Carragher, now a television pundit, said it was credit to Gerrard that he wanted to go into coaching rather than the media.
“I think it’s great he’s making noises about going into management,” he added. “We’ve all been criticised for not going into that and going on TV, if you like.
“If he’d have taken the job it would have been a good decision in terms of the club. Alex Ferguson always used to say, ‘Don’t pick your club, pick your chairman’.
“That chairman (Pete Winkelman at MK Dons) gave Karl Robinson plenty of time, gave Roberto Di Matteo and Paul Ince a chance.
“I think the chairman more than the club probably would have enticed him. “But he’s only just got back from the States, his family didn’t go over fully so it would be a big move to move down to Milton Keynes with the kids in school, that type of thing.”A few months old, Android 5.0 Lollipop has yet to become available to most Android smartphone and tablet users, but some European Android fans will surely be thrilled to find out that Lollipop upgrades for certain top handsets will finally be available for download.
FROM EARLIER: LG: Android 5.0 Lollipop update is ‘coming soon’ to the G3
Last year’s HTC One (M8) and Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 are the two handsets that should be updated to Lollipop in the region.
HTC’s Jeff Gordon confirmed on Twitter that European HTC One (M8) owners will get Android 5.0 soon. “HTC One M8 owners in Europe, have a sweet tooth this morning? Check your software updates!” he said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, SamMobile notes that Samsung has started rolling out the Android 5.0 update for the Galaxy Note 3 (SM-N900 model) in Russia. The build number for the update is N900XXUEBOA6, and it should be available to users in the near future either as an over-the-air (OTA) update, or via Samsung Kies. The same update should also be rolled out in other European markets where the SM-N900 model is sold.Bradley Beal (game-high 24 points) and the Wizards have their first victory in a season-opener since 2009. (John Raoux/Associated Press)
The ball bounced on the rim seven times, glanced off the backboard and bounced on the orange metal six more times as the seconds ticked off the Washington Wizards’ 88-87 triumph. The anticipation from sold-out Amway Center escalated as the ball hung on the rim and a chance to keep a fresh season unblemished hung in the balance.
Finally, two arms, wrapped in different shades of blue sleeves, appeared in the picture. One tapped the orange leather ever so slightly as it sat on the cylinder and rolled off. The referees halted the sequence to declare the guilty arm had been navy, that of Wizards guard Bradley Beal, and counted the basket for the Orlando Magic, granting the hosts a one-point lead.
Protests from the Wizards’ bench ensued. A replay review followed, and officials at the NBA’s replay center in Secaucus, N.J., overturned the goaltending, resulting in essentially a non-call. The ball would go back to Orlando with 3.5 seconds remaining. The Magic was given one last opportunity.
[Old-school Wittman has a new philospophy for Wizards]
But the Wizards, staying true to their defense-first identity despite all the attention their overhauled offense has drawn, completed their stingy effort with another stop. This time, Marcin Gortat kept Vucevic in front of him and forced a contested jumper that bounced off the rim and ignited a relieved celebration from the visitors, who had trailed by eight points with seven minutes remaining.
Washington Post sports columnist Kevin Blackistone previews the Washington Wizards' 2015-2016 NBA season by answering three key questions surrounding Randy Wittman, free agency and Kevin Durant. (Thomas Johnson and Randolph Smith/The Washington Post)
[So what exactly happened at the end of the game?]
“It’s hard to win in this league,” Wizards Coach Randy Wittman said. “So you take it whether you think you played good, played bad. Every win is a good win.”
The night began with a moment of silence for former Wizards coach Flip Saunders, a close friend of Wittman. Saunders died of cancer at age 60 on Sunday. Three days later, on Wittman’s 56th birthday, Washington earned its first season-opening triumph since Saunders won in his Wizards debut in 2009.
The event, save for the result, was not what the Wizards had envisioned. They had spent their preseason introducing, installing and honing their rebooted offense, a fast pace-and-space operation designed to capitalize their young back court’s talents. They discovered the fourth step, sustaining the style, remains an obstacle.
After a 31-point first-quarter barrage, fatigue surfaced. They shot 39.3 percent from the floor, 25 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the free throw line. They matched their 17 assists with 17 turnovers and went more than four minutes without a point in the third quarter.
“We’ve got to get in better shape to play like this,” Wittman declared.
[D.C. Sports Bog: Caps, Wizards fans could be loving new promotion]
Washington Post sports columnist Kevin Blackistone previews the 2015-2016 NBA season. (Thomas Johnson and Randolph Smith/The Washington Post)
But as Wittman has preached, the Wizards’ defense propelled them when shots weren’t falling. And it was all-star point guard John Wall who took over with a series of defensive disruptions. It began with him diving on the floor to create a loose ball that eventually landed in Beal’s hands at the other end. Beal waited a few ticks before unleashing a lethal crossover on Victor Oladipo, which he followed with a step-back three-pointer as part of his game-high 24 points.
Wall wreaked more havoc seconds later, intercepting a cross-court pass from Oladipo intended for Elfrid Payton and using a behind-the-back move at full speed to get around Oladipo for a layup to knot the game at 78 with 5:51 remaining. Wall then added a jumper, and with the Wizards trailing by three with one minute left, his defense ignited another crucial basket. Following a missed three-pointer from Beal, the Magic raced down the other end, and Tobias Harris appeared to have a lane for an open dunk until Wall soared into the picture to deliver a block.
He then tiptoed along the baseline, unleashing a lead pass to Beal at halfcourt. Beal found Gary Neal for an open corner three, which he missed, but Otto Porter Jr. tipped it in to cut the lead to 87-86.
Another defensive stop set the stage for Wall, who used a screen from Gortat to enter the lane and unleashed a floater to give the Wizards the one-point lead with 12.7 seconds remaining.
“I knew we needed stops,” Wall said. “I wanted to be more aggressive. The most important thing was the way we locked down when we were down eight.”
Wall finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and a career-high five blocks. He is the third player to register that stat line in a season opener since steals and blocks were first tracked during the 1973-74 season. David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon, two Hall of Fame centers, were the others.
[NBA preview: Predictions, story lines]
“His ability to read, anticipate, is just tremendous,” Wittman said.
The very early returns on the offense’s overhaul may have encouraged shareholders to sell. The Wizards’ first possession of the season began with fluid ball movement, which was a positive sign until the unselfishness reached an oversaturation point and Beal’s pass sailed over Kris Humphries’s head.
Two more turnovers followed, but the first quarter then proceeded like the Wizards’ first quarters did during the preseason, with them running relentlessly and pouring in points like the rainstorm that drenched Central Florida earlier in the day. The season’s first two baskets were, appropriately, three-pointers from Wall and Beal.
But the Wizards couldn’t continue the frenzied blitz. It is a problem they realize they must solve if they are to reach their potential. But beautiful offense was not needed on this night. It was defense, the old-school operation that has finished in the top 10 in each of the past three seasons, that propelled them to victory.
“It came down to defense,” Beal said. “You’re not going to make shots every night. Your defense has to win games.”Kevin Wimmer: I’m happy at Spurs and am focused on deputising for Jan Vertonghen again
Kevin Wimmer EMPICS Sport
Kevin Wimmer says he has had no desire to leave Tottenham, insisting he feels “very comfortable” at White Hart Lane and is fully focused on deputising for Jan Vertonghen again over the coming weeks.
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The Austria international stood in for Vertonghen between January and April last year, when his Belgian colleague was sidelined by a knee injury, and acquitted himself well.
Indeed, Wimmer went on to represent his country at Euro 2016 last summer – but he has found opportunities hard to come by at Spurs this term, only playing seven games before Saturday’s trip to Manchester City.
That prompted speculation that the 24-year-old might seek a January move, and it was rumoured earlier this month that his former club Cologne were interested in taking him back to Germany.
But Wimmer said: “The problem was that a few weeks ago, when we had two days off, I went to Cologne to see many friends there because I’m still in touch with them.
“I had a very good time there but this caused a problem because I was seen there and there were some discussions, but there was never a point when I thought about leaving the club.
“I feel very comfortable here and it was just from the media. I never thought about going back to Germany.”
It is almost exactly a year since Wimmer began a lengthy run in the side as a deputy for the injured Vertonghen, starting 15 games in a row – and history is now repeating itself.
Vertonghen is expected to be out of action for around six weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage in the recent 4-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion, and Wimmer replaced his fellow defender in the starting line-up at Manchester City on Saturday.
“It’s not a good feeling when any of our players are injured, especially if it’s a bad injury,” said the Austrian. “Jan is a strong guy, his mind is strong and he is always positive. Everyone hopes he will be back soon.
“With Toby [Alderweireld] too, I think the injury [he got in Manchester] is not too bad, but it’s never good when such important players get injured.
“The next week will be tough - we have many important games and we want to go into the next round of the FA Cup.
“Of course, as a player you always want to play as many games as possible but the manager decides who starts the games. In training, I just try to show I’m ready.
“It’s not the first time I had this situation. I train every day and learn a lot from the other guys, from Toby and Jan especially.
“I always try to look at what they do and when I get my chances, maybe in FA Cup games, in Europa League games or in Premier League games, I always try to copy them a little bit. I try to do my best.
“It’s not easy when you don’t play every week but you always have to be ready as a footballer, and I am. It’s always a good feeling when the manager trusts you to play in important games, like against Manchester City. We all hope the next games are better and we’ll get the three points next time.”
Wimmer lined up on the left side of Spurs’ back three at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, but his outing was curtailed as he was substituted at half-time, following a first-half onslaught from Pep Guardiola’s hosts.
The defender had been booked after losing the ball on the edge of his own box and, when Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino changed his tactics at half-time, it was Wimmer who made way for substitute Heung-Min Son, who ended up scoring the equalising goal as Tottenham fought back from 2-0 down to grab a 2-2 draw.
“From the beginning it was a very tough game,” said Wimmer. “City played very well, especially in the first 60 minutes. They pressed very high, played high-tempo football, and I think you saw the quality they have, especially offensively.
“In the first half we didn’t play well and we were lucky we didn’t concede any goals by half time. Of course the second half started badly, but we showed character to come back into the game. It wasn’t our best game but it shows the character of the team that we never gave up.
“Even in a performance like this, we scored two goals and we are quite happy to take a point because we know we can do better. We have to keep our heads up and hopefully the next game will be better again.”
Follow me on Twitter @BenPearceSpurs and visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BenPearceSpurs/The Nation Magazine published an interview with National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, and one of the parts that is most remarkable is his commentary on civil disobedience and the movement that was ignited in 2011 by Occupy Wall Street.
First off, there have been numerous interviews published with Snowden at this point. He appeared in a major television interview with Brian Williams for NBC Nightly News. He was interviewed by journalist and NSA historian James Bamford for a feature story that appeared in Wired Magazine. A documentary directed by Laura Poitras called Citizenfour has opened in select cities and will be opening in a few more cities next weekend. It apparently is so powerful that it has the capacity to change one’s view that Snowden is a traitor.
But this interview conducted by Nation editor-in-chief Katrina vanden Heuvel and Stephen Cohen is different than those interviews in that it seeks to explore his views on politics, government and the role of citizens in society in a manner which complements what many already know about what he did.
“We are a representative democracy. But how did we get there? We got there through direct action. And that’s enshrined in our Constitution and in our values,” Snowden declares.
“We have the right of revolution. Revolution does not always have to be weapons and warfare; it’s also about revolutionary ideas. It’s about the principles that we hold to be representative of the kind of world we want to live in. A given order may at any given time fail to represent those values, even work against those values. I think that’s the dynamic we’re seeing today.”
Snowden adds, “We have these traditional political parties that are less and less responsive to the needs of ordinary people, so people are in search of their own values. If the government or the parties won’t address our needs, we will. It’s about direct action, even civil disobedience.”
Yet, Snowden argues the state can then come in and determine what is “legitimate civil disobedience” and require citizens to follow certain rules.
They put us in “free-speech zones”; they say you can only do it at this time, and in this way, and you can’t interrupt the functioning of the government. They limit the impact that civil disobedience can achieve. We have to remember that civil disobedience must be disobedience if it’s to be effective. If we simply follow the rules that a state imposes upon us when that state is acting contrary to the public interest, we’re not actually improving anything. We’re not changing anything. [emphasis added]
Either vanden Heuvel or Cohen asks him, “When was the last time civil disobedience brought about change?” He answers, “Occupy Wall Street.
Snowden’s answer is met with skepticism (perhaps, surprisingly, given that it is an interview for a left-leaning publication). “Arguably, Occupy was a very important initiative, but it was soon vaporized.”
He replies:
I believe strongly that Occupy Wall Street had such limits because the local authorities were able to enforce, basically in our imaginations, an image of what proper civil disobedience is—one that is simply ineffective. All those people who went out missed work, didn’t get paid. Those were individuals who were already feeling the effects of inequality, so they didn’t have a lot to lose. And then the individuals who were louder, more disruptive and, in many ways, more effective at drawing attention to their concerns were immediately castigated by authorities. They were cordoned off, pepper-sprayed, thrown in jail.
Snowden is asked again whether he thinks Occupy really had an impact. He maintains that it impacted the people’s “consciousness.”
“It was not effective in realizing change,” Snowden argues. “But too often we forget that social and political movements don’t happen overnight. They don’t bring change immediately—you have to build a critical mass of understanding of the issues. But getting inequality out there into the consciousness was important. All these political pundits now talking about the 2014 and 2016 elections are talking about inequality.”
This part is captivating primarily because one of the ways establishment liberals or left-leaning commentators have sought to delegitimize Snowden is by arguing he did not truly engage in an act of civil disobedience because he fled the country.
For example, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry once said, “Heres my beef with Ed Snowden – once you’ve decided to be a defender of those ideals, you have to be prepared to face the consequences. That is the whole point of civil disobedience, to show that you are willing to risk your own freedom, your own body, in order to bring attention to something that needs to be known.”
It misses the reality that Snowden sacrificed quite a bit by disobeying the law and leaving the United States. He had his passport revoked and was trapped in a Moscow airport. It seriously disrupted his life and forced him to begin a new one away from his home country.
Such a viewpoint also distorts and narrows what is civil disobedience in a manner that serves the powerful. The government would have had no problem with Snowden turning himself in to face a trial where he could defend his actions as documents were disclosed and published. However, the trial would have become the story instead of the disclosures. The government would have been able to silence him and prevent him from doing the numerous interviews he has done. And it would have been much easier for the government to stymie the shift in consciousness that has been taking place.
Additionally, there are establishment liberals like Sean Wilentz, who have sought to engage in a kind of McCarthyist investigation where they seek to expose Snowden as a “paranoid libertarian,” who should not be celebrated by people on the left because he seeks to “wound the liberal state.”
That he finds any value in what Occupy Wall Street did should put all this nonsense to rest. In fact, Snowden’s view on the impact of Occupy Wall Street is in the spirit of the great people’s historian, Howard Zinn, who recognized the power of small acts of civil disobedience in changing the world.
Finally, toward the end of the interview Snowden addressed this issue of being cast as this “archlibertarian:”
…As for my personal politics, some people seem to think I’m some kind of archlibertarian, a hyper-conservative. But when it comes to social policies, I believe women have the right to make their own choices, and inequality is a really important issue. As a technologist, I see the trends, and I see that automation inevitably is going to mean fewer and fewer jobs. And if we do not find a way to provide a basic income for people who have no work, or no meaningful work, we’re going to have social unrest that could get people killed. When we have increasing production—year after year after year—some of that needs to be reinvested in society. It doesn’t need to be consistently concentrated in these venture-capital funds and things like that. I’m not a communist, a socialist or a radical. But these issues have to be?addressed.
It probably will not pacify the shrill brigade of progressive critics, who think their dear leader, President Barack Obama, did not deserve to be the victim of some political stunt to turn people against his presidency. But it shows that, like any person, Snowden is complex individual who understands the value of dissent.
Those who criticize him for his action because he did not reveal information the way they think he should have done it are enabling powerful interests, which seek to suppress movements that challenge the global security state and aim to enrich democratic society.Ante-hero Up Ok, ok. So these aren't so much "antiheroes" as straight-up villains, if you want to get technical about it. But come on, you gotta love that wordplay! Anyway...if you're a fan of Batman, then you probably have already done the bat suit as a Halloween costume. Someone has already gifted you yellow and black bat socks. And-you can be honest with us-you're wearing Batman boxer briefs right now, aren't you? But, we bet you've never had a Batman item like this one before! This Batman Villains Playing Poker Men's T-Shirt takes the cake when it comes to cool designs that honor the Caped Crusader. Fun Details This clever tee features The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face, The Joker, and Bane sitting around playing poker, likely planning some nefarious scheme on how to ruin the world. Seriously, you know those movie scenes in which mobsters are playing poker? Yeah, we'd sit in on that game any day over having to pull up a chair with this tee's cruel crew. Joker's Wild With the bat signal aglow in the background, this licensed T-shirt is likely to earn you a ton of credit at your own weekly game. After all, Batman is practically nothing without the evil from which he must defend Gotham! And everyone knows Joker is notorious for counting cards.A new study found the countries with the tallest and shortest people.
A new study came out this week that found the average height of a male and female in every country. And sure, that’s quality data. But all I wanted to know is: How do I stack up?
I’m not tall. I just measured myself and came about an eighth of an inch under 5’8″. And that makes me below average in the U.S., where, I see from this study, the average male is 5’9.74″. I very well may be one standard deviation below the mean. Does that mean I rank as “short” as opposed to “not tall”? It’s close.
But here’s the good thing about numbers. If you mess with them enough, you can figure out ways to make them say anything you want. So that’s what I did. Because when I ran the numbers and found the average height of men worldwide — well let’s just say I squeaked into the “tall” group. If I could make a South Park analogy, it’d be this:
Anyway, the numbers are definitely interesting to dig into. So here are the 11 countries with the tallest and shortest men, 11 countries with the tallest and shortest women, and then a few more calculations to give you a look at how you stack up globally.
Tallest men in the world
The Netherlands, 5’11.86″ Belgium, 5’11.53″ Estonia, 5’11.49″ Latvia, 5’11.42″ Denmark, 5’11.41″ Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5’11.21″ Croatia, 5’11.17″ Serbia, 5’11.09″ Iceland, 5’11.06″ Czech Republic, 5’10.91″ Germany, 5’10.82″ United States, 5’9.74″
Tallest women in the world
Latvia, 5’6.85″ The Netherlands, 5’6.42″ Estonia, 5’6.41″ Czech Republic, 5’6.32″ Serbia, 5’6.02″ Slovakia, 5’5.93″ Denmark, 5’5.83″ Lithuania, 5’5.6″ Belarus, 5’5.49 Ukraine, 5’5.48″ Slovenia, 5’5.37″ United States, 5’4.39″
Shortest men in the world
East Timor, 5’2.91″ Yemen, 5’2.95″ Laos, 5’3.2″ Madagascar, 5’3.6″ Malawi, 5’3.87″ Nepal, 5’3.9″ Rwanda, 5’4.05″ Marshall Islands, 5’4.1″ Philippines, 5’4.26″ Mauritania, 5’4.28″ Cambodia, 5’4.3″
Shortest women in the world
Guatemala, 4’10.81″ Philippines, 4’10.9″ Bangladesh, 4’11.37″ Nepal, 4’11.39″ East Timor, 4’11.51″ Madagascar, 4’11.52″ Laos, 4’11.55″ Marshall Islands, 4’11.57″ India, 5’0.07″ Indonesia, 5’0.16″ Cambodia, 5’0.2″
Other
Biggest difference between male and female height: Macedonia (7.3″ difference)
Smallest difference between male and female height: Gambia (1.8″ difference)
Height of average man, worldwide: 5’7.43″
Height of average woman, worldwide: 5’2.8″
Height of average person, worldwide: 5’5.1″
—
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Doing Sweet Dance Crazes Increases Your Ability to Take a PunchBig setback for Aam Aadmi Party ahead of Gujarat polls (PTI)
As the state of Gujarat gears up for the upcoming Assembly Elections in December, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders are busy switching sides. Several AAP leaders in the poll-bound state joined Congress along with 200 supporters. AAP members who crossed over the Grand Old Party included state women wing head Vandana Patel, besides its Ahmedabad, Kheda, Mehsana and Rajkot incharges Rituraj Mehta, Hasmukh Patel, Lalubhai ladiwala, Ankur Dhameliya, and Tushar Jani, respectively, as per PTI report.
The AAP members were inducted into the Congress party at the headquarters in Ahmedabad, in the presence of Gujarat unit president Bharatsinh Solanki. Aam Aadmi Party leaders claimed that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is all set to help the ruling BJP in the state. AAP members said that the party s fielding candidates in select seats in a bid to damage the Congress’ prospects. State Women Wing President Vandana Patel said, “we have resolved to support the Congress to uproot the BJP in Gujarat. We are quitting the AAP as we felt that the party is fighting against the Congress instead of the BJP.” AAP’s Rajkot incharge Rituraj Mehta said those who contest the forthcoming polls as the third front will end up supporting the BJP.
However, AAP Gujarat incharge Gopal Rai had recently said that his party’s contest is against the BJP and the party will not end up into eating votes of the Congress. He had said that AAP will contest polls on those seats where it has an organisational base.Another journalist sentenced to 11 months in jail for ‘insulting’ Erdoğan
ISTANBUL
Daily newspaper Sözcü’s Necati Doğru has become the latest journalist in Turkey to be found guilty of “insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” sentenced to 11 months and 20 days in jail.Doğru referred to the punishment in his article published in Sözcü on Oct. 9, writing: “I’ve got nothing to say. Whatever you write it’s an ‘insult.’ Only fake compliments are asked for, but sorry I’m not that type.”“There weren’t even any insults in my article. It was critical and intended to make readers question,” he added in the piece, which was titled “I’ve been given 11 months in jail.”The plaintiff who filed the case, who Doğru referred to as “Tayyip Erdoğan,” filed a criminal complaint by selectively picking words in the article out of context, he added.Turkey has a notorious record of ongoing cases against journalists, mostly on charges of “defaming the Turkish president,” with media outlets and journalists subjected to physical violence as well as verbal insults and being publicly targeted by leading politicians.Daily Today’s Zaman Editor-in-Chief Bülent Keneş was released on probation on Oct. 8 after he was sent to court with a demand for his arrest for allegedly insulting Erdoğan on Twitter.“Media prosecutor Umut Tepe has sent me to court for arrest for |
PartialReadFileStream : Stream { private readonly long _start; private readonly long _end; private long _position; private FileStream _fileStream; public PartialReadFileStream(FileStream fileStream, long start, long end) { _start = start; _position = start; _end = end; _fileStream = fileStream; if (start > 0) { _fileStream.Seek(start, SeekOrigin.Begin); } } public override void Flush() { _fileStream.Flush(); } public override long Seek(long offset, SeekOrigin origin) { if (origin SeekOrigin.Begin) { _position = _start + offset; return _fileStream.Seek(_start + offset, origin); } else if (origin SeekOrigin.Current) { _position += offset; return _fileStream.Seek(_position + offset, origin); } else { throw new NotImplementedException("Seeking from SeekOrigin.End is not implemented"); } } public override int Read(byte[] buffer, int offset, int count) { int byteCountToRead = count; if (_position + count > _end) { byteCountToRead = (int)(_end - _position) + 1; } var result = _fileStream.Read(buffer, offset, byteCountToRead); _position += byteCountToRead; return result; } public override IAsyncResult BeginRead(byte[] buffer, int offset, int count, AsyncCallback callback, object state) { int byteCountToRead = count; if (_position + count > _end) { byteCountToRead = (int)(_end - _position); } var result = _fileStream.BeginRead(buffer, offset, count, (s) => { _position += byteCountToRead; callback(s); }, state); return result; } public override int EndRead(IAsyncResult asyncResult) { return _fileStream.EndRead(asyncResult); } public override int ReadByte() { int result = _fileStream.ReadByte(); _position++; return result; } //... protected override void Dispose(bool disposing) { if (disposing) { _fileStream.Dispose(); } base.Dispose(disposing); } }
If you think about this performance-wise, its not the most optimal approach as every time a file is being requested we need to read it from the disk and disks are very slow (compared to RAM) and disk access may become bottleneck very fast. It becomes evident that for more advanced scenarios some kind of a caching mechanism would be a good optimization.
Using memory-mapped files
Memory mapped file is a portion of virtual memory that has been mapped to a file. This is not a new concept and has been around in Windows (and other OSes) for many years, but just recently (from NET 4 that is) has been made available to C# programmers as a managed API. Memory mapped files allow processes to modify and read files as if they were reading and writing to the memory. If my memory serves me well IPC in Windows is actually implemented using this feature.
Please note that the files are mapped and not copied into virtual memory, but from program's perspective its transparent as Windows loads parts of physical files as they are accessed by application. Another advantage of MMF is that the system performs transfers in 4K chunks of data (pages) and virtual-memory manager (VMM) decides when it should free those pages up. Windows is highly optimized for page-related IO operations, and it tries to minimize the number of times the hard disk head has to move. In other words by using MMF you have a guarantee that the OS will optimize disk access and additionally you get a form of memory cache.
Because files are mapped to virtual memory, to serve big files we need to run our application in 64 bit mode, otherwise it wouldn't be able to address all space needed.For this example, make sure to change target platform to x64 in project properties.
public class MemMappedFilesController : ApiController { private const string MapNamePrefix = "FileServerMap"; public IFileProvider FileProvider { get; set; } public MemMappedFilesController() { FileProvider = new FileProvider(); } private ContentInfo GetContentInfoFromRequest(HttpRequestMessage request, long entityLength) { //... } private void SetResponseHeaders(HttpResponseMessage response, ContentInfo contentInfo, long fileLength, string fileName) { //... } public HttpResponseMessage Head(string fileName) { //string fileName = GetFileName(name); if (!FileProvider.Exists(fileName)) { //if file does not exist return 404 throw new HttpResponseException(HttpStatusCode.NotFound); } long fileLength = FileProvider.GetLength(fileName); ContentInfo contentInfo = GetContentInfoFromRequest(this.Request, fileLength); var response = new HttpResponseMessage(); response.Content = new ByteArrayContent(new byte[0]); SetResponseHeaders(response, contentInfo, fileLength, fileName); return response; } public HttpResponseMessage Get(string fileName) { if (!FileProvider.Exists(fileName)) { //if file does not exist return 404 throw new HttpResponseException(HttpStatusCode.NotFound); } long fileLength = FileProvider.GetLength(fileName); ContentInfo contentInfo = GetContentInfoFromRequest(this.Request, fileLength); string mapName = GenerateMapNameFromName(fileName); MemoryMappedFile mmf = null; try { mmf = MemoryMappedFile.OpenExisting(mapName, MemoryMappedFileRights.Read); } catch (FileNotFoundException) { //every time we use an exception to control flow a kitten dies mmf = MemoryMappedFile.CreateFromFile(FileProvider.Open(fileName), mapName, fileLength, MemoryMappedFileAccess.Read, null, HandleInheritability.None, false); } using (mmf) { Stream stream = contentInfo.IsPartial? mmf.CreateViewStream(contentInfo.From, contentInfo.Length, MemoryMappedFileAccess.Read) : mmf.CreateViewStream(0, fileLength, MemoryMappedFileAccess.Read); var response = new HttpResponseMessage(); response.Content = new StreamContent(stream); SetResponseHeaders(response, contentInfo, fileLength, fileName); return response; } } private string GenerateMapNameFromName(string fileName) { return String.Format("{0}_{1}", MapNamePrefix, fileName); } }
I've removed code that is identical to FilesController. Please note that we have 1-1 relationship between a file (or its name to be more precise) and a map name. This means we use same map for all requests asking for the same filename.
Both controllers should provide pause/resume function.
Hope you find this post useful, complete source code is available as usually on bitbucket. Enjoy!Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella REUTERS/Adnan Abidi Microsoft is expected to conduct another round of layoffs next week when the company reports its quarterly earnings on January 26. About 700 jobs are expected to be impacted, according to someone familiar with the matter.
That is not a huge number compared to Microsoft's workforce of about 113,000 people, but we understand nerves have been running high inside of Microsoft as employees hear rumors that hundreds of jobs will be cut.
This layoff is part of the previously announced plan to cut 2,850 roles announced in June in Microsoft's annual report. At that time, Microsoft said that it planned to complete those cuts by June 2017, which is the end of Microsoft's 2017 fiscal year.
Most of the 2,850 roles scheduled to be cut have already been eliminated, according to the person familiar with the matter. The upcoming cuts won't be specific to any single group, but will be spread across the company's worldwide offices and business units, including sales, marketing, human resources, engineering, finance and more.
The goals of these rotating smaller layoffs is not to reduce costs but to update skills in various units, this person tells us. And such layoffs don't have much of an impact on Microsoft's overall headcount. Microsoft is still hiring, with well over 1,600 job openings posted on LinkedIn.
We understand that Microsoft typically gives laid-off employees 60 days to find a new position internally and offers two weeks pay for every 6 months of employment, according one employee.
Under Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has experienced several rounds of layoffs including cutting approximately 7,400 positions in its last fiscal year, primarily from the phone business and its largest ever layoff in history of 18,000 jobs in 2014.For the first time in recorded history, a 13-year-old boy successfully passed the Turing test and convinced a panel of middle-aged men that he was an actual human. This has far-reaching implications for future relationships between teenagers and everyone else
Scientists are still struggling to come to terms with the recent announcement that a 13-year-old boy has passed the Turing test, convincing a panel of judges that he is an actual human being. Such a feat is without precedent in the scientific literature.
Although the Turing test was originally proposed as a test of a computer’s ability to effectively mimic human behaviour, it was deemed appropriate for use on teenagers, given how modern teens mostly communicate via machines anyway. But until now, it was considered highly unlikely, if not impossible, that a 13-year-old boy could ever convince a panel of mature adults that he is an actual human. However, this recent result throws into doubt the whole foundations of human-teenager relationships.
“This has come as quite a surprise,” said Professor Edward Whitehouse, who organised the investigation utilising the tests.
“The general consensus among those of us in authority is that teenagers are essentially different from us “normal” humans. We like to point out how they have different brains, different attitudes to sex, different ways of speaking, different sleep patterns, you name it; they’re just not like us normal folk, so can we really consider them human?”
Professor Whitehouse, when asked why he was so certain a 13-year-old boy could not pass the Turing test, pointed at the constant and ongoing problems people experience when attempting to communicate with teenagers.
“People have spent years trying to tell teenagers how to behave and why they’re so strange, even though they rarely ever ask, and still they persist in giving us attitude and disrespect. It’s clear that they can’t comprehend what we’re saying. You might have noticed that every scientific-style article in the mainstream about teenagers is exactly that; 'about' teenagers, not 'for' teenagers or aimed at them. This is because we’re not sure if they can read. Or even if they can, whether or not they’re willing to do so.”
Some have challenged Professor Whitehouse’s conclusions, pointing out that teenagers are made to read and pass tests far too often. But Professor Whitehouse is dismissive of this.
“The majority of tests don’t count. If teenagers pass them, they’re too easy. And we know they’re too easy because teenagers can pass them. Common sense, that is.”
Professor Whitehouse and his colleagues eventually decided they wanted to settle the issue of whether teenagers were actual people with a Turing test, and opted to assess 13-year-olds in order to make any findings more conclusive.
“Teenagers are generally weird and dreadful, but we all know that 13-year-old boys are among the worst. Always hanging around in shop doorways and bus stops, wearing bizarre clothing in bizarre ways, and they seem to communicate exclusively via homophobic threats on violent multiplayer video games and the occasional stabbing. So if one of them could convince us he’s human, then that would be an incredible achievement. But I didn’t expect this to actually happen, given how a panel of very senior middle-aged academics would obviously know everything about 13-year-old boys, so would definitely be able to spot one trying to communicate as a human.”
Professor Whitehouse and his colleagues emphasise that even attempting to recruit 13-year-old boys to take the test proved very difficult. In an attempt to prevent contamination of the results via observer bias, they would approach groups of unfamiliar young boys on the street.
“Given how we know they struggle to speak with actual humans, we tried to keep our explanations as simple as possible, asking if they’d like to come with us to play fun games, we even offered them sweets and other confection like we do when rewarding lab animals. But more often than not they flee or start throwing stones at us. Some even called the police, demonstrating just how poor their understanding of us adult humans is.”
“But then I remembered that some of those people who do things in my lab may have teenage offspring, so I had my secretary round a recruitment email. There still wouldn’t be any issue with familiarity as I never bother to get to know any of my minions.”
For the actual test, the panel of judges (composed of Professor Whitehouse and his colleagues/golfing partners) had to determine whether they were engaged in a text chat with either an actual adult or 13-year-old David Collodi, the only teenage boy who eventually took part. To the amazement of everyone, David convinced 100% of the judges that he was an actual person.
“It was incredible,” said Dr Brownstone, member of the judging panel. “I spoke to David for five minutes, and not once did he use some gibberish slang, aggressively accuse me of homosexuality or mention willies, bums or boobs.”
“His spelling was mostly correct! And not once did he use an unfamiliar abbreviation or one of those face things made out of punctuation. Personally, I think that’s cheating,” said Dr Phillips, also on the panel.
Professor Whitehouse says that this result challenges current scientific ideas about teenagers.
“Some might think we should start thinking of them as actual individuals, rather than some separate section of society defined solely by flawed presumption and harsh stereotypes. I say that sounds a bit extreme, but there’s surely room for compromise.”
David Collodi himself was more philosophical when asked about his feelings on his landmark passing of the test.
“Can I PLEASE go home now? I have an exam in two days, I’m meant to be revising.”
The Turing test was recently in the news when a computer programme supposedly became the first to successfully pass the Turing test. Despite the reports being somewhat exaggerated, Professor Whitehouse insists that this just supports his own use of the test.
“The Turing test was first proposed by Alan Turing in 1950, and luckily our understanding of computing, artificial intelligence, psychology and human communication has remained unaltered since then, so it’s just as valid as ever.”
Dean Burnett has a 13-year-old brother and really doesn’t like the tone this Turing test news has taken in many of the reports and comments, so he wrote this post to get it out of his system. He is on Twitter, @garwboyAn unidentified, rather slender girl pulls off a great Cammy costume and look in this particular shot.
First appearing in Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers back in 1993, Cammy White became an instant bit hit with the fans, though she wasn’t destined to quite appear in all the subsequent titles from that point onwards. Originally a teen agent of the fictional Delta Red task force within Britain’s MI6, Cammy was written in as suffering from memory loss, making her fit in quite nicely as a member of the villainous M. Bison’s group for a start, until the writers needed something else from her in the future.
A slim girl with a scar on her cheek and a penchant for thong leotards, Cammy is a close range fighter who relies on speed and agility to penetrate her enemies’ defenses.
[Update (i.e. I stumbled across another picture of this particular cosplay outing):]
Related Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CammyThis article is also available as an Audio Mises Daily
[A selection from Toward a Libertarian Society.]
Just as an important difference in everyday life is that between a bathroom and a kitchen, so, too, does a crucial distinction in political economic philosophy exist between government and private contractual arrangements. But here is where the analogy breaks down. There are other, even more important insights to be garnered in ordinary living than that between these two rooms (e.g., don’t eat poison, feed yourself, take care of babies); there is simply no more important delineation in libertarian theory than that which exists between coercion (the government) and voluntary cooperation (the market).
Yet, such is the parlous nature of our discipline that there are even people parading themselves around as libertarians who are unaware of this distinction. Worse, there are those who write articles in professional journals, and even books, which are dedicated in their entirety to the obliteration of the difference between the state and private market interaction.
They are not without an argument, paltry as it is. Exhibit “A” in their arsenal is the condominium agreement. These “libertarians” wax eloquent about the severity and comprehensiveness of such housing developments. For example, they typically require that all exteriors be painted in the same color; that fences be identical (e.g., everyone must have, say, a picket fence); that there be no window air conditioning units. Some even go so far as to stipulate the color of curtains that can be seen from outside, and either compel, or prohibit, such things as floor rugs, Venetian blinds, screen doors, types of foot mats and whether automobiles must, or cannot be, parked in garages. Some prohibit children entirely; others specify minimum ages for residents (e.g., 60 years old for retirement communities). And legion are the rules and regulations concerning noise at which hours, parties, where tricycles can be stored, etc. Compared even to some villages and small towns, the mandates of these private communities can be intrusive, comprehensive, and oft-times arbitrary.
Then, too, there is the fact that both kinds of organizations are typically run on fully democratic principles. And not only that: there is a sense in which, in both cases, it can truly be said that people agree to take part in the elections in the first place.
In the case of cooperative housing, this is easy to see. All members of the development sign a purchase contract, indicating willingness to be bound by the condo constitution and by a formula (majority, super majority, whatever) for altering its terms.
For towns, no one, of course, signs the constitution. (If you don’t believe this, go back and read Spooner’s No Treason.) However, argue these “libertarians,” by moving into a village the newcomer knows full well the rules of the political entity, or can easily learn them: no spitting on the street, the zoning specifications, speed limits, etc. And, in virtually all cases, town regulations are far less all encompassing than those of condominiums. True, concludes this argument, the city government garners “taxes” while the condo collects membership “fees,” but this is a distinction without a difference.
The first chink in this seemingly airtight case can be seen when we examine the position not of the new arrival in town, but rather that of a landowner who was located there before the town was incorporated; or, alternatively, when we look at the plight of the homeowner living just outside the village limits, when it expands to take into its jurisdiction people such as himself living in contiguous but previously unincorporated areas. (We consider the second of these cases not the first, since there are now far more individuals alive who have experienced the latter, not the former.)
So the mayor comes to this homeowner and says to him, “I’ve got good news for you, Zeke. You’re now part of the town. We’ll collect your garbage for you, we’ll provide city water and sewage services, policing, fire protection, membership in the library; heck, we’ve even got a municipal swimming pool. You’ll have to pay for welfare for the poor, too, of course, but you’ve always helped your down at their luck neighbors before, so that shouldn’t be any burden on you.”
Replies Zeke: “That really sounds wonderful. We’re really getting modern around her, aren’t we, Clem? But I tell you what. I’m going to take a pass on this wonderful opportunity. I see no reason for change. Thanks, but no thanks.”
Whereupon responds Mayor Clem: “I don’t think I’ve fully made my position clear. This really isn’t your choice. We took a vote on this, and your side lost. You’re in, whether you like it or not.”
At this point states Zeke: “Hitler came to power through an election. So don’t tell me about the ballot box. However, I’ll give you one thing, Clem. At least you don’t add insult to injury. At least you don’t compound naked aggression with outright lying, Clem, like those so-called ‘libertarians’ who see no difference between being amalgamated into a town against their will, and buying into a residential community. Your demand for my tax money was refreshingly honest, albeit a bit brutal, for a person I used to think of as a good neighbor.”
So much for the first chink in the armor, the case where the property owner is forcibly incorporated into the town. There is indeed a relevant difference between being compelled to be part of the village, and voluntarily joining the condo.
But what about the stronger case for the “libertarian” side of this argument, the one where a new arrival moves into town, buys a house, etc., knowing full well what rules and taxes he will be bound by? Is it not true that at least in this case, the municipal government is indistinguishable from the strata council that runs the condominium?
Not at all. Consider the following case. I buy a home in a dangerous neighborhood, say, the South Bronx. I know full well that the crime rate there is high, and that I will be especially targeted, given the color of my skin. Perhaps I make this economic decision because of the cheaper real estate, or because I want to be closer to “the people,” the better to study their situation and help eradicate poverty. In any case, as soon as I move in, I am confronted by a street thug with a knife who says to me: “Give me your wallet, you white mother f-----, or I’ll cut you, man.”
Whereupon I pull out my gun and say to the criminal: “My good man, you are overmatched, firepower wise. Cease and desist from your evil ways, and go about your legitimate business, if you have any.”
This street person, who, unbeknownst to me, is actually a bit of a philosopher, expounds as follows: “You don’t seem to understand. I’m one of those ‘libertarians’ who maintain that since you moved to the South Bronx with the full knowledge you would very likely be subjected to muggings of the sort I’m now pulling (or at least trying to pull; I’ve never met a less cooperative victim than you; what’s this world coming to?), you in effect have agreed to be mugged by robbers like me. So, get with the program, man.”
The point is, as we can readily see, the ability to foresee an event is not at all equivalent to agreeing to it. Yes, I can full well predict that if I move to the South Bronx, I’ll likely be victimized by street crime. But this is not at all the same thing as acquiescing in such nefarious activities. Yet, according to the “libertarian” argument we are considering, the two are indistinguishable.
Similarly, the individual who locates in a city with taxes, zoning, etc., can be expected to know he will be subjected to these depredations, just like everyone else there. But this is more than a country mile away from his having agreed to be coerced by these evil doers. The new arrival in town no more gives permission for the tax collector to mulct funds from him than does the newcomer to the South Bronx give permission to the mugger to violate his rights.
In very stark contrast indeed, the purchaser of a unit in a housing development not only foresees he will be subjected to a monthly membership payment, and to a welter of restrictions as to what he can do with his property, but actually consents to pay the former and be bound by the latter. The proof of this is that he signs a bill of sale, stipulating all of the above. In the town-citizen case, there is no such written contract.
It is no exaggeration to say that the most important distinction in all of libertarian theory is that between coercion and non-coercion. Obliterate this divergence and there is nothing left to libertarianism at all. This is so important, it bears repeating: libertarianism consists of nothing more than the implications of this one single solitary distinction. Without it, there is absolutely no theory.
Image source: iStockphotoBut that would miss a crucial development in the more extreme sector of American skinhead subculture.
A critical examination reveals how “hate music” – a scene long associated almost solely with neo-nazis – has been morphing into a subculture that is more difficult for many to recognize than its Hitler-worshipping companions and predecessors.
For example, some bands from different countries and even ethnicities now treat one another’s work as projects of ethno-nationalism that should be mutually celebrated. Far-right skinheads of different races who harbor shared bigotries are now occupying the same spaces.
From the 1980s to the mid-2000s, the dominant brand within the far-right sector of skinhead subculture was neo-nazism, and such interracial co-mingling would have been unthinkable. In truth, there have always been skinheads of varying degrees of “whiteness” across the world who have sought to uphold strains of far-right politics.
A prime example of how race is falling away as the dominant organizer within the extremist skinhead music scene occurred in 2013.
Bound For Glory, one of the first neo-nazi skinhead bands to emerge here, toured Japan with Aggro Knuckle, one of that country’s oldest skinhead bands. The two also released a split-record together. In that way, NYC Oi! Fest is an important microcosm of the landscape of “hate music” worldwide. Last year’s installment brought bands to New York City from as far away as Finland and Mexico.
“Oi,” after all, encapsulates a broad range of skinhead-oriented punk and rock ‘n’ roll. Most Oi! fests and concerts book bands who offer little-to-no political overtones or messages. Their songs and the shows themselves often revolve around drinking and other subcultural markers, like banal expressions of patriotism. By inserting “Oi!” into its title, the fest’s promotors –– Dennis Davila of United Riot Records chief among them –– are putting forth their version of what skinhead identity and music should exist as, while directing hostility towards outsiders and those they deem “other.”
There is, of course, historical precedent for this. Efforts to reframe skinhead identity and music were first undertaken by the neo-Nazi political party National Front in England in the early 1980s. The efforts of those organizing NYC Oi! Fest –– a long-standing crew calling itself the 211 Bootboys, of which Davila is a member –– aren’t wholly dissimilar from the National Front’s attempts to attract skinheads to their worldview.
Those driving this scene in US today, like Davila, are motivated by varying far-right movements and events –– none more so than England’s “Rock Against Communism” (RAC) skinhead music scene.
The first of its kind, “RAC” is what the National Front titled its campaign to interweave skinhead subculture and music. Its success hinged on one band: Skrewdriver, led by Ian Stuart Donaldson. Donaldson would go on to found the neo-nazi skinhead network Blood & Honour (B&H), which to date has cultivated convicted terrorists and fosters innumerable acts of hate violence.
Certainly, the photos and videos of original RAC shows are an archive of the extremist skinhead music scene’s center of political expression and ideologically motivated violence. As happened after last year’s NYC Oi! Fest, media will likely emerge of attendees clad in an array of extremist paraphernalia – though, most of which will be obscure and codified. And invariably, many of its attendees – though not all, as committed neo-nazis are welcome at these shows – would defend themselves against accusations of bigotry.
To do so, however, they must dismiss the fact that bands playing this year’s fest such as Offensive Weapon (made up of 211 crew members), Close Shave, Queensbury Rules, and The Firm have in recent years played shows in Europe that were either organized by promoters involved with B&H and/or alongside bands active within that network.
They must also dismiss that some of these bands, like Close Shave, have simply shrugged when members of their bands have been proven to be active within the neo-Nazi skinhead scene, either presently or in the past.
Some, like Cody Hoebel, an attendee of last year’s NYC Oi! Fest, will do more than shrug. Hoebel is a long time member of the violent New Jersey-based neo-Nazi skinhead crew the AC Skins, whose members have been convicted of hate crimes. And there are others, like “Mongo,” whose band Brassic played last year.
Mongo has bragged in interviews with European webzines that he and his band are friends and have shared the stage with neo-Nazi bands like Youngland, one of the several bands that neo-Nazi mass murderer Wade Michael Page played in.
Brassic have played shows for racist and neo-Nazi connected promoters in Portugal, Germany, and Scotland, and the band makes no bones about its politics with songs like “Benders,” during which Mongo calls for the lynching of LGBT individuals and people with AIDS.
From this, such lyrics and the scene connections that bands like Brassic and so many others maintain should be remembered when members of the 211 Bootboys point out that their crew is multi-racial and that non-white skinheads have and will attend their fest — their go-to “get out of jail free card” when attempting to deflect criticism of their activities.
Perhaps Alex Ellui of Battle Zone, who will reunite to play this year’s NYC Oi! Fest stated it best in a 2006 interview, saying of his days in England’s RAC scene: “I regret the ‘racist’ (lets be completely frank here the term RAC is a kind of ‘nice’ way of saying ‘racist’; at least with the UK bands of the time) aspects of [Battle Zone].” Like the aforementioned shoulder shrugs, Ellui’s regret is dubious at best.
The far-right, extremist skinhead music scene in the U.S. has changed along with many of its counterparts internationally. Though the swastikas have been replaced by other more obscure symbols, the promotion of bigotry and the attraction of others to extremist politics is still the purpose of shows like NYC Oi! Fest, just like the “RAC” shows of old.SALT LAKE CITY — Utah asked the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for more time Monday to file its appeal in a same-sex marriage recognition case.
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball ruled in May that Utah must extend marital benefits to about 1,300 gay and lesbian couples who married during the short time same-sex marriage was legal in the state.
But Kimball temporarily stayed his decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court extended the stay while Utah appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last week, the Denver appeals court set a Sept. 22 deadline for the state to appeal Kimball's ruling in the Evans v. Utah case. Monday, the state asked for another 30 days to make its filing.
"This case is factually and legally complex and relates to the constitutionality of Utah's marriage statutes and the recognition of same-sex marriages in Utah, and more time is necessary to adequately address the novel issues presented," Utah's motion states.
The state also writes that the petition in the original case challenging Utah's ban on same-sex marriage took more time than expected and that one of the attorneys on the Evans case has had filings due in other, complex cases.
The state notes that no other requests for more time have been made or given yet in the case.
JoNell Evans and Stacia Ireland, Donald Johnson and Carl Fritz Shultz, Matthew Barraza and Tony Milner, and Elenor Heyborne and Marina Gomberg sued the state in an effort to have their marriages recognized. All were married in Utah between Dec. 20, 2013, and Jan. 6.
Their marriage recognition case is separate from the original federal case, Kitchen v. Herbert, which challenges the state's voter-approved gay marriage ban that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
The motion states that the plaintiffs were notified about the state's request to have the deadline extended to Oct. 22 and that they "oppose this motion."
Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeamCivil Disobedience: King versus Huemer By Bryan Caplan
Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” defends an odd position: You may morally break an unjust law IF you make no effort to evade the legal punishment for the unjust law you break.
In no sense do I
advocate
evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy.
One who
breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the
penalty. I
submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who
willingly
accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community
over its
injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.
The obvious question: If the law is unjust, doesn’t consenting to punishment simply compound the injustice? The subtler challenge: “Evading” or “defying” just laws could easily lead to “anarchy” in a pejorative sense. But why on earth is King so pessimistic about the social effects of “evasion” or “defiance” of unjust laws? Indeed, if the laws are really so awful, you’d expect every violation to make the world a little bit better.
Perhaps King’s underlying story is a variant of the Noble Lie. Something along the lines of:
1. People often mistakenly think that a law is unjust.
2. If people feel free to evade or defy laws they think are unjust, they will break many just laws, with awful consequences.
3. However, if people feel obliged to accept the legal punishments for breaking all laws regardless of their justice, they will reflect seriously on the justice of the law, drastically reducing their chance of mistakenly breaking an unjust law.
4. Therefore, it is good if people don’t feel free to evade or defy laws they deem unjust.
Assuming I have successfully reverse engineered King’s underlying position, it has two major flaws.
First, it neglects a simple alternative to promoting the Noble Lie that evading or defying unjust laws is wrong. Namely: Promoting the Noble Truth that people should painstakingly investigate the justice of a law before breaking it.
Second, this story neglects the very existence of moderately virtuous people who are willing to resist unjust laws if and only if the personal cost is low. If such people feel free to evade or defy unjust laws, they’ll break them, making the world more just. However, if they don’t feel free to evade or defy unjust laws, they’ll obey them, preserving the injustice of the status quo.
Philosopher Michael Huemer’s new essay on jury nullification presents a more compelling position on civil disobedience: Don’t merely feel free to break unjust laws; strive to prevent their enforcement. He begins with one of his trademark hypotheticals.
Imagine that you are walking down a public street with flamboyantly-dressed friend, when you are accosted by a gang of gaybashing hoodlums. The leader of the gang asks you whether your friend is gay. You have three alternatives: you may answer yes, refuse to answer, or answer no. You are convinced that either of the first two choices will result in a beating for your friend. However, you also know that your friend is in fact gay. Therefore, how should you respond? This is hardly an ethical dilemma. Clearly, you should answer no. No person with a reasonable and mature moral sense will have difficulty with this case. Granted, it is usually wrong to lie, but the importance of avoiding inaccurate statements pales in comparison to the importance of avoiding serious and unjust injury for your friend. The case illustrates a simple and uncontroversial ethical principle: it is prima facie wrong to cause another person to suffer serious undeserved harms. This is true even when the harm would be directly inflicted not by oneself but by a third party.
Huemer’s point obviously still applies if the hoodlums directly interrogate the gay man. Lying is usually wrong, but not when your audience plans to savagely beat you for telling the truth. Even a juror who explicitly promises to enforce the letter of the law can rightfully renege:
Three ethical principles governing the obligation of promises seem relevant here. To begin with, it is normally permissible to break a promise when necessary to prevent serious and undeserved harms to another person. For instance, suppose you have promised to pick a friend up from the airport, but on the way, you encounter an injured accident victim in need of medical assistance. It would be permissible, if not obligatory, to assist the accident victim, even though doing so will prevent you from picking up your friend. And this is true regardless of whether your friend will be understanding about your failure to pick him up. Second, a promise prompted by a threat of unjust coercion is typically not ethically binding. If a gunman threatens to shoot you unless you promise to pay him $1,000, that promise will have no moral force. Thus, if you escape the gunman after making the promise, you have no moral obligation at all to deliver $1000 to him. The same goes for unjust threats against third parties: if a gunman threatens to shoot your neighbor unless you promise to pay $1,000 to the gunman, that promise, too, is invalid. If the neighbor escapes after you have made the promise, you have no obligation at all to hand over the money. Third, even when a promise is initially valid, it is permissible to break the promise if doing so is necessary to forestall a threat of unjust harm from the person to whom the promise was made. The promisee in such a case has no valid complaint, since it is his own threatened unjust behavior that makes it necessary to break the promise. For example,
suppose I have voluntarily promised to lend you my rifle next weekend. Before the week-end arrives, you credibly inform me that you intend to use the rifle to murder several people. In this case, I should not still lend you the rifle. It is not merely that my prima facie
obligation to keep the promise is outweighed by the need to prevent several murders. Rather, your threat of unjust harm completely cancels any obligation I would have had to keep my promise to you.
Returning to the gaybashing hypothetical:
Imagine that the gang leader not only asks whether your friend is gay but also asks you to swear that your answer on this point will be truthful. You reasonably believe that refusal to swear will result in a beating for your friend. This case is scarcely more difficult than the original case. Clearly, you should swear to tell the truth and then immediately lie to the |
Although the next backup point guard shouldn’t have to mirror Wall, he should be able to knock down a three-pointer. And while it’s unlikely the Wizards will find this player with the 52nd pick in the upcoming draft, that didn’t stop them from searching on Tuesday.
The workout featured six prospects, and each one flashed a decent touch from the three-point arc. James Blackmon Jr., a 6-foot-4 guard who played three seasons at Indiana and finished his career 41.5 percent from three, said he understood the Wizards are looking for shooters. Adding to his draft potential, Blackmon also received a positive reaction to his ballhandling skills.
“They were surprised that I could also play the point guard position,” Blackmon said about Wizards’ team brass. “It’s definitely good feedback I’ve been getting from a lot of teams and I’m just trying to show that going forward.”
[Melo Trimble works out for his hometown team, the Wizards]
Melo Trimble, who played as a true point guard at Maryland, hypothesized on what he could bring to the Wizards.
“Obviously John Wall is a great point guard, so I’ll be able to learn from him,” Trimble said, “and then the other players on the team, like Bradley Beal and Otto Porter. So I mean, just those group of guys, I’ll just learn from them and continue to get better, and whenever my name is called to get into the game, I’ll produce.”Meanwhile, GDP per capita has been largely stagnant since 2008. Australia's manufacturing industry, once a significant employer and an important part of the economy, has increasingly been hollowed out.
The country's cost structure is high. Improvements in productivity have, as elsewhere, been lacklustre. Infrastructure is aging and unable to cope with the demands of a rising population, especially in major cities. Australia stands at 21st place in the 2017 Global Competitiveness Report. It ranks 15th in the World Bank's ease of doing business list.
Attempts to diversify the economy have had mixed results. Tourism and service exports, mainly of education and health services, have expanded significantly. But they're nowhere near replacing the revenues brought in by mineral exports.
Second, a debt bomb is growing Down Under. Australia's total non-financial debt is over 250 per cent of GDP, up around 50 percent since 2010.
Australia's property market looks substantially overvalued. supplied
Household debt is currently over 120 percent of GDP, among the highest proportions in the world. The ratio of household debt to income has nearly quintupled since the 1980s, reaching an all-time high of 194 percent.
Stagnant real incomes have contributed to the problem, as have high home prices and the associated mortgage debt.
Despite record-low interest rates, around 12 percent of income is now devoted to servicing all this debt. That's a third more than in 1989-90, when interest rates neared 20 percent.
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Government net debt borrowing, ostensibly low at around 20 percent of GDP, is higher than it looks. That figure ignores borrowing by state governments, which adds around 10 percent to government debt levels. It also ignores contingent liabilities, such as implicit government guarantees.
Australia's manufacturing industry, once a significant employer and an important part of the economy, has increasingly been hollowed out. Supplied
These relate primarily to Australia's large banking system, which accounts for over 200 percent of GDP. In 2008, the government was forced to guarantee bank deposits and borrowing to ensure liquidity.
In addition, governments implicitly bear a portion of the risk of private-public partnerships used to finance essential infrastructure and services, which can't be allowed to fail.
Public finances are deteriorating, since strong growth in the commodity sector no longer offsets weak domestic conditions. Budget deficits reflect an eroding tax base and an aging population, which is driving up health, aged care and retirement expenditures.
The high debt levels increase the risk of a banking crisis, which could be sparked by rising losses on real estate loans.
The ratio of household debt to income has nearly quintupled since the 1980s, reaching an all-time high of 194 percent. Louie Douvis
Australia's especially vulnerable because of its dependence on foreign capital; foreign net debt tops 50 percent of GDP, much of it borrowed by banks to cover the shortfall between loans and domestic deposits.
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High debt levels also limit the government's policy flexibility. Lower interest rates have proven ineffective in stimulating the economy, as over-indebted consumers are reluctant to spend more. At the same time, easy money has inflated the prices of homes and some financial assets, benefiting the rich and exacerbating inequality.
The central bank has to be wary of normalising rates, given the impact higher rates could have on house prices and on financially stressed borrowers.
Engineering a reduction in the value of the currency could affect the ability of Australia to borrow internationally and reduce demand for Aussie-denominated securities. Devaluation would also potentially increase inflation, putting pressure on interest rates.
Finally, Australia's close political and defense ties to the US, and the widespread view that it is a European Christian nation, complicate its trading relationship to Asia. This is especially true of?hina, which absorbs over 30 percent of Australia's exports.
Australian criticism of regional governments over human rights and capital punishment is seen as interference in domestic affairs.
Asians deride Australia's hypocrisy, pointing to the historical abuse of its indigenous population and recent treatment of asylum seekers. Australia's "Whites Only" immigration policy ended only in the early 1970s. Recent decisions restricting foreign investment smack of latent xenophobia.
All these problems are exacerbated by political uncertainty and policy inertia. Australia has had six prime ministers in eight years.
Support for the major parties has declined, even as a number of populist parties have gained. Ruling governments have needed to govern in complex coalitions. A hostile Senate has limited their capacity to legislate.
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Instead of educating the country about the need for far-reaching reforms, the government seems to be casting about for new slogans -- "clever country," "knowledge economy," "ideas boom."
In fact, if it wants to remain a "Lucky Country," Australia will have to change significantly -- and quickly.
Satyajit Das is a former banker turned consultant and author.
BloombergUber is hiring journalists! (And hopefully this time they won't be digging through trash)
Six months ago Buzzfeed reported that Uber exec Emil Michael had threatened to hire journalists to dig into the personal lives of its critics...
Over dinner, he outlined the notion of spending “a million dollars” to hire four top opposition researchers and four journalists. That team could, he said, help Uber fight back against the press — they’d look into “your personal lives, your families,” and give the media a taste of its own medicine...
At the Waverly Inn dinner, it was suggested that a plan like the one Michael floated could become a problem for Uber.
Michael responded: “Nobody would know it was us.” The news caused some journalistic jokers to point out that -- hey -- at least someone is still hiring journalists!
Indeed. Or at least they were until Buzzfeed's scoop ruined it for everyone.
But don't worry, out-of-work journalists! Today Uber has posted something almost as good: A job advertisement for an "Editorial Director" to "[f]ocus on storytelling that brings the stories of riders, drivers, cities and Uber to life in inspiring, compelling and persuasive ways."
We’re proud of the service we provide to consumers, the opportunity that affords drivers, the impact on cities and the exciting and revolutionary way we go about doing it all. That’s a story we love telling – and we’re looking for an experienced, creative, and dynamic content strategist to join our team and lead the development of owned content to tell the Uber story.
Hustle: Someone who moves quickly and with precision.
Detail: Project manager who is not intimidated by big projects on a large scale.
Competitive candidates will have a minimum of 8-10 years of advertising, editorial or content strategy experience.
The ideal candidate will have:No digging through trash required!The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, the oldest of its kind in the world, is held every five years in the Polish capital Warsaw and is avidly followed by lovers of Chopin, the Franco-Polish composer and pianist who was born in 1810 in Zelazowa Wola near the Polish capital.
Eighty-one pianists from 23 countries are now competing for honours at the competition marking the bicentennial of the composer’s birth.
The competition runs until October 20 and hundreds of performances of Ballades, Nocturnes, Mazurkas and other piano pieces by Chopin are currently available to enjoy through the live competition webcast at konkurs.chopin.pl:
Watch Live Webcast
Schedule
When the broadcast is not live, you can instead listen to the Competition Chronicle mp3:s
Update:
Who qualified for the second stage? Find out here!
The 2nd stage auditions will start on Saturday, the 9th of October and they will end on Wednesday, the 13th of October.
Chopin Express is an official, bilingual newspaper of the 16th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition published by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute with the cooperation of the musical magazine „Gramophone”. The newspaper will be distributed for free during the whole Competition in the streets of Warsaw and in the Warsaw Philharmonic and are also available online as pdf.
Follow along in the scores while you listen:
Chopin piano sheet music to download and print
/nilsjohanKent Scott told Springfield police he picked up a backpack from the floor when a handgun fell out. As he reached to pick it up, it discharged, Springfield police Sgt. Doug Pergram said.
Kimberly Scott was hit in the left buttock, and the bullet was lodged in her right buttock near her hip, he said.
"It was an accidental gunshot wound," Pergram said.
Police and medics were called at 3:23 p.m. to the home in the 600 block of Damascus Avenue. The couple was not arguing, and drugs or alcohol was not involved, he said.
Kimberly Scott was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center and was later flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where she was treated and released, hospital records show.
Kent Scott was processed and released from the Clark County Jail, Pergram said.The Tata Sumo is a mid-size SUV produced by the Indian automobile manufacturer Tata Motors since 1994.
History [ edit ]
The Sumo was launched in 1994 as a ten-seater rear-wheel-drive SUV primarily designed for military use and off-road transport.[1] It saw great sales success, and more than 100,000 Sumo vehicles were sold prior to 1997.[2]
Rear of the Tata Sumo
The Sumo was based on the Telcoline's Tata X2 body-on-frame platform[3] with a redesigned and strengthened rear axle to adapt it to off-road use with part-time all-wheel drive (rear-wheel drive with the option of traction in off-road situations only) with grafting system an electric control up to 60 km/h, self-locking rear differential and manual block front hubs, then eliminated in favor of the fully automatic solution. The front suspension is a double swinging trapezium and torsion bar, while a salisbury type beam rear axles with parabolic leaf springs and antiroll bar has been adopted at the rear. The front brakes are a ventilated disc combined to the rear which is a self-adjusting drum.
In the Indian market the Sumo was sold for the civilian only in the rear-wheel drive version, the four-wheel drive was sold to fleets and for the Indian army. In the export market the 4WD version was regularly sold alongside the 2WD.
Prior to the Sumo, the Indian market had stagnated, where the most modern vehicles in the same class were from Mahindra and Mahindra, primarily derived from the original Willys Jeep models. Upon release, Tata Sumo quickly captured a major segment of the utility automobile market in India.
The Sumo name comes from Sumant Moolgaokar, a former MD of Tata Motors.[4]
The engine was the same as the Telcoline: the 2.0-liter (1,948 cc) four-cylinder diesel Peugeot XD88 naturally aspirated manufactured under license by Tata Motors in India with two valves per cylinder and indirect injection with pre-chamber and 63 horsepower. The gearbox is a G76 5-speed manual.
In 1996 the Sumo range was updated with the new more refined "Deluxe" version. In 1998 Tata introduce for the export market the new turbocharged version of the Peugeot XD88 2,0 litre diesel engine; the new engine is omologated Euro 2 and have a max output of 92 horsepower.
In 2001 the Sumo Deluxe Turbo with 2.0 TDi engine was introduced in India.[5]
Tata Sumo Spacio (2000-2011) [ edit ]
An update version, called Tata Sumo Spacio was launched in 2000.[6] The Sumo Spacio introduce a new 2956 cc direct injection naturally aspirated diesel engine (known as Tata 4SP with 65 horsepower) which was sourced from the light commercial vehicle Tata 407. The major changes in Sumo Spacio were in the powertrain. Riding on a longer wheelbase as compared to earlier version, the Spacio used a different transmission, rear axle and tyres specifically to get better fuel economy. Apart from being a 'No-Frills' version, the prominent visual difference between Sumo Spacio and the old Sumo was the presence of round headlamps instead of the rectangular ones.
A soft top version of the Spacio called the Spacio ST was also introduced for the rural markets.[7] The Spacio ST was also available in 4WD version.
With the introduction of the Sumo Spacio, the previous Sumo remains in production, with higher list prices and 2.0-liter aspirated and turbo engines (since 2001). In fact, Spacio represents a cheaper version of the classic Sumo.
In early 2007 Tata Motors launched Spacio Gold Plus.[8] This version received the 3,0 turbocharged engine of the 4SP family and offered increased power of 70 horsepower (at 3000 rpm) and 223 Nm of torque (at 2200 rpm).
Tata Sumo Victa (2004-2011) [ edit ]
Launched in 2004[9] the Sumo Victa is a facelift version of previous Tata Sumo Spacio. With all new interiors, the vehicle featured a tachometer, multifunctional instrument panel, power steering, power windows on all four doors, key-less entry and hosts of other comfort features.
Sumo Victa Turbo DI
In later part of the 2007, Tata Motors launched the upgraded version called Sumo Victa Turbo DI,[10] the power-train was carried over from the Spacio and the body styling and interiors were carried from Sumo Victa viz the positioning of the spare wheel was changed from the rear tailgate to the underbody of the vehicle. This model comes in 7 and 9 seater variants and is very much popular with private transporters & contract taxi vendors because of its lower cost and good fuel economy.
Tata Sumo Gold (2011-present) [ edit ]
In November 2011 Tata launches the Sumo Gold,[11] it is a facelift of the old Sumo Victa that enriches the standard equipment and introduces the 3.0 CR4 four-cylinder diesel engine called Dicor with common rail and direct injection, 16 valve capable of 85 horsepower and 250 Nm of maximum torque. The old 3.0 turbo diesel with direct injection but without common rail delivering 70 horsepower and 225 Nm of torque rest in production. Inside are introduced new fabrics, new air conditioning controls and new instrumentation in addition to faux briar finish. Mechanically, the braking system is improved and new shock absorbers make the frame less rigid.
The last facelift come in October 2013: Tata Motors update the interior with a new radio CD and MP3, dual zone A/C and new colour and sticker for the body.[12]
Tata Sumo Grande (2008-2016) [ edit ]
Tata launched the Tata Sumo Grande on 10 January 2008 powered with a new 2.2 Dicor common rail diesel engine 120 bhp (89 kW; 122 PS). It is named after the Sumo due to its success. It features completely different body work. It lies below the Tata Safari in Tata's product portfolio.One of Sweden’s biggest newspapers has called for new regulations on motor vehicles in Stockholm after Friday’s massacre involving a terrorist who stole a delivery truck and drove it over the bodies of innocent victims on the city’s busy sidewalks.
While there have been many morbid jokes about the need to “ban assault trucks” as jihadists have chosen vehicular people-slaughter as their favored method for mass murder, Eva Franchell of Aftonbladet has penned an article that brings the meme to life, and highlights the depths to which the socialist-globalist Swedish establishment are willing to force their society in dhimmitude to the Islamic invasion.
“Cars have turned into deadly weapons. They have been easy to steal and then nothing has been able to stop their advance,” she writes in Swedish. “In Nice, Berlin, Jerusalem, London and Stockholm they have been used as effective murder machines for terrorists who wanted to kill many people.”
“If people in the future will be protected, cars must simply removed from the collection sites and city centers.”
“It is not reasonable that a big truck can be driven right into Stockholm’s popular walking street on a Friday afternoon just before Easter,” she continues. “Politicians have been good at protecting themselves, but now they must also ensure citizens’ needs for secure environments.”
Sweden's response to the Stockholm attack: – A pro-divisity hashtag
– Anti-"racism" demos
– Proposal to ban cars
– Free hugs RIP, Sweden. — Shy Society (@Shy_Society) April 10, 2017
Nowhere in her piece does Ms. Franchell discuss Europe’s unfolding open borders disaster and its direct correlation to an escalation in terrorist attacks on European soil – she blames inanimate objects instead.
She also failed to mention the jihad component involved in each of the incidents she cites.
She made no mention of the fact that Friday’s killer was an illegal alien from Uzbekistan with ties to terrorist organizations who had been evading deportation after his application for asylum was rejected last year.
An additional layer of twisted irony can be found in the fact that a heroic security used his own vehicle to prevent Friday’s attack from being far worse – a classic “good guy with a gun stops bad guy with a gun” type of scenario.
“Hundreds of lives were saved by a quick-thinking security van driver who drove his van directly into the path of the rampaging lorry, forcing the terrorist to lose control and crash,” reports the Daily Mail. “He said that his first thought was to protect the Swedish parliament, which was just 500 metres down the road from the scene of the attack.”
https://twitter.com/greeneyes0084/status/850348788195745792
Franchell demands that barriers be erected in Stockholm’s streets and the flow of traffic be more heavily regulated – but when it comes to her nation’s borders, those same policies apparently do not fit her agenda.
“There are stops for unwanted cars that can also be folded down for any significant transport… the technology is there,” Franchell says. “The cars have dominated our cities for decades, now it is the people who need space.”
“Now it is cars that must be regulated.”
Aftonbladet took great pleasure in roundly mocking President Trump after he expressed his concern with the escalation of violence and crime in Sweden due to the massive influx of illegal aliens and asylum seekers.
In response to Friday’s bloody terrorist attack, more than 20,000 Swedes threw a “Lovefest” and the future is bright and safe again.
Dan Lyman: Facebook | TwitterThe Keikyu Corporation announced that their Grand Pacific Le Daiba hotel in Odaiba, Tokyo will begin offering a Gundam-themed room for customers to stay in beginning June 29. The room is being offered in collaboration with the Gundam Front Tokyo entertainment complex located near the newly rebuilt 1/1 Gundam statue.
The "Room-G Special Type" suite features an Earth Federation-themed living room and and Zeon-themed bedroom, totaling 84 square meters (about 900 square feet) of space. The room will feature Gundam art on its walls, as well as Gundam-themed chairs, room keys, towels, and more. Visitors staying in the room will also be able to order from a special Gundam-themed room service menu. While the room and hotel are located near the 1/1 Gundam statue, it will not be viewable from the room.
The room will cost 26,000 yen (about US$330) a person if it is reserved for two, and 25,000 yen (about US$317) a person if it is reserved for three. Up to three individuals may stay in the room at one time, and only one-night stays in the room can be booked.
The hotel is also offering a "Room-G Standard Type" room plan, where parts of a standard 42-square-meter (about 450 square feet) room are arranged to be Gundam themed. The Standard Type room will cost 13,500 yen (about US$171) per person per night when reserved for two, and 12,500 yen (about US$158) per person per night when reserved for three.
Each room will also come with tickets for the Gundam Front complex. Reservations for the rooms will open June 11.
Source: Sponichi, Gundam.infoSuch as move would also stymie attempts by each of the television networks to gain a slice of the digital rights, having seen the success Seven West Media had broadcasting matches at this year's Australian Open tennis across multiple platforms.
The networks believe having digital and broadcast rights would also allow them to better sell advertising packages across multiple platforms and are keen to explore gaining some digital rights as part of their bids. In particular, they have seen Cricket Australia and Nine Entertainment Co's digital joint venture as a successful example of how a sport and network can work in concert in commercial and digital terms.
Online subscribers
Telstra now keeps the revenue from the tens of thousands of online subscribers who pay for AFL and NRL games delivered via apps and shares advertising on each league's websites.
It has experienced big growth in NRL and AFL streaming this year. In the current 2015 season 45 million minutes of AFL and NRL action has been viewed via Telstra mobile devices, 25 million of which has been rugby league.
In a new rights deal it could extend exclusive in-stadium offerings to customers to include newly-developed apps containing statistical and game data delivered via Wi-Fi, and insist only Telstra customers can access matches online.
Point of difference
It could funnel club or league-generated content from their websites to its video-streaming customers, which would be a point of difference in the increasingly crowded subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) market that is for now dominated by US giant Netflix.
However, AFL and NRL clubs have expressed concern about the control Telstra has over club websites and the media units of both leagues have at times had problems not having full control over their digital rights. Those concerns would be ignored should Telstra write a large enough cheque for new rights.
A Telstra spokesman would not comment on ongoing negotiations but said the company wanted to be "the leading aggregator of premium experiences and content for our customers. We are committed to giving our customers access to exclusive digital content and connected experiences over multiple devices. Our partnerships with the AFL and NRL do just this, giving fans of the codes great experiences and value."Britain, America and Israel are likeminded. They’re rogue states. They’re axis of evil partners.
They operate ruthlessly. They mock democratic values. They trash rule of law principles. They tolerate no one challenging their lawlessness.
They vilify them. They imprison some. They do so to threaten others. Most often they harass. They do it no-holds-barred.
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) calls itself “the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.”
Jesselyn Radack is a prominent human rights lawyer/whistleblower. She’s GAP’s National Security & Human Rights director.
She’s involved mainly with national security and intelligence community whistleblowers. She focuses on torture, lawless surveillance, secrecy and political discrimination.
She represented former senior NSA official Thomas Drake. He won awards for truth-telling and intelligence integrity.
On April 15, 2010, he was wrongfully indicted. Obama prosecutors did so under the 1917 Espionage Act.
He faced multiple charges. They included willful retention of classified information, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
He leaked information on lawless NSA spying. He exposed agency waste, fraud and abuse.
He performed a vital public service. He deserved praise, not prosecution. In May 2011, 60 Minutes featured his case. He was lucky.
In early June, Obama’s Justice Department dropped all charges. They did so in return for his pleading guilty to a misdemeanor too minor to matter.
He got one year probation. He agreed to perform community service. Federal Judge Richard D. Bennett presided at his sentencing hearing.
He chastised government prosecutors. He called it “unconscionable” charging Drake with crimes potentially calling for 35 years in prison only to drop them on the eve of trial.
He refused to impose a fine. Drake’s defense devastated him financially. He lost his six-figure NSA job and pension.
Perhaps he inspired Edward Snowden’s revelations. He’s an activist against lawless surveillance state practices.
Last September, he called NSA spying too systemically out-of-control to fix. The only solution is shutting it down and starting over.
He should have included everything ongoing politically. It’s unprincipled. It’s lawless. It’s corrupted. It’s too broken to fix.
The only solution is turning a page. It’s making a clean sweep. It’s cleaning house. It’s starting over. Nothing else can work.
Radack is on the frontline for justice. She’s a Yale Law School grad. She’s a former Justice Department ethics advisor. She practiced constitutional tort law.
She gained prominence from John Walker Lindh’s case. He was captured in Afghanistan. He was persecuted unjustly. He was outrageously called the “American Taliban.”
He was brutally tortured and abused. He was falsely accused of treason. He was victimized by post-9/11 hysteria. His case was the first prominent terrorism-related one. He was Bush “Detainee 001.”
His trial was a travesty of justice. He was guilty by accusation. In 2002, he got 20 years without the possibility of parole.
With good behavior, it could be three less. It depends entirely on the political climate at the time.
America’s fast track toward full-blown tyranny isn’t encouraging. Lindh and many other political prisoners may stay buried in prison hell interminably.
Obama can detain anyone on his say alone. He can hold them indefinitely with or without charges.
Innocence is no defense. Police states operate this way. America is by far the worst.
Lindh, Bradley (Chelsea) Manning and many others like them bear testimony to US ruthlessness. It’s worse than ever now. It shows no signs of improving.
Radack chronicled her whistleblowing connection to Lindh in her memoir titled “TRAITOR: The Whistleblower and the ‘American Taliban.’ “
She exposed Bush administration wrongdoing in his case. He was horrendously treated. He was brutally interrogated without legal counsel.
Justice Department officials suppressed important information. Attorney General John Ashcroft made false and misleading public statements.
Whistleblowing got Radack targeted. She was harassed. She experienced it at DOJ and subsequent private employment.
She was put on a No-Fly “Selectee” list. She remained on from 2003 through 2009. She endured unjustifiable/harassing security scrutiny.
She uses lessons drawn from her ordeal to help others. Lindh’s mistreatment was a “harbinger” for what followed, she explained.
It included institutionalizing torture as official policy. Radack was the first post-9/11 whistleblower raising alarms. She exposed outrageous Bush administration wrongdoing.
“I am the Department of Justice attorney who blew the whistle on the government misconduct in the case of John Walker Lindh, the ‘American Taliban.”
She said so in Chapter 1 of her book. She’s a leading whistleblower champion. “I don’t wear the label ‘whistleblower’ comfortably,” she said.
“Why should I get some special moniker for doing what I would have done anyway,” she asked? Others like her call it “doing their jobs.”
It’s as simple as knowing right from wrong. It’s how civil servants should behave. Just societies demand no less.
Whistleblowers should be honored. They deserve praise, not retaliatory targeting. Happy outcomes aren’t typical, said Radack.
“(F)or every success story” like Daniel Ellsberg, “there are a hundred stories of professional martyrdom,” she explained.
“Mine is one of them,” she added. She represents Edward Snowden. She’s in the line of fire.
She was detained at London’s Heathrow Airport. She was interrogated about trips to Russia, Julian Assange, Bradley (Chelsea) Manning and Snowden.
She was asked why she went to Russia twice in three months. She spoke to Firedoglake’s Kevin Gosztola.
A Border Force agent harassed her. She faced “very hostile questioning.” She was asked why she was there. “To see friends,” she said.
She was asked to identify them. They’re members of a group called Sam Adams Associates. They’re former CIA officers.
They’re intelligence professionals for integrity. Annually they present the Sam Adams Award. It’s named after Samuel A. Adams. He was a Vietnam War era CIA whistleblower.
Past recipients include Coleen Rowley, Katherine Gun, Sibel Edmonds, Craig Murray, Samuel Provance, Andrew Wilkie, Frank Grevil, Larry Wilkerson, Julian Assange, Thomas Drake, Thomas Fingar, Edward Snowden, Bradley (Chelsea) Manning and Radack.
She was asked where she planned to meet friends she came to see. “At the Ecuadorian Embassy,” she said.
It’s where Julian Assange remains a political refugee. Ecuador granted him asylum. He faces lawless extradition to America.
Obama wants him prosecuted. He wants him imprisoned longterm like Manning. He wants another message sent potential whistleblowers.
He wants them warned about being declared enemies of the state. He wants them told they’d receive harsh treatment.
Throughout his tenure, he waged war on freedom. Truth-telling and dissent increasingly aren’t tolerated.
Whistleblowers are called threats to national security. Obama targeted more of them than all his predecessors combined.
Candidate Obama promised transparency, accountability and “change (to) believe in.” President Obama delivered business as usual and then some.
Police state lawlessness defines his administration. So does waging war on humanity worldwide. He’s gone all-out to defend the indefensible.
Americans have never been less safe. Doing the right thing is risky. Anyone trying becomes vulnerable.
Radack knows what whistleblowers face. She was “stone face cold” during Heathrow Airport interrogation.
She was asked if she represents Snowden. “Yes, “I’m a human rights lawyer,” she said.
Her interrogator “barked” questions. His demeanor was “threatening.” Radack was told she’s on an “inhibited persons list.” It’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminology.
A DHS document states:
” ‘Inhibited status’, as defined in this rule, means the status of a passenger or non-traveling individual to whom TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has instructed a covered aircraft operator or a covered airport operator not to issue a boarding pass or to provide access to the sterile area.”
Radack later responded to her mistreatment, saying “(t)he government, whether in the US, UK, or elsewhere does not have the authority to monitor, harass or intimidate lawyers for representing unpopular clients.”
It’s standard American practice. It warns attorneys about steering clear of defendants Washington wants convicted. Otherwise they’re vulnerable.
Pastor Martin Niemoller recounted how Nazis came for communists, socialists, trade unionists, and Jews.
Each time, he didn’t speak out. He wasn’t among those targeted. “Then they came for me,” he said. “(T)here was no one left to speak” on his behalf.
Now they’re coming after lawyers. They’re doing it in America. Representing unpopular clients leaves them vulnerable.
Imagine targeting anyone for doing the right thing. Imagine spying on them lawlessly. Imagine ruthlessly harassing them.
Imagine violating attorney/client confidentiality. Imagine rule of law principles no longer applying. Imagine defending the indefensible.
Radack quoted former White House speechwriter Jerome Doolittle on Bush administration DOJ officials targeting her, saying:
“There is something primordial about Team Bush’s reaction to dissent, something reptilian.”
“They’re like the gila monster, its jaws holding their poisonous grip even after its head is severed.”
Radack added:
“If the Bush administration was primordial, the Obama administration is downright pathological…”
She felt obligated to tell her story. She felt a “moral imperative” to do so. She had many “pent-up things to say.”
If white, well-educated, “comfortably middle-class” US lawyers can lose freedom, what chance have people of color, Muslims, immigrants, or others most disadvantaged.
Howard Zinn said “you can’t be neutral on a moving train…You cannot be neutral on the crucial issues of our time.”
Doing so means accepting the unacceptable. Late in life he said:
“Wherever any kind of injustice has been overturned, it’s been because people acted as citizens, and not as politicians. They didn’t just moan.”
“They worked, they acted, they organized, they rioted if necessary to bring their situation to the attention of people in power. And that’s what we have to do today.”
“(T)he emperor has no clothes,” said Radack. “(E)xpos(ing) the nakedness of government policies should be applauded, not annihilated.”
On 9/11, her “life-altering” journey began. “The years immediately following” what happened “were the most difficult of (her) life…”
At the same time, she deepened her commitment for human and civil rights. She promised to use her “voice to try to prevent” anyone with something important to say from being silenced.
Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Let it shine! Let it shine! Let it radiate where most needed.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]
His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hourTesla
General Motors is concerned enough about Tesla's competitive threat that it has formed a committee to study the budding electric-car upstart.
GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson has created a small team to study Tesla, according to a Bloomberg report.
Akerson "thinks Tesla could be a big disrupter if we're not careful," a GM executive is quoted as saying.
This could be seen as highly ironic in light of the fact that General Motors practically invented the modern electric car -- its ill-fated EV1, which was the subject of the popular documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
"This is the same GM that once nurtured, and then killed, a $1 billion program to develop an electric car called the EV1," wrote Forbes contributor Micheline Maynard.
GM, of course, has the Volt -- a plug-in hybrid (GM refers to it as an extended-range electric vehicle or E-REV) with a range of about 40 miles on electric power and another 300 to 400 miles on the range-extender gas engine. And the Cadillac ELR -- essentially a luxury version of the Volt -- is coming in 2014.
Then there's the Chevy Spark Electric, which is just beginning to arrive at dealers. This is GM's first all-electric since the EV-1 and has a range of about 80 miles.
The Tesla Model S, of course, is a pure electric car: its highest capacity battery pack delivers a range of 300 miles.
Tesla topped the Volt in sales in the first quarter of the year, for the first time, edging out GM by about 300 vehicles.
"GM can probably save the team's time and money, because Tesla is a competitive threat," wrote Maynard.The shooting death of soldier Corporal Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial in Ottawa sent shockwaves throughout Canada and much of the western world. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Parliament that "Canada will never be intimidated." He shook hands with opposition leaders, all unified in the condemnation of the sadistic killing, along with the attack in Saint-Jean Richelieu, Quebec, that led to the death of warrant officer Patrice Vincent. While emphasizing the need for tighter security, the national reaction was that Canada will not live in fear and the people would move forward all the more wiser.
Through e-mail, Vavel asked the Ottawa Fury keeper coach Bruce Grobbelaar his response to the horrific events. Grobbelaar as the winner of three League Cups and the 1983-84 European Cup for Liverpool FC is no stranger to tragedy having been present to the bloodbath at Heysel in 1985, and the disaster at Hillsborough in 1989.
Grobbelaar stated that "the tragedy is that is that Cpl Cirillo was guarding our National War Monument in his own time because he was passionate about his country" and that "radicals are everywhere in the world and it is so sad that it happened here in the capital".
In the city's reaction to the murder Grobbelaar replied "Ottawa united together shows the rest of the world what Canada stands for in sports, politics and community. I am blessed that I live in one of the best countries in the world, if not the best."
It is a fact that no cowardly act can stop the people of Ottawa from carrying on with their lives, and of course enjoying a soccer match.
With all fairness, the Ottawa Fury's final home match on Sunday against expansion rival Indy Eleven was of little consequence in the standings. Like most new teams, the clubs struggled as they developed their chemistry. However, with the recent events |
what Odaenathus left her a "glittering show of strength". In the view of Watson, Zenobia should not be seen as a total powermonger, nor as a selfless hero fighting for a cause; according to historian David Graf, "She took seriously the titles and responsibilities she assumed for her son and that her program was far more ecumenical and imaginative than that of her husband Odenathus, not just more ambitious".
Zenobia has inspired scholars, academics, musicians and actors; her fame has lingered in the West, and is supreme in the Middle East. As a heroic queen with a tragic end, she stands alongside Cleopatra and Boudica. The queen's legend turned her into an idol, that can be reinterpreted to accommodate the needs of writers and historians; thus, Zenobia has been by turns a freedom fighter, a hero of the oppressed and a national symbol. The queen is a female role model; according to historian Michael Rostovtzeff, Catherine the Great liked to compare herself to Zenobia as a woman who created military might and an intellectual court. During the 1930s, thanks to an Egyptian-based feminist press, Zenobia became an icon for women's-magazine readers in the Arabic-speaking world as a strong, nationalistic female leader.
Zenobia on a 1998 ₤S 500 banknote
Her most lasting legacy is in Syria, where the queen is a national symbol. Zenobia became an icon for Syrian nationalists; she had a cult following among Western-educated Syrians, and an 1871 novel by journalist Salim al-Bustani was entitled Zenobia malikat Tadmor (Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra). Syrian nationalist Ilyas Matar, who wrote Syria's first history in Arabic in 1874, (al-'Uqud al-durriyya fi tarikh al-mamlaka al-Suriyya; The Pearl Necklace in the History of the Syrian Kingdom), was fascinated by Zenobia and included her in his book. To Matar, the queen kindled hope for a new Zenobia who would restore Syria's former grandeur. Another history of Syria was written by Jurji Yanni in 1881, in which Yanni called Zenobia a "daughter of the fatherland", and yearned for her "glorious past". Yanni described Aurelian as a tyrant who deprived Syria of its happiness and independence by capturing its queen.
In modern Syria, Zenobia is regarded as a hero; her image appeared on banknotes, and in 1997 she was the subject of the television series Al-Ababeed (The Anarchy). The series was watched by millions in the Arabic-speaking world. It examined the Israeli–Palestinian conflict from a Syrian perspective, where the queen's struggle symbolized the Palestinians' struggle to gain the right of self-determination. Zenobia was also the subject of a biography by Mustafa Tlass, Syria's former minister of defense and one of the country's most prominent figures.
Myth, romanticism and popular culture [ edit ]
Harold Mattingly called Zenobia "one of the most romantic figures in history". According to Southern, "The real Zenobia is elusive, perhaps ultimately unattainable, and novelists, playwrights and historians alike can absorb the available evidence, but still need to indulge in varied degrees of speculation."
She has been the subject of romantic and ideologically-driven biographies by ancient and modern writers. The Augustan History is the clearest example of an ideological account of Zenobia's life, and its author acknowledged that it was written to criticize the emperor Gallienus. According to the Augustan History, Gallienus was weak because he allowed a woman to rule part of the empire and Zenobia was an abler sovereign than the emperor. The narrative changed as the Augustan History moved on to the life of Claudius Gothicus, a lauded and victorious emperor, with the author characterizing Zenobia's protection of the eastern frontier as a wise delegation of power by Claudius. When the Augustan History reached the biography of Aurelian, the author's view of Zenobia changed dramatically; the queen is depicted as a guilty, insolent, proud coward. Her wisdom was discredited and her actions deemed the result of manipulation by advisers.
Zenobia's "staunch" beauty was emphasized by the author of the Augustan History, who ascribed to her feminine timidity and inconsistency (the reasons for her alleged betrayal of her advisers to save herself). The queen's gender posed a dilemma for the Augustan History, since it cast a shadow on Aurelian's victory. Its author ascribed many masculine traits to Zenobia to make Aurelian a conquering hero who suppressed a dangerous Amazon queen. According to the Augustan History, Zenobia had a clear, manly voice, dressed as an emperor (rather than an empress), rode horseback, was attended by eunuchs instead of ladies-in-waiting, marched with her army, drank with her generals, was careful with money (contrary to the stereotypical spending habits of her gender) and pursued masculine hobbies such as hunting. Giovanni Boccaccio wrote a fanciful 14th-century account of the queen in which she is a tomboy in childhood who preferred wrestling with boys, wandering in the forests and killing goats to playing like a young girl. Zenobia's chastity was a theme of these romanticized accounts; according to the Augustan History, she disdained sexual intercourse and allowed Odaenathus into her bed only for conception. Her reputed chastity impressed some male historians; Edward Gibbon wrote that Zenobia surpassed Cleopatra in chastity and valor. According to Boccaccio, Zenobia safeguarded her virginity when she wrestled with boys as a child.
Seventeenth-century visitors to Palmyra rekindled the Western world's romantic interest in Zenobia. This interest peaked during the mid-nineteenth century, when Lady Hester Stanhope visited Palmyra and wrote that its people treated her like the queen; she was reportedly greeted with singing and dancing, and Bedouin warriors stood on the city's columns. A procession ended with a mock coronation of Stanhope under the arch of Palmyra as "queen of the desert". William Ware, fascinated by Zenobia, wrote a fanciful account of her life. Novelists and playwrights, such as Haley Elizabeth Garwood and Nick Dear, also wrote about the queen.
Selected cultural depictions [ edit ]
Harriet Hosmer's Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra (1857) Queen Zenobia's Last Look upon Palmyra by by Herbert Gustave Schmalz (1888)
Sculptures:
Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra (1857) by Harriet Hosmer, exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago.
(1857) by Harriet Hosmer, exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago. Zenobia in Chains (1859) by Harriet Hosmer, exhibited at the Huntington Library.
Literature:
Paintings:
Queen Zenobia Addressing her Soldiers by Giambattista Tiepolo; it dates to the early eighteenth century but the exact year is not known. This painting (part of a series of tableaux of Zenobia) was painted by Tiepolo on the walls of the Zenobio family palace in Venice, although they were unrelated to the queen.
by Giambattista Tiepolo; it dates to the early eighteenth century but the exact year is not known. This painting (part of a series of tableaux of Zenobia) was painted by Tiepolo on the walls of the Zenobio family palace in Venice, although they were unrelated to the queen. Queen Zenobia's Last Look upon Palmyra (1888) by Herbert Gustave Schmalz.
Operas:
Notes [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Citations [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]On Wednesday, RT news network reported that Facebook had blocked the option of posting anything but plain text on their page.
Soon after RT had launched the Facebook live feed from the outgoing US President Obama's final press conference, the editors noticed that they could no longer post anything but text on their page.
The timing and duration of the ban mean that RT won't be able to broadcast President-elect Trump's inauguration live on their Facebook page.
@RT_com is still blocked from posting anything but text to #Facebook.
Thank You for all your supporthttps://t.co/pA30jROFS0 pic.twitter.com/zs9ueZ1SN5 — RT (@RT_com) January 19, 2017
Explaining the possible reason for the ban, RT wrote that Facebook erroneously assessed the live feed to be a copyright infringement.
The RT television network encompasses three 24/7 news channels broadcasting from Moscow in English, Arabic and Spanish in more than 100 countries around the globe. The network also comprises RT America and RT UK channels broadcasting from studios in Washington and London.
Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!ATLANTA (Reuters) - The Atlanta Braves will leave Turner Field, their downtown home that is not yet two decades old, for a new $672 million county stadium partially funded by taxpayers, the team said in a surprise announcement on Monday.
The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies teams watches a flyover during their opening day ceremonies prior to their MLB National League baseball game at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Tami Chappell
The new ballpark, which the Major League Baseball team wants to be ready for its spring 2017 opening day, will be located 12 miles north of Turner Field, built for the 1996 Olympic games and renovated for the Braves by the following season.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said the city was unwilling to put up the hundreds of millions in tax dollars needed to keep the Braves downtown.
“It is my understanding that our neighbor, Cobb County, made a strong offer of $450 million in public support to the Braves, and we are simply unwilling to match that with taxpayer dollars,” he said in a statement.
Turner Field, named for media mogul and former team owner Ted Turner, needs $150 million in renovations, including new seats and upgraded lighting, the Braves said.
It also lacks adequate parking and the team has no control over development around it, according to the Braves.
The new stadium will be near the intersection of two major interstates in Cobb County.
“We believe the new stadium location is easy to access, while also giving our fans a first-rate gameday experience in and around the ballpark and making it a 365-day-a-year destination,” said Atlanta Braves President John Schuerholz.
The site also will include land for retail, restaurants and hotels, the team said.
The Braves said the county will invest in the stadium but did not say how much taxpayers would shoulder. The exact source of Cobb County’s public funding has not yet been finalized, said county spokesman Robert Quigley.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said the league was kept apprised of the Braves’ plans and supported the move.
The Braves said they would not renew its lease with the city of Atlanta and Fulton County Recreation Authority when it expires at the end of 2016.
Reed said the city would work during the next three years with prospective partners to redevelop the Turner Field area.Strong headwinds of unpopularity continue to hobble leading Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz with the public at-large, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
By contrast, most Republicans see Trump and Cruz in a favorable light - 56 and 58 percent, respectively - while John Kasich is less popular among fellow partisans (47 percent) despite receiving the best ratings among the broader electorate.
[Read full poll results, breakdowns by group and methodology]
The poll finds Trump suffering little damage from recent controversies over punishments for women who have abortions and the arrest of his campaign manager, though the real-estate mogul’s ratings are still in the doldrums.
Thirty-one percent of Americans have a favorable view of Trump while 67 percent are unfavorable -- nearly identical to an early March Post-ABC poll which found he would be the most disliked major-party nominee since at least 1984. Over half the public (53 percent) continues to see Trump in a “strongly unfavorable” light, ticking down from 56 percent last month.
Cruz fares better with 36 percent favorable and 53 percent unfavorable among the public at-large; his strongly unfavorable mark is 20 percentage-points below Trump’s level (33 percent for Cruz vs. 53 percent for Trump). Kasich receives an even split on this basic measure of popularity -- 39 favorable and 39 percent unfavorable, while over one-fifth report no opinion of him (22 percent).
Trump and Cruz are both less popular than Mitt Romney at this point in the 2012 campaign, a year in which the eventual Republican nominee was haunted by weak personal ratings. In mid-April 2012, 40 percent had a favorable view of Romney while 48 percent were unfavorable. Romney trailed President Obama on this measure, one factor in Obama’s re-election despite his own mediocre job ratings.
The results portend a general election where both parties’ presidential nominees are disliked by most Americans. While the latest poll did not ask about Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, a March Post-ABC poll found 46 percent rated her favorably while 52 percent saw her unfavorably. “Strongly” unfavorable ratings of the former secretary of state outnumbered strongly positive views by a 17-point margin (41 to 24 percent).
Republicans also face a challenge unifying their party around an acceptable candidate at July’s convention, with the Post-ABC poll finding Cruz boosters have mixed views of Trump and vice versa.
Among Republicans who rate Cruz favorably, 46 percent have a favorable view of Trump while 52 percent see him unfavorably. Trump supporters are similarly mixed on Cruz, with 48 percent seeing him positively and 51 percent negatively. Nearly 3 in 10 Republicans only have a favorable impression of Trump, disliking both Cruz and Kasich.
The poll finds a persistent significant gender gap in Republicans’ views of Trump, with 64 percent of Republican men rating him positively compared with 47 percent of GOP women. The gap is slightly smaller than in March, though it contrasts with Cruz and Kasich who receive similar ratings among both Republican men and women.
Trump’s exceptionally high negative ratings are driven by negative impressions from across the political spectrum, but pose different levels of danger to him in a general election setting. For instance, his 87 percent unfavorable rating among self-identified Democrats is not very worrisome for his candidacy, as Republican presidential nominees rarely win much support among Democratic voters in general elections.
Yet Trump also continues to receive strongly negative ratings among several key voting blocs that are at least partly up for grabs this year. Two-thirds of political independents have an unfavorable view of Trump, as do 74 percent of Americans under age 40; 75 percent of women, and 81 percent of Hispanics. Majorities in each group see Trump in a “strongly unfavorable” light, exceeding intense negative ratings of Cruz or Kasich by at least 20 points.
Should those ratings fail to improve, Trump’s potential path to victory rides on a surge in support and turnout among whites, particularly those without college degrees. Yet Trump’s image among both groups is underwater. Whites see him negatively by a 59 to 39 percent margin, while non-college whites tilt negative by a narrower 52 to 45 percent.
The Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted April 6-10 among a random national sample of 1,010 adults, including users of both conventional and cellular phones. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. See here for a full description of poll methodology.Nat Borchers, also known as 'The Beard', is one of the most tenured defenders in Major League Soccer. Today, Borchers is known as one of the toughest veteran center backs in the league and for good reason. As one of the most newsworthy pickups of the offseason for the Portland Timbers, we will take a look at how he is doing with his new club.
'The Beard' entered the MLS in 2003 with the Colorado Rapids with a respectable season playing the majority of the games In his rookie year.
Borchers left MLS in 2007-2008 for a short stint with Norwegian club Odds Ballklubb before returning to his native country to play for Real Salt Lake in 2009, staying with the side until 2014. This would begin one of the longest stints for a defender in MLS and in the end put him in third for most appearances for the Utah-based club.
In 2014 Real Salt Lake traded Borchers to the Timbers for allocation money in a move Borchers heavily played a role in deciding. Since then Timber fans have fully embraced 'The Beard' and his gritty defensive leadership.
The question is now a third of the way through the season how has he been stacking up at his new club? Many may be surprised to find out that if he continues to contribute at his current rate and consistency this could be the best season of Borchers career yet.
Borchers has played 299 games since his rookie season in MLS, and started all but one of those games. That game was his rookie season. Since then Borchers has played an average of 28.8 games a year with his shortest two seasons being his rookie season in 2003 of 23 games, and his 2012 season of 28 games. Wherever Borchers has been over the years he has been relied upon to be a rock in the center of his team's defense.
This season for Portland 'The Beard' has started every single game and played every single minute possible.
Borchers is a part of a pair that is the core of the Timber defense with English football veteran Liam Ridgewell. Together they have been a powerhouse on the backline in MLS.
When it comes to becoming a part of the attack this year, Borchers is on track to have his best season ever. Currently a third of the way through the MLS regular season, Borchers has already accrued two goals. Borchers current best goal scoring season was in 2011 with three goals. Borchers has twenty-three more games this season in which to score two more.
On the defensive end Portland as a whole has not been at its worst, currently they sit in the middle of the table in goals conceeded. There have been issues defensively, but the backline has been signifigantly vitalized with Borchers' entry into the team this year along with Norwegian-Ghanian keeper Adam Kwarasey.
In adition to Borchers and the back line as whole avoiding goals, he has some other interesting stats.
Borcher's weakest area defensively is aggressively tackling which has been historically low for a while at.8 tackles per game.
On the other hand, his interceptions and clearances have been historically high. His interceptions per game are sitting at a nice 1.6 per game which is nearly double of his partner in crime, Liam Ridgewell. Borcher's clearances also sit a respectable 5.5 per game this season which is quite close to Ridgewells who sits at 6.1 per game.
In review of the first third of Nat Borcher's first season with Portland, most would agree he has been a worthy pick up. Borchers has been the rock in the defense Portland needed to maintain cohesion and structure when times get tough.
Lets hope at the end of this season he lives up to the stats hes setting himself up for now.
Stats: MLS.com, whoscored.comThe XBox One X, IMO, is a great console for the avid XBox fan. I have been using the console since it launched, so I have a few months with it now. First what we know. It is the most powerful console at this time. It can play games in Native 4k with HDR, where compliant, but even those games that are not XBox One X enhanced will look better and have shorter load times, on the whole. Honestly, there are so many variables involved when it comes to 4k, 60 fps and HDR, that it goes beyond my understanding. I researched 4k and HDR standards a couple of years ago when I was looking to upgrade my TV. There was so much on the topic and yet, I never truly felt like I understood everything that made it all come together. I can quote some numbers I read about, but honestly it would be hollow rumbling and spewing of garbage since I am by no means an expert on the topic. What I can tell you is that my experience will almost certainly not be exactly the same as someone else. However, it might be similar. I have an LG OLED65B6P with an LG 300w Soundbar and 10" woofer. Even if you have the same exact setup, anything I write about my experience, with my TV, might not apply to you. I often leave my TV in game mode for most normal TV watching and of course gaming. I recommend the gaming setting if your TV has one. What I can tell you is, with this XBox, and my setup, I have noticed a significant improvement in my gaming experience. Games load so much faster on the One X Scorpio than my Day One Edition. The most dramatic improvement I noticed was in the load times for Battlefront. On my Day One Edition it would take an average 5-8 minutes to load a map and get to gaming. On the Scoripio, it takes maybe a minute and a half, at the most. Likely bandwidth issues on my end contribute to this, but it is still so much faster on the One X and looks better overall. Most of the time I can select the A button to load the next map while stats are still tallying from the previous game. I am normally one of the first on the Map and waiting for the game to start and my teammates to join. It might not matter that much, but I was impressed. Other games like Shadow of War, Assassin's Creed, and Forza, play so much better and load so much faster on my One X. Those games are enhanced from the developers already, so it only makes sense they would be better than on my Day One Edition. Older games look better too. Halo Reach, Halo 4 and Halo 5 definitely look and play better on the One X. Colors look better. Frame rates are more stable, and load times are less than on my Day One Edition. I can't attest to whether I am gaming at or near 60 FPS. I have no means to measure this myself, but the look and feel of games is improved overall. Lastly, this thing can play 4k Blu Rays. I only have two 4k blu ray DVDs, but they look and sound awesome. Now for the negatives. First the cost. At $500.00 it is expensive, and I honestly can't say it would be that much of an improvement over something like an XBox One S, to justify the cost. I don't have a One S, but I had not bought an XBox since 2013 and I wanted something that could play on my 4k TV. I also had $200 in gift cards, so my Scorpio only cost me $300.00 and some change after taxes. Second, the memory. Sure you can plug in a portable drive, but that sucks. I have two 500 GB Drives and one 1TB drive, and it is a pain to figure out which one has the title I want to play. I likely just need a better labeling system on the drives, and this could be a moot point. Still, why in the world would you have a 4k capable console, with as much memory as the enhanced games take up, and not include a 2-5 TB drive option. I think games like Forza7 and Halo 5 take up around 40-80 GB with the enhancements. Another issue I have is with loading the games to the console. I get it, this prevents the disk from constantly spinning and leads to shorter load times and can help to prevent heat issues, etc. But it is still annoying. It just sucks having to wait for an hour to play a game you are eager to get into. That being said, downloads are faster on the One X. Third, no input for the Kinect! I didn't own a One S but this issue persisted there as well, because Microsoft did not include the input for the Kinect. This is inexcusable and I joined a bevy of fans that are sending formal complaints to Microsoft. Those complaints have fallen on deaf ears though as Microsoft discontinued support for the Kinect and adabpter just recently. I was super annoyed that I could not hook up my Kinect. Yes, I know I can buy the adapter from a third party and it will be fine, but in light of Microsoft's move to stop making the adapters, markups on these adapters are soaring. This is complete and utter BS and I am disappointment in Microsoft over this. Now that I am done whining like a baby, I can say not using the Kinect hasn't really been that big of a deal for me and it hasn't affected my gaming. It was cool being able to turn the thing off and on with the Kinect, but honestly the controller is probably quicker when navigating the XBox. If you have titles that require a Kinect though, I feel bad for you. As a result of the issue with the Kinect on the One X, I only give it 4 stars. To sum up, I am extremely pleased with my One X Scorpio Edition. It plays games better and faster, as advertised. It is sleek, small and whisper quiet. I do wish the Scorpio was a little more distinguishable from the average One X. Other than the pattern on the console, the Scorpio tags on the controller and console, and the stand, these limited editions don't bring much to the table, except bragging rights. Despite this I highly recommend the One X, however, it may not be for you if you do not have a 4k TV, or if you already own a One S.
Read moreThe Indian Grand Prix will go ahead as scheduled this weekend after a hearing into alleged tax irregularities was delayed until next week.
Campaigner Amit Kumar had accused race promoters of not paying entertainment taxes for the 2012 event and demanded the cancellation of Sunday's race.
But a court official said: "The case will now be heard next week."
The Indian Grand Prix has been dropped from next year's calendar but promoters are optimistic of a return in 2015.
Media playback is not supported on this device Indian GP: Vettel quickest in first practice
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who leads Ferrari rival Fernando Alonso by 90 points with 100 still available, is expected to clinch his fourth world crown this Sunday.
The German, who has led every racing lap at the Indian Grand Prix since its debut in 2011, will claim the title if he ends up fifth or higher, regardless of where Alonso finishes.
The long-term future of the Indian Grand Prix is uncertain after F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone removed the race from the 2014 calendar.
Organisers are trying to find a new date for its return in 2015, with Ecclestone keen for the race to take place in the early part of the season, rather than its current October date.Where we split from sharks: Common ancestor comes into focus
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The common ancestor of all jawed vertebrates on Earth resembled a shark, according to a new analysis of the braincase of a 290-million-year-old fossil fish that has long puzzled paleontologists. New research on Acanthodes bronni, a fish from the Paleozoic era, sheds light on the evolution of the earliest jawed vertebrates and offers a new glimpse of the last common ancestor before the split between the earliest sharks and the first bony fishes -- the lineage that would eventually include human beings.
"Unexpectedly, Acanthodes turns out to be the best view we have of conditions in the last common ancestor of bony fishes and sharks," said Michael Coates, PhD, professor of organismal biology and anatomy at the University of Chicago and senior author of the study published in Nature. "Our work is telling us that the earliest bony fishes looked pretty much like sharks, and not vice versa. What we might think of as shark space is, in fact, general modern jawed vertebrate space."
The group gnathostomes, meaning "jaw-mouths," includes tens of thousands of living vertebrate species, ranging from fish and sharks to birds, reptiles, mammals and humans. Cartilaginous fish, which today include sharks, rays, and ratfish, diverged from the bony fishes more than 420 million years ago. But little is known about what the last common ancestor of humans, manta rays and great white sharks looked like.
Coates and colleagues Samuel Davis and John Finarelli found answers to this mystery in an unexpected place: the acanthodians, extinct fishes that generally left behind only tiny scales and elaborate suites of fin spines. But armed with new data on what the earliest sharks and bony fishes looked like, Coates and colleagues re-examined fossils of Acanthodes bronni, the best-preserved acanthodian species.
Davis created highly detailed latex molds of specimens revealing the inside and outside of the skull, providing a valuable new data set for assessing cranial and jaw anatomy as well as the organizations of sensory, circulatory and respiratory systems in the species.
"We want to explore braincases if possible, because they are exceptionally rich sources of anatomical information," Coates said. "They're much better than scales, teeth or fin spines, which, on their own, tend to deliver a confusing signal of evolutionary relationships."
The analysis of the sample combined with recent CT scans of skulls from early sharks and bony fishes led the researchers to a surprising reassessment of what Acanthodes bronni tells us about the history of jawed vertebrates.
"For the first time, we could look inside the head of Acanthodes, and describe it within this whole new context," Coates said. "The more we looked at it, the more similarities we found with sharks."
However, analysis of the evolutionary relationships of Acanthodes bronni -- even with these new data added -- still connected this species to early bony fishes. Meanwhile, some acanthodian species turned out to be primitive sharks, while others were relatives of the common ancestor of sharks and bony fishes.
This result explains some of the longstanding confusion about the placement of acanthodians in vertebrate history. But additional analyses went a step further. Using more than 100 morphological characters, the researchers quantified the mutual resemblance among the earliest jawed fishes. Acanthodians as a whole, including the earliest members of humans' own deep evolutionary past, appear to cluster with ancient sharks.
"The common ancestors of all jawed vertebrates today organized their heads in a way that resembled sharks," said Finarelli, PhD, Lecturer in Vertebrate Biology at University College Dublin. "Given what we now know about the interrelatedness of early fishes, these results tell us that while sharks retained these features, bony fishes moved away from such conditions."
Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated that all of these early members of the modern gnathostomes are clearly separated from what now appear to be the most primitive vertebrates with jaws: a collection of armored fishes called placoderms.
"There appears to be a fundamental distinction between the placoderms and all other vertebrates with jaws," Finarelli said.
This new revision of the lineage of early jawed vertebrates will allow paleontologists to dig into deeper mysteries, including how the body plan of these ancient species transformed over the transition from jawless to jawed fishes.
"It helps to answer the basic question of what's primitive about a shark." Coates said. "And, at last, we're getting a better handle on primitive conditions for jawed vertebrates as a whole."
"This study is an example of the power of phylogenetics combined with the comparative morphology of living and fossil organisms," said Maureen Kearney, program director in National Science Foundation's Division of Environmental Biology, which co-funded the research. "It shows us important evolutionary transitions in the history of life, providing a new window into the sequence of evolutionary changes during early vertebrate evolution."
The study, "Acanthodes and shark-like conditions in the last common ancestor of modern gnathostomes," will be published on June 14 by Nature. The research was also funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.Image caption Founder Marianne Crowley said she understood people's concerns over her charity
A wildlife sanctuary that only spent a small fraction of its £257,000 income on helping animals has been reported to the Charity Commission.
Accounts for the Wildlife Rescue Sanctuaries, based in Keighley, revealed that over 12 months it spent more than £220,000 on raising funds.
Founder Marianne Crowley said she had brought in professional fundraisers.
The commission, which regulates charities, said it was "engaging" with trustees over the sanctuary's spending.
The commission met with the sanctuary founder and trustee, Marianne Crowley after concerns were raised about the centre's expenditure.
In a statement, it said: "The commission is aware of concerns regarding Wildlife Rescue Sanctuaries.
"Those concerns included the high cost of fundraising and the extent to which the charity was furthering its purposes.
"We have met with the trustees and are continuing to engage with them."
'Lifeline offered'
Accounts filed with the commission on 31 March show an income of £257,051.
But expenditure figures revealed the "cost of generating voluntary income" was £181,272 and fundraising trading, including costs of goods sold and other costs was £38,917 - a total of £220,189.
Ms Crowley said she had previously given up her full-time job to run the sanctuary and had worked 12-hour days, seven days a week.
She said: "A fundraising company approached me and they offered me a lifeline, I took it.
"If you are fundraising all the time you get criticised for leaving the animals.
"And if you are looking after the animals properly, the way you should be - you haven't got time to fundraise.
"We're rescuing more animals than we ever have done.
"I understand people's concerns but before I took on the fundraisers I was trying to get help from everywhere."On the cover of Chance the Rapper’s Acid Rap, the 19-year-old rapper is lost in the woods, purple sky looming, his eyes wide, mind contorted. This is what one of hip-hop’s most elite word-for-word, bar-for-bar rappers looks like in 2013: incredibly young, existentially confused, undoubtedly tripping balls, and rocking a tie-dye tank top. He’s from Chicago — the notorious South Side, to be exact — rather than the traditional spitter center of New York City, and he is, along with a number of other youthful word nerds (and long-gestating veterans), pulling “lyricism” out of the codified pit of “real hip-hop” cliché and throwing it across every nook and cranny of the rap landscape.
Acid Rap (no. 2 on our 50 Best Albums of 2013 list) is an impressive, arresting display of furious styles, but it’s also a well-observed and deeply empathetic album about growing up and trying to be decent — a good kid in a mad Midwestern city — whose songs inhabit a series of lost and half-found characters: wounded addicts, lusted-over high-school lab-mates, feckless dealers, a sweetheart dad, and young couples in love. It’s got an open-eared palette of sub-regional sounds, crooned hooks, and vivid storytelling — one of those sprawling masterpieces you can’t ignore. But a key element to its success is unquestionably old-fashioned, pen-and-pad writing and verbal acrobatics.
Now, don’t tell the Migos fan in your circle of friends quite yet, but 2013 marks the return of good and proper hip-hop lyricism. It was the year where “chops” mattered, tugging along many of the year’s most significant hip-hop records, sneaking onto the radio, owning the aesthetic of underground rappers young and old, and, inexplicably, turning into an attention-grabbing device that also cracked wide open the rap conversation about content and style.
Yes, we’re talking about Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse. In August, Lamar usurped Big Sean’s Hall of Fame bonus track “Control” with an endless, epic tirade that took names, and then told those names to step up their game, for three straight minutes, making the caffeine-free Sean and former lyrical hope Jay Electronica negligible. For a few days, “Control” was all that Internet-rap insiders could talk about, and it strutted across rap-radio playlists, replete with plenty of rewinds, and lots of yelling about how “lyrics are back.” Responses from opportunistic MCs came swiftly, but none of them stuck or even existed in the same solar system as Kendrick’s verse.
Meanwhile, Big Sean, J Cole, and Wale — all mentioned on “Control” as almost being on Kendrick’s level, making it one of the more magnanimous diss songs of all time — released rappy, radio-friendly albums: Hall of Fame, Born Sinner, and The Gifted, respectively. There was a sense that these guys were trying to get their Kendrick on (especially Wale with his ponderous, spoken-word style), but just couldn’t get there. Nevertheless, their MOR lyricism, now that rap has been fully absorbed into pop, is significant. We could use more J Cole and Wale types in the mainstream, for sure.
Then there’s Eminem, who hasn’t wavered from his Scribble Jam training, no matter how many dubstep wraiths are crooning over his tracks since Relapse, and marketed this year’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2 as a rap frenzy, announcing it via “Berzerk,” a Rick Rubin-produced syllable attack. The rest of the record lives up to the single’s all-rappy steez, making MMLP2 one of the weirdest and most inside-of-itself rap releases of all time. The only guest who gets a verse? Kendrick Lamar, of course. Em and Kendrick: two Dr. Dre-cosigned bug-out lyricists who are in a healthy competition with one another, it would seem. About the only person who could’ve topped Kendrick’s “Control” verse would’ve been Em, which is precisely why he didn’t record one, probably. Or maybe MMLP2 is an entire album of “Control” responses. Nevertheless, there’s something strangely inspiring about Marshall Mathers taking it back, as it were. His crossover-rap savvy gone, his pop-culture knowledge still stuck in 1998, and only his indefatigable skills left, he made |
ard Pharmaceuticals makes the drug, has said that it does not want its drugs to be used for executions. (Arkansas Department of Correction/FDA via AP)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ execution protocol includes three drugs, two of which are used in surgery and one that benefits cardiac patients. A look at the drugs:
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MIDAZOLAM
Midazolam is the first of the three drugs administered to sedate the inmate. Because the state’s supply reaches its expiration date April 30, Arkansas scheduled eight executions before then.
At normal adult doses of around 4 mg for routine surgery, midazolam can slow or stop breathing to the point that medical literature advises doctors to monitor patients closely. With a 500 mg dose listed in the state’s execution protocol, Arkansas expects that the inmates will not be aware they are dying.
In federal court testimony earlier this month, doctors differed on whether midazolam is an appropriate execution drug, though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in 2015 that it is.
U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker had said earlier this month that Arkansas’ execution protocol doesn’t outline what would happen if the inmate were to remain conscious even if given a double dose. She also said the protocol doesn’t lay out what executioners intend to do to ensure that the inmates are unconscious. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed her decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court let the appeals court decision stand.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissent that a lower court established that “midazolam creates a substantial risk of severe pain.”
In typical medical settings, midazolam relaxes people and produces amnesia.
Using redacted drug labels, The Associated Press identified West-Ward Pharmaceuticals Corp. as the likely manufacturer of Arkansas’ midazolam supply.
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VECURONIUM BROMIDE
The second drug, vecuronium bromide, is a muscle relaxant, but not in the typical sense. Rather than being prescribed for tightness or muscle pain, vecuronium is used to prevent muscles from moving so they don’t interfere with surgeons. After receiving the drug, patients must be on a ventilator or they will suffocate because their diaphragm cannot move.
One doctor testified that being given vecuronium bromide without sedation and ventilation would be equivalent to being held underwater. The typical dose is up to.1 mg/kg intravenously, or 8.5 mg for the typical inmate set to die this month. Under Arkansas’ protocol, executioners administer 100 mg, or more than 11 times the typical dose, five minutes after the midazolam is administered and once the inmate is unconscious.
The AP last year used redacted drug labels to identify Hospira, which was purchased by Pfizer, as the likely manufacturer of Arkansas’ vecuronium bromide. The supplier McKesson Corp. has said it sold Arkansas the drug for use in inmate health care, not executions. A judge last week blocked Arkansas from using the McKesson-supplied drug, but the Arkansas Supreme Court put that order on hold.
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POTASSIUM CHLORIDE
Potassium is essential for maintaining a proper heart rhythm, and levels that are too high or too low can cause heart trouble. Medical experts who testified before Baker said that the final drug, potassium chloride, causes considerable pain when injected and is typically diluted when given to patients.
A typical dose is 20 milliequivalents delivered over several hours. Arkansas uses 240 mEq immediately after the inmate is injected with vecuronium bromide.
The director of the Arkansas Department of Correction, Wendy Kelley, testified earlier this month that Arkansas was not charged for its current supply of potassium chloride. She said the supplier wished to remain anonymous and did not want to generate a bill of sale so there would be a smaller chance of being identified.
Fresenius Kabi USA, a subsidiary of the German company Fresenius Kabi, said that it appeared to have manufactured the potassium chloride the state is using.
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Follow Kelly P. Kissel on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kisselAP and go to http://bigstory.ap.org/author/kelly-p-kissel to see his work.On 18 August, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published the working group report on the development of a corporate bond market in the country. Without fanfare, some of the areas in which actions were due from RBI were announced a week later. These are profound changes. It allowed banks to offer partial credit enhancement up to 50% of a bond issue from the present 20% and RBI proposing to accept corporate bonds as collateral under the liquidity adjustment facility are likely transformational.
These are desirable and they constitute the necessary conditions. Ultimately, the ball is in the court of companies that wish to borrow. If they embrace the bond market, they will also have to embrace better corporate governance and transparency in reporting. In this regard, the sooner India’s accounting standards converge fully with International Financial Reporting Standards, the better. What is happening in India’s capital markets now is epochal change and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India should recognize that.
Further, in its announcement, RBI indicated that banks would be permitted to issue ‘masala’ bonds (perpetual bonds or perpetual debt instruments) for meeting additional Tier-I and Tier-II capital requirements. This was not part of the H.R. Khan committee report and it is a significant step. RBI has taken a big step towards finding additional Tier-I and II capital for banks. Andy Mukherjee of Bloomberg has noted that these moves could cause a positive reappraisal of the legacy of the outgoing RBI governor, Raghuram Rajan, who has been accused, unfairly, of making life difficult for borrowers and lenders.
On the same day that RBI announced the above measures, it also released the draft framework for banks’ large exposures to corporations and corporate groups. Under the framework, banks will have to set aside more capital for exposure to a particular company or a corporate group. It would dissuade banks from lending more to them, sending corporations to the capital market to borrow. This could prove to be a very significant step in many ways. It attacks crony capitalism. It eliminates a big source of banks’ non-performing assets. It forces banks to learn to assess credit risk and lend to borrowers whom they have shunned so far instead of engaging in lazy lending to large borrowers.
Now, it becomes logical to demand and to anticipate a reduction in the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) for banks. After all, SLR was needed at a time when the government of India needed captive buyers for its bonds. A market might not have been available then. But, times have changed and how! With zero and negative rates of interest in the developed world, there would be ready takers for Indian government bonds that would carry a nominal coupon of 6% to 8%, depending on the Indian inflation rate. This situation will be with us for quite some time and even for quite a long time to come.
If that happens, banks can direct their credit to medium and small enterprises instead of replacing loans to their corporate customers with Treasury bonds. The incoming RBI governor, Urjit Patel, will likely push for it. He had written eloquently on the tendency of public sector banks to seek the safety of government bonds whenever their non-performing assets begin to rise, constricting credit flow into the private sector. In the process, as he had noted in his paper, they had left profits on the table.
Indeed, the problem may not be inadequate demand but too much demand for Indian debt. The private sector too and not just the government should be on guard against being carried away by it. In theory, the exchange rate risk under masala bonds is borne by the investor and not by the issuer. In that sense, they are not ‘external debt’ strictly speaking. The currency of denomination of the debt is the Indian rupee. However, the currency risk is not fully eliminated. That should not be lost sight of.
To the extent that the base currency of investors is not the Indian rupee, the exchange rate risk at a macro level for the country remains. If they take fright or if they decide to seek the safety of their own currencies for any reason, there will be pressure on the rupee. So, masala bonds eliminate currency risk at the micro level, but not at the macro level.
That said, there could be no doubt that masala bonds are a welcome development. It familiarizes overseas investors with the Indian economy, Indian borrowers and with the Indian currency. India is internationalizing its currency quietly. That is to be applauded, especially when offshore renminbi deposits are dwindling and internationalization of the renminbi has slowed, if not reversed.
Let there be no doubt that the past few months have witnessed a steady onward march of right policy measures that enhance India’s potential economic growth rate and eliminate barriers to financing the enhancement of potential growth.
From bankruptcy code to goods and services tax to elimination of capital gains tax advantage to Mauritius-domiciled investors to reviving the corporate bond market and the launch of the unified payments interface, a lot has been and is being done. They deserve our unreserved praise.
V. Anantha Nageswaran is an independent financial markets consultant based in Singapore.
Comments are welcome at baretalk@livemint.com. To read V. Anantha Nageswaran’s previous columns, go to livemint.com/baretalkA win by Donald Trump in the traditionally blue state of Michigan will put him in the White House, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday.
In the final days of the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton are making several visits to Michigan, which hasn’t voted Republican since 1988.
“If we win a state like Michigan … it’s all over,” Mr. Priebus said on ABC’s “This Week.”
He called the race in Michigan “an absolute toss-up.”
The Real Clear Politics rolling average of recent polls in Michigan show Mrs. Clinton with a 4-percentage point lead over Mr. Trump, 45 percent to 41 percent. The poll average included Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson at 5 percent and Green Party nominee Jill Stein at 1.5 percent.
The race has tightened significantly. Mrs. Clinton had a double-digit lead in the state in late October.
Mrs. Clinton and President Obama are scheulded to make separate campaign stops Monday in Michigan.
Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said on the same show that Mrs. Clinton is on offense in Michigan. He said a win in Michigan and Nevada, although polls show Mr. Trump ahead in the Silver state, would guarantee Mrs. Clinton a return trip to the White House.
“We’re going where the votes are. We’re going to finish strong. We feel good about Michigan,” said Mr. Podesta.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Bowl season is like Christmas morning for college football's top conferences. This year, each of the six major conferences will receive at least $30 million for postseason play. And it should be no surprise that the SEC has the biggest present waiting under the tree - the conference will take home nearly $52 million from bowl games this season.
The six automatic qualifying (AQ) conferences are each guaranteed one slot in a BCS bowl. Per the BCS Media Guide, each automatic bid is worth about $23.9 million. The four remaining BCS bids are ordinarily doled out as at-large berths. This year's four recipients are Alabama and Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, and Ohio State and Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Each of those four teams' conferences receives an at-large payout of around $6.3 million. That means the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC are all guaranteed $30 million from BCS bowls alone; the AAC and Pac-12 are the two AQ conferences that will miss out on this year's extra BCS income.
That BCS revenue is topped up by much smaller paychecks from the non-BCS bowls. Non-BCS bowls ordinarily pay the same amount to each participating team's conference, though there are exceptions. The Chick-fil-A Bowl, for instance, pays about $4 million to the ACC but only $3 million to the SEC.
Add it all up and the SEC, as usual, finishes on top. The conference has eight non-BCS bowl teams collecting a total $21.3 million this season, bringing the conference's total bowl game payout to $51.5 million. The ACC comes in second with around $16.4 million from non-BCS bowls, netting a total $46.6 million. The Big Ten will get $15.5 million from the lower bowls, and the AQ conferences are rounded out by the Big 12 ($12.2 million), Pac-12 ($11.4 million) and AAC ($6.7 million).
Bowls have conference tie-ins that ensure a certain amount of stability between seasons, but the numbers still vary year to year. Generally speaking, a better conference performance will lead to better bowl games; better bowl games lead to bigger paychecks. Last year, for instance, the ACC collected just $12 million while the Big 12 enjoyed over $18 million from the non-BCS bowls.
And the AQ conferences aren't the only ones looking ahead to big payouts. The four non-AQ conferences - Mountain West, Mid-American, Sun Belt and Conference USA - ordinarily share 9% of net BCS revenue, or around $14 million. That payout can double, however, when a non-AQ team qualifies for a BCS bowl by finishing the season ranked ahead of an AQ conference's top team. Last year, Northern Illinois doubled the pot by finishing ahead of Louisville and playing in the Orange Bowl. The non-AQ conferences almost enjoyed another double payout this year, but Bowling Green's victory over Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship ended those hopes.
The non-AQ conferences also collect from the non-BCS bowls, though again to a lesser degree. Conference USA leads the way, taking home close to $5.2 million this year. The Mountain West will get just over $4 million, the MAC will get nearly $3 million and the Sun Belt takes up the rear with $1.25 million from non-BCS bowl pay.
You also can't talk about college football's biggest financial winners without discussing Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have one of the sweetest deals in college sports, collecting an annual payout worth 1/66th of net BCS revenue regardless of performance. In other words, they'll get around $2 million this year despite an 8-4 record. And if the team makes a BCS bowl, that payout more than triples to what an AQ conference receives for an at-large bid. Last year's trip to the BCS National Championship was worth around $6.2 million.
Army, Navy and BYU are independent teams like Notre Dame, and each is eligible for the at-large conference payout ($6.3 million this year) if it makes a BCS bowl. Of course, the odds of that happening are quite low. Army has played in just five bowl games in team history. Navy hasn't been in a major game since playing Texas for the de facto national championship in the 1964 Cotton Bowl, and the last time BYU came close was when it went to the 1997 Cotton Bowl as the No. 5 team in the country.
When those three independents fail to make a BCS bowl, they each receive just $100,000. On the bright side, the three teams recently agreed to a deal that ensures each will play in at least one Poinsettia Bowl over the next three years.
Follow @ChrisSmith813Former Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo says teammates smoked marijuana ahead of one of his two Super Bowls.
Ayanbadejo did not identify which players or even which team was using the drug in a podcast for Fox Sports.
Brendon Ayanbadejo says players smoked pot during the week of the one of the Super Bowls he played in, either with the Bears in 2007 or with the Ravens last season. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Ayanbadejo played for the Bears in Super Bowl XLI after the 2006 season and the Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII last season, but he would not reveal which year the incident took place.
"I'm not going to say which Super Bowl it was, but I just remember getting off the elevator one night -- it was early on in the [Super Bowl] week, just to start the week off -- and all of the sudden I just got hit over the head with fumes of marijuana on the entire floor of the hotel that the team was staying on.... I could just imagine there were a few young guys just toking it up in more than one room."
Ayanbadejo, who did not play in the NFL this season, said he was surprised his teammates would use marijuana days before the Super Bowl.
"I was like, 'Man, this is the week of the Super Bowl and you're just going in?'" Ayanbadejo said. "So then I was looking around, and I'm like, 'OK, where is the security?' I looked, and for some reason we didn't have regular police. Coach was smart enough to have rent-a-cops on our floor instead of regular police like we usually do."
Marijuana has been a topic of discussion this week as the Super Bowl features two teams from states to recently legalize the drug for recreational use.
Medicinal marijuana is legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia, and Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll agreed with the notion that the NFL should look into allowing players to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.
"I would say that we have to explore and find ways to make our game a better game and take care of our players in whatever way possible," Carroll said at a news conference Monday after his team's first practice of Super Bowl week. "Regardless of what other stigmas might be involved, we have to do this because the world of medicine is doing this."
Marijuana remains on the NFL's banned substances list, and two members of the Seahawks' secondary -- cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond -- have served drug suspensions this season. Browner's suspension is ongoing.Former president George W. Bush exhibited bizarre behavior at the Dallas Memorial held for the five fallen officers killed earlier this week and is now being mocked for it, the Guardian reports.
While the majority of the Dallas Memorial ceremony was dignified, as befitting of the gravity of the situation, including speeches from both the former president and the current president, Bush behaved in a manner that many are finding offensive.
To give Bush credit, his speech during the Dallas Memorial was beautiful, heartfelt, and sincere, as reported by US News.
“With their deaths, we have lost so much,” Bush said of the five slain officers for whom the ceremony was being held. “We are grief-stricken, heartbroken and forever grateful. Every officer has accepted a calling that sets them apart.”
“Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions.” – GWB pic.twitter.com/JJCgP43bVG — Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) July 12, 2016
Bush spoke of their sacrifice — the type of sacrifice that very few of us can even image making.
“Most of us imagine if the moment called for, that we would risk our lives to protect a spouse or a child,” Bush said. “Those wearing the uniform assume that risk for the safety of strangers. They and their families share the unspoken knowledge that each new day can bring new dangers.”
And he spoke passionately about America’s ability to rise above the horrors of the day, to remain united, even in the face of ugliness for which the country was ill-prepared.
“But none of us were prepared, or could be prepared, for an ambush by hatred and malice. The shock of this evil still has not faded. At times, it seems like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity. Disagreement escalates too quickly into dehumanization.” “Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions.” “And this has strained our bonds of understanding and common purpose. But Americans, I think, have a great advantage. To renew our unity, we only need to remember our values.” “We have never been held together by blood or background. We are bound by things of the spirit, by shared commitments to common ideals.” “At our best, we practice empathy, imagining ourselves in the lives and circumstances of others. This is the bridge across our nation’s deepest divisions.”
At that point, Bush should have quit while he was ahead. He could have been remembered as the dignified, former president who spoke movingly, stirringly about the fallen officers who lost their lives during the sniper attack in Dallas.
But no. Bush, unfortunately, didn’t stop there. Instead, Bush decided to dance at the Dallas Memorial.
During a moving rendition of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, former President Bush clasped hands with First Lady Michelle Obama and began to dance, oddly, with a smile on his face, seemingly oblivious to just how strange his behavior appeared, considering the situation.
For her part, Michelle Obama appeared to be mortified and completely stunned at the behavior of Bush. Even his wife, Laura Bush, seemed embarrassed to be holding the hand of her husband and he actually danced on stage, grinning, while the music played in honor of the five fallen police officers.
Watch the video below.
Twitter, of course, reacted as only Twitter can — with a gamut of emotions, ranging from shock and horror, to cynicism and humor.
“I usually like Bush – but why in the world was he dancing and being goofy during last song? I was cringing,” read one tweet.
“George Bush dancing to ‘Glory Glory Hallelujah’ at the #DallasMemorial while smirking makes my heart hurt,” wrote another.
LAURA: George, be on your best behavior.
GEORGE: Of course I will!
LAURA: No dancing.
GEORGE:… pic.twitter.com/qNnyTWbe6i — Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) July 12, 2016
Certainly, this wasn’t the first time George W. Bush decided to display his dance moves, but it may have been one of the oddest moments he has chosen.
He would have been better off, perhaps, simply sticking to the script of his speech.
[Image by Pool/Getty Images]Fix the image of Ken Griffey, Jr. wearing a White Sox hat on the MLB 17 The Show cover
by: Brett Miller
recipient: MLB 17 The Show, SCEA, SIE San Diego Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment
MLB the Show was proud to announce Mariners legend Ken Griffey, Jr. would be featured on the cover of the 2017 edition. The cover was revealed, and, for the most part, it looks great! Junior is robbing a home run in the lower left-hand corner, he's showing off his iconic swing in the center, and there's a picture of him flashing his signature smile in the background. But there's a problem with the last one--he's wearing a Chicago White Sox hat.
Griffey spent just 41 games and 150 plate appearances with the White Sox. A Cincinnati Reds cap might be acceptable--he did spend nine of his 22 years in Cincinnati, but the White Sox cap tells me that the designer of the cover either 1. Isn't a baseball fan, and saw an "S" on the cap, and assumed it meant Seattle, or 2. They knew it was wrong, but thought it was so small nobody would notice. Neither option is acceptable.
This was mentioned on social media many times after the cover was initially revealed. Many, myself included, thought that since the public noted this to the company repeatedly, that the cover would be changed without much acknowledgement. Nobody wants to admit they've made a mistake publicly, but I think many of us thought it would at least be silently fixed.
Now, we're one month away from release with no action having been taken on the cover. Putting a sports legend like Ken Griffey, Jr. on the cover of your sports game shouldn't be tarnished and mocked by a simple design error. If this cover makes it into the public's hands, it will be an embarrassment for MLB the Show, SCEA, SIE San Diego Studio, and all of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
There are thousands of pictures of Junior wearing a Mariners or Cincinnati Reds cap available to the developers. This isn't that hard to fix. EA Sports released Madden with Brett Favre in a Packers jersey before he came out of retirement and signed with the Jets. They then updated the cover for new copies of the game. MLB The Show has an opportunity to avoid having even a single erroneous copy from reaching the public's hands, if they act now.
MLB The Show, fix your cover, so you and your graphic designers don't look like you don't pay attention to detail. Especially when celebrating one of the game's most iconic players--the guy that got more of the Hall of Fame vote than anyone in the history of the game. Do you really think it is just fine for him to be wearing a Chicago White Sox cap on the cover? If so, that's fine. It probably won't stop anyone from buying the game. But people will be laughing at, and rolling their eyes at, this cover forever.
Please, do the right thing.
read petition letter ▾ MLB the Show was proud to announce Mariners legend Ken Griffey, Jr. would be featured on the cover of the 2017 edition. The cover was revealed, and, for the most part, it looks great! Junior is robbing a home run in the lower left-hand corner, he's showing off his iconic swing in the center, and there's a picture of him flashing his signature smile in the background. But there's a problem with the last one--he's wearing a Chicago White Sox hat.
Griffey spent just 41 games and 150 plate appearances with the White Sox. A Cincinnati Reds cap might be acceptable--he did spend nine of his 22 years in Cincinnati, but the White Sox cap tells me that the designer of the cover either 1. Isn't a baseball fan, and saw an "S" on the cap, and assumed it meant Seattle, or 2. They knew it was wrong, but thought it was so small nobody would notice. Neither option is acceptable.
This was mentioned on social media many times after the cover was initially revealed. Many, myself included, thought that since the public noted this to the company repeatedly, that the cover would be changed without much acknowledgement. Nobody wants to admit they've made a mistake publicly, but I think many of us thought it would at least be silently fixed.
Now, we're one month away from release with no action having been taken on the cover. Putting a sports legend like Ken Griffey, Jr. on the cover of your sports game shouldn't be tarnished and mocked by a simple design error. If this cover makes it into the public's hands, it will be an embarrassment for MLB the Show, SCEA, SIE San Diego Studio, and all of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
There are thousands of pictures of Junior wearing a Mariners or Cincinnati Reds cap available to the developers. This isn't that hard to fix. EA Sports released Madden with Brett Favre in a Packers jersey before he came out of retirement and signed with the Jets. They then updated the cover for new copies of the game. MLB The Show has an opportunity to avoid having even a single erroneous copy from reaching the public's hands, if they act now.
MLB The Show, fix your cover, so you and your graphic designers don't look like you don't pay attention to detail. Especially when celebrating one of the game's most iconic players--the guy that got more of the Hall of Fame vote than anyone in the history of the game. Do you really think it is just fine for him to be wearing a Chicago White Sox cap on the cover? If so, that's fine. It probably won't stop anyone from buying the game. But people will be laughing at, and rolling their eyes at, this cover forever.
Please, do the right thing.Oct 29, 2015 | By Kira
Though largely seen as a technology for producing inexpensive plastic prototypes or one-off plastic novelties, desktop 3D printing is increasingly moving towards creating more advanced, functional and even electronic objects thanks to innovations in conductive 3D printing filaments. Functionalize, the company that brought us the world’s first highly conductive 3D printing filament for PLA-based 3D printers, today launched a fun, affordable and convenient kit that shows just how easy it can be to 3D print functional electronics at home. The Flashlight LetterKit, available as of today, includes all the parts you’ll need to 3D print a working keychain flashlight at home.
The LetterKit comes with a one full assembled 3D printed jewel colored flashlight for reference, a modifiable keychain flashlight design made for single head 3D printers, as well as one extra battery and LED combination and enough F-Electric filament (10 grams) and jewel colored filament (15 grams) to 3D print five additional flashlights. The Kit comes in convenient letter-like packaging with several jewel-toned transclucent PLA color options, including red, green, yellow, blue and turquoise. The only thing not included, predictably, is the 3D printer itself, however Functionalize’s unique nano-tube based PLA filament is compatible with almost all filament 3D printers, including MakerBot, LeapFrog, Airwolf, Lulzbot, Flashforge and many others.
"So many people asked if our material worked on their single head 3D printers that we decided to make the first 'Hello world' kit for functional prints, easy for anyone with a single head filament-based printer who wants to join the new industrial revolution,” said Michael Toutonghi, founder and CEO of Functionalize, Inc. Toutonghi is the inventor of Functionalize’s pending patents on its nano-material synthesis and polymer technology.
"3D Printing is moving from its largely novelty roots, particularly in the home, to being a major tool for those building projects in the home or small business," said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group. "A critical part of this evolution is the ability to print ever more complex objects. The LetterKit is a clear example of this next step showcasing and teaching 3D printer users that they can now take the next step. I expect it will be a harbinger for even more amazing things to come."
At just $19.95, the LetterKit is an ideal entry point for users who are unfamiliar with conductive filaments or 3D printing functional electronics. Since everything is already provided, there’s no guesswork or commitment involved. The kit is also an entry point for 3D printing enthusiasts to experiment with Functionalize F-Electric without having to buy an entire spool (up to $142 for an entire pound). The LetterKit is currently sold online and from authorized resellers worldwide, and ships within 1-2 weeks directly from Functionalize.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
Maybe you also like:It looks like the rivalry between former UFC champions Fabricio Werdum and Luke Rockhold won’t be settled inside the Octagon.
Rockhold, an ex-middleweight champion, called out the 240-pound Brazilian following his comments on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, saying he’d move up to heavyweight to squash his beef with Werdum.
“Everyone’s steaming over this new fight I brought up,” Rockhold said Wednesday night on UFC Tonight. "I think me and Werdum got some old beef from Strikeforce. He’s a guy I’ve always wanted to fight. I’ve thought it through and I like the style matchup.
“Given what’s going on in the middleweight division right now, screw that, I’m coming to heavyweight. Let’s do this.”
Werdum, who bounced back into the win column with a win over Travis Browne after losing the UFC heavyweight championship to Stipe Miocic, recently had another fight canceled when Ben Rothwell got flagged for a potential USADA violation. He surely doesn’t like Rockhold, but is looking for bigger competition as he moves closer to another shot at the heavyweight championship.
"I only fight people, I don’t fight chickens,” Werdum told MMA Fighting after Rockhold’s comments. "He’s just promoting himself because he knows nobody is talking about him. I’m one step away from the belt. Why would I fight a chicken?"Washington
Paula Coughlin exposed military sexual assault two decades ago. Now, the "Tailhook" whistleblower is leading a summer lobbying effort to sway senators to vote for a bill the Pentagon staunchly opposes.
Coughlin is drumming up support for legislation by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., that would remove commanders from decision making in handling sexual assault cases and place that authority in the hands of trained military prosecutors.
"Survivors of this crisis have waited long enough," said Coughlin, leading a grassroots effort among military sexual victims to force a change in the armed forces that she said is long overdue.
The movement is gaining momentum, fueled in large part by scandals in all military services branches involving sexual assaults on female and male recruits, subordinates and other personnel.
Widespread sexual abuse of enlisted trainees at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where more than a dozen instructors have been charged or implicated in allegations of misconduct, shocked the Air Force.
And a report earlier this year by the San Antonio Express-News documented repeated cases of retaliation against assault victims, failure to provide legal and medical support for them and dismissal from the service after they reported abuse.
The Pentagon estimates that there were 26,000 sexual assaults in the military last year, but only 302 prosecutions resulted from complaints.
"There is a lack of trust in the system that has a chilling effect on reporting," Gillibrand said.
Her bill has support across the political spectrum, backed by liberals and conservatives alike, from Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Although supporters say they are close to a 51-vote majority, the measure would need 60 votes to keep it from being blocked by a filibuster.
"Success is within sight," Blumenthal said, "whatever the threshold of votes required. A majority and even 60 votes are within our grasp."
The momentum behind the Gillibrand amendment is being watched closely at the Pentagon, which unveiled steps Thursday to crack down on sexual assaults without altering the commander's role in the process.
Congressional critics and victims' groups say the Pentagon measures are an attempt to blunt momentum of the Gillibrand bill and fall short of the needed structural changes.
Coughlin, the Navy lieutenant who blew the whistle after a 1991 conference for naval aviators at the Las Vegas Hilton, said Pentagon inaction and current procedures have failed to stop sexual assaults that seem to continue unabated.
Now an activist with Protect Our Defenders, Coughlin is leading the grassroots effort joined by as many as 500 assault survivors lobbying lawmakers to support the Gillibrand legislation.
"Support is building, but there are still senators that are undecided," Coughlin said.
Gillibrand said she expects a vote on her amendment as early as October.
She said the bipartisan coalition behind her amendment shows that creating "an independent and accountable military justice system is not a partisan or ideological issue."
It's neither a Democrat nor a Republican idea, Gillibrand said. "It is just the right idea."
Cruz said that despite the past efforts by military leaders to address the recurring incidents of attacks in the military ranks, "sexual assault remains a persistent problem."
The Texas senator said he was persuaded by Gillibrand that leaving the reporting of sexual crimes and a decision to prosecute within the chain of command "has proven in fact to deter reporting of the crime."
But Pentagon officials and key lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee, including Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., argue that taking commanders out of the decision making process would weaken the military structure.
Levin said removing disciplinary authority to prosecute an offense from those commanders would "take away an important tool that they need to change a culture that surely needs change."
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, in a memo outlining the new Pentagon guidelines, said generals and admirals would now be notified of sexual assault allegations and be given status reports on prosecutions.
Closed cases would be forwarded to the Defense Department's Inspector General for review.
Congressional critics, however, said the new guidelines do not provide the major structural changes needed to ensure sexual assault cases are duly prosecuted to create a safer environment in the military ranks.
gmartin@express-news.netIn his State of the Union Address last night, President Obama made a big deal about the huge income inequality among Americans, with much of the wealth in the hands of a few while manylive in poverty. Although we’re a relatively wealthy nation in terms of gross domestic product per capital, we’re also one of the most unequal in the world. This inequality has been increasing in the U.S. for several decades.
It’s not often realized that, regardless of per-capita wealth, income inequality is correlated with a number of indices of social dysfunctionality.
You can see this relationship graphically (in both senses) at Sociological Images, in a post called “Income inequality is bad for society. Really bad.“. Here are a few correlations among nations between income inequality and indices of social dysfunction (these are apparently taken from Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett‘s book, The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better). Note the extreme position of the United States.
Infant mortality (I’m not sure what statistic they use to measure income inequality; it may well be the “Gini Index”):
Homicide rate:
Rate of incarceration:
Child well being (UNICEF measure):
Now of course this doesn’t imply that income inequality is the cause of all the dysfunctionality, for there could be other variable that affect dysfunctionality and these other measures as well. Insecurity could be such a factor. Nevertheless, it’s a good working hypothesis that this kind of inequality breeds not only social unrest, which leads to crime, drug use, incarceration, and the like, but also bespeaks a lack of caring for the welfare of the poor, leading to things like high infant mortality. The Equality Trust goes into these figures in detail, explaining the alternative hypotheses.
And then there’s another index of what most of us would see as dysfunctionality: the degree of religious belief. The work of Solt et al., which I’ve discussed before, shows that income inequality is also highly correlated among nations with religiosity: the more unequal a nation, the more religious its inhabitants. Here’s a figure showing the positive correlation between income inequality (measured using the Gini index) and various measures of relig |
9-1858) Cohen, Edward (1948- ) Creevy, Patrick (1947- ) Crews, John (1926- ) Davis, David (1948- ) Davis, Reuben (1813-1890) Deal, Borden (1922-1985) Denman, Margaret-Love (1940- ) Dixon, Louisa (1950- ) Dorsey, L. C. (1938- ) Douglas, Ellen (1921- ) Ensrud, Barbara (1939- ) Evers, Medgar (1925-1963) Evers-Williams, Myrlie (1933- ) Falkner, Murry C. (1899-1975) Falkner, William Clark (1826-1889) Faulkner, Jimmy (1923- ) Faulkner, John (1901-1963) Faulkner, William (1897-1962) Feild, Claire T. (1946- ) Foote, Shelby (1916-2005) Ford, Richard (1944- ) Fraiser, Jim (1954- ) Franklin, Malcolm (1923-1977) Galef, David (1959- ) Gilchrist, Ellen (1935- ) Grayson, Walt Grisham, John (1955- ) Guyton, David Edgar (1880-1964) Haines, Carolyn (1953- ) Hall, Martha Lacy (1923- ) Hamblin, Robert W. (1938- ) Hannah, Barry (1942-2010) Harris, Charlaine (1951- ) Harris, Thomas (1940- ) Henley, Beth (1952- ) Henson, Jim (1936-1990) Higginbotham, Jay (1937- ) Higginbotham, Sylvia (?- ) Hoar, Jere (1929- ) Iles, Greg (?- ) Johnson, Shirley Jean Johnston, Michael Keyes, J. Gregory (?- ) Kolin, Philip C. Ladner, Joyce A. (1943- ) Lamar, L. Q. C. (1825-1893) Lee, Muna (1895-1965) Lewis, Henry Clay (1825-1850) Longstreet, Augustus Baldwin (1790-1870) Marszalek, John F. (1939- ) McGaughey, Neil (1951-1999) McNutt, Alexander G. (1802?-1848) Meredith, James (1933- ) Mitchell, Margaree King (1953- ) Moody, Anne (1940- ) Morris, Willie (1934-1999) Nordan, Lewis (1939-2012) Norris, Gloria (1937- ) Peavy, Linda (1943- ) Percy, Walker (1916-1990) Percy, William Alexander (1885-1942) Polk, Noel (1943- ) Pratt, Walter F. (1946- ) Raspberry, William (1935-2012) Riley, Shannon (1941- ) Ruffin, Paul (1941- ) Russell, Irwin (1853-1879) Schueler, Don G. (1929- ) Seay, James (1939- ) Smith, Patrick D. (1927- ) Stone, John (1936- ) Stuart, Marty (1958- ) Sullivan, Clayton (1930- ) Sullivan, Otha Richard (1941- ) Tartt, Donna (1963- ) Taulbert, Clifton L. (1945- ) Taylor, Mildred D. (1943- ) Thatcher, George (1922- ) Thompson, Phillip (1962- ) Trippett, Frank (1926-1998) Von Kanel, Danny (1955- ) Warfield, Catherine Ann (1816-1877) Watson, Brad (?- ) Wells, Lawrence (1941- ) Wells-Barnett, Ida B. (1862-1931) Welty, Eudora (1909-2001) Williams, Joan (1928-2004) Williams, John A. (1925- ) Williams, Tennessee (1911-1983) Wilson, Charles (1939- ) Wilson, Charles Reagan (1948- ) Wright, Richard (1908-1960) Young, Stark (1881-1963) Ziglar, Zig (?- ) Zu-Bolton, Ahmos, II (1935-2005) This page has been accessed 245297 times. About this page counter. Last Revised on Monday, November 9, 2015, at 04:35:06 PM CST.
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Copyright © 2015 The University of Mississippi English Department.Church and community leaders say people need to understand issues, and consider first what candidates will do to benefit them directly over party affiliation.
"The people of color in this community know we've always had politicians trace through this community, promised everything in the world when they needed the vote, then walk away and wait until the next four years and say, 'Did it work?'", Community leader Raymond Butler said. "Did what work? You didn't give us anything."
Many voters believe Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are unworthy of their votes.
Black voters point out after voting for Hillary Clinton's husband Bill, they got mass incarceration for young black men with prisons flourishing, not jobs.
They have not forgotten Hillary calling kids involved in gangs "Super Predators".
On the other hand, they believe that Donald Trump will use the "Stop and Frisk", which was used in New York City. The majority of people stopped were African American or Latino.
Reverend Simon says not voting is a vote for the opposition allowing others to determine destiny.
"We have our collective vote and our collective voice in protest, so our voice is heard through our vote," Reverend Kenneth Simon said.
Church and community leaders say candidates need the vote by blacks to win in November, and what they want to hear is what the candidates will do to improve equal treatment in the justice system, the educational system, and what will be done to help improve their lives.
The Green Party says a vote for Jill Stein is a vote for equality.
"We are responsible for actions of our ancestors and we owe reparations to African Americans," Green Party Member Howard Markert said. "We owe reparations to Native Americans."
The focus of this community event was to get voters to understand the power of their vote.
"We know that people died in order for us to have the privilege of voting," another community leader said.
"You can't sing any louder if you use your vote to be your voice," Clarence Boles said.It was a lovely warm day, so something light but full on flavour was the order of the day. This pie was going to be it.. I had some great local ham (buy British outdoor reared pork, it’s the best in the world!) Loads of Ricotta and some Filo pastry, with a few other items form the fridge such as Spinach and a little Feta I was away.
The pie filling:
1 Onion
Bag of Spinach (250g)
In a large frying pan place the finely diced onion with a healthy glug of Olive oil. Cook the onions down gently until they are translucent and sweet. When cooked add the Spinach to the pan (that’s why you needed a big pan!!). Cook the Spinach down until its completely wilted (but still green, don’t cook it to death) turn off the heat and then allow to cool slightly.
In a mixing bowl you want to make the filling..
250g Ricotta
1 Egg
Nutmeg
100g Feta Cheese
3 Slices of good Ham
Small handful of Fresh Thyme
Black Pepper
Simply mix the Ricotta and Egg together until thoroughly mixed, grate a healthy amount of Nutmeg into the mix and then season well with Pepper (no need for Salt, the Ham and Feta Cheese are salty enough). Chop the Feta Cheese into cubes, cut the Fresh Thyme up, slice the Ham and add to the bowl.
Grated Parmesan
I can’t get enough of Parmesan right now, so I also grated a load of Parmesan in at this point.
Buy kitchen gadgets at the Great Dinner Recipes Store
Next, back to your Onion, Spinach mix. Spoon the Spinach and onions into a sieve and using the back of that spoon squeeze out the remaining water from the leaves. Plenty will come out, but this is fine. If you used whole giant leaves of Spinach run a knife through them (on the chopping board of course) and then add to the Ricotta and Ham mix. Mix thoroughly.
The pie:
You’ll need a cheesecake tin or something like that, brush it well with Olive Oil and then get your Filo pastry from the fridge, you’ll need 4 or 5 big sheets of Filo, plus a heaped Tbsp of Pine nuts – plus plenty more Olive Oil.
5 sheets of Filo Pastry
Tbsp Pine Nuts
Olive Oil (and Brush)Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. This story featueres the adventures on the new products. At that time (around the 1920s), Cadbury and Rowntree's were England's two largest chocolate makers and they each often try to steal trade secrets by sending spies, posing as employees, into the other's factory. Because of this, both companies became highly protective of their chocolate-making processes. It was a combination of this secrecy and the elaborate, often gigantic, machines in the factory that inspired Dahl to write the story.
Contents show]
Plot
Charlie Bucket lives in poverty with his parents and four grandparents in a dilapidated, tiny house. Charlie is fascinated by the universally-celebrated chocolate factory located in his hometown owned by famous chocolatier Willy Wonka. His Grandpa Joe often tells him stories about Wonka and his mysterious chocolate factory, how it had been shuttered for years, and how it inexplicably re-opened and resumed candy production without any evidence of employees.
Soon after, an article in the newspaper reveals that Willy Wonka has hidden five Golden Tickets in five Wonka Bars all over the world. Charlie longs for chocolate to satisfy his hunger and to find a Golden Ticket himself, but his chances are slim (his father has recently lost his job, leaving the family all but destitute) and word on the discovery of the tickets keeps appearing in various articles read by the Bucket family. From greedy and gluttonous Augustus Gloop and spoiled Veruca Salt to gum-obsessed Violet Beauregarde and television-obsessed Mike Teavee. Eventually, Charlie finds a ticket of his own.
The children, once in the factory, are taken to the Chocolate Room, where they are introduced to Oompa Loompas, from Loompaland, who have been helping Wonka at the factory. While there, Augustus falls into the chocolate river and is sucked up by a pipe and eliminated from the tour. They are soon taken to the Inventing Room, where Violet chews a piece of experimental gum, and blows up into a blueberry; she is the second child removed from the tour. After an exhausting jog down a series of corridors, Wonka allows his guests to rest outside of the Nut Room, but refuses them entry. Veruca, seeing squirrels inside, demands one from Wonka, but when she is refused, she invades the Nut Room, where the squirrels attack her, judge her a bad nut and throw her down the garbage chute. Likewise with her parents, who go in to rescue her. The remaining visitors travel via Great Glass Elevator to the Television Room, where Mike accidentally shrinks himself to a few inches tall using a teleporter Wonka invented, and is the last to be eliminated from the tour.
Charlie, being the last child left, wins the prize - the factory itself. Wonka had distributed the Golden Tickets to find an heir, and Charlie was the only one who passed the test. Together they go to Charlie's house in the glass elevator and take the whole family back to the chocolate factory to live out the rest of their lives.
Missing chapters
As "lost chapters" recently found reveal, in unpublished drafts of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory far more than five children got the golden ticket to tour Willy Wonka's secret chocolate factory, far more than four were eliminated, and the children faced more rooms and more temptations to test their self-control.
The Fiction Circus reports: "Evidently, Roald Dahl didn't just kill four children in the original version of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.' Evidently he killed hundreds! For the sake of time and sales, his editor forced him to take out several murdered children, especially the British ones, sticking with two Americans, an aristocrat, and a German."
"Spotty Powder"
In 2005, The London Times revealed an "ugly boy" chapter - titled "Spotty Powder" - had been found in Dahl's desk, written backwards in mirror-script (the way Da Vinci wrote in his journal). This chapter includes a humorless, smug girl (Miranda Piker) and her equally humorless father (a schoolmaster) who disappear into the Spotty Powder room - where a candy is made that makes red, pox-like spots appear on the children's faces and necks making it look like chicken-pox/measles, so they won't have to go to school. This enrages the Pikers, who set out to sabotage the machine. The Fiction Circus explains "The chapter was cut because it implies that Willy Wonka is a cannibal, and that he feeds children to their enemies, just like Polynesian islanders and Titus Andronicus."
"Fudge Mountain"
In 2014, The Guardian revealed that Dahl had cut another chapter from an earlier draft of the book, titled "Fudge Mountain". The Guardian reports the now-eliminated passage was "deemed too wild, subversive and insufficiency moral for the tender minds of British children almost 50 years ago." In what was originally chapter five in that version of that book, Charlie goes to the factory with his mother - not his grandfather, and the chocolate factory tour, at this point down to eight kids, includes Tommy Troutback and Wilbur Rice, who wind up in the Vanilla Fudge Mountain cutting room, due to their own greed. Additionally, reports NPR's Krishnadev Calamur: "The chapter reveals the original larger cast of characters, and their fates, as well as the original names of some of those who survived into later drafts. Dahl originally intended to send Charlie into the chocolate factory with eight other children, but the number was slimmed down to four. The narrator reveals that a girl named Miranda Grope had already vanished into the chocolate river with Augustus Pottle: she is gone forever, but the greedy boy was reincarnated into Augustus Gloop."
Reception
Favorable views
A fan of the book since childhood, Tim Burton states "I responded to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because it respected the fact that children can be adults." In a 2006 list for the Royal Society of Literature, author J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter books) named Charlie and the Chocolate Factory among her top ten books every child should read.
A 2004 study found that it was a common read-aloud book for fourth-graders in schools in San Diego County, California. A 2012 survey by the University of Worcester determined that it was one of the most common books that UK adults had read as children, after Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and The Wind in the Willows.
Accolades for this book include:
New England Round Table of Children's Librarians Award (USA, 1972)
Surrey School Award (UK, 1973)
Millennium Children's Book Award (UK, 2000)
Blue Peter Book Award (UK, 2000)
The Big Read poll conducted by the BBC listed the book at number 35 of the "nation's best-loved novels" (UK, 2003)
National Education Association "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" based on a poll (USA, 2007)
School Library Journal "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time based on a poll (USA, 2012)
Unfavorable views and revisions
Although the book has been popular and considered a children's classic by many literary critics, a number of prominent individuals have spoken critically of the novel over the years. Dominic Cheetham observers that numerous publishers turned down Dahl's book and even Knopf - the original, American publisher - agreed both that the book was in bad taste and books should not be aimed at both children and adults, as was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Children's novelist and literary historian John Rowe Townsend has described the book as "fantasy of an almost literally nauseating kind" and accused it of "astonishing insensitivity" regarding the original portrayal of the Oompa-Loompas as black pygmies, although Dahl did revise that later. Cheetham notes that no outcry over was raised about the anti-Indian sentiment shown in the "humorless, but belittling" naming of the Indian Prince Pondicherry and the portrayal of the "incredible stupidity in a stereotyped racial icon.
Another novelist, Eleanor Cameron, compared the book to the sweets that form its subject matter, commenting that it is "delectable and soothing while we are undergoing the brief sensory pleasure it affords but leave its poorly nourished with our taste of dulled for better fare". Ursula K. Let Guin voiced her support for this assessment in a letter to Cameron. Defenders of the book have pointed out it was unusual for its time in being quite dark for a children's book, with the "antagonists" not being adults or monsters (as in the case for most of Dahl's books) but the naughty children, who receive sadistic punishment in the end. However, despite criticisms and complaints about the "high-handed way in which Mr Willy Wonka treats other people in the book", Mr. Wonka remains authoritarian, the supposedly tasteless features remain, the violence to the various children remains, and the supposedly dual nature of the intended readership also remains firmly unchanged.
Cheetham had catalogued additional criticisms about the book, including: "General Attitudes to Foreigners", citing the treatment of characters who may be perceived as American (Cheetham, p. 10), in addition to the African and Indian characters noted above; "Employer-Employee Relations" (Cheetham, pp. 10-11); "Human Guinea Pigs" (Cheetham, p. 11); "General Attitudes Towards Class" (Cheetham, pp. 11-12); "The Myth of Noble Poverty" (Cheetham, p. 12); "Attitudes to Children" (Cheetham, p. 12); "Attitudes to Parenthood" (Cheetham, pp. 12-13); and "Alcohol Abuse" (Cheetham, p. 13).
The cover art for Penguin UK's Modern Classics 50th Anniversary Edition of the book (publication date September 2014) has also received substantial criticism for his taste level and age-appropriateness. (See Editions.)
Adaptations
In addition to spawning a sequel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has frequently been adapted for other media, including games, radio, the screen, and stage, most often as plays and musicals for children - often titled Willy Wonka or Willy Wonka, Jr. and almost always featuring musical numbers by all the main characters (Wonka, Charlie, Grandpa Joe, Violet, Veruca, etc.); many of these songs are revised versions from the 1971 film.
Editions
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has undergone numerous editions and been illustrated by numerous aritsts.
GalleryA man who dressed and acted like a police officer and allegedly coerced immigrants into committing sex acts in San Francisco was arrested earlier this month, police said Monday. Mark Matthews reports. (Published Monday, July 21, 2014)
A man who dressed and acted like a police officer and allegedly coerced immigrants into committing sex acts in San Francisco was arrested earlier this month, police said Monday.
Jeffrey Bugai, 35, of San Francisco, was arrested on July 10 on suspicion of kidnapping with the intent to commit sexual assaults while impersonating a police officer. Bugai entered a not guilty plea in court last week.
Bugai, who wore a fake uniform and drove a white vehicle similar to those used in law enforcement, allegedly targeted recent immigrants from Central America who had limited English-speaking skills, according to police.
He allegedly misled his victims into believing he was a police officer and brought them to his home, intoxicated them and coerced or forced them to commit sexual acts, police said.
Bugai also allegedly used handcuffs on some of his victims.
An SFPD spokesman said, sometimes, Bugai would ply his victims with drugs and alcohol.
“He also threatened the victims with deportation or retaliation by the law enforcement community if they reported it to police,” Officer Albie Esparza said.
Police said Bugai allegedly threatened his victims with deportation if they called police or would allude to potential police retaliation.
Court records show, back in 1999, Bugai was accused of dressing up as a doctor at Michigan hospital. A felony charge was dropped, but Bugai was found guilty of “unauthorized use of title as a health professional.”
Bay Area investigators are asking for anyone victimized by Bugai to report the incident to police at (415) 553-0123.
Bugai is known to frequent San Francisco's Mission and Ingleside districts and parts of Hayward and Oakland. He remains in custody on $2,170,000 bail, according to San Francisco senior sheriff's Deputy Enrique Luquin.
“Please contact San Francisco police without fear of deportation, because that will not happen,” Esparza said.
At the La Raza Community Resource Center in the Mission District, family advocates say recent immigrants are vulnerable because they feel threatened by any contact with police.
“This brings fear to people to go to the police and make a report,” La Raza’s Mabel Aguilar said.
As a result, Aguilar said, the newly arrived are easy targets. “It’s a lot of different crimes that our community is very vulnerable to,” she said.
According to court records out of Michigan, Bugai may have a history of impersonating authority figures. Court records show, in 1999, he was arrested after allegedly posing as a health care worker at a medical center in Traverse City. He reportedly was sentenced to 90 days in jail on a lesser charge.
Bugai is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on July 28.
Bay City News contributed to this report.Sandy Rios, the American Family Association’s director of governmental affairs, said today that criticism of her organization’s role in financing a Republican National Committee trip to Israel is unfounded because Israel “could not have a better ally” than the AFA … despite the fact that God disapproves of the country’s “secular government” and is not “fond of atheist Jews” who live there.
“In terms of our teachings and our biblical understanding there could not be any more strong support for Israel than you find among people who understand and believe in the Bible and believe that God’s hand is on Israel, in spite of what’s happening there, in spite of its government,” she said. She mocked the notion “that God is in favor of a secular government or that God is fond of atheist Jews who occupy the land in Israel.”
“It is His land and I believe He will reclaim it in time,” Rios said.
In an apparent response to pressure from the RNC, the AFA distanced itself from its main spokesman Bryan Fischer yesterday, stripping him of his title while still allowing him to host a daily talk show on the organization’s radio network.
Rios has a history making such statements about American Jews. She has argued that “powerful Jewish forces” use groups like the ACLU to destroy America, claimed “Jewish leftists in this country are eager to embrace Islam,” lamented that “the Jewish vote in this country is so confused, so many of the Jews in this country are atheist and their hearts are with this President,” and warned that “Jewish atheists” are among “the worst enemies of the country.”
AFA president Tim Wildmon has agreed with her assessment: “Most of the Jews in this country, unfortunately, are far-left.”Rachel North was on a train that got blown up during the London subway bombings. After writing a very popular blog about her experience and her recovery afterward, Rachel became a spokeswoman for a survivors' group. Then conspiracy theorists—who believed that there were no bombings and that the whole thing was a cover-up by the British government—started attacking her online, saying she was a spy...or a plant by the police...or, worse, that she didn't exist at all. Jon Ronson tells her story.
Jon writes books, hosts radio shows, and produces BBC documentaries—all of which you can check out on his website. A version of this story appeared on his BBC Radio Four series Jon Ronson On.... (21 minutes)
Rachel North has written a book about her experience, called Out of the Tunnel.By Max Wilbert / Deep Green Resistance Great Basin
Most popular music makes me sick. If it isn’t misogyny and objectification of women, it’s blatant materialism. Even music that doesn’t fit into popular oppression is likely to be completely vapid, empty of any soul, culture, or political meaning.
That’s why I’m so pleased with British Columbia-based hip-hop artist The Filthy Politicians. Their latest album, “The Modern Man”, is also their first full-length album, with eleven tracks, and it’s a great album.
The music is characterized by samples from popular songs, elegant mixing, and humble, intensely political lyrics that just about anyone can relate to. Dan Peters, the vocalist and producer, largely avoids the contrived feeling that some political music conveys; instead, his lyrics come across as personal. Most hip-hop fans will enjoy just about every track on the album.
The album starts off with a strong beat in “On The Level”, where Peters raps:
Everything about now is fucked and I’m tired of tip-toeing around it.
Other strong tracks include the title track, “Modern Man”, which critiques the modern lifestyle, “6am”, which looks at the alcohol-fueled lifestyle of the average 20-something, and “200 Species Every Day”, which follows a hypothetical duo of underground saboteurs dedicated to shutting down industrial civilization.
Yes, that’s really what the song is about. And it’s great.
The Filthy Politicians don’t have a website or bio online, but I did find this:
In a world held captive by empty plastic promises, Dan Peters of the filthy politicians is trying to figure out how it’s all come to this and what we might do about it. Beyond the shallow, token analysis and solutions offered up by the ones that continue to benefit from the destruction of our Mother Earth, the filthy politicians set out to take a deep look at an extreme situation and urge those with more human than machine left inside to respond accordingly- at the risk of being labeled extreme ourselves. Equal parts urgency, analysis, vitriol, and encouragement, the effort is completely DIY with all tracks composed, recorded, and produced in the woods on a small farm on a small island. the filthy politicians just released his first full length album ‘Modern Man’ on February 14, 2014. If you love life then check it.
Learn more about The Filthy Politicians and check out their music here:
Bandcamp: http://thefilthypoliticians.bandcamp.com/ (free download of “Modern Man”)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcj4UIyXiGZrXj7naWxp5lw (includes some old music videos)
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/thefilthypoliticians (every song they’ve ever made)COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A major national player in the marijuana legalization movement plans to put an Ohio medical marijuana measure on the November ballot.
Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington D.C., plans to propose a constitutional amendment establishing a medical marijuana system similar to those in 23 other states and the District of Columbia.
MPP spokesman Mason Tvert said the Ohio campaign is in the very early stages and an amendment has not yet been drafted. The measure would allow people with certain "serious medical conditions" to purchase marijuana from retail stores or grow their own after obtaining physician approval.
The state would license businesses to grow, process, test, and sell marijuana to approved patients.
MPP led successful recreational marijuana initiative efforts in Colorado and Alaska and medical marijuana measures in Michigan, Montana, and Arizona. The organization has also worked with state legislatures to write medical marijuana laws.
Grassroots marijuana legalization efforts have struggled to qualify for the ballot in Ohio because they lack the money to hire signature gatherers and run a robust education campaign. Ohio has not been on the radar for MPP and other major funders looking to expand legal marijuana.
Last year, MPP quietly supported Issue 3, Ohio's failed recreational marijuana amendment, to the extent the measure legalized and regulated the plant, but the organization did not formally endorse it or contribute to the campaign.
ResponsibleOhio, the political action committee backing Issue 3, was the first pro-marijuana group to collect the large number of signatures required, spending more than $20 million on its campaign. But the amendment limited the 10 commercial growing licenses to groups of campaign investors and would have legalized recreational marijuana, which divided Ohio's pro-pot advocates and attracted hundreds of opponents statewide.
"The discussion was not about marijuana being legal," Tvert said. "Lost in the mix was the important discussion about safe access to medical marijuana for seriously ill people."
MPP is currently looking for an Ohio-based campaign manager, but much of the campaign will be subcontracted through a consulting firm in Columbus.
Tvert said MPP will not be working with the Strategy Network, which collected signatures for and ran the Issue 3 campaign. Strategy Network founder Ian James co-founded ResponsibleOhio and was the face of the campaign.
James' co-founder Jimmy Gould and Issue 3 author Chris Stock said last week they are not working on any ballot initiatives this year and instead want to work with state lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana.
After the November election, state lawmakers pledged to study the issue and gauge Ohioans' feelings toward medical marijuana, nudged forward by the possibility of future ballot measures from outside groups.
Tvert said it's great that legislators are taking the issue seriously and starting to look into it, but patients can't wait a year or several years for them to take action.
"They have had decades to take action," Tvert said. "This is not a new issue. They did not just discover medical marijuana had benefits last year."Wednesday morning, ERCOT, the power grid operator for much of Texas, called upon local distribution companies to cut power to blocks of consumers on a rotating basis. The rolling outages were a great hardship the people throughout the region, and have consumers and policymakers wondering what went wrong and what should be done about it. The following is a preliminary analysis based on public data and news reports. A subsequent post will present more details once more complete information becomes available.
In brief, extreme cold weather pushed power demand to very high levels for the winter. At the same time, 50 of the state’s power plants were offline due to the effects of the cold and several more were undergoing planned maintenance. The combination of very high demand and reduced supply left the ERCOT grid perilously short of reserves. Some wondered whether wind power was at fault, but wind power contributed about 7 percent of ERCOT’s power during the emergency – about the same as this time last year. Rolling consumer outages were employed to protect the system from failing completely.
No power system is immune to hazards. But policy decisions that increase the likelihood of hazards or multiply the resulting damages ought to be given careful reconsideration. In this case, the choice by Texas policymakers to keep ERCOT isolated from surrounding power systems prevented power companies within ERCOT from accessing excess power capacity elsewhere in the state and in neighboring states. Other policy issues also are raised by the emergency, but few are likely to be as cost-effective and technically simple to implement as linking ERCOT to its neighbors.
A more detailed examination of the topic follows.
Cold Snap
ERCOT reported that severe weather led to the loss of 50 generation units amounting to 7,000 MW of capacity on Wednesday morning. From news accounts it looks like a few large coal plants failed after water pipes burst. Some natural gas generators found insufficient fuel supplies due to heavy demand for natural gas. Other natural gas generators found their access to fuel curtailed by state rules that give priorities to other customer classes when supplies run short. In addition, a larger than usual amount of generation was off-line for scheduled maintenance – one estimate put this quantity at about 12,000 MW.
Demand for power was sharply higher on Wednesday morning compared to earlier in the week, reaching over 53,000 MW between 9 AM and 10 AM. The rolling outages eliminated about 3,000 MW of demand during that period, so the true demand for power was nearer 56,000 MW. By comparison, the same hour on Monday saw demand of just 33,500 MW. ERCOT has seen demand at this level in the winter before –last winter the system handled demand of 57,000 MW without incident. The high demand was only a problem because so much generation was offline.
Rolling power outages are a way to limit power demand during emergencies in an attempt to prevent an uncontrolled cascading blackout. While the rolling outages were controlled, they still impose heavy costs on consumers. Hospitals and other priorities locations are protected from rolling outages, but schools are not. Several San Antonio-area schools losing power resorted to busing students to school buildings that continued to have power. Traffic accidents in Austin were attributed to traffic signals being out due to the rolling outages.
ERCOT’s Electrical Isolation
Texas has pursued a policy of isolation for the ERCOT power grid so as to keep the state’s largest utilities subject primarily to state, rather than federal, regulation. Two minor links connect ERCOT and utilities in Oklahoma, but they are of little commercial significance. A small interconnection with Mexico was activated to send power into Texas for a few hours, but cold conditions in Mexico required it to suspend the assistance. The policy of isolation is questioned from time to time, but remains popular with the industry and many state policymakers. While the policy has important benefits, the costs are particularly visible at times of system stress.
In the Southeastern corner of the state, Beaumont was not experiencing outages. The local electric utility, Entergy Texas Inc., is not connected to the ERCOT power grid. If Entergy Texas had excess power capacity on Wednesday morning, they could have sold it east into Louisiana or elsewhere as far as Florida or even Maine. However, even thought the utility borders against ERCOT near Houston, no power could flow to help out the rest of the state. Nearby CenterPoint Energy had to blackout an average of about 330,000 customers at a time during the emergency.
Amarillo’s Xcel Energy reported operations were running smoothly despite temperatures falling below zero overnight in the region. If the utility had excess power, however, none of it would have been able to reach ERCOT. Like Entergy Texas, Xcel and other utilities in the Panhandle and South Plains are connected into the Eastern Interconnection, which stretches to the Atlantic coast in the east and to Canada in the north. (On Thursday Xcel called upon consumers in the Panhandle to conserve power and natural gas, as heavy demand for gas was temporarily making the fuel harder to obtain.)
El Paso Electric Co. in the western tip of Texas is not connected to the ERCOT grid, but it also implemented rolling outages Wednesday morning after two of its power plants suffered partial shut downs due to the cold. In the case of El Paso, connected by power lines running throughout the western United States, while it worked to bring the generators back online it could seek out supplies from neighboring states of Arizona and New Mexico, or from as far away as Washington or British Columbia.
Other Single State Power Systems
Two other regional power grids are contained wholly within a single state – the New York ISO and the California ISO. The California ISO relies on imports for about a quarter of its annual energy consumption. The New York ISO similarly imports and exports high quantities of power. Only Texas pursues a policy of isolation.
The inter-system trade in power surely lowers the overall cost of electricity for consumers in New York and California. And, despite some high profile exceptions like the August 2003 blackout that spread from Ohio to New York, these interconnections tend to improve the reliability of power systems, too. More relevant for the current discussion, when emergency conditions arise, neighboring power systems can cooperate to help solve the problem.
Where was the Wind Power?
A few rumors bounced around the radio waves and internet forums on Wednesday linking the rolling blackouts to ERCOT’s wind capacity, one rumor even claiming that wind power had dropped to zero. The rumors were false. News reports indicate that some wind turbines were out of service due to the cold, but the problems appeared not to be widespread. ERCOT spokesperson Dottie Roark said that wind power plants from between 3,500 to 4,000 MW of power during the worst parts of the emergency, about normal for this time of year.
Wind power may have had an indirect effect. The significant investment in wind power capacity may have discouraged some added investment in natural gas or coal powered plants. But given conditions Wednesday mornings, a few additional new thermal plants may not have made much difference. Some existing natural gas generating plants saw their access to fuel curtailed by rules giving higher priorities to other customer categories when supplies become short, other plants were confronted by low pressure in gas pipelines. Additional natural gas plants may have just added to the number of plants without access to fuel. A few of the new coal plants built in recent years were among the plants that were forced out of service yesterday by the cold, key contributors to the problem.
The system needed all of the power it could get. Had more thermal plants been built, at least some of them would have been in service and helpful. Outages would have been moderated a little. Wind generated power was used and useful, but couldn’t be dialed up to produce more during a time of need. Wind power was neither the cause of the problem, nor of any special value in reaching a solution.
Infrastructure Interdependencies a Problem
Emergency actions by ERCOT prevented the generation outages from causing the entire system from failing. ERCOT’s emergency operations seemed to work okay, given the difficult situation. The primary problem on Wednesday was a lack of generator preparation for the extreme cold and the hazards that the weather brought with |
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Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1TMmdQBPolice officers have been patroling the corridors of a school in the Scottish Borders after a surge in antisocial behaviour.
A "zero tolerance" action plan was drawn up after a spate of incidents in recent months at Hawick High School.
One local councillor said staff at the school had faced abuse but the problems involved a "small minority" of youths.
The local council the plan had already resulted in an improvement in the school environment.
A Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said school and council along with Police Scotland had been "working closely over the past two weeks to implement an action plan to tackle recent anti-social behaviour displayed by a very small minority of pupils in the school and wider community and implement a zero-tolerance approach."
In a letter issued last week, Donna Manson, Scottish Borders Council's service director for children and young people, sought to reassure parents.
She said: "From time to time there is some poor behaviour displayed by a minority of pupils, both within the school campus and in the local community.
"I am aware that there have been concerns voiced on social media regarding some anti-social behaviour in the school and wish to reassure you that, in close partnership with the police, social work and youth workers, we are making rapid progress in eliminating this unacceptable behaviour."
"This involves the support of local police, on and off the school campus, and close engagement with families where appropriate."
Image caption The "zero tolerance" action plan is said to have already improved behaviour
Stuart Marshall, a councillor on Scottish Borders Council, said the last few weeks had been a "very worrying time" for pupils, staff and parents.
"They have had to deal with a very small minority of youths who have been causing antisocial behaviour," he said.
"The police were called in to remove one of the pupils a couple of weeks ago. The council are now working flat out with various parties to try and resolve the issues.
"I received information yesterday that normality has been restored at the school but there will be a lot of work being done behind the scenes."
'Shocked' community
Mr Marshall said there would be an enhanced police presence in the school both outside and in the corridors - with police officers also "engaging" with pupils themselves.
More than 50 parents attended a parent teacher council meeting last week to discuss a wider range of measures being drawn up.
Mr Marshall added: "We are very proud of Hawick High School - it has a great track record. It has shocked the community that they are having to deal with incidents like this."
Police Scotland said it had been alerted to "a number of issues relating to the conduct and actions of a small number of pupils" at the school.
Insp Carol Wood said: "To address these issues, officers have been deployed to the school and will engage with staff and pupils on a daily basis to deter offences and assure that any matters which arise are suitably dealt with."Gaby Arellano, deputy of the Venezuelan Coalition of Opposition Parties, clashes with national guards during a rally against President Nicolás Maduro's government in Caracas on April 1. (Marco Bello/Reuters)
Nearly every nation in South America has been jolted by large protests or violent clashes in recent weeks, a continental surge of anti-government anger unlike anything in years.
On the streets of Venezuela, opponents of the left-wing government are squaring off against riot police nearly every day. In Paraguay, angry crowds sacked and firebombed the country’s parliament building after lawmakers tried to alter presidential term limits. Powerful unions in Argentina crippled the country’s transportation networks this month with a general strike.
Whether leftist or right-wing, the governments of Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and even tiny French Guiana are all facing major demonstrations, abysmal approval ratings or both.
The political dynamics vary across the continent, but analysts see common threads. The global commodity boom that ushered millions of South Americans into the middle class has burned out, crimping government finances. And a more politically engaged and plugged-in citizenry has lost patience with rank corruption and the feints of authoritarian leaders who chip away at democratic checks on their power.
In several countries, populist leaders who cast themselves as national saviors and demonized their opponents have turned electoral contests into supercharged life-or-death showdowns, making democratic transitions and ideological compromise all the more difficult.
A man sprayed with tear gas is carried away from protests in Caracas on April 13. (Fernando Llano/AP)
“South America is part of a global pattern, marked by a search for fresh and effective political leadership in agitated and often polarized societies,” said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank, noting significant protests recently in South Africa, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
[Venezuela’s opposition holds its biggest protests in years. Will they change anything?]
That South America is more unstable than it has been in many years shouldn’t come as a surprise either, Shifter said, given the level of economic malaise across the continent. “The region has a strong tradition of protest that tends to come in waves — and is particularly pronounced when long-standing deficiencies are revealed,” he said.
Those shortcomings were a lot easier to gloss over when global prices for oil, iron ore and the region’s other export commodities were high, leaving treasuries flush. Spending the money freely was a surefire way for populist leaders to stay in power.
Led by Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, a generation of charismatic left-wing leaders dominated elections through the first decade of the millennium, including Brazil’s Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa and the Argentine power couple of Néstor Kirchner and his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who succeeded him.
With big personalities and an appeal to nationalism, they won support by conspicuously rejecting neoliberal policy nostrums such as reducing the size of government and privatizing state-owned industries. Those leaders also tapped into frustration with state institutions seen as too servile to the wealthy, but in many instances old elites were replaced by new ones with close ties to the government, creating fresh resentment.
Even the most successful populists have also run into problems at times of leadership change, despite electoral wins that kept their parties in power. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has struggled badly in the shadow of Chávez. Lenín Moreno, who narrowly won Ecuador’s presidential election this month, ran on a campaign of continuing Correa’s leftist policies. But Luis Verdesoto, a political analyst in Quito, said Moreno will take office as a weakened figure lacking a strong coalition.
“Populist leaders have always struggled to transfer votes,” Verdesoto said.
Ecuador’s opposition continues to reject its loss and protest in the streets. Election authorities have agreed to a partial recount. International observers declared the vote fair, but the standoff has left the country split.
[A kinder, gentler leftist aims to bridge angry divisions after Ecuador win]
Venezuela remains the region’s most explosive crisis. The latest protests erupted after its high court — packed with judges loyal to Maduro — tried to strip the country’s opposition-controlled legislature of its authority last month.
At least five people have been killed since then in the country’s most sustained anti-government protests in three years. Maduro’s opponents are demanding new elections, a release of political prisoners and respect for democratic norms.
“The narrative [of populist leaders] was that the rich had always controlled institutions and the law for their own benefit, and the proposal was: Now we will take over the institutions and use them for the common good,” said Gabriela Calderon, a Latin America analyst at the Cato Institute in Washington.
“But the reality turned out to be more of the same, only with different faces at the helm,” Calderon said. “Institutions and laws are still being used to project rather than to limit power, and to protect the powerful from those who would challenge them.”
When lawmakers in Paraguay last month passed a constitutional amendment allowing the country’s conservative president, Horacio Cartes, to run for a second term, anti-government crowds stormed the parliament building and set it ablaze. They saw the move as a power grab in a country where democracy returned in 1993 after four decades of military rule.
In Argentina, center-right businessman Mauricio Macri won Argentina’s presidency in late 2015 running largely as an anti-populist. But the country remains polarized, and Macri has faced crippling strikes led by activists and unions loyal to Fernández.
Even nations such as Chile and Colombia that don’t fit the populist trend have seen large street protests this month against incumbents weakened by low approval ratings and anemic growth.
The corruption scandals nagging at nearly every government in South America have also brought people into the streets. The true legacy of several of the region’s big-spending leaders is just beginning to come to light, but the governments of Lula, Chávez and others are accused of deepening the corruption they claimed to be cleaning up.
The giant Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht won billions of dollars’ worth of contracts across Latin America to build bridges, ports and other public works projects, but is now at the center of Brazil’s sprawling Car Wash investigation, the biggest bribery scandal in the country’s history.
[How a scandal in Brazil is now roiling other Latin American countries]
Odebrecht paid nearly $800 million in bribes, according to prosecutors in Brazil, the United States and Switzerland. Dozens of its former executives have provided plea-bargain testimony alleging illegal payouts to politicians, including top members of President Michel Temer’s cabinet. Temer’s approval rating hovers around 10 percent, and the latest in a series of major anti-corruption protests occurred in late March.
“Anger over corruption is really the one thing that unites Latin Americans right now,” said Brian Winter, editor of the Americas Quarterly journal. It’s partly a reaction to the economic downturn, he said, “but it’s also the product of a middle class that has grown by 50 million people over the last decade.”
Those families “are paying taxes now, and they care about good governance,” added Winter, “and they are smart enough to know that’s impossible unless the old way of doing politics in Latin America changes.”
Read more
How Brazil, the darling of the developing world, came undone
While Trump promotes coal, other countries are turning to cheap sun power
Brazil swings to the right, setting the stage for a Trump-like leader
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign newsCourtesy of the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
Newly released tapes from the archives of the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum reveal many gems of conversation from the Nixon administration, but one seems particularly ironic in today's world of NSA phone surveillance: On May 14, 1973, some guy accidentally got on a call with Richard Nixon. The President is chatting with Len Garment, the head of his legal team, about campaign finance reform, when suddenly another voice appears on the line.
INTERLOPER: "May I help you? Hallo?"
GARMENT: "Uhhh, I'm on this phone here. Please get off."
Apparently, he never knew he was on the line with the president of the United States.
You can listen to the full conversation between Nixon, Garment, and their mysterious interloper here. More tidbits from the Nixon administration to come later today with the screening of Our Nixon here at The Atlantic's headquarters, otherwise known as the Watergate.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.Christmastide Divination by by Konstantin Makovsky showing a Russian folk alectryomancy during Eastern Orthodox Christmastide to foretell a marriage for a young woman in the near future.
Alectryomancy (also called alectoromancy or alectromancy; derivation comes from the Greek words ἀλεκτρυών alectryon and μαντεία manteia, which mean rooster and divination, respectively) is a form of divination in which the diviner observes a bird, several birds, or most preferably a white rooster or cockerel pecking at grain (such as wheat) that the diviner has scattered on the ground. It was the responsibility of the pullularius to feed and keep the birds used. The observer may place grain in the shape of letters and thus discern a divinatory revelation by noting which letters the birds peck at, or the diviner may just interpret the pattern left by the birds' pecking in randomly scattered grain.
In another version, the observer tethers the bird in the center of a circle, around the perimeter of which is marked the alphabet, with a piece of grain at each letter. For each grain the bird pecks, the observer writes down the letter which that grain represents. The observer also replaces each grain as the bird eats it, so that letters may be repeated. The sequence of letters recorded will presumably contain a message.
This form of divination is related to Ouija, by the random selection of letters; to gyromancy, by the random selection of letters from a circle around the diviner himself; and to orniscopy, divination by the movements of birds.
Alectryomancy is also sacrificing a sacred rooster. The use of the sacred rooster through alectryomancy may be further understood within that religious character and likewise defined as the cockfight or cockfighting[1] with the intent of communication between the gods and man.
History [ edit ]
Roosters were commonly used for predictions in different parts of the world, and over the ages different methods were used. The most common and popular form of this divination based on the observation of a rooster eating corn scattered on letters. This practice was used when the sun or the moon was in Aries or Leo. A circle of letters (originally twenty-four in number, since j, v are the same as i, u) was traced on the ground and laid out with some sort of grain placed on each letter. Next a rooster, usually a white one, was let pick at the grains, thus selecting letters to create a divinatory message or sign. The chosen letters could be either read in order of selection, or rearranged to make an anagram. Sometimes readers got 2 or 3 letters and interpreted them. Additional grains replaced those taken by the rooster. We do not know exactly how long ago this form of mantic arts had been practiced, but can date it back to at least 300 A.D. with evidence given by Iamlicus, a Syrian Neoplatonist philosopher from Arabian origin.[2] According to legend, the magician Iamblicus used this art to discover the person who should succeed Valens Caesar in the empire, but the bird picking up four of the grains, those which lay on the letters "T h e o," left it uncertain whether Theodosius, Theodotus, Theodorus, or Theodectes, was the person designated. Valens, however, learning what had been done, put to death several individuals whose names unhappily began with those letters.[3]
Africa [ edit ]
In Africa, a black hen or a gamecock is used, which within such a religious practice and belief "to foresee, to be inspired by a god"[4] may be accurately referred to as a sacred cock or sacred vessel. An African diviner sprinkles grain on the ground and when the bird has finished eating, the seer interprets the designs or patterns left on the ground.
Another method of alectryomancy, supposedly used less often, was based on reciting letters of the alphabet noting those at which a cock crows. Letters were recorded in sequence and then these letters were interpreted as the answer to the question chosen by seers.
Roman alectryomancy [ edit ]
Alectryomancy was part of a deeply entrenched tradition among the Romans, where the chicken is used for all sorts of divination with the belief that the animal is a soothsayer. For this reason, the chicken figured prominently in public policy since no major decision was made without using the animal in divination rites.[5] Aside from alectryomancy, the chicken was also used to divine the future with diviners trained to read meanings in the bird's organs, feather, skin, flesh, and bone.[6]
The Roman chicken divination rituals were complex and conducted with an extraordinary level of organization unparalleled among the ancient civilizations that shared the same practice. One of the earliest forms was developed by the Etruscans, who established an elaborate ritual of alectryomancy using a hen to find answers for life's most pressing problems.[7] The process involved a circle, which was divided into twenty parts to represent the Etruscan alphabet and each sector was sprinkled with corn. The bird is placed at the middle and the sequence of its pecking was recorded. Specifically, alectryomancy was used in ancient Rome to identify thieves.
A rare, obsolete meaning of alectryomancy is "a divination by a cock-stone". A cock-stone or alectoria was "a christall coloured stone (as big as a beane) found in the gyzerne, or maw of some cockes" (Cotgrave). These stones, purportedly found in a rooster's crop, were known to the Romans (in Latin they were called alectoria gemma, literally "cock's gem") and were imputed with magical powers. Apparently, they were used for some sort of lithomantic divination, though the details of this use are not to be found.
References [ edit ]
^ Encyclopaedia Perthensis; or Universal dictionary of the arts, sciences, literature, &c. intended to supersede the use of other books of reference, Volume 1 - Printed by John Brown, 1816. intended to supersede the use of other books of reference, Volume 1 - Printed by John Brown, 1816. p. 394 ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iamblichus ^ https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/alectromancy-or-alectryomancy ^ The meaning of Divination - Merriam-Webster Dictionary ^ Lawler, Andrew (2016). Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 187. ISBN 9781476729893. ^ Winkelman, Michael; Peek, Philip (2004). Divination and Healing: Potent Vision. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. p. 38. ISBN 0816523770. ^ Panati, Charles (1989). Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers. pp. 5–6. ISBN 0060964197.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Feb. 19, 2016, 3:53 PM GMT / Updated Feb. 19, 2016, 4:22 PM GMT By Jon Schuppe
Harper Lee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," a literary classic about racial injustice in the Jim Crow South, has died, her publisher said.
The famously reclusive Lee, 89, had been living in an assisted living facility since suffering a stroke in 2007 that forced her to move home from New York, where she had lived for decades. She died "peacefully in her sleep" Thursday night, HarperCollins Publishers said in a statement.
Lee had a love-hate relationship with 1960's "To Kill a Mockingbird," a semi-autobiographical tale of a girl and her father, a lawyer who represents a black man falsely accused and convicted of raping a white woman in the tiny town of Maycomb, modeled after Monroeville.
Told from the eyes of the precocious daughter, Scout Finch, the book was released at the height of the civil rights era and became an instant sensation. It won the the Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into an Oscar-winning 1962 film starring Gregory Peck as Scout's father, Atticus Finch.
But Lee, soft-spoken and strong-willed, bridled at the relentless marketing of her first novel. She stopped giving interviews in 1964, and, despite aborted attempts at a followup book, never wrote another.
"Mockingbird," meanwhile, went on to sell more than 40 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 40 languages. It was taught to generations of schoolchildren, and brought crowds of tourists to tiny Monroeville, where the local economy now depends on Lee-inspired pilgrims.
"She put us on the map," Tim McKenzie, a director of the Monroe County Museum, told local NBC affiliate WSFA. "People flocked here to see this old courthouse and see the courtroom here, and they wouldn’t have done that if that book had not been written and that movie had not been made."
Pulitzer Prize winner and "To Kill A Mockingbird" author Harper Lee smiles before receiving the 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
“The world knows Harper Lee was a brilliant writer but what many don’t know is that she was an extraordinary woman of great joyfulness, humility and kindness," HarperCollins President Michael Morrison said in a statement. "She lived her life the way she wanted to — in private — surrounded by books and the people who loved her.”
Related: 'Go Set a Watchman' Release: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird' By the Numbers
A year ago, her publisher, HarperCollins, announced the discovery of a long-lost manuscript that Lee wrote before "Mockingbird," with many of the same characters and themes. It featured a grown-up Scout and elderly Atticus, depicted as a virulent racist — upending prevailing notions of him as a hero.
Reaction was mixed. Supporters, including many people of Monroeville, which thrives from "Mockingbird"-related tourism, questioned whether Lee — reportedly nearly blind and deaf — truly wanted the second book to be published. Her lawyer, Tonja Carter, who had recently taken over Lee's affairs following her sister Alice's November 2014 death, insisted that her client was happy with the novel's release.
"Watchman" was published in July and became a bestseller, reflecting Lee's — and her first novel's — enduring power.
Born April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Nelle Harper Lee drew on her experiences growing up a daughter of a small-town lawyer. She attended college in Alabama and studied law, but abandoned those plans in 1950 to pursue her writing career in New York. She supported herself as an airline reservation clerk before devoting all her time to completing "Mockingbird." It took years.
She was joined in New York by her childhood friend and neighbor, Truman Capote, who wrote her into his first book, "Other Voices, Other Rooms." Lee did the same for him in "Mockingbird," basing the character Dill on him.
As "Mockingbird" was being prepared for publication, Capote asked Lee to be his research assistant on a non-fiction crime book. She joined him on reporting trips to Kansas, and helped revise the manuscript for what became 1966's "In Cold Blood," itself a classic.
Lee and Capote's friendship soured in the wake of their mutual triumphs, however. While Capote adored the spotlight and acclaim, Lee recoiled from it. She admitted being frightened about the pressures of repeating "Mockingbird"'s success.
She declined interviews and rarely talked about her life and work, which only stoked the public's fascination with her. She dropped hints of new works, but nothing came of those projects.
But America's love of her did not fade. In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded Lee the Presidential Medal of Freedom. "Harper Lee was ahead of her time, and her masterpiece "To Kill A Mockingbird" prodded America catch up with her," Bush said in a statement Friday.
When her publisher announced last year that it would release "Watchman," it made international news.
HarperCollins Publishers quoted her as saying she hadn't realized the manuscript for "Watchman" still existed, but was "surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it."
Days later, as skeptics began questioning Lee's role in the decision, Carter released a followup statement, attributed to Lee, saying she was "alive and kicking and happy as hell with the reactions of 'Watchman.'"
Lee's agent, Andrew Nurnberg, said Friday that he'd last seen her six weeks ago. "She was full of life, her mind and mischievous wit as sharp as ever," Nurnberg recalled in a statement. "She was quoting Thomas More and setting me straight on Tudor history. We have lost a great writer, a great friend and a beacon of integrity.”The Army, to its credit, tells the story of a middle-aged lieutenant colonel who had served multiple combat tours and was suffering the agonizing effects of traumatic brain injury and dementia. He also had difficulty sleeping. Several medications were prescribed.
On a visit to an emergency room, he was given a 30-tablet refill of Ambien. He went to his car and killed himself by ingesting the entire prescription with a quantity of rum. He left a suicide note that said his headaches and other pain were unbearable.
As if there is not enough that has gone tragically wrong in this era of endless warfare, the military is facing an epidemic of suicides. In the year that ended Sept. 30, 2009, 160 active duty soldiers took their own lives — a record for the Army. The Marines set their own tragic record in 2009 with 52 suicides. And this past June, another record was set — 32 military suicides in just one month.
War is a meat grinder for service members and their families. It grinds people up without mercy, killing them and inflicting the worst kinds of wounds imaginable, physical and psychological. The Pentagon is trying to cope with the surge in suicides, but it is holding a bad hand: the desperate shortage of troops has forced military officials to lower the bar for enlistment, thus letting in people whose drug and alcohol abuse or other behavioral problems would previously have kept them out. And the multiple deployments (four, five and six tours in the war zones) have jacked up stress levels to the point where many just can’t take it.
Advertisement Continue reading the main storyThe tricolored blackbird is pretty rare — populations have rebounded since they were first classified as endangered, but there are still fewer than 250,000 of them on the planet (up from 35,000 in the ’90s). Which means it’s really, really serious that a flock of 50,000 tricolored blackbirds is under imminent threat. That’s 20 percent of the extant population.
The birds are nesting in a private field, which is due to be harvested tomorrow to feed dairy cattle. (Agriculture encroaching on their habitat constitutes the biggest threat to tricolored blackbirds.) Luckily, you can help them. The Audubon Society is trying to raise enough funds by tomorrow to remove the birds from danger, and you can sponsor a bird for a dollar — or five birds for $5, or four-and-twenty blackbirds for four-and-twenty dollars, or 100 tacos for $100. Wait, not that last one.
If I were the Audubon Society I’d offer some kind of bulk discount, like maybe $1 per bird or $3 for five. Or maybe you could get letters from your bird, or naming rights! But I’ll let it slide because they’re working on a deadline. Donate now — the faster the better — to help save a full fifth of the tricolored blackbirds on Earth.The former president of Trader Joe’s thinks he can sell the food that other stores throw out.
At first glance, that sentence looks like it tells you everything you need to know: Like Jeff Bezos’ vision of delivery-by-drones, or Elon Musk’s proposed hyperloop, Doug Rauch’s new venture sounds at once promising and kind of out-there, and like it's possibly just a publicity stunt.
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In interviews with NPR and the New York Times Magazine, Rauch laid out the basics: The Daily Table, due to open in May, will be part grocery store and part cafe, specializing in healthy, inexpensive food and catering to the underserved population in Dorchester, Mass. What makes it controversial – at least at first glance – is Rauch’s business model: His store will exclusively collect and sell food that had crept past its “sell-by” date, rendering it unsellable in other, more conventional supermarkets.
As it turns out, so-called expired food is something of an overlooked commodity. At some point along the chain of production, from when it’s grown to when it’s left on a consumer’s dinner plate, 40 percent of the food produced in the U.S. each year is wasted, and $165 billion goes in the trash.
Meanwhile, nearly 15 percent of U.S. households were food insecure in 2012, meaning there were times when they didn’t know where their next meal was coming from -- let alone whether it would be healthy and wholesome. The connection seems obvious: As Ashley Stanley, whose food recovery nonprofit transports supermarket excess to local Boston food banks, put it, “It’s the most solvable, preventable, unnecessary problem we’ve got.”
But the real challenge, in Rauch's vision, isn’t just getting that excess food to the people who need it. It’s convincing them that it’s worth eating.
The first thing he’ll need to do is get us to stop referring to his offerings as “expired” food -- a term that, Rauch told Salon, isn’t even accurate. There are plenty of reasons why food is deemed unfit to be sold -- whether because it’s past its “sell-by” date, slightly damaged or just a little strange-looking -- even though it’s still perfectly good to eat.
The difference, while mostly semantic, is important. Last September, a major report from the Natural Resources Defense Council and Harvard Law School squashed the long-standing myth surrounding “sell by,” “best by” and “use by” dates on food. It revealed how those dates, which are mostly unregulated and surprisingly arbitrary, tell the consumer next to nothing about how long a product will stay fresh. Yet 90 percent of Americans are under the mistaken impression that they do – and that they are inviolable – causing us to needlessly throw away food.
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The problem, however, begins even before such food reaches people’s refrigerators: It’s against most supermarkets’ policies (including that of Trader Joe’s) to sell food once it’s aged past these mystical dates. Dana Gunders, who co-authored the NRDC report with Emily Leib, sees Rauch’s project as the logical next step in freeing us from the tyranny of date labels. “Just the fact that he’s doing it, I think is a huge proof point to indicate that what we’re calling ‘expired food’ is in fact still good to eat,” she told Salon.
Rauch isn’t the first to look at the vast storerooms of perfectly good produce, bound for the trash heap, and see an opportunity. Stanley’s organization, Lovin Spoonfuls, also serves the Boston area, and New York’s City Harvest, to take a prominent example, has been “recovering” surplus food from supermarkets and restaurants and redistributing it to food pantries and soup kitchens since 1982. And as Rauch himself pointed out, a number of high-end retailers already repurpose their unsellable produce as hot, prepared food.
But Rauch’s focus differs from that of other nonprofit organizations, which are mainly concerned with fixing the broken link between excess food and empty stomachs. For example: Stanley’s ultimate goal for Lovin Spoonfuls, she said, is to put herself out of business – in other words, to solve hunger. “We must never forget that food’s not only a commodity,” she told Salon; more important is its role as a life force. But like it or not, our culture does treat food as a commodity – as something to be coveted and indulged in. Rauch sees that as an advantage.
Rauch, a capitalist first and foremost, is looking for a market-driven solution to food waste. The store is a nonprofit, but after an initial round of funding gets it started, he intends for it to be self-sustaining. And he expects that supermarkets will work with him, “not just because it’s the right thing, not just because they feel bad about throwing it out. All those are true, but also because it’s an underrealized asset”: There’s a federally enhanced tax deduction on the books for restaurants and grocery stores that donate their surplus, which allows them to recover up to 50 percent of their lost margin.
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Rauch is also careful to specify that the Daily Table is a retail store, not a food bank or a soup kitchen. And his target clientele is the working poor -- people who can afford to buy food, but who aren’t buying the right food.
“When I run down to meetings in the inner city in Boston, I’d say most families know that their kids need to eat better,” he said. “Most families know that they’re not giving their kids the nutrition they need. But they just can’t afford it, they don’t have an option.” Rauch intends for his store to put healthy food on the same level as fast food by making it available at the same price. Only then, he said, will the approximately 47 million food insecure Americans have the opportunity to make “an economically agnostic decision” between junk food and healthy food.
A common criticism of food recovery services is that they’re giving poor people rich people’s garbage; in Rauch’s case, he’s been accused of trying to sell it to them. Rauch doesn’t have any delusions about what he’s marketing, though: The best that he, with a fair amount of tongue-twisting, could come up with to describe the Daily Table’s ware was to call it “cosmetically imperfect but nutritionally sound product that’s acceptable, but not exceptional.” Just because food is good to eat doesn’t mean that people will want to eat it – that’s the reason why it ends up as surplus in the first place. And it gives some credence to his critics. “If you’re a customer walking into the store and you’re willing to buy that crooked carrot or the apple with a slight mark on it, I’m sure they’d be happy to sell it to you,” Rauch said. “But if there’s a beautiful apple sitting next to it, I think that you, just like me and everyone else, will take that.”
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That’s hard to argue with, but it’s also hard to argue that a crooked carrot or bruised apple is inferior to a “beautiful” piece of produce when it comes down to what matters most: its nutritional value. The real “garbage,” Rauch would argue, is the cheap-packaged and fast food that people in food deserts like Dorchester are eating instead of fresh produce. Equating excess food with garbage, Gunders added, goes back to that basic misunderstanding about what does and does not count as expired. “It’s not trash,” she said. “That food’s good, and I would eat it and I do eat it. To throw it away, particularly the more nutritious stuff, is a shame.”
The key to making the Daily Table a place where people will actually want to shop will be in finding a way to make that food appealing again, and not just for sentimental reasons. Chopping up that crooked carrot and sneaking it into a minestrone, or pureeing it into a smoothie, to be sold at the store’s prepared foods sections, will help. So may cultivating a different aesthetic from the typical supermarket: The food stocked in the store’s produce section won’t be “ugly,” it will be “authentic.” This, Rauch pointed out, is something that farmer’s markets have already been successful in doing.
“We have a broken food system, with rampant waste, hunger and obesity,” said Jonathan Bloom, whose book "American Wasteland" explores the various facets of food waste. “So we are well overdue for some new ideas.” If Rauch is successful, he will be using the first problem to help fix the other two. And along the way, we might just begin to stop thinking about expired food as trash, and start seeing it as an opportunity.What happened to Little Black Sambo? As a white girl growing up in West Virginia in the 1970s, I remember it on my childhood bookshelf. It was on my friends' shelves too. It may also have been in the dentist's office, along with Highlights for Children and Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors.
It was not on the shelves of the local day care, a center run by an entrepreneurial black woman who saw a business opportunity in the droves of young white mothers who were socialized in the 1950s and '60s to be housewives and then dumped into the workforce by the 1970s economy.
I remember the story primarily for its description of the tigers chasing one another round and round a tree until they melt into butter, butter that Sambo's mother uses for a stack of crispy pancakes. In the 35 intervening years, I knew the book had been relegated to the dustbin of racist cultural artifacts, but I didn't remember it well enough to know why.
"You walk into a bookstore and it's a sea of white. It makes you feel very strange about yourself."
The young woman at the bookstore register flinched when I asked for the book and said she couldn't order it for me; Amazon, until recently agnostic on race relations, dropped a copy in a plain brown wrapper on my doorstep. A quick skim revealed illustrations with the minstrel-show aesthetic — bright, white, round eyes, bulging red lips — of "darky" iconography.
Before the package arrived, I had vaguely entertained the notion of reading it to my sons— I hate to waste a book — but a single glance drove the thought from my mind. One thing I hope to teach them, via reading, is sensitivity to other cultures, and this book is an ugly caricature of black history. I set it in a drawer, stuffed under some papers and hidden from my children forever.
It's not just Little Black Sambo: Lots of kids' books are racist, sexist, or culturally insensitive
Here's what happens when you try to recreate your 1979 childhood library: You buy Bread and Jam for Frances, Frog and Toad, Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, Heidi, The Cricket in Times Square, Lyle Lyle Crocodile, Stuart Little, Babar, Sylvester and |
First Black Trans (M2F) to appear on reality show (P.Diddy) and to produce and star in her own show on VH1 (Transform Me).
NYC LGBT Dinner and Fundraiser. http://www.tonabrown.com 5)Tona Brown-First Black Trans (M2F) trained violinist and opera singer to sing the national anthem for Sitting President of United States. She sang the national Anthem for President Barack Obama forLGBT Dinner and Fundraiser.Corporate conspiracy to keep you sick and diseased
The bigger picture: What are YOU invested in?
Can you pass the investment integrity test?
(NaturalNews) Did you ever wonder how health insurance companies drum up future business? It's easy: Just invest in companies whose products cause chronic degenerative disease, driving people towards more health care needs and therefore more health insurance.And that's exactly what the health insurance industry is doing. A new article published in thereveals that U.S. and Canadian health insurance giants own nearlyworth of stock in fast food giants like McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell and others.So profits made by health insurance companies are reinvested in industries that make people sick and diseased, bringing them back to buy more health insurance down the road. It's a pretty clever business model for an industry that seems focused on the almighty dollar and obviously has no concern whatsoever for the actual health status of its customers. If anything, these health insurance companies hope you get sicker!These unholy alliances among corporate giants that conspire to keep you sick are more common than you think. In addition to health insurance companies owning billions of dollars worth of shares in fast food companies, pharmaceutical companies now own major shares of popular vitamin companies -- the ones that produce the cheap, useless chemical vitamin supplements sold at places like Wal-Mart and Walgreens.Investors in the mainstream media are some of the same companies that own medical imaging equipment manufactures that produce mammography machines and CT scans, too. And did you know that the American Dental Association owns patents on materials used in, which is one of the reasons why the ADA continues to push for installing toxic mercury into the mouths of children? ( http://pnwf.org/Dentistry_Mercury_Columns.pd... This ownership of fast food companies by the health insurance corporate giants demonstrates a deeply disturbing fact about the entire sick-care industry:rather than health. If they can make an extra buck feeding you the very junk foods that arecancer, heart disease, diabetes and strokes, they will absolutely jump on that profit bandwagon no matter what the cost in human lives, pain and suffering.There's an even bigger story to all this, by the way. While it seems altogether contradictory that health insurance companies would invest in fast food chains, the disturbing truth is that many institutional investors hold billions of dollars worth of shares in. Your very own mutual funds may hold large positions in Big Pharma. Even your employer may be investing your pension funds in vaccine-pushing corporations.Right now might be a good time, in fact, to review whatever investments you might have andPersonally, I don't have a single dime invested in any drug company, oil company, junk food company or fast food chain. I prefer to focus on "green" investments that support the things I believe in: Renewable energy, nutrition companies, etc. Did you know that Cyanotech, the Hawaii company that makes spirulina, is a public company? You can actually own stock in Cyanotech (I don't, but only because I don't want a conflict of interest when I write about them). Vitacost.com is also a public company, as are many companies in the natural products space.If you own mutual fund shares, you might be surprised to find out where your money is being invested. You actually have to research it a bit to find out where these mutual funds redirect your money. Most of them invest in Big Pharma in one way or another.Remember that every dollar pumped into the pharmaceutical industry is another dollar that will be used to further expand the medical enslavement of the population through vaccines, medications, chemotherapy and other dangerous chemical treatments. The best way to protect the health of future generations is toby refusing to buy their products or stock shares.It's easy to criticize health insurance companies for investing in fast food chains, but it takes some courage and maturity to reviewinvestments and make sure they're all supporting the right companies.One thing I've learned about people in this world is that some people are so incredibly greedy and selfish that they'll put their money anywhere that makes them the most money, regardless of where it's being invested. Even some people in the natural health industry are that way, I've learned: If they could get a 15% annual return by investing in Big Pharma, they'd do it!So here's something to ask yourself. It's an, actually: If you could make a 5% annual return investing in renewable energy, or a 15% annual return investing in a vaccine-pushing drug company, which one would youchoose to invest in? Consider, too, that your investments are private and no one would really know what you invested in.If you can honestly say you would gladly earnby supporting more natural and health-friendly companies, then you pass the test and you can consider yourself one of the few in our world who truly operate with integrity.ABC NewsAmerican Journal of Public HealthGet 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
Free sanitary products could be available to all girls in secondary schools in Rhondda Cynon Taff if the council passes a new motion later this month.
Plaid Cymru are tabling the proposal, set to go before councillors on July 19, which would offer free tampons and towels to all 7,678 girls in the borough – acknowledging sanitary products are “as essential as toilet paper for the personal hygiene of female pupils”.
The motion, brought by new councillor Elyn Stephens, was always something she wanted to try and change in her area after being elected earlier this year.
The 25-year-old said: “I knew from the start it was something I wanted to do something about.
“I’ve been involved in youth politics for a while before I got elected and it’s something that comes up quite often there but it’s more along the lines of gender equality and basic healthcare. But I noticed in the wider area it doesn’t really come up at all.
“In today’s culture where people have less disposable income it’s becoming more prevalent and I think the stigma surrounding menstrual hygiene has silenced the debate so it’s harder to address the subject because no-one is talking about it.
“So if you’ve got some of the poorer families having a choice between buying food or getting sanitary products sometimes, surely that can’t be right. The taboo of speaking about it has changed our way of thinking.
“To me, naturally, if you’ve got loo roll somewhere then you should have sanitary products.
“I think that if that if someone tried to take away funding for loo roll there would be uproar about it.
“But then again the subject of sanitary products hasn’t been broached for some reason.”
And Elyn said it was more than just offering sanitary products – it was preventing some girls from getting the education they deserve.
She said: “So many girls are missing schools because of this and it’s not just having a detrimental effect on their schooling but also on their health and wellbeing.
“There’s fines if you miss more than 10 sessions in a term. Well, girls are missing more than this and it’s being dismissed as they were ill.
“That isn’t the case. They were just having a normal bodily function.”
'It would be a trailblazer'
The new initiative would cost RCT council around £70,000 a year – but Plaid Cymru group leader Pauline Jarman thinks it’s “a small price to pay”.
She said: “We see it as being a very necessary provision in this day and age.
“Some people do miss school because of the affordability of tampons and towels.
“And 72% of the resident population of RCT live in the most deprived half of Wales so there is an impact on the social wellbeing of young residents as well.
“Reforms and austerity measures have had a severe impact on household incomes. For example in Maerdy people are estimated to have an average loss of £1,000 per adult per year because of benefit changes. So there are real pressures on household budgets.
“And 55% of people in poverty are working families.
“We’re hoping we’ll get unanimous support cross-party for this motion. It would be a trailblazer.
“It’s about time we acknowledge that there are people who need this sanitary wear because there’s it’s a natural bodily function – it’s 50% of the community.”
Scottish Government's pilot scheme
The vote comes as the Scottish Government announced a pilot scheme that will see 1,000 women and girls from low-income families in Aberdeen given free sanitary products to try and tackle “period poverty”.
The six-month run, launched by equalities secretary Angela Constance earlier this week, will see social enterprise company Commuity Food Initiatives North East (CFINE) hand out towels and tampons with the £42,500 needed to back the scheme funded by the Scottish Government.
poll loading Should free sanitary products be given to schoolgirls in Wales? 500+ VOTES SO FAR Yes No
The initiative will eventually see the feminine hygiene products distributed to a local college, three local secondary schools and other charitable organisations and, if continued, would be would make Scotland the first country in the world to provide free sanitary products to women and girls.KFC's new sandwich, the Chicken Filet Double, goes on sale Feb 2. It is something different which may surprise regular diners at KFC. It uses chicken "buns" instead of bread.
The Chicken Filet Double contains two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets, two pieces of bacon, a melted slice of cheese and mayonnaise sauce between two chunks of fried chicken. The seasoning is the same for the regular chicken on the menu.
Leading the new product promotion, KFC at Ikebukuro Sunshine street has been rearranged as a Chicken Double Store until Feb 2.
According to the results of a pre-release survey by KFC, the new type of sandwich surprised people with its strong meat impact but made them curious enough to try it.
The U.S. and Australia have already sold the sandwich named “Double Down.” KFC received inquiries from Japanese fans wanting to try it. So here it is. Just don't try to think about the calories.
Price: 450 yen (500 yen with M size drink)
© Japan TodayMylan Hicks, a player for the Calgary Stampeders, was killed in a shooting at the Marquee Beer Market early Sunday morning.
Police said they were called to the southeast nightclub just after 2:30 a.m. MT on Sunday following reports someone had been shot.
Investigators said the victim was rushed to the Foothills hospital with critical injuries where he later died.
READ MORE: Stampeders remember teammate Mylan Hicks as team player with bright future
Calgary Police Insp. Don Coleman said at a news conference that the altercation began in the bar before moving outside where it escalated and ultimately led to Hicks’ death.
He also said police already have three suspects in custody.
“There were three adult males arrested shortly after the incident, in the area where it occurred,” Coleman told reporters. “One of those males is known to police.”
There is no word yet on what prompted the shooting or whether Hicks was the intended victim.
There was also no word on whether charges are being laid. Police are asking anyone with information to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
Coleman said there were other football players at the bar with Hicks, but it’s unclear whether they were part of the altercation.
A nightclub employee who witnessed the event said it was unexpected because there was no fight inside the bar.
“Nothing happened inside. If a fight happens inside we notify our staff right away and we keep an eye out outside,” he said.
The man, who didn’t want to reveal his name, said the victim was shot in the stomach.
“He was actually in serious condition it was hard for him to breathe we tried to put pressure on his wound we tried to help as much as we could,” he said.
Bar staff were the ones to call 911, and they provided a vehicle description to the police, which helped them find the suspect.
WATCH: Calgary Police give details in death Calgary Stampeders Mylan Hicks
READ MORE: Calgary Stampeders make final roster moves ahead of CFL regular season
In a statement online, the Stampeders said they were “devastated by the news of the death of team member Mylan Hicks.”
Hicks, a 23-year-old Detroit native, was a defensive back on the team. He was added to the Stamps practice roster earlier this year. In 2015, he signed a contract with the San Francisco 49ers but was released before the season started, according to the Stampeders’ website. He previously played for Michigan State.
“It’s a terrible tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mylan’s family,” general manager John Hufnagel said in the statement.
CFL commissioner Jeffery Orridge also offered his sympathies.
Football is family & today we've lost one of our own. My thoughts are with Mylan Hicks' family, friends & @calstampeders organization. #CFL — Jeffrey Orridge (@Commish13) September 25, 2016
“Mylan was a respected young man throughout his collegiate and professional careers,” Brian Ramsey of the CFL Players’ Association said.
“As a member of the Calgary Stampeders, he was just starting to establish himself amongst his teammates, coaches and fans in the city. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mylan’s family, friends, teammates and the Calgary Stampeders organization during this extremely difficult time.”
READ MORE: Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez killed in boating accident
Hufnagel said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that Hicks’ family has been notified of the incident, and the organization is working hard to bring them to Calgary, but since Hicks’ mother doesn’t have a passport it will take time before that happens.
Players are “grief-stricken” according to Hufnagel, because the organization was more like a family.
An autopsy is expected to be completed on Monday.
Coleman said the high profile of the case isn’t fazing police officers.
“There’s no more pressure because every homicide investigation we still want to solve it for the victim and the families that are involved,” he said.
“In this case and we’ve had some excellent witnesses complemented by some great work by patrol officers and those two things alone put us in an advanced state of investigation in the early hours. And we’re hoping we’ll be able to resolve it relatively quickly, but there’s still lots of work to do.”
Since news of his death broke condolences have been pouring in on Twitter.
Football is family. Please keep the tragic loss of @calstampeders Mylan Hicks in your thoughts today. @CFL https://t.co/YeCnOhLjPt — BC Lions (@BCLions) September 25, 2016
Tragic news as our thoughts are with the @calstampeders organization and family of Mylan Hicks this morning. https://t.co/6gGkJTlgiW — WPG Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) September 25, 2016
The REDBLACKS mourn the passing of Calgary Stampeder Mylan Hicks. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, teammates and fans. https://t.co/vFaE2cgjAi — Ottawa REDBLACKS (@REDBLACKS) September 25, 2016
Our sincere condolences to our friends at the @calstampeders as well as family and friends of Mylan Hicks. https://t.co/WAPpnefD9b — UCalgary Dinos (@UCDinos) September 25, 2016
Mylan Hicks and Jose Fernandez, what a horrible morning. RIP to both. — Matthew Gourlie (@MattGourlie) September 25, 2016
Just heard the Mylan Hicks news… Completely devastating. Prayers to his family and to those that knew him. Forever a Spartan. #RIP — Spartan Recruits (@MSU_Recruiting) September 25, 2016
Heartbroken to hear of the news this morning. Sending my condolences to the family of Mylan Hicks as well as the @calstampeders organization — Madison Fertig (@madisonfertig) September 25, 2016The U.S. Navy faces one its biggest fraud cases in years following the discovery of officers accepting bribes in the form of sex, money and tickets to a Lady Gaga concert.
The scandal has threatened the careers of senior officers who accepted kickbacks from a Singapore-based defense contractor, Glenn Defense Marine Asia.
The company’s chief executive and another company official have been arrested, along with a senior agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and a Navy commander who escaped Cambodia’s “killing fields” to become the skipper of a U.S. destroyer, according to The Washington Post.
Glenn Defense Marine, which has serviced and supplied Navy ships and submarines at ports around the Pacific for 25 years, was accused of repeatedly overbilling the Navy for everything from tugboats to fuel to sewage disposal, federal prosecutors say.
At least $10 million in alleged fraud has been found so far, with potentially more to come.
The activity began in 2010 when Glenn Defense’s chief executive, Glenn Francis, and company colleagues pursued Asia-based Navy personnel in an operation designed to acquire inside Navy information. The firm’s targets included Commander Michael Misiewicz “as someone who might be susceptible to providing favor…in return for things of value,” according to court documents.
Misiewicz is a native of Cambodia who made it to the U.S.in 1973 just before his country fell into bloody revolution, wherein his family members would die at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. A Naval Academy graduate, he became commander of a U.S. destroyer, which put him into contact with Glenn Defense. He subsequently became deputy operations manager for the Navy’s 7th Fleet.
Francis showered Misiewicz, and possibly another commander, with Japanese prostitutes, luxury hotel rooms, cash, plane tickets, and even a Lady Gaga concert being held in Thailand. This was done in trade for ship deployment data and to get aircraft carriers and other vessels steered to ports where Glenn Defense could overcharge the Navy for its services.
During a period of two years, NCIS agent John B. Beliveau II supplied Francis with inside tips regarding the status of government investigations into his company. In exchange for that, Beliveau also was provided with prostitutes and free travel by Francis.
It is unusual for military commanders to get swept up in contracting scandals. In this case, the accepting of kickbacks led prosecutors to go after the officers in question.
“Allegations of bribery and kickbacks involving naval officers, contracting personnel and NCIS agents are unheard of,” retired Admiral Gary Roughead, a former chief of naval operations, told the Post.
The Navy had three major contracts with Glenn Defense Marine worth nearly $200 million. They have all been cancelled.
-Danny Biederman, Noel Brinkerhoff
To Learn More:
Senior Officer, NCIS Agent Are among Those Arrested in Navy Bribery Scandal (by Craig Whitlock, Washington Post)
Cover-Up of Prostitution Solicitation by U.S. Ambassador and State Department Personnel Alleged (by Noel Brinkerhoff and Danny Biederman, AllGov)
FBI Accused of Hiring Underage Prostitutes to Trap Gun Traffickers (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
More People Follow Lady Gaga on Twitter than Live in Israel (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)Since contactless payments were first accepted on London buses a few years ago, it's become increasingly easy to get around the capital without cash or a loaded Oyster card. Whether you're equipped with a contactless card, Apple Pay or another mobile wallet, you can ride the vast majority of London transport services hassle-free. And as of today, you can now use contactless payments on the Emirates Air Line cable car, too. Sure, it's a limited service that only travels between the Royal Docks and the Greenwich Peninsula, but if you're after some lofty views of the capital, an empty wallet will no longer impede you. With this addition, London's transport network is almost as contactless-friendly as it can get, with Thames riverboats now the only service that still requires an old-fashioned ticket purchase.Sprint will be expanding their personalized delivery and set up service, Direct 2 You, to three new cities in June. Customers in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City will soon be able to have their phone delivered and set up in the comfort of their own home. Sprint first rolled the service out in the middle of April for customers in Kansas City, Chicago, and Miami. The Direct 2 You service is simple, a Sprint representative will deliver your new smartphone to your location, set it up, and even help personalize the device for you.
By the end of August Sprint hopes to reach 10 additional cities, with 30 more cities by the end of September. Are you in one of these new markets? Be sure to check out the best Sprint phones available today.
Source: SprintSummary Human rights protections in Crimea have been severely curtailed since Russia began its occupation of the peninsula in February 2014. In the past eight months, the de facto authorities in Crimea have limited free expression, restricted peaceful assembly, and intimidated and harassed those who have opposed Russia’s actions in Crimea. In particular the authorities have targeted the Crimean Tatar community, a Muslim ethnic minority that is native to the Crimean peninsula and that has openly opposed Russia’s occupation. At the same time the authorities have failed to rein in or effectively investigate abuses by paramilitary groups implicated in enforced disappearances and unlawful detention and ill-treatment of Crimean Tatars, activists, journalists, and other individuals who are or perceived to be pro-Ukrainian. By bestowing Russian citizenship on Crimea residents through a coercive process, the authorities have also engaged in discrimination against Ukrainian citizens in Crimea, laid the groundwork for the potential expulsion of some Ukrainian citizens, and violated their obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law in relation to protecting civilians’ rights. Following the signing of the Treaty on the Adoption of the Republic of Crimea into Russia between local Crimea authorities and Russia and the Russian Duma passing the law On the Acceptance of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and the Creation of New Federal Subjects on March 20, 2014, Russian and Crimea’s authorities started the process of extending Russian legislation and policy to Crimea. This includes Russian laws relating to citizenship, media registration, and laws on “extremism,” including prohibited literature. In particular, authorities in Crimea have used Russia’s vaguely worded and overly broad anti-extremism legislation to issue several “anti-extremist warnings” to the Mejlis, the Crimean Tatar representative body, and have banned mass public gatherings by the Crimean Tatar community. Between August and October, authorities conducted invasive and in some cases unwarranted searches at mosques and Islamic schools and searched dozens of private homes of Crimean Tatars, including members of the Mejlis. The searches, which the authorities say were conducted to look for “drugs, weapons, and prohibited literature,” were carried out by both local police and Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) but also involved dozens of unidentified armed, masked men. The authorities have harassed pro-Ukraine and Crimean Tatar media outlets, searched their offices, shut down some, and threatened others with closure. The FSB and Crimea prosecutor’s office issued formal and informal warnings to leading Crimean Tatar media outlets against publishing “extremist materials” and invited editors to their offices for meetings during which they threatened that the outlets would not be allowed to re-register under Russian legislation unless they changed what they called their anti-Russian editorial policies. The authorities continue to support so-called self-defense units, armed paramilitary groups which formed in Crimea toward the end of February and were implicated in enforced disappearances, beatings, and in at least one case, the torture of pro-Ukraine activists in March. These units continue to unlawfully detain and beat pro-Ukraine activists in Crimea. The authorities have neither restrained the units from committing abuses nor investigated the abuses themselves. Rather, in June they took steps to regularize the units under the law and give them wider powers. Additionally, in July the de facto prime minister of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, introduced a draft law to the parliament of Crimea proposing to grant amnesty to all members of the self-defense units in Crimea for the period between February and April 2014. At this writing, a similar law is pending in Russia’s State Duma, which proposes amnesty for members of the self-defense units for the period between February 2014 and January 2015 with the exception of those “motivated by personal gain.” This report documents the abuses outlined above. It is based on on-site research in Crimea in October 2014, during which a Human Rights Watch researcher met and spoke with journalists, activists, lawyers, civil society representatives, and members of the Crimean Tatar community, including the leadership of the Mejlis and the Spiritual Directorate of the Muslims of Crimea. Human Rights Watch researchers also conducted telephone interviews with people who have left Crimea for mainland Ukraine. The report also includes previously published material gathered during a research trip to Crimea in March 2014. On November 6, Human Rights Watch sent a letter summarizing our research findings to the Crimean authorities. We have not yet received a response. Human Rights Watch considers that as a matter of international law Russia has been an occupying power in Crimea since at least late February 2014 and assesses its actions with respect to the law on occupation under international humanitarian law. Russia is an occupying power as it exercises effective control in Crimea without the consent of the government of Ukraine, and there has been no legally recognized transfer of sovereignty to Russia. The referendum held by the local authorities, without the authorization of the Ukrainian government or any broad-based endorsement by the international community, and Russia’s unilateral actions following the referendum cannot be considered to meet the criteria under international law for a transfer of sovereignty that would end the state of belligerent occupation. International human rights law also remains applicable to Crimea, including all treaties ratified by Russia, such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Under the law of occupation, Russia has an obligation to restore and ensure public order and safety as far as possible while respecting, unless absolutely prevented from doing so, Crimea’s and Ukraine’s laws in force prior to March 2014. Russia is also responsible for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed by local authorities or proxy forces and has a duty to prevent and prosecute such violations. Russia cites the local Crimean authorities’ request to be part of Russia, later approved by the Russian parliament, to maintain that it is not an occupying power, even though the local authorities had no authority to make that request, that Crimea requested to be part of Russia, and that this request was approved by the Russian parliament. It therefore acts as though Crimea were a part of Russia and extends Russian federal laws to Crimea notwithstanding the presumption imposed on occupying powers that they will respect, unless absolutely prevented from doing so, the occupied country’s laws in force. In this report Human Rights Watch uses the term “authorities” to refer to those in Crimea who de facto exercise effective control on the peninsula and are de facto responsible for the governance and administration of Crimea, irrespective of the legal status of those agents under Ukrainian or Russian law. Human Rights Watch, in accordance with its longstanding policy on laws of armed conflict, remains neutral on the decisions of parties to a conflict to use military force or to militarily occupy of another country or region. However, we seek to ensure that international law governing the conduct of war and occupation are respected.
Recommendations To the Authorities Exercising Effective Control on the Crimean Peninsula and to the Russian Federation Ensure prompt, effective and impartial investigations into all allegations of human rights abuses by the police and other auxiliary forces that have been operating in the region since February 2014.
Disband all self-defense units; the regular police force should not incorporate into its ranks members of self-defense units who have been implicated in human rights abuses.
Ensure that any amnesty adopted to benefit members of self-defense units does not cover serious human rights violations such as the ones documented in this report;
Cease all actions that target members of the Crimean Tatar community under the pretext of combating extremism.
Cease all unjustified interference with media freedoms and ensure that media can convey a plurality of views, even if they do not support Russia’s actions in Crimea; immediately cease and condemn all physical attacks and intimidation against journalists.
Ensure access to Crimea for human rights monitoring by independent groups and humanitarian and intergovernmental organizations without imposing undue restrictions based on point of entry.
Reverse the process whereby Ukrainian citizens were required to choose between Russian and Ukrainian citizenship; ensure that no Ukrainian citizen is pressured, directly or indirectly, into accepting Russian citizenship and that there are no adverse, including discriminatory, consequences for those who retain Ukrainian citizenship.
Ensure that all people can make fully informed choices about citizenship by ensuring availability of clear and accurate information regarding the requirements of Russian citizenship and regarding the consequences of choice of citizenship.
Take no action that would deprive Crimea residents who retain Ukrainian citizenship of rights they enjoyed prior to March 2014. To the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Council of Europe and Their Member States Press members of the UN Security Council to adopt a Chapter VI resolution urging for the full implementation of the recommendations regarding the situation in Crimea contained in the reports on Ukraine by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
to adopt a Chapter VI resolution urging for the full implementation of the recommendations regarding the situation in Crimea contained in the reports on Ukraine by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Press for immediate and unfettered access to Crimea for dedicated UN mechanisms, in particular those relevant to enforced disappearances, such as the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on torture, and also and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders
in particular those relevant to enforced disappearances, such as the the The OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission, whose mandate covers all of Ukraine, should, without further delay, be granted access to establish a permanent presence in Crimea to operate and report freely.
whose mandate covers all of Ukraine, should, without further delay, be granted access to establish a permanent presence in Crimea to operate and report freely. Urge the Swiss OSCE chairman-in-office to organize a public discussion on Crimea during the December 4-5, 2014 OSCE Ministerial Council.
to organize a public discussion on Crimea during the December 4-5, 2014 OSCE Ministerial Council. OSCE participating states should urgently consider organizing informal and open Permanent Council briefings on Crimea, inviting representatives from civil society and other international organizations to report on developments and discuss international responses.
should urgently consider organizing informal and open Permanent Council briefings on Crimea, inviting representatives from civil society and other international organizations to report on developments and discuss international responses. Press for immediate and unfettered access to Crimea for other relevant human rights mechanisms of the OSCE, the UN, and the Council of Europe.
Raise concerns about the human rights violations documented in this report, as well as in regular reports by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and the October 2014 report by the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, and urge the de facto authorities of Crimea and the Russian Federation to promptly implement the recommendations addressed to them.
Urge Ukraine to reconfirm its declaration under article 12(3) of the Rome Statue made on April 17, 2014 accepting jurisdiction for the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the territory of Ukraine but removing time constraints on the court’s jurisdiction, and move swiftly to ratify the Rome Statue including addressing any obstacles to such ratification. To the Government of Ukraine Reconfirm the declaration made under article 12(3) of the Rome Statue of the ICC on April 17, 2014 accepting the jurisdiction of the ICC with respect to alleged crimes committed on Ukrainian territory but removing the time constraints (for the period November 21, 2013 to February 22, 2014) on the court’s jurisdiction. Move swiftly to ratify the Rome Statue, including addressing any obstacles to such ratification.
I. Persecution of Crimean Tatars and
Pro-Ukrainian Activists Background In 1944, Soviet authorities accused the entire Crimean Tatar population of Crimea of collaborating with the Nazis and, as collective punishment, deported all Crimean Tatars, then estimated to be about 240,000 people, to distant regions of the Soviet Union. More than half reportedly died in the months following deportation from starvation and disease. Although Crimean Tatars were allowed to return to Crimea in the mid-1980s, the authorities did not take meaningful steps to facilitate their return or compensate them for lost property. In April 2014, the Ukrainian parliament recognized Crimean Tatars as an indigenous group of Ukraine. Also in April, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on political, cultural, and economic rehabilitation of Crimean Tatars. According to the last Ukrainian population census data, in 2001 Crimean Tatars comprised about 12 percent of the population of Crimea. Enforced Disappearances Human Rights Watch previously documented at least 14 cases in which Crimean Tatars or pro-Ukraine activists were forcibly disappeared, abducted, or went missing in Crimea since March 2014. Six were released. Two of those who were forcibly disappeared or went missing were subsequently found dead. The true number of forced disappearances is likely to be higher. For example, Human Rights Watch reported on the case of two Crimean Tatar cousins, Islyam Dzhepparov and Dzhevdet Islyamov, who disappeared on September 27 after being seen bundled into a minivan by two men in black uniforms. At time of writing, the criminal investigation into their disappearances has not led to results. During the last week of May, Leonid Korzh, Timur Shaimardanov, and Seiran Zinedinov, activists with a pro-Ukraine group, disappeared within several days of each other. Two of them, according to their families, had hostile encounters with the “self-defense” units in March. Their relatives and lawyers said their whereabouts remain unknown, and there has been no progress in investigations into the circumstances of their disappearances. Edem Asanov, a Crimean Tatar who was not politically active but had occasionally discussed on his social network VKontakte page issues related to the situation of Crimean Tatars, disappeared on September 29 in Evpatoria, a resort town approximately 60 km from Simferopol, on his way to work. Six days later, police found Asanov’s body hanged in an abandoned building in Evpatoria. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. Eskender Apselyamov, 23, disappeared on October 3. Relatives told Human Rights Watch that Apselyamov left his apartment to go to work but never arrived. His relatives’ attempts to locate him were unsuccessful. The police have started an investigation. In March Human Rights Watch documented a case of a disappearance and subsequent killing of a Crimean Tatar activist, Reshat Ametov. Ametov’s case is described in more detail below. Harassment of the Crimean Tartar Mejlis and Its Affiliates The Mejlis, a self-governing body comprised of 33 members, is the highest executive body of the Crimean Tatar people and represents them in their dealings with the authorities and international bodies. The Mejlis has openly criticized Russia’s occupation of Crimea, called on Crimean Tatars to boycott the March referendum on Crimea’s status and the September local elections, and also called on the authorities to disarm and disband the self-defense units in Crimea. On April 22, 2014, the authorities banned Mustafa Dzhemilev, the informal leader of the Crimean Tatars and a previous chair of the Mejlis, from entering Crimea for five years after Russia’s Federal Migration Service (FMS) declared him a persona non grata in Russia. On May 3, when Dzhemilev, a Ukrainian citizen, attempted to enter Crimea from mainland Ukraine through the Armyansk checkpoint in northern Crimea, law enforcement and members of self-defense units refused to allow him to enter. On May 14, the authorities searched Dzhemilev’s house in his absence. Dzhemilev has not been charged with any offense. On May 3, 2014, about 2,000 Crimean Tatars came to greet Dzhemilev at the border. According to media reports, some of those gathered at the Armyansk checkpoint broke through a police cordon while attempting to create a corridor through which Dzhemilev could cross through the checkpoint buffered from law enforcement and border officials. Law enforcement stopped the crowd, which at times, according to one eyewitness, became agitated but according to other witnesses, stood down upon Dzhemilev’s request. On the same day, groups of Crimean Tatars protested Dzhemilev’s ban in several cities in Crimea. While the protests were largely peaceful, in some cases they blocked roads, disrupting traffic. Local authorities initiated administrative proceedings against dozens of Crimean Tatars in connection with the events of May 3, fining at least 140 of them for “public disorders” and “unlawful border crossing” for amounts ranging from 10,000 to 40, 000 rubles (approximately US$290 to $1,500). Human Rights Watch was not in a position to independently research the May 3 events and assess whether the administrative charges and fines were proportionate responses to the specific incidents. However, the authorities have subsequently referenced these events to justify extensive searches, warnings, and other measures against Crimean Tatar groups and individuals. The authorities have not produced new, specific evidence to justify such measures. Rather, the measures appear from their scope and frequency and from the vague accusations levelled at those targeted designed to intimidate members of the Crimean Tatar community who are perceived as opponents of Russia’s takeover of Crimea, and therefore opponents of Russia. On May 4, the prosecutor of Crimea issued a warning to Refat Chubarov, the chair of the Mejlis, that the group was at risk of being accused of “extremist actions” for the May 3 events. Chubarov told Human Rights Watch that the prosecutor read the warning out to him and threatened to dissolve the Mejlis and ban its work should it engage again in such “extremist” activities as the May 3 actions but did not provide him with a copy of the warning. On July 5, authorities banned Chubarov, who at that time was away from Crimea, from entering |
to take an active role in the political campaign, much less to do so using stolen information."
Business with the oligarchs
Trump's financial dealings with Russia could provide some answers about this new political relationship but Trump hasn't been forthcoming.
The Washington Post has been digging into Trump's business ties with Russia. As U.S. banks withdraw from doing business with Trump, speculation has mounted that he may be bankrolled by Russian interests. Trump has not hidden his appetite for potential partners in Russia.
"Even as recently as 2013, he expressed interest and excitement about potentially doing a project there, working with a well-known businessman in Russia," says Bump.
"His son, for example, said that Russia was a big customer of theirs. Russians, a lot of them were buying properties that were Trump properties in 2008. He said it was a significant part of their business."
Trump was in Russia in 2013 when the Miss Universe pageant, which he owned at the time, was hosted in Moscow and says he met then with several oligarchs.
"Donald Trump understandably got a cut of the money that was raised by businessmen to bring the event to Moscow." says Bump. "It was one of the few known instances in which Donald Trump actually made money directly from Russians in that regard."
Donald Trump's tweet on June 18, 2013
"But secondarily, it also established that Donald Trump was very interested in getting to know Vladimir Putin," says Bump. "He even tweeted at the time —probably jokingly, but in words that have come back to haunt him — that he's going to do this event in Moscow, and hopefully Vladimir Putin would become his friend."
"And since that point in time Donald Trump has talked with some regularity about Putin. He has hinted that the two of them had talked and gotten to know one another — hints that he has backtracked on this week because of those questions [about his business ties.]"
The tax returns he won't release
Trump reiterated this week he would not release his tax returns which led some, including conservative columnist George Will, to conclude there's information in those documents that show his indebtedness to Russian interests.
Trump took to Twitter and claimed he had "ZERO investments" in Russia. But some saw this less as a denial and more of a dodge.
"I think it's important to note that he said 'For the record, I have no business interests in Russia.' Which, of course, he refuses to provide the records that would show if he did or not. I think that was an interesting contrast," says Bump.
"The question mark that hangs over this is because Trump hasn't released his tax records, it's impossible for us to know what the composition of his income is, and has been — making it much harder to assess how close those ties actually are."
Will voters care?
Polls show that Trump enjoyed a bounce coming out of the Republican convention, his numbers making him competitive with Hillary Clinton. If the leaks and comments about Russia were calculated to disrupt any momentum the Democrats have, they may have played their part.
Philip Bump says speculation over Trump's involvement in Russia may not hurt his numbers in the short term.
"I think one of the things that happens in a campaign is that people don't suddenly switch from one candidate to the other. They sort of fall out of love and then are less inclined to actually vote."
"It's out of his control; there's no indication at all that he is actively seeking seeking Russian aid in this. But [if American voters] are concerned about this at all, they are not going to look at it favourably."Genocide
The crime of destroying or conspiring to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
Genocide can be committed in a number of ways, including killing members of a group or causing them serious mental or bodily harm, deliberately inflicting conditions that will bring about a group's physical destruction, imposing measures on a group to prevent births, and forcefully transferring children from one group to another.
Genocide is a modern term. Coined in 1944 by Polish scholar of International Law Raphael Lemkin, the word is a combination of the Greek genos (race) with the Latin cide (killing). In his book, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, Lemkin offered the definition of "a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves" (Lemkin 1944, 79). The book studied in particular detail the methodology of the Nazi German genocide against European Jews, among whom were his parents. Later, he served as an advisor to both the U.S. War Department and the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi leaders for War Crimes. He dedicated his life to the development of international conventions against genocide.
The contemporary archetype of modern genocide is the Holocaust, in which German Nazis starved, tortured, and executed an estimated six million European Jews, as well as millions of other ethnic and social minorities, as part of an effort to develop a master Aryan race. Immediately upon coming to power in Germany in 1933, the Nazis began a systematic effort to eliminate Jews from economic life. The Nazis defined persons with three or four Jewish grandparents as being Jewish, regardless of their religious beliefs or affiliation with the Jewish community. Those with one or two Jewish grandparents were known as Mischlinge, or mixedbreeds. As non-Aryans, Jews and Mischlinge lost their jobs and their Aryan clients, and were forced to liquidate or sell their businesses.
With the onset of World War II in 1939, the Germans occupied the western half of Poland, forcing nearly two million Jews to move into crowded, captive ghettos. Many of these Jews died of starvation and disease. In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The Nazis dispatched 3,000 troops to kill Soviet Jews on the spot, most often by shooting them in ditches or ravines on the outskirts of cities and towns. Meanwhile, the Nazis began to organize what they termed a final solution to the Jewish question in Europe. German Jews were required to wear a yellow star stitched on their clothing and were deported to ghettos in Poland and the Soviet Union. Death camps equipped with massive gas chambers were constructed at several sites in occupied Poland, and large crematories were built to incinerate the bodies. Ultimately, the Nazis transported millions of Jews to concentration camps, in crowded freight trains. Many did not survive the journey. Once at the death camps, many more died from starvation, disease, shooting, or routine gassings, before Allied forces liberated the survivors and forced the Nazis to surrender in 1945.
Following the exterminations of World War II, the United Nations passed a resolution in an effort to prevent such atrocities in the future. Known as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (78 U.N.T.S. 278 [Dec. 9, 1948]), the resolution recognized genocide as an international crime and provided for its punishment. Proposed and partially formulated by Lemkin, who had lobbied nations tirelessly for its adoption, the convention also criminalized conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, attempted genocide, and complicity in genocide. Its definition of genocide specified that a person must intend to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Thus, casualties of war are not necessarily victims of genocide, even if they are all of the same national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The convention requires signatory nations to enact laws to punish those found guilty of genocide, and allows any signatory state to ask the United Nations to help prevent and suppress acts of genocide. The convention was, by itself, ineffective. Article XI of the convention requires the United Nations' member countries to ratify the document, which many did not do for nearly 50 years. The United States did not ratify the convention until 1988. Before doing so, it conditioned its obligations on certain understandings: (1) that the phrase intent to destroy in the convention's definition of genocide means "a Specific Intent to destroy"; (2) that the term mental harm used in the convention as an example of a genocidal tactic, means "permanent impairment of mental faculties through drugs or torture"; (3) that an agreement to grant Extradition, which is part of the convention, extends only to acts recognized as criminal under both the country requesting extradition and the country to which the request is made; and (4) that acts in the course of armed conflict or war do not constitute genocide unless they are performed with the specific intent to destroy a group of people.
On November 4, 1988, the United States passed the Genocide Implementation Act of 1987 (18 U.S.C.A. § 1091 [1994]). This act created "a new federal offense that prohibits the commission of acts with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group; and to provide adequate penalties for such acts" (S. Rep. No. 333, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 1 [1988], reprinted in 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4156).
In 1990 the U.S. Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C.A. § 1182), a comprehensive reform of immigration laws. As part of this reform, Congress mandated that Aliens guilty of genocide are excluded from entry into the United States, or deported when discovered. However, the INA lacks a clear definition of genocide, referring only to the U.N. convention drafted more than 40 years earlier.
The unclear definition of genocide makes its prevention and punishment difficult. Whether massive, and often barbaric, loss of life within ethnic, national, religious, or racial groups rises to the crime of genocide—or is simply an unpleasant by-product of war—is open to debate. Until international trials in the late 1990s, the Holocaust of Nazi Germany was the only example recognized throughout the international community as genocide.
Apart from the Holocaust, there have been a number of other events that at least some commentators have described as genocide. These include the devastation of numerous Native American tribes through battles with European settlers and exposure to their diseases; the killing of some 1.5 million Armenians by the Turks during and after World War I; the deaths of approximately 1.7 million Cambodians under the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979; the killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians during the Vietnam War; the deaths of more than 20,000 Christian Orthodox Serbs, Muslims, and Roman Catholic Croats in "ethnic cleansing" arising out of the civil war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina during the early 1990s; and the deaths of more than one million Rwandan civilians in ethnic clashes between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples, also during the early 1990s.
During the 1990s, the United Nations Security Council twice convened international tribunals to prosecute genocide and other flagrant humanitarian violations. The International Criminal Tribunals for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR) were convened in 1993 in the Hague, the Netherlands, and in 1995 in Arusha, Tanzania, respectively. As the first courts of their type since World War II, their work, which sought to fix personal responsibility for mass murder, continued into the new millennium.
Given the vast scope and complicated nature of trying crimes of genocide, neither body has moved swiftly. By 2003, the ICTR had indicted 52 people and had completed nine trials stemming from the Rwanda slaughter, while also becoming the first international court in history to hand down a conviction for genocide. By comparison, the ICTY had indicted 87 people and had concluded 23 trials. During 2002, worldwide attention focused upon the opening of the ICTY's long-awaited trial of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, accused of ordering atrocities in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo at various times between 1991 and 2001. Arrested after flouting the tribunal's indictment for two years, Milosevic's delivery to the Hague in 2001 made him the highest-ranking European leader since the Nazi era to face trial for war crimes.
Humanitarians, politicians, and international legal scholars are struggling to find an effective way to prevent and punish genocide. Many have called for revising the genocide convention to better meet the needs of the current political, social, and economic environment, by creating a broader definition of genocide and establishing procedural guidelines. Still others have proposed international military intervention in order to prevent or stop genocide.
Further readings
BBC News. 2003. "The Charges Against Milosevic." BBC News World Edition (February 20). Available online at <news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1402790.stm> (accessed November 12, 2003).
Chrisopoulos, Paul. J. 1995. "Giving Meaning to the Term 'Genocide' as It Applies to U.S. Immigration Policy." Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Journal (October).
Heidenrich, John G. 2001. "The Father of 'Genocide'—and Its Biggest Foe." Christian Science Monitor (June 27).
Kennicott, Philip. 2002."Nearly Nine Decades After the Massacres, a Battle Still Rages to Define 'Genocide'." The Washington Post (November 24).
Lemkin, Raphael. 1944. Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation—Analysis of Government—Proposals for Redress. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Available online at <www.prevent genocide.org/lemkin/AxisRule1944-1.htm> (accessed November 20, 2003).
Yacoubian, George S., Jr. 2003. "Evaluating the Efficacy of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia." World Affairs 165 (January 1).
Cross-references
Hitler, Adolf; International Law; Nuremberg Trials; United Nations.Greetings Citizens,
We are revamping the “Ask a Dev” area of the RSI forums to make it easier to have your answered by Star Citizen’s developers! Due to the proliferation of repeated questions and continued confusion among those not familiar with individual members of the team, we are switching from threads for individual developers to topics that will allow you to interact with the entire team. The forum will now be divided into areas for each development discipline of each portion of Star Citizen in development. As we shift the focus to future modules, more threads will be added to cover them! Team leads will be responsible for making sure their teams keep dev threads up to date and that everyone working on Star Citizen continues to interact with the community.
Previous threads will be archived in the forums for future reference.
You can find links to the new topics below:
Hangar Module
Dogfighting Module
Squadron 42
Persistent Universe
GeneralErik Sung found inner happiness through a meditation-based religion, but since donating his home near Lake Forest to his church, he said he has experienced anything but peace.
Neighbors are decidedly skeptical about the Maum Meditation Center, which filed a federal lawsuit to force officials to classify it as a religious institution, which is allowed under zoning laws in unincorporated Lake County.
At first, officials questioned whether Sung's two-story, 2,800-square-foot house in a serene, woodsy neighborhood should be considered a community service, like a yoga studio. Officials say they weren't given enough information about the meditation center to declare it a religious institution — until the lawsuit provided more detail.
The case highlights the challenges officials face in legally defining a church without violating the constitutional right to religious freedom — while also accommodating nearby residents.
"All I wanted to do was allow some people to meditate," said Sung, 48, an electrical engineer, who formerly lived alone at the house with his dog. He hopes to stay in the house after it turns into a full-time meditation center, if permitted under the law, much like a priest would live in a rectory.
"We want to be able to bring happiness to everyone else," he said.
In Sung's neighborhood on Elm Road, the driveways are long and winding and the lots large enough that one resident keeps horses on the property. But ever since Sung installed a stone monument that says "Maum" at the foot of his driveway, he said, some have called his faith a "cult" and reported him to authorities for myriad offenses, such as walking his dog without a leash.
Sung, who is footing the bill for improvements to the home, must now meet permit requirements that include adding a parking lot, accessible bathrooms and a sprinkler system. On Thursday, he argued with county inspectors who pointed out the changes required, including moving the stone monument 10 feet away from the property line.
Sung had already obtained permission for the monument, but since it is now considered an advertisement for the church — not art — it must be moved farther away from the street to meet code, said Patrick Tierney, Lake County project manager. The tan stone, placed in the center of a landscaped bed of rocks, sits about 3 feet high with the word "Maum" engraved on the front.
"That thing weighs a ton," said Sung, who also learned he will have to do soil testing and wetland studies before opening the center.
Because of the controversy over the meditation center, a County Board committee is scheduled Tuesday to review its zoning use ordinance and consider restricting the hours for religious assemblies to between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Under the proposed amendment, churches would be allowed to assemble up to 15 times annually for events after 8 p.m.
Eric Waggoner, the county's planning and building director, said he did not have enough information about the center when Sung approached officials about his plan in late October.
Frustrated with delays, Sung filed the lawsuit May 22 alleging that his religious freedoms were being violated. Two weeks later, the county agreed that the Maum Meditation Center is a religious institution. Maum will still attempt to recover damages it says are owed by delays in the center's opening. A status hearing is scheduled July 1.
Early on "in the material he presented to us and in discussions with us, the focus was on the physical and psychological benefits of meditation and the description of meditation sessions," Waggoner said. "There wasn't any discussion of the concept of religion."
But he also conceded that there are no hard-and-fast guidelines on what constitutes a religion, and that proposals for new churches are handled on a case-by-case basis.
Legal experts agree that, nationally, administrators and courts have shied away from defining religion.
"No single feature unites all the things that are disputably religions," said Andrew Koppelman, a law professor at Northwestern University and author of the book "Defending American Religious Neutrality."
"For instance, you might think that all religions believe in some god, but then there is Buddhism, which in its original form doesn't care about god at all. All you can say is religions just have a family resemblance to one another."
Despite that, there are very few cases in which courts have struggled to define religion, Koppelman said. "Generally, we know it when we see it."
In Sung's neighborhood, residents who oppose the center in complaints to the county declined to comment. But emails cited in the lawsuit indicate that neighbors are concerned about the number of vehicles at the residence, hours of operation and increased foot traffic.
"You can pick any religion you want, and if they want to build something or change something, people are concerned," Ann Maine, the Lake County board representative for the area, said.
Maum Meditation, "like everybody else, has to follow the process," she said.
In nearby Lake Bluff, officials stopped a man from using the racquetball court in his lakefront mansion as an Armenian church for his family. Village officials said George Michael was trying to avoid paying about $80,000 a year in property taxes.
The Illinois Department of Revenue initially approved the exemption in 2007, but a judge reversed the decision two years later.
Department spokeswoman Susan Hofer said that when determining if an entity is a church, state officials first check if there is an affiliation with an established religious institution. They determine the use of the building, and if it contains a sanctuary or classrooms, a food pantry or child care service.
"Then we look at what the local government says … because they know their neighborhoods," Hofer said.
Maum Meditation, started in South Korea by founder Woo Myung in 1996, claims to operate 340 centers worldwide, according to its website. Members have opened centers in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, in Schaumburg and at a temporary site in Glenview.
Practitioners enroll in classes whose fees range depending on the center's need but are typically $150 monthly, said Soonae Yoon, an organizer who ran into resistance while trying to open a center in Morton Grove.
She described the religion as a way to cleanse the mind, discard the ego and achieve truth through an eight-level process.
Five to eight people are expected to meditate together at any one time at Sung's house, with cushioned floor-level seats provided in two rooms. "Helpers" will guide the members through their meditation.
"Maum Meditation is throwing away the false mind," says a sign in one room.The Essence of the Buddhist Practice
What is the Essence of Buddhist Practice? The Buddha taught how to open the casket of our minds, to the vast expanse inside and outside.
Instead of living in a cocoon of worries and anxieties about everything,
Instead of living a life of destructive emotions,
Instead of the futile hope of a god coming and fixing our problems,
Instead of the futile hope of the world outside fixing all our problems,
Instead of the futile hope of finding peace in the ravines of mind away from the world,
Instead of hopelessly falling into inaction and depression,
The Buddha showed, how
To uncover the vast spaciousness of mind where everything is resolved,
To unleash the mind into its very nature of clear awareness and bliss,
To live a life of peace, happiness and contentment in the spacious expanse of wisdom,
To experience the world vividly with all its fine links of interconnectedness,
Above all, to live a life of compassion and loving kindness
Where we not only remain free from our own suffering,
But, stand joyously and courageously to bring benefit to all,
To help others free themselves from their suffering.
All of these rely on a simple point. That is to be aware – clearly, openly and spaciously. In Buddhist practice, in meditation and beyond meditation, one cultivates mindful yet relaxed awareness. Observing our own thoughts and experiences, we can see what is wholesome and unwholesome. With clear awareness, we can see the confusions we hold, around which we give in to emotions and turn life miserable. With that awareness, then we cultivate wisdom to let those confusions and miseries dissolve in their own space.
The practice of Buddhism is not at all about learning new dogmas, but of unlearning and opening up to the freshness and immediate presence of our awareness. It is all about breaking beyond the misconceptions and habits we hold fast tightly as the foundation of all our miseries.
With the attitude of genuine and unbiased inquiry, Siddhartha, the prince who turned into a wandering inquirer to fix the pain of all, himself took such a path of awareness. He observed his own experiences, investigated and found the causes of happiness and suffering. He found how to overcome those. Then, he showed how we can make similar findings. He showed how we can befriend our own minds, get to know it closely, nurture and develop it. Above all, he showed how we can awaken our minds to its vast potential through gently getting to know it.
To be aware in view, meditation and conduct is the essence of the Buddhist practice.
The way he showed to go beyond suffering to limitless compassion, blissful living and perfect awakening all relied on simple and practical steps. This is perfectly within the reach of everyone. The Buddha did not prescribe any religious dogmas to do so. In fact, Buddhism is not at all about learning new dogmas, but of unlearning and opening up to the freshness and immediate presence of our awareness. It is all about breaking beyond the misconceptions and habits we hold fast tightly as the foundation of all our miseries. As we unlearn them we open up to the original perfection, the very nature of our minds – the ever fresh and clear nature of our awareness with its innate quality of being happy, peaceful and compassionate.
The way to unlearn
The entire learning and training of Buddhism is about unlearning those miserable misconceptions and habits. Now, how do you unlearn? There are so many ways that suits different individuals. No matter whether you are a house holder with so many other things to take care in life or a dedicated practitioner, there are ways for all. All these various ways boil down to cultivating clear awareness in three aspects that cover entire life – namely, view (dṛṣṭi), meditation (bhāvana) and conduct (carya). To be aware in view, meditation and conduct is the essence of the Buddhist practice. As we shall see, the openness and wisdom that come from each of these three end up supporting the other two, thus leading us gradually to the clear wisdom of perfect unlearning.
The View
The view is the freshness that comes from unlearning misconceptions and habits, and from the widening and deepening of our perspective.
The view means the perspective of seeing ourselves and the world free from all prejudices. It is the panoramic openness that we cultivate where the attention to particulars do not blind us from seeing everything in its own place. The view is the freshness that comes from unlearning misconceptions and habits, and from the widening and deepening of perspective.
Genuine meditation should involve settling into an expansive view free from prejudices and tasting the strength of that expanse.
The view is also what helps us break the habitual barriers and see things clearly in meditation. If we do not develop that kind of a view, meditation will not have the juice of freshness to bring transformation. Often, this is the mistake that people make while trying to meditate. They either try to silence the mind, or simply keep wandering through the very patterns of misconceptions and habits that have been limiting them. Genuine meditation should involve settling into an expansive view free from prejudices and tasting the strength of that expanse.
The view begins to broaden while listening to the words of wisdom, as it reveals the fallacies in our way of thinking and makes us think in broader ways. As we reflect further on the meaning of those words, the view deepens. It brings freshness and depth to the perspective. Further, meditation and wisdom-conduct gradually eliminates old habits and we learn to settle into the comfort of ever-fresh openness of the view. The view, in turn, makes meditation meaningful. Also, the view leads to spontaneity in wisdom-conduct, bringing ease to the way we deal with the world.
Meditation
Meditation with the correct view also puts us in direct contact with the basic goodness – our innately perfect qualities such as clarity, compassion and loving kindness – so that we learn to ‘see’ beyond confusion.
Meditation means settling mind in clarity and openness. With clear and stable awareness, meditation helps us to accustom with the view and deepen the exposure to the view in a direct way in our immediate experience. Thus there is the dawn of direct insight into the nature of our existence. In meditation, the view becomes a lived experience.
Meditation with the correct view also puts us in direct contact with the basic goodness – our innately perfect qualities such as clarity, compassion and loving kindness – so that we learn to ‘see’ beyond confusion. Thus, while the view helps us during meditation to settle and penetrate reality, meditation in turn opens us to a clearer view of reality. The clarity and stability cultivated through meditation is not limited to just meditation sessions. We extend that clear awareness and mindfulness as the conduct all through life. In a nutshell, meditation in Buddhism is not an escape route from everything else. Instead, it prepares and strengthens us to face the world.
Conduct
Conduct is all about bringing the wisdom perspective to life. It is the awareness and mindfulness that we bring to every aspect of life.
Conduct is basically all that we do outside meditation. It is the way we relate to our world 24×7 in all our activities, no matter what we do in life. Conduct is all about bringing the wisdom perspective to life. It is the awareness and mindfulness that we bring to every aspect of life. The view, that is the unlearning of misconceptions and habits, is applied in every aspect of our lives through conduct. We try to do what makes sense from our wisdom perspective. In turn, conduct deepens view because it sensitizes us to the nuances of the world and makes us reflect deeper than just holding a bookish and dogmatic knowledge. Further, the right conduct strengthens meditation because meaningless distractions are naturally pacified.
The Harmony of View, Meditation and Conduct
As Guru Padmasambhava, the great master who took Buddhism to Tibet and preserved there, taught,
Maintain the view as spacious as the sky.
Yet, in conduct, regard cause and effect
as fine as grains of flour.
The practice leads to familiarizing ourselves with the natural harmony of view and conduct in our innate wisdom nature – the basic goodness. Then meditation is exhausted as there is no difference between meditation and non-meditation. One transcends beyond holding to any view, as one sees everything so clearly as if looking from the top of a mountain peak, seeing how different perspectives fall in their own places.
(See Carefree Expanse – Careful Conduct for an explanation to the above verse.) Go beyond all boundaries and limited religious thinking, beyond all sectarian doctrinal thoughts, to the clear expanse of awareness, of seeing everything in its own place. Relax and let go in that vast openness. Without parting from that space, apply discerning wisdom, apply attention to detail, and do what benefits oneself and others. Eventually, one frees oneself from all forms of limited system thinking. Yet, one does not simply blank out in a void openness. One gains the ability to work with any system, while fully knowing the limitations of every system.
As Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, a great Dzogchen master of recent times beautifully expressed (Magic Dance),
There is no communication in relative truth Without understanding everyone’s system and ideas, So may I adapt to everyone’s systems, Wishing for everyone’s benefit. There is no liberation in absolute truth Without release from everyone’s system and idea, So may I adapt to no one’s system, Beyond benefit’s wish.
Meditation should harmonize the view and conduct, bringing the panoramic awareness of view and meticulous attention of conduct to every aspect of life. This is indeed the very essence of Buddhism.
The practice leads to familiarizing ourselves with the natural harmony of view and conduct in our innate wisdom nature – the basic goodness. Then meditation is exhausted as there is no difference between meditation and non-meditation. One transcends beyond holding to any view, as one sees everything so clearly as if looking from the top of a mountain peak, seeing how different perspectives fall in their own places. One also transcends all contrived adherence to conduct as the wisdom awareness naturally outflow in appropriate conduct. This is indeed the culmination of the any pathway of Buddhism.
The Buddha summarized his entire teachings into the following four lines (pratimokṣa sūtra – the Sutra of individual liberation)
Abandon negativity whatsoever. Bask in the abundance of virtues. Perfectly conquer one’s own mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha.
Here, the first two lines relate primarily to the conduct. The third relates primarily to taming, training and perfecting one’s mind to its original abilities through the three aspects of view, meditation and conduct.
Various Ways of Practice
This short note was written as brief introduction to Buddhism for those who have no clue about what it is. The Buddha cuts through many misconceptions of worldly people to lead us to the ultimate fruition of perfect awakening. When some of these teachings are read out of turn, i.e., without building clarity on preceding points, it may appear beyond comprehension. There is nothing to worry. You can start with whatever is appealing and leave the rest away. Just develop that level of wisdom and openness through being aware in the view, meditation and conduct. And, as you develop appreciation for the remaining teachings, those aspects are cultivated precisely in the same style – through being aware in the view, meditation and conduct. That way, “The view, meditation and conduct”, is the framework from beginning to end, for all ways of Bodhi.
For example, the Buddha taught in many different scopes and some of them may be beyond comprehension at first.
Wholesome Living – How non-harming and benefitting attitude leads to healthy minds and happy life. Nirvana (Liberation) – How abandoning self-clinging leads to the supreme bliss and perfect peace, Sambodhi (Perfect Awakening) How selfless and boundless compassion to all beings makes our existence utterly joyous and meaningful
How all our experiences are merely illusion-like and completely workable
How we have the innate ability to be fully enlightened Buddhas in this very lifetime
And, all of these may not appeal to all, and that is perfectly alright.
As far as we gradually unlearn confusions and habits and open up to living in a spacious expanse in this way, nothing else is required. Without having to please any gods and without having to wait for newer technologies to fix our problems, we can easily tame our minds and find peace, happiness and auspiciousness.
May all find peace and happiness through such an open approach to transforming lives!Image copyright Reuters
The last time I was here - at the party conference in Doncaster - I was surrounded by jubilant UKIP supporters. Some were waving flags and whooping their leader Nigel Farage out of the auditorium. Others were taking photos of each other on stage. All because of the man who'd just been snuck into Doncaster racecourse in a blacked-out car.
The then Tory MP Mark Reckless defected to UKIP at the end of its conference a year ago. At the time I reported that it felt like being among the fans of the winning team at an FA Cup final. It seemed the 'tremors' ahead of the much promised "earthquake" were shaking the ground in Yorkshire.
But it turned out that was the high. On the day of the general election, Mark Reckless was rejected by the people of Rochester, Nigel Farage failed for the seventh time to become an MP and all that talk of the "people's army" taking over in Boston, Grimsby and Thurrock came to nothing.
UKIP was left with a single representative in parliament. The leader resigned and then "un-resigned". A brief period of civil war ensued.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Nigel Farage with former UKIP MP Mark Reckless, who lost his seat in May
There was, though, much for the party to be positive about.
It picked up almost four million votes and a slew of portentous second places in dozens of seats across Labour's heartland in the north of England. Most of all the Tory win ensured that the UK will get a referendum on membership of the European Union - the event that UKIP has been fighting for since its inception.
But UKIP has big decisions to make and big problems to face.
Is it a broad political party?
UKIP has considerable pockets of support across the country but there was no break-out at the last election.
Does that remain its ambition, to broaden its base in line with party chairman Steve Crowther's 2020 strategy and get more MPs? The next test is elections across the nations next year and the London mayoral race.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nigel Farage tells Newsnight on the migration crisis: "We're opening our doors to jihadism"
Senior UKIP figures point to Wales, where they've high hopes of making inroads into the assembly. That's a boost they need.
Or is UKIP a one-issue movement?
The reality now is that it's all hands on deck for the EU referendum. Nigel Farage has always denied he leads a one-issue party yet that is what it will look like from now on.
He's made no secret - in fact it's been a major selling point - that he believes only UKIP can provide the backbone for an effective "leave" campaign. As this conference beckoned, he told me they are "raring to go" with their "raison d'etre ahead".
What about Nigel Farage?
He is probably the most prominent - and arguably the most effective - proponent of leaving the EU. His national tour is under way, across the UK, with numerous public meetings planned to spread the word. But he knows that neither of the established "no" campaigns want him to lead their efforts, or the unified campaign that most expect to emerge next year.
He also knows that there are prominent members of his party, people he trusted to run the general election campaign he is so proud of, that agree with that assessment. For now though he doesn't care. There's a vacuum - he's filling it. But could he, should he, take a step back?
Does UKIP have a shelf life?
'The party's nearly over'
A prominent UKIP donor told me, privately, last month that the party will be over in a few years' time.
And this person wasn't talking metaphorically. This individual, who has given considerable sums of money to the party, and placed much stock in Nigel Farage, believes its work is done.
Irrespective of whether it's "leave" or "remain" by 2017, they think UKIP is "dead". The party leader doesn't see it like that, but there's no escaping the fact that his talk of the approaching "raison d'etre" does have an air of finality about it.
I'm expecting a reflective but emboldened Nigel Farage in Doncaster this year. He's told me he'll use his main speech on Friday to reflect on some aspects of the general election campaign and on "one or two things" that people said afterwards.
He'll bash the SNP, again. Expect him to renew his attacks on an electoral system that gave the party 12.6% of the national vote but just one MP. UKIP members are very angry about that.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Nigel Farage says he's been proved right on migration into the EU
But there won't be a reset. He doesn't think one is needed. In fact he was emboldened by much of the campaign and in particular what's followed.
The UKIP leader believes events on the beaches of Greece and the border of Hungary have vindicated his predictions of 'biblical' migration to an EU which can't control who comes in.
He also believes his claim that so-called Islamic State would use the mass movement as cover for exporting terrorists to Europe is something that mainstream politicians are now repeating. He thinks it's been proven that his party was utterly right on migration.
Most of all he - and the |
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<<incrementClick>><<set $currentClick to 2>><<set $currentTurn to 2>><<set $cardsInHand to 4>><<modifyCredits 4>>This one doesn't require you to go full-sim, so you just sit at the computer for a while, looking for a gambling server that still has the requisite vulnerability.
After a few fruitless hours (which you spend leafing through Mac's projects) the script eventually pings you, signifying that a vulnerable site was found. You switch your focus back to the script and note it's already done most of the work; you're logged into a gambling table, and you just have to bet.
You start off with a small bet of a few credits to test the script. Sure enough, you win and double your bet.
Blindly trusting in Mac's scripts has served you well so far, so you put your entire credit balance on the table; five hundred some credits. Your PAD beeps as your bank balance hits zero.
The virtual wheel spins, and the script works its magic; you've won. Your money is doubled, with the house taking ten percent of the winnings; your hands shake as you take in the incredible power you've unlocked.
And your account immediately gets permabanned for cheating. Ah well. At least the script cashed out your money before they could freeze it.
It's unlikely you'll find another vulnerable gambling website for a while, but the infusion of quick cash is certainly welcome.
You feel powerful, in control. You feel like you've learned what Mac's rig is capable of, and you're eager to try it all. The world is your oyster. It's time to take the fight to the Weyland Consortium.
First thing you should do is [[Review Corporate Actions]].
<<installNinja>><<set $cardsInHand to $cardsInHand - 1>><<modifyCredits -4>><<set $currentClick to $currentClick + 1>><<incrementClick>><<removeCardJustPlayed $cardJustPlayed>>This is an Icebreaker program, capable of breaking even the most aggressive Sentry-type ICE. Success is guaranteed, but never cheap; Sentries are the most complex and dangerous ICE out there. Corporations protecting their servers with Sentries mean business.
It functions by exploiting known weaknesses in ICE; it first runs a complete scan of the encountered ICE, looking for a vulnerability to exploit. When it finds one (and there's always at least one) it performs a surgical strike against that weak spot, taking it down in the blink of an eye. This modus operandi earned it the nickname of "Ninja".
Ninja's source code is a clean, professional affair. Even the readme file is well-structured, listing various problem cases and how to deal with them. It almost feels like this program could be a legitimate commercial product, if its stated purpose weren't to perform highly illegal raids on corporate servers.
The readme file ends with the following motto:
"You feel Ninja before you see Ninja, if you see Ninja at all."
You take a few hours to explore the Icebreaker's code, feeling almost guilty when you have to make changes to such a clean piece of software. You run across some deeply worrying chunks of code, ostensibly designed to kill users matching a very specific definition of DNA. You dare not modify them or edit them out, in fear of triggering some deadman's switch and simply hope that you aren't the target of this particular hit.
The codebase for Ninja is huge, likely a result of many generations of improvement and refinement. You're thankful to have a solid piece of software watching your back in cyberspace. Compiling it normally would take months, so you buy a few trillion zetaflops online to compile it for you. It sets you back <<if $isModding is true>>100<<else>>400<<endif>> credits, but you're now armed with the finest Sentry-breaker in the world.<<set $isModding to false>>
[[Finish setting up Ninja and get back to work|Main Hub]].
[img[shaperending]]
<span class="shaper">For a time, you ponder on the best way to immortalize your achievements. Finally, you settle on a live demonstration.
You begin by hacking into one of the many surveillance satellites orbiting Earth. Pointing its camera squarely at the center of the Americas, you take in the majesty of Earth as viewed from space, and decide that it could be made even more beautiful.
You start with one of your earliest works; a simple graphical demo of a fractal generator </span>[[diving endlessly into the Mandelbrot set|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD2XgQOyCCk]]<span class="shaper">. Fractals always were a fascination for you; simple mathematical constructs yielding endless beauty.
It was time for the rest of the world to appreciate them.
You open up your old fractal generator and modify it to have each pixel of the render map roughly to a GPS coordinate in the Americas. Then, by gaining access to a few key databases and applying enough computing power, you construct a program capable of determining the IP address of the nearest power generator for a specific world coordinate.
Giving your program a test run the following night, you tell it to shut down the power station lighting BosWash. After a few moments of wondering if you made a mistake, you are filled with glee seeing the brightly lit chunk of Earth go dark. You spend the remainder of the evening tinkering with it, turning parts of the world on and off.
You spend some time tuning your program to take into account special and general relativity; you certainly wouldn't want lag to turn your beautiful display into something less than perfect.
Finally, your program is complete; if your simulations are accurate, your fractal demo now outputs its render to the Americas, using the world's power grid as its canvas. Given that testing this is impossible, you simply hope that everything holds together for the performance.
Night falls over the Americas, and the yellow lights brighten the continent. You run the first script, which broadcasts your satellite feed over to various major news outlets worldwide.
Once you're confident you've got at least twenty percent of the world population staring at the view from your satellite, you turn on your fractal demo and prepare for the greatest rendering of a fractal ever made.
At once, all of the Americas go dark, prompting panic all over the Net. Then, lights begin to turn back on, forming a pattern over the continents:
The Mandelbrot Set.
The lights begin to turn on and off, giving the illusion that the Mandelbrot Set is moving as some imaginary camera moves deeper and deeper into the fractal, revealing more and more of its intricate beauty.
The Americas momentarily lose control of their power, but the rest of the world is in awe of your skill, now and forever.
SHAPER VICTORY.</span>
(You've completed Why I Run, congratulations!)
If you feel like playing again and taking on a harder challenge, [[Hard Mode|http://www.nagnazul.com/whyirun/whyirun_hardmode.html]] is available here. Hard Mode puts you in control right from the start with more options. Options and Corporation behavior are fully randomized every time.
If you enjoyed this game and would like to support me so I can continue making more games, please consider donating:
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Thank you for playing!
If you'd like to know more about Android: Netrunner (the game you just played) this [[tutorial|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAslVfZ9p-Y]] is a good place to start.
If you enjoyed this game, you might enjoy other games I have made. My latest title, [[Soundsaber|http://sonorousgames.itch.io/soundsaber]], is now [[available for purchase|http://sonorousgames.itch.io/]].
Android: Netrunner is fully owned by FFG. I am in no way associated or endorsed by FFG.
<<incrementClick>><<modifyCredits 1>>You take on a relatively straightforward contract and start coding. The work feels familiar, almost relaxing; certainly more relaxing than intruding on corporate servers.
Still, your curiosity gets the better of you, and you split your time equally between working on the contract and exploring the projects Mac left behind. Now that you know she was working in cracking cybersecurity measures, her code makes a lot more sense.
Her projects were amalgams of homegrown scripts, routines cribbed off the Net to exploit specific vulnerabilities and machine-generated code all stitched together. The coding style changed schizophrenically from function to function, and it was obvious that the project was a rapidly changing entity, adapting to whatever security measures she was tackling at the time.
Working on this stuff would certainly be more exciting than doing rote contract work.
<i>And more profitable</i>, adds a small voice in the back your head.
You'd be stealing from a corrupt megacorporation, responsible for ruining millions of lives, especially <i>yours</i>.
The justifications dance around in your mind until you decide to call it a day.
[[Tomorrow is going to be very interesting]].
<span class="cyberspace">Your thoughts on the Weyland Consortium attract a number of new ads, exhorting the values of their Space Elevator, their affordable unlimited energy plans and their interplanetary construction business.
Your rage gives way to curiosity as a simple-looking bit of floating white text appears next to one of the windows:
</span>
<span class="console">[[Vulnerability Detected]].</span>
<<incrementTime>>You welcome the cold sensation on your face as you peer into the fridge.
...
You doubt you could fit your legs in here; you were never all that flexible.
Eager to modulate the massive spikes of cortisol going through your brain with something more pleasant, you grab a can from Mac's stash of energy drinks.
Cracking it open yields a loud roar as a small gout of flame bursts from the can's opening. Bold letters printed on the aluminum read "Diesel".
You whisper to yourself: "Cute." as you take [[a large gulp of the apparently burning liquid.]]
<<installOpus>><<set $cardsInHand to $cardsInHand - 1>><<modifyCredits -5>><<set $currentClick to $currentClick + 1>><<incrementClick>><<set $magnumOpusInstalled to 1>><<removeCardJustPlayed $cardJustPlayed>><<set $isModding to false>><<if $timesClickedForCredit gte 4>>This is it; the program you've been dreaming of for so long now. Your Magnum Opus.
<<endif>>This program goes leaps and bounds beyond Mac's efficiency enhancements; while her coding setup was advanced by any standard, your Magnum Opus puts it to shame.
Magnum Opus lets you code while jacked into your rig, running in full-sim. This removes any physical limitation from your work; your hands are no longer the bottleneck in how fast you can input commands. Everything happens at the speed of thought.
Magnum Opus takes Mac's original predictive algorithm and allows it to pull code from the entirety of the Net. Open-sourced libraries, coding resources used by universities, cracked corporate source repositories; anything is fair game to Magnum Opus. The upshot of all this is that with only a thought, you can invoke the coding knowledge and wisdom of the entirety of the human race.
Magnum Opus scans your existing code and cross-references it against online databases of known bugs and common mistakes. Any bug or flaw that you introduce into your code, Opus will fix almost instantly without requiring any input from you. You'll be able to apply one hundred percent of your time to solve the hard problems rather than chase mundane bugs.
Your Magnum Opus is ready. It will make you rich. But you're not satisfied with just being rich.
[[Get back to work|Main Hub]].
You force your eyes open, taking in your surroundings. You feel a pang of anxiety in your gut as you realize you aren't in your apartment.
Your brain takes a moment to kick into gear, reminding you of your situation. Twenty-four hours ago, you were sleeping soundly in your own home. A female voice woke you, announcing through a loudspeaker that your apartment complex was to be demolished on order of the Weyland Consortium.
Her speech was precise, her word choice deliberate. No doubt she had perfected her script after delivering it for years. For some reason, her closing statement stuck with you:
<span class="weyland">"It's not personal. Urban renewal is a necessity of the modern world. It's always someone's home, yours is no different."</span>
You grabbed what belongings you could as the construction androids set the explosive charges. Moments later, you were homeless.
A friend of a friend agreed to take you in: some girl who everyone knows as "Mac". She agreed to let you crash on her couch while she was away.
She never explained why she was away. You didn't care to ask.
What should you do now? [[Getting up from the couch]] would be a good start.
<<deobfuscateTime>><<incrementClick>><<modifyDisplayedCredits -107>><<fadeoutsound $currentCyberspaceMusic >><<fadeinsound $currentAmbianceMusic >>The word "Yes" enters your mind and leaves your mouth as you find yourself back in Mac's apartment, drenched in sweat. Panicked, you grab the jack in your forehead and rip it out, throwing it away forcefully like one of your ancestors might have thrown a live snake.
Still sitting in front of Mac's workdesk, your breathing begins to slow down as you stare down the virt displays. The last lines of the program's output are still visible:
<span class="console">Run successful. Weyland Melange Mining Corp Asset trashed. Credits spent during the run: 107.
</span>
Wait, what?
You pull out your PAD and quickly give it a thumbpress. Sure enough, your miserable balance has been debited over a hundred credits. You're not sure if this worries you more than the fact that you apparently spent <b>nearly four hours</b> on the Net.
The Net was famous for distorting a user's sense of time, but this was on a whole other level. Still, your stomach corroborated your PAD's information: four hours had passed.
Trying to make sense of it all, you notice a new window pop up on the [[upper left virt screen]].
You turn over to your left side, trying to find a comfortable position on this ratty couch. The metal bars are digging painfully into your side.
A few feet from you, you hear the powerful, endless whirring of a half-dozen computer fans. You'd hoped your brain would eventually tune out the noise and you'd fall asleep.
Police sirens zip by every few minutes with distressing regularity. There's no way you'll be able to sleep like this.
Might as well [[open your eyes]].
<<obfuscateTime>>\s
<<fadeinsound $currentCyberspaceMusic >>\s
<<if $currentAmbianceMusic is "ambiance1.mp3">>\s
<<fadeoutsound $currentAmbianceMusic >>\s
<<else>>\s
<<fadeoutsound $currentAmbianceMusic >>\s
<<endif>>\s
<<set $creditsSpentDuringRun to 0>>\s
<<set $receivedBPCredits to false>>\s
<<set $iceBeingApproached to 0>>\s
<<set $creditsUsedToBreak to 0>>\s
<<set $playingMakersEye to true>>\s
<<removeCardJustPlayed $cardJustPlayed>>\s
<<set $cardsInHand to $cardsInHand - 1>>\s
<<modifyCredits -2>>\s
Mac's notes get a bit weird sometime, but trusting them has served you well so far. This file details a particular meditation technique; in meatspace, the technique is designed to heighten awareness and focus your senses. In cyberspace, this will supposedly improve your perceptions and allow you to see "beyond the data".
While you'd normally discard this as new-age nonsense, you give it an earnest try. Holding the jack in one hand, you close your eyes and slow your breathing. You visualize your cyberspace avatar, fully-formed in your mind, surrounded by the blackness of the Net.
Holding on to that image, you command the computer to run the "Maker's Eye" script, initiating a run on R&D. you simultaneously jack in, holding onto your visualization as the artificial data overruns your senses.
<span class="cyberspace">The flood of sensory input attempts to take over your vision, but you continue visualizing your avatar floating in cyberspace, struggling to remain in control.
Slowly, the stream of data adapts to fit your mental model, and your visualization becomes reality; you are looking at yourself from the outside. You control your avatar as you normally would, but somehow with an external viewpoint.
From this distance you can see the data moving through your avatar; you can see things beyond your usual field of view, things behind the usual facade of the Net. It's as if you somehow enabled the Net's developer mode; you can see calls being made in the background, messages being sent back and forth to various IPs.
[[R&D beckons. Let's see what we can find|Run Dynamic][$serverBeingRun = "R&D"]].</span>
You stand up too quickly and your vision goes white. Light-headed, you instinctively take a few steps forward and rest one hand on a computer tower to catch your balance.
You involuntarily scream as you yank your hand back. The computer case is burning hot.
You string together a series of expletives as you shake your aching hand.
You take a minute to calm down, all the while staring at the offending computer tower. You're half-worried it might burst into flames at any moment.
What should you do?
[[Go outside.]]
[[Check your Personal Access Device.]]
Good night. See you tomorrow.<<set $fromEndOfTurn = true>>
<<printEndOfTurnOptions>>
<<discardCard>>\s
<<if $cardsInHand gt 5>>\s
<<set $cardsInHand to $cardsInHand - 1>>\s
For usability purposes, the computer discards options at the end of each day to always keep a maximum of five options available; this number has been shown to maximize a user's ability to make useful decisions.
Choose which options you would like to discard:
<<printDiscardOptions>>
<<else>>\s
Option discarding is complete; you now have the optimal number of options available to you. Good night...
[[Go to sleep|Corporate Status]].
<<endif>>
<<seUbuntu 16.04 is the first version to include the new replacement software app, GNOME Software–and it already has a show-stopping bug. Currently, in Ubuntu 16.04, it is not possible to install third-party applications using the Software app.
This misstep is only temporary as Canonical is already hard at work on solving the problem. In the meantime though, here are some ways to install those DEB files without the Software app.
The Graphical Solution: GDEBI
GDebi Package Installer is a graphical solution that will supplement the Software app by installing.deb files stored locally on your computer. GDebi is a great installation tool in its own right, featuring a streamlined process with repository access for dependency resolution. GDebi is located in the default repositories for Ubuntu in 16.04, so we’ll be able to use the Ubuntu Software app to install it. Somewhat ironically, yes, we’ll be using Ubuntu Software to work around the problem with Ubuntu Software.
Open the Ubuntu Software app and in the search box towards the top of the window, type “gdebi”. The Software app will automatically start searching as you type so you should see the results immediately. Once, the results are displayed you should see two almost identical entries. One of these is the standard version of GDebi and the other is the modified version for use on the KDE Plasma desktop environment. We can accomplish the task with either option, but I’d recommend selecting the non-KDE version in this case.
Once you have GDebi installed, open the File Manager and navigate to the folder where you have stored the.deb file. The default location would be the Downloads folder inside of your /home folder. Once there, right click the.deb file and select “GDebi Package Installer” from the “Open With” submenu.
With the.deb file opened in GDebi, you’ll see an “Install Package” button in the top right of the window. Simply click this install package button and enter your system password when prompted to do so. At this point, GDebi will handle the rest. You’ll know the installation is complete when the “Install Package” button changes to say “Remove Package”.
The Terminal Solution: APT
RELATED: Simplify Command-Line Package Management with APT instead of apt-get
As you might expect on a Linux machine, you can also utilize the command line. We’ve written about simplifying your command-line package management with “apt” instead of “apt-get” before, and this is yet another example of how the “apt” command can simplify the process. In the past, you needed to change the working directory to the folder that contained the.deb file and run separate commands for dpkg and apt-get. In 16.04, though, you can simply use the “apt” command:
sudo apt install application.deb
For a more specific example, let’s say you downloaded the.deb for Google Chrome to the Downloads directory in your /home folder. Run the following command:
sudo apt install ~/Downloads/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
“~/” is a symbol that automatically associates to the current user’s home folder, in my case it would be “/home/michael/”.
It’s a Third-Party And I’ll DEB If I Want To
Ubuntu 16.04 shipped with a rather large bug, but the solutions to work around it are fairly simple. Canonical has already developed a solution to this problem so hopefully these workarounds won’t be needed for too much longer. Still, it’s always handy to have them in your back pocket should something like this arise in the future.Shared and cinematic universes are all the rage now thanks to Marvel and their MCU but they’ve existed for quite a long time and Nintendo of all companies had an animated shared universe during the NES and even SNES eras.
As most of you know Nintendo had a few different cartoons back in the 80s and 90s but what most don’t know is that they are all pretty much connected. The shows in question are Captain N, The Legend of Zelda and the Mario cartoons which included: Super Mario Bros. Super Show, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3, and Super Mario World that I looked back on previously. Now the interesting part is seeing how all these somehow unrelated shows connect and form a shared universe.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show launched alongside Captain N in 1989 at a time when Nintendo of America had more freedom in how they were able to use the properties and license them out without Nintendo of Japan blocking things like they later did. Between both shows pretty much all of Nintendo’s franchises were covered, the Mario show had Mario and Zelda while Captain N took care of the smaller IPs. The decision not to have Mario or Link on Captain N was likely made to give the other characters a chance and not steal the spotlight as they would already have their own show. Captain N and the various Mario incarnations shared a 1 hour programming block together as well but that doesn’t really mean they are in continuity with each other so let’s get to how all these shows connect.
We need to begin with the premises of the shows to really understand the connections. In Captain N we see a teenager from the real world Kevin Keene gets taken into another universe whens sucked into a vortex called the Ultimate Warp Zone known as Videoland where a bunch of video games connect. While this is never really dwelled into we can assume that it would work somehow similar to the way Wreck-it-Ralph; not saying any of the rules of that movie apply here but we can take some of the elements to fill the holes just like in Jurassic Park they used frog DNA (and we saw how that worked out). In the Super Mario Bros. Super Show we never get a real origin but we’re told on some episodes a few tidbits that we know they were Italian plumbers from Brooklyn who got sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom when fixing a pipe.
Both shows deal with the main heroes trying to get back to the real world as a subplot even if never really going through much effort to actually achieve it. We also know that Warp Zones exist in both worlds and before either of the characters were taken from the real world we see them portrayed by real actors in live action. Kevin Keene mostly in the intro and “do the Mario” Captain Lou segments from the Super Mario Bros. Show which are essentially a prequel to the Mario Brothers’ adventures as they’re still in New York. Eventually Mario and the gang is able to travel to the real world and back which is why a meeting may have never happened as it would’ve finished Captain N’s journey.. or at least that’s the in continuity explanation we can give it.
The Legend of Zelda aired alongside the Super Mario Bros. Show though they never really interacted outside it being presented in the live action segments and was gone by the second incarnation of the Mario show called The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3. However this gave it a chance to appear on Captain N’s second season episode called “Quest for the Potion of Power”. Not only did this episode give some closure to the Zelda cartoon but it solidified that it took place in Videoland and Hyrule was only a part of it.
Both Captain N and Mario were part of the Nintendo Comics System which is also part of this continuity and they shared an intro in the second and third seasons of both shows. I should also mention that Mario Bros. music is used in Captain N. While Mario’s connection to the rest of the Videoland shared universe might not be as strong as Zelda’s with their crossover; We can see that the evidence is there for it, as are all these clues are all we have that they take place in the same universe even if they never interacted. The closest we got was this artwork from the DVD release years later.
Nintendo had a previous American animated shows with Donkey Kong as well as later in the 90s with Donkey Kong Country but they were stand alone as there’s no way to try to even fit them in. Is there such a thing as a Videoland shared universe of the animated Nintendo shows? I say absolutely but you can draw your own conclusions.
Where am I? You’re in Videoland. The Ultimate Warp Zone brought you here. You mean like Warp Zone in Super Mario Brothers? Something like that
I should point out Mario did make it to the real world and was a sort of hero making this quote from the first episode of Captain N totally feasible.Naturally, one is supposed to be left feeling incomplete and mistreated by the first installment of a dystopian short story, rife with intentionally coarse and jagged imagery, right? Walking into this title knowing only the inspirations cited by the author and his religious history leading to the complete dismissal of faith; I braced myself for a Nietzchean Übermensch battling the relentless ash layered ruinscapes of Macarthy’s roads. To varying degrees I was entertained by many emotional peaks
Naturally, one is supposed to be left feeling incomplete and mistreated by the first installment of a dystopian short story, rife with intentionally coarse and jagged imagery, right? Walking into this title knowing only the inspirations cited by the author and his religious history leading to the complete dismissal of faith; I braced myself for a Nietzchean Übermensch battling the relentless ash layered ruinscapes of Macarthy’s roads. To varying degrees I was entertained by many emotional peaks and valleys as my expectations were met, surpassed, and in some cases left wanting.To begin, Enter Ruinland is the first installment in a planned series of works that clearly leaves room for character development and macro storyline evolution, as its relatively short stature of 65 pages, is just enough to wet an appetite over a few nights before bed or in a single evening sitting. Thus I dove in on my mobile, with white letters on a black background rationing energy, pretending a personal dystopian energy crisis of my own to get into character.Immediately we are introduced to a dilemma, life and death are in the balance yet faith in god is something “…to never waste time on.” The abrupt manner, short and contrite, of CJ Anderson’s penmanship is a series of swift hammer blows to the plot as direct or complete meaning is often given explicitly and openly. While effective and almost a necessity in the short story arena I found myself wishing to have more left to my own thoughts, my imagination, and my personal distrust of such a supernatural solution. While reeling with delight to the overt questioning of god and its many fallacies I found myself wishing it was woven into the story with more subtlety, to become part of the characters persona as opposed to a secondary narrative to the chaos enfolding withing the nuclear bunker.2001_a_space_odyssey_wallpaper_logo-normalThe characters, introduced in a three pronged spear of atheism, represent man, woman, and machine as their internal and external crises are divulged in often exacerbating circumstances. In the first half we are treated to the background of the apocalypse and its holy harbingers weaved into the internal monologue of Logan |
.: When you go down to that basement and the stairs disappear and you’re just in a corridor -- the environment switches on you -- is that a mechanic that frequently happens throughout the game?: Not too often, but not too little. As you progress you’ll experience that several times.: Does the game have a central hub location that you keep coming back to, or is it sort of one path forward with different environments all of the time? is there any revisiting older environments or anything?: There won’t be a central hub, but there are many options that you can choose in terms of the playstyle. So you can enjoy playing through many times, by changing your playstyle and having a different experience.There’s not really a hub, but the save rooms… sometimes you can go to that save room and it’s the only place you can feel safe. But there was no save room in the demo.: When you talk about upgrading in the save room, what can you upgrade?: You can upgrade your weapons, or you physical traits. So, like, with sprint, you can sprint longer if you upgrade that; and the number of ammo clips you can carry; stuff like that. Basic firepower and stuff like that.: Between when you finished working on survival-horror to coming back to it now, are there any games that have helped inspire where The Evil Within has ended up, from a gameplay perspective or from a tone perspective?: It’s a different genre, so not really anything I can think of.: So this is totally unique to just Shinji’s style of gameplay?: Yes.: Has the power of next-gen, and working with id Tech 5 and stuff, has that helped -- apart from being able to make the game more gory looking -- has that changed the way you approached things like level design or expansive areas and environments?: It was very tough. I want to take a vacation when I finish the game [laughs].: Have you had a chance to check out any other games on the show floor? Is there anything that’s standing out to you at E3?: Batman!: Yeah I just played that, it’s very good. I think Batman owes a lot to Resident Evil 4, actually. (Too hard to explain to him why, through a translator -- but it does - Steve.): I didn’t feel that, but… [laughs]: Ok great, thank you very much.: Thank you very much.Be sure to check out our pre-E3 hand-on preview of the game too, where I legitimately suffered minor panic attacks play, by clicking right hereAugust 3, 2015 - Periodic thunderstorms have continued and over the month of July there are 8 lightning caused fires being monitored for multiple objectives. Lightning caused fires can take days or weeks to detect because vegetation has to dry out enough to create smoke or visible flames after the storm passes over. Additional fires may be discovered, as temperatures rise and fuels dry out. Most of these fires are small;single tree strikes that amount to less than a tenth of an acre. These fires are in the wilderness and are being monitored by either fire crews hiking into the fire areas or via air reconnaissance due to location, sparse fuels, and low growth potential. Yosemite, 2 Bureau of Land Management, Whiskeytown Fire Module, and Point Reyes fire crews are monitoring all fires.
Cathedral (37 51.078 x 119 25.120 –Tuolumne County, 9400 feet elevation - 8/2). This is 0.02 tenths of a mile off the John Muir Trail to Cathedral Lakes. The perimeter is actively smoldering and creeping through needles and logs and has good potential to grow until it hits natural barriers. The fire is 0.02 acres in size and is being monitored.
(37 51.538 x 119 41.194 - Tuolumne County, 8043 feet elevation - 7/27). It is west of White Wolf and south of the Middle Tuolumne River. It may be visible from Tioga Road. It is at 0.03 acres.
(37 47.532 x 119 35.148 - Mariposa County at 7200 feet elevation - 7/ 3). The fire is at 4.1 acres and continues to slowly creep through ground pine and fir needles, and smolder in logs. The fire is between the Tioga Road and the Yosemite Valley. Smoke has been light, but often visible from multiple locations within Yosemite. It is an area of few recent fires.
(37 50.575 x 119 37.153 –Mariposa County, 8200 feet elevation - 7/ 9). This fire is along the Yosemite Creek Campground Road and is periodically visible from both the campground and Tioga roads. It is at 4.1 acres, and continues to creep and smolder through duff and fur needles. The most active perimeter is to the east and near the Lukens cut-off trail –the trail is temporarily closed. Fire crews will be parked and working along Yosemite Creek Campground Road. For firefighter and visitor safety, drivers are urged to use caution while driving in the area of parked fire equipment.
(37 54.926 x 119 23.780 - Tuolumne County at 9000 feet elevation - 7/3). This remote fire is east of Glen Aulin High Sierra camp, east of Conness Creek, and west of Tuolumne Meadows, and is at 0.68 acres. It poses no threat to trails and has a low spread potential. Smoke may be visible in Tuolumne Meadows.
(37 43.871 x 119 25.200 - Mariposa County 8387 feet elevation - 7/27). It is approximately 0.5 miles south of Merced Lake, mid-slope and on a north aspect. It is smoldering in mountain hemlock, western white pine and lodgepole pine. This fire is contained to natural barriers.
(37 40.969 x 119 37.232 - Mariposa County at 7800 feet elevation - 7/2). This fire is within the McGurk Meadow, near a trail to Dewey Point from Glacier Point Road. It is at 0.2ac and has low potential for spread.
(37 49.604 x 119 35.131–Mariposa County at 8000 feet elevation - 7/22). This recent fire is near Yosemite Creek and the Tioga Road. It is a single tree strike and is smoldering within a down log. It is likely to go out.
Dewey, Stanford and Crocker –each near south rim of Valley;Crane Fire, near Tuolumne Grove;and, Lost Bear Fire in the Bridalveil Creek area.
Horse, Fork, and Clark - these fires, within the Illilouette Creek Basin and Horizon Ridge areas were not found to be active.
[3.42 MB PDF]
Air Quality in the park is being affected by numerous fires throughout California. For more information refer to the web sites listed below. Currently no roads are closed within the park. The Lukens cut trail, south of the Tioga Road, is temporarily closed. As with all fires, staff and visitor safety is of paramount importance. Each fire, regardless of size, is assessed for the appropriate course of action.
Source: NPSThe fate of Yiddish is something of a question mark — perhaps fitting for a culture famous for answering questions with questions.
Its use is popularly believed to be fading as Holocaust survivors and the people who learned Yiddish at the kitchen tables of their immigrant parents die off.
But scholars say not to write off Yiddish just yet. Many contend it has a brighter future as young people take up the language in some 30 college programs and institutes around the country. More significant, the ranks of ultra-Orthodox Jews, for whom it is the lingua franca, continue to mushroom.
It is this more sanguine outlook that explains why The Forward, the 115-year-old Jewish newspaper, is expanding its ambitions. Three decades ago, the paper trimmed back the schedule of the Yiddish-language newspaper from a daily to a weekly, and in 1990 it tried to win new readers by printing an entirely separate paper in English.In this two-part special, Shari Spencer, manager of UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, speaks with Tapology’s Steven Kelliher about all things GSP. In Part 1 of our two-part series, we focus on St-Pierre’s upcoming fight against Josh Koscheck and discuss all aspects of an eventual showdown with Anderson Silva.
Over the past few weeks, fans have gotten to see a different side to the welterweight champion, as he coaches Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter opposite rival Koscheck. Asked what her client thought of the entire experience, Spencer said St-Pierre appreciated viewing the fight game from a perspective he was unaccustomed to.
“He got close to some of the guys and I think now he is able to relate to his coaches,” Spencer said. “He knows now what it’s like to not be in the cage and to watch one of your students compete.”
For his part, Koscheck has done an adequate–if awkward–job of hyping his championship showdown with St-Pierre, which is scheduled for December 11 in the main event of UFC 124. While St-Pierre remains calm and collected on the outside, he has commented publicly that Koscheck has succeeded were many others have failed in that he has truly irked the reigning champ.
“I think it’s come to the point where Georges is now motivated,” Spencer said tactfully. “It’s hard for Georges to get up for a fight when there is so much mutual respect shown between the two fighters. I would say that Georges has definitely been motivated by Josh, but he’s not going to engage in a battle of words and he’s made that very clear. I think he also recognizes that it’s good to build interest in the fight, and for that I think I owe Josh a nice Christmas present because he’s doing a fabulous job.”
Koscheck’s specific brand of trash talk has largely focused on traditional bullying tactics, such as making fun of St-Pierre’s tight fight shorts or blocking his car in outside of the TUF training center during taping. Still, the AKA standout is just one more in a long line of fighters who have challenged the charismatic champion in a public manner.
“I have no idea,” Spencer responded when asked why she thought so many of her client’s opponents attempted to make the fight personal. “Is it jealousy, is it a desire to hype the fight, or is it real animosity? I couldn’t tell you because I don’t get it. It gets people interested in the fight so it’s a good thing, but most people who meet Georges genuinely like him.”
If the past is any indication–Georges ran through outspoken opponents such as Dan Hardy, BJ Penn, and Matt Serra–talking trash might not be the best way to promote a fight with the Montreal native. While Spencer appreciates the added promotional push this sort of hype is sure to generate, she does not necessarily think it is in Koscheck’s best interest to continue down his chosen path, in more ways than one.
“From a fight perspective, yes I do think it’s a poor decision because it’s going to motivate him even more than it already would,” Spencer said. “From a business standpoint it may also be a poor decision because—since Georges is such a popular guy—his opponents often lose fans for attacking him, so from a personal marketing perspective it’s not super wise to go against Georges.”
Spencer did say that one particular opponent managed to toe the line between fight promotion and self-promotion quite admirably ahead of his clash with St-Pierre.
“I would say the one person who stands out to me is Dan Hardy, because he hyped the fight and did trash talk a bit, but in a way that never crossed the line of becoming personal,” Spencer said. “He hyped the fight and also gained fans in the way that he performed in the fight, so I think he handled it perfectly.”
A frequent topic that has come up when fans and analysts discuss St-Pierre’s continued dominance in the welterweight division is that of motivation. Spencer is not worried about her client’s motivation at present, but admits that it could become more of an issue the longer his reign lasts. In that case, she echoed the sentiments of 99% of MMA fans when she suggested that a move up in weight may be inevitable for St-Pierre.
“I think the Matt Serra experience taught him a lot, and I see that even when he is a heavy favorite there is no change in the routine,” Spencer said. “He takes everybody just as seriously. People get bored of him saying, ‘This is the toughest fight of my life’ in all of his interviews, but he really does believe that or he has to believe that to be motivated. In the future, I think there is a risk there, but I think there is enough discussion about him moving up in weight, and that would obviously create new challenges.”
Specifically, fight fans have clamored to see a battle between St-Pierre and longtime UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva for years. While Spencer has no idea when the biggest superfight in the sport’s history will occur, she feels confident that it will eventually come to fruition.
“I think it’s inevitable; I just think it’s a matter of when,” Spencer said. “When and if Georges decides to move up, it will be a permanent move and I think that is what’s difficult to ascertain regarding the timing of the move.”
Finally, Spencer was asked about the nuances of putting a superfight between St-Pierre and Silva together from a personal business perspective. Although she admits that a loss by her client could diminish his value–as well as his claim to the title of world’s finest–she believes his opponent would risk much more in defeat.
“There is actually more risk in my opinion to Anderson,” Spencer said. “If you look, for example, to BJ Penn vs. Georges, the popular opinion was that Georges would be too strong to BJ to handle and that extra size did make a difference in the fight. If Anderson were to win, there would always be that explanation. Conversely, if Anderson loses, he’s been beat by a smaller guy, so there’s a bigger risk from his end.
“If Georges wins, he will have eliminated the debate about the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, and would surely be considered among the best of all time. If Georges did lose though, you would definitely give a stronger argument to the Anderson Silva fans.”
Until that day of judgment arrives, however, fans will continue to wait with baited breath, hoping that St-Pierre and Silva can hang on to their respective straps of gold long enough to make fantasy into reality.
Be sure to check back at the Tapology Blog tomorrow for Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Shari Spencer, as we go in-depth into the present, future, and projected potential of the GSP brand.
By Steven KelliherThe City of Detroit lost access to records of murders and other crimes that occurred before 2004 because it failed to pay its bill to a storage company, the Michigan Innocence Clinic alleges in a lawsuit.
The clinic, a center within the University of Michigan Law School that investigates cases that may have resulted in a wrongful conviction, is in the process of settling a suit that alleges the Detroit Police Department violated the Freedom of Information Act nine times in the past year.
The lawsuit, which was filed April 19 in the Washtenaw Circuit Court, claims the department denied FOIA requests because the city of Detroit hadn’t paid Iron Mountain, the company that manages the police department’s reports prior to 2004.
The Michigan Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School said it has reached a settlement with Detroit over denial of Freedom of Information Act requests.
Court records indicate the city of Detroit’s written response to a request of information in the 1999 homicide ofread: “The record pertains to a homicide which occurred prior to 2004 and, if the record exists, would be archived at an outside vendor’s storage facility. Due to non-payment of storage fees, the city is unable to retrieve any records from the vendor.”
The MIC said it received a similar written response to requests in eight other homicide cases going back to 1992.
In a phone conversation on Sept. 27, 2011, an attorney with the City of Detroit Law Department told a representative from MIC said the city was locked out of the storage facility because the city had failed to pay, according to court records.
“That’s not a legitimate reason to deny a FOIA request,” said Imran Syed, a staff attorney at MIC.
The information the clinic gleans from old records helps “fill in the missing pieces” in cases in which the wrong person may be sitting in prison, Syed said.
“One of the biggest ways we can do that is through the Freedom of Information Act,” he said.
In the lawsuit, the MIC claims: “The records requested are essential to the plaintiffs’ investigations of alleged negligence and impropriety in the defendants’ performance of its public functions (The) defendants’ police investigation and forensic laboratory practices have been the subject of highly publicized revelations of systemic error and fraud.”
The lawsuit goes on to say that several recent exonerations have shown the Detroit Police Department’s improper actions have contributed to wrongful convictions of innocent citizens.
The clinic submits a high number of FOIA requests specifically to the Detroit Police Department because that’s where many of the homicide cases the clinic investigates occurred, Syed said.
In its original answer to the complaint, the city said that its denials of information requests were “neither arbitrary nor capricious,” as the suit claimed. The city also cited several Michigan statutes that say the department does not have to disclose such information, according to court records.
Phone messages left with the city of Detroit’s Law Department were not returned.
MIC’s attorney, Samuel Damren said that last week the two parties reached an agreement in the suit.
“I have every reason to believe the documents will be produced,” Damren said. “I think Detroit and the storage facility will make a good faith effort.”
When contacted, Iron Mountain said it does not disclose information about its clients. According to its website, the company is a global information management service assisting 140,000 organizations in 39 countries on five continents with storing, protecting and managing information.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.At least three fairly popular web companies and a Swiss ISP are in a frenzy to restore their operations today after the FBI showed up at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday morning at a hosting facility in Reston, Va. to cart off a bunch of servers:
In an e-mail to one of its clients on Tuesday afternoon, a DigitalOne employee, Sergej Ostroumow, said: “This problem is caused by the F.B.I., not our company. In the night F.B.I. has taken 3 enclosures with equipment plugged into them, possibly including your server — we can not check it.” Mr. Ostroumow said that the F.B.I. was only interested in one of the company’s clients but had taken servers used by “tens of clients.” He wrote: “After F.B.I.’s unprofessional ‘work’ we can not restart our own servers, that’s why our website is offline and support doesn’t work.” The company’s staff had been working to solve the problem for the previous 15 hours, he said. Mr. Ostroumow said in response to e-mailed questions that it was not clear if the issues would be resolved by Wednesday.
Bookmarking site Pinboard, one of the customers of DigitalOne caught up in the sudden theft of servers, were nonplussed with the hassle, declaring on twitter “need to find a jack-booted thugs photo for our downtime page.” Pinboard’s status page seems to indicate they are taking in on the chin, even though the loss of resources is a hassle they weren’t anticipating a day ago.
Another business caught up in the case of the three missing racks was Curbed Network, a blog company that has been completely darkened aside from their twitter account. Their response was more curt, stating that they are an FBI victim and are currently “starting over from backups.”
Instapaper, yet another innocent bystander in the debacle was also taking the hit and was moving to stop the bleeding, saying “a temporary network failure is making one of Instapaper’s two live database servers unreachable.”
As the hours of downtime threatens to drag into days, even DigitalOne’s website was offline at the time of this writing. We were unable to ascertain how extensive the server theft has struck, but three racks fulls of blade servers could easily host hundreds more websites and databases. Follow digitalone updates on twitter to see the fallout in real time.
The collaterally damaged companies are currently busy exploring their hosting options elsewhere and are likely too busy preforming emergency resuscitation on their livelihoods to publicly lambast the FBI’s bureaucracy (who have not returned comment to the NY Times). It’s simply inexcusable behavior that the FBI would drag so many innocent companies into their chase after some online bad guys.
If cops pursuing a criminal aims for every fruit stand on the sidewalk, they are a also a criminal and should be fired as well. To the business owners damaged by the FBI’s brute tactics: Don’t just pick up the pieces and rebuild your fruit stand with a grumble and grunt, demand restitution and justice.New Delhi: The Shiv Sena has won Ward No. 96 (Behrampada), which was vilified by its mouthpiece Saamna in 1992, thus throwing a light on how this Muslim majority ward’s trajectory has changed in the past two and a half decades.
The Shiv Sena’s Mohammad Khan romped home and will be representing the residents of Ward No. 96 (Behrampada) in the Municipal Corporation. He defeated candidates from the Congress, BJP and AIMIM. To understand how a Muslim majority ward voted for the Shiv Sena it is vital to understand how the area has changed.
During the 1992 communal riots that shook Bombay Behrampada shot into prominence when Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna alleged that the area was a haven for anti social activities. Behrampada is a cluster of slums just outside Bandra(E) station that borders the railway tracks. In 1992 the area was in the centre of a storm as the communal frenzy raging in the megapolis left a mark here. It was declared ‘unsafe’ and soon this 5 acre area acquired a reputation as a communal hotspot.
However, over the years, many multi story hutments have come up in this locality, making it even more crowded than it was. Many of the 70,000 residents of Behrampada live in abysmal urban conditions and are vulnerable to accidents.
The multistory hutments are unsafe and there have been building collapses and fires. Last year a fire gutted 60 homes while a building collapse killed 6 children. Strangely, it is the Shiv Sena that has been opposing slum demolitions ordered by the BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta.
The BMC has been demolishing multistory hutments on the grounds that they are unsafe and endanger the lives of residents. However, the Shiv Sena appears to be reaping the benefits of its political stand to oppose demolitions.Bill Snyder
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder watches his team during the second half of an NCAA college football game against TCU, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013, in Manhattan, Kan. Kansas State won 33-31. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
MANHATTAN, Kansas
-- Kansas State fans have circled Auburn in heavy ink on their calendar.
Auburn's trip to Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Sept. 18 is officially a sellout, Kansas State announced Tuesday. It's the first home game to sell out at K-State this summer.
The early-season trip to the 50,000-seat stadium on a Thursday night could prove difficult for Auburn, which has not faced a non-conference opponent on a Thursday night since 2008.
"Oh, there's no doubt," Auburn coach
Gus Malzahn
said in May. "Our road games in our conference are tough enough but then when you go to Kansas State, one of the tougher places to play with one of the better coaches to ever coach college football, that will be a very tough task."
Kansas State went 8-5 last season and won six of its final seven games under coach
Bill Snyder
. The Wildcats, who knocked off Michigan 31-14 in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, open the season against Stephen F. Austin on Aug. 30.
Seven of the 10 best-attended games in Bill Snyder Family Stadium occurred last season, with each home game eclipsing capacity. The attendance record at the stadium is 53,811.
"K-State fans have stepped up again and are on the verge of another sold-out season at Bill Snyder Family Stadium," Kansas State ahletics director
John Currie
said in a news release. "We are closing in on 20 consecutive sellouts and expect to do so before the season begins, and we appreciate our fans' support in making Bill Snyder Family Stadium on gamedays the best environment in the Big 12."Update 2: Bungie has admitted that it banned an unspecified number of Destiny 2 players "in error", although those accounts have since been reinstated. It follows reports of players claiming they had been automatically banned because they were running unsupported third-party software—but Bungie said that none of the erroneous bans were linked to such software, and that using performance tools or overlays will not lead to a ban.
Read on for the original story (and subsequent update), in which Bungie said that players can't be auto-banned from Destiny 2. Bungie added last night that it had "identified a group of players who were banned in error".
"Those players have been unbanned. The bans were not related to the third-party applications listed above. We will continue to review the process we use to ensure a fun and fair game."
I suspect this won't be the last we hear of it.
Update 1: Earlier today (see the original story below), we reported that Destiny 2 players are claiming they have been automatically banned due to running unsupported software such as MSI Afterburner, while Bungie denies that performance tools or overlays can cause bans. Bungie has now posted a brief statement further clarifying how Destiny 2's anti-cheat systems work, and what can cause a ban. For starters, Bungie says that reports of auto-bans are false, as "Destiny 2 cannot automatically ban you, only Bungie can ban a player after a manual investigation."
Only around 400 players have been banned so far, according to the developer, and the bans were not issued due to use of popular overlay and performance software (OBS, Afterburner, Discord, etc). "Bans were applied to players who were using tools that pose a threat to the shared ecosystem of the game," reads the post.
Bungie also notes that it is overturning four bans that were made during the beta, but did not state the reason.
Anecdotally, we have been running Destiny 2 today with a cocktail of software also running: MSI Afterburner, Discord (with overlay enabled), FRAPs, Shadowplay, and OBS with the unsupported game capture. As expected, only the Shadowplay overlay works, and we have not been banned at this time. Without any deep insight into Destiny's anti-cheat system, we can't say anything conclusive, but if only around 400 people have been banned after manual investigation, it seems unlikely that software a large percentage of the playerbase uses was the cause. Bungie never stated previously that such software would cause bans. We'll keep an eye out for more reports from players, though, as Bungie's statement is all we have to go on at the moment.
One thing that remains unclear is what does constitute a tool that poses "a threat to the shared ecosystem." Presumably, running things like Cheat Engine would be a bad idea, but it's possible some less likely software is being targeted. We'll reach out for more information. In the meantime, here are Bungie's already-published rules regarding what can cause a ban. The original story follows below.
---
Original story: If you've visited the Destiny 2 subreddit in the last 12 hours, you may have noticed reports of players getting banned for using incompatible third-party software. Bungie has now responded, saying this is not the case.
According to the subreddit, popular overlay applications such as Discord, Fraps, and MSI Afterburner prompt perma-bans—as well as capture apps like OBS and XSplit.
Under the heading 'PC bans are not being caused by Third Party Applications', the developer says this: "Greetings fellow Guardians! How's PC launch going for you? We hope it's going well, and we're terribly sorry if you're having any issues with these likely, (for the most of you), inappropriately assigned bans."
The statement then points to this forum post from Bungie community manager Cozmo23 which reads:
Third-party applications that aren’t compatible with Destiny 2 may cause the game to not run but won't result in a ban. https://www.bungie.net/en/Help/Article/46101
Bungie adds: "We do not know any further information for the time being, but we will attempt to update this thread as updates come in. Thank you."
The post by Cozmo23 is seen here:
We've asked publisher Activision to shed more light on the cause of player bans—we'll report back as and when they reply. In the meantime, check out Tom's Destiny 2 review-in-progress.The pace at which we are accelerating technology from entertainment devices into objects and connected devices that we can use in our every day lives or helps us live better, is in high gear.
Less than a year ago, PrimeSense, acquired by Apple in November 2013, was at CES with some budding young companies that were convinced we were at the beginning of a growth market with sensors in hardware. One year later one of those companies, Matterport, has now become the first company to make a 3D camera and bring it to market.
The Matterport 3D camera is controlled using an iPad app and uses a melange of 2D and 3D sensors to capture the appearance and dimensions of a space. It calculates interior dimensions, captures objects, colors and textures. And it works just as well if the room is empty, under construction or cluttered with furniture or machinery. It's extra advantage, the cloud, because the images are generated in the cloud, it makes it easier to share with other people or colleagues.
Matterport, along with a growing and diverse list of companies like Qualcomm's Augmented Reality (AR) platform, Vuforia and Spain's leading AR company, Catchoom, want to create a stronger bridge between the physical and digital world -- an actionable, immersive, data-rich 3D environment and experience that can be applied to a variety of industries, not just games and entertainment.
Matterport says anyone can use the camera, but they will first focus on markets that can use the technology right away and have it help them do their jobs better - construction, home improvement and insurance are the first target markets, other applications could be tourist agencies, criminal and forensic scientists and retailers.
A new French robotics company debuted its entertainment robot, Keecker which is really a connected robotic device -- meaning it unifies all the entertainment systems in your house - command central so to speak, the Roomba for entertainment. The robot is equipped with video projection and a powerful 360° audio & video capture system that lets you project movies, listen to music, browse the web, make video calls and play games, but not clean floors.
The company claims Keecker can also be used to check home analytics (temperature, humidity, sound level, light level, CO2 level) or for security purposes, so you can monitor your home remotely from the road. Through apps, you could receive alerts based on events you select, like turn on the lights in the evening.
But features distract from the primary focus of the robot and also puts the company in the competitive market as their fellow French connected device makers - Netamo and Withings (See Forbes CES 2013 feature) which also make devices that monitor your home's environment.
The company did not disclose its funding.
Shifting back to the company that pioneered in home robots, iRobot continues to drive its practical robot agenda into the market place. The company believes that robots are going to challenge traditional cleaning methods in 2014 and they are re inventing its products from the inside out. At CES, iRobot debuted a new platform for wet floor cleaning called the Scooba 450 Floor Scrubbing Robot. Just because it cleans the floors doesn't make it any less robotically advanced.
The Scooba 450 usess some seriously advanced robotic technologies including increased intelligence in terms of navigation and behavior for more efficient cleaning. So, the Scooba 450 is thinking, intelligently navigating itself and deep cleaning. More and more like the Jetson's Rosie the Robot without the back talk.
The Scooba also happens to be the only hard floor scrubbing robot on the market.
But maybe it's wearable tech that's stealing the show. From start ups on Kickstarter to Intel announcing its plans - smart earbuds for starters -- wearable tech is having its day.
Analyst firm Canalys estimates that more than 330,000 smart watches were shipped in 2012 and that was led by Sony and Motorola.
Kickstarter-backed Pebble Technology has joined Sony as a market leader in 2013; and more than 500,000 units were expected to have shipped in 2013. The firm believes that smart watches will explode by the end of 2014 as a new generation of connected devices from Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and others move into market.
So this brings us to the 70s flashback Swatch meets high technology; the Pebble Watch. The company raised $10 million on Kickstarter to get the project off the ground. The watch costs $150 USD and its expected to ship to Kickstarter supporters on January 23, 2014. The Pebble Watch, which you can customize with colors to suit your personality (a la Swatch style) syncs to Android devices and iPhones.
Back to the quantified self, the Basis Band combines three apps into a sophisticated hardware device -- heart rate monitor, sleep tracking and pedometer so no more fitness apps to download on your phone if you use this device. The sensors inside this smart health watch device also track skin temperature and perspiration levels with the over all goal to promote a healthy and stress free lifestyle.
From the big guns, Intel, their smart earbuds fall into the health category as well -- they monitor your heart rate and match songs to your heart rate in the moment. So as your heart rate changes, so does your play list. The earbuds, which are not available yet, use your biometric data with an app where you can set target heart rates, say for your work out, to your music set.Commemoration events will be held in the city on Thursday night to mark the 40th anniversary of one of the worst sectarian atrocities in the city during the Troubles, the gun attack on Annie’s Bar which left five people dead.
On Wednesday, December 20, 1972, loyalist gunmen burst into the bar at the Top of the Hill at around 10.30pm and opened fire with a Sterling sub-machine gun and a pistol.
The front page of the Derry Journal following the massacre. (1512SL03)
There had been up to 50 people in the bar watching a football match and celebrating in the run-up to Christmas when the gunmen attacked.
The gunmen fired around 20 shots into the busy bar, killing five people and wounding four more.
While the motivation for the attack on the bar in the predominantly nationalist area was sectarian, the victims came from both sides of the community.
Four of those who died were catholics while one was a protestant.
No group has ever formally claimed responsibility for the attack, although it is widely believed to have been the work of the UDA, despite a statement from the organisation describing it as “appalling.”
The victims were; Michael McGinley (37), Charles McCafferty (32), Charles Moore (31), Bernard Kelly (28) and Frank McCarron (58).
The loyalist killers made their getaway in a yellow Ford Zephyr car which was later found burned out on the Trench Road.
The sectarian killings shocked the city, which until that point had escaped the excesses of sectarian conflict experienced in Belfast.
The Annie’s Bar massacre came at the end of the worst year of the Troubles in Derry, which began with Bloody Sunday in January.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the ‘Journal’ described the day as ‘Bloody Wednesday.’
Violent attacks were commonplace in the city at the time and on the morning of the massacre an off-duty UDR man was shot dead while working at the Croppy Hill reservoir.
The families of all those killed in the attack on Annie’s Bar called for no retaliation for the deaths of their loved ones.
The victims all lived in the Waterside are and a number of them would have known each other.
Charles McCafferty was married with seven children, aged from one to 18 years-old. He worked for Lec Refrigerators.
His wife, Betty, said he went regularly to the bar and on the night of the shooting had been having a drink with his brother-in-law who had left the bar to go to the toilet, returning to find his friend dead. He escaped death by seconds.
Michael McGinley, who worked in Mollins, was married with a seven month-old child.
He grew up in the Waterside and moved to Creggan when he got married, before returning to the Waterside in July 1972.
His wife, Gillian, said his daughter, Patricia, was his pride and joy.
She said he had wheeled his daughter up and down in her pram before going out. She also said that he usually went to a bar in Dungiven Road but, on the night of the shooting, he decided to go to Annie’s instead.
When she heard about the shooting she hoped he had changed his mind and gone to Dungiven Road but discovered what had happened when she went to the scene.
Bernard Kelly had only just got married in September, three months before he was killed. Like Charles McCafferty he worked in Lec Refrigerators. He lived close to the bar in Mimosa Court.
Frank McCarron’s daughter, Maureen, said her father was a regular at Annie’s Bar and was well known there. She had been at a dinner dance when she was learned about the gun attack.
Charles Moore, the only protestant killed in the attack, was a nurse at Str |
been a number of highly contagious bugs flying around that nobody can seem to avoid. I revisit this topic because winter decided to drag itself on for even longer. I write this fresh snow is falling outside the window and a little black storm cloud is hanging over my head because I am so bitter that spring is delayed after we already got a taste of it.
But anyways. It’s at least given me an excuse to perfect cold remedies, and this spicy little drink is one of them. It combines the well-loved ingredients of honey, apple cider vinegar, lemon, and garlic. It’s no great secret, but I have become quite fond of it-and who says a remedy has to be fancy?
Why the Ingredients?
Honey: Honey acts as a natural sweetener in this recipe, and I find it necessary with the garlic and ACV combination (although I actually don’t mind the vinegar on its own.) It is also anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal-but if you are drinking it for a cold it’s really the anti-viral part that matters. It can also help quell a pesky cough.
Lemon: Lemon adds fresh flavor while it works as a natural anti-viral component in the drink, working in tandem with the honey to flush out the virus that is taking over your cells.
Apple Cider Vinegar: The list of apple cider vinegar’s health benefits is virtually endless, with some theories having more solid backing than others. The main benefit it has in this drink is soothing a sore throat and relieving congestion, both of which I have found it to be very successful at doing.
Garlic: Ah, garlic. The infamous date-ruining food, the stinky rose, Italian perfume…it has many names, but its connotation is the same-it will make you smell. The reason for the smell is because constituents in garlic cause the release of hydrogen sulfate the same gas that smells like rotten eggs. While that sounds terrible, hydrogen sulfate is actually quite useful at low levels in the body, and we naturally produce some on our own. It is theorized that this is one of the reasons it has healing benefits, but it is not known for sure. What is known is that it works a treat on clearing on congestion and shortening the duration of the cold.
You will need…
-10-11 peeled and lightly mashed cloves of garlic
-1 1/2 -2 cups of water
-1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
-1 lemon
-4 tablespoons of honey (or more to taste)
Directions
Simmer the peeled and mashed garlic in 1 ½ cups of water for 10 minutes-you can use 2 cups if you prefer a more diluted flavor. Strain. Stir into the strained liquid apple cider vinegar, the juice of 1 lemon, and at least 4 tablespoons honey. Drink 2-3 times daily as needed.
This will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and can be gently reheated on the stove top.
P.S. Click here to download my free Coconut Oil eBook. By Claire Goodall Claire is a lover of life, the natural world, and wild blueberries. On the weekend you can find her fiddling in the garden, playing with her dogs, and enjoying the great outdoors with her horse. Claire is very open-minded, ask her anything 🙂 Meet Claire Claire is a lover of life, the natural world, and wild blueberries. On the weekend you can find her fiddling in the garden, playing with her dogs, and enjoying the great outdoors with her horse. Claire is very open-minded, ask her anything 🙂 It has over 107 everyday coconut oil uses, including uses for- weight loss, pet health, hair, skin, house cleaning, pests, DIY beauty products and so much more.
We Want to Hear from You! Let us know which remedies work and do not work for you, ask a question or leave a comment:Rep. Thomas Massie supported Rand Paul in the primary and is considered a star for the "liberty movement." I spoke with him at the Republican National Convention. Here's some of our conversation:
How do you plan on voting in November?
I'll be voting for Trump.... I'm more of a "glass is half-full" than a "glass is half-empty" kind of person.
In what ways is Trump half-full?
Well, he's better than 90 percent of the congressmen I serve with.... I'm serious.
No. 1, he's not owned. Nobody owns him. That rules out a lot of them.
No. 2, he's got real business experience. If I see another candidate that runs as a small businessman that was a lawyer or a doctor that had, like, a personal practice, I'm gonna scream. Because they never had a board of directors, they never had a balance sheet, they never had marketing, they never had product development, I mean they never had a real business, per se.
He's done that, mutiple times.
Do you think Trump could hurt the GOP and the cause of liberty?
He might be the only one of the 17 that ran in this primary that could win in the general election. Numerically, with the message we had, we were almost stillborn going into the general with the electoral map that exists. Trump has changed the map. Pennsylvania's in play. Michigan's in play.
He's anti-free trade.
I've heard him say he's for bilateral trade deals, not these giant things where we give up a lot of our sovereignty.... I'm not a big fan of the World Trade Organization myself. I just watched us change our labelling requirements on food in this country because the World Trade Organzation told us to.... I don't think that just because you're for sovereignty, you're against trade.
Timothy P. Carney, The Washington Examiner's senior political columnist, can be contacted at tcarney@washingtonexaminer.com. His column appears Tuesday and Thursday nights on washingtonexaminer.com.As many in the NBA look toward expanding from 30 to 32 teams in the next decade, the return of the Supersonics to Seattle is already a clear move for the 31st team. But who will get Team 32 when the time comes? St. Louis? Louisville? Even Las Vegas? Or how about us?
The answer may surprise you.
The Virginia Beach City Council and private investors are moving forward this month with funding proposals to construct an NBA-sized, 18,000 seat oceanfront arena despite the failure of 2012 plans to draw the Sacramento Kings. Flirting with the Kings wasn’t our area’s first rodeo either – neighboring Norfolk nearly drew an NHL team in 1997 and later the Charlotte Hornets in 2001, before the Hornet’s last second change of heart broke their commitment to Norfolk and took them to New Orleans instead.
Will the NBA really come here to Virginia Beach? Or, for that matter, should it?
proposed arena | (HKS Sports & Entertainment | Virginia Beach Economic Development)
This area has come so close to a team, so often, with good reason: The Norfolk-Virginia Beach metro area is the second-largest metro area in America without a major league sports team, only behind Las Vegas. Some put Virginia Beach at 3rd behind Austin, TX as well; however, Austin’s location only one hour from the neighboring San Antonio Spurs has removed it from NBA contention.
The Norfolk-Virginia Beach area, surprisingly to some, has a population of over 1.5 million – giving it more people than metropolitan areas like New Orleans, Memphis, and Oklahoma City, all of which support successful NBA teams with populations of just 1.3 million. If places like Milwaukee, Salt Lake City, Memphis, and New Orleans can do it, all of which have comparable or even smaller populations, then Virginia Beach can surely do the same.
Outgoing NBA Commissioner David Stern has noted and even touted the city’s market potential (as have commissioners and owners of the MLB and NHL), and against its likely competitors for a team, Virginia Beach is far and away the best choice.
Take the example of the Oklahoma City Thunder and their fervent fan base. The Thunder, along with the Portland Blazers and Utah Jazz, are among the few teams that have great attendance through the good times and the bad. The reason is simple: those cities only have one team to rally around, a unifier for the city no matter the team’s record or the numbers on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, a team like the Philadelphia 76ers – despite its location in a more highly-populated market – struggles with attendance in bad seasons as other Philly teams grab the spotlight.
As sports analyst Bill Simmons puts it, “Why does Portland love the Blazers so much? They don’t have four professional teams like so many other cities; they only have one. That’s it. So when they beat Philly in the ‘77 Finals, it was like winning four Finals at once. But, when they picked Bowie over MJ, it was like making four humongous mistakes at once…it’s all they’ve got.”
Virginia Beach would undoubtedly be no different. After all, a team would finally give this region – Tidewater, Hampton Roads, Norfolk-Virginia Beach, the 757, or whatever else you may call it – the regional identity it so desperately needs.
If the team was branded as a Virginia team, it would also draw an additional, completely untapped Richmond fan base of 1.25 million. The more than 3 million people living along the mere 100 mile Richmond-Virginia Beach stretch in southern Virginia is by far the largest untapped sports base in North America, and the Washington Wizards located several hours away have never been close enough to truly have influence.
yesterday’s hype. (image | Bring the Sacramento Kings to Virginia Beach)What’s more, Virginia Beach doesn’t just have the large population – it has the television market to back it up. The Norfolk-Virginia Beach area ranked 5th in the United States for percentage of people who watched the NBA regularly. Fascinatingly, in a study during Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Norfolk-Virginia Beach generated the 6th highest television ratings for the NBA Championship in America (followed by Richmond at 7th highest)… only trailing places like Miami, South Florida, San Antonio, and Austin because the matchup was the Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs.
And how do the city’s competitors for NBA expansion stack up to that?
Las Vegas, a city filled with temporary residents, would bring a myriad of issues with sports betting and gambling laws that any league would rather avoid, and a team would constantly face unprecedented competition from alternative entertainment in the city.
Louisville, where college basketball trumps the NBA in popularity, lacks the population and television market to support a team that Virginia Beach has, while also sitting on the Indiana border just 100 miles south of the Pacers.
St. Louis has the unfortunate distinction of having already lost three professional basketball franchises, lacking the support for a team time and time again. What’s more, the city’s history fits with the picture today: during negotiations for relocation of both the Hornets in 2001 and Kings in 2012, the city and its leaders showed lackluster enthusiasm and support.
Pittsburgh, already a declining market, would be smallest market in America with all four teams, while Virginia Beach, virtually the largest market without one team, is a rising one. With the overextended city already struggling at the bottom of the MLB and NFL in attendance, adding another team to the mix seems ludicrous.
The Kansas City area, which actually has less Fortune 500 companies than the Virginia Beach area, lacks the cohesive organization of financial and political muscle working toward a team that Virginia Beach has built.
When all is said and done, Virginia Beach brings asset after asset to the table that a place like Kansas City or Vegas simply cannot compete with: America’s most highly populated untapped sports market, the benefits of being the region’s only professional team to rally around, and – with its staggeringly high television ratings – an NBA-obsessed market with a hunger for a team. With a new arena on the way, the pieces to the puzzle are all here.
In our beautiful new oceanfront arena, the Virginia Tide or Virginia Wave will one day soon step foot onto the court for the first time. With the city and region continuing to move forward, the only question left isn’t a matter of if – it’s a matter of when.
Your move, Virginia Beach – the ball is in your court.1
To audition for the show, you may create a dvd of your family and mail it to: FremantleMedia NA, 2900 West Alameda Ave, Burbank, CA 91505 Attn: Family Feud Casting Dept. You may also post a youtube audition to the official Family Feud facebook Page or Youtube channel where fans may comment on your video. Follow the Facebook submission instructions by either clicking on Record a Video (using your webcam) or Upload a Video (from your computer). Watch the audition tips from Steve to ensure your video has a good chance at getting you and your family casted. [6]
(using your webcam) or (from your computer). Watch the audition tips from Steve to ensure your video has a good chance at getting you and your family casted. You may also email casting@familytryouts.com or call the Contestant Department Hotline (323) 762-8467[7] Post on the Family Feud Facebook page as well. With almost 2 million likes, the Family Feud Facebook account is a large part of Steve’s media profile.[8]
Steve Harvey is the host of the game show Family Feud. You may audition to have your family on the show. This guarantees that you will interact with Steve directly if your family is chosen. You may also get tickets to be part of the studio audience where the likelihood of you speaking to Steve is far less.BROOKLYN, NY (The News Desk) — Following a poor performance in her door-to-door flyering efforts, Stephanie Griswold, 19, was quietly strangled to death by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton Thursday afternoon.
“I think most people saw this one coming. Steph really wasn’t putting her all into it, and it showed in her resigned, emotionless expression as Mrs. Clinton slowly drained her of life on the campaign stage,” said Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook.
Early reports say that the public execution was relatively serene, as Clinton wordlessly carried Griswold up on stage like a baby, then sat her down and gripped her throat with both hands while calmly singing a German lullaby.
Campaign volunteers say Griswold was an enthusiastic supporter of Clinton, but would often end her shifts 20-30 minutes early to meet up with friends or do homework. Those once close to Griswold have distanced themselves following the event.
“I once caught her looking at Bernie Sanders’s Wikipedia page. I’m not saying Mrs. Clinton was totally justified here, but it’s like, what did you expect?” said Chloe Smythe, 23.
While Republican presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have been quick to criticize Clinton for the strangling, Bernie Sanders avoided tackling the issue head on.
“I refuse to play the media’s game and get everyone whipped into a frenzy because my opponent strangled a volunteer. We’re here to talk about the issues, not about who murdered whom,” said the Vermont senator.
Clinton herself refused comment, instead choosing, when questioned, to throw a glass of Perrier in the Syrup Trap reporter’s face and command that her litter be carried in the opposite direction.
At press time, Clinton was seen gesturing toward the corpse with her iPhone, instructing a group of volunteers to “clean up the mess you made.” ♦
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Convicts, as it happened, smelled. Problem was, I was now the convict leader’s new best friend, and he was staying close to me.
It had its benefits and drawbacks. For one thing, so long as I kept Mary close, it meant our new benefactor was protecting her. For another, it meant I didn’t have a great range of movement. He was keeping me close, he was talking to me, and I couldn’t wander off and try to get ahead of Sub Rosa.
On the plus side, we had a few minutes. The Bowels were built around a cylindrical shaft, a few hundred feet deep, two-dozen feet wide. The hallway here extended in a semicircle around to the far side of the shaft. Extra protection, extra thickness, and more room for someone to pull a lever or seal off the area.
Sub Rosa had to stop to work with another panel in the wall. It gave me a second to think.
My new buddy elected to distract me, instead.
“I was a skinny little fuck like you, once,” he told me.
“Really?” I asked, more to be polite than anything else.
“Bad combination, being tall and scrawny. Tried to eat and even did some farm work when I coulda done something else, just to bulk up. But all the energy went to making me taller. A lot of people learn they can make themselves look better by messing with someone taller than them.”
“Gotta hurt them bad enough they don’t try it again,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said. “Something like that.”
Sub Rosa resumed walking, another set of safeguards effectively cut off and removed.
“Is that how you wound up in prison? Because you hurt someone?” I asked.
“Huh? Eh.”
“Eh,” I echoed him, acting disinterested.
“Was a woman. Around the time I started being able to fight back if someone messed with me, I was working on a factory floor, went out for drinks. Guy picked a fight with me to impress his woman, I won, I took my prize. Spectacular piece of work, and at the start, that was only in the best way… but I don’t suppose you get that sort of thing, young as you are.”
“I do. I get it,” I said. I realized I sounded a little defensive, then said, “I spend a lot of time with these girls. They’re pretty.”
“Thank you, Sy,” Helen said, brightly, from the tail end of the group.
Mary gave me a look I couldn’t read.
He gave me a condescending look, and I mused about possibly sticking him with my knife.
“Well, good for you,” he said, sounding very unimpressed. “My girl was top notch, as girls go. Raised the standard for womenfolk everywhere. But she wanted a bad boy and didn’t realize it. She’d yelp at me and growl at me for most everything I did, for drinking, for being rough, she’d get fed up, run away, and she expected me to chase her, tell her I was sorry, that I was reforming my ways.”
“And?”
“I didn’t. I told her straight-up who I was, how I was. If she didn’t want me, she could go, and she did… except she kept coming back. Hoity-toity dad, y’know? Rich, laid down the law with her, so she’d run off to slum it with me. Decided she didn’t like me, went back home. Would’ve been annoying, but oh, she was gorgeous, and when she came running back, hungry for me…”
He paused, looking down at me. I met his gaze.
“Yeah,” he said. “I figured it would do. She decided otherwise. One night, she ran off home to her daddy, only she told tales. Charges laid against me for shit I didn’t probably do. Old man even pulled strings, I’m betting. I didn’t spend more than a year in prison before I got brought here.”
“What do you think you’ll do to him when you get out?”
He gave me a funny look. “Out?”
“Sure,” I said. “Out.”
“I gave up on getting out a while ago,” he said. “Don’t lie to me. Don’t lie to yourself. This is where we live out the rest of our very short lives before we die.”
I glanced up at him. I could see the hardness in his features, the look in his eyes beyond the simple anger on the surface. A kind of hopelessness that went beyond simply being a monster.
That hopelessness was, in part, the source of his inhumanity, the willingness to hurt others.
I suspected he was irredeemable, if this was left alone. As a human being, flawed and violent and probably beating his girlfriend on the regular, he’d probably been fixable, but that was no longer the case. His humanity had taken too much of a beating, and there was no light of hope in his eyes.
“We’re going to get out,” I said, in a matter-of-fact way, turning my eyes forward.
“How do you think that works?” he asked, and he sounded almost angry.
“How many Academy students are down here, do you think?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
“Enough. Hundreds, probably. Now think, each one of those people has family. They have connections, friends who will ask about them,” I said. I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t touching on the convict leader’s past, and the circumstances of his incarceration. He’d been caught because his girl had had connections. I was doing my best to speak in a language he understood.
I was also bending the truth. Not everyone was guaranteed to be down at their stations in the Bowels, and I wasn’t sure that the Academy would value their lives so highly. It would be easy to sentence all of the people down here to death and then point to legal documents they’d signed.
“Uh huh,” the leader didn’t sound impressed.
“Now think, how many projects are down here? We’re one, you’re one, she’s one. How much money is invested in all of this? It’s not like they can just take a new student and tell him to go pick up where someone else left off. The question is, are they really willing to abandon all of this, all these people, all the money and investments?”
“You don’t think so, huh?”
“No,” Gordon said, backing me up.
“No,” I said, echoing Gordon. “It costs them too much.”
The convict leader gave me a look. I could tell he was having doubts. It was only natural – he’d accepted his death, and now I was giving him a new lease on life. He was experiencing dissonance.
In reality, though, it was easier and safer for him on a mental and emotional level to hold to his old ideas, that death was certain. To hold onto those ideas, he had to doubt me.
“One of the scientists that worked on us, Lacey, she was terrified of being down here. It’s what the scientist in charge of us told her,” I said. “I overheard. Of course, things are different if an entire section gets locked down, since then they can evacuate the rest, but we have her.”
Sub Rosa, still leading us down the extended, curved hallway, glanced back at me.
“And she’s making it so we can’t get locked inside one part of this place,” the leader said, as if I hadn’t implied it already.
“Exactly,” I said. “Eventually they’re going to have to decide whether it’s better to condemn everyone and everything in here, or if they’re going to open things up and let us out.”
The convict leader was quiet.
“Sounds too easy,” the woman convict said, behind me.
“It’s not easy at all,” I said. “There are a lot of problems. For one thing, they’re going to have a lot of stitched and a lot of guards up there.”
“Uh huh?” the leader grunted.
“Probably. And there’s probably other safeguards down here. Supposed to be a big monster.”
“Glutton?” the leader asked.
“Gorger,” the oldest of the convicts said.
“Gorger, right,” the leader said. He looked back, as if expecting Gorger to be coming down the hall behind us. “If she can get us past the protections, she might have a way of dealing with that thing.”
That’s not completely out of the question, I thought. I mulled for a second on whether it would be better to disarm him and leave him worrying more or whether I liked him thinking Gorger wasn’t a problem.
“She seems to know a lot of stuff,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said, though it came out more like a ‘yeh’. “That leaves the question of what we do to get out, once they open things up and meet us with a small army.”
And quarantine measures, probably, if things even get that far.
“I don’t know,” I said. “If we could find some super valuable experiment and threaten to destroy it, or use it against them…”
I scratched the back of my head, sticking my thumb straight down.
Behind me, Gordon picked up on the cue. “Doesn’t work. No saying what’s valuable enough, or scary enough, or if they have a way of dealing with it, or any of that.”
“Yeah,” I ‘conceded’ the point. “And if we did it out in the open, nobody would blame the Academy if they put a bullet in us.”
“Not an object, then,” the convict leader said. “People. Hostages. You think people down here have friends? People would blame the Academy if they died, a bit away from getting free. And they won’t be shooting at us without being especially careful.”
I nodded, as if it hadn’t been my idea in the first place. I’d all but directly told him.
Sub Rosa stopped to work on another panel.
The big guy looked at the other convicts, as well as my friends. “Hostages, you hear me?”
There were nods.
That would save some lives. Sure, some of my motivations had to do with, well, saving lives and crap like that. Human decency and whatever. But really, I figured alive people were more useful if we were going to figure this out, it would be brownie points with the faculty if we saved as many lives as possible, and if we had to do more bullcrap interviews to find moles for Head Professor Briggs, then living people we’d already interviewed were better than new people who needed to be screened.
Sub Rosa finished tearing the console apart and rejigging it in a matter of seconds.
It was interesting to see: she’d been tentative before, but now was finding her stride. This was something she was learning to do, based on some previous knowledge.
She knew how to disarm the safety measures, and she’d known where to find the convicts.
She’d gone after the man who recognized her. She’d gone after her creator.
Our mysterious experiment was working with some foundation of knowledge.
I had questions I wanted to ask Jamie, but I didn’t dare ask with the convicts and Sub Rosa in earshot. I imagined there was a dim possibility that Sub Rosa had been down here from the beginning. It would explain why she was on an upper floor, if she’d never been moved. She would have had a chance to overhear things about the security measures.
A dim possibility, I reminded myself. Sure, the security measures weren’t too complex, and some employees down in the Bowels might have heard how to disable the security in an emergency, if an earthquake or something shook things up, but an experiment hearing such?
Hard to justify, and it didn’t explain the man’s look of recognition, not so long ago.
Sub Rosa was striding forward with purpose now, toward the girl who had our answers. We were nearing the end of the hallway, by my recollection. I hadn’t been here, but I had seen similar hallways on upper floors.
Maybe she knew because she’d been told. The Academy had enemies, and the Bowels had already been identified and used as a weak point. If one such enemy had found a convict or a dying woman who was to be sent to the Bowels to be used as an experiment, they could have equipped her with knowledge provided by previous moles and spies within the Academy, then have them cause as much damage as possible.
If that someone was angry enough, then they might delight in having the chance.
Still, it didn’t explain the recognition. She was an element known to some.
Had the man known her as an experiment, or the person she had been before? If the former, what had happened, and why was she on this rampage? If the latter, who the hell was she?
We were nearing the end of our destination. Jamie was picking up speed, moving forward in my peripheral vision, so I slowed down, until I was a step behind my smelly buddy.
Jamie was hugging his book. I glanced at him, and I saw him shift his grip. On the corner of the cover was a mark in pencil.
Nineteen.
“Hey, c’mon,” the leader said. He reached out for me, hand turned backward, and rubbed my head with his knuckles, deliberately avoiding touching me with the spike, while still urging me forward. “Almost showtime.”
The far-side labs were larger, more comprehensive, and specialized. When they’d originally been put together, they’d been built for specific tasks. Many had even been put together for the superweapons that were now unique to each specific section of the Academy. At this point in time, very few of the old experiments were still running.
Labs sixteen through twenty.
All of this hinged on what Sub Rosa did.
If she went into one lab, could we escape? Reach Gorger?
The instant the thought crossed my mind, she stopped in her tracks, standing in the middle of the hallway.
Damn it.
She raised an arm, pointing. She was giving us an instruction. She fully intended to block anyone from fleeing. We were supposed to go fetch, or go kill. She’d let us know soon enough.
There was no tidy way to do this. Five labs, five convicts, six of us, with me watching ‘mad dog’ Mary.
I heard the words in my head before they left his lips.
“Each of us gets someone from a room,” the leader said. “Take the kids with. I’ve got these two. Remember, we’re taking hostages.”
There were nods.
Our last chance for answers.
Gordon and the woman took the first door, and Gordon hammered on it, a heavy knock, and also a way of cluing in people further down the hall.
Good job.
Helen and shaggy-beardy took the next door, seventeen, with Helen peering down to the mail slot and opening it to speak through it, shaggy standing back, tense.
Eighteen was Jamie and baldy-beardy. Jamie used the badge.
Nineteen.
I approached the door and stopped. While I stood there, thinking, the old man and Lillian walked past us to the last door in the hallway.
Sub Rosa was watching, staring with eyes that could no longer blink. An intensity radiated off of her.
She’d come here for this. For our source of information. The relative of the man who had altered her.
I knocked.
The door opened, without hesitation.
There were two scientists within. One was middle-aged, a woman, brown-haired and stout in build, the other was a wisp of a girl, small and light in every sense of the words. The girl, our source, had opened the door. She was sixteen or so, blonde, hair so fine and insubstantial that it looked like she was underwater, the hair that had come free of her ponytail floating around her, free of gravity’s pull. Her eyes were dark, glasses cleaner than most, with fine rims. She had a lens on her forehead, something that could be flipped down over one eye to view small things.
“What?” she asked, in the most impatient, bitchy tone I’d heard in some time. She looked from me to Mary to the convict leader, then back to me.
I hadn’t expected this attitude. Everyone up to this point had been scared, worried about possibilities.
“You’re aware there’s an escaped experiment?” I asked.
“That usually goes hand in hand with the facility being sealed,” she said, in a very condescending way. “Whatever. It’s fine, I do hope things open up soon, but I came expecting to put in a full day or two of work with minimal sleep. This doesn’t change my plans.”
“Studying bugs,” I said, eyeing the glass tank in the center of the room. There were flies swarming within.
“Yes,” she said, giving me a curious look. “I’m sorry, kids, but if you want someone to hold your hand while you freak out about being stuck down here, this isn’t the place for it. I have work to do.”
“That’s, uh…” I started.
“Things are more complicated than that,” Mary said, her voice soft.
The convict leader behind me spoke up, “We’re taking you hostage.”
“No you’re not,” the woman on the other side of the room said. She was studying the tank so intently she’d barely glanced at us. “We just reached the breeding phase. We’ve been building toward this for four months.”
“I see you need convincing,” the leader said. He pointed the spike forward. The girl at the door backed away as the leader advanced, weapon ready. I caught the door as she let go of it, but I also stayed in the leader’s way, so he couldn’t attack her. I needed her cooperative.
“I’m starting to see how it is,” the girl said.
“Yeah,” the convict said. “Move, kid. I want to drive the point home.”
Here was the moment of truth. I moved suddenly, toward the spike. I’d build up a rapport with him. Now I tested it. Would he instinctively protect me?
He moved the spike out of the way, lifting his arm.
But the door- I’d let go of the door, and now it swung shut. It was metal, it was heavy, and the convict leader lacked hands.
He was caught between the door and the frame for a moment, unable to use his shoulder to bump it open without risking the breakage of the glass tank of yellow fluid.
I backed across the room as he grunted, moved his leg and kicked it open.
In backing away, I moved between the girl and the older woman. Mary followed suit. Where the girl tried to back away, Mary helped me corner her.
The convict leader kicked the door open, stepping into the room. Gordon and the convict woman appeared behind him, and Gordon caught the door, keeping it from closing.
Two convicts, our two scientists, and Gordon, Mary, and I.
The leader gave me an ugly look, but he didn’t say anything. Was he conscious of the other member of his group, just behind him?
“The experiment is here,” I informed the girl. “I heard someone call it Sub Rosa.”
No sign of recognition at the name. The older woman didn’t seem to take special notice either.
“Project by Shipman,” I said.
“I’m Shipman,” the younger girl said. “Oh. You mean my uncle.”
The convict leader frowned at us, a momentary look of puzzlement on his face.
“How is he?” Ms. Shipman asked us.
“Dead,” I said, my voice cold for the leader’s benefit. “Very, very dead.”
“How?”
“His creation offed him before starting her rampage through this place. She came for you, it seems.”
“Enough talking,” the convict leader said. “Grab them. Tie their hands.”
“With?” Mary asked.
He jabbed one spike in her direction. “Don’t go talking back to me, brat. I haven’t forgotten you attacked one of mine.”
He’s insecure. He’s realizing he doesn’t have total control, and he’s acting on it in the way I figured. Violence and threats.
“Get the other woman,” I told Mary. The woman convict was over there, spikes ready, and I wasn’t sure I trusted her to keep those weapons to herself. Things were manageable, but the moment they started prodding these two women with spikes to try and make them compliant, the convicts would have their control, and the Lambs wouldn’t be able to do anything.
“Got wires?” Gordon asked from the door. “Ropes? Cord?”
“No,” Ms. Shipman said. “Resin gun, but that would burn flesh.”
“We could tear the lab coats into strips,” Mary said, holding up a knife.
“I like my lab coat, thank you very much,” Ms. Shipman said, in a very prim, uptight way. “I earned it.”
“Do you like living?” I asked. “Because this is a very real choice.”
I was growing to dislike her with a startling speed.
“I’ll live, and I’ll keep my coat,” she said. “If I may-”
She bent down, unclipped a stocking, and then began rolling it down.
Was she exceptionally cunning? Because the convict leader was suddenly paying rapt attention. Yes, she was young, but the closest the man had been to a woman had probably been his yellow-skinned fellow convict and Sub Rosa.
Gordon was paying a great deal of attention too, I noticed.
“Gets cold down here,” she said. “But, ugh, skirts are expected. I’d rather wear trousers.”
“Me too,” Gordon said. A stab at humor.
Ms. Shipman didn’t laugh. She stood straight, stocking in hand, and handed it to me. I balled it up and tossed it to Mary.
The young lady started on the other one. The one I’d be using to tie her up. I looked at her legs, but I didn’t see the magic that had others so enchanted. Maybe because it was attached to such an unlikable person.
“Heads up!” I heard Gordon comment, in the same moment Ms. Shipman drove her shoulder into my ribs.
I tipped over, landing on my ass, and saw her running in the opposite direction, toward the closet in the corner.
She was going for her bag?
She didn’t make it. Gordon reached her, wrapping his arms around her upper body, pinning her arms to her side. She had years on him in age, but she was petite, and Gordon was an early bloomer. He was bigger, and he was strong besides. He was able to lift her bodily off the ground.
“Nice try,” he said.
She bent her head down, mouth yawning open, to bite at the spot where his neck met his shoulder.
He practically tossed her, heaving her up and away, then catching her again, this time with her head too high and far back to reach him to bite.
She kicked, she struggled, but he didn’t let her go. After about twenty seconds, both were left panting into one another’s faces, Ms. Shipman red in the face with spent fury.
I |
to permanently disrupt the business model of the criminal syndicate people-smugglers that prey on vulnerable people, taking their money and encouraging them onto unseaworthy vessels, where there’s a significant chance they will drown,” Luke Mansfield, first assistant secretary with the department of immigration and border protection, said.
“Australia acknowledges its approach is firm and is not universally liked, but it is consistent with our international obligations, including non-refoulement.”
Since 2013, Operation Sovereign Borders has intercepted 771 asylum seekers, on 31 boats, and returned them to source or transit countries, or sent them for offshore processing, Mansfield said. He said the “on-water assessment” of protection claims was thorough and comprehensive.The best way to get kids outside, and encourage their sense of adventure, is to go with them. No adventure is too small if it awakens something within.
Introducing a child to the world of adventure is one of the most rewarding things one can do. As someone who has hiked, biked, skied, and climbed all over the world, I can sometimes forget what that “first time” feels like. But, when you introduce new experiences to the next generation, you open up their world, and through their eyes, get to see it all again.
A friend and I took his eight-year-old daughter, Callie, and 12-year-old son, Jeff, on a winter adventure trip across the country to Colorado. They had grown up in the Southeast and had never been around much snow, so what better place to take them than the fun-filled, family adventure town of Breckenridge.
The town of Breckenridge, Colorado, sits at an elevation of 9,600 feet (2926 m) and has more than 200 restaurants, bars, and shops. Originally a gold mining town, named after a U.S. vice president in 1859, it went through its boom and then bust and by 1870 had become mostly a ghost town. That is until 1961 when the first ski resort opened.
Today, Breckenridge has transformed into a favorite ski resort destination and focuses on family adventures. In and around “Breck” you can go snow tubing, dog sledding, snowmobiling, snow shoeing, ice skating, cross-country skiing, ride a winter roller coaster, visit the children’s museum and hop on a mining tour.
In Denver, we rented a car and drove two hours west on Route 70 to Breckenridge. Callie and Jeff were mesmerized by each passing mountain. Colorado has 54 peaks over 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) in elevation, twice as high as the tallest mountain found east of the Mississippi, 6,684 foot (2,037 meters) Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina, and any they had ever seen.
We arrived at our hotel, The DoubleTree by Hilton Breckenridge and were welcomed by a friendly staff, warm fireplace in the lobby and cookies—a bonus for the kids. Located across the street from Peak 9, The DoubleTree has free shuttle service to and from anywhere in town, complimentary ski valet, ski school pick-up, and conveniently, inside the hotel, Breck Sports – Ski & Snowboard Rentals. The well-stocked store carries a plethora of brand options—Nordica, Lange, Dynastar, Burton, Salomon, Atomic, Marker, Leki, and Rossignol. The kids, bouncing with excitement, couldn’t wait to gear-up. Breck Sports manager, Max, was very helpful. After asking them what their skiing experience level was (none) and getting their weight, height, and foot measurements, he hooked the kids up with skis and boots. Jeff and Callie were now ready for ski school!
One of the really great things about Breckenridge is their world-class Ski & Ride School for kids, adults and adaptive learning for people with disabilities and/or special needs. We took the complimentary shuttle over to Peak 9 and registered the kids for school. The cheerful instructors were engaging and you could tell they loved what they did. With the kids in school, the experienced ‘adults’ had some free time to play.
Over the long weekend, we crisscrossed all over the mountain from intermediate to black diamond runs. On 3,000 acres, there are five peaks with 187 trails, including new intermediate above the tree-line runs, a 22-foot Superpipe, 11 bowls and plenty of double black diamond and extreme skiing options for the experts. There is also the highest chairlift in North America, the Imperial Express Superchair on Peak 8. It begins at 11,901 feet (3,627 meters) and ends at 12,840 feet (3,914 meters).
Jeff and Callie spent two days in ski school and had a blast. They liked being around other kids and the instructors. They received report cards listing the things they had mastered and next steps. We picked them up in the afternoons and skied with them the rest of the day. They couldn’t wait to show us what they had learned. By the end of the trip, they were both on intermediate runs.
We tried to do as much as we could in our long weekend in Breckenridge. In addition to skiing, we took the kids snow tubing at Frisco Adventure Park and rode the Gold Runner Alpine Coaster through the forest on Peak 8.
At night, we enjoyed many of the local restaurants including the famous Empire Burger and the family sports bar with arcade, Downstairs at Eric’s. One evening, after dinner, we adults went to the Breckenridge Distillery, the highest distillery in North America, for a behind-the-scenes tour and hands-on bourbon bottling experience. Most nights though, the kids, still full of energy, played in the hotel’s indoor pool and then joined us for a soak in the outdoor hot tubs.
They can’t wait to go back to Breckenridge for more skiing and adventures. Callie says she wants to try dogsledding next time and work her way onto black diamond trails. At 12, Jeff has now decided Colorado would be a great place to go to college and that would be just fine with his dad.Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, has reportedly suggested that Donald Trump won the US election because of support from “the Jews.”
Zakharova made the comments over the weekend on a nationally televised talk show, saying that it was Jewish money that tipped the election for Trump, Radio Free Europe reported.
“If you want to know what will happen in America, who do you have to talk to? You have to talk to the Jews, naturally. But of course,” Zakharova said while on Sunday Evening, a show hosted by pro-Kremlin television personality Vladimir Solovyov, the report said.
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Zakharova then reportedly adopted “a cartoonish Jewish accent” while impersonating her alleged interlocutor.
“They told me: ‘Marochka (a Russian diminutive for Maria), you understand, of course, we’ll donate to Clinton. But we’ll donate twice as much to the Republicans.’ That was it! The matter was settled, for me personally,” she said, according to Radio Free Europe.
She then told the audience that if you want to know anything, you need to talk to the residents of Brighton Beach, a New York neighborhood with a large Russian Jewish community.If you live near a hospital, you’ve probably seen the sight: a young physician in loose blue scrubs, standing in line at the grocery store. You can’t help but wonder if the young physician is lost. After all, it appears that he or she belongs in an emergency room – not the dairy section.
The oversized bottoms, dangling bright orange pajama knot, deep V-neck and beeper ensemble not only look out of place, but lead to a slew of thoughts. Is he coming from or going to a shift? Could her clothes carry some sort of hospital microbe? What detritus has the outfit picked up on public transit or in line at the ATM that will track back to an operating room or patient? Has the American trend toward casual attire gone too far?
Regardless of profession, we all play out the sartorial ritual of considering colors, textures, and garments for work, school and play.
Clothing for doctors is more than just a matter of personal style: it is an emblem of their specialty, training and culture.
Making a good first impression
In some cases, a physician’s attire is functional. A surgeon’s scrubs protect regular clothes from stains and patients from infection.
Sometimes, it’s about creating a good first impression and projecting the more professional, conservative image often associated with medicine.
Go to a doctor’s office, for instance, and you’re more likely to find physicians donning a shirt and tie, or jacket and blouse when interacting with their patients. In almost all of these cases, the emblematic uniform of physicians – the white coat – is present.
This month, about 20,000 newly minted physicians will enter residency programs across America, to begin their professional journeys. Each will care for and influence the lives of countless patients.
And each has been trained to avoid “anchoring bias,” or to not to take the first thing they learn about a patient as the most important, lest they reach a biased conclusion or incorrect diagnosis. Yet few doctors or medical students consider the first impression they make on patients. And clothes have a lot to do with that.
In an informal survey in our hospital, only two out of 30 medical students said that they actually thought about their dress when caring for hospitalized patients. Yet, over half of the medical students we spoke to agreed that what they wear is likely to influence patient opinions about their doctors. This illustrates a larger discrepancy between what doctors ought to wear and what they do wear – one that may arise from competing concerns or lack of guidance.
Just like the treatment doctors provide, that guidance should be grounded in evidence. For instance, a special report from infection-prevention experts found little evidence that germs on male doctors’ neckties, long sleeves, or white coats actually spread infections in a nonsurgical setting. So bans on such garments, such as those in place in some countries, may go too far.
Patients really like white coats
We recently published a study reviewing all available evidence regarding patient preferences for physician attire. We examined more than 30 studies that evaluated how patients viewed physicians’ attire.
In 21 of those studies, we found that patients had strong preferences about what physicians wore. And it looks like patients more often prefer for their doctors to wear formal clothing and white lab coats than not. Indeed, in 18 of the studies we reviewed, patients had a preference or positive association with this style of attire.
But as we reviewed these studies, three keys themes that suggest important variations in what patients may prefer their doctors to wear emerged. First, studies involving older patients or those from Europe or Asia all reported higher satisfaction when physicians wore formal attire.
Second, in emergency, surgical or intensive care settings, scrubs were not only preferred by patients, but also more often equated with professionalism. This makes sense, as in these more “hands-on,” procedure-oriented settings, formal suits, shirts and ties clearly seem out of place.
Finally, in doctors’ offices and outpatient clinics, scrubs were viewed unfavorably and often resulted in negative impressions.
Thus, from the patient’s perspective, a “one size fits all” approach may not work for doctor attire. Rather, the context in which a patient interacts with their doctor influences what they expect to see.
Given the tension between infection risk and patient preferences, it is not surprising that disagreement about dress code also exists among physicians.
After our study came out, the medical news website MedPage Today reported results from an informal, but still telling, online survey of over 2,000 patients and physicians about the “best approach to dressing for patient encounters.”
About 30% of doctors polled stated that they preferred to wear scrubs, casual attire or had no particular preference when caring for patients. However, more than 60% stated that doctors should wear white coats.
The online comments differed widely, with some physicians defiant in stating that they had “never worn a white coat in 30 years,” while others proclaimed, “priests and judges have their robes, we have our white coats.”
And despite clear patient preferences about what doctors wear while working, even the top-ranked hospitals in the nation, only a handful offer formal guidance on attire. Many vaguely recommend that clothes be “professional,” but without defining what professional means?
A dress code for docs?
How, then, should doctors dress when caring for patients? Clearly, more evidence is needed to guide members of the medical community. So we have launched a large study that aims to better understand what patients prefer when it comes to physician attire.
We plan to survey thousands of patients from the US, Italy, Switzerland and Japan in settings that span outpatient clinics, doctors offices and hospitals. Because generational effects and familiarity matter, we will specifically assess how factors such as age or how often a person interacts with the health system shape patient opinions.
While we collect data for this study, what best practices can we recommend in the interim, especially those 20,000 brand new residents?
When in doubt, formal attire with long-sleeved shirts and ties for men, and business attire for women, should prevail in nonemergency or nonoperative settings.
This practice should hold true not just for weekdays, but also when physicians are working weekends and after typical business hours. Patients and their expectations remain unchanged, regardless of hour or day.
While scrubs are appropriate for operating or emergency rooms, we suggest changing into more formal attire to visit patients in the hospital or the clinic. Regardless of the occasion, flip-flops, showy jewelry or jeans simply don’t belong in the hospital, just as scrubs do not belong outside the hospital environment. Especially not in the grocery store.Okay so in the topic of Zootopia and Frozen, this has already being talked about out there I think, but I wanna give a more profound analysis. While I don’t usually like to talk about release dates, they will happen regardless of all we speculate, I think this hint offers a nice opportunity to analyze this a little more profoundly for our best hopes.
As you may know one of the many Frozen Ester Eggs in Zootopia is when the Duke Weaselton sells a few Blue Ray movies that represent Disney movies on the zootopia world. He says “I’ve even got some that aren’t released yet”, and on this fashion he shows Meowana (Moana), Giraffic (Gigantic) and Floatzen 2 (Frozen 2).
They come after a series of the classics but here’s the interesting part, they are in order. Moana will be the next movie, and after that Gigantic on March 2018 that as much is confirmed, so does this tell us that the next after Gigantic is gonna be Frozen 2?. Perhaps that doesn’t mean much but let’s consider other factors in order to get the date.
It’s weird that Gigantic was planed for march, even if there’s Pixar movies later on the year, slotting the WDAS movie for early in the year is weird, specially considering it will be the big release after more than one year. However it would be less weird if there’s another movie on Nov 2018, the same way it’s happening now with Zootopia and Moana. Given that Zootopia has given us the Hint, said movie should be Frozen 2.
There’s more stuff to support this theory. First we have the interview with Chris Buck where he mentioned that an animated feature takes 4 years to produce, but less if it’s a sequel considering they already have characters and world designed. Then we have to see when Frozen 2 started production. According to Jen’s last tweet and the fact that the actress for young Elsa’s voice tweeted that she was working in Frozen, we can say that Frozen 2 started early 2015. Going by this, 2015, 2016, 2017 and half of 2018 for producing Frozen 2 seems to work just fine.
Now comparing to other Disney release dates, late 2018 would make the most sense. As with 2016, they have a beloved Pixar sequel (TS4) coming up at the middle of the year in June, but let’s also look at their other strong studios. Marvel will have all their movies released earlier on the year, while Star Wars will have an anthology film during 2018. Based on this Nov 2018 would indeed be a great date to release a big franchise movie like Frozen 2. However we do know that they slated Nov 2 2018 for a Live action release without a name. This could serve as Frozen 2 date just they haven’t announce the date to capitalize on the hype on the best way possible, however even if it is a LA, seeing how the movie market is working nowadays and how Disney is playing it I could still see them releasing Frozen 2 on late Nov or december.
Now we do have the fact that some Disney guy said that Frozen 2 wouldn’t come before 2019, but we also know he’s not on the Frozen 2 project, and he also didn’t say it on an official manner, so whatever. Although we could take this info then perhaps a good Frozen 2 release date would be March 2019, Frozen is already getting a holiday special so perhaps playing with dates that aren’t on winter would be a great movie.
Speaking of the special, it’s coming on late 2017, while the Broadway show is coming on early 2018 which could mean a great marketing strategy to build up Hype for Frozen 2. There’s a final factor that’s the initial five year plan Disney had for the franchise, it started on early 2014 and should end on late 2018 or early 2019 which means Frozen 2 needs to be released around that time.
So given all of this, Frozen 2 is indeed most likely WDAS next release right after Gigantic given Zootopia’s hint, the fact that there’s nothing really announced other than WiR 2 and the fact that taking more time producing it into late 2019 or 2020 would be just much more expensive for Disney while also messing up with their franchise planing. Therefore Late 2018 is still the most likely date and I’d say thanks to this zootopia piece, the puzzle is now clear.
My Bet would be late 2018 75%, Early 2019 20% and other dates beyond that, 5%.Justice Department officials released new guidelines yesterday that empower FBI agents to use intrusive techniques to gather intelligence within the United States, alarming civil liberties groups and Democratic lawmakers who worry that they invite privacy violations and other abuses.
The new road map allows investigators to recruit informants, employ physical surveillance and conduct interviews in which agents disguise their identities in an effort to assess national security threats. FBI agents could pursue each of those steps without any single fact indicating a person has ties to a terrorist organization.
Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said the guidelines are necessary to fulfill the FBI's core mission to predict threats and respond even before an attack takes place. The ground rules will help the bureau become "a more flexible and adept collector of intelligence," as independent commissions urged after the strikes of Sept. 11, 2001, Mukasey said in a statement yesterday.
The guidelines, which harmonize five different road maps dating back more than a generation, take effect Dec. 1. That is two months later than initially planned, and authorities said the delay was a concession to privacy advocates and Arab American groups who expressed concern that their members could be subject to racial or ethnic profiling.
Justice Department leaders rewrote a key section of the guidelines concerning agents' infiltration of groups and attendance at demonstrations. Under the new language, agents would be able to investigate the likelihood of violence stemming from a planned demonstration for as many as 30 days, with renewals subject to supervisory approval.
Congressional staff members said the revisions were superficial, and the American Civil Liberties Union immediately condemned the road map. Critics had asked Justice Department leaders to wait until a new president takes office, an approach that administration officials rejected.
Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU's Washington legislative office, said: "Since, under these guidelines, a generalized 'threat' is enough to begin an investigation, the FBI will be given carte blanche to begin surveillance without factual evidence.... These guidelines will lead to political witch hunts and more unwarranted investigations of political enemies and peace groups."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said the grant of new authority to FBI agents flies in the face of recent history, including overreaching and sloppy record-keeping by agents who demanded too much secret information from telephone companies and Internet service providers as part of national security investigations.
Bush administration officials assert that the overhaul is merely a common-sense change that would give FBI agents who pursue national security leads the same power as agents who investigate criminal offenses.
Civil liberties activists yesterday raised anew questions about the expanded role of the FBI in collecting an array of foreign intelligence within U.S. borders, absent evidence of a crime. For instance, the guidelines allow FBI agents to conduct interviews and monitor the movement of people who may possess useful information on subjects of general interest to American policymakers, such as a foreign government's oil exports.Spoilers for the complete third season of The Americans follow.
The Americans, FX's terrific series about Soviet spies working in early 1980s Washington, DC, concluded its third season (its best yet) with a string of crushing revelations.
In the season's penultimate episode, Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys) allowed Martha (Alison Wright), the woman he'd manipulated into a fake marriage to see him sans disguise for the first time.
And in the finale, Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) took the couple's daughter Paige (Holly Taylor) to West Germany, where she met Elizabeth's Russian mother for the first time. Paige, who had learned the truth about her parents in a tremendous episode, found herself weighed down by the knowledge and finally spilled the beans to her pastor in the episode's concluding scene. Philip and Elizabeth's secret is out, and nothing can be the same.
Intrigued by these developments and the season as a whole, I hopped on the phone with the series' co-showrunner Joel Fields to talk about the development of the Paige and Martha arcs, whether the show has too many plots, and what one word he might use to describe the writers' early discussions about season four.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Todd VanDerWerff: Paige is not known for being dishonest. But in your mind, isn't there a part of Pastor Tim that has to be saying, "C'mon, Paige. You're making up some crazy shit!"?
Joel Fields: [Laughs.] I don't think we're gonna be able to get out of this that easily.
TV: What was it like constructing Paige's arc for the season? How did you decide to end it in that place?
JF: The Paige arc was one where we knew we were writing toward the moment when Philip and Elizabeth would tell her the truth. It was very early in the season when we realized that though they would debate telling her the truth, they were going to be blindsided by her demanding it.
The exact where of how that would take place shifted along the way, too, so much so that Joe [Weisberg, creator and fellow showrunner] and I went and wrote that story in private, just the two of us, then quietly handed it to our writing staff to let them be the canaries in the coal mine reading it for the first time and finding out when and how it would happen.
In terms of the very end, we had that piece of Elizabeth going to see her mother one last time from before we started breaking the season. We had the idea that she would bring Paige, and the idea that they would go to West Germany, and the surprise of how the mother would be smuggled in from Russia instead of them having to go to Russia. But Paige's phone call to Pastor Tim was something that came late to us.
In a way, it came out of how we found her reaction to all of this playing. We made a conscious choice not to have telling Paige be a singular episode, because we felt it wasn't the beginning, middle, and end in one episode sort of story, but rather a transformation of the dynamics of the show that would play out going forward. That proved to be the case, and as we saw her try to hold that secret, and we saw the amount of pain she was in, this started to take on an inevitability.
TV: How much were you collaborating with Holly Taylor on this?
JF: The collaboration goes back way before me, to Gavin O'Connor, who directed the pilot and was a key part of selecting this actress, and the other people who were involved in that process — Leslee Feldman [head of casting] at Dreamworks and everybody who found Holly and identified her for this part.
And working with Holly over the years, we found we were blessed with a human being who is very open and an actress who is intuitive. One of the great things about Holly is she's able to take these emotional pieces and deliver them in a human way without worrying about acting them too much, just making them real.
It's very rare on a TV show to meet a week beforehand and spend a few hours working a scene, but that paid enormous dividends
We did some things we've never done on this show before. We made time on that big scene to rehearse well before the day we shot it. Although we do rehearsals the day before we shoot, it's very rare on a TV show to meet a week beforehand and spend a few hours working a scene, but that paid enormous dividends.
Another thing we did is although we have tone meetings with every director and we talk about every scene in detail with every director, we actually created a document starting in episode 10, going through the finale, tracking Paige's emotional arc in every episode and in every scene of every episode and sometimes down to dialogue within scenes, as to what we felt she was experiencing and going through. We talked to Holly about it. We talked to Dan Sackheim, our producing director, about it. We talked to each visiting director about it.
TV: The other big reveal of the season is that Martha now knows her husband is not at all what he said he was. What brought that into this season, and how did you find that informing the Paige story and vice versa?
JF: That's one that we really knew where we were headed. We, for a long time, thought he was going to take off that wig and expose himself for who he was in the finale. But as we broke the finale, there was so much story there, we decided we wanted to let it breathe and have its own powerful moment at the end of episode 12 and let his action for her in the murder of Gene [a computer technician who works with Martha] and the framing of Gene [for Martha bugging the FBI office where she works] speak for itself in the finale.
We can try to manipulate, but ultimately there will be human consequences
It's an interesting question how it frames the relationship with Paige. I'm almost hesitant to speak to it because you want to let all of that play both in our conscious and subconscious intention. But one thing that comes to mind is that although these spies are master manipulators, ultimately they're dealing with human beings, and all of us, in life, are engaged in relationships with other people. We can try to manipulate, and we can try to outgame, but ultimately people are going to have their human responses, and there will be human consequences.
Whether that's Martha, the woman you would do anything to manipulate so long as she would deliver the intel you wanted, including fake marry, if that's what you had to do — well, now she's grown through that marriage, and she's going to walk out and fall apart. You can kill her, or you can double down on your trust. And unfortunately, you've had your transference and are dealing with your own feelings.
Or your own daughter! You may have way back when had a child on orders because that's what it was going to take to fit in and thought nothing of it, because that's what you do. And now you've been debating how or if you should tell her the truth. And the one thing you hadn't counted on is you'd come home one night in the middle of the night, and she'd be waiting for you, demanding answers.
TV: Last season, when I talked to you, you mentioned how the characters on this show are very psychologically unaware. This season, that breaks open a little bit, especially in the finale where Philip seems on the edge of a revelation he can't put into words. That's very similar to the self-discovery and self-help movement that was prominent in the country in the '80s. How much do you talk about these characters and their world becoming aware of themselves?
JF: We talk about it a lot. There's the whole est story for you. It was part of the national consciousness, and it was expressed in a lot of these movements, but est was a big one. So we knew we wanted that to be part of the season. In fact, we saw Philip struggling with the human consequences of his work in season two, and the first place you see him this season is at est. Yes, he's there for his friend, but by the end of the season he's there for himself.
As Sandra says, he doesn't even know why. Sometimes you come for someone else, and you wind up there for yourself. There's growth there, but for him that growth is dangerous.
TV: If there's been a criticism of this season, it's been that there's so much plot that it can be hard to follow. To what degree do you understand where that's coming from, and to what degree do you use plot as a distraction from what you're really doing, which is setting up the emotional and character arcs?
JF: I've worked on shows where plot is the primary driver. But this is one where it's really all about character. What interests me and Joe are the character journeys, and the plot is only interesting to the extent that it's a trigger for those emotional stories.
The plot is only interesting to the extent that it's a trigger for those emotional stories
I think the thing we struggle with is because we're not particularly interested in the plot, we really try not to exposit it. We try not to go to it unless it's provoking something emotional for the characters. When we do, we try to never explain things that they wouldn't need [to be] explained, so that may lead to some confusion. That may be a fair criticism. That may make it hard to follow. Our feeling is that if the characters can follow it, the audience will go along. We may be right or wrong, but that's been our guide.
There have been times when we've looked at scenes, and we've said, "God, we've gotta put in a little exposition so that someone will understand what's going on here." Maybe we should have done more of that, but that's the struggle for us is to have it be true and most provocative for the character's journey.
TV: You've traditionally skipped a few months of show time between seasons, but this season left so much dangling from several episodes up to and including the finale. Are you going to pick up immediately or are you comfortable leaving things dangling?
JF: It's as if you were in our writers' room today. There has been much, much debate on exactly this point, on exactly this day. We have very strong instincts about the story we want to tell, and I think it's becoming very clear today where we want to pick up, although there may be some dissent in the ranks of the writers' room. We will see as that shakes out over the next couple of weeks. It's been a lively discussion on exactly that point.
What I will say is whether they're cliffhangers or they're character crises, whatever you want to call them, those are the exciting drivers to us.
TV: The same-day ratings sometimes are not what you'd like them to be, but the ratings for the overall DVR viewers jump spectacularly. To what degree do you worry about numbers like that?
JF: I rented a car this weekend, and the guy behind the counter was so nice. He saw my jacket, which said The Americans, season three, and he said, "The Americans! You work on The Americans! I love that show! My wife and I watched the whole first season, and we loved it. And then we watched the first episode of the second season, and it was so good we decided to wait until you've finished the entire series, and then we're going to binge the whole thing!" [Laughs.] I just plastered a smile on my face and said, "Thank you."
All it can do to think about that is make me crazy, so I try not to and focus on what we do have a little control over
We're in a new age, and the show is what it is and has the audience it has. We could make ourselves crazy thinking about it. It does seem to have an extremely loyal time-shifted following. But ultimately, we have no control over how many people watch the show. All it can do to think about that is make me crazy, so I try not to and focus on what we do have a little control over, which is trying to keep our oars in the water and at best, row forward, and at worst, use them as a rudder to follow the story.
TV: Has there been talk about having more Claudia in season four, now that actress Margo Martindale is more open?
JF: We'll see. We had a wonderful breakfast with her recently. We love her as a human being. We love her as an actress and love her as a character. Boy, that was a fun scene [in episode 12] with her and Frank [Langella]!
TV: As you're headed into season four, what are some themes or questions or things you're talking about that will inform your approach?
I'll give you one word that pops to my mind: Home
JF: Although we've been talking a lot about theme, we're still circling around and we're still in somewhat of the discovery phase. I think we know what it is that we are exploring, but we're using a lot of different words to talk about it.
I'll give you one word that pops to my mind: home.
TV: What pop culture impressions can we look forward to from Henry [the younger Jennings child] next season?
JF: There have been some pretty good pitches on that. "Land Shark" has been pitched. Joking aside, there was a lively debate recently among some of the writers as to whether he would be into the same Monty Python albums we were into in high school or whether that's just because we want to have an excuse to listen to them again.
All three seasons of The Americans are available on Amazon Prime. Season four will air in 2016.Enlarge Image Video screenshot by Eric Mack
Is NASA hiding clear video evidence of a UFO descending to Earth? To paraphrase what a spokesperson from the space agency told me when I asked: "Uh, no."
NASA increasingly has eyes all over the solar system, whether it's on Mars, above our heads in orbit or, as of this week, around Jupiter. So perhaps it shouldn't be that surprising that every few months word circulates around the internet that one of NASA's eyes has captured a UFO or evidence of alien life. The latest such alleged sighting comes courtesy of NASA's High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) experiment aboard the International Space Station.
YouTuber StreetCap1 posted on Saturday what's described as an unidentified flying object entering Earth's atmosphere, adding: "What made it interesting was the camera cut off when the UFO seemed to stop."
The post doesn't actually suggest the object in the video is an alien craft, acknowledging that it could be something less exciting, like a meteor. Meanwhile, the video has been reposted several times with an emphasis on the insinuation that NASA deliberately shut down the feed and has something to hide.
"The video is from our High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) experiment aboard the ISS, which is mounted externally on the ISS," NASA spokesperson Daniel Huot explained via e-mail. "This experiment includes several commercial HD video cameras aimed at the Earth, which are enclosed in a pressurized and temperature-controlled housing. The experiment is on automatic controls to cycle through the various cameras."
In other words, there's no one actually at the controls of HDEV, which launched back in 2014, monitoring the feed to quickly cut it when UFOs show up in the frame. In fact, there's a much more mundane technical explanation for the feed apparently freezing before cutting to a "technical difficulties" card.
"The station regularly passes out of range of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) used to send and receive video, voice and telemetry from the station," Huot said. "For video, whenever we lose signal (video comes down on our higher bandwidth, called KU) the cameras will show a blue screen (indicating no signal) or a preset video slate."
You can actually see this happen pretty frequently for yourself. Spend enough hours watching the live feed on any of NASA's apps, UStream channels or other platforms and you'll certainly see it drop out.
But whether you think losing the feed with a weird object in frame was convenient timing or not, the question remains: What the heck was that thing?
"As for the 'object,' it's very common for things like the moon, space debris, reflections from station windows, the spacecraft structure itself or lights from Earth to appear as artifacts in photos and videos from the orbiting laboratory," Huot said.
NASA just loves to heap on the disappointment. Just when we were finally accepting the fact that the Mars Curiosity rover probably didn't photograph an alien woman on the Red Planet. Oh well, there's always hope Juno will find a Jovian sea monster.How to Pay Off a Home Mortgage Early
Note: Read our guide on what to do once you pay off your mortgage. If you are still some ways off towards this goal, we summarize below whether you should pay off your mortgage early or not.
For most of us, our monthly home mortgage payment is our single largest expense. It allows us a place to call home, to raise our kids, and to live our lives. But at the same time, it constrains us in many ways. For example, it may make it difficult for one spouse to leave a job to stay back home with kids. It creates stress whenever job security is called into question. For some, the burden of a significant debt such as this can be overpowering and they may be looking to get out of debt completely, regardless of whether it is the best course of action or not.
Unfortunately, there are probably as many good arguments against paying off a home mortgage early, |
vol. 12: 69-89.
Cremo, M. A. (2008) Excavating the eternal: an indigenous archaeological tradition in India. Antiquity, 82:178-188.
Cremo, M. A. (2008) Some Angles on the Anglo Debate. Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress, 4(1): 164-167.
Recent years [ edit ]
In recent years, Cremo has organized a number of conferences where ISKCON-associated academics exchanged views and experiences.[12] In March 2009, Cremo appeared in a History Channel television series called Ancient Aliens, and in 2010 a mini series of the same name.[13]
See also [ edit ]MIAMI - South Florida residents were reporting fierce winds and downed trees a day after tornadoes tied to a vast storm system turned several homes to rubble in the northwest corner of Florida's Panhandle and in Mississippi.
CBS Miami reports this pattern of increased tornado activity is associated with strong El Nino events during the winter months in Florida.
Watch: Tornado damage in Miami area
While a tornado touchdown has not been officially confirmed by officials, several Miami-area residents reported seeing one.
A strong line of thunderstorms passed through Miami-Date County just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, National Weather Service meteorologist Chuck Caracozza said. The same system went through Palm Beach and Broward counties during the morning commute, bringing dark skies, heavy rain and wind.
CBS affiliate WPEC in West Palm reports there was extensive damage in the Pompano Beach area.
National Weather Service meteorologist Chuck Caracozza said teams from the agency would survey the area to determine whether a tornado touched down. He said wind and rain would be out of the region by mid-day, leaving colder weather with temperatures expected to dip to around 60 degrees in South Florida on Tuesday night.
Storm Damage pictures coming in now from Loxahatchee. Winds in excess of 50 mph reported in many areas. @CBS12 pic.twitter.com/dGFz85DkJY — Michael Ehrenberg (@MichaelCBS12) February 16, 2016
Wicked storm crosses into Miami Beach, FL earlier this morning w/ a tornado warning. via FB user Oßi Figueroa #flwx pic.twitter.com/RgBsxjFAb4 — Jim Loznicka (@LoznickaCBS46) February 16, 2016
Looks like tornado dropped highway sign on ladies car pic.twitter.com/LGALgZOafd — Rene Fragoso (@koalallama) February 16, 2016
Authorities say more than a dozen homes were destroyed in both Florida and Mississippi on Monday. There were no immediate reports of any deaths or serious injuries from the reported tornadoes, though witnesses said one 94-year-old woman had to be pulled from debris in Florida.
One of three apparent twisters swept through Century, a rural town in the northwest Florida Panhandle, destroying or significantly damaging about 10 homes, Escambia County spokeswoman Joy Tsubooka said.
Donald Pugh was at home in Century when the funnel tore through his neighborhood of small wood-frame houses and mobile homes, downing trees. Pugh told The Associated Press that he and other neighbors used a chain saw to free the 94-year-old woman, stuck under a twisted metal door and other debris of her home.
"It took us quite a while," he said. "She was telling us where she was and that she was OK," Pugh added.
The woman was taken to a hospital as a precaution, authorities said.
In Mississippi, windows were blown out of cars and two gymnasiums and a library were damaged Monday at a K-12 school in Wesson where children were in attendance when heavy thunderstorms and a possible tornado crossed at least 19 counties. No students were hurt, authorities said, adding at least 15 buildings and homes were reported damaged or destroyed.Abstract
Over the years, an increasing number of scholars have argued that a "coming out imperative" characterizes Western society, urging those who harbor hidden identities to make those identities visible for the greater good. A number of sources repeatedly remind queer-identified individuals, for example, that coming out of the closet results in crucial visibility that, among other things, can help lead to political advances for the GLBTQ community. Yet, the call to make the invisible visible also valorizes the gender and sexual binary system that queer theory seeks to dismantle. How might we view the closet--a location that we find ourselves in repeatedly over time, regardless of any and all coming out events--in queer terms? How might we queer common conceptualizations of its construction and its utility? While he does not technically identify as gay, the popular culture stalwart known as Superman provides a useful exemplar for engaging in such a task. Since his first appearance in the pages of comic books more than seventy years ago, consumers and critics have continually inscribed Superman with meanings other than those presumably intended by his authors, thus attesting to the figure's polysemy. These subtextual layers enable consumers to recognize aspects of his texts that they find especially salient, including cues that speak to queer experiences. For example, because Superman's identity is in constant flux, with Superman always masking Clark Kent and vice versa, queer audiences may view Superman as especially relatable given their own experiences with a sexual- and gender-based closet. Superman does not adhere to the "coming out imperative," though, since he constantly relies on his closet in order to perform his super-job efficiently and effectively. His narrative, by its very nature, valorizes some measure of invisibility as a viable approach to managing a life with difference, however super or terrestrial that difference may be. This project analyzes four Superman texts--the television series Smallville, the motion picture Superman Returns, and the animated films Superman: Brainiac Attacks! and Superman: Doomsday--to ponder a closet that may offer opportunity rather than blanket oppression. Through his own identity negotiation, Superman struggles with his difference in ways that are similar to his queer human counterparts, and his eventual embrace of that identity, costume and all, suggests that he achieves some measure of pride in that difference. Yet, his closet remains intact. He may not always appreciate its limitations, but he understands the opportunities it bestows, and I believe we can learn from him. In other words, rampant heteronormativity and heterosexist presumption ensure that we must live with our queer closets everyday. This project seeks to reclaim that space for its practical and critical utility.Rick Pitino fired the latest shot in the not-so-subtle war of words between he and Kentucky head coach John Calipari during a Cardinal Caravan event in Shelbyville Thursday night.
When introducing his son, U of L assistant Richard, Pitino quipped: "He went away for a couple of years to learn how to do things in a second-rate league, then get back to the big time."
The younger Pitino spent the past two seasons as an assistant under Billy Donovan at Florida.
Pitino's comment comes a little more than a week after Calipari suggested at the annual SEC meetings that the Big East gets too many teams into the NCAA Tournament and then subsequently under-performs. He also suggested that the Big East is the product of "media hype" last March.
Kentucky's season ended when it was defeated by Connecticut in the Final Four. The Huskies also beat the Wildcats by 17 earlier in the year.
In the words of a semi-intoxicated Dan Sinnard (the man responsible for the original Kuric/wedding comment, as well as anything else dumb that I've quoted a "friend" as saying) upon hearing the news: "Pitino and Calipari just need to, like, climb on horses and go right at each other...like in Troy."
Maybe one day, Dan. Maybe one day.Most people want to dress well, but they don’t care to spend a small fortune or an inordinate amount of time searching for deals. That means no fancy boutiques or thrift stores, just readily available things that can be quickly purchased for not too much money.
Obviously, if you want the best things, you have to spend either time or money. If you just want to look decent without too much fuss, however, here are my recommendations for where you can get affordable basics.
Finally, don’t forget to set aside a portion of your budget to have things tailored. Things such as suits, sport coats, shirts, and trousers rarely fit perfectly off-the-rack, but if you bring them to a good alterations tailor, you can make them look twice as good and three times as expensive.
(Photo from Life)Two years ago, Song Bo was diagnosed with a serious illness which gave him constant headaches and brought upon depression. Convinced he would never marry or have children, Song was browsing the internet one day when he stumbled upon a listing on China’s online shopping site Taobao that was to give him new hope.
Song bought a child-sized love doll, just 145cm tall (4’10”), and now takes her everywhere with him. The doll may be pint-sized, but as this tender photo series shows, she seems to have changed his life.
The photo series shows the two enjoying days out together at the cinema or in cafes. Song takes her on the subway around Tianjin and carries her tenderly across busy roads. He enjoys taking photos with her, such as these shots that were uploaded to Chinese social networking site Weibo.
Song lives with his mother, who apparently did not object to her son bringing the US$2,200 doll into their lives. He treats the doll as a daughter, and has named her Xiao Die (小蝶 “little butterfly”). Wherever he goes, Little Butterfly goes too.
It’s a sad story (although we’re glad to hear that Song has apparently found new hope thanks to his silicon friend), but there’s no denying the photos are arresting and emotional.
Source: Zaeega
All photos: via ZaeegaChina's Communist party trumpets a new purge on official corruption, but the campaign is diverting attention from fresh crackdown on free speech, say analysts
An anti-corruption drive in China has netted suspects that include an executive accused of cavorting with gigolos, a young woman who owns 11 apartments, a provincial official with 47 mistresses and a vice-mayor with ties to a drug gang. Many alleged misdeeds were exposed by internet users – mostly whistleblowers and rogue journalists – and promulgated via unusually freewheeling coverage in state-owned media.
Another, less vaunted government clampdown – this one on dissenting views – leaves little hope for a Chinese people-power renaissance. Over the past week authorities have surreptitiously replaced an outspoken editorial in a liberal newspaper with brazen propaganda, scrubbed an open letter calling for constitutional governance from the internet, and closed down an outspoken Beijing-based magazine for advocating political reform.
Communist party secretary Xi Jinping said corruption could lead to the "end of the party". His administration has ruthlessly singled out venal officials and is implementing a series of regulations to limit displays of official waste. Yet analysts say that Xi's anti-graft drive is only skin-deep, and that party leaders will be hard pressed to eradicate corruption while maintaining their perennially hard line on dissent.
"For a short period of time, you can have draconian measures that can deter corruption, but in the long term the best way to deal with it is to make sure that there are checks and balances," said Steve Tsang, a professor of Chinese studies at the University of Nottingham.
Yet there are many reasons why a culture of corruption will persist – officials are low-paid and poorly supervised, and the lack of a free press and independent judiciary eliminates any prospect of well-measured oversight.
"What we are likely to see, following Xi Jinping's commitment to his new policy, is that government officials will be a lot more careful in not displaying their ill-gotten gains," said Tsang. "They will do enough to reassure Xi that things are under control, and that is as far as they will go."
Since Xi became the top Communist party leader in November, the central leadership has made an all-out drive to appear transparent and down to earth. Xi has banned a number of wasteful government practices, including prolonged speechifying and traffic-disrupting motorcades. A ban on expensive liquor at military banquets caused some prestigious brands' stock prices to plummet. The state news agency Xinhua has published extensive profiles of the country's seven most powerful leaders, a well-meaning stab at transparency, although they offer little more than breathless praise.
The recent explosion of corruption allegations on China's popular micro-blogs, however, has done more to reveal the depth of the problem than validate official efforts to eliminate it. A blog post on 30 December accused the party secretary of an impoverished county in Yunnan province of purchasing 10 SUVs and getting drunk with a group of attractive women.
The vice-mayor of a small city in Guangdong province lost his job after a subordinate exposed his connection to a local drug ring. Blog posts accuse the deputy chief of the province's Land Resource Bureau of having affairs with 47 mistresses and receiving almost £2.8bn in bribes.
Chinese media have accused the twentysomething daughter of a former housing official in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province, of owning 11 flats. Her 27-year-old brother may own as many as 14. Her family is under investigation.
Last week Chinese message boards filled with pictures supposedly showing a female executive at the state-owned China Petrochemical Corporation cavorting with male prostitutes in an upmarket Beijing club. Media reports suggested that an American company may have plied her with the gigolos – and then blackmailed her with videotapes of their encounter – to secure a lucrative building contract in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The woman responded immediately, saying that she would "definitely pursue legal actions against those vicious slanders". There is no doubt that they could ruin her career. In November, Chongqing official Lei Zhengfu was sacked 72 hours after an investigative reporter leaked a five-year-old video of him sleeping with his young mistress to the internet.
Hu Yong, a professor at Peking University's School of Journalism and Communication, said that while China's limitations on freedom of speech were systemic – the party simply does not tolerate perceived attacks on its legitimacy – the growing power of bloggers to expose corrupt officials comes from loopholes in the country's arcane censorship system.
"In China it's really hard to use these individual cases to make any predictions about the future," he said. "Because, in the end, the decision-making process is completely opaque."
While giving broad latitude to some internet users in the anti-corruption frenzy, Chinese censors have quashed reports that target the party's highest leaders. They blocked the New York Times and Bloomberg websites for publishing exposés on the wealth accumulated by the families of Xi and departing premier Wen Jiabao.
Last week propaganda officials in Guangzhou province heavily revised a front-page editorial in the left-inclined newspaper Southern Weekend without the consent of its staff. The published editorial was half the length of the original, brazenly pro-Communist, and laden with factual and typographical errors. Fifty-one Southern Weekend employees signed an open letter calling the disruption "ignorant and excessive".
Officials closed one of China's most outspoken and reform-minded magazines on Friday after it published an article calling for constitutional governance and political reform. The Beijing-based Yanhuang Chunqiu's website now shows a picture of a cartoon policeman holding out a badge. "The website that you are visiting has been closed because it has not been registered," it says, without giving further detail.
A week earlier, an open letter advocating political reform was posted on the internet and signed by 73 prominent intellectuals, including professors at some of the country's most respected universities.
If the Chinese government does not reform, the letter warned, "then official corruption and dissatisfaction in society will boil up to a crisis point and China will once again miss the opportunity for peaceful reform, and slip into the turbulence and chaos of violent revolution". Online references to the letter have since been deleted.
Additional research by Chuan XuIn his inaugural address, President Trump described a dark and dismal United States, a country overrun by criminal gangs and drugs, a nation stained with the blood seeping from bullet-ridden corpses left at scenes of “American carnage.” It was more than a little jarring. Ad Policy This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com.
Certainly, drug gangs and universally accessible semi-automatic weapons do not contribute to a better life for most people in this country. When I hear the words “American carnage,” however, the first thing I think of is not an endless string of murders taking place in those mysterious “inner cities” that exist only in the fevered mind of Donald Trump. The phrase instead evokes the non-imaginary deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in real cities and rural areas outside the United States. It evokes the conversion of millions of ordinary people into homeless refugees. It reminds me of the places where American wars seem never to end, where new conflicts seem to take up just as the old ones are in danger of petering out. These sites of carnage are the cities and towns, mountains and deserts of Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, and other places that we don’t even find out about unless we go looking. They are the places where the United States fights its endless wars.
During the 2016 election campaign, Donald Trump often sounded like a pre–World War II–style America First isolationist, someone who thought the United States should avoid foreign military entanglements. Today, he seems more like a man with a uniform fetish. He’s referred to his latest efforts to round up undocumented immigrants in this country as “a military operation.” He’s similarly stocked his cabinet with one general still on active duty, various retired generals, and other military veterans. His pick for secretary of the interior, Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, served 23 years as a Navy SEAL.
Clearly, these days Trump enjoys the company of military men. He’s more ambivalent about what the military actually does. On the campaign trail, he railed against the folly that was—and is—the (second) Iraq War, maintaining with questionable accuracy that he was “totally against” it from the beginning. It’s not clear, however, just where Trump thinks the folly lies—in invading Iraq in the first place or in failing to “keep” Iraq’s oil afterward. It was a criticism he reprised when he introduced Mike Pompeo as his choice to run the CIA. “Mike,” he explained, “if we kept the oil, you probably wouldn’t have ISIS because that’s where they made their money in the first place.” Not to worry, however, since as he also suggested to Pompeo, “Maybe we’ll have another chance.” Maybe the wrong people had just fought the wrong Iraq war, and Donald Trump’s version will be bigger, better, and even more full of win!
The question is, which would Trump prefer: Winning or not fighting at all? There’s probably more than a hint of an answer in his oft-repeated campaign promise that we’re “going to win so much” we’ll “get tired of winning.” If his fetish for winning—whether it’s trade wars or shooting wars—makes you feel a little too exposed to his sexual imagination, you’re probably right. In one of his riffs on the subject, he told his audience that they would soon be pleading they had “a headache” to get him to stop winning so much—as if they were 1950s housewives trying to avoid their bedroom duty. But daddy Trump knows best:
“And I’m going to say, ‘No, we have to make America great again.’ You’re gonna say, ‘Please.’ I said, ‘Nope, nope. We’re gonna keep winning.’”
There’s more than a hint of where we’re headed in Trump’s recent announcement that he’ll be asking Congress for a nearly 10 percent increase in military spending, an additional annual $54 billion for the Pentagon as part of what he calls his “public safety and national security budget.” You don’t spend that kind of money on toys unless you intend to play with them.
Trump explained his reasoning, in his trademark idiolect, his unique mangling of syntax and diction:
“This is a landmark event, a message to the world, in these dangerous times of American strength, security, and resolve. We must ensure that our courageous servicemen and women have the tools they need to deter war and when called upon to fight in our name only do one thing, win. We have to win.”
So it does look like the new president intends to keep on making war into the eternal future. But it’s worth remembering that our forever wars didn’t begin with Donald J. Trump, not by a long shot.
The Forever Wars
Joe Haldeman’s 1974 novel, The Forever War, which won the three major science fiction prizes, a Hugo, a Nebula, and a Locus, was about a soldier involved in a war between human beings and the Taurans, an alien race. Because of the stretching of time when traveling at near light-speed (as Einstein predicted), while soldiers like Haldeman’s hero passed a few years at a time at a front many light-years from home, the Earth they’d left behind experienced the conflict as lasting centuries. Published just after the end of the Vietnam War—fought for what seemed to many Americans like centuries in a land light-years away—The Forever War was clearly a reflection of Haldeman’s own experience in Vietnam and his return to an unrecognizable United States, all transposed to space.
In 1965, Haldeman had been drafted into that brutal conflict, probably one of those that Donald Trump thinks we didn’t “fight to win.” It certainly seemed like a forever war while it lasted, especially if you included the French colonial war that preceded it. But it did finally end, decisively, with an American loss (although, in a sense, it’s still being fought out by the thousands of Vietnam veterans who live on the streets of our country).
After the attacks of 9/11 and George W. Bush’s declaration of a global War on Terror, some people found the title of Haldeman’s novel a useful shorthand for what seemed to be an era of permanent war. It gave us a way of describing then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s vision of a new kind of war against an enemy located, as he told NBC’s Meet the Press on September 30, 2001, “not just in Afghanistan. It is in 50 or 60 countries and it simply has to be liquidated. It has to end. It has to go out of business.”
More than 15 years later, after a decade and a half of forever war in the Greater Middle East and parts of Africa, al-Qaeda and the Taliban are still in business, along with a set of new enemies, including Boko Haram in Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon; al-Shabaab in Somalia; and ISIS, which, if we are to believe the president and his cronies, is pretty much everywhere, including Mexico. In a war against a tactic (terrorism) or an emotion (terror), it’s hardly surprising that our enemies have just kept proliferating, and with them, the wars. It’s as if Washington were constantly bringing jets, drones, artillery, and firepower of every sort to bear on a new set of Taurans in another galaxy.
Decades before Haldeman’s Forever War, George Orwell gave us an unforgettable portrait of a society controlled by stoking permanent hatred for a rotating cast of enemies. In 1984, the countries of the world have coalesced into three super-nations—Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Winston Smith, the novel’s protagonist, recalls that, since his childhood, “war had been literally continuous, though strictly speaking it had not always been the same war.” Smith joins thousands of other citizens of Oceania in their celebration of Hate Week and observes the slick substitution of one enemy for another on the sixth day of that week:
…when the great orgasm was quivering to its climax and the general hatred of Eurasia had boiled up into such delirium that if the crowd could have got their hands on the two thousand Eurasian war-criminals who were to be publicly hanged on the last day of the proceedings, they would unquestionably have torn them to pieces—at just this moment it had been announced that Oceania was not after all at war with Eurasia. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Eurasia was an ally.
Except that there is no actual announcement. Rather, the Party spokesman makes the substitution in mid-oration:
The speech had been proceeding for perhaps twenty minutes when a messenger hurried onto the platform and a scrap of paper was slipped into the speaker’s hand. He unrolled and read it without pausing in his speech. Nothing altered in his voice or manner, or in the content of what he was saying, but suddenly the names were different. Without words said, a wave of understanding rippled through the crowd. Oceania was at war with Eastasia! And it had always been thus. “Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.
1984 is, of course, a novel. In our perfectly real country, human memories work better than they do in Orwell’s Oceania. Or do they? The United States is at war with Iraq. The United States has always been at war with Iraq. Except, of course, when the United States sided with Iraq in its vicious, generation-destroying conflict with Iran in the 1980s. Who today remembers Ronald Reagan’s “tilt toward Iraq” and against Iran? They’re so confusing, those two four-letter countries that start with “I.” Who can keep them straight, even now that we’ve tilted back toward what’s left of Iraq—Trump has even removed it from his latest version of his Muslim ban list—and threateningly against Iran?
Many Americans do seem to adapt to a revolving enemies list as easily as the citizens of Oceania. Every few years, I ask my college students where the terrorists who flew the planes on 9/11 came from. At the height of the (second and still unfinished) Iraq War, when many of them had brothers, sisters, lovers, even fathers fighting there, my students were certain the attackers had all been Iraqis. A few years later, when the “real men” were trying to gin up a new opportunity to “go to Tehran,” my students were just as sure the terrorists had been from Iran. I haven’t asked in a couple of years now. I wonder whether today I’d hear that they were from Syria, or maybe that new country, the Islamic State?
I don’t blame my students for not knowing that the 9/11 attackers included 15 Saudis, two men from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one Egyptian, and one Lebanese. It’s not a fact that’s much trumpeted anymore. You certainly wouldn’t guess it from where our military aid and American-made weaponry goes. After Afghanistan ($3.67 billion) and Israel ($3.1 billion), Egypt is the next largest recipient of that aid at $1.31 billion in 2015.
Of course, military aid to other countries is a windfall for US arms manufacturers. Like food money and other forms of foreign aid from Washington, the countries receiving it are often obligated to spend it on American products. In other words, much military “aid” is actually a back-door subsidy to companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Being wealthy oil states, the Saudis and the UAE, of course, don’t need subsidies. They buy their US arms with their own money—$3.3 billion and $1.3 billion worth of purchases respectively in 2015. And they’re putting that weaponry to use, with US connivance and—yes, it should make your head spin in an Orwellian fashion—occasional support from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, by taking sides in a civil war in Yemen. US-made fighter planes and cluster bombs have put more than seven million Yemenis in imminent danger of starvation.
War Without End, When Did You Begin?
When did our forever war begin? When did we start to think of the president as commander in chief first, and executor of the laws passed by Congress only a distant second?
Was it after 9/11? Was it during that first Iraq war that spanned a few months of 1990 and 1991? Or was it even earlier, during the glorious invasion of the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada in 1983, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury? That was the first time the military intentionally—and successfully—kept the press sequestered from the action for the first 48 hours of that short-lived war. They did the same thing in 1989, with the under-reported invasion of Panama, when somewhere between 500 and 3,500 Panamanians died so that the United States could kidnap and try an erstwhile ally and CIA asset, the unsavory dictator of that country, Manuel Noriega.
Or was it even earlier? The Cold War was certainly a kind of forever war, one that began before World War II ended, as the United States used its atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to, as we now say, “send a message” to the Soviet Union. And it didn’t end until that empire imploded in 1991.
Maybe it began when Congress first abdicated its constitutional right and authority to declare war and allowed the executive branch to usurp that power. The Korean War (1950-1953) was never declared. Nor were the Vietnam War, the Grenada invasion, the Panama invasion, the Afghan War, the first and second Iraq wars, the Libyan war, or any of the wars we’re presently involved in. Instead of outright declarations, we’ve had weasely, after-the-fact congressional approvals, or Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, that fall short of actual declarations of war.
The framers of the Constitution understood how important it was to place the awesome responsibility for declaring war in the hands of the legislative branch—of, that is, a deliberative body elected by the people—leaving the decision on war neither to the president nor the military. Indeed, one of the charges listed against King George III in the Declaration of Independence was: “He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.” Ready to Fight Back? Sign Up For Take Action Now
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the others who met in the stifling heat of that 1776 Philadelphia summer, close enough to battle to hear the boom of British cannons, decided they could no longer abide a king who allowed the military to dominate a duly constituted civil government. For all their many faults, they were brave men who, even with war upon them, recognized the danger of a government controlled by those whose sole business is war.
Since 9/11, this country has experienced at least 15 years of permanent war in distant lands. Washington is now a war capital. The president is, first and foremost, the commander in chief. The power of the expanding military (as well as paramilitary intelligence services and drone assassination forces, not to mention for-profit military contractors of all sorts) is emphatically in presidential hands. Those hands, much discussed in the 2016 election campaign, are now Donald Trump’s and, as he indicated in his recent address to Congress, he seems hell-bent on restoring the military to the superiority it enjoyed under King George. That is a danger of the first order.The S.E.I.U., which represents hundreds of thousands of health care workers and janitors, is encouraging home-care aides to march alongside the fast-food strikers. The union hopes that if thousands of the nation’s approximately two million home-care aides join in it would put more pressure on cities and states to raise their minimum wage.
“They want to join,” Ms. Henry said. “They think their jobs should be valued at $15.”
S.E.I.U. officials are encouraging home-care aides to join protests in six cities — Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Seattle. Union leaders say the hope is to expand to more cities in future strikes.
Jasmine Almodovar, who earns $9.50 an hour as a home-care aide in Cleveland, said the $350 she took home weekly was barely enough to support herself and her 11-year-old daughter. “I work very hard — I’m underpaid,” she said. “We deserve a good life, too. We want to provide a nice future to our kids, but how can you provide a good life, how can you plan for the future, when you’re scraping by day to day?”
Within the S.E.I.U., there has been some grumbling about why has the union spent millions of dollars to back the fast-food workers when they are not in the industries that the union has traditionally represented.
But Ms. Henry defended the strategy, saying that underwriting the fast-food push has helped persuade many people that $15 is a credible wage floor for many workers. She said it prompted Seattle to adopt a $15 minimum wage and that San Francisco was considering a similar move. She also said the campaign helped persuade the Los Angeles school district to sign a contract for 20,000 cafeteria workers, custodians and other service workers that will raise their pay, now often $8 or $9 an hour, to $15 by 2016.
“This movement has made the impossible seem more possible in people’s minds,” Ms. Henry said. “The home-care workers’ joining will have a huge lift inside our union.”After the first Kingdom Hearts got me hooked on the series, the next step in my journey was Chain of Memories. To be more specific, Re: Chain of Memories.
Or, to be even more specific, Re: Chain of Memories from the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix, just like how I played the first game.
Since the game is split into two sections, let’s talk about each separately.
Sora’s Story
The core storyline follows Sora, immediately after the events of Kingdom Hearts. He, Donald, and Goofy are looking for Riku and King Mickey, and their search takes them to Castle Oblivion.
Guided by people in black cloaks, Sora ascends Castle Oblivion in search of the truth, though he loses his memories along the way.
And to progress, he must use cards.
Oh, cards…
Chain of Memories uses cards for both its maps and combat. I liked the way the map cards work. You sort of build your own dungeons, picking which room goes where as long as they’re a high enough value to get past the door. I enjoyed that, although it took away most of the exploration.
For combat, cards are used for everything: attacks, magic (even cure), summonses, and items. Cards with higher numbers “break” cards with lower numbers (stopping your action), except for 0. 0 cards can break any number, but also can be broken by any number. In theory, I love the strategic thinking this system requires.
In practice, I hated it.
Ironically, the combat system inspired the combat in The World Ends With You, which I love. There’s no nice way to say it, though. I despised Chain of Memories’ combat system. Trying to manage my deck, pick the best cards, set up sleights (special attacks formed from multiple cards), and react to my opponent’s cards, all while running and dodging like a traditional action RPG drove me crazy.
Fortunately, Chain of Memories knew how to handle me. Every time it forced me to endure a battle so terrible I wanted to abandon the whole game, it introduced another character in a black cloak from the “Organization.”
These people, and the story, is what really kept me interested in Chain of Memories.
Of course, Disney was still involved, beyond just Donald and Goofy. Each floor of the castle is a Disney world… the same worlds from the first game, in fact. The repetition didn’t bother me, because I felt Chain of Memories actually used them really effectively.
The Disney stories fit in thematically with the main plot of Chain of Memories so well, it’s admirable. The problems faced by the Disney characters, and the slight alterations of their stories, all work to complement Sora’s story.
Even though the Disney stories are integrated well, the real story in Chain of Memories is Sora’s journey through Castle Oblivion, and his interactions with the aforementioned cloak-wearing weirdos. The plot takes some nice twists and turns, and it intrigued me with its larger universe and world-building. (It also makes me wonder again why Kingdom Hearts includes Disney and Final Fantasy when it obviously has its own original story it wants to tell… but never mind.)
I enjoyed the characters, the questions raised about memory and identity, and the vague hints dropped about Nobodies.
And when I finally made it to the end, after an admittedly awesome final battle, it unlocked a second story.
Reverse/Rebirth (aka Riku’s Story)
The second part of Chain of Memories follows Riku. It’s technically known as Reverse/Rebirth according to the title screen, which means I was playing Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories – Reverse/Rebirth as part of the 1.5 Remix. I love Kingdom Hearts titles.
Riku’s story plays a little differently. While the card system is more or less the same, his decks are locked and the cards changed automatically during the course of the story. He can also engage in “duels” when you and your opponent use a card with the same number. Breaking enough cards in a battle triggers Dark Mode, where he has access to powerful sleights.
In general, I enjoyed Riku’s combat slightly more, except for two things: 1) I was so bad at duels, the duel tutorial boss almost killed me, and 2) the lack of a “cure” card really hurt.
Unfortunately, Reverse/Rebirth has even less exploration than the main game. Remember how well I said the Disney worlds integrate with Sora’s story? They don’t even try in Riku’s. The Disney worlds are there solely to give Riku things to fight in between more cutscenes about the Organization.
Again, those cutscenes were interesting enough that I kept playing. I really enjoyed the story. And if there’s one good thing I can say about the lack of a heal card, it gave me a greater appreciation for Mickey.
Riku’s story is significantly shorter than Sora’s, and culminates in a boss fight so terrible, I thought I might not actually beat the game after all.
After two hours of agony, I beat the final boss and officially completed Chain of Memories!
Overall… I liked it. It’s given me more reason to be glad I picked up the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix. I like the Organization and the overall plot, and I can’t wait to see where Kingdom Hearts 2 goes. (Despite having 1.5, I’m not watching |
, and several big exits for venture capitalists.
Hadoop, in short, is a gift that will keep giving for many years to come. It's not guaranteed, but it's about as close to a guarantee as the tech industry has. ®Last week, while writing a guest post about something completely different, Josh Tyson mentioned in passing that he liked to read the book “The Giving Tree” with his two-and-a-half-year-old son. That led many of you to use the comments to make it clear that you really, really do not like that particular book.
By way of a brief recap, “The Giving Tree,” by Shel Silverstein, begins “Once there was a tree... and she loved a little boy.”
For the next 60 pages that little boy takes and takes and takes from the tree — selling her apples when he needs money, chopping off her branches when he needs shelter, cutting down her trunk when he needs a boat to sail far away. In the end, the boy is an old man, and he comes back to the tree and sits on her. Which, we are told, makes her happy.
When the comments started piling up, Josh asked to write a defense of this book that his son loves. “To me it speaks to the extremes of parental love,” he wrote in an e-mail. “How you’ll strip yourself of everything for your kids.”
Then, after a weekend of thinking, he sent me a more nuanced and complicated argument. The Silverstein book is — deliberately, I assume — open to interpretation as to the relationship between the boy and his tree. Does she represent his mother? Perhaps Mother Nature? Josh believes that she represents friendship and teaches children that they can not keep taking without giving back.
He writes:
The nut of “The Giving Tree” is that people are happiest when they’re spending quality time with loved ones and not worrying about the past or the future. When you’re a kid, this comes easy. Time is all you have, and when you find someone to share its bounty with, you are both happy. When you are old, you have very little time left and you want to use it wisely. Thus, finding someone worthwhile to spend it with is invaluable. At the onset of the story, a boy and a tree are both happy playing together day in and day out. As the wider world creeps in on the boy’s fleeting youth, however, their time together becomes less satisfying. The boy no longer wants to eat the tree’s apples, swing from her branches or climb her trunk. He wants things. The boy wants money; the tree gives him apples to sell. The boy wants a wife and children; the tree gives him her branches to build a house. The boy wants a boat to escape what his life has become; the tree gives him her trunk to fashion one. The tree is happy to give the boy these things, but the tree is not happy. Neither is the boy. Each time he returns looking for something new, he seems more miserable than the previous visit. When he makes his way back to the tree as a very old man, the tree laments that she has nothing left to offer the boy. And while it’s true that she is just an old stump, the boy needs a place to sit. More than that, the boy, ostensibly near the end of a rather disappointing life, needs a friend to spend his remaining time with. On the second to last page of the book, the boy is sitting on the stump smiling just like he did as a kid. All of his mistakes — taking everything from the tree while giving nothing in return —d on’t matter as much as the fact that he and his friend are once again doing what brings them both happiness: spending quality time together. It’s tempting to the see the tree as the heel in all of this. After all, she’s been striped of everything but her roots in service of the boy’s selfish whims. The more tragic figure, however, is the boy. He spends his entire life searching for something that the tree knew all along: That a friend is among the most valuable things in this world. So the lesson here for me is this: as your life becomes polluted with the trappings of the modern world — as you “grow up” — your relationships tend to suffer if you let them fall to the wayside. This is a lesson I want my young sons to learn. The fact that this book delivers said lesson in a slow-boil, Eastern way makes it more potent because this is a lesson you digest, not one you devour.
I say nonsense. That tree is not the boy’s friend. They meet when she is grown and he is a small child. While there are some friendships that have a decades-wide age gap, I doubt those rarities are what Silverstein had in mind here. And while another popular interpretation — that the tree represents the dangers of mauling the environment — is a little more plausible, the ending makes no sense in that light, since the boy is happy sitting on the stump.
No, Josh was right the first time — the book preaches “the extremes of parental love.” And the extremes of anything are not a good goal. Parenting should not strip and denude, but rather jointly fulfill. The parasitic part is supposed to end with pregnancy. After that the point is to teach a child to make his own way in the world. (For more on that topic, look for an essay of mine in The New York Times Magazine this weekend.)
About a year ago, Madeleine Brand, a former NPR reporter, created an online conversation and video for The Los Angeles Times about what she calls “creepy” children’s books. With a guest, Laurel Snyder, herself a children’s book writer, who periodically blogs about questionable children’s classics, Brand takes aim at “The Rainbow Fish” (about a beautiful fish who gives away all his scales, and which she reads as a warning not to be unique or different), “The Runaway Bunny” (about a baby bunny who invents creative ways to leave home and see the world, and a mother who invents even more creative ways to drag him back home) and “Love You Forever” (about a mother who more or less turns into a stalker and in one scene crawls across the floor while sneaking into her adult son’s home).
But their big guns are saved for “The Giving Tree.” They also see it as a warped parable of a mother and child, and not only do they question the message it sends to children, but also what it says to parents.
“Children’s books educate children, but they also educate parents,” Snyder says. And when a new mother gets 10 copies of this particular book before the baby even arrives, she says, that is telling her “you are supposed to be this woman.”
Brand points out that parents don’t have to read every book exactly as written, and can feel free to adjust the messages as they go along. Were she to rewrite “The Giving Tree,” she says, it would end:
“The tree, now just a stump, saw the boy coming and said, ‘nu-uh not this time.’ She pulled herself up by her roots and said, ‘I love you, but find someplace else to sit.’ And she was very happy.”
What children’s picture books do you hate? Which ones do you love? Which ones would you rewrite, and how?Virginia's controversial transvaginal ultrasound bill hit one Republican lawmaker close to home. In the bedroom, to be precise. He said a fellow lawmaker's television discussion of the bill cost him sex with his wife.
State Del. David Albo (R-Fairfax Station) was addressing the House of Delegates Friday when he described his failed seduction of his wife Tuesday night. Albo had driven home from Richmond following debate on the bill, which would have required women to have a transvaginal ultrasound procedure before receiving an abortion. (Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) announced this week that he and Republican lawmakers reached a deal to make the transvaginal procedure optional instead of mandated.)
Albo's remarks -- which he delivered with laughter -- were aimed in particular at that TV-talking colleague, Del. David Englin (D-Alexandria), a leading opponent of the bill.
"Boy's in bed, wife's here, TV, poured some red wine," Albo said of how he began the night.
Albo then attempted to play some "mood music" for his fellow lawmakers to help explain how he tried to entice his wife. House members were laughing as Albo received assistance from another lawmaker in putting on the music.
The next step in his seduction plan: He went to turn on the Redskins Channel to help put his wife in the mood for love. Apparently, his wife loves the Washington football team.
On the way to his Redskins seduction, Albo found a news channel that mentioned his name in the context of the ultrasound bill. On Rachel Maddow's show on MSNBC, Englin was discussing the ultrasound bill.
Unfortunately for Albo, he and his wife stopped to watch the show -- and his warm bed turned into a cold shower.
"The show's over, and she looks at me and says, 'I have to go to bed,'" Albo recounted to further laughter.
He then directly addressed a chuckling Englin.Court rules detainees in Afghanistan can challenge imprisonment
By Bill Van Auken
4 April 2009
In another rebuke to the arrogation of power by both the Bush and the Obama administrations to imprison so-called enemy combatants indefinitely without charges or trials, a federal judge in Washington ruled that three detainees held at a US prison at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan have the right to challenge their detention in a US court.
The case is one of a number in which the Obama administration has continued the defense begun by the Bush administration of extra-constitutional policies and practices introduced over the past eight years on issues ranging from "extraordinary rendition" to torture and domestic spying.
This case involves four individuals who were seized by US security forces and transported against their will to Afghanistan for imprisonment in the Bagram detention facility. Some of them report first being held and tortured in secret CIA prisons, so-called "black sites." None of them had any involvement in the ongoing war being waged by the US military against Afghan forces resisting foreign occupation.
The four include: Fadi al Maqaleh, a Yemeni citizen who was captured by US forces outside of Afghanistan in 2003; Haji Wazir, an Afghan citizen who was seized in Dubai in 2002; Amin al Bakri, a Yemeni citizen, grabbed by US operatives in Thailand in 2002; and Redha al-Najar, a citizen of Tunisia who was captured in Pakistan in 2002. All of them have been held under brutal conditions for more than six years without ever being tried or even allowed to hear the supposed evidence against them.
The Bush administration declared all those held at Bagram "enemy combatants," claiming that they had no right to judicial review in the US, nor any protection under the Geneva Conventions governing treatment of prisoners of war. The practical effect of this classification was to turn Bagram into a center of torture, where at least two detainees have died under interrogation.
The Bagram facility has received far less public attention than the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, with its 600 detainees denied any contact with lawyers, family members or indeed anyone outside of their American jailers and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is bound by its agreement not to make public statements about conditions in specific prisons. Every bit as much as Guantánamo or Abu Ghraib, the Bagram facility embodies the lawlessness and brutality that led much of the world to see the US as a pariah state under the Bush administration.
After the change in administrations, Judge John D. Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia scheduled a hearing to allow the new president and his Justice Department to change the position taken under Bush.
But on February 20, Obama's lawyers went into court to announce that "the government adheres to its previously articulated position"—i.e., the Bush administration's position, of seeking the dismissal of the appeal by the detainees for the right to file habeas corpus petitions in US district courts.
In a 55-page ruling issued Wednesday, Judge Bates rejected the government's move to have three of the detainees' petitions dismissed. In the case of the fourth, the Afghan citizen Haji Wazir, he reserved judgment pending the filing of further briefs by the government and his lawyers. All four of the detainees have been represented by the International Justice Network.
Bates based his ruling largely on the June 2008 US Supreme Court decision in the case of Boumediene et al v. Bush, in which the high court ruled that the "enemy combatants" held at Guantánamo had the right to file habeas corpus petitions in US courts challenging the legality of their imprisonment.
The 5-4 decision held that the 2006 Military Commissions Act setting up military commissions to try the detainees represented an unconstitutional usurpation of power in categorically denying them habeas corpus rights. It found the legislation in violation of the so-called Suspension Clause in the US Constitution, which states: "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it."
Bates, a conservative judge appointed by George W. Bush, stressed that his ruling was "quite narrow" and applied only to the four detainees. Nonetheless, he stressed, as did the Supreme Court majority in Boumediene, the fundamental character of the right of habeas corpus.
The judge quoted Alexander Hamilton's observation that habeas corpus constituted an essential bulwark against tyranny: "[C]onfinement of the person, by secretly hurrying him to jail, where his sufferings are unknown or forgotten, is a less public, a less striking, and therefore a more dangerous engine of arbitrary government."
The government—under both Bush and Obama—essentially argued that, because the individuals detained at Bagram were not US citizens and were not abducted on US soil, the writ of habeas corpus had no bearing, and they had no right to challenge their imprisonment in a US court. Moreover, they insisted that because the detainees were being held outside of the United States, the courts had no jurisdiction.
However, the Supreme Court majority in its Boumediene ruling on Guantánamo rejected these arguments, finding that these issues of nationality did not automatically settle the question, particularly given that the "enemy combatants" were being imprisoned for the open-ended duration of the "global war on terrorism" and were being held on a military base where the US exercised full effective control.
The government has since argued that Bagram is fundamentally different from Guantánamo because of the "sovereignty" of the Afghan puppet regime, formally recognized in the Status of Forces Agreement it signed with Washington. Moreover, they insist that as Bagram is in a "theater of war," there are insurmountable barriers to extending habeas rights to the detainees held there. "The military's mission clearly would be compromised if the civilian courts of the United States can review the military's detention of enemy combatants it captures," stated the government's brief.
Judge Bates rejected these arguments, holding that the status of the detainees at Bagram was "virtually identical" to that of those held at Guantánamo.
"They are non-citizens who were (as alleged here) apprehended in foreign lands far from the United States and brought to yet another country for detention," the judge wrote.
Moreover, he stated that under the procedures established by the military at Bagram, detainees had "significantly less" ability to challenge their designation as enemy combatants than even those imprisoned at Guantánamo.
As for Bagram itself, Bates stated that the "effective degree of control" exercised by the US military was no different than at Guantánamo.
Finally, in relation to the "practical difficulties" posed by Bagram's location in a "theater of war," Bates stressed that this was a problem of the government's own making, given that the four detainees "were all apprehended elsewhere and then brought (i.e., rendered) to Bagram for detention now exceeding six years."
He stressed that such an act of rendition "resurrects the same specter of limitless Executive power the Supreme Court sought to guard against in Boumediene—the concern that the Executive could move detainees physically beyond the reach of the Constitution and detain them indefinitely.
In the case of the fourth detainee, the Afghan citizen Haji Wazir, Bates employed the case-by-case, "multi-factor" basis established by the Supreme Court for determining the applicability of habeas rights to those held in the US detention centers. He found that the government's argument that granting him such rights could provoke "friction" with the Afghan government "possible—if not likely"—and employing the "balance of factors" scheme elaborated in Boumediene, ruled that he could not invoke habeas rights under that decision.
Bates deferred ruling on the dismissal of Wazir's appeal, however, ordering both sides to submit briefs on an alternative separation of powers argument made by the detainee's lawyers. They argued that the executive branch's determination of enemy combatant status combined with the congressional legislation stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction to hear enemy combatants' habeas petitions represented an unconstitutional abridgement of the power of the judiciary.
The Bagram case represents a damning indictment of the Obama administration. In an attempt to improve Washington's dismal image on the world stage, it has pledged to close the Guantánamo detention center and has released some of those held there—while continuing to hold others indefinitely without trials. At the same time, however, it is fighting in court to maintain the same conditions of imprisonment, rendition and torture—or worse—at Bagram. While dropping the "enemy combatant" designation at Guantánamo, it has gone into federal court to clarify that it reserves the right to continue using it whenever it sees fit.
Meanwhile, under conditions in which the administration is escalating the war in Afghanistan, doubling the number of US troops deployed there, it is also carrying out a major expansion of the Bagram detention center, spending $60 million so that the facility can hold more than 1,100 prisoners.
Also significant in the decision issued by Bates on Wednesday, sections of the ruling were redacted at the demand of the government—in particular, information on how many of those now detained at Bagram were captured outside of Afghanistan and "rendered" there for interrogation and torture. The attempt by the Obama administration to keep this information from the American and world public can only mean that these practices are continuing.Amsterdam is well known for many things, but not necessarily it’s craft beer scene – especially since it’s nestled between the better known beer meccas of Belgium and Germany. However, it’s location is precisely why it should be considered a top beer destination. Along with the picturesque views, the romantic canals and liberal districts, Amsterdam very much proves to be a beer lovers vacation. In no particular order, here are my top picks for beer tripping in Amsterdam.
Bones & Co inside The Greenhouse Effect Hotel
Located in the red light district, this was the first bar that we came across that wasn’t pre-stocked with a standard list of Trappist beers. Behind the bar, rocking out to the Beastie Boys, was Sam – our first of several favorite bar tenders. He promptly introduced us to a myriad of local brews and he recommended most of the bars on this list. Sort of a dive bar atmosphere at the heart of the party district with excellent craft beer.
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Proeflokaal Arendsnest (“Eagle Nest Tasting Room”)
Ardensnest is the only all Dutch beer bar in the city with the motto “if it ain’t Dutch, it ain’t much”. Proper glassware, highly trained staff, proper serving temperatures and beautiful pours. This is the quintessential Amsterdam experience complete with a beer bib for your stemware.
30 on tap, 100+ bottles.
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Located near the red light district, we were ever so grateful to Sam for this pick. We ended up making daily stops at Cafe ZILT because the service was impeccable and the beers were rare and free flowing. “The bartender” (to protect his identity) broke out rare bottles each time we were there to share with the small crowd, along with cheese and sausage (Trignac XII 2013 as an example…)
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Amsterdam’s orginial Belgian beer bar. Yes, it is definitely and ode to all things Hobbit, Café Gollem is a cozy pub with a stellar bottle selection.
14 taps, 200+ bottles
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The owner of Arendsnest decided that Amsterdam also needed a bar that celebrated the American beer culture, and so the BeerTemple was born. The bar also hosts beers from Brewdog, Mikkeller, Evil Twin and others. This is a must do stop so you can actually get a pint of that beer that you only get a 4oz taste of at your friend’s bottle share.
35 drafts and 60+ bottles.
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Located 20 minutes train ride from Central Station, this downtown brewery houses a bar, restaurant and bottle shop. The taproom / restaurant is quirky and cozy with a selection of mainstay, seasonal and collaboration beers on tap. From the shop you can mix and match packs of beer to take home from other local breweries like Oedipus and Two Chefs.
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We did plenty of sight seeing, so we didn’t have time to hit all of the places on Sam’s fabulous list. Here are a few of the other highly recommended spots:
Butcher’s Tears – Small brewery located in the Zuid district
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De Bierkoning – Over 1500 beers…
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Bierproeflokaal In De Wildeman – A wide selection of Dutch, German, Belgian and American beers
18 drafts, 250+ bottles.
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Café Belgique – Specializing in Belgian beers
8 drafts, 50 bottles.
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Brouwerij t’IJ – Local brewery located about 20 from Central Station
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Delirium Café – Sister bar to the enormous Belgian version. More than 3,000 beers…
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Happy Beer Tripping in Amsterdam!Opinion writer
If you’re a Republican voter, I have some bad news for you. The people who lead the movement that supposedly represents your views — the politicians, the media figures, the activists — think you’re an idiot. In fact, they count on it.
That’s the real meaning of an extraordinary story The Post has published, about an effort by well-known right-wing fraudster James O’Keefe and his organization Project Veritas to entrap this newspaper into publishing a false story about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, with the obvious intention of using that to discredit the well-documented allegations that Moore preyed on teenage girls when he was in his 30s.
This is much larger than O’Keefe or this one Senate race. It’s about a poison of exploitation and deceit that courses through the conservative movement. Some conservatives have tried to expunge this poison, without success. If anything, the scam has gotten even more pervasive and influential.
Here’s the summary of the story:
A woman who falsely claimed to The Washington Post that Roy Moore, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama, impregnated her as a teenager appears to work with an organization that uses deceptive tactics to secretly record conversations in an effort to embarrass its targets. In a series of interviews over two weeks, the woman shared a dramatic story about an alleged sexual relationship with Moore in 1992 that led to an abortion when she was 15. During the interviews, she repeatedly pressed Post reporters to give their opinions on the effects that her claims could have on Moore’s candidacy if she went public. The Post did not publish an article based on her unsubstantiated account. When Post reporters confronted her with inconsistencies in her story and an Internet posting that raised doubts about her motivations, she insisted that she was not working with any organization that targets journalists. But on Monday morning, Post reporters saw her walking into the New York offices of Project Veritas, an organization that targets the mainstream news media and left-leaning groups. The organization sets up undercover “stings” that involve using false cover stories and covert video recordings meant to expose what the group says is media bias.
O’Keefe first gained fame in 2009 with a misleadingly edited video in which he claimed he got staffers for a group that did things such as voter registration to give him advice on setting up a prostitution business. By the time O’Keefe’s deceptions were exposed (he later agreed to pay $100,000 to an ACORN employee), Republicans had already cranked up their outrage machine, and in the resulting controversy ACORN essentially imploded and went out of business. O’Keefe then rode that success to legitimization within the conservative movement.
In subsequent years, O’Keefe has launched one failed scam after another designed to “catch” liberals and Democrats on video doing something unethical or illegal. The tactic has failed again and again. O’Keefe and three others were arrested and pled guilty to charges after posing as telephone repairmen in an apparent attempt to bug Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office. After calling a staffer at George Soros’s Open Society Institute using an assumed name, he forgot to hang up the phone and left a long message in which he and colleagues discussed their plan to infiltrate the foundation. He put on an Osama bin Laden mask and waded into the Rio Grande.
In short, O’Keefe is a fraudster and a buffoon. But here’s what’s important to know about him: He’s a fraudster and a buffoon who is treated like a serious person by substantial parts of the conservative movement. His organization, Project Veritas, had a budget of just under $5 million in 2016. He’s got dozens of employees.
And O’Keefe won’t be slowed down by this latest embarrassment, because people on the right will still give him their money. How do I know that? Because it’s what they’ve been doing for decades.
There is an entire industry on the right whose purpose is to separate gullible conservatives from their money. The way it works is that they send urgent appeals — in letters, in emails, on television and radio — that if you want to fight Hillary Clinton or save fetuses or stop the decline of our culture, you have to send a contribution now. Some of those appeals come from familiar faces, such as Mike Huckabee or Dick Morris. But the money just goes right into their pockets, or the pockets of clever consultants, with only a tiny fraction going to anything resembling political action. It’s why conservative media figures promote conservative groups, bringing in millions of dollars, part of which the groups then funnel right back to the media figures in an endlessly lucrative circle of scam.
To be clear, there are many perfectly legitimate organizations on the right who do the work they claim to do. But there’s also a grift machine generating huge amounts of money for conservatives who know just how gullible their marks are — and know how important it is to keep them angry and ignorant. As I said, some conservatives have tried to expose this ongoing scam, but the problem is that it’s been woven too deeply into the conservative movement for too long. (Rick Perlstein offers a vivid history of “the strategic alliance of snake-oil vendors and conservative true believers” using “tactics designed to corral fleeceable multitudes all in one place”).
The success of that scam is why conservatives don’t cast someone like James O’Keefe out. It’s why a serial fraudster such as John Lott, who has been caught creating a false identity and almost certainly falsifying data, is treated on the right as an honored policy expert. It’s because conservatives think their rank-and-file are too dumb to identify the con men in their midst, and barely seem to care whether they’re being lied to.
O’Keefe counts on rank-and-file conservatives not understanding how journalism works or what kinds of information can be trusted. And that, of course, is the foundation of much of the conservative media world: don’t believe anything you hear from anybody other than us. It depends on people having no critical faculties of their own but just outsourcing anything resembling thought to Rush and Sean and Tucker.
The scam reached its apogee with the campaign and election of Donald Trump, not only because he declares any information he doesn’t find amenable to be “fake news” but because he found tens of millions of conservatives perfectly happy to support a candidate who lies to them constantly. It isn’t just the size of his crowds or the spectacular accomplishments of his presidency that he lies about, it’s also the promises he makes about the future — that he’ll bring all the coal jobs back, that North Korea will do whatever he says, that a tax bill larding riches on corporations will actually improve the lot of the middle class, that there will be a great, big, beautiful wall on our southern border, and on and on.
They lap it up, because that’s what they’ve been trained to do by a party and a movement that relies on their ignorance. The entire GOP is in on the hustle; indeed, they depend on it. And guess who gave James O’Keefe a $10,000 donation just two years ago? That’s right: Donald Trump.In the ever-evolving world of social media, public relations professionals (PR) and journalists have more opportunities than ever to build strong relationships.
It serves each of us well to stay up on social media trends—learning faster, easier ways to share information.
With that, here are 10 of the best social media tools for PR professionals and journalists:
Help a Report Out (HARO)
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) - As a PR professional, this is by far my favorite tool. The brainchild of Peter Shankman, this is the only free resource I am aware of where reporters submit queries directly to PR professionals – no strings attached. Subscribers to the list serve receive up to three daily emails, each with anywhere from 15-30 queries per email.
What I like best? It is a win-win tool for both journalists and PR professionals.
PitchEngine
PitchEngine - The emergence of the social media release (SMR) will soon dominate in interactions between journalists and PR people. Those who do not take the initiative to learn about the “new press release” will get left behind. My favorite tool to date is PitchEngine. Still in beta stage, PitchEngine offers a full suite of Web 2.0 tools for PR professionals and journalists (i.e. links to your social network profiles, video and audio capabilities, etc…). Readers may opt to receive a release on any social networks they belong to.
What I like the best? If a reporter or blogger likes what I pitch, they can subscribe to my releases via RSS.
ReportingOn
ReportingOn - Still in its beta stage, this social network is designed for reporters to discuss their beat or stories. An asynchronistic communication style similar to Twitter, the question this time is, “What are you reporting on?” There are around 600 reporters and professionals from around the world subscribed to the network. Only time will tell if this is a viable tool, and for the time being I'm a member.
What I like the best? Journalists have the ability to tag their beat(s) making it easy for PR professionals to find reporters and offer sources.
Journalisted
Journalisted (UK) - Developed by Martin Moore of Media Standards Trust, this site is meant for consumers to search their favorite reporters and stay up to date on their work. It currently boasts more than 100,000 unique users. The downfall? It currently features only reporters in the UK. Moore says he plans to broaden the reach and is currently targeting the US.
What I like the best? PR professionals can check the site before pitching a reporter in the UK to read their recent work.
Wikis
Wikis - I’m opening up a broad category here—wiki pages. PR professionals can create a shared space in which to provide information to reporters. From interview source contact information to comprehensive product/company background, a wiki site can become a living media kit. Free wiki sites, like PBwiki, offer security features to protect updates and email notification options.
What I like the best? Wiki page(s) are created with user generated content and can be edited in real-time to best meet the needs of reporters.
Media People Using Twitter
Media people using Twitter - I have yet to find a truly comprehensive list of all reporters on the microblogging site Twitter. However, this is the closest I’ve come. A wiki site dedicated to journalists on Twitter.
What I like the best? The wiki page is organized by geographic location, offering an easy-to-use guide.
Twellow
Twellow - Seek one another out and connect. It’s a beautiful thing when PR professionals and journalists form a relationship before either one needs anything from the other. Type in a key word such as “journalist” or “public relations” (big surprise) and start following.
What I like the best? The search content is based on a person’s Twitter bio, making the results surprisingly accurate.
BeatBlogging.org
BeatBlogging.org - A resource for beat bloggers, PR professionals can use this as a source to build a strong pitch distribution list. I’ve heard from many reporter friends that more and more they are looking to blogs for trends and upcoming story ideas.
What I like the best? Participants can nominate reporters as “innovative” leaders where they may be featured on the frequently updated Leaderboard.
WiredJournalists.com
WiredJournalists.com - Created for reporters, editors, executives, students and faculty, this tool is for journalists with access to limited resources. The members of the network keep up with Web 2.0 trends and share resources with one another.
What I like the best? Even if you don’t visit the site frequently, it’s a nice resource to keep your finger on the pulse of new journalism trends.
Your Pitch Sucks
Your Pitch Sucks (YPS) - The jury is still out on YPS, but nonetheless I mention it. Submit your draft pitch to public relations experts for a serious review. They will let you know whether or not your pitch is up to par (and if it’s not they offer suggestions).
What I like the best? If you are a freelancer and need another set of eyes to review your work, this saves a few headaches.
Sarah is the director of communications at Elgin Community College (ECC) in Elgin, Illinois. She also worked for Advocate Health Care, the largest health care system in Illinois, as the manager of communications and government relations at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital. She brings a comprehensive background in the knowledge of non-for-profit and health care management. Her personal mission to engage and employ the use of emerging technologies in all communication makes her effective in reaching a dynamic audience.
Imagery provided by iStockPhoto/ferrantraiteThe Contemporary Arts Center (originally the Modern Art Society), founded in 1939, sponsors a program of changing exhibitions but lacks a permanent collection. It made national headlines in 1990, when it was prosecuted for including sexually charged images in a retrospective of photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe. The cause célèbre helped widen the museum's base of support.
Its new building is located directly across the street from the Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts, a weak example of contextual design by Cesar Pelli. Pelli's dull arrangement of orange brick boxes at least helps set off Hadid's more penetrating approach to framing urban relationships.
The Rosenthal Center is a vertical museum, contained within a stack of concrete and metal cubic and rectangular enclosures that articulate the gallery spaces inside. The stack is as tall as an average 10-story building. Variations in ceiling height, the use of mezzanine levels and an irregularly shaped atrium reduce the actual number of floors. I gave up trying to count them. Instead, I gave myself over to the finely tempered rhythm of spatial compression and expansion that draws a visitor through the building.
The exterior strikes my eye as an architectural application of the push-pull technique associated with Hans Hoffman's abstract paintings. The cubic enclosures recede and project, creating a sculptural surface of animation and depth. The forms are mostly made of raw concrete, punctuated by a large trapezoid finished with blackened aluminum and by windows of clear and blue-tinted glass. These shapes are not purely orthogonal but are slightly angled and tapered as they slip by one another across the facades.
The building occupies a rectangular corner site and rises from an imposing, two-story lobby framed with glass. Entered from the broad side, the lobby extends the sidewalk surface indoors, forming a wide, concrete ribbon that stretches the full width of the site. At the far end, the surface curls up vertically to suggest a seamless and gravity-free continuity between floor and wall.
Too bad the slope doesn't start on the sidewalk. It would be bliss for skateboarders. Still, the device introduces visitors to a building that Hadid has conceived as a vertical city street. For mass transit, take the elevator. Otherwise, proceed by foot, up a free-standing, switchback staircase enclosed in black steel. Again, this is a sculptural presence, not just in the aggressive angularity of the stairs but in their counterpoint with the lobby's expansive volume and its nearly monochrome surfaces of gray, white and buff.
Up the stairs, you gain the dream sensation of breaking through a solid membrane into an alternative world: the steps lead you up into a soaring atrium space suffused from above with natural light. The atrium's compressed verticality plays against the lobby's broad horizontal volume. It's a Baroque effect, as if a secret portal had opened up in the ceiling of a Piranesian prison, letting the sun shine in and confined imaginations float out.
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The building's prevailing mood is Baroque, in its play of geometric variations and, especially, in its artful arrangement of processional spaces. Like Balanchine condensing an evening's worth of choreography into a 20-minute ballet, Hadid compresses Blenheim Palace into spaces that occupy a fraction of the area Vanborough had to work with.
Or call it Baroque as reconceived by Duchamp in his early Cubist phase. Staircase descending nude concrete. Like Duchamp, Hadid presents a rhythm of multiple perspectives, roughly synchronized with the movements of bodies propelled by curious minds. Hadid's large painted renderings have accustomed us to this approach, but it's spectacular to see it fully realized. Walter Benjamin maintained that architecture is fully experienced peripherally, through slightly unfocused perceptions. That is the concept operating here.
Hadid has described the museum as a ''catalog of spaces.'' The galleries are not neutral white boxes. Their walls are slightly angled. Rooms of assorted sizes, pitched on different levels, are joined by ramps. But the proportions throughout are graceful. And the galleries are designed to be reconfigured by temporary partitions for different shows.
The fourth-story level contains the building's heart. A kind of sky lobby, surrounding the staircase atrium, functions like an aerial |
[23] and later by changing one of Buzz's features from "auto-follow" to "auto-suggest".[24] This allowed users complete control over whom they follow and, therefore, who was revealed on their public list of contacts. These changes to the way that Google Buzz operates were, however, criticized as inadequate[25] and the company was criticized for failing to take its users' privacy concerns seriously.[26]
Among other initial problems, users who had never created a Google profile had no way to make their list of contacts or other information private, which resulted in negative publicity from a case involving information about a woman's current workplace and partner being shared with her abusive ex-husband.[27]
Concerns were also raised that because the mobile version of Google Buzz by default published the user's exact location when they posted a message to the service, users might unintentionally reveal sensitive locations.[28]
Legal issues [ edit ]
On February 16, 2010, Eva Hibnick, a student at Harvard Law School, filed a class action lawsuit against Google, alleging that Buzz violated several federal laws meant to protect privacy.[29] On the same day, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that Google Buzz "violated user expectations, diminished user privacy, contradicted Google's privacy policy, and may have violated federal wiretap laws".[30]
Also on February 16, 2010, the Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote "These problems arose because Google attempted to overcome its market disadvantage in competing with Twitter and Facebook by making a secondary use of your information. Google leveraged information gathered in a popular service (Gmail) with a new service (Buzz) and set a default to sharing your email contacts to maximize uptake of the service. In the process, the privacy of Google users was overlooked and ultimately compromised."[31][32]
On February 17, 2010, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, issued a statement on Buzz:
We have seen a storm of protest and outrage over alleged privacy violations and my office also has questions about how Google Buzz has met the requirements of privacy law in Canada...My office has a variety of resources available to help companies build privacy into their products and services. When companies consult with us at the development stage, they can avoid the problems we've seen in recent days. Jennifer Stoddart[33]
On November 2, 2010, Google e‑mailed Gmail users to tell them about the outcome of the lawsuit. As part of its settlement, Google agreed to create an $8.5 million fund to award money to groups that promote privacy education on the web, of which the prosecuting lawyers are requesting 25% ($2,125,000) "plus reimbursement of costs and expenses".[34] The settlement was finally approved in June 2011.[35][36]
On March 30, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Google regarding Buzz. In the announcement, the FTC agreed with the EPIC complaint that Google had violated its privacy policies by using information provided for Gmail for another purpose - social networking - without obtaining consumers’ permission in advance. The FTC also alleged that Google misrepresented that it was treating personal information from the European Union in accordance with the US-EU Safe Harbor privacy framework. The FTC stated that "The proposed settlement bars the company from future privacy misrepresentations, requires it to implement a comprehensive privacy program and calls for regular, independent privacy audits for the next 20 years." In response to the announcement that Google agreed to adopt a "Comprehensive Privacy Plan", EPIC launched a campaign, called "Fix Google Privacy", to encourage Internet users to offer their suggestions to improve safeguards for Google's products and services.[37][38] Subsequently, in United States v. Google Inc., the FTC alleged that Google had violated this settlement agreement by misrepresenting privacy assurances to users of Apple's Safari Internet browser.
Reception [ edit ]
Both the general and technical press were critical of Buzz and the manner in which it was implemented. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation described Buzz's arrival as having "ignited a hailstorm of criticism". CBC indicated "One user blogged about how Buzz automatically added her abusive ex-boyfriend as a follower and exposed her communications with a current partner to him. Other bloggers commented that repressive governments in countries such as China or Iran could use Buzz to expose dissidents".[8]
PCWorld’s JR Raphael criticized Buzz for both its intrusive nature and privacy concerns, citing above all that it merely adds "more noise into an already buzzing area of my life". Raphael provided a tutorial on how to disable Buzz.[39]
Ryan Paul of Ars Technica noted "there isn't much in Buzz that is new or original" and "the end result is a service that shows promise but lacks the requisite killer feature or innovative twist that it will need in order to truly keep people engaged".[40]
See also [ edit ]A Meditation on Meditation
Lots of people say they have a hard time meditating. They tell me that they have a hard time quieting their mind. Quieting your mind is not meditation. Quieting your mind is quieting your mind. My favorite author, Alan Watts puts it perfectly:
When you realize that you have come to your wit’s end, you can begin meditation. Or meditation happens, and that happening is simply the watching of what is, of all the information conveyed to you by your exterior and interior senses, and even the thoughts that keep chattering on about it all. You don’t try to stop those thoughts, you just let them run as if they were birds twittering outside, and they will eventually become tired and stop. But don’t worry about whether they do or don’t. Just simply watch whatever it is that you are feeling, thinking, or experiencing – that’s it. Just watch it, and don’t go out of your way to put any names on it. This is really what meditation is.
So, meditation is not about doing anything. It is about stopping doing everything, well nearly everything. You sit or stand or walk and stop adding to the situation. Stop adding your commentary. Stop adding your predictions of what will come and stop adding your analysis of what has past. Just stop. That’s it. There is nothing special for you to do. There is nothing really special you can do. You are what you are and that’s it. In meditation we stop adding on so that we can experience what is here all on its own. What is here all on its own is our natural state. In this natural state we are in tune with reality because we are more clearly ourselves. Being more clearly ourselves, we are able to accurately understand and interact with what’s going on around us. We put on all sorts of filters and blinders to protect us from things we think are bad. We ignore natural filters and feelings to get things we think are good. In meditation you stop putting on all these apparata and experience the world as directly as you can. Meditation is stopping. You get still by stopping moving. Getting still is not something added on. It is something stopped. Meditation is stopping. It is stillness.
Your mind is going to chatter. That is what it is. You can’t use your mind to calm your mind any more than you can use a fire to cool something down. Your mind is going to chatter because it is a source of information. All those thoughts and memories are neurons firing off in your brain. You feel those neurons. All of your senses are just neurons firing. We feel thoughts just as we feel anything else. Quieting your mind is like numbing your foot. Disconnecting from a source of information doesn’t change anything. It just puts you more in the dark. In the deepest states of meditation I’ve ever reached, the mind is still right there chattering away. It is feeding me information, calculating – all the things it always does. The difference is that it is relegated to one of three hundred sixty degrees rather than the whole of my experience.
Most people suffer because they have confused the map with the terrain or the menu with the meal. What you think and what you say about the world are not the world. They are what you think and say about it. When you take action based on information that is a skewed perception of reality rather than reality itself, you screw up. Screwing up causes chaos and confusion. If you follow reality, even if you do something that seems like a huge mistake, at least you can learn from it. If you are bobbling around living in your head you have no bearings by which you can navigate. You are, in every sense, lost. Meditation is a way home – back to reality.John Legend has been tapped for the title role in NBC’s live staging of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” set for Easter Sunday.
“We’re all overjoyed to have world-class musical artist and producer John Legend starring as Jesus,” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment. “This score demands a singer with an amazing range and an actor with great depth, and there isn’t anyone better to bring this story to a new audience. His casting is also groundbreaking as the traditional image of Christ will be seen in a new way.”
Legend is a multi-hyphenate musician, songwriter, actor and producer who has become active in television as a thesp and producer. He’s a 10-time Grammy winner and an Oscar winner for his work on the song “Glory” from the 2014 drama “Selma.” He won a Tony Award earlier this year as a producer of “Jitney,” the August Wilson revival.
“I’m thrilled to join the cast of this production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,’” Legend said. “It’s such a powerful, meaningful musical and I’m humbled to be part of this performance. We’ve already formed an incredible team, and, as we finish casting, I’m certain we will put together some of the greatest talents around to do this work justice.”
NBC announced in May that its latest live musical will bow on April 1. Rocker Alice Cooper has been cast as King Herrod.
“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” is based on the 1971 Broadway musical revolving around the last week of Jesus’ life.
The project has a murderer’s row of producers on board. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who have shepherded all four of NBC’s live musical productions to date, are on board as are “Superstar” creators Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and Marc Platt, who was behind Fox’s “Grease Live” last year and this past Sunday’s “A Christmas Story Live” staging.January 20, 2015
L-Dixon, gives a killer interview on Jeff Berwick's famed Anarchast, your home for anarchy on the internet. Topics include: NeverGetBusted, Barry Cooper, decentralization, Bitcoin, 3D printers, seasteading, life in Mexico and Anarchapulco Fest 2015. You don't want to miss this!
NGB's own, L-Dixon, on the Anarchast
NeverGetBusted invites you!
Anarchapulco is the first international anarchist/anarcho-capitalist conference of its type and will be held in Acapulco, Mexico from February 24th to March 1st, 2015, at the Copacabana Hotel on the beach. Our vision is to take freedom and anarchy to the next level and that means holding events in much freer areas like Acapulco which is the most anarchic city in North America. The event will be a mix of music, speakers, panels, parties and educational opportunities including an entrepreneurship bootcamp hosted by Exosphere. Already confirmed is anarchist rapper, Rob Hustle (famous for his track, “This Is What Happens When You Call The Cops”), libertarian songbird Tatiana Moroz, Neema V, L-Dixon and countless other artists and cutting edge anarchist speakers and activists.
Topics covered will include anarchism, entrepreneurism, expatriation, investing, Austrian economics, precious metals, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, decentralization of the internet and much more.
Join us in celebrating the success of the anarchist movement and help us plan future world non-domination. Now is the time to effect change and bring about a world full of peace and prosperity by moving past the anachronistic state. We'll see you there.
Jeff Berwick
Chief Freedom Officer (CFO)Lots of Spider-Man and X-Men stories coming out of New York Comic Con. First, the original X-Men return in X-Men Gold Annual #1 by Leah Williams and Marc Guggenheim in January, with an Alan Davis cover.
Flash Thompson will have a huge role in Venom Inc. Here are some Stegman interiors…
Amazing Spidey Annual #42 will tie into Legacy issues of Amazing Spider-Man big time. Spider-Man is hated, and he is the menace. Classic annual size. Peter Parker is back at the Daily Bugle. New take in the classic feel. Art by Corey Smith. Mayor Fisk shows up, as well
But the big Spider-Man and X-Men news is Poison X. A huge crossover between Venom and X-Men: Blue, the original time-displaced young X-Men. It will begin in the X-Men: Blue Annual. And the whole of the rest of the crossover will ship in February as the X-Men kidnap Venom.
This is all coming out of Marvel’s adjunct to Diamond’s Retailer Breakfast ahead of New York Comic Con, happening today. You can catch up with any other Retailer Breakfast announcements here.
About Rich Johnston Chief writer and founder of Bleeding Cool. Father of two. Comic book clairvoyant. Political cartoonist.
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None foundBy Geoff Holsclaw, pastor at Life on the Vine and colleague at Northern Seminary.
Does the Trinity really matter to our regular lives? And with this supposed “trinitarian revival” of the last 75 years, what are the options? Have things really changed? Or is it all useless?
Well, Zondervan’s Two views on the Doctrine of the Trinity brings together two examples of a “classical” understanding and two examples of a “relational” understanding of the Trinity into conversation, and we’re going to spend sometime looking at them.
Stephen R. Holmes and Paul D. Molnar offer “classical” perspectives and Thomas H. McCall and Paul S. Fiddes talk about a “relational” perspective, which seems to be a chastened, evangelical version of the “social Trinity” as espoused by Moltmann, Boff, Lacugna, and others.
Stephen Holmes opens up volume with a strong, clear, and accessible essay, even though at the end he says the Trinity is useless (I’ll let you know exactly what he means at the end). This will be the longest post because I want to use Holmes to set up the conversation around which the other authors are engaged.
War of Words
Holmes begins by reminding us that words are slippery little things, often meaning different things in different contexts, especially different historical contexts. After the Enlightenment the word “person” is a psychologically rich word indicating an individual center of will, reasons, creativity, and imagination. But Holmes reminds us that this psychologically expansive understanding of “person” was not what the ancient church understood by the term when applied to the persons of the Trinity (instead, hypostasis indicated a particular or individual mode of existence within the Godhead).
Holmes brings this up put us on guard against an over hasty connect from what was a technical term of theology to our existential yearning for relationship with a personal God (and yes, Holmes affirms that God is personal, so don’t worry).
War of World (or Not)
Holmes also attempts to clear the air about the so-called split between an Eastern (relational) and Western (ontological) orientation toward the Trinity (and this is key). The engrained idea is that the Eastern church fathers (Cappadocians) had a “good” perspective on the Trinity because they began with a plurality of persons (Father, Son, Spirit) and only then attempted to think the unity of God. But the Western church fathers (see Augustine, the supposed father of all modern theological ills) began with the unity of God’s being and then only thought about the plurality of persons at the end.
This “split” has been repeated for over a 100 years by “systematic” theologians, even though most historian have abandoned it (for the brave, Holmes rightfully points to Lewis Ayres Nicaea and its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology). Historians have shown the significal cultural, linguistic, and theological congruencies that existed between East and West such that this split is more of modern creation than an ancient reality (I’d be happy to deepen this in the comments if asked).
Why has this “East/West split” persisted? Usually because 20th-century systematic theologians have a “story” to tell and the historical facts don’t always fit into that story. As in biblical interpretation so too in historical narration, beware the theologian with an agenda.
Holmes clears air in these two ways because he wants us to be able to see and hear what the classical doctrine of the Trinity was really trying to express. But first he speaks of the origins of the doctrine.
Origins of the Trinity?
Before looking at proof texts for the Trinity, Holmes suggest that we first remember the dogged commitment to “Oneness” that we find in the Old Testament, the commitment to monotheism. We must remember that the history of God’s relationship to Israel consisted in God’s own uniqueness and Israel’s relationship to this God alone. Before “monotheism” is a philosophical category or an apologetic argument, we must remember that it was first supposed to be a lived loyalty between God and Israel. So the oneness of God is not a Greek philosophical fixation, but a Hebrew commitment of the highest order.
But then comes Jesus, and the church’s immediate and spontaneous worship of him, worship that traditionally had been reserved only for God. How can they worship Jesus without violating monotheism? Well this is a great question (and if you want details read anything by Larry Hurtado). The doctrine of the Trinity comes out of these existential and practical commitments of the early church (and don’t forget about the baptismal formulas).
As Holmes says, “The doctrine of the Trinity is a set of conceptual distinctions and definitions that offer a theological account of the divine life that made sense of these primitive practices of worship. At the risk of oversimplifying, the church always knew how to speak to God. Yet it took four centuries or so to work out how to speak about God in ways that were compatible with this” (33).
What is The Doctrine of the Trinity?
Holmes claims that the doctrine of the Trinity is a conceptual framework through which we read Scripture and other doctrine. In a sense, it is the interpretive lens which makes everything else clear, and with out which we would not be able to properly understand Christian experience or Christian revelation.
As a conceptual framework, the doctrine of the Trinity is not itself an ontological statement (a statement about the “being” of God). As Holmes say, “We can know that God is, but not what God is” (35, emphasis added) because the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is three persons, but not how or in what way God is three. The early church did not claim to know (and often claimed it did not know) the “what-ness” (essence/nature) of God, but that it did proclaim the “that-ness” (existence) of God.
The “classical” statement of the Trinity (often disparaged as relying on a Greek metaphysical framework) is less philosophically interested in claiming to know what God is and more concerned on how our language often fails us. The doctrine guards us from saying too much.
But what does it say?
For Holmes, the “classical” understanding of the Trinity comes down to the 1) simplicity of God, and the 2) relations within God.
Why is God simple? The basic idea is that God is not assembled of smaller part into a larger composite. If something is assembled this implies the agent who assembles, which would therefore be greater than God. But if there is none greater than God, God must be simple (or incomposite). Again, this is not a claim of knowledge (that we know what God is like in God’s simplicity), but a claim about the things we know, i.e. that God is not like anything else we can know about because God is absolutely simple, not composed of parts, not beginning in time, not assignable to a general class (practically this means that God’s attributes are all interlinking and in a sense “coterminous” such that God’s wrath is not opposed to his mercy, nor justice opposed to his love, etc). Basically, divine simplicity is just an explication of divine unity, without any more robust philosophical commitments/ontologies involved.
Why does God have “relations”? The idea as Holmes explains it is that when it comes to the Trinity, heresies stumbles over two problems concern the nature or substance of something. For the typical ancient mindset, a nature possessed a quality either “substantially” or “accidentally”. When thinking about the Trinity if divine nature were a “substantial” quality that the something called the “Father” had, and a substantial quality that something else called the “Son” had, then “Father and Son are different in substance, and so they are not one God” but two gods (37). If “Father” and “Son” are accidental quality of divine nature then God is composed of parts (is not simple) and therefore is not really the God of the Old and New Testaments. So what is to be done?
Well, basically the early church invented another ontological category (not so behold to Greek metaphysics now is it?) call “relation”. The Father and the Son are of the same divine nature (whatever that might be), but the Father is “the Father of the Son” and the Son is “the Son of the Father” in a way this is not reversible (for it would be false to say the Son is “the Father of the Son” and the Father is “the Son of the Father”). These relations are the only “differences” within “unity”.
But Holmes is quick to remind that this is a logical category and that just as “person” should not trigger related ideas of “personal”, so too “relation” should not make us think of “relational” because then we would be tempted to say more about the “what-ness” of divine essence than we should.
The Trinity is Useless
Much more could be said about Holmes proposal, but we should cut if off there. Holmes ends with the claim that, properly speaking, the doctrine of the Trinity is useless, that we should not attempt to put it to use in the world of our experience or draw practical lessons from it for the world. Why? Because something that is put to use is being used for a more ultimate purpose, or a higher goal or later end. But there is no end that is higher or later than God. Because God is the last end, or end-less, the Trinity is likewise useless, because it is that end toward which all other uses are directed.
“For us to see the beauty of the divine life and to respond with awestruck worship is not something that serves another, higher, end, not something of use. Instead, it is, simply and bluntly, what we were made for” (48).
Geoff Holsclaw is Affiliate Professor of Theology at Northern Seminary, and Director of their new Masters in Theology and Mission. You can also follow Geoff on Twitter and Facebook.Microsoft Corp v. Zamos was litigation between Microsoft and David Zamos, a student at Kent State and the University of Akron in the United States. Microsoft accused Zamos of illegally reselling his student-discounted copies of Windows XP Pro and Microsoft Office on eBay. Zamos countersued Microsoft for making false claims. When Zamos sent a press release to his local newspaper, the case received international press coverage.
At issue was the fact that Zamos acquired Microsoft software at a discount for academic use, then re-sold it to the general public on eBay for a profit. Zamos contends, and can document, that he found the software unsuitable when he realized it required him to format his computer's hard drive. He attempted to return the software, first at the University of Akron's bookstore, then directly to Microsoft.
When both of these attempted returns were denied, Zamos put the software up for sale on eBay in two auctions, the second of which was cancelled at Microsoft's request. When he successfully re-instated the auction and completed the sale, he was sued under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. His profit was $143.50 USD.
On January 3, 2005 Zamos filed a countersuit. In it he pointed out that Microsoft's claim did not represent the facts of his case, and appeared to be a boilerplate suit like thousands of others the company has filed. He exhibited a page from the claim that was identical to a page in another, except that some plural words had been changed to singular ones. The respective verbs had not been changed to their singular forms, so the page contained grammatical errors.
These counterclaims seem to have failed, as Zamos was not a "qualified end user". So he filed more claims, contending among other things that the unopened software had never presented him with the End User License Agreement and thus the opportunity to become a qualified end user. This, he asserted, amounted to deceptive sales practice.
When Zamos requested a trial by jury, Microsoft offered to drop their case if he would drop his countersuit. But he insisted on reimbursement for the cost of copying legal documents, and an apology for Microsoft's behavior. Microsoft refused this, and Zamos wrote a brief press release to the Akron Beacon Journal, which published the item on March 7, 2005.
Over the course of a single day, this item attracted so much interest that Zamos immediately received requests for interviews from all over the United States and the United Kingdom. Microsoft quickly proposed a different settlement, and Zamos agreed. As part of this settlement, Zamos has agreed not to discuss the case further.
See also [ edit ]Face ID is one of the iPhone X’s best features, and we’ll see every other company in the industry copy it in the coming years. Computers will be smart enough to recognize our faces and voices, and automatically log us into devices and apps as we open them. Face ID has no rival in the mobile business right now, but things will change come next year when more smartphone makers will utilize 3D sensors in depth-sensing face recognition modules.
But you might be using Face ID wrong, and it’s time you fixed it. We’ve talked about it in the past, but what brought it to my attention again was Lewis Hilsenteger’s recent video titled DON’T Buy the iPhone X — I guess the caps are really needed to drive that point home.
Face ID is one of the reasons why he says you should avoid the $1,000 iPhone X and buy something significantly cheaper. But he’s wrong in his approach.
“The Face Unlock, it works. But the process is not something that I consider to be enjoyable,” Hilsenteger says before showing the Face ID malfunction incident from the iPhone X announcement event. Of course this is BS and we all know why that happened. It’s a security feature, but he fails to explain it, giving the false impression that Face ID won’t work when you’re looking at it.
He then proceeds to explain one way Face ID fails him. “You know, I’m lying in bed, I wanna reach over and quickly unlock it, and my glasses are off, and my hat is off, and it’ll miss,” he said. Oh, wait a second there, Mr. Hilsenteger. It doesn’t matter that your glasses or hat are off. Face ID works with or without them. It’s conceived to learn those things about yourself, and implying that you don’t have your headgear on, so Face ID doesn’t work, is misleading.
Yes, it might not work in bed all the time, but that’s typically because you’re holding it too close to your face.
The most annoying Face ID issue for Hilsenteger seems to be that you have to unlock the iPhone X in a certain way. First, you have to “bow” to the phone so that it sees you, wait for the Face ID unlock to process, and then swipe up. That’s what made me realize Hilsenteger is using it wrong.
You don’t have to bow to anything, just pull the phone out like you usually would, look at the screen as you normally do, and swipe up. That’s it. The phone will be unlocked by the time you finished swiping. There shouldn’t be anything “strange” about interacting with your phone, as he says in his review. Unlocking the iPhone X isn’t a two-step process at all.
Also, it seems to me that Hilsenteger is missing the forest for the trees in his anti-iPhone X review when dismissing Face ID. The iPhone X’s facial recognition system and the speedier OnePlus 5T’s Face Unlock aren’t on equal footing here. Ignoring the complexity of Face ID and what can it do solely because Face Unlock is faster isn’t telling the whole story at all. Face Unlock isn’t secure — it’s just a convenience feature and OnePlus makes that clear. In fact, you can’t even unlock apps or authenticate payment with Face Unlock.
The full clip follows below:Eugene Tanner/Associated Press
When the first ever Pro Bowl draft was held on Tuesday, Jan. 21, little was known about the new uniforms the players would be wearing. The only inkling of a sample that most fans had seen up to that point was this rendered image from Nike:
Now that Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders have selected their respective teams, Nike was finally able to produce the necessary uniforms with appropriate nameplates and numbers. It didn't take long for teams and players to start snapping pictures of their new unis.
Who might benefit the most from the Pro Bowl without having to play in it? That would be mega-agent Drew Rosenhaus. He snapped off a picture with one of his many clients, Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy:
Some players are having fun while sporting their new uniforms. St. Louis Rams defensive end Robert Quinn and punter John Hekker are all smiles with Jerry Rice:
For others, such as Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, it is business as usual:
Alright, at least Watt and teammate Duane Brown found some time to cut loose:
Jerry Rice really must have something he liked when watching the Kansas City Chiefs this season:
The amount of neon when these two teams are near each other is staggering. You might need to adjust the brightness on your TV during the game:
The Rams were good enough to get the Team Rice official picture:
When all is said and done, everyone will have varying takes on the new Pro Bowl uniforms. In fact, opinions are flying around Twitter already:
The new draft approach, fancy uniforms and rule changes are all a part of the NFL's plan to bring some excitement back into this game. We will find out if these uniforms and other additions to this year's event have helped when the Pro Bowl takes place on Sunday, Jan. 26.Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), who is the third-highest member of the House GOP in his role as conference chairman, appeared yesterday on CNN and quite loudly agreed with Rush Limbaugh — he wants President Obama to fail:
Rick Sanchez: Do you want Barack Obama to fail? Pence: Oh, come on, Rick. Nice try. I know what Rush Limbaugh meant. I actually listened to him about a month ago when he made this point on the air. I heard much of his speech on Saturday. Look, everybody wants America to succeed. But everyone like me, like Rush Limbaugh and others who believes in limited government, who believes in conservative values, wants the policies that this administration is bringing forward — higher taxes, a massive increase in government spending, a huge increase in the role of government in our daily lives, a departure from traditional values — you bet, we want those policies to fail. Because, Rick, we know big government, increases in debt, the micromanagement of the economy out of Washington, D.C. is a policy that will fail. It has failed throughout the last century, across the globe…
(Transcript via Nexis.)
Now let’s think about this for a minute. When the stimulus bill was just on the verge of final passage, Rush Limbaugh said the following, still posted on his Web site: “And after this stimulus bill package passes, I want it to fail.”
And Pence says here that he’s a Rush-listener. So please, tell us what Rush really means when he says he wants Obama and his policies to fail.“Hoverboys run L.A.!”
These are the words my friend Chris shouted as he glided around the living room on a Hovertrax, a self-balancing device that looks like the bastard child of a Segway and skateboard. With countless celebrity endorsements, “hoverboards” seem to be everywhere these days, yet despite their popularity, their origin is unknown to most consumers.
Where did these hoverboards come from?
David Pierce at Wired magazine made a valiant attempt to get to the bottom of the hoverboard mystery back in June. In the article, David comes to the conclusion that most boards on the market are knockoffs of Chic Smart S1, which appeared in August of 2014, donning blue L.E.D.s and the letters “IO.” Chic brought the product to the Canton Fair, a semi-annual trade show in China, where the hoverboard devices were overwhelmingly popular and sold out quickly. It did not take long for other companies to reverse engineer and rebrand the products, and within the next few months, boards could be found on Alibaba for wholesale distribution.
If you hit your favorite social media platform, chances are you’ll see some rendition of the Chic Smart S1. PhunkeeDuck and IO Hawk are arguably the biggest players in the American hoverboard industry currently, and as David Pierce astutely notes, “Chic’s logo—the horizontal line on top of an oval that just so happens to look like “IO” when rotated 90 degrees—is plastered all over most versions of the board.”
It does not take a genius to realize that both PhunkeeDuck and IO Hawk are either buying or licensing Chic products and rebranding them to fit their company’s needs. However, it does take a genius to figure out what the hell IO Hawk is thinking incorporating Chic’s logo into their company’s image.
In this brutal interview, John Soibatian discusses the “invention of the IO Hawk,” which he claims was conceptualized in the early 2000s. John suggests that his friend and him were looking for a personal transportation device “to get out of restaurants and the club scene” without having to deal with a device as large as a Segway. Keep in mind, IO Hawk products literally use Chic’s logo, which can be seen clearly on the top of Chic Robotic’s website. What makes this interview espcially interesting is John’s reasoning for the company’s name:
“‘Io is actually a small, portable sized hawk who-uh is indigenous only to the island of Hawaii, and-uh [my friend] brought that back to me, and we thought, you know, what better thing than an animal that glides, that’s small. and is very unique, right? So we kept this IO logo and we thought it would be a good way to honor our partnership with our engineers and still have that branding for the U.S. and the global market.”
John Soibatian admits –possibly inadvertently– that Chic is his “engineering team,” and that he is “respecting” his engineering team by keeping the IO branding. Fact checking this interview, I did find that John is not lying completely. There is, in fact, a Hawaiian hawk called an ” ‘io.”
However, “respecting his engineers” is just a clever way to rationalize the fact that IO Hawks are literally Chic Smart S1 devices. While PhunkeeDuck undoubtedly incurs additional expenses by rebranding Chic products with the PhunkeeDuck logo, IO Hawk dodges this issues by incorporating the Chic branding into their own label. This guise of respect is just an easy way to justify reselling Chic boards –albeit a clever one.
If IO Hawk is indeed reselling Chic S1s, why can they get away with it? Surely the company that owns the patent for these devices would be irritated that IO Hawk is claiming this invention as their own. A little research reveals some important new information regarding this debacle:
Mark Cuban recently made headlines when he claimed that he and his partner, Shane Chen, own the patent for hoverboards.
The most important facts that emerged from this news can be found in the lawsuit that Cuban and Chen launched against IO Hawk and its competitors. In the lawsuit, which can be found publicly on Mark Cuban’s Twitter, several new pieces of evidence come to light regarding the origins of the hoverboards.
Firstly and most importantly, what is the patent? The lawsuit reveals that Chen holds “U.S. Patent Number 8,738,278:”
Two-wheel, self-balancing vehicle with independently movable foot placement sections.
The wording of this patent is important. It does not matter that Chic S1s have bigger wheels. It does not matter that IO Hawks have blue LEDs. It doesn’t even matter that PhunkeeDucks have different gyroscopes. All of these devices utilize independently movable foot placements for steering and control, and subsequently, all of these devices fall under the authority of this patent despite any nuances. The general language of Chen’s filing gives him firm legal ground to stand on.
Furthermore, this is an actual patent. It isn’t pending. It isn’t disputed. Chen filed this patent in winter 2013, and the United States granted his request. Chen obtained the same patent in China as well, meaning that Chinese, knock-off manufacturers will have to Cease & Desist in the event of a lawsuit.
It seems that this entire situation comes back to Shane Chen, but I cannot make this claim definitively. Instead, I will provide the publicly available evidence and allow my readers to come to their own conclusion. The information is as follows:
This is a lot of information to take in, but in my opinion, it paints a clear picture of what unfolded. Shane Chen started a Kickstarter for his invention, implying that he did not have adequate funding on his own to bring the product to market. Chic Robotics, a China based company, saw the Kickstarter video and used the available information to recreate the device, bringing it to the Canton Trade Show before Shane Chen was able to bring his product to a mass audience.
Companies like IO Hawk and PhunkeeDuck purchased the Chic products and branded them accordingly. Other Chinese manufactures followed in Chic’s footsteps and reverse engineered Chic products to bring cheaper models to sites like Alibaba. Mark Cuban discovered that these companies did not hold the patent to these devices |
real world. And that’s fine…but it isn’t science. However, those who accept creationism never consider other alternatives on this matter themselves (although they expect everyone else to consider theirs): 1) the bible is not divinely inspired at all, but merely a collection of different types of writing form Bronze and Iron Age people who were trying to explain the world around them without reference to the scientific knowledge we have today; 2) the bible is not divinely inspired, but has been rewritten multiple times, other texts of the time lost or purposefully destroyed, and certain texts available at the time specifically selected, all to give the appearance that the bible was divinely inspired; 3) the bible was divinely inspired but never meant to be anything more than allegorical, metaphorical and symbolic in its broader meaning; 4) the bible is divinely inspired but humans are too evolutionary primitive to understand the complex meaning that is really behind its passages; 5) there is a god and he was responsible for creating the world, but how it was done is best captured in one of the hundreds of other creation stories around the world and not in the bible. Of course, although some alternatives have historical and scientific angles to them and can be tested (for example, we know parts of the bible were re-written to appear more consistent with theological statements from historical documents and early biblical texts themselves; there is also good evidence to suggest the bible texts were purposely selected to convey specific theological arguments as if they were prophesized or demonstrated historically), the alternatives listed are largely theological and can be accepted or rejected pretty much solely on the basis of personal preference.
AdvertisementsRecently, some researchers have emphasized the potential for undisturbed ecosystems to be sources of disservices and outright harm to humans (Burgin et al. 2013, von Doehren and Haase 2015 ). Natural ecosystems certainly contain dangerous elements—venomous snakes, allergens, and natural fire regimes—that can, even when undisturbed, compromise human well‐being. Recently, it has been suggested that native biodiversity may be dangerous because it increases the probability that a new zoonotic disease will emerge, constituting an important ecosystem disservice (Jones et al. 2008, Dunn 2010, Dunn et al. 2010, Johnson et al. 2015a ). If biodiversity poses a real health risk to humans, then enthusiasm for the conservation of biodiversity might be dampened by concerns about disease emergence. Here, we explore the evidence that high native biodiversity increases the likelihood of emergence of human infectious diseases. We compare the evidence concerning the effects of native biodiversity to that concerning anthropogenic changes in biodiversity affecting disease emergence and dynamics, and we reflect on the policy and management consequences of this evidence.
Natural ecosystems absorb and recycle nutrients; produce biomass, food, and water; modulate the impacts of physical forces on living organisms; and support the life cycles of myriad species of plants, animals, and microbes. When these functions are considered useful for humans, we term them “ecosystem services” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Program 2005, Daily and Matson 2008, Guerry et al. 2015 ). Natural ecosystems can also endanger human well‐being, for example, when fires and floods destroy lives and property or when dangerous animals and plants compromise human health. These negative effects of ecosystems on humans, sometimes termed “ecosystem disservices,” often arise when humans have altered natural ecosystems, inadvertently converting their positive effects into detriments (Dunn 2010 ). For example, the eutrophication of coastal waters can undermine the ability of these waters to support fisheries and recreation—an ecosystem service—and compromise human and animal health through harmful algal blooms—an ecosystem disservice.
Jeschke et al. ( 2013 ) described how a spillover event, or species jump from a non‐human vertebrate host to humans, is the first of several sequential steps required for emergence. Following spillover, establishment, spread, and impact on hosts are required to constitute an EID. For the latter three steps, evidence is accumulating that high biodiversity is strongly inhibitory (Keesing et al. 2010, Ostfeld and Keesing 2012, Civitello et al. 2015a, Johnson et al. 2015b ). Here, our main focus is on the first step—the spillover process.
Infectious diseases of humans can emerge through a variety of pathways, only some of which are related to biodiversity. For example, Rosenthal et al. ( 2015 ) identified seven mechanisms, or pathways, that have been used to identify emerging diseases or pathogens in humans: (1) when a disease increases in incidence, (2) when a disease increases in impact, (3) when a disease increases in geographic range, (4) when a pathogen has undergone recent evolutionary change, (5) when a pathogen is detected in the human population for the first time, (6) when a pathogen significantly changes its pathology or clinical presentation, or (7) when a pathogen is discovered for the first time. Despite the diversity of these mechanisms, most attention has been devoted to the “spillover” process, whereby a pathogen that is typically restricted to non‐human vertebrate hosts is transmitted to humans. Spillover to humans seems most compatible with pathways 4 or 5 above. However, these two pathways rank third and fifth of the seven in terms of frequency of occurrence in human emerging infectious disease (EID) events (Rosenthal et al. 2015 ). Despite the dominance by pathways that do not necessarily involve spillover, many conceptual models of human disease emergence emphasize the spillover pathways (e.g., Wolfe et al. 2007, Jones et al. 2008, Hatcher et al. 2012, Gortazar et al. 2014 ).
The Logical Basis for the Argument that High Diversity Increases Disease Emergence
The notion that high native biodiversity increases the threat of human exposure to zoonotic diseases rests on the assumption that all vertebrates are potentially dangerous because any one might be the source of spillover that results in the next deadly EID (see Jones et al. 2008, Dunn et al. 2010). The precise mechanisms proposed to link high vertebrate diversity to high risk of zoonotic emergence are typically not specified. Here, we provide a logical structure and evaluate the evidence for this connection. In a later section, we evaluate an alternative causal pathway involving vertebrate diversity and the host range of pathogens.
The primary logic by which greater diversity could lead to higher zoonotic risk requires a three‐part causal chain connecting vertebrate diversity to pathogen diversity to risk of human exposure to a zoonotic EID (Fig. 1). First, the logic requires that the more species of mammals and birds there are in any given location, the more total vertebrate‐borne pathogen species will occur there. In order for this to be the case, each species of mammal or bird must host at least some unique pathogens. Alternatively, if most pathogens are widely distributed across hosts, then the number of host species will be less important. The second necessary link in the causal chain is that the more total species of pathogens there are in an area, the more potentially zoonotic species should occur there. This supposition requires that the zoonotic pathogens are roughly equally distributed across all vertebrate pathogens. If the zoonotic pathogens are found predominantly in a few host taxa, then the number of host species will be less important. And finally, the logic of this connection requires that the more potentially zoonotic pathogens that exist in an area, the more human disease we can expect (with human disease variously measured as prevalence, severity, or the probability of a new emergence event). What is the evidence for the three links in this causal chain (Fig. 1) connecting vertebrate diversity to zoonotic EIDs?
Figure 1 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint The necessary logical steps underlying the argument that high host diversity leads to high probability of the emergence of a zoonotic disease. High diversity of vertebrate hosts must result in high total diversity of pathogens within the vertebrate community, which in turn must lead to high diversity of actual or potential zoonotic pathogens (those that can infect humans and cause disease), which in turn must increase the probability of new emergence events. Although a link between host diversity and parasite diversity is relatively well established, effect of host diversity on viral and bacterial pathogens (arrow 1) is not. Evidence does not support a link between overall pathogen diversity and that of actual or potential zoonotic pathogens (arrow 2). Some evidence supports correlations between diversity of zoonotic pathogens and the likelihood of zoonotic emergence (arrow 3), but with important caveats described in the text.
The first link: Does higher vertebrate diversity lead to more total pathogen diversity? Natural ecosystems are rich in parasites and pathogens (Hudson et al. 2006). To the extent that each free‐living species has at least some unique pathogens, high diversity of free‐living species should lead to high diversity of pathogens; in other words, diversity begets diversity (Hechinger and Lafferty 2005, Dunn et al. 2010, Johnson et al. 2015a). However, because pathogens may be shared among several or many hosts, adding more species of hosts might not lead to a linear or even a predictable increase in species richness of pathogens. For example, Koh et al. (2004) found that the correlation between vertebrate diversity and parasite diversity was considerably weaker when the parasites had low host specificity. Johnson et al. (2016) found that the diversity of amphibian parasites increased with that of their hosts, but whereas parasite diversity increased consistently with the area sampled, host diversity saturated at larger areas. In a synthesis of the available evidence concerning helminths, Dobson et al. (2008) argued that “patterns of parasite diversity do not clearly map onto patterns of host diversity,” pointing out, for example, that some parasites of fish (e.g., monogeneans) are more diverse, but others (e.g., gut parasites) less so, where hosts are more diverse. Focusing on North American carnivores, Harris and Dunn (2010) found that in general, the species richness of carnivore parasites increased with increasing host species richness. However, in some geographic areas, such as the northern portion of North America, the correlation between host and pathogen diversity was weak. Examining 38 case studies of protozoan and metazoan parasites infecting animal hosts (both vertebrates and invertebrates) identified through literature searches, Kamiya et al. (2014) found significant positive correlations between parasite and host diversity (effect size [r] = 0.55). Their meta‐analytic methods suggested that the correlation was somewhat weaker for mammals (N = 7 host taxa, r = 0.43) than for birds (N = 11 host taxa, r = 0.65), although both relationships were statistically significant. Whether diversity of viral and bacterial parasites correlates with diversity of their hosts has not been similarly analyzed. Based on these studies, there appears to be moderate support for the supposition that greater species richness of vertebrates leads to greater richness of vertebrate‐borne pathogens, but there are caveats. One key limitation is that the effect of vertebrate diversity on that of viruses and bacteria, which remain the dominant groups of emerging infectious diseases of humans (Jones et al. 2008), is largely unknown. Another caveat is that nonlinear relationships caused by host sharing (non‐specificity by pathogens) or by different species–area curves for hosts and pathogens might weaken the correlation within some regions of parameter space. For instance, with extensive host sharing among pathogens, pathogen richness might rise with increases in host richness from low to moderate levels. But above those moderate levels of host richness, pathogen richness might increase modestly or not at all, as few unique pathogens are added (Fig. 2). Future studies should incorporate the relationship between host diversity and the diversity of bacteria and viruses specifically, and also explore the shape of the relationship between host and pathogen diversity. Figure 2 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Schematic diagram of how parasite diversity is expected to vary with host diversity when parasites show high host specificity (upper curve) and when they show low host specificity (lower curve). In the latter case, the sharing of parasites between hosts means that the diversity of parasites will saturate as host diversity increases, resulting in little or no additional increases in parasite species at high levels of host diversity.
The second link: Higher diversity of all pathogens leads to higher diversity of potentially zoonotic pathogens? If communities with more species of vertebrates support more total species of pathogens, we might expect these diverse communities to pose a higher risk of zoonotic emergence. But this would be true only if communities supporting more total species of pathogens also support more potentially zoonotic pathogens. To what degree is total pathogen richness correlated with the richness of potentially zoonotic pathogens? We are not aware of any direct tests of possible correlations between total pathogen richness within vertebrate communities and the richness of potential or actual zoonotic pathogens. Such tests would require reliable estimates of total pathogen richness within vertebrate communities, which appear to be rare or absent. Nevertheless, if zoonotic pathogens are equally likely to arise from any host species within the vertebrate community, then this correlation would be plausible and even expected. However, some host taxa are much more likely than others to act as sources of zoonotic transmission. In particular, rodents, and secondarily carnivorans, are more likely to act as hosts for zoonotic pathogens than are birds, other mammals, or other vertebrate taxa (Johnson et al. 2015a, Han et al. 2016). Far more species of rodents (N = 244) host zoonotic pathogens than do species in other mammalian orders, and rodents carry 85 unique zoonotic pathogens, which is more than the number hosted by any other mammalian order (carnivorans are second in both respects, with 139 species hosting 83 unique zoonotic pathogens; Han et al. 2016). Other well‐studied groups of mammals, including the chiropterans, ungulates, and primates, are the sources of far fewer zoonotic pathogens, although chiropterans might be particularly important hosts for zoonotic viruses (Luis et al. 2013). Within the rodents, species with fast life history traits (e.g., early age at maturity, large litters, short life span) are more likely than those with slow life history traits to act as reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens (Han et al. 2015). These life history traits tend to be correlated with commonness rather than rarity (Stearns 1992, Blackburn et al. 1996). Similarly, Johnson et al. (2015a) found that wild rodents were the reservoirs for most (55/95) zoonotic viruses, that zoonotic virus spillover from wildlife to humans was most frequent in and around human dwellings and in agricultural fields, and that rodents were the most likely hosts to be implicated in transmission that occurred around human dwellings and agricultural fields. As a consequence, the pathogens occurring within some elements of the vertebrate host community, namely those in chiropterans, ungulates, and primates (and within most other mammalian orders; Han et al. 2016), appear to be less important to zoonotic disease emergence than those occurring in the rodents and carnivorans. It is therefore critical to ask whether communities with high vertebrate diversity necessarily contain more species of hosts for pathogens with high zoonotic potential. Ecologists have traditionally compared species diversity between different communities using rank–abundance curves, also called dominance–density curves or Whittaker plots (Whittaker 1965, Krebs 1999), which are frequency distributions of species ordered by their abundance (or the log of their abundance). Most, if not all, communities are characterized by a few highly abundant species and many more rare species (Fig. 3). When communities differing in species richness are compared using rank–abundance curves, more diverse communities frequently have longer tails; in other words, more diverse communities have relatively more rare species (Magurran 2004). One would expect, therefore, that moving along a gradient from less diverse to more diverse vertebrate communities, one would see an accumulation of rare species, with the more abundant species becoming proportionally less dominant (Magurran 2004; Fig. 3). If these rare species were likely to act as hosts for actual or potential zoonotic pathogens, then one would expect more diverse vertebrate communities, potentially with more species of pathogens overall, to be sources of more zoonotic pathogens. However, the evidence suggests that the more common and widespread species of vertebrates, such as rodents, rather than the rare ones occurring only in high‐diversity communities, are more likely to act as reservoir hosts for zoonotic pathogens. This pattern has now been observed repeatedly in nature (Keesing et al. 2010, Ostfeld et al. 2014, Han et al. 2015, Johnson et al. 2015b). Not only do rare species appear less likely to act as zoonotic reservoirs, but their very rarity will often reduce their potential for zoonotic spillover into humans. Figure 3 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Schematic representation of typical rank–abundance curves, in which the relative abundance of each species is represented on the vertical axis and the rank of each species, from highest to lowest abundance, is given on the horizontal axis. Contrasted are two scenarios, a relatively low‐diversity community in blue and a relatively high‐diversity community in green. The curves represent the common observation that higher‐diversity communities include more species that are rare and fewer that are common. The species added (right‐hand orange circle) in higher‐diversity communities are not likely to be the sources of zoonotic pathogens, whereas the most abundant species in lower‐diversity communities (left‐hand orange circle) are often the sources of zoonotic infection. Han et al. (2016) found a positive correlation across mammalian orders between the total number of species and the number of species known to host zoonotic pathogens. In other words, the more species there are within a mammalian order, the more species within that order host zoonotic pathogens. Based on Figure 2 in Han et al. (2016), about 10% of species within any given mammalian order act as hosts for zoonotic pathogens, with somewhat lower percentages for chiropterans and soricomorphs and somewhat higher percentages for carnivorans and artiodactyls. Thus, in general, the more species‐rich orders are expected to host more zoonotic pathogens, but this observation is not directly relevant to the question of whether more diverse vertebrate communities necessarily contain more species that serve as zoonotic reservoirs. On the basis of this evidence, we suggest that increases in total pathogen richness that likely accompany increases in species richness of vertebrate hosts generally do not cause increases in the richness of potential or actual zoonotic species, severing the causal chain linking high diversity to high human disease potential. At the very least, this necessary link in the causal chain currently has no support. A rigorous evaluation of the hypothesis that areas with higher diversity of vertebrates have higher diversity of zoonotic pathogens will require new information on hosts and pathogens along diversity gradients. A two‐part process could potentially provide the necessary data. The first step would be to determine how frequently lower‐diversity communities of vertebrates consist of random, vs. non‐random, subsets of higher‐diversity communities. Existing evidence suggests that low‐diversity communities typically contain nested subsets of their higher‐diversity analogs (Wright et al. 1998), but these investigations are typically based on presence–absence data about each species. Data on changes in the relative abundance of species along the diversity gradient would be even more helpful for quantifying community structure, particularly to see whether it conforms to the hypothesis illustrated in Fig. 3. The second key step for evaluating the connection between diversity and zoonotic species richness would be to determine, for most or all of the species present in these communities, which species transmit which zoonotic pathogens, and how efficiently. Available databases of pathogens detected in members of vertebrate communities are inadequate for addressing the hypothesis. These databases (e.g., Johnson et al. 2015a) consist of both direct and indirect (e.g., immunoassay) measures of pathogens in potential hosts, but cannot by themselves determine whether pathogen‐positive hosts are reservoirs (amplifying hosts) or dead‐ends (buffering, or dilution hosts). Consequently, the mere detection of pathogen exposure within a particular host should not be considered evidence that the host transmits the pathogen. For example, for the many zoonotic pathogens transmitted by generalist vectors, most species within a vertebrate community might test seropositive, indicating exposure, but few permit pathogen amplification and onward transmission (Ostfeld and Keesing 2012). Together, these two sets of data—the community composition of species across diversity gradients and the transmission potential of these host species for zoonotic pathogens—would indicate how the risk of human exposure to emerging or recognized zoonotic pathogens changes along gradients in vertebrate diversity.PINE MOUNTAIN CLUB, Calif. - A 17 News viewer reached out to us after a bear was shout in the Pine Mountain Club area late last night.
Residents in the area were told 8 shots were fired and the bear was found dead.
Our station reached out to officials and found California Fish and Wildlife investigated the case today.
They say the resident who fired the shots was acting in self-defense because the full grown black bear charged at him after he tried to scare it off.
The case is now closed and the resident will not be receiving fines from the state, according to wildlife officials.
This incident happened in the Pine Mountain area.
Wildlife officials say that in order to keep bears away they advise residents to remove fruit and store garbage in tight storage containers.The Safe Word
I’m writing this with your best interests at heart: Get a rope. I’m not a big fan of the furry handcuffs version of bondage. Forget the wrists-to-the-headboard hogwash. Okay, it was good enough for Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers. It’s a place to start, but don’t stop there.
Why bother, you ask. Bondage is just fancy-boy foreplay, right? No. The thing is, sex has become obsessively egalitarian. How was it for you, honey? Did you come? Yes, did you? How many times? Everybody wants to play “share the cookies.” That’s fine, but painting by numbers gets tiresome after a while when, after all, everybody just wants to be taken for a ride. Here’s the not-so-secret appeal of bondage: When I’m strapped down, it’s all on my partner. I mean, I’m not going anywhere and someone’s having a little fun making me go crazy.
Then it’s my turn.
So here, in seven easy steps, is one Boy Scout’s manual on fun with rope:
1. Buy it by the yard and use it all. Two or three lengths of 20-30 foot rope will be plenty. Tie her arms behind her back. Tie up your boy’s junk and make him know the pleasures of an undersized thong. Lash his forearms together, tie his ankles to that and see what you find hanging out. You think your girl’s nipples are sensitive now? Try putting rope tight across her breasts.
2. Don’t use some dirty old dog leash. You can pick up soft nylon line at Home Depot for pennies per foot. Try not to chortle as the high-school boy is cutting it for you. Parachute cord, climbing rope, and jute rope work fine, too. Experiment. The thinner the rope, the sharper it feels and the more marks it leaves on the skin. But marks, you may discover, are your favorite part.
The Japanese “masters” and their many acolytes prefer hemp rope. It feels good, smells great, and leaves deep and lasting marks. In my opinion, it gives the most bang. It’s also about a buck per foot.
3. Safety first. Don’t put rope around anyone’s neck, ever, Jeffrey. Don’t cinch down hard on nerve centers like the elbows or knees. A good rule of thumb on tightness: If you can slide your finger under the rope, he’ll be fine. If his feet or hands get cold it’s time for a break. Just use your ears; your partner will tell you if something goes awry.
4. Keep it simple, sexy. If you can tie your shoes, you know enough to wrap someone up like a gift box. There are handy online tutorials (NSFW) around if you need them, but don’t get intimidated by the fetish crowd’s fancy poses and knot-work. Learn a two-column tie and a rope cuff, and you can make any body the 3-D canvas for your twisted imagination.
5. Get around. Austin is a rope-friendly town. There’s a local SIG and occasional bondage-themed parties in the BDSM scene. There are well-attended conferences if you want to get wrapped up in it.
6. Hardcore is optional. Bondage doesn’t have to be Bettie Page tableaus or kidnapping scenes out of 24 (not that there’s anything wrong with that… ). You can use rope to tie someone up just because it looks hot. Tie two people together – that’s fun. Craft a predicament for your friend, or friends, to escape from. Tie someone down for S&M games. If you want to go art house, there’s always rope suspension and getting people airborne. I recommend you get schooled at the cons or with local gurus for the advanced mojo.
7. Curb your inner geek. Believe it or not, this can be hard to avoid for a certain type of person. Bondage is about bodies – not the rope. And as fun as it is to learn every knot under the sun, rope is just the hardware.
I like to think of rope as an extension of my arms. Lots of things you can do with your arms, you can do with rope. Hold your partner tight, or loose. Grab a wrist and don’t let go. Put those legs right where you want them. Lay the ropes just so and they’ll do magic things you usually do with your fingers. And hey, look! Your fingers are still free.
About the author The Safe Word columnist RC McCloud welcomes your feedback, tips, love letters, and comments. Send mail to rc.mccloud at thatotherpaper dot com.
Recent Safe Word columnsThe new documentary Vessel tells the story of Women on Waves, founded by Dutch doctor Rebecca Gomperts who sailed the world in an “abortion ship,” offering off-shore medical abortions in the international waters surrounding countries where abortion is outlawed. Her project eventually morphed into Women on Web, which does great, life-saving work by sending abortion pills by mail to people lacking legal access. The film has opened in NYC, and is now available for streaming on iTunes.
Also, be sure to check out this interview with director/producer Diana Whitten on the Community site. As she notes, the story, unfortunately, holds particular relevance in the US today. “Due to recent legislative attacks on reproductive healthcare, the situation for U.S. women in many states is now comparable to that of women in countries where abortion is illegal, and American women are looking to similar methods to terminate pregnancies as those used by women in illegal settings. This is no longer a foreign story.”Eighteen months ago I read a book that changed my life. Yeah, yeah, I know... sounds corny. But it's not what you think. This book changed my life not because of what it said but because of what it didn't say.
On a nothing-special summer afternoon in 2010, I sat in the Cambridge Public Library preparing a speech on something I'd been studying for decades. I plugged "world hunger" into the library's computer. Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know popped up.
Perfect, I thought. I knew I would have differences with the book because I'd just read a critique of the views of its author, Robert Paarlberg, by my daughter Anna Lappé on the Foreign Policy website. But I'm always eager to know how those with whom I disagree make their case. Noticing that Food Politics was published by Oxford University Press, I felt confident I could count on it being a credibly argued and sourced counterpoint.
So I began reading.
"I couldn't believe my eyes" doesn't do justice to the shock I experienced.
The book's subtitle suggests coverage of essential food issues and its back cover indicates Food Politics is not just another example of "conflicting claims and accusations from advocates," but rather "maps this contested terrain." Yet, I was finding only one piece of the "map" with key issues at the center of the global food debate omitted altogether. But what was jaw-dropping for me was that Food Politics lacked any citations for the book's many startling claims.
What? Why would the gold standard of academic presses, Oxford University Press, release such a work and misleadingly promote it, to boot? The UK Oxford University Press website says that "all books are referred to them [the Delegates, i.e., selected faculty of the university] for approval." The Press' USA website stresses its peer review process.
But how, I wondered, could a book on any serious topic be evaluated in the absence of citations?
I soon learned that Oxford University Press had published other books on vital public concerns, including nuclear power, with no citations. Hmm, I thought, even high school students are required to provide sources.
Then I got to the author's defense of Monsanto. He cites the "political stigma" that has been attached to GMOs, which "dried up investment" in GMOs in Europe, as a reason that the company now dominates the industry.
The claim seemed so wild that my suspicion was piqued. From there, a quick search on Monsanto's website showed that the author had been an advisor to the company's CEO. In the book's opening, moreover, Dr. Paarlberg thanks the Gates Foundation, among others, for supporting his independent work, without noting that the foundation is itself an investor in Monsanto.
My journalist son Anthony Lappé has always stressed to me the absolute rule of "full disclosure" of ties that could influence, or appear to influence, one's reporting. Surely, Oxford University Press grasps that such transparency is a foundation of democratic discourse; and how especially critical it is to uphold in a work on the life-and-death matter of hunger.
I had to act. After all, almost every speech I give ends with a call for greater boldness. I argue that humans are "good enough." It's our courage we need to stoke. So what could I do?
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I began reaching out to scholars, and others whom I trust, to present a constructive challenge to Oxford University Press, asking it to hold the line on academic standards. Some weren't moved, saying, "Oh, Frankie, why don't you just publish a critical review yourself somewhere?" Or, "You'll never get anywhere going to the Press."
Their reactions spurred me on. My alarm was not about Dr. Paarlberg's views, for they can be addressed in fair debate. My distress was about the threat to democracy itself in Oxford University Press's choice to lower its standards.
OK, that might sound overblown. But not to me. Democracy depends on honest, fair, accurate debate. Without it, we can't possibly meet today's challenges. And if academic presses don't hold the line -- when fair discourse in the wider culture is in collapse -- who will?
In time, six distinguished, courageous scholars and leaders in the field of food, hunger and ecological farming, who share my alarm, joined me. First we sent our critique to the leader of Oxford University Press in New York City, Mr. Niko Pfund. We asked to meet to discuss straightforward remedies. At first, I truly believed top leadership at the Press would be distressed that this book had slipped through and would recommit to uphold basic standards.
Instead, after several weeks, we received a letter saying that Food Politics met its standards and no one would meet with us. (On the particular point of lack of disclosure, the Press told us that Dr. Paarlberg did not accept payment from Monsanto and therefore disclosing his advisory role was not required. However, we'd never said that he was paid by Monsanto. Our position is the widely accepted standard that any association, which could appear to influence a writer's coverage of his or her subject, must be disclosed.)
OK, we thought, what about the home base of Oxford University Press in Oxford, England? Surely, there, where two dozen faculty of the university, known as the Delegates, have final authority, we'll find leadership who shares our dismay. Calls and offers to travel to Oxford for discussions got nowhere. Finally, the office of Oxford University Vice Chancellor Andrew D. Hamilton, speaking for the Press, wrote to affirm the position of his New York office: The book met Oxford University Press standards; and no one would discuss the matter with us.
With those channels closed, we launched a petition campaign. And here's where we need your help!
On April 25th, I'll arrive on the steps of Oxford University Press in Oxford, England. And we would love to have your signature on the petition I'll deliver. The petition asks for just three basic standards to be upheld by Oxford University Press: citations for evidence-based claims, full disclosure of potential conflicts of interest (whether financial or other associations), and accurate promotion of publications.
Is not each of these three -- transparency about sources, disclosure of conflicts of interest, and accurate promotion -- precisely the type of standard that distinguishes an academic press from, say, a Fox News?
We believe our appeal goes to the very heart of democracy itself; for, absent transparency and commitment to evidence-based argument (impossible if authors provide no sources for claims!) democracy's lifeblood -- open, fair dialogue -- drains away.
You can follow our exchange and sign the petition here. If you want to know what happens next, please send us an email: info@smallplanet.org and put "standards at risk" in the subject line.
Thank you. It really matters.The Anti-Defamation League Monday criticized a sketch performed during Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony by host Seth MacFarlane that it says sends false messages about Jews to a global audience who may be more inclined to accept the stereotypes as factual.
In the sketch, MacFarlane’s animated teddy bear character Ted asked actor Mark Wahlberg if he is Jewish. Wahlberg responded that he is in fact Catholic.
“Wrong answer, try again,” said Ted. “Do you want to work in this town or don’t you?”
ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman called the comment “sad and disheartening.”
“While we have come to expect inappropriate ‘Jews control Hollywood’ jokes from Seth MacFarlane, what he did at the Oscars was offensive and not remotely funny,” Foxman said in a statement. “It only reinforces stereotypes which legitimize anti-Semitism. It is sad and disheartening that the Oscars awards show sought to use anti-Jewish stereotypes for laughs.”
Foxman said that while Hollywood itself may not have taken the joke seriously, the same might not be true for the show’s global audience.
“When one considers the global audience of the Oscars of upwards of 2 billion people, including many who know little or nothing about Hollywood or the falsity of such Jewish stereotypes, there’s a much higher potential for the ‘Jews control Hollywood’ myth to be accepted as fact,” he said.
© 2019 Newsmax. All rights reserved.We just got a chance to see exactly what E Ink's new Prism tech looks like in person. And? It's pretty neat! As you might be able to tell from the admittedly sped-up GIF above, it's a bit mesmerizing, but still manages to be subtle. The outfit's Joseph Fillion describes it as "more than static, but not quite digital." What he means by that is it isn't the type of thing you'd likely see used on billboards or other advertisements, but more along the lines of navigational opportunities and branding. For example, you could carry an RFID chip in your pocket at a hotel and it'd change the color of the walls letting you know you were actually headed in your room's direction, possibly with the place's logo appearing once you've reached your destination. Or imagine your living room's walls changing color in accordance to your thermostat's temperature reading. It seems futuristic as hell, but it's much more Her than Blade Runner.Former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has joined Aston Villa on a two-year deal Former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has joined Aston Villa on a two-year deal
Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of Roberto Di Matteo as their new manager on a two-year contract.
Di Matteo was identified as new owner Dr Tony Xia's preferred choice at the time of his takeover.
The 46-year-old Italian won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012 but has not managed in the second tier of English football since 2009-10, when he won promotion for West Brom.
Another former West Brom manager, Steve Clarke, is expected to be named as Di Matteo's assistant - Clarke has previously been a member of Jose Mourinho's coaching staff at Chelsea and at Liverpool where he worked under Kenny Dalglish.
Sky Sports speaks to Aston Villa fans on the streets of Birmingham about the imminent appointment of former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo Sky Sports speaks to Aston Villa fans on the streets of Birmingham about the imminent appointment of former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo
Sky sources understand that his appointment as assistant at Villa is now likely to be completed on Monday.
Villa will be Di Matteo's fifth club after spells at MK Dons, West Brom, Chelsea and Schalke. He has taken charge of 167 games in that time and won 82 of them, a win rate of 49 per cent.
The Birmingham club have been without a permanent manager since Remi Garde left in March, with Eric Black completing the season in caretaker charge of the team.
Di Matteo said: "It's a wonderful honour for me to become manager of this great football club and I'm looking forward to the challenge of taking Aston Villa back to its rightful place."
Aston Villa were relegated from the Premier League with just 17 points after a very poor campaign in which they won only three league games and were beaten 27 times.
Former Aston Villa defender Steve Staunton believes the club has reached a low point and the takeover is good news Former Aston Villa defender Steve Staunton believes the club has reached a low point and the |
IMAGES 109/148 Aston Villa 0 Arsenal 3 Ex-Gunner Phillippe Senderos clears the ball GETTY IMAGES 110/148 Aston Villa 0 Arsenal 3 Santi Cazorla is tackled GETTY IMAGES 111/148 Borussia Dortmund 2 Arsenal 0 Ciro Immobile celebrates after opening the scoring against Arsenal GETTY IMAGES 112/148 Borussia Dortmund 2 Arsenal 0 Pierre Emmerick Aubameyang scores his goal against Arsenal GETTY IMAGES 113/148 Borussia Dortmund 2 Arsenal 0 Alexis Sanchez pictured during Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal GETTY IMAGES 114/148 Borussia Dortmund 2 Arsenal 0 Mikel Arteta pictured during Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal GETTY IMAGES 115/148 Borussia Dortmund 2 Arsenal 0 Arsene Wenger pictured during the 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund GETTY IMAGES 116/148 Arsenal 2 Manchester City 2 The Arsenal joy is short-lived, however, as Martin Demichelis heads in to grab his side a valuable away point. Getty 117/148 Arsenal 2 Manchester City 2 Alexis Sanchez looks on as his brilliant volley flies past Joe Hart and puts the Gunners ahead. Getty 118/148 Arsenal 2 Manchester City 2 Jack Wilshere can't hide his delight after dragging Arsenal back into the match. That's one way to silence your critics. Getty 119/148 Arsenal 2 Manchester City 2 Frank Lampard's first start in a Manchester City shirt was short lived after being substituted at half-time. 120/148 Arsenal 2 Manchester City 2 Sergio Aguero puts the Premier League champions ahead after just 28 minutes. Wojciech Szczesny had no chance after neat build up play from City. Getty Images 121/148 Arsenal 2 Manchester City 2 Danny Welbeck can't believe his misfortune after watching his first half chip bounce back off the post. Getty 122/148 Arsenal 1 Besiktas 0 Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring the only goal of the game as Arsenal advanced into the Champions League 1-0 on aggregate PA 123/148 Arsenal 1 Besiktas 0 Per Mertesacker in action at the Emirates Getty Images 124/148 Arsenal 1 Besiktas 0 Mathieu Flamini came in to the side due to the absence of Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta Getty Images 125/148 Arsenal 1 Besiktas 0 Jack Wilshere was among Arsenal's best performers Getty Images 126/148 Arsenal 1 Besiktas 0 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in action against the Turkish side Getty Images 127/148 Everton 2 Arsenal 2 Steven Pienaar picked up an injury just 10 minutes into the match at Goodison Park Getty Images 128/148 Everton 2 Arsenal 2 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has an early strike at goal for the visiting team but it went over Getty Images 129/148 Everton 2 Arsenal 2 Alexis Sanchez wriggles his way past Kevin Mirallas - but the £35m Chilean struggled and was withdrawn at half-time Getty Images 130/148 Everton 2 Arsenal 2 Arsenal players Aaron Ramsey, Mathieu Flamini and Per Mertesacker are dejected after Seamus Coleman made it 1-0 Getty Images 131/148 Everton 2 Arsenal 2 Steven Naismith fires his second goal in two matches past Wojciech Szczesny right on the stroke of half-time to put Everton two in front Getty Images 132/148 Everton 2 Arsenal 2 Aaron Ramsey pulls a late goal back to begin the Arsenal comeback Getty Images 133/148 Everton 2 Arsenal 2 Olivier Giroud celebrates after his late goal saved Arsenal a point at Goodison Park Getty Images 134/148 Besiktas 0 Arsenal 0 Olivier Giroud vies with Besiktas' Ersan Gulum (left) and Pedro Franco Getty Images 135/148 Besiktas 0 Arsenal 0 Demba Ba was Besiktas' chief threat throughout the game Getty Images 136/148 Besiktas 0 Arsenal 0 Arsene Wenger displays some nifty ball skills on the sidelines Getty Images 137/148 Besiktas 0 Arsenal 0 Mikel Arteta limps off injured and is replaced by Matthieu Flamini EPA 138/148 Besiktas 0 Arsenal 0 Aaron Ramsey exits the pitch after receiving his marching orders EPA 139/148 Besiktas 0 Arsenal 0 Besiktas fans hold a placard in support of Mike Brown, the teenager who was recently shot dead by police in Ferguson, Missouri, USA Getty Images 140/148 Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1 Arsenal celebrate Aaron Ramsey's late winning goal to make it 2-1 Getty Images 141/148 Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1 Aaron Ramsey knocks in the winning goal to give Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace Getty Images 142/148 Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1 Santi Cazorla turns away after getting a face full of the vanishing spray Getty Images 143/148 Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1 Referee Jon Moss covers himself and Santi Cazorla in the vanishing spray Getty Images 144/148 Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1 Laurent Koscielny celebrates scoring an equaliser for Arsenal to make it 1-1 Getty Images 145/148 Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1 Laurent Koscielny scores a header from a Santi Cazorla free-kick to level the scores Getty Images 146/148 Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1 Yaya Sanogo was preferred once again to start over Olivier Giroud Getty Images 147/148 Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1 Crystal Palace celebrate Brede Hangeland's goal on his debut to put the Eagles into the lead Getty Images 148/148 Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1 Arsene Wenger was in good spirits ahead of the game following the Community Shield victory the week before Getty Images
While the report claims personal terms have already been discussed, Arsenal are yet to agree a fee with the Champions League holders, with a £15m price tag said to have been put on Khedira. The two clubs do have a positive relationship given the negotiations surrounding the £42.5m transfer of Mesut Özil last year went rather smoothly.
Khedira is far from happy with how his Real career is coming to an end, and the 27-year-old has only made two appearances all season, having not played for the club since coming off the bench in the 4-2 defeat to Real Sociedad on 31 August.
Keep up to date with all the latest news with expert comment and analysis from our award-winning writersThis vision would not be well-received in 2012. The idea of a city removing sections of its downtown at will is typically seen as thoughtless and shortsighted - most likely a backlash to the era of urban renewal.
Having made its peace with the past, Rochester can rip out and rearrange streets and sections of that central core to its heart's content.
The embrace of suburban living is connected to the new kind of downtown, one that remains economically and culturally vital, but also dependent on those who must drive there:
Rochester didn't fight the suburbs, or the shopping centers rising to meet suburban needs. It simply capitalized on the things people like about shopping centers; wide varieties of merchandise, the fun of meeting people. And above all, in this day and age, a place to park.
Throughout the film, Rochester makes it clear that they too believe in the suburban culture sweeping the nation:
Forty-nine years later, the video gives us a glimpse of Rochester itself, as well as insight into how American cities wanted to be perceived in this time in history.
This is not the reputation imagined by Rochester Gas and Electric. In 1963, the company sponsored a video that portrayed Rochester as a contemporary metropolis. The video boasts of a city with the most sophisticated universities, sleekest corporations and best urban planning practices money can buy.
The news of Kodak's bankruptcy shed new light on the company's corporate home, Rochester, New York. Rochester's economic identity has long been pinned to its well-established corporate anchors. Beyond these companies however, the Flower City retains a fairly anonymous existence.
Specific examples of the city's approach to making Rochester more modern and prosperous are shown in the final 10 minutes. With almost 50 years of hindsight now, we can see it did not go quite as planned:
Here's another section that will feel the impact of the bulldozer. Surgery, tough yet tender, for Front Street in the future will be known as Genesee Crossroads - a complex of hotels and apartments, shops and promenades.
Bounded by the Inner Loop (an expressway that did some of the most lasting damage to the city's core), surface parking and an empty lot surround what little remains of Front Street. The legacy of the project, beyond the attractive public space along the river, is primarily its collection of single-use commercial buildings and surface parking.
Likewise in the future, the towering world headquarters for Xerox. Sidewalk engineers have a field day in downtown Rochester. That central core changes fast and furious...
Although Xerox did build its downtown tower, the company moved its headquarters to Connecticut while creating an expansive research park in the suburb of Webster. In 1970, the company established Xerox Parc in Palo Alto. It is argued that these moves helped keep Xerox globally competitive and that Kodak's inability to take a similar path accelerated its descent into bankruptcy.
The city solved the traffic problem and from there on private enterprise took over. Up! Up! Up the girders went. The framework for a new 18-story office building and hotel. The framework for a new retail complex centered about a new route, air-conditioned marketplace the size of a football field...A beautiful dream, yes. A magnificent merchandising idea.
(Right image courtesy of City of Rochester)
The film makes Midtown Plaza into the crown jewel of Rochester's ambitious transformation. In reality, the plaza began to lose its prestige and its tenants to the suburbs towards the end of the 20th century.
By 2007, then Governor Elliot Spitzer visited to announce that the state would fund Midtown Plaza's demolition and help pay for a new 40-story tower anchored by PAETEC (a telecom company). PAETEC no longer exists and the company that bought it will lease space in the redeveloped Midtown Plaza for 300 employees.
The ambitious rhetoric of the 1963 film is countered with this YouTube video using much of the same footage but also showing the plaza's declining state from the last decade (all accompanied by an especially somber score).
At times overzealous, the Jam Handy film has easily set itself up for parody by the city's future residents. Here is perhaps the most cutting of them created in 2006:
Somewhere between the original and the parody is what Rochester really did become. It's a city far from collapse. But it is, in many ways, just as far from the economic relevance it once held.Every night millions of mothers and babies all over the world co-sleep close to each other, and the babies wake up just fine. Instead of alarming conscientious parents, like the recent shocking and insensitive ad campaign in Milwaukee did, as reported in the Journal Sentinel, sleep advisers should be teaching parents how to co-sleep safely.
Since I’m a show-me-the-science doctor, consider the following:
Cultures who traditionally practice safe co-sleeping, such as Asians, enjoy the lowest incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Trusted research by Dr. James McKenna, Director of the Mother-Baby Sleep Laboratory of the University of Notre Dame, showed that mothers and babies who sleep close to each other enjoy similar protective sleep patterns. Mothers enjoy a heightened awareness of their baby’s presence, what I call a “nighttime sleep harmony,” that protects baby. The co-sleeping mother is more aware if her baby’s well-being is in danger.
Babies who sleep close to their mothers enjoy “protective arousal,” a state of sleep that enables them to more easily awaken if their health is in danger, such as breathing difficulties.
Co-sleeping makes breastfeeding easier, which provides many health benefits for mother and baby.
More infant deaths occur in unsafe cribs than in parents’ bed.
Co-sleeping tragedies that have occurred have nearly always been associated with dangerous practices, such as unsafe beds, or parents under the influence of substances that dampen their awareness of baby.
Research shows that co-sleeping infants cry less during the night, compared to solo sleepers who startle repeatedly throughout the night and spend 4 times the number of minutes crying. Startling and crying releases adrenaline, which can interfere with restful sleep and leads to long term sleep anxiety.
Infants who sleep near to parents have more stable temperatures, regular heart rhythms, and fewer long pauses in breathing compared to babies who sleep alone. This means baby sleeps physiologically safer.
A recent large study concluded that bed sharing did NOT increase the risk of SIDS, unless the mom was a smoker or abused alcohol.
See this article for all the research references supporting the above statements.
Parents often ask me, “Where should my baby sleep?” I respond, “Wherever you and your baby enjoy the best night’s sleep.” For most parents, this will be sleeping close enough to enjoy easy access to their baby for feeding and comforting.
For safe co-sleeping:
We recommend using a bassinet that attaches safely and securely to parents’ bed, which allows both mother and baby to have their own sleeping space, while baby still enjoys sleeping close to mommy for easier feeding and comforting.
If bed-sharing, practice these safe precautions: Place babies to sleep on their backs. Be sure there are no crevices between the mattress and guardrail or headboard that allows baby’s head to sink into. Do not allow anyone but mother to sleep next to the baby, since only mothers have that protective awareness of baby. Place baby between mother and a guardrail, not between mother and father. Father should sleep on the other side of mother. Don’t fall asleep with baby on a cushy surface, such as a beanbag, couch, or wavy waterbed. Don’t bed-share if you smoke or are under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or medications that affect your sleep.
We have enjoyed sleeping close to our own babies. I have promoted safe co-sleeping in our pediatric practice for nearly 40 years and have witnessed only positive outcomes, such as: babies sleep and grow better; promotes better bonding; breastfeeding is easier; and infants grow up with a healthy sleep attitude, regarding sleep as a pleasant state to enter and a fearless state to remain in.
Finally, I would like to clarify some nighttime parenting terms: “Co-sleeping” means sleeping close enough to baby for easy comforting, such as in a bedside cosleeper. “Bed-sharing” means mother and baby sleep side-by-side in an adult bed. If bed-sharing makes you uncomfortable in any way, I recommend the use of an Arm’s Reach Co-sleeper® Bassinet so you can continue to co-sleep confidently.
Because I highly value safe sleeping arrangements, I have thoroughly researched this subject. If you wish to read my research references that go into co-sleeping and bed-sharing in scientific detail, as well as more practical and safe nighttime parenting practices, consult the following:
Scientific Benefits of Co-Sleeping
Safe Co-sleeping Habits
7 Benefits of Sleeping Close to Your Baby
Co-Sleeping: Yes, No, Sometimes?
As well as our books, which can be ordered here:
The Baby Sleep Book: The Complete Guide to a Good Night’s Rest for the Whole Family, by William Sears, Martha Sears, James Sears, and Robert Sears, Little Brown, 2005
The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two, William Sears, Martha Sears, James Sears, Robert Sears, Little Brown, Revised Edition 2013.
SIDS: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding and Preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, William Sears, Little Brown, 1995.
From our family to your family, we wish you a safe and comfortable night’s sleep!
Dr. Bill and Martha SearsImage copyright Middlesbrough FC Image caption George Camsell has the best goal-scoring ratio for England
Who is England's best ever striker? It has been a question at the forefront of football conversations since Wayne Rooney became the national team's top goalscorer. But ask fans of a certain generation in Middlesbrough and there is only one answer.
George Camsell is probably the best England striker you have never heard of.
He averaged two goals a game for his country - a record ratio - and is Middlesbrough's all-time top scorer with 345 strikes in 453 appearances.
And, after hanging up his boots, the former miner discovered a young striker called Brian Clough.
So why, apart from among older fans, is he not talked about today as one of the greats?
Sadly for him and his legacy, Camsell had a knack of setting seemingly unbreakable records only to see them snatched away by the narrowest of margins. And, as Dr Alex Jackson from the National Football Museum says, people forget the second-placed.
His 59 league goals in an English season has only been beaten once and that was the very next year, by Everton's Dixie Dean.
Dean beat the record by one goal - and his record is regarded as one that will probably stand forever.
Camsell scored in nine consecutive games for England - and again only one person has bettered that.
Steve Bloomer scored in 10 games in a row for the Three Lions in the 1890s.
Camsell's career in numbers 18 Goals in nine games for England 345 Goals in 453 games for Middlesbrough, their all-time top goalscorer
59 Goals in 37 Boro games in 1926-27
24 Hat-tricks scored across his career
2 Goals a game averaged for England, still a record ratio today Getty Images
There are several other reasons why Camsell's feats might have been forgotten.
He was playing at a time when footballers generally did not attract the celebrity status that they do now. For a player in the 1920s to release an autobiography, for example, was unheard of.
And though his goalscoring prowess might have been phenomenal enough to nudge him into the public consciousness, he was overshadowed by the presence of Dixie Dean.
While Camsell was breaking records at Middlesbrough's Ayresome Park as Boro flitted between the top two divisions, Dean's mammoth goal hauls were helping Everton win titles and cups.
Image copyright British Pathe
Who was George Camsell?
Camsell was born in 1902 in the Framwellgate Moor area of Durham.
He started work as a miner but came to the attention of Middlesbrough after scoring 20 goals in 21 appearances in a season for Durham City.
His first appearance for Middlesbrough was on 31 October 1925, against Nottingham Forest.
The following year he netted 59 times - including nine hat-tricks - in 37 league games, then a new record.
His last game was a 3-2 win over Leicester City on 10 April 1939, in which Camsell scored the opening goal.
Camsell spent the war years working for factories on Teesside before becoming first a scout, then a coach and finally the assistant secretary of Middlesbrough FC.
While a scout he discovered a young Brian Clough.
He retired in 1963 and died at the age of 64 in 1966 shortly before England won the World Cup.
The way England squads were selected also might have gone against him winning more caps and boosting his profile.
Players were chosen by a committee and Dr Jackson said being selected for the England team was a reward for a period of good play rather than simply being among the nation's best.
Therefore many more players were called up for one or two games but few got the high number of caps their talent deserved.
And in Camsell's era there were simply far fewer international games. In the season he made his debut, 1928-29, there were just six matches. Last season England played 10 times and the year before it was 14 - and would have been more but for an early departure from the World Cup.
But Camsell deserves to be remembered in the same way as Dean, Dr Jackson said.
"His record speaks for itself," he said.
"The problem he has is people still talk today of Dixie Dean because he holds the record for league goals scored in an English season, no-one ever talks about who finished second, no matter how remarkable that person is.
"Camsell is remembered as a local hero rather than a national one but he is certainly up there with the game's all-time greats."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Dixie Dean scored a record 60 goals in an English season while Middlesbrough legend Wilf Mannion was a keen admirer of George Camsell
But would he want a fuss to be made?
"He was proud of what he achieved but he didn't like to blow his own trumpet, he didn't really talk about his achievements much," said his son, also called George Camsell.
"But I think he deserves to be commemorated," he told BBC Tees.
Outside Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium there are two statues of past players - club legends George Hardwick and Wilf Mannion.
But there should be a third of Camsell, according to local historian Paul Menzies.
"He is a legend who scored goals everywhere he played," said Mr Menzies.
"He was Middlesbrough's top goalscorer for 10 years in a row.
"And he scored in every game he played for England. You have to remember there weren't the number of internationals then, Wayne Rooney has scored 50 in 107 internationals, what George Camsell would have scored in 107 internationals is beyond belief.
"He never played for England without scoring a goal, phenomenal."
Image copyright National Football Museum Image caption George Camsell (front row, third from left) was Middlesbrough's top goal scorer 10 years in a row
And Mr Menzies said one of the Riverside statue subjects, Wilf Mannion, would have wanted to see Camsell equally revered.
"I spoke to Wilf about George Camsell and Wilf always talked about him in absolute awe, almost as if he were talking about a God-like figure."
A suite at the Riverside is named after Camsell and a club spokesman said a statue of him could never be ruled out.
"As a club we honour and respect our former heroes and George Camsell is certainly one of those," the spokesman said.
But more needs to be done, according to George Camsell Junior.
"He was an amazing footballer," he said.
"He got his chance in Middlesbrough's first team after the centre forward was injured.
"He came into the team after four games of the season and never looked back from there."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A Middlesbrough spokesman said a statue of George Camsell going up alongside tributes to Wilf Mannion and George Hardwick could not be ruled out
And his goalscoring might have been even better had he taken penalties.
"He took one or two penalties at the beginning but he missed one," said Mr Camsell.
"After that he said he wouldn't take any more.
"He knew where the goal was and went for it, not like today when they play across the pitch.
"He went from north to south not east to west.
"After the football he took up bowls, he won a load of trophies for that, and he was also good at tennis and snooker, he was a talented all-rounder."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Wayne Rooney is England's all-time top goalscorer
So how would Camsell compare against today's footballers?
It's impossible to say, said Dr Jackson.
A change in the rules shortly before he joined Boro made it harder for players to be caught offside, allowing strikers to net more goals than previously.
But defenders were tougher then too and stronger challenges abounded, so forwards had to cope with a much more physical game than they do today.
"He was a phenomenal footballer," Dr Jackson said.
"His achievements deserve to be recognised."This week in Tech Law, Mason Hayes & Curran revives an earlier post which considers mobile apps and data protection.
With the increase in demand for smart devices reflecting a consistent decline in the PC market, the app sector is booming.
Smart devices collect and produce significant quantities of data, many of which are personal data. Users create and save large amounts of data, while the devices themselves also collect and process data from their range of sensors.
Application programming interfaces (APIs) enable apps to access the device components and the variety of sensors via the operating system (OS). APIs may provide apps with the ability to access and write contact data, send various forms of messages, use the camera, record audio and access stored pictures. APIs can also provide device information by way of a device’s unique identification number (UDID).
EU guidelines for data protection in apps
By the very nature of most apps, personal data is collected for the software to function. The EU Data Protection and ePrivacy Directives apply to any app targeted at, or used by, EEA users, regardless of app developer or app store location.
These requirements cannot be contracted out of or waived, and result in a duty to process, retain and protect data in accordance with the law. In line with the increasing regulatory scrutiny of apps, the Article 29 Working Party recently published WP202, ‘Opinion 02/2013 on apps on smart devices’.
The Opinion suggests that a relevant factor of the app development landscape is the range of actors involved. Although app developers are primarily viewed as the ones who control and process the data, other parties such as app owners, app stores, OS and device manufacturers, and additional third parties such as analytics and advertising providers, may also access and process data. The Opinion asserts that a great deal of the data protection risk comes from this degree of fragmentation.
Privacy risks in an immature sector
As the app development cycle tends to be notably short, and in light of the fact that countless apps are developed by individuals, many of whom may be based outside the EU and unfamiliar with such legal requirements, privacy can tend to take a backseat in the journey to market. In addition, the market itself is still relatively immature, having only developed in the last decade alongside an increase in the amount and types of data being captured and processed.
A torch app for Android, which had been downloaded between 50m and 100m times came within the FTC’s headlights for silently sharing location and UDID data. The privacy policy failed to disclose the sharing of data with third parties, and the app itself was found to have collected and sent information before users had accepted, or refused, the terms of the agreement.
Notwithstanding the focus on the individuals and inexperienced developers, larger outfits have also faced regulatory oversight and criticism.
Building privacy-conscious apps
Although app compliance with privacy laws is improving, problems frequently stem from the inadequacy (either in timing or information) or non-existence of the privacy policy and from a lack of meaningful consent.
Transparency is a key aspect of data protection compliance and a clear, understandable and easily accessible privacy policy is a considerable step in the right direction. Sufficient disclosures in the privacy policy, particularly where surfaced to users prior to installation, assist in ensuring users’ consents are adequately captured. The Opinion also recommends seeking granular consent for categories of data access, and updated consent when changing processing purposes.
It is important that all stakeholders understand their privacy obligations. Privacy should be considered at all stages of development and production. Data minimisation practices – particularly with regard to location, contacts and UDID data – should be observed to avoid unnecessary collection or processing.
With the growth in the app sector mirrored by a marked increase in regulatory scrutiny, considerations of privacy and data protection should be front and centre.
By Jevan Neilan, associate, Mason Hayes & Curran
Tech Law is a weekly series brought to you by Irish law firm Mason Hayes & Curran, whose legal tech team advises the world’s top social media organisations and emerging start-ups. Check out www.mhc.ie for more.
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Apps development image by Bloomua via Shutterstock© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. "She was just a spunky little pocket rocket," her skydiving instructor said. This 90-year-old grandmother sure knows how to have a soaring good birthday.
When Beth Long, who lives in Boise, Ohio, was asked what she wanted to do for her birthday, her granddaughter Briana Gordon told InsideEdition.com that she only had one suggestion: "I think I want to go skydiving. What else do you do when you're 90?"
Beth gathered her entire family, with sons and grandchildren arriving from California, Wyoming, and Colorado for a day at the Skydown Skydiving in Idaho, located 30 minutes from her retirement community.
Gordon said that Beth didn't allow anyone, who "physically can", to be excused from the trip.
Her skydiving instructor, Derek Sluder, told IE.com that despite her being his oldest client, she was the only person in the family who was not one bit nervous about the tandem jump from 13,000 feet.
"She was just a spunky little pocket rocket," Sluder told IE.com, including that she didn't seem one bit nervous.
Beth was joined by her eldest son, Bob Long, and her granddaughter, Nicole Long, as they boarded the first flight. The rest of the family followed close behind on the second plane.
The skydiving instructor said that in addition to making sure she had consent from her doctors, the team went over her physical capabilities.
Because she had shoulder problems Sluder said she couldn't raise her arms above her head, so he helped her put on her goggles and her hat and instructed her to hold onto her shoulder straps during the dive.
"I asked her just before she left if she was ready to go. She said, 'Yeah, but first you have to open the door,'" Sluder laughed.
Leaving her hearing aids behind, she dove off the plane and can be seen in the skydiving footage with the biggest grin the entire time.
"Once we got down to the ground, she was wondering why she waited so long and was ready to go again," Sluder told IE.com.
Her granddaughter Gordon said she was not the least bit surprised: "She's sort of an outdoorsy adrenaline junkie."
Gordon said, "She's always up for an adventure."
In addition to being the leader at a shipyard welding operation when she was young, Beth has gone white water rafting, hunting on horseback and even zip lining through Costa Rica on her 80th birthday.Last week, I submitted my article on a Thraben Inspector–fueled Thoughtcast deck before Steve Rubin won Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad featuring the very same 1-drop in his G/W Tokens deck. I’m doubtful my article would have changed at all, but it sure would have been nice to have a chance to watch Inspector on the highest stage and see if I could glean some wisdom.
Regardless of my omission by temporal means, the deck I posted generated quite discussion in the Pauper sphere. A number of players opined that adding red for Galvanic Blast aided them in closing out games, and the copies of Great Furnace made meeting metalcraft easier. Other players cut the second color entirely and opted for purely white decks that sought to apply pressure with Auriok Sunchaser and Porcelain Legionnaire. In all instances, the strength of Thraben Inspector was brought up as a key component.
Why is Thraben Inspector so good in Pauper? Despite the presence of cards like Firebolt, Chainer's Edict, and Mulldrifter, it is still a challenge to get a good two-for-one in the common format. Inspector not only replaces itself while adding to the board, it does this on turn one. While Doomed Traveler and Young Wolf both replace themselves, neither does so unassisted. No matter what happens, Inspector is going to give you a card—either it will trade with a Doom Blade and a Natural State or you will crack the Clue.
Inspector is not so far removed from Mulldrifter in this sense. Mulldrifter has two modes, and only one leaves behind a 2/2 flyer. Inspector, on the other hand, has two modes, and each leaves a 1/2 body behind. In a fight, Mulldrifter is going to come out ahead every time due to its natural evasion and 2 points power, but Thraben Inspector is going to cost less.
The cost is a real factor. 1-drops are good in Pauper, but playing too many puts a deck at risk of being blown out by Electrickery or Shrivel. Thraben Inspector circumvents this vulnerability with its second point of toughness. It does not seem like much, but it allows the creature to absorb the first attack Young Wolf and turns on removal. It also survives a single Cuombajj Witches. Thraben Inspector gives white a 1-drop that can compete in the format again.
The Thoughtcast deck I discussed last week placed the emphasis on the artifact nature of Clues but completely ignored another commonly played white card in Kor Skyfisher. Kor Skyfisher, the backbone of many Pauper decks, is a natural companion to Thraben Inspector in both value and beatdown. Kor Skyfisher can either set up Inspector to find another Clue in a grind or it can come down after Inspector at no tempo loss by eating the token.
It is this second element that adds to the attraction of the pairing. Too often these days, Kor Skyfisher is only seen in decks in which it can return a land or a 2-mana artifact (like Prophetic Prism) to delay board development for the sake of a card. These decks completely ignore that Kor Skyfisher is a fantastic beatdown creature on the second turn. Kor Skyfisher used to have a natural home swinging for 2 in Mono-White Aggro, but that deck has fallen by the wayside. Thraben Inspector can help reestablish the deck as a competitor in the current metagame. In order to understand why it is time for white beatdown to come back, we have to look at its history and its downfall.
In the past, the deck centered on powerful 2-drops—Kor Skyfisher and Squadron Hawk. Kor Skyfisher is a great card and matched up well with the format’s threats back in the day. It could trade with Insectile Aberration, block Spire Golem, and eat any 2/2 that Mono-Black Control could muster. Skyfisher could “draw” a land by sending a tapped Plains to the hand to be replayed. The Zendikar standout could also reset a transformed Loyal Cathar or a Safehold Elite with a -1/-1 counter. Both of these scenarios gave the white deck a chance to compete against removal-heavy strategies and fit extra creatures into a deck without taking up an actual card slot.
White decks would start on Icatian Javelineers (to handle Delver), Benevolent Bodyguard (to stop removal), Doomed Traveler (as Edict defense), or Goldmeadow Harrier (as a way to fight singular threats). Squadron Hawk on turn two would provide gas for the next few turns, and finally, the plan would top out on Guardian of the Guildpact or Razor Golem. In all instances, Bonesplitter was a key element allowing these otherwise paltry creatures to trade up and pile on damage. Sunlance, Journey to Nowhere, and Oblivion Ring all helped to clear the path. The deck won by just outlasting removal and opposing creatures. It was the ultimate fair deck.
Fair decks lose to unfair ones. In a world with Affinity, Tron, and Esper Combo, traditional white aggro simply could not compete. While it still were able to fight other decks that operated within the rules of Magic, it could not handle those that could generate an overwhelming mana advantage. Simply put, white aggro wanted to play out two creatures a turn, and against Affinity, Tron, Combo, and Elves, that simply was not enough. So what did white decks do? They tried to play unfair as well.
White decks shifted almost entirely to a token strategy. Raise the Alarm and Battle Screech played extremely well with Guardians' Pledge and Ramosian Rally. Triplicate Spirits provided another army in a can, and Tokens overtook the midrange build as the white deck of choice. It had explosive draws and could run Suture Priest in the main as a way to bolster its own life total while throwing a wrench into the gears of Esper Combo. The token deck could generate unbeatable hands with creatures followed up by an Anthem.
When Cloud of Faeries was banned, the format shifted in such a way that Tokens was no longer a reasonable strategy. The absence of Cloud of Faeries Combo made it easier for other decks to slow down and run answers to a plethora of 1-toughness creatures. Veteran Armorer and Lumithread Field could do work against Electrickery, but eventually, Tokens ran into the same problem as white aggro—decks that were more mana-efficient. Affinity and Tron were early winners in the world after Cloud of Faeries, and both those decks could present large threats quickly and run Electrickery.
These are the same decks that gave the other Plains deck fits. What changed? Affinity and Tron were the big winners early, but at the end of Oath of the Gatewatch season, Stompy and Delver were the two most popular undefeated decks, and Kor Skyfisher white decks historically matched up well against those strategies. The paucity of other white decks made Sunlance an attractive removal spell, and Journey to Nowhere is always a good card. And let’s be real for a second: I really wanted to play Thraben Inspector into Kor Skyfisher. With all that in mind, here is a deck I ran in the Pauper League to a 4–1 finish:
Playing this deck taught me a lot about the current state of the format. My experience reinforced the value of turn one. Delver of Secrets, Young Wolf, Slippery Bogle, and Goblin Cohort are all high-impact plays that happen on the first turn. Mono-White Aggro has relied on Icatian Javelineers and Doomed Traveler in the past, but Thraben Inspector is on another level. Hitting it on the first turn provides a body that matches up well with other early threats and, as mentioned earlier, gives us a card down the road.
Mono-White attacks Pauper by lining up favorably against the removal. Currently, Pauper removal is very good at holding down a |
Couldn’t agree more.
Previously, comic books used to have social commentary without the preaching. These days, it’s all preaching without the commentary.
A lot of people who aren’t hard left-wing Liberal nuts have expressed disenfranchisement from that side of the partisan table. Moderate-Liberals, moderates and bipartisan Libertarians have been cast out of the social order of the hard-left’s Social Justice regime, and sadly that regime has taken a strong foothold in comic books, movies and video games… especially comic books, though.
In the gaming industry, SJWs learned that gamers are a lot more vocal about protecting their industry. While sites like Polygon, Vice, The Verge, Kotaku and everyone from the GameJournoPros continue their anti-gaming crusades against their own audience, the publishers and industry organizers have decided to bypass journalists by doing things like opening up E3 to the general public. Such a move caused various game journalists to whine and cry online about real gamers having access to the E3 trade show for the first time in many years, signaling a move away from publishers relying on SJW media outlets to cover their games. Comic books haven’t been so lucky.
Many top name super heroes were co-opted with third-wave feminist propaganda, like Thor; or bogged down in Democratic talking points like Captain America; or overrun with open-border advocacy like X-Men.
If you agreed with the politics then you’re right at home… if you didn’t? Well, it was basically take it or leave it.
The problem was that it has become a staple in almost all of Marvel’s top name brands to push far-left SJW propaganda. Instead of making new pro-Social Justice Warrior heroes, they decided to co-op the heroes who were already popular, since reboots of heroes like Mockingbird failed to garner an audience when it full feminist.
Maybe they’ll continue to make new heroes spouting the SJW propaganda, and maybe they’ll eventually garner an audience, but fans of the old heroes shouldn’t have to give up their favorites so people who don’t read comic books can virtue signal SJW inculcation as some kind of societal victory.Last edited: August 10, 2004
The Sensibilities of Our Forefathers The History of Sodomy Laws in the United States By George Painter
© Copyright, George Painter 1991-2002 New Jersey "Any person who kills...any person attempting to commit...sodomy, is guiltless and shall be totally acquitted and discharged." The Colonial Period, 1607-1776 What now is New Jersey was controlled by both the Dutch and the Swedes between 1623 and 1664, when it was taken by the English.1 It is unclear if either Dutch or Swedish laws ever were considered in force. However, because New Jersey was under the control of the Duke of York when England gained control, his laws, including a capital sodomy law, were spread to the area.2 In 1668, New Jersey enacted its own sodomy law3 that used the proscription from Leviticus, but exempted those under age 14 and victims of an assault from the death penalty.4 New Jersey was split in 1676 into East New Jersey and West New Jersey. The two colonies dealt with sodomy differently. In 1681, Quaker-dominated West New Jersey enacted a criminal code that was silent on the issue of sodomy.5 However, East New Jersey enacted a sodomy law in 16836 that was vague as to penalty. A long list of crimes, including sodomy shall be respectively discouraged and punished by the Judges and Courts of Justice in this Province, according to the nature and kind of the said respective Offenses.7 King James II of England revoked the charters of both halves of New Jersey in 1688, thus restoring them as royal colonies subject to English law, thus reinstating the death penalty for sodomy throughout the state.8 In 1702, the two colonies were reunited and New Jersey continued to operate off English law.9 However, there apparently was a great deal of animosity to the merger. In 1704, the New Jersey legislature adopted a statute10 "for uniting and quieting the minds of all her majesty’s subjects within this province." Because of "public quarrels and private animosities" in the colonies and because "disorders, irregularities and misdemeanors" were committed in both the eastern and western provinces, a "general pardon" was thought necessary to calm the populace.11 Therefore, a pardon was issued to all individuals charged with any crime except for 11 apparently especially heinous crimes exempted. Sodomy was not one of the 11, so, if there were any pending sodomy prosecutions, they were abandoned as of that date.12 A law of 173013 imposed a duty on persons bringing into the colony anyone convicted of a number of crimes, including sodomy. Anyone so importing a person was required to pay £5 to the provincial government and to the collector of the port, and was required to post £50 bond for one year’s good behavior by the convicted sodomite.14 The first New Jersey Constitution of 177615 contained a provision that the common and statute law of England "as have been heretofore practised in this Colony" were to remain in force.16 Period Summary: New Jersey’s early history on criminalization of sodomy is not clear. Both Dutch and Swedish colonies existed prior to the English takeover, but it does not appear that either the Dutch nor Swedish criminal code was recognized as in force. Once under English jurisdiction, New Jersey enacted a standard capital sodomy law, but later was separated into two colonies. In one, sodomy became legal and in the other, it was mentioned as a form of evil in the code, but its penalty was uncertain. The colonies reunited in 1702 and, although no statute said so, English law became operative throughout the colony. This brought the capital "buggery" law into operation. During the Revolution, New Jersey’s first constitution retained the familiar English laws. The Post-Revolution Period, 1776-1873 A new law adopted in 179617 created a statutory sodomy law, abolished the death penalty for it and replaced death with an unspecified fine and solitary imprisonment at hard labor for a period of up to 21 years. This became the first sodomy law in the nation to adopt the term "crime against nature."18 A statute of 179919 abrogated English statutory law.20 Another law revision in 184621 limited the fine for sodomy to $1,000 and eliminated the solitary confinement provision. The hard labor and 21-year maximum sentence remained.22 A new provision also permitted a death sentence for anyone who, in the course of committing or attempting to commit sodomy, killed another person.23 Period Summary: Although clinging to English law during the pre-federal era, New Jersey was one of the earlier states to rid itself of them afterward. Its sodomy law of 1796 made New Jersey one of the first states to eliminate the death penalty and, three years later, all English laws were abrogated. The Victorian Morality Period, 1873-1948 I. Sodomy In 1884, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled, in Van Houten v. State,24 that indecent exposure could be prosecuted in the state, even if no one saw the act. Thus, any kind of erotic activity could be prosecuted even without a complaint lodged by a viewing third person. The next change to the New Jersey law occurred in 1898.25 This was one of the most sweeping anti-sodomy laws ever enacted in the United States. The sodomy provision itself was not changed. However, additional sections showed how it was treated at this time. A defendant in a sodomy prosecution was permitted up to 20 peremptory jury challenges,26 but could not be bailed.27 An assault to commit sodomy could lead to a fine of up to $3,000 (three times higher than for the completed act) and/or imprisonment for up to 12 years.28 Compounding sodomy29 and concealing it30 both were made misdemeanors. A "conspiracy" to commit sodomy was exempted from the provision that said conspirators could not be prosecuted unless one or more of the parties committed "some act...to effect the object thereof[.]"31 The 1846 law that permitted a murder charge against someone committing or attempting sodomy that led to a death was retained.32 Murder committed in perpetration of sodomy was automatically murder in the first degree.33 Perhaps the most chilling provision was that any person who killed someone "attempting to commit" sodomy was "guiltless, and shall be totally acquitted and discharged."34 This law made no reference to a necessity that the attempt be made on the person doing the killing. Presumably, it was broad enough to allow the killing of consenting adults, if they were "attempting" sodomy and someone saw them. In 1906, a supplemental statute was enacted35 that any person who shall in private be guilty of any act of lewdness or carnal indecency with another, grossly scandalous and tending to debauch the morals and manners of the people, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.36 This law obviously was broad enough to outlaw any form of erotic activity between consenting adults in private. The first reported sodomy case in the state was State v. Pitman,37 decided in 1923. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that evidence as to the condition of the victim’s rectum three days after an alleged assault was admissible, as was evidence of the rectum’s condition four months later. The Court felt that this evidence could be used by a jury to decide if the condition was "abnormal and significant."38 Just a few months later, the same court was faced with a case under the private lewdness statute. In State v. Michalis,39 the New Jersey Supreme Court rejected what may have been an early privacy claim. William Michalis and James Drake had been arrested and Michalis argued that their actions did not fall under the 1906 law since they were committed in private, and therefore did not "debauch the morals and manners of the people."40 The Court felt that the test to see if an act violated the law was whether the act would debauch morals if the act were committed in public and, if so, it was "immaterial" if the act were committed in public or private.41 With this logic, marital intercourse in private was illegal also since, if it occurred in public, it would debauch morals. The sodomy law42 was amended in 1926 to provide a 5-30-year penalty for sodomy if "any person" engaged in sodomy with anyone under 16. This would permit such a severe penalty for a 16-year-old in a relationship with a 15-year-old. In 1930, another supplemental law43 was enacted that prohibited solicitation for "unlawful sexual intercourse, or any other unlawful, indecent, lewd or lascivious act."44 This wording did not require the solicited activity to be unlawful. II. Sterilization In 1911, New Jersey enacted a sterilization law.45 The law, signed by Governor and future President Woodrow Wilson, authorized the sterilization of insane, epileptic, and retarded persons, as well as certain criminals, including those convicted of such succession of offenses against the criminal law as in the opinion of this board of examiners shall be deemed to be sufficient evidence of confirmed criminal tendencies.46 Two years later, in 1913, New Jersey made history by being the first state to have its sterilization law ruled unconstitutional. In Smith v. Board of Examiners of Feeble-Minded,47 a unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court found the law lacking. The opinion by Justice Charles Garrison questioned how far the law could go. If the enforced sterility of this class be a legitimate exercise of governmental power, a wide field of legislative activity and duty is thrown open to which it would be difficult to assign a legal limit.48 Amazingly anticipating the Nazis, Garrison noted a possible abuse of the law. Racial differences, for instance, might afford a basis for such an opinion in communities where that question is unfortunately a permanent and paramount issue.49 Addressing the argument that sterilizing such people today will save the taxpayers lots of money in the future, Garrison believed that the argument is not deserving of serious consideration. The palpable inhumanity and immorality of such a scheme forbids us to impute it to an enlightened Legislature that evidently enacted the present statute for a worthy social end, upon the merits of which our present decision upon strictly legal lines is in no sense to be regarded as a reflection.50 Period Summary: New Jersey’s new sodomy law of 1898, coming less than a decade after the Alice Mitchell and Oscar Wilde cases, contained harsh provisions concerning sodomy, including one that was unique. It became legal to kill any person committing or attempting to commit sodomy, whether the person doing the killing was being victimized or merely was a witness. A very broad supplemental law of 1906 outlawed any "private lewdness," which would cover any erotic activity whatsoever in a person’s own home. The second reported sodomy case raised the question of the right of the state to penalize private lewdness, but the courts affirmed the power of the state in such matters. It was held that acts in private could be penalized if they could be penalized if committed in public. As so interpreted, this would make penile-vaginal intercourse between a married couple a crime in their home, because it would be a crime if committed in public. New Jersey was among the first group of states to enact a sexual sterilization law. This law covered unspecified undesirables, but never was utilized. The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously struck down the law on broad civil liberties grounds, anticipating the Nazis’ use of such laws two decades later. The Kinsey Period, 1948-1986 New Jersey also was interested in the issue of psychopathic offenders, but, unlike most states, believed that a careful study was necessary before enacting legislation. In 1949, a joint resolution was adopted51 that authorized a broad-based committee to look into whether the habitual sex criminal, the sexual deviate or the sex psychopath should have specific recognition in our statutes for the prevention, treatment and cure of persons engaged in repetitious sex offenses.52 The committee also was charged with establishing "a concise definition of the sex deviate and sex psychopath."53 The result of this study was a law enacted in 195054 that was much narrower in focus than most. Sodomy and an attempt to commit it both were triggering offenses, but only if the acts occurred with violence or with an adolescent under age 15.55 This law turned out to be, unwittingly, the model law of the nation and later was praised by officials as being the nation’s only psychopathic offender law that actually worked.56 A comprehensive revision of state law in 195157 raised the maximum fine for sodomy to $5,000, but generously lowered the maximum prison term from 21 to 20 years. The hard labor provision also was repealed.58 An appellate court decided State v. Johnson59 in 1952. It decided that the date on which an act of sodomy occurred was irrelevant to a conviction, saying that "sodomy is a crime whenever committed."60 In the 1953 case of State v. Morrison,61 a trial court ruled that "acts approaching cunnilingus" did not violate the sodomy law,62 but felt it important to moralize. The offense has always been regarded as something so base and defiling as to be dealt with only in veiled terms. Latin was the medium of expression used in common-law indictments charging sodomy, and ancient and modern precedents are in accord that such indictments and informations need not be cast in particular terms descriptive of the act committed.63 The Court then noted that the defendant could have been prosecuted for "his revolting acts" under the lewdness act, but lamented that the penalty for it was less severe than for sodomy.64 In the 1957 case of State v. Sinnott,65 the New Jersey Supreme Court divided 6-1 to uphold the conviction of a school janitor for sodomy with several teenage males. The Court decided that the defendant had a "right" to state his marital and parental status, but found that Sinnott’s "right" had been recognized in the trial.66 The Court also found that the prosecutor’s summation, including Biblical references, was "within the bounds of fairness[.]"67 The Court also sustained the trial court’s exclusion of the expert testimony of a psychiatrist who had interviewed Sinnott while he was under the effects of sodium pentothal. The psychiatrist’s conclusions were that Sinnott was "not a sex deviate" and that he "did not have the capacity to commit sodomy."68 Because the interview occurred on the defendant’s own, it was labeled as "hearsay" and, therefore, as excludable.69 A fascinating case was the next sodomy case to be reported in New Jersey. In 1960, an appellate court decided State v. Fleckenstein,70 in which the conviction of an attorney was upheld. Edward Fleckenstein was accused of picking up "young boys" on highways (presumably they were teenagers, old enough to hitchhike)71 and committing acts of "lewdness and carnal indecency" with them.72 Fleckenstein raised the issue of a political frame-up in his appeal, asserting that long standing disputes and feuds between defendant and the Army...his heading a McCarthy organization, his arrest in Germany by the Army and forcible expulsion from that country and his law suits and threatened suits against the Army, play an obvious role.73 Thus, a right-winger who supported Joseph McCarthy’s anti-Gay crusade himself was charged with sexual acts with young males. The Court could find no reversible error, and affirmed Fleckenstein’s conviction.74 The New Jersey Supreme Court decided State v. Taylor75 in 1966. Nine prisoners had been convicted of committing sodomy upon a tenth one under forcible circumstances. At trial, one prisoner said that he had seen one defendant "on top of" the victim "in an act of sodomy" the night before, presumably in a consensual act. In addition, he said that he "often" saw them with their arms around each other. In rebuttal, both alleged lovers denied having a relationship. Because one prisoner’s confession was admitted into the joint trial, the convictions of the only other two who appealed were reversed unanimously. Six of the nine never appealed, but their convictions would have been overturned had they done so. In 1970, in State v. Still,76 an appellate court rejected the defendant’s contention that acquittal on a charge of attempting sodomy should acquit him automatically on a charge of making an assault with intent to commit sodomy.77 A new criminal code was proposed in 1971.78 Unlike most state revision commissions, New Jersey’s was charged, in part, with increasing "individual liberties" in suggesting a new code.79 Also unlike other states, New Jersey never had a comprehensive criminal code to revise, so the commission had to "start virtually from scratch."80 Provisions to abolish common-law crimes81 and to prohibit local governments from enacting criminal statutes in conflict with the state code82 were recommended. The sodomy provision would have legalized consensual sodomy and set the age of consent at the amazingly low age of 12.83 Although all sexual relations with a partner under 12 would be illegal, it would be a lesser crime if the victim was "a voluntary social companion" of the offender and "previously permitted the actor sexual liberties."84 Sexual contact, however, (touching) would be illegal with anyone under 16.85 A separate volume gave commentary that explained the reasoning of the commission. Common-law offenses should be abolished, the commission said, because modern law gives "rise to doubts about the constitutionality of some of the common law crime standards and definitions."86 The rationale for repealing the sodomy law was based on the grounds that no harm to the secular interests of the community is involved in a typical sex practice in private between consenting adult partners. This area of private morals is the distinctive concern of spiritual authorities.87 The extant law permitted "capricious selection of a very few cases for prosecution and serve primarily the interest of blackmailers."88 After such a thorough work product was produced, it would take seven years for the New Jersey legislature to act. The New Jersey Supreme Court decided the case of State v. Lair89 in 1973. The Court unanimously held that the sodomy statute was not unconstitutionally vague90 and applied both to same-sex and opposite-sex activity,91 but could not constitutionally be applied to married couples.92 In a concurring opinion, Chief Justice Weintraub added that he doubted the existence of a public interest sufficient to justify an edict that the homosexual shall behave as a heterosexual or not at all. The failure to recognize a status within which homosexuals may lawfully follow the dictates of their nature makes the application of punitive measures still more questionable.93 In 1976, just three years later, after a major turnover in membership of the Court, a far more liberal result was reached in the case of State v. J.O. and F.C.94 Two men had been arrested for engaging in consensual sex with each other in a car parked in a dark area in a rest area along a state highway. They were arrested by highway patrolmen specifically looking for such activity. In a surprising, unanimous vote, the Court ruled that the state could not prosecute the men because the actions did not occur in a public place. The Court noted that it was nearly impossible for anyone to have seen them.95 The last pre-repeal reported case in New Jersey was an odd one. In 1977, in State v. Cherry,96 an appellate court upheld the conviction of Tony Cherry for an act of forcible sodomy committed while a female friend held a knife to the neck of the victim.97 Cherry contended that imprisonment would constitute cruel and unusual punishment because it continually subjects him, because of his overt transsexualism [sic—transvestism?] to serious problems with other male prisoners and to the constant threat of homosexual attacks[.]98 In 1978, the New Jersey legislature enacted a criminal code revision99 that abrogated common-law crimes,100 repealed the sodomy law, and established an age of consent of 16.101 One State Senator, Joseph Maressa, got himself caught up in the anti-Gay mood of the nation during this year and introduced a bill102 to keep criminal consensual sodomy between people of the same sex. Maressa withdrew the bill early in 1979 after opposition from the public.103 An appellate court decided the case of State v. Ciuffini104 in 1978 after the repeal of the sodomy law, but before its effective date. The Court overturned the conviction of Ciuffini for a consensual act of sodomy with a male who was two months past his 16th birthday on the ground that the state established an age of consent for females at 16 and could not, without violating the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, prohibit males from consenting at the same age.105 The Court then went on to rule that the sodomy law was unconstitutional as it applied to consenting adults.106 Period Summary: After the Second World War, New Jersey showed a degree of liberalism on the sodomy issue unusual for the McCarthy era. Although it was one of the states to enact a psychopathic offender law, New Jersey studied the issue very carefully before adopting a law. The one adopted limited its applicability to sexual activity with minors, making it clear that consenting adults could not be processed under it. The penalty for sodomy also received a minor reduction, an act unusual for the McCarthy era. The state showed equal care in studying and proposing a revised criminal law in 1971. There were few reported sodomy cases during the period, but the state showed a growing support for privacy rights. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that married couples could not be prosecuted under the law, and later ruled that two men having consensual sex in a parked car could not be prosecuted under the "private lewdness" law, since their conduct was unlikely to be seen by others. The sodomy law was repealed and a legislative effort to reinstate sodomy as a crime failed after massive public opposition. The Post-Hardwick Period, 1986-Present A bizarre case decided by an appellate court in 2001 was State v. Cooke.107 Joseph Cooke was convicted of a sexual assault by fellating a man he knew while the man slept. The trial judge, disagreeing with the jury verdict, believed the sexual activity was consensual, so sentenced the defendant to probation and a fine. The appellate court found that the judge had no authority to overrule the jury’s finding and reinstated the sexual assault conviction. No explanation was given as to why any penalty would be assessed against consensual sexual activity, which has been legal in New Jersey for more than two decades. Period Summary: There are no published cases dealing with the limits of state power to regulate sexual activity in places such as restrooms or parked cars. Because of the decriminalization of consensual sodomy, only that occurring in semi-public places still may be subject to prosecution. Footnotes 1 The Earliest Printed Laws of New Jersey, (Wilmington:Michael Glazier, 1978), page vii. 2 Id. For detail on the Duke of York’s laws, see New York. 3 Grants and Concessions...of the Province of New Jersey 1752, page 79, no section numbering, enacted May 30, 1668. 4 Id. 5 Id. at 382-411. The date of enactment of the code was not preserved, but the legislative session that enacted it began Nov. 21, 1681. Arthur Schlesinger, general ed., The Almanac of American History, (New York:G.P. Putnam’s, 1983), page 63. 6 Grants and Concessions...of the Province of New Jersey 1752, no section numbering, at 227, and 237-239, enacted March 1683. 7 Id. 8 Arthur Schlesinger, general ed., The Almanac of American History, (New York:G.P. Putnam’s, 1983), page 66. 9 The English statute always just has been assumed to have been in force, for there is no reference to it in the early laws. However, close to a century after the surrender of power to the crown, and after independence from England was declared, a law was passed that made it clear that all English laws were considered in force. See Acts of the Council and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, from the Establishment of the present Government, and Declaration of INDEPENDENCE, to the End of the first Sitting of the eighth Session, on the 24th Day of December, 1783, (Trenton:Isaac Collins, 1784), page 222, ch. CCXC, "An ACT for regulating and establishing Admiralty Jurisdiction," enacted Dec. 18, 1781. The law contained a provision (§15, page 228-229) that admiralty crimes were to be prosecuted under the common law "in like Manner as if the Treason, Felony or Crime, were committed within one of the Counties of this State[.]" Also see the New Jersey Constitution of 1776, §22. 10 Acts of the General Assembly of the Province of New Jersey, from the Surrender of the Government to Queen Anne, on the 17th day of April in the Year of our Lord 1702, to the 14th Day of January 1776, (Burlington:Samuel Allison, 1777), page 4, ch. 4, enacted Dec. 12, 1704. 11 Id. 12 Id. at 5. 13 Samuel Neville, ed., Acts of the General Assembly of the Province of New-Jersey, From the Time of the Surrender of the Government in the Second Year of the Reign of Queen Anne, to this present Time, being the Twenty Fifth Year of the Reign of King George the Second, (???:William Bradford, 1752), page 210, enacted July 8, 1730. 14 Id. at 210-211, §2. 15 New Jersey Constitution of 1776, adopted July 2, 1776. 16 Id. §22. 17 Laws of the State of New Jersey; Revised and Published under the Authority of the Legislature, (Newark:Matthias Day, 1800), page 208, enacted Mar. 18, 1796. 18 Id. at 209, §VII. 19 Id. at 435, "An Act relative to statutes," enacted June 13, 1799. 20 Id. at 436, §IV. 21 A Digest of the Laws of New Jersey, (Philadelphia:Lippincott, 1855), page 160, "An Act for the Punishment of Crimes," enacted Apr. 16, 1846. 22 Id. at 162, §9. 23 Id. at 161, §3. 24 46 N.J.L. 16, decided during February 1884 term. 25 New Jersey Acts of the Legislature 1898, ch. 235, enacted June 14, 1898. 26 Id. ch. 237. 27 Id. §23. 28 Id. ch. 235, page 825, §113. 29 Id. at 799, §19. 30 Id. §20. 31 Id. §37. 32 Id. §106. 33 Id. §107. 34 Id. §110. 35 New Jersey Acts of the Legislature 1906, page 101, ch. 71, enacted Apr. 2, 1906. 36 Id. 37 121 A. 597, decided July 17, 1923. 38 Id. at 598. 39 122 A. 538, decided Nov. 10, 1923. 40 Id. at 539. 41 Id. Michalis remained in New Jersey and lived to see both the rise of the modern Gay rights movement and the repeal of the state’s sodomy and private lewdness laws. He died Sep. 2, 1978, some two weeks after the legislature passed the new criminal code. 42 New Jersey Acts of the Legislature 1926, page 282, ch. 172, enacted Mar. 26, 1926. 43 New Jersey Acts of the Legislature 1930, page 966, ch. 205, enacted Apr. 18, 1930. 44 Id. 45 New Jersey Acts of the Legislature 1911, page 353, ch. 190, enacted Apr. 21, 1911. 46 Id. at 354, §2. 47 88 A. 963, decided Nov. 18, 1913. 48 Id. at 966. 49 Id. 50 Id. at 967. 51 New Jersey Acts of the Legislature 1949, page 1009, Joint Resolution No. 5, enacted Apr. 11, 1949. 52 Id. at 1010, §39(a). 53 Id. §3(c). 54 New Jersey Acts of the Legislature 1950, page 454, ch. 207, enacted Mar. 23, 1950. 55 Id. §3. 56 Mattachine Review, June 1957, pages 18-19. 57 New Jersey Acts of the Legislature 1951, ch. 344, enacted Dec. 5, 1951. 58 Id. §2-168-1. 59 89 A.2d 482, decided June 17, 1952. This case was handed down just eight days after argument. 60 Id. at 483. 61 96 A.2d 723, decided May 8, 1953. 62 Id. at 727. 63 Id. at 724. 64 Id. at 728. 65 132 A.2d 298, decided June 3, 1957. 66 Id. at 302. 67 Id. at 303. 68 Id. at 304. 69 Id. at 304-305. 70 159 A.2d 411, decided Mar. 28, 1960. Cert. denied, 162 A.2d 338, decided June 2, 1960. 71 159 A.2d, at 413. 72 Id. at 412. 73 Id. at 413. 74 Id. at 417. The detail of this case is found in the complaint filed against Fleckenstein in New York when he was disbarred there. We learn that Fleckenstein had consensual sex with two 16-year-old males, one of whom came back for seconds. Fleckenstein’s prison term was suspended and he was placed on three years’ probation and fined $1,500. 75 217 A.2d 1, decided Feb. 7, 1966. Three cases were consolidated into this one. 76 271 A.2d 444, decided Dec. 1, 1970. 77 Id. at 445-446. 78 The New Jersey Penal Code: Final Report of the New Jersey Criminal Law Revision Commission, published in October 1971. 79 Id., Vol. I, page v. 80 Id. at viii. 81 Id. at 5, Section 2C:1-5(a). 82 Id. Section 2C:1-5(d). 83 Id. at 61, Section 2C:14-2. 84 Id. Section 2C:14-2(a)(3). 85 Id. Section 2C:14-4(f). 86 Id., Vol. II, page 11. 87 Id. at 196. 88 Id. at 197. 89 301 A.2d 748, decided Mar. 19, 1973. 90 Id. at 752. 91 Id. 92 Id. at 752-753. 93 Id. at 754. 94 355 A.2d 195, decided Mar. 25, 1976. 95 Id. at 196-197. 96 381 A.2d 49, decided Nov. 16, 1977. 97 Id. at 51. 98 Id. 99 New Jersey Acts of the Legislature 1978, page 482, ch. 95, enacted Aug. 10, 1978, effective Sep. 1, 1979. 100 Id. at 500, §2C:1-5. 101 See pages 547-552 for the new sexual offenses. 102 Senate Bill 1276, introduced July 27, 1978. The bill was sponsored by 19 of the 40 state senators. 103 5 Sex.L.Rep. 8. 104 395 A.2d 904, decided Dec. 6, 1978. 105 Id. at 905-906. 106 Id. at 907-908. 107 785 A.2d 934, decided Dec. 13, 2001. [Home] [New Jersey] [History] [Sensibility of Our Forefathers]Physicists announce the latest results from the proton-colliding experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) including tentative evidence for the existence of the Higgs boson
12.50pm: Cern, the European particle physics lab near Geneva, has called a special seminar at 1pm GMT at which scientists working on the two main detectors on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will share their results. They will hold a press conference at 3.30pm when they are expected to announce they have good evidence for the existence of the Higgs boson.
Follow events here as they unfold during the afternoon, including the announcement, the key data and reaction from around the world.
12.56pm: In case you've been distracted by other news over the past few months, here's a quick catch-up.
The Higgs boson is a subatomic particle that was predicted to exist nearly 50 years ago. Scientists have been searching for the particle for decades, but so far have no solid proof that it is real.
Although the Higgs boson grabs headlines – unsurprising, given its nickname, the God particle – it is important only because its discovery would prove there is an invisible energy field that fills the vacuum throughout the observable universe. Without the field, or something like it, we would not be here.
Scientists have no hope of seeing the field itself, so they search instead for its signature particle, the Higgs boson, which is essentially a ripple in the Higgs field.
According to theory, the Higgs field switched on a trillionth of a second after the big bang blasted the universe into existence. Before this moment, all of the particles in the cosmos weighed nothing at all and zipped around chaotically at the speed of light.
When the Higgs field switched on, some particles began to feel a "drag" as they moved around, as though caught in cosmic glue. By clinging to the particles, the field gave them mass, making them move around more slowly. This was a crucial moment in the formation of the universe, because it allowed particles to come together and form all the atoms and molecules around today.
But the Higgs field is selective. Particles of light, or photons, move through the Higgs field as if it wasn't there. Because the field does not cling top them, they remain weightless and destined to move around at the speed of light forever. Other particles, like quarks and electrons – the smallest constituents of atoms – get caught in the field and gain mass in the process.
The field has enormous implications. Without it, the smallest building blocks of matter, from which all else is made, would forever rush around at the speed of light. They would never come together to make stars, planets, or life as we know it.
12.58pm: The Higgs field is often said to give mass to everything. That is wrong. The Higgs field only gives mass to some very simple particles. The field accounts for only one or two percent of the mass of more complex things like atoms, molecules and everyday objects, from your mobile phone to your pet |
July 29, 2014. More than 100 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, a day after 10 Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza. UPI/Ismael Mohamad | License Photo
GAZA CITY, Gaza, July 29 (UPI) -- A call by Palestinian leadership for a 24-hour truce in the conflict between Israel and Gaza was rejected Tuesday by Hamas, the governing body in Gaza.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said an extendable truce was approved by Hamas and by Islamic Jihad, a smaller Gaza militant organization, but Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the report was untrue.
Another Hamas spokesman, Osama Hamdan, told CNN from Beirut, Lebanon, that Hamas would consider a proposal by Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian National Authority president, to send a delegation to a conference in Egypt that could lead to a cease-fire.
A prior cease-fire, negotiated in Egypt, was of little value, and short-term truces in the four-week long conflict ended quickly with both sides accusing the other of violating them.
Gaza's only power plant was hit with rocket fire Tuesday, leaving many without electricity.
Fahti al-Shiekh Khalil, deputy chairman of Palestine's energy authority, said at least 40 percent of Gaza's available fuel supply has been spent, and that the power plant will take a year of rebuilding to recover. He demanded Israel supply electrical power to Gaza.
"We cannot supply electricity. This is a disaster. We demand from Israel, since it is directly responsible to what happened to the power plant, to immediately substitute this quantity of electricity to Gaza, else they are responsible for all the humanitarian consequences in Gaza."
Israel reported Tuesday that four mosques, hiding "massive weapons caches," were struck by rocket fire overnight, but had no comment on the destruction of the power plant.For weeks now the mainstream media and the Clinton campaign has berated and ridiculed anyone who dared to question Hillary's nagging cough or bizarre behavior. In fact, just 5 days before Hillary's latest "medical episode" the WaPo declared that there was "zero evidence that anything is seriously wrong with Clinton" and insisted that the many "wacky theories" regarding her health were reserved only to those alt-right psychopaths emerging from the "fever swamps on the very fringe of the conservative movement."
Below are a couple of the quality one-liners from WaPo's article entitled, "Can we just stop talking about Hillary Clinton’s health now?":
Here's the thing: This is a totally ridiculous issue — for lots of reasons — and one that if Trump or his Republican surrogates continue to focus on is a surefire loser in the fall. The simple fact is that there is zero evidence that anything is seriously wrong with Clinton. If suffering an occasional coughing fit is evidence of a major health problem, then 75 percent of the country must have that mystery illness. And I am one of them. What Trump cannot — or, at least, should not — do is continue to engage with these wacky theories that emerge out of the fever swamps on the very fringe of the conservative movement. Every single person who believes in the Clinton health conspiracy is already for Trump.
Now, as we sit here today in a new world where even the most ardent Clinton propagandist knows deep down in their soul (despite what they write about "pneumonia" or "dehydration" in their left-leaning newspapers) that something went seriously wrong with Hillary over the weekend, the WaPo emerges to push perhaps the "wackiest" conspiracy theory offered up to date which comes via a Twitter post from Bennet Omalu who thinks that Hillary was poisoned by Putin and/or Trump.
I must advice the Clinton campaign to perform toxicologic analysis of Ms. Clinton's blood. It is possible she is being poisoned. — Bennet Omalu (@bennetomalu9168) September 12, 2016
I do not trust Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump. With those two all things are possible. — Bennet Omalu (@bennetomalu9168) September 12, 2016
If you think you recognize that name it's probably because you do. Bennet Omalu is the forensic pathologist played by Will Smith in the movie "Concussion."
But the WaPo didn't just write to draw attention to Omalu's "wacky" claim, they actually attempted to lend credence to his theory by noting Omalu's medical credentials and pointing out suspicions surrounding Putin's involvement in the poisoning death of a former KGB agent in 2006. Per the WaPo:
Putin, as The Washington Post reported, was implicated by a British inquiry in January in the poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB operative, in London in 2006. The Post’s Griff Witte and Michael Birnbaum wrote at the time: Although the inquiry stops short of conclusively blaming Putin — noting the opaque nature of Kremlin politics — it finds that there is “strong circumstantial evidence that the Russian State was responsible for Mr. Litvinenko’s death.” And citing the high-stakes nature of an operation to assassinate a former KGB officer on British soil, it finds that the operation would probably not have gone ahead without Putin’s direct approval.
Frankly, we're glad that Dr. Omalu spoke up, as the Hillary campaign could probably benefit from his insights right now...though we might suggest that his talents for spotting rare neurological conditions might be of more use than his ability to read toxicology reports.Ok, so here’s the second big video they cut out from our Star King performance. If you haven’t seen it already, you can check out our video with Super Junior here.
Anyhow, the whole scenario that we were supposed to do was a message to international fans. f(x) and Super Junior were going to say something for our video, which we would then broadcast on YouTube, which is why they let us bring our camera on stage. Buuuuuut then they cut that part out of the final version. So we decided to put it up here instead! Yeah!
We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again: Amber’s awesome. Totally awesome. Back when we saw her backstage at Inkigayo and spoke with her for a bit she was really fun and relaxed, and didn’t have any attitude at all. When we saw her backstage at Star King, she actually stopped us and asked us what we were doing there. Ha! After the show she asked us to do more Washing Machine-like videos, and that she saw our review of Danger. Sweet! And she didn’t hate us for it afterwards! We were worried that f(x) might be upset about our reviews (if they saw them) after we said that they brush off fart clouds in Danger and air out their crotches in Hot Summer, but they were totally fine with it – or at least Amber was. The other members didn’t really talk to us, so we don’t know whether they’re ok with our jokes or not.Donald Sterling Surrenders Control of Clippers... to Shelly
Donald Sterling SURRENDERS Control of Clippers to Shelly Sterling
EXCLUSIVE
is no longer the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Clippers... TMZ Sports has learned he just surrendered control to his estranged wife,, and she is now secretly negotiating with the NBA to sell the team... ON HER TERMS.Sources close to the Clippers organization tell us... Donald made the decision because he saw the handwriting on the wall -- as long as he remained in control, the NBA would order an involuntary sale of the team.Our sources say Shelly and her lawyer,, have been secretly meeting with NBA Commissionerand NBA lawyers to "resolve the dispute amicably." We're told Shelly realizes the NBA wants the team sold, but she has significantly more leverage and credibility with the league than Donald. Her end game is simple -- she won't object to the sale, but SHE wants to call the shots.Our Sterling sources say Shelly is prepared to sue the NBA and she will file legal docs (not the suit itself but papers laying out her case) on Tuesday if the NBA orders an INVOLUNTARY sale. She's down with a sale but only a voluntary one that puts her in control.Attorney Pierce O'Donnell would not comment on this story, but did say, "Shelly Sterling's preference has always been to find a way to resolve this dispute amicably with the NBA in a mutually satisfactory manner."Reuters The People's Bank of China officially announced the inter-bank negotiable certificate of deposits (CDs) on Saturday. The interest rate on these CDs will be determined by the market.
These certificates of deposit "can help banks secure a more stable funding source and offer liquid and safer underlying securities for investment products targeting individual investors," writes Societe Generale's Wei Yao.
Individuals, governments, and non-financial companies can't jump into this market just yet, but they can tap into it through funds and finance companies, says Bank of America's Ting Lu.
While this move was anticipated, it signals an important step in interest rate liberalization. China has yet to scrap its ceiling on deposit rates, which experts argue is the most important and challenging step in the process to true interest rate liberalization. We've previously explained why it's so difficult to liberalize deposit rates.
Yao expects Beijing to scrap the ceiling on long-date deposits, implement a deposit insurance scheme, and pass a bankruptcy law for financial institutions in the near term.
Here are the key guidelines to the certificates of deposit from Yao:
Issuers are depository financial institutions, including policy banks, commercial banks, rural credit cooperatives, and a few others.
CDs cannot be less than 50 million yuan ($8.2 million) per issuance and issuers must report to the central bank in advance of the total amount they plan to issue in a year.
CDs are to be invested and traded by interbank market participants, fund management firms and fund products.
CDs can be used as collateral for repurchase agreements in the interbank market.
CDs issued with fixed rates must be no longer than one year in duration, and must use the Shanghai interbank offered rate (SHIBOR) as the benchmark. Those with floating rates should be longer than one year in duration.Nicky Byrne's RTÉ 2fm co-presenter Jenny Greene may have let the cat out of the bag by hinting that the former Westlife star will represent Ireland at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Reports emerged this morning that the former Westlife singer would be representing his country at the annual event, but on his radio show this morning he refused to confirm or deny the speculation.
"I don’t comment on rumours, I never have done and anything you’ve read are unconfirmed reports," he said.
Jenny Greene and fiancée Kelly Keogh
Recently-engaged Greene on the other hand was a little bit more candid in her approach to the story adding, "The winning song from the Eurovision may or may not be performed live at my wedding but that’s where I'm leaving it."
According to his former Westlife band mate and Voice of Ireland coach, Kian Egan, if RTÉ do decide to select Nicky as Ireland's standard-bearer in Sweden, he will do Ireland proud.
Kian Egan says Nicky will represent the country well
Speaking to Neil Delamere on The Anton Savage Show on Today FM, Kian said Nicky's vast experience will stand to him on such a big stage.
"That’s a great thing for Nicky and a great thing for Ireland. I think he’ll represent the country very well"
“He’s a great singer, a great performer, he’s obviously got tonnes of experience," said Kian, adding that "Johnny Logan would want to watch out, Nicky Byrne is hot on his heels!”
Usually a Eurosong competition is hosted by RTÉ to find the song and performer that will go to the Eurovison on behalf of the country, however this year there may be a change to the format which has brought mixed fortunes for Ireland in recent years.
Molly Sterling performing at last year's Eurovision
Last year's represntative Molly Sterling and Cann Linn featuring Casey Smith the year before, both failed to qualify for the final. In 2013 Ryan Dolan made it out of the semi-finals however his song Only Love Survives finished up last after just picking up five points.
RTÉ was remaining tight lipped on any changes and would only say that "an announcement about the selection process will be made later this month, with all details to appear on rte.ie in due course".
Despite a few mis-steps in recent years, Ireland still holds the record for the most Eurovision wins, with seven in total. So the challenge for whoever represents Ireland, will be to defend our title at the Song Contest in Stockholm this coming May.RxSwift Safety Manual 📚
RxSwift gives you a lot of useful tools to make your coding more pleasurable, but it also can bring you a lot of headaches and… bugs 😱 After three months of using it actively I think I can give you some tips to avoid the problems I encountered.
Side Effects
Side Effect in computer science may be hard to understand, because it’s a very broad term. I think this Stackoverflow thread does a good job of explaining it.
So basically, a function/closure/… is said to have a side effect if it changes the state of the app somewhere.
In the context of RxSwift:
var counter = 1 let observable = Observable < Int >. create { ( observer ) -> Disposable in // No side effects observer. onNext ( 1 ) return Disposables. create () } let observableWithSideEffect = Observable < Int >. create { ( observer ) -> Disposable in // There's the side effect: it changes something, somewhere (the counter) counter = counter + 1 observer. onNext ( counter ) return Disposables. create () }
Why is that important in RxSwift? Because a cold❄️ signal (like the one we just created) starts new work every time it’s observed!
Let’s observe on observableWithSideEffect twice:
observableWithSideEffect. subscribe ( onNext : { ( counter ) in print ( counter ) }). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag ) observableWithSideEffect. subscribe ( onNext : { ( counter ) in print ( counter ) }). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag )
We would expect it to print 2 and 2, right? Wrong. It prints 2, 3, because each subscription creates a separate execution, so the code inside the closure is executed twice and the side effect(counter incrementation) happens twice.
It means that if you put a network request inside, it would execute two times!
How do we fix this? By turning the cold observable into a hot one 💡! We do this using publish, connect / refCount operators. Here’s a whole tutorial explaining this in detail.
let observableWithSideEffect = Observable < Int >. create { ( observer ) -> Disposable in counter = counter + 1 observer. onNext ( counter ) return Disposables. create () }. publish () // publish returns an observable with a shared subscription(hot). // It's not active yet observableWithSideEffect. subscribe ( onNext : { ( counter ) in print ( counter ) }). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag ) observableWithSideEffect. subscribe ( onNext : { ( counter ) in print ( counter ) }). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag ) // connect starts the hot observable observableWithSideEffect. connect (). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag )
It’ll print 2, 2.
Most of time time it’s enough if you just use the more high level shareReplay operator. It uses the refCount operator and replay. refCount is like connect, but it’s managed automatically - it stars when there’s at least one observer. replay is useful to emit some elements to observers “late to the party”.
let observableWithSideEffect = Observable < Int >. create { ( observer ) -> Disposable in counter = counter + 1 observer. onNext ( counter ) return Disposables. create () }. shareReplay ( 1 ) observableWithSideEffect. subscribe ( onNext : { ( counter ) in print ( counter ) }). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag ) observableWithSideEffect. subscribe ( onNext : { ( counter ) in print ( counter ) }). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag )
Main Queue
When observing in the view controller and updating the UI you never know on which thread/queue does the subscription happen. You always have to make sure it’s happening on the main queue, if you’re updating UI.
observableWithSideEffect. observeOn ( MainScheduler. instance ). subscribe ( onNext : { ( counter ) in print ( counter ) }). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag )
Error Events
If you have a stream of observables bound together and there’s an error event on the far end all the observables will stop observing! If on the first end there’s UI, it will just stop responding. You have to carefully plan your API and think of what’s going to happen when completed and error events are passed in your observables.
viewModel. importantText. bindTo ( myImportantLabel. rx_text ). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag )
If importantText sends an error event for some reason, the binding/subscription will be disposed.
If you want to prevent that from happening you use catchErrorJustReturn
viewModel. importantText. catchErrorJustReturn ( "default text" ). bindTo ( myImportantLabel. rx_text ). addDisposableTo ( disposeBag )
Driver
Driver is an Observable with observeOn, catchErrorJustReturn and shareReplay operators already applied. If you want to expose a secure API in your view model it’s a good idea to always use a Driver!
viewModel. importantText. asDriver ( onErrorJustReturn : 1 ). drive ( myImportantLabel. rx_text )
Reference Cycles
Preventing memory leaks caused by reference cycles takes a lot of patience. When using any variable in the observe closure it gets captured as a strong reference.
//In a view controller: viewModel. priceString. subscribe ( onNext : { text in self. priceLabel. text = text }). addDisposableTo ( self. disposeBag )
The view controller has a strong reference to the view model. And now, the view model has a strong reference to the view controller because we’re using self in the closure. Pretty much basic Swift stuff.
Here’s a small tip:
viewModel. priceString. subscribe ( onNext : { [ unowned self ] text in self. priceLabel. text = text }). addDisposableTo ( self. disposeBag )
Use [unowned self] without worrying it might be dangerous when adding disposable to self.disposeBag. If self is nil, then the dispose bag is nil, so the closure will never be called when self is nil - app will never crash and you don’t have to deal with optionals 🤗
self is not the only case you have to watch out for! You have to think of every variable that gets captured in the closure.
//Outside the view controller viewModel. priceString. subscribe ( onNext : { [ weak viewController ] text in viewController?. priceLabel. text = text }). addDisposableTo ( self. disposeBag )
It might get very complex, that’s why it’s a very good idea to keep closures short! If a closure is longer than 3-4 lines consider moving the logic to a separate method - you’ll see all the “dependencies” clearly and you’ll be able to decide what you want to capture weakly/strongly.
Managing your subscriptions
Remember to always clear the subscriptions you don’t need anymore. I had an issue where I didn’t clear my subscriptions, the cells were reused, new subscriptions were created each time causing some very spectacular bugs.
let reuseBag = DisposeBag () // Called each time a cell is reused func configureCell () { viewModel. subscribe ( onNext : { [ unowned self ] ( element ) in self. sendOpenNewDetailsScreen () }) } // Creating a new bag for each cell override func prepareForReuse () { reuseBag = DisposeBag () }
RxSwift is very complex, but if you set your own rules in the project and adhere to them, you should be fine 😇 It’s very important to be consistent in the RxSwift API you’re exposing for each layer - it helps with catching bugs.Pin 4 Shares
Writing a resume has changed substantially over the years, and no one knows this better than resume expert Louise Fletcher of Blue Sky Resumes. She spoke with us about how resumes have changed and how job boards can help job hunters do a better job.
What are some common misconceptions around resumes you see online?
Oh, so many! I’ll just choose a few, or we’d be here all day.
There are some myths that persist despite there being no evidence for them. One is that all resumes should be one page long. This is rubbish – in fact, if you have more than three to five years of experience, it’s usually not possible to tell your story on just one page. Most of the resumes we write are two pages long – occasionally for a very senior person, we will stretch to three.
Another misconception is that using very formal language with lots of big words makes you sound professional and serious. We find that the most successful resumes are simple and direct.
Finally, I’d say that lots of people think they have to hide their personality when they write a resume, and stick to just the facts, but I think the best resumes give the reader a real sense of the candidate’s personality and character.
What’s the first step for a new job seeker who hasn’t written a resume in a while? What should they focus on?
Two things:
Focus on what the employer needs. If you don’t have a specific job in mind, you’ll still be able to find out what’s important to employers in your target profession or industry. Look at job postings and talk to people and build a list of valued traits, skills and experiences.
Look at your own background and find the strongest match between your traits, skills and experiences, and those sought by hiring managers. Choose no more than two or three key selling points based on what you’ve learned and focus your resume on these. For example, a marketing manager might choose to focus on his ability to deliver results on a tight budget, his creativity on social media, and his strong Google analytics skills. He can now shape his whole resume around these three messages, writing a powerful headline and introduction, and telling compelling stories of success related to these three skills.
How can job board managers encourage their applicants to submit better resumes?
I think most job boards do an appalling job of helping candidates. Some have no information at all on resume writing, and some have a few generic articles. I think all job boards should have free courses or eBooks similar to the one I created for Blue Sky Resumes. A resource that walks people through the basics of creating a strong resume would make all the difference in terms of quality. Most people want to create a good resume – they just don’t know what’s expected.
Increasingly, job applicants can have their resumes scanned and used to fill in blanks on an application. What are the dos and don’ts of formatting your resume to make this easier?
Some employers still use old scanning systems to store resumes, but most have now moved to automated applicant tracking systems, where the candidate completes an online form and then uploads his or her resume. With these automated systems, formatting of the actual document doesn’t matter except for the key point that you must submit in the file format they request. If you don’t, their system may not read your resume correctly. The other key tip is to include as many important keywords as possible because recruiters will search the system using these keywords.
What are some resume mistakes that will get it put straight in the round file?
People often answer this question by saying typos or grammatical errors, but I don’t think that’s actually true. If a resume arrives on your desk and the candidate is perfect, you’re not going to toss them out just because of a typo. Not that people shouldn’t be careful, of course!
No, I think the reason most resumes get tossed out is that they don’t speak to the needs of the employer. It’s not enough to just tell your career history in chronological order. You have to market yourself and your skills by showing how you’ll add value.
What trends in resumes and applying for jobs should we be keeping an eye on?
I think a lot of people are trying to find alternatives to the resume – things like video resumes and online portfolios – but none of them have take off because they fail to take HR departments and recruiters into consideration. A recruiter just doesn’t have time to watch 100 video resumes – he or she wants to skim quickly to get the information they need. However, I think it’s becoming more common for companies – especially forward-thinking tech and new media companies – to look for ways around the resume. One alternative is using LinkedIn and asking people to apply directly through the site using their profiles rather than a resume. Another is to set up tests that have to be completed online and to judge applicants by their performance. Both are relatively new but something to keep an eye on.
It’s also amazing how fast social media has become a vital hiring tool. Surveys show that huge numbers of recruiters are Googling candidates’ names before calling them in for interviews, which makes it very important to have a strong, professional online presence that supports what you’ve said in your resume.
Pin 4 SharesThe choices for Greece now are clear.
In the first option, the European Union makes allowances: maturities for loans, especially short-term ones, are extended; there are concessions on interest rates; debt may be replaced with securities without maturity and a coupon linked to growth – Keynes-style “Bisque bonds”; the European Central Bank continues to support the liquidity needs of the Greek banks; and the hated Troika is renamed, to remove the odious association with the past.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
Despite the reduction in the value of the debt outstanding, the EU and lenders avoid a politically difficult explicit debt writedown. Syriza claims to have fulfilled its mandate to stand up to the EU and Germany, and reclaim Hellenic sovereignty and pride.
In reality, little changes. Under this scenario, Greece and the EU are back at the negotiating table within six to 12 months, confronting the same issues.
In the second option, Greece defaults on its debt but stays in the euro. (It is not clear how a nation in default can remain within the euro other than through the fortuitous absence of an ejection mechanism.) Greek banks collapse if the ECB decides to withdraw funding. Capital flight accelerates, requiring capital controls. The Greek Government is left with no obvious source of funding, other than a parallel currency or IOUs, as used during some government shutdowns in the US. Greece’s competitive position is unchanged as it purports to use the euro. The EU and lenders incur substantial losses on their loans.
In the third option, Greece defaults and leaves the euro, bringing in new drachmas. There is short-term chaos. Activity in Greece collapses. The EU and lenders face the same problem as in the second option. In addition, the euro is destabilised.
The third option allows Greece to regain control of its currency and interest rates. Sharp devaluation of the new drachma improves competitiveness, for example in tourism. The ability of the central bank to create and control money supply helps restore liquidity to its banks and provides a mechanism for financing the Government.
A cheap new drachma, if appropriately managed, may reverse capital flight, as the threat of a loss of purchasing power is reduced. A devalued currency may also help attract inflows of funds looking for bargains. In time, Greece regains access to capital markets as Russia did after its 1998 default.
Greece regains economic sovereignty but at the cost of reduced living standards as import prices sky-rocket and international purchasing power is diminished. But after the initial dislocation, a strong recovery may ensue.
The fourth option entails Greece caving into EU demands and continuing with austerity. Syriza may be able to manage the backlash against its concession on the short-term extension. But equally, the governing coalition may collapse, triggering elections.
Syria may return with a specific mandate to default and leave the euro. Alternatively, the Greeks may turn to the fascist, rabidly anti-Europe and anti-euro Golden Dawn party. A reversion to military rule, which only ceased in 1974, cannot be ruled out. The underlying economic problems remain.
Given the effects of existing policies on the Greek people, continued or further hardship is not a big threat. The EU and German assertion that a Greek default and exit from the euro (Grexit) is manageable with little risk of contagion is, hopefully, only a negotiating stance. It is akin to Dr. Strangelove’s belief in survivable thermo-nuclear war.
With around 85 per cent of Greek debt owed to official lenders, Grexit would immediately trigger significant losses on bilateral government loans, ECB holdings of bonds, and the loans made by bailout funds and under the Target settlement system.
The total amount at risk is about €256bn (£182bn). The exposure of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Finland are €73bn, €55bn, €48bn, €33bn, €15bn and €5bn respectively.
Grexit would also trigger capital flight from other vulnerable nations. Access to money markets for such states would fall and borrowing costs rise. The euro would become volatile. If the assumption is that the euro becomes the new German mark for a smaller eurozone group, it might appreciate sharply, reducing German export competitiveness.
It could also provide impetus to nationalist eurosceptic parties such as Ukip, Spain’s Podemos, France’s Front National and Germany’s AfD.
Once Greece defaults and/or leaves the euro, it would be hard to stop speculation about other peripheral nations, undermining the basis for the euro. Even without a full Grexit, any concessions to Greece would result in other countries seeking relaxation on budgets and reform. Debt and fiscal sustainability within the eurozone would become unachievable. There are no good options left to resolve the Greek crisis.
Satyajit Das is a former banker and author of ‘Extreme Money’ and ‘Traders, Guns & Money’
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
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Subscribe nowApple has applied for a patent (via AppleInsider) for a dock that lives at a user’s home, designed to work with an iOS device’s Siri function and make them into an always-on assistant with smart home potential. The dock would essentially work by giving an iOS device a larger touchscreen interface, speakers and a microphone for at-home use, effectively turning it into a car-style infotainment system designed for domestic use.
The dock would in theory operate like current iterations, but with the difference that it could be always listening for voice commands from a user. So you could set up a prompt (the patent makes this user controlled), such as a finger snap or specific word to start Siri listening and issue commands. Might I suggest “Okay, Siri”?
This would allow people to casually add events to their schedule, phone people, look up things or do whatever else you may want to accomplish with Siri, but while in the kitchen making dinner or in front of the TV relaxing with a book. The dock may not even require a phone to be physically connected: The patent includes provisions for a wireless feature that would make it a sort of remote speaker/interface (you can imagine using AirPlay for screen functions, too) and there’s even one incarnation that uses inductive wireless charging for a device placed on top.
Siri input has been rumored for Apple TVs, both those that exist and those that are merely fictional, in the past, but this invention would arguably be better since it could work with existing setups and transform your home into a Siri-powered smart control center in one step. Plus, with Apple’s iOS in the Car initiative, it would allow for seamless transition from mobile, to auto, to condo, which would really help Apple amp up the data capture and service improvement on Siri, and help users get more from the personal assistant. As with all patents, this one may never see the light of day, but it does present a piece of the puzzle that seems to fit with Apple’s larger strategic goals.Reporters Without Borders (RWB), or Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Paris, France, that conducts political advocacy on issues relating to freedom of information and freedom of the press.
Reporters Without Borders has two primary spheres of activity: one is focused on Internet censorship and the new media, and the other on providing material, financial and psychological assistance to journalists assigned to dangerous areas.[1] Its missions are to:
continuously monitor attacks on freedom of information worldwide;
denounce any such attacks in the media;
act in cooperation with governments to fight censorship and laws aimed at restricting freedom of information;
morally and financially assist persecuted journalists, as well as their families; and
offer material assistance to war correspondents in order to enhance their safety.
Background [ edit ]
Reporters Without Borders was founded in 1985 by Robert Ménard, Rémy Loury, Jacques Molénat and Émilien Jubineau, in Montpellier, France.[2] Its head office is in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris.[3] RWB also maintains offices in Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Madrid, Rome, Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna, and Washington, D.C. Their first office in Asia, located in Taipei, Taiwan, officially opened in July 2017.[4][5][6] Taiwan has been rated the top Asian nation in RSF’s Press Freedom Index for five consecutive years, since 2013, and ranked 45th in 2017.[7][8]
At first, the association worked to promote alternative journalism, but there were disagreements between the founders. Finally, only Ménard remained and he changed the organization's direction towards promoting freedom of the press.[2] Reporters Without Borders states that it draws its inspiration from Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according to which everyone has "the right to freedom of opinion and expression" and also the right to "seek, receive and impart" information and ideas "regardless of frontiers".
Ménard was RWB's first Secretary General. Jean-François Julliard succeeded Ménard in 2008.[9] Christophe Deloire succeeded Julliard in July 2012 when he became Director General.[10]
Reporters Without Borders' primary means of direct action are appeals to government authorities through letters or petitions, as well as frequent press releases. Through its world-wide network of roughly 150 correspondents, RWB gathers information and conducts investigations of press freedom violations by region (Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and the Americas) or topic. If necessary, it will send a team of its own to assess working conditions for journalists in a specific country. It releases annual reports on countries as well as the Press Freedom Index. It has launched advertising campaigns with the pro bono assistance of advertising firms to raise public awareness of threats to freedom of information and freedom of the press, to undermine the image of countries that it considers enemies of freedom of expression, and to discourage political support by the international community for governments that attack rather than protect freedom of information.[2]
RWB also provides assistance for journalists and media who are either in danger or are having difficulty subsisting. They provide money to assist exiled or imprisoned journalists and their families and the unsupported families of journalists who have been killed; to enable journalists to leave their home countries if they are in danger there; to repair the effects of vandalism on media outlets; to cover the legal fees of journalists who have been prosecuted for their writings or the medical bills of those who have been physically attacked; and upon occasion, to provide bullet-proof vests for use by journalists.[11]
Partners [ edit ]
Reporters Without Borders is a founding member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, a virtual network of non-governmental organizations that monitors free expression violations worldwide and defends journalists, writers and others who are persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
RWB has a presence in 150 countries through local correspondents who act as information relays and through close collaborations with local and regional press freedom groups, including:[12]
Country Organization Bangladesh Bangladesh Centre for Development, Journalism and Communication (BCDJC) Belarus Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) Burma Burma Media Association (BMA) Colombia Ceso-FIP (Solidarity Centre-International Federation of Journalists) Colombia Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER) Democratic Republic of Congo Journalist In Danger (JED) Eritrea Association of Eritrean Journalists in Exile Honduras Committee for Free Expression (C-Libre) Iraq Journalistic Freedom Observatory (JFO) Kazakhstan Journalists in Danger Mexico Centre for Journalism and Public Ethics (CEPET) Pakistan Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ) Romania Media Monitoring Agency Russia Glasnost Defence Foundation (GDF) Somalia National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) Sri Lanka Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) Thailand Thai Netizen Network (TNN) Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Journalists for Human Rights (ZJHR)
Awards received [ edit ]
Through the years RWB has received a number of awards, including:[2]
Publications [ edit ]
Reporters Without Borders issues press releases, fact finding reports, and periodical publications. It publishes periodic mission reports on developments in individual countries or regions or on a specific topic.[17] Each December it publishes an annual overview of events related to freedom of information and the safety of journalists.[18] It maintains a web site (www.rsf.org) accessible in six languages (French, English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Persian).[1]
World Press Freedom Index [ edit ]
2017 Press Freedom Index[19] Very serious situation Difficult situation Noticeable problems Satisfactory situation Good situation Not classified / No data
RWB compiles and publishes an annual ranking of countries based upon the organization's assessment of their press freedom records. Small countries, such as Andorra, are excluded from this report.
The report is based on a questionnaire sent to partner organizations of Reporters Without Borders (14 freedom of expression groups in five continents) and its 130 correspondents around the world, as well as to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists.[20]
The survey asks questions about direct attacks on journalists and the media as well as other indirect sources of pressure against the free press. RWB is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom, and does not measure the quality of journalism. Due to the nature of the survey's methodology based on individual perceptions, there are often wide contrasts in a country's ranking from year to year |
There They Go Again: It's Not Free Trade
The Washington Post is at it again, using a front page piece to repeatedly tell readers that the protectionist pacts crafted by recent administrations are "free trade." The phrase appears in each of the first two paragraphs.
Of course, the deals are not about free trade. They do deliberately place U.S. manufacturing workers in direct competition with low-paid workers in the developing world. This has the predicted and actual effect of lowering their wages. However, the deals leave in place the protections for highly paid professionals like doctors and lawyers.
It is still illegal to practice medicine in the United States unless you go through a U.S. residency program here. As a result of protectionist measures our doctors earn on average more than twice as much as doctors in other wealthy countries. This costs us roughly $100 billion a year in higher health care bills. "Free traders" would be upset about this.
The trade deals also put in place longer and stronger patent and copyright protections. As a result of these protections, we will spend over $430 billion this year on prescription drugs that would cost around one-tenth of this amount in a free market. Of course, protectionism like this is not free trade.
Educated types think they have to support free trade, so labeling these trade deals as "free trade" pacts undoubtedly wins them support among a substantial segment of the population. However, it is not accurate.Thieves around Seattle have made off with an estimated $2 million in Nintendo Wii U consoles, ABC and Kotaku report. According to ABC, the thieves drove two trucks into a warehouse at Seattle Air Cargo on Saturday night and hooked them up to semi trailers. From there, they allegedly used forklifts to load up 7,000 consoles on pallets and drove away. The original ABC report didn't specify whether it was boxes of the Wii U or the older Wii that had been stolen, but Kotaku has confirmed with the police that it was in fact the Wii U.
Now, police are looking for a pair of trailers marked with "McKinney" like the one above, as well as a Seattle Air Cargo truck, but a spokesperson has told Kotaku that they're more likely to find the goods by scouring sites like eBay or Craigslist for "great deals" that, while they didn't literally fall off the back of a truck, come pretty close. "It’s gonna be pretty hard to hide 7,000 Wii game consoles," says police Sergeant Cindy West. Nintendo, meanwhile, has declined to speak about any potential anti-theft measures built into its system.Twist Bioscience, cofounded by Emily Leproust, one of Fast Company’s 2015 Most Creative People in Business, has just sold 100 million base pairs of synthetic DNA to Ginkgo Bioworks. This single order is equivalent to 10% of total DNA synthesis capacity worldwide, and is the biggest partnership that currently exists in the world of synthetic biology.
A lot of fundraising went into this effort: Last year, both companies joined forces to raise $100 million in capital to facilitate this sale. The investment allowed Twist to produce synthetic DNA on a massive scale, and provides Ginkgo with the raw materials it needs to design new products and rapidly prototype them. Together, the companies are hoping to accelerate the pace of growth in the industry by pushing forward the cycle of designing, building, and testing new products.
Emily Leproust
So what exactly does one do with massive quantities of synthetic DNA? Companies like Ginkgo use these materials to modify the DNA sequence in biological organisms like yeast, bacteria, or algae to give it new functionality. For example, in nature, yeast ferments sugar to make alcohol, but by artificially editing its DNA, it can be used to create nylon. (You can now buy carpets made from nylon fibers produced by yeast rather than oil from DuPont.) Once DNA sequences have been edited in a particular organism, it will replicate on its own.
However, the process of producing synthetic DNA takes extensive testing. “The genomes [of naturally occurring organisms] that are being modified have evolved over millions of years, so they are very good,” Leproust explains. “Anything that we do to modify it usually doesn’t work immediately, so we need to experimentally try a lot of different modifications to find a combination that works for a particular application. It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”
While DNA editing has been possible since the 1970s, the cost of acquiring synthetic DNA and testing different sequences was high, so the design process took a lot of time. While the synthetic biology industry has been growing and driving the cost of production down, this new partnership will drive momentum.
A close-up of Twist’s 10,000-well silicon plate.
“In the past, the limitation has been how much DNA a company could afford,” Leproust says. “They may not have had enough DNA to try out all the necessary options to get the right fit.” Twist’s goal was to drive down the cost of synthetic DNA to the extent that a company such as Ginkgo has an almost unlimited ability to test and prototype. Twist’s major innovation involved the creation of a proprietary synthetic DNA manufacturing process that uses a silicon platform, rather than plastic plates that have been widely used in the industry. This has allowed them to produce high-quality synthetic genes faster and more cheaply. “This is a new paradigm in synthetic biology, because we can explore more options than we ever could before,” she says.
Synthetic DNA is currently used in four main industries. The production of chemicals ranging from biofuels to fragrances; agriculture, such as the creation of fertilizer; drug development; and as raw materials to conduct experiments in academia. Ginkgo focuses primarily on industrial chemistry, meeting customer needs in industries ranging from cosmetics to nutrition to health. As one example, Ginkgo has been modifying yeast to replicate the scent of a rose, since natural rose oil has been in increasing short supply. With its new batch of synthetic DNA, the company will be rapidly prototyping many more scents, flavors, and drugs that will hit the market over the next couple of years.The Geelong Cats are deeply saddened by the passing of Tom Hawkins’ mother Jennifer.
After a courageous battle, Jennifer passed away surrounded by family over the weekend.
The daughter of past player Fred Le Deux, Jennifer is survived by husband Jack and children Jane, Tom, Edwina and Charlie.
Geelong Cats Chief Executive Brian Cook said the passing of Jennifer had affected the whole club.
“Jennifer was a much loved member of the Geelong Cats family.
“Her life was intrinsically linked with this club and we will miss her greatly.
“At this time we will come together to support Jack, Jane, Tom, Edwina and Charlie and show them the love that Jennifer showed the club over many years.”
The club wishes to thank the media for the respect they have shown the family at this difficult time.
The Hawkins family now ask for privacy.Mitch McConnell: Republican Party Is At An 'All-Time High'
Enlarge this image toggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP J. Scott Applewhite/AP
While some of Washington's most prominent Republican leaders are still struggling over whether to endorse Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the call to do so last month — as soon as Trump became the likely nominee.
In fact, for all the talk of the GOP's upheaval, the Kentucky Republican says he doesn't think a Trump nomination will redefine the Republican Party in any substantial way. The party is now at "an all-time high," he said.
McConnell spoke to Steve Inskeep of NPR's Morning Edition about what he sees for the future of the GOP — as well as why he approves of Trump's Supreme Court picks and stance on border security, but thinks the candidate's proposed Muslim ban is a "very bad idea."
Interview Highlights
On Trump's picks for the next Supreme Court nominee
The single most important thing I would remind right-of-center voters in suggesting that they vote for Donald Trump is: Who do you want to make the next Supreme Court appointment? Donald Trump has already put out a list of 10 or 11 right-of-center, well-qualified judges, a list from which he would pick. I think that issue alone should comfort people in voting for Donald Trump for president.
On banning Muslims from entering the United States
It's a very bad idea. I mean, for example, the king of Jordan, who is a great ally of ours, wouldn't be able to come to the United States, and so that's not something I think we ought to do. Do we need to tighten restrictions on people coming into the country? I think there's a good argument for that, but a kind of broad ban is a bad idea, and, of course, many American Muslims are great sources of information as we seek to look for domestic folks who might be engaged in trying to promote terrorist activities.
On building a wall between Mexico and the United States
I think we do have border security problems, and all of these suggestions are worth looking at.... We would have to see whether that would actually produce the desired result. There are plenty of suggestions made. The border is way more porous than it should be, and I think we'd be open to discussing anything that enhances border security.
On what Republican voters want
I think the Republican Party is at an all-time high. We don't have the White House, but we've had very good years. The American people gave us a new majority in 2014. I don't in any way think the American people rejected the Republican Party, or we'd be in a lot worse shape than we are. I think in this particular election, however, Republican primary voters are looking for an outsider.
McConnell will appear on Morning Edition again Thursday to discuss his memoir The Long Game.If Buddhists are right about that whole reincarnation thing, it’d be hard to imagine what you’d have to do wrong to die and come back as a sea cucumber. One minute you’re human and the next you’re crawling around the seafloor as what is essentially a mobile intestine, hoovering up food at one end and expelling it through the other.
And then, inevitably, the pearlfish would find you.
You’re breathing through your anus, by the way, and when you take a breath, the pearlfish strikes – squirming up your butt, making itself comfortable in your respiratory organ, and eating your gonads. Or, they’ll go up in pairs and have sex in your body cavity. And that’s when you realize that you must have been a really awful human being in a past life. Like, the type of person who talks on their phone in a movie theater kind of awful.
Such pearlfishes come in a range of species, and don’t necessarily limit themselves to invading sea cucumbers. They’ll also work their way into sea stars, and are so named because they’ve been found dead inside oysters, completely coated in mother-of-pearl. Beautiful, really, though I reckon the pearlfish would beg to differ.
This behavior is the strange product of a housing crisis. You see, shelter is in short supply on many seafloors, particularly those that lack reefs. And there are few better shelters than sea cucumbers, little mobile homes that pearlfishes will enter pretty much as they please, leaving to hunt and returning for protection. If they can’t return to the same one, no worries at all. There’s plenty of decent housing squirming around the seafloor – if you're willing to live in a sea cucumber's bum.
The letters denote the sea cucumber’s increasing level of discomfort. (Click for larger view.) Images: Daniel Bay
The pearlfish finds its reluctant host likely by smell, according to biologist Eric Parmentier of Belgium’s University of Liège. It then must choose the right end to enter, using its lateral line – sensory organs that detect movements in water – to home in on the outflow from the respiratory tree at the anus.
“Two strategies are observed for entering,” Parmentier said. “One, head first by propelling itself with violent strokes of the tail; two, tail first by placing the head at the cloaca of the sea cucumber and moving the thin tail forward alongside its own body at the level of the lateral line,” then slowing backing into the host, though not yet all the way.
“The reason for this second strategy,” Parmentier said, “is that the host has detected the presence of the fish and, in response, closes its anus. But the host has to breathe, so it has to dilate the anus to realize the water flow. The fish blocks the aperture and the host has to enlarge this opening more and more.”
Depending on what species it is, the pearlfish initiates one of two relationships once inside: a commensal one, in which it simply takes up space without either helping or adversely affecting the sea cucumber, or a rather more parasitic one, in which it chows down on its host’s gonads.
The sea cucumber, though, has a trick up its sleeve. Remarkably, it can regenerate complex body parts like intestines and, yes, gonads. And it’s a damn good thing it can, because sea cucumbers defend themselves in what might be described as a fairly unorthodox manner.
“Probably the best thing that sea cucumbers are known for is evisceration,” said marine biologist Christopher Mah, “which is tossing their guts out at predators when they are harassed by them. So you have a crab or a fish or something and what they'll do is literally eviscerate, just take a good chunk of their intestine that will spool out of their body and get shot out at the predator or whatever as a distraction.”
The Great Pearlfish, Conqueror of Sea Cucumber Bums, Devourer of Reproductive Organs, All-Around Decent Critter to Anything But a Sea Cucumber. Image: John E. Randall
So like a disgraced samurai disemboweling himself, the sea cucumber gifts the world with its intestines, whether the world wants them or not. Interestingly, though, the pearlfish doesn’t itself seem to trigger this reaction for reasons that aren’t yet clear. And it’s important to consider that the fish in fact benefits from the evisceration, because by using the sea cucumber as a home, it necessarily adopts its host’s predators. Its survival depends on the sea cucumber’s ability to defend itself, which is quite intriguing from an evolutionary perspective.
“Is it possible to see here a result of natural selection, in which the choice of a host equipped with a defense system could minimize the risk of predation?” Parmentier asked in a 2005 paper.
Some sea cucumber species even go beyond firing their intestines at predators. They're equipped with hundreds of Cuvierian tubules – sticky, toxic tubes that spray out of the cloaca (an all-purpose opening in creatures like birds and reptiles and some invertebrates that releases both waste and reproductive elements), clinging to attackers and immobilizing them. Yet not only does the pearlfish fail to trip this defense when it enters the sea cucumber, it seems to be immune to its toxins while occupying the host, which Parmentier says may be attributable to the unusual amount of mucous coating the fish's body.
You have teeth in your head, but some sea cucumbers have them in their bum. Imagine, if you will, the life of a sea cucumber dentist. Image: Paddy Ryan
But the sea cucumber may not be entirely defenseless against the invasions of the pearlfish. Some species have what could be functioning as a built-in gate in their anus – a handy accessory considering that in addition to the pearlfish, crabs and clams have also been known to make themselves at home inside the poor critters (the sea cucumber, it seems, like any good host, can never really enjoy itself at its own party).
“The part that hasn't really been substantiated is the fact that you have some sea cucumbers that have these kind of spines around the anus called anal teeth,” said Mah. “And it isn't clear if these anal teeth really are active defensive mechanisms that keep things like fish and crabs out, or if they're just there and we assume they're defensive in some way.”
So on that note, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to look into this Buddhism business.
Hat tip to Oceans IQ for suggesting this week's critter. Browse the full Absurd Creature of the Week archive here. Have an animal you want me to write about? Email matthew_simon@wired.com or ping me on Twitter at @mrMattSimon.
//www.youtube.com/embed/jM9Y4ww2O_s
References
Parmentier, E. and Vandewalle, P. (2003) Morphological Adaptations of Pearlfish (Carapidae) to Their Various Habitats. Science Publisher
Parmentier, E. and Vandewalle, P. (2004) Further Insight on Carapid-Holothuroid Relationships. Marine Biology. 146: 455–465Parjana Installation at Mount Greenwood Park View Full Caption DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig
MOUNT GREENWOOD — Steven Legal and his crew are drilling 900 holes in Mount Greenwood Park this week.
The goal is to improve drainage at the soggy park at 3721 W. 111th St. with a new technology from Detroit-based Parjana Distribution. The company is using the park as for a pilot program as it expands into Illinois.
Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) said the $80,000 project is a joint venture between the Chicago Park District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. And it comes after years of complaints over standing water and wet ball fields.
Indeed, Beverly Park, Kennedy Park, Ridge Park and others in the 19th Ward will all see rainouts this baseball and softball season, but the standing water typically recedes after a day or so, O'Shea said.
"Mount Greenwood Park might not play for three days. It does not drain as well as those other parks," he said, blaming the clay soil for the slow absorption of rainwater.
Parjana Distribution's system aims to solve such issues without tapping into the city's sewer system. The company drills two-inch holes 5-, 10-, 20- and 40-feet into the ground. Long plastic sleeves known as Energy-passive Groundwater Recharge Products are fed into the holes.
The devices are designed to act like a drinking straw — collecting water that would otherwise sit on the topsoil and sending it down into dry soil below, Legal said Tuesday.
"It's an amazing product for golf courses," said Legal, adding that the company named for the Hindu rain God has worked on courses throughout Michigan as well as public parks, airports and even residential backyards there.
Roughly 8,000 feet of the plastic sleeves will be installed at Mount Greenwood Park. It takes anywhere from six weeks to a year for the ground to acclimate to the devices — which largely depends on the amount of precipitation, Legal said.
He said residents will likely know the product is working this winter after a heavy snow. Once it begins to melt, it's not uncommon to see small divots where the drains are located underground.
Detroit-based Parjana Distribution is drilling 900 holes throughout Mount Greenwood Park. The plastic lines pictured here will be fed into the holes to improve rainwater absorption. [DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig]
Allison Fore, an intergovernmental affairs officer at the water reclamation district, said a successful test in Mount Greenwood could lead to similar installations throughout Cook County. She was particularly enthused by the technology's ability to divert rainwater from the overtaxed sewer system.
"The intensity of our new normal storm event needs technology solutions that keep the load off the system and infiltrating into the ground," Fore said. "We hope this technology or something like it is part of the overall solution to Chicago’s flooding problems."Ms. Saliski found herself at the Capitol Hall after the death of her partner from lung cancer; the loss of his income meant she could no longer afford the $1,000 rent on her apartment in East New York, Brooklyn. Another Capitol Hall tenant, Eddie A. Ortiz, 49, a freelance hairdresser, has depression and supports himself with a city stipend for H.I.V.-positive individuals. He settled in a year and a half ago after periods of boarding with his mother, who has cancer, and at a Manhattan homeless shelter. He has outfitted his room with furniture discarded on sidewalks but with a few touches of the interior decorator he once was — a zebra rug and posters of Isadora Duncan and the Rat Pack.
It may be a conceit, but I like to think of such tenants as refugees of a sort, finding havens from life’s vagaries and mishaps. The hotel once housed literal refugees, including my family.
I was 5 years old in 1950 when after a voyage on a Merchant Marine ship across the Atlantic, my parents, Marcus and Rachel Berger, survivors of the Holocaust whose Polish hometowns had been destroyed; my 3-year-old brother, Josh; and I moved into a single room in the Capitol Hall, subsidized by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
We lived there for several weeks, and my memories of that time are spare — a dark, dusty, oppressive room, walks along Broadway where we encountered other war refugees living in S.R.O. hotels, and a fistfight between my father and a man who came to kick us out of the hotel after the immigrant aid payments ended. But the Capitol Hall gave us a foothold in the country and introduced us to the cosmopolitan pleasures of the West Side, a neighborhood we were to live in for most of the next five years.
The Capitol Hall has also given a foothold to Ms. Saliski and Mr. Ortiz as well as to thousands of migrants from the hinterlands. According to a history provided by organizers of the celebration held on May 24, it started life in 1913 as an apartment building with four apartments per floor. By the early 1940s the building’s owners found it more profitable to cut up the apartments into narrow hotel rooms that would house the vigorous young workers flocking to New York for jobs in the wartime mobilization.Image copyright Reuters Image caption People have protested at the German embassy in Ankara, but German MP Cem Ozdemir and others have also received threats and abuse
Eleven German MPs of Turkish origin have been put under police protection.
They received death threats after supporting a move to describe the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.
Germany's foreign ministry has warned MPs of Turkish origin against travelling to Turkey, saying their security there could not be guaranteed.
The German parliament's move outraged the Turkish government, which does not recognise the killings as genocide.
Germany's genocide vote inflames tensions with Turkey
The 11 MPs of Turkish origin who voted for the resolution have faced a backlash of negative opinion from the Turkish government and from within Germany's sizable Turkish community.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan castigated them, saying: "What sort of Turks are they?"
Image copyright AP Image caption President Erdogan questioned the Turkishness of the 11 Turkish-origin German MPs
Ankara's mayor showed the 11 MPs in a tweet, saying they had "stabbed us in the back". According to German media, it was retweeted by many Turkish nationalists, some of whom made death threats.
And a group of Turkish lawyers has reportedly filed a complaint accusing the MPs of "insulting Turkishness and the Turkish state".
Earlier this month, Turkey recalled its ambassador from Berlin in fury after the German parliament voted overwhelmingly for the Armenian "genocide" resolution.
The leader of Germany's Green Party, Cem Ozdemir - who initiated the debate on the Armenian massacres in the Bundestag - told a newspaper he had been sent emails saying things like: "We will find you anywhere."
He said well-informed friends in Turkey had told him to take the threats seriously.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people died in the atrocities of 1915, during the Ottoman Empire's collapse in World War One. Turkey says the toll was much lower and rejects the term "genocide".
Armenian genocide dispute
Image copyright AFP Image caption Arguments have raged for decades about the Armenian deaths in 1915-16
Hundreds of thousands of Christian Armenians died in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, whose empire was disintegrating
Many of the victims were civilians deported to barren desert regions where they died of starvation and thirst. Thousands also died in massacres
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people were killed. Turkey says the number of deaths was much smaller
Most non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide - as do more than 20 states including France, Germany and Russia, and some international bodies such as the European Parliament
Turkey rejects the term "genocide", maintaining that many of the dead were killed in clashes during World War One, and that many ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict
Find out more about what happened
Armenian tragedy still raw in TurkeyThere's one reason why Jeremy Corbyn has been safe so far as Labour leader: his grassroots support. This has enabled him to ride out any controversy and shrug off criticism from MPs or party grandees, reminding critics about his mandate to lead the party. But the polls suggest Labour voters increasingly think he is struggling as party leader.
Could this be the beginning of the end for Mr Corbyn's leadership? I've previously looked at how he is doing much worse in the general public's view as party leader than Ed Miliband, which bodes ill for his electability given that his predecessor went on to lose the general election. But polling by YouGov suggests that Mr Corbyn is failing to convince his own party's supporters that he is doing well at the helm.
Just over 9.3 million Britons voted for Labour, then under Ed Miliband, in May's general election. Mr Corbyn would hope to keep as many of them on board now he has taken over, but an increasing proportion of them think he is doing a bad job.
Support among those who backed Labour in May started out strong, with 53 per cent of those surveyed saying he was well as party leader - a net approval rating of 32 per cent. But Mr Corbyn's rating has gone on to decline over the coming months, falling in the latest poll to just 4 per cent.
"Making a bad first impression on voters can be fatal...as "quiet man" Iain Duncan Smith found to his cost."
A successful leader would expect to see net approval rise in such polls as the public get to know them, in a sign that voters are warming to what they have to say. Making a bad first impression on voters can be fatal, with politicians struggling to dispel the image they have built up, as "quiet man" Iain Duncan Smith found to his cost.
The Labour leader suffered his sharpest drop in net approval among those who backed his party in May at the end of November, with net approval among to -6 per cent. This bounced back marginally after a fortnight, but only fractionally into the positive territory - at 8 per cent. The sharp dive came in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn insisting that he was "not happy" letting Britain's police shoot terrorists, and his chaotic attempt to try and stop Britain bombing Isil in Syria, suggesting that many Labour voters concluded his positions proved his incompetence.
Some may think voters are simply cynical about politicians, and so just as inclined to write off David Cameron. But YouGov's polling shows that David Cameron is doing far better among those who voted Conservative in May, than Jeremy Corbyn is doing among those who backed Labour.
Cameron vs Corbyn: net approval by voters who backed their party in May
Corbyn - Net Approval Cameron - Net Approval 17/09/2015 32 80 26/10/2015 26 72 16/11/2015 27 73 17/12/2015 8 72 05/01/2016 4 71
YouGov
David Cameron has been Prime Minister for nearly six years, but is still viewed as doing a significantly better job than Jeremy Corbyn, who has only been party leader for four months. The Prime Minister's net approval has not dropped below 70 per cent in recent months, while the highest rating obtained by the Labour leader was 32 per cent, when he had just taken over.
Mr Corbyn's supporters may take this in their stride, since moderate members - who would have voted Labour in May - are leaving the party in droves and replaced by hard-left supporters. However, YouGov's polling suggests that that more of those intending to vote Labour are concluding that he isn't doing well.
How is Corbyn doing as leader? Those intending to vote Labour say...
Well Badly Don't know Net 17/09/2015 68 13 19 55 30/11/2015 62 31 7 31#Net Approval 17/12/2015 64 27 8 37
At the beginning, most of those planning to vote Labour (68 per cent) said Mr Corbyn was doing a good job, amounting to a net approval rating of 55 per cent. Approximately one in five (19 per cent) said they didn't know either way.
But three months later, many of those who were undecided have got off the fence, and decided that Mr Corbyn is struggling. By November, the proportion who said that he was doing badly as leader had more than doubled to 31 per cent, with significantly fewer voters saying they didn't have an opinion. This suggests that as Labour voters get to know their new party leader, more and more of them are unimpressed.
Jeremy Corbyn already faces widespread scepticism in his bid to convince voters that he is fit to lead the country. A recent poll found that seven out of ten voters don't trust him to safeguard Britain's national security. Why might they think this? The amount of evidence is overwhelming, ranging from his anti-Trident stance, to his relationship with groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and the IRA.
"Voters know they didn't elect him on a mandate of incompetence."
His championing of the Stop the War pressure group hasn't helped either, with a survey finding that voters - by two to one - think he should to distance himself from them. Mr Corbyn may view the Stop the War as the “the very best in British political campaigning”, but his closeness to a group which has praised Isil's "internationalism" hasn't reassured the public about his suitability for high office. The polling shows that his own voters are worried by such issues too.
Despite such difficulties, the Labour leader has been able to soldier on thanks to his "mandate" from voters. His enemies are staying quiet as they fear the grassroots backlash if they move against a leader who enjoys popular support in the party. But voters know they didn't elect him on a mandate of incompetence.
Mr Corbyn should find it easiest to impress voters who backed Labour in May, or still intend to support the party, but increasing numbers of them appear to be dismissive of him. He already has to reach out beyond the core Labour vote in his quest to be Britain's alternative Prime Minister, but is failing to convince many of his own voters that he is leadership material.Vancouver's Georgia Street viaduct is closed to eastbound traffic today from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. PT so that filming can take place for a Hollywood blockbuster movie being shot in the city.
The viaduct's closure does not affect the Dunsmuir side so westbound traffic into the city is still flowing, but it is closed to eastbound traffic from Main Street to Citadel Parade.
The filming of Ryan Reynolds' movie Deadpool will shut down Vancouver's Georgia Viaduct starting on Sunday April 5. (Google Streetview)
Twentieth Century Fox's Deadpool — a spin off from the successful X-Men franchise — will bring $37.5 million dollars to the city, according to a press release from the City of Vancouver.
Closures are scheduled between April 5 and 18 and incude:
April 5: Georgia Viaduct closed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. PT.
April 6-16: Georgia Viaduct closed from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. After the road reopens at 3 p.m. there will remain a 100-metre section of the viaduct that will be limited to one lane.
April 11: Georgia Viaduct closed from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.
During closure times, the city recommends that drivers select alternate routes leading eastbound out of downtown, such as the Cambie Bridge or Hastings Street.
The production is also considering using the viaduct on April 12, 17 and 18.
More information can be found at the city's website.Hi, and thanks for checking out the new post. I know it’s been a while, and I’ll do one of those “sorry I’ve been gone, here’s what I’ve been up to” posts later, but I don’t want to cheat you guys, so for now, here’s an actual recipe. Today, I made Parisienne Gnocchi for the first time.
Prior to this experience, my experience in both making and eating gnocchi has been with potato gnocchi, which seems to be a bit more common.
Parisienne gnocchi on the other hand has no potato at all, and instead is made from pâte à choux. It’s somewhere between a dough and a batter to be honest, not quite fitting neatly into either category. I’ve used it before to make gougeres, so I was curious to see how this different this application would be.
Pillowy, savory, with just enough of a bite to be substantial with a nice hit of cheese to let you feel positively spoiled when digging in, this is one hell of a recipe that I’ll definitely be using in the future.
It’s a very versatile dish, and in Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio (where I adapted this recipe from) all sorts of delicious suggestions are made, from clam sauces, bacon and corn, or even butternut squash are suggested.
Today I kept it simple with some tomato based approaches, detailed herein.
For the pâte à choux, you’ll need eggs, water, butter, and salt. Optionally (and highly recommended) you’ll want some some Parmigiano-Reggiano too.
Oh, and flour of course. The usual pâte à choux ratio is 1 part flour, 2 parts liquid, 2 parts eggs, and 1 part fat, but for this purpose the liquid is brought down to 1.5 parts liquid.
Ingredients are:
6 oz. water.
1 tsp. salt
1 stick butter (4 oz.)
4 eggs (conveniently about 8 oz.)
4 oz. flour
1/4 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano
Bring water, butter and salt to a simmer.
Gradually add flour and stir powerfully until all the liquid is absorbed.
It’ll look like this.
Add eggs one at a time.
It will look pretty odd at first.
But will eventually come together. Keep adding eggs.
And finally you’ll have a smooth dough/batter.
Add cheese.
Now for some more equipment. Zip lock bag, scissors. Or a pastry bag and knife.
Pot, water, and a sheet with a towel (or repurposed shirt, CLEAN).
Spoon the pâte à choux into the zip lock bag.
Then squeeze a corner empty and snip off a half inch or so. Or less if you prefer thinner gnocchi, like I was going for today.
Bring the water to a simmer, then pipe and cut the pâte à choux into bite sized pieces, roughly an inch or so. A minute or two after they float to the top, take one and taste it to see if it is done.
I’ve seen much prettier pieces online, but regardless of the shape, these are delicious.
If you’re particularly lazy, I’ve found you don’t even need scissors. Just pipe out a bit and let gravity do the work. It will lead to a very rustic presentation. Or that’s what I say anyway.
Keeping simmering, maintaining temperature, and draining until you’ve used it all.
Now it’s time to use it up! Or you could actually chill or freeze it until you’re good to go. Not a bad idea if you have lots of time to make a huge batch.
These are great sautéed with any number of ingredients.
For my first attempt at using the Parisienne gnocchi, I went with a slight modification on a suggested recipe, I opted for heirloom tomatoes from the garden, thyme, and garlic. The standards call for fresh basil, but I did not have any on hand, and rather than using the dry stuff, I wanted to see if this combination would work.
Mince or crush a few cloves of garlic.
And dice up the tomato. A slightly overripe heirloom for your consideration. Thankfully I had a knife as sharp as a thousand curses or it would have gotten really messy.
Pretty good for what I was working with I think. I’m sure some naysayers will disagree.
Quite a bit more than a cup.
Let’s get cooking. A pat of butter and a glug of olive oil over medium heat.
A bit more than a third of the gnocchi.
And four cloves of garlic, minced.
I sautéed until it was lightly browned.
Then added the stripped thyme leaves…
And half a cup of the tomatoes. Stirred it until it was a bit more than warmed through, sprinkled with a bit more salt and ground pepper.
And it was pretty tasty, but I felt I hadn’t made quite as much use of the gnocchi as I could have. Thankfully, there was more to use!
I wanted to do something that would be much more of an accent and let the gnocchi stand on its own.
For something quick and simple, some diced onions were sweated in a good amount of olive oil and some kosher salt over considerably hotter heat. Once they cooked down, I added a the rest of the diced tomato, a healthy pour of red wine, and cooked it until most of the red wine is gone
Pour into a bowl, trying to get the pan significantly empty, but not worries if there’s some bits here and there.
I then placed the pan back on and brought it to a high temperature. Once it was uncomfortable to hold my hand over it from about 8 inches I added a splash of olive oil. One sizzling piece of gnocchi told me it was good to go, so I threw in another third of the stuff.
I browned it considerably more than the first time, to give it more of a bite and more of a nutty flavor.
Then I spooned in just enough of the onion tomato wine mixture to coat the gnocchi.
This, this is more like it.
Parisienne Gnocchi, Adapted from Ratio.
6 oz. water.
1 tsp |
the ruined manors of Marienburg, wearing a mask filled with mint and other “protective herbs.” The Glottkin's plague made sure there are no more Marienburgers to make good on their promise to behead him. In addition, Heinrich has sent messengers to the Norscan of Salkalten, wondering if he can't win himself another supporter by offering him the Electorate of Ostland.
Todbringer's rival is Luitpold Holswig-Schliestein II (A.K.A. “Karl's Jr.”). He rules the remnants of Reikland with the support of Grand Theogonist Luthor Huss. The surviving Reiksguard have also sworn for Luitpold, and while Stirland is considering its options, they appear to be in the Sigmarite camp. Luitpold is not a ruthless warrior like Heinrich, having learned far more from his father's role as a statesman. The makeshift palace at Carroburg is abuzz with messengers and diplomats, looking for support in Wissenland, Averland, and even far-flung Bretonnia.
Balthasar Gelt thinks both of these young men are fools. He finds the entire Electoral system foolish. After all, if you wanted a bloody republic, why limit the candidates to a group of inbred, overly suspicious Elector-Counts? He hides in the court of Emmanuelle von Liebewitz, living by her good graces and his continues supply of zombie sentries for the vulnerable Nuln sewer system. Feelers are being sent out to his colleagues and former pupils in the magical community. Why let these noblemen decide who leads the Empire? A man like Karl-Franz or Magnus the Pious comes once every half-millenium. Far better if the Emperor was the best man for the job, and not just the man with the deepest pockets or biggest army. And who could claim to be more skilled or more intelligent than Balthasar Gelt?
Meanwhile, Stirland, Averland, and Wissenland are full to bursting with refugees from the east. Kislevites and Hochlanders mix with halflings of the Moot. Realizing they can never return home, some turn to the western horizon, looking for new opportunity.
The authorities of the Empire once tried to conceal the existence of Skaven from the public, but that is now impossible. The terrified survivors perceive Skaven schemes everywhere. Political agitators accuse their opponents of working with them. Peasants sometimes accuse people with buckteeth or large ears of being Skaven in disguise. Corrupt politicians blame all the shortcomings of their regimes on "Skaven saboteurs". Posters are pasted around cities by religious orders warning the public not to fall into vice, as this is "just what the corrupting ratmen want them to do". A paranoid "Rat Scare" has gripped the Empire.
And What of Fair Bretonnia? [ edit ]
Mallobaude's Civil War and the looming End Times took a heavy toll on the Kingdom of Bretonnia. Its king and the greatest of the kingdom's gallantry fell at Altdorf, but now a resurgent Bretonnia is led by its once and... present king, Gilles le Breton. Chilfroy of Artois, Adalhard of Lyonesse, and Huebald of Carcassone raised their banners for Mallobaude and were defeated by the forces of the Green Knight. It was revealed that Chilfroy had long been consorting with the beastmen of his province, finally explaining why the Duke seemed to enjoy such success against the followers of Chaos. He was promptly killed by Gilles le Breton. Adalhard, ashamed that he'd joined in the scheming and betrayal which he had long disdained, chose honorable death in combat and joined Louen's march to Altdorf. The Battle of Altdorf claimed the lives of most of Bretonnia's peerage and many of its Dukes, including mighty warriors like Adalhard. Duke Armand of Aquitaine's luck finally ran out. The bold (some might say reckless) paladin fell trying to recover his old charge, the Battle Standard of Bretonnia, as it collapsed amidst of mob of Plaguebearers. Duke Hagen of Gisoreaux refused to leave Leoncoeur's side and perished protecting the body of his closest friend. Adalhard regained his honor by taking a spear meant for Cassyon of Paravon, allowing the young Duke to be one of the few survivors of the End Times. Theodoric of Brionne and Folcard of Montfort were both wounded during the fight for the Empire. Theodoric, the warrior-poet, succumbed to infection and left his dukedom in a succession crisis among his many bastards.
(There will be more, later. But I'd like input on the style)
Tilea During the End Times [ edit ]
Of the fallen cities... Lucrezzia Belladona took poison as Pavona fell around her, and most of the city's nobility died, starving in their tall spires while listening to the screams of the peasantry in the streets below. Marco Colombo, Prince of Trantio, raided his hordes of Lustrian artifacts as Stormvermin battered down the doors of his palace, looking for something that would save him (and his city, of course). No one knows what he found, but the Prince's palace exploded in a flash of brilliant light that scattered Lizardman gold and jade across the ruined city. Positioned so close to Skavenblight, Tobaro's defenders were taken by surprise. The Birdmen of Catrazza were killed before they could leave the ground and Vespero's Vendetta was last seen retreating into the Temple of Morr. Verezzo's colorful political parties were unable to agree on the manner in which they would respond to the Skaven attack and died debating whether they should hire Braganza's Besiegers or flee the city.
And of the cities that survived... The Republic of Remas got its shit together and came up with a unique decision: abolishing itself. With “Ragged” Ricco elected as dictator, the Republican Guard and the Marksmen of Miragliano blunted the nose of the Skaven invasion. Realizing the city was too tough of a nut to crack, the ratmen put it to siege and moved on to Luccini. Lorenzo Lupo and the princes of southern Tilea, dressed in the best armor that money could buy, met the Skaven in the hills around Luccini. Having seen the Skaven's failure to take Remas, Lupo knew it was his time to shine and take the battle to the rats as the Champion of Tilea. He died, wishing he'd never fired Golgfag and his Maneaters. With Lupo dead, Leopold and the Leopard Company were invited back to the city. The Temple of the Leopard empties its treasury, fattened by years of donations, bought the services of Pirazzo's Lost Legion, Braganza's Besiegers, and Bronzino's Galloper Guns. Roderigo Delmonte and the Alcatani Fellowship volunteered to defend the last bastion of Tilea after shepherding the population of the countryside into the city walls. Even Asarnil the Dragonlord was in attendance, his pride not letting him ignore a battle joined by all of the most famous mercenaries of the Old World.
The Plain of Luccini had never been so colorful as mercenary companies and regiments of renown, paid at triple their going rates, prepared to die as heroes. Leopold, the newly elected Prince of Luccini, directed the battle from a hill behind the Tilean forces. Again and again, the Skaven hordes threw themselves against the pike walls, steadily battering down the Dogs of War and pushing them to the coast, making room for a column to strike for Luccini. Roderigo Delmonte and the Alcatani Fellowship led a fighting retreat towards the city, buying time for the population to board ships and flee into the sea while the Besiegers, the Leopard Company, and the Lost Legion died on the beach. Asarnil the Dragonlord was last seen fighting beside the body of his jezzail-riddled dragon with his broken lance. Ships came into view over the horizon, and explosive cannon fire surprised and shattered the Skaven horde. The pirates of Sartosa had come to the aid of their old rival. They still claim there is no truth to the rumors that Long Drong promised to skin them all alive if they didn't give them the opportunity for a proper doom. Leopold's gambit to steer the Skaven towards the coast had paid off. It was a pity he died in the process.
The Beastmen have come into their own in the broken world left by the End Times. Across the eastern half of the Empire, mighty herds roam over ruined cities and blighted countrysides, having finally conquered the civilization that scorned and hated them. Even now, as Heinrich, Luitpold, and Balthasar Gelt scheme for the Imperial throne and worry about the walking dead of Sylvania, the mighty herds remain on their mind. However, it is not in the Empire where the Beastmen are truly triumphant. In far-off Ind, a Kingdom of Beasts has arisen under the direction of the ruthless and mysterious Raj Bhagha. The tiger-headed king of the sub-continent took the throne of Ayodhya, the relic city, after God-King Darahma was killed by Arbaal the Undefeated. The great Khornite champion left Ind in ruins, letting the beasts of the jungle enjoy the spoils. Raj Bhagha has established a perverse hierarchy of classes into which all of his citizens fall. The untainted humans; the lowest of the low, work as servants and slaves, tilling fields and sweeping the streets before their bestial masters. Those Beastmen that resemble service creatures, such as goats and pigs and horses, are the bulk of the Raja's infantry and make up the land-owning class, overseeing their human slave labor. Twisted and feathered beastmen resembling birds and serpents make up the priestly class, devoted to divining the future and overseeing the proper sacrifices to the new gods of Ind. At the top of Bhagha's caste system are the mighty predators of Ind's jungles: panthers, leopards, and of course, tigers, making up the warrior class of the Indish Animal Kingdom.
Raj Bhagha is not stupid like many of his fellow Beastmen. Already, he has sent emissaries to faraway kingdoms, offering trade and access to the untouched resources of Ind. But the Beastman King is arrogant and prone to violence. It is well-known in Cathay that one should always send two dignitaries to Ind: one to parley with Bhagha, and the other to serve as his meal. The mighty Raj Bhagha of Ind looks down on humanity as little more than work-horses for his kingdom, possessing all of the failings of animals, but none of their talents and filling none of their niches. No claws or hooves or sharp teeth. Good for little other than slave-labor and the occasional snack. Those human babes which show signs of stigmata are taken from their families to be raised as mutants among their fellow beastmen.
Leaders in the Empire, Bretonnia, and Tilea are unsure what to do about the new King of Ind. On the one hand, his panther emissaries are clearly the spawn of Chaos. On the other, they offer access to enough gold and spices to make a man Emperor three times over. Witch Hunters, frothing at the mouth in fury, must be restrained lest they insult these foreign dignitaries with their accusations of demonic corruption.
Ulthuan becomes Atlantis. The Elves aren't butchered. [ edit ]
For starters, Teclis doesn't destroy Ulthuan because because he wants his capeshit fan fiction to become a reality, and Malekith isn't Darth Vader because he has anxiety issues. That being said, Teclis still helps Malekith become the Phoenix King, if only because he is the only person who can unite the Asur and Druchii under one banner to survive the apocalypse, which then causes the apocalypse.
As per End Times, Aliathra gets kidnapped by Mannfred and sacrificed to resurrect Nagash, and is revealed to be the daughter of Alarielle and Tyrion. However, Eltharion gives a good account of himself in his duel against Arkhan and lives to fight another day Eltharion still dies, as neither side backs down but Eltharion puts up a better fight than the last time. Tyrion's spiral into rage begins when he learns of his daughter's death.
Meanwhile in the New World, Malekith abandons Naggaroth to the hordes of barbarians and once again begins his invasion of Ulthuan, while the armies of Finnubar prepare to meet him. Unfortunately for him, Teclis murders him and makes it look like a suicide Finnubar commits suicide, starting a leadership crisis. Korhil suspects foul play, but Tyrion is too busy organizing the defense of Ulthuan to give his suspicions the necessary attention.
Unfortunately for Tyrion, Prince Imrik accepts an offer of allegiance to Malekith. Tyrion had humiliated and browbeat him enough when he tried to organize a new election to the Phoenix Throne. And considering that Ulthuan was most likely going to lose the war, it was probably the right decision. The armies of Malekith march through the Eagle Gate and Malekith makes a bee-line for the Shrine of Asuryan, where Teclis wards Malekith as he walks through the Flames to become the "Phoenix King" Malekith walks unharmed through the Flame of Asuryan, and reveals that he was the rightful Phoenix King all along (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger)! It is also revealed that those before him needed wards to keep themselves from being burned alive, and thus were cursed by Asuryan. This curse ultimately resulted to the despondency and ennui that led to Finubar's "suicide." Unwilling to serve the Witch King of Naggaroth, the Phoenix Guard abandon their King. Caradryan sails to the Old World, his goals unknown. Teclis becomes Malekith's favorite adviser, much to the jealousy and rage of Morathi.
The reaction to this is mixed, to say the least. Hellebron's loyalty begins to wain, and pretty much every High Elf in existence is enraged by this turn of events. This includes Alarielle, who soon confronts Teclis about his bullshit. Teclis is persistent, however, and convinces her that Malekith is needed to save Elvenkind. Reluctantly, she agrees to marry the new Phoenix King and soothe the tempers of some of the Princes, while igniting the anger of one: Tyrion.
Furious at these betrayals, Tyrion confronts his brother, calling him out on his bullshit. Tyrion claims that, together with Finubar, they could have defeated Malekith once and for all. Teclis replies that Malekith, despite being a dick, is the only real hope the Elves have to save their race (Tyrion might have brought up Alarielle cucking him, and Teclis might have brought up Aliathra in response....). At the end of the conversation, Tyrion, believing that everyone he loved is either dead or has betrayed him/elfkind (especially his brother), storms away and gathers a group of loyal high elves (along with their leaders, like Korhil and Prince Althran) to travel northward in the direction of the Widowmaker.
In the final battle between the Avatar of Khaine, and Malekith's forces, Orion, the Witch King, and Alith Anar combine arms to defeat Tyrion. But before the final blow was struck, Teclis teleported his brother to safety. Despite Tyrion's vow to wreak vengeance on Malekith and his traitorous brother, Teclis still felt a fraternal duty to save his twin. Unfortunately, it was not enough to quench the fires of civil war, and even now, Tyrion and his followers plot the ruination of the Phoenix King and establish new colonies on the remnants of Lustria, still wielding the Sword of Khaine.
Grimgor the Barbarian [ edit ]
Grimgor Ironhide's trek eastward first brought his Waaagh! to the fortress city of Zhar Naggrund. There, he broke the capital of the Chaos Dwarfs' cruel empire and brought the Greenskin slave legions into his horde. When he met the wolfriders of Hobgobla Khan, he quickly cowed the goblins into submission and servitude to his mighty, world-turning Waaagh! When he met the scattered ogres of the Mountains of Mourn, he absorbed their mightiest warriors and killed those of their chieftans who refused to serve him -- a mighty feat for any Orc, black or no, while his Immortulz watched and cheered. Wurzagh's words rung true. This was the "Once-And-Future-Git!" The largest Waaagh! to ever walk the Old World finally came to Cathay and Grimgor's wolf-rider vanguard witnessed the fall of the Great Bastion. Finally, the reason for Zhar Naggrund's easy conquest was discovered: the Chaos Dwarfs had committed their forces to cracking the most formidable holdfast humanity had ever created. To prove he was the biggest and the strongest, he waited for the Chaos Dwarf priest-engineers to secure the Great Bastion and settle in before he took it from them. The Dragon Emperor's Summer Palace was empty when the Immortulz rampaged through its golden halls. And now, Grimgor sits on the Dragon Emperor's throne, his great Waaagh! roiling across northern Cathay, killing waves upon waves of Cathayan soldiers each summer during the campaigning season. But Grimgor don't stay put for long... and now he wonders whether the west doesn't perhaps deserve a krumpin'.
The Mist Shrouded Land [ edit ]
Albion has been devastated by the End Times, suffering the same fate as many lands after the fall of the Morrslib. The highlands and mountains are the only true remnants of the mystic island. The druids foresaw the devastation and were able to save some of their savage people by bringing them to the high ground. Most were stubborn and remained in their villages to be overtaken by the sea. And now, the taint of Chaos has killed many of these survivors. In addition, the seas around Albion have become deadly and tainted with warpstone, attracting great and mutated sea beasts. Serpents and sharks are the least of these new monsters, making travel between the islands an ordeal.
Albion was once one of the focal points to tame the Winds of Magic. Now unbridled, Chaos and the essence of the arcane seep into the world. With many of the old ones ruins and Ogham Circles destroyed, it has become a task that is almost impossible to do with just the mystic knowledge of Albion soothsayers. It is rumored that Teclis has traveled among the druids, researching the ley-lines; visiting what few ruins of the Old Ones remain. A fury of work can be seen around the great Ogham as the druids begin their mystic undertaking to rebind the magic with what ancient mysteries they can still glean from the carved rock.
What about the Undead? [ edit ]
A new threat arises [ edit ]
Something stirs in the Underdark passageway, with Dark Elf raids suddenly coming to an abrupt halt on the Old World's shores.
The Rules [ edit ]
To be added to as we think of more stuff! [ edit ]
Rules for Age of Exploration?
Consider everything a work-in-progress until stated otherwise.
Mordheim Scenario: Altdorf [ edit ]
Special Rules Wild Monster Appears! When Altdorf fell, most of the exotic animals of the Imperial zoo were eaten by the besieged or the besiegers or otherwise died in the mayhem of The Fall. However, certain creatures were big enough to do the eating, rather than be eaten. These monstrous, chaos-touched creatures now roam the ruins of Altdorf, feeding on each other and whatever foolish adventurers have wandered into the "Jewel of the Empire." After each Warband has had a turn, roll a D6. On a roll of 2-6, a monster is placed at the center of the map. Roll the artillery die to determine its movement after each turn. It fights whenever it comes into contact with a warband. 1 = No monsters appear to be roaming in this part of the city. 2 = Griffon. 3 = Wyvern 4 = Chimera 5 = Hydra 6 = Something BIG (roll another D6. On 1-3, an Imperial Dragon appears, and on 4-6, the Drakwald Gibberbeast, the Abomination of Stirland, and the Spawn of Hochland (three Chaos Spawn) appear.
Mordheim Scenario: Talabheim [ edit ]
To be decided. Stuff we need: rules for movement on skiffs on the Pus Lake of Talabheim crater, rules for monsters swimming in the Talabheim pus lake
Balthasar Gelt's Automatons [ edit ]
These goods need a looksee from somebody who knows their crunch
Can be taken by Empire Faction: Nuln. From the clockwork depths of Nuln, new warriors march forth. Designed by the steady hands of Leonardo di Miragliano and imbued with life by the arcane magicks of Balthasar Gelt, the metal men have no fear and feel no pain as they strike down the enemies of the Patriarch. Each of them wears a metal face sculpted to the likeness of their masked master. (If you really want to use Sigmarine models)
M4 WS4 BS3 S5, T4, W2 I3 A3 LD8, 3+ armor save, 45 pts/model
Special Rules : Unbreakable Structural Integrity, Incendiary Artifice STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: Unstable, Immune to Poison, Immune to Psychology INCENDIARY ARTIFICE: Whenever you remove a model from play the unit takes D3 wounds. This may trigger this rule again.
:
Vampire Bloodlines [ edit ]
As in 6th Edition, we will be returning to differentiating the various Vampire Counts armies by "bloodline" or "dynasty." Different Vampire bloodlines will have access to different rules, items, and army make-ups.
Note: If we are going with 8th Ed as a base (I am assuming we are), we will need to heavily edit both the 8th ed army book and this (I took a whack at it, based off of lore/what the armies previously had, and translated it to 8th). Not sure what to do about the Strigoi special unit that are in though, and we need to keep in mind about other people's armies. Feel free to point something out as well. -Grumpyfag
Note: Rare choices should not be allowed to be taken as core! Particularly Blood Knights. Their sheer power allowing for a total and complete deathstar is too strong. Having 25% for core, 25% for rare, 25% for lords and 25% for heroes allows 100% of your army being one giant deathstar with zero forced chaff is wrong. -AlsoGrumpy
Army Characteristics Von Carsteins Von Carsteins are vanilla vampires; no stat penalties or bonuses. The only exception is that they can take the bloodline power "Summon Creatures of the Night" for free. Blood Dragons Lords: Vampire Lord, The Red Duke (with revamped rules to bring him in line with this edition) Heroes: Vampire, Wight King, Necromancer Core: Black Knights, (all Nightmare mounts must have barding, and if your force is from Bretonnia, they fight in Lance Formation ), Grave Guard, Skeleton Bowmen (equipped with hand weapon and bow, 10 points each [Price needs changed, I suggest keep it at five like regular warriors and trade shields for bows. Raise it to 7 with an extra +1WS is also an option.]) Special: Skeleton Warriors, Bat Swarms Rare: Blood Knights [Units should be able to be taken in 3+.] Black Coach, Dogs of War (if not in Lance Formation), Corpse Cart Special Rules +2 to Weapon Skill Lords wear full plate armor (4+ armor save) for free, can cast spells wearing armor (as all vampires can, so ignore this), and generate one less power die from their Winds of Magic roll. As well, they cannot channel power dice. The Blood Dragon with the highest Leadership in a unit must issue challenges and accept enemy challenges. Lahmians Lords: Vampire Lady, Neferata from End Times: Undead (Can be put on a Coven Throne or even on foot) Heroes: Vampire, Wight Kings, Tomb Banshee, Cairn Wraith, Swains (Heroes from any other Warhammer Book, with all of their magical items and equipment. If the Lahmian General, the object of their desire, is destroyed then the Swain gains Hatred for the rest of the game, even if normally Immune to Psychology. ) Core: Skeleton Warriors, Bat Swarms, Dire Wolves Special: Black Knights, Grave Guard, Spirit Hosts, Hexwraiths Rare: Black Coach, Dogs of War, Coven Throne, Terrorgheist, Vargheist, Cairn Wraith Special Rules +2 to Initiative All units/characters in base contact with a Lahmian Vampire get -1 to their Leadership Cannot use mundane weapons and armor. -1 to Weapon Skill Strigoi Lords: Strigoi Ghoul King, Vampire Lord Heroes: Vampire, Necromancers Core: Ghouls, Bat Swarms, 0-1 Charnel Guard (Ghouls with WS4, S4, I4, LD7, 10 pts/model), 0-1 Strigany (Living servants of the Strigoi: M4, WS3, BS3, S3, T3, W1, I3, A1, Ld7, 5 pt/model, unit size 10+; equipped with two hand weapons, light armor (+1 pt/model), standard bearer (+10 pts), musician (+5 pts), and dommnu/sergeant with 1 extra attack (+10 pts)) Special: Crypt Horror, Skeleton warriors, Dire Wolves, Fell Bats, Spirit Host, Vargheist Rare: Varghulf, Terrorgheist, Dogs of War Special Rules Vampire Lords have +1 attack, hatred, and a +5 ward save. Vampires have +1 attack, hatred, and a +6 ward save. Cannot use mundane weapons and armor. Cannot use any magic items. Cannot take any mounts except for Strigoi Ghoul King on Terrorgheist, which can be upgraded as normal. Vampires cannot be given a battle standard. Necrarch Lords: Vampire Lord, Master Necromancer Heroes: Vampire, Wight Lords, Necromancers, Tomb Banshees, Cairn Wraith ( All heroes can ride Winged Nightmares Abyssal Terrors, which can be upgraded as normal ) Core: Skeleton Warriors, Zombies, Dire Wolves, Fell Bats Special: Black Knights, Grave Guard, Spirit Host, Hexwraiths, Corpse Cart, Cairn Wraith Rare: Black Coach, Unridden Zombie Dragon, Terrorgheist, Mortis Engine, Vargheist Special Rules +1 to total rolled to cast a spell Vampires have + 25 points to buy on magical items. Can't choose mundane weapons and armor -2 to weapon skill
Gallery [ edit ]
Beasts of the East fluff. All WIP and subject to change.
Beyond bulls and goats, BotE aims to add optional flavor to a Beastman army.
Dubiously justified page by lack of existing WHF fluff. Discussion encouraged.
BotE glossary.
Beasts of the East's justification for its content.If you felt a disturbance in the Star Wars hype on Sunday, there was a good reason: The cast of The Last Jedi came together in a secret location Sunday morning for a press conference, to talk about the making of the film and to share teases (but no spoilers — never spoilers!) about the newest chapter in the saga.
Most of the space opera’s large cast joined director Rian Johnson on the stage, including returning Force Awakens stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domnhall Gleeson, and Gwendoline Christie; new Last Jedi additions Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran; and, of course, Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. Unfortunately, there were no porgs in attendance.
EW’s Anthony Breznican moderated the press conference. Read on for our live rundown of the event. (All times are Pacific.)
10:13 a.m. The entire cast took the stage flanked by the Praetorian guard, and Breznican kicked things off by asking how the the second chapter of the third Star Wars trilogy feels different from The Force Awakens. “It’s the second movie in the trilogy, and I think we’ve been kind of trained to expect it will be a little darker, and obviously it looks a little darker,” Johnson said. “I loved the tone of the original films and also that [director J.J. Abrams] captured in The Force Awakens … First and foremost, we were trying to make it feel like a Star Wars movie” — which means, he promised, that the film will have “the intensity, and the opera” we’ve come to expect as well as the “key ingredient” that The Last Jedi will make you want to run to you backyard and play with your toy lightsaber.
Charley Gallay/Getty Images
10:19 a.m. Now time to hear from the bad guys. “It’s very, very powerful, and it touches you,” Serkis said of the new film. “What Rian’s done incredibly is make this dance between these great, epic moments and hilarious antics.” Christie observed that Star Wars “resonates so deeply” with us because “it’s our foundation story of good versus evil … but there is something about this film, and I think it’s because the world we live in is a changing and evolving place, that it retains the simplicity of those elements, but it really resonates with what it is to follow your own human, dark, narcissistic tendencies, where that will take you.”
Watch our full Star Wars: The Last Jedi special, streaming now on PeopleTV! Download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device or go to PEOPLE.com/peopletv.
10:21 a.m. Gleeson wanted to see the film with the crowds when it opened, so he skipped the cast screening, a decision which, after hearing his co-stars’ rapturous responses, he now regrets.
10:22 a.m. Breznican threw the conversation to the members of the panel who are new to the Star Wars galaxy, including Johnson. “I’m like the new boyfriend at Thanksgiving dinner,” the director said. As the new boss, Breznican asked, does Johnson identify with Laura Dern’s Admiral Holdo? “I would be thrilled,” Johnson said, “if Laura Dern [or] the character that she plays, in all this glorious purple-haired wonder, [could represent me].”
10:24 a.m. So did any part of Dern “geek out” when she got to her first Star Wars set? “Every part,” the actress said without hesitation. “You have to do the work and block everything out,” Tran added, “but then C3P-0 comes up, and you’re like … [freaks out].” After Dern got past the initial geekery, she said that The Last Jedi felt almost like an indie behind the scenes, despite its enormous scope. “The intimacy of discovering each character’s conflict is just extraordinary given the enormity of the cast,” the actress said. “Oscar and I always talked about how stunned we were that we were in such a massive environment and it did feel like we were making an indie movie, and you always urged us to explore character to explore this duality between light and dark within the characters.”
10:27 a.m. Like Ridley said, the characters are all rearranged into some unlikely pairings in The Last Jedi. For one, the connection between her Rey and Driver’s Kylo Ren — both young people still working to master their strength with the Force — is a fraught one. “There’s a competition, and it’s yet to be discovered where it comes from,” Driver said. “[Johnson] knows that spectacle wont mean anything if you don’t care about what’s going on … There’s not a moment that’s taken for granted.” Despite not having seen the movie, Gleeson did say he loved the “huge amount of drama going on amongst that group of people, but also a lot of bitchy infighting as well.”
10:28 a.m. One of the journalists in the audience asked about the partnership of Luke Skywalker training Rey, but Hamill wasn’t having it: “Well, you’re assuming that I train Rey,” he said. “People ask if it was difficult to pick up and wield a lightsaber again, and I go, ‘Do I?’” All he would promise is that “my part is twice as big as it was in the last one.”
10:29 a.m. Johnson has said that he used the first trilogy’s great second chapter as something of a guide. When asked about this, he said he was struck by how dark — literally, visually dark as well as narratively — The Empire Strikes Back was willing to go. However, “I made a choice very early on … [I thought,] ‘I can either try and copy my idea of what the original movies did,’ which was much more formal visual aesthetic … [but] I realized, we’re going to take visual cues from the previous movies, but I need to just shoot this movie the way I shoot the movie.”
10: 30 a.m. Will there be Ewoks? Johnson: “It depends what kind of drugs you take before you see it.”
10:30 a.m. A member of the press asked the women onstage about their feelings being a part of such a girl-powered galaxy, and they were effusive in their responses. “When I [first] got involved, I knew it was a big deal, but the response was so beyond anything I could have imagined,” Ridley said. But best of all, her Rey and the rest of the ladies onscreen don’t just get the condescending title great female characters — “It’s just great characters.” Tran agreed: “I think that it feels like both an honor and responsibility at the same time. From the beginning, when I actually found out I got this role, I just wanted to do the whole thing justice … And the girls in this movie kick some butt. Every single one is so good.”
10:34 a.m. “I just want to pay tribute to Rian for being one of the most brilliantly subversive filmmakers I’ve ever [worked with],” Dern added, singling out the unique look of her Holdo. “I was moved by the fact that he really wanted her strength to lead with very deep femininity. To see a very powerful character also be very feminine is to move away from a stereotype that a strong female character must be like the boys.” Christie added, “You get to see women that are not big and strong just because they’re acting like men. They’re doing something else. And also you’re seeing a developed character, or a developing character, that is showing some complex character traits. I’m delighted that something as legendary as Star Wars has decided to reflect our society.”
10:37 a.m. One journalist in attendance noted that Ridley was wearing very dark lipstick, which puzzled the entire cast (especially so soon after the long discussion about how women’s appearances don’t define them). “Obviously Rey goes to the Dark Side,” Breznican observed. “S—,” Johnson said.
10:38 a.m. Johnson said we won’t get the droid’s-eye view quite as much in the last film, but regarding the perspective, Ridley observed, “You’re with every character … I think it makes for compassionate viewing, because you’re really understanding both sides, why people are doing the things they’re doing, and the consequences of people’s actions.”
10:40 a.m. One member of the press asked what lesson the film imparts. “That’s a personal kind of thing,” Driver replied. “For some, that will be nothing.” After the laughter died down, he elaborated: “Whatever’s happening in the movie, wherever you are in your life, I think, speaks to you like no one else … So potentially nothing.”
10:42 a.m. As Breznican explored in his recent EW cover story, The Last Jedi illustrates the dangers of meeting one’s heroes — specifically when it comes to Rey’s first encounters with Luke. When asked about this theme, Johnson looked back to the saga’s roots, of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey. “It’s not about becoming a hero, it’s about adolescence, it’s about the transition from childhood to adulthood,” the director said. “Navigating those very tricky waters that we all have to navigate, that’s why it so universal. And part of that is your relationship to heroes … and that’s something that plays out in this film.”
10:44 a.m. So how was it for Hamill, having now played both sides of that hero meeting? “I don’t think any line in the script epitomized my reaction more than, ‘This is not going to go the way you think.’ And Rian pushed me out of my comfort zone, as if I weren’t as intimidated and terrified to begin with,” the actor said. “But I’m grateful, because you have to trust someone, and he was the only Obi-Wan available to me — not only in my choices as an actor but my choices in sock wear. I was so embarrassed, I lived in my drab black socks, and I said, ‘Curse you, Rian Johnson! I will get my revenge.’”
10:47 a.m. How is this movie different from all the others? Hamill: “It’s longer.” Johnson: “Not much longer! Not much longer!”
10:48 a.m. While the cast stayed mum on how The Last Jedi differs from previous installments in the saga, Ridley echoed Dern, noting that making the film felt the same as some of the smaller indie sets she’s been on in the last year. “It’s just a really happy set |
it not offensive, discriminatory and disrespectful to push your version of what I need on you?
During the recent floods in Chennai, the so-called poor refused to eat the cooked food doled out by good samaritans because it was not what they wanted to eat. They wanted raw material to cook for themselves. Just because we feel emotionally involved in the process of cooking and distributing does not make it right. So, we had a surplus of cooked food near Chennai and a scarcity in remote locations difficult to reach.
Finally, the ‘let them decide’ logic. If you give a village free cola for three years and then say you need to pay for it, or go back to dirty water, who loses in the long run? If you feel for the poor, give them ‘free’ in a form that does not set their expectations to something at first only to charge them for it later.
Which is why I am sceptical about what comes as free for a short term and is branded. I like the.`1 rice programme because it changes nothing other than the fact that it puts food on the table where jobs are few. I like the free education along with mid-day meals programme because it gives you genuine free basics forever and to everyone, and there is no one version of it.
Unfortunately, a large part of Asia is resource-starved and economic exploitation under the garb of ‘free’ already exists in many forms. That is why Zuckerberg’s Free Basics song has been sung before.
So, what is the alternative? Well, it is quite simple. The stated goal for Free Basics is to provide free connectivity to increase economic activity, opportunities and conveniences.
So, why not collaborate with the state governments, create specific content sites for communities like farmers, traders, artisans and others. Provide them video-based skills training, information updates and alerts, and a platform to sell their goods and services.
Add all citizen services they need into these sites, like land records, MGNREGA information, government schemes they can avail and the status of their application or complaints. Brand them ‘.gov’ and roll out unbranded free basics, which has only access to this community sites. It would bring the change we wish to see.
If we really want to do good, let us stay focused on giving the underserved what they need and not what we think they need.
Facebook’s intentions may be noble. But its Free Basics initiative is misdirected. I hope it can re-purpose its efforts to make a real difference on the ground. We need leaders like Zuckerberg to join us in the fight against poverty, unrelated to brands and benefits. He could make a big difference in this fight. The question is, will he?
The writer is former CEO, HCL TechnologiesThe G5’s Build Quality Issues and Misleading Marketing Take Away From the Merit of its Virtues
The G5 has finally arrived to the hands of reviewers and consumers after much anticipation. LG’s odyssey into the world of modularity took us all by surprise, and the original reaction towards the approach was as loud and divisive as you might expect.
While many justifiably sang praise to LG for trying something so radically different in a time of ageing, seemingly drained-flagships, others like myself remained skeptical and looked at the product with a more critical gaze. So it was that I found myself writing an analysis of the various sacrifices, visible and invisible, LG had likely opted for in order to bring forth this modular design, and while the article could be interpreted as negative, I only expected my thoughts to change for the better once the G5 arrived. But they didn’t; several hands-on after, including our own review process at XDA (and several units within our team), confirmed that LG has compromised to make modularity work — from widespread build quality inconsistencies to a controversy regarding one of the most advertised aspects of the device.
In our previous piece, we detailed the sacrifices LG had to make in order to achieve such a design, and how many of those decisions could backfire onto the user experience. We’ll touch on those again near the end, but first let’s go over what we found out about the G5 that illuminates the issues with the device.
The conversation about the G5’s body was (unsurprisingly) sparked by a video where JerryRigEverything, of Nexus 6P bending fame, scratched the back of the phone and revealed metal covered in paint. Up until hands-on began arriving, the blogosphere at large believed that the G5 was indeed a full-metal phone, because that’s precisely what LG advertised it as (and our phone differs quite a bit from the promo pics in the more minute details, too). But it begs the question, how can it be a full metal phone if there is a coat of what we now know is primer, and then paint, on top of the metal? Full metal would imply that there is nothing but metal on the body, at least what’s immediately perceptible. However, LG begs to differ, as in a statement Ken Hong from LG claimed that “[he] thinks it’s incorrect to say a product isn’t all metal if paint is involved”. Barring the contradiction one inevitably finds when taking such statement literally, he then goes on to say that “[it’s] like saying cars and airplanes aren’t metal because they are also painted”.
Now it’s important to note that the G5 doesn’t feel like metal, whereas other dyed or painted metals actually do. Ken Hong laments the fact that “some people have a tendency to assume … metal having to make contact with skin [is necessary] for a product to be considered made of metal”, but the distinction is different on smartphones than on airplanes because arguably the biggest reason OEMs make metal phones is for the “premium feel” that reviewers and consumers are dazzled by. Notice how the commonly-used phrase is “premium feel”, which the G5 wanted us to believe it had by passing off as device with a metal exterior. In reality, it has a metal structure, which does come with benefits, as it makes the body sturdy and better-suited for the hollow interior that allows the modular aspect to exist.
Traditional colored metals we’ve seen use anodized aluminum, which can double as a dyeing process that does allow for innovative color variants (like Rose Gold!) while still retaining the metal build at the forefront (…of the back). The G5, on the other hand, could be said to have a metal skeleton covered in non-metal skin. As an analogy, I can’t say that I have an all-skeleton body just because I have a skeleton underneath, nor can I allude to my skin having the same feel as my bones. Both cases are isomorphic, and claiming such a thing would be misleading. The G5’s marketing is misleading if it is aimed at people that want phones with a metal exterior.
When this surfaced, a discussion arose where many chalked it off as a “non-issue”, either by arguing that it was not a big deal, or that they personally believed this was a better solution than an all-metal back (either due to aesthetics or build integrity). Indeed, the “microdizing” process allows for the antenna bands to be hidden, making for the only metal phone with a “seamless” look. But it’s still worth noting that this was achieved through completely covering the phone, and the antennae seams (somewhat, as we’ll see below). Most importantly, I don’t think most critics took issue with the fact that this was a non-metal phone – we are used to that from LG anyway – but rather that we were left to believe we’d hold the cold, “premium feeling” metal. It was disingenuous marketing further defended by sophistry, an all-too-common tactic when companies are under fire.
As we saw in Erica’s original video, though, the process didn’t come without sacrifices to the build of the phone. The back of her first G5 was far from smooth, with uneven bumps on the back and top seams showing through. This is, however, an issue that not everyone will get, but other issues she noted are widespread, and we have noted them on our various consumer units too. The removable chin, for example, doesn’t fully blend into the body, as it has a very uneven opening between the two pieces with one side usually being tighter, while other shows more of a gap. Some curve out (as in the image in our feature image) and some go in (picture of the unit below).
If that wasn’t enough, the frame of the chin and the body don’t connect properly either, making for a not-so-seamless transition that is clearly not present in renders. Then there is the fact that the paint body can scratch off and look worse than a scratch would look on a metal phone. I take personal issue with paint on metal after having owned a Galaxy Note 4, which had painted metal around the edges; one fall scuffed the paint on the metal, completely ruining the pristine look of the device. It seems that at Pocketnow, they had a similar issue (image below), as did Android Central EDIT: and one of ours too. Now, metal phones can scratch too — my Honor 5X already bears such kind of battle scar. But some metal phones are stronger than others, and the scratch does not provide for an uneven surface in the same way; the scratches on all my metal phones were mostly unnoticeable, and the aluminum 7000 frame of my Note 5 and the magnesium frame of my OnePlus 2 held up beautifully despite a myriad of accidental drops.
Finally, the screen of the G5 has notable lightbleed, with botches spread all over the frame, but particularly on the bottom. This undermines the excellence of LG’s displays, which have consistently improved with each generation.
Overall, the G5’s modularity brought, on top of the UX and design sacrifices I pointed out in my previous piece, build quality shortcomings either due to manufacturing defects or unavoidable execution. To recapitulate, this includes the lightbleed in the screen, the jarring transition in the frame, the gap between the body and chin, and the uneven line that separates the two at the back. The primer and paint also means that falls can chip off the body of the phone. (I won’t count the bumps seen in Erica’s video, but as shown in the table below, these aren’t exclusive to her unit).
These build quality issues come on top of the sacrifices LG must have made in order to create the G5’s modularity. To name a few, the LG G5 has a worse screen-to-body ratio than any other Optimus G flagships since the excellent G2, including the V10 (which was often criticized for being too clumsy!). Despite having relatively bigger bezels (compared to its predecessors) with a smaller screen, the device is also thinner (which isn’t bad) and packs a smaller battery (2,800mAh). The really good DAC is sold separately (and not in the United States, apparently!), while it could arguably be built into the phone — it’s certainly possible, given it can be implemented within the chin, but probably also by replacing the G5’s built-in DAC. The LG G5’s modular DAC pack also brings in another 3mm jack, which likely takes up internal volume anyway; I find it hard to believe that the DAC couldn’t have been accommodated inside the G5, even with the modularity.
Then we have the invisible costs, as many resources must have been diverted towards the G5’s modular design, and the modules themselves. It’s not that the G5’s modularity hurts the phone, but much of what it adds could have been achieved within the base device, making for one superphone.
Perhaps was built with diecast aluminum not to sell it off as a premium device, but to make the modular phone sturdier? Either way, covering the phone in non-metal resulted in disingenuous marketing which we see no reason not to call out. The conclusion of my previous article still stands — the modularity does have the potential to add much to the phone and make all of these sacrifices in design (and now build as well) worth it… but that depends on whether LG releases more, better modules.
What I presented above is not a condemnation — indeed, we have many positive things to say about the G5, and you’ll hear them soon in XDA’s video review (which won’t focus on these issues, hence why we wrote this separate article). But all of this must be pointed out, we think, so that consumers know what they are really buying into, and so that in the future, companies don’t make these mistakes again. I don’t think anyone asked for a modular LG G flagship, and while I commend LG for taking the plunge and doing something new, the G5 doesn’t feel like the useful innovation we wished it was. Innovation can come without such costs, my favorite example being the Note Edge which brought the same flagship experience as the Note 4, but with its curved screen that Samsung then built upon for successive successes. Most importantly (to me, at least), consumers have a right to know that what they are buying is far from advertised — our units simply don’t look seamless, unlike the renders, and have defects that might have deterred us from buying in the first place. If better modules come out, the LG G5 could be an exceptional, timeless experience. But not one without serious sacrifices.Six Islamic schools in Australia that rely on government grants for survival are set to lose their tax payer-funded revenue after an audit found them to be operating for profit.
The schools are all affiliated with the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) and one has claimed in its defence that being asked to repay an outstanding government loan is racist.
On Friday, the AFIC schools were formally issued with notifications of non-compliance with the financial management and governance requirements of the Australian Education Act.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the notices come after a six-month investigation by the Federal Department of Education sparked by a string of sackings among senior staff members and principals, allegations of financial mismanagement and concerns over the delivery of the curriculum.
“This action does not come lightly,” Education Minister Simon Birmingham said on Friday. “All schools must have effective management and accountability arrangements in place to support the best possible education outcomes for their students.
“My focus is always that we, as the tax payer, get maximum bang for our buck to improve education outcomes for Australian children.”
The Islamic College of Brisbane, the Islamic College of South Australia, the Islamic School of Canberra and Langford Islamic College in Western Australia have been issued with non-compliance notices. They join Malek Fahd in Sydney’s south-west and the Islamic College of Melbourne in Victoria on the list of schools to be warned.
Malek Fahd in the south-western Sydney suburb of Greenacre has also been embroiled in a separate legal dispute with the NSW Department of Education, after it accused the state government of breaching racial discrimination laws in ordering it to repay $8.5 million in taxpayer funding.
Overall the school receives about $20m a year from state and federal governments, with taxpayer funds making up 80 per cent of the school’s funding.
My School records show the Australian government provided about $5.5m in recurrent funding to the Islamic College of Brisbane in 2013; $3.7m to the Islamic College of Melbourne; $5.6m to the Islamic College of South Australia; $663,000 to the Islamic School of Canberra; and $3m to the Langford Islamic College.
The records also indicate the Malek Fahd Islamic School, which has three campuses, received $17.5m in the same year.
The NSW State Education Minister, Adrian Piccoli, suspended government funding in 2011 after he declared it had been unlawfully operating for profit not charitable purposes by overcharging for rent and school director’s fees.
The six schools have 28 days to respond to the findings of the audit.Moving on from MVC: CQRS
Aug 19, 2015 Joseph Villafranca
Do you sometimes forget what your models model? Are your controllers getting out of control? Modern MVC frameworks like Ruby on Rails and Laravel have made it extremely easy to get full-fledged web applications production-ready at blazingly fast speeds. With the help of CRUD style resourceful controllers a small team, sometimes consisting of one, can launch a ReSTful web application complete with users, blog posts, comments, and administrative abilities within a matter of hours. It's a beautiful thing when it bears the weight of a project's scope, but we all know projects can quickly grow into codebases that become nightmares to expand and maintain without solid organization. Command Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS) is one of the patterns we at Grok have used when our MVC based applications evolve into more sophisticated pieces of software.
CQRS is a simple, yet powerful design pattern you can use to keep your models and controllers (and views, if you like to abuse every part of the MVC acronym) dry. The main idea behind it is that all actions being done in those hundreds (thousands?) of lines of code in your controllers and models should be separated into Commands -- actions that write data, and Queries -- actions that read data. Don't ever mix the two, EVER. Doing so would be breaking the one and only rule of CQRS. Commands should always have a void return type, thus altering data but not returning anything, and Queries should always return some type of data without making any changes to the system.
There seems to be some debate (what a surprise) between proponents of CQRS over whether or not it requires the use of different models for writing and reading data. Separate models at this layer in your application can help begin to pave the way into other design patterns that further the versatility of your software such as Task-based UI, Event Sourcing, and Domain Objects.
Every layer of software adds to the complexity of development and upkeep though, so making use of the same model for reads/writes while still tasking different objects to command and query may be the most viable solution for certain projects:
Consider the following code you might see in a Laravel controller:
<?php class UserController { public function index() { if ($user_preferences = Auth::user()->preferences) { $users = User::where('region', $user_preferences->region) ->where('group', $user_preferences->group) ->where('role', $user_preferences->role) ->paginate(20); } else { $users = User::all()->paginate(20); } return View::make('users.index')->with('users', $users); } public function store() { $input = Input::all(); $user = User::where('email', $input['email'])->first(); // Check to see if email exists if ($user) { $message = 'Email already exists'; return Redirect::back()->with('message', $message); } // Validate input $user_attributes = array_intersect($input, User::$rules); $validator = Validator::make($user, $user_attributes); if ($validator->fails()) { return Redirect::back()->withErrors($validator); } // Store User $user = new User; $user->first_name = $input['first_name']; $user->last_name = $input['last_name']; $user->email = $input['email']; $user->password = Hash::make($input['password']); $user->region = $input['region']; if (!$user->save()) { $message = 'Unknown Error Occurred'; return Redirect::back()->with('message', $message); } return Redirect::action('Controller@index'); } }
There isn't a lot of logic being executed here. The index method queries with the User model for users with pagination and optional search preferences if a relational model for search preferences is found. The store method does a couple of basic validation steps and then attempts to create the new user with attributes set in the POST request.
It still amounts to over 50 lines of code! That may not seem like much of a problem to you, but it also does nothing to limit the potential growth of these methods over time. What happens when the user entity doubles in size?
Now lets look at the same controller using separate command and query services as injected dependencies:
<?php use app\Users\UserCommandService; use app\Users\UserQueryService; class UserController { public function construct(UserCommandService $user_command_service, UserQueryService $user_query_service) { $this->user_command_service = $user_command_service; $this->user_query_service = $user_query_service; } public function index() { $users = $this->user_query_service->getAllUsersWithSearchPreferences(); return View::make('users.index')->with('users', $users); } public function store() { $this->user_command_service->createUserCommand(); return Redirect::action('Controller@index'); } }
Simply moving all logic from the controller to service classes separated by reading from and writing to our storage has trimmed the code down by more than half the amount of lines, and better yet, has helped define a single action being taken in each of our controller actions.
If you search the web for CQRS you will no doubt run into larger software design concepts like Domain Driven Design or Event Sourcing and quickly be tempted to jump into the wormhole of information covering them (or jump off the nearest ledge). Don't do either! At least for the time being. Stick to understanding the simple building block that is CQRS and you will improve your code dramatically.
SourcesUpdate: The natto dinner is sold out.
So natto, Japan’s famously stinky-slimy fermented beans, they get a bad rap. But here’s the thing: Natto can go haute.
In fact, thanks to the fervent appetites of Hawaii’s natto worshippers, over the years we’ve enlisted chefs like Andrew Le of the Pig and the Lady, Robert and Minaka Urquidi of Ethel’s Grill, Hide Yoshimoto of Izakaya Torae Torae and Grant Kawasaki of OC16 to bring us sublime natto creations. We’ve had uni-natto terrines, natto with bone marrow and truffles, natto-grilled cheese sandwiches, natto escargots and lots of natto desserts.
Since we’ve been hearing rumblings from people who cannot wait for our annual midsummer feast in July, we’ve enlisted uber talented chef Lee Anne Wong to create an elegant, all-natto feast at Kaimuki’s Koko Head Cafe next Saturday, March 18.
“It’s gonna be closer to an informal natto pupu party,” she says, “up to 10 natto dishes to be served family style and pupu style. It should be plenty of food … figure 1.5 to 2 pounds of food per person.”
I’ll admit, I’ve never anticipated a feast in terms of pounds of food per person. Here are some of Wong’s preliminary natto ideas, which I warn you are entirely subject to change:
• Natto Nori Fish Fritters
• Natto Moco, Quail Egg, Bacon Hollandaise
• Bagna Cauda, Natto-Miso Butter
• Jidori Chicken-Natto Sweet Rice in Bamboo Leaf
• Venison Tataki, Goma-Natto
• Kauai Prawns, Natto-Garlic Crumble
• Natto Cakes, Shoyu Chili Vinegar
Natto with venison may be a world first. Same goes for natto-garlic crumble. Yum!
Like all our dinners, this one is open to all natto lovers. There is only one rule: You must love natto. There will be no menu substitutions.
Dinner is $55 and includes tax and tip but not drinks. Koko Head Cafe has a full bar, so you won’t go thirsty. Also, this spot is intimate: There are only 40 seats, and these dinners always sell out.
Ready to feast? Here’s where to buy tickets. You’ll find all details below the video.
– Video courtesy of @jjjjeessssssssss
MARCH 18 NATTO FEAST
Koko Head Cafe
1145 12th Ave.
Saturday, March 18 at 6 p.m.
Tickets: $55 includes tax and tip, available online
Full no-host bar
Parking: Street parking and municipal lotsLooking for news you can trust?
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On Tuesday, 40 minutes into Glenn Beck’s nationally broadcast “night of action” targeting the Common Core education standards being implemented in schools across the nation, a North Carolina activist named Andrea Dillon announced live that her state’s governor had just signed a law directing the board of education to rewrite its standards—a step shy of jettisoning North Carolina from the initiative outright. A murmur went through the audience of two dozen or so parents and kids at the cinema in Ballston, Virginia where I was watching, one of hundreds of theaters around the country that was broadcasting the interactive event, dubbed “We Will Not Conform”* (a nod to Beck’s new book on the standards, Conform). Beck offered a few words of congratulation, and Dillon patted her allies on the back: “North Carolina’s got a lot of gumption.”
It wasn’t the biggest political story of the night—that would be either David Perdue’s victory in the Georgia Republican Senate primary, or President Barack Obama’s consumption of multiple cheeseburgers, depending on your point of view. But Tuesday was a big day for opponents of the Common Core State Standards, a set of math and language-arts guidelines adopted by 46 states and the District of Columbia in 2010, and, of late, an object of obsession for Beck and his army of parent activists. North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory became the latest once-supportive governor to hop the fence in opposition to the standards. Last week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker called on his state to repeal Common Core, echoing an earlier move by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to extricate his state from the standards. (That effort has turned the state board of education and Louisiana’s lieutenant governor against Jindal, and is now mired in litigation.) Meanwhile, in Georgia, where Republican officials in the state have previously been staunch supporters of the standards, an anti-Core teacher holds a narrow lead in the Republican primary for state superintendent—a position with broad powers for Core implementation.
The purpose of Beck’s event, which was sponsored by conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks and Liberty University’s online education platform, was to keep the momentum going. Similar to events Beck has held in the past, such as a semi-autobiographical one-man-show about a Christmas sweater, it was streamed live in movie theaters, many of which sold out despite the $19-a-ticket price tag. He had assembled a team of “generals”—activists, policy experts, politicians, and writers—who were leading the fight against Common Core and could teach attendees how to battle the initiative in their own communities. Beck’s guests sat at little tables in his company’s studio, which was once used for the filming of Barney and Friends and Walker: Texas Ranger. Following the broadcast, viewers would be presented with an “action plan” for combating Common Core, an education reform effort Beck has called “slavery” and “the most important story in American history.” The solution, he hinted, was to boycott the tests—and, in an unusual twist for a man known as a bombthrower, to turn down the rhetoric.
“Don’t use ‘Glenn Beck’—no, seriously, don’t use ‘Glenn Beck,'” he said.
Midway through the event, Beck took a “potty break” and cut to his New York studio, where a host named Buck Sexton convened a focus group of parents and kids who opposed the Core. They sat at desks, just like in a classroom, and Sexton grilled them on questions like “Do you think you’re doing more work for no particularly good reason?” The kids, it turned out, don’t like homework, and think they get too much of it. “The best stuff that I’ve learned was stuff I taught myself on my own, but that comes with conservatism,” Sexton said, before throwing it back to Beck.
A cynic might suggest that this was all an elaborate plot to 1) make money, or 2) make more money by selling his anti-Common Core book, Conform—in bookstores now!, or 3) make even more money by peddling his book while building up his data lists by asking viewers to sign up for his text alerts during the event. But Beck told his audience the event was about something much greater. “The day we’re all willing to peacefully go to jail for our children like Martin Luther King was, we win.” It took him two hours and five minutes to mention Nazis, and only then in passing. This was a different side of the conservative media king—it was Glenn Beck, the community organizer.
As the event drew to close, Beck made one last appeal, requesting that they not use his name when they went back to their communities to talk to other parents about Common Core. “Don’t use ‘Glenn Beck’—no, seriously, don’t use ‘Glenn Beck,'” he said. For that matter, he said, parents should refrain from using the term “ObamaCore”—a popular nickname used by critics—lest they turn off would-be liberal allies. Instead, they should make an appeal to the heart. “There’s two things that will not be beaten—love and courage,” he said. And then he asked audience members to text 2233 for an instant notification when his action plan was released. But I considered my choices and opted out.
What am I, a conformist?
Correction: This article originally misstated the name of the event.PISCATAWAY -- He has given Rutgers the credibility that came with his arrival as a big-time recruit, the physical toll on his body after five grueling years, and maybe most of all, the leadership and character during the dark days that befell this program.
Darius Hamilton has given all that and then some during his career, but as he prepares to walk out onto the field at High Point Solutions Stadium for the final time on Saturday night, he has one final gift for the frustrated fan base he is leaving behind.
Hope.
"I'm laying the foundation for something that, someday, is going to be great," Hamilton said in a wide-ranging interview about his legacy this week. "I know that. I can see that with the talent we have on this team, I can see that in the coaching staff with how passionate they are and how they coach guys. I'm helping build something. And that's all I ever wanted to do.
"Obviously, at 2-8, people probably hear that and say, 'This kid doesn't know what he's talking about,'" he said "(But) I know for a fact I'm leaving this place in a good situation. I know this place is headed in the right direction. This season hasn't gone the way we want it to, but I know what kind of character is on this team."
Which seniors had the biggest impact?
That attitude is the essence of Hamilton, and it is just one reason why fans should give him a loud, throaty send off as the big defensive tackle walks onto the field with his mother, father and sister as part of the senior day ceremony on Saturday night.
Rutgers fans spend a lot of time asking the same question: What if the best New Jersey players stayed home? Well, here is one who did, it would be understandable if he looked at a rocky five years in Piscataway with something other than rose-colored glasses.
The coach who recruited him left for the NFL just days before signing day, but Hamilton stayed true to his commitment. The coach who replaced him was fired at the end of a what would have been Hamilton's senior season if not for an injury, and yet Hamilton returned for one more season.
"Ah, man, listen: I love this place to death," he said. "There was never a question in my mind of where I wanted to be when things got rough. Obviously, sometimes things don't work out the way you planned for them to work out but I'm part of the process."
Hamilton had to know that the first season under Chris Ash would be an uphill climb. He became a leader for Ash, embracing all the changes and setting an example for the younger players.
Yes, this season hasn't gone well. But can you imagine how things might have been had Ash, who immediately demanded more from the players in the training room and in their diets, met with resistance from the established players in the locker room? Hamilton and the other seniors made sure that didn't happen.
The 50 greatest Rutgers athletes ever
"Darius has been great," Ash said. "He doesn't say a whole lot but when he talks people listen to him. And the fact that Darius bought into what we're doing and what we're trying to build here meant a lot."
Hamilton called it a "long ride," and that ride hit its apex two seasons ago with a win over North Carolina in the Quick Lane Bowl. Not much has gone right for Hamilton, or this program, since.
The last time Rutgers faced Penn State, an injured Hamilton put himself at risk when he tried to play on one leg. He called that a poor choice last week, but there's little question it left an impression on the fan base. How can't you love a player who does that for your team?
"The relationships I've been able to form in the hardest times, whether it was when we were losing or I was hurt, that says a lot more to me than any good day," Hamilton said. "The good days were beautiful, but there's beauty in the struggle, and that's probably something that I've enjoyed the most."
The struggle is likely to continue against a far better Penn State team, but Hamilton hasn't given up on the season. He could have gone to Florida or Miami or just about anywhere five years ago out of Don Bosco, but he chose to stay home. Rutgers fans should remember him for that, and as he makes his exit, for this:
"I've had my fair share of ups and downs, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't change any time I spent here for anything else in the world."
LISTEN: Episode 6 of NJ.com's Rutgers Football podcast
Rebuilding Rutgers: From The Ashes takes you inside the new football regime. This episode is a 10-year anniversary retrospect of Rutgers' greatest win.
Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.MISERY-vending prog sulkers Radiohead will use George Osborne’s autumn statement as the lyrics for their new album.
The record promises to be the most challenging 45 minutes of music since Leonard Cohen recorded his car insurance renewal phone call in 1978.
That album took an unprecedented eight years to release due to the high number of nervous breakdowns experienced by a string of producers.
The new Radiohead album, called Six More Years of Pain, will be available next spring with a cover featuring a couple in their late 70s working in B&Q behind a montage of closed down community centres.
Radiohead will promote the album with a series of gigs in empty council buildings across Britain in what will be the first tour to be sponsored by Prozac.
Frontman Thom Yorke said: “We’re not going to release the album on CD as we don’t want people yanking the disc out of the machine, snapping it in half and dragging the jagged edge across their wrists.
“We’ve moved away from traditional pop and used more experimental soundscapes, like on The Ballad of the Public Sector Pay Freeze where the percussion is an orphan’s tears falling into a freshly dug grave.
“Meanwhile Jonny plays slide guitar using a book from an abandoned library during the intro to Oh Jesus, It’s All Gone Shit.
“And on the final track, we chant George Osborne’s name over and over again while Christopher Ecclestone reads from an Argos catalogue.”EDIT: Because there has been some confusion on this point, I want to clarify that this post is not meant as an attack on individual authors. Rather, it’s a criticism of the social milieu that allows “aloof, mysterious boy” to be a major selling point in literature aimed at teenaged girls. Within the context of the stories themselves, these boys may or may not be as distant or scary as the marketing claims. The marketing may, indeed, run completely counter to the author’s intention. That’s a given. However, I believe the way literature is marketed says at least as much about our society as the literature itself. I’ve edited the post to make that point less ambiguous.
I finally got a library card last weekend!
I know what you’re going to say: it’s more than a little shameful for an alleged writer to have traipsed about for nearly a year without a library card. In my defense, I was working through a massive backlog of Kindle purchases, and there was no room on the docket for additional books from the library. Also in my defense, the library’s like, a whole ten minutes away. Who has the time, am I right?
At any rate, one of the first things I did when I got my card was comb through the electronic catalog in search of Young Adult fantasy novels. I’ve been writing one for a few months now, and a familiarity with the field never hurt anyone. As I went through the listings, though, I began to notice something.
Check out these blurbs for popular YA fantasy novels:
“Shocked by the brutality of her new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. The hardest choices may yet lie ahead….” –Amazon summary for Divergent, by Veronica Roth
Hmmm. I’ve yet to read Divergent–from what was shown in the movie trailer, I gather it involves a totalitarian society, a boy with tattoos up his back, and teens getting classified by the worst substitute for the sorting hat this side of an unexploded bazooka shell–but I’m willing to take the blurb writer at their word when they say that Tris’ life is “brutal.” One wonders, of course, how a child fighting for her life in a brutal police state would have time to feel “drawn” to a boy. Ah, but that’s YA, isn’t it? You need a little romance to hook the teen and pre-teen girls who make up the bulk of your audience.
But wait…what’s this about the boy seeming to threaten her? That doesn’t sound like fruitful soil in which to plant puppy love. The last time I associated with a boy who both “threatened” and “protected” me, he suggested I stop seeing my friends and told my parents I was too emotionally unstable to survive without him. Maybe that’s just the marketing, though. I doubt Ms. Roth was aiming for anything so sinister.
“Ever since her sixteenth birthday, strange things keep happening to Seraphina Parrish. The Lady in Black burns Sera’s memories. Unexplainable Premonitions catapult her to other cities. The Grungy Gang wants to kill her. And a beautiful, mysterious boy stalks her.” –Amazon summary for Wander Dust, by Michelle Warren
Hang on: a mysterious boy stalk |
of his playing career.[3] He married Dunja on 17 february 2013 and on 20 November 2013 became the father of his first child Neva.[4] On 27 july 2018 he became father second time, his wife gave birth to son Matej.
Club career [ edit ]
Inter Milan [ edit ]
Stevanović started his professional career in Serbia at FK Radnički Obrenovac.[5] In early 2009, a trial was arranged for him at Italian champions Internazionale, and after arriving in Milan on 9 January,[citation needed] Stevanović was signed by the club in February.[6]
In November 2009, Stevanović, along with youngster Giulio Donati, was named to the match-day squad against Livorno in Coppa Italia, but remained an unused sub.[7]
He then traveled with the first team to Abu Dhabi, UAE and Saudi Arabia for winter training camp.[8] He played the friendly match against Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal as starter.[9]
Due to the injuries incurred by Esteban Cambiasso, Sulley Muntari and Rene Krhin, Stevanović was named in the squad for the first league match after the winter break, against Chievo, but again didn't get any playing time.[10]
A couple of days later, after Patrick Vieira left for Manchester City on 8 January 2010, Stevanović made his Serie A debut the very next day on 9 January at home versus Siena by coming on as a sub for Thiago Motta in the 67th minute. Head coach José Mourinho made the substitution in direct response to Siena taking the 3–2 lead on a goal scored two minutes earlier. By the end, Inter managed to overturn the score 4–3 with an injury time winner.[11]
Torino [ edit ]
On 22 July 2010, Stevanović left for Serie B side Torino in co-ownership deal for €2 million.,[12] As part of the deal, Inter signed youngster Simone Benedetti in another co-ownership deal also for €2M.[12][13] He debuted in Coppa Italia against Cosenza, earning a penalty kick. Torino coach Franco Lerda played him a further 8 times throughout the season and once more in Coppa Italia.
Toronto FC (loan) [ edit ]
On 24 March 2011, it was officially announced that Stevanović would join MLS club Toronto FC on loan.[14] Stevanović made his debut for the club on 26 March 2011 in a 2–0 home victory against Portland Timbers.[15] Following a 1–0 home defeat to Seattle Sounders FC on 18 June in which Stevanović earned his first start in nearly a month, the Serbian attacking midfielder was recalled by Torino.[16]
Return to Torino [ edit ]
On 21 June 2011 the co-ownership agreement was renewed for the 2011–12 season. On 4 September 2011, he scored his first goal as professional footballer, giving Torino the lead against Varese.[17] He ended the season with 36 appearances and 3 goals. On 22 June 2012, the co-ownership was once again renewed, with Torino renewing his contract until 30 June 2015.[18] On 26 August 2012, Stevanović has played his first match in 2012–13 season against Siena, playing as a starter.[19] On 30 September 2012, Stevanović has entered in game as a substitute for Mario Santana in 58th minute and score the goal after a cross from Alessio Cerci in 1–5 away league win over Atalanta.[20]
On 19 June 2013, after 15 appearances and 2 goals in Serie A, the co-ownership agreement was resolved in favour of Torino.[21]
Loans to Palermo, Bari and Spezia [ edit ]
On 11 July 2013, he moved to Palermo on loan with the right of redemption for the co-ownership,[22] finalised the next day.[23] He made his debut in the rosanero jersey, during the second round of Coppa Italia won 2-1 against Cremonese, held on 11 August 2013, playing as a starter.[24] On 3 May 2014, after the victory against Novara, 1–0 away, he was promoted to Serie A - with five games to spare. He finished the season with 21 appearances and one in Coppa Italia.
On 24 July 2014 he was loaned to Bari, with the option to redeem his contract.[25] In January 2015 he was recalled by Torino and loaned to Spezia in exchange for the forward Osarimen Ebagua and midfielder Pasquale Schiattarella.[26]
Partizan [ edit ]
On 31 August 2015, Stevanović joined Partizan from Torino on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract and was given the number 91 shirt.[27] Two days later he was officially presented at the Partizan Stadium.[28] On 12 September 2015, Stevanović made his official debut for the club in an Eternal derby against Red Star Belgrade and scored the equalizer for Partizan.[29] On 1 October 2015, Stevanović played his first match for Partizan in UEFA competitions in UEFA Europa League group stage in 1–3 away victory over Augsburg.[30] He scored the leading goal for Partizan against Radnik Surdulica in 2–2 away draw on 14 October 2015.[31] He has played 3 matches in 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage.
On 2 March 2016, Stevanović scored a goal in Serbian Cup quarter-final against Radnički Niš in 2–0 home win.[32]
Shonan Bellmare [ edit ]
On 29 December he signed two-year contract for Shonan Bellmare.[33] On 10 September 2018, he has officially terminated his contract with Bellmare by mutual consent.[34]
International career [ edit ]
On 3 March 2010, he made his debut for the Serbia U-21 team against Macedonia.
On 12 October 2012, he was called up to the senior national team by coach Siniša Mihajlović, making his debut in the 67th minute as a substitute for Zoran Tošić in a defeat against Belgium in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier.[35] On 22 March 2013, Stevanović was the first time in the starting lineup in the Serbian national team in his career against the Croatia on Maksimir.[36]
Career statistics [ edit ]
Club [ edit ]
As of 23 May 2015[37]
International [ edit ]
As of 18 December 2013[37]
Serbia national team Year Apps Goals 2012 1 0 2013 2 0 Total 3 0
Honours [ edit ]
Club [ edit ]
Palermo
PartizanBuy Photo The Little Miami bike trail runs along the outside of the old Peters Cartridge factory. (Photo: The Enquirer/Madison Schmidt)Buy Photo
Cincinnati developers may want to teach a master course in securing tax credits for renovating historic buildings.
More than one in two projects – 18 out of 34 – to obtain money in the most recent round of awards under the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program were located in Greater Cincinnati, state officials said Wednesday.
Fifteen area developers earned tax credits totaling $13.4 million out of the $37.8 million in credits awarded. Around the Buckeye State, the projects are expected to leverage more than a quarter of a billion dollars in private investment.
“This is public-private money coming together,” said David Goodman, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency. “Saving historic buildings strengthens Ohio’s communities which attracts businesses and visitors to the state.”
Cincinnati projects securing tax credits represent $157 million of planned development in Downtown, East Walnut Hills, Hamilton Township, Lebanon, Northside, Over-the-Rhine, Pendleton, and Walnut Hills. Among the largest awards in this round: the $76 million renovation of the Union Central Life Annex building at 309 Vine St.
Last year, Music Hall obtained a $25 million "catalytic" tax credit award from the state. The once-a-year award is designed to support projects that could have a large and transforming impact on a neighborhood. Two projects in Cleveland and one in Akron applied for the award in this round.
After receiving feedback from applicants in the funding round completed earlier this year, Nathaniel Kaelin, program manager of the state's tax credit program, said the state made changes to ensure project developers at various sizes could obtain incentives.
Multiple projects obtained incentives in the portion of Over-the-Rhine north of Liberty Street, the most since the program launched several years ago.
Eric Haberthier, a developer leading the Rhine Group, said the neighborhood is primed for additional investment with the success of development happening south of Liberty. And with the interest in being around Findlay Market, he said, there's an opportunity to create developments that do more than cater to young white professionals.
Haberthier also said he has a letter of intent from an East Coast restaurateur to locate in his project.
NEWSLETTERS Get the Business Report newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Get top business headlines at the start of each day and be alerted of important business news as it happens. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-876-4500. Delivery: Daily Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Business Report Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
Wednesday was also the first time a tax credit project was funded in the East Walnut Hills neighborhood.
"This announcement marks a turning point for Walnut Hills and East Walnut Hills," said Kevin Wright, development director for the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation. "Today will ultimately be remembered as the day we brought the heart of Walnut Hills back to life."
Here are the approved projects:
Union Central Life Annex, Downtown
The owner of 309 Vine St. is planning a more than $70 million mixed-use development of the property. (Photo: Provided/Village Green)
Project cost - $75,541,592
Tax credit - $5,000,000
Address - 309 Vine St.
Developer - Village Green
Details - The former office building is expected to house 294 market-rate apartments on the upper floors, a main floor grocery store, business incubator and office space and a rooftop restaurant.
Peters Cartridge Factory, Hamilton Township
Buy Photo Clouds hang over the old Peters Cartridge factory. (Photo: The Enquirer/Madison Schmidt)
Project cost - $25,366,000
Tax credit - $2,400,000
Address - 1415 Grandin Road
Developer - Bloomfield/Schon & Associates
Details - The former ammunition manufacturing facility could feature 128 residential lofts, creative office space and a restaurant.
Paramount Square, Walnut Hills
Buy Photo Plans to renovate the Paramount Building in Walnut Hills are threatened by a possible city cut to funding for all of Cincinnati’s community development corporations, according Patricia Garry, executive director of the CDC Association of Greater Cincinnati. The Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation is leading the project at Peebles Corner, in the heart of the neighborhood. (Photo: The Enquirer/Patrick Reddy)
Project cost - $20,093,697
Tax credit - $1,999,000
Address - 900-921 and 957 E. McMillan Ave., 2436-2454 Gilbert Ave., and 2363 St. James St.
Developer - Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation and Model Group
Details - Six historic buildings and two non-historic buildings centered around the former Paramount Theater are expected to feature 15 commercial spaces and 44 market-rate residential units.
Broadway Square II, Pendleton
Project cost - $13,133,245
Tax credit - $1,300,000
Address - 1126-1211 Broadway, 405-414 E. 12th St., and 331 E. 13th St.
Developer - Model Group
Details - The second phase of Broadway Square calls for renovating 10 historic buildings for retail space and 37 residential units.
Ophthalmic Hospital, Over-the-Rhine
Project cost - $7,366,150
Tax credit - $732,950
Address - 208-214 W. 12th St.
Developer - Cincinnati Center City Development Corp.
Details: The former Ophthalmic Hospital and Free Dispensary served as a medical facility for nearly 90 years, but is now vacant. The buildings are planned for renovations to house a 20-room boutique hotel with a bar and restaurant on the first floor.
Kauffman Building, Over-the-Rhine
Project cost - $2,775,353
Tax credit - $249,999
Address - 1725 Vine St.
Developer - Wael Safi
Details - Built to house brewery workers in 1863, the building sustained two fire in the last two decades. The property is expected to be redeveloped into commercial spaces on the first floor, six residential units above and a new addition housing six more apartments and parking.
1814 Race, Over-the-Rhine
Project cost - $1,983,366
Tax credit - $217,000
Address - 1814 Race St.
Developer - Model Group
Details - The property is expected to be rehabilitated to house five apartments and first-floor commercial space.
100 West Elder, Over-the-Rhine
Project cost - $1,587,987
Tax Credit - $220,000
Address - 100 W. Elder St.
Developer - Greg Badger
Details - The dilapidated mixed-use building is expected to be rehabilitated into first-floor retail or restaurant space with offices on the upper floors.
515 East 12th, Pendleton
Project cost - $1,579,851
Tax credit - $195,000
Address - 515 E. 12th St.
Developer - Model Group
Details - The small residential building is expected to be rehabilitated to feature six market-rate residential units. The project is part of the third phase of Broadway Square.
1737 Vine, Over-the-Rhine
Project cost - $1,316,634
Tax credit - $185,000
Address - 1737 Vine St.
Developer - Eric Haberthier, the Rhine Group
Details: The property could house seven market-rate residential units and restaurant users.
Central Trust Co. East Hills Branch, East Walnut Hills
Project cost - $1,259,939
Tax credit - $196,007
Address - 1535 Madison Road
Developer - South Block Properties
Details: A full rehabilitation could convert the structure into restaurant space. The property is the first within the Madison-Woodbury historic district to obtain a historic preservation tax incentive.
1737 Elm, Over-the-Rhine
Project cost - $1,200,047
Tax credit - $233,799
Address - 1737 Elm St.
Developer - Kim Starbuck and Kevin Pape
Details - Two buildings, which date back to the 1850s and 1880s, have been vacant for more than 10 years. One building is planned to house small market-rate apartments and first-floor retail space and the second building could have one apartment unit.
Rutemueller Building, Pendleton
Project cost - $1,137,569
Tax credit - $113,500
Address - 527 E. 13th St.
Developer - Urban Sites
Details - The vacant former grocery store and tenement-style apartments is expected to be renovated for seven market-rate apartments.
Fromm Building, Over-the-Rhine
Project cost - $682,394
Tax credit - $108,500
Address - 286 W. McMicken Ave.
Developer - Julie Fay
Details - The vacant Italianate building is expected to be rehabilitated to feature seven residential units. The unit with first-floor entry will be designed to be a live-work space.
Schmitthenner Building, Over-the-Rhine
Project cost - $671,870
Tax credit - $82,750
Address - 1527 Elm St.
Developer - Jim Uber
Details - The four-story building built in 1873 has been vacant for more than 30 years and could be rehabilitated to house seven market-rate apartments and one retail storefront.
3936 Spring Grove, Northside
Project cost - $504,843
Tax Credit - $71,608
Address - 3936 Spring Grove Ave.
Developer - South Block Properties
Details - The building, vacant since the 1980s, is expected to feature two market-rate apartments and space for a bar on the first floor.
205 West McMicken, Over-the-Rhine
Project cost - $375,000
Tax credit - $37,000
Address - 205 W. McMicken Ave.
Developer - OTR A.D.O.P.T.
Details - Vacant for more than 20 years, the property is envisioned to serve as first-floor commercial space with one three-bedroom apartment unit located on the upper floor.
320-322 North Mechanic, Lebanon
Project cost - $315,993
Tax credit - $51,372
Address - 320 N. Mechanic St.
Developer - Gabe Drake
Details - The first building to obtain tax credits within the North Broadway Historic District is expected to feature three rental units. The vacant multifamily building was built in 1826 and enlarged in 1858.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The State Historic Preservation Office reviewed each project proposal to ensure that the rehabilitation work will protect the integrity of each historic building.
Tax credits are not awarded until projects are completed and analyzed to ensure historic preservation and other standards are met. Credits can then be applied to certain Ohio taxes owed.
Here are Greater Cincinnati projects that failed to win credits -
• 1537 Race, Over-the-Rhine, applied for $1,126,029.
• Crosley Building, Camp Washington, applied for $5,000,000.
• Strietmann Biscuit Co. Building, Over-the-Rhine, applied for $1,999,999.
Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/1QMjjYgHere’s what’s so wild about the Detroit Red Wings:
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Everyone agrees they’re bad. Everyone agrees they’re rebuilding. Everyone agrees they’ve got a ton of dead money on the books for years to come; they have the highest payroll in the league right now (albeit before they LTIR Johan Franzen for another season).
So the idea that they would now be even thinking about jerking around one of the few promising young players they actually have on the NHL roster is a sign of just how poorly run they are.
There’s a lot to like about Andreas Athanasiou. Thanks to his incredible speed and skill level, he’s very fun to watch, which for a team that’s about to spend several seasons losing a hell of a lot of hockey games in a brand new rink, should be important to the club first and foremost. From that perspective it’s almost immaterial that he’s actually good; even if he were only okay and an entertainment draw, that would still be something this team could market.
But Athanasiou also happens to be good: He was fifth on a pretty dismal team in points per 60 last year (nearly 2.0 at 5-on-5), and even free of context that feels like something you take. More important, he was first in goals per 60, scoring more than one-and-a-quarter every hour he was on the ice.
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He got a nice little spot playing primarily with Frans Nielsen and Thomas Vanek, who were decent performers on the team, though they seem to have gotten the benefit of playing mostly second- and third-line talent for a good chunk of the season (which makes sense given the line’s collective quality). His underlying numbers were pretty rotten, but one suspects that this has more to do with the quality of the defensemen behind him than the forwards on his wing. Xavier Ouellet and Danny DeKeyser aren’t exactly world-beaters even against middling competition.
But as always, when viewing stats contextually, you have to say that if guys seem to do well against lower-level competition, that might portend better results if he were to be moved up the depth chart. Is he going to supplant Gustav Nyquist on the top line? Of course not, but he should be getting more time on the power play. However, Detroit ceded Justin Abdelkader more than a minute of extra TOI on the man advantage than Athanasiou.
That’s borderline negligence, but you gotta pay your, ahem, “stars.”
Which, frankly, that’s the whole issue here. Detroit’s “culture,” such as it is, seems geared toward ensuring older guys who aren’t very good get first crack at everything. That’s certainly true of cap dollars, because guys like Abdelkader, Darren Helm, DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson — guys who clearly aren’t worth their AAV and clearly weren’t worth it the day those contracts were signed — take up a huge chunk of the team’s cap and seem to have no actual accountability there. Maybe that’s fair enough, because you can’t expect guys who aren’t good to not-take contracts that overpay them, and you can’t blame them when they don’t live up to the deals because, well, they were never going to. But the problem persists.
The Red Wings are over the cap right now. With this roster. And that’s why they probably feel like they need to squeeze Athanasiou. The argument against the player, in this case, is that he’s only played 101 NHL games, and only scored 27 goals and 43 points in them. But again, when you average fewer than 12 minutes a night for your career, with little to no power play time, you’re not being put in a position to rack up points in the first place, especially given who he’s had to play with.
To that end, it’s worth noting that while Athanasiou can only boast 27 goals for his career, only one of them was on the power play. Just three of his 16 assists came that way as well. So you’re looking at a guy who has 26-13-39 in 101 career games, but that’s with him playing almost entirely on at 5-on-5.
How’s this for a stat: Out of the nearly 500 NHL players who played at least 600 minutes at 5-on-5 last season, Athanasiou ranked 11th in goals per 60, just behind James van Riemsdyk and Evander Kane.
Again, context matters (he was tied with little-used Brett Connolly, after all), but if you’re that high over 64 games, you probably deserve a bigger role, and that, in turn, probably necessitates more money. You can see Detroit’s arguments against it, but it’s not 2006 any more, and using stuff like goals and assists as the only way to assess player value is probably the kind of thinking that got Ken Holland into this mess in the first place.
The larger point here is not that the Red Wings have mismanaged the player — which they have — but mismanaged the roster and cap in such a way that one of their better young contributors may or may not be seriously considering an offer to go play in the KHL. And really, who can blame him? Not only will he probably make more in one season (tax-free) in Russia than he would over two years at whatever Detroit wants him to take, but he would instantly be the best player on the Canadian Olympic team and, as a bonus, he wouldn’t have to play for an awful Red Wings team.
The added benefit for the Wings here, too, is obvious: Without Athanasiou in a potentially expanded role, they’re a worse team. That means fewer points, better draft position, etc.
Honestly, this just boils down to a simple case of Ken Holland turning out his pockets, saying he can’t pay one of the few actual good players on the roster because he gave it all to bad players instead. Yeah, “I don’t have any money left to give you” is a true statement here, but whose fault is that?
Playing hardball like this would have been a good idea with, like, Ericsson or Helm. It’s not Athanasiou’s fault that Holland doesn’t know how to assess talent or manage a salary cap. But Holland has never been asked to suffer the consequences for that. Athanasiou, for some reason, is.
Whether this results in a short-term deal and acrimony, an escape to the KHL (brief, long, whatever), or a trade, that the situation even got to this point is flat-out indefensible.
—
Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.
MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTSWASHINGTON - The Institute for Energy Research last week released a new report, The High Cost of Rooftop Solar Subsidies, which contained misleading claims about the economic costs of rooftop-solar subsidies and net-metering policies that support expansion of the distributed solar-energy market.
“It's no surprise that an organization that has received funding from the Koch brothers and Exxon produced a report that's quick to point a blaming finger at solar subsidies, but let’s not forget that it’s the fossil fuel industry that has long been kept afloat by government subsidies," said Chad Tudenggongbu, a senior renewable energy campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This report’s so-called findings are simply regurgitating the same left-over arguments we've been hearing for years, but the facts are clear: Distributed solar is one of the most promising paths to a clean, healthy and affordable energy economy.”
According to studies by the International Energy Agency, global subsidies for fossil fuels are nearly 10 times as much as those received by renewable energy. The International Monetary Fund determined that, if climate and environmental costs were included, fossil fuel subsidies would increase another 10 times to nearly $5 trillion a year. Additionally, a recent Harvard study found that the negative affects for the full lifecycle of coal costs the U.S. public from one-third to one-half of $1 trillion every year.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts
“Despite the trivial governmental support it receives in comparison with fossil fuels, the solar industry is growing,” said Tudenggongbu. “In 2016 solar is expected to add more electricity-generating capacity than any other energy source in the United States, and the solar industry is employing workers at a rate nearly 12 times faster than the overall economy.
“If fossil fuel enthusiasts like the Institute for Energy Research are truly concerned about the welfare of Americans, they should encourage the government to shift subsidies from dirty fossil fuels to clean and distributed solar energy. Not only does the solar industry provide economic opportunity, but it also offers relief from the disproportionate pollution and climate impacts from fossil fuels borne by low-income communities. Distributed solar power is a critical part of achieving a just, renewable energy system to meet international climate goals and reduce energy-related threats to wildlife and wild places.”
###An Egyptian man who had once told former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to “fear Allah” after meeting with him in a mosque has spoken out about being subject to harsh treatment while serving 15 years in prison for saying those two words.
In 1993, Sheikh Ali al-Qattan was praying at the Prophet’s mosque in Saudi Arabia, the second holiest site in Islam, when he was surprised to find Mubarak entering the prayer hall.
“It was a spontaneous incident, I didn’t plan for this,” Qattan told Egyptian television talk show “Al Haqiqa” (The Truth) this week.
“After we finished prayer I turned and I saw the president; it was strange because they had emptied a large section of the prayer hall for him to enter. He had bodyguards around him that were heavily armed; it all looked very hostile and made the atmosphere in mosque uncomfortable.”
Qattan then stood up and walked closer to the former president and told him to “fear God, ” in a display of his anger at how Mubarak was leading the country.
At the time, Qattan explains, Egypt was embroiled in deadly clashes with Islamist insurgents. The year 1993 was a particularly severe year for terrorist attacks in Egypt, resulting in at least 1100 people being killed or wounded, while several senior police officials and their bodyguards were shot dead in daylight ambushes.
“Security forces would roam the country’s streets and randomly firing at Egyptians,” Qattan explains.
After saying his remark, Qattan said Mubarak “immediately looked uneasy.”
“He spun left and right to look around him to call his bodyguards. The guards immediately seized me violently and surrounded Mubarak, pushing him quickly outside of the prayer hall. I then understood that he was probably scared that some sort of violent attack on him would follow.
“The guards then put their hands over my mouth, as if to stop me from saying anything more, but I hadn’t planned to. They took me out of the hall, not even giving him a chance to wear my shoes.
“They carried out a body search to look for a bomb or a weapon. When they couldn’t find anything on me, one officer told me: ‘You’ve embarrassed us. You should have told [Mubarak] that in Egypt.’”
To that, Qattan then responded: “We’re in a mosque; it’s for all of the international Muslim community and it felt right to say such a [religious] comment in a mosque.”
Sheikh Qattan was taken from Medina to a Jeddah province to be interrogated. He recalls being dragged down by a “10-kilogram chain and ball” whilst walking in the airport to the plane.
After he was questioned in Saudi Arabia, a group from Egypt’s National Security came to take him back to Egypt.
“It was as if I was a terrorist. They tied me up with several chains and handcuffs. They even wanted to sedate me, pressuring me to drink the sedative, but I told them I was fasting and would not drink anything,” he said,
When Qattan arrived in Egypt, the investigators found that Qattan had no affiliation to Islamic militant or terrorist groups.
The former prison officer at the jail Qattan was detained in, Major-General Ibrahim Abd al-Ghaffar, described how Qattan was treated during his imprisonment.
“For years he was locked up in solitary confinement and not allowed to have visitors by an order from the interior minister. I decided to take him out of the room he was locked in and every day I would tell him to come to my office, where he could sit with me and drink tea. I knew he was being tyrannized.”
Ghaffar then asked another Major-General to write a request for Qattan to be released. But the request was rejected by former presidential chief of staff, Zakariya Azmy, who said that Mubarak was still “disturbed” by Qattan’s case and to not mention the topic again, Ghaffar said. The request was then appealed several times before the authorities eventually agreed to free Qattan by 2007.
During the television interview, Qattan mentioned that in Islamic history, the term “Fear God” was said to the caliphs (successors) of Islam.
“Caliphs used to urge people to advise them to fear God. When they heard it, they would not be infuriated [like Mubarak was], but they would welcome it as advice.
“There is no higher example of democracy than this,” Qattan added.
Despite this religious delineation, Mubarak had still ordered his detainment for 15 years without being tried and under tormenting circumstances.
SourceReports that Theresa May and Philip Hammond were preparing to lift the public sector pay cap were not denied by the prime minister’s spokeswoman, who said that many were just about managing Times Newspapers Ltd
Downing Street has hinted that public sector pay may rise above inflation for the first time in seven years after declaring that Theresa May “recognises the sacrifice” of workers.
No 10 did not deny reports that the prime minister and her chancellor, Philip Hammond, were preparing to end the long-standing one per cent cap on pay rises in the public sector.
Ministers are due to send letters setting out a new remit for the public sector review bodies within weeks, which could effectively spell the end of pay restraint introduced in 2010.
Cabinet ministers including Justine Greening, the education secretary, and Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, have been pressing to raise salary levels. Mr Hammond has been reluctant to increase borrowing to fund a rise.Image copyright Reuters Image caption Kenya wants to secure its long border with Somalia
Kenya is prepared to send troops to bolster the African Union (AU) force in Somalia to tackle militant Islamists, Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula says.
Kenya launched military action in Somalia last month after blaming the al-Shabab group for a spate of abductions on its territory.
Al-Shabab, which denies involvement in the abductions, has vowed to retaliate.
The AU has about 9,000 troops in Somalia, but they are confined to the capital, Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, controls most other parts of southern and central Somalia.
Mr Wetangula told the BBC Kenya was prepared to beef up the AU force.
"That is on offer. In case a request is made, Kenya will avail a few of its battalions [made up of about 1,000 soldiers each] to join Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti to help keep the peace in Somalia," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"It's not difficult to do that."
Arab League talks
The 9,000-strong AU force is currently made up of Ugandan and Burundian soldiers, with Djibouti and Sierra Leone expected to bolster its numbers to 12,000 by the end of the year.
The African Union says it would like to increase its numbers to 20,000 but so far, there have not been enough concrete troop offers.
Image copyright bbc
Mr Wetangula said a 2006 UN Security Council resolution - which prevented states bordering Somalia from contributing to the AU force - had been changed a year later, making it possible for both Djibouti and Kenya to offer troops.
Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki discussed Kenya's offer with his Somali and Ugandan counterparts - Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and Yoweri Museveni respectively - in Nairobi on Wednesday.
However, the communique read out by Mr Wetangula to the press in the presence of the three presidents made no mention of the Kenyan troop offer.
BBC East Africa correspondent says there was then surprise when a different communique was released to the media with a paragraph amended to include it.
Mr Wetangula has flown to Morocco to brief an Arab League meeting about Kenya's incursion into Somalia.
Last month, President Ahmed publicly opposed the incursion, which Nairobi says is aimed at securing the long border between the two countries.
Nairobi accuses al-Shabab of abducting several people from Kenya since September - including a French woman who suffered from cancer and who, French authorities say, has since died.
Al-Shabab says it views the incursion as an act of war and it will take revenge by attacking Kenya.
Al-Shabab is locked in a battle with the weak UN-back interim government for control of the parts of the country which are currently outside its power, particularly Mogadishu.Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
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Barcelona and Real Madrid will no longer rake in massive revenue from individual television deals after a new law was passed in Spain today.
The new rules will take effect in 2016 and will split revenue from television deals evenly between the 20 clubs in La Liga.
[ RELATED: La Liga & Serie A roundup ]
Ten-percent of earnings will go to teams in Spain’s second division as well.
Previously, Barcelona and Real Madrid had negotiated their own television deals, earning nearly three times more than other clubs in La Liga.
A certain percentage will be divided based on factors such as position in the league and ability to generate funds through broadcasting, which means the bigger clubs will still make more money than smaller clubs, but by a much lesser margin than previous years.
[ REPORT: Paris Saint-Germain owner makes verbal proposal to Paul Pogba ]
Spanish sports ministry spokesman Miguel Cardena said the deal is more similar to the Premier League’s television deal, stating “You just have to see that last year the club that came last in the Premier League earned more than [current Spanish champions] Atletico Madrid.”
The deal will regulate television rights for La Liga and Spain’s second division, as well as the Copa del Rey and Super Cup competitions.How I Met Your Mother Sneak Peek: Cristin Milioti and Josh Radnor Dish on Their First Kiss
It’s all happening, How I Met Your Mother fans!
Ted and the mother share scenes — and lock lips! — in the CBS comedy’s swan-song season (premiering Sept. 23 at 8/7c), and Josh Radnor and new series regular Cristin Milioti give you the scoop in the following behind-the-scenes featurette.
PHOTOS | Fall TV Spoiler Spectacular: Exclusive Scoop on How I Met Your Mother and 44 Other Returning Faves
“We just figured out that we are shooting our first scene together today, our first fake kiss,” says Radnor.
Another milestone featured in the video: Milioti — who calls her new gig “a dream come true” — being introduced to the show’s crew as The Girl With the Yellow Umbrella during filming of last May’s season finale. (Did you get goosebumps?)
RELATED | How I Met Your Mother Season 9 Spoilers — A Curse, a Bear, a Locket Twist and More
Press PLAY to watch the sneak peek, then hit the comments with your thoughts.
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How I Met Your Mother Final Season Scoop: Breaking Bad Star Bryan Cranston to Return
Criminal Minds: A.J. Cook Teases a JJ Twist That's 'Going to Raise Some |
John Terhune/Journal & Courier)
Read or Share this story: http://on.jconline.com/1TriRlKWASHINGTON -- While President Trump berates Qatar for sponsoring terrorism at the highest levels, he is simultaneously authorizing the country to purchase over $21 billion of U.S. weapons.
One portion of that deal -- $12 billion for 36 F-15QA fighter jets -- was inked on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., when Qatar's Defense Minister met with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis.
"We are pleased to announce today the signing of the letter of offer and acceptance for the purchase of the F-15QA fighter jets, with an initial cost of $12 billion dollars," read the Qatari Defense Minister's statement on Wednesday afternoon. "We believe that this agreement will propel Qatar's ability to provide for its own security while also reducing the burden placed upon the United States military in conducting operations against violent extremism."
The Qatari ambassador to the U.S. tweeted a photo of the signing.
Qatar signs LOA for the purchase of the F-15QA fighter jets creating 60,000 new jobs in 42 states across the United States pic.twitter.com/tnOAC3KGma — Meshal Hamad AlThani (@Amb_AlThani) June 14, 2017
The State Department describes this sale as fermenting U.S. efforts to "strengthen the security and defense architecture of the region." They point out that it does not directly conflict with the current regional dispute as it will take years to complete and fill the sale in full.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia among countries cutting ties with Qatar
"We are confident that Qatar can address its remaining issues within this timeframe, prior to delivery," explains a State Department official.
Qataris had scheduled Wednesday's trip to formalize portions of this arms deal with the U.S. government about two months ago, according to Qatari and State Department officials. They want these weapons. So, despite growing tensions and Mr. Trump's repeated hardline stance against their support of Iran and regional terrorist groups, the Qataris came because they want the weapons.
"We are working on the process related to the signing," said one Qatari official on Wednesday morning. "It is normal. We are in the stage where we want to finalize this deal."
Qataris say the deal demonstrates the "long standing commitment" Qatar has to working with the U.S.
The full arms sale, of over $20 billion for 72 F-15QA fighter jets, was notified in November 2016. This means it had already been authorized by congress and the executive branch, when President Obama was in office, before the Trump administration came into office. During Mr. Trump's recent visit to Riyadh, he made a point of telling reporters during a photo spray with the Qatari emir that he was going to sell Qatar "big beautiful weapons." In the wake of the diplomatic crisis -- and Mr. Trump's public statements raising concern about alleged Qatari funding of terrorism -- there were questions about whether the arms deal would go through. However, on Wednesday, in Washington, Defense Secretary James Mattis formally signed the letter of offer and acceptance for the purchase.
Did Russia plant fake news to harm Qatar?
In the face of the escalating tensions Qataris came to D.C. with a large entourage -- expecting to break ground on the escalating regional standoff. But there is no sign of progress. The State Department has yet to extend an official request for a joint meeting between representatives that are in the nation's capitol from Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Qatar says have still not received the list of demands that the countries have for them. The U.S. has not played a role in passing along request, either.
On Tuesday morning, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubier. He stood silently as Jubier declared to reporters that there "is no blockage of Qatar." Tillerson will have a working dinner with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday night.
There has been nothing on his public schedule with Qatari leaders. Though Qatar has sent a team, including individuals from Qatar Central Bank, to the State Department to discuss the matter at a technical level. Last week, Tillerson called for an easing of the Qatari ban - but hours later, Mr. Trump did not echo those sentiments.
"The nation of Qatar has unfortunately been a funder of terrorism, and at a very high level," Mr. Trump said on Friday at the White House. He added "the time has come to call on Qatar to end its funding."
There are more than 10,000 U.S. service members at the U.S. central command base in Qatar. The U.S. commander there has said there are "no plans to change our posture in Qatar" amid a Gulf diplomatic crisis. Qatar is quick to remind the U.S. of this working relationship.
"When no one wanted to host your troops after 9/11, we did. We protected them. Saudi Arabia asked you to leave," said Meshal bin Jamad al Thani, the Qatari ambassador to the U.S. Qataris believe that the blockade of their country is politically motivated by the Saudis in an effort to flex their muscle in the region.
Yousef Al Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the U.S., has suggested that the U.S. consider moving their base there. Qatar has received no indications of U.S. plans to do so, and they are not asking them to leave or change their operations in any way.
"None of our people attacked the U.S.," said al Thani, a nod to the Saudis who were involved in the Sept 11th terrorist attacks.The 1995 Okinawa rape incident took place on September 4, 1995, when three U.S. servicemen – U.S. Navy Seaman Marcus Gill and U.S. Marines Rodrico Harp and Kendrick Ledet, who were all serving at Camp Hansen on Okinawa – rented a van and kidnapped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl. They beat her, duct-taped her eyes and mouth shut, and bound her hands. Gill and Harp then raped her, while Ledet claimed he only pretended to do so out of fear of Gill.[1] The incident led to further debate over the continued presence of U.S. forces in Japan. The offenders were tried and convicted in Japanese court by Japanese law, in accordance with the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement. The families of the defendants initially claimed that Japanese officials had racially discriminated against the men because they were all black and coerced confessions from them, but later retracted the claims.[2]
Reaction [ edit ]
After the incident became known, public outrage erupted, especially over the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement, which gives the U.S. service members a certain measure of extraterritoriality (exemption from jurisdiction of local law) only as it relates to the place the suspects were detained. While the crime was committed away from a U.S. military base, the U.S. initially took the men into custody, on September 6.[3] Although false rumors spread that the suspects were free to roam the base and had been seen eating hamburgers,[4] the suspects were in fact held in a military brig until the Japanese officials charged them with the crime.[3] Despite an immediate request by Japanese law enforcement for custody and eventual trial, the men were only handed over on September 29, after the Japanese had formally indicted them.[3] This delay followed the Status of Forces agreement, which states, "The custody of an accused member of the United States armed forces or the civilian component over whom Japan is to exercise jurisdiction shall, if he is in the hands of the United States, remain with the United States until he is charged."[5] Although the military drove the suspects to police headquarters in Naha for daily interrogations,[6] the SOFA provision and the delay in handing over the suspects increased the outrage over the attack, causing the largest anti-American demonstrations in Okinawa since the treaty was signed in 1960.
As a consequence of the protests regarding jurisdiction, the U.S. made concessions and agreed to consider handing suspects over to the Japanese before an indictment if the severity of the alleged crime warranted it.[4] This agreement was hashed out at an emergency meeting between U.S. President Bill Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. The people of Okinawa also placed a full-page ad in The New York Times decrying the rape and other aspects of the U.S. bases in Okinawa. In 1996, the United States and Japan signed a bilateral agreement to reduce the amount of land on Okinawa covered by U.S. bases by 21 percent—the U.S. military had previously occupied 19 percent of the island.
U.S. Navy Admiral Richard C. Macke was the commander of United States Pacific Command at the time of the attack. At a press conference in November 1995, Macke said of the men's actions: "I think it was absolutely stupid. I have said several times: for the price they paid to rent the car [used in the crime], they could have had a girl [prostitute]." These remarks were condemned as insensitive, and Macke was removed from his post and forced into early retirement. He was also reduced in rank to rear admiral (two-star) from full admiral (four-star), which reduced his pension from US$7,384/month to US$5,903/month.[7]
Trial [ edit ]
Gill pleaded guilty to the rape, and the other two men pleaded guilty to conspiracy. The trial concluded in March 1996.
Prosecutors had asked for the maximum sentences for the men, 10 years each. The judge sentenced Gill and Harp to seven years' imprisonment; Ledet received six and a half years. Their families also paid "reparation money" to the family of the victim, a common practice in Japan.
Aftermath [ edit ]
The three men served prison terms in Japanese prisons and were released in 2003 and then given other than honorable discharge from the military. After release, Rodrico Harp decried prison conditions in Japan and said that the electronics assembly prison labor he was forced to do amounted to slave labor.[8]
Ledet, who had claimed he did not rape the girl, died in 2006 in an apparent murder–suicide in the United States. He was found in the third-floor apartment of Lauren Cooper, a junior Kennesaw State University student and acquaintance whom he had apparently raped and murdered by strangulation. He then took his own life by using a knife to slice open his veins at the elbows.[9]
In Japan, the crime continues to be well known and to have political implications.[10] In December 2011 then-Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa was the subject of a censure motion from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party for failing to know the details of the rape. This followed his subordinate Satoshi Tanaka speaking with reporters in a bar and using euphemisms for rape to discuss moving the US Futenma airbase. Tanaka was terminated as director of the Okinawa Defense Bureau,[11] and in the cabinet reshuffle of January 13, 2012, Ichikawa was replaced by Naoki Tanaka.[12]
See also [ edit ]Abby Wetherell recalls the harrowing moments when she was attacked by a bear near her Haring Township home.
Abby Wetherell underwent surgery after a bear attacked her and is now recovering at home.
Although she's slow to get around, she says the love and support from family and friends are getting her through this difficult time.
â??I'm going to die. This is it. I'm not going to see my family ever again. I'm not going to see my soccer team or any of my friends. I'm a goner,â?? said Abby, talking about the attack.
Abby recalls the harrowing moments when she was attacked by a bear on a two track road near her Haring Township home.
â??So I was just running home and I was actually thinking what if a bear came out of nowhere? I would probably just tell them who is boss; beat it up or something, trying to act all cool. Then I saw the bear. I was like â??oh my gosh.â?? I'm not going to act cool. I'm not going to act cool. So I turned around and started sprinting the other way and it got me. It took me down with its paw.â??
Abby said she got away from the bear and started running when it brought her down again.
â??It stopped right in front of my face. I was petting it and I just thought maybe if I pet it it will like me or something. Please don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me again and that was not the case.â??
It was a neighbor that rushed over to the Wetherell house to tell Abby's mom and dad what was happening to their daughter.
â??My heart was beating out of my chest. I didn't know what to do,â?? said Elizabeth Wetherell, Abby's Mother. â??I wanted to take it all away. I didn't know how to hold her. I didn't know where she was hurt. I didn't want to hurt her but I wanted to just hold her as close as I could to me.â??
Abby's mom, dad and sister are very proud of her strong will.
â??Abby is a strong girl. She's brave. Everyone said if this was going to happen to anybody, not that it should've happened to anybody, for it to be Abby. She's going to be the one that will make it through this.â??
â??I just won't go out in the woods alone again but I think that it's not going to change anything. I'm still going to go hunting. I'm still going to ride my four wheeler. I'm still going to play soccer. It's not going to change anything,â?? said Abby.Debbie Wasserman Schultz is at the center of a scandal in Washington this week after it was discovered her IT aide was stealing equipment. Imran Awan was accused of “serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network.” For instance, he reportedly charged the House double the amount required for IT equipment and may have exposed House information online.
Awan was also charged with multiple counts of bank fraud after allegedly engaging in "a scheme to defraud a Congressional Federal Credit Union," according to Fox News.
He was caught at Virginia's Dulles International Airport trying to flee the country to Pakistan Monday night.
Awan’s crimes were discovered back in February and he had been banned from using the House computer network. Every congressional Democrat whom he worked for fired him after learning of the report. Everyone that is, except Wasserman Schultz, who did not let him go until this week. It was unclear which tasks he was still trusted with.
The Weston Democrat has not explained in detail why she continued to employ Awan until Tuesday when she fired him — after he was arrested on bank-fraud charges at Dulles International Airport in Virginia attempting to board a flight to Pakistan. And she has not elaborated on what work Awan did for her after he lost access to the House computer network.
In a statement, Wasserman Schultz spokesman David Damron defensively said that her team had been given no evidence to suggest Awan had broken a law. As such, she was under the impression he had been the victim of religious profiling. "Upon learning of his arrest," however, Awan was promptly terminated.
"After details of the investigation were reviewed with us, my office was provided no evidence to indicate that laws had been broken, which over time, raised troubling concerns about due process, fair treatment, and potential ethical and religious profiling. Upon learning of his arrest, he was terminated."
This is all very dramatic news. Of course, you didn’t hear about it in the mainstream media. Unless you happened to be watching the 37 seconds of coverage CBS dedicated to it.
Awan pleaded not guilty to bank fraud charges. He has been released under a high-intensity supervision program.Marsha P. Johnson was not a trans woman. He was in a documentary two days before he died where he said “I’m a man”. In the 60s and 70s, he identified as a “gay transvestite”. His close friends used both male and female pronouns and he didn’t take offense to either. He didn’t even live as “Marsha” all of the time, he went back and forth between living as Malcolm and living as “Marsha”.
Sylvia Rivera wasn’t a trans woman either. In 1971 he called himself a “transvestite” and a “half-sister”. He wrote an essay titled “Transvestites: Your Half Sisters and Half Brothers of the Revolution” where he says that “Transvestites are homosexual men and women who dress in clothes of the opposite sex.” In an interview in 1995 with Randy Wicker and in a 2002 essay titled “Queens In Exile, The Forgotten Ones”, he variously calls himself a “gay man”, a “gay girl” (probably in the “gurl” sense, not the female sense), and a “drag queen.” He knew he was male…“The early 60s was not a good time for drag queens, effeminate boys or boys that wore makeup like we did. Back then we were beat up by the police, by everybody. I didn’t really come out as a drag queen until the late 60s.” He did not identify with the word transgender…“People now want to call me a lesbian because I’m with Julia [his mtf partner], and I say, “No. I’m just me. I’m not a lesbian.” I’m tired of being labeled. I don’t even like the label transgender. I’m tired of living with labels. I just want to be who I am.”
Lastly, Marsha Johnson has alleged that Sylvia Rivera lied about being at the Stonewall riots, Rivera might not have been there at all. This is backed up by Stonewall historian David Carter who says that Rivera’s claim to have been at the riot was a “fabrication” and that Rivera’s various tellings of the story were riddled with inconsistencies. The true story, backed up by Marsha’s roommate Randy Wicker and gay activist Doric Wilson, is that Rivera had fallen asleep in a public park after taking heroin and he only learned about the riots after Marsha Johnson found him, woke him up, and recounted the events. According to Carter, no credible witness has ever been found who saw Rivera at Stonewall during the riots.
Marsha P Johnson documentary
Silvia Rivera documentaryUnwed childbearing has been on the rise for more than five decades, and today more than 40 percent of U.S. children are born to single women. A new study additionally reveals that the majority—53 percent—of births to women under 30 occur outside of marriage.
Rather than a teen birth issue, as is commonly thought, most unwed births are to women in their 20s. While the teen birthrate has declined in recent decades, the number of unmarried 20-something women giving birth has increased.
However, unwed childbearing isn’t the norm for all young women. In fact, for the college-educated it is still very uncommon. The majority of births are instead to women with a high school diploma or less.
The growing rate of unwed childbearing among these low- and middle-income women compounds the economic problems they will face. Eighty percent of all long-term poverty occurs in single-parent homes, and children in single-parent families are approximately five times more likely to be poor than their peers from married-parent homes.
Additionally, children from single-parent homes face a variety of other challenges that perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Compared to their peers from married-parent families, they are less likely to graduate, have lower rates of academic achievement, have a greater likelihood of experiencing emotional problems, engage in delinquent behaviors at greater rates, and are more likely to become single-parents themselves. (Although about half of the children born to single women are born to those in cohabiting relationships, these relationships frequently do not lead to marriage, and children from cohabiting families do not reap the same benefits as their peers from married-parent homes.)
The increasing rate of unwed childbearing, as well as the corresponding breakdown of marriage, in low- and middle-income America is creating a divided society split along the lines of marriage and education.
Efforts to strengthen marriage are crucial to stemming the growing unwed-birth rate and rebuilding the weakening foundations of a growing number of U.S. communities.This article is from the archive of our partner.
April 22 is Earth Day, which means it's time to reflect on the beauty and wonder of our home planet. Let's all celebrate today by taking a gander at these gorgeous photos of Earth as seen from above, courtesy of NASA's online photo archives.
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Ha ha psych. They're all oil spills.
1. Oil Offshore of Alabama and Florida's Western Panhandle.
2. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill laps around the mouth of the Mississippi River delta in this May 24, 2010, image from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft.
3. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, Expedition 23 flight engineer, photographed the tail end of the Mississippi Delta showing the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico on May 4, 2010.
4. NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Gulf of Mexico and the Deepwater Horizon oil slick on May 10 at 16:35 UTC (12:35 p.m. EDT) and captured a visible image with its Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer Instrument. The oil slick is located southeast of the Mississippi Delta and appears as a dull gray color, almost in the shape of the letter "J."
5. Oil Spill off Unalaska Island
6. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 30, 2009, shows the Timor Sea and what are probably oil slicks about 250 kilometers northwest of Western Australia.
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.By Scott Lincicome
Kudos to the Obama Administration.
Yesterday, the US Treasury Department released its Semi-Annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies, aka "the report wherein Treasury decides whether US trading partners are 'currency manipulators' under US law." As expected, and as it did back in April, the Department declined to label China a currency manipulator, and for that I commend the administration. Here's the money quote from the report (PDF):
The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the “Act”) requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide biannual reports on the international economic and exchange rate policies of the major trading partners of the United States. Under Section 3004 of the Act, the report must consider whether any foreign economy manipulates its rate of exchange against the U.S. dollar to prevent effective balance of payments adjustments or to gain unfair competitive advantage in international trade. For the period covered in this Report, January 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009, Treasury has concluded that no major trading partner of the United States met the standards identified in Section 3004 of the Act.
The decision is the right one - China is not a "currency manipulator" under the statute; any attempt to label it as such would have resulted in a trade war with China that would make the Section 421 spat look like a third-grade tickle fight; and it would have completely obliterated any chance that either the end-October US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) meetings or the Obama-Hu summit in November would achieve anything meaningful. And Obama had to (again) turn down a direct, public demand from a key constituent - the US labor unions. So kudos are in order.
I've yet to see a response from the unions or manufacturers that lobbied for the currency labeling, but trade-disinformant-extraordinaire Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was quick to condemn the move. (Of course he was.) His statement was "classic Brown," and that's not a good thing - falsely blaming the US-China trade deficit on the loss of "4 million" manufacturing jobs (see pp. 20-21 here for the factcheck on that bogus stat) and falsely claiming that the "best estimates" show that China's currency undervaluation amounts to a "40 percent subsidy" (which could only be true if by "best" he means "worst" and if it's 2003 - before China's currency appreciated by about 15-20% against the dollar).
But I digress. I was supposed to be applauding the Treasury decision. So...
*golf clap*
(Your regularly scheduled criticism, I'm sure, will be back tomorrow.)
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In 2008, Scott Lincicome served as a senior trade policy adviser for Senator John McCain’s Presidential campaign. He blogs at http://lincicome.blogspot.com/UPDATE
By: Chris Gros
April 29, 2015
Tallahassee, FL - Martha White, the grandmother accused of brutally stabbing her six year old grandson, was in court again Wednesday.
Prosecutors want to start the murder trial and requested the judge to start that process today.
Meanwhile White's attorney wants more time to prepare for the case.
In fact, in an email to prosecutor Jack Campbell, White's attorney told Campbell these cases usually take three years to go trial.
However, Judge Frank Sheffield says instead the two sides will meet back in court in 60 days for a case management meeting.
But if he feels the defense hasn't properly prepared by then he'll move forward to schedule a trial date.
It’s been more than 8 months since Mason Rhinehart was brutally stabbed to death.
Both sides will meet in June and when more of this case develops we'll bring you all of those details.
By: Julie Montanaro
January 27, 2015
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-- A Tallahassee woman accused of stabbing her grandson to death has been deemed competent to stand trial.
Martha White has been at Florida State Hospital since soon after her arrest in August 2014.
White is accused of killing her six year old grandson Mason Rhinehart in the bathroom of the family's Killearn Lakes home.
White will remain in the Leon County Jail while awaiting trial. The judge set White's next court date for April.
By Julie Montanaro
September 15, 2104
A Tallahassee woman accused of stabbing and killing her grandson has been found incompetent to stand trial.
Martha White is accused in the murder of her six year old grandson, Mason Rhinehart. Deputies say she locked the boy in the bathroom of his Killearn Lakes home and killed him August 5th.
Court records show that a judge ruled White incompetent to proceed after examinations by a pair of psychologists.
White will remain in the state mental hospital until she is found competent to face the murder case against her.
UPDATED
By Julie Montanaro
August 26, 2014
A Tallahassee grandmother accused of killing her six year old grandson has just been indicted for first degree murder.
Martha White is accused of stabbing her grandson Mason Rhinehart to death in the bathroom of the family's Killearn Lakes home earlier this month.
Today, a grand jury indicted White on charges of first degree murder and child abuse and prosecutors say they'll now file their intent to seek the death penalty against her.
"We feel like the case warrants the highest punishment permissible and that's the death penalty," prosecutor Georgia Cappleman said.
A judge has ordered White to undergo two mental health evaluations to determine if she is competent to stand trial. A decision has not yet been made on that.
UPDATED
By Julie Montanaro
August 18, 2014
A grandmother accused of killing her grandson will soon undergo back to back psychological evaluations.
The judge issued that order late Friday after a psychologist described Martha White as "delusional and psychotic."
White was arrested August 5th soon after deputies found her grandson stabbed to death in the family's Killearn Lakes home.
Mason Rhinehart was six years old.
White's attorney asked the judge to order a competency review after quoting a psychologist as saying "White is delusional, psychotic and incompetent and needs treatment at the state hospital."
The judge ordered two psychological evaluations within the next 15 days.
The order signed by Circuit Judge Frank Sheffield says a competency hearing will be scheduled if the state and defense experts disagree.
UPDATED
By Julie Montanaro
August 8, 2014
A Tallahassee boy - whose grandmother is accused of stabbing him to death - will be buried tomorrow.
6 year old Mason Rhinehart was killed just two days before his 7th birthday.
Arrest papers say his grandmother, Martha White, stabbed him to death in the bathroom of the family's Killearn Lakes home.
White is charged with first degree murder and is being held in the Leon County Jail without bond.
A memorial service will be held tomorrow, Saturday August 9th at 2:30 p.m.. It will be held at Restoration Place Tallahassee on 3881 North Monroe Street. The boys' obituary says the family welcomes anyone who wants to show their love and support.
Abbey Funeral Home posted this obituary:
Mason Robert Rhinehart-White
Born: August 07, 2007
Died: August 05, 2014
Mason Robert Rhinehart-White was born on August 7, 2007 and departed on his heavenly journey August 5, 2014.
He loved life and lived it to the fullest. He met each day with a smile on his face and love in his heart. Though his life was way too short he touched everyone he met with his kind consideration and exuberant spirit. He was an honor student at Killearn Lakes Elementary, a proud member of the Bradfordville Buccaneers, an Awana Sparks member and an active weightlifter.
He leaves behind to cherish his memory his loving Parents, Spring and Zack; His devoted older Brother and Best friend, Aden; his Maternal Grandparents, George and Dean Tillman-Ivanoff of Panama City, Bob Rhinehart of Tallahassee, and GrandMary Smith of Havana; Uncles Rodean and John Rhinehart; his first Cousins, Adam, Andrew and Nicholas Rhinehart, Amanda Hill, his youngest cousin Ivy Grace Rhinehart who he adored and a very large extended family.
He was predeceased in death by his Paternal Grandfather, Jack White; His Uncle Robert Rhinehart and his Aunt Cindy Rhinehart.
Mason’s Celebration of Life service will be held at Restoration Place Tallahassee located at 3881 North Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303, August 9, 2014 at 2:30. The Rhinehart-White family welcomes anyone that wants to show their love and support to feel free to attend the service for a refreshing word for the soul. The committal service will conclude at Tallahassee Memory Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made at www.gofundme.com/Memorial-for-Mason. The online guestbook is at www.abbeyfh.com.
Updated
By Julie Montanaro
August 7, 2014
Tallahassee, FL -- A grandmother accused of stabbing her 6 year old grandson to death will be held in jail without bond.
Martha White appeared before a judge via video link from the jail this morning. She wore a blue jail jumpsuit and did not say anything except her name.
White is accused of stabbing her grandson Mason Rhinehart at the family's Killearn Lakes home on Tuesday after telling him she had a surprise for him.
The public defender asked the judge for permission to go to the jail today to test White for drugs and alcohol.
The prosecutor says next they will take the case to a grand jury for review. He says it's too early to make a decision on whether White will face the death penalty.
UPDATED
By Julie Montanaro
August 6, 2014 - 6pm
Tallahassee, FL - A grandmother accused of stabbing her own grandson is now behind bars.
In a statement released by a family attorney, Mason Rhinehart's father shared a horrifying account of what happened inside that home, and he says it all started when Martha White told the boys she had a surprise for them.
We must warn you, especially those of you with children, the details of this story are graphic.
Martha White arrived at the jail almost 24 hours to the minute after she is accused of stabbing her six year old grandson to death in the bathroom of the family's Killearn Lakes home.
Deputies tracked her down at a nearby park. Arrest papers say she was covered in blood and had a bottle of wine and some xanax with her.
White will now trade this hospital gown for a jail jumpsuit as she awaits trial for first degree murder.
"We are not clear on the motive at this point in time and that's one of many things that investigators are continuing to dig into," LCSO Spokesman James McQuaig said.
Arrest papers paint a terrifying picture of what happened inside this home on Bass Ridge Trail Tuesday. 6 year old Mason Rhinehart and his 8 year old brother Aidan were watching video games, it says, when White told them she had a surprise for them.
The older brother told detectives White took Mason into the bathroom and closed the door. He says he heard his brother screaming "Don't kill me Grandma!" but when he tried to open the door it was locked.
In a statement released by a family attorney, the boys father Zack White said the brother called him and told him what was happening.
"I told Aidan to pound on the door just as loud as he could, he said. He yelled his brother's name. When there was no answer I told Aiden to go and hide."
Arrest papers say Aidan told detectives he saw his grandmother leave the house with a bottle of wine in her hand and told him she had a surprise for him too.
We have exclusive video of Martha White soon after deputies handcuffed her.
In a statement released by a family attorney, Zack White said his mother was a registered nurse who had recently retired.
She had no history of mental illness, the statement said, and had given no indication that morning of being upset or disturbed.
She'd been watching the boys all summer, he said. "She doted on them. She was their grandmother. It was like any other day."
Neighbors are still in shock.
"You know the grandma is usually the one who sugar coats everything and gives you the candy and it's really fun and we couldn't believe that a grandmother out of all people would do such a horrible thing," neighbor Austin Sandel said.
An LCSO spokesman says they are still trying to pinpoint a motive.
Arrest papers say Martha White told deputies who arrested her she was "fed up" with the boys' mother.
The statement released by Zack White's attorney says Mason would have celebrated his seventh birthday tomorrow.
Neighbors tell us Mason Rhinehart and his brother would often play outside with other kids in the neighborhood and he was set to start second grade at Killearn Lakes Elementary later this month.
We talked with grief counselors today about how best to discuss tragedies like this with children.
Counselors at Lee's Place have been providing counseling for grieving families and friends for nearly 15 years.
Director Brenda Rabalais says the first thing parents must do is reassure their children that they are safe.
Then she says parents must answer their children's questions about what happened honestly and directly with more details for older children and fewer details for younger ones.
"We can help them in the short run after a tragedy has happened by talking about their feelings, let them draw their feelings, let them plant something in their memory, talk about all the good times you had with that person... it's to really let it flow," Rabalais said, "and it's hard but it's very healing for a child to make sure that's not a taboo topic."
Counselors say if your children want to bake cookies, write cards, or bring flowers to a grieving family help them to do so, don't discourage them.
And continue to answer their questions as honestly as you can whenever they come up, Rabalais said.
By: Eyewitness News
August 6, 2014 - 1:30pm
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The grandmother accused of fatally stabbing her grandson is now out of the hospital and behind bars in the Leon County jail.
Authorities have released more information on the stabbing that took the life of 6-year-old Mason Rhinehart.
Deputies say that when they arrived on the scene at 7712 Bass Ridge Trail late Monday morning they found Mason Rhinehart lying on the bathroom floor with stab wounds.
When deputies spoke with Rhinehart's older brother, he said that he and Mason were playing video games and their grandmother, identified as Martha M. White, told the boys that she had a surprise for them.
White then took Mason into the bathroom and shut the door. Mason was later heard crying and saying "I don't want to die, please don't kill me."
Mason's brother called their father and hid. He later tried to open the bathroom door where White and Mason were but said that the door was locked. He said he saw White leaving the residence holding a bottle of wine saying that she had a surprise for him too.
According to Mason's parents, White was babysitting the children while they were at work. When deputies arrived, White had already left the residence but her vehicle was later discovered at the dead end of Valley Creek Drive, about a half mile from the residence.
When they located White at a nearby park, deputies say she was covered in blood and in possession of a bottle of wine and Xanax.
The LSCO affidavit states that White was uttering spontaneously that she had been tortured for years by the children's parents and she was fed up. When asked about the blood on her, she stated that it wasn't her blood and it belonged to one of the children.
By: Julie Montanaro
August 5, 2014 - 6:30pm
Tallahassee, FL - A 6-year-old boy was stabbed to death in his own home in Tallahassee this morning and his grandmother is now accused of killing him.
The crime tape went up outside this home at 7712 Bass Ridge Trail in Killearn Lakes at about 11:30.
Neighbors tell us they saw 6 year old Mason Rhinehart loaded into the ambulance.
His distraught family was in the driveway. Distraught neighbors gathered across the street.
"I'm just praying for the family. I can't imagine how devastating this is for them and I hope they come to some resolve...with the facts of what has happened to |
of you, but there's nothing to be afraid of. Tunnels aren't a portal into some "Alice in Wonderland" bizarro world. "Tunnels" are horizontal shafts bored through the mountain which enable vehicle travel unimpeded. A "stop" sign is an octagonal piece of sheet metal, painted red with a white outline that has the word "STOP" emblazoned on it in large white letters. "Stop" signs are found on poles, normally at intersections of busy streets. "Tunnels" are just holes that go through the rock. YOU DO NOT NEED TO SLOW DOWN AND COME TO A COMPLETE STOP AND HAVE A CASE OF THE "PANIC PISSES" AT EVERY TUNNEL YOU ENCOUNTER- Just drive through the tunnel, they are not "scary" and you will come out the other side just fine. If it is confusing, just remember "stop" at signs, drive through "tunnels"...it's not that fucking difficult people.
6) "All-wheel drive" "4-wheel drive" and "SUV" does not mean you can drive like a goddamned maniac in the snow. These features simply improve your vehicles ability to maneuver in the snow, or off-road, but they do not mean you can stop instantly on black ice. You still need to drive with some aspect of caution and responsibility in bad weather.
6b) The same goes for heavy rain- Why do all of you new Coloradans come to a complete stop in the rain and panic shit all over yourselves and convulse and chant in tongues when it rains? You drive like madmen on speed when it snows, but a little rain hits and you all suffer from complete body and mental shutdown??? FIGURE IT OUT PLEASE- Just slow down a little bit in BOTH rain AND snow and you'll be just fine.
7) Nobody thinks your children are cute. Keep them muzzled in the back seat and for fucks sake never, ever, ever under ANY circumstances take them in to a restaurant. In Colorado we still think children are to be seen and not heard, and your undisciplined, shitty-pants, dirty-faced, mess-haired savage needs a proper ass beating and some behavior parameters laid out clearly in front of them before you take them out in public. That "free spirit" parenting bullshit, and "it takes a village" mentality may be the way it's done in California, but here in Colorado it's not. If you won't discipline those screaming pant pissers I'll lay a beating on them for you, they aren't my kids, believe me, I harbor no reservations at swatting the annoying little cocksuckers.
8) If I see one more fucking fleece vest I'm gonna administer some random ass-beatings.
9) When you take short half-mile hike on well-maintained, paved path with a parking lot with toilet facilities and picnic pavilions YOU DON'T NEED A FUCKING FRAME BACKPACK, FLARE GUN, AND AN IDITAROD DOG TEAM. It's a fucking paved path you candy asses! Take a bottle of water and go. REAL Coloradans can go 10 miles into the back country above 11,000 ft. with a bottle of water, piece of beef jerky and pocket knife, no map, no trail, no "safety signs" and come back alive a few hours later completely unscathed by the hike. What the hell do you wimps need 400 pounds of survival gear for to walk around the lake at Wash Park for??? Harden the fuck up if you're gonna live here!
10) Learn how to fucking park in the mountains! Every week the problem gets worse and worse. The Rocky Mountains are enormous and span thousands of squares miles within the state of Colorado- Everybody DOES NOT have to go to the same trail on the same fucking day and clog every route in and out with their fucked up Subarus covered in "Colorado" stickers that are improperly or illegally parked all over the shoulders of the already narrow mountain roads, causing a clusterfuck for us native Coloradans who are trying to get from Point A to Point B. I would highly suggest and fully encourage all of you "new" Coloradans to invest in a quality atlas of the state of Colorado so you dumbshits can realize that there are plenty of easily accessible mountain areas to visit, not just Gray's Peak and Guanella Pass...Then again, reading an atlas would require some amount of personal initiative, intelligence and concentration as well as analytical skills and a sense of direction, and when you're stoned out of your mind 24/7 that is impossible. So fuck it!
11) Use your turn signals when changing lanes. It's not that hard you assholes.
12) In Colorado, especially outside of the metro area many native Coloradans still wave at passing vehicles on the lonely back roads. It is Colorado etiquette to return the wave with a nod and smile, not to flip the person off and scream "Fuck you asshole! Are you steppin?" That is California and New York behavior, not Colorado behavior, and it is not welcome or wanted in our state. Believe it or not, before all of you high-strung, intense, angry city assholes from the coasts moved here and brought your anger and hatred with you, Colorado was a happy, mellow place, Many of us would like to see that return but we need you all to drop the attitudes at the border when you move here.
13) Colorado has a huge Hispanic population. Please do not try to be politically correct by attempting to talk to them all in Spanish. Many of Colorado's Hispanic families have been here since the early 1800's and these families have been highly influential in the history of our great state. They speak English and aren't "Mexicans" who are your servants that you need to talk down to. Pack your high and mighty, arrogant (and ignorant) patronizing political correctness up your ass and treat them like the perfectly normal human beings they are, not "exotic Hispanic novelties" that you can write home about. There is nothing more pathetic and stupid than watching a politically correct pansy mangle the Spanish language while trying to talk to someone who speaks English just fine. STOP.
14) AGAIN, CONTROL YOUR CHILDREN. Just reiterating a point made previously.
15) If you somehow get lost on the way to the latest "hip bistro" and find yourself in a cowboy bar, DO NOT try to fit in by loading the jukebox up with Luke Bryan. You're likely to find yourself on the receiving end of a stout man's fist and another's boot heel. Your east and west coast conceptions of what it "country" are incorrect. As a matter of fact if you find yourself accidentally in a cowboy bar, just turn around and leave and go find that bistro you were looking for. Some arugula and an IPA looks better on you than a black eye anyhow.
16) Real Coloradans own guns, fishing poles, tents, etc. We hunt, fish, drink beer, fart, say fuck, use the "N" word when it's called for, and aren't afraid to fly the flag and tell the truth. If it's shit we're gonna call it shit and not dance around the subject. If you are "offended" by anything, leave Colorado and go back to whatever utopia whence you came. We're still "real" here.
17) Rivers and streams and and riverbanks are for ALL of us top enjoy — Not just 10-speed assholes and holier than thou eltist fly fishing pricks. We can pan for gold and use a worm in the same river you fly fish or bike alongside, and my gold pan or worm is going to cause less ecological damage than the bulldozers and dynamite that are raping the riverbank to build your fucking bike path.
In closing, understand that Colorado is a western state that was founded on the back breaking labor, blood, sweat and tears of pioneers, miners, ranchers and farmers. Colorado gained it's strength through industry long before it was the "weed state" and a haven for trust funders fleeing the urban cesspools of California and the east coast. You're welcome in our state, but understand our culture and don't try to mold Colorado into the image of the shit holes you left. If you want that lifestyle, go back home, if you want the "authentic" Colorado lifestyle you need toughen up and take a few lessons.
P.S.
Thanks for flocking here by the thousands and driving up the cost of living to an insane level! Three years ago you could rent a nice place in Denver for under $1000, now you can't get a cardboard shack in the ghetto for under $2000. Thanks Dicks! You've made the slum lords rich and fucked over the middle class!On Sunday, the Jaguars squared off against the Browns in the snow at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland. It wasn’t a pretty game by any means, but a win’s a win. The Jaguars were in control most of the contest thanks to their staunch defensive unit. When the clock finally hit 0:00, the Jaguars prevailed 19-7, extending their win streak to four games and securing a full game’s lead of first place in the division. Here are a few studs and duds from the contest:
LB Telvin Smith
Smith once again showed his knack for making huge plays on Sunday. In the second quarter, Smith intercepted a DeShone Kizer pass and returned the ball to Cleveland’s own 33-yard line. Throughout the contest, he hawked to the ball, broke up passes and made his presence felt. The most crucial play he made may have been his fumble recovery for a touchdown to seal the win late in the fourth quarter. Week in and week out, Smith has made game-changing plays and is proving to the organization that he is an investment that will be worth every penny.Almost a year ago, and after many false starts, Austin voters opted to carve the city – for representative governing purposes – into 10 City Council districts. If you believe in bumper stickers, that move was both an attempt to shed finally a racist history (during which minorities had few or no opportunities to choose their own representatives), and a promise to usher in a new structure of power that would escort the old guard back to its West Austin redoubts and give the voiceless margins a voice in local government for the first time.
That promise is now increasingly close to being realized (or not). A little more than a month remains until Austin-at-large is presented with our first geographic Council districts – and all across the city people are scrambling to make sure the final map effectively represents the idealistic rhetoric of the citywide campaign for single-member districts. Or at least their personal interpretation of that rhetoric.
Not everyone possesses the steely determination, attention span – or time off from their night jobs – needed to sit through all of the meetings of the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, the group of citizens chosen to gather public input and draft the district maps. So here, on these pages, is a brief overview of the currently proposed ICRC (draft) map, some of the main issues observers have raised with that map, and a few of the most prominent alternatives that have been proposed by the people themselves, bringing their suggestions to the commission.
The ICRC has a target deadline of Dec. 1 for its final map, which needs to be confirmed and readied as the basis for November 2014 elections. But there remains time to register complaints and bright ideas alike; the public input meetings will offer Austinites more time to present their own maps to the commission, or to use large maps that will be on-hand at each meeting. (The commission hopes to establish a public tutorial for the mapping software, but that will not take place at the public input meetings.)
Further Public Input
As of press time, there are four more public meetings scheduled. The Travis County Precinct 4 meeting is Saturday, Oct. 26, 10:30am-4:30pm, at the Southeast Library, 5803 Nuckols Crossing Rd. The Precinct 1 meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 30, from 6:30-10pm, at the Asian American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Rd. Two final public input meetings will be held Nov. 13 and 14, at locations yet to be determined.
The ICRC accepts all public testimony (and drafts), considers suggestions, and posts the material on its website. The commission also continues to gather input, and alternative maps, through its website: www.austinredistricting.org.
The Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission map
The current draft map, as released on Sept. 28 by the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, for public review. It does appear to create three or four minority opportunity districts on the Eastside, but residents in other neighborhoods have complained that the remainder is effectively a gerrymandered map. For example, District 7 spans a thin strip from Lady Bird Lake to Pflugerville, and District 9 manages to combine Barton Hills with the Mueller Development. Across the city, several neighborhood groups have objected to being split between districts, or combined with neighborhoods with which they say they have little in common.
INTERACTIVE OFFICIAL PRELIMINARY MAP
The 'Compact Districts Coalition' Map: Tracking the Neighborhoods
One of the alternatives to the ICRC draft that has emerged with some popular support is this map, drafted by Zilker Neighborhood resident Lorraine Atherton, who took it upon herself to map out all 10 districts. The Atherton map, which respects traditional Austin boundaries like Lady Bird Lake and major roadways, visually tracks a little more rationally than some of its counterparts. Groups dismayed with the official preliminary map have stressed the districting directive that the ICRC maintain "communities of interest" in the form of logical geographical regions, which is something this map tries to do.*
In the absence of an endorsement by Austin Neighborhoods Council, the map has been adopted by a group calling itself the "Compact Districts Coalition." Representatives from the CDC stress that their membership is continuing to grow, and so far it includes representatives from Bouldin, Oak Hill, Barton Hills, Rosedale, Heritage, Highland Hills/Balcones, Hancock, North University, Travis County, Zilker, Galindo, South River City Citizens, Bryker Woods, and Hyde Park.
But the map has its detractors. Peck Young of AGR has strongly criticized the map, saying that it would create only two minority-opportunity districts (one African-American and one Hispanic), which does not reflect Hispanic demographic strength. In a recent email circulated to AGR members, Young urges them to help block the CDC map, saying it "must be stopped."
Note also that in smoothing district boundary lines to conform to major roadways, this map now would split several voting precincts between Council districts – feasible if not ideal, according to the County Clerk's office.
The Compact Districts Coalition proposes a border between Districts 1 and 4 that mirrors the border proposed by the ICRC, except for the deletion of Precinct 248 (Wooten).
There is also a handful of maps drafted by neighborhood groups that confine themselves to their own regions. For example, while the Northwest Austin Coalition has proposed two Northwest districts, in a letter to the ICRC the group said bluntly that it had no interest in suggesting any other districts. Likewise, the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods has submitted a map of a proposed Southwest district, steering clear of drawing any others.
Of course, drafting one or a few districts can be relatively straightforward; the problems multiply when drafters follow the implications of a partial map to try to make the rest of the map work, and have to address neighborhood boundaries elsewhere.
The 'AGR Map': Minority Opportunities
Austinites for Geographic Representation proposed its own map (AGR consultant Peck Young has attended each ICRC meeting with a roll of maps that is unfurled and discussed during every break). Significantly, it proposes four minority opportunity districts – three Hispanic and one African-American. Like the ICRC, drafters stressed the need to draw these districts first, as a method of empowering historically disenfranchised populations and undoing the city's "gentleman's agreement" (unofficially reserving two of the current seven Council seats for minority members) right from the start.
AGR, which drafted the ordinance and carried the petitions that got 10-1 on the ballot, was initially alarmed by the ICRC's draft map, but has since said that it supports the preliminary map, though it advocates more work on the African-American opportunity district (District 3 in the ICRC map).
Northwest Coalition Map: NW Districts 7 & 8
The recently formed Northwest Austin Coalition has remained steadfast in its desire to focus solely on its portion of the city, and has drafted two Northwest districts accordingly. The draft carries a "Disclaimer" (in part): "Our maps are focused on the Northwest portion of the city only.... NWAC is only concerned about the orientation of these two districts and will not advocate for the orientation of other areas of the city." After a chilly reception to the map at a recent special-called meeting of the Austin Neighborhoods Council, Jason Meeker, who lives in the Northwest and is an ANC representative, explained that the larger NWAC map got the "worst reaction of the night" and may have unintentionally illustrated the pitfalls of drawing a map with a singular purpose. He says that while the NWAC map may (or may not) be good for Northwest Austin, it isn't good for the rest of Austin, and such a myopic view is ultimately detrimental to the process.
Oak Hill Map: 'Don't Screw OHAN'
This Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods map proposes a Southwest district that, most significantly, eliminates the West Austin and Zilker Park regions currently included in the Southwest district drawn by the ICRC. There has been an outpouring of local support for the OHAN map from Oak Hill residents like Western Oaks Property Owners Association Vice President Glenn Ross, who wrote to the commission in support of the OHAN map saying, "Frankly, we have been screwed by the city, Imagine Austin, and Capital Metro in the past, and we are really looking forward to a district that encompasses all of Oak Hill where we can have a representative that listens to our needs."
You can view all the maps currently submitted by the public here.Look at that image above and tell me what’s missing.
After sharing news of the Nexus Player gaining access to Google Assistant this morning, it really got me thinking about Google’s current Android TV situation. And when I say “current Android TV situation” I’m referring to a platform that needs a new entry from Google as soon as possible. It’s time for Google to release a Pixel TV or Google Home TV.
From a hardware perspective, this only makes sense. For one, Google is (obviously) fully invested in hardware at this point and just unwrapped an entire line-up of goodies that covers phones, audio, cameras, VR, computers, and smart home assistants. What they don’t have, outside of Chromecasts, is a media product. Again, I know they have Chromecasts and those do their thing with app integrations and often-frustrating Casting experiences, but I’m talking about a true media set top box.
Pixel TV sliding in
If you look around at the Android TV marketplace, you won’t find much today. You can buy the 2017 NVIDIA SHIELD TV, which is just a repackaged 2015 NVIDIA SHIELD TV, the Xiaomi Mi Box, or a handful of TVs that run Android TV (like those from Sony). There may be some other off-brand boxes out there that no one is promoting, but that’s pretty much it. It’s obvious that hardware makers aren’t flocking to the platform to introduce new products. Now would be the perfect time for Google to slide in with a Pixel or Home-styled box that features top tier specs, can push 4K and HDR, and works even better with Google Assistant than NVIDIA’s integration.
I’m envisioning a minimal product, like the Pixelbook, only in set top box form. Google could push it with free subscriptions to YouTube TV or RED or Play Music or whatever they want. It would be another Casting target from their growing line-up of Google Home units, a showcase for any and all new Google Assistant features that arrive on Android TV, and possibly push out new ideas, like better control over Google Home groups and audio experiences, since it would be a visual platform to play with, or their own take on Apple’s new sports and news sections from the new Apple TV. And again, Google seems to really be pushing for Android TV apps and bigger screen experiences, like the new YouTube app, YouTube TV subscriptions, and the Google Home app revamp with a focus on media, so why not have a better product to show them off?
Additionally, a Google Pixel TV box is needed because some of us just happen to like that experience over the phone-to-Casting target experience. Not that I don’t appreciate Chromecast, but there is something about being able to dive into TV apps and guides and menus and movies with a traditional remote. We are a multi-screen world at this point, so if I’m using my phone for Twitter or Instagram or Facebook, I’d much rather reach for a remote to adjust whatever is on my television screen than have to leave the app on my phone and Cast.
To push new software
As I mentioned this morning, the Nexus Player and its 3-year old set of low-end specs is still seeing updates. While Google puts end-dates for updates on all of its other Nexus and Pixel products, the Nexus Player has continued on in its own lane. My assumption is that Google continues to update it because it’s the only Android TV product they can call their own and release new platform builds on as they do with their phones and single tablet. That’s really how Google has pushed software for years, outside of Android Wear (which probably means we need a Pixel Watch too).
What I’m getting at on a software level is that while it’s fun and all that the Nexus Player is still a living, breathing low-end Android TV box, it’s probably time for something new with modern specs and that Android users can buy again. Sure, the SHIELD TV is a hell of an option that is reasonably priced, but it’s not Google’s. And that’s a big deal because it means that SHIELD TV boxes, as updated as they are, still aren’t running Android Oreo or the new Android TV UI that Google introduced with 8.0. In fact, SHIELD units are still on Android 7.0 and a couple of months behind in security patches. And don’t get me started on the update situation for Xiaomi’s Mi Box or Sony’s TVs with Android TV built-in.
If Google is serious about the Android TV platform and pushing the software experience forward, like say with HDR and 4K, the new Oreo UI, and better future integrations with their Home line-up and Casting, their own new product that is controlled by them is going to be needed. Relying on partners is never a good idea with this stuff.
Let’s do this
So, yeah, I’m ready for it – I’m ready for Google to release a new Android TV box. I want a serious one this time too, not this low-end Nexus Player type of thing. I want Google to show us what they can really do with their TV platform (that has actually improved greatly in recent years) combined with a growing line-up of Home products. I want a more powerful or polished Google Assistant experience, and I want updates and new features and new UIs that no one else seems willing to deliver. Also, Google is making everything else at this point in order to invade your home and entertainment life, why not by fully taking over your TV too? Let’s finish out the line-up, guys.
Give us a Pixel TV or Google Home TV box, Google.TORONTO — War-ravaged Iraq offers Canadian companies investment and business opportunities worth $1 trillion as it looks to rebuild itself, but there are also large security risks, according to Bruno Saccomani, the Canadian ambassador to Iraq and Jordan.
“Iraq is more than what you see on Western news channels… Iraq is rebuilding and is expected to invest more than $1 trillion in infrastructure investments over the next 10 years,” Saccomani told a visiting Iraq trade delegation, comprising more than 160 Iraqi businessmen and representatives of about 30 Canadian companies, including Aecon Group Inc. and SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
But the reality of an untenable security situation in the country and the threat of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) lurking in the north would likely see Canadian companies remain on the sidelines without strong consular support.
Saccomani, who was once in charge of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s security detail, runs the Baghdad file from the relative safety of the Canadian embassy in Amman, Jordan, underscoring the security challenges facing Iraq.
While Saccomani noted that Ottawa will soon raise its profile in Baghdad and Erbil, capital of Kurdistan, the Iraqi side is seeking even more of a Canadian presence.
“We need a fully-staffed, fully-functioning embassy in Baghdad,” Abdul Kareem Toma Mahdi, ambassador of Iraq to Canada, told the business forum in Toronto. “Secondly, Canadian banks need to be involved to encourage and help Canadian businesses.”
With bilateral trade of just $2.1 billion, Iraq barely registers as a business destination for Canadian companies. With Ottawa continuing to advise Canadians “against all travel to Iraq” and discouraging non-essential travel to most provinces controlled by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in the north, that’s unlikely to change soon.
Adding to the woes, Iraq fares poorly as an investment destination and is considered the eighth most-corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International.
As such, the largest trade mission to Canada from a Middle East state has modest ambitions.
“They are on a fact-finding mission rather than signing up contracts and agreements,” said Kadhim Taki, vice-president of the Iraq-Canada Business Council, who also runs a Richmond Hill, Ont.-based company selling laboratory equipment.
“Iraqi companies visit oil events in Calgary, so they have their ties,” Taki said. “But we need Canadian companies in other sectors such as health, education and other fields that can improve the life of the Iraqi people.”
We need Canadian companies in other sectors such as health, education and other fields that can improve the life of the Iraqi people.
Roughly the physical size of Newfoundland and Labrador, Iraq is blessed with the fifth-largest oil reserves in the world.
But its 33 million inhabitants have been in the throes of a series of wars over the past three decades, including disastrous campaigns against Iran and Kuwait by strongman Saddam Hussein. In recent years, the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the rise of terrorist group ISIL has displaced 3.3 million Iraqis, devastating the country’s infrastructure in the process.
Despite the setbacks, Iraq has emerged as OPEC’s second-largest crude oil producer in recent years after Saudi Arabia, with an output of 4.44 million barrels per day last month.
“If the events Iraq has gone through had taken place in any other country, they would have been called a failed state,” said Sami Al-Araji, chairman of the National Investment Commission of Iraq. “But despite dealing with wars, displaced people and low oil prices, here Iraqi businesses are discussing the rebuilding of the country.”
While Iraq’s oil and gas sector offers strong potential for Canadian oil and gas companies, the country is more keen on the presence of Canadian banks, which would facilitate the entry of Canadian companies. Other areas of focus in Iraq are in transportation and logistics, agriculture, engineering, manufacturing, health and education.
Canada, which has pledged to shift resources directed at bombing campaigns against ISIL in Iraq to training local troops, has committed to contribute more than $1.6 billion over the next three years in security and humanitarian assistance in Iraq and Syria.
In 2014, Ottawa set up a trade office in Erbil to support the expansion of commercial ties with Iraq.
Some companies have already been scouting for business in the country. Last year, Kentz, an SNC-Lavalin subsidiary, was awarded a contract to build a new ExxonMobil oil processing facility in Iraq.
Malone Given Parsons Ltd., a small-to-medium-sized Markham, Ont.-based company, which worked on developing an infrastructure blueprint for the southern city of Basra five years ago, is also seeking work in the country.
“There are obviously issues and realities of working in Iraq… but we are interested in taking another look at Iraq’s needs,” partner Lee Parsons told the Financial Post. “It’s a bit unfortunate that there is no embassy in Iraq. But the opportunities are enormous.”
yhussain@nationalpost.com
Twitter.com/YAD_FPEnergyOrdinary North Koreans are illegally buying highly sought-after lapel pins of the reclusive country’s founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il and using them in lieu of cash to pay for accommodations, meals and drinks, sources inside the country said.
Low-level administrators who work for North Korea’s Workers’ Party and judiciary, university students, and members of the middle class who have money to buy the rare “double-portrait” pins are obtaining them illegally in local markets.
“With the double-portrait [lapel pin], people can take care of one day of room and board in other regions [of the country] or drink with their friends by using it when they need money,” said a source in Yanggang province, which is bordered by China to the north.
“In a restaurant or [when paying for] accommodations, the double-portrait is worth 20 Chinese yuan (U.S. $3.20),” he said.
Two Kims better than one
The double-portrait lapel pins with pictures of the two former leaders are popular among North Koreans because they symbolize the country’s social hierarchy, another source in Yanggang province said.
“There are more than 10 kinds of badges with portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il that North Koreans are obliged to wear,” he said. “The double-portrait, which is illegally trading in North Korean local markets, costs 40 yuan (U.S. $6.40) in Chinese money. This is a high price.”
The Workers’ Party gives the pins to high-ranking executives and military leaders, but not to ordinary citizens who usually wear pins with a single portrait of Kim Il Sung.
The double-portrait lapel pins appeared after the December 2011 death of Kim Jong Il, father of current leader Kim Jong Un.
They quickly became a desired item as ordinary citizens sought to buy them so they could feel as though they were part of the country’s social hierarchy, sources said. Kim Il Sung, who founded the North Korean state in 1948, died in 1994.
But the growing supply of pins, whose sale is banned in the country, has pushed down prices from a high of 130 yuan (U.S. $21) when they were first sold in 2012 to 40 yuan, sources said.
Still, North Koreans refer to the double-portrait lapel pins as “nest eggs” because they can replace money to purchase goods or services, one of the sources said.
People who travel to other regions of the country used to carry about one gram of the addictive stimulant drug methamphetamine as a “nest egg” in lieu of cash to pay for items or services, he said.
But when a strict crackdown on methamphetamine made it difficult for them to continue doing this, they started using double-portrait lapel pins instead, he said.
Reported by Sung-hui Moon for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Hanna Lee. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.German Chancellor Angela Merkel finally had admitted that she made serious mistakes in dealing with the refugee crisis.
In an interview published today in a German newspaper, Mutti Merkel explains:
There are political issues that one can see coming but don't really register with people at that certain moment - and in Germany we ignored both the problem for too long and blocked out the need to find a pan-European solution.
She continues:
We said we would deal with the problem at our airports since we don't have any other external EU boundaries. But that doesn't work... We didn't embrace the problem in an appropriate way. That goes as well for protecting the external border of the Schengen area.
This is downright shocking coming from Merkel. A blind man could see that she mishandled the crisis by opening her welcoming arms to an unlimited number of immigrants from the Middle East -- people who do not share German culture and values -- but Merkel constantly bragged:"Wir schaffen das," meaning "We can do this." Obviously, Germany couldn't, but it's mighty kind of her to finally admit her mistakes.
Sadly, that's where our praise for Merkel has to end.
Next page: The real reason for Merkel's admission.by
Earlier this year we made our online course on Bitcoin publicly available — 11 video lectures and draft chapters of our textbook-in-progress, including exercises. The response has been very positive: numerous students have sent us thanks, comments, feedback, and a few error corrections. We’ve heard that our materials are being used in courses at a few universities. Some students have even translated the chapters to other languages.
Coursera. I’m very happy to announce that the course is now available as a Princeton University online course on Coursera. The first iteration starts next Friday, September 4. The Coursera version offers embedded quizzes to test your understanding; you’ll also be part of a community of students to discuss the lectures with (about 10,000 15,000 have already signed up). We’ve also fixed all the errors we found thanks to the video editing skillz of the Princeton Broadcast Center folks. Sign up now, it’s free!
We’re closely watching ongoing developments in the cryptocurrency world such as Ethereum. Whenever a body of scientific knowledge develops around a new area, we will record additional lectures. The Coursera class already includes one additional lecture: it’s on the history of cryptocurrencies by Jeremy Clark. Jeremy is the ideal person to give this lecture for many reasons, including the fact that he worked with David Chaum for many years.
Textbook. We’re finishing the draft of the textbook; Chapter 8 was released today and the rest will be coming out in the next few weeks. The textbook closely follows the structure of the lectures, but the textual format has allowed us to refine and polish the explanations, making them much clearer in many places, in my opinion.
I’m excited to announce that we’ll be publishing the textbook with Princeton University Press. The draft chapters will continue to be available free of charge, but you should buy the book — it will be peer reviewed, professionally edited and typeset, and the graphics will be re-done professionally.
Finally, if you’re an educator interested in teaching Bitcoin, write to us and we’ll be happy to share with you some educational materials that aren’t yet public.The senior official in Crimea says sexual minorities "have no chance" on the peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in March.
Speaking about gays during a Crimean government session on September 2, Sergei Aksyonov said "we in Crimea do not need such people."
Aksyonov said that if gays tried to hold public gatherings, "our police and self-defense forces will react immediately and in three minutes will explain to them what kind of sexual orientation they should stick to."
He said Crimean children should be brought up with a "positive attitude to family and traditional values."
Russia annexed Crimea after a referendum that was condemned as illegal by the United States and European Union.
President Vladimir Putin signed a law last year that Western governments and activists say curtails gay rights and encourages discrimination.
Based on reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASSI set out to make shrimp scampi for dinner tonight, but noticed the package of crawfish tails in my freezer and decided “Why not?”. I also just made a fresh batch of breakfast sausage yesterday and it was staring up at me in the fridge. So I decided to include a touch of that as well. My sausage recipe basically consists of 1 lb. lean ground pork and a pinch of my Dad’s poultry seasoning, salt and black pepper. I always have some made up. I was originally going to call it Crawfish Scampi, but that name is usually associated with shrimp and langoustines. Then I thought about Crawfish Spaghetti, but spaghetti always evokes a red sauce for me. So my husband offered the name I settled upon above, as Louisiana Cajun cooking often mixes sausage and seafood together. This dish is suitable for Atkins Induction if the wine is omitted. It would also be suitable for Paleo-Primal diners if the wine is omitted.
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INGREDIENTS:
4 oz. ground pork or breakfast sausage
5 T. unsalted butter
¼ tsp. each salt and black pepper
3 oz. onion, chopped
2 T. chopped shallot
2 large cloves garlic, minced
½ c. parsley, chopped
Pinch each paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper & thyme
1/3 c. white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
12 oz. shelled crawfish tails (I used frozen tails)
Thickener of your choice
2 8-oz. pkgs. shirataki tofu noodles, rinsed
DIRECTIONS: Melt butter in non-stick skillet over high heat. Add onion, shallot, garlic and crumbled pork. Saute until pork is no longer pink and onions are soft. Add parsley and all spices listed. Add wine and lemon juice. Lower heat to medium. Add crawfish tails and set stove to lowest heat. Simmer about 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to mingle. While it is simmering on low, rinse the noodles well in a sieve or colander. Dry them off on a towel and keep covered until ready to plate. Thicken the crawfish mixture a wee bit with your preferred thickener. For each serving, dip ¼ of the mixture over ¼ of the “pasta”. ENJOY!
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:
318 calories
22 g fat
7.43 g carbs, 1.73 g fiber, 5.7 g NET CARBS
20.4 |
mythology who is posing as a taxi driver in New York City. When he picks up an Islamic salesman named Salim (Omid Abtahi), he unlocks his passenger’s repressed homosexual desires. The episode, the show’s third, culminates with a wild, supernaturally hot romp between god and mortal, which Kraish describes as a watershed moment for Middle Eastern LGBTQ representation. “The Jinn comes into Salim’s life to say, ‘It’s OK to be who you are,’ ” he says. “Now more than ever that story is incredibly powerful. The sex scene is so intense and intimate. I don’t think anything like it has ever occurred on TV.”
It was also a first for Kraish, who had never so much as kissed another actor on screen before stripping down for the scene. While he was fully committed to going fully nude, he was also happy to have a chance to weigh in on the final cut. “I was like, ‘Awesome!’ ” Kraish says. “I got penis approval."INCHEON, South Korea/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday it believed North Korea’s shelling of a South Korean island this week was an isolated act tied to leadership changes in Pyongyang and called on China to use its influence to stop the North’s provocative behavior.
A local resident looks around damaged houses on Yeonpyeong Island November 24, 2010 after the island was hit by artillery shells fired by North Korea. REUTERS/Korea Pool/Newsis
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States was working with allies on ways to respond but that “It’s very important for China to lead.”
“The one country that has influence in Pyongyang is China and so their leadership is absolutely critical,” Mullen told a U.S. television talk show.
A day after North Korea rained artillery shells at the island of Yeonpyeong, killing two civilians, a U.S. aircraft carrier group set off for Korean waters on Wednesday to take part in drills.
Although the U.S. Forces Korea said the exercise had been planned well before the attack, many thought the move would enrage the North and unsettle its ally, China.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley also said the United States expects China to use its influence to get North Korea to cease its provocative behavior, saying Beijing could play a “pivotal” role in helping to calm the situation.
Mullen said he believed the attack was linked to the succession of the reclusive state’s leadership.
Widely thought to be in failing health, Kim Jong-il appointed his younger son to key posts in September, a move seen as grooming him to be the North’s next leader. But Kim Jong-un, has no real support base, and with the economy in dire straits there is a risk powerful military or government figures may decide the time is opportune for a power grab.
Tuesday’s attack by the North was the heaviest since the Korean War ended in 1953 and marked the first civilian deaths in an assault since the bombing of a South Korean airliner in 1987.
It was one of a series of provocations by Pyongyang in recent years, which have included two nuclear tests, several missile tests, and the sinking of a South Korean warship in March that killed 46 sailors.
North Korea said the shelling was in self-defense after Seoul fired shells into its waters near the disputed maritime border. The North’s KCNA news agency said the South was driving the peninsula to the “brink of war” with “reckless military provocation” and by postponing humanitarian aid.
“The DPRK that sets store by the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula is now exercising superhuman self-control, but the artillery pieces of the army of the DPRK, the defender of justice, remain ready to fire,” the agency said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The nuclear-powered USS George Washington, which carries 75 warplanes and has a crew of over 6,000, left a naval base south of Tokyo and would join exercises with South Korea from Sunday to the following Wednesday, U.S. officials in Seoul said.
“An aircraft carrier is the most visible sign of power projection there is... you could see this as a form of pre-emptive deterrence,” said Lee Chung-min of Yonsei University in Seoul.
Tuesday’s bombardment nagged at global markets, already unsettled by worries over Ireland’s debt problem and looking to invest in less risky assets. But by close of business on Wednesday, South Korea’s markets had recovered most of lost ground from the previous day.
SEOUL UNDER PRESSURE
The government in Seoul came under pressure for the military’s slow response to the provocation, echoing similar complaints made when a warship was sunk in March in the same area, killing 46 sailors.
Defense Minister Kim Tae-young was grilled by lawmakers who said the government should have taken quicker and stronger retaliatory measures against the North’s provocation.
“I am sorry that the government has not carried out ruthless bombing through jet fighters during the North’s second round of shelling,” said Kim Jang-soo, a lawmaker of ruling Grand National Party and a former defense minister.
Prior to the public comments from Washington, China’s Foreign Ministry had urged the two Koreas to show “calm and restraint” and engage in talks as quickly as possible to avoid an escalation of tensions.
“China takes this incident very seriously, and expresses pain and regret at the loss of life and property, and we feel anxious about developments,” said spokesman Hong Lei.
China has long propped up the Pyongyang leadership, worried that a collapse of the North could bring instability to its own borders and also wary of a unified Korea that would be dominated by the United States, the key ally of the South.
But Beijing has said previously that it sees as a threat to its security and to regional stability any joint U.S.-South Korea exercises in the waters between the Korean peninsula and China.
“China will not welcome the U.S. aircraft carrier joining the exercises, because that kind of move can escalate tensions and not relieve them,” said Xu Guangyu, a retired major-general in the People’s Liberation Army who now works for a government-run arms control organization.
SEOUL CALM
Seoul, a city of over 10 million, was bustling as normal on Wednesday, a sunny autumn day, although developments were being closely watched by office workers on TV and in newspapers.
“My house was burned to the ground,” said Cho Soon-ae, 47, who was among 170 or so evacuated from Yeonpyeong on Wednesday.
“We’ve lost everything. I don’t even have extra underwear,” she said weeping, holding on to her sixth-grade daughter, as she landed at Incheon.
Slideshow (33 Images)
South Korea, its armed forces technically superior though about half the size of the North’s one-million-plus army, warned of “massive retaliation” if its neighbor attacked again.
But it was careful to avoid any immediate threat of retaliation, which might spark an escalation of fighting across the Cold War’s last frontier.The belief was that you were allowed two pumps per touchdown celebration, but Antonio Brown wasn't even granted that this weekend.
Brown's coach, Mike Tomlin, wants some answers.
"We have to get some clarity in terms of what's legal and what's not," Tomlin said Tuesday. "I know he doesn't want it to be a negative thing. He wants to provide positive energy for us and entertain our fans. But we have to get detailed clarity on what he can and cannot do. You've got to acknowledge some guys are followed more closely than others. You saw that last night with (Odell) Beckham. AB is probably one of those guys, and he probably needs to respond accordingly."
MORE: Top 10 players in Pittsburgh Steelers history
Sunday night was the second time this season the Steelers receiver was penalized for dancing. In the first case, he had twerked too violently for the NFL's liking.
Brown isn't purposely trying to hurt his team by drawing these flags, he just likes dancing. But he's violating the league's rule that bans "sexually suggestive" celebrations. What does "sexually suggestive" mean? We can think of some obvious examples that shouldn't be allowed, but it gets complicated when you bring twerking into the picture.
Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders did a similar gluteus workout as Brown this season, but he went unscathed.
why are Steelers fans so upset I didn't get fined? Lol I don't understand the logic behind wanting a man to get fined for dancing. #ohwell — Emmanuel Sanders (@ESanders_10) October 1, 2016
The double standard doesn't seem to make much sense, and it's not affecting only Brown. Josh Norman was flagged this weekend for "shooting a bow and arrow," which has been the end zone celebration for Saints receiver Brandin Cooks and something Chiefs players have done for multiple seasons.
MORE: OBJ isn't passionate, he's just immature
Why was Norman the only one to get penalized for it? Partly because Mike Pereira snitched on him, but maybe Tomlin has a point. The big-name players are easier targets to draw this attention from officials.
Does this mean we'll see less dancing from Brown? We hope not. But if the NFL continues its "No Fun League" stance, then he'll have no other choice.In this article I'll try to write about some potential reasons to use Haxe from the perspectives of people coming from different areas. Since Haxe's scope is so large, it can be quite hard to understand what it actually is and how it can be useful for you.
I can't say I know everything about every area of programming, but I have some experience in web server and game development, I do my best to stay on the edge of current tech and know Haxe and some of its target platforms fairly good.
I'm gonna split this post into sections about different platforms you may come from and in the end will add some general facts about Haxe that is common for everyone.
Flash
Historically, Haxe has an image of a "replacement for Flash", so a lot of Flash developers evaluate Haxe when they are thinking of moving away from Flash. The first thing you should know about this is that Haxe is NOT a replacement for Flash, and that rumor is coming from uninformed people. Haxe is a general-purpose programming language that cross-compiles to a number of different languages and bytecodes (including AVM2 that powers Flash). The thing is, there are the OpenFL and NME frameworks that basically implement Flash API in Haxe in a cross-platform way, and Haxe's syntax is similar to ActionScript 3, so porting code from it is easy (there is even a conversion tool that does the boring stuff for you).
But Haxe has much more to offer. If your project is well-written, it doesn't depend on the Flash API too heavily (since that's just a view-level stuff), so you have more options than NME and OpenFL. Here are a couple of notable game/multimedia frameworks that have nothing to do with Flash, but are still awesome: Kha, Luxe, Haxe-Pixi, Flambe, or even basic HTML5 API, included in the Haxe standard library.
If you're still with Flash, but want to be future-proof, it may still make sense to port your code to Haxe using the good old Flash API and compile to Flash for now and have much more freedom in the future.
Also, please note that even though Haxe's syntax is quite similar to AS3 at first sight, it's a much more powerful language and its programming idioms differ a bit from AS3 ones. Haxe focuses on full static typing and provides features to avoid run-time reflection, boilerplate code, and generally to have more compile-time safety.
JavaScript
Nowadays, JavaScript is probably the most popular language in the world, and thanks to node.js and NPM it has a huge collection of libraries almost for everything. However, even though current ES6 version brings some very nice and modern features to it, it still has a legacy full of quirks and bad design decisions, which, together with its dynamic nature makes developing large applications painful and requiring too much discipline.
That's why we have a number of languages that cross-compile to JavaScript, like CoffeeScript or Microsoft's TypeScript. Obivously, Haxe can be also used as a language to target JavaScript-based platforms, such as browsers or node.js. And in my opinion it's the best option since it not only provides syntax sugar, like CoffeeScript, or static typing, like TypeScript. It provides both AND it fixes a lot of JavaScript issues (e.g. variable scoping, method binding) and it has a much much more powerful type system that allows writing very safe and concise code that compiles to very efficient JavaScript (thanks for powerful static analysis and inlining features). With all that it can also easily use the whole existing JS awesomeness provided by NPM in a type-safe way through the simple extern definition mechanism. And don't forget that JS is just one of many Haxe compilation targets, so if for any reason, JS isn't enough for you, you can compile your Haxe code to other mainstream targets with minimal to no changes.
More on topic, I recommend you to also read these two great articles:
Lua
Lua is known for its runtime that is very minimalistic, fast and easy to embed. Because of that it's often used for scripting in game engines (e.g. CryEngine, Defold, World of Warcraft), as well as other applications (nginx, awesome wm, etc). However, as a language, Lua suffers from mostly the same issues as JavaScript - it's too dynamic and loosely structured for maintaining a large code base (and any project that is being developed grow large at some point).
Since version 3.3, Haxe has a new shiny Lua target that allows compiling Haxe to Lua code (with LuaJIT support). This provides the same benefits as described in the JavaScript section earlier in this post and enables users to write (and maintain!) more complex projects targeting Lua runtime with more compile-time safety and less headache.
I gave Lua target a try and implemented an extern library for the KING's Defold game engine and I must say it works great, especially considering how new it is. Here's my library to give you an idea: https://github.com/hxdefold/hxdefold.
If you're writing a game or an engine or any scriptable app from scratch, I'd say it's worth considering using the Haxe language + Lua(JIT) runtime combo as an ultimate scripting solution.
For more info, look at this year's WWX talk by Lua target author Justin Donaldson:
C++
C++ remains the most popular choice in areas that require low level memory management and fine-grained control of what's happening. Game engines are the obvious example of that. However, the other side of the coin is that with C++ it's getting harder to program at higher level (in case of games that would be the actual game logic). Yes, C++14 has a lot to mitigate that, but still, it can be hard to find the manpower to develop and maintain the C++ codebase.
Haxe is a simplier to learn garbage-collected language that integrates quite well into C++ infrastructure by compiling directly to C++ and providing methods to work with C++ side without adding run-time overhead or losing type-safety. C++ target is what powers Haxe cross-platform native compilation. It's battle-proven and used in almost all native Haxe applications and games. The target is constantly improving in aspects of performance and memory efficiency and since Haxe 3.2 it also provides a way to quickly develop your project through compiling to a CPPIA bytecode that allows live code reloading without using a separate script engine. The benefit of CPPIA is that you still write code in Haxe for C++ target and you can compile your final product to C++ without using bytecode.
Since the C++ target is used by Haxe game frameworks, the community developed a number of ready-to-use libraries for accessing popular C/C++ stuff, such as SDL, OpenGL, GLEW, OpenAL, ENet and so on.
It's also worth noting that Proletariat Inc. is successfully using Haxe/C++ and CPPIA combo with the Unreal Engine by Epic Games for their new Streamline game. They even received a $15000 grant from Epic Games for their Unreal.hx project. Check out the presentation by Cauê Waneck (slides, and video).
C#
C# is actually a very solid and well-designed programming language. In my opinion C# does some things more correctly than Haxe, but on the other hand it lacks features found in Haxe that make code safer and life easier, such as algebraic data types, pattern matching, abstract types or easy-to-use compile-time meta-programming features (aka macros).
Haxe integrates quite well into.NET by compiling to C# and supporting using types from.NET assemblies (the DLLs) automatically, without writing any extern definitions, so you can basically use Haxe instead of C# or any other.NET language. Whether or not to do that comes down to personal preference though, but one thing which makes Haxe worth consideration is its cross-target compilation abilities. For example I personally have the experience of developing two big game projects with Haxe using its C# target for the Unity3D-based client and its JavaScript target for the node.js based server. We wrote game logic once and successfully ran it on both client and server.
Java
Unfortunately, I can't say much about Java, because I have no experience with it. I know Java 8 brought some nice features to the language (e.g. short functions), but it's still kind of meh. I like to separate the language and its runtime though, because nowadays runtimes are reusable, and for the JVM (which is very good, as I heard) we have a number of different languages besides Java (e.g. Scala, Clojure, Groovy).
Regarding Haxe, I would say the situation is similar to one with C# - Haxe can be a good choice as a JVM language, thanks for its powerful features. It also integrates well by supporting loading types from JAR files automatically and its performance is great. And of course it's always a great choice if you need to target multiple different runtime platforms.
I have a very minimal example of Haxe/Java usage with the LibGDX framework here: https://github.com/nadako/libgdx-haxe-example
Python
I used Python a lot a long time ago and still kind of love it. I think it's one of the few dynamic languages done right. Haxe compiles to pretty good python code, and thanks to static typing and optimization features it can actually generate potentially more efficient code. I'm not sure that I'd use Haxe-to-Python instead of plain Python where it's used, but still there are some very interesting possibilities to target some Python environment among others.
A cool example of using Haxe's Python target is this project by Lubos Lenco: he integrates Kha (a cross-platform multimedia framework written in Haxe) into the Blender 3D editor, which uses Python as the scripting language, making it possible to develop a project in Blender and then compile it to a lot of different target platforms thanks to Kha and Haxe. More info here: http://luboslenco.com/notes/.
PHP
I avoided PHP my whole life, so I have literally nothing to say here, sorry :) Feel free to share knowledge about the Haxe + PHP tandem in the comments.
Everyone
I repeated and paraphrased this point a lot here, but my vision is that Haxe is not solution you are using INSTEAD of something, but rather a tool that you're using WITH something. You still need to know the platform you're targeting, but you can add Haxe into the mix to save quite a bit of time and headache with writing, maintaining and porting the actual code you write for the platform of your choice. It's a programming toolkit that can really adapt to the changing world: platforms, engines, VMs come and go, and it would be nice to be able to keep your existing codebase and people when you switch from one to another, and Haxe provides just that.At full capacity, the Carmichael mine would produce as much as 60 million tonnes of coal a year, with a “resource value of $5 billion per annum over 60 years”, the statement said. Apart from the boost to the local economy to the tune of 3920 jobs for operations and 2475 during construction, the mine will also “provide electricity for up to 100 million people in India”, Mr Hunt said. Environmental groups including Greenpeace, though, warn the mine’s output would generate almost 130 million tonnes of carbon dioxide when burnt each year, or equal to about a quarter of Australia’s current annual emissions. Billionaire MP Clive Palmer also owns two Galilee coal reserves that may produce as much as 80 million tonnes of coal a year if those mines get developed. Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart also holds a minority stake with India’s GVK in mines with a similar annual capacity. “History will look back on the Abbott Government’s decision today as an act of climate criminality,” said Greens Senator Larissa Waters, the party’s environment spokeswoman.
“The proponent, Indian-owned Adani, is in financial dire straits and has already faced complaints about breaches of environmental laws in its home country “There’s no guarantee Adani will be able to pay for the environmental conditions attached to the approval and with the Abbott and Newman governments slashing environment department staff, there’s no capacity to enforce them." 'Coffin' for the Reef The mine, if it proceeds, would also increase the number of ships entering the Great Barrier Reef by about 450 a year, according to Felicity Wishart, a spokeswoman for the Australian Marine Conservation Society. “This is yet another nail in the coffin for the Great Barrier Reef,” said Ms Wishart, adding that Carmichael and other proposed coal mines and gas plants in the region would likely increase the number of ships entering the reef area from about 4000 a year to 7000 by 2020.
Paul Oosting, campaigns director at social organising group GetUp!, said the approval was an “outrageous decision”. “GetUp! will fight tooth and nail to make sure it will never occur,” Mr Oosting said. He said campaigns had succeeded in discouraging the involvement of banks such as Deutsche Bank, Barclays and RBS in the Abbot Point coal export terminal that will link to Carmichael. The government should also have taken greater account of Adani’s “proven and documented track record of bribery, corruption and environmental degradation” in India, Mr Oosting said. Water watch One of the government’s conditions is that the mine will return a minimum of 730 megalitres of water to the Great Artesian Basin every year for five years.
However, Lock the Gate’s Central Queensland spokeswoman, Ellie Smith, said the mine would do “great damage to ground and surface water systems and the communities that depend on them”.
“Environment Minister Greg Hunt has ignored his own panel of top water scientists and is putting the Great Artesian Basin at further risk by allowing mine dewatering to drain the Basin,” Ms Smith said. Adani has said the Carmichael mine would extract as much as 12.5 gigalitres of water every year, Lock the Gate noted.
Market hurdle Getting government approval may be easier than winning over markets that have soured on coal, with prices of the commodity dropping about 50 per cent over the past five years. Concerns about over-supply as nations such as Russia, Indonesia and Mongolia join Australia in preparing to ramp-up production have lately been complemented by signs that global action on climate change will see carbon costs imposed on coal to curb its usage. South Korea, for instance, this month slapped a coal tax of about $18 per tonne of coal and will introduce a broad carbon price from 2015. Neighbouring China, easily the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, has also unveiled plans for a national carbon emissions market and may aim to curb coal consumption within coming years.
Tim Buckley, a former Citibank analyst and now a director at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said the environmental approval itself was no surprise. “I never expected [Mr] Hunt to go against Premier [Campbell] Newman nor Prime Minister [Tony] Abbott's desire to promote foreign firms trying to sustain Australia's coal industry,” Mr Buckley said. “Ironically, should the Galilee proceed, it will actually accelerate the longer-term destruction of our coal export industry by dramatically expanding the capital invested, whilst at the same time taking coal prices globally down another 10-20 per cent.” Adani, though, said it was standing by its longstanding guidance that the first coal from the mine will be produced in 2017 "The Carmichael mine, together with North Galilee Basin Rail and Abbot Point, will be an enduring provider of more than 10.000 jobs, ongoing partnerships with our small and medium business suppliers, and long-term export opportunities for Queensland," an Adani spokesman said.Note: This article was originally written in Chinese by Ke Wen Lin/China/IBM. I translated this article into English.
Strings are frequently used in C++ programs. C++ Standard Library provides the <string> and <sstream> libraries, which are very useful for string manipulations, such as object encapsulation, safe and automatic type conversion, direct concatenation, and bound exceed avoidance. This article will discover a trap when using stringstream.str(). Here is an example:
Example 1:
1 #include <string>
2 #include <sstream>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 using namespace std;
6
7 int main()
8 {
9 stringstream ss(" 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 ");
10 stringstream t_ss ("ab cdef ghij klmn opqr stuv wxyz ");
11 string str1(ss.str());
12
13 const char* cstr1 = str1.c_str();
14 const char* cstr2 = ss.str().c_str();
15 const char* cstr3 = ss.str().c_str();
16 const char* cstr4 = ss.str().c_str();
17 const char* t_cstr = t_ss.str().c_str();
18
19 cout << "------ The results ----------" << endl
20 << "cstr1:\t" << cstr1 << endl
21 << "cstr2:\t" << cstr2 << endl
22 << "cstr3:\t" << cstr3 << endl
23 << "cstr4:\t" << cstr4 << endl
24 << "t_cstr:\t" << t_cstr << endl
25 << "--- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- --" << endl;
26
27 return 0;
28 }
The output is:
------ The results ----------
cstr1: 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789
cstr2: 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789
cstr3: abcd efgh ijkl mnop qrst uvwx yz
cstr4: abcd efgh ijkl mnop qrst uvwx yz
t_cstr: abcd efgh ijkl mnop qrst uvwx yz
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- -
From the output, we can surprisingly see that values of cstr3 and cstr4 are not the same as that of string ss, but equal to the value of t_ss. Let's add several statements in example 1 to find out why this happens.
Example 2:
1 #include <string>
2 #include <sstream>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 using namespace std;
6
7 #define PRINT_CSTR(no) printf("cstr" #no " addr :\t% p
",cst r##n o)
8 #define PRINT_T_CSTR(no) printf("t_cstr" #no " addr :\t% p
",t_c str# #no)
9
10 int main()
11 {
12 stringstream ss(" 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 ");
13 stringstream t_ss ("ab cdef ghij klmn opqr stuv wxyz ");
14 string str1(ss.str());
15
16 const char* cstr1 = str1.c_str();
17 const char* cstr2 = ss.str().c_str();
18 const char* cstr3 = ss.str().c_str();
19 const char* cstr4 = ss.str().c_str();
20 const char* t_cstr = t_ss.str().c_str();
21
22 cout << "------ The results ----------" << endl
23 << "cstr1:\t" << cstr1 << endl
24 << "cstr2:\t" << cstr2 << endl
25 << "cstr3:\t" << cstr3 << endl
26 << "cstr4:\t" << cstr4 << endl
27 << "t_cstr:\t" << t_cstr << endl
28 << "--- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- --" << endl;
29 printf("
------ Char pointers ----------
");
30 PRINT_CSTR(1);
31 PRINT_CSTR(2);
32 PRINT_CSTR(3);
33 PRINT_CSTR(4);
34 PRINT_T_CSTR();
35
36 return 0;
37 }
In example 2, the addresses of the strings are printed out. The output is:
------ The results ----------
cstr1: 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789
cstr2: 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789
cstr3: abcd efgh ijkl mnop qrst uvwx yz
cstr4: abcd efgh ijkl mnop qrst uvwx yz
t_cstr: abcd efgh ijkl mnop qrst uvwx yz
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- -
------ Char pointers ----------
cstr1 addr: 0x100200e4
cstr2 addr: 0x10020134
cstr3 addr: 0x10020014
cstr4 addr: 0x10020014
t_cstr addr: 0x10020014
From the output, we can see that the addresses of cstr3, cstr4 and t_cstr are the same, which explains why their values are the same as shown in the output. Usually we might assume that when ss.str() is called in line 17~19, three string objects will be created and each object has a different address.
However the output shows otherwise. In fact, when streamstring calls str(), it returns a temporary string object, which will be destructed along with the function return. Then c_str() is called right after str() and the argument passed into c_str() is a corresponding C string of the temporary string object. Thus, these strings cannot be referenced after the expression evaluation, and the memory will be retrieved or might be overwritten. Although in some cases (for example, delete line 20 from example 2), this memory might not be overwritten and we can still read out the strings, but the accuracy of the read result is not guaranteed.
Let's modify example 2 as below:
Example 3：
1 #include <string>
2 #include <sstream>
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 using namespace std;
6
7 #define PRINT_CSTR(no) printf("cstr" #no " addr :\t% p
",cst r##n o)
8 #define PRINT_T_CSTR(no) printf("t_cstr" #no " addr :\t% p
",t_c str# #no)
9
10 int main()
11 {
12 stringstream ss(" 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 ");
13 stringstream t_ss ("ab cdef ghij klmn opqr stuv wxyz ");
14 string str1(ss.str());
15
16 const char* cstr1 = str1.c_str();
17 const string& str2 = ss.str();
18 const char* cstr2 = str2.c_str();
19 const string& str3 = ss.str();
20 const char* cstr3 = str3.c_str();
21 const string& str4 = ss.str();
22 const char* cstr4 = str4.c_str();
23 const char* t_cstr = t_ss.str().c_str();
24
25 cout << "------ The results ----------" << endl
26 << "cstr1:\t" << cstr1 << endl
27 << "cstr2:\t" << cstr2 << endl
28 << "cstr3:\t" << cstr3 << endl
29 << "cstr4:\t" << cstr4 << endl
30 << "t_cstr:\t" << t_cstr << endl
31 << "--- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- --" << endl;
32 printf("
------ Char pointers ----------
");
33 PRINT_CSTR(1);
34 PRINT_CSTR(2);
35 PRINT_CSTR(3);
36 PRINT_CSTR(4);
37 PRINT_T_CSTR();
38
39 return 0;
40 }
The output is:
------ The results ----------
cstr1: 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789
cstr2: 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789
cstr3: 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789
cstr4: 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789 0123 4567 8901 2345 6789
t_cstr: abcd efgh ijkl mnop qrst uvwx yz
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- -
------ Char pointers ----------
cstr1 addr: 0x100200e4
cstr2 addr: 0x10020134
cstr3 addr: 0x10020184
cstr4 addr: 0x100201d4
t_cstr addr: 0x10020014
From the examples, we know that stringstream.str() will return a temporary string object, which will be destroyed after the function call. When we want to manipulate on this string object (for example, to create corresponding C string), we must be very careful about this trap that might cause unexpected results.Abstract Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a potential endocrine disruptor impacting metabolic processes and increasing the risk of obesity. To determine whether urine BPA level is associated with overweight/obesity in school-age children, we examined 1,326 students in grades 4–12 from three schools (one elementary, one middle, and one high school) in Shanghai. More than 98% of eligible students participated. Total urine BPA concentration was measured and anthropometric measures were taken by trained research staff. Information on risk factors for childhood obesity was collected for potential confounders. Age- and gender-specific weight greater than 90th percentile of the underlying population was the outcome measure. After adjustment for potential confounders, a higher urine BPA level (≥2 µg/L), at the level corresponding to the median urine BPA level in the U.S. population, was associated with more than two-fold increased risk of having weight >90th percentile among girls aged 9–12 (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.15–4.65). The association showed a dose-response relationship with increasing urine BPA level associated with further increased risk of overweight (p = 0.006 for trend test). Other anthropometric measures of obesity showed similar results. The same association was not observed among boys. This gender difference of BPA effect was consistent with findings from experimental studies and previous epidemiological studies. Our study suggests that BPA could be a potential new environmental obesogen. Widespread exposure to BPA in the human population may also be contributing to the worldwide obesity epidemic.
Introduction In recent decades, both developing countries such as China as well as developed countries have witnessed an alarming increase in the prevalence of obesity [1]–[3]. The most troubling aspect of this increase is the acceleration in the prevalence of obesity and overweight among children. The prevalence of obesity in U.S. children is close to 20% [4]–[6]. This is especially alarming given the well-known consequences of overweight and obesity which include type 2 diabetes, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and liver and kidney diseases among many other adverse health effects. While improving dietary habits and increasing physical activity have been the focus in reducing obesity, the rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity/overweight in countries with differing dietary styles and patterns of physical activity suggests the possible existence of other environmental risk factors. Emerging evidence linking the worldwide obesity epidemic to increased exposures to environmental endocrine disruptors, collectively called “environmental obesogens” [1], [6]–[9], has brought about an urgency to examine the role of exposure to these chemicals in relation to the obesity epidemic. One such important potential obesogen is bisphenol-A (BPA). Humans are widely exposed to BPA and animal studies have linked BPA to obesity [10]– |
love with the wrong one, and you can end up trapped, with a child you never expected or a wife you weren't ready for. People ask me all the time how many of the women I meet are looking for a ring. I have to assume it's all of them, because I've never met a groupie who was in it just to have fun. Those girls take the long view, and it's not always about love.
Look at what happened with Dirk last year. He fell for a groupie, gave the girl an engagement ring, only to find out she was a criminal. The situation blew up right during the playoffs, so his teammates ended up answering questions about the woman when they were trying to focus on the Nuggets. It's not good when those problems trickle into the locker room.
Trades have been arranged because one woman is involved with two guys on the same team. That's what happened in Dallas some years ago. And right now I know of one girl who is dating two NBA players. One makes her car payments, and the other pays her rent. They don't know about each other, but they do share a money manager who's writing both checks. It's bound to blow up at some point.
Truth is, NBA players are easy targets. We're not like most guys, who can meet a nice girl at work or at a barbecue. We are recognized and treated differently pretty much everywhere we go. Most of us have grown up in an environment where we've been given whatever we wanted, so a woman approaching us suggestively seems normal. Sadly, all you usually have to do to get an NBA guy for a night is smile and make it clear you're willing to go home with him. Especially if he's single.
As for the married guys, it's not that hard for a groupie to get with one of them, either. They're like regular dudes in corporate America who travel a lot, except they have more money and more opportunities to cheat. They don't get caught because they keep it on the road, calling their wives all the time to check in. (It doesn't always go smoothly. I've overheard plenty of dudes fight with their wives over the phone about their activities.) It gets to the point where you see teammates doing it so much that young guys assume having a woman on the road and a wife at home is just part of the NBA lifestyle.
In fact, I would guess that 50% of NBA wives actually started out as groupies. And a lot of those women are realistic about the scene their spouses are in. They take a "don't ask, don't tell" approach. They will say something like, "Don't embarrass me by getting caught." It's not that they like the situation, but they understand the circumstances. After all, it wasn't that long ago that they were in those same clubs looking to get with a professional athlete, no matter how many tries it took.
Honestly, with all the pitfalls and temptation, sometimes I wonder why young players even get married. They should follow Derek Jeter's example. No one criticizes his lifestyle because he doesn't have a wife at home wondering what he's up to. He's just a young, rich pro who enjoys being the king of New York. He'll settle down when the time is right. NBA guys should take note.Rasoul Al Mousawi to undergo surgery after he was shot in the face outside an Islamic centre in Greenacre just hours after threats allegedly made
A Shia Muslim community leader is recovering from surgery after being shot in the face with pellets outside a Sydney religious hall, which witnesses say was targeted by supporters of Islamic State hours earlier.
Rasoul Al Mousawi, 47, was standing outside the building in Greenacre in Sydney south-west around 1.15am on Monday morning when a number of pellets were fired.
Police said Al Mousawi sustained wounds to his head and shoulder, but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Other worshippers reportedly heard the shots and dragged the wounded man back into the Husseiniya Al Nabi Akram Islamic centre, where the man had been observing the first day of the holy ritual of Ashura.
The holiday is the most significant in the Shia calendar and commemorates the death of the prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein Ibn Ali.
A friend of the victim said threats by alleged Islamic State (Isis) supporters had been made during the evening, before the shooting.
“They drive past, they stop here, they make threats ‘Isis lives forever’ this and that,” he told ABC radio.
Sources said there had been a scuffle and an argument outside the centre on Friday that saw a security guard attacked by a group of men apparently belonging to the conservative Sunni Wahhabi sect.
The centre has reported internal conflict over ownership, but sources said the shooting was unlikely to be connected to those disputes.
A prominent member of the Muslim community, Jamal Daoud, said the attack followed “10 days of tension” between Shia Muslims and supporters of the militia group Isis.
Daoud said the threats were coming from a small, well-organised group and that he himself had been abused in the streets and followed on Sunday.Don’t get your hopes up, Houston, when it comes to Lyft coming back soon and adding to the city’s ride-hailing market.
Despite some internet chatter and radio ads, company spokeswoman Chelsea Wilson said the smartphone app company that connects drivers and riders isn’t driving back into the market.
“We will not relaunch in Houston while a mandatory fingerprinting requirement is in place,” Wilson said Tuesday in a statement. “Lyft doesn't operate our peer-to-peer service in any market with mandatory fingerprinting.”
Lyft left Houston in November 2014, when the new requirements including the fingerprinting mandate went into effect. That essentially left Uber – the largest company in the emerging app-based transportation industry – as the only big ride-hailing game in town.
While some smaller competitors have emerged, Uber continues to dominate the market, though the company last month warned Houston officials the fingerprint checks could drive them away. City officials responded that they will not compromise what they think are necessary public safety measures to accommodate the companies.
Both companies said they will happily work with Houston to develop what they consider better rules.
Voters in Austin on Saturday will decide if the Texas capitol should keep rules similar to Houston’s, or adopt rules preferred by Uber and Lyft."X-Files"-like sounds recorded far above the Earth's surface are baffling NASA scientists who are yet to pinpoint their origin.
Daniel Bowman, a graduate geological science student at the University of North Carolina, recorded the mysterious noises in August, using infrared microphones positioned nearly 40 kilometres above earth.
The microphones were sent up in a NASA-funded balloon to hover above the US states of New Mexico and Arizona.
The sounds, picked up at frequencies below 20 hertz, the threshold for human sound detection, could only be heard by human ears after being sped up.
"It sounds kind of like The X-Files," Mr Bowman told Live Science yesterday.
Researchers do not know the source of the noises, with some suggesting they came from wind farms or cable vibrations, while others are rushing to conclude they come from an alien race.
Douglas Vakoch, the Director of Interstellar Message Composition with the Search for Extra Terrestrial Life project, has founded a site called Earth Speaks to gauge what people would like to say to aliens in the event of contact.
Mr Vakoch said while women tended to offer messages of friendship, men were more likely to ask about their civilisation and technological advances.
Overall the main theme was asking for help from aliens rather than seeking to impart the wisdom of Earth, with humans having a "cosmic inferiority complex".
"Humankind has a range of experiences and insights that cannot be imagined by any other civilization," Mr Vakoch said.
"Though extra-terrestrials may be more technologically advanced we are, they will never be more human. It’s the breadth of our human experience that we should be conveying in our interstellar messages."
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2019Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Kelly Oubre (Kansas) heads to the stage after being selected as the number fifteen overall pick to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
I admittedly didn’t know much about Kelly Oubre on draft night. The Kansas forward was supposed to get picked in the late lottery and the Washington Wizards were out of his range. In fact, he didn’t even work out for Washington’s brass during the predraft process.
Instead, I focused on learning about the likes of Bobby Portis, Kevon Looney and others that were projected to get picked in the late first round. So what did Ernie Grunfeld do? He moved up four spots and grabbed Oubre — a move that no one saw coming.
Even though I didn’t know virtually anything about Oubre prior to the draft, it didn’t take me long to learn. All of the profiles on Oubre were the same, often describing him as a raw, athletic, physical freak that needs years of development before becoming a contributor at the next level.
At that point, it did seem like the pundits were right.
I watched “tape” and Oubre did lack the consistency that’s necessary to contribute at the next level. Quite honestly, I was a bit afraid the Wizards made a mistake given the amount of “NBA ready” players available at their original draft position — Justin Anderson, Jerian Grant and others come to mind.
In six games with the Wizards during NBA Summer League, though, my perception on Oubre quickly changed.
Oubre is someone who’s constantly talked about wanting to get better.
I mean, as a 19-year-old player who just got drafted to play in the most popular basketball league in the world, Oubre spent his nights in LAS VEGAS getting better in the gym while he certainly could’ve been doing other things.
His work ethic is undoubtedly fantastic and it’s evident in the amount of growth his game has shown.
Right from the start of summer league, Oubre displayed a much tighter handle of the ball, which is something he desperately needed to work on.
While his ball handling is still shaky at times, it’s clear that he’s learned how to use angles to the point where he doesn’t necessarily have to rely on crossovers in order to get to the basket.
Oubre uses his length, takes long strides to the rim and accepts contact when he gets to the rim instead of shying away from it. This past season at Kansas, Oubre would often fade away on his way to the basket or get knocked off balance instead of accepting the contact and getting two free throws out of it.
After games, even the stretch where the Wizards played four in as many nights, Oubre would spend time with trainer Drew Hanlen to develop his jump shot. Understanding that he must knock down the open jumper in Washington if he wants to get playing time, especially along side John Wall, Oubre has spent an extraordinary amount of time on developing his jumper this summer.
While he did struggle to shoot early on during summer league, he was forced to take shots that he won’t have to take during the regular season. Yesterday, though, Oubre’s work showed as he knocked down 5 of his 7 three point shots en route to 30 points to close out the circuit.
Oubre still has a couple of months left until the start of training camp and he’ll certainly use the time to get better with Hanlen, who’s also worked with Bradley Beal in the off-season.
Before the draft, Oubre was considered “basketball illiterate” by an NBA GM. Since then, it’s clear that he’s invested a lot of time in developing himself. He’s no longer relying on pure athleticism, but rather on angles and defensive stops to get easy baskets on the other end of the floor.
Does Oubre still have a lot of developing before he becomes a consistent contributor? Absolutely.
He needs to shoot the ball well from the outside consistently if he wants to crack the rotation next season, which is something he’ll have a hard time to do given the amount of wing depth Washington has. He needs to get stronger and needs to continue improving his ball handling.
With all that said, the Wizards seem to have another player who’s capable of becoming a key piece in the not too distant future. He’ll have the chance to learn from the likes of Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley — two players who’ve developed a positive reputation from having great work ethics.
I’m no longer worried that Kelly Oubre was the wrong pick. Others might be further along at this point, but that doesn’t matter anymore. The Wizards have built an army of hard working, high-character players and Oubre will fit right in.
I can’t wait to see what he does in the future, because it’s certainly bright. So, when can I order my Kelly Oubre jersey?While there is scarce material on Blanche Dumas, her alleged lover Juan Baptista dos Santos was the subject of some fairly intense study.
Juan Baptista dos Santos was born in Portugal around 1843 in the town of Faro and was examined for the first time when he was only six months old. His parents and two siblings were well formed and it was said that his gestation and birth were uneventful. As a child, Juan was considered quite handsome, fit and well proportioned – except for the two distinct genitalia and extra fused limbs he possessed.
It was observed that urination proceeded simultaneously from both penises. What appeared to be a third leg dangling from the pubis was in fact two limbs fused together as one with a small and supernumerary anus. The compound limb had a patella but, while the limb joint was freely movable, it had no motor control or power of motion. A journal, published in London states that Juan Baptista dos Santos had been exhibited in Paris, and that the surgeons advised operation.
That operation never occurred as a further report from Havana, dated July, 1865, details a further detailed examination of Santos at twenty-two years of age. This report also brought forward the claim that Santos possessed an ‘animal passion’ and had a ravenous sexual appetite and permissive reputation. This same report claims that Juan Baptista dos Santos used both penises during intercourse and, after finishing with one he would continue with the other.
A further report details the physiology of Santos in full adulthood and is accompanied by a detailed illustration. This report also detailed Santos was in the habit of wearing this limb in a special sling or bound firmly to his right thigh. This not only prevented the limb from dangling, it also allowed him greater freedom of activity – he was said to be an avid horseback rider.
During his lifetime, Santos was perused by several sideshows and circuses. In 1865 – he turned down a contract worth 200,000 francs to perform in a French circus. However, Santos opted to exhibit himself to medical authorities and rare ‘special’ exhibitions. Despite his extensive medical examinations and relative fame in medial circles only one photo of Juan Baptista dos Santos and that to focuses mainly on his dual genitalia.Drivers on Highway 1 will be going over — not around or through — the Mud Creek Slide when the coast route reopens.
“The new roadway will be realigned across the landslide,” the agency said Tuesday in a news release, adding that the highway will be “buttressed with a series of embankments, berms, rocks, netting, culverts and other stabilizing material.”
Caltrans District 5 spokesman Jim Shivers said in late May that the highway would be closed for at least a year. A more specific timetable for reopening the highway, along with the projected cost, is expected by the end of August, the news release said.
More than 5 million tons of cubic yards of dirt and rock descended on the road 9 miles north of the Monterey County line May 20. Caltrans describes it as the largest ever along the Big Sur coast.
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Engineers and geologists have spent weeks conducting tests on the slide to help them determine how best to rebuild the road.
The planned approach, Caltrans said, would allow the agency to rebuild the roadway more quickly and at a lower cost than other options such as “structures, a tunnel or major earthwork that places additional fill into the ocean.”
SHARE COPY LINK We traveled up Highway 1 in Big Sur on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, to get an up-close look at the massive Mud Creek Slide, about 9 miles north of the Monterey County/San Luis Obispo County line. What Caltrans had hoped would take weeks to fix will pr
“This plan is a win-win for the hard-hit Big Sur community and this pristine coastal environment,” said Tim Gubbins, director of Caltrans District 5 (covering Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties). “Our emergency contractor continues working dawn to dusk every day and will continue until we can safely reopen the highway.”
The highway was also closed at another slide site, Paul’s Slide, 22 miles north of the Monterey County line, but Caltrans was able to reopen it there to one way, reversing traffic in mid-July. Flaggers continue to be stationed at that point.
Even with the progress there, a 35-mile section of coastline between Mud Creek and the collapsed Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge to the north remains accessible only via an inland route: Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. Traffic heading north from San Luis Obispo County can go no farther than Salmon Creek, about 5 miles north of Ragged Point.
This plan is a win-win for the hard-hit Big Sur community and this pristine coastal environment. Tim Gubbins, Caltrans District 5 director
Final girders for a replacement Pfeiffer bridge are being painted near Stockton and trucked to the site, Caltrans said Monday. Public access there remains on schedule for mid-to-late September, the agency said.
“Our staff has been working hard to tackle the weather-related challenges faced by Highway 1,” Caltrans state Director Malcolm Daugherty said. “We have made tremendous progress on Pfeiffer Canyon, have opened Paul’s Slide and now we have good news on the slide at Mud Creek. Our goal is to reconnect the areas impacted by the winter storms as quickly and safely as possible.”
SHARE COPY LINK Highway 1 at Mud Creek in Big Sur remains closed as “significant” amounts of dirt and rock continue to slide down the slope from above. This video taken from a Monterey County Sheriff's Office airplane shows the massive slide, which "went from badA Democrat Florida state lawmaker helped pass a bill that allocated $1.5 million to a nonprofit that she founded and pays her a six-figure salary and the state’s Republican governor approved it. The legislator, state Senator Lauren Book, represents south Florida’s Broward county and in 2007 she founded a charity called Lauren’s Kids to educate adults and children about sexual abuse prevention through school curricula, awareness campaigns and speaking engagements.
Book launched the south Florida-based group because her female nanny sexually abused her for years and she wants to prevent sexual abuse through education and awareness. The politician also wants to help survivors heal with guidance and support. “Armed with the knowledge that 95 percent of sexual abuse is preventable through education and awareness, Lauren has worked to turn her horrific personal experience into a vehicle to prevent childhood sexual abuse and help other survivors heal,” according to the charity’s website. Lauren’s Kids has helped advocate for the passage of nearly two dozen laws to support survivors and protect children from predators, the group’s website further claims.
It’s not just a labor of love for the Florida legislator, who got elected in 2016. As chief executive officer of her charity Book receives a generous $135,000 annual salary, according to a nonprofit investigative journalism conglomerate that broke the story about this outrageous conflict of interest. Since 2012 Lauren’s Kids has received north of $10 million in taxpayer money because the senator’s father, Ron Book, is a prominent lobbyist who happens to be the group’s chairman. In just a few years Lauren’s Kids has “become one of the Florida Legislature’s most favored private charities,” the news article states. Governor Rick Scott, who is in his second term, went along with the $1.5 million appropriation for Book’s charity when he signed Florida’s $83 billion budget recently.
As if this weren’t enraging enough, Lauren’s Kids used a chunk of the taxpayer funds it has received to pay a Tallahassee public relations firm millions of dollars, accounting for 28% of its expenses. A follow-up story by the same investigative journalism outlet reveals that the senator’s charity paid Sachs Media Group $3.1 million between 2012 and 2015 as well as a yet-to-be-disclosed amount in 2016. “Millions of taxpayer dollars flowed through the nonprofit to Sachs Media as it both promoted Lauren’s Kids and cultivated Sen. Book’s public persona as a survivor of child sex abuse,” the article states. “Critics say the domination of Lauren’s Kids by the senator and her lobbyist-father raises concerns that the work Sachs Media does is more about making her look good, not raising awareness about unreported cases of child sex abuse.” The founder of the nation’s premier charity watchdog says in the story that “nonprofit money is supposed to be used for a public benefit and not to enhance the aspirations of the charity’s officers.”
A huge lapse in Florida’s senate ethics rules allowed Book to vote for legislation that essentially enriched her. The same “loophole” let her keep the conflict from the public, the news stories point out. Here’s the broader explanation from the news outlet: “Senators are forbidden by ethics rules from voting on any matter in which they or an immediate family member would privately gain – except when it comes to votes on the annual General Appropriations Act. Abstaining senators must also disclose the nature of their interest in the matter, according to the 335-page Florida Senate Rules and Manual.” That means lawmakers can vote on issues that can benefit their profession, though it’s downright sleazy when taxpayer dollars go to an entity that the elected official actually controls and makes money from. Millions of dollars earmarked to prevent child sexual abuse going to a public relations firm is in a class of its own.Claims Thompson, in a Washington Post (establishment propaganda organ) commentary, Jim Comey is “damaging our democracy” by interjecting news of the FBI inquiry so close to the election. Get this: Thompson co-wrote his commentary with Jamie Gorelick, one of Bill Clinton’s deputy attorney generals. Bill Clinton: perjurer, and along with his wife, serially corrupt since the 1980s. Admittedly, Gorelick possesses a lot of insider knowledge about hurting our democracy.
Symptomatic of Republican feebleness, two men: Rep. Jim Jordan (Conservative, OH) and former Bush Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson (GOPe). Both came out in recent days to scold James Comey. The FBI director, declared the two, is just plain wrong for announcing his agency’s renewed investigation of Hillary Clinton.
Jim Jordan, on the other hand, chairs the U.S. House Freedom Caucus. The Caucus is reputed to be the cream of the crop among House conservatives. Jordan, too, as reported via USA Today, questions Comey’s judgment. He did it on Fox & Friends the other morning.
Let me get biblical on you for an instant. Jordan and Thompson are reminiscent of the Pharisees. You remember those guys. They followed the letter of the law down to its minutest detail while ignoring its spirit. Small-minded and blinkered, preoccupied with safeguarding the temple and its culture, the Pharisees were incapable of grasping a serious larger reality and overriding truths. Their sanctimony blinded them all the more.
For the record, none other than Jordan’s colleague, Trey Gowdy, defended Comey’s disclosure. This video of Gowdy from Fox & Friends, and a quote of his from a Western Journalism report:
“Well, to the best of my recollection, Director Comey did not tell her to set up her own private email server, he did not tell her to lie about almost every aspect of the email, he didn’t tell Huma Abedin not to turn over all of her devices, and he didn’t tell Anthony Weiner to sext with underage girls,” Gowdy said”…
But let’s return to Thompson’s contention that our democracy is damaged with Comey’s announcement.
Let’s suppose that Comey said nothing. Hillary wins the White House on Tuesday. The nation then faces a president-elect under federal criminal investigation that will – not just could – metastasize into multiple criminal investigations. The primary investigation revolves around Hillary transmitting highly classified information on her private servers.
Leaks from the FBI indicate that there’s near certainty that Hillary’s private servers were hacked by no less than five foreign governments or entities. No one knows the extent of the damage done to the nation’s security yet. National security officials are prohibited from saying, anyway. Hillary’s violated the Espionage Act and more. That’s serious jail time, if convicted. FBI and Congressional investigations of President Hillary would consume most of the nation’s time and energies – indefinitely.
What do we know about Richard Nixon and Watergate? Nixon stonewalled, fighting tenaciously investigations of his wrongdoing. He resisted calls for his resignation for many months. The federal government suffered protracted paralysis.
Now, what do we know about the scandal-ridden Clintons? When do Hillary and Bill ever concede a fight, which invariably centers on threats to them? Why would we assume that President Hillary and her consigliore, Bill, wouldn’t fight furiously to save themselves? The Clintons going quietly into the good night when everything they’ve lived for is at stake? We can’t imagine a vindictive Hillary scorching the earth – Hillary and Bill, who’ve left wreckage in their wakes for decades?
With the formidable powers of the executive branch at their disposal, what lengths would the Clintons go to preserve, protect, and defend… themselves? No serious damage to our democracy under the circumstances?
Or consider this alternative. If Hillary’s elected, what will be the spin on November 9 from the mainstream media, Democrats, and, yes, Republican enablers? Maybe something like this: “The nation faces significant challenges at home and growing dangers abroad. For the nation’s sake, we need to put aside concerns about the Clintons. The nation needs healing, not more division and strife. Let’s get about the business of bringing America together.”
If that spin came to pass – if the establishment managed to stymie investigations and grind to a halt the wheels justice – wouldn’t that blow a hole in the rule of law the size of the Grand Canyon? Would giving the Clintons a “Get Out of Jail Free” card promote or undermine citizens’ trust in the law?
A farfetched scenario? There are powerful interests in the nation – and abroad – that are all-in with the Clintons. If Hillary and Bill come to ruin, so may they. Certainly, their interests won’t advance. Power, money, status – you name it – are riding on a Hillary victory and presidency. Hillary’s Department of Justice will make the Obama Justice Department look nonpartisan and taint-free. “Obstruction of Justice” might become the DOJ’s motto with Hillary in the Oval Office.
One other possibility: Hillary is elected and Barack Obama issues a pardon to Hillary, ostensibly for the reasons stated above. He could wrap in Bill and other key members of the Clintons’ inner circle. It would be a cynical, highly political move (in large part to spare Obama from investigation). But if pardons came to pass, beyond the eruptions of outrage across the land, imagine the gross corrosive effect on our democracy.
But perhaps we shouldn’t bother now with post-election consequences. We’ll just deal with a Hillary presidency if it comes. Our duty, as it is with Jordan and Thompson, is to be punctilious, to make sure that the I’s are dotted and T’s crossed. Form over substance. Voters – those who haven’t cast early ballots – needn’t be informed about so weighty a matter as the Democratic nominee being under investigation for felony acts.
Comey’s principal intent wasn’t to educate the public; it was to inform Republican and Democratic congressional leaders of the new Hillary investigation, per his pledge. Comey’s indirect education of voters is collateral. But that’s a very, very good thing… for our democracy.
If better informed voters steer the nation away from a Hillary disaster in-the-making next Tuesday, Comey’s disclosure will deserve a Medal of Honor.Roger Simon, who wrote a telling piece for Politico, provides fascinating insight into Rupert Murdoch‘s formula for success when purchasing and running a company… at least to those of us outside of Murdoch’s inner circle of evil.
Simon and his wife worked for the Chicago Sun-Times prior to Murdoch buying the company. Soon after, Simon and his left, but not after witnessing first-hand racist remarks from the media magnate.
SIMON: I had a conversation with him about various sections of the paper. “I don’t understand anything about American sport,” [Murdoch] told me breezily, “but I know the coloreds like it.” I told him that in America we no longer used the word “coloreds,” that it was considered insulting. He looked at me the way Queen Victoria might have looked at a footman who had told her she was using the wrong fork to eat her pheasant.
Murdoch had apparently told employees and management at the Sun-Times that he intended to maintain the quality and integrity of the paper. Simon said everyone knew it was a lie. Within months, there were mass resignations and dismissals and Murdoch brought on his own “thugs” and “stooges.” He sold the paper, but the damage had been done.
Murdoch and his goons also know what damage can be caused to a political career and exactly how to do it using harassment, printing sexist remarks and photo editing…
Sarah Lyall of The New York Times wrote last week about Clare Short, a Labour member of Parliament, who once mentioned “in passing that she did not care for the photographs of saucy, topless women that appear every day on Page 3 of the populist tabloid The Sun,” owned by Murdoch. The Sun attacked swiftly with the headline: “‘Fat, Jealous’ Clare Brands Page 3 Porn.” The paper also sent a busload of “semi-dressed” models to Short’s home to jeer at her and stuck a picture of Short’s head on the body of a topless woman in the paper.While powerful politicians often privately deplored the behavior of the British tabloids, they were “afraid to say so publicly, for fear of losing the papers’ support or finding themselves the target of their wrath,” the Times article said. The editor of The Sun at the time of the attack on that “fat, jealous” member of Parliament was Rebekah Wade, now Rebekah Brooks, who has been arrested in the phone-hacking scandal and who testified Tuesday before a parliamentary committee right after Murdoch finished.
While Fox News may not be as blatantly sexist in their harassment of public officials in the United States, the results are basically the same… We saw the backlash that the Obama administration received when they called out Fox News for their BS. I wonder how many of those journalists who defended Fox News will realize they were on the wrong side of history when it’s all said and News Corp. is done.
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Share this articleScott Coker lays out the details via AOL Fanhouse:
"We're in dialogue with Gina," Coker said. "We did invite her -- through her manager -- to fight Cyborg on April 11. Cyborg is ready to go, and I think at some point today there will be further dialogue with Gina."... "My gut feeling right now is we have a shot at it, and it's 50-50," Coker said. "She'd have to sign, start training camp and get going, but I think there's a 50-50 shot we can make it happen. This first fight card, we're promoting it as the greatest card in the history of Strikeforce. I think we've had some good fights in our history, so we have to deliver."
So much for tune-up fights. Apparently, Coker is ready to make the match that EliteXC started building toward last year. My guess is that the odds are less than '50-50' that this fight will take place on April 11. Carano hasn't even signed with Strikeforce, she would probably like the benefit of a full, well planned training camp before facing her toughest test to date, and she's been in preliminary talks with the UFC as recently as last week according to Kim Couture. Maybe, this offer is meant merely as a signal to Carano that her signing is a top priority for Strikeforce.
My unexpert opinion is that Carano will eventually land at Strikeforce, given the exposure the promotion provides through Showtime and CBS. Besides, they already promote female MMA and have Carano's biggest potential opponent (from a drawing power perspective) locked up. I just don't see Carano fighting Cyborg as early as April 11. Then again, stranger things have happened.Image: Nate Milton
You might not remember your first time smoking weed. But you'll remember the first time smoking weed made you freak the fuck out.
I was at a friend's house five years ago, curled into a ball after three hits of unequivocally good weed. My brain loomed in and out of consciousness. I was scared. Every few seconds, the room would turn black. I could feel my heart about to burst, and eventually, I succumbed to a comatose-like sleep. It wasn't like other times, and it sucked.
Marijuana-induced anxiety is weed culture's Bigfoot—an urban legend that's perpetuated by hearsay, rather than fact. Everyone knows someone whose friend's cousin had a bad trip. ("But like, weed is really good for anxiety, right?"). As a result, the truth of the matter is muddled, and discussing reefer madness can actually make you feel insane.
"I puked some indeterminate number of times. Then I basically just lay down on the tile floor. Some part of me was aware, the whole time, that I was just way too high, and it would eventually pass," one person told me about their experience. "I woke up on the bathroom floor in the morning. I felt extremely bad."
"My boyfriend and I had tickets to a Kate Nash concert and smoked a joint before heading out," said another. "I remember feeling kind of floaty on the cab ride over—almost like I wasn't fully in my body…Then, during the opener, the room started to go dizzy and I suddenly couldn't see or hear anything. The next thing I remember is waking up on the floor several minutes later, a crowd of people hovering around me, feeling like I'd died."
"I wasn't right for the next three days," one person who developed a later anxiety disorder told me. "My friends still talk about this event and we laugh, but that experience fucked me up and I never smoked weed again. And never will."
I spoke to dozens of people whose symptoms were mostly the same: anxiety, distorted vision or hearing, dizziness, and blacking out. These aren't the nice effects of weed, mind you. And as someone with an anxiety disorder, I can tell you they feel a lot like a panic attack.
Thanks in part to stringent marijuana laws, it's been difficult for researchers to gather data that isn't only self-reported.
But it's not clear whether weed jumpstarts anxiety disorders, and the association is tenuous. When existing studies on this topic were reevaluated, and other anxiety stressors were controlled for, an almost insignificant amount of people showed a link between marijuana use and anxiety development. Research based on longitudinal data from a National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, which included interviews with 34,653 participants, also found negligible evidence that weed can catalyze anxiety.
Still, thanks in part to stringent marijuana laws, it's been difficult for researchers to gather data that isn't only self-reported. Things like cannabis strain, for instance, which can determine the type of high that someone gets, are impossible to standardize in large studies.
"It's not just whether or not a person has a genetic risk factor. It's really looking at the expression of those genes, and that's brought on by environmental factors that change the way genes are expressed," April Thames, an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles' Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, told me.
"It's conceivable that the use of these substances could impact one's trajectory to develop anxiety, but need there needs to be more research."
For people who already have anxiety disorders, it's a little different. Stress and anxiety are brother and sister—controlling one can help the other. A prominent theory suggests that naturally occurring cannabinoids in our brains can be produced in response to stress hormones. These molecules, in turn, may disrupt the amygdala, a region near the base of our brain that contributes to anxious feelings when overstimulated, according to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Neuroscience. It should be noted, however, that this was an animal study, which affects its ability to reliably predict these same results in humans.
Another study, published one year earlier in Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews, also linked cannabinoids, specifically anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), to stress responses. It stated that certain cannabinoid receptors interact with these molecules to regulate stress. Based on this research, it's been theorized that when tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC—the psychoactive compound in weed that gets you high—binds with specific brain receptors, feelings of anxiety can either be increased or decreased. And for some people, smoking weed with higher levels of THC can induce symptoms common with anxiety.
"If someone has a history of anxiety, panic episodes, or even depression, cannabis can exacerbate those effects, according to some literature," Thames added. "There's some thought that cannabis has a connection [with making these receptors more sensitive], bringing on an anxiety-like state."
Different strains of weed can also play a role. Thoughtful sellers often prescribe indica, rather than sativa, to anxiety-prone people. There are shaky genetic differences between modern Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa, but very broadly, certain types of indica can possess higher cannabidiol (CBD) levels. CBD is a cannabinoid like THC, but is non-psychoactive, resulting in a gentler high. (As with all homeopathic medicine, your method may vary.)
If one thing's for certain, it's that weed is still drastically under-researched, and we won't know if and when weed will give us a panic attack until we surpass regulatory hurdles and embrace the science. Hopefully, as marijuana laws become less draconian, psychologists will have more freedom to study its effects—positive and negative.
Until then, don't feel down if weed makes you feel bad. Experiment with different strains, and at the end of the day, remember that it's supposed to make you feel good.
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that as our business grows and evolves and our games are played in a greater number of countries, we will become subject to laws and regulations in additional jurisdictions. We are potentially subject to a number of foreign and domestic laws and regulations that affect the offering of certain types of content, such as that which depicts violence, many of which are ambiguous, still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business or expose us to liability. In addition, certain of our games, including Zynga Poker, may become subject to gambling-related rules and regulations and expose us to civil and criminal penaltiesDisney has its work cut out for it if it believes the future of ESPN is a Netflix-style streaming service.
In a survey commissioned by BTIG Research (registration required), respondents overwhelmingly said they would not pay for ESPN as a standalone video service.
Of the 1,600 people polled, most of whom were multichannel TV subscribers, 85% said they would not pay $20 a month for ESPN and ESPN2 if the channels were only available as a standalone service. An additional 9% said they weren’t sure. And only 6% said they would be willing to pay for the hypothetical platform.
The BTIG survey also asked respondents whether they would remove ESPN and ESPN2 from their cable and satellite packages if they could save $8 a month—the price the research firm estimates consumers currently pay for the channels, which are bundled into most basic packages. A majority, 56%, said they would cancel the service.
The survey’s results underscore the seismic shift ESPN and other media networks are caught up in as more and more people trim their cable-TV subscriptions or dump them entirely in favor of watching content online. Channels like HBO and Showtime have responded with standalone online video subscriptions in a bid to retain viewers. Currently, ESPN is only streamable online on the digital WatchESPN platform and as part of SlingTV’s $20 streaming package.
Disney CEO Bob Iger believes ESPN will eventually be sold directly to consumers and has repeatedly said the ESPN brand is strong enough to move to any platform. That may have been true in the past—ESPN regularly ranks as the top cable network in terms of brand value and importance to viewers—but the BTIG survey paints a different picture about the demand for such a standalone service.
In reality, BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield says ESPN will have to charge far more for a standalone service than the $20 monthly fee posed in the survey. If 15% of the 115 million TV households in the US subscribe to an ESPN direct-to-consumer offering, as the survey indicated, the rate of $20 a month will yield about $4 billion in revenue a year, Greenfield calculated. Currently, ESPN and ESPN2 bring in $9 billion through distributors like Comcast and DirecTV, he said. A standalone service could also make legacy distributors less willing to dole out the high fees they currently pay to carry the network.
Pricing will also depend on how many cable and satellite subscribers ESPN loses overall, venture capitalist Eric Jackson told Quartz. The sports network has lost roughly 7 million over the last two years, falling to 92 million, as subscribers cut ties with cable.
“The big concern is there are no signs that the trends we’ve seen in the last couple of years in terms of the cord-cutting are going to stop anytime soon,” Jackson said. “Nobody knows when that trend will bottom out.”If there’s any number that freaks people out in Western culture, it’s 666, the supposed “number of the Beast” in the Bible’s book of Revelations. A Tennessee man who says that he’s been a born-again Christian for a decade was pretty spooked when he received the 666th W-2 earnings statement that his employer had printed. Now he’s quit his job and refuses to pay his taxes until he gets new, Beast-free paperwork.
In the Bible, 666 is the number that the Antichrist wants stamped on his followers, as well as all items that are bought or sold. (A non-literal interpretation of this passage had people freaked out when UPCs first came into use a few decades ago.) From the man’s point of view, the choice is simple: he can file his 1040 and keep on going to work, or he can sign his soul over to the Antichrist and spend eternity in hell.
“If you accept that number, you sell your soul to the devil,” he told the Tennessean.
His employer, Contech Casting LLC, will issue him a new W-2 in a blank envelope, and really, really would like him to come back to his job as a maintenance worker.
666 on tax form makes man quit job to save soul [Tennessean]I've stopped using the term "Cloud Computing" except when referring to the general trend. I use SaaS, IaaS and PaaS so that I say exactly what I mean. As a technical person this helps me keep my conversation succinct and focused.
SaaS: Software as a Service: Salesforce.com, Google Apps, etc.
PaaS: Platform as a Service: Google App Engine and similar systems.
IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service: Amazon EC2, Eucalyptus, etc.
Or, if you want a way to remember it easier:
SaaS: It's a web site!
PaaS: It's a framework!
IaaS: It's a VM!
"Cloud" is what marketing and non-technical people use. I'm ok with that.
And one more thing. I've found this article is good for giving to managers and other people that need to understand the terminology and get up to speed on what's happening: Communications of the ACM: A View of Cloud ComputingHis dramatic testimony struck more than one observer as part recitation, part theatrical performance. In today's political discourse, good television counts almost as much as good substance, all but guaranteeing Comey's eclipse of everything else in the Washington universe.
Confronted by the glare of Thursday's dazzling Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing, we all focused on the bright shiny object that was and is former FBI Director James Comey.
Even while Comey performed before the Senate, Russia's schemes continued to unfold, undermining U.S. national security in myriad ways and places around the world. It may be the case that Trump lied; it may even be the case that he criminally obstructed justice and should be impeached. And yet we cannot let those important political questions consume all our attention, lest Russia do more harm while we are distracted.
However, for all of the revelations in Thursday's hearing, it failed to shine light on the most important set of questions relating to Russian activities and the extent to which Russia has degraded U.S. national security through its espionage, influence, and cyberwarfare campaigns over the past two years.
L'affaire Russe began during the 2016 election campaign with investigations into alleged ties between Trump campaign officials, Ukraine separatists, and potentially the Russian government. These investigations focused on former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and policy adviser Carter Page, as well as their commercial affiliates.
Since then, we have learned of a series of high-level meetings between close Trump associates and the Russian government. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reportedly met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on three separate occasions during the campaign and transition. Deposed Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn met and talked repeatedly with senior Russian officials and also worked for myriad foreign interests during the campaign, actions that have now put him in considerable legal jeopardy.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, next to Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Russian Foreign Ministry Photo via AP
Trump aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner also met with senior Russian officials during this period, as well as prominent Russian bankers connected to Vladimir Putin and known for being agents of Russian influence abroad. Kushner reportedly went a step further, seeking to hide these communications at the time from U.S. intelligence agencies by asking to use Russian diplomatic facilities and secure communications channels.
Of course, on the day after firing Comey, Trump met personally with Kislyak and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Oval Office, reportedly revealing highly classified intelligence to the Russians regarding ISIS and the situation in Syria.
Any one of these encounters would raise serious questions about the intent of the meeting, and its outcomes, whether a private deal or foreign policy quid pro quo. Together, they signal something much more significant: a deliberate change of U.S. policy toward Russia, with these meetings serving as public acts of consummation for the new relationship between the two countries.
Judging by Russia's string of foreign policy triumphs since last November, Putin appears to have the upper hand in his new relationship with Trump and the U.S. Since the election, Trump feuded with his own security agencies, which he and his advisers alternately accused of acting as a "deep state" to oppose Trump's agenda and orchestrating leaks to humiliate and undermine Trump personally. Trump's ill-considered words—including his obstinate refusal to affirm America's commitment to collective self-defense—and amateurish diplomacy have sprained the NATO alliance, with the possibly of a fracture growing by the day. White House discussions of Afghanistan, Syria, and other national security subjects have stalled as Trump has been consumed by other priorities, including responding to self-inflicted crises like the Comey firing. Trump's nine-day foreign trip made for a few good television moments like his sword dance in Saudi Arabia—but appears to have left a trail of wreckage, including a massive dispute between the Gulf states and statements by European leaders and erstwhile allies that they could no longer rely on the U.S. and must instead "fight for our own future and our fate ourselves as Europeans." And, in perhaps the most clear quid pro quos reported yet, Trump officials allegedly pushed in the earliest days of his administration to roll back sanctions on Russia—sanctions imposed over the Russian intervention in Ukraine and Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
No one of these triumphs resulted directly from Putin pushing a button and having Trump act. They reflect a more subtle success, borne of Russian influence upstream in the Washington ecosystem. Russian intelligence agencies successfully interfered with and influenced the U.S. election, according to a consensus position of the U.S. intelligence community. Trump's 2016 campaign hats. Bloomberg/Getty Images By subtly influencing the election outcome, cultivating relationships with top Trump officials, and creating distrust of core U.S. national security institutions like the CIA—including among the president himself—Russia set in motion a complex chain reaction that is now paying off for the Russian regime. Whether they actively colluded with the Trump campaign or not, the Russians got what they wanted: a president who was more friendly to their interests, and more pliable in their hands too.Youth unemployment: a dismal situation requires bold action
The dog days of summer may yet be upon us, and already youth unemployment is a hot topic of conversation.
But talk is cheap. The fact is too many young Canadians are set to wade into another long summer, frustrated and anxious about their grim job prospects.
And little wonder for their anxiety.
There are significantly more youth looking for work today than there are available jobs. As of May 2014, one in seven (13.3%) young people aged 15 to 24, or 380,600 young Canadians, were out of work.Many more are underemployed or have given up looking for work altogether.
Young workers bore much of the brunt of the 2008-09 recession, and despite talk of recovery, their employment situation today remains much worse than it was beforehand. That point is made plainly in a report on youth unemployment released last week by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, which acknowledges expert testimony about the lack of an adequate post-recession rebound.
The unemployment rate for youth is typically about double that of so-called “core age” workers aged 25 to 54. In Canada, this ratio stands at 2.3 as of May 2014.
Bold action is needed now from both governments and employers to address this dismal situation.
The federal government, we know, has shown no leadership and scant interest in taking this challenge seriously. Despite the rise in youth unemployment since the recession, the government has actually reduced spending on its Youth Employment Strategy (YES).
The government budgeted $335.7 million on YES in 2013/2014, down from the $397.9 million it spent in 2010/2011 and below funding levels pre-recession. And while YES programs once had the participation of 114,000 young Canadians, the government now estimates that only 49,748 youth will participate in 2014-15.
Meanwhile, even the International Monetary Fund has singled out Canadian corporations for not putting their profits to productive use. The cash held by private non-financial corporations in Canada rose to $630 billion in the first quarter of 2014 – up $9 billion in just three months. Those holdings exceed the total amount of federal government debt.
This “dead money” can and should be invested productively to create jobs, and yet this isn’t happening. No wonder a recent Broadbent Institute poll revealed that vast majorities of Canadian millenials and their baby boomer parents don’t trust corporations to make the creation of good jobs a priority.
It’s time to reverse this trend. That’s why we’re issuing a challenge to both government and employers.
In a report released Monday, we are calling on Canada to work towards creating a Youth Job Guarantee — a promise for every person under age 25 of a quality job offer, apprenticeship, or place in a training course within four months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed. The guarantee is inspired by a similar principle endorsed by the Council of the European Union in 2013.
To kick-start the Youth Job Guarantee, we are asking Canadian businesses to invest $670 million per year to fund an initial youth employment initiative. These funds would be matched by an equal annual injection from the federal government.
The Broadbent Institute estimates that this investment, a combined total of $1.34 billion, could create 186,000 full-time co-op positions, paid internships or summer job placements annually. This is more than double the current number of paid co-op placements, and three times the current number of Youth Employment Strategy participants.
At $15/hour, a 12-week full-time paid co-op position, paid internship or summer job placement would cost employers $7,200 in terms of wages, assuming a 40-hour work week.
The price tag for employers is but a tiny fraction (about 0.1%) of the $630 billion in “dead money” corporate Canada is currently sitting on. In fact, the $9 billion increase to corporate Canada’s cash hoard in the first quarter of 2014 is enough to pay their annual share of this initiative 13 times over. And the federal contribution of $670 million would be less than one quarter of the $3 billion price tag of the Conservatives’ proposed income splitting scheme.
Offered on an annual basis (four rounds of positions lasting for three months), the number of unemployed youth in any given month would fall by 46,500 or by about one in eight (12.2%) — enough to reduce the current youth unemployment rate from 13.3% to 11.7%.
The initial move towards a Youth Job Guarantee wouldn’t solve all of the employment challenges facing Canada’s youth. It would, however, go a long way toward helping to equalize opportunities and could also be scaled up into a more far-reaching program in the long-term.
It’s time for a new deal for young people. And it’s time Canadian employers and government came together to do their part.
Jonathan Sas is Director of Research at the Broadbent Institute (www.broadbentinstitute.ca).John Kelly/Getty Images
For a study published last year, British researchers asked 12 healthy male college students to ride stationary bicycles while listening to music that, as the researchers primly wrote, “reflected current popular taste among the undergraduate population.” Each of the six songs chosen differed somewhat in tempo from the others.
The volunteers were told to ride the bicycles at a pace that they comfortably could maintain for 30 minutes. Then each rode in three separate trials, wearing headphones tuned to their preferred volume. Each had his heart rate, power output, pedal cadence, enjoyment of the music and feelings of how hard the riding felt monitored throughout each session. During one of the rides, the six songs ran at their normal tempos. During the other rides, the tempo of the tracks was slowed by 10 percent or increased by 10 percent. The riders were not informed about the tempo manipulations.
But their riding changed significantly in response. When the tempo slowed, so did their pedaling and their entire affect. Their heart rates fell. Their mileage dropped. They reported that they didn’t like the music much. On the other hand, when the tempo of the songs was upped 10 percent, the men covered more miles in the same period of time, produced more power with each pedal stroke and increased their pedal cadences. Their heart rates rose. They reported enjoying the music — the same music — about 36 percent more than when it was slowed. But, paradoxically, they did not find the workout easier. Their sense of how hard they were working rose 2.4 percent. The up-tempo music didn’t mask the discomfort of the exercise. But it seemed to motivate them to push themselves. As the researchers wrote, when “the music was played faster, the participants chose to accept, and even prefer, a greater degree of effort.”
The interplay of exercise and music is fascinating and not fully understood, perhaps in part because, as a science, it edges into multiple disciplines, from physiology to biomechanics to neurology. No one doubts that people respond to music during exercise. Just look at the legions of iPod-toting exercisers on running paths and in gyms. The outcry when USA Track and Field banned headphones in 2007 at sanctioned races like marathons was loud and pained (and the edict was widely ignored until it was revised last year). The neurologist and author Oliver Sacks has talked about personally experiencing the elemental power of music after he injured his leg mountain climbing and had to push himself slowly down the slope with his elbows. He told an interviewer: “Then I found the Volga Boatmen song going through my mind. I would make a big heave and a ho on each beat in the song. In this way, it seemed to me that I was being ‘music-ed’ down the mountain.”
Just how music impacts the body during exercise, however, is only slowly being teased out by scientists. One study published last year found that basketball players prone to performing poorly under pressure during games were significantly better during high-pressure free-throw shooting if they first listened to catchy, upbeat music and lyrics (in this case, the Monty Python classic “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”). The music seemed to distract the players from themselves, from their audience and from thinking about the physical process of shooting, said Christopher Mesagno, a lecturer at the University of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia, and the study’s lead author. It freed the body to do what it knew how to do without interference from the brain. “The music was occupying attention that might have been misdirected otherwise,” Mr. Mesagno said.
In fact, it’s music’s dual ability to distract attention (a psychological effect) while simultaneously goosing the heart and the muscles (physiological impacts) that makes it so effective during everyday exercise. Multiple experiments have found that music increases a person’s subjective sense of motivation during a workout, and also concretely affects his or her performance. The resulting interactions between body, brain and music are complex and intertwined. It’s not simply that music motivates you and you run faster. It may be that, instead, your body first responds to the beat, even before your mind joins in; your heart rate and breathing increase and the resulting biochemical reactions join with the music to exhilarate and motivate you to move even faster. Scientists hope to soon better understand the various nervous system and brain mechanisms involved. But for now, they know that music, in most instances, works. It eases exercise. In a typical study, from 2008, cyclists who rode in time to music used 7 percent less oxygen to pedal at the same pace as when they didn’t align themselves to the songs.
But there are limits to the benefits of music, and they probably kick in just when you could use the help the most. Unfortunately, science suggests that music’s impacts decline dramatically when you exercise at an intense level. A much-cited 2004 study of runners found that during hard runs at about 90 percent of their maximal oxygen uptake, a punishing pace, music was of no benefit, physiologically. The runners didn’t up their paces, no matter how fast the music’s tempo. Their heart rates stubbornly stayed the same, already quite high, whether they listened to music or not. That result, according to a 2009 review of research by Costas Karageorghis and David-Lee Priest, researchers who have extensively studied music and exercise, is likely due to the ineluctable realities of hard work. During moderate exercise, they write, music can “narrow attention,” diverting “the mind from sensations of fatigue.” But when you increase the speed and intensity of a workout, “perceptions of fatigue override the impact of music, because attentional processes are dominated by physiological feedback.” The noise of the body drowns all other considerations. Even so, about a third of the runners in the 2004 study told the researchers that they liked listening to the music, especially at the start of the run. It didn’t increase their speed or make the workout demonstrably easier. But it sounded nice.
And that result, obvious as it seems, may be the ultimate lesson of how and why music is effective and desirable during exercise, says Nina Kraus, a professor of neurobiology at Northwestern University in Illinois, who studies the effects of music on the nervous system. “Humans and songbirds” are the only creatures “that automatically feel the beat” of a song, she said. The human heart wants to synchronize to music, the legs want to swing, metronomically, to a beat. So the next time you go for a moderate run or bike ride, first increase the tempo of some insidiously catchy Lady Gaga downloads (or Justin Bieber or Katy Perry or whatever reflects the current popular taste in your household), and load them on your iPod. “Our bodies,” Dr. Kraus concluded, “are made to be moved by music and move to it.”LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville coach Charlie Strong says cornerback Anthony Conner broke his neck when his head hit the knee of Rutgers receiver Mohamed Sanu, but is not paralyzed.
Conner was carted off the field Friday night after going down on the first play of the second quarter, and team officials said a few minutes later that the senior was conscious, with feeling in his extremities.
Strong said Conner was able to squeeze hands and raised his hand, which made his teammates feel he'd be OK. But the coach found out about the severity of the injury during a timeout late in Louisville's 16-14 win.
In a news statement released by the school Saturday, Strong said doctors were continuing to evaluate Conner, who was undergoing additional tests.
"As we said yesterday, there is no paralysis and Anthony has feeling throughout his extremities," Strong said. "We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers for Anthony and his family during this difficult time."
Conner came in low to tackle Sanu, and the cornerback flipped the Rutgers receiver. But Conner's helmet banged off Sanu's right knee, and he went down on the field. Trainers worked on him for several minutes, strapping him to a backboard. He did move his feet and a hand as he was carted off to an ambulance, which took him to Jewish Hospital.
"He was talking, and he could squeeze your hand and that was it," Strong said Friday after the game.
Strong said he told his players about the severity of Conner's injury a few minutes after the game ended in the locker room.
"When he raised his hand up, they just, they just figured it was OK," said Strong, who worked at Mississippi the season after Chucky Mullins was paralyzed by a hit Oct. 28, 1989, against Vanderbilt.
"It's just so tough anytime you lose a player," said Strong, who kept tapping the side of the podium as he spoke. "It's what happens in this game, but you just never think it'll happen to one of your own. For that to happen, it is, it's sad. I think our players, I told them right after the game. I ended up telling them about it, and some of them didn't take it very well. The whole team didn't take it very well."
Senior linebacker Dexter Heyman called Conner, a starter, one of their great warriors.
"But we're not going to sit there and feel sorry for ourselves now that he's out. He's a great personal friend of mine and he's a great personal friend of a lot of guys, but at the end of the day we do have football games to play and we do have to go out here and execute and we have to perform," Heyman said.
The Scarlet Knights all came out onto the field and knelt, watching as trainers worked on Conner. A little more than a year ago, many of these players watched teammate Eric LeGrand carted off the field when the defensive lineman fractured two vertebrae tackling an Army kick returner.
"I would also like to thank the Rutgers football team and head coach Greg Schiano for their display of class and compassion for Anthony during the game last night," Strong said Saturday. "The Rutgers football family went through something very similar almost a year ago and they know the severity of the situation."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.Atheist Converts After Mock Prayer to Win $1M Lottery Is Answered
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A self-confessed atheist has become a believer after mocking God by sarcastically praying for his mother to win the lottery. However, his joke prayer was amazingly answered as the next day his mother won $1 million on the New York Lottery Sweet Million game.
Sal Bentivegna, 28, who did not previously believe in God, had sarcastically asked his mother to “ask your God for a million dollars”.
However, his mother Gloria Bentivegna, follows the Catholic faith, and staying true to her belief refused to ask God for such a thing.
Taking his joke further, Sal then prayed out aloud saying, “God, I don’t know if you’re real or not, but if you are there, please let my mother win a million dollars.”
He added, “If Jesus wants me to believe in him, that’s what he’ll do”.
The following day his mother bought a “Lotto Tree” of unscratched instant win tickets from her Church’s charity auction. Sal was then left absolutely stunned when he found out his mother had won a million.
Realizing that the odds of his mother winning were so farfetched, Sal has now become a firm believer.
He testified, “I can’t shrug off that Jesus had a hand in it.”
“No pun intended, but it was a Godsend,” he said.
Gloria Bentivegna, reflecting on what had happened, is thankful to God for her winnings, but even more thankful for her son’s conversion. She said: “'God performed two miracles, a true miracle.”
By winning New York’s Sweet Million game, Gloria Bentivegna will now receive $50,000 every year for the next 20 years.NBC’s midseason plan features a mix of shows familiar and new.
The Peacock network has announced that two of its summertime sleeper successes, the hospital drama The Night Shift and the relationship comedy Undateable, will return at midseason.
Specifically, Night Shift will open Season 2 on Monday, Feb. 23 at 10/9c (leading out of The Voice’s two-hour Season 8 opener), while Undateable’s sophomore run will air Tuesdays at 9 pm, starting March 17. (Both shows’ first seasons ran May to July.)
NBC’s other midseason moves include:
* Allegiance, a contemporary espionage-at-home drama in the vein of The Americans — about a young CIA analyst whose parents are former-ish KGB — will premiere Thursday, Feb. 5 at 10 pm, leading out of The Blacklist (which moves to its new night following a Feb. 1 post-Super Bowl showcase).
* The eight-episode miniseries The Slap premieres the following Thursday, Feb. 12, at 8 pm. Peter Sarsgaard, Uma Thurman, Thandie Newton, Melissa George, Zachary Quinto and Thomas Sadoski star.
* One Big Happy, a comedy from writer Liz Feldman and executive producer Ellen DeGeneres, debuts Tuesday, March 17 at 9:30, leading out of Undateable. Elisha Cuthbert, Nick Zano and Kelly Brook star. (Marry Me and About a Boy will resume their seasons at a date TBA.)
* On Easter Sunday aka April 5, A.D. (a follow-up to History’s The Bible, looking at the lives that were instantly altered following the death of Christ) and Odyssey (a Traffic-like drama about an international conspiracy that connects three strangers’ lives) will bow, at 9 and 10 pm, respectively.
A.D. stars Greta Scaachi as Mother Mary, Richard Coyle as Caiaphus, Vincent Regan as Pilate, Adam Levy as Peter, Chipo Chung as Mary Magdalene and Juan Pablo Di Pace as Jesus. The Odyssey cast includes Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli and Jake Robinson.Iridescent Pop - May The Force Be With You By The Senate on 2016-06-09 13:15:00 These cards are meant to catch your eye! Make your collection shine when you grab these new inserts… This is Iridescent Pop.
Set Information:
12 cards, 1 award, No Variants
Odds:
1:20*
Card Count:
3,000*
Find the insert in the Iridescent Pop May The Force Be With You Pack. Limited to one copy per fan.
Trading Locked
Each card will initially be locked from trading, but you the fans will get a chance to unlock the card! If cards sell out in 7 hours, the card will then become unlocked and can be traded. If the card is still available after 7 hours, the card will remain locked.
Bonus chase, the past two Iridescent Pop drops did not sell out in 6 hours, so trading was not unlocked.
For today's chase we are dropping 2 cards at once and if both cards sell out in 7 hours, not only will each of today's card be unlocked but the past 2 days as well.
PLUS for today's chase, if both cards sell out in 7 hours there will be 5 BONUS locks total added to the card sheet in addition to the locks down below based on when the card sells out.
Bonus Card Locks Chase
We will add more card locks into the system if a card is pulled quickly.
5 card locks will be added if the card sells out in the first 2 hours.
3 card locks will be added if the card sells out in the next 2 hours.
1 card lock will be added if the cards sells out by the 7 hours.
If you have already pulled the card but want to help sell out the card to get the community bonuses you can pickup the Iridescent Pop May The Force Be With You Bundle which will give you ONE guaranteed May The Force Be With You Iridescent Pop Insert!
Locks will be adjusted after each card release.
*odds and card counts are subject to change
Find them in the Cantina today! Head to the Cantina!Priest tells Fox: Democratic platform 'goes against Biblical teachings' David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Monday December 17, 2007
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Print This Email This The leading Republican candidates for the presidential nomination have all been campaigning heavily on their religious beliefs. The Democrats have also touched on the importance of faith in their lives, but have not made it a campaign issue in the same way. Father Jonathan Morris, a conservative Catholic priest who regularly offers comnmentary for Fox News, was asked on Fox & Friends why there is "less of a response" from Democrats when it comes to talking about God. Morris first giggled and quipped, "Would you like me to give you the politically correct answer?" Morris then explained, "When you have a political platform, like the Democratic platform right now, that on major issues goes against Biblical teaching, okay -- about abortion, about homosexual marriage, other issues -- it's very, a delicate issue. Now, this is not judging any Democrat's individual faith, but when their platform goes against Biblical teaching they know they have to be careful when they start getting into details." When asked whether the Republican platform also goes against Christian doctrine on issues like poverty, Morris replied somewhat cryptically, "There's always a hierarchy of value. When there's no life that's permitted, poverty is not an issue." Morris may have been trying to say that aborted fetuses don't get the chance to be poor, so poverty doesn't have to be addressed until after the abortion issue is resolved.
This video is from Fox's Fox & Friends, broadcast on December 16, 2007.Interviewee: SCP-2247
Interviewer: D-2214
Foreword: First interview with SCP-2247 conducted via D-class personnel. D-2214 was chosen due to his prior role as an interrogator for ████████. Interviewer was briefed on SCP-2247's anomalous effects prior to Interview. Interview aims to identify safe means of interaction with SCP-2247, and is originally conducted in Spanish.
<Begin Log>
D-2214: Hello there. Are you 2247?
SCP-2247: Is that what you're calling me?
D-2214: Yes. That's what the agents gave me.
SCP-2247: Did the agents like the audition? Am I hired?
D-2214: I was not told of any audition, or if you are hired for anything. [pauses] But please, don't speak out of turn. I'm here to know more about you.
SCP-2247: Why are you people so dismissive of new blood, just like the Process?
D-2214: I don't know about the Process, but to the people here, you are more of a test subject than worker.
SCP-2247: What is the job scope of a test subject?
D-2214: You stay about and let them do their work on you.
SCP-2247: [frowns] Do you think that is better than being liberated into a boring library by some self-righteous boludos? And speaking of those boludos, can serpents even have hands? Or what kind of a wanderer owns a library?
D-2214: Personally, I think freedom is best no matter what; prison sucks. And biologically speaking, serpents do not have hands. And perhaps a wanderer who wants a place to be based at?
SCP-2247: Would freedom suck if one has nothing to do at all? Would it be best for one to stick to that job one can finally do?
D-2214: Yeah, that also sucks. And if you like your job, of course. [pauses] Anyway, can you tell me more about this boring library? Was your time there enjoyable? Just nod your head if it was, and shake if it was not.
[SCP-2247 shakes its head.]
D-2214: Okay, you can tell why was it not enjoyable, but I need you to be as detailed as possible. The more detailed your question, the more you are helping us. You're here to be helpful to us, yes?
[SCP-2247 nods its head.]
D-2214: Go on. Why wasn't it?
SCP-2247: What is the point of libraries and books when I can't read a single thing?
D-2214: There's no point being there if you can't read. [pauses] Not bad for a first, but strive for details when speaking from now on. I think the doctors will like it too.
[SCP-2247 nods its head.]
D-2214: So you decided that library was not worth it. Why come for the Jailors?
SCP-2247: Why are the Jailors so popular of a topic among those spoken by the people of the library?
D-2214: In general, jailors are always a topic to people who have histories with them. [pauses] Okay, so you wanted to return to do your thing again? Nod if yes. Shake if no.
[SCP-2247 nods its head.]
D-2214: And you see the Foundation as a suitable continuation of your work with the Process.
SCP-2247: How are the Process and Foundation different from each other?
D-2214: Not really, in my opinion. [pauses; signal sent to notify D-2214 to conclude interview] Okay, I think we are done for today. Please do not speak another word. You have done well for today.
<End Log>
Closing Statement: It is advisable for interviewers to use polar questions when enquiring information from SCP-2247. SCP-2247 should be encouraged to be detailed in its utterances. In addition, it is possible for a listener to express ignorance to SCP-2247's enquiries.Surviving mostly on a diet of krill -- a small shrimp-like crustacean -- Adelie penguins, slick and efficient swimmers, have been generally faring well in East Antarctica.
Mass starvation has wiped out thousands of penguin chicks in Antarctica, with unusually thick sea ice forcing their parents to forage further for food in what conservationists Friday called a "catastrophic breeding failure".
French scientists, supported by WWF, have been studying a colony of 18,000 pairs of Adelie penguins in East Antarctica since 2010 and discovered only two chicks survived the most recent breeding season in early 2017.
They attributed the disaster to extensive sea ice late in the summer, meaning the adult penguins had to travel further to find food, with the chicks dying as they waited.
Yan Ropert-Coudert, senior penguin scientist at Dumont D'Urville research station, adjacent to the colony, said the region was impacted by environmental changes linked to the breakup of the Mertz glacier.
"The conditions are set for this to happen more frequently due to the breaking of the Mertz glacier in 2010 that changed the configuration of the stretch of sea in front of the colony," he told AFP.
"But there are other factors needed to have a zero year: a mix of temperature, |
won the contract with the low bid of $25,000 to acquire and prep the car—when new, the Superbird’s base price was $4298.
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Nichels located a white 1970 Plymouth Superbird with the 440 Super Commando engine and a four-barrel carb. He modified the car for high-speed runs—including swapping out its original automatic transmission for a heavy-duty four-speed manual—using his vast experience as the preferred car builder for Chrysler’s factory-supported teams. In an attempt to make the Superbird less race-car-like, Nichels left its vinyl roof intact and painted the car in a sensible blue. John Moran picked up the car from Nichels Engineering’s shop in Griffith, Indiana, in May of 1972. We reported the seminal event in our September 1972 issue.
The car was driven from Indiana to the National Environmental Research Center at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and testing began at local airports. Rather than hire a driver, Moran took full responsibility for driving the jet-chasing car. He said no one was sure what was going to happen, and he didn’t want to risk anyone else’s life finding out.
Getting the Lead Out
To get an idea of the forces involved, we contacted Thomas Benson, an expert at the Inlet and Nozzle Branch test facilities of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Benson estimates that, as measured from the car 100 feet behind the plane (200 feet aft of the engines) the blast from the engines would be in the 200-to-300-mph range, and the temperature a toasty 150 degrees Fahrenheit. We weren’t able to locate the footage the EPA took from the passenger seat, but there are several videos online showing the effect of jet blast on vehicles. The Superbird, fortunately, was indeed a wise choice for the task.
Much like Colonel John Paul Stapp—the man who risked his life in rocket-sled experiments for the sake of scientific inquiry into the effects of acceleration and deceleration on the human body—John Moran is a true American hero. By identifying lead particulates as a major health threat facing the nation, his work prompted the phasing out of lead in gasoline. Lead was an inexpensive way to improve octane levels, but the health threat—it can affect the brain and nervous-system development—ultimately outweighed the benefit. While unleaded gas and the first fuel crisis may have helped kill muscle cars like the Superbird, efficiency gains have since allowed big-power performance cars to once again roam American streets.
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Epilogue
After testing was completed, the EPA’s Superbird was parked at a government lot among old forklifts and filing cabinets. It was broomed in a 1979 government auction of surplus equipment, where it was unceremoniously listed as a “1970 Plymouth car.” Wilbur Walker, a high-school auto-shop teacher trolling the auction for interesting bargains, immediately recognized the car as something special, bid on it, and took the car home for a mere $500. It became Walker’s prized possession and was lovingly cared for during the next 20 years. He repainted the car white, often using it for instructional purposes in his class until his retirement.
Walker’s son sold the car in 2005, allegedly with the proviso that it be restored to its original condition. Brian Chaffee of Everything Muscle in Middlefield, Connecticut, recently finished a three-and-a-half-year restoration and fully documented the car for an anonymous new owner. The docs are complete enough to include original gas receipts signed by John Moran that were left in the glove box.
The EPA’s bird was most recently for sale for the sum of $750,000 or “serious offer”—the restoration reportedly cost $700,000 alone. It’s lot #1778 at this weekend’s Atlantic City Classic Car Show & Auction, and we’ll see what kind of money it brings come Saturday. Given its place in history, we’d prefer to see the historically significant car end up in a museum—maybe a wealthy benefactor will buy it and donate it back to the government for display at the Smithsonian. With any luck, the car’s story will not end here.A couple who were shot by police while at a Melbourne swingers party last month are taking legal action.
Dale Ewins, 35, and Zita Sukys, 37, were at a “Saints and Sinners Ball” at Inflation Nightclub on King Street on June 10 when police stormed the event.
The officers entered a room where the couple, who were dressed as Marvel characters the Joker and Harley Quinn, were reportedly engaged in a sex act.
Police shone the torch on the couple before opening fire less than six seconds later, hitting Mr Ewins in the back and Ms Sukys twice in the leg.
Dale Ewins, 35, and Zita Sukys, 37, are taking legal action against Victoria Police. (Facebook) ()
Police claim Mr Ewins was pointing a gun at them and refused to lower it before they fired the shots.
CCTV footage, shot from outside the room, is not clear enough to determine if he was holding a gun.
The couple’s lawyers, from Arnold Thomas & Becker, will claim Mr Ewing was in possession of a toy gun – part of his Joker costume – and that police were aware it was fake, The Age reports.
Arnold Thomas & Becker partner Kim Price told Fairfax the court proceedings would begin today at the Supreme Court of Victoria.
"We understand that prior to the attack, staff at the venue repeatedly told Victoria Police that the 'gun' was a toy,” Mr Price said.
“We understand some staff offered to simply obtain the toy themselves to safely resolve the situation.
"In response, it appears Victoria Police believed it was appropriate to storm the venue with a team of about 10 Critical Incident Response Team members and within 32 seconds, start shooting our clients.”
The couple were shot at a 'Saints and Sinners Ball' at a Melbourne club, dressed as the Joker and Harley Quinn. (Supplied) ()
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Mr Ewins and Ms Sukys will be seeking damages for pain and suffering, loss of earnings and medical expenses and claiming “aggravated and exemplary damages” based on the actions of the police.
The owner of Inflation, Martha Tsamis, will also be taking legal action against Victoria Police, The Age report claimed.
Mr Ewins and Ms Sukys are still recovering from their injuries. Mr Ewins reportedly had to have part of his bowel removed as a result of being shot in the back. He has also undergone several operation to reconstruct this shoulder.
Ms Sukys also required extensive surgery.
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2019Marissa Alexander could face up to 60 years in prison when her case is retried in July, the Florida Times-Union reports. Florida state prosecutor Angela Corey announced she intends to triple Alexander's sentence if she is able to convict her for a second time.
Alexander was initially sentenced to 20 years -- three separate 20-year sentences that Alexander was ordered to serve concurrently -- for firing what the defense argues was a warning shot in the direction of Rico Gray, her estranged husband, during an alleged domestic violence incident. No one was injured as a result of the single shot, which was fired into a wall. Gray has a documented history of violent abuse against Alexander, and admitted in court that he had previously threatened her life.
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After sustained pressure from Alexander’s legal team and a national network of activists, the conviction was overturned, and Alexander now awaits a new trial. As the Times-Union notes, Alexander's conviction was thrown out after the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee "ruled that Daniel made a mistake in shifting the burden to Alexander to prove she was acting in self-defense." The defendant's burden is only to raise a "reasonable doubt" concerning self-defense, according to Judge James H. Daniel.
Corey has said that if Alexander is convicted in July on the three counts of aggravated assault, she will request that Alexander serve the three 20-year sentences consecutively rather than concurrently.
“It’s unimaginable that a woman acting in self-defense, who injured no one, can be given what amounts to a life sentence,” Free Marissa Now spokeswoman Helen Gilbert said in a statement on the proposed sentence. “This must send chills down the spine of every woman and everyone who cares about women and every woman in an abusive relationship.”
Alexander's attorney Bruce Zimet told the Times-Union that he intends to argue that the mandatory sentencing invoked in the case is a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, since Alexander was only sentenced to 20 years during the first trial and there is no reason or change of circumstance to justify the increased sentence.
Retired prosecutor and University of Florida law professor George Dekle commented to the Times-Union that the issue may end up before the Supreme Court.
“Prosecutors will say it’s not vindictive, it’s what the case law now says you have to do,” Dekle said. “It will be up to the judge to decide if he agrees with that.”Russia-backed rebels have killed two soldiers and wounded more than a dozen others, according to Ukraine's army, in a new uptick in violence across eastern Ukraine despite the latest ceasefire.
Andriy Lysenko, a Ukrainian military spokesman, said on Saturday that two servicemen were killed and 16 more injured in the past 24 hours, accusing separatists of using heavy weapons against government troops.
A rebel spokesman in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said one of its fighters had been killed, according to the rebels' news agency.
INTERACTIVE: Ukraine divided - stories from warring sides
The latest casualties along eastern Ukraine's volatile frontline came despite the warring sides announcing a truce deal in February that has failed to stop the violence.
International monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) say they "recorded double the number of ceasefire violations" compared to the previous week.
OSCE said on Saturday two mortar rounds exploded near its monitors' cars in a rebel-controlled village northwest of the government-held city of Mariupol on Friday.
No monitors were injured in the incident, the OSCE said.
Alexander Hug, the deputy head of the OSCE's monitoring mission, said on Friday that 16 civilians had been killed in the region since the start of the year.
Almost 10,000 people have been killed since the start of Russia-backed unrest against the Ukrainian government in 2014.
That conflict and Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 have pushed ties between Moscow and the West to their lowest point since the Cold War.An Iranian woman raises her fist amid the smoke of tear gas at the University of Tehran during a protest driven by anger over economic problems, in the capital Tehran on December 30, 2017.
A wave of spontaneous protests over Iran's weak economy swept across Tehran and other Iranian cities for the third day running on Saturday, with protesters chanting against the government just hours after hard-liners held their own rally in support of the Islamic Republic's clerical establishment.
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Saudi news agency Al-Arabiya has reported that three anti-government protesters were killed in the city of Doroud, in central Iran. A video purports to show their bodies being carried by a crowd of protesters with chants of "death to Khamenei" heard in the background.
Widely shared Tweets from Iran showed demonstrators tearing down regime symbols, including signs and billboards with pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
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Protesters turn down banner of Ayatollah #Khamenei dictator Supreme Leader of Islamic regime in front of Meghdad #Basij militia base, Azadi street, #Tehran. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/bF19UnX4JR — Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) December 30, 2017
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Abhar, #Zanjan - #IranProtests, 3rd day, Dec 30: Protesters take down the billboard w/ Khamenei's picture on it. pic.twitter.com/Isi8rc55hC — Hadi Nili (@HadiNili) December 30, 2017
Analysis // The Iranian regime has learned to fear protesters
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Other videos showed more crowds chanting "death to Khamenei," with others showing police cars flipped over in a sign protests were growing increasingly violent. Scuffles were also reported between students and security forces at Tehran University.
Unrest spreads in Iran, with biggest protests since 2009
Thousands already have taken to the streets of cities across Iran, beginning at first on Thursday in Mashhad, the country's second-largest city and a holy site for Shi'ite pilgrims.
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The demonstrations appear to be the largest to strike the Islamic Republic since the protests that followed the country's disputed 2009 presidential election.
Iran protests: Israeli ministers praise Iranians 'courageously risking their lives for freedom'
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The protests in the Iranian capital, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump tweeting about them, raised the stakes. It also apparently forced state television to break its silence, acknowledging it hadn't reported on them on orders from security officials.
"Counterrevolution groups and foreign media are continuing their organized efforts to misuse the people's economic and livelihood problems and their legitimate demands to provide an opportunity for unlawful gatherings and possibly chaos," state TV said.
The protests appear sparked by social media posts and a surge in prices of basic food supplies, like eggs and poultry. Officials and state media made a point Saturday of saying Iranians have the right to protest and have their voices heard on social issues.
However, protesters in Tehran on Saturday chanted against high-ranking government officials and made other political statements, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. Hundreds of students and others joined a new economic protest at Tehran University, with riot police massing at the school's gates as they shut down surrounding roads.
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People of #Tehran who are protesting corrupted Shia clerics and Islamic regime authorities tear down picture of #Khamenei, dictator Supreme Leader of Islamic regime. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/fyFjtg1URH — Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) December 30, 2017
Fars also said protests on Friday also struck Qom, a city that is the world's foremost center for Shiite Islamic scholarship and home to a major Shiite shrine.
Social media videos purport to show clashes between protesters and police in several areas. At least 50 protesters have been arrested since Thursday, authorities said. State TV also said some protesters chanted the name of Iran's one-time shah, who fled into exile just before its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Earlier Saturday, hard-liners rallied across the country to support Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others. The rallies, scheduled weeks earlier, commemorated a mass 2009 pro-government rally challenging those who rejected the re-election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad amid fraud allegations.
State TV aired live the pro-government "9 Dey Epic" rallies, named for the date on the Iranian calendar the 2009 protests took place. The footage showed people waving flags and carrying banners bearing Khamenei's image.
In Tehran, some 4,000 people gathered at the Musalla prayer ground in central Tehran for the rally. They called for criminal trials for Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, leaders in the 2009 protests who have been under house arrest since 2011. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose administration struck the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, campaigned on freeing the men, though they remain held.
Mohsen Araki, a Shiite cleric who serves in Iran's Assembly of Experts, praised Rouhani's efforts at improving the economy. However, he said Rouhani needed to do more to challenge "enemy pressures."
"We must go back to the pre-nuclear deal situation," Araki said. "The enemy has not kept with its commitments."
Ali Ahmadi, a pro-government demonstrator, blamed the U.S for all of Iran's economic problems.
"They always say that we are supporting Iranian people, but who should pay the costs?" Ahmadi asked.
Iran's economy has improved since the nuclear deal, which saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the end of some of the international sanctions that crippled its economy. Tehran now sells its oil on the global market and has signed deals for tens of billions of dollars of Western aircraft.
That improvement has not reached the average Iranian, however.
Unemployment remains high. Official inflation has crept up to 10 percent again. A recent increase in egg and poultry prices by as much as 40 percent, which a government spokesman has blamed on a cull over avian flu fears, appears to have been the spark for the economic protests.
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Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2017
While police have arrested some protesters, the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard and its affiliates have not intervened as they have in other unauthorized demonstrations since the 2009 election. The economic protests initially just put pressure on Rouhani's administration.
Early on Saturday, Trump tweeted out his support for the protests.
"Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime's corruption & its squandering of the nation's wealth to fund terrorism abroad," he wrote. "Iranian govt should respect their people's rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! (hashtag) IranProtests."
It's unclear what effect Trump's support would have. Iranians already are largely skeptical of him over his refusal to re-certify the nuclear deal and Iran being included in his travel bans. Trump's insistence in an October speech on using the term "Arabian Gulf" in place of the Persian Gulf also has also riled the Iranian public.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's comments in June to Congress saying American is working toward "support of those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government" has been used by Iran's government of a sign of foreign interference in its internal politics.
The State Department issued a statement Friday supporting the protests, referencing Tillerson's earlier comments.
"Iran's leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos," the statement said.
Iran's Foreign Ministry dismissed the comments.
"The noble Iranian nation never pays heed to the opportunist and hypocritical mottos chanted by the U.S. officials and their interfering allegations on domestic developments in the Islamic Republic of Iran," the state-run IRNA news agency quoted ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying.Krieger did resume training last week with the Spirit, wearing a red shirt to remind her teammates to avoid making contact with her, but she said was still not ready for game action. She has since left the Spirit to join the national team as it prepares for the World Cup, where she is expected to be a starter when the tournament begins in June.
Still, even a month after her injury, Krieger knows she cannot be certain that there will be no setbacks. She has spoken with Twellman and other players who had to retire because of head injuries but acknowledged, “No one really knows how to deal with a concussion.”
She added: “The only way I can explain it is, it’s kind of like a snow globe you shake up. You have to wait until all the stuff falls and just rests. At the start, it’s a mess, and you have to wait. And right now, I’m feeling like the pieces are all settled and I can get back to training.”
Soccer and other sports continue to rely on injured athletes to convey their conditions to trainers and doctors, even as their competitive instincts push them to return the field. A stage like the World Cup can be tough to leave.
“If you took M.R.I.s of our bodies,” Krieger said, “I’m sure you’d find little fractures, things we don’t even realize because we’re conditioned to just push through it. We grow up like that. We figure out a way to just tape it up. We’re so used to it, and so competitive, that we don’t want to sit out.”
But even when players are willing and able to assess their health truthfully, the system is not perfect. Asked if he remembered whether a coach or a doctor ever told him to play when he should not have, Twellman said, “Of course I do.”
Still, he added, “I have to ask myself, ‘Was I completely honest with the trainers during the process, too?’ ”Czech politicians have slammed an article published on the website of Russian state-wide television channel Zvezda, run by the Russian Defense Ministry, on Tuesday, maintaining that Czechs should be grateful that Soviet-led forces invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968.
The article in question claimed that the forces had prevented the West from orchestrating a coup in the then-communist country by means, it claimed, which were delayed until 1989.
On the contrary, the Soviet-led invasion in 1968 crushed the period of democratic reforms in Czechoslovakia known as the Prague Spring. The events of 1968 ushered in the so-called Normalisation period during the 1970s and Soviet troops would remain on Czechoslovak soil for more than 20 years.
The article, written by Leonid Maslovskij, caught many off guard as it was published the same day Czech President Miloš Zeman met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Sochi and later travelled to Moscow. According to iDnes, Mr Zeman, widely seen as a pro-Russia politician, was angered by the report; Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek slammed the article as twisting and misinterpreting historical facts and made clear such articles were no way forward to good relations.
Defence Minister Martin Stropnický went further by calling the article “outright lies” and expressed regret the article had come during an official state visit by the Czech head of state. President Miloš Zeman will reportedly address the matter while in Russia.
Zvezda responded that the opinions expressed in the article were the author’s own.Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) attempts to gain position on Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) at FedExForum, Nov. 17, 2014. (Photo: Nelson Chenault,)
The Indiana Pacers received an energy jolt with the return of David West and C.J. Watson from injury and moved a spot up in this week's USA TODAY NBA power rankings.
The Pacers are still a far cry from the heights they were accustomed to last year, but scrappy play has Frank Vogel's squad primed for a run at a playoff berth.
1. Memphis (14-2): After taking a low-key pay cut, former Indiana All-Star Zach Randolph (Marion) is having his best season in four years.
2. Golden State (13-2): Andre Iguodala was clear that he'd rather start, but this offensive disappearance is puzzling.
3. Toronto (13-3): The DeMar DeRozan injury means Terrence Ross finally will have to prove his ability.
4. Houston (13-4): Three of their four losses have come without Dwight Howard, an indicative measure.
5. San Antonio (10-8): Kawhi Leonard has improved his scoring, rebound and assist averages every season.
6. Portland (12-4): Last year's hot start seemed unsustainable. This time, they look legitimate.
7. Dallas (13-5): Imagine how good their offense will be when Chandler Parsons remembers how to shoot.
8. L.A. Clippers (11-5): If Stephen Curry is the NBA's best point guard, someone forgot to tell Chris Paul.
9. Washington (10-5): It's early enough that Bradley Beal can afford to force his shot as he reasserts himself.
10. Chicago (10-6): Jimmy Butler should be a shoo-in as an All-Star; he's the East's best healthy shooting guard.
11. Cleveland (8-7): The All-Star voting watch will be fun as LeBron James always helps his teammates.
12. Phoenix (10-7): Isaiah Thomas unquestionably has been the most productive of their three point guards.
Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) dribbles the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first quarter at Philips Arena. (Photo: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
13. Atlanta (9-6): Former Pike High School standout Jeff Teague may have to be the East's No. 4 point guard if he's going to be an All-Star.
14. Sacramento (9-7): Omri Casspi is fulfilling what he showed as a rookie with the Kings after three years away.
15. Miami (8-7): Carmel product Josh McRoberts seems to miss Charlotte as much as the Hornets miss him.
16. New Orleans (7-8): The lineup problems that plagued them last year continue to haunt GM Dell Demps.
17. Denver (8-8): Their turnaround has coincided with Arron Afflalo finding his rhythm after a cold start.
18. Milwaukee (10-8): Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker might be the best teenagers in the NBA.
19. Brooklyn (6-8): Lionel Hollins has struggled to figure out what to do with Brook Lopez and all of his skills.
20. Oklahoma City (5-12): Healthy Russell Westbrook could be the dark horse for MVP if Kevin Durant stays out.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson (left) is fouled by Indiana Pacers forward David West (21) in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. (Photo: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports)
21. Indiana (7-10): They seem poised to sneak into the playoffs, except for a ridiculous December schedule.
22. Utah (5-12): Backcourt woes will keep Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors from All-Star consideration.
23. Boston (4-9): When Marcus Smart gets his feet under him, a Rajon Rondo decision should be imminent.
24: Orlando (6-12): The Nikola Vucevic extension now seems like one of the smartest deals of the offseason.
25. Minnesota (4-10): Regardless of rookie of the year talk, Andrew Wiggins must start asserting himself.
26. Charlotte (4-14): Kemba Walker has not shot well enough to make up for his poor defense this season.
27. New York (4-13): The pleasant surprise has been Amar'e Stoudemire's consistent bench production.
28. Detroit (3-13): Forcing the ball to Andre Drummond doesn't guarantee success, but it can't hurt at this point.
29. L.A. Lakers (3-13): Sure, Kobe Bryant is shooting a lot. He's also second on the team in assists per game.
30. Philadelphia (0-16): History seems more and more inevitable at this point.Thursday will be a big day for the year-old Fair State Brewing in northeast Minneapolis. They will be releasing bottles of their first spirit barrel-aged offering called Old Richmond Rye. The supply is limited to 700 bottles which will be for sale starting at 3 p.m. until they run out.
The name of this Imperial Brown Ale stems from the rye whiskey barrels in which they aged the brew — which come from 45th Parallel Distillery out of New Richmond, Wis.
The limit is two bottles per person per day for this one.
On Friday Single Barrel Sours #5 and #10 will be released beginning at 3 p.m. in a very limited quantity (250 bottles of each). These beers were brewed in collaboration with Oude Oak which will be a new brewery in northern Minnesota founded by Caleb Levar and Levi Loesch.
Levar has been the assistant brewer at Fair State, which is a big reason their sour program has really taken off. Fair State's head brewer, Niko Tonks, was very excited to bring Caleb on after an encounter at a local beer fest. “We got drunk at Winterfest and I was like hey” said Tonks.
Co-op members will get first crack at the supply which will certainly not last throughout the busy weekend, with the brewery also hosting Co-Optoberfest.
Barrel #5 is a Rye Saison which is bottle conditioned and dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin hops adding a nice layer of pineapple to the French Oak red wine barrel-aged beer. Coconut seems to come through as well which is most likely due to the 10 months it sat in the oak barrels. It weighs in at 7.2 % ABV with a pH balance of 3.45. The limit is 1 bottle per person per day.
Barrel #10 was the most interesting of the three. This is a Sour Stout where the malt actually comes through really well lending a nice roasty chocolate flavor to the brew. Normally this flavor would be outshined by the sour funk. “You tasted it and it was just like those chocolate covered cherries,” said Levar. This was also aged for 10 months on French Oak red wine barrels like #5. Weighing in at 6.9 % ABV and sporting a pH balance (which is a measurement of acidity) of 3.65, this one is begging to be picked up before it runs out.
If all goes well, the crew plans to release these Barrel Aged Sours quarterly in the future. "We are super happy to be releasing these beers after 10 months,” said Tonks. You should also be excited, so much so that you should probably line up before they open on Thursday and Friday. These beers are that delicious.
If you go:
Old Richmond Rye release, 3 p.m. Thur., Oct 8.
Barrel #5 and Barrel #10 release, 3 p.m. Fri., Oct. 9.
Co-Optoberfest, 2 p.m., Sat., Oct. 10. Live accordion, food, live T-shirt printing and 17 beers on tap!
Fair State Brewing Cooperative, 2506 Central Av. NE., Mpls.
Cheers!Marty writes: "Has the Tea Party been listening to too many late night infomercials? ('Bad credit? No credit? No problem!') There is no other explanation for the way some of the far right wing's most vocal figureheads are claiming that really, the federal government defaulting on its debt might not be such a bad idea after all."
Senator Ted Yoho (R-Florida) is convinced a government default 'would bring stability to the world markets.' (photo: Melina Mara/WP/Getty Images)
The Tea Party's Government Default Fantasy
By Robin Marty, Rolling Stone
as the Tea Party been listening to too many late night infomercials? ("Bad credit? No credit? No problem!") There is no other explanation for the way some of the far right wing's most vocal figureheads are claiming that really, the federal government defaulting on its debt might not be such a bad idea after all.
The Republican Party has traditionally made "kitchen table economics" a key talking point in their push for fiscal responsibility. The government must be run like a family's budget, they claim, arguing that when the expenses are greater than your income, it's time to make the hard cuts.
Indeed, that's how it should and does work for many American families, especially when things get tight. But most families also recognize that when it comes to the essentials, if you bought it, you have to pay for it. If the option is opening just one more credit card or finding a short-term loan versus losing the house or the car, you look to credit, knowing that without the home or car your options for earning more become exponentially bleak.
It's a solution that even the GOP can usually recognize is beneficial in the long run, and it's the reason why the debt ceiling has been raised 45 times since President Reagan was in office, all with bipartisan support and most of them with absolutely no concessions or negotiations.
So what has changed? The Tea Party, of course. A radical group of extremists groomed on the Grover Norquist idiom that "government should be small enough to drown in a bathtub," the faction came into power at a time when the biggest qualification for running for Congress was having absolutely no legislative experience. They ran on a platform of dismantling the government and, now that they see their opportunity, they aren't intending to let a little thing like default or the collapse of the American economy stop them. And they are being egged on by some major supporters.
"Don't let Obama lie to you: even MOODY'S says U.S. will NOT default if debt ceiling is not raised," tweeted Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association, a fundamentalist right-wing Christian organization that organizes "values voters." Moody's actually says that as long as the government pays all the interest and principal there would be no risk of its credit rating being affected - which essentially assumes that the government will be able to meet those financial requirements, and would thereby not default. The Department of Treasury states that this strategy would be unlikely to work for more than a few days.
Far-right spokespeople like Fischer have been goading lawmakers into a game of chicken over default, and it's one that members of Congress are more than willing to embrace. "I think, personally, it would bring stability to the world markets," said Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Florida), who argued that refusing to raise the ceiling would show the U.S. was serious about addressing its debt.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), meanwhile, claims that "There's no such thing as a debt ceiling" - based on a Philosophy 101-style argument that if a debt ceiling is constantly raised, is it really even a ceiling? (Whoa, dude. Deep.)
"We have 10 times as much tax revenue as we've got annual interest on the debt obligations," Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Alabama) told Politico. "So if the president does not want us to default on our credit or obligations, we won't."
"We are not going to default on the public debt. That doesn't mean that we have to pay every bill the day it comes in," Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) told CNBC.
So what bills would Rep. Barton and other GOP legislators pay? Priority would be given to Social Security checks and bond payments. Everything else would just have to wait.
The situation might not be immediately dire. The House majority, led by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has proposed a six-week limit increase to allow more time for negotiations over the biggest sticking point of the government shutdown - defunding Obamacare. That the idea has sprung up shortly after Koch Industries, a major Tea Party funder, has said it does not want to see a default is surely just a coincidence.
Democrats and the administration haven't agreed to the new terms yet, saying they would like a deal that reopens the government at the same time, but the talks have been labeled "good."
On the one hand, an extension provides more wiggle room to deal with the potential economic collapse that could occur if the U.S. does fail to make payments on its loans. On the other, the proposal explicitly forbids the Treasury from taking "extraordinary measures" to continue making payments after the government hits that ceiling.
For the Tea Party this new wrinkle could seriously hamper their messaging machine - which relies on the idea that default won't be that bad because the government will just pay some interest to keep the credit rating from tanking.
The "compromise" could be just as bad for those who hope to see the shutdown end. Kicking the debt ceiling fight down the road removes the urgency from passing a clean continuing resolution and getting the government fully running as soon as possible. For those who rely on the government for their salary, pension payments, social security, Head Start, WIC, veterans benefits, enrollment for small business loans, getting into clinical trials to cure diseases, having foodborne illnesses tracked or any other number of functions, six more weeks means the juggling of their own finances and decisions on which bills can be paid. Unfortunately, unlike the government, everyday Americans can't use funding gimmicks to keep their creditors at bay.Each week I throw another post up here and link to it from a variety of different sources that change depending on the topic of the post. For the most part the posts are received well. Often I’ll get advice and useful information, and sometimes I’ll even get compliments. Other times though I’ll get less helpful criticism. I should be thankful I guess because the criticism I receive pertains mostly to what I’ve decided to make and not how I’ve been making it or any of the work I’ve done. The main criticism that keeps popping up is “Don’t make a zombie game. There are too many Zombie games already!” and if I linked you to this post there’s a good chance you said the exact same thing.
So let me tackle this common argument head on. First of all, you’re right. There are a ton of zombie based games on the market already. There’s a ton of zombie based everything on the market already. Current culture seems to have such weird obsession with the idea of zombies that hearing the phrase “oh I just have this in case of the Zombie Apocalypse” doesn’t even sound that strange to us anymore. From movies to games to comic books to versions of pride and prejudice to reality TV shows in which people actually prepare for the zombie apocalypse, it has become clear that zombie mania has completely flooded the current culture and that if there is one thing the world doesn’t need it’s another damn zombie game.
So why then am I doing exactly that? Because I want to. I know that there are quite a lot of zombie games on the market already, but no one yet has made my zombie game. If they had I’d quit this whole thing and just go play that. It would be way easier. But I have a dream game idea, a game idea that has been floating in my head for years that I REALLY want to make a reality. I think the idea behind the game is new and novel, and I think it will be a whole lot of fun to play. I’m not making this game for you so that you have one more zombie game to add to your collection. I’m making this game for me because it’s the game I’ve always wanted to play. And yes, it may have zombies, but the fact of the matter is I like |
,019,660 Pounds
5,448,187,018 Euros
Ingots: 661,081,187,021 worth
Gold: 89,001 Galleons
Silver: 34,819 Galleons
Jewels Total: 4,181,018 Galleons
Jewellery: 2,610,171 Galleons worth
Pensieve's: 7
Amulets: 13
Artefacts: 492
Mage Stones: 42
Swords: 3
Wands: 41
Journals: 976
Books: 1,810
Scrolls: 3,192
Portraits: 7
Weapons: 51
Liverpool Vault
171,171 Galleons, 9,000 Sickles, 1,081 Knuts
Jewels Total: 81,018 Galleons
Jewellery: 10,171 Galleons worth
Artefacts: 10
Wands: 3
Books: 10
Portraits: 2
Weapons: 212
Alfson Vault
81,171 Galleons, 2,000 Sickles, 1,181 Knuts
Jewels Total: 52,018 Galleons
Jewellery: 7,171 Galleons worth
Artefacts: 12
Wands: 1
Books: 44
Portraits: 0
Weapons: 21
Holmes Vault
91,171 Galleons, 3,000 Sickles, 2,081 Knuts
Jewels Total: 51,078 Galleons
Jewellery: 12,101 Galleons worth
Artefacts: 13
Wands: 5
Books: 100
Portraits: 1
Weapons: 43
Noble Vault
62,171 Galleons, 1,000 Sickles, 881 Knuts
Jewels Total: 61,668 Galleons
Jewellery: 15,171 Galleons worth
Artefacts: 10
Wands: 1
Books: 63
Portraits: 3
Dixon Vault
471,171 Galleons, 19,080 Sickles, 2,081 Knuts
Jewels Total: 91,918 Galleons
Jewellery: 11,111 Galleons worth
Artefacts: 11
Wands: 2
Books: 31
Portraits: 2
Weapons: 11
Clarkson Vault
6,171 Galleons, 4,000 Sickles, 2,281 Knuts
Jewels Total: 43,118 Galleons
Jewellery: 8,171 Galleons worth
Artefacts: 2
Wands: 1
Books: 13
Portraits: 0
Garcia Vault
921,111,099 Galleons, 55,101 Sickles, 15,000 Knuts
9,985,081 Gold Drachmas
21,794,444 Silver Drachmas
33,018,192 Pieces of Eight
718,187,018 Euros
Ingots: 81,187,021 worth
Artefacts: 171
Wands: 21
Books: 410
Portraits: 10
Weapons: 311
Smart Vault
271,171 Galleons, 9,550 Sickles, 4,081 Knuts
Jewels Total: 77,018 Galleons
Jewellery: 20,171 Galleons worth
Artefacts: 16
Wands: 4
Books: 150
Portraits: 2
Weapons: 23
Harry looks at all the vaults he was a multi billionaire several times over.
"You will need someone to help manage your estate. I could do that if you are willing", Lucius offers
"Let me think about it", Harry says
"I will do a full audit on your vaults to see if anything was taken from them", Ragnok says
"Thank you Lord Ragnok", Harry says
"These are your investments", Ragnok says handing over more parchment
Investments
Wizarding Schools
100% Hogwarts
93% Salem (USA)
88% Ilvermorny (USA)
14% Irish Academy of Magic (Ireland)
99% Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (France)
50% Chisisi School for Witches and Wizards (Cairo/Egypt)
99% Uagadou School of Magic (Uganda/Africa)
87% Koldolvstoretz School of Magic (Russia)
79% Imperial Tsar Romanov School of Magic (Moscow/Russia)
98% Scoula School of Magic (Italy/Rome)
89% Burgstaller School of Magic (Berlin/Germany)
12% Andersen School of Magic (Copenhagen/Denmark)
78% Garcia School for Magic (Madrid/Spain)
11% Rompa School for Magic (Baarle-Nassau/Belgium & Netherlands Border)
81% Castle Olympus Academy of Magic (Athens/Greece)
18% Royal Australian Academy of Magic (NSW/Australia)
Muggle Schools
55% Oxford
23% Yale
11% Hampshire
34% London Academy
142 Other schools
Quidditch Teams
66% Appleby Arrows
74% Ballycastle Bats
23% Caerphilly Catapults
85% Chudley Cannons
76% Holyhead Harpies
43% Puddlemere United
50% Quiberon Quafflepunchers
70% Finchburg Finches
56% Falmouth Falcons
8% Ilkley
89% Kenmare Kestrels
21% Lancashire
3% Montrose Magpies
16% Pride of Portree
18% Tutshill Tornadoes
31% Wigtown Wanderers
75% Wimbourne Wasps
61% Sweatwater All-Stars
89% Thundlearra Thunderers
17% Bigonville Bomers
19% Braga Broomfleet
11% Gorodok Gargoyles
23% Grodzisk Goblins
61% Heidelberg Harriers
9% Karasjoks Kites
32% Quiberon Quafflepunchers
12% Stonewall Stormers
67% Imperial Russian Flighters
43% Banchory Bangers
Magical Companies (Cumulated from all families)
36% Abraham's Law Firm
87% Amanuensis Quills
67% Apothecary
13% Ariadne Spinners
74% Arkie Alderton's Kwik-Repair Shop
23% Baby Witch
98% Batworthy Junk
76% Boot and Shoemaker for Witches and Wizards
56% Brigg's Brooms
61% Broom Brakes Service
43% Broomstix
54% Borgin's & Burkes (Knockturn Alley)
12% Ceridwen Cauldrons (Hogsmeade)
88% Cleansweep Industries
31% Cogg and Bell Clockmakers
22% Comet Industries
68% Cotton & Tweeds
78% Cranville Quincey's Magical Junkshop
91% Custom Tori's Detailed Wands
48% Darcy's Film Studio
89% Daily Prophet
76% Daily Scribe
78% Dervish and Banges (Hogsmeade)
56% Diamonds, Diamonds
88% Dixon's Custom made Jewellery
49% Dogweed and Deathcap (Hogsmeade)
21% Dominic Maestro's Music Shop
59% Elegance Fine Clothing
24% Ellerby and Spudmore Brooms
21% Eternelle's Elixirs
71% Exquisite Fine Trunks
89% Exquisite Restaurant
54% Eylops Owl Emprium
55% Fine Enchanting Cauldrons
68% Flimflam's Lanterns (Horizont Alley)
21% Florean Fortescue (Diagon Alley)
76% Flourish and Blotts (Diagon Alley)
68% Flyte and Barker Brooms
61% Gladrags Wizardwear (Hogsmeade)
80% Honeydukes (Hogsmeade)
71% Indus's Planets
34% Janus Galloglass
24% J. Pippin'd Potions (Hogsmeade)
11% Kites Kiting
34% Leo's Flaming Restaurant
45% Madam Milkins
23% Madam Puddifoots (Hogsmeade)
77% Magical Instruments
71% Magical Menagerie
12% Marcus Minugius Myomancer
77% Markus Scarrs Indelible Tattoo's
41% Missy's Hair Salon
62% Moira's Florist
51% Nala's Designs
75% Nimbus Industries
54% Obscurus Books
15% Ollivanders
17% Oreius's Armoury
76% Perseus's piercings
44% Pettichaps
24% Pilliwinke's Playthings (Horizont Alley)
73% Potage's Cauldron Shop
11% Potion for All Afflictions
67% Prouds Jewellers
89% Quality Quidditch Supplies
32% Regent Gaming
80% Sarah's Bargain Books
56% Scribbulus Writing Implements
20% Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop (Hogsmeade)
67% Self-Stirring Cauldrons
42% Shutterbutton's Photography Studio
33% Slug & Jiggers Apothecary
41% Spindlewarps Wool Shop
63% Splinter and Kreek's
54% Spintwitch's Sporting Goods (Hogsmeade)
65% S Starlings Pet Shop
77% Stowe & Packers Magical Bags
17% Sugarplum Sweets
23% Talia's Exotic Perfumes
65% The Fountain of Fair Fortune (Horizont Alley)
56% The Leaky Cauldron
71% The Magic Neep (Hogsmeade)
79% The Three Broom Sticks (Hogsmeade)
51% The White Wyven (Knockturn Alley)
35% Thunderbolts Broomsticks Company
68% Tomes and Scrolls (Hogsmeade)
21% Tuck Stop
86% Twilfitt and Tattings
88% Twinkle's Telescopes
47% Weeoanwhisker's Barber Shop (Horizont Alley)
73% Wings Bakery
82% Wizarding Wireless Network (Hogsmeade)
43% Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment
16% Zonko's Joke Shop (Hogsmeade)
723 Other Shops
Magical Hospitals
90% St Murgo's
43 Other Hospitals
Muggle Companies
89% Grunnings
611 other Muggle Companies
Harry smiled at seeing he owned Grunnings. He was going to enjoy firing Vernon.
"Lawyer Goblin Justfinger we will need to write a letter to Grunnings to say Vernon has been embezzling money", Harry says
"I am sure Lord Ragnok will have an audit done into Grunnings and we will have your Mundane lawyer do the same", Lawyer Goblin Justfinger says
"This is your property list", Ragnok says after Harry finished reading his investments
Property List (From all Families)
Gryffindor Castle
Pride Manor
Ravenclaw Mansion
Raven's Nest
Hufflepuff Mansion
Badgers Den
Slytherin Mansion
Hatching Manor
Moonlily Mansion
Pack Manor
Founders Retreat
Founders Island
Merlin's Island Estate Keep
Salem Mansion
Pendragon Castle
Dragons Keep
Bonham Mansion
Ilvermorny Estate
Luna Moon Estate
Emrys Estate
Emrys Manor
Crystal Cove
Luna Cove
Emerald Mansion
Le Fey Estate
4 Privat Drive
The Burrow: Ottery St Catchpole
Phoenix Crystal Palace
Diamond Palace
Sapphire Palace
Imperial Impala Estate
Enterprise Estate
Potter Manor
House Godric's Hollow
Peverell Manor
457 Houses
142 Manors
121 Duplex's
102 Apartments
134 Units
97 Cabins
42 Estates
9 Palaces
134 Mansions
13 Castles
32 Farmhouses
121 Cottages
111 Villa's
151 Townhouses
131 Flats
57 Huts
11 Bungalow's
21 Bed and Breakfasts
15 Islands (Includes Islands in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Sea)
28 Islets
26 Farms
32 Ranches
27 Hotels
30 Motels
41 Resorts
13 Coves
3 Oyster Farms
6 Lodges
8 Ski Lodges
8 Zoo's
31 Casinos
5 Luna Parks
13 Theme Parks
19 Amusement Parks
43 Vineyards
24 Orchards
Harry smiled again he owned his Aunt and Uncle's house and the Burrow he could make the Weasley's pay back rent and normal rent on top of what they owed him.
"When can I evict my so called Aunt and Uncle?" Harry asks
"You just need to give them 30 days", Ragnok replies
"Can you get back rent from them? I will give you 10% of the money", Harry asks
Ragnok gets a glint in his eyes, "Of course. I will get someone on it right away"
"I think we all will get pleasure in evicting them", Lucius says smirking
"As for the Burrow. I want back rent from the Weasley's and rent from now on. On top of what they owe me", Harry says
"It will be done", Ragnok says grinning
"So what else is there to do today?" Harry asks after getting over the shock
"We have the soul-bond contracts, slave contracts and the life-debt list. Might I suggest the life-debt list?" Ragnok suggests
"Ok who owes me life debts?" Harry asks
"This is the current list", Ragnok says hanging over some parchment
Life-Debt's for Lord Harald James George Potter
Hermione Jean Granger + 3
Ginevra Molly Weasley
Ronald Bilius Weasley
Fleur Isabelle Delacour
Gabrielle Sophia Delacour
Peter Patrick Pettigrew
Sirius Orion Black
Dobby
There were more family names on the life-debt list. Some he didn't know.
"So what does the life debt's entail?" Harry asks
"They must make up to your satisfaction a favour or help. Once that is done you can wipe the debt", Lucius replies
"Even that rat?" Harry asks
"Yes. Since you spared him from getting killed", Lucius replies
"So Hermione's debt is from me saving her from the Troll in first year, helping save her soul in third year and helping get her out of the lake in forth year. Ginny's debt is from second year saving her from Tom Riddle. Ron's, Gabrielle's debts are for saving them in the lake in Fourth year. Fleur I saved in the final task of the Triwizard tournament, saving Sirius's soul in third year and Dobby I'saved' in my Second year", Harry summaries
"Now we have your house elves. These are how many in your main properties", Ragnok says
House Elves
Gryffindor Castle: 43
Ravenclaw Mansion: 44
Hufflepuff Mansion: 42
Slytherin Mansion: 41
Moonlily Mansion: 40
Merlin's Island Estate Keep: 573
Salem Mansion: 24
Pendragon Castle: 132
Emrys Manor: 211
Le Fey Estate: 16
Potter Manor: 14
Peverell Manor: 20
Harry's eyes widen with how many house elves he had. If Granger didn't betray him she would be going on about S.P.E.W.
"I don't want slaves. The house elves should be free", Harry protests
"Harald let me explain House Elves. House Elves need to be bonded. They feel like family when bonded", Lucius explains
"Why do they need to be bonded?" Harry asks
"They get their magic from the family they serve. Without a family they are left weak. They also need permission to mate especially new elves that are bonded", Lucius explains
"But that means Dobby and Winky are weak. I freed Dobby and Crouch freed Winky", Harry says feeling bad
"Call to them. This Elf Dobby might already have a bond to you. This Winky might come when called", Ragnok suggests
"Dobby! Winky!" Harry calls out to thin air
There was two loud cracks as Dobby and Winky appear. Dobby was wearing clothes but Winky still wasn't.
"Harry Potter called Dobby and Winky?" Dobby asks
"I would like to offer you a place in my family", Harry replies, "That's if you haven't found someone already"
"Harry Potter wants Winky?" Winky asks tears in her eyes
"Of course. Dobby what do you think?" Harry asks
"Dobby has bonded with Harry Potter. Yous just need to say the words", Dobby replies
"First I want you all to wear clothes like a uniform. Second I want to pay you 4 Galleons a day. Third you have one day off every week. Fourth you are allowed to mate and fifthly I will give you a very good place as a room for you to keep anything you but with your galleons", Harry says after thinking about everything for a minute
"Winky doesn't need clothes", Winky says
"I want all my house elves to look smart. My family will be in the Grey side. Some spells are light but they can still kill. And the dark spells are possible to help people who are terminally ill go in peace", Harry replies
"Dobby wants Harry Potter as Master", Dobby says happily
"Winky wants Harry Potter as Master too", Winky says
"What do I need to do to make them officially mine?" Harry asks Lucius
"You say 'I Harald James George Arthur Philip Albert Richard Lokhi Nicholas Potter take Dobby and Winky as my house elves so smote it be by the ancient law'", Lucius explains to Harry
"I Harald James George Arthur Philip Albert Richard Lokhi Nicholas Potter take Dobby and Winky as my house elves so smote it be by the ancient law", Harry says clearly
"Dobby accepts the bond to the house of Potter", Dobby says
"Winky accepts the bond to the house of Potter", Winky says
They glow for a minute then blue and gold uniform appears on them. Making them look neat and clear.
"What does Master want us to do first?" Dobby asks
"I want you both to go to Merlin's Island Estate Keep and tell the house elves there that I will be moving in", Harry orders
"Dobby do what Master wants", Dobby says
"Winky do what Master Harry wants", Winky says as they disappear with a sharp crack
"Now we have the human slaves names", Ragnok says
"Why do I have human slaves?" Harry asks
"They are tired to your family. They made deals. They know what their parents signed them up for. Or their family promised to serve for a few generations", Lucius explains
Harry takes a deep breath and nods indicating he wanted the list.
Slaves Contracts
Blaise Zabini (Head Bodyguard)
Seamus Finnigan (Bodyguard)
Su Li (Bodyguard)
Ariadna Petrov (Bodyguard)
Denis Belikov (Bodyguard)
Justin Finch-Fletchley (Bodyguard)
Terence Higgs (Bodyguard)
Layla Smith (Healer)
Theodore Nott (Spy)
Megan Jones (Fashion Consulted)
Roger Davies (Butler)
Hannah Abbott (Press Secretary/Personal Assistant)
"Do they know about this?" Harry asks as soon as he had read all names
"Yes. Their parents are required to teach them", Ragnok replies
"Any more business I need to deal with today?" Harry asks
"You need to meet your wives and discuss which one is taking on which title", Lucius replies
"Wives?!" Harry asks shocked
"It is Ministry Law that you have to have one wife for each title you hold", Lucius says with a sly smirk
"So I have to have more then 30 wives?!" Harry asks completely shocked
"Well 31 with the Russian titles and 32 with the Black title that you need to have a wife for. 33 with the Washington title and more with a few others. Each of your soul-bonds/betrothed/fiancée's are here with their parents. Your parents did your soul-bond test and found 33 women that were going to be connected to your soul and maybe others but their names are blank. But you might need to find Ladies for the houses of Gaunt, Steward, Sayre, Quirrell, Summer Court, Winter Court, Avalon Court and Iron Court depending on your elven instincts", Ragnok explains
"Do these women know it is me they are betrothed too?" Harry asks nervously
"Yes they do", Lucius replies
"You will also need a wife for the Olympus titles. But the woman you can choose", Ragnok explains
"When do I meet them?" Harry asks
"Now. One at a time with their parents. When you all have met you need to decide what title goes to which lady", Ragnok replies
Ragnok calls a goblin to get the first lady. Minutes later a young woman enters with two adults. The two Adults were standing up straight and looking at Harry.
"I am Lord Francis Greengrass", Lord Greengrass says bowing and shaking Harry's hand
"I am Lady Alena Greengrass", Lady Greengrass says curtsying
"This is our eldest daughter Daphne Alena Greengrass", Lord Greengrass says introducing the stunning blonde
She had long blonde hair and striking grey eyes. Harry recognises her as a Slytherin at Hogwarts. But he couldn't place her name. But he remembers her nickname the Ice Queen of Slytherin. She was about 5'7 and a striking beauty. Harry immediately felt a spark when he looked into her eyes.
"Lord Harry", Daphne says her voice rich and calm
"Heiress Daphne. It is a pleasure to see you outside of school", Harry says kissing her hand
"Same. Who knew that Harry Potter was the King of Magic?" Daphne says with a small smile
"It has come as quite a shock to me. As well of the betrayals I have just learned", Harry says
"Weasley always stopped my attempts to talk to you. What they have done is dishonourable", Daphne says firmly
"Lord Harald we must discuss the betrothed", Lord Greengrass says
"Of course", Harry says nervous
"Daphne is my heir. Can her firstborn be the Greengrass heir and the second born by your heir to whatever title you give her", Lord Greengrass asks
"I for one think Harald's heir should be firstborn", Lucius suggests
"What about the firstborn male will he Lord Harald's heir and the first female born can he the Greengrass heir. As my family don't mind a female as heir", Lord Greengrass offers
"That sounds responsible. What do you think Lord Malfoy?" Harry asks not knowing exactly what to do his powers were only just starting to come out
"It is fair Harald it makes your houses and the Greengrass allies", Lucius replies
"What side are you on?" Harry asks
"We are grey", Daphne says proudly
"That is what I am hoping to be", Harry says smiling at Daphne, "You know I have to have multiple wives?"
"I know. I will play nice. I am sure all of us will get along", Daphne replies
"I will have 33 other wives or more", Harry warns
"Well you are going to be busy", Daphne replies with a shrug
"The next family is here", a goblin says
"Send them in", Ragnok orders
Daphne goes and sits near her parents as she waits to see who else will be Harry's wives. Two adults and a young lady who was about 2 years younger then Harry. She had black hair and stunning brown eyes. Harry feels the connection to the girl.
"Lord Potter. I am Dan Robins and this is my wife Alyse and daughter Demelza Edwina Robins", Mr Robins says bowing
"Pleasure to meet you. Demelza it is good to meet you. You are in Gryffindor aren't you?" Harry asks curiously after he kisses her hand
"Yes I am. I am a half-blood does it matter?" Demelza asks
"Not at all. I don't care about blood or houses. We are all the same. How old are you?" Harry asks
"I just turned 13 my Lord", Demelza replies
"Please call me Harry. Do you have siblings?" Harry asks
"Yes I have my brother Ethan who is 15 and is in Slytherin. Louise and Alice who both our 14", Demelza replies
"We are betrothed. Would you accept our soul betrothed agreement?" Harry asks
"I accept right Dad, Mum?" Demelza asks her parents
"Of course. I hope our daughter will be well looked after?" Mrs Robins asks
"Of course I will treat her well. But I have other wives too. But they all will be equal", Harry confirms, "Demelza this is one of my will-be-wives Daphne Greengrass"
"Nice to meet you", Demelza says smiling
"You too. I am looking forward to getting to know you", Daphne replies
"Send in the next set of parents", Ragnok orders
A tall man and a short women walk in with a girl with brown hair and hazel eyes.
"Lord Potter we are Ralph and Angela Turpin. This is our daughter Lisa Turpin", Mr Turpin says bowing to the young Lord
"Hello Harry", Lisa says nervously
"Nice to meet you Lisa. Your Ravenclaw aren't you?" Harry asks
"Yes. I am in Ravenclaw and I am a half-blood", Lisa replies
"Your in my year?" Harry asks
"I am. I just turned 15", Lisa confirms
"Would you be willing to be the grey area of magic?" Harry asks
"Yes I can. I see everything is not black and white", Lisa replies
"Do you have any siblings?" Harry asks
"My older brother Brandon", Lisa replies
"Do you agree with our betrothment?" Harry asks
"Of course. I also now you will have a few wives and I am ok with that", Lisa replies
"Are you ok with this Mr and Mrs Turpin?" Harry asks
"Yes we are", Mr Turpin replies
"Your soulmates", Mrs Turpin adds
Next Ingrid Ithyssa Nebraska who came with her Faerie parents. She was a royal elf. And after her was Nebula Leaf and her parents who where all elves. Then came Sashandra Gordan who was a shape-shifter and a half-blood. Then cam Lady Kaetia of Vanaheim who had white blonde hair and sapphire eyes. Karita who was a Valkyries.
"Now Harald my daughter is one of your soulmates", Lucius says
"I didn't know you had a daughter", Harry says confused
"She is Draco's younger twin. Narcissa and I hid her from the Dark Lord and the outside world. Till now she has only been home schooled. But this year she will be going", Lucius replies
Narcissa and a girl with blonde hair and grey eyes and was about 5'6. She was very pretty. And a girl with black hair and grey eyes.
"Lord Potter", Narcissa says curtsying
"Lady Malfoy", Harry says with a nod of his head
"Lord Harald I am Invicta Cassiopeia Lestrange. I am nothing like my parents. Aunt Cissa and Uncle Lucius raised me to be grey", Invicta says
"Then I will believe it", Harry says
"I hold the Lestrange heirship. You will be Lord Lestrange. My biological parents don't hold any titles anymore", Invicta says
"Good to hear", Harry says
"Lord Harald", the girl says with a smile, "I am Lilliandia Sarah Malfoy"
"Pleasure to meet you Lilliandia. I am looking forward to getting to know you more", Harry replies
"Harald. Lilliandia will bare you an heir and Draco will produce an heir to the Malfoy line", Lucius explains, "Do you accept this betrothed?"
"Only if Lilliandia agrees", Harry says
"I accept being one of your wives my Lord", Lilliandia replies
"Call me Harry as we will be married", Harry says, "These are Daphne Greengrass, Demelza Robins, Ingrid Nebraska and Lisa Turpin some of my wives"
"I am looking forward to getting to know all of you", Lilliandia replies smiling
The door opens a man and a girl walk in. The girl had red hair and blue eyes mixed with green. She was 5'4.
"Hello my Lord I am Damion Dunbar and this is my daughter Fay Louise Dunbar", Mr Dunbar says bowing
"Pleasure to see you again Fay", Harry says placing her as one of his classmates in Gryffindor
"You remember me?" Fay asks surprised
"Of course. Why?" Harry asks
"Well Hermione kept me away from you. I have known we were betrothed. I been waiting to get know you better", Fay says blushing
"Well we can get to know all about me soon. I am looking forward to it", Harry says kissing Fay's hand, "Do you have any siblings?"
"Yes two Alexzander and Aleksandra who are 17 and Thomas who is 16", Fay replies
"Will you accept for us getting married?" Harry asks
"You want to honour the betrothed agreement?" Fay asks
"Only if your willing", Harry replies
"I agree to it", Fay says blushing
"I will have 33 wives all together. Maybe more. Will you be alright?" Harry asks
"I will be. I will go and sit with the others", Fay says going to sit with Daphne, Lisa, Demelza, Lilliandia
There was a knock on the door and a man, woman and a teen girl enter. The girl had ink black locks that were branded.
"Lord Potter I am Minister for Magic of Egypt. Descendant of Ra the Sun God and Isis the Goddess of Magic. My name is Orisis this is my wife Nekhbet and daughter Cleopatra Nephthys Rama. Cleo is the Lady of Egypt and Lady Ra", Orisis introduces them
"Pleasure to meet you King of Magic", Cleopatra says
"Nice to meet you. I will have 33 wives all together maybe more. Is that alright?" Harry asks
"It is fine. I have expected this since I was told you are my betrothed", Cleopatra replies
"So your Egyptian?" Harry asks
"Yes. I am 50% owner of the Egyptian school for magic. I believe you hold the other 50%. I will be coming to Hogwarts in the Fall to be with you. Lady Goddess Isis says I must go", Cleopatra replies
"Goddess Isis?" Harry asks
"Egyptian gods are real. Actually all gods are. Your magic Goddess is Hecate", Cleopatra replies
"Do you accept the betrothed?" Harry asks
"I do", Cleopatra replies
"Please take a seat with my other wives", Harry says
There was another knock at the door and a male adult and a girl enter.
"Lord Potter I am Lord Arne Minister for Magic of Denmark. I am Queen Margaret's nephew. This is my daughter Lakatriona she is a demigod daughter of Athena and is a distant relation to Lord Tyr of Asgard", Minister Arne says bowing to the King of Magic
"Pleasure to meet you. How old are you Lakatriona?" Harry asks
"I just turned 15 my King", Lakatriona
"I will have many wives. 33 all together maybe more", Harry informs her
"I am fine with that", Lakatriona says
Knock on the door and a teen and a man enter they both looked liked elves.
"Your Majesty I am Lord Oakleaf and this is my daughter Leticia", Lord Oakleaf says
"Pleasure to meet you Lady Leticia", Harry says kissing her hand
"You too my Lord", Leticia says
There was a knock on the door and a girl comes in alone she was very pretty with her golden brown hair and blue eyes.
"Your Majesty I am Melody Aurora Lupin", Melody says
"Pleasure to met you. Your Remus Lupin's daughter?" Harry asks
"Yes. He doesn't know about me though. I am half siren and half werewolf", Melody says, "Do you mind?"
"I don't. Why did you come in alone?" Harry asks
"I live in an orphanage. I didn't go to school because I couldn't afford it", Melody says
"Well I will pay. You can come to the school with the rest of us", Harry says
"Thank you", Melody says taking a seat
There was a knock at the door and a man and a girl comes in. The girl had long silky black hair and silver eyes.
"Lord Potter I am Darren Dixon and this is my daughter Thalia Dixon", Mr Dixon says bowing
"Pleasure to meet you. Thalia you don't look familiar", Harry states
"I go to a school in Italy. I am part Italian, part Israeli. And I am of the Norse Pantheon. Actually from the line of God Thor. When I marry you I will go to Hogwarts. I am looking forward to it. I also look forward at getting to know my sister wives", Thalia replies
"I will be having 33 wives all together maybe more. Will that be alright?" Harry asks
"It is fine. I should tell you I am a beast speaker. I can talk to all animals. I am a Muggle-Born. Dad knows about magic due to his friends. That is how we got this betrothed agreement", Thalia explains
"I look forward to getting to know you better. Take a seat I have others to meet", Harry says kindly
"Thank you", Thalia says taking her seat with the other women.
A knock on the door the next come. An older woman who's daughter and son were about Harry's age.
"My Lord", the woman says bowing
You could hear the Greek Accent in her voice.
"I am Amber Cortz. And this is my daughter Artemis Israelia Snape and my son Apollo Severus Snape. They are twins. Here our my youngest Victoria Snape who is 14, Zeus and Ares Snape who are 13, Khione Snape who is 12 and Athena Snape who is 11", Amber replies
"Snape?" Harry asks curiously
"Yes my husband Severus Snape. He disappeared out of our lives years ago", Amber replies
"He was protecting them from Death Eaters", Lucius informs Harry
"Hello Harry", Artemis says smiling
"It is a pleasure to meet you Artemis. I take it you're here out our betrothed agreement?" Harry asks
"I want to marry you Harry", Artemis replies
"So you are Greek?" Harry asks
"Yes. Lived their my whole life. With my siblings. My mother wanted to name us after the Greek Gods which we believe are real", Artemis replies
"How old are you?" Harry asks
"I have just turned 15", Artemis replies
"Where do you go to school?" Harry asks
"The Castle of Olympus for Magic. But now we are together I will go to Hogwarts. Daddy dearest is in for an surprise", Artemis says grinning
"I will have 33 wives all together. Maybe more. Would you do me the honour of being one of them?" Harry asks
"Yes I will", Artemis says
"Your father is going to kill me", Harry says with a wince
"Don't worry I will fix it", Artemis replies
"These will be my other wives. Go and talk to them I still have to talk to my other soon to be wives", Harry says kissing her hand
The next person to come in was a teen with planetarium hair and grey eyes. Her name was Serpentina Noble who was a faerie.
The next person was a woman with blonde hair and she came in with her parents.
"I am Octavia Elspeth Ollivander", Octavia says to Harry
"Related to Ollivander wands?" Harry asks
"He is my grandfather. These are my parents Gavon and Rachael Ollivander", Octavia says
"Pleasure to meet you all", Harry says
The next was a woman with sandy hair and blue eyes.
"I am Maeve Louise Moody. I am 1/3 Dwarf", Maeve says
"Pleasure too meet you. Do you live with your father?" Harry asks
"No. Mum says he is too far in Dumbledore's pockets for me to be near him", Maeve says
"He stole money from me so I say he is", Harry says
"I am sorry and I am nothing like him", Maeve says
"I am sure I will see", Harry says
The next person to arrive was a man and a woman with a girl around 15 or 16 walking with them.
"Hi Lord Potter I am Damien Moon and this is my wife Ember Moon. This is our daughter Lily Moon. We are a family of vampires", Damien says
"I hope you can accept me for who I am", Lily asks looking nervously at Harry
"Of course I will accept you. I don't believe in any decimation. I am a High Elf anyway. Will you accept me as you Husband?" Harry asks
"I accept. Thank you for accepting me. One of the few who do", Lily replies
"Which Hogwarts House are you in?" Harry asks
"I am in Gryffindor", Lily says
"So Granger got to you too?" Harry asks
"Yes. She figured out my secret and threatened me to not go with you or my |
in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, driven in part by a new generation of jihadis inspired by Islamic State (IS).
“From the cellphone that was seized by security forces, this youth was obsessed with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” Chief Security Minister Wiranto told reporters, referring to the leader of the Middle Eastern militant group.
Wiranto, who goes by one name, said a note was found in the attacker’s backpack that said “I love al-Baghdadi” but added the suspect had no known links to existing militant networks.
There were no serious casualties in the latest attempted attack, which happened in a church in Medan, northern Sumatra. Police said the attacker had attempted to stab the priest, who suffered minor injuries, and detonate a crude home-made bomb but failed after being restrained by other worshippers.
The suspect, identified as 17-year-old Ivan Armadi is under interrogation. Police seized bomb-making materials from his home after the attack and said he had learned to assemble a bomb through online research.
Counter-terrorism officials have said there are hundreds of IS sympathizers in Indonesia, where the vast majority of Muslims practice a moderate form of the religion. The country suffered its first IS-linked attack in January, when four people died in a gun and bomb assault.Protesters on Tuesday shut down a Minnesota House hearing on a bill that would hold demonstrators financially liable for police response costs, if their protests were deemed illegal or a nuisance in court.
While all but one speaker decried the bill as an attempt to intimidate protesters and curb First Amendment rights, in the end the bill passed out of the committee with a 9-6 split along party lines — with every Republican on the committee voting for it, and every Democrat against.
The bill’s 27 authors, all Republicans including House Speaker Kurt Daudt, also include eight members of the committee to which it was referred: the House public safety committee, chaired by Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, who is also listed as an author.
RELATED: 2 charged in U.S. Bank Stadium pipeline protest over Vikings game
The political division was not lost on Cathy Jones, vice president of the Minneapolis NAACP, who told committee members the bill was a “shameful Republican response to the Black Lives Matter movement in Minnesota.”
Rep. Nick Zerwas, R-Elk River, the bill’s primary author and sole person to argue in its favor during the hearing, cast it as a response to recent protester shutdowns of streets and highways.
“I think if you’re convicted of a crime where you intentionally inflict as much expense and cost upon a community as possible, you ought to get a bill. It should not be property tax payers’ responsibility to cover for your illegal behavior,” Zerwas said.
Zerwas claimed that in the last 18 months, the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington have racked up $2.5 million in costs responding to protests. The numbers couldn’t be immediately verified, but during the hearing Zerwas cited media reports and his own data practice requests.
Zerwas’ bill states that those convicted of participating in an unlawful assembly or breaking public nuisance laws can be sued by government units, like cities or the state, for public safety costs “incurred for the purpose of responding.”
When pressed by Democratic committee members as to how expansive those penalties should be, Zerwas said he believed people should only be liable for the costs of their arrest.
Multiple speakers brought up the protest record of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — with one noting: “The irony does not escape me that this is being considered in a building that is located on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.”
“Is there anyone here today who honestly thinks that justice would have been better served if the police in Selma, Alabama, had charged poor African-Americans thousands of dollars in civil penalties above and beyond their statutory fines?” asked speaker Ken Geisen. “That Dr. King should have asked his followers to stand in a ditch so as not to inconvenience anyone because they didn’t have a permit?”
Teresa Nelson, legal director for the ACLU of Minnesota, said she believed the law, if passed, would be found unconstitutional, citing a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision in which a county in Georgia attempted to get reimbursed for costs after 66 white nationalists were arrested for parading in a counterprotest without a permit.
Other speakers saw huge potential for governmental abuse and overreach — with one interpreting the statute to say that any single person involved in a large protest, later deemed illegal, could potentially be sued to recover the entire cost of a city’s public safety response. Leaders could be targeted, and average people would find it difficult to tell in advance what would be defined as unlawful, others argued.
Later, Zerwas — often as animated and impassioned as those attacking his bill — said of recent protests, “We have a ‘go-to’ move of blocking airports so people can’t leave town on Thanksgiving weekend. … We have a go-to move of shutting down freeways and stopping ambulances … of blocking light rail transit.”
While Republican committee members stayed silent during the hearing, several DFL members attacked the bill — some on a personal level.
Rep. Debra Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center, grew visibly angry when she spoke of how her grandfather, who participated in a Teamster strike at the University of Minnesota in 1939, was put in federal prison for 18 months, under an anti-protest law later deemed unconstitutional.
“Members, we have come a long long way in Minnesota giving people the right to stand up for their rights, and it has been a long time that the government has attempted to stop that. … We should not go back. We should not go back.”
Hilstrom asked Zerwas whether he had any letters of support from municipalities seeking remuneration, to which Zerwas replied, he’d been “hearing from property owners.”
“If you were interested in simply seeking restitution for local communities when someone committed a crime, we would not simply be talking about freedom of speech here. We would be talking about all kinds of crime. That is not what we have, here,” Hilstrom said.
Zerwas argued there was precedent in Minnesota law, citing a statute that allowed government units to sue those who intentionally started forest fires for public safety response costs.
Speaker Hunter Cantrell responded, “A man who starts an arson is not the same as protesters who are absolutely trying to make a statement that they do not have a viable route for recourse in our society.” Related Articles House OKs Democrats’ bill blocking Trump emergency on wall
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By the end of the hearing, which took place in the House civil law and data practices policy committee, its chair, Peggy Scott, R-Andover, attempted to move on to a second bill scheduled for the day.
But within a minute, those in the audience began shouting, “If we don’t get no justice, they don’t get no peace!” and “Shame!” and packed the aisles of the hearing room.
“If you’re planning to leave, please do it peacefully so we can get on with our business,” Scott replied, but she gaveled the meeting to a close seconds later.The USPS is apologizing to a group of its customers in Highlands Ranch after a postal carrier left fliers in homeowner's mailboxes, asking for them to artificially increase their mail volume so she could earn higher compensation.
According to the United States Postal Service, the flier was distributed to homeowners living along "Route 16" in the Highlands Ranch Golf Course community, which is classified as a rural route.
A spokesperson for the USPS told 9NEWS that postal carriers assigned to rural routes are evaluated on a scheduled basis to assess route volume, distance, and other factors to determine workload and the level of compensation.
In the flier distributed this week, the postal worker wrote in part:
"During the period of March 12- March 25, 2016, I would really appreciate your help.
The USPS "counts" every piece of mail, parcels, etc. that I handle. The purpose of this 2- week sampling is to set my pay, paid time off, etc. for the ensuing year.
So please mail, mail, order, order, click and ship all you can..."
In the flier, the postal worker goes on to write: "increasing my workload during this "sampling period" might actually get me a paid-day off... What a concept!"
In response to the carrier's letter, the USPS released this statement:
"The carrier’s note was not endorsed by the Postal Service and is against policy that prohibits solicitation of the public. We apologize to the customers who received it and assure them that appropriate action will be taken."
A spokesperson for USPS in the Denver area said they are unaware of any other cases of mail carriers soliciting residents.
The spokesman also said taxpayer dollars are not used for compensation since the postal service is not taxpayer funded.
Copyright 2016 KUSAUpdated: Friday, May 10 at 3:00 p.m.
For the second time in the last four offeasons, Florida Gators basketball has added a transfer from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights as guard Eli Carter on Tuesday announced his intent to continue his career in Gainesville, FL.
“Proud to announce that I will be continuing my career at the University of Florida!! #Gators,” he tweeted at approximately 2 p.m.
Once former Rutgers head coach Mike Rice was fired for physically and emotionally bullying his players, a number of Scarlet Knights informed the school that they would be transferring. Carter (Paterson, NJ), a former three-star prospect and the No. 114 recruit in the nation as ranked by Rivals in 2011, first narrowed his options down to Florida and Maryland before deciding to pull the trigger for the Gators on Tuesday.
After Florida assistant Rashon Burno – who like Carter and Mike Rosario attended St. Anthony’s High School in New Jersey under head coach Bob Hurley – reached out to the player in early April, Gators head coach Billy Donovan flew up north to meet with Carter and his family in their home on April 22.
Donovan convinced him to visit Florida and he obliged, spending time in Gainesville on Sunday and Monday. While in town, Carter told the Gators he would be attending Florida but made his intentions officially known to the public on Tuesday.
“Eli is a great addition to our team, and we’re pleased he’s a Gator now,” Donovan said in a school release on May 10. “I’m excited to get down to Florida, and I can’t wait to start gelling with the team and the coaches,” Carter added.
Hurley told The Gainesville Sun’s Kevin Brockway that Donovan and Florida would be the perfect fit for Carter, should he decide to pick the Gators as his new team.
“Billy could certainly tighten up his game,” he said. “When you play for a losing team, there is a different approach when it comes to shot selection compared to when you are part of a team with more talent around you. You don’t have to take on that responsibility. Eli can do more by doing less [shooting].”
Though Carter does not have the same reputation that Rosario did when he linked up with Florida, he has similarly been a shoot-first offensive machine for Rutgers in his first two years with the program. He averaged 14.9 points per game last season but saw his sophomore campaign end early after he broke his leg in mid-February.
Carter scored 20 or more points eight times during the 2012-13 season, but Gators fans probably best remember him for going 12-for-24 for 31 points with seven rebounds and seven assists when the Scarlet Knights registered a two-overtime 85-83 upset victory over UF in Piscataway, NJ back on Dec. 29, 2011.
While he can certainly put the ball in the hoop, Carter must allow Donovan and the coaching staff to help him become a more consistent shooter. After hitting 41 percent of his shots and 35 percent of his threes as a freshman, his averages fell to 38 percent and 32 percent, respectively, during his sophomore campaign.
Whether or not Carter will be able to play for Florida next season remains to be seen. Normally, transfers are forced to miss a year and take a redshirt season due to NCAA transfer rules. However, Carter will petition the NCAA for a waiver due to the situation with Rice and may have the opportunity to contribute for the Gators in 2013-14 should the organization grant his request.
When Carter initially made his intention to transfer known, he took the 13th and final scholarship that Florida had available. Since then, the Gators have seen two players transfer out of the program.The OUTtv sitcom stars Julie Vu, a transgender actress, as a transgender woman rebuilding her life after coming out of the closet.
TORONTO – Netflix's Orange Is the New Black has openly transgender actress Laverne Cox in its cast, but liberal Canada now has TV's first transsexual comedy.
The Switch, from OUTtv and Canadian indie producer Trembling Void Studios, features Julie Vu, a transgender woman and YouTube sensation, in the lead role of an upwardly mobile IT manager who loses her job and Vancouver apartment after coming out of the closet.
But rather than being a downer, the Canadian single-camera comedy follows Vu's character as she rebuilds her life in Vancouver's queer underground with the help of friends, including five transgender characters, each played by a transgender actor.
"I really wanted to provide something where people walked away feeling good about being transgendered, or meeting and knowing transgender people," The Switch writer, actor and producer Amy Fox said of the sitcom that mixes geek and fantasy elements typical of Community or Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
That contrasts with most TV portrayals of transgender men or women, especially in documentaries or factual series, which Fox brands as depressing.
"I don't want people to feel sorry for us, or we to feel sorry for ourselves. I want us to feel optimistic about our future," she added about the homegrown sitcom that chuckles over hot-button transgender issues like employment and housing.
Canadian TV has a history of controversial gay and lesbian portrayals and story arcs.
The homegrown TV high school series Degrassi, which launched the acting careers of Drake and Shenae Grimes, in 2010 introduced a transgender character, played by Jordan Todosey.
After airing The Switch pilot in spring 2014, OUTtv is in negotiations with Trembling Void on the number of episodes to be ordered for the first season on Canada's gay and lesbian cable channel.
As politicians legislate on LGBT issues in the wake of landmark court rulings in North America and elsewhere, OUTtv COO Brad Danks argued the Canadian transgender community is at the forefront of LGBT issues in our society today.
"OUTtv was very proud to support Amy Fox and her team on The Switch and very excited about the possibility of having a full series on our network that prominently features so many transgender performers," he said.
Fox said he's in talks with Participant Media's Pivot channel and the U.S.-based Logo channel about a U.S. deal for the Canadian sitcom, to be shot in Vancouver.
Producer credits on The Switch are shared by Fox and Ingo Lou, with Monika Mitchell directing and executive producing along with Fox.CLOSE A Florida police officer on the force for 9 years has been arrested and accused of distributing sexual pictures of a child on social media. The victim is just 2 years old. VPC
Joshua Smith, 32, of Lakeland, Fla, is an Oakland, Fla., police officer now in jail on child sex abuse charges. (Photo11: Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office)
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — A police officer for a small town in Florida has been accused of sexually assaulting a 2-year-old, authorities said Thursday.
Joshua Smith, 32, of Lakeland, Fla., was arrested late Wednesday on one count of directing and promoting the sexual performance of a child — a child pornography charge — but more charges are pending. Detectives are analyzing Smith's computer devices and his cellphone.
Smith started an online conversation with an undercover FBI agent under the pseudonym of James King at 10:17 a.m. ET, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, calling himself a "no limit perv" who was looking for someone like minded to talk to. He then sent three sexually explicit pictures to the agent to prove that he had a live child.
"It is appalling and outrageous to all law enforcement who worked this case and will outrage others around the country," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a Thursday press conference. "The communication is so horrific, so graphic, so outrageous, that a normal person would never be able to comprehend."
Smith told the FBI agent that he began the abuse six months ago and that his wife had no idea, according to his arrest report. By 5:45 p.m., investigators said they had determined where the messages originated and were at his door to take him into custody.
The girl was home alone with him, still wearing the clothes in the pictures that agents had received. She is now with her mother, deputies said.
Smith has been a police officer for the past nine years in Oakland, Fla., a town of about 2,500 residents 15 miles west of Orlando. He has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of his case, according to Oakland Chief Steven R. Thomas.
He is being held in a Polk County jail on $150,000 bond.
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Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1MOeRFaSPOKANE, Wash --- Even after a week of much cooler temperatures and rain, Washington's six large wildfires continue to burn.
Here is an update from north to south.
Diamond Creek Fire 75% contained. It is about 11 miles northwest of Mazama and has covered almost 130,000 acres since it started in July.
Uno Peak Fire 20% contained. The Uno Peak fire has covered almost 9,000 acres since it started in August. The wildfire is located 15 miles northwest of Manson.
Jolly Mountain Fire 40% contained. This fire was started by a lightning strike in August and has covered almost 37,000 acres since then. The Jolly Mountain Fire is 6 miles northwest of Cle Elum.
Sawmill Creek Fire 99% contained. It burned more than 1,000 acres since it started in early September. The Sawmill Creek Fire is west of the Norse Peak wilderness and south of the Tacoma watershed.
Norse Peak Fire 80% contained. The Norse Peak Fire is 11 miles west of Cliffdell, and originated in August. Officials said lightning sparked the fire that has covered almost 66,000 acres.
American Fire 99% contained. It has covered more than 3,800 acres since it started burning.
Warm (70s) and dry weather expected much of next week. So do not count on the rain or cooler weather we have been experiencing to impact the fires very much in the next week.ONE Fighting Championship’s 6th event, titled ‘Rise of Kings’ went down today at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The event was headlined by former DREAM title holder Shinya Aoki and frenchman Arnaud ‘The Game’ Lepont.
2 World titles were also dished out during the event. It was certainly a night that showcased some spectacular fights and finishes.
Here are the quick results:
SUPER FIGHT
Shinya Aoki def. Arnaud Lepont by submission (triangle) at 1:25 of round 1
LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE FIGHT
Kotetsu Boku def. Zorobabel Moreira by KO (punch) at 1:02 of round 3
BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE FIGHT
Soo Chul Kim def. Leandro Issa by KO (punch) at 0:15 of round 2
MAIN CARD
Melvin Manhoef def. Ryo Kawamura by KO (punch) at 4:40 of round 1
BANTAMWEIGHT GRAND PRIX
Jens Pulver def. Zhao Ya Fei by Unanimous Decision (Pulver could not continue after injury)
Masakatsu Ueda def. Min Jung Song by Unanimous Decision
Kevin Belingon def. Yusup Saadulaev by TKO (Punches) at 3:18 of Round 1
PRELIMS
Gianni Subba def. Bruce Loh by KO (Soccer Kick) at 0:33s of Round 1
Mitch Chilson def. Ngabdi Mulyadi by TKO (Punches) at 1:03s of Round 2
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Follow @ThineshJohnMMA on Twitter and Keep up with the latest MMA news on Twitter and FacebookThe right wing pundits and tea party operatives are trying to cover for all the heat they took for their outrageous behavior during the HCR debate and their ugly tea party town halls where spitting and violence took center stage so they have been trying to come up with a typical false equivalence narrative to offset it.
We liberals are all so mean to the tea party now for saying that they held the government hostage in their efforts to cut spending. Unfortunately for them, it's also only the truth. Judson Phillips, the TV face of Tea Party Nation went to Wisconsin to defend Alberta Darling, a Republican facing a tough challenge from Sandy Pasch in the recall elections this week. Phillips took his chips and went all in on the nasty:
The founder of Tea Party Nation claimed liberal ideology is responsible for "a billion" deaths over the past century during a raucous rally here Saturday in support of one of the six Republican state senators facing a recall election Tuesday. "I will tell you ladies and gentlemen, I detest and despise everything the left stands for. How anybody can endorse and embrace an ideology that has killed a billion people in the last century is beyond me," said Tea Party Nation CEO Judson Phillips. Phillips, who a day prior likened protesters of Gov. Scott Walker to Nazi storm troopers, urged a few hundred tea party supporters to turn out for state Sen. Alberta Darling, who is in a ferocious battle with state Rep. Sandy Pasch to hold onto her suburban Milwaukee seat. But he wasn't the only speaker to use loaded language to gin up the crowd. Vince Schmuki, a leader of the Ozaukee Patriot tea party group compared the recall effort to a terrorist attack. "This is ground zero," said Schmuki. "You remember what the term ground zero means? We have been attacked." He continued, "Tuesday is going to be the beginning of our takeover. And we're going to follow it up the following week, and then we're going to polish off the enemy in November 2012. Who's with me?"
Phillips believes that only land owners should have the right to vote. Calling the tea party caucus hostage takers is certainly a colorful way to describe their negotiation tactics since they refused to strike a deal on the debt ceiling vote that included any type of revenue being raised and needed to be done on their terms only. But it's not inaccurate. The debt ceiling was never used as an ideological tool before and for good reason. With the S&P downgrade on Friday, now we see the results of their actions. Phillips, a regular on MSNBC revealed himself to be an ideologue of the highest order who's basic goal has nothing to do with policy and all to do with his hatred of Liberals. Most of the conservative movement that got involved in black helicopter politics when Bill Clinton took office have been transmitted into the mainstream of the GOP and Judson's views typify their beliefs to the max. They've made a cottage industry out of their hatred for Liberals and Progressives. Not to mention that his Tea Party Nation group has come under a lot of fire by conservatives for their slimy accounting practices.
So, we're all murderers now on a scale of which Stalin would be jealous.
Blue America's Sandy Pasch is running so close to Scott Walker's biggest supporter, Alberta Darling that it's causing them a lot of concern. Here's why:
Andy Kroll has been following this for Mother Jones as well. Don't forget to GOTV for Sandy against this Walker/Paul Ryan shill.
And let's not forget how he feels about the Constitution: Tea Partiers sure seem to want to tear up the Constitution they loudly proclaim to loveForget the classless, inappropriate and tacky aspect for a moment. This is a stunning lack of customer privacy for any professional business entity. Typical liberalism on display.
(Via Daily Mail) After the 34-year-old [Ivanka Trump] ordered an $84 gold Helix Ear Cuff from Lady Grey Jewelry‘s website, the brand’s co-founders and designers, Jill Martinelli and Sabine Le Guyader, took to the company’s Instagram page on Tuesday to share a photo of the handwritten note they sent to Ivanka.
The publicly shared message revealed that the jewelry designers donated the proceeds of the sale to various organizations, including the Hillary Clinton campaign. (read more)
No idea who these “Lady Grey” jewelry business owners are, but they are obviously very rude and unprofessional people if they find some benefit in snarking publicly at their customers.
Unreal.
Business Link – HERE
Twitter Link – HERE
Instagram Link – HERE
AdvertisementsSource: Zed Nelson/Oxfam
THE RICHEST 85 people in the world added a collective $668 million a day to their wealth in the last year, the charity Oxfam has found, in a report published this evening.
The study concludes that global inequality is “spiralling out of control,” as the number of billionaires has doubled during the period of the economic crisis.
In March 2009, there were 793 billionaires throughout the world, but as of March 2014, that number had rocketed to 1645.
The study also calculated that if the world’s three richest individuals – Carlos Slim, Bill Gates, and Amancio Ortega – spent $1 million every day, it would take between 172 and 220 years for their money to run out.
The world's two richest people: Carlos Slim (R) and Bill Gates (L) Source: AP/Press Association Images
Today’s report constitutes the launch of a major new Oxfam campaign called “Even It Up”, which is intended to “push world leaders to turn rhetoric into reality and ensure the poorest people get a fairer deal.”
As part of that effort, the charity is calling for governments to clamp down on tax dodging, and increase taxes on large multinational corporations and the world’s richest people.
In one startling analysis, using figures on maternal deaths and healthcare spending, Oxfam has estimated that a 1.5% tax on billionaires during the crisis “could have saved 23 million lives” worldwide.
Source: Oxfam
Jim Clarken, CEO of Oxfam Ireland, also condemned the recently withdrawn Double Irish arrangement as a “toxic tax system.”
While the Double Irish was not illegal, it was certainly morally questionable and deprived this country of crucial revenue in some of our darkest days.
Scroll down to read the report in full, or if you’re viewing this on a mobile device, click here.
http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/cr-even-it-up-extreme-inequality-301014-summ-en.reviewed.pdfAs noted here previously, a revamped version of CISPA (the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act), which is just as bad in terms of privacy protections as its first failed iteration, is in the "mark up" stage in the House. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU are working together to rally opposition to the bill, which would entail companies potentially handing over users’ private information and browsing histories to the government.
Representatives from the two groups took to Reddit Monday to answer questions about CISPA and their campaign to stop the bill's progression into law. EFF's Mark Jaycox explained the current state of CISPA bill H.R. 624:
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CISPA is currently at the "markup" stage. This means that the bill has been introduced and will be discussed by the full committee at a meeting. The committee will vote on amendments, edit (ie, "markup") the bill, and vote on a final version of the bill. Once the final version is voted "out of committee," it will be ready for a full floor vote where the entire House can vote on it.
EFF's Rainey Reitman explained why lawmakers may be rehashing a bill that already failed last year:
Congress wants to appear as if it’s doing “something” about Internet security. But the truth is that the proposals they’re suggesting don’t address most of the major network security issues. From social engineering to two-step authentication, from the broken CA system to encrypting the web, there are concrete and real issues around network security that can and should be addressed (though a lot of them aren’t legislative solutions). Instead of grappling with these issues, Congress is trying to push an information “sharing” bill that would undermine existing privacy laws.
Later in the AMA session, Jaycox outlined the primary issues privacy advocates have with CISPA:Share 0 SHARES
RESPONDING to the scandalous news that Irish people in Australia are being denied jobs because they are not Australian, local opinion haver Cormac McAllenan shares his thoughts on the matter as part of the WWN Voices series.
I read the news that Irish people in Australia are being turned down for jobs on the basis of not being Australian, and if I can be candid, I wept.
I wept great patriotic tears of rage as it reminded me of the story of my great great grandmother’s niece who, at the impossibly young age of 2, swam to New York by herself, only to be denied the right to buy a packet of Tayto in her local 7-Eleven in Brooklyn. This was 1899, a different time, sure, but still – never forget.
It reminded me to a lesser extent, of how the Paki around the corner from me lost his job at the local shop for no other reason than a good looking Irish girl handed in her CV.
While there are similarities, the fact is he isn’t Irish, so I care infinitely less about his plight and that’s his fault for being so foreign.
Out in Oz, there was a lad called Sean, I imagined, who was spat on and had potatoes thrown at him, I imagined, by an employer with a thick Australian accent and all the suitable stereotypes I could conjure up in order to set up him as the villain. The stupid kangaroo shagging half wit.
That wasn’t local Mr. Local shop owner man, he wasn’t evil, his decision was rooted in putting Irish workers first here at home and who could blame him. Sure, those foreigners, with that foreign smell they have, you just can’t trust them.
Discrimination is that strange beast that stares you in the eyes and declares ‘I am not here, you do not see me, I never existed’. But we Irish know better, we’ve excellent eyesight. We know when Australia is wronging us, and I won’t stand for the degradation of a person or peoples unless it’s someone with a funny accent that isn’t Irish.
I’ve lost count of the number of petitions I’ve signed since I heard the horrendous news, if I had to guess I would say it was 1 million. That is how important it is to me, and to be honest, it should be important to you.
Do you like the idea of someone with your accent and memories of watching Glenroe being discriminated against. We’re better than being relegated to the sort of second class citizens I see here at home that I have absolutely no time for.
Can you imagine how horrible the Irish over there in Australia feel, to be so easily dismissed and discriminated against? I’d ask the Polish lad next door how it makes him feel, but he’d only assault and rob me once we got chatting.DETROIT - Fish with human-like teeth are being found in Michigan waters, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
The DNR sites three reports of anglers reeling in pacus fish in Lake St. Clair and from the Port Huron area.
The red-bellied pacu, Piaractus brachypomus, is a popular aquarium fish imported from South America. The U.S. leads the world in importing ornamental fish, supporting a worldwide aquarium industry that tops $1 billion annually.
Pacus have been caught in lakes, ponds or creeks in at least 27 U.S. states. However, there is no evidence that breeding populations have been established in any of these locations. Current climate data indicate this tropical, freshwater fish is unlikely to survive Great Lakes winters, but climate change may increase the possibility, according to the DNR.
Finding pacus in the Great Lakes is evidence of a common dilemma – what to do when you can no longer keep an aquarium pet? Pacus are known to grow significantly, often beyond the capacity of their tanks.
Pet release is almost never humane. Pets released from confined, artificial environments are poorly equipped to fend off predators and may be unable to successfully forage for food or find shelter,” said Nick Popoff, manager of the DNR's Aquatic Species and Regulatory Affairs Unit. “Those that do succeed in the wild can spread exotic diseases to native animals. In the worst-case scenario, released animals can thrive and reproduce, upsetting natural ecosystems to the degree that these former pets become invasive species.”
In the case of the pacu and other ornamental fish, there is another issue.
“Invasive or not – planting fish of any kind in the waters of the state without a permit is illegal,” said Popoff. “This includes the release of aquarium fish like pacus and goldfish, as well as farm-raised fish from private ponds.”
Paige Filice of Michigan State University works with a new statewide campaign to Reduce Invasive Pet and PLant Escapes, or RIPPLE, offering solutions for aquarium and pond owners.
“If your pacu has outgrown its tank or begun to feed on your other fish, rather than releasing it into a pond or stream, consider donating or trading it with another hobbyist, an environmental learning center, an aquarium or a zoo,” said Filice. “You can also check with the pet store where you purchased the fish to see if they will take it back.”
Another option is to talk with a veterinarian or pet retailer about humane methods to dispose of the pet.
More information about the RIPPLE campaign and managing aquarium pets and plants is available from the Michigan Invasive Species website.
If you catch an unusual fish, keep it and preserve it on ice. If that is not possible, take photos of the fish. Do not return it to the water. Contact Seth Herbst, DNR aquatic invasive species biologist, at 517-284-5841 or herbsts@michigan.gov for assistance in identification.
Copyright 2016 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.YouTube Music Key Beta released: here’s how to get it
This week Google released YouTube Music Key Beta, and this afternoon, Beta invites are being sent to users in the United States and in several European countries. Though it was originally assumed that only Google Music Subscribers would receive invitations to join the party at first, we’ve seen invites sent to several non-Google Music Subscribers as well. If you’re invited, you’ll know it – what you might not know is what the difference is between standard YouTube Music and the subscriber model. It’s not exactly obvious right off the bat.
The first thing you’re going to want to do today is update YouTube. This update is only on Android devices right this minute, and it does not require that you have Android 5.0 Lollipop. We’ve seen this update arrive on devices running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, Android 4.4 KitKat, and Android 5.0 Lollipop.
UPDATE: The YouTube Music Key Beta update is also included in the newest version of YouTube for iOS. Download for iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad now.
Invite or Join
Once you download the newest version of YouTube – or update, rather – you may find the following screen staring back at you. If you do, tap it immediately. You’ll want to get in on this YouTube Music Key Beta as quick as possible – it wont be free forever.
The first few weeks (originally thought to be months) of YouTube Music Key will be free for those chosen to be part of the Beta release. After that, YouTube Music Key will be released to the public and will have a monthly subscription fee.
UPDATE: This article originally suggested that users would be able to gain access to the YouTube Music Beta through this portal: https://www.youtube.com/musickey. As it turns out, that’s not entirely true.
You won’t be billed until January 3rd, 2015 because that’s when your access will begin – IF you subscribe through this portal.
There are currently two ways in which you might gain access to YouTube Music Key in this Beta release.
1. You play a lot of music on YouTube regularly. Google has seen your frequent use of YouTube to play Music, and they’re interested in gauging your opinion on their new YouTube Music Key program. If you’re lucky enough to be one of these people, you’ll see an invite in your YouTube app and/or in an email sent to your Gmail.
If you’re one of these frequent listeners to music on YouTube and you’ve been given an invite to the program, you’ll also have access to a special community – message boards, that is – where you’ll be able to lend suggestions and give feedback to those creating this YouTube Music Key system.
2. You subscribe to Google Music. If you’re so severely interested in YouTube Music Key right this minute that you MUST get an invite, you can get one by subscribing to Google Music. In the future AND in the present, if you subscribe to Google Music, you’re also getting YouTube Music Key in the same package.
Google Music’s subscription page already includes the following: “$9.99/month for unlimited music, completely ad-free on any device, anywhere you go.” Not much else will need to be added once it’s made entirely clear that YouTube Music Key comes with this deal.
You’ll also find the following line in the YouTube Music Key FAQ: “a new or existing Google Play Music subscription includes access to YouTube Music Key.”
And what do you get with a subscription to YouTube Music Key?
1. Ad-Free Music Videos
The first and most apparent place you might realize you’re either IN or OUT of the Music Key Beta is right below the video itself – there’s a little icon. If you’re not in the Beta, you’ll see the Music Key red note logo. If you’re in, you’ll see a |
ago when he set up a business trip, and I flagged on maybe getting some fun. I scanned the ticket clerk real careful and picked up the access code." "Okay, show me what you can do." Accessing was so easy that I just wiped a couple of reservations first, to see if there were any bells and whistles. None. No checks, no lockwords, no confirm codes. I erased a couple dozen people without crashing down or locking up. "Geez," I said, "There's no deep secures at all!" "I been telling you. Olders are even dumber than they look. Georgie? Lisa? C'mon over here and see what we're running!" Georgie was real curious and asked a lot of questions, but Lisa just looked bored and snapped her gum and tried to stand closer to Rayno. Then Rayno said, "Time to get off Sesame Street. Purge a flight." I did. It was simple as a save. I punched a few keys, entered, and an entire plane disappeared from all the reservation files. Boy, they'd be surprised when they showed up at the airport. I started purging down the line, but Rayno interrupted. "Maybe there's no bells and whistles, but wipe out a whole block of flights and it'll stand out. Watch this." He took the term from me and cooked up a routine in RAM to do a global and wipe out every flight that departed at an :07 for the next year. "Now that's how you do these things without waving a flag." "That's sharp," Georgie chipped in, to me. "Mike, you're a genius! Where do you get these ideas?" Rayno got a real funny look in his eyes. "My turn," Rayno said, exiting the airline system. "What's next in the stack?" Lisa asked him. "Yeah, I mean, after garbaging the airlines..." Georgie didn't realize he was supposed to shut up. "Georgie! Mike!" Rayno hissed. "Keep watch!" Soft, he added, "It's time for The Big One." "You sure?" I asked. "Rayno, I don't think we're ready." "We're ready." Georgie got whiney. "We're gonna get in big trouble--" "Wimp," spat Rayno. Georgie shut up. We'd been working on The Big One for over two months, but I still didn't feel real solid about it. It almost made a clean if/then/else; if The Big One worked/then we'd be rich/else... it was the else I didn't have down. Georgie and me scanned while Rayno got down to business. He got back into CityNet, called the cracker opsys out of OurNet, and poked it into Merchant's Bank & Trust. I'd gotten into them the hard way, but never messed with their accounts; just did it to see if I could do it. My data'd been sitting in their system for about three weeks now and nobody'd noticed. Rayno thought it would be really funny to use one bank computer to crack the secures on other bank computers. While he was peeking and poking I heard walking nearby and took a closer look. It was just some old waster looking for a quiet place to sleep. Rayno was finished linking by the time I got back. "Okay kids," he said, "this is it." He looked around to make sure we were all watching him, then held up the term and stabbed the RETURN key. That was it. I stared hard at the display, waiting to see what else was gonna be. Rayno figured it'd take about ninety seconds. The Big One, y'see, was Rayno's idea. He'd heard about some kids in Sherman Oaks who almost got away with a five million dollar electronic fund transfer; they hadn't hit a hangup moving the five mil around until they tried to dump it into a personal savings account with a $40 balance. That's when all the flags went up. Rayno's cool; Rayno's smart. We weren't going to be greedy, we were just going to EFT fifty K. And it wasn't going to look real strange, 'cause it got strained through some legitimate accounts before we used it to open twenty dummies. If it worked. The display blanked, flickered, and showed: TRANSACTION COMPLETED. HAVE A NICE DAY. I started to shout, but remembered I was in a library. Georgie looked less terrified. Lisa looked like she was going to attack Rayno. Rayno just cracked his little half smile, and started exiting. "Funtime's over, kids." "I didn't get a turn," Georgie mumbled. Rayno was out of all the nets and powering down. He turned, slow, and looked at Georgie through those eyebrows of his. "You are still on The List." Georgie swallowed it 'cause there was nothing else he could do. Rayno folded up the microterm and tucked it back inside his jumper. We got a smartcab outside the library and went off to someplace Lisa picked for lunch. Georgie got this idea about garbaging up the smartcab's brain so that the next customer would have a real state fair ride, but Rayno wouldn't let him do it. Rayno didn't talk to him during lunch, either. After lunch I talked them into heading up to Martin's Micros. That's one of my favorite places to hang out. Martin's the only Older I know who can really work a computer without blowing out his headchips, and he never talks down to me, and he never tells me to keep my hands off anything. In fact, Martin's been real happy to see all of us, ever since Rayno bought that $3000 vidgraphics art animation package for Lisa's birthday. Martin was sitting at his term when we came in. "Oh, hi Mike! Rayno! Lisa! Georgie!" We all nodded. "Nice to see you again. What can I do for you today?" "Just looking," Rayno said. "Well, that's free." Martin turned back to his term and punched a few more IN keys. "Damn!" he said to the term. "What's the problem?" Lisa asked. "The problem is me," Martin said. "I got this software package I'm supposed to be writing, but it keeps bombing out and I don't know what's wrong." Rayno asked, "What's it supposed to do?" "Oh, it's a real estate system. Y'know, the whole future-values-in-current-dollars bit. Depreciation, inflation, amortization, tax credits--" "Put that in our tang," Rayno said. "What numbers crunch?" Martin started to explain, and Rayno said to me, "This looks like your kind of work." Martin hauled his three hundred pounds of fat out of the chair, and looked relieved as I dropped down in front of the term. I scanned the parameters, looked over Martin's program, and processed a bit. Martin'd only made a few mistakes. Anybody could have. I dumped Martin's program and started loading the right one in off the top of my head. "Will you look at that?" Martin said. I didn't answer 'cause I was thinking in assembly. In ten minutes I had it in, compiled, and running test sets. It worked perfect, of course. "I just can't believe you kids," Martin said. "You can program easier than I can talk." "Nothing to it," I said. "Maybe not for you. I knew a kid grew up speaking Arabic, used to say the same thing." He shook his head, tugged his beard, looked me in the face, and smiled. "Anyhow, thanks loads, Mike. I don't know how to..." He snapped his fingers. "Say, I just got something in the other day, I bet you'd be really interested in." He took me over to the display case, pulled it out, and set it on the counter. "The latest word in microterms. The Zeilemann Starfire 600." I dropped a bit! Then I ballsed up enough to touch it. I flipped up the wafer display, ran my fingers over the touch pads, and I just wanted it so bad! "It's smart," Martin said. "Rammed, rammed, and ported." Rayno was looking at the specs with that cold look in his eye. "My 300 is still faster," he said. "It should be," Martin said. "You customized it half to death. But the 600 is nearly as fast, and it's stock, and it lists for $1400. I figure you must have spent nearly 3K upgrading yours." "Can I try it out?" I asked. Martin plugged me into his system, and I booted and got on line. It worked great! Quiet, accurate; so maybe it wasn't as fast as Rayno's--I couldn't tell the difference. "Rayno, this thing is the max!" I looked at Martin. "Can we work out some kind of...?" Martin looked back to his terminal, where the real estate program was still running tests without a glitch. "I been thinking about that, Mike. You're a minor, so I can't legally employ you." He tugged on his beard and rolled his tongue around his mouth. "But I'm hitting that real estate client for some pretty heavy bread on consulting fees, and it doesn't seem real fair to me that you... Tell you what. Maybe I can't hire you, but I sure can buy software you write. You be my consultant on, oh... seven more projects like this, and we'll call it a deal? Sound okay to you?" Before I could shout yes, Rayno pushed in between me and Martin. "I'll buy it. List." He pulled out a charge card from his jumper pocket. Martin's jaw dropped. "Well, what're you waiting for? My plastic's good." "List? But I owe Mike one," Martin protested. "List. You don't owe us nothing." Martin swallowed. "Okay Rayno." He took the card and ran a credcheck on it. "It's clean," Martin said, surprised. He punched up the sale and started laughing. "I don't know where you kids get this kind of money!" "We rob banks," Rayno said. Martin laughed, and Rayno laughed, and we all laughed. Rayno picked up the term and walked out of the store. As soon as we got outside he handed it to me. "Thanks Rayno, but... but I coulda made the deal myself." "Happy Birthday, Mike." "Rayno, my birthday is in August." "Let's get one thing straight. You work for me." It was near school endtime, so we routed back to Buddy's. On the way, in the smartcab, Georgie took my Starfire, gently opened the case, and scanned the boards. "We could double the baud speed real easy." "Leave it stock," Rayno said. We split up at Buddy's, and I took the transys home. I was lucky, 'cause Mom and Dad weren't home and I could zip right upstairs and hide the Starfire in my closet. I wish I had cool parents like Rayno does. They never ask him any dumb questions. Mom came home at her usual time, and asked how school was. I didn't have to say much, 'cause just then the stove said dinner was ready and she started setting the table. Dad came in five minutes later and we started eating. We got the phone call halfway through dinner. I was the one who jumped up and answered it. It was Georgie's old man, and he wanted to talk to my Dad. I gave him the phone and tried to overhear, but he took it in the next room and talked real quiet. I got unhungry. I never liked tofu, anyway. Dad didn't stay quiet for long. "He what?! Well thank you for telling me! I'm going to get to the bottom of this right now!" He hung up. "Who was that, David?" Mom asked. "That was Mr. Hansen. Georgie's father. Mike and Georgie were hanging around with that punk Rayno again!" He snapped around to look at me. I'd almost made it out the kitchen door. "Michael! Were you in school today?" I tried to talk cool. I think the tofu had my throat all clogged up. "Yeah...yeah, I was." "Then how come Mr. Hansen saw you coming out of the downtown library?" I was stuck. "I--I was down there doing some special research." "For what class? C'mon Michael, what were you studying?" It was too many inputs. I was locking up. "David," Mom said, "Aren't you being a bit hasty? I'm sure there's a good explanation." "Martha, Mr. Hansen found something in his computer that Georgie and Michael put there. He thinks they've been messing with banks." "Our Mikey? It must be some kind of bad joke." "You don't know how serious this is! Michael Arthur Harris! What have you been doing sitting up all night with that terminal? What was that system in Hansen's computer? Answer me! What have you been doing?!" My eyes felt hot. "None of your business! Keep your nose out of things you'll never understand, you obsolete old relic!" "That does it! I don't know what's wrong with you damn kids, but I know that thing isn't helping!" He stormed up to my room. I tried to get ahead of him all the way up the steps and just got my hands stepped on. Mom came fluttering up behind as he yanked all the plugs on my terminal. "Now David," Mom said. "Don't you think you're being a bit harsh? He needs that for his homework, don't you, Mikey?" "You can't make excuses for him this time, Martha! I mean it! This goes in the basement, and tomorrow I'm calling the cable company and getting his line ripped out! If he has anything to do on computer he can damn well use the terminal in the den, where I can watch him!" He stomped out, carrying my smartterm. I slammed the door and locked it. "Go ahead and sulk! It won't do you any good!" I threw some pillows around 'til I didn't feel like breaking anything anymore, then I hauled the Starfire out of the closet. I'd watched over Dad's shoulders enough to know his account numbers and access codes, so I got on line and got down to business. I was finished in half an hour. I tied into Dad's terminal. He was using it, like I figured he would be, scanning school records. Fine. He wouldn't find out anything; we'd figured out how to fix school records months ago. I crashed in and gave him a new message on his vid display. "Dad," it said, "there's going to be some changes around here." It took a few seconds to sink in. I got up and made sure the door was locked real solid. I still got half a scare when he came pounding up the stairs, though. I didn't know he could be so loud. "MICHAEL!!" He slammed into the door. "Open this! Now!" "No." "If you don't open this door before I count to ten, I'm going to bust it down! One!" "Before you do that--" "Two!" "Better call your bank!" "Three!" "B320-5127-OlR." That was his checking account access code. He silenced a couple seconds. "Young man, I don't know what you think you're trying to pull--" "I'm not trying anything. I did it already." Mom came up the stairs and said, "What's going on, David?" "Shut up, Martha!" He was talking real quiet, now. "What did you do, Michael?" "Outlooped you. Disappeared you. Buried you." "You mean, you got into the bank computer and erased my checking account?" "Savings and mortgage on the condo, too." "Oh my God..." Mom said, "He's just angry, David. Give him time to cool off. Mikey, you wouldn't really do that, would you?" "Then I accessed DynaRand," I said. "Wiped your job. Your pension. I got into your plastic, too." "He couldn't have, David. Could he?" "Michael!" He hit the door. "I'm going to wring your scrawny neck!" "Wait!" I shouted back. "I copied all your files before I purged! There's a way to recover!" He let up hammering on the door, and struggled to talk calm. "Give me the copies right now and I'll just forget that this happened." "I can't. I mean, I did backups in other computers. And I secured the files and hid them where only I know how to access." There was quiet. No, in a nano I realised it wasn't quiet, it was Mom and Dad talking real soft. I eared up to the door but all I caught was Mom saying 'why not?' and Dad saying, 'but what if he is telling the truth?' "Okay Michael," Dad said at last. "What do you want?" I locked up. It was an embarrasser; what did I want? I hadn't thought that far ahead. Me, caught without a program! I dropped half a laugh, then tried to think. I mean, there was nothing they could get me I couldn't get myself, or with Rayno's help. Rayno! I wanted to get in touch with him, is what I wanted. I'd pulled this whole thing off without Rayno! I decided then it'd probably be better if my Olders didn't know about the Starfire, so I told Dad first thing I wanted was my smartterm back. It took a long time for him to clump down to the basement and get it. He stopped at his term in the den, first, to scan if I'd really purged him. He was real subdued when he brought my smartterm back up. I kept processing, but by the time he got back I still hadn't come up with anything more than I wanted them to leave me alone and stop telling me what to do. I got the smartterm into my room without being pulped, locked the door, got on line, and gave Dad his job back. Then I tried to flag Rayno and Georgie, but couldn't, so I left messages for when they booted. I stayed up half the night playing a war, just to make sure Dad didn't try anything. I booted and scanned first thing the next morning, but Rayno and Georgie still hadn't come on. So I went down and had an utter silent breakfast and sent Mom and Dad off to work. I offed school and spent the whole day finishing the war and working on some tricks and treats programs. We had another utter silent meal when Mom and Dad came home, and after supper I flagged Rayno had been in the Net and left a remark on when to find him. I finally got him on line around eight, and he said Georgie was getting trashed and probably heading for permanent downtime. Then I told Rayno all about how I outlooped my old man, but he didn't seem real buzzed about it. He said he had something cooking and couldn't meet me at Buddy's that night to talk about it, either. So we got off line, and I started another war and then went to sleep. The snoozer said 5:25 when I woke up, and I couldn't logic how come I was awake 'til I started making sense out of my ears. Dad was taking apart the hinges on my door! "Dad! You cut that out or I'll purge you clean! There won't be backups this time!" "Try it," he growled. I jumped out of my sleepsack, powered up, booted and--no boot. I tried again. I could get on line in my smartterm, but I couldn't port out. "I cut your cable down in the basement," he said. I grabbed the Starfire out of my closet and zipped it inside my jumper, but before I could do the window, the door and Dad both fell in. Mom came in right behind, popped open my dresser, and started stuffing socks and underwear in a suitcase. "Now you're fritzed!" I told Dad. "I'll never give you back your files!" He grabbed my arm. "Michael, there's something I think you should see." He dragged me down to his den and pulled some bundles of old paper trash out of his desk. "These are receipts. This is what obsolete old relics like me use because we don't trust computer bookkeeping. I checked with work and the bank; everything that goes on in the computer has to be verified with paper. You can't change anything for more than 24 hours." "Twenty-four hours? " I laughed. "Then you're still fritzed! I can still wipe you out any day, from any term in CityNet'" "I know." Mom came into the den, carrying the suitcase and kleenexing her eyes. "Mikey, you've got to understand that we love you, and this is for your own good." They dragged me down to the airport and stuffed me in a private lear with a bunch of old gestapos. I've had a few weeks now to get used to the Von Schlager Military Academy. They tell me I'm a bright kid and with good behavior, there's really no reason at all why I shouldn't graduate in five years. I am getting tired, though, of all the older cadets telling me how soft I've got it now that they've installed indoor plumbing. Of course, I'm free to walk out any time I want. It's only three hundred miles to Fort McKenzie, where the road ends. Sometimes at night, after lights out, I'll pull out my Starfire and run my fingers over the touchpads. That's all I can do, since they turn off power in the barracks at night. I'll lie there in the dark, thinking about Lisa, and Georgie, and Buddy's All-Night Burgers, and all the fun we used to pull off. But mostly I'll think about Rayno, and what great plans he cooks up. I can't wait to see how he gets me out of this one. Afterword After I sold the original story in '82, I continued to work on the story cycle, publishing bits and pieces here and there throughout the 1980's. In '89 I pulled the major chunks together into the rough form of a novel, and to my surprise and delight I sold it, to a publisher who later regained his sanity and decided not to release it. It took me five years to recover the rights to this book. By the time I finally did, everyone in the publishing industry assured me there was no point in pursuing it further, as the market had spoken with Godlike finality: Cyberpunk was dead. There was, I was told, no possibility that another cyberpunk novel would be commercially successful, and there would never be a successful cyberpunk movie. The novel, Cyberpunk, is now available as shareware through my web and ftp sites at: http://www.spedro.com/cybrpnk.pdf
ftp://ftp.visi.com/users/brbethke/cybrpnk.pdf
--Bruce Bethke
© Bruce Bethke 1980, 1997
"Cyberpunk" was first published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories, Volume 57, Number 4, November 1983.
Elsewhere in infinity plus : fiction - Expendables; The Skanky Soul of Jimmy Twist. Elsewhere on the web: Bruce Bethke at Amazon (US) and at the Internet Bookshop (UK).
Bruce's web page is packed with fun, fiction and more, and includes the full text of Cyberpunk, a novel based on the story which introduced the c-word to the world.
, a novel based on the story which introduced the c-word to the world. The alt.cyberpunk FAQ list starts out by acknowledging Bruce's coining of the c-word, and is full of background information and links.
Bruce's ISFDB bibliography.Three types of large-area solar cells made out of two-dimensional perovskites. At left, a room-temperature cast film; upper middle is a sample with the problematic band gap, and at right is the hot-cast sample with the best energy performance. Image courtesy Los Alamos National Laboratory.
“The 2-D perovskite opens up a new dimension in perovskite research,” said Kanatzidis. “It opens new horizons for next-generation stable solar cell devices and new opto-electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes, lasers and sensors.”
Flipping crystals improves solar-cell performance
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., July 6, 2016—In a step that could bring perovskite crystals closer to use in the burgeoning solar power industry, researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Northwestern University and Rice University have tweaked their crystal production method and developed a new type of two-dimensional layered perovskite with outstanding stability and more than triple the material’s previous power conversion efficiency.
“Crystal orientation has been a puzzle for more than two decades, and this is the first time we’ve been able to flip the crystal in the actual casting process,” said Hsinhan Tsai, a Rice graduate student at Los Alamos working with senior researcher Aditya Mohite and lead coauthor of a study due out this week in the journal Nature. “This is our breakthrough, using our spin-casting technique to create layered crystals whose electrons flow vertically down the material without being blocked, midlayer, by organic cations.”
This research is part of Los Alamos’ mission, which includes conducting multidisciplinary research to strengthen the security of energy for the nation. That work includes exploring alternative energy sources.
The two-dimensional material itself was initially created at Northwestern, where Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry, and Dr. Costas Stoumpos had begun exploring an interesting 2-D material that orients its layers perpendicular to the substrate. “The 2-D perovskite opens up a new dimension in perovskite research,” said Kanatzidis. “It opens new horizons for next-generation stable solar cell devices and new opto-electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes, lasers and sensors.”
“This is a synergy, a very strong synergy between our institutions, the materials design team at Northwestern that designed and prepared high-quality samples of the materials and showed that they are promising, and the Los Alamos team’s excellent skills in making solar cells and optimizing them to high performance,” said Kanatzidis.
A Los Alamos co-author on the paper, Wanyi Nie, noted that “the new 2-D perovskite is both more efficient and more stable, both under constant lighting and in exposure to the air, than the existing 3-D organic-inorganic crystals.”
The challenge has been to find something that works better than 3-D perovskites, which have remarkable photophysical properties and power conversion efficiencies better than 20 percent, but are still plagued by poor performance in stress tests of light, humidity and heat.
Previous work by the Los Alamos team had provided insights into 3-D perovskite efficiency recovery, given a little timeout in a dark space, but by shifting to the more resilient 2-D approach, the team has had even better results.
The 2-D crystals previously studied by the Northwestern team lost power when the organic cations hit the sandwiched gap between the layers, knocking the cells down to a 4.73 percent conversion efficiency due to the out-of-plane alignment of the crystals. But applying the hot casting technique to create the more streamlined, vertically aligned 2-D material seems to have eliminated that gap. Currently the 2-D material has achieved 12 percent efficiency.
“We seek to produce single-crystalline thin-films that will not only be relevant for photovoltaics but also for high efficiency light emitting applications, allowing us to compete with current technologies,” said Mohite, principal investigator on the project.
Link to Nature paper: “High-efficiency two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite solar cells,” Hsinhan Tsai1,2†, Wanyi Nie1†, Jean-Christophe Blancon1, Constantinos C. Stoumpos3, Reza Asadpour5, Boris Harutyunyan4, Rafael Verduzco2, Jared Crochet1, Sergei Tretiak1, Laurent Pedesseau6, Jacky Even6, Muhammad A. Alam5, Gautam Gupta1, Jun Lou2, Pulickel M Ajayan2, Michael J Bedzyk4, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis3 and Aditya D. Mohite1*
Affiliations:
1Los Alamos National Laboratory
2Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Rice University
3Department of Chemistry Northwestern University
4Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research (ANSER) Center, Northwestern University
5School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University
6Fonctions Optiques pour les Technologies de l’Information, France.
Funding: The work was funded by the Los Alamos Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program.
Photo caption: Three types of large-area solar cells made out of two-dimensional perovskites. At left, a room-temperature cast film; upper middle is a sample with the problematic band gap, and at right is the hot-cast sample with the best energy performance. Image courtesy Los Alamos National Laboratory.*If you are thinking of moving to the Seychelles, you can find all of my posts about life in Seychelles here*
Two weeks ago we were burgled.
I’d love to say that it was the first time since we’ve lived here. Sadly, it isn’t.
It’s taken me all this time to write about it. This blog is usually reserved for all the nice things in our lives. A record of our sons growing up and all the beautiful things about living in the Seychelles. But, I need to write this down, as much as I’d rather forget it, I think that it’s starting to become a worrying part of life here so it would be wrong of me not to record this. The darker side of expat life in the Seychelles
When we moved to Praslin, our little island in the Seychelles, we were naive.
We felt so safe, in a little beautiful, tropical bubble.
Our house was a little one level two bed place. We left our doors unlocked, and curtains open a lot of the time. We forgot that there are bad people all over the world.
Things started small. Our neighbours and us had some flip flops stolen from the front of our houses, our hammock was stolen from the front of the house while we were away on Mahe, things like that.
It stepped up a notch when there was a pevert at my window while I was at home alone with Arthur one night when he was small. I was stupid for leaving curtains open I know, but in my defence my bedroom was at the back of the house and there was a big garden behind for a house I knew was empty. Therefore someone had to come looking to see in which I wouldn’t dream about happening here.
The worst thing about it for me was that he tried to get my attention. What was he expecting to happen, I’d let him in?! Anyway I screamed at him and he ran off. The next morning we discovered that he had moved a gas bottle had been moved so that he could look through the bathroom window which was quite high so he’d watched me in the shower as well.
I honestly felt truly violated and it took me a long time to sleep properly again. I also don’t think it wasn’t coincidence that it was at this time I got a taste for rum!!
We decided to move house after our neighbours also had incidents along similar lines and our landlord was not prepared to do anything to improve security. We were pretty certain it was just one disgusting guy targeting us all so moving away from the area would help!
So, we moved into our lovely new house, it was fenced in and we felt so safe all over again.
A couple months later my bike was stolen from the garden. We were annoyed and upset, but had left it unlocked so had to accept that it was sort of out on display asking to be taken! However, this was the most valuable thing we’d had stolen, before that, as I mentioned it was minor things.
Then nothing happened to us for another few months. Our new landlords also own the house next to ours and they had been renovating it, they went away one weekend and came back and the TV had been stolen, they had broken in through the patio doors. We have two sets of patio doors in our house, our landlords put extra bolts on one set but the others worked differently so they left those while they decided the best way to deal with those ones.
We had no problems until we went away to Mahe to have Freddie. We were gone for two weeks. Fortunately for us, as long as we’ve lived in the Seychelles we have locked our real valuables away in a safe place away from our house whenever we’ve gone away. We were recommended to do this because we have been told petty theft is a problem here although originally we’d never seen it as an issue ourselves. I’m so pleased we took that advice now!
Anyway, someone broke in through our patio doors. They raided our alcohol cupboard and took about £200 worth of spirits and wine. (We aren’t big drinkers by the way but we do like nice bottles of spirits!!)
They were even brazen enough to drink a whole bottle of Whisky while they were here and put the empty bottle back into the box!! Randomly they also took 4 pairs of Marks shorts, but like old ones he would only wear round the house!!
Again, we were really upset with this. We did know however that the patio doors were a weak spot on the house. Annoyingly our landlord had put deadbolts on one set of our patio doors before we’d gone to Mahe but not another.
The whole thing was a surreal experience, it was the day we were bringing Freddie home from hospital and all of a sudden we were dealing with police and security. Such a shame to have to deal with that on what should have been such a special day. The good thing was that the police did get fingerprints from the bottle of whisky that was put back in the box and so hopefully something will come out of that – although that hasn’t happened yet!
Even at this point we didn’t feel too concerned for our security, we figured that these people had been watching the house, the same as what had happened next door, and knew that it was empty. We also knew it could have been a lot more costly for us had we not locked things other items away!!
Then last week while we were all asleep someone came into our house.
Freddie woke up around 1 so I got up to feed him. I reached for my iPad like I do every night to check the time and it wasn’t there. I was sure I’d put it on charge on my bedside table but figured I must have left it downstairs.
After being annoyed that I couldn’t use my iPad while I was feeding I woke up more and realised that I was really sure I’d had it when I went to bed. I then went downstairs to have a look around, I couldn’t find it anywhere. I went back up to bed and tried to see if I’d accidently left it in the bed before I went to sleep, this woke Mark up. He confirmed that I had definitely had it upstairs, we looked around the room and realised that a few other things were also missing. We had definitely been burgled.
They had came upstairs into our bedroom, they took my iPad and a portable speaker and emptied our wallets (luckily there wasn’t much in them) they also took our external hard drive which had all our movies on.
We discovered that they had come in through the back door which was unlocked. We never use this door, ever. It could have been unlocked for ages, we know it was locked when we came back from Mahe as we checked all the doors then. We don’t know who unlocked it, it really could have been anyone.
The thing is, is that someone came into our garden with the intention of breaking in. As I mentioned, our garden is fenced so you don’t just stumble upon the back door. This person would have had to come up to the door to test it, you don’t do that in the middle of the night unless your intention is to break in, it just so happened that their job was made a little easier by our negligence.
That night, after the realisation sunk in that someone had been in the house while we were there, my heart broke and I burst into tears.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what would have happened if one of us had woken up, would they have ran away, would it have got violent, did they have a weapon with them in case that happened? I feel physically sick at the idea of it.
It’s been two weeks now and I can’t get over it.
Every time I wake up to feed Freddie I can’t get back off to sleep, I hear noises that sound like someone is in the house, I swear I see movement out of the corner of my eye.
I know that eventually, this will get better, but I wonder if it should get better. Should I always be this alert now, just in case?
We now have a puppy, Koopa, who sleeps outside.
He is here not only as our family pet, but also as our alarm, to bark if someone comes onto the property. Right now he’s not really a force to be reckoned with but any noise is a deterrent to thieves.
Last week, we found out that our friends living near by were burgled. They broke in through a window while they were out.
Another of our friends has just moved house to the other side of the island after being broken into on numerous occasions and having hundred of pounds worth of stuff taken.
It is becoming increasingly clear that expats are being targeted. There is a growing drug problem here. Unfortunately that results in an increase in petty crime to fund drug habits.
Aside from the drug problem though, we have been told on numerous occasions that there are many who feel no stigma in regards to theft here. That it’s ok to |
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